Day 27: My Days as a Tech Integrator!

I've been tossed into the mix of the tech integration world.  

As a classroom teacher I leveraged all of the technology I could find on a daily basis.        I learned to new tools, understood curriculum, and combined those to support students with technology projects along with collaborating through the process. Once established we then shared those with our colleagues with processes already in place. I enjoy the mess, being part of team, struggling to find just the right way to teach something.  Most of all I enjoy the collaboration with my colleagues. The love for this type of teaching and leveraging of technology landed me out of the classroom.  There are so many days that I feel like a fish out of water, or even worse a tiger without stripes. 

Where are the teachers who want to collaborate, who want to dream big, who want to engage students in work that stretches them.  I know you are out there!  Raise your hand, text me, call me, email me even smoke signals will work.  Pick me, I want to be part of the team, invite me to the table. Don't wait until you've done all the heavy lifting alone, I can help do the lifting!

Today was one of those days where I wasn't invited to the table.  Then asked to support a project just to make sure the computers work.  I get it, but I am not the best person for the job, a technician would be a better choice.

Day 26: This Might Be the First Step

Thank you Two Writing Teachers for the opportunity to WRITE!

                                     

I feel a bit like a "Survivor" participant who is asked to talked to the camera regarding my experience as a participant in "Slice of Life". No one has asked me to actually speak about my experience.  While I am on this little hiatus from the classroom, I am trying to find ways to hone my writing skills.  I have watched  (More like stalking) "The Slice of Life" since 2012 reading the posts and wanting to participate.  I didn't join while I was in the classroom, simply because, I didn't want to fail and not post nightly.  I felt that this year, my own children were older and I could take the risk.

So, I have always told my students that writing is difficult, hard work, sometimes you struggle, writing is heartfelt and honest.  Many of the things I wanted to write about were more about ways to work through problems.  Topics, that I really didn't want to share publicly. One of those "Fold over pages" I allow students to do in their writer's notebook when it's not something they want to share. 

I have discovered, that I do like to write and that I am probably a better technical writer, and professional writer than a creative writer.  I would like to become a more creative writer, which I think means, slow down, observe the world that is taking place around me.  Listen. Feel.Smell. Put it into words. I will find a way to tackle this challenge.  I often feel that their are stories, characters, dreamy settings, just waiting to make there way to the page.

I can dream....work towards making it a reality.  This might be the first step.

Home's Where You Are!

Dale Franklin Brooks
November 2007

My Dad left a lasting impression on me in many ways.  

I will never forget wanting to come home from college.  

I promised him anything to come home.  His words to me were, "Home's not where I'm at home's where you are and what you make of it!"  Then he told me to stay one more day and if I still wanted to come home, he would come and get me.  I did stay and never looked back.

I miss the sound of your voice

I wish I could speak with you one more time

I want you to see just how great a baseball player your grandson is

You would love how beautiful your grand daughter sings 

Waiting for the opportunity to sing in church

I miss your Tuesday night call

No one else likes NPR like you

No one cares that I heard an interesting story!

While I don't have mushy memories of you hugging and kissing me

I do have great memories of political debates 

How much you valued my opinion or just listened anyway.

Then offered your thoughts.

I miss your confidence in that I could succeed 

No matter what I wanted to try.  

You encouraged failure 

First one to teach me how to laugh at myself 

Not take myself seriously

I do have memories of walking behind the tractor

Throwing hay bales just like the boys

You even let us drive the truck, the mini-bikes, and the tractor.

The kids miss you too!

Especially Aaron, 

Who desperately wants to learn to ride 

Four Wheelers and drive the red Jeep!

Devin is learning to play the piano, 

I think she got your talent, 

I hope you can hear her in heaven.

I wish we could hear your voice 

            one

               more

                    time!

 

Day 24: Fire **Updated 3/25/2014

Thank you Two Writing Teachers for the opportunity to WRITE!

                                     

Sliding the lock open on my phone to open Facebook to see what had happened in my world.  Scrolling through the entries, I found one by my cousin Mel about being worried about her children's school bus being late.  Scrolling through the comments I discovered, the bus was late because of a fire on the hollow near my parent's home. I become very worried, refreshing often for any sign of what happened. I waited patiently knowing there was nothing I could do to help.

