Today while surfing the net,  I found a list of things that I want to adopt as personal goals for the coming year. I’m  cool with the fact Anonymous  created the list. I don’t have a compelling need to create my own list given this one is perfect!

 

A few friends who understand me and remain my friends;

A work to do which has real value,

without which the world would be the poorer;

An understanding heart;

A sense of humor;

Time for quiet, silent meditation;

The patience to wait for the coming of these things,

With the wisdom to recognize them when they come (anonymous).

Notice these goals do not include the goals of reducing the time it takes me to return students’ work, or creating  more meaningful report card comments or even going for a walk at lunch time at least three times a week. No my resolutions this year are more spiritual ones.

I’d be delighted if you’d share some of your new year’s resolutions. Is there something else I could add to  my list of resolutions to help me improve myself or my life circumstances?  There’s still time. Even though the due date for new year’s resolutions is usually January 1st,   Policy 14 will  allow resolutions to be submitted after this date. I think the absolute deadline for new years resolutions for 2012 would be December 31, 2012- of course, there are always exceptions. We could recover the resolutions in January 2013 <sarcasm>.

Happy New Year.

My new year’s resolutions originally appeared on Teachers At Risk on December 30, 2011.

Isn’t that the truth.   I don’t know about you, but in my teaching practice I seem to be spending more and  more time doing what I think isn’t important and less and less time doing what I think is important. That’s so frustrating.  I don’t want my teaching practice to be distracted by the frustrations of having to do things that I don’t value, so I plan to find a way to match my values to more of my actions in my teaching practice.

I have to be realistic. There’ll be forms I have to complete, meetings I’ll have to attend, and PD sessions that aren’t optional. Oh yes, there’ll be hall supervisions I can’t escape . But, I think I can find  a way to spend most of my time doing what  I actually think, feel and say is important.

The first thing I have to do is clarify what I value as a teacher and decide how these values can inform my teaching practice so that I’m not stressed and frustrated. Now, I remember doing value clarification exercises years ago when I was a newbie teacher or more likely during teacher training, but I haven’t really sat down and made a list of what I value as a teacher  in a long, long time. I think I know, but maybe there’ll be surprises.  Maybe I can’t walk my talk in the classroom anymore because of all the changes and the directives from the-powers-that- be . What do I do then? Any ideas?

Cirocco’s book Take the Step: The Bridge Will Be There offers guidance on how you can eliminate or more realistically reduce the incongruity between what you say you believe and what you do.  I find it ironic just as I was thinking about refining my teaching practice to avoid frustration and stress as much as possible, I find a book just lying on a table at my local bookstore that I can use to help me do this. I’m just reading the part near the beginning of the book  about choosing core values and using them to create a compass to guide your actions.

Usually, there’s more than one way to do anything.  Have you found a way to avoid frustration and stress at work that allows you to remain true to your values? I’d love to know if you have or are in the process of finding a way that lets you walk your talk at work.

Resource:

Cirocco, Grace. (2001) Take the Step: The Bridge Will Be There. Toronto. On: HarperCollins Publishers LTD.

Photo by oddstock

Are you frustrated and stressed in your teaching practice because you have to spend more and more time doing things you don’t value? originally appeared on Teachers At Risk on July 16, 2011.

Image by Jeff Hester via Flickr

Some students have good organization skills and some do not.  Managing time and materials efficiently are skills students need  in order to do their best in school.  Parents can help students do their best by helping them develop efficient time and materials management skills.

To help students develop efficient time management and materials management skills, I encourage parents to

