The Twittersphere is all abuzz (a-tweet?) with ideas for educators.  But do the majority of teachers realize this?  I didn’t, until last summer.  I’d never even considered it until a coworker suggested it.  I assumed Twitter was for Hollywood-types, and people who followed the Kardashians (for whatever reason).  Twitter for teachers?  Huh.

This same co-worker not only clued me in to Twitter, he told the entire staff. Guess how many teachers signed up….5.  I’m not sure why more people didn’t sign up.  Admittedly, I’m a nerd and love techie stuff, especially Internet related.  Maybe it’s because my fellow educators don’t understand the whole Twitter thing, or the wealth of information out there.

Honestly, I’m not even sure I love Twitter.  I like it.  I use it.  I wish I used it more, but I forget it’s there for long stretches of time.  There are so many social/Web2.0/PLN options out there for us that I can’t always keep up with all of the information available.

Part of me is excited to have one more source of (geeky Internet) information.  On the flip side, I have one more thing that I need to take care of and handle.  Teachers always seem to have that One More Thing.

So is it Twitter Love?  Not yet.  I’ll call it a Twitter Crush.

6.  It’s 6 ways.

1. Twitter I started 2 Twitter accounts last year, one for personal and the other for education. I am never on my personal account anymore; however, my educational account is always logged in.  The fact that Tweets are so brief, but contain so much information, is truly appealing to busy lives.  I can scroll through, see what’s up and click only what I need, or wish to share.

2. Symbaloo I can’t get enough of this bookmarking tool.  I love it!  You may not think this is a networking tool; however, it’s a connection with benefits.  When you are perusing the gallery of webmixes, you discover so many different topics, ideas, lessons, apps, games, videos, thoughts, seminars, PDs…..whew.  It’s a gateway to opening conversations with the people that created these webmixes to find out more about what they’ve done.  You add their WM, they add yours, you become Twitter followers of each other, link to their blogs, and the PLNs grow.  

3.  Google+ I’m quite new to G+ so I’m still learning all the perks.  The only people in my circles are co-workers and SymbalooEDU.  I don’t even think they’re in the same circle!  The majority of my co-workers are not Google fans (we recently switched email, Drive, etc. to Google and I seem to be one of the few embracing the change) so it’s difficult to plan and share that way with them.  I’ in the process of becoming a Google Educator, so maybe I can make a few more converts when I’m done.   

4.  Facebook As lame and juvenile as FB can be, I still use it as a resource to connect with other educators.  I follow blogs, teacher-friend posts, and news sites, as well as post links to my blog posts.

5. Blogs Just such a wealth of information here!  To be able to share so much with so many is remarkable.  When you get a glimpse into other peoples’ worlds, you can learn so much; however, they sometimes make me feel inadequate.  Bloggers I follow always seem to have nicer things and better ideas than I do.  Time to start ramping up my skilz. 😉   

6.  Email Nothing connects my team better that “old-fashioned” email.  They are always sending, sharing, asking, and planning via email.  I prefer a quick text or Hang Out, but they’re a wordy bunch.  As I write this, there are 4 emails about plans for this week sitting in my Primary box.  Oh!  And two new Twitter followers!  

We began using Chromebooks in my school this year and had two days of training in which we received TONS of nerdy, awesome information. First off, I LOVE Google and Chrome.  So much to do; so much to be done. Our instructor was Rich Kiker who never batted an eye when we had difficulty, shared amazing ideas, and most importantly, was from North East Philly.  He grew up about 20 minutes from me in St. Martin’s parish (If you are lucky to be from the Great North East, you’ll understand that reference.).

The most exciting thing Rich showed us was Symbaloo.com for education. OMG the possibilities are endless!  Symbaloo YouTube <—Watch this! 

You can set up an entire webmix with all your websites that you want available for your students, group them by type, and never need to post or bookmark numerous websites. This is a screenshot of my Symbaloo webmix:

I have Social Studies in blue, ELA in orange, math in green, and spelling/typing in grey.  The white tiles are for me to use, unless there is something specific I want the kids to use.  If so, I can taylor the tile to go directly to the part of the website they need.  I am on my webmix every day playing with it and adding tiles.  

