Blueberry Bushes and Fig Tree

I can’t believe how early the blueberry bushes bloomed. I guess it is because it has been so warm here. Now we have blueberries on them, which we don’t usually have until June. We also found some figs on the fig tree. Usually, we have to fight the birds and squirrels for this fruit, but since I started hanging CDs from the branches, it has helped keep them away. 

Shopping, Gardening, and Scrappy Socks

Monday
We went to the car dealership. We thought we were picking up our car, but the trailer hitch wasn’t
installed, and they changed their story about financing. We left the car there, and they will install the trailer hitch. Next week, we hope to pick up the car and pay in cash.

Tuesday
We decided it was time to get back in the exercise routine. So, we went to the senior center and walked for an hour. Then, we went to Costco and bought lots of things we really didn’t need but wanted. In the evening, I went to my knitting group.

Wednesday
We went to the senior center and walked in the morning. When I got home, I did some yard work since it is expected to rain for the next few days. Then I spent most of the day working on my scrappy sock and watching videos. After dinner, we watched movies on Prime Video.

Thursday
After walking in the center, we went to the Apple Store. I picked up my new MacBook Pro that I bought online last week. Then I talked Don into buying a new Apple Watch (Series 11). He has been needing a watch for a long time because his watch would die in the middle of the day. It was a Series 2, so I think he was past due for a new watch. As soon as we got home, I set up my new computer. Meanwhile, we mowed the lawn to get it ready for the Easter egg hunt on Sunday. It took several hours to migrate my data from my old computer to the new one, so this was a good use of our time. In the afternoon, my friend came over to give me a cover for Don’s watch that she had on hand, and then I migrated Don’s data from his old computer to my old computer (his new one now).

Friday
I worked in the yard some more and then spent the rest of the day knitting on my scrappy sock. I finished one, and I really like how it turned out. I couldn’t wait to start the other one. Don is happy with his new computer. I figured that his old one was about 8 years old, and the one he is using is now 3 years old, so he will be able to use it for a few more years until I get another new one.

Saturday
It was a rainy morning, so we went to Walmart because a lot of people woke up and it got crowded. Then I had to help Don set up some things with the computer. In the afternoon, I was on Zoom with my knitting friends and finished the foot and heel of my second scrappy sock.

It’s been a very productive week!

Original photos by Pat Hensley

1999 33c Insects & Spiders: Yellow Garden Spider

Spiders don’t bother me too much, but my husband hates to find them in our house. It is my job to kill it if he finds one. His job is take care of any other insect that is found in our house. When I found out that the first week of April celebrates spiders, I wondered if I could find a postage stamp with a spider on it.

The Yellow Garden Spider (#3351d) is so famous that it was even featured on a United States postage stamp! In 1999, the U.S. Postal Service released a special collection called the Insects & Spiders series. This set included twenty different colorful stamps, and the Yellow Garden Spider was one of the stars. The 33-cent stamp showed a beautiful illustration of the spider sitting on its web, helping people across the country appreciate its unique look. It was a great way to show that even tiny creatures are important enough to be honored on our mail.

While they are often grouped together, spiders are actually very different from insects. Insects belong to a group that has six legs and three main body parts: the head, thorax, and abdomen. Spiders, however,

are arachnids. They have eight legs and only two main body sections, called the cephalothorax and the abdomen. Another big difference is that almost all insects have antennae and many have wings, but spiders never have either. Instead of chewing their food like many insects do, spiders use their fangs to help them eat a liquid diet

The Yellow Garden Spider is a large, colorful spider often found in backyards and fields. You can easily spot them because of their bright yellow and black patterns. They are famous for building huge, circular webs that have a zigzag shape made of thick silk right in the middle. This zigzag is called a stabilimentum. Scientists think it might help birds see the web so they don't fly through it, or it might help hide the spider from predators.

Even though they look a bit scary because of their size, these spiders are like free pest control for your garden. They spend their days catching insects that humans usually don't like, such as flies, mosquitoes, and grasshoppers. By eating these bugs, spiders help keep your garden plants healthy and stop pesky insects from coming inside your house. They are generally shy and would much rather stay on their webs than bother a human.

Because they do so much work for us, we should try our best to leave them alone. In fact, many people celebrate Be Kind to Spiders Week during the first week of April! It is a great time to learn why we shouldn't kill them. Instead of squishing a spider, you can use a cup and a piece of paper to gently move it outside. Keeping spiders around helps the environment stay balanced and keeps the "bad bugs" away.

