The past 2 weeks my students have been studying the moon.  Today during the review I said a word I have heard way too often lately, but this was in a different context and I heard something in it I haven’t heard before.

We were reviewing the stages of the formation of the moon.  Their text (yeah I know, gasp, I used the text, but this is why) has a pretty cool illustration of the formation of the moon.  It broke it into 3 stages: collision, re-forming, and Earth & moon.  So during review I went back over it, collision is where an object hit the Earth *obvious *, then I got to the next stage “re-forming.” Before I could explain one of the kids called out that “re-forming” was obvious as well.  I asked the student to elaborate.  She said “reform, (not re-forming, reform. that is that word I keep hearing!) it was broken, in pieces everywhere.  Then it all just started coming together. By the end it was one piece, the  moon.”

REFORM.  How many times in the last week have you heard that word?  Seriously? Here is Wikipedia’s definition:

Reform means to put or change into an improved form or condition; to amend or improve by change of color or removal of faults or abuses.  Beneficial change, more specifically, reversion to a pure original state, to repair, restore or to correct.

So lets look at this definition and the one my student beautifully explained. Lets play “did it say?” I play this with my kids, even my own children a lot.  Did it say to sit around and gripe? NO.  Did it say to have non-experts on a TV show call themselves experts? NO.  Did it say point out the things that are negative and hope for the best? NO.  Did it say to compare apple and oranges? NO.

NO NO NO. Wikipedia uses word like “repair, restore, improved form, beneficial change (I LOVE THIS ONE), and removal of faults.”  My student said “it was broken…it all just started coming together…by the end it was one piece.”

WOW how awesome would it be if education reform was looked at in that manner?  If those “experts” used these terms?  We seriously need a beneficial change caused by everything coming together.  Propaganda, politicians who are un-qualified for their jobs, experts whose only experience in a classroom was as a student or the day the press caught them visiting one, is not the path needed to take for this reform. Goals need to be stated. Teachers who are passionate need to be heard.  Teachers who are labeled as “sub-par” need to be helped and taught. Most of all schools (not charter, but regular public schools) need to be praised for what they are doing correctly and used as examples for those not on the right path.

Lets take what is broken, come together, and be one piece.  Stop the teacher/school bashing. Stop the non-experts giving opinions.  Just stop. Start beneficial change.

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It’s been a long week. A week of struggles in my head concerning happenings in my classroom. All started this week when to comply with RTI I had to make a list of my Fs and Ds. My list was freakishly long. Reason was the first test I gave. Well not only reason, those with Fs missed at least 2 more assignments in addition to bombing the test.

So that’s where I’m torn. I tell the kids so many times a day we have one goal: “to learn something new every day not make an A! If you learn what you need to learn, you will make that grade.” So did they learn?! If they did, they should make the grade according to this.

So I had an “ah ha” moment during 1st period. A student started waving her hands like crazy while I was explain a penumbra. Annoyed I called on her and asked if she had a question. She blurted out “I saw the moon for the first time. Like really looked at it. I had never done that before.” Seriously? She had never looked at the moon? They are doing a project on moon phases where they have to sketch & comment on the moon every night. She not only did that but did it and took something away from it. That’s the stuff that is important. Not that stupid test.

So I’m dropping the test (except for the As). I have to. My class is about learning not testing. They will retake the test on Wednesday, but they now know the importance of it. I have to be careful and make sure they know I will not ever do this again but it’s just as important they know WHY I am doing it.

My most frusterating part of this is they knew that stuff but couldn’t connect it to the test. I’m still looking for ways to teach this (suggestions welcome lol). I want them to take what they know and apply it to everything, including simple test. I now have a new goal with this group.

A

(written on phone so if a number of typos let me know 🙂

Today is my Twitter Birthday! Two years and 1711 followers ago I set up a Twitter account. Hearing how great @suzanbrandt thought it was and all the cool things she was learning finally caught up to me and I signed up, stole the people she was following and gave it a spin. I didn’t get it and it wasn’t until January 2009 during EduCon weekend I got it (here is an explanation of my Ah Ha! moment).

Two years ago I was in EdS school (which annoyingly enough I’m still in), a mom of newborn, and a teacher looking for a way out of education. I was working for a degree in Tech in Ed and beyond frusterated a job in that field had yet to come (I still am, but have come to enjoy what I am doing while I wait). I had the class from “you know where” with parents who thought it was better to spend their time gossiping about me than help their children. I was burnt out and ready to quit it all.

Once the spring came and I was finally getting the hang of this twitter and PLN stuff I started realizing that education was still my passion. I was getting encouragement from others and ideas of ways to use technology or different teaching methods in my classroom. My outlook on education and the way I viewed my job was renewed. I felt like a fresh teacher again not one who had been at it for 6 years.

The past years I have met life long friends. Some of which I have shared a meal, shared a laugh, or shared tears. This summer, which I have dubbed my “Summer of Twitter”, I met many social media friends in real life. (I say it that way because not just educators from my PLN, but wonderful people who are from Birmingham and do great things for our community.)

