The Beginning of the School Year

The beginning of school

Is the best time of year.

It is filled with excitement

And anxiety and fear.

The first week of school is usually filled

With meetings and boring paperwork galore,

And greeting friends and colleagues we missed

As they gladly walk in the door.

It’s fun to plan on arranging the classroom

And moving the desks and the tables.

It’s even fun to hook up the computers

With the gazillion miles of cables.

Deciding how to decorate the classroom

With a room full of color and lots of great posters,

I can’t wait for the room to be filled

With a whole bunch of jokesters.

It is time for getting the new textbooks

And choosing what I should teach.

What is just right for my students

And what is out of reach?

Together we learn about new school policies

And relearn all the old school rules.

We are ready for the new school year

Armed with all the tools.

Each teacher and student

will each play their part.

And hope this new school year

Will bring a fresh new start!

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

Back to School Time

Preparations are underway for the start of a new school year. This week, the teachers in our county return to their classrooms, and next week the students will be back for a new school year.

In 2017 I had written a post about returning to school and I think it would be a good time to see it again. You can read the post here: Return to School.

This year may be a little different because you may have some students returning from virtual school last year. Please be patient because they may need time to readjust to the school culture. They may need reminders about appropriate behaviors and schedules. I think it is important to remind those students who were in school in person at the end of last year to be patient and welcoming to those who were in school online.

I would also spend the last couple of minutes checking with students on how they are doing. Find out what problems or concerns they have. They might not be having any problems but it is good to know that someone cares, Coming back to school can be a stressful time for all.

What other advice would you give to those returning to school? Please share.

Photo by MChe Lee on Unsplash

Return to School

Many schools in our area are beginning again and I thought it was a good time to remind teachers of some things. It usually is an exciting and busy time for teachers and I didn’t want some of these things to slip in at a bad time.

It is a good practice to contact parents/guardians in the first week. Usually, the students are on their best behavior now and I can establish a rapport with the families. It is worth the extra time to do this and I have never regretted it later in the year when I need their support.

Remember that many students may not have money to buy all the supplies that are on school lists. I wonder how many of these items are necessities and how many are luxuries. Be gentle with the ones who don’t have all the supplies and really check to see if they “forgot” or if they just couldn’t afford them.

Remember that many students have gotten out of the routine of getting up early and going to bed on time. For the first few weeks, some students might be a little cranky or out of sorts. (Some teachers may be this way too.)

Remember that traffic will pick up on busy roads so teachers may need to get an earlier start than they are used to doing. Parents may be finding this out also so students may be arriving late.

Remember that it may be some students’ first day to any school (some may have been homeschooled) or it may be some students’ first day at this school. Don’t expect new students to know the procedures. Also, a kind word and a smile might help their day go a little smoother.

Remember to check on the new students during the first day. Ask them how things are going or if they need any help. Make time to listen and probe if you feel they might want to say more but are a little hesitant to open up.

Remember that not all students come from happy homes so even though I might be glad to hear what some students did over the summer, others might not want to share their experience.

Remember that a routine can be comforting for some students when returning to school. This may be a time of anxiety and discomfort so establish a routine on the first day. Explain the routine to the students and be consistent with it for the first few weeks. Once established, I can tweak it a little.

What tips and tricks would you want others to remember as school starts? Please share.

My First School Memories

In Prompt #1: The Writing on Learning Exchange: Learning About School from Classroom as Microcosm by Siobhan Curious, she says,

“Welcome to the Writing on Learning Exchange!  Every week or two I will publish a prompt that is meant to get us thinking and writing about some aspect of our learning and/or teaching experience.  Whether you are a teacher, a learner, a parent or just a citizen who cares about the growth and development of other citizens, I hope you will find some inspiration here.

So here’s the first prompt: What are your first memories of going to school?”

I have some early school memories and it was my first year of school. Here they are:

New Clothes - I remember buying brand new clothes and shoes for the first day of school. I was so excited because it seems like I had waited for years to go to school! (I think I was only 5 at the time).

Crayons - My parents bought me a brand new box of Crayola crayons - the 64 count box. As soon as I got to school, the box opened up and all of the crayons fell to the ground. Most of them broke and many were lost in the crowd of kids. We were hurried to a classroom and I never got my crayons back.

