Mediapolis had a revolving door at the elementary principal position. It was a big job serving over 600 kids in two buildings ten miles apart. There were lots of duties that came along with the job. The principal had told me all year long he was going to leave and he did. I wasn’t surprised and he was openly hostile towards the superintendent. He had very rigid ideas about how things should be done and he undermined the administration in not so subtle ways.
In my May 7, 1990 journal entry I reflect on my decision to leave teaching and become an administrator. I wrote that I really missed teaching but believed I had done the right thing. I also wrote that I had applied for a Director of Instruction position in Mt. Pleasant and I knew the elementary principal position at Mediapolis was going to be open. The superintendent had told me I could have that position if I wanted it.
I was interested in the job but was unsure about it because I had just completed the first year of the Curriculum Coordinator position and had a lot of things I thought needed to be done. The superintendent came to me again and said he just wanted to give me the job and not have to go through advertising and interviews.
It is always difficult in a situation like this. Do I hold out for the Mt. Pleasant job, take the elementary principal position, or just stay where I am?
On May 10th I wrote: “I’m really troubled about a decision have to make. I have to decide by Monday if I want to take the elementary principal position in Mediapolis. At this time I just don’t know what to do…sometimes I think I would be crazy not to take it. A lot of administrators would like to be principal of a 600 student building (it was really two buildings). That is larger than any in Mt. Pleasant. Deep in my heart I don’t want to leave Mt. Pleasant. I don’t know why or what is holding me there. I’ve always secretly wondered if I ever would. If I take the principal position I definitely would have to move to the area in a year or so. Maybe that would be best…”
The more I thought about the principal job the more interested I was. On May 15th I told the superintendent I would accept the position and he said he would make the recommendation to the board. They thought the position should be opened and then I could apply for it like everyone else. He was mad and I little disappointed. Actually, I was offended! The board had, in a vote of 2-3, said to avoid public criticism it would be best to open the job up and then they told the superintendent to encourage me to apply.
About the same time the principal was telling staff and the public he had been forced out. I knew that wasn’t true and besides when I first came into the district that principal had told me he planned to leave in a year. Nevertheless, criticism was widespread.
The board routinely went against the superintendent’s recommendations and I could see hostility building. I wasn’t comfortable with some of the things they did and their ethics.
I didn’t even get an interview for the Mt. Pleasant position. I probably shouldn’t even have applied but in the back of my mind I had hoped I could return to Mt. Pleasant.
Ultimately, I didn’t apply for the Mediapolis principal position (not this year anyway). I decided it was best to stick where I was at least one more year. I wanted to finish up my dissertation and thought it would be easier in that position than as a principal.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
90s04 Storytelling Takes Off
Stepping away from the classroom meant I stepped away from relationships and contact with kids. I have always been energized by the contact. I knew one way to continue it, in a reduced way, was to continue the storytelling in classrooms.
Wanting to do that and doing that are two different things. Teachers are protective of their classrooms and their instructional time and don’t want just anyone coming in. Somehow I had to build some credibility with them without forcing myself on them.
I don’t know for sure where I told my first story, in WACO or Mediapolis classrooms? I brief reference in my journal makes me think it might have been “Taily-po” in Linda Wilkerson’s classroom some time that fall. My storytelling slowly spread at WACO first and then at Mediapolis. I had a rule of never asking if I could tell stories in a classroom and always waiting for an invitation. That may have slowed me down but I wanted to make sure the teachers wanted me in their classrooms.
In the fall of 1990 I started keeping a log of each time I told stories in a classroom and what stories I used. By the end of September I had told stories in eleven different classrooms. Unfortunately, I didn’t always put the date in the log but by November 7, I had added an additional 26 for a total of 37 times. My reputation was growing! By Christmas break I was up to 62 storytelling sessions in classrooms. I was finding it difficult to keep up with all of the sessions let alone write them all down.
By the end of the school year I had told stories 123 times in classrooms. There are only 180 school days in a school year so I was obviously busy! I had been forced to start telling people no because I had so much other work to do. One good side effect was that I got to know the teachers and students and that paid off in the future. I’ll get to that later.
The pace tapered off considerably the second year partly because I was running out of stories and I was so busy with my job. Storytelling outside the district, in other schools and at other events picked up however. The word was out and I had to turn down many requests because I just didn’t have time.
I should have kept logging where, when and what stories I told but didn’t. It is a disadvantage when you are invited back to a place for the third or fourth time and you can’t remember the stories you told when you were there before. The kids didn’t usually seem to care if I told the same story more than once but I still tried not to do it.
The storytelling continues to this day and hopefully continues well into retirement. There is a magic to it and I love to see the story unfold in the eyes of the listeners. I worked at crafting the story to allow that magic to happen. I will write more about it another time.
Wanting to do that and doing that are two different things. Teachers are protective of their classrooms and their instructional time and don’t want just anyone coming in. Somehow I had to build some credibility with them without forcing myself on them.
I don’t know for sure where I told my first story, in WACO or Mediapolis classrooms? I brief reference in my journal makes me think it might have been “Taily-po” in Linda Wilkerson’s classroom some time that fall. My storytelling slowly spread at WACO first and then at Mediapolis. I had a rule of never asking if I could tell stories in a classroom and always waiting for an invitation. That may have slowed me down but I wanted to make sure the teachers wanted me in their classrooms.
In the fall of 1990 I started keeping a log of each time I told stories in a classroom and what stories I used. By the end of September I had told stories in eleven different classrooms. Unfortunately, I didn’t always put the date in the log but by November 7, I had added an additional 26 for a total of 37 times. My reputation was growing! By Christmas break I was up to 62 storytelling sessions in classrooms. I was finding it difficult to keep up with all of the sessions let alone write them all down.
By the end of the school year I had told stories 123 times in classrooms. There are only 180 school days in a school year so I was obviously busy! I had been forced to start telling people no because I had so much other work to do. One good side effect was that I got to know the teachers and students and that paid off in the future. I’ll get to that later.
The pace tapered off considerably the second year partly because I was running out of stories and I was so busy with my job. Storytelling outside the district, in other schools and at other events picked up however. The word was out and I had to turn down many requests because I just didn’t have time.
I should have kept logging where, when and what stories I told but didn’t. It is a disadvantage when you are invited back to a place for the third or fourth time and you can’t remember the stories you told when you were there before. The kids didn’t usually seem to care if I told the same story more than once but I still tried not to do it.
The storytelling continues to this day and hopefully continues well into retirement. There is a magic to it and I love to see the story unfold in the eyes of the listeners. I worked at crafting the story to allow that magic to happen. I will write more about it another time.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
90s03 German Lutherans
My parents went to church regularly most of their lives. As I have said before, Mom is from a Quaker background and Dad was from a Mennonite family. About the only thing that could keep Dad from church was a trip out to Merrimac arrowhead hunting.
As I have also said before, those trips were like a guided tour of that area of the county. One Sunday morning as we drove, well, I should say “wandered “up towards Walnut Creek to some of Dad’s choice spots we went a slightly different way. That route took us by the German Lutheran Church. It was an ancient structure along the road. Dad had talked many times about the Lutherans and how some of them were related to us.
He talked, too, about how many of the immigrants never learned English. The debate today about immigrents learning English has really been going on for generations. He remembered some of the old timers and could still tell stories about many of them.
I have been in that church at least twice in my life. Once when I was a young kid and then again, years later when Dad wanted to stop and go in. It was an old pioneer wooden structure that looked to be right out of an old photo album. The old structures have a sound of their own, as if all of the songs, all of the lives, all of the stories are still reverberating there.
So, on that Sunday morning, when we had skipped church, there just happened to be a service going on in that church. We didn’t go in. We were dressed in our hunting attire and it was hardly appropriate for church.
It was a warm and sunny April morning so the car windows were down. Dad, never one to drive fast, was driving slower than ever as if we were sneaking up on someone. As we got near the church we could clearly hear the singing in the old church. Dad stopped the car in the middle of the road.
“I love to tell the story”
The sound reverberated off the floor and walls of the old church and out the open windows. We just sat there in the middle of the road listening. I was a little nervous and looked back behind us to make sure someone wasn’t coming up on us. Dad just looked over at the church and listened.
“‘twill be my theme in glory,”
At the heart of any religion are the stories they tell and my father grew up knowing the power of stories. He delighted in hearing, as well as telling, the stories of the community and it’s people.
“to tell the old, old story”
Dad wasn’t someone who talked about his faith a lot. Both of my parents were that way. You knew about their faith by their actions and the stories they told. They were stories of honesty, hard work and the goodness of others. To this day I am amazed at my parent’s ability to not only not judge others but to expect the best of everyone.
“of Jesus and his love.”
After the song was over we drove off towards our destination and he started telling a story about an old German Lutheran woman who had been kind to him.
As I have also said before, those trips were like a guided tour of that area of the county. One Sunday morning as we drove, well, I should say “wandered “up towards Walnut Creek to some of Dad’s choice spots we went a slightly different way. That route took us by the German Lutheran Church. It was an ancient structure along the road. Dad had talked many times about the Lutherans and how some of them were related to us.
He talked, too, about how many of the immigrants never learned English. The debate today about immigrents learning English has really been going on for generations. He remembered some of the old timers and could still tell stories about many of them.
I have been in that church at least twice in my life. Once when I was a young kid and then again, years later when Dad wanted to stop and go in. It was an old pioneer wooden structure that looked to be right out of an old photo album. The old structures have a sound of their own, as if all of the songs, all of the lives, all of the stories are still reverberating there.
So, on that Sunday morning, when we had skipped church, there just happened to be a service going on in that church. We didn’t go in. We were dressed in our hunting attire and it was hardly appropriate for church.
