EDEX 962 and EDEX 963

Today begins another day of teaching. I’m teaching a combined class of EDEX 962 and EDEX963 which has four students. I have been teaching this class for the past 17 years. It is a practicum class so I created a school for these teachers to show me that they can apply all that they learned in their other Master’s level classes. It is my favorite class to teach because I love seeing how my students grow in just four weeks. It is like watching baby birds learn to fly.

For their first blog reflection, this is their assignment:

“I want you to come up with 3 goals for yourself. I want to know how you are feeling about the course, the children, and your expectations.”

I also have 3 goals:

• I want to make sure that everything is set up for my teachers so they have a great learning experience.
• I want to give feedback to my teachers so they will have useful information to help their own teaching.
• I want to be available as a resource so my teachers can gain confidence in teaching students with special needs.

I’ve been teaching for 44 years and I’m still excited about beginning this class. Like any class with any age students, every class and every student is different. You never know what challenges you may face but I like facing them together with my students. I feel that if you aren’t excited on the first day of any class you are teaching, then maybe it is time to get out of teaching. I love teaching and sharing my experiences with my students (who are teachers). I hope that they will learn from my experiences so that they can be effective in their classrooms.

Let the fun begin!

Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash

Teacher Shortage

Recently I was asked about the reasons for teacher shortage and lack of interest in the teaching career. Did I think it was salary, class size, or lack of admin support?

I don’t think salary is the reason for either problem. I think teachers go into the profession in order to help others and the need to make a difference, They go into the field knowing what the salaries are going to be. Of course, everyone would love for their salaries to be higher but if you want to be rich, you don’t become a teacher.

I also don’t think class size is the reason people aren’t interested in a teaching career. When I went through teacher training, we learned how to manage a class whether we had 2 students or 40. Classroom management is a big deal in teacher training.

I think the main problem with teacher shortage is the negative media attention that educators get. We hear about all the terrible teachers who are doing bad things and are caught. We hear about the administrators who are doing an awful job and administrators are former teachers. Like any profession, there are good people and bad people that are in it and need to be weeded out.

But we don’t hear about the wonderful things that educators are accomplishing. We aren’t showing how teachers are making a difference. We aren’t advertising what a fulfilling career that a teacher is. I don’t regret a single day that spent teaching because I know I helped many students be successful in their lives. I know this because former students have come back and let me know this.

Another problem is that we are losing teachers faster than we are gaining them. We are losing teachers because of burnout. We need to be mentoring new teachers and helping them avoid burnout. Instead, new teachers are given the worst students and given extra duties because they are the newbies. We pile on paperwork and regulations without helping them learn how to manage their time. No new teacher is ever taught how to manage their time efficiently. We teach them how to do many things and expect them to do 48 hours worth of work in a 24 hour day! So, new teachers skip meals, work through the evenings and weekends and stop having a real life. How are we surprised that they burn out quickly and leave the teaching profession?

What do you feel is causing the teacher shortage and lack of interest in the teaching profession? Please share.

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Tune-Up

In Do you have a tuner? From Seth Godin's Blog, Seth Godin states,

"If we have mediocre tools, why should we expect great work?"

This makes me think of a pencil that is used until the point is no longer pointy. How many times have I used a garden tool until it is no longer sharp and hacking away at weeds is difficult and miserable? I have used a knife that is no longer sharp and not only makes cutting difficult but even possibly dangerous.

Teachers tend to go forward full of energy all of the time. They tend to keep going until they are no longer sharp. When this happens it is time for a tune-up. Holiday vacations are a great time for tune-ups.

Before my vacation, I like to have some idea of the things I want to do to recharge or tune up. Here are some suggestions:

• Read a book for enjoyment.
• Spend some time with a hobby that I don’t usually make time for.
• Spend time with family and friends and put away my phone.
• Go for a walk in the neighborhood and notice changes or improvements.
• Go for a hike in the woods.
• Do something special with a loved one.
• Cook/Bake something you don’t usually have time for.
• Create something new.
• Pamper yourself and don’t feel guilty.

What would you suggest for tuning up over a vacation? Please share.

Photo by Julian Hochgesang on Unsplash

Teaching Shortages

In Clemson College of Education wants to lower in-state tuition to curb the teacher shortage, the article states that

“Last school year, 6,650 South Carolina teachers left their jobs while only 2,170 students earned an education degree, according to the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement out of Winthrop University.”

I’m very worried about the teacher shortages that we are going to face.

We are already short special education teachers. They are always in demand.

Now with Covid-19 and all the uncertainty, we really don’t know what we will have.

Some teachers don’t know if they have a job because we don’t know if parents will send their children to school, enroll in a virtual school, or do homeschool.

Some teachers are at the age where they can retire and the thought of learning new technology and teaching remotely is not something they want to do.

Some teachers are at an age or have health concerns that make them high risk and they don’t want to return to the school building.

They plan to transport students at 50% capacity. This is going to cause a rise in fuel costs because buses will have to run more routes. Our district is determining attendance by last names and not location so the buses may be running all over the county all day long picking up students. Depending on which time they are picked up, won’t students miss some instruction time? Teachers may find this an obstacle that they don’t want to face.

Some schools will be on a hybrid schedule where some students are in the classroom and others attend remotely. If half of the students are getting face to face instruction and the other half learns remotely on two days and then they flip flop the other two days, are they only getting half the instruction they normally would? Do all students have the necessary tools to attend school remotely? Are teachers going to be held accountable for a situation that is not in their control?

