MCC Friday Reflections

It's early morning.  The last day of school for 2012 is upon us as Winter Break will begin at 3:00 pm today.  The classroom is empty with the exception of the Christmas music playing in the background.  The students' desks are neatly waiting for their owners to arrive.  On each desk lay a Friday Reflection assignment, a candy cane, and two spearmint starlight mints.   I've spent 18 years working with children ranging from ages 5-12.  Beginning in 1994 in my hometown of Oak Park working with Hephzibah Children's Association until 2001 when I had my first 4th grade class here at Lincoln.  Over those many years I have witnessed the delight in hundreds of childrens' eyes at the mention of Christmastime and the Holiday Season.   Times have changed dramatically since my first experience working with kids.  Five Presidents have been elected, the millennium was ushered in under the cloak of Y2K, the Twin Towers fell and brought wi...

Our classroom calendar "sticks" to the whiteboard and has velcro on each day of the month in order to put up the actual date.  Each month's dates have a different kind of "shape" to represent it...during the month of December the dates are written on snowflake shapes.  Of course, this is because one would expect snow during the month of December living in a suburb of Chicago. Not the case this year.  It is December 14th and it has yet to snow.  I haven't seen one flake.  Yet the reminders of winter are all around us.  We even had a reading test last week where one of the stories was titled, "Snowflakes".  Many of the ties I wear around this time of year have snow somewhere on them.   As we were outside during a recess I had a short discussion with one student about the weather.  The conversation led to a small discussion about global warming.  We talked about pollution and the ozone layer and how it might affect the weather. ...

The kids are writing right now.  They are taking their Unit 3 writing test.  As I look up I see a sea of pencils moving back and forth, people adjusting themselves in their chairs.  Some kids are deep in thought only to quickly jot down those thoughts.  I see kids "mouthing" the words they are writing, then turning their pencils over to erase something that doesn't seem right.  Every so often one of them gets up to sharpen a pencil.  Occasionally they will stretch, take a bite of their snack, or a drink of their water bottle.  At times, they will get e fresh piece of paper as they have much to say with this prompt.   The room is quiet.  The tapping of my computer keys as I write this reflection is one of the only sounds that float across the room.  The sliding of a chair every so often accompanies it.  The familiar sound of pencils scritch-scratching along the paper provides a soothing hum for the room.  Hea...

When I was a kid we played outside from the time school was over until dinner time.  We played with the neighborhood kids...of all ages and both genders.  We played games that required nothing except maybe a ball (or a can) and our unbridled energy.  While playing we rarely fought over rules or technicalities...simply because there were so few rules.  During our play we formed memories and friendships that have lasted a lifetime.  In spite of our differences we managed to have fun...pure fun.   My students have been having a rough go of it on the playground lately.  There seemed to be a problem every single day during recess.  From afar I watched to see what I could make of the complaining that had been so prevalent.  I watched the games that were being played, the groups of kids that walked around the playground, the loners and the ones who just couldn't seem to stay in one place long enough to establish themselves.  I watched as...

When the school year started I was assigned 28 students.  I put together my class lists, arranged the desks and other furniture in the classroom to accommodate so many.  I made sure I had enough books, storage areas, and other daily items we would need to have a successful year.  I then took some time to prepare myself.  I knew that 28 children in a classroom would be a lot.  I knew, also, that as the teacher I cannot allow the number of students I have to determine how the year will proceed and progress.  Housing 28 kids in one classroom for 6.5 hours per day, 5 days a week would prove to be quite the experience.  I prepared myself to take on the challenge that this would naturally present.  I reached back to the days before I was a teacher, when I was a Daycare Supervisor/Program Coordinator for a before-and-after school program as well as the summer program for Hephzibah Children's Association of Oak Park, IL.  I had been in charge of...

I have a quote that sits behind me on the wall.  It's a small piece of paper, hardly noticeable.  It reads, "The object of teaching a child is to enable [him] to get along without [his] teacher" ---Ebert Hubbard Those very words hold much of what I strive for as a teacher.  Providing my students with the tools necessary to be independent of me in their learning is a goal I employ every year.  The more I work on my goal, the more I help kids learn how to learn, and how to be self-sufficient. This week I had the distinct pleasure of realizing a part of my goal.  It came in the form of three students who, without even knowing that my goal exists, demonstrated the very essence of  "getting along without [their] teacher" . In one instance, a student presented me with a self-made map of England; complete with a key, a compass rose, and major cities marked and labeled.  This came from a discussion we had engaged in this week while learning ...

They say "Laughter is the best medicine".  The science behind this has to do with the release of endorphins while a a true laugh is being experienced.  Endorphins generally make us feel good.  Endorphins help us to feel at ease as well, a sense of safety if you will.  Endorphins are also responsible for some feelings of "closeness" to others through shared experiences. The classroom is a curious place.  In it are many people.  Each person having their own personality.  Each having their own set of experiences.  The dynamics of a classroom can change often.  From year to year, as a teacher, I get to experience the different climates of each class as they pass through my world. Somewhere along the line of a school year, the "honeymoon" period comes to a halt.  The true personalities of students and teacher come forth.  There are two paths that this revelation can take...one of "personality clashing" or one of "...

