A Student's Reality

I have always said I grew up on a rose colored street.  I am from a big family that loves each other and would do anything for each other.  My parents were married 45 years when dad passed away.  They were always proud of us and they were awesome parents and I have lots of happy memories from my childhood.  We assumed everyone lived pretty much like we did.

I got a blunt reality about how far my home life is from some of my students this week.  Sometimes the smartest thing you can do is sit and listen.  One boy was telling me about the violence he witnessed on the streets the night before.  He talked about seeing the victim on the street and how upset some were, but he had seen a lot and he was used to it.  Really?  He is 16 years old and he is used to seeing bodies in the street!  I am 53 years old and have never seen a body in the street!  As my jaw was sitting on the floor, I listened as he talked about the fact that he feels safe at school and that he could act like a kid but when he was home he had to act like an adult in order to stay safe.  He went on to talk about when a teacher gets upset with him, sometimes the "crib" comes out and he gets defensive and mouthy like he would when he is in the community.  He went on to talk about how he can be sad or broken inside but smiling on the outside.  He talked about the number of people in his family that had died because of violence and how his dad is almost nothing to do with him.  His dad has even told him that he does not want him.  He rarely sees dad but he comes around wanting to spend Father's Day with the kid.  He talked about if he dies it will kill his mother and how close he felt he was the night before to that reality.  He was concerned about the violence in the community that night but he promised me he would stay in the house that night to stay safe.

He is 16 years old!  He is only 16 years old and seen so much that I never have!  I was shocked to my core that a kid in my class is "used to seeing violence".  This is the kid that I am trying to teach.  This is the kid that gets into trouble at school.  This is the kid that has trouble getting his homework done or his device charged.  This is the kid that struggles to pass classes.

And we wonder why?

The Power of Words

When anyone hears a teacher talk about the power of words everyone assumes either there is bullying going on or the teacher is going to go on and on about how teachers need to choose their words carefully when speaking to their students. I do not want to talk about either.  I want to talk about events that happen in school and few hear about, words students say to teachers, specifically high school students.

There are so many kind, sweet and caring teenagers in our high school.  I teach a College Readiness class that I totally enjoy teaching but is completely and totally exhausting.  I guess I looked exhausted after a particularly busy class because a student (I will call  Anne) followed me out to the hallway to speak to me after class.  She talked about a recent graduate and how much he loved being in college and how much he gave me credit for helping him build confidence to attend college.  She went on to say that she knew teaching the class was hard and exhausting for me but I should be proud because I am changing lives.  What a sweet and kind young lady!  She not only recognized someone who needed to hear something positive she also took the time to say it.  It made me week!

Teaching high school has it's challenges, like all jobs, but it is the place to see some absolutely wonderful teenagers.  There are teenagers that truly care about their teachers and classmates.

They volunteer their time.

They look out for students that are hurting.

They tell adults when students need interventions
They hold the door for teachers that have their hands full.
They sign emails " Hope you have a marvelous Friday"
They greet teachers in the hallways.
They make me smile.
They are beautiful inside and out!

My job may not be perfect but I could not imagine doing anything else!

New School Year, New Ideas!

School starts tomorrow and the past three days of in-service has me coming home sore and

complaining.  In the midst of my complaining I wonder about those women who work in jobs that are not off for the summer and how do they manage to get everything done.  Food for thought before I complain to much.

A new year brings on lots of changes, the seniors I got attached to are gone, this year we have several new teachers, I am teaching a class I have not taught in several years but no software changes this year.  Every school experience some type of change each year, it may be major or minor, but every teacher needs to change as well.  I do not believe any of use are perfect teachers and none of our classes are perfect, if nothing else our world is changing all the time and our lessons should change with the world.  So as a computer teacher, I like to incorporate some of the new technology that students are interested in.  This summer I played PokemonGo, yes I am over fifty and a grandma, but I wanted to know what the kids are up to.  I am working on a project involving the game and hope to have it ready by morning.  I also wish to incorporate blogging into my College Readiness class so they can blog their journey to college and they can read about their fellow students' journey.

