Bittersweet Day

Today I had to bid farewell to my HPSD family. Tears were flowing all day, as one would expect on such an emotional day. I love my HPSD family and will truly miss them.

We had a meeting for lunch as planned, but I hadn't anticipated a second celebration that was attended by nearly all of the Central Office staff! I felt truly loved. Here are a few of the well-wishes I received.

In addition to these, I received hand-written sentiments, gift cards, hugs, phone calls, texts, candy, a magic eraser for classroom messes, plenty of Clorox wipes, a Yankee Candle, and a candle warmer! What an out-pouring of love!!!

I also received a "bad bye" (because there's nothing good about it) card with a gift card to Lakeshore Learning - my favorite place for instructional resources - nestled inside. I cried even harder. My cup runneth over!

The superintendent remarked that as long as he is there, I will always have a position. He joked that someone may have to lose their job to make room for me. Let's hope not! LOL  =^}

Now I have lesson plans to do because my new journey with 40-something 4th graders begins on Monday, whether I'm ready or not!

~TF

#EdCampJxnMS, Ya'll!

Once upon a time, we had an annual music festival in my hometown of Jackson, MS, called Jubilee!JAM. The catch phrase for the festival was, "Jam, Y'all! Today I did a Google Hangout (GHO) for the planning of what is to become Mississippi's first EdCamp - EdCampJxnMS. Since we're still in the planning phases and recruiting planners, I can't help but think, #EdCampJxnMS, Y'all!

For the uninitiated, EdCamp's are a type of unconference for Teacher Professional Development. The schedule is created the day of the event, by the participants, and based on interest. The buy-in is immediate because everyone learns about what truly interests them. There are no "presenters" like in traditional workshops or conferences, only facilitators. I have only participated in one EdCamp so far - EdCampHome, a completely online endeavor done via Google Hangouts. There is also an upcoming EdCampOnline that I've registered for as well.

EdCampJxnMS will be my first face-to-face EdCamp experience, and I'm really excited about the learning that will take place on that day! We will be spreading the word in #MSedchat and at the MECA Conference.

~TF

New spaces... New places

Tomorrow, I get an opportunity to see the new space I'll be occupying with dozens of fourth graders. I don't know what to expect, but I will see and write about it here. 

Red Bull Immunity

I fully intended to read the next chapter of Pathways today, but I'm too worn out. I had a Red Bull today, but it seems to have had no effect. Maybe I just need a full day of rest. Tomorrow won't be it though, but I'll turn in to bed now in hopes that tomorrow will be better. 

Inside the CCSS Literature Standards

Chapter 4 of Pathways to the Common Core goes deeper into the actual implementation than any other resource I've seen. Rather than a bird's eye view, this chapter takes you directly into the standards, inviting you to read and engage in a close reading of the texts (ala ELA Anchor Standard 1) of E. B. White's Charlotte Web and Cynthia Rylant's Poppleton, then walks you through implementing ELA Anchor Standards 2 - 9, just as students would.

This book is definitely worth the purchase. I will return to it repeatedly after I'm done.

~TF

Countdown

One week from now, I'll be going to bed in anticipation of beginning a new job in a new district. I'll wake up as a 4th grade teacher to students I have never met. I'm anxious now, so I'm sure I'll be even more so. Hopefully, this last week will go smoothly.

~TF

Anniversary

Today's our 6th anniversary so I'm not writing a lengthy blog post. I will share a picture of my card though!

A Change Is Gonna Come

Soon I will leave my position as District Instructional Technologist to return to a 4th classroom teaching reading, language arts, and social studies. Most people are astounded when I tell them this and wonder why I would ever return to a classroom. I honestly never thought I'd be anywhere but the classroom; although, this position has been a nice change of pace - I have grown in my leadership capacity; had opportunities to see education from a different perspective; and made/helped make decisions that would affect teaching and learning in our district. Despite all of this, I am headed back to the classroom.

The reason for the change has nothing to do with discontent with my current role. I quite enjoyed the challenge; but, over a year ago, I moved out of state (112 miles from my current district) creating a 4-hour, round-trip commute. Most wondered how long I could sustain in that fashion. I lasted a full school year, plus a couple of months at the end of one and the beginning of this one. Commuting proved to be expensive and physically taxing. So after much prayer and consideration, I began to look for positions closer to home. Ironically, the new school is 66 miles away from home - exactly half of my current commute. It's not as close as I wanted to be, but hopefully, this will be a good fit and an easy transition.

