It has been a while since I posted anything significant about my life, and I figured now is a good time to change that. As I am sitting here on my kitchen counter, waiting for rice to finish cooking, I will update whoever reads this on my life here in Phoenix.
Let's start by saying that I love love love the weather right now. It's chilly at night and in the morning, so I can bundle up in a coat and drink something warm. During the day, however, the weather is warm and the sun - of course - is shining. Perfect. I cannot believe it is November. The middle of November! I went to an outdoor church service today, and I couldn't have wished for more lovely weather.
I am also really starting to love this city. There are so many cool places to go and eat at and see! I still have yet to try fry bread, and I really should do that soon. I have found some great coffee shops and places to eat that I just love.
It's such a great adventure making a new place your own.
Our apartment is coming along beautifully! We have a great futon, a lamp and an amazing giant red storage ottoman in our living room. We put up a bulletin board for pictures in our dining room, and we even have some art above our mantel (and by art I mean a poster of the movie inspired by the book series my roommate and I are currently obsessed with: Twilight). I love walking in here at the end of the day. It is so cozy and simple and unlike any other place. In it's complete uniqueness, it is so ours. We have definitely made our mark here.
Speaking of the apartment: I have really been enjoying time with my roommate. We have had lots of roomie dates in the last couple of weeks, and I find her to be a very encouraging person to be around. She has a really sweet heart and a very gentle presence. She is calm and serene. I hope that rubs off on me! I am constantly reminded that most people do not have that kind of experience with roommates; I realize how blessed I am to be in this situation.
My classroom has turned into a sanctuary of sorts for me. I love being there. I love being surrounded by my students' work and I love the life they bring into the room. I have had some great days of teaching, but more often than not I leave with a headache and wondering if I really am making a difference for them. There are days with bright spots, but rare is the day when I leave thinking "That whole DAY was amazing!" Not that I lack a million things to be grateful for, but I tend to focus on the negatives at the end of the day. I am working on that. Even still, I love being in our classroom; I really do feel like that space has turned into a space we all own. I hope my kiddos feel that way, too; I have tried to create a safe place for them.
I am getting better at taking care of myself. I clean my room and the apartment pretty much every weekend, which I found out makes me feel very peaceful. I love to clean! (Thanks, Mom.) I cook batches of chicken for myself on the weekend and I try to stock up on lots of frozen veggies so I can always eat something healthy. I have been reading a lot more, which is relaxing for me. (And I've been reading books other than Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse! I started reading Three Cups of Tea which is fascinating.) I am trying to spend time outside whenever I can. I am striving to create an existence for myself outside of my classroom, and I've been somewhat successful! I think it will keep getting better, too!
Next time I'll share more about teaching, but in light of the fact that I am trying to diversify my life a little right now, I think I'll end my post without talking anymore about school. Oh, except to say that for Halloween I was Alvin from Alvin and the Chipmunks (thank you Auntie Helene, GigiLou, Renee and Maddi for the inspiration!) and I was a huge hit! All the kids, from kindergarten to the big 6th graders knew who I was and got excited when they saw me. It was great.
My current Top 10 Favorite Things:
1. The Twilight series (seriously, it's been a while since I've been so consumed and interested in a story).
2. My roomie, H!
3. Pandora Radio.
4. Facebook Flair.
5. Matt Nathanson Station on Pandora.
6. Cooperative Learning Groups. (I'm doing less, they're doing more!)
7. My new Rusk shampoo. Smells delicious!
8. Pennies for Peace (I want to talk to my principal about starting a campaign at our school).
9. Brain Pop. (Seriously, this website is aahhhh-mazing.)
10. My new jersey sheets. So comfy.
♥ much love ♥
Sunday, November 16
Monday, October 27
Saturday, October 25
Don't Squeal...
...Unless it's a Big Deal!