Another goal of mine is to require my Advanced Computer Applications classes to create an electronic portfolio and to find funding for them to get IC3 or MOS certification.  Both would serve them well in the workforce.  My students being successful in the workforce is a large goal of mine.  Time to stop talking and finish up lesson plans.  May everyone, students, teachers, parents and administrators have an amazing year!

Summer Melt

Summer Melt is a term used to refer to the growing trend of students not showing up for college after they have been accepted and scheduled to attend. During their senior year of high school seniors get lots of information from colleges.  There is lots of peer pressure to choose and apply for a college.  The problem is that after high school graduation, teacher support disappears, peer pressure reduces and there is limited communication from the colleges.  The question is how do we get our high school students to follow through and show up for college classes.  I have been very disappointed to learn about students that I had worked with during their senior year and they never showed up for college classes.  I have decided to follow up on some of my students, especially those with limited support at home or those who have shown a history of indecision or low self confidence.  Social media can be used to help with this a lot.  I have sent my kids Facebook messages to ask if they have everything ready for college.  I took one of my kids to the local college and we walked his schedule because his parents had never gone to college and he was stresses.  I have called graduates to see if they have completed everything for college and sometimes meeting with them to help them finish it up. or threatening to call their parents if they don't.  During their senior year of high school I encourage them for follow the college on Twitter, Facebook or SnapChat so they are kept in the loop with what is going on at the college.

Early college credit also seems to help with the college summer melt.  With Early College Credit,
students take a college class online during their senior year of high school.  At our school they can take that as part of their high school schedule.  The advantage of that is that they have a teacher that can assist them with the basics and give them some support.  This way the kids realize that they can do the work and they earn college credits so they have something already invested in the college education.


The biggest thing to remember is that this happens and students need that continued support to get them to into that first class!

Special Ed Kids

NOTE: Today's blog is published without pictures because of legalities.  It is sad that our society is such that getting special services so you can learn your best is something to be hidden.  I may not be able to include pictures of my special services students but they are very special to me.  

I am not a core teacher but a computer teacher.  This means most of my classes are hands on and are electives; not sure if that makes a difference or not but I enjoy these kids just as much as any other students.  I will gladly take a hard working student any day.  Most of these kids have an amazing work ethic because they have to work so hard for everything they learn.  Unfortunately, a large group of them also come from poverty and / or rough home life leaving them with limited support from home.  They all need modifications and many time that can be done with less stress then many assume, or maybe it is just easier with my curriculum.  If we are learning to type business letters, they can learn all the formatting of a business letter even if I drop two paragraphs out of the body of the letter.  They still learn every part of the letter and the formatting.  A student that reads at a 3rd grade level is not going to be able to type 60 words a minute because they simply cannot read that fast so how can we have their typing speed the same as everyone else.  Have them do a timed writing at the beginning of the semester and set them several goals for the semester for improvement; your goal for the rest of the class is improvement so everyone has the goal of improving.  These students can also teach the rest of the students to appreciate what they were blessed with and also to do a bit of tutoring.  I try to spot those non-sped, kind kids and sit them by the kids that need extra help.  If I get busy with other students, many times those students will help the others out.  It is also true that when you show someone else how to do something, you remember it longer so both students benefit.

I love my sped kids, they may be more work but many times I get to see students that struggle in all their other classes excel in the hands-on computer class and that is wonderful.  And in reality these kids are just like every other kid, they want to know someone cares about them; they want to be accepted; they want to have friends; and they want to be happy.

Commitment

Any student with enough commitment can graduate high school.  They may have to be willing to put in extra work and many hours of homework for some, but anyone can graduate if they are

committed to do so.  But how much easier is it if everyone is committed to that student and every student graduating.  The student can have fewer hurdles if others around them are also committed to them graduating.  If the parents are committed and at a young age stress the importance of an education.   If they also make regular school attendance a value and a habit at a young age.  Parents need to support their child’s efforts by expressing how proud they are of their children.  But is also is not all on the parent’s shoulders. 