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References:
Cover from the author’s collection
National Wildlife Federation: Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia)
Smithsonian Institution: Common Garden Spiders
National Day Calendar: Be Kind to Spiders Week (First Full Week of April)
United States Postal Service: 1999 Insects and Spiders Commemorative Series
American Museum of Natural History: Spiders vs. Insects

Euros, Utility Pole, Yard work, and a sick cat

Sunday was a nice, quiet day. Lots of relaxation and movie watching while knitting.

On Monday, we went to the bank and ordered Euros for our trip. I was afraid the power company was going to show up to replace the rotten utility pole, but they never did appear.

Tuesday morning at 8am, the power company arrived in 3 huge trucks. They had a remote-controlled machine with tank treads on it. This machine picked up the utility pole and took it to the backyard. While it was in the yard, they attached the hardware to it before they raised it. The machine picked up the pole and moved it over the fence to put it in the hole on the other side. This machine also held the bucket so the guy could get up the pole and attach the wires. It took about 7 hours, but we were only without power for about 2 hours. All day, we sat in the yard and watched them work on the pole, which was very interesting.

On Wednesday, we went grocery shopping, which we had put off for the past 2 days. I’m so glad we only went to Aldi's, Walmart, and Gala Fresh (the meat market). In the afternoon, we worked in the yard. We cleared out the back of the back yard patio and moved the bushes in front of the screen room to the back. Then we spread out the “Moses in the bulrushes” and the amaryllis bulbs in the front flower bed.

I went shopping with Donna on Thursday, and she stopped at the bank so I could pick up the euros that we ordered. While Don took an afternoon nap, Donna gave me more “Moses in the bulrushes” to spread in the front flower bed. Little Bear was not her usual self, and we were worried about this little cat.

On Friday morning, Don noticed the front flower bed and thought all the plants had doubled in size on their own. At first, I let him believe it, but I was laughing so hard that he knew something was up. He was relieved to know that we added more plants. Then we trimmed palm trees, and Donna helped us drag yard waste to the street. Little Bear, the cat, is not doing well. She isn’t eating or drinking water, and Donna thinks she may have eaten a lizard. I hope she doesn’t die.

On Saturday, I attended a knitting class on Zoom at 10:00 a.m. However, we then had to attend the Postcard Club, so I took the class on my phone while we drove to the meeting. I was able to finish my class out in the parking lot before joining the rest of the postcard enthusiasts.

As soon as it got light out, I went looking for Little Bear, and I found her curled up behind my potted plants. I wasn’t sure she was alive, and I shone my flashlight on her. Thankfully, she moved her head. A little while later, she came to the screen door and wanted inside. I was able to get her to eat a little dry food. Then Donna came by with some canned cat food for her, and she ate a lot of the food. When we got back in the afternoon, she was asleep under our swing, and I brought her some water, but she wouldn’t drink anything. Before long, she came to the screen door and wanted inside. I was able to get her to eat a little dry food, but then Donna brought her more of the canned food, and she ate a lot. She even started to clean herself, which she hadn’t had the energy to do in days. I’m glad to see she is feeling better.

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Hot days, Tiny Knitting, and Weeding

It’s been a very hot week. The temperatures have been higher than normal, and the humidity has been awful.

We finished week 3 of my graduate class. Everyone seems to be doing well. It’s really gone by fast, and hard to believe that next week is the last week.

We also had our knitting guild picnic this week, and I brought my watergate salad. There was also a yarn sale where members sell their own yarn, so I picked up 3 skeins of Miss Babs yarn from my friend Cathi for $5.

We also met the Old Hikers group for lunch at Sweet Catherine's. Jean brought a couple of old photos to share, and I showed everyone how I took a picture of them and could enlarge it on my phone to see the people's faces better. We had a huge crowd. I think it was the largest we've ever had. I saw some people I haven't seen in years. It was good to see Doris B. and Scott W. again! 

There was a cancellation at the physical therapist’s office, so Don got to go for physical therapy. I think he is finally starting to feel better. He felt well enough to mow the lawn on Friday.

On Saturday and Sunday morning, before it got hot, I was able to get out in the yard and do some weeding. Once my class ends, I will be able to get out every morning after walking at the center and hopefully get ahead of the weeds.

