Teachers Get the Summer Off, With PAY!

MYTH!

First of all, teachers do not get paid for the summer.  We sign a contact for a set number of days, usually about 180.  We get paid for all days students are at school plus required professional development and work days.  That total pay is divided by 12 so we get a monthly check, a little less during school months so we get a check in the summer.
I am not writing this to complain but to educate.  I would guess that 90% of teachers do some work in the summer and many teachers work quite a bit.  Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy sleeping in some days.  I have spent time helping my mom, spoiling grandchildren, catching up on home projects and some volunteering. Here is a list of some of the things I have done either in preparation for next school year or to become a better teacher.

• Taught Summer School each morning for three weeks - yes we get paid extra for summer school
• ISTE - International Society for Technology in Education, four days of nerding out on technology and it was fun!
• FBLA National Conference - spent five days in Texas with three students that had qualified for national competition
• IgnitEd Conference - one day local conference and I presented so I could attend for free
• FBLA Leadership Conference - took 5 students to this one day conference
• Worked in my classroom three days
• EdTech Conference - one day local conference that I presented at so I could attend free
• Plus numerous hours of lesson plans and new technology

Again, I am not looking for for sympathy.  I love to learn and I always want to be prepared with the cutting edge of teaching and technology integration.  School starts in three weeks and I am looking forward to it!

Student Relationships Don't Die at Graduation

We all know that value of building relationships with students, or at least I hope everyone knows that

by now. I believe it is important for students to know that relationship does not end on graduation day for two reasons. First if we really do care about our students, that does no just turn off one day. Secondly, when current students see or here that you still hear from former students and that you are happy about that, it is easier for them to believe your care is genuine. It may be a bit different for me because I teach a college readiness class for seniors so when they go off to college they know they can contact me when they need a bit of encouragement, tough talk or help with a problem at college.  Social media makes that easier than in the past.  As part of my college readiness class, I also have students from prior years come talk to

my class about college.  Current students know that past students would not bother to come back to high school unless they respect and care for the teacher. Also, current student see me interact with past students and can tell by the smiles, hugs and laughter that I truly do think a lot of them.

Many students are already dealing with trust issues, rough home life, drama or mental health issues  and do not need someone else bailing on them.  Many may feel that way if the day they graduate, their high school teacher are "done" with them. So consider keeping in contact with your students or at least be open to former students following you on social media or answering a phone call or having lunch sometime.  Many students need to keep that relationship as they leave high school and start learning to fly.  You will not hear from all of them, but you may find that some of them may even become friends in the years following high school.

Rush to Discipline

No don't get me wrong, I believe in discipline!  Both adults and kids need to accept the consequences of their actions and preferably know what those consequences will be ahead of time.  If I drive to fast I know that I may get a speeding ticket.  I also know that if I get a speeding ticket I will have to pay a fine and also my insurance rates may go up.  If a student chooses to skip a class they should know ahead of time what the discipline will be for that.  My point is, that should not be the end of it!

Teachers need to ask questions to get to the root of the problem so maybe the choice will not happen again.  Why are you late to my class so often?  I got the response, I have a friend that has to get themselves up each morning because his mom works nights.  Sometimes he misses the bus and I drive to his house to pick him up so he is at school.  Okay, maybe in the eyes of the greater good, I should give him a break. (I did double check the story and it was true).

Why are you sleeping in class?  Why are you not working?  Why did you not do the assignment?  You do not normally make those kinds of choices, what is going on?  What can I do?  Can I help?

And sometimes I get the shrug of the shoulders or "I don't know" but more likely I get an answer and help build a relationship.  The answers can amaze.  I don't understand and I am not going to look stupid.  My boss needed me to work late.  Mom works nights and my little sister would not go to sleep.  And the stories go on.  Yes, some will not be totally true but that is where the relationship is important.  If you build a relationship with a student they are more likely to be honest with you.  I also tell them, get a backbone and admit it when you did something stupid.  Adults will respect you for taking responsibility
and we have all been there.  We made a stupid decision to only question ourselves later, "What was I thinking!"

By asking the question, we may not need to discipline that student again!

Building you PLN

It is so important to build a PLN (Personal Learning Network)!  This network can give you ideas, support and encourage you to keep learning.  You may build your network though social media, conferences. professional organizations and getting to know the teachers in your building.

I feel sometimes we overlook the value of the professionals in your building and district.  Get to know these other teachers and staff, even if they teach a different subject or age group.  You will learn ways they deal with classroom management that may work in your classroom.  Maybe they found an app that would work in your classroom if you just tweaked it.  The idea of visiting other teacher's classrooms intrigues me.  I have visited one class and have another planned but I think some are afraid that I am coming in to judge but we can all learn from everyone.  I have been teaching 18 years but I love to see some of the things the young teachers are trying.  I also like to see how some of my students learn in other classrooms.  Maybe I can learn from successes another teacher have with a student that I struggle with.