It was a warm and sunny April morning so the car windows were down. Dad, never one to drive fast, was driving slower than ever as if we were sneaking up on someone. As we got near the church we could clearly hear the singing in the old church. Dad stopped the car in the middle of the road.
“I love to tell the story”
The sound reverberated off the floor and walls of the old church and out the open windows. We just sat there in the middle of the road listening. I was a little nervous and looked back behind us to make sure someone wasn’t coming up on us. Dad just looked over at the church and listened.
“‘twill be my theme in glory,”
At the heart of any religion are the stories they tell and my father grew up knowing the power of stories. He delighted in hearing, as well as telling, the stories of the community and it’s people.
“to tell the old, old story”
Dad wasn’t someone who talked about his faith a lot. Both of my parents were that way. You knew about their faith by their actions and the stories they told. They were stories of honesty, hard work and the goodness of others. To this day I am amazed at my parent’s ability to not only not judge others but to expect the best of everyone.
“of Jesus and his love.”
After the song was over we drove off towards our destination and he started telling a story about an old German Lutheran woman who had been kind to him.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
90s02 Whole Language
Whole language has always been a controversial topic in education. It is a simple philosophical way of thinking about teaching. Some believe that whole language means you don’t teach skills. Nothing could be further from the truth. You teach all of the skills you would in a traditional approach. They are just taught in the context of the whole text. So many published programs were so skill centered that kids never got around to reading a whole text. It was kind of like taking golf lessons but never getting to play golf. People who would do that soon lose interest in the game. That is what was happening with reading.
Teachers were so misinformed about the concept of whole language and the criticism that it never taught any skills, that many rejected the whole language idea without even understanding it. The truth was that it was strongly, and still is, supported by research. Book publishers didn’t like it because kids were reading library books and schools weren’t buying their expensive programs. They went to great lengths to discredit it and many teachers were unwittingly drawn into their deceit.
I started doing inservices and presentations about what I had done in my classroom. Teachers seemed very intrigued. Many were disenchanted with the basal program they were using and begged me to teach a class on the topic.
After I heard that over and over I decided to do just that. I wrote a course proposal that was approved by the AEA and a couple of the cooperating colleges. I think I taught it once on my own and then taught it with Jean Holtgrewe at the elementary building in Crawfordsville. We were overwhelmed at the response. Over twenty-five people signed up. Most of the teachers were from the Mediapolis or WACO districts.
We spent the whole class talking about the whole language philosophy, demonstrating lessons they could do in their classrooms and talking about improving instruction in general.
One of the most enjoyable parts was that each participant shared a favorite book and a possible activity class members might use or adapt to suit the needs of their students. Each of the weekly classes began with two or three of them sharing their story and activity. I loved to hear about the books and the creative ideas the teachers had about how to utilize them in instruction.
That course met on Monday evenings from late January through May. I am convinced that I learned more than those taking the class. Something about teaching generates enthusiasm and inquiry in me. It’s like charging a battery. Teaching energized me!
At some point in the class I decided to use the Helen Keller story about how she finally made the connection between the hand sign for water and the actual water. It’s that ah ha moment that education is all about. It is not always that dramatic but it is at the heart of what we do.
You are nothing if not a story. It’s up to you how good that story is.
Teachers were so misinformed about the concept of whole language and the criticism that it never taught any skills, that many rejected the whole language idea without even understanding it. The truth was that it was strongly, and still is, supported by research. Book publishers didn’t like it because kids were reading library books and schools weren’t buying their expensive programs. They went to great lengths to discredit it and many teachers were unwittingly drawn into their deceit.
I started doing inservices and presentations about what I had done in my classroom. Teachers seemed very intrigued. Many were disenchanted with the basal program they were using and begged me to teach a class on the topic.
After I heard that over and over I decided to do just that. I wrote a course proposal that was approved by the AEA and a couple of the cooperating colleges. I think I taught it once on my own and then taught it with Jean Holtgrewe at the elementary building in Crawfordsville. We were overwhelmed at the response. Over twenty-five people signed up. Most of the teachers were from the Mediapolis or WACO districts.
We spent the whole class talking about the whole language philosophy, demonstrating lessons they could do in their classrooms and talking about improving instruction in general.
One of the most enjoyable parts was that each participant shared a favorite book and a possible activity class members might use or adapt to suit the needs of their students. Each of the weekly classes began with two or three of them sharing their story and activity. I loved to hear about the books and the creative ideas the teachers had about how to utilize them in instruction.
That course met on Monday evenings from late January through May. I am convinced that I learned more than those taking the class. Something about teaching generates enthusiasm and inquiry in me. It’s like charging a battery. Teaching energized me!
At some point in the class I decided to use the Helen Keller story about how she finally made the connection between the hand sign for water and the actual water. It’s that ah ha moment that education is all about. It is not always that dramatic but it is at the heart of what we do.
You are nothing if not a story. It’s up to you how good that story is.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
90s01 Conferences and Conventions
I was 41 years old when I took the job as Curriculum Director for the Mediapolis and WACO school districts. I had been a teacher for 18 years so there were a lot of adjustments. Over the years as a teacher I attended a lot of conferences. I attended the Iowa Social Studies convention and presented. I regularly attended the Iowa Council of Teachers of English, served on their board and presented at several conferences. I also attended and presented at the annual fall conference of the Iowa Writing Project.
I always regarded them as highly professional experiences. I loved the stimulation and networking with colleagues who shared the same values about student learning and professional growth. I attended every session I could and I always came away from them recharged and inspired.
The first administrators’ convention I attended was something different! The first thing I noticed was that the sessions weren’t well attended. There were a lot of people at the conference but they weren’t going to the sessions. I soon discovered why that was happening. The sessions were terrible. The presenters weren’t well prepared and often seemed to be years behind the times. They didn’t reference research and when they did it often inferior stuff.
I guess I was disappointed because I had expected so much more! These were the leaders of our schools. These were people who were supposed to have a vision for education and strong knowledge and skills. I am sure some of them did but many perceived this conference as more of a vacation before school started.
I soon discovered that many of the conference attendees were off to the golf tournament. Others were shopping, hanging out at the venders’ booths or having a drink in a nearby bar and watching the baseball game. I am not opposed to any of those things but didn’t think the convention was the place to do those things. I was just used to a much higher standard. When I went to a conference I felt obligated to attend the sessions and engage in professional development. After all, why were we there if not for that?
Some of the venders had elaborate hospitality rooms at the conference. Free food and drink were abundant! I was amazed at what was available. I had heard of things like this in the business world but never imagined it in education. It was probably a violation of the gift law but I am sure no one even thought about it.
The free stuff (pencils, notepads and etc.) handed out at the venders’ booths was amazing. Several people, including me, went around filling our bags with all the goodies and taking the business cards of the sales people.
I still attend these conferences but don’t expect much more than to renew some old friendships. So I have become, to some extent, one of them. I still go thinking I am going to be challenged or inspired, but come home disappointed. I missed the stimulus and authenticity of the teachers’ conventions so I kept attending them even though I had crossed over to the other side, so to speak.
You are nothing if not a story. It’s up to you how good that story is.
I always regarded them as highly professional experiences. I loved the stimulation and networking with colleagues who shared the same values about student learning and professional growth. I attended every session I could and I always came away from them recharged and inspired.
The first administrators’ convention I attended was something different! The first thing I noticed was that the sessions weren’t well attended. There were a lot of people at the conference but they weren’t going to the sessions. I soon discovered why that was happening. The sessions were terrible. The presenters weren’t well prepared and often seemed to be years behind the times. They didn’t reference research and when they did it often inferior stuff.
I guess I was disappointed because I had expected so much more! These were the leaders of our schools. These were people who were supposed to have a vision for education and strong knowledge and skills. I am sure some of them did but many perceived this conference as more of a vacation before school started.
I soon discovered that many of the conference attendees were off to the golf tournament. Others were shopping, hanging out at the venders’ booths or having a drink in a nearby bar and watching the baseball game. I am not opposed to any of those things but didn’t think the convention was the place to do those things. I was just used to a much higher standard. When I went to a conference I felt obligated to attend the sessions and engage in professional development. After all, why were we there if not for that?
Some of the venders had elaborate hospitality rooms at the conference. Free food and drink were abundant! I was amazed at what was available. I had heard of things like this in the business world but never imagined it in education. It was probably a violation of the gift law but I am sure no one even thought about it.
The free stuff (pencils, notepads and etc.) handed out at the venders’ booths was amazing. Several people, including me, went around filling our bags with all the goodies and taking the business cards of the sales people.
I still attend these conferences but don’t expect much more than to renew some old friendships. So I have become, to some extent, one of them. I still go thinking I am going to be challenged or inspired, but come home disappointed. I missed the stimulus and authenticity of the teachers’ conventions so I kept attending them even though I had crossed over to the other side, so to speak.
You are nothing if not a story. It’s up to you how good that story is.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
80s52 The End of the 80s
This is the last piece about the 1980s for a while. I move on to the 1990s with next week’s blog. I left out a lot of the 80s and will have to return to those years some other time. The 90s will be full of interesting and somewhat controversial things. Some of the things will be kind of sensitive so I may have to be careful what I say so as not to offend others. I am not sure how I will handle that and still try to tell the truth.
Let me get back to the 80s. I see a reoccurring frustration that pops up in the journals as far back as the late 1970s. It is the prevalent notion that if we just ran education like business everything would be all right. Over the years there have been panels, round tables and all sort of articles about how business can tell us how to run education. I even had friends in business that would tell how they could straighten us out. It always really annoyed me! I saw greed, corruption, and dishonestly prevalent in business and I wondered what part they wanted us to adopt?
