Goethe Said It Best

My philosophy of life in 2 sentences, thank you Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Treat a man as he is and you make him worse than he is.  Treat a man as he has the potential to become and you make him better than he is.

Those Who Can

A small gift to all the teachers in the world.

Those who can - make failure bear fruit,
bring fruit to seed and plant seeds
for tomorrow.

Those who can - turn injury to endurance,
endurance to dreams and give dreams
substance. 

Those who can - shape hate to awareness,
awareness to grace and crown grace
with compassion.

Those who can - massage fear to faith,
bend faith to courage and sculpt
courage into wings.

Those who can - subdue chaos with meaning,
define meaning as light and translate
light to vision.

Those who can - give knowledge reason,
fashion reason into tools, use tools as keys
so that doors become opportunities.

Those who can - give charity character,
invest character with strength and
free strength to ministry.

Those who can - define love by their acts,
spin their acts to hope and with hope
give children a reason to celebrate.

Those who can - teach.

Written by Gavin Kayner and published in Teaching K-8 March 1993
as true today as then

Student Teacher

I had the extreme privilege of having a student teacher this semester.  He is an incredible addition to the special education field and I look forward to working together as peers in the future.  But what this experience gave me was a chance to reflect.  After all, in the beginning of the learning, a student teacher mimic, or reflects that which they observed you do until they begin to grow into their own professional personality.  This experience taught me many new things and confirmed others.  Here are the 4 that impacted me the most.

• Teaching is a craft from the moment students arrive until they leave.  There are so many ways to approach a skill as just as many ways to teach it.

• This is the most difficult job to teach while it is one of the easiest to enjoy.  

• Students are resilient.  Forgive yourself on the day that you make a mistake, miss a teaching moment, or simply aren't your best.  They will still learn.

• You can't teach compassion, risk taking, or creativity.  You can make it safe to feel compassion, take a risk, or think creatively.

And on a personal note:

• I am way harder on myself than anyone else.

• I love my job and am grateful that I get to do something I am passionate about every day.

• Laughing and celebrating with my students is still my favorite part of the day.

I am going to miss team teaching with such a great professional but most of all, I am eternally grateful that he gave me the chance to learn more about me as a person, professional, and friend.  I hope I taught him as much as he taught me.

Kids Today...

We are bombarded with information about kids today.  Unfortunately it is usually not positive statements that follow the conversational starter: "Kids today..."

I came across a story that changes that,

in a BIG way.

This is real kids, doing really great things, for ALL members of their school community.  I followed up on this video by scanning the local newspapers and came across an article written by Tina Griego.  I love that the biggest concern his classmates had was that he would believe it was votes driven by pity rather than sincere votes of love that helped him win.

I tell you, kids today....

are amazing.

Ring in the New Year

As the year comes to a close, I find myself reflecting.  2011 brought continued budget cuts and with that, increased class sizes, fewer people for services such as special education, Reading Recovery, Title 1, gifted and talented programs, and school readiness.  Additionally, we all wait in fear that our music and arts programs will be cut.  We struggle daily to still meet high standards and complete stacks and piles of paperwork.

Will 2012 be more of the same?  Failed attempts to raise funds? Exhausted teachers?  Decreased confidence in the public school system?  I don't think so.

I think 2012 will bring the healing of our spirits and confidence.  We will realize that, although tired, we survived all the bad news of 2012.  We can handle more than we thought, and with grace.  The exhaustion, anger, and frustration will give way to hope, confidence, and renewed joy of the job.  I already feel my spirits lifting and look forward to returning to school.

Gratitude

There is so much to be grateful for and celebrate, even in these hard economic times.  Here are my top 10 reasons to be grateful that I teach:

10.  I get to meet and know so many amazing families.

 9.  I am able to create a day that works for me and my students.

 8. The moment the “light bulb” goes on and a child suddenly “gets it.”

 7. A plethora of crayon draws, watercolor pictures, and love letters from students decorate the wall by my desk

 6.  I have 10 little faces great me each morning with excitement.

 5.  Meeting with parents at an annual IEP meeting (special education plan) to let the parents know their child exceeded our expectations

 4.  Watching students read to their friends and teachers for the first time.

 3.  Seeing a child stand on stage and sing with their peers after years of being afraid of crowds.

 2.  A parent being able to take their child to see Santa for the first year ever because the child knows how to handle waiting in line, greeting strangers, and sitting with someone in a costume.

1.     The laughter, giggles, and honest things kids say.