I’ve been making some tiny knit toys. I made a tiny cherry pie and a tiny chicken. This helped me try to decide what I wanted to make next for my big project. I’ve decided to make the Bonfire Tee with the yarn I just bought. 

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Gardening Fun

Yesterday, my hubby and I repotted a bunch of snake plants. First, he drilled holes in the bottom of my new flower pots and then I put a coffee filter in the bottom of each one. He helped me put potting soil in each one. Then we had to separate the snake plants in these cheap plastic containers. We had so many leftovers that we planted some in the garden around the back patio. I ended up throwing away some because there was nowhere else to plant. Then we transplanted the firecracker bush from the side of the house to the garden around the shed. Hopefully, tomorrow when it is cooler, I will take up all the concrete scallop edging and let the grass fill in on the side of the house. Since we never see that side, it is a waste of time to plant flowers over there.

I have an online friend, Maddie, (aka Madgardener) who has been my online friend since 1998. When I got first got on the internet on the computer, I found a chat room called rec.gardens. We became gardening friends there and eventually transitioned to Facebook and continue to be friends. She is always posting wonderful pictures of her plants and I promised her that I would post some pictures of our plants here in Florida.

Snake plants in front of the living room

Orchid and Angel Wing Begonia

Candlestick Plant

Night Blooming Cereus

Aloe and Firecracker plant

Gardening and Horticulture Stamp

I saw this stamp in my husband’s collection and I really liked it. During the spring and summer, I do a lot of gardening so this was a perfect stamp to reflect one of my hobbies.

The three-cent green Gardening and Horticulture stamp (US #1100) was issued on March 15, 1958, in Ithaca, New York. It was printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on a rotary press. The stamp was issued in conjunction with the one-hundredth celebration of Liberty Hyde Bailey’s birth.

Liberty Hyde Bailey is known as the Father of Modern Horticulture in America. He was born in Michigan in 1858. He studied botany during his college years at Michigan Agricultural College (MAC) which is now known as Michigan State University. He graduated in 1882 and went to Harvard University to work as an assistant to Asa Gray. Asa Gray was a famous botanist known around the world.

In 1884, Bailey went back to Michigan Agricultural College and started the first horticulture department in the United States. He established the first horticultural laboratory in the United States in 1888.

He served as a professor of botany and horticulture at Cornell University from 1888 to 1903. When he was at Cornell University, he started an extension program to teach people in rural areas about agriculture. This motivated New York State to open the New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell that was run by Bailey. Bailey created the Bailey Hortorium which houses one of the largest collections of preserved plant material.

The Bailey Museum and Gardens are located in South Haven Michigan. The homestead is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The home was built from 1853 -1856 and is one of the oldest standing homes in South Haven Michigan. The museum’s grounds feature gardens with interpretive signage, community garden plots, an old smokehouse, a blacksmith shop and carriage barn, and a nature trail.

Class activities:

1. Who is Asa Gray and why was he famous?
2. Identify an artifact from early horticulture. Describe its function.
3. Find a plant and share more about the plant.

References:

https://www.mysticstamp.com/Products/United-States/1100/USA/?gclid=CjwKCAjw47eFBhA9EiwAy8kzNA8YHpKXBJI-qjkoEtzaNkOKYSBE-em8o_9rO2oiBovohg-RDCeroRoC8_UQAvD_BwE

https://rise.natsci.msu.edu/about/who-was-liberty-hyde-bailey/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Liberty-Hyde-Bailey

https://www.libertyhydebailey.org/

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Gardening for Students

While we are all stuck at home and it is spring, what better time to start a garden. You can start a vegetable garden, or you can start a flower garden, or you can start both!

Here is a great video -Fleet Education for Kids – “As part of #EarthMonth 2020, learn to garden at home with a fun activity for kids in Kindergarten through 5th grade.”

https://www.facebook.com/fleetfarming/videos/385083552640691

Seeds are available at Walmart, Dollar stores, and many home-improvement stores like Lowes or Home Depot. Many of these places have seedlings already started if you don’t want to start with just seeds.

Growing plants is pretty basic. You need soil, water, and light.

I like to start my seeds in pots so I can watch as they grow. I don’t have to worry about pulling them accidentally with the weeds in the beds. Once they have grown enough to identify in a bed, I will transplant them. This would be exciting for students to watch and document the growth by measuring and taking photos.