After hearing a speaker tell us about how we really need business input in telling us what kids need to know in life I wrote the following diatribe:
“Business wants quiet, content, happy workers…Company people, people who show up on time, do what they’re supposed to do, when they are supposed to do it and then go home grateful that they have a job. What we have are noisy, malcontent, unhappy workers who think the company is out to take advantage of them so they take advantage of the company. They do what they have to do in a bored, uninterested way and go home angry because they feel powerless to change their own future. Quiet, intimidated, grateful workers. “
Business is about maximizing profit at any cost. Maybe education is supposed to maximize learning at any cost. Hmmmm…if that’s it, we are gonna need a hell of a lot more money! Lately, we have learned again that business doesn’t have nearly all of the answers. In fact, I think maybe business could learn a lot from education.
* * *
In December, I lament that I am not writing in my journal as much as I should. That is a problem that I had for years. I wasn’t carrying it around as much and so I didn’t have it with me sometimes when I could be writing. As a teacher I had it in my classroom with me but didn’t carry it as much when I shifted to the new position.
Moving from the classroom to an administrator position was a big change for me. I remember sitting at my desk and realizing I could go to lunch anytime I wanted. I was so used to going at a certain time each day with the kids that I just kept doing it. I felt a little guilty if I took a minute longer than the teachers. Teachers are so schedule and calendar driven, and I was too for 18 years, that it is hard to break that pattern.
Let me get back to the 80s. I see a reoccurring frustration that pops up in the journals as far back as the late 1970s. It is the prevalent notion that if we just ran education like business everything would be all right. Over the years there have been panels, round tables and all sort of articles about how business can tell us how to run education. I even had friends in business that would tell how they could straighten us out. It always really annoyed me! I saw greed, corruption, and dishonestly prevalent in business and I wondered what part they wanted us to adopt?
After hearing a speaker tell us about how we really need business input in telling us what kids need to know in life I wrote the following diatribe:
“Business wants quiet, content, happy workers…Company people, people who show up on time, do what they’re supposed to do, when they are supposed to do it and then go home grateful that they have a job. What we have are noisy, malcontent, unhappy workers who think the company is out to take advantage of them so they take advantage of the company. They do what they have to do in a bored, uninterested way and go home angry because they feel powerless to change their own future. Quiet, intimidated, grateful workers. “
Business is about maximizing profit at any cost. Maybe education is supposed to maximize learning at any cost. Hmmmm…if that’s it, we are gonna need a hell of a lot more money! Lately, we have learned again that business doesn’t have nearly all of the answers. In fact, I think maybe business could learn a lot from education.
* * *
In December, I lament that I am not writing in my journal as much as I should. That is a problem that I had for years. I wasn’t carrying it around as much and so I didn’t have it with me sometimes when I could be writing. As a teacher I had it in my classroom with me but didn’t carry it as much when I shifted to the new position.
Moving from the classroom to an administrator position was a big change for me. I remember sitting at my desk and realizing I could go to lunch anytime I wanted. I was so used to going at a certain time each day with the kids that I just kept doing it. I felt a little guilty if I took a minute longer than the teachers. Teachers are so schedule and calendar driven, and I was too for 18 years, that it is hard to break that pattern.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
80s51 More Poems and Prayers
As I have said before, my journals are sprinkled with poems and prayers and other strange musings. Most of the time they were just ideas and I never returned to them. There are a few that were eventually revised several times. Most were in the former category.
After a early morning trip to work at Yarmouth I wrote the following:
On the road to Yarmouth
Early in the morning
Squinting through the haze
Searching the prairie
For the buffalo
Wallow in the dust
Shake, snort, stamp
Like a clouds shadow
Thousands slide across the landscape
Are you there, buffalo?
Was that you?
The pavement whines me
Back to reality
But for a moment I
Touched the thoughts
Of an ancient hunter.
9/20/89
I was often trying to think of poems I could use with kids. I think I used this one once and never got back to it.
Get up in the morning
Make your bed
Brush your teeth
Comb your head
Eat your breakfast
Off to school
Don’t forget your books
Don’t be a fool
Keep a smile on your face
Do your best
Work hard and
You’ll pass every test.
* * *
Write a poem about Christmas
Write a poem about fall
Write a poem about anything
Anything at all.
Write a poem about ceilings
Write a poem about walls
Write a poem about anything,
Anything at all.
11/19/89
The advantage of using your own poems with students is that you don’t have to worry about copyright issues. I don’t recall ever using this one with kids but might sometime.
Come on! Let’s go on a journey
Come on! Get into the boat
You take an oar and I’ll take an oar
We’ll paddle awhile, and then float.
Come on! Let’s go on a journey
Come on! Get into the boat
You bring a book; I’ll bring a book
We’ll read awhile as we float.
Come on! Let’s go on a journey
Come on! Get into the boat
You bring a pencil; I’ll bring some paper
We’ll write awhile as we float.
12/14/89
In 1989 the Berlin Wall came down in Germany. I have often tried to write about current events. I wrote about it in my journal and then followed with this poem.
Walls fall,
Gates open,
The world turns
A new face
Away from
The arms race.
12/19/89
I don’t know how many poems you have to write before you hit on a good one? My guess is, for me, it is not even as often as one in ten. Some would say I have never written a good one. Maybe I should say a poem that I am pleased with doesn’t come often. It doesn’t seem to be something I can force to happen. I just keep trying and when you least expect it, it happens. I would say that is another reason to write as much as you can as often as you can and see what happens.
After a early morning trip to work at Yarmouth I wrote the following:
On the road to Yarmouth
Early in the morning
Squinting through the haze
Searching the prairie
For the buffalo
Wallow in the dust
Shake, snort, stamp
Like a clouds shadow
Thousands slide across the landscape
Are you there, buffalo?
Was that you?
The pavement whines me
Back to reality
But for a moment I
Touched the thoughts
Of an ancient hunter.
9/20/89
I was often trying to think of poems I could use with kids. I think I used this one once and never got back to it.
Get up in the morning
Make your bed
Brush your teeth
Comb your head
Eat your breakfast
Off to school
Don’t forget your books
Don’t be a fool
Keep a smile on your face
Do your best
Work hard and
You’ll pass every test.
* * *
Write a poem about Christmas
Write a poem about fall
Write a poem about anything
Anything at all.
Write a poem about ceilings
Write a poem about walls
Write a poem about anything,
Anything at all.
11/19/89
The advantage of using your own poems with students is that you don’t have to worry about copyright issues. I don’t recall ever using this one with kids but might sometime.
Come on! Let’s go on a journey
Come on! Get into the boat
You take an oar and I’ll take an oar
We’ll paddle awhile, and then float.
Come on! Let’s go on a journey
Come on! Get into the boat
You bring a book; I’ll bring a book
We’ll read awhile as we float.
Come on! Let’s go on a journey
Come on! Get into the boat
You bring a pencil; I’ll bring some paper
We’ll write awhile as we float.
12/14/89
In 1989 the Berlin Wall came down in Germany. I have often tried to write about current events. I wrote about it in my journal and then followed with this poem.
Walls fall,
Gates open,
The world turns
A new face
Away from
The arms race.
12/19/89
I don’t know how many poems you have to write before you hit on a good one? My guess is, for me, it is not even as often as one in ten. Some would say I have never written a good one. Maybe I should say a poem that I am pleased with doesn’t come often. It doesn’t seem to be something I can force to happen. I just keep trying and when you least expect it, it happens. I would say that is another reason to write as much as you can as often as you can and see what happens.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
80s50 You Are Not a Teacher!
I remember sitting in the office of the Superintendent of one of the districts I would be serving as Curriculum Director and hearing him say, “You are not a teacher! You are not a teacher! You are not a teacher!”
I was shocked and didn’t respond. We moved on to other discussions but what he had said stuck in my head. I remember saying to myself, “I am a teacher and will always be one.”
I know what he was trying to do: to move me along in the transition from the classroom to an administrative role. He had good intentions but I wasn’t about to go along with it because I was sure teachers could think systemically and still be teachers. I was convinced that teachers and administrators didn’t have to be enemies. I was confident that I could help teachers and they could help me. I didn’t believe I had to have all of the answers and was willing to be vulnerable. Something so many others seemed so afraid to do. I knew it could be risky but believed that it was worth the risk.
I didn’t have the contempt for teachers that so many administrators seemed to have. I wasn’t sure how I would fit into the group. The six administrators I worked with in this role were a mixed bag. Some were professional and some left something to be desired.
Of the later, I was not amused by the jokes they told about teachers at administrative functions. I knew personally how difficult a teachers’ job was and wanted to honor them by treating them with respect and dignity. I wondered what kind of teachers some of these administrators had been. I am convinced that one of the qualifications for being an administrator should be having been a good teacher.
Some of those administrators ruled with an iron hand and tended to every possible detail that you can imagine. Others were hardly involved in the operation of the schools and saw themselves as more of a figurehead. They attended functions, represented the district, and expected the staff to do most of the hard work of running a school.
I need to say that not all the administrators I worked with treated teachers negatively but would say the majority did. I did work with some exceptional leaders. I promised myself that I would try to remember the good things they did and emulate them and remember the bad things and try to avoid those.
One of the unwritten rules is that you can’t be friends with the teachers you work with because you may have to fire someone. For me, that was all the more reason to have strong relationships. I believe it has always been easier to work with someone, provide constructive criticism, if I have a strong relationship with them. If I hardly know a person it is much more difficult to help them. I felt the same way about my students. Today, I think relationships are even more important than I thought back then.
I am still a teacher.
I was shocked and didn’t respond. We moved on to other discussions but what he had said stuck in my head. I remember saying to myself, “I am a teacher and will always be one.”
I know what he was trying to do: to move me along in the transition from the classroom to an administrative role. He had good intentions but I wasn’t about to go along with it because I was sure teachers could think systemically and still be teachers. I was convinced that teachers and administrators didn’t have to be enemies. I was confident that I could help teachers and they could help me. I didn’t believe I had to have all of the answers and was willing to be vulnerable. Something so many others seemed so afraid to do. I knew it could be risky but believed that it was worth the risk.