You can add other webmixes to your profile.  Take a look through the gallery and you will find pages and pages of webmixes for countless education uses. The two webmixes I’ve added (so far) are by GallagherTech and Rich Kiker.

Check out my Symbaloo webmix and create several of your own.  It’s addicting.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

A teacher’s Summer Vacation is the envy of all non-teachers.  Honestly! We are so lucky to get three months off to do whatever we want.  No work, no worries. 

There should be a commercial for teacher recruitment at all colleges showing blessedly bliss teachers frolicking on the beach in long gauzy dresses, you know, like feminine product commercials.  Imagine, the commercial opens on a shot of waves along the shore, and a gentle voice-over extolls the benefits of Summer’s Vacation… Hail to the V.   

Let me point out that vacations are not three months.  They used to be, somewhere back in the 70s, 80s, and maybe 90s.  Now, summer vacation is 9 weeks at most.  Is it still more than other professions?

Absolutely.

For this I am grateful, as it allows time to relax and unwind, and frolic on the beach with my teacher friends… Which I have never actually done.

We’re all too busy to get together.  And we’re even a little sick of each other come June.  I spend more awake hours with my work wife then I do with my actual husband.  I go in early, work all day, bring work home. Repeat.  This leaves little time for doctor appointments, trips, renovations, conversations, dishes…

Sure teachers get sick days and personal days, but we don’t take them unless extremely warranted.  Sub plans are a giant PITA.  I will go to work unless I’m on Death’s door, and even then, I’ll still try to go.  I’ve actually been sent home by the principal because I was too sick to be at work. Dedication?  Nope.  Lesson plans.

What Did You Do on Summer Vacation?  That’s a common question asked of students at the beginning of every school year.  This is done for many reasons: 1) To get to know the students, 2) To get a writing sample and determine areas of need, 3) To help the kids get to know each other, and admittedly, 4) To fill time while stretching out those incredibly long first few days.

No one ever asks the teachers this question.  I suppose it’s because of jealously, and fear of an 809 piece picture show of our vacations to Tibet, Tunisia, and Thailand. Perhaps non-educators don’t want to hear about our hours spent at the spa, or our inner journey toward existentialism through emersion in Sartre and Camus.  Know why?  Because that doesn’t happen! 

The following is a compilation of what teachers, when they have time to think, breathe, and pee when they want, not when they have 37 seconds, do when they have 9 weeks “off”:

• Attend three IEP meetings, one workshop, two days of training for new computers, and a half-day professional development that has nothing to do with what was promoted in the information
• Go car shopping, fix two flat tires, and one dead battery
• Provide our public service via jury duty that we asked to have postponed until the summer so we wouldn’t miss any school (necessitating lesson plans)
• Doctor appointments: Blood work, dentist, eye doctor, mammograms, trip to urgent care center for self-injurious behavior
• Four half-day planning sessions and one full day planning session
• Work on updating and upgrading a blog, as well as a more efficient, effective and comprehensive way of compiling lesson plans (BTW, commoncurriculum.com is awesome)
• Take a class for credits toward teacher certification
• Troll Pinterest for hours looking for anything that will help your students succeed
• Read 11+ books, some of which are for work
• Have a mini mid-life crisis
• Clean the kitchen inside and out, top to bottom, and side to side since that hasn’t been done since last summer
• Organize the yarn stash that kept piling up in the corner until “Someday”
• Run 3 5k races and train for a half marathon
• Take an actual vacation with family and catch some fireworks

So that’s that.  Teachers are busy as hell in the summer.  Summer Vacation is not all it’s cracked up to be; however, it’s better than working every day.  I hope you all, teachers and non-teachers, had a wonderful summer, and that you’re rested and ready for the next crop of kids.  Only 10 more months until our next Summer’s Vacation.

