AMLE Conference

First of all, what is AMLE?  Answer:  the Association of Middle Level Educators.  As a member of the Student Association of Middle Level Educators (SAMLE) I was fortunate enough to be able to go to the conference - both to enjoy the learning and also to be a part of the team that presented two different workshops.

The conference was an interesting blend of an overwhelming amount of amazing information, fun times with students, frustration at student attitudes and the kind of learning that only an intense conference experience can bring.

I learned about better ways to assess, and how to use assessment to improve teaching and learning instead of as a dead-end judgement.  I heard great tales about handling middle level students, as well better ways to engage learning and increase interest.  Workshops were offered with intensity and humor, and the impact that we teachers (or future teachers) have on students was cited throughout the different classes.  I took endless notes, bought books, and scavenged the exhibit hall for anything free (lots of good and plenty of pointless stuff).

My three student room mates were fun.  As their adopted Mom, I enjoyed the experience despite my trepidation leading up to the 4-day event.  We ate together, visited the sights of Minneapolis and enjoyed some nightlife (only one of the group of 14 was underage).  Some of the group were just a little too 'young' for me to handle for too long, but the group that I attached myself to seemed to enjoy me as much as I enjoyed them; I certainly hope so!  They introduced me to the world of SnapChat, I perhaps influenced them to attend a couple more workshops than they might have otherwise.  A win-win.

As I look over the tools that I gathered and contemplate the new learning, it adds to my desire to finally get out to the real world and be in my classroom!  If nothing else, now that my semester schedule has freed up a little with my two 8-week classes ending, I connected with New Hartford once again and will be teaching there every Wednesday afternoon, helping with Language Arts.  I can't wait!

All this time and effort is about the students that will one day motivate me to be the best teacher that I can be - no doubt at the very same time that they stymie and frustrate me along the way!

I can't wait :)

Starting over....again!

My energy and excitement is back after a hiatus.  Time to adjust my attitude.  Another beginning, as symbolized by my beginning to blog once again.

The first semester back at school was exciting.  I was finally doing what I wanted with my life; I had focus.  Being a learner once more was invigorating, and knowing my goal exciting.

The second and third semesters were a joy.  Time with the wonderful cohort at Lincoln Elementary kept the goal alive.  Living literacy learning and being around children was a daily reminder of what I was striving for.  Volunteering in New Hartford kept me around middle schoolers.  The personal side of things wasn't easy, with Steph (our oldest) realizing that she needed to get away, far away, to figure herself out, and then, a little later, Paul losing his job.  We are lucky though, with a fabulous support system that kept us moving forward.

Things worked out.  Steph fell in love with New Zealand.  Paul got a much better job.  

School, however, was not quite the same.

My sojourn at Lincoln ended.  No more 'real' learning; it was back to the classroom.  Not only was it back to lectures and no children to work with, it was a semester filled with 'gen eds'.   World Geography was a nightmare.  Humanities was well taught and enjoyable, but those exams...,,,,,there were some highlights of course, but my fourth semester was one where I almost forgot that I was going to be a teacher....time continued to get away from me.  The semester started with long hours in the barn as my horse recovered from surgery, and I never quite caught up.

My two summer classes were a perfect example of the extremities of what I face.  Math methods with Matt Webb was an awesome class.  All about teaching.  Anecdotes, stories, even a couple of field experiences!  On the other end of the spectrum was 'East Asian Cultures' to fulfill my non-Western culture requirement.....let's just sum that class up as, 'painful'.

So now I am in semester 5.  The first semester of my third year.  After this one, I will have just two semesters left before I student teach.  It is time to readdress & re-motivate.

Last week I was fortunate enough to go to the Association of Middle Educators' (AMLE) national conference.  3 days of workshops and seminars.  I am invigorated again.  My mind is filled with ideas and concepts.  I go from 4 classes on a Thursday to 2 after Thanksgiving, which reduces the homework burden on Wednesdays, meaning I can go back into the classroom every week, and remind myself why I am doing this!

So, a long journal entry to basically say this, my blogging stopped when my excitement waned.  I had no time, nor desire to find those extra minutes to write something that only a handful of folk might glance at.   Now, re energized and with the end in sight, I am ready to log my journey once again.

Life is good.

The joys of online classes...or not!

Happy New Year!

As I have worked towards getting courses done in an attempt to try to finish this whole 'back-to-school' adventure by the end of 2014, I have spent the Christmas break working through my first ever online course. here are some thoughts that have come to me as I have experienced the joys of Personal Wellness online!!