I didn’t have the contempt for teachers that so many administrators seemed to have. I wasn’t sure how I would fit into the group. The six administrators I worked with in this role were a mixed bag. Some were professional and some left something to be desired.
Of the later, I was not amused by the jokes they told about teachers at administrative functions. I knew personally how difficult a teachers’ job was and wanted to honor them by treating them with respect and dignity. I wondered what kind of teachers some of these administrators had been. I am convinced that one of the qualifications for being an administrator should be having been a good teacher.
Some of those administrators ruled with an iron hand and tended to every possible detail that you can imagine. Others were hardly involved in the operation of the schools and saw themselves as more of a figurehead. They attended functions, represented the district, and expected the staff to do most of the hard work of running a school.
I need to say that not all the administrators I worked with treated teachers negatively but would say the majority did. I did work with some exceptional leaders. I promised myself that I would try to remember the good things they did and emulate them and remember the bad things and try to avoid those.
One of the unwritten rules is that you can’t be friends with the teachers you work with because you may have to fire someone. For me, that was all the more reason to have strong relationships. I believe it has always been easier to work with someone, provide constructive criticism, if I have a strong relationship with them. If I hardly know a person it is much more difficult to help them. I felt the same way about my students. Today, I think relationships are even more important than I thought back then.
I am still a teacher.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
80s49 Big Changes
Life is full of choices. Sometimes you make the right ones and things go well. Sometimes you make the wrong ones and they come back to haunt you. And sometimes you make calculated choices that you know are the right thing to do but realize there might be some negative repercussions at some point later on.
That happened to me. I chose to be a teacher advocate, chief negotiator for our education association and the grievance chair for a while. Each put me at odds with the administration or school board from time to time. I knew there was a chance that at a later time it might be used against me.
It was. At least I think it was. In the spring 1989 I applied for an elementary principal position in our district. I got an interview but did not make the final cut. I can’t say for sure that my history in the district kept me out but strongly suspect it was a big factor. About the same time I applied for a job as a shared curriculum coordinator for the Mediapolis and WACO school districts. I was offered and took that position at a significant salary increase.
I was hurt that after 18 years of very successful teaching in the district I couldn’t get the principal job but realized it was time to move on and see what the future held for me. I thought there was a chance I could return to Mt. Pleasant at some point in the future. I’ll tell more about that when I get into the 90s stories.
The more I thought about the new job the more excited about it I got. I was interested in curriculum and staff development and this would be an opportunity for me to test my skills.
I had several people come to me and tell me they thought I should have gotten the Mt. Pleasant job. I hadn’t resigned from my teaching position because I hadn’t received a contract for the new one. I could tell administrators in Mt. Pleasant were suddenly nicer to me and a bit nervous. I couldn’t figure out what was up but wrote about their untypical behavior in my journal.
In the middle of May my principal came to me and asked me when I was going to resign. He pressured me to do it that day. It made me uncomfortable. I said I wasn’t going to resign until I got the contract for the new job. He said the board was meeting the next day and the superintendent wanted me to resign.
I did not and can only speculate about what was going on but have some suspicions. One was that there was considerable unhappiness in some quarters about me not getting the principal job and if I resigned it took some of the pressure off the administration.
A few days later I got the contract, signed it, and resigned from my teaching position. I was happy and some were happy I was gone. I started attending events in both schools and began to work on the transition out of the classroom. After being there 18 years, leaving teaching was a big transition.
You are nothing if not a story. It is up to you how good that story is.
That happened to me. I chose to be a teacher advocate, chief negotiator for our education association and the grievance chair for a while. Each put me at odds with the administration or school board from time to time. I knew there was a chance that at a later time it might be used against me.
It was. At least I think it was. In the spring 1989 I applied for an elementary principal position in our district. I got an interview but did not make the final cut. I can’t say for sure that my history in the district kept me out but strongly suspect it was a big factor. About the same time I applied for a job as a shared curriculum coordinator for the Mediapolis and WACO school districts. I was offered and took that position at a significant salary increase.
I was hurt that after 18 years of very successful teaching in the district I couldn’t get the principal job but realized it was time to move on and see what the future held for me. I thought there was a chance I could return to Mt. Pleasant at some point in the future. I’ll tell more about that when I get into the 90s stories.
The more I thought about the new job the more excited about it I got. I was interested in curriculum and staff development and this would be an opportunity for me to test my skills.
I had several people come to me and tell me they thought I should have gotten the Mt. Pleasant job. I hadn’t resigned from my teaching position because I hadn’t received a contract for the new one. I could tell administrators in Mt. Pleasant were suddenly nicer to me and a bit nervous. I couldn’t figure out what was up but wrote about their untypical behavior in my journal.
In the middle of May my principal came to me and asked me when I was going to resign. He pressured me to do it that day. It made me uncomfortable. I said I wasn’t going to resign until I got the contract for the new job. He said the board was meeting the next day and the superintendent wanted me to resign.
I did not and can only speculate about what was going on but have some suspicions. One was that there was considerable unhappiness in some quarters about me not getting the principal job and if I resigned it took some of the pressure off the administration.
A few days later I got the contract, signed it, and resigned from my teaching position. I was happy and some were happy I was gone. I started attending events in both schools and began to work on the transition out of the classroom. After being there 18 years, leaving teaching was a big transition.
You are nothing if not a story. It is up to you how good that story is.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
80s48 Evaluator Training
Legislation in the late 1980s mandated that all administrators in Iowa take an evaluator training course. Part of the rational was that there were incompetent teachers in the system and administrators were not doing anything about it. The Department of Education along with the School Administrators of Iowa designed the course with help from some professors at Iowa State.
I took the course with about 30 others. Most of those in attendance were already principals or superintendents. An administrator from a nearby district came to the high school library and taught the class. It lasted several evenings and had required attendance.
I was amazed by the cavalier attitude of many of the participants and the contempt they seemed to have for teachers in general. It made me wonder why many of these people were in education.
The course focused on what had been determined to be the effective elements of teacher evaluation. We watched videos, read and took notes as the course progressed.
The first element of teacher evaluation is the pre-observation conference. It takes place prior to the teacher observation. It is an opportunity for the teacher to give the evaluator an overview of what they will be seeing, answer any questions and agree on a focus for the observation.
The second part is the actual observation. We learned different ways of gathering data. The most common one was scripting. That was writing down every thing the teacher said. Another one just focused on the questions the teacher asked. What kind of questions were they asking? Did the teacher wait for a response, etc. Other times the observer might focus on the pattern the teacher used in calling on students. Do they call on one side of the room more than the other? Front more than back? Males more than females?
The observation was followed by some time for the observer to gather their notes and write up a summary document of some type. Then there is the post-observation conference when the evaluator shares their observations and conclusions with the teacher. The teacher is given a chance to respond and then both sign off on the document.
We watched video after video of teachers and scripted their words. It was tiring but over time I got better at it and could abbreviate a lot. Each person develops his or her own code.
Some of the participants openly made fun of the teachers in the videos and by their comments it was clear to me that some of them didn’t know what good teaching was. They seemed to like only the ones who taught the way they did and, from what I could observe, they must not have been very good teachers themselves. When I thought of some of the teachers they supervised it became clear to me why such incompetence was allowed to exist in education. Bad teachers become bad administrators and don’t really know what good instruction is so they couldn’t possibly evaluate effectively.
I finished in the top two or three in the class and was invited to take the follow-up training to be an instructor for the course. I did it because I really wanted to influence the way administrators did teacher observation.
You are nothing if not a story. It is up to you how good that story is.
I took the course with about 30 others. Most of those in attendance were already principals or superintendents. An administrator from a nearby district came to the high school library and taught the class. It lasted several evenings and had required attendance.
I was amazed by the cavalier attitude of many of the participants and the contempt they seemed to have for teachers in general. It made me wonder why many of these people were in education.
The course focused on what had been determined to be the effective elements of teacher evaluation. We watched videos, read and took notes as the course progressed.
The first element of teacher evaluation is the pre-observation conference. It takes place prior to the teacher observation. It is an opportunity for the teacher to give the evaluator an overview of what they will be seeing, answer any questions and agree on a focus for the observation.
The second part is the actual observation. We learned different ways of gathering data. The most common one was scripting. That was writing down every thing the teacher said. Another one just focused on the questions the teacher asked. What kind of questions were they asking? Did the teacher wait for a response, etc. Other times the observer might focus on the pattern the teacher used in calling on students. Do they call on one side of the room more than the other? Front more than back? Males more than females?
The observation was followed by some time for the observer to gather their notes and write up a summary document of some type. Then there is the post-observation conference when the evaluator shares their observations and conclusions with the teacher. The teacher is given a chance to respond and then both sign off on the document.
We watched video after video of teachers and scripted their words. It was tiring but over time I got better at it and could abbreviate a lot. Each person develops his or her own code.
Some of the participants openly made fun of the teachers in the videos and by their comments it was clear to me that some of them didn’t know what good teaching was. They seemed to like only the ones who taught the way they did and, from what I could observe, they must not have been very good teachers themselves. When I thought of some of the teachers they supervised it became clear to me why such incompetence was allowed to exist in education. Bad teachers become bad administrators and don’t really know what good instruction is so they couldn’t possibly evaluate effectively.
I finished in the top two or three in the class and was invited to take the follow-up training to be an instructor for the course. I did it because I really wanted to influence the way administrators did teacher observation.
You are nothing if not a story. It is up to you how good that story is.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Testing
I have written before about my students and letter writing. My students would write 500-600 letters a year. I have written about how it gave them a reason to write and had response built right in. I also used the letters to teach the importance of spelling and punctuation. The fact that letters have a specific format was another opportunity to teach and reinforce that format over time. We even stressed the importance of getting the envelope address right so it would get to the intended audience.
