MCC Friday Reflections

The school year moves quickly.   The excitement related to the novelty at the beginning often transforms into the pleasure of getting to know one another.   Personalities come forth and we enjoy learning together.   A sense of belonging permeates the classroom as we move through our days.   From that pleasure we derive a deeper understanding of education and the role that each of us play in the acquisition of knowledge. I often take time to step back and simply watch as my students go about their business.   One of my goals set forth with my principal was to elicit a more conducive classroom atmosphere for my students to be independent learners.   To this end I first must develop lesson plans that allow for kids to be active participants.   From there I teach them the routines required to be self-sufficient in the classroom.   We practice this autonomy and gradually I release the responsibility to them.   It takes discipline, both on t...

Sometimes I wonder.    I have thoughts about what the world will be like for my students when they grow up.   I’ve had fourteen classes (including this year) and when I reach back to my first year of teaching I realize that the world was much different when I walked into the classroom in late August, 2001 than what it is now.   The students I had back then are in their early twenties today.   The world they currently live in is vastly different from when they were fourth graders.   Technology has advanced exponentially, education has shifted dramatically, wars have been fought, leaders have come and gone, medical science has advanced, and people are more connected to one another as well to events of the world like never before. Sometimes I wish.   I often find myself seeking answers to questions that can only be answered by time.   I attempt to mentally play out the future the way I think it’s going to proceed knowing full well that t...

We sat, barely knowing one another, and talked about setting goals for behavior.  We defined the behaviors we thought should be shown throughout the days, weeks, and months of a school year.  We discussed the act of setting realistic goals…attainable yet challenging.  We spoke to the fact that we are a group and each person has a responsibility to the group, and a responsibility to help reach the goal set forth.  We delineated a way to track the progress of our goal.  For the past 13 years of teaching I have had my students set a goal for unsolicited compliments.  The goal itself has varied as has the way each class progressed through the year toward their goal.  Every class has met their goal, some surpassing it. This year is not different.  The goal was set on the first day of school…90 unsolicited compliments in nine months.  I can remember us talking about how we would need 30 per trimester to reach our goal.  I look at our...

Behaviors are a peculiar thing.  They often surprise us, too.  Kids can go from one extreme to another in a matter of minutes.  They are testing the boundaries, trying to get a handle on how to navigate the world we’ve placed before them.  They take cues from the adults in their lives, the celebrities that they watch, and each other.  Being in a classroom presents an environment that allows for all three influences to play a role in daily behaviors.  It’s not uncommon to see children mimicking celebrities, talking about their family life and the rules & expectations they must follow at home, and some even pretending to be the teacher. Day in and day out kids, like adults, have to make choices about their behaviors.  They often are in conflict of whether to follow their instincts, follow authority figure expectations, or to stay “cool” in the eyes of their peers.  Sometimes they make good choices and sometimes they do not. Th...

Over time the classroom becomes a tight-knit community. Students and teachers spend some 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 9 months a year--together. We watch many of them grow from the kindergarten years right on into the middle school years. We send them off with a tug at our hearts and a prideful gleam in our eyes. Over this time students and teachers get to know one another, care about one another, and stand up for one another.  Teachers, too, develop relationships amongst themselves. Working closely with other adults to develop and practice the art of teaching affords us opportunities to get to know one another on a personal level as well as a professional level. Our paths cross often as we find ways to help, encourage, and teach the children that pass through our respective doors. Personal celebrations and discords are shared equally; and we support one another as a family might.  A teacher who has been a defining part of Lincoln School is travelling a road filled...

Mastering the art of reading can be a lifelong endeavor.  Some people love to read while others prefer alternate ways to nourish their desire for a good story.  Either way, school provides students with a host of opportunities to experiment with the written word. Teaching students to read is a complex task.  By the time kids reach fourth grade they are reading and the focus shifts from “learning how to read” to “reading to learn”. Comprehension.  An all-encompassing concept designed to elicit responses to reading in a variety of ways. Students spend much time sorting out main ideas from details, analyzing inferences, delineating fact from fiction, determining cause and effect, critically thinking about author’s purpose, and figuring out how to summarize effectively, among other skills and strategies.  It’s a tall order for kids…I’ve seen all kinds over the 14 years I’ve taught, both on an individual basis and as classes. Throughout a school year ...