Will students be able to master the skills necessary to meet the yearly standards for their grades? Will teachers be held accountable if the students don’t meet the yearly standards?

The education future for our students is a scary thought. I’m not sure what the answer is but I just don’t see how a hybrid schedule is an answer. I also don’t think that virtual school for young children is going to be very effective in teaching all the necessary skills for the next grade.

Do you have any suggestions? Please share.

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

SC Teachers Fleeing

Recently I read this article, “The SC teacher mass exodus you heard about? How it’s about to hit your child’s school” and thought about the implications it has on our young people. It states,

“The shortage of special ed teachers — and the need for more math, science and social studies teachers — is a reality for S.C. schools, which last year had 190 vacancies in those critical areas.”

I believe that as long as we keep asking teachers to do more administrative work and paperwork, teachers spend less time actually teaching, which is the main reason that most people go into education.

Now, teachers have to do too many reports, administer too many standardized tests, and do too much redundant paperwork that makes the joy of teaching impossible to achieve. By the time the teacher actually gets to teach, they are too exhausted or frustrated to do a good job.

I have taught many new teachers who have great enthusiasm and ideas but when they are spread too thin, it is inevitable that they will feel unappreciated and overworked. Educators are smart and they learn quickly that staying in a profession where they no longer feel happiness is downhill business. It is better to get out when they are still young and don’t have as much invested as an older teacher with more years in the process.

I also don’t think we encourage young teachers to have a life outside of education. It is too easy to get sucked into the belief that our whole life revolves around our classroom and our students. It is important to have a hobby or several of them. It is important to have friends outside of the classroom. It is important to have outside interests because this helps keep us fresh and interesting. Sometimes I can find new ideas from doing something outside of my comfort zone. It is too easy to get bogged down and over-involved in education and not leave room for family or friends or fun.

I also think we have scared a lot of young people away from the profession by constantly complaining about the negatives and sharing enough of the positives. The positives more than outweigh the negatives but we don’t let enough people know about them.

I think the media also focuses on the negatives and the bad things that some teachers do. I think every profession has some lazy and unethical people that they have to get rid of but that doesn’t define that profession. There are corrupt cops and firemen who become arsonists but that doesn’t mean all of them are. But we need to stop spotlighting the negatives if we want to encourage others to go into the field.

Are you experiencing a shortage where you live? If so, what suggestions do you have to help solve the problem? Please share.

Photo by Tra Nguyen on Unsplash

Class Tag Contest for Teachers

Class Tag - “is the free, easy-to-use collaborative platform that lets teachers effortlessly engage with parents. Classrooms earn ClassTag Coins when parents and teachers communicate, volunteer, or attend events such as parent teacher conferences. For teachers, the cloud-based ClassTag app is easy to access and use from any computer or smartphone at ClassTag.com so classrooms can start earning ClassTag Coins even before school doors open as teachers begin to reach out to parents.”

Contest:

ClassTag Parent-Teacher Engagement Contest:

Share innovative and creative ways you've engaged with your students' parents in 500 words or less for a chance to win $1,000 in ClassTag Coins, a digital currency that can be exchanged for an array of classroom supplies through ClassTag's Marketplace. 

Submissions close August 20, and the top 10 teachers will be announced August 24.

Give Greatness Award

Give Greatness Award

“Nominate a colleague who inspires greatness in their students, their peers, or the community. Someone who goes above and beyond; someone who makes a difference.

Share their story below and you will BOTH be entered to WIN a classroom technology package.”

Here is what the winner could win:

“Each Grand Prize classroom technology package includes:

SMART Board® 7000 Series interactive display with iQ

SMART Learning Suite software subscription

A SMART Document Camera™ 550

SMART Audio™ 400 classroom amplification

30 Chromebooks

Wall mount and installation services

SMART training and implementation support

The two grand prize classroom technology packages have a combined value of over $40,000/£30,000."

I’m always talking about how we don’t share enough positive stuff about teachers and I’ve heard from many of you that you agree. Now is the time to show that you mean what you say!

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Believe in Yourself As a Teacher

In Believing in All Your Students from Success In the Classroom, Sam shares,

“The most amazing teachers I know believe in all their students.”

This is always such a great thing to see but it also reminded me of something else.

Amazing teachers also believe in themselves.

The most common thing I see among struggling teachers are that they lack self-confidence and lack belief in themselves.

I’m not saying you have to be an egotistical maniac but just believe that you are a great teacher and you want the best for your students.

Believing in yourself doesn’t mean that you won’t make mistakes or that you won’t stumble along the way.

It means that you know that you will be able to get up and go on.

It means you will stop trying to second guess yourself and go ahead and try new things.

It means that you will know how to ask for help if you need it.

It means that you will learn from own mistakes and do better next time.

It means that you won’t stop trying to do better.

It means that your students will learn from your attitude.

It means you won’t give up.

This is also the hardest thing for a teacher to do because most teachers are humble and nurturing. It is hard to believe in themselves. Part of the reason is that many teachers think that believing in themselves means that they know it all and have learned all that they need to know which isn’t true. This is actually the complete opposite.

Believing in yourself means that you are comfortable in your own skin. You accept yourself for what you are along with all the flaws that you have. You strive to be a better teacher but you know your limitations and can work around them. You don’t accept the status quo.

I hope this coming year to find real life examples of teachers who believe in themselves and share them with you. If you know of any, please let me know their names and contact info.

Image: 'Believe'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63770279@N04/7155210967
Found on flickrcc.net