This Side of Third

…and second

Crisis of Faith

October31

I think I’m having a crisis of faith.  Not in the Big Guy, the Original G, but in the profession I love.  I don’t want to be a teacher anymore, and it’s breaking my heart.

Prior to this writing, I’ve had frustrating days, weeks, and even a year or two.  They seemed to be never-ending, but in reality, they came and went with large chunks of time in between each rough patch.  There were specific times of the year as well: beginning and end of the school year, around report card time, multiple IEPs due at once, alternative assessments, etc.  Every teacher goes through these feelings.  If you haven’t, call me and tell me were you teach.

Never have I been so unhappy in my job as this school year.  Nor has this unhappiness been so pervasive as it is this year.  It seems everyone is feeling the way I feel.

I am always tired, frustrated, sad, angry.  I feel like I’m walking on eggshells, that everything I do is overly scrutinized, and I can do nothing right.  I’m nauseated on many days, my anxiety is getting worse, I know my blood pressure has gone up (people keep pointing out my red face-I know, very scientific), and I feel as if there is a giant weight on me all the time.

When I’ve felt crappy about teaching in the past, I was able to find something to keep me motivated.  The students, my co-workers, 8 weeks off in the summer.  Those are all good reasons to keep going.  Even those things aren’t working anymore.  I just feel like I’m working for nothing.  And it’s a lot of work.

It’s not a shocking statement to say that teachers are under-appreciated by so many non-educators.  We get it.  No one likes us.  What is disturbing is when it comes from within.  When you’re feeling beat down by your own kind. Shouldn’t we be advocating for each other?  Shouldn’t we be trying to lift each other up when so much about our job gets us down?

I just don’t think I have the patience, emotional fortitude, grit, or whatever new buzzword you’d like to throw in there.  Education is all about the buzzword.  And that’s the problem.  Education is not about education.

Education is about paperwork, planning, and staying in your lane, but yet diversifying just enough.  It’s about being precise and specific in some areas and not so in other areas or you’re teaching to the test.  It’s about doing what is federally mandated so we can get much needed funds that still aren’t enough, and still don’t solve the underlying problems.  Education has become not about teaching at all.  Teachers feel like they’re letting their kids down, and sadly, unless we’re OK with getting called on the carpet, there isn’t much we can do otherwise.  If you ask a teacher what he/she wants, it’s this: Just let us do our jobs.

Teaching is separate rules for different specialties.  Why do general educators follow one set of rules, and special educators required to follow another?  What makes those two professionals so different anymore?  We’re all in the classroom together now.  And why are there different rules and expectations for elementary teachers and middle/high school teachers?

Teaching is about making it look good.  It’s about showing how all our hard work is paying off, when sometimes, it just isn’t.  Kids fail.  Do teachers like that?  Hell no.  But many times, despite our best efforts, kids fail.  People need to learn to be OK with that, both educators and non-educators.

I do still want to teach.  I really do.  I just need to get out of the classroom.  Or maybe just out of the school system. I’m tired of being a babysitter.  Honestly, that’s what I feel like anymore.

I’d ideally like to teach at the college level, as well as other educators.  I love the direction education is going in with the technology available to teachers and students.  A job with SymbalooEDU, Edublogs, Edutopia, or one of the many terrific online education-driven websites would be wonderful.  To have a job in a field I enjoy (writing and computers-yes, I’m that nerdy) that would allow me to help teachers…well, that would be great.  I want to lift teachers up, help them take a load off, and let them know that someone does care about their profession.

Maybe I’ll start my own business.  I’ll scour the Internet. I’ll read all the articles, the journals, the papers, Tweets, and education websites. I’ll compile and report on what I find and share it out to teachers in the hopes of saving them time so that they can just teach.  Now if someone could take my caseload so I can do this, that would be great.  And if you like this idea, DON’T TAKE IT IT’S MINE!

Disclaimer: These thoughts and opinions are solely mine, and do not reflect those of any specific persons or school systems.

 

 

 

Classroom 2.0-PLN Step 9

October19

After looking at Classroom 2.0, I decided against joining.  It seems a bit dated, with many posts being 3 years old. Also, any media reviews a over a year old, and no one I know has heard of Ning.  I am quite happy with the communities I currently participate in for my PLN, and feel that Classroom 2.0 would be just one more thing.

As far as global networking, everything now is global networking.  FB, Twitter, Google+, GPSNetwork, etc. are all accessible to educators worldwide.  .com, .net, .org, and .edu bring the world to your fingertips and screens.  It’s just a matter of preference as to what you use to bring in and/or share.

I’m sticking with my go-tos.  They’ve worked for me so far. 🙂

 

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Twitter Chats

October12

This is a good video to watch to help get started with TweetDeck.  Ms. Hurley gives great direction and helpful hints to get you going.

I’m looking forward to the chats I’m following this week.  Of course, that’s if I remember to open my laptop.  The last two weeks, I either forgot about them, or Life got in the way and I couldn’t join the chats.  I’m hoping that with TweetDeck as a permanent tab on Chrome, I’ll have a constant reminder.  Thank God for archives! I’ll keep you posted on what I find out this week from my three planned chats (#mdedchat, #symchat, #spedchat).

Edit: I participated in my first Twitter Chats last night, and they were very interesting.  The #spedchat was geared more toward older students in the voc/career path.  As an elementary teacher, I didn’t have too much to add to the discussion.  However, on #mdedchat, we had a great deal to discuss about teaching the whole child.  I walked away with added tools, and the knowledge that I’m not alone in what I see with my students.

 

 

Twitter Love?

October8

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.

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PLN-How do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways.

October6

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.  GoogleI’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!  

 

 

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Remembering

September11

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Symbaloo-My Newest Obsession

September6

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:

Symbaloo   Your Bookmarks and favorites in the cloud

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.

No One Ever Asks The Teachers

August5

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 Just Need to Vent. Sorry.

March25

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.

 

 

A Good Day to be a Special Ed Teacher

March12

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.

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