After a while, I began dialing phone numbers, mom's, mom's cell, grandma's phone, Alyson's house, Alyson's cell, my sister Steph's cell, and Steph's house.  No one answered! Trying not to let worry over take me, I could only remember the last time I had gotten cryptic information and found out later my dad had been life lighted to a hospital in Pennsylvania. I sit, I wait, hoping the phone will ring or someone will post a Facebook update!

***The fire did not damage any structures or take any lives.  Just some brush on a big hill.  So grateful for God's mercy!***

Day 23: Growing in the Research Process

I've missed Friday and Saturday as illness has infiltrated my home and sometimes, ya just gotta accept ya can't do everything.

  Thank you Two Writing Teachers for the opportunity to WRITE!

                                     

In 2009, our district began a huge overhaul of the curriculum because Connecticut was bringing forth new state standards, now called Common Core. The language arts overhaul caused chaos in the classroom.  It felt like all the good teaching and learning that was being done was being thrown out the door.  In a district like ours, that would be unheard of, because academics are very important in the community.  One of the pieces that felt like it had been dismantled were the research projects at each grade level.  These learning projects were enjoyed by students and teachers.

After the curriculum was drafted to support the state standards and adopted by our district, intense professional development in reading and writing workshop ensued for the next two years.  Then our amazing librarian approached me and we were tasked with writing a new research project that would dovetail with the curriculum. I was lucky enough to pilot this research  and technology opportunity.  The first time through, it felt like we creating as we went along.  It took about a month to complete the project all the way through.  There were amazing components along the way, rubrics, reflection, choice in topic and presentation. 

The following year we rolled out the work to all nine teachers on the grade level so that every fourth grader would have a research experience. It took six weeks for all students to complete a research project the first year and the Librarian and the technology teacher did most of the teaching.  Fast Forward three years and more curriculum tweaks and now the teachers are doing most of the teaching, the librarian and the technology teacher are supporting student learning.  Now the project is done  to completion in about three weeks.

How did that happen you ask? Well, we stopped looking at the research project as a stand alone and as a follow up to all of the non-fiction teaching we do.  The research process is now seen as way to assess the non-fiction unit. It was a long thoughtful process with many tweaks along the way. Now the conversation concerns increasing the difficulty of the content, because now our students are becoming deeper thinkers.

Day 20: Funny Dance Moms

  Thank you Two Writing Teachers for the opportunity to WRITE!

                                     

I sit and wait listening to the unrelenting noise of the tap shoe.  Hoping that Jeanie and Lisa would arrive in time to hear the fun antics of their days.  I am not disappointed! Lisa arrives, as soon as she enters she says, 

"You're not going to be leave this, when I dropped of Caty remember, I didn't have my cell phone and I wasn't going home to get it.  My oldest daughter got hit in the throat with a ball and is in the emergency room with my husband!'  
I'm thinking, how'd ya find that out, ya didn't have your cell phone. 

She takes a deep breath and continues.
"My husband called my sister Jeanie's house and she talked to my upset husband and couldn't get him to calm down, so she hung up on him.  Then she headed out the door, because before I left the studio, I had told her I was going to Joyce Leslie and then Kohls. So Jeanie came to Joyce Leslie, the whole way Jeanie repeated over and over to herself, "Please don't go to Kohls, Please don't go to Kohls.!'  "So, Jeanie caught up to me at Joyce Leslie and explained why she was there. I took her phone and called my husband, explained that I didn't have my cell phone, he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that I was on Jeanie's phone an how Jeanie knew where I was at that time.  Jeanie is waving her hands around saying in a singsong tone "I got sister Lojack! She is doing this over and over again.  I finally tell him that I will head home to check on the dog, get my phone, get Caty and then head to the hospital.  While I am home the dog is throwing her ball around and  it goes under Caty's bed and she goes after it and gets stuck under her bed and can't get out. Now I am on the phone with my husband again because he needs an insurance card.  I got the dog stuck under the bed trying to dig her way out.  I was trying to lift the bed so she could get out, dropped the phone hung up on my husband.  Now he won't answer his phone!" 

She says this all so matter a factly and then begins laughing at how funny it all is. Personal perspective is definitely unique.  These stories always make the hour and half dance session go much faster.

Day 19: Bella

Cuddle up so sweet and soft

Warm and fuzzy

Snuffle

Moan 

Stretch 

Shift

Melt my heart

Snuffle

Cuddle

Sigh