My problem hasn’t always been getting started but rather keeping my plants alive. I either overwater or forget to water but now that I’m at home all the time it is much easier. With children, you can set up a calendar and keep a record of when you watered.

Gardening can become a great science experiment or just a fun experience.

Sunflowers, zinnias, marigolds, and cosmos are easy flowers to grow from seeds.

I like to get vegetable plants because I’m too impatient for my seeds to grow. I like to grow tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, and yellow squash. My husband likes to try growing watermelon, but we have never been successful because of our traveling. This year we are going to try again.

I like the Square Foot Gardening method and I try to use a lot of principles mentioned in the book.

There are many resources online with lots of great advice. I have found it easier to get advice from people who live locally to me and have had success with growing seeds and vegetables that I like. Usually, they have great advice that pertains to my particular area and climate. Never be afraid of asking a gardener for advice because most of them love to share their knowledge!

What do you grow from seeds or plants? Please share.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Agricultural Festival 2012

This week our community garden participated in the Agricultural Festival: Around the World on a Plate. The festival was sponsored by the Synergy Garden, The International Center, and the Greenville County Farm Bureau. The agriculture of Costa Rica, Colombia, and Uganda was featured at this event. It was exciting to hear people from those countries talk about the agriculture and the way of life in each of those countries. By doing this, I was able to see how different life is in other countries but yet, how much we have in common in the way our hopes for our families are the same. After each speaker gave their presentation, there was a drawing where the winner won a basket of fresh produce from the garden. Then an international lunch was provided and a tour of the garden ended the event. There was a full house for the inaugural event and I believe fun was had by people of all ages. You can see the pictures of this fantastic event by clicking here: Agricultural Festival 2012

An event like this helps people learn about other cultures and ways of life. Knowledge increases tolerance of people who are different from us and we need to do a better job at teaching our children this. By attending events like this is a great way to model this behavior for our students and our own children. Maybe something like this can be done on a smaller scale in the classroom.

(On a side note, I was also able to reconnect with a friend that I haven’t seen in about 20 years! She looks as great as ever and of course it brought back memories of wonderful times. It was great seeing you again Whitney! )

If you do something like this in your classroom, please share your ideas!

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Weeds in my Garden

It is now spring time which makes me start to focus on my gardens. It is during this time that I know I need to get out all the weeds that are appearing and plan for new plants to be planted. I have all these bright ideas and hopes for good things to come.

Dandelions are a weed in my yard, yet many people make dandelion wine. Some violets are cute in the forest but I don’t want them littering my green lawn. In fact, some people sprinkle sugar on them and add them to their salads. What one person considers a weed may be considered a beauty to others.

I want a pretty garden. But it takes work. And I mean a lot of work; work that is not so pretty and fun like weeding and mulching. It is dirty, sweaty work. But it is necessary if I want to achieve my goal of a beautiful garden.

As I’m weeding my flower beds, I wonder about these small tender plants that I’m pulling out. They are a nuisance and they make my flower beds look ugly. But what is the purpose of a weed? Surely they were put on this planet for a reason (other than to drive me crazy or help me lose weight by weeding instead of eating). In fact, some of these so called weed are actually pretty. I don’t usually know the names of these weeds but I know that I don’t want them in my flower bed mixing with my beautiful flowers.

Sometimes I look at my class that way on the first day. I am full of anticipation and hope and I think my students are too. I have goals in mind for how I want them to grow. But it is going to take a lot of work to get there. It will take a lot of dirty, sweaty work. And it might not be fun at times either.

Then it hit me. This is exactly how I see some students in my class. Some of them are just weeds. They are a nuisance and keep me from achieving my goal. I want to yank them out and get rid of them from the room. I don’t want them mixing with my other beautiful wonders.

But what is their purpose in my class? Surely there is a reason for them but will I take the time and effort to find out what it is? Am I willing to get “dirty and sweaty” for the same of some weeds? How many times have I written them off in my mind? Oh, they are just weeds. I don’t need to really know them because I’m getting rid of them. I hate to say that this happens but I have to be honest and admit to feeling this way sometimes. Sometimes I just don’t give these poor weeds a chance to thrive and show their beauty.

I hope that I can stop and look at each student as a flower instead of a weed. I hope I give each one a chance to thrive and survive in order to show me their beauty. There is a purpose but I just need to find out what it is. I need to search for the answer and not give up. I believe if I can do this with every student, I would be a more successful teacher.

So, do you have any weeds in your classroom?