I used a U.S. Postal Service booklet that included all the rules for letter writing and addressing envelopes. The Postal Services recommend that envelopes be addressed with all capitol letters and no punctuation. That was contrary to the textbooks we were familiar with but I figured that since they were the ones delivering the mail they probably knew what worked best for them. With each new letter we wrote I made sure the students followed the recommended practice. It works perfect for the mail but there is a problem with it.
At that time the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) items related to letter writing followed the textbook model and not the Postal Services recommended model. Once a year during test time it presented a problem and students who wrote more letters in a year than most peole in their entire lives didn’t do well on that part of the test.
At the parent “Back to School Night” in September I asked the parents whether they thought I should teach addressing an envelope the right way or the ITBS way. To my surprise many said I should teach it the ITBS way because they wanted their kids to do well on the test. I got a similar response when I asked teachers during inservice sessions I led on letter writing.
Right or wrong the tests were consistent with the published textbooks. That was a startling revelation for me. I wondered how many other things were wrong? I wrote letters to ITBS and textbook publishers pointing out the discrepancy between what the test and their materials said should be taught and what the Postal Service recommends. I proudly addressed my envelopes to them in all capitols and used no punctuation. I got no response from anyone.
Fearing I was doing my students a disservice I showed them the textbook model and told them that was the way it would be on the test but urged them to stick with the Postal Service model when actually writing letters. That may have been teaching to the test but I was convinced that we should be teaching students the right way no matter what was on the test.
The troubling thing for me in all of this is that the test is more powerful than the truth and even knowing that people choose to teach the “test way” rather than the right way. Unfortunately, I would like to say that times have changed but they really haven’t when it comes to the power of tests. The good news is that textbooks and the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills now use the U.S. Postal Service model.
I used a U.S. Postal Service booklet that included all the rules for letter writing and addressing envelopes. The Postal Services recommend that envelopes be addressed with all capitol letters and no punctuation. That was contrary to the textbooks we were familiar with but I figured that since they were the ones delivering the mail they probably knew what worked best for them. With each new letter we wrote I made sure the students followed the recommended practice. It works perfect for the mail but there is a problem with it.
At that time the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) items related to letter writing followed the textbook model and not the Postal Services recommended model. Once a year during test time it presented a problem and students who wrote more letters in a year than most peole in their entire lives didn’t do well on that part of the test.
At the parent “Back to School Night” in September I asked the parents whether they thought I should teach addressing an envelope the right way or the ITBS way. To my surprise many said I should teach it the ITBS way because they wanted their kids to do well on the test. I got a similar response when I asked teachers during inservice sessions I led on letter writing.
Right or wrong the tests were consistent with the published textbooks. That was a startling revelation for me. I wondered how many other things were wrong? I wrote letters to ITBS and textbook publishers pointing out the discrepancy between what the test and their materials said should be taught and what the Postal Service recommends. I proudly addressed my envelopes to them in all capitols and used no punctuation. I got no response from anyone.
Fearing I was doing my students a disservice I showed them the textbook model and told them that was the way it would be on the test but urged them to stick with the Postal Service model when actually writing letters. That may have been teaching to the test but I was convinced that we should be teaching students the right way no matter what was on the test.
The troubling thing for me in all of this is that the test is more powerful than the truth and even knowing that people choose to teach the “test way” rather than the right way. Unfortunately, I would like to say that times have changed but they really haven’t when it comes to the power of tests. The good news is that textbooks and the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills now use the U.S. Postal Service model.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Challenge
Dick Shepardson, my advisor at the University of Iowa asked me to be part of a Southern Prairie AEA #15 teacher inservice day. It was to be held on August 29, 1986. He asked me to do two sessions on writing across the curriculum. One would be for the elementary and the other for secondary teachers. I agreed to do it and was excited about the opportunity.
The first part of the event was held at Ottumwa High School and teachers came from all of the districts in the AEA. My first session followed the keynote speaker session in the opening session. My session with the secondary teachers was held in a third floor classroom in the southwest corner of the building.
I arrived early, organized and reorganized my handouts, reviewed my notes over and over and waited. At last, teachers began to stream into the room. Seats in the back filled up and the teachers carried on a loud chatter. I waited awhile and then decided it was time to begin.
I started to welcome them to the session when a teacher named Jeff shouted out, “Who are you? What’s experience do you have? “ I was taken aback and didn’t know what to say. Gradually, I got my composure but things continued to go down hill. The teachers challenged every statement I made and didn’t even let me finish sentences. This went on for about 40 minutes and finally a teacher interrupted the disruptors and said they wanted to hear what I had to say. I did get to present for about 35 minutes and then I thanked them and ended the session.
Two or three of the participants came up afterward and told me how sorry they were about what had happened and apologized for the unprofessional behavior of the others. Still stunned I packed up my materials and headed for Evan’s Junior High for the elementary presentation. I felt like I had been beaten up and was exhausted!
The contrast between the morning session with the secondary teachers and the afternoon session with the elementary teachers couldn’t be over emphasized. The afternoon was a great session! It went so well and I was so buoyed by it that I forgot all about the morning session until I was well over half way home to Mt. Pleasant.
Postscript: Two years later I was the afternoon instructor for an Iowa Writing Project Institute held in the Ottumwa High School Library. Jeff, who said he thought he knew me from someplace, was in the class. I knew exactly where he had met me before but I didn’t tell him. He struggled in the class like many but came dramatically around after about two and a half weeks. He said he was changing the way he did everything. One of the last days it must of dawned on him where he had seen me before.
He came to me after lunch and he said, “Do you know who I am?”
I said, “Yes, you’re Jeff.”
And he said, “No, no! Do you know who I am?”
I said, “Yes Jeff, I know who you are. The inservice a couple years ago.”
His face went white and he said, “I’m so sorry!” He went on and apologized over and over.
I told him to forget about it. He had actually changed his practice and I couldn’t have ever hoped for anything better.
The first part of the event was held at Ottumwa High School and teachers came from all of the districts in the AEA. My first session followed the keynote speaker session in the opening session. My session with the secondary teachers was held in a third floor classroom in the southwest corner of the building.
I arrived early, organized and reorganized my handouts, reviewed my notes over and over and waited. At last, teachers began to stream into the room. Seats in the back filled up and the teachers carried on a loud chatter. I waited awhile and then decided it was time to begin.
I started to welcome them to the session when a teacher named Jeff shouted out, “Who are you? What’s experience do you have? “ I was taken aback and didn’t know what to say. Gradually, I got my composure but things continued to go down hill. The teachers challenged every statement I made and didn’t even let me finish sentences. This went on for about 40 minutes and finally a teacher interrupted the disruptors and said they wanted to hear what I had to say. I did get to present for about 35 minutes and then I thanked them and ended the session.
Two or three of the participants came up afterward and told me how sorry they were about what had happened and apologized for the unprofessional behavior of the others. Still stunned I packed up my materials and headed for Evan’s Junior High for the elementary presentation. I felt like I had been beaten up and was exhausted!
The contrast between the morning session with the secondary teachers and the afternoon session with the elementary teachers couldn’t be over emphasized. The afternoon was a great session! It went so well and I was so buoyed by it that I forgot all about the morning session until I was well over half way home to Mt. Pleasant.
Postscript: Two years later I was the afternoon instructor for an Iowa Writing Project Institute held in the Ottumwa High School Library. Jeff, who said he thought he knew me from someplace, was in the class. I knew exactly where he had met me before but I didn’t tell him. He struggled in the class like many but came dramatically around after about two and a half weeks. He said he was changing the way he did everything. One of the last days it must of dawned on him where he had seen me before.
He came to me after lunch and he said, “Do you know who I am?”
I said, “Yes, you’re Jeff.”
And he said, “No, no! Do you know who I am?”
I said, “Yes Jeff, I know who you are. The inservice a couple years ago.”
His face went white and he said, “I’m so sorry!” He went on and apologized over and over.
I told him to forget about it. He had actually changed his practice and I couldn’t have ever hoped for anything better.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Decisions
Life has a way of working out. Maybe it’s just fate or maybe it’s making the right decisions at the right times. I have been very fortunate in many ways. I seemed to usually make the right decisions that placed me in a good position to advance in my profession.
Odds were against me graduating from college. As I have written before, I jumped from one major to another. As a business major I found the course work easy but boring. As a physical education major I was uninspired. Although I could have done the course work in English I lacked a lot of confidence in that area. Elementary education seemed to be the place I could make the biggest difference.
For years people asked me if I was either going to take classes and work up to being a high school teacher or become an administrator. I was a little offended and replied “no way” to both questions. I loved teaching and couldn’t see myself doing anything else.
I was offended that some people thought that you had to have more training to be a secondary teacher. My teaching license is k-9 so I could teach high school classes. I did teach junior and high school classes in Mt. Pleasant School District’s summer school program. Generally, secondary teachers are content area experts while elementary teachers are generalists with expertise in the delivery of instruction.
Since I didn’t have much respect for many of the administrators I worked with, I was offended that people would think I would want to be one of them. I did work with a few good ones and was grateful for the opportunity. Some weren’t good teachers in the first place and so it was pretty difficult for them to supervise and evaluate teachers.
As I continued to take classes however I began to entertain options. I wondered where all of the education would take me. I knew I could be happy being a fourth grade teacher the rest of my life. I can’t say increased pay wasn’t a factor because, of course, it was. I’ll explain more in a minute.
As I continued to take classes, I decided to take enough courses to get a principal’s license in case I ever wanted to be one. I deliberately avoided getting a degree in school administration and stuck with being a generalist with an emphasis on reading. I thought that perhaps I could be a curriculum coordinator somewhere.
So what caused me to change besides money? Well, one was opportunity. With an advanced degree comes opportunity. Second was family. I felt I my family had endured a lot getting me this far and I owed it to them to make more money.