School Bus - I was 5 years old and it was the one and only time I rode a school bus. My two older sisters (10 and 12 years older than me) and my parents watched me get on the bus. Later in the day, the bus brought me home…or should I say, close to home. The bus driver let me off at a stop that was not my stop and I was lost. I didn’t know how to get home and started crying but soon a neighbor saw me and brought me to my house. My parents were furious and my father jumped in the car to hunt down the bus driver. I think he said a lot of angry words to her when he caught up with her. That was the last day I ever rode a school bus to school.

These are my earliest memories and I’m surprised at how I can still remember them after almost 50 years later. I guess this is proof that as teachers, we can make a powerful impact on children.

What are your earliest school memories? Please share.

Image: 'school friends'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73645804@N00/1384954600
Found on flickrcc.net

No Dumping Allowed!

In End of an Era from Misadventures with Rangers, Marianne, aka Ranger Anna talks about her son in special education who, even though he is still allowed to attend school according to law, is being pushed out by the school system.  Please take the time to read her post in order to get the whole story.

I feel so sad to hear stories like this. This is what the law was made to avoid. When this law was made, too many special needs students were being dumped out into the real world before they should be. Too many schools do not encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity. Students with true special needs should be encouraged to stay in school for every possible minute they can. There is so much to learn and where an average student might be able to gather all they need for the future in 18 years, these students need every bit of extra time they can get.

Too many times I hear that schools and teachers are being babysitters. I feel if they were truly teaching the right way, they would not be in the babysitting business. Students should be taught according to their individual needs not according to the school curriculum.

According to this parent, the school felt they didn’t have anything to interest the student. Then it is the school’s job to teach something that does interest the student. I find it hard to believe that if thorough investigation was done, that the school and the student couldn’t find something worth learning. In fact, to me, it sounds like the professionals are taking the lazy way out.

If the student has an interest, then the teacher/school needs to find out ways to teach more about this topic. If the student has finished the curriculum offered by the school, then this is the perfect way to teach the student how to learn. The student will gain the skills that could help him learn new things when he no longer can depend on the teacher/school to teach him. What a valuable opportunity for this student! How can anyone not say this is in the best interest of the student?

As a teacher, I was expected to meet standards set by state. I learned early that many of these standards were general enough that I could meet them with most topics that the student was interested in. Reading and math standards fit right into whatever topic the student wanted to learn. Sometimes Social Studies and Science standards were harder but if I was able to give the students a list of 5 possible topics, they were able to find at least one that they were interested in. Sometimes I even told them the standards and asked them to find a topic that would fit with the standards and they would actually come up with one that I hadn’t thought of.

Of course, this was a lot more work for me as the teacher because each lesson was also a learning lesson for me. I found it interesting and exciting to learn along with the students!

If the students were learning about a topic that interested them, they worked harder and there were very few behavior problems. What a joy it was to teach this way! When the students would learn a new skill, it was great to see their faces and see how much fun they were having with learning.

How do you feel about this? Do you think students with special needs should be pushed out of the school system at age 18? If so, why or why not? Please share!

Image: 'Dirt Delivery'

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15965815@N00/155223959

What is the Real World?

In This World, That World and Some Other World from Education On The Plate, Deven Black states,

“I don’t like the term ‘real world.’

It is often used in sentences like ‘Every lesson in school should relate to the real world.’

Formulations like that make me think schools are like the Floating World of ancient Japan or the artificial world of the holodeck on some Star Trek spaceship.

Schools are the real world, just as much as slums or split-level suburban homes are.”

As soon as I saw this, I knew, as my husband hears frequently, I feel a blog post coming! I use the term “real world” a lot because I think it distinguishes it from a different time in people’s lives when they are sheltered and protected. I feel the real world makes people vulnerable and I need to prepare my students so that they can enter situations supplied with whatever tools and strategies necessary to keep them safe and independent.

I do not feel like a school situation is the “real world.” Parents, Teachers, and Administrators are able to manipulate the environment in different ways to help a student and this is not possible in the real world. I have worked hard at the beginning of the year to help my students succeed in different situations so they can use their confidence in trying more difficult assignments. There are also laws that protect children in schools that help them get accommodations and modifications to instruction if needed (IDEA and 504, for example). Administrators may use different discipline techniques to help students learn social skills necessary to get along with others. Special Education students are protected under special ed laws that enable them to continue with their education even if they are removed from a regular school environment.

It kind of reminds me of times I have seen football teams practice or play scrimmages and how they differ from real games. The real games are the ones that count. They count towards statistics, records, and championships but practice games and scrimmages do not. Practice games and scrimmages are a way to practice plays or move players to different positions and try them out. This is the time to explore different possibilities without it actually hurting statistics or records.