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'Summer field'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30201239@N00/2231535533 by: b k

Teaching and Gardening Part 3

Maybe I should have titled this post: Weeds vs. Flowers in Our Classrooms. I have really enjoyed looking at my hobby of gardening to see how it relates to teaching. I’m constantly amazed how much I learn from gardening that can be applied to the classroom. While thinking about this topic, I found the following quotes that I thought you would enjoy.

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Fortune of the Republic, 1878

Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them- A. A. Milne, Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh

A weed is no more than a flower in disguise.- James Russell Lowell, The Growth of a Legend, 1847

A weed is but an unloved flower.- Ella Wilcox, 1855 – 1919

One time I went to the plant nursery to buy this plant called Lantana, which is supposed to be hardy in the heat and drought. I was thrilled to plant this because I loved the bright colors of the plant and how easy it was to care for it. When my parents found out that I paid about $8 for this plant (My father is an avid gardener so I love to share things like this with them), they really laughed. You see, in Florida where they live, this plant is a weed and grows along the sides of the road. People constantly try to get rid of it from their yards. My father said he could get me all that I want, and for free!

I wondered how many students are considered weeds. Maybe no one has seen their virtues or gotten to know them. Is the student who misbehaves a weed or a flower? Maybe no one has made an effort to find out this student’s virtues. I once read somewhere that you can find at least one good thing about a person and when you do, it will make it harder for you to dislike them. Maybe if I can find that one good thing, that student will change from a weed to a flower.

I taught at one school where we had some flexibility in scheduling. (I didn’t understand the whys or how, but I just know it affected the classes that I taught.) I was a special education teacher so as long as I taught special education for at least half the day; I was allowed to teach anything else the principal wanted me to teach. This meant I was assigned 2 more classes of remedial math which involved teaching regular education students who had failed standardized tests that could affect their graduation from high school. The regular math teachers were thrilled that I would be teaching these classes because none of them wanted to teach the lower level students and felt their destiny was to only teach higher level math courses. They felt that teaching these lower level students was a waste of their time and usually involved major behavior problems. (I guess you could say, these lower level students were considered weeds.)

Now, I on the other hand, was ecstatic about the chance to teach these lower level students. I had only taught special education students up to this point and I felt like I was teaching gifted and talented students. Please don’t think I didn’t still love teaching special education students, but this was a whole different world to me. I really feel that many of these students lacked the basic math foundations in order to build new skills so I started from the bottom and worked my way up. I pre- and post-tested students so they could work on their own individual skills. Everyone had their own plan that I worked up for them and they worked their hearts out for me. Usually the students were too busy to misbehave so behavior issues were not a problem in the class. I was so proud of the students who retook the exit exam at the end of the year and passed the math portion of the test. You see, I saw these students as flowers, not weeds, and cultivated their garden so that they could grow and learn the skills they needed in order to be successful.

Our attitude towards plants is a singularly narrow one. If we see any immediate utility in a plant we foster it. If for any reason we find its presence undesirable or merely a matter of indifference, we may condemn it to destruction forthwith.- Rachel Carson

I have learned a lot about wildflowers while I have gone hiking. There is this beautiful flower that can be either reddish orange or yellow called Jewelweed. I love to find this because they are so pretty. After some research and talking to park rangers, I have found out that this flower supposedly is used to fight poison ivy rashes and usually grow near where poison ivy is found. Yet, my husband tells me that this plant used to grow in his parent’s backyard and they spent years trying to get rid of it from the yard. Every year they would pull them out of the ground only to find them coming back the next year. His parents obviously found no use for this plant and felt it was a weed. I think this plant is handy to have around and that it is a very useful flower so if I ever have it in my yard, I wouldn’t try to get rid of it.

Maybe I need to look at my students who I feel are weeds and try to find out how useful they could be. Maybe they haven’t discovered their usefulness yet and I am the instrument of their discovery. Instead of trying to find out ways to eradicate them from my classroom, I need to find a way to cultivate these students. I need to help them to grow and be productive. How amazing it would be to find out that these students were not weeds and actually rare and valuable plants. If I could do this, my class would be a successful garden!