I am not without anxieties. The shifts in content (CCSS and new state frameworks) and grade level will be huge for me. I will also be entering nearly two months after the beginning of the school year which presents its own set of challenges.

During the 2005-2006 school year, I taught in a self-contained 4th grade classroom; however, the standards I used were our old benchmarks. In school year 2006-2007, I taught reading only - still under the old state benchmarks. Since then, the standards for reading and language arts were merged and repackaged as a combined ELA framework. The social studies standards have also changed. Now the Common Core State Standards have been implemented. I spent the following years teaching 6th and 7th grade math and pre-AP pre-algebra and then as District Instructional Technologist since May 2011.

Pray for me as I return to the classroom and continue my travels on a shorter (thankfully) commuting!

Sick Leave

I'm not feeling well today and I used all of the energy I could muster to participate in #MSedchat. I can't focus on reading or blogging today, but I wanted to fulfill my daily writing commitment.

My symptoms are:

- dry, itchy eyes

- sore throat

- runny nose

- exhausted beyond belief

- body aches

Hopefully, I'll feel better tomorrow. I had a flu shot, so hopefully it isn't that. It's to early for that anyway, right?

Goldilocks and the Three? Bears

I really like the promise of the Common Core. When the standards were released in 2010, I was head over heels in love with the idea of common standards across the states. Most important to me was the idea that teachers would be given the opportunity to narrow the focus to fewer standards per year and teach those deeply, to mastery. 

It had been my long-held belief that it is ridiculous to attempt to teach a multitude of skills shallowly - which were usually repeated as students matriculated. I mean, how many years does it really take to know what nouns are and how to use them? Under this model, teaching standards was nothing more than briefly introducing and objective and repeatedly assessing all "covered" standards. There were too many standards to effectively teach to mastery in an academic year that is shortened by the frequency and number of assessments.

Consider my formula for instructional days from the 180-day/36-week school year based on the last year I taught.

  5 - # of days spent pre-testing

18 - # of weekly or bi-weekly common Teacher-made assessments (Mandated)

18 - # of review days for aforementioned Teacher-made assessments

15 - # of testing days required for 3 week-long DWAs (District-Wide Assessments)

15 - # of review days for aforementioned DWAs

15 - # of days for MAP testing

10 - # of review days for MCT2 (state-wide, end-of-year assessment)

+5 - # of days for MCT2, including make-up testing

101 assessment days

 180 days of compulsory attendance

-101 days of assessment

   79 instructional days

Keep in mind that instructional days were also impacted by assemblies, field trips, PBIS parties, field day, inclement weather days, fire/tornado/lockdown drills, actual lockdowns, widespread absenteeism due to H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu), professional development days, early-release days, parent-teacher conference days, and any other number of things.

Many have suggested that the solution is a longer school year. I wholeheartedly disagree. The answer is less assessment. Oddly, the answer has been more, not less. Since leaving the classroom, additions to the assessment calendar include STAR testing for AR placement; Code of Conduct testing (student handbook); and pre-testing at the beginning of every term rather than just the beginning of the school year. I'm sure there are some other things I'm forgetting.

Am I the only one that thinks education reform itself should be reformed?

So, now to the bears... 

I fear that the promise of the Common Core State Standards will prove to be a failed promise because of a narrowing curriculum unintended by the standards themselves. 

The CCSS are equivalent to Papa Bear's oversized chair. A booster seat in the form of a little more specificity would make this chair a better fit. 

PARCC's Model Content Framework is Baby Bear's chair that doesn't support the weight of teacher autonomy. Local educational agencies (state education agencies, district-level curriculum personnel, and building-level administrators) may be enticed to strongly encourage (read: mandate) teachers to focus narrowly on what PARCC considers important and has specified as a "model" (read: will be tested). Now we're back to teaching to the test, the very thing that the high, clear, and few CCSS were to deliver us from.

Where is Mama Bear's just-right chair? 

I hope Pathways to the Common Core can help me figure it out. Chapter 3 gave me more questions than answers. What are your thoughts?

~TF

Calibrating Your Teaching

As I read Chapter Two of Pathways today, the most profound realization I had was about assessment. One simple sentence that the authors probably didn't intend to be prolific, nevertheless, became a seed, was planted, and has taken root. 

Why should we assess students? Why do we currently assess students?