I’m over it.  I’m over being a teacher.  I’m done.  I just don’t need a new school, or grade, or student body.  It’s more than that.

I’m tired of students not coming prepared.  I’m tired of lazy students.  I’m tired of students that can’t/won’t think for themselves.  I’m sick of parents that do (or don’t do) things that set their children up for failure.

The kids are unable to problem-solve.  They are unable to think outside the box.  If it’s not right in front of their faces, it doesn’t exist.  And if it doesn’t exist, they won’t attempt any other course of action.  They just stop working.

I don’t understand.  How are these kids going to survive “out there?”  I know it’s only third grade, and I know they’re only 8 or 9, but they are in for a rude awakening in the coming years and nothing their teachers are doing seems to be getting through.  Are my expectations too high?  Am I worrying for nothing?

I have two students who can’t pay attention for more than 20 seconds at a time.  I’m not exaggerating.  I timed them both today.  The moms both say they see this same behavior at home and are frustrated by it.  *Spoiler alert: I’m going to yell.  IF YOU’RE FRUSTRATED BY IT, AND THE TEACHERS  REPEATEDLY TELL YOU ABOUT IT, THEN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Go to the pediatrician and talk to him/her about medication for your child.

I’m fine with that not being the first choice, or the first course of action you want to try.  Medication isn’t always the answer.  However, when all other options are exhausted, the child’s attention is getting worse, he’s disorganized, and FAILING, perhaps you need to rethink the medication option.

Maybe it’s because I’m not a mom, but I don’t understand why you wouldn’t at least try that option for the benefit of your child.  How can a parent stand by and let their child struggle in school?  Shouldn’t you want to do everything you can so your child is successful?

And then there’s the general public’s opinion of teachers.  On March 10, I posted about a friend and her trouble with her school district.  While there are many that support her, there are many that spoke out against her (including her own school board), as well as teachers in general.

Every article I read on the Internet (right there’s my first problem) has hundreds of negative comments about teachers and the profession.  I’m not just talking about run-of-the-mill bad-mouthing.  I’m talking vitriolic hatred for teachers.  It’s disheartening and depressing.  I’m questioning why I still teach.  Why am I in a thankless profession?  Teachers are thought of akin to criminals.  Is that what I want to do?

Maybe I’m just old.  Maybe I’m jaded.  Maybe I’m tired, overworked, stressed out in general.  Maybe I should step away from the red Moscato “grape juice.”  But what else can I do?

What else can I do that gives me partial summers off?  And a week at Christmas?  And where else can I have a child turn to me at the end of a half hour battle of wills and say, “I’m ready to make up.”  Where else can I make fun of kids and they give it right back to me?

I have some thinking to do.

My most-autistic student, “Steve,” had a breakthrough yesterday.  We were in the sensory room and he asked to play Hide and Seek.  He’s never asked that before, nor does he ever ask to play with us.  Great!  We played for about 5 minutes before getting back to work.

Later that day while out at recess, he approached a girl from his class and asked her to play the game with him.  HE INITIATED PLAYING WITH A FRIEND!!!!  What What!!  They played Hide and Seek and Tag together for the better part of 10 minutes.

I am so proud of him and so happy.  I have a great team of people that work with me that have helped him get to this point.  And yes, his teachers cried.

It’s so depressing being a teacher.  Other than my teacher friends, the general consensus I come across (including some so-called friends) seems to be that teaching is a poorly operated profession, where teachers get way too much money for way too little work.  No matter what, teachers are wrong.  No matter how your child is doing, what the grades are, what the behaviors are, or what the salary is, the general public vilifies teachers.  Sadly, even school boards are against their own teachers.  Case in point:

In September of 2013, Kelly Mascio had an unusual day in her Kindergarten classroom.  The students were in and out of the room with testing and she and her aid split the kids into groups.  One group came back before the other, and general disruption occurred, as it does in K, but they all sat down to watch a movie.  Here’s what happened next.  Please read it.  It’s appalling.