When a student causes minor problems in school, there are repercussions and this teaches a student how to be accountable for his actions. When a person gets in the “real world,” this student is usually of legal age and being accountable for his actions may involve money or even jail time. This does not usually happen at school age unless the student has broken a major law. I have seen students show violence in schools that will not be tolerated in the real world. Law enforcement will not care if this student has a disability or comes from a bad home life when protecting other citizens.

In school, if you misbehave, they send you to the office and pay the penalty, and then return to class. Unless you are expelled (and schools must have a good reason), you return to class. In the workplace (the real world), employers don’t tolerate people who won’t do their job. Employers want someone who will show up for work regularly, get the job done, as well as get along with other workers. There are too many people who need a job and want that position if you don’t follow the employer’s policies. If you can’t do the job for some reason, they can fire you.

In school, the system makes sure that students get fed. There are free and reduced lunch programs to feed children. If a student does not have lunch or money continuously, someone is notified about this problem (social worker, DSS etc.) In the real world, many people go to work hungry and go home hungry. Many people work so that they can pay bills and buy food.

Even when I went to college and lived on campus, I do not consider that the real world. I paid tuition and room and board as well as books but those were my major expenses. Many other students had their education paid for by their parents. When I graduated and got my first apartment, I never realized how much money was needed for deposits as well as electric, water, and phone bills. No one prepared me for these real world situation.

So, I guess I really don’t feel that school is the real world. And yes, I do feel that my lessons should be related to the real world so I can prepare my students for things that they may face. I might not be able to cover all of the situations they may face, but I hope that I give them enough tools and information so they can go find the answers they need.

What do you think? Is school the real world or not?

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

Original image: 'Summer Storm over Kuala Lumpur'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/95572727@N00/521001746 by: Trey Ratcliff

School Isn’t For Everyone

It is hard for me to believe this and feel like a good teacher at the same time, but I do. Of course, I did feel better after reading there are worse things than dropping out of school from siobhan curious: classroom as microcosm, Siobhan Curious states,

“I also think there needs to be a shift in social attitudes supported by a change in the system, so that it is easier and more acceptable for students to leave school if they are unhappy and not learning, spend some time in the work force, and return to school whenever they are ready.”

When I was dating my husband, I heard many stories from him and his mother about the difficult times he had in school. He ended up joining the navy and getting his GED. I have taught many students who feel like staying in school is a waste of time.

My students were in the Occupational Diploma Program which was a district program and not a state recognized program. My students were students with disabilities that kept them from passing the state exit exam in order to receive a state high school diploma. This means that they walked at graduation and got their occupational diploma but the state still considered them drop outs on the AYP report. What a slap in the face this was for my students! They followed a rigorous curriculum in order to receive this but they still weren’t counted as being successful.

The local Career and Technology Center was focusing on college bound students who could pass licensure tests so my students were not really encouraged to attend. There were no programs like brick masonry, or building construction, or auto mechanics offered for my students. Of course, I heard that it was hard to find instructors but I also heard that they didn’t really seek anyone out for these types of programs. I’m worried about the future. We will still need our cars worked on, and houses built so who is going to do this if we are not training our youth in these occupations. I had students who were willing to learn this but no one willing to teach them. Some of my students didn’t see the value of staying in school when they wanted and needed to learn a trade. I tried to encourage them to stay in so they could show future employers that they were willing to hang in there and not quit on their commitments but that is the only reason I could really see them staying in school.

I did find information about Job Corps for my students and invited a speaker to my class. I was amazed how great the program sounded. I have had few students go through the program and was thrilled to hear that they were successful with the program.

I believe I needed to find out what options my students had besides school. I also needed to think about the realistic consequences of choosing these options. My students depended on me to be honest and they trusted my opinion. I couldn’t just be single minded and force my hopes and dreams on to them but had to think about what was in their best interests. I also communicated a lot with their parents as we looked at options too. By this time their parents were so frustrated and concerned that they didn’t know which way to turn. Many times I laid out the options for everyone to see so they could go home and discuss these options. Since everyone’s goal was for the student to find success, we were able to help the student make the best decision at that time.

Sometimes school isn’t for everyone and all I hope to do is help my students become successful in finding their way towards independence.

Original image: 'One Room School' http://www.flickr.com/photos/57038667@N00/2822293763 by: Cindy Seigle