What is the real purpose of assessments? The authors suggest the purpose of assessment is to provide teachers with feedback that will enable them to calibrate their teaching. It's such a simultaneously simple and complex notion considering how convoluted the role of assessment in schools has become. The current purpose is to compare, sort, and select students. I say this because often assessment feedback isn't received in a timely manner, and when it is received, timely or not, the results aren't used to make real instructional decisions - at least not by the teacher. There are no opportunities for teachers to calibrate their own lessons and practices. Most change is mandated from above.

Also, if the purpose of assessment is to calibrate teaching practice, there shouldn't be high-stakes tied to student assessment. We (as a field) over-assess, usually using invalid measurements. Further, student achievement and student assessment performance should not be synonymous. Not everything that can be measured should be.

How do we get from where we are, to where we need to be? How can administrators empower teachers to make instructional decisions based on assessment feedback?

Golden or Oldies? Pathways - Chapter One

Tonight I started reading Pathways to the Common Core by Calkins, Ehrenworth, and Lehman. I got in late and had decided I would begin tomorrow. I'm glad I didn't wait.

What a fabulous read! In fact, I had to make myself put it down to write this post! I read chapter one and a sneak peak of chapter two - it's that good! The first chapter read like a novel to me because the style is very fluid. I will reread chapter one tomorrow and make notes and add chapter two - a reference for those reading along with me (Thanks, Elisabeth! Christie, I invite you to read along as well).

If you've already read the book, do you read the Common Core State Standards as an old curmudgeon or as if they are golden?

Teachers as Researchers

I consider myself to be a Teacher-Researcher. Over the years, I've read innumerable professional books, white papers, essays, articles, blogs, and the like and watched countless hours of videos of best and next practices, different teaching methods, and commentary from both sides of the education (read: public school) reform.

The newest additions to my professional collection are Pathways to the Common Core and Connecting Comprehension and Technology, both are written by teams of phenomenal educators, some of whom are very well-known.

Tomorrow, II will begin reading both and will share what I'm learning, questioning, and challenged by. Also, I'll report my experiences here when I have opportunities to practice strategies I pick up. If you would like to read along with me, let me know!

~TF

P.S. This is the second time I've written this post. >=^(  I forgot to save the draft the first time. =^{

Snowed under...

No, it's not snowing in Alabama in September, although I am being crushed under the avalanche of research I'm conducting on the Common Core State Standards and PARCC assessments. 

I have been out of the classroom for over two years doing technology professional development for teachers. As a result, I'm little behind with the CCSS and PARCC. So, now I am feverishly trying to familiarize myself with the standards, shifts, assessments, and more for an upcoming adventure - more on that later.

Teaching like it's 1983.

We got our first computer in the home around the Christmas of 1983, when I was at the ripe old age of 3. I had learned to read on the eve of my 2nd birthday and my dad decided the next challenge would be to teach me a new skill and language - programming in a computer language called BASIC. 

My father did not order disks with pre-programmed games, or type the lines of code and save the games for me. Instead, he allowed me to identify the games I wanted to play from the monthly digest of computer programs that was delivered to our house, and taught me to type the hundreds of required lines of code, save them to 5 1/4" floppy disks, compile and troubleshoot the code before being able to play these games. 

I enjoyed the process; I learned patience and delayed gratification at an early age - however that's not all I learned. Since we were the only family in the neighborhood with a computer, I discovered that I could make the other neighborhood children, most of whom were years older play school with me, but I would always be the teacher, even though I was younger because I owned the computer. =^}

I was a voracious reader and loved learning, so my mother would buy textbooks and workbooks from the state textbook depot to keep me busy. I made copies for my "students" that came to play on the computer. 

For Christmas 1984, my favorite gift was a chalkboard with multi-colored chalk. This upped my "play school" game to a whole new level!!! I felt very authentic!

Here I am tht Christmas Morning in 1984 - probably in the middle of planning a fantastic lesson!

Now, I am a real teacher, just like I knew I would be. It strikes me that I used technology as a method to reach and engage students 30 years ago at the tender and ripe, old age of 3.

~TF

 P.S. During our most recent Bible study series, we took an inventory revealing our Spiritual gifts. My top gift - teaching. I was predestined to be a teacher - by design! 

Juggling

I have never been good at juggling, so I can't figure out why I always decide to take on soooo many things at once. Today, among other things, I juggled work, #MSedchat, and blogging. This post was began earlier today, and I am just now getting back to finish it. Technically, it's late since it's after midnight here; however, I haven't gone to bed yet - that's hours overdue as well. Anyway, here is my 4/4 post for the #EdBDaily - better late than never, in all of it's inelegance!