Also by getting to know other teachers in the building, it gives you someone to go to.  I know that Mrs. Ulrich is going to give me a different perspective and Mrs. Stausing is going to give me her honest feedback.  If I want to integrate art in a lesson, I know Mr. Daniels will be thrilled the help me out and all these amazing teachers are in the same building as I am in!

Through FBLA and Southeast MO Business Educators Association, I have gotten to know other high school business teachers in the area.  These are great people to have in my network because they are business education experts.  They are great people to consult when changing books, adding classes, writing grants and keeping up with changes in career education like technical skills assessments or advisory committees.  I have also built my network though conferences.  Some of those conferences have to do with professional organizations that I belong to such as Missouri Business Educators or just amazing conferences like the Midwest Education Technology Conference.


And then there are those people we connect with on social media and I have a bunch of those as well!  Using Twitter I have connected with a teacher that grew up in a neglected home and has taught me how to better connect with students in neglected homes.  I exchange ideas with education professionals across the country and world.  I have connected with authors and those on the cutting edge of education theory.  I have debated current issues with experts in the field.

I don't believe any PLN is complete without a wide variety of professionals, so go out and find those amazing teachers.  Find a wide variety professionals that you can support and they can support you, it will make you a better and more efficient teacher!

What I Learned from being the Mascot

Offhandedly I was offered the chance to be the school mascot at one of our home football games and I jumped at the chance!   So, lets just get the bad over with first, yes some people were rude. I thought I was going to have to call administration on one of the adults because they would not let go of my tail.   A junior high student asked me if I was a lesbian and another student asked if I had a penis or a vagina and it was hot.  The temperature at game time was high for this area and the costume was hot but ......... 

OMG, I had so much fun!  The high school kids had no clue who was in the costume they just knew it was not the normal girl and it drove them crazy.  I did not talk and for me to not talk from 6:30 - 9 is an amazing feat of its own.  I got to dance with the band and high 5 the colorguard!  I cheered with the student section and high fived the parents.  I stood out on the field to welcome the team in.  The little kids were amazing!  There were several students that got hugs a dozen or more times.  There were little kids that were scared of me until I went in the corner to "hide" and then they decided I was harmless.  I had bunches of pictures taken with kids of all ages.  I even got to hold a whole bunch of babies.  

So lesson learned, no matter what the age, take time to laugh and have fun.  Also there are a lot of people out there, big and little, that are in need of a hug.  Even if that hug comes from a sweaty person in a tiger costume.

For the Love of Students

Last week was a very tough week, we have all had them.  It does not matter if you are a teacher, accountant or an engineer, you are going to have bad days or weeks.  The thing about teaching is we have students.  Students that can challenge us but they also support us, many times without even knowing it. 

Monday I had a conference and I drug myself into school on Tuesday.  Before I even got to the mail room several students stopped me to tell me how happy they were that I was back.  A couple of them even came to give me a hug.  Not what the general public would expect from teenagers.  I headed up to my classroom and a student came in first hour with a thank you card and a loaf of homemade banana bread.  The week has continued that way.  One day a student brought me my favorite candy bar another day a former student sent me a long text about how much she appreciated all the things that I did for her while she was in high school.  So after a rough week last week I look forward to Friday.  Not because it's Friday but because I get to spend the day with these marvelous teenagers who prove everyday that they will make the world a better place!  I love you all!

Let Them be Bored!

Kids complain they are bored.  That is nothing new,my grand kids get bored,  my kids got bored and when I was young I got bored.  We were told to go find something to do but so often now children are handed a toy or phone or iPad to answer the question for them.  What is wrong with kids being bored?  We came up with some of our best ideas when we were bored.  That is when we figured out that if we put a car hood on the hill before it snowed we would have a ramp to sled ride off.  Boredom resulted in us learning that if you rock the jon boat in the pond, the little fish would jump out of the water.  If we were never bored we would have never figured out that if we climb half way of the barn ladder, we could climb on the cow's back and ride her.
Now, not all those were the greatest ideas but when are ideas going to come if everyone is always busy and never get bored?  When we or kids are bored we think.  We think about problems and issues.  We think about ideas, solutions, and we get creative.  So the next time kids complain they are bored, maybe we should say "Good, go get creative!"

On a side note, the day after I posted this blog the barn I spoke about started falling over.  It was way over 100 years old and sat on my parents property.  It was the backdrop for so many pictures and a host of memories!