Bored Brains

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 week we changed the seating arrangement in the classroom for the first time.  For the students it is exciting because they get to sit next to new people.  For me it's exciting because I know that when a person is moved from a seat they have been in for a while, the new perspective wakens the mind.  It gives them a fresh look at the room, the environment, and their place in it.  I have found that the week seats change is always a high energy week in the classroom...I try to capitalize on that occurrence and use it to learning's advantage. 

We accomplished much this week after the initial excitement of a new seating arrangement dissipated. We learned about how writing introductions and conclusions mirror one another; depending on each other for continuity.  We learned that the volume of an object does not change simply because the shape of the object may change.  We learned about political maps; their uses and design.  We learned about facts and opinions and how to identify them while reading.  

Most of the lessons this week were part of group work.  The learning environment was active, moving, and engaging.  We worked together; sharing ideas, moving around the room from activity to activity, and creating hands-on demonstrations of learned concepts.  

The energy taken from the new perspective through changed seats was harnessed and put to effective use.  As a teacher I am proud of my students for the work they did, the engaged learning they experienced, and the growth that followed.

As Fall approaches we can say farewell to another summer passed...then we can turn our minds to the incredible display that we will encounter as Autumn provides us with a fresh, new perspective.

Mr. Casten

Sept. 21, 2012

Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten

What's Within

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'  inner writers came forth.  They engaged in the content, immersed themselves in the lessons, and proudly took up the challenge.  They orchestrated free verse and tackled Haiku.  They explored nouns and adjective, verbs and adverbs.  They danced with sentence fragments and were told it was ok.

Each year when Bill leaves, the magic he brings leaves with him.  There always is, however, a smattering of that magic that lingers behind...finding its way to the hearts and minds of those left behind with it.  It's awe-inspiring to witness the invisible magic work its way into the inner writer of each of my students.  It becomes part of them and they are better off for having spent the week completely engrossed in the "power of the poet".

Each child has one.  An inner writer that is always capable of bursting forth and expressing the inner thoughts, feelings, aspirations, and inspirations of its host.

Each child has one.  Ours is the task to invite that inner writer to come forth.

Thanks Bill, for a week that brought the inner writers out; and for letting so many see the beauty in the written word.

Mr. Casten

Sept. 14, 2012

You can visit Bill Buczinsky's website at:

A Child's Voice

Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten

September 11th: Threads

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 to halt people from running the yellow light; stopped them from tail-gating, and prompted them to use their turn signals for both turning and lane changes.  The speed limit was easily adhered to and patience, when starting to go after waiting for the red to change to green, was practiced.

This common thread is always present yet often unnoticed.  On this morn I felt that it was strengthened by the memories of that day 11 years ago; strengthened by the life force of those whom we lost.

I find myself occasionally thinking about 9.11 on other days apart from the anniversary date.  My thoughts wander to those in the buildings.  Workers, rescuers.  My body grows cold and my stomach tightens up.  My heart tells my mind to stop yet my mind pursues the thoughts.  I release the resistance and allow myself to imagine what it was like in those buildings and planes…the thoughts flow and run their course.  Everything seems pointless and desolate.  The daily problems of life are swallowed up by the heat, flames, and desecration I have conjured up in my mind.  When my mind has spun its last image and my heart can take no more…I free myself from the tragedy that, in some way or another, haunts each of us.  

It’s a beautiful day here in Chicago on this 11^th of September, 2012.  Much like it was 11 years ago.  Much has happened in life since that time.  In some ways, my own Twin Towers have been toppled in a heap of twisted emotions and physical strains.  During that time 11 years ago the spirit of goodness, the soul of graciousness, and the light of hope shone through for days and weeks following the demise of The World Trade Center.  That same Spirit, that One soul, and that perfect Light is what will guide my life into the way things are to be…they will become the common thread that holds me together with humanity…inseparable and undivided.

I wonder what traffic will be like tomorrow morning?

Neat as a Pin

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 the room as a whole.  We assign jobs to students, we talk about leaving the "legacy" of supplies for groups of kids in the future.  We can step back at the end of the day and look at how the room appears after a day of rigorous learning.

Enjoy some of the pics that tell the story of the shared responsibility in Room 202 this year...my hope is that as the first 3 weeks have passed the ideas of shared responsibility stay with this group---for they are quite good at it!!

Their desks all ready for their morning work!

Their dictionaries put back in the correct order after a vocabulary lesson!

Their classroom library...

Mr. Casten

Sept. 7, 2012