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Looking Out

Looking Out Originally written May 27, 2015 Lightly edited for clarity in August 2026. Just hours ago, my students left. They are on their way to summer adventures, family time, and friends. Just as quickly as they walked into my life, they walked out again. Yet each of them will always be a part of my life. When a school year begins, my new students are just that—students. They arrive as a group, and at first there is little that distinguishes them beyond their physical appearance. They are quiet, reserved, and and still unknown to me. During those first few days, I snap a picture of each one, not yet knowing who they really are. I work to learn their names and match each one to a classroom number. I try to figure out who knows whom from the neighborhood. I share pieces of my own life, hoping they'll eventually share theirs. Time meanders on. Slowly, they begin to let their light shine. Slowly, they begin to share what's important to them. Slowly, I'm afforded the opportu...
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Creative Writing

Each week my students are assigned to write a creative writing piece.  They have been given a list of 91 prompts to choose from.  They type them in Google Docs, share them with me electronically, and I get to enjoy their wonderful creativity!   Below is one of the writings from one of my students...Enjoy!!      Mr. Casten Jan. 15, 2016 My Favorite Person (Poem) My favorite person is Jackie Robinson because he broke our country’s baseball color barrier. Here’s a little poem about Jackie Robinson. My Name is JR, I’ve been traveling far, And I’m gettin’ around In a brand new car! The players hated me As I walk around, Then they act like That I’m not wearing a crown! I broke the CB And many records, Steelin’ bases LIke I’m fast as a leopard! Now here I am Sittin’ up in Heaven, Steelin’ home I just got eleven! -Adam K. Prompt #48 1/15/16 All written material is property of Michael C. Casten
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Art & Science

     The familiar winds of autumn blew rapidly through the playground.   Ponytails flying, unzipped jackets flapping, and soaring playground balls all took errant paths.        Just as fall has briskly left so has trimester one.   Reports cards were sent home today and I plan on placing the final touches to each student’s conference narrative.   The practice of filling out the narrative for my students has become one of my favorite “at home” aspects of teaching.   I look forward to retreating to my little office in the basement, surrounded by the faint noises of my family upstairs, and writing.   I seem to enter into a world only my students and I really know; the life of Room 211 on a daily basis.       My mind pictures each student as I am writing about them.   Their faces make an entrance into my thoughts followed by the smile I see each day.   I travel back in t...
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Collective Cusp

There comes a time each school year when the students and teacher begin to fall away from putting one’s best foot forward and it becomes ok to make mistakes, ok to show your true colors, ok to just be yourself.  In doing so a classroom culture is defined.  Those special things that make each year special begin to emerge and take shape.  Moments that will become memories, often distant memories, are forged.  Emerging from their collective cocoons, my students and I are at the point where we are sharing personal stories from our lives; stories that accentuate the theme of a lesson.  Letting down our collective hair we have begun to find the quirks each possesses; celebrating the unique nature of each person.  Taking a collective sigh we are finally at a point where behavior and discipline are intertwined with comfort and relaxation; the common good of learning is taking precedence. A “collective” is made up of parts…in this case the collective is th...
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100 Ties that Bind

  Before I Re TI r E When I was deciding to become a teacher I was given some advice… "while getting dressed for work, always dress for the position you desire rather than the position you currently hold".   At that time, many years ago, I was an after-school daycare supervisor.  My attire usually fit my job…jeans, t-shirt, gym shoes, etc.  When that advice was imparted to me and I began my education in education I started wearing more “professional” type clothing.  In doing so I was searching for a role model.  Men are few and far between in the field of education--as a consequence--the school I was working at in Oak Park didn’t offer anyone I could emulate. This dilemma brought me to reach back into my high school days.  I had plenty of male teachers at OPRFHS.  One of them was my Geometry/Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Chirko. Mr. Chirko was one of those people who always had a slight smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye....
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Spontaneous Routine

Whether a seasoned teacher or one “fresh out of the box” the idea that establishing a routine for your students is highly valued. Kids are spontaneous.  We can hear this in their laughter.  We can see this in their actions. We can feel this through their emotions.  Spontaneity carries with it positives and negatives; both contributing to the endeavor of an education within a school day.  It can serve to help or hinder. Each class a teacher gets from one year to the next has its own “pulse”.  There is a level of spontaneity that must be sought in order to capitalize on it for positive outcomes.  Routines are a way of seeking that level.  Within the routine of a typical day one can gauge the level of spontaneity a class possesses.  As students intertwine within the parameters set forth from the moment they enter the school to the instant they leave for home, much is shared between student and teacher.  Roles become clearly defined and...
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Tucked Away

The role of a parent runs deep through the life of a child.      During curriculum night parents had an opportunity to write a note to their 4th grader.  The note was to be read the following morning  by the respective student.  Each parent that attended did in fact write a note.  They were left on their desks.  One note, however, was tucked lovingly away in the student's desk---to be found!      When the kids arrive to school we marched through the hallway and up the first flight of stairs.  I had them stop on the staircase to give them specific instructions on starting our day.  Being the day after curriculum night, I let them know that if their parent did attend the previous night that they would find a note on their desk.  I didn't realize there was a note tucked away.  I let those kids, whose parents were unable to make it, know that they obviously didn't receive a note but are to take the ...
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