Teaching & Gardening Part 2

Maybe I should name this post “How to Grow Tomatoes (I mean Students)” but I went with the basic title so I wouldn’t scare anyone else. I really enjoy gardening so much that I tend to look at gardening to see how it relates to teaching. According to Gardening with the Helpful Gardener on How to Grow Tomatoes, here are the points made:

“Not all tomatoes are the same.” I look at students and see them so differently. They all have their own personalities and learning styles. Too many times I see classes where teachers want them all to fit the same mold, think the same things, write the same things, without using any imagination or creativity. Just like it is impossible to have tomatoes that are all the same sizes, flavors, and colors, it is impossible to think that we will have students all the same. We need to look at their individuality and help build on their strengths.

“Tomatoes require plenty of sun.” Students require a lot of nurturing, positive encouragement and good teaching. Without it, students will end up hating schools and learning. For years my husband hated learning because of his bad experiences in school. Once he found out how to help himself (through other support systems), he began to love reading textbooks on his own. If he hadn’t found a way to do this, I don’t think he would have been as successful as he has been. What about the students who are not able to do this?

“As for soil, they will grow in just about anything you throw at them.” Yes, students will learn something no matter what kind of class they are in but is that the best we want for them? Will they grow strong and tall or will they learn some things that may not be in their best interest? Maybe this is how gangs are formed. Maybe they will learn that they hate schools and books. We can’t control all of the things students may learn no matter how much schools and parents try.

“Uniform watering is the key to nice fruit.” Students need consistency. Discipline needs to be consistent in order for it to be effective. I have seen a teacher change her discipline plan every 2 weeks because nothing was working and then she would complain about the students. Well, she wasn’t being consistent if it was changing every 2 weeks!

“As your plants get larger, they will need to be staked in order to support the weight of the fruits as they begin to grow.” We need to support our students as they begin to grow. We need to encourage them as they explore and discover new learning. If it is things we don’t know about, we can help them by learning along side of them.

“DO NOT REFRIGERATE TOMATOES! Ever! Fresh tomatoes start to fall off the flavor wagon as soon as they go below 55°.” If we are supporting and nurturing our students, we can’t just abandon them when we are finished teaching them. I tell my students that once they enter my classroom, they become part of my family and even after they leave, I want them to keep in touch with me. I have tutored students who are no longer in my classroom so they can continue succeeding in others. I have been to weddings and their children’s birthdays years later. I think it is important to keep these connections as much as possible so students don’t feel I was insincere when I said I cared about their future.

So, I feel growing students is a lot like growing tomatoes. You can get tomatoes that fall off the stem before fully mature and ones that die of stem rot; or you can get tomatoes that are fully ripe and become the highlights of your vegetable garden. It is all about how you plant and grow them!

Photo credit: early june ripeness by greenhem

Teaching & Gardening

After reading Writing & Gardening, I started thinking about how teaching and gardening were alike since I love to do both. There must be some common characteristics that I enjoy that match my personality. Suzanne gives some profound statements that directly apply to my classroom and teaching style.

“Gardening is about promoting and nurturing growth.” That is exactly what I want to do in my classroom. I want to promote and nurture growth in my classroom. Just like plants who need sunlight and water and soil, my students need encouragement and basically good teaching. I cannot be so negative that I stunt or impede my students’ growth. Sometimes I can be so rigid and inflexible that I expect my students to conform to my ways and in the course of doing that, they may break instead of bend. I need to look at their needs and gear my teaching towards their learning styles instead of expecting them to learn according to my teaching style.

“I must spend some time weeding, lest the weeds obscure my blooms.” I can’t focus so much time on the students who don’t want to learn or who are misbehaving. I need to focus on the students who are learning and succeeding. Maybe the attention these students are getting will encourage the non-producing students to participate. Sometimes we give too much negative attention to the non-producing students to where it is more of a pay-off to not produce than to actually do something.

“No one ever compliments a garden because it is weed-free.” If I see a classroom where all of the students are sitting quietly at their desks and no one is saying or doing anything, I wonder if they are really learning anything. I think a big part of learning involves discussions and debates. I feel students need to share their ideas and opinions in order to formulate new ideas and opinions. Also, as a teacher, I would find a class like this boring. It would be boring to teach students who are all from the same cookie cutter form, spitting back to me what they think I want to hear. To me, I’m not teaching them what they need to survive in the real world if they do this. If students have a different opinion than I do, I like to try to persuade them that I am right and by doing this, both of us grow from this experience and I am showing them that learning is a lifelong experience for all.

These are some of the reasons my classroom has been successful. What makes your classroom successful?

Photo credit: rainbow series 1 by mick y