School boards should be committed to making decisions that will benefit the students.  They are in the situation that they make decisions based on the student body as a whole and rarely make decisions based on individual students but their decisions to make an impact on the student and how successful they will be at hitting their graduation goal.  Administrators must do their part in the commitment process as well.  Superintendents must be committed to making decisions that are in the best interest of the students.  Building principals have more connections with the students than other administrators so their commitment is more personal.  Principals need to have the time to get to know the student.  Their commitment needs to include the student’s background, goals and history.  Sometimes they need to be committed to working outside the box to benefit the student.

But when it comes down to it high school teachers spend at least 45 minutes a day with a student and therefore see the individual student more than other staff.  Therefore, teachers must always be committed to their students.  That commitment must be part of their job every day.  Teachers must always be prepared for class and make sure lessons are understood by all, as well as communicating with parents.  Teachers need to be committed to making sure students understand that you are on their side, you want them to be successful.  Students need a teacher or staff member they can go to when they need advice or help with a problem.  You cannot teach a student that comes to class hungry everyday yet a teacher or staff member may be able to solve the problem and allow student to learn.  The student may need extra help or tutoring to understand the concepts better and quicker.  If a teacher is able to do that for the student, the student’s graduation goal will be easier for them.  Many times a student may have much bigger issues at work blocking their graduation goals.  Some students do not have committed parents, some have parents that work a lot of hours to make ends meet, some are homeless and others fight depression and anxiety issues.  If a student has just one teacher or staff member they can go to and share these struggles, that person may be able to help, or just listen or direct them to resources or specialists that can assist them with these serious issues.

If a student wishes to graduate, they must be committed to doing the work to earn the diploma.  We need to also remember that when it comes down to it, I will quote Hillary Clinton “It takes a village to raise a child” likewise it takes a village, or an entire school staff and parents, to be committed to a student’s graduation if the student is going to reach their goals without excessive stress added to their life.

Thanks to Jeremy, one of my students, for suggesting this topic.

A Teacher's Summer

My Summer Lunch Series!

Summers off, nothing to do.  Most good teacher laugh at comments like that.  Summer is a fantastic time to educate, re-energize and pre-plan.  I always look forward to several conferences that I attend and many times present, for opportunities to network with other education professionals as well as learn new technology and teaching techniques. Some of these conferences waive registration fees if you present.  This is one way to contradict district cuts for professional development. especially if it is a local conference that does not require hotel expenses.  I realize many learn a lot through PLN on social media, or youtube or other online options but I still need those live conferences to re-energize my teaching passion.  Speaking of re-energizing, by the end of May some of the negatives in education can get you down, paperwork, jumping through hoops that don't really help students, unmotivated students, but summer gives me time to forget that.  I like to spend the summer cleaning my rose-colored glasses and focus on the good in education like students that I will never forget, improving lessons or classes, helping struggling students and watching students learn and mature.  I spend a lot of time in the summer cleaning and reorganizing my classroom.  There is always a stack on good notes, thank you notes, and memories that need to be added to the memory book.  I also have new ideas for FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) and set up some meetings with my officers.  I will research new teaching techniques and find ways to implement them in my classes as well as doing some reflection on my classes and fix any lessons that need improvement.
I look forward to spending some time with those that I wish I made more time for during the school year.  I call it my Summer Lunch Series.  I have lunch with wonderful people, one at a time, to reconnect and laugh.  I enjoy lunch with my children (well, they are actually adults but...) my sisters and brothers, colleagues, friends, nieces, nephews, and former students.  

Grand kids are a joy!

My advise to teachers, refill your bucket.  If that means catching up on housework, reading your book list, or spending time with family and friends, but take some time to plan and re-energize for next school year.  It will make you a better teacher.