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!

Real Life of High School Teachers

I am amazed at the number of times people ask me "Are you not scared to go to work at the high school?"  I think it is an excellent example of the misconceptions the general public have about teachers, specifically high school teachers.

I have been teaching high school for 18 years and have never been scared to go to school.  There have been lots of experiences that would amaze some.  The reality is that every day is different and we always expect the unexpected, and I am not talking about fire drills or computer issues. Days are not boring and no two days are alike.  Five days a week I spend 45 minutes a day with each of my kids (aka my students).  I get to know them and they get to know me, therefore it is not a surprise that there is a lot of learning that goes on that is not in the curriculum.  There is the kid that did not believe that teachers really cared until I gave them a letter of encouragement before the ACT.  After that he gave me a hug almost every day of his senior year.  There was the freshman girl a few years ago that found out her dad was in a construction accident and that it was bad but no one had time to come get her; we sat on the floor in the hall and both cried.  There was the senior boy whose mom got beat up the night before; I had never seen such big tears.  And that boy that refused to to anything in class until he heard stories about my class.  That senior boy that wrote a letter after graduation to say he had considered suicide but he always felt safe at school.  Oh and that senior boy that come running down the hall to tell me he got accepted to college, that was the first time I had seen him smile! We cheer with them over classroom successes and sports events.  We listen to heartbreak over broken

relationships.  Then there is the boy that asked about a girl he wanted to take to prom; then she asked if she should go with him.  They have been married five years and have two children.  The boy that cried because he was going to have to move his senior year.  The former students that hang out of car windows to yell at you while you pump gas always generates a smile.  The days that you forget that your first name is not Mrs..  When there are those events that parents stand with their kids and high school teachers check to make sure no one is standing alone.  We have stood in for many an absent parent.  When you cry at graduation because you know you are going to miss these kids.  The kids that you will never forget because they are just so special.  The pictures you have in your room to remind

the current students that they will always be one of your kids.  The tears of joy when a student tells you they got a full ride scholarship and the heartbreak when student check their new ACT score.  And there are the times the ACT score is amazing and we force students to call their mom, NOW.  And some of them will forever own a piece of our heart. There are the kids that call me mom, or school mom, or momma Taylor, or believe it or not, Mother Theresa, lol.  So keep in mind that most teachers love your children, even in high school.  We hug them, we high five them, we support them, we cry with them but most of all, we love them and enjoy being a part of their high school memories.


This bog post is dedicated to Bennett.  One of my former students that mentioned that he actually ready by blog and wished that I posted more often.

Why Hate?

Charlottesville, VA happened today and I must comment or vent before I burst!  The thought of hating or hurting someone because of  the color of their skin makes me sick.  The thought that someone would hurt one of my students or friends because their skin is not white makes me literally sick to my stomach.  The thought of getting a call that Sam, Alyssa, Moriah, Andre, Nita, Tyrus, Stephon, Jennifer or Thomas or any one else was the victim of a hate crime is more than I want to even consider.  Who freaking cares what color a person's skin is?  It is no different than the color of someone's eyes or hair.  No one is born a racist, it is learned.  Whoever is teaching this hate, STOP IT!