Maybe the most compelling reason was my frustration with many of the administrators I worked with over the years. I was convinced that it didn’t have to be like that. Lastly, I felt I could have a larger influence on education as an administrator.
Do I regret becoming one? Yes, I miss teaching and relationships with kids, but still think it was the right thing to do. Maybe I’ll teach again?
Odds were against me graduating from college. As I have written before, I jumped from one major to another. As a business major I found the course work easy but boring. As a physical education major I was uninspired. Although I could have done the course work in English I lacked a lot of confidence in that area. Elementary education seemed to be the place I could make the biggest difference.
For years people asked me if I was either going to take classes and work up to being a high school teacher or become an administrator. I was a little offended and replied “no way” to both questions. I loved teaching and couldn’t see myself doing anything else.
I was offended that some people thought that you had to have more training to be a secondary teacher. My teaching license is k-9 so I could teach high school classes. I did teach junior and high school classes in Mt. Pleasant School District’s summer school program. Generally, secondary teachers are content area experts while elementary teachers are generalists with expertise in the delivery of instruction.
Since I didn’t have much respect for many of the administrators I worked with, I was offended that people would think I would want to be one of them. I did work with a few good ones and was grateful for the opportunity. Some weren’t good teachers in the first place and so it was pretty difficult for them to supervise and evaluate teachers.
As I continued to take classes however I began to entertain options. I wondered where all of the education would take me. I knew I could be happy being a fourth grade teacher the rest of my life. I can’t say increased pay wasn’t a factor because, of course, it was. I’ll explain more in a minute.
As I continued to take classes, I decided to take enough courses to get a principal’s license in case I ever wanted to be one. I deliberately avoided getting a degree in school administration and stuck with being a generalist with an emphasis on reading. I thought that perhaps I could be a curriculum coordinator somewhere.
So what caused me to change besides money? Well, one was opportunity. With an advanced degree comes opportunity. Second was family. I felt I my family had endured a lot getting me this far and I owed it to them to make more money.
Maybe the most compelling reason was my frustration with many of the administrators I worked with over the years. I was convinced that it didn’t have to be like that. Lastly, I felt I could have a larger influence on education as an administrator.
Do I regret becoming one? Yes, I miss teaching and relationships with kids, but still think it was the right thing to do. Maybe I’ll teach again?
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Number 200
This is my 200th official piece. I have written others and posted a few of them, too, but this is the 200th week in a row that I have posted my writing. I set out the first year to write about the first twelve years of my life. I don’t remember much before 1950 so it is really the decade between 1950 and 1960. That was the first fifty-two stories. Then I wrote one each week for a year about the 60s. That was followed by fifty-two about the 70s and now this one is the forty-forth of the 80s.
When I get these done I’ll move on to the 90s. After that I may take a break for while. More on that later. The more recent they are more sensitive I need to be. When I write about experiences in education I can expect to touch on some pretty sensitive issues.
The more recent the more I remember so the more I can write about. I kept a lot of notes as a principal as well as a journal. There is a wealth of stuff to write about!
My original intent was to tell stories about my youth that might be of interest to our children and grandchildren and beyond. Now retelling the stories of my life are as much for me as for anyone. Some are interesting and others are dreadfully boring but need to be told. Some are not really stories but musings from my journal.
I have discovered that it is impossible to cover a decade of your life in fifty-two installments. I left out many things and did not elaborate on others. I think when I get through the 90s, which will be about a year and a half from now, that I will go back and revisit the decade and tell some of the things I left out.
My intent initially was not only to tell the stories but also to practice being a writer. I am really convinced that to be a successful writer you have to do a lot of writing to practice the skills. I don’t know if I have improved or not? Some of my stories have been published in the Mt. Pleasant paper. I haven’t sought to publish them beyond that.
One of the things I had hoped for was more response from readers. I have gotten very little of that. I don’t know if the writing is so bad that people don’t know what to say or nobody is reading it.
I know some of my recollections are not accurate and I have expected people to correct me on a few points but that hasn’t happened. I can see why journalists like even negative response about their writing because they at least know someone read it even if they didn’t agree with them.
Oh well! Response isn’t everything. I’ll keep writing and maybe seek a wider audience at some point. For now the process has been fascinating for me.
When I get these done I’ll move on to the 90s. After that I may take a break for while. More on that later. The more recent they are more sensitive I need to be. When I write about experiences in education I can expect to touch on some pretty sensitive issues.
The more recent the more I remember so the more I can write about. I kept a lot of notes as a principal as well as a journal. There is a wealth of stuff to write about!
My original intent was to tell stories about my youth that might be of interest to our children and grandchildren and beyond. Now retelling the stories of my life are as much for me as for anyone. Some are interesting and others are dreadfully boring but need to be told. Some are not really stories but musings from my journal.
I have discovered that it is impossible to cover a decade of your life in fifty-two installments. I left out many things and did not elaborate on others. I think when I get through the 90s, which will be about a year and a half from now, that I will go back and revisit the decade and tell some of the things I left out.
My intent initially was not only to tell the stories but also to practice being a writer. I am really convinced that to be a successful writer you have to do a lot of writing to practice the skills. I don’t know if I have improved or not? Some of my stories have been published in the Mt. Pleasant paper. I haven’t sought to publish them beyond that.
One of the things I had hoped for was more response from readers. I have gotten very little of that. I don’t know if the writing is so bad that people don’t know what to say or nobody is reading it.
I know some of my recollections are not accurate and I have expected people to correct me on a few points but that hasn’t happened. I can see why journalists like even negative response about their writing because they at least know someone read it even if they didn’t agree with them.
Oh well! Response isn’t everything. I’ll keep writing and maybe seek a wider audience at some point. For now the process has been fascinating for me.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Storytelling
I think I have always been a storyteller. For that matter I think everyone is a storyteller and many just don’t realize it. Some are more truthful than others. Some tell for the sake of the story and others endeavor to tell the truth. The former are entertainers and the latter are historians.
My Mom laughed about my storytelling abilities when I was younger. I could mix the truth with fiction with great skill. That is not to say that I lied all of the time because I didn’t. I was basically an honest kid but could twist the truth from time to time. Often I didn’t expect people to take me seriously.
As a teacher, sometimes people did take me seriously when I never expected that they would. The school district had purchased a small but powerful telescope for us in the classroom. In fourth grade we had a science unit on the earth, moon and the planets. I used the telescope a few times with good success.
I don’t remember exactly what the particular phenomenon was but do recall that the moon was supposed to be brighter or closer than usual for some reason. I decided to invite students and families to an evening event at Manning where we would look at the moon with and without the telescope.
I prepared a note to go home with the kids and then tried to pitch the event with the students. There were lots of questions about what the moon would look like and what details we might see. Someone asked if we would be able to see the flag the astronauts planted there several years earlier. In my zeal I said, “Sure! Not only that but we will be able to see the footprints they left on the moon.”
That evening during supper at our house I got a call from Jake Iles, the father of one of my students. He was trying to unravel the tale his son had come home from school and told him. “What’s this about the moon tonight” he said. I explained that families were invited to come to the school and take a look at the moon that evening. “I understand that part but what’s this about seeing the astronauts footprints.” He was dead serious!
I burst out laughing! Then I had to explain that I had in fact said that but never expected the kids to believe me much less go home and tell their parents. I think Jake was only slightly amused. He knew it couldn’t be possible but his son was adamant that was what I had said. He did show up that evening with his son and took a look at the moon through the telescope. By then he was joking about it himself.
I learned to be a little more cautious about what I said realizing that people will believe just about anything under the right circumstances, even when the tale is so far fetched that you think no one could possibly believe it. My story “Grandpa’s Catfish” is a good example. I will tell it in a future piece.
My Mom laughed about my storytelling abilities when I was younger. I could mix the truth with fiction with great skill. That is not to say that I lied all of the time because I didn’t. I was basically an honest kid but could twist the truth from time to time. Often I didn’t expect people to take me seriously.
As a teacher, sometimes people did take me seriously when I never expected that they would. The school district had purchased a small but powerful telescope for us in the classroom. In fourth grade we had a science unit on the earth, moon and the planets. I used the telescope a few times with good success.
I don’t remember exactly what the particular phenomenon was but do recall that the moon was supposed to be brighter or closer than usual for some reason. I decided to invite students and families to an evening event at Manning where we would look at the moon with and without the telescope.
I prepared a note to go home with the kids and then tried to pitch the event with the students. There were lots of questions about what the moon would look like and what details we might see. Someone asked if we would be able to see the flag the astronauts planted there several years earlier. In my zeal I said, “Sure! Not only that but we will be able to see the footprints they left on the moon.”
That evening during supper at our house I got a call from Jake Iles, the father of one of my students. He was trying to unravel the tale his son had come home from school and told him. “What’s this about the moon tonight” he said. I explained that families were invited to come to the school and take a look at the moon that evening. “I understand that part but what’s this about seeing the astronauts footprints.” He was dead serious!
I burst out laughing! Then I had to explain that I had in fact said that but never expected the kids to believe me much less go home and tell their parents. I think Jake was only slightly amused. He knew it couldn’t be possible but his son was adamant that was what I had said. He did show up that evening with his son and took a look at the moon through the telescope. By then he was joking about it himself.
I learned to be a little more cautious about what I said realizing that people will believe just about anything under the right circumstances, even when the tale is so far fetched that you think no one could possibly believe it. My story “Grandpa’s Catfish” is a good example. I will tell it in a future piece.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Professionals
Teachers have demanded to be treated as professionals over the years. For the most part I have supported and actually fought for that kind of recognition. I have hated axioms like: “Those who can do. Those who can’t teach.” I think they are unfair and misrepresent the truth. I have heard things like “if education was run like a business things would be a lot different.” Given businesses track record over the years, especially recently, I don’t think we want education to emulate it.