I can’t believe the school board’s decision to suspend this woman.  Are they crazy?!  She did her job and they are trying to fire her?!  What would they do if she didn’t report this?  Give her a promotion?  To the school board?

Hundreds of people came out to support her.  That’s quite impressive, but sadly, there are people that think she’s entirely in the wrong.  And most of the people that are siding with the school board are not questioning the parents.  There is something seriously wrong in one or both homes for FIVE YEAR OLDS to engage in this behavior.  What is wrong with these people?!

It seems that teachers can do nothing right.  The salary is too high, the summer is too long, we get free benefits, teachers are irresponsible, they are slackers that don’t help kids make progress let alone prepare them for the world…  Any of this sound familiar?

Again, it’s a depressing profession.  I had a teacher come to me today because she feels like a failure and needed an ear.  One of her students is making no progress this year and she feels responsible.  I don’t blame her.  Any of us would.

If we listen to the naysayers out there, we’ll never go back to work.  If we let the angry, pitchfork-wielding mob get in our heads, we’ll quit and find a more respected profession.  This is why we need to build each other up.

Be sure to give your coworkers a hug and tell them how much you appreciate them.  Tell them how much they mean to you, your school, the students.  Tell your teacher friends that you know how hard they work at their job.

I am proud of every one of my teacher friends.  I am proud of their commitment to the future, and proud of their tireless work they do every day.

I’m also proud of Kelly.  She did what she had to do; she did the right thing. I support her as a teacher, and as a friend.

When I was a freshman in college, in order to blow off steam, my friends and I gathered in one of our rooms at 3:00 every Friday.  We danced on desks, chairs, and beds to Madonna’s “Where’s the Party” and Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” (No old jokes, please).  We blasted the music, danced out all the stress, and got ready for a Friday night of serious studying.  😉  So I had an idea.

Since it is Music in Our Schools Month, and it’s been a stressful year, and I have 4 hours and 16 minutes of dance music on my iTunes, I thought I’d open my room to everyone interested and have a dance party at 8:30 on Fridays this month.  Come in, hang out, get rid of some stress, and get prepped for the weekend.

I can’t provide the collegiate beverage; however, if you arrive with a solid drinking vessel that no one can see into, I have a DADT attitude about that. 🙂

Many teachers use music in their classrooms throughout the day for various reasons.  Being the “band geek” that I am, I love that!  It helps the kids concentrate and calm down, as well as exposes them to genres they may not hear anywhere else.

Don’t forget to promote music in your schools.  It really is a vital part of a child’s education.  Rock on!

Forgive me blog, for I have laxed. It’s been about three months since my last post. In that time we’ve had Thanksgiving, Christmas, a cancelled 5k that may have been a scam for money, a cancelled 5k due to bad weather, the New Year, 5 new pounds, and about 27 snow days.

As if that wasn’t enough, the last three weeks in my life have been In(bleeping)sane. I’m not one to bitch and complain about things. I was brought up in a family of “suck it up and move on.” However, we all have our limits and thresholds. Apparently my threshold is three weeks. It’s a bit of a wordy tale, but there’s a point. Trust me. Let’s begin…

It began on the 17^th with a feel-good trip to the church to help with the food mission. We packed up tons of food for the needy and organized it all by type. I spent time with my sisters-in-law, and I was able to help bless others in need. I should’ve seen it coming. My principal says that no good deed goes unpunished.

Week one began with MLK, Jr. Day, which was by all accounts a great day. I stayed in bed all day with Stephen King. Sigh. If you like creepy, if you liked The Shining (the remake, not the original. The remake is so much creepier.), you need to read Doctor Sleep. Grab your Kindle and download it. I’ll wait for you.

At the end of the day, the Hubs ran out to do me a favor and ended up crashing my mother’s car. He wasn’t hurt, but the car was totaled. Awesome. They already aren’t the best of friends.

That night and the following day I lost it on him. I let words fly that should make me ashamed. I really didn’t think we could come back from that. It was on. To top it off, we were now snowed in for the next two days. No school, no plows (dead end, backwoods, last-on-the-list road).