Celebrity Status

I was on my district's high school campus today and saw some of my former 6th and 7th grade students, most of whom are now sophomores and juniors. This isn't a rare occurrence. I usually see former students quite frequently - at least once every couple of days or so. Nevertheless, the response is usually overwhelming - students screaming my name from across campus, running (literally running) to give me hugs, and asking if I teach there now, and if so, what class so a schedule change can be requested. They make me feel like a celebrity!

Although I never tire of hugs and students genuine appreciation, I am most proud to hear students say the things I taught in 6th or 7th grade math was THE reason they passed the state Algebra I exit exam. I'm not proud of myself though, I'm proud of and for them. 

Those students worked hard to gain problem-solving and process skills. Long after facts, algorithms, and precise definitions are forgotten, those skills matter most and are what truly makes great math students. I push hard and they were willing to work hard to ensure my 10 non-negotiables became permanent tools in their math toolkits.

1. Math works, so it's important that you know how and why.

2. Vocabulary and writing are extremely important in math class.

3. Reason through and make sense of the problem before attempting to solve it.

4. A hypothesis isn't just for science. Make a prediction and use estimation. 

5. The solution is not the end of, and is in fact, the least important part of the process. 

6. Show and explain the process involved in finding (a or multiple) solution(s) with precise definitions an algorithms. 

7. Justify solutions using multiple representations (in other words, PROVE IT!).

8. Check your work and revise if necessary.

9. Seek alternate methods or solutions because there is always more than one way to arrive at the same destination.

10. Make connections. 

This is in no way an exhaustive list of what was taught. It's more reflective than anything else since I don't teach math anymore. I had few great experiences with math after 5th grade. I wanted to ensure that the same was not true for my students. It must have worked.

~TF

Risk-Taking and Failure

I took a class in college, probably the best of all of them, in which the professor encouraged free writing. This was a process that at first proved difficult for me until I learned the importance of the "free"dom in that style of writing. 

I had never allowed myself to take many risks in writing, or in anything else, prior to then. Risk-taking might have resulted in failure and the perfectionist personality I had could not bear the thought. Failure was NOT an option. I grew up in a household where a grade of 97 on a report card resulted in a question - "What happened to the other 3 points?" This didn't elicit much risk-taking.

Caution: Tense Shift Ahead (You've been warned!)

Fast forward to today. My PLN and I encourage risk-taking and FAILs (First Attempts in Learning) in each other. What a paradigm shift! I hope that I can continue in this mindset and encourage the same in my colleagues and students.

If we aren't failing, are we really trying? Are those successes or (non-fails) meaningful? How much more would the eventual (maybe) success mean to us if it followed after multiple unsuccessful attempts? If at first you don't succeed, try, try again! Right?

Grit, determination, and perseverance are three words currently causing a buzz in education circles now. They are not new. My high school AP English teacher called it stick-to-it-iveness. I didn't have it then, but I sure do now!

I encourage you to fail - gloriously, early, and often! Who knows what you'll learn along the way?

P.S. Thank you, Dr. Kristen Tegtmeier Ortel, for encouraging me to take risks! It has changed my life!

P.P.S. Mrs. Nancy Graham-Taylor, you taught me lots of vocabulary and even more about literature and composition. I value the life lessons most of all. You are the reason I am an educator!

So, I’ve joined a blog-a-day challenge...

In an effort to make writing more a part of my daily life, I have joined a challenge with other awesome educators via my Twitter PLN. I have tossed around the idea of blogging quite a bit; dipped my toe in the water once or twice; and even publicly admonished myself for not blogging more. I know I have lots to say - my problem is mostly finding the time to say it within my busy day. That's no excuse for not sharing my thoughts, commenting on the the thoughts and opinions of others, questioning, collaborating, and venting.

Posts may not always be grammatically correct or typo-free, but that isn't really the purpose of writing. My goal for this blog is not that it will be a bastion of profundity (although I may occasionally have posts that gain traction). I want this blog to make writing more habitual for me, so that if and when I do have a profound thought, it is captured somewhere. I want to have a record of my thoughts so when I want to be reflective, I don't have to chase down the myriad notebooks strewn about that currently house my thinking.

So thanks to my fellow #EdBDaily challengers. Game on! Post 1/infinity is here.