1. Create several calendars with all the important events at school such as due dates for assignments, quizzes, tests and exam dates, field trips, after school practices etc, and post these calendars in prominent places where the students are most likely to see them- their room, the kitchen, inside the front door etc. Students can also set things up so that they get email messages to remind themselves of due dates etc.
2. Negotiate a time to do homework. School is important, but it’s not the only important thing in students’ lives so flexibility is in order when working out a homework schedule.
3. Encourage students to complete homework, and if no homework was assigned then to review the day’s lessons, work on major projects or spend the time reading. Reading for just 20 minutes a day can improve students’ vocabulary and grammar skills. It’s amazing how so little can do so much- just like exercise.
4. Establish a routine time for things like dinner, television watching, computer use and bedtime. Following routines helps reduces stress on students’ attention and memory controls and enables them to be better rested the next day so they are better able to meet the demands of school.
5. Establish a homework and study area for students away from the distractions of TV, computers, phones, computer games etc. The reason is obvious- too much temptation.
6. Suggest that students tell their friends that they are not available to talk to them on the phone during the time set aside for homework. Homework time is for homework, not for socializing.
7. Store school supplies and materials in a specific place. A place for everything and everything in its place enables students to find things easily when they need them.
8. Have students pack their school bags with all the things they’ll need the next day. This    helps ensure students have what they need for school that day. It also reduces the stress of running around looking for things the last minute.
9. Clean out students’ backpacks at the end of the week, file assignments and old tests in the appropriate spot and throw out any unnecessary things.

These are some of the strategies I suggest parents use to help their kids develop efficient time management and materials management skills.  Parents can help their children who struggle with organization  strategies by modeling organization  strategies for their children.  After a while, the behaviors will become a habit and children will do them automatically.

I’m sure there are other strategies that are also helpful that I haven’t thought of.  What else could teachers suggest parents do to help their kids be better organized?

Nine things parents can do to help students develop good organization skills so students can do their best at school. originally appeared on Teachers At Risk on February 13, 2011.

I have tried to use kid friendly language, you can change it to suit your purposes. Also, this reflection was about a math test ; you can change it to suit your purposes.

Test Reflection Sheet

Helping students take ownership for better test preparation. originally appeared on Teachers At Risk on January 16, 2011.

Yes, it’s that time again- the time to make resolutions. Usually I make resolutions that involve outcomes that I can measure. I resolve to save more money, to lose some weight or to exercise more. However, this year I have decided to do something different. This year I resolve to change the way I look at difficult, prickly people.You know the ones  I mean. The ones that just make your life sooooo difficult.  I’m going to seem them

as a fellow wayfarer, struggling with …(their) burdens, wanting happiness and dignity. Beneath the fears and needs, the aggression and pain, whoever we encounter is a being who, like …(me) who has tremendous potential for understanding and compassion, whose goodness is there to be touched (Kornfield, 2008. p14)

Reference

The Wise Heart by Jack Kornfield – Hardcover – Random House

I resolve to change the way I look at difficult people originally appeared on Teachers At Risk on December 30, 2010.

Thanks to Brenda, I have some strategies. When someone asks me to do something, I can ask

May I ask why you’re asking me?

Have you asked anyone else?

Have you considered asking X? She’s got some experience with this.

When you say “urgent,” what does that mean? What’s the latest it can be done by?

How much time will this take?

If I could do only part of this, what part would you like me to do?

What does “finished” look like for this?

What should I not do so I can do this?

(Excerpt from Do More Great Work, p. 90-91)

Depending on the answers I get, I  can decide what new tasks to take on.  Like so many other busy people, I’m often asked to do more and more. Usually, I don’t mind, but sometimes it gets to be too much. Then life isn’t fun any more. I guess people subscribe to the old adage if you want something done give it to a busy person. If I get too busy though, I’m not effective- so what’s the point.

How do you prevent yourself from getting too busy? What strategies do you use to help limit yourself so that you can be the most effective.

It’s September and the beginning of a new school year. originally appeared on Teachers At Risk on August 30, 2010.

I start by giving them a chart that lists the days of the week and the different times of the day and then ask them to record all their activities and the times they would do them. I just have them do it for one week. Then I help them schedule their homework into the open time slots. Amazingly, this works. I help them “see” the available time slots. Sometimes this involves a bit of rearranging of activities on the part of the student, but usually by the time we’re finished the student is satisfied with the homework schedule. They think it reasonable, and that’s half the battle. They don’t feel homework interferes with their life or that life interferes with their homework.

I suggest that the students tell their friends that they’re busy during the time allotted to do homework so they won’t be disturbed at that time. That shouldn’t be a big deal because they already have scheduled time to talk to friends anyway. I also suggest they don’t do any homework after 10 pm.

Some students schedule homework the same day everyday. Others schedule homework a different time every day. I leave it up to them. It has to be their plan for it to work. Of course we revisit the schedule after the first few weeks and rejig it where necessary.