My students created a game on the playground.  They made their own rules and figured out ways to be the best at this game.  Then came the challenge.  The girls challenged the boys to a marathon of this game.  Every day when we went outside they would situate themselves around this game.   As some time passed I noticed that the teams had changed.  It was no longer girls vs. boys.  They mixed it up.  With this change there seemed to be more comradery.  The game flowed more smoothly than it had before and rules seemed to be adhered to more diligently.   There are times in the classroom where the kids would prefer to be with their own gender.  We respect that.  There are times when the kids like to be with their friends.  We respect that too.  There are times, as well, when they let go of these notions and allow themselves to expand their horizons; including themselves among everyone...mal...

Every morning I sit outside my classroom and greet each student.  We exchange "good mornings" and they tell me what they are doing for lunch.  It's a nice time of day because I get to see each one of my students and connect with them, if only for a moment.  The day quickly gets itself into motion and the whirlwind of learning commences.  That initial connection in the morning is the spark that sets the tone of our day.  It brings to light the humanness in us all; kids are people too and so are teachers. As we get to know one another we find out more and more about each other.  I have the privilege of learning about 21 individuals...each with their own dreams and fears, talents and skills, highs and lows.  Each one of them comes to me day after day with a host of experiences from their lives; as do I to them.  Each one of them comes to me with a sense of self that has been in the works for the past 9-10 years; mine spans 45....

Five weeks of Reading lessons.    Five selections were read and discussed.         Skills and strategies were explained and practiced.              Review took place over the course of one week. Five weeks of Writing lessons.      Six papers in all were completed.          Six papers were edited and revised.               Writing techniques were taught and practiced. The time for my students to demonstrate what they have learned finally came.  The reading test had two selections to be read and questions followed; testing their ability to identify main ideas and details, draw conclusions, work with vocabulary words, as well as identifying themes.  A writing prompt was given and students were expected to create a paper using the te...

The sounds of children playing rush through my open window.  The cool air softly slips past the screen as the fall seasons begins to take hold.  If I stare long enough at the tree across the street I can almost see the leaves changing their colors.  Every so often a shrill of playful delight rings above the children's crowd noise.  And for brief moments there is a seeming silence when the voices all together quiet themselves.  It's as if there is a wave of commotion amongst them.  I know they are all doing something different yet from simply listening to them their sound echoes in unison. My classroom is still.  It's quiet and lifeless.  The children quickly left for lunch today and their "things" are still exactly where they left them.  Books over turned to save the place of the reader, open journals, pens and pencils randomly placed all rest on the desks.  Jackets hang limp over the backs of chairs. Snack containers, s...

The brain is an amazing organ.  It controls the entire body and allows for learning to take place.  It's also a very particular organ.  Despite the fact that it has millions of tasks to accomplish every minute it grows bored.  Yes...bored. Part of my job as a teacher is to stimulate the brains of my students.  To capture their attention and cause them to seek more information, to explore beyond their comfort level, and to see the world in a slightly different way than they have before.  Knowing that the brain gets bored easily when subjected to redundancy, a teacher employs many different strategies to combat that boredom. A new perspective must be provided to spark the brain awake!  Think of Fall, or any change of the seasons.  The beauty of nature elicits creativity and a renewed sense within the brain.  Fall's colors, Winter's pristine snow, Spring's vibrancy, and Summer's green all provide a new perspective. This wee...

Each child has one.  They all carry one around with them.  Sometimes they take it out during school; sometimes it finds its way out at home.  There are times when the child tries yet cannot find it.  There are times when it shows up in the most unexpected places.  When pushed to extract it, they often resist.  When encouraged to experiment with it, they often oblige.  It what's inside all of them...all of us, for that matter. The inner writer. We spent a week with Lincoln School's beloved poet, Bill Buczinsky.  A man after the writings of a child's heart.  A man with exuberance, skill, talent, and energy.  He lights up the school with words, sparking the writer in each of our students.  He brings to the table a pencil and paper, mixes in some words, and dabbles with meaning.  He throws around metaphors while delivering the idioms, and he does it with fervor and a passion that's unmistakable. My students'...

I drove to work this morning at just about the same time as I always do…between 6:30 and 7:00am.  The roads were different this morning.  It seemed as though everyone was just a touch more polite; a tad more gracious; a bit more forgiving. September 11 th, 2001 remains in the hearts and minds of so many.  The common thread of 9.11 weaves its way through, around, and between us all.  During stop lights I would look to my right and left at the other drivers.  Most other days I would see people talking on their phones; either hand-held or through their Bluetooth.  I would see people singing along with their music or they themselves glancing around at the other drivers next to them.  This morning, however, I saw none of that.  Every person I saw this morning was strangely silent in their car.  Their faces showed thoughtfulness.  Their expressions were placid.  Their demeanor's were peaceful. The common thread seemed t...

They spend a lot of time in this room. They are here from early morning to mid-afternoon. They work here.  They eat here.  They play here.  They learn here. The find their place in the classroom; setting up their desks to their pleasure; arranging their books and folders in ways that make the most sense to them.  They become comfortable with their surroundings and begin to regard much of what they see as their own.  They share the space, much of the supplies, and the responsibilities. The responsibilities. School is a wonderful place to teach kids about responsibility...both individual and shared responsibilties.  We can elicit classwork, homework, and tests as a way to further develop individual responsibility.  We can look at their desks, their assignment notebooks, and their cubbies to help them organize themselves in a way that leads to success in the learning environment.  In terms of shared responsibility we look to th...