I am having a tattling problem in my class; my students really like to tell on each other for the most silly things! I am going to be trying some lessons this week to get our class perspective changed. My students need to understand what warrants telling the teacher, and what is just tattling for tattling's sake.
I have been trying to combat this with compliments. During Community Circle for the last week, they have been practicing complimenting each other on doing good or appropriate things during class. I have been really surprised and pleased to hear them say very specific examples of classmates following rules or being kind to others.
On Friday, I had the best Community Circle yet. One of my problem students who can be incredibly defiant and when he puts his mind to it he can completely derail a lesson, apologized to his fellow students for his behavior that day. He had been pretty defiant and had caused a lot of problems in the morning; my other students have gotten very good at ignoring him, but it is obvious when he is annoying the other students. This was the first time he has ever apologized for his behavior without prompting; usually his apologies are in response to punishment. This time, he wasn't even in trouble! He decided to apologize all on his own! He looked at his classmates during Community Circle and said, "I want to say I'm sorry for how I acted. I'm sorry. Next time I'll be good. I will work on it." I don't think I hid my shock very well, and when I looked at my students, they were just as surprised. Then we all started smiling, and there was a chorus of, "Thanks, C!" It was the best moment of my teaching career so far. I think I am actually starting to get through to him!
Later that afternoon, he tried to talk another student - who had hit two students and pushed me - into calming down and going to the office because he really shouldn't do this "the hard way." He said, "Hey, you can do this the hard way or the easy way. I did it the hard way and I had to stare at the wall in MRC all day. You don't want to do that. Just go to the office and you won't be in as much trouble. If you keep doing this, you'll get in more trouble!" C was a completely different student all of a sudden! I left school on Friday walking on clouds because I was feeling like I might actually be making a difference in this student's life. I hope to see my students make more and more strides in their ability to be human with each other; I want to see them actually treating each other with respect.
That's all for now...
♥
On Friday, I had the best Community Circle yet. One of my problem students who can be incredibly defiant and when he puts his mind to it he can completely derail a lesson, apologized to his fellow students for his behavior that day. He had been pretty defiant and had caused a lot of problems in the morning; my other students have gotten very good at ignoring him, but it is obvious when he is annoying the other students. This was the first time he has ever apologized for his behavior without prompting; usually his apologies are in response to punishment. This time, he wasn't even in trouble! He decided to apologize all on his own! He looked at his classmates during Community Circle and said, "I want to say I'm sorry for how I acted. I'm sorry. Next time I'll be good. I will work on it." I don't think I hid my shock very well, and when I looked at my students, they were just as surprised. Then we all started smiling, and there was a chorus of, "Thanks, C!" It was the best moment of my teaching career so far. I think I am actually starting to get through to him!
Later that afternoon, he tried to talk another student - who had hit two students and pushed me - into calming down and going to the office because he really shouldn't do this "the hard way." He said, "Hey, you can do this the hard way or the easy way. I did it the hard way and I had to stare at the wall in MRC all day. You don't want to do that. Just go to the office and you won't be in as much trouble. If you keep doing this, you'll get in more trouble!" C was a completely different student all of a sudden! I left school on Friday walking on clouds because I was feeling like I might actually be making a difference in this student's life. I hope to see my students make more and more strides in their ability to be human with each other; I want to see them actually treating each other with respect.
That's all for now...
♥
Monday, October 20
Saturday, October 18
Twilight...
I was warned. Friends told me it would suck me in, and I would not be able to stop reading. Yet even after being warned, I was completely surprised at how hard it was to tear myself away from the book Twilight! I found myself completely entranced in Edward and Bella's world; waiting anxiously to find out what would happen next. I ended up being thankful that I had to spend the day at home yesterday because I got to finish the book! (I was home because I lost my voice; I have been fighting a cold and my voice finally gave in.) I went to the bookstore last night to buy the second book in the series and I'm already halfway through it!
