Thanksgiving

Last week I had to run to the hospital to check on a church friend who had a minor surgery that turned into a major surgery and a week stay in the hospital.  I was rushing to the hospital via Drayton and maybe it was the fact that I hate hospitals or that I have a teenage driver son, but I couldn’t help watching how very fast drivers were going on this road that has an actual 35MPH speed limit. As I neared Pine Street where I would be turning right, I made sure I was in that lane-like a good driver should. And as you would have it, the closer we got to the stop light where many turn right, cars sped past me on the left looking to merge right at the last possible moment. Normally, this type of behavior annoys me senselessly. It is my sense of fairness that usually annoys me. I often feel that these cars should wait in line like I have rather than trying to wreck our cars by sticking their nose in front of me in order to get over.  Yet, on this day, I allowed two cars to merge right who were stuck by drivers not allowing them space to merge. Did it cost me anything? No. Did it bother me at all? No, not on this day. Yet, it seemed that this was annoying to others around me.

This stuck with me all week. So, as I rambled around Spartanburg, I looked for ways to do something that others needed. It was small at first. I would hold a door open for someone, I paid for the person behind me in line for coffee, and I allowed someone else the closer parking space.  Several opportunities came up for me to do some other random acts of kindness at school as well.  The more I did this, the better I felt, yet a strange thing happened as well. It was a BAD week last week- I mean really bad. I felt like every time I picked up my phone, checked my email, or invited someone into my office, I was knocked down. In some weeks, this would make me sad, angry, depressed or both, but what I found was the more I did that was kind, while I hated all the other things that were happening it was amazing how all the kindness started to subject the sting of all the bad things happening.

With Thanksgiving upon us, I started thinking about all the things that I was thankful for and my mind began wondering to all of those things that bring me sadness. I am saddened by the number of students we still have who are below grade level in reading-no matter how much work we do in RTI and in small group instruction. I am saddened that our bookbag blessings weekend program is struggling to meet the demands of our most needy students since the number has grown. I am saddened by the stories of broken homes, difficult life circumstances, and terrible situations detailed by some of our students. I am saddened at the immense grief of hurting staff members due to loss, brokenness, financial hardships, sickness, and so many other things. I am saddened by a situation with one of my own sons and the grief he is feeling. But you know what, I realize that even with all that sadness, I have so much in this world to be grateful for and what I can do is give. I can give a smile. I can give a hug. I can give a kind word. I can give a parking place up or delay my trip to allow someone to get in front of me. I can do so much. And I realize that I get so much in return.

It is hard to ask a group of educators to give even more than they already do. We give more than our share of a 40 hour work week. We give our planning periods up in order to grow as professionals, we give up eating lunch to sit and talk with students, we give up our family time to talk with parents, we give and give and give. But I ask you to spend some time this week, to find some ways to give-without costs- to others. 

And it is my prayer that you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving-how ironic that it has the word giving in it……

Is your teaching a hobby?

Post-doctoral life is pretty sweet. I have more time every evening and every weekend. I don’t have a looming deadline or a wonderful dissertation chair demanding a revision. Yet, this goal oriented individual struggles with this as well. So last year I decided to take up a hobby. I can honestly say that I really don’t remember having hobbies before. Again, I think it is my personality. I am all in person-I do not do things for recreation-unless you count going to Disney World. I do many things for fun- I love to sing in the choir, I love movies, I love attending sporting events, and I love working in the yard. When I was younger I played the piano and was a cheerleader. Fun was retreating to my room to read. So the idea of a hobby was a bit overwhelming, but the Rosebros decided I needed a little less family time i.e. they got tired of being my hobby. With their blessings, I decided to take a course on making stained glass.

Boy was this harder than I had expected-which was frustrating. I don’t really like to struggle-for fun. Having the correct materials-nippers is a real word by the way, the right oils, the right glass, the correct grain, grinding the class, placing  joints together (and no, these joints did not make me want Cheetos), using copper foil…the list goes on and on. The struggle was real and I would often find myself walking away from my work because it got too hard or I didn’t know what to do. I would stay away for a couple of days when I just didn’t want to look at it again.  I eventually learned enough to make some very simplistic pieces that didn’t turn heads but would have made my Mom proud and with time I got to the point where I could make stained class pieces that were not terrible. I would never, ever give my pieces away. I will never win any contest with my pieces. In fact most days I would not even share what I’ve made. This became my hobby. It took up a lot of time when my hubby was at work and the Rosebros were with friends or playing the Xbox (they are only allowed the Xbox on the weekends). It kept me busy. It gave me some purpose in having something to do from start to finish. I was proud even though I knew my work wasn’t ideal or the best. But I am not passionate about it. I don’t spend hours looking at stained glass. I don’t admire good stained glass when I see it. I don’t search out stained glass groups- is that even such a thing?).