I have said this many times, social media relationships are like any other relationships. You still have the negatives. It hurts just as bad to have a friend send a DM to tell you another is talking about you because she didn’t like your joke then same way it would hurt when a f2f friend whispers the same. It hurts when a friend unfollows becuase a disagreement (had my first taste back in July and every time it hurts just as bad). People are even more critical online because they can say it and sign off. So the negatives are there.

I say that as a caution but I want to stress that just like with any relationship it is worth the risk. I am so thankful for all of you I have met via social media and look forward to more friendships in my future. Thank you all for being my friend and I wouldn’t trade you guys for anything!

**credit for picture is Mariana Pugliese from flicker & my bestest Twitter friend Mr Glenn modified it 🙂 http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/pugliesem/4713654668/

So I am now in the 3rd week of school. To be honest physically this has been a pretty difficult three weeks. I had surgery that was supposed to have a one day recovery the week before students started back. Today is exactly a month later & I still am having complications. The antibiotic I am on has caused me to be horribly sick. This morning was the worst. Today is game day (a 14 hour work day) and I started my morning in faculty room doubled over sick.

I gave kids an article to read and already had a few video clips from Planet Earth to watch but today was my storytelling/lecture day. After having to run out of the class twice sick I jokingly asked the class if someone wanted to teach my lesson for me. One of my girls literally jumped out of her seat wanting to.

SHE ROCKED IT! She a great job navigating the site. She mostly read from the site but did it in an interesting manner. The students listened respecfully. I was so proud of her.

I learned something from this student today. It’s ok to give up control of your classroom to a student, never underestimate a student, and improv can be awesome.

I decided to start something today, a “sub-club”. Trustworthy students from each class that can teach or moderate lessons on days I have a substitute. They will be in charge of my “sub folders” not the office. I plan on also train them on hooking up the IWB to laptop. Hmmmmmm, now I just need to take a day off and test this plan. Kidding.

(BTW my first post from my iPhone so excuse the typos and let me know if you see any!)

Last night while #edchat was focusing on PBL I was attending my daughter’s pre-school open house. Let me first start by saying that I had a heard time deciding what to do about my daughter’s daycare/preschool this year. The one she has attended since she was 6 months old is A Beka based, and even though I think A Beka is effective at memorizing and teaching students to read, I strongly disagree with everything else about it.  I was worried my brilliant (no I’m not exaggerating, she is extremely smart) daughter would be cheated of this important developmental year.  But I decided to keep her there afraid the change would be too stressful on her.

So yesterday’s #edchat was about PBL. The conversations were very interesting. Many times I wanted to jump in there but since I have protected tweets, my tweets would not show in the searches everyone would be using for the chat. So I sat with my mouth shut.  While reading the tweets I kept thinking about activities I need to do with my students, how I am going to fit them in, etc. I love that we sometimes have the remind that PBL is not “project” based learning but “problem” based learning.  All learning should lead to questions, not results (aka a project). The one tweet I did send out was the reminder PBL focuses on the process not the product.

So with my mind full of this, and still 30 minutes of #edchat left, I go into the preschool. I visited with the teacher but whole time watching my clock because eager to hear about this new “Creative Curriculum.” So the curriculum meeting started off talking about what the A Beka program was missing, what skills were not being taught.  He then pointed out many different areas that were being ignored.  Emotional, physical, & cognitive development was not part of the old curriculum.  The new curriculum would focus on the those three and have the learning of reading/math/letters/etc tied into them. You know the ideal PBL environment.

It is so important that kids learn more than basic memorization skills.  They need to learn how to interact with each other, how to problem solve (yeah I know I always harp on that one!), and build on other knowledge. The pre-school director gave an example learning the math skill of big, bigger, biggest. He said in the past they would give a worksheet of 3 sizes of balls.  With new program the teacher could teach a poem about size of balls, then bring in 3 objects that were the same but of different sizes.  The students now have hands on learning.  They are questioning about the objects and still have learned the same skill.

Assessing will be done more formatively.  The teachers will assess whether or not a student had learned the skill while doing an activity or or through play.  If the student does not master that skill, the teacher will reteach to that student. Also the students will now have portfolios to display mastery.  The portfolios will be kept from birth to end of K4 and will all be digital. (Can you imagine my excitement about that?!)

Another really cool change is that everything will be differentiated instruction.  I could not imagine doing that with a classroom full of pre-school aged kids!! But I’m glad.  I know my child is not going to be on the same level as other kids. They will use a scale to keep up with where the students are achieving.

So I tell you all of this not just to remind you about what PBL is (because that’s part of it) it is also to point out that if this is being done in a room of over 20 4 year olds (they have a HUGE room and many teachers and is a great environment, not as bad as it sounds lol) why can’t it be done in a classroom of older students?  How sad am I going to be in 2 years when my child is no longer assessed her ability to be creative, to learn, but to memorize?  I dread the day she again brings home worksheets and text books instead on a digital portfolio.

These ideas do not need to stop because a student now enters kindergarten. I think it was brave for this pre-school to take this non-traditional leap.  Teachers in our public schools need to change the way they are teaching. School systems need to change what they are demanding of their teachers. Parents need to let go of their children bringing home traditional grades.  Can this please happen before next year when my child will enter school?