Thursday night our school had a fundraising event at the McDonald's down the street, and I worked a register! I have new found respect for people who work behind the counter. It is a hectic job. I had fun seeing some of my students and their parents there and we were able to raise a lot of money.
Back to resting...
♥
Thursday, October 16
The end is near...
The final debate was last night! John McCain even mentioned Teach For America. But, as per usual, both candidates said things that were not true... Thank goodness there are organizations out there committed to making sure people get the facts!
Check it out!
♥
Tuesday, October 14
Story of a Sign
Thanks to my awesome Uncle Bill for sharing this video on his blog.
And remember Joseph Gordon Levitt, the cute kid from Angels In the Outfield? Check out his YouTube Political PSA.
Much Love. ♥
Monday, October 13
Open windows
The most seriously exciting thing is happening in Phoenix: it's cooling down! The nights are wonderfully cool. I have been able to have the windows open the last two nights, and I am really enjoying that.
I was really nervous about how hard it would be to get my students back into the routine of school after a week off, but they were wonderful today!
We had a great day and, in my opinion, had the best writing lesson to date. It was fun and I saw a huge improvement in the amount of detail in the writing. The whole lesson was just fun for me, too. All I did was say "Oh my goodness, I had the BEST time during Fall Break! I can't wait to write all about it and share with you!" Then I wrote "I had a great time during Fall Break!" on the overhead, put the pen down and said "I'm done." My kids just stared at me. Not a peep. They were speechless. I reached over to turn the projector off and one student yelled "WAIT!" I looked at him and said "What's wrong?" and he said "That's not it! That's not enough." To which I replied, "Well, that's what I wrote."
I acted like there was nothing wrong with that one sentence. Suddenly all the students were, for lack of a better description, freaking out and telling me that I hadn't written enough and I had to write more. I just looked at all of them, put my hands in my pockets, shrugged and said "I don't know what else to write. That's all I have to say about it." They insisted that I write more, so I asked them what they wanted to know. They peppered me with questions: "Who did you see?" "What did you do?" "Where did you sleep?" "What did you eat?" "How did you get there?" "How long were you gone?" "What did you wear?" "What interesting things happened to you?" I looked at them - feigning complete shock - and said, "You didn't get that from the sentence I wrote?!" They yelled "NOOO!" so I wrote the answers to their questions; we read the new, detailed paragraph together, and I asked them if that was better. They said "Oh, yes!" and I turned off the projector, got serious, and said "Sometimes in your writing, I have lots of questions like that. Today I want you to think about all the things you wanted to know about what I was going to write, and answer those questions in your own writing."
Amazingly, they did! I have never seen some of them write that much before. It was so much fun! They were writing quietly for over 15 minutes! That was the best part of my day, hands down. Off to sleep... ♥
We had a great day and, in my opinion, had the best writing lesson to date. It was fun and I saw a huge improvement in the amount of detail in the writing. The whole lesson was just fun for me, too. All I did was say "Oh my goodness, I had the BEST time during Fall Break! I can't wait to write all about it and share with you!" Then I wrote "I had a great time during Fall Break!" on the overhead, put the pen down and said "I'm done." My kids just stared at me. Not a peep. They were speechless. I reached over to turn the projector off and one student yelled "WAIT!" I looked at him and said "What's wrong?" and he said "That's not it! That's not enough." To which I replied, "Well, that's what I wrote."
I acted like there was nothing wrong with that one sentence. Suddenly all the students were, for lack of a better description, freaking out and telling me that I hadn't written enough and I had to write more. I just looked at all of them, put my hands in my pockets, shrugged and said "I don't know what else to write. That's all I have to say about it." They insisted that I write more, so I asked them what they wanted to know. They peppered me with questions: "Who did you see?" "What did you do?" "Where did you sleep?" "What did you eat?" "How did you get there?" "How long were you gone?" "What did you wear?" "What interesting things happened to you?" I looked at them - feigning complete shock - and said, "You didn't get that from the sentence I wrote?!" They yelled "NOOO!" so I wrote the answers to their questions; we read the new, detailed paragraph together, and I asked them if that was better. They said "Oh, yes!" and I turned off the projector, got serious, and said "Sometimes in your writing, I have lots of questions like that. Today I want you to think about all the things you wanted to know about what I was going to write, and answer those questions in your own writing."