I made a lampshade recently that I almost liked. I was looking for the perfect lamp to place this tiny lampshade on and as I was looking-for hours- for the perfect lamp, I sort of had a revelation about my “hobby.” All too often some educators treat this work as a hobby-this is both a good thing and a bad thing.

Some educators use teaching as a hobby and it is not such a good thing. It is something to do even if they struggle, even if it is difficult, even if they read about it, learn about it, ask questions about it, but it is just something to do. The attitude is one of hobby-they enjoy it-most of the time-and when they don’t they take a “mental health day” (a term that sends shivers down my spine). It is not a calling or a passion that they strive to get better at because the students depend on them. A hobby is also something that is easily replaced with more important work like a check list of items to teach or worksheets to complete. A hobby can be fun and fulfilling but not meant to give you purpose. It is meant to distract you from the hard stuff of life.

Some educators use teaching as a hobby and it is a great thing. These educators don’t use the same lesson plans each year because they know that real growth comes from understanding what their students need. They learn as much as they can but they also know they can only apply that knowledge a little at a time in order to improve. They live to “do” their hobby. They know where their weaknesses are and they search experts to help them improve in those areas. And they do improve.

So is teaching your hobby? If so-is it a good thing or a bad thing?

Election Day

I have loved politics since our family friend, Carroll Campbell, ran and won the office of Governor of SC in the 1980s.  I enjoy following the political races and the platforms that each candidate uses as the basis of their campaigns. As a youngster, I had a strong belief in how politicians could use their power for lasting positive change. While I may have become a little more cynical about it all over the years, I am no less fascinated or interested in the political process. I have no desire to ever run for office or hold political office (sometimes my current position is political enough), but I think, ultimately, I still hold on to the deep seeded belief that our democracy and its foundational theory can and will make positive changes for our community, our state, and our nation.  With all that said, I attended an event last week for our mayoral race that will be decided tomorrow. This pseudo- debate/forum was uneventful so my mind wandered throughout the night about our schools.  The candidates repeatedly discussed “one Spartanburg”- a tagline that we are familiar with this year. I started thinking about the fact that one person matters-something we talk about in our vision each year. And should not each person in our classroom matter?  Then the candidates started talking about the power of their positions.  Then I got to thinking about what our schools and staff would be like if we had to run for office.

What would be your platform if you had to “run” for your position? As a younger adult, I voted based on my family’s political views, then I started changing based on what each candidate could do for me or how they felt about each issue. My voting can, at times, seem very diverse as I rarely, if ever, voted for one party’s ticket. I tend to look at candidates that are most like me, candidates that motivate me, provide for action, and bring us together. Isn’t that what we want in our classrooms? 

Don’t we want teachers who will motivate students? Teachers motivate by being excited about their teaching. Nothing excites me more than a teacher who shares a book with students as if she has never read the book.  Teachers who fill their classrooms with engaging activities because they know their students’ needs are motivating to students. Motivating students means coming in a few minutes early to give an extra push or staying late to help a student who is just not getting a key concept. Motivating is taking the time to really respond to each piece of work that a student does so that student understands the important value they have in your eyes. Making a student feel included and making a student understand their place in the classroom motivates a student.

Teachers who empower students to take action are teachers I would vote for in an election. Teacher empower students by giving students choices. I found in my classroom when I allowed students to have choice, they produced far greater products than when I put my demands on them for assessments or assignments. Empowering students to take action is done through helping students reflect. Engaging in reflection is done as part of “messing up” or making an unfortunate decision, but do we engage students in reflection for other parts of their day. Reflection helps students make sense of learning. Empowering students also comes from giving students a voice-do you ask for their opinions? Do you listen to their feedback?

And finally, bringing folks together is a quality in candidates that I look for-political and teaching candidates as well. Some of the best teachers I have ever worked with made each of their classrooms sanctuaries. They made them places that I wanted to sit in and stay for a long while. What these teachers understood was that the most important part of a classroom was managing relationships. How many of you stand at your door when the bell rings and shake each student’s hand or greet them all by name or a smile or a secret handshake or a pat on the back? How many of you look for ways to praise students all day long? How do you spend time with each student getting to know them?

So if “elections” were held tomorrow for teachers, would you be elected?