The point I am trying to make here for my students is that homework can be worked into their lives. Homework doesn’t mean they have to give up the things they like or have to do. I talk about doing things in moderation- homework included. I tell them I try to achieve a balance in my life, and I think they should strive to do the same. Being a student is only part of their lives. Being a teacher is only part of mine. I think we understand one another.

Helping students schedule their homework into their distracted lives. originally appeared on Teachers At Risk on February 7, 2010.

After we watch the slide show,  I have my students set their own short term, medium term and long term goals using the graphic organizer below.

Smart Goal Setting Organizer

If you’d like this as well,  just ask and I’ll send it to you as an attachment.

I’ve always had good results with this activity.  We will revisit their goals during the semester to see how things are going and to set more goals.

Setting SMART goals help students succeed originally appeared on Teachers At Risk on February 4, 2010.

Use your strengths to help you succeed. That’s the advice I give my students when we’re talking about their  future once they finish school. I let them define what success is,  and then we explore ways they can achieve that success. My students have many strengths. Unfortunately, many of these strengths aren’t appreciated by the school system. To give these kids hope, I tell them about all sorts of people who struggled through school or even dropped out and went on to be successful people.  Some of my students who are extremely bright and could do well in school don’t because their personal circumstances  aren’t conducive to success in school. They lose heart and give up. When I read about Khadijah  Williams I was blown away. What is it about Khadijah that allowed her to rise above her personal circumstances and end up getting a full scholarship to Harvard? What is it that enabled her to be so successful while others in similar circumstances are not?  There are many bright kids who could earn scholarships but don’t. Who or what is making that difference?

Here’s a brief summary of Khadijah’s  personal circumstances.

Williams was born to a 14-year-old mother who was estranged from her family. While Williams was growing up, her mother led her and her sister Jeanine through a series of homeless shelters around California, never staying long in any one location. Sometimes, they would have to dig through dumpsters for food, and spend their nights on the filthy streets.

Because the family moved around so frequently, Williams never had the chance to stay at one school for long. Over the course of 12 years, she attended 12 different schools, often leaving in the middle of a term when a homeless shelter shut down or refused to accommodate the family. But as early as third grade, when Williams placed in the top percentile on a state exam, she realized that she had a gift. Her brain would be her ticket out of the slums, and she didn’t want to squander the opportunity.

In fact,  Khadijah has decided to mentor other students

I think about how I can convince my peers about the value of education, … I have found that after all the teasing, these peers start to respect me . . . . I decided that I could be the one to uplift my peers . . . . My work is far reaching and never finished.

Why didn’t Khadijah loose heart and give up? Why did she find ways to help herself be successful and now want to help others? Why?

photo by aloshbennett

Why do some students succeed despite their personal circumstances? originally appeared on Teachers At Risk on July 2, 2009.

I’ve spent a lot of time over the years in my role as a special education teacher trying to get students to stop engaging in behaviours that are destructive. This year I had my students read and reflect upon The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens in an effort to show them what choices they can make to get more positive outcomes for the future. I tell them if they don’t like the consequences of their actions, they need to change what they do. But, I’ve found that often they don’t necessarily know what behaviours to change or how to go about changing them. That’s where character education comes in.

I’m always looking for ways to support my students who have behavioural issues, so when I come across a new idea, I’m really interested. Recently, I came across a school wide behavioural program called Positive Action that is being used in Hawaii with 5th graders that shows much promise. The character building program continues through each grade and gives students a framework to guide their behaviour. It focuses on what to do, not just what not to do. Students learn to make better choices for better outcomes. Students who participated in the Positive Action program had fewer behaviour issues in school which resulted in better academic achievement. That’s definitely a win-win situation for teacher and students. I was surprised to learn that so many ten year old children engage in so many risky behaviours. I’m a high school teacher, and I know that teenagers engage in all kinds of risky behaviour, but I had no idea that kids as young a ten did. I wonder how many of you will be surprised as well. I wonder what my district is doing to help 10 year old children make better choices for better outcomes. What is your school district doing?

Helping students avoid risky behaviours through character education originally appeared on Teachers At Risk on June 22, 2009.