Amazingly, they did! I have never seen some of them write that much before. It was so much fun! They were writing quietly for over 15 minutes! That was the best part of my day, hands down. Off to sleep... ♥
Wednesday, September 17
Relentless pursuit....
Being a first year teacher is challenging. That might be the understatement of the year (maybe the century). After four years in college studying education, a year and a half preparing through the credential program and six weeks of Institute with Teach For America, I still end every day realizing there is nothing that could completely prepare me for this experience. Thankfully, I have many tools and resources available to me. Even still...
Teach For America instilled in me (and the thousands of other CMs teaching across the country) the belief that everything that happens in my classroom is a result of my teacher thoughts, beliefs and mindsets.
While this certainly strengthens and widens my locus of control, this belief also means that every day I reflect not only on how the day went, but also what I did or did not do to produce those results. When things do not go the way I had hoped, I have to step back and consider what really guided my actions in the situations and lessons that caused the day to be less than stellar. This also means that when I find myself making excuses for my students based on what their lives are like outside of school, I have to stop myself and remember that while I have no control over that, I do have control over my classroom and how they behave while in it.
Furthermore, by taking on this challenge, I have committed myself to having high expectations for my students; that means I cannot make excuses for them or myself. Add to that sense of responsibility and belief in the power of my own mindsets and thoughts the overwhelming amount of lesson planning, management planning/implementation and copying I have to do and you have one stressful experience. As stressful and overwhelming as this can be, I have to celebrate the things that go well in order to maintain my sanity. Like last week, my students took their math SWYK (Show What You Know) for the week, and all 23 achieved a "Meets!" (At my school we use the assessment grades of Falls Far Bellow, Approaches, Meets and Exceeds which is in line with how the state assesses students on standardized tests.) That Friday night, while grading the SWYK, I was grinning because I realized they got it, and I helped! Other moments that I celebrate and that keep me going are ones like what happened the other day in class: a lot of students were getting chatty and I stopped my instruction to move clips and wait for them to calm down. One of my students said in a frustrated voice, "C'mon, guys, be quiet! You're wasting our learning time and I want to learn!!" The happiness I felt from that one comment lasted for days. I still smile thinking about it.
Those are the mindsets and ideas that I can only hope my students grasp: that our time together is important; that we need to respect our learning time because we will not get it back. If I am going to relentlessly pursue Meet and Exceed results for my students, they need to be invested in our learning time; otherwise nothing I do will help them succeed. I feel so blessed to be a part of my students' lives. In spite of all that many of them have going on at home that could drag them down, for the most part they show up every day excited and they are eager to do their best. I only hope they know how much I care about them and their futures.
On a personal note: I finally finished unpacking all of my things and my room is completely set up! I really feel like I live here now. I even went on an excursion on Sunday to find a Dunkin Donuts because we actually have them here in Phoenix! I was so excited. Also, my roommate and I found a discarded futon frame and lugged it up to our apartment (it is a beautiful cherry wood frame with only a few scratches), leaving only a mattress to be purchased. Last weekend we got one, so we finally have a couch in our living room. This apartment is really starting to feel homey.
I try to always have music playing in my classroom, and recently I have been playing a lot of Jack Johnson (it's like magic music). Every time I hear his duet with Ben Harper - "My Own Two Hands" - I feel inspired.
I can change the world
With my own two hands
Make a better place
With my own two hands
Make a kinder place
With my own
With my own two hands
Much love!
