by Krissy.Venosdale | Mar 18, 2012 | Reflect
Excuses. They are little things we tell ourselves inside our minds to justify what we do. They are just little lies standing between us and the changes we know are necessary. My biggest lie? That the opinions of others matter more than the needs of the kids.
Nope. Not possible. Lies we tell ourselves to continue on the easy road. The easy road is happy and familiar. I *love* the easy road. But, one day, you’ll run out of lies to tell yourself and you’ll realize that the only source of frustration is the person you know best… yourself. You’ll realize you believe one thing, but then do another.
That’s when you’ll stop. No more excuses. No more lies. No more worrying about the opinions of others. You might see if those opinions can help you learn anything. Take away what you can, reflect, think about it.
But, this time? It won’t stop you. Nothing will. Excuses and lies lead to frustration. Honesty and actions lead to change.
Because what’s on the road ahead is your only focus. Kids. The kids are more important than anything else. It’s the first honest thing I’ve told myself in a long time… and meant it.
It’s not about what’s easy.
It’s about what’s right. Nothing, in fact, has ever felt more right.
Thanks to @justintarte for his inpsiring post “Leave a Legacy.”
by Krissy.Venosdale | Mar 13, 2012 | Reflect
1.) Standing under a rocket that took humans to the surface of the moon.
2.) Sitting in the pilot’s seat and flying the Space Shuttle.
3.) Doing experiments on the Space Station.
4.) Feeling the G-Force as you spin faster and faster and faster.
5.) Walking on the moon in a 1/6th gravity simulation.
6.) Running Mission Control with your friends.
7.) Waking up in the morning to see the sun rising over the space shuttle.
8.) Creating a team patch that you will remember for the rest of your life.
9.) Learning about history that is right in front of you.
10.) Being a teacher and getting to watch your class experience it all.
This can only mean one thing… Space Camp.
I’m heading there with my class this week. Space Camp is the stuff that dreams are made of. 🙂
by Krissy.Venosdale | Mar 11, 2012 | Reflect
Ahhh, the iconic photo of the one-room school house. Orderly. Kids facing front. Teacher holding a pointer and looking stern. Don’t those kids look ecstatic to be learning? If I had to face THAT on a Monday morning, I would have retired already. Fortunately, we don’t HAVE to teach like a one-room schoolhouse.
Where are your kids getting most of their information? If most of it is from you, the sole lecturer and deliverer of instruction, then your kids might sometimes look like these children in the photo. Or, are you just facilitating as they are seeking information, discovering, looking and learning? Are they sitting, watching, and listening? Or are they creating new ideas, collaborating with each other, moving about the room in groups, and forging new ideas out of what they are learning?
Are technology tools really necessary? Is that tablet just a ‘fancy slate’ being used to type notes or write information? Then it might be a one-room school house tool. If the laptop or tablet transforms and ordinary lesson into high quality project that could not be done without the benefit of technology, welcome to the 21st century. Could your “Interactive White Board” serve the SAME purpose as the ‘old blackboard’ up front? If kids aren’t touching it, creating with it, using it as a tool to organize their thoughts, it could easily have been in Laura Ingalls’ classroom.
We do still have some things in common with the one-room schoolhouse: Lunch schedules. Desks. Teachers. Boards. A School Bell. Most of all? Kids, of all levels, who need to learn.
But, that’s all. Everything else? It’s changed, just like our world.
See those kids in the photo? Imagine what their faces would have looked like if the teacher held a Skype chat to talk about the environment in the Rainforest, or asked them to take photos and create a digital story on a tablet. I like to think they’d be smiling from ear to ear. There’d be energy in the room, the rows would be gone, the kids would be eager, curious, excited.
Because that’s how learning should be, no matter what century we are in.
Photo credit: panoramio.com/photo/23368071 { J.Milne.DH.1972}
by Krissy.Venosdale | Mar 10, 2012 | Reflect
You know those teaching moments that are like magic? You know what I’m talking about. Now, I love to spend hours browsing in Staples for colorful pens and notepads and love hot chocolate on snow days. But, what do I really love about teaching? Those moments.
When kids blow you out of the water with an idea. Something you’d never even considered. Something beyond your expectations.
When you get together with another teacher and come up with an idea that’d you have never come up with on your own.
When you look up and it’s almost time to go and nobody noticed because everyone, including you, was engaged in learning.
When a kid is enjoying a project so much he keeps working just because he wants to.
When you realize that a bazillion educators on Twitter are ready to help you, anytime.
When you look around and realize that not one kid would even notice if you left the room because they are so involved in their learning.
When you plan what you think is your greatest lesson ever, and it completely flops, and becomes somehow, even better than your original plan.
When a kid takes the long way to the buses to stop by and tell you to “Have a good weekend!”
When it’s right, it’s like magic. There is no other explanation. Watching a kid discover something right in front of you? It’s like having a front row seat to the best show on earth. A show that you’re lucky enough to be a part of. Every. Single. Day.
by Krissy.Venosdale | Mar 3, 2012 | Reflect
The questions I hear ALL the time…
Why should one group of children get privileges?
Isn’t having a gifted program elitist?
Is that really fair that those kids get to spend time in a different classroom?
Shouldn’t EVERY kid get to have fun learning?
I thought ALL kids had gifts?
The questions I wish people would ask…
What kind of learning is it that works best for this child?
He is a grade level ahead in math, what can we do for him?
Is there a way to make learning more creative or open ended?
How can I encourage my students to ask more questions?
Is he shutting down because the work is too easy for him?
How can we broaden the depth of our entire curriculum?
How can we make learning engaging for EVERY kid?
How can I ensure, even though he’s already met grade level standards, that he continues to grow this year?
We rarely get to the heart of the matter. It’s about learning. The kind of learning that lights up kids’ minds. It’s not about programs or debating labels. We all know there’s not enough time and not enough money. Talking about that just won’t help. But, if we start to look at the things we do have and think about doing them differently. We need to build a bridge between the things we say we need and the things we do. Make the discussions about learning. Because what if we build the bridge and people cross it?
Or, we could just stand on the shore, talking.
It’s really up to us.