-Get the textbook early, no time to mess around - and just as they say about bullies, it is easy to hide behind a computer screen - no pity from the online professor! Which makes me wonder, do you get the same kind of whining & requests for change, bonus points & re-do that a teacher gets in traditional, face-to-face classes? Seems as if there are many benefits to the online professorial job - although I would hate not knowing who I was helping, or being able to build supportive relationships with my students.
-Don't wait for the course syllabus. Contact the bookstore to see if they know the textbook needed. The professor posted the course requirements one day before the first three assignments were due; each of which needed the textbook!
-I missed the relationship building of a regular class. Although I did notice that there are a few names that I already search out on class discussion posts. One girl writes beautifully; I enjoy her thoughts and ideas.
-Some of this Personal Wellness stuff goes a bit deep. I am glad we are online. Middle Level Psych got that way, but not until the end of the semester, and you could choose to share.....or not. This one we had a required posting about out spiritual selves. We Brits don't do really that. It was tough.
-One assignment included taking the Presidential Fitness test. I wonder if I was the only student who actually took that?
-The professor obviously sees this as a truly easy gig with minimal effort, and no desire to help. A past master at letting you know who else might be able to answer your question rather than sending the answer directly to you herself.
- It was pretty funny comparing my 40-something answers to questions and experiences concerning diet, exercise, smoking, and the like, compared with the average 18-19 year old (on quitting smoking, mine was a discussion on the intent and desire needs to be 100%, it doesn't matter what tools and support are available without that deep desire to quit. The average student response was more along the lines of, 'there are many support systems in place and there is no reason that everyone can't just stop because there is something for everyone.')
- I did have to take my first zero though. One assignment was to watch a video & answer questions. The only problem was that the video is on Windows Media Player, which is inaccessible on a MAC. I did send an email to the professor to let her know, and to suggest that as an online course, it might be a good idea to include the fact that parts of the course suited PC users only in the course catalog. At the time that I type this, she has still not responded. The zero assignment is frustrating, but as it is valued at less than 1%, I will live.
- I have one more assignment and my final. Due 11:55pm tomorrow. Almost done!

Things I learned this semester!

A few of my favorite lessons learned in my fall semester experience.......

1. Never choose the third or final class of a professor's day. They think that they told you everything that they announced to prior classes. Plus, they have typically 'had enough' by then - and who cam blame them?

2. Many students live by the mantra, "if I whine enough, the professor will extend the due date, ease the criteria, give me a point back." - and it often might. The only problem is, not every student is wise enough to note that with some professors, the reaction is opposite to the desired effect. It would behoove students to determine attitude, prior to trying to change the rules and ease the burden.........

3. Some professors do not appreciate effort. They visibly regret offering up extra credit, and complain about having to grade it (most are joking, some are not!). The occasional professor will even complain when students attempt to make an extra effort to do additional work or go above and beyond.....

4. Participation points are an excellent tool for all. First to encourage class discussion and visible effort. Hey, points are points! Secondly it helps the student that needs hands-on learning and not just by rote. Third, it allows the prof to enforce students to take part. Last, but not least, since no one knows how/where said points are given, it gives the teacher control over helping a good student to make up points. They are going to be a part of my grading tool bag!

5. 1 point = 1% just doesn't seem to work fairly for grading, and puts too much onus on every little quiz.

6. Teachers really should share how they plan to assess each piece of work with their students. It is hard to do a really good job when the professor won't share what they are 'looking for'. The reverse of that, is that when the professor makes an effort to truly model the desired end-result, it creates an attitude shift, an understanding, and a far superior end result. Teachers and professors who have not received the memo about modeling outcomes, scaffolding learning, and allowing workshop time for one-on-one opportunities, really should check it out!

7. All teachers believe strongly that 'the man on the street' blames teachers for every generational issue or concern. Why blame the parents when you can blame a teacher? That is so very sad.

8. Finally, I learned how easy it is to buy into the 'do it for me, now!' mentality. I need to work on that next semester...........

Last but not least? I will never forget the professor who hurt my GPA last semester. I am grateful to her though, she taught me a vital lesson about the importance of communication, and rewarding hard work and effort. When you don't? It is kind of soul-destroying.

Merry Christmas everyone! Next blog will no doubt be on the joys of the online course experience as I take my Hawkeye minimester over break!

Fall Semester Continues On...