While this certainly strengthens and widens my locus of control, this belief also means that every day I reflect not only on how the day went, but also what I did or did not do to produce those results. When things do not go the way I had hoped, I have to step back and consider what really guided my actions in the situations and lessons that caused the day to be less than stellar. This also means that when I find myself making excuses for my students based on what their lives are like outside of school, I have to stop myself and remember that while I have no control over that, I do have control over my classroom and how they behave while in it.
Furthermore, by taking on this challenge, I have committed myself to having high expectations for my students; that means I cannot make excuses for them or myself. Add to that sense of responsibility and belief in the power of my own mindsets and thoughts the overwhelming amount of lesson planning, management planning/implementation and copying I have to do and you have one stressful experience. As stressful and overwhelming as this can be, I have to celebrate the things that go well in order to maintain my sanity. Like last week, my students took their math SWYK (Show What You Know) for the week, and all 23 achieved a "Meets!" (At my school we use the assessment grades of Falls Far Bellow, Approaches, Meets and Exceeds which is in line with how the state assesses students on standardized tests.) That Friday night, while grading the SWYK, I was grinning because I realized they got it, and I helped! Other moments that I celebrate and that keep me going are ones like what happened the other day in class: a lot of students were getting chatty and I stopped my instruction to move clips and wait for them to calm down. One of my students said in a frustrated voice, "C'mon, guys, be quiet! You're wasting our learning time and I want to learn!!" The happiness I felt from that one comment lasted for days. I still smile thinking about it.
Those are the mindsets and ideas that I can only hope my students grasp: that our time together is important; that we need to respect our learning time because we will not get it back. If I am going to relentlessly pursue Meet and Exceed results for my students, they need to be invested in our learning time; otherwise nothing I do will help them succeed. I feel so blessed to be a part of my students' lives. In spite of all that many of them have going on at home that could drag them down, for the most part they show up every day excited and they are eager to do their best. I only hope they know how much I care about them and their futures.
On a personal note: I finally finished unpacking all of my things and my room is completely set up! I really feel like I live here now. I even went on an excursion on Sunday to find a Dunkin Donuts because we actually have them here in Phoenix! I was so excited. Also, my roommate and I found a discarded futon frame and lugged it up to our apartment (it is a beautiful cherry wood frame with only a few scratches), leaving only a mattress to be purchased. Last weekend we got one, so we finally have a couch in our living room. This apartment is really starting to feel homey.
I try to always have music playing in my classroom, and recently I have been playing a lot of Jack Johnson (it's like magic music). Every time I hear his duet with Ben Harper - "My Own Two Hands" - I feel inspired.
I can change the world
With my own two hands
Make a better place
With my own two hands
Make a kinder place
With my own
With my own two hands
Much love!
Monday, September 1
Netflix
So, I did it. I joined Netflix. And then spent a few hours on Saturday making my list. I can't wait to start getting those movies in the mail! :) Oh, the small pleasures.
Teaching seems to be getting easier. I have figured out that I do not like going into school early, so I have to stay later after school to get things done. I have also been working on leaving school without any work to take home; that has made the last week really relaxing at night! I am hoping to make that a habit.
The kiddos are really starting to get into our routine. I am learning their little quirks and how to get them to do what I need them to do. 7 year olds really like to be timed! I guess anything that feels like a competition... I am really excited that we are getting into a routine. They make me so happy (most of the time).
I went to my first Diamondbacks game yesterday! I even bought a shirt. And I have never been in a stadium with a retractable roof; I am so glad the roof was closed last night because it was so hot! Here's a blurry self-portrait from my cell phone last night (setting: my bathroom). I wanted to show my parents my first D-backs shirt! :)
♥
I went to my first Diamondbacks game yesterday! I even bought a shirt. And I have never been in a stadium with a retractable roof; I am so glad the roof was closed last night because it was so hot! Here's a blurry self-portrait from my cell phone last night (setting: my bathroom). I wanted to show my parents my first D-backs shirt! :)
♥
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