There are, of course, plenty of areas where we can improve. One that I wrote about at length in one of the 80s journals was my frustration with teachers who didn’t want to take any professional development classes or graduate courses. They complained loudly about continuing education and claimed that it was a waste of time. If they did take a class they wanted it to be easy, quick and cheap. They don’t want to do any work. I could hardly believe it when I heard things like that from teachers. I always wondered what they would say if their students acted like that. I wondered what sort of educators could fell that way about education.
I taught a whole language class at the elementary school in Crawfordsville. I remember at the first session the room being full of teachers. There were to male teachers in the group from Morning Sun or Wapello. I can’t remember which?
My practice was to outline the course and my expectations at the first session. I thought folks should know what to expect. I did that this time. It included that each person would have a project; there would be lots of group work and reading.
During the break the two guys came up and said they were dropping the course. They were disgusted that they would actually have to do something during the class. They told me they expected me to lecture and all they had to do was sit there and listen. One of them even said, “I’ve paid the money! Teach me! I don’t want to do anything. Just tell me what I need to know.”
That kind of attitude is a crime against education and goes against all we know about learning. I felt it was unethical, unprofessional and deceptive since they were going to get paid more after completing the class. I can only imagine what kind of teachers these guys were. Others in the class told me the guys were lazy and had bad reputations as teachers. I knew the type from personal experience.
The boldness of the two guys startled me. They didn’t take the class and I was not a bit sorry to see them walk out. Educators, in order to be professionals, need to eagerly, aggressively pursue continuing education. If teachers were paid better they might take more classes, but they should be making enough that they don’t take a course just for the money. Unfortunately, nothing much has changed since I wrote about this twenty years ago.
There are, of course, plenty of areas where we can improve. One that I wrote about at length in one of the 80s journals was my frustration with teachers who didn’t want to take any professional development classes or graduate courses. They complained loudly about continuing education and claimed that it was a waste of time. If they did take a class they wanted it to be easy, quick and cheap. They don’t want to do any work. I could hardly believe it when I heard things like that from teachers. I always wondered what they would say if their students acted like that. I wondered what sort of educators could fell that way about education.
I taught a whole language class at the elementary school in Crawfordsville. I remember at the first session the room being full of teachers. There were to male teachers in the group from Morning Sun or Wapello. I can’t remember which?
My practice was to outline the course and my expectations at the first session. I thought folks should know what to expect. I did that this time. It included that each person would have a project; there would be lots of group work and reading.
During the break the two guys came up and said they were dropping the course. They were disgusted that they would actually have to do something during the class. They told me they expected me to lecture and all they had to do was sit there and listen. One of them even said, “I’ve paid the money! Teach me! I don’t want to do anything. Just tell me what I need to know.”
That kind of attitude is a crime against education and goes against all we know about learning. I felt it was unethical, unprofessional and deceptive since they were going to get paid more after completing the class. I can only imagine what kind of teachers these guys were. Others in the class told me the guys were lazy and had bad reputations as teachers. I knew the type from personal experience.
The boldness of the two guys startled me. They didn’t take the class and I was not a bit sorry to see them walk out. Educators, in order to be professionals, need to eagerly, aggressively pursue continuing education. If teachers were paid better they might take more classes, but they should be making enough that they don’t take a course just for the money. Unfortunately, nothing much has changed since I wrote about this twenty years ago.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
More from the Journal
Simple words
Spark thoughts
That strike the mind
With a clamor,
And churn the heart.
Sometimes I kept more than one journal. One was a study journal for my Ph.D. comprehensive exams. Another was a journal about my teaching. Another one was about my life in general and there was one for the “Journaling Your Faith” class I was facilitating at church. Crazy! Things kept spilling into the wrong journals. Sometimes I wrote about family things in the teaching journal and teaching things in the family journal. It was impossible to keep things separate and a poem could pop up anywhere.
Catapulted back to my youth
What sight or scent or sound
Triggered the flight
I do not know.
Was it the taste of springtime in the air
Or the sight of new life growing all around?
Or was it muffled music
Carried on the wind?
I can’t be sure by what it was prompted.
But for a moment
Thought transcended time.
I wanted to see a face, talk to a friend
But I was back before I realized I was gone.
My recommendation would be to keep one journal and use it for everything. It may be a little harder to find things but it is much easier not to have to worry about which journal you are writing.
Angie graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School in the spring of 1986. We had a family gathering on our Patio to celebrate the event. It was fun and we were very proud of Angie. She was off to Iowa Wesleyan that fall.
I took my Ph. D. comprehensive exams that summer. There were in three exams. One was a general exam of education. The second was in reading because that was my area of emphasis and the last one was in school administration because we have to have one in a cognate area. I had three hours to answer the questions in each area so the entire exam was spread over two days. You study for these things by reading everything you possibly can for about two years and hope they ask you questions you know something about.
I was just amazed that I had made it this far. I wasn’t sure I was going to get through high school and now I was knocking on the door for a Ph. D. Many who do make it this far, through their comps, never finished the dissertation. I was bound and determined that wasn’t going to happen to me.
When I went to defend my answers the committee welcomed me into the room and then sent me out for their deliberations. In a few minutes they asked me back into the room. I thought that was a bad sign but they surprised me by saying, “We have no questions. Let’s talk about what you might do for your dissertation.” I was thrilled!
In May of 1986 I wrote: “I think journaling had a profound affect on my growth. Through journaling I’ve made connections I would have never made and discoveries have evolved that may not have happened otherwise. Journaling isn’t for everybody, but it sure is for me. Besides the growth and discovery gained from the journaling they are priceless records of life experiences.”
Spark thoughts
That strike the mind
With a clamor,
And churn the heart.
Sometimes I kept more than one journal. One was a study journal for my Ph.D. comprehensive exams. Another was a journal about my teaching. Another one was about my life in general and there was one for the “Journaling Your Faith” class I was facilitating at church. Crazy! Things kept spilling into the wrong journals. Sometimes I wrote about family things in the teaching journal and teaching things in the family journal. It was impossible to keep things separate and a poem could pop up anywhere.
Catapulted back to my youth
What sight or scent or sound
Triggered the flight
I do not know.
Was it the taste of springtime in the air
Or the sight of new life growing all around?
Or was it muffled music
Carried on the wind?
I can’t be sure by what it was prompted.
But for a moment
Thought transcended time.
I wanted to see a face, talk to a friend
But I was back before I realized I was gone.
My recommendation would be to keep one journal and use it for everything. It may be a little harder to find things but it is much easier not to have to worry about which journal you are writing.
Angie graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School in the spring of 1986. We had a family gathering on our Patio to celebrate the event. It was fun and we were very proud of Angie. She was off to Iowa Wesleyan that fall.
I took my Ph. D. comprehensive exams that summer. There were in three exams. One was a general exam of education. The second was in reading because that was my area of emphasis and the last one was in school administration because we have to have one in a cognate area. I had three hours to answer the questions in each area so the entire exam was spread over two days. You study for these things by reading everything you possibly can for about two years and hope they ask you questions you know something about.
I was just amazed that I had made it this far. I wasn’t sure I was going to get through high school and now I was knocking on the door for a Ph. D. Many who do make it this far, through their comps, never finished the dissertation. I was bound and determined that wasn’t going to happen to me.
When I went to defend my answers the committee welcomed me into the room and then sent me out for their deliberations. In a few minutes they asked me back into the room. I thought that was a bad sign but they surprised me by saying, “We have no questions. Let’s talk about what you might do for your dissertation.” I was thrilled!
In May of 1986 I wrote: “I think journaling had a profound affect on my growth. Through journaling I’ve made connections I would have never made and discoveries have evolved that may not have happened otherwise. Journaling isn’t for everybody, but it sure is for me. Besides the growth and discovery gained from the journaling they are priceless records of life experiences.”
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Mt. Pleasant SIWP
With some support from Jim Davis I organized and directed a Southeast Iowa Writing Project institute in Mt. Pleasant. It was held in the cafeteria of the high school. I had dreams of it being packed with local teachers. The truth is I had to beg people to take it even though they got four hours of graduate credit and a stipend to participate.
I was disappointed and confused about the reluctance of teachers to participate. Perhaps I had come out too strong or something. Teachers who I thought would embrace the idea were not even interested. I am afraid some just didn’t want to admit that it might be good for them and their students. Teachers are an interesting group that are sometimes turned off if innovation comes from a colleague, but will readily accept it if they perceive it is from the outside. I was the morning instructor in this institute and many didn’t feel I had anything to offer them that they didn’t already know.
Karen Pelz was the afternoon instructor for the class. She had 20 years of experience at the university level. We met at a training session in the spring. She was a kind and gentle person and we got along well. Her job was to respond to the participant writing. My job was to get the participants to look at research and professional opinion and their own practice.
Twenty-one teachers signed up to participate in the institute. Thirteen of them were from the Mt. Pleasant district or a local pre-school. The rest were from Burlington, Winfield Mt. Union, WACO, Fairfield, Wapello, Iowa Wesleyan College and Central Lee.
Use of facilities, computers, and copy machines had to be arranged. I note in my journal that the secondary administrators were uncooperative. The high school English teachers were the same way. None of them participated. I thought they would have embraced it and realized that their students would benefit. Part of it, I think, was that they just didn’t think they could learn anything from an elementary teacher.
Just a few days before the institute we were informed that computer lab would be off limits for us even though the room sat empty during the entire three-week institute. The high school principal and the computer teacher just decided they didn’t want us to use it. Maybe they thought if they made it difficult for us we would go away. They moved the class from the school library to the school cafeteria. One was a comfortable learning environment amd the other was very uncomfortable. To this day I am not sure who was behind the whole thing but do know there were jokes about it among the administrators.