Being a student has really become a way of life now - although I will never quite be the same as my student peers, the non- traditional perspective is certainly different!! But doing homework, gossiping about professors, wearing sweatpants in social settings ( thank goodness I lost weight), yup, that's me!
But am I learning? Heck yes! Not always from my professors, mind you, but often from connections that I make from experiences to the lecture or discussion at hand - and wouldn't you know it? That is probably the single biggest learning curve about teaching.....teaching is all about building on experiences.....& when the experiences aren't there to connect to, creating the experience!
In my middle level psych class I learned why the Queen's School was so good, and what could change in New Hartford to help the kids I volunteer with. In Emergent Literacy, I am seeing and learning just how important read-alouds are, and what building blocks are missing for the kids whose parents didn't read to them, in Curriculum I've learned how to connect my experiences together to 'sell' my background, and am now working on an inter-disciplinary lesson plan that connects my literacy workshop knowledge from last year.
Yup, worksheets & memorizing don't give you long term knowledge, but connections do.....is this really news?!?!
Check out this great article, and make your own connections! http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2012/10/response_taking_advantage_of_our_neural_networks_in_the_classroom.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

'Everyone, to some extent, is odd'

Quote of the week - without any shade of doubt - comes from an article from my Middle Level Psych. class - an article named Health for Life. It says, "We have to admit that everyone, to some extent, is odd." I just love that!

The point of this particular article was to discuss the concerns of what used to be an 'individual quirk' that made someone stand out, different, individual...is now, more often than not, a reason for medication. The author questions where the divide is between a child needing help and a child whose personality should be embraced. A tough questions indeed; especially coming on top of 5 other articles that range from 'Medicating Young Minds' to 'As More Kids Train for Sports Like Pros, They're Suffering Grown-Up Injuries.' One of the articles even addresses the responsibility that teachers have to work with adolescents to watch for group pressure and to help guide them - which I thought was really more of a parent task, but evidently not!

 Which brings me to another thought......during my New Hartford RTI session on Friday, Mrs. Becker commented that the main difference between teaching now and when she started, 28 years ago, is that parents now expect teacher to bring up their kids for them. There is no concern about kids doing or not doing homework and she said that the only parents who get upset about kids having to stay late for their version of detention (much more pleasantly named 'ZAP')  when assignments are not completed, are the ones who are worried about their child missing a sports practice or, even worse, event.

Here's my favorite though - and we wonder why kids have the wrong focus - 6-8 students left their reading intervention early last week (they are in the class because their reading is well below standard) for a football game. Yes, it is OK to fail reading as long as you are in 'the team'.  Heck of a message. What happened to being benched until your grades met standard?

So, where was I? Oh yes, quote of the week! I think that a little bit of 'odd' is a good thing.......but then, too much odd, makes life tough for all around. So, who gets to make the decision about how much is too much?

There's the question to ask.

How much odd is too much?

And, what is normal, anyway?

New Semester

A new semester has started, and I haven't blogged in....well, forever! If I want to claim this as part of my Teacher Portfolio, then I probably should 'get with the program' and note my musings a tad more consistently!Summer was great. I went 'home' to England, taking Ben with me. Mother and Son had the most amazing experience seeing family, sightseeing and even checking out the Olympic preparations! It was truly wonderful and probably one of the hardest 'leaving England' times that I have had to date. I love the U.S., and could not wait to see Paul and Steph, but England was just FANTASTIC! I barely had time to catch my breath upon my return as it was off to play my RAGBRAI support role. Paul had his annual bike ride across Iowa, while I hiked and visited some of this great state myself. I also made the commitment to ride myself next year, so as I type this a couple of months later, it should be noted that the bike has been purchased and a few hundred miles already logged!Post RAGBRAI was Olympic immersion, and before I knew where I was at, I was back at school in the midst of a new semester; discovering first hand just how hard it is to get back into the swing of class work and tight schedules after my lovely summer! I haven't had 'a summer' since the last time that I was at University, and boy do I see the benefit of year-around schooling now! I am really struggling to get back into a system and get a jump ahead on my schoolwork - I didn't even have my binders ready on my first day back (very un-Bridget).After two weeks back I am beginning to get with the program, and I am sure as the dark arrives earlier and reduces the temptation - or possibility - to ride either bike or horse, the self-discipline will be easier to find!Wish me luck; it is a long semester ahead, filled with tests, papers and homework galore. Let's see if I can make that Dean's List for a third semester in a row!