We’d already had 5 missed school days this marking period. The final day of the MP was moved; however, that extra time was now eaten up by those two snow days. The last two days of the week were two-hour delays. Teachers had no choice but to cram tests down the kids’ throats to get grades done. In addition, I had 3 students that had IEPs due the following week. Before I could write them, I had to test the kids. When?! We never have school! So there I was, furiously testing kids with the Brigance for two days. Huge test. Great fun for all. And one student was absent the only two days we had school that week. Additionally, that Thursday night we told my mother about her car. She’s in CA on a trip. It went better than I anticipated, but I still felt like utter crap.

So that weekend I spent writing two IEPs and visiting my father-in-law in the hospital. He’d been there a week already, in and out of ICU, with no real sign of improvement. We also spent time with my mother-in-law, making sure she had everything she needed. She’s not the most…stable…person, so having her husband in the ICU for a week was quite difficult. For everyone.

Week two began with me finally getting my third student tested and her IEP written, and assessing my students on their goals for report cards. We were all exhausted at the end of the day. We had another two-hour delay that Wednesday, but I didn’t care. I had my grades done. And then my principal came to see me.

Apparently, two brothers went home the prior night and told their parents I had yelled and pulled another child’s hair and they were very upset by this. I’ll cop to the yelling all day long. I did it. But don’t you DARE lie about me touching a student. Are you *&@$$% kidding me?! WTH?! I was floored, and really hurt. My principal, being the pal that she is (see what I did there?), made some calls, talked to other kids, and told me not to worry. It was a misunderstanding, apparently. No apology from the kids, though. Thanks guys. Fortunately, a friend who’s out on maternity leave came for a visit that day, and I was able to hold her three-week old girl. I don’t care how crappy life is; hold a newborn. Your life will instantly improve.

The Hubs and I continued to visit my in-laws in their respective places (MIL had a raging head cold and couldn’t go to the hospital). I also had more conversations with my mother about the car, including the one where she told me the repairs would cost $13,000. Excuse me while I go throw up my guts. A call from her on Friday night let me know that they are totaling the car on Monday, and that I needed to go clean everything out. The body shop is closed on weekends. Great. Call for a sub and write plans. And go to the hospital and my MIL’s.

Guys, I thought for sure this was the end of my FIL. He was grey~sweatshirt grey. It’s one thing to watch a family member at possibly one of his last moments. That’s just a part of life, and I’m OK with it. It’s another thing to watch the other members of the family watch their father. That’s what bothered me the most.

And now we’re on week three (are you still with me?). Monday I went in early to set up my substitute’s plans and activities. The school had called a two-hour delay but I wouldn’t be available to go in later. Just as I set my pile in the center of the desk, the call came in that they cancelled school. I wish I was lying.

Hubs and I cleaned out the car Monday in the pouring rain. I was just happy it hadn’t turned to ice yet. Tuesday, after our trip to the hospital (I’m VERY happy to say he was a different man that night. A complete 180.). We stopped by the MIL. I stayed in the car (headache~can’t imagine why) and let Hubs take care of Mom. Remember my comment from earlier? About her stability? Well, because I didn’t come in to see her, she told Hubs that I never cared about her anyway. So twice in two weeks I had people saying things about me that weren’t true. Deep breath. Suck it up and move on.

Another Wednesday, another snow day. Next! Thursday I was observed by my AP, and my SpEd program facilitator. I don’t know about you, but getting observed is the LEAST favorite thing I do as a teacher. I can’t tell you how much I hate it.

I then spent six hours that night writing a submission for a part-time position I’d LOVE to get. It’s a great opportunity to facilitate an online community in special education. So excited! I sent that out first thing Friday morning. Whoop whoop!

Friday morning I was asked to stop in and see the AP after school. That’s usually not a good thing. It wasn’t. Apparently my observation didn’t go well and I now have homework over the weekend. I need to critique my lesson against a rubric, and then we’ll have our evaluation meeting after school on Monday. I now have three days to obsess over the state of my observation. I did my homework, and she’s right. I suck. Sigh.