It had something to do with jealousy and not wanting others to be successful or receive any kind of recognition. I have since heard it described as the “tall poppy syndrome” in Australia. In a poppy field if one poppy grows a lot taller than all the others it is chopped off so the field looks uniform. In education if one of the teachers excels above the others some try to “cut them off” so the others don’t look bad. A strange practice for educators!
I was disappointed and confused about the reluctance of teachers to participate. Perhaps I had come out too strong or something. Teachers who I thought would embrace the idea were not even interested. I am afraid some just didn’t want to admit that it might be good for them and their students. Teachers are an interesting group that are sometimes turned off if innovation comes from a colleague, but will readily accept it if they perceive it is from the outside. I was the morning instructor in this institute and many didn’t feel I had anything to offer them that they didn’t already know.
Karen Pelz was the afternoon instructor for the class. She had 20 years of experience at the university level. We met at a training session in the spring. She was a kind and gentle person and we got along well. Her job was to respond to the participant writing. My job was to get the participants to look at research and professional opinion and their own practice.
Twenty-one teachers signed up to participate in the institute. Thirteen of them were from the Mt. Pleasant district or a local pre-school. The rest were from Burlington, Winfield Mt. Union, WACO, Fairfield, Wapello, Iowa Wesleyan College and Central Lee.
Use of facilities, computers, and copy machines had to be arranged. I note in my journal that the secondary administrators were uncooperative. The high school English teachers were the same way. None of them participated. I thought they would have embraced it and realized that their students would benefit. Part of it, I think, was that they just didn’t think they could learn anything from an elementary teacher.
Just a few days before the institute we were informed that computer lab would be off limits for us even though the room sat empty during the entire three-week institute. The high school principal and the computer teacher just decided they didn’t want us to use it. Maybe they thought if they made it difficult for us we would go away. They moved the class from the school library to the school cafeteria. One was a comfortable learning environment amd the other was very uncomfortable. To this day I am not sure who was behind the whole thing but do know there were jokes about it among the administrators.
It had something to do with jealousy and not wanting others to be successful or receive any kind of recognition. I have since heard it described as the “tall poppy syndrome” in Australia. In a poppy field if one poppy grows a lot taller than all the others it is chopped off so the field looks uniform. In education if one of the teachers excels above the others some try to “cut them off” so the others don’t look bad. A strange practice for educators!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Journal Entry
The teaching journal I kept for the SWIP III is fascinating reading for me. I am continually amazed as I read the entries. Each one is a story. Some were beginnings and some were endings. The following is a part of a journal entry from January 15, 1985.
In language, of course, we have been doing a lot of writing and nothing else. I have done some grammar, punctuation, and capitalization instruction a long with the writing but not much. There isn’t a single person in my room (including the teacher) who can’t communicate better now than at the beginning of the school year. We have done some additional work together on sentence parts. This was done as a whole class activity. (I don’t know if that is better or worse.)
In spelling we have used writing in an attempt to help the student take ownership of their work by using the word in a self composed sentence. My students do better on the final spelling test when they have used the word in a sentence.
In science and social studies we have used writing in note taking summarizing, writing about units or chapters before we read them, and writing questions prior to reading.
Keeping the log (this journal) has helped make me aware of what my students are doing during various times of the day. It has helped me in that I have worried that maybe the students were off task. I have discoved that they usually are on task. I have discovered that they are doing many different but acceptable activities. I have discovered the students are developing study and time management skills as the year progresses. I have discovered that checking on the students from time to time puts the student in the position of thinking about what he is doing and he should be doing.
Using the conference form and taking notes on the conferences I have with the students I have learned a great deal about the students and seem to be right on top of what they are doing in writing. I like that. It is also very useful to refer as the writing and the school year progresses.
I am not sure where all of this journal writing is taking me. I have used my journal to plan. I have used it to describe what I have done. And, I have used my journal to celebrate my victories and vent my frustrations. I haven’t written in my journal enough and I have written in it too much. As I talk to myself I sort out my confusion but sometimes raise new questions. Sometimes solutions jump out of my journal, but as often, new problems jump in.
That’s a taste of what is in that journal. I am taken back to the time it was written as I read it and realize what a time of discovery it was for me. All of us come to teaching from different places. Some grow and change over time and some stay pretty much the same. I remember someone describing the latter as teachers who have twenty years of the one experience. I know some of those people.
In language, of course, we have been doing a lot of writing and nothing else. I have done some grammar, punctuation, and capitalization instruction a long with the writing but not much. There isn’t a single person in my room (including the teacher) who can’t communicate better now than at the beginning of the school year. We have done some additional work together on sentence parts. This was done as a whole class activity. (I don’t know if that is better or worse.)
In spelling we have used writing in an attempt to help the student take ownership of their work by using the word in a self composed sentence. My students do better on the final spelling test when they have used the word in a sentence.
In science and social studies we have used writing in note taking summarizing, writing about units or chapters before we read them, and writing questions prior to reading.
Keeping the log (this journal) has helped make me aware of what my students are doing during various times of the day. It has helped me in that I have worried that maybe the students were off task. I have discoved that they usually are on task. I have discovered that they are doing many different but acceptable activities. I have discovered the students are developing study and time management skills as the year progresses. I have discovered that checking on the students from time to time puts the student in the position of thinking about what he is doing and he should be doing.
Using the conference form and taking notes on the conferences I have with the students I have learned a great deal about the students and seem to be right on top of what they are doing in writing. I like that. It is also very useful to refer as the writing and the school year progresses.
I am not sure where all of this journal writing is taking me. I have used my journal to plan. I have used it to describe what I have done. And, I have used my journal to celebrate my victories and vent my frustrations. I haven’t written in my journal enough and I have written in it too much. As I talk to myself I sort out my confusion but sometimes raise new questions. Sometimes solutions jump out of my journal, but as often, new problems jump in.
That’s a taste of what is in that journal. I am taken back to the time it was written as I read it and realize what a time of discovery it was for me. All of us come to teaching from different places. Some grow and change over time and some stay pretty much the same. I remember someone describing the latter as teachers who have twenty years of the one experience. I know some of those people.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
SIWP III
During the 1984-1985 school year I took the Level III Southeast Iowa Writing Project. The course lasted the entire year and we met every two weeks except over the holidays. We met at the AEA office in Coralville. Anne Weir and Sandy Moore and I took the class together. It was good to have someone to ride with and take turns driving.
The course was designed around our journaling. We actually kept two journals. We would journal in one for two weeks and then turn it in and journal in the other for two weeks. We would exchange journals with Jim Davis, the instructor at each class session. He always responded to the comments we made in the journal and the first thing we wanted to do when we got them back was read the comments. They were always positive and supportive.
I wrote about my teaching almost everyday day that year. It was the most intense learning experience I have ever had. I think I grew tremendously as a teacher that year. It seemed as though one idea after another kept exploding inside my head. I wrote about what I planned to do in my classroom and then afterwards wrote about how it went and what I would do different next time. It was a period of intense reflective practice. I am convinced to this day that reflective practice is unparalleled in value to growing as a teacher.
Very early that year I wrote about having my students write to the local city council thanking them for the recent swimming pool renovations. I gave the kids the basic format for the letter and asked them to tell the council what they liked best about the pool. The pieces were so well received that they were read aloud at the council meeting and the newspaper did a story about them. The students were energized by the experience.
Another project we started that fall was having the students write letters to the high school football team. I delivered the letters to the local radio station. At half time during the games they picked two or three letters to read. The students were thrilled. I learned that writers need an audience and if that audience responds like the city council or the radio station did the writer feels empowered and anxious to write again.
It’s all about audience and reason to write. The job of the teacher is to help the student find both. With an audience and a reason the motivation is within the writer. It may sound simple but it is a profound truth for teachers. Most of them do it backwards. Rather than giving the student an audience and helping them find a reason they try to motivate them with the threat of a bad grade. It just doesn’t work for most kids and never has.
My reason for writing my journal was to help me better understand where I was going in my classroom, what I was really trying to do and why I was trying to do it. Jim Davis created a non-threatening environment and I wanted that for my students.
The course was designed around our journaling. We actually kept two journals. We would journal in one for two weeks and then turn it in and journal in the other for two weeks. We would exchange journals with Jim Davis, the instructor at each class session. He always responded to the comments we made in the journal and the first thing we wanted to do when we got them back was read the comments. They were always positive and supportive.
I wrote about my teaching almost everyday day that year. It was the most intense learning experience I have ever had. I think I grew tremendously as a teacher that year. It seemed as though one idea after another kept exploding inside my head. I wrote about what I planned to do in my classroom and then afterwards wrote about how it went and what I would do different next time. It was a period of intense reflective practice. I am convinced to this day that reflective practice is unparalleled in value to growing as a teacher.
Very early that year I wrote about having my students write to the local city council thanking them for the recent swimming pool renovations. I gave the kids the basic format for the letter and asked them to tell the council what they liked best about the pool. The pieces were so well received that they were read aloud at the council meeting and the newspaper did a story about them. The students were energized by the experience.
Another project we started that fall was having the students write letters to the high school football team. I delivered the letters to the local radio station. At half time during the games they picked two or three letters to read. The students were thrilled. I learned that writers need an audience and if that audience responds like the city council or the radio station did the writer feels empowered and anxious to write again.
It’s all about audience and reason to write. The job of the teacher is to help the student find both. With an audience and a reason the motivation is within the writer. It may sound simple but it is a profound truth for teachers. Most of them do it backwards. Rather than giving the student an audience and helping them find a reason they try to motivate them with the threat of a bad grade. It just doesn’t work for most kids and never has.
My reason for writing my journal was to help me better understand where I was going in my classroom, what I was really trying to do and why I was trying to do it. Jim Davis created a non-threatening environment and I wanted that for my students.
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