That was the last straw. I couldn’t be strong and suck it up anymore. Three weeks of this was enough. I was trying to keep it together for the Hubs, but I was just so mentally and emotionally tired. I cried as soon as he said, “Are you ok?” I’d kept the house in order, and dealt with the car wreck, visited my in-laws, and dealt with job stress (I haven’t even mentioned the fact that even though we’ve had 8 snow days, the MD Powers-That-Be aren’t moving the deadline for AltMSA submission.). I couldn’t keep it together anymore.

Remember when I said there was a point? Here it is:

This is us. This is teaching. This is what we do. This is everything that doesn’t get mentioned, as we focus on our job of nurturing our students. We hide ourselves, our home lives, when we’re in front of the kids. We don’t want them to worry. We don’t want them to know anything is wrong. So many of our kids come from homes where things are CONSTANTLY wrong. It’s our responsibility to be there for them, and to give them a safe, stable environment. We don’t want our babies to be concerned about anything else.

These are the things in our lives that the parents don’t see. They send their kids to us assuming that we’ve got our act together, and because we care about the parents, as well as the kids, we act like the only concern in our lives are their kids. The parents trust us with their little one’s lives. We can’t show them we’re vulnerable.

These are the lives of teachers. For the benefit of our students, we suck it up and move on. We often put ourselves last, whether we like it or not. I wish more people understood this, and that’s why I put all this out there. I wanted to let other teachers know that at least one person understands. One person knows all the other stuff that goes on behind the scenes. This one person is behind you all the way, and wishing you a peaceful second half of the school year.

Wow.  What a morning.  Yes, I know it’s only 10:30, but it’s already been that kind of morning.

The classroom teacher, my GenEd co-teacher, is out today so I spent part of the morning getting her stuff set up.  No biggie.  I got her day together, I got my day together, I got my one particular student set up, I watered the hermit crabs.  All’s well.

The kids came in so I wanted to be sure they knew what was going on so I called out directions, reminded some students that they had work to catch up on, answered questions, and generally had a good opening.  One student had his hair buzzed down over the weekend and also arrived wearing a small tank top.  It was 34 degrees this morning.  I had him take off his Michelin Man coat, and went to the nurse to get him a better shirt.

While there, I was reminded that I was supposed to cover a classroom for Extended Team Planning.  Totally forgot.  I only needed to cover from 8:45-9:00.  It was now 8:59.  Ran there to cover for all of one minute, apologizing profusely to the girl that covered for me, then I went back and got the boy a shirt.  He was very happy.  🙂  His smile made my day.

My student, “Steve”, has not been feeling well for almost a week now.  He’s snotty, stuffy, coughing, etc.  He maxed out today and had had enough of this cold.  He was able to articulate, “My head, my nose.”  Then we really let me know how he felt.

His cereal went flying and Steve refused to clean it up.  And by refused, I mean hitting, scratching, attempted bites, scratching (repetition intended), and yelling.  Alrighty then.  Like any other SpEd teacher I spelled out what was going to happen next in kind, quiet words and visuals.  One finger up (no, not that finger) “First you’re going to help me clean up, ” second finger up, “then we’re going to go to the nurse.”  Nope.  It became necessary to call for backup who helped me help Steve clean up the mess, took him for a time-out, then to the nurse.  Love my back-up!

So there I was this morning, at the nurse again.  Thankfully it wasn’t a bite this time, only a few scratches.  Our nurse wiped me down with 2(HO) and I was good to go.  Until I decided to take another precaution and wipe it all down again with Germ-X.  For the love of God, don’t ever do that to yourself.  Holy crap that stung!

So my guy is gone for the day and probably tomorrow.  I miss him already but glad he’s home resting.  :\   On the plus side, the Hubs bought me a sports bra yesterday as a running gift without me being there.  It’s not sturdy enough for running, but kept the girls firmly locked down through the morning’s activities.  Awesome!