Where I've Been and Why I'm Back

I can't believe that it's been 2 1/2 years since my last blog post.  That's unbelievable to me.  Over the past 2 1/2 years, I have been a very busy lady.  There have been so many personal and professional changes in my life that I'm very proud to share with you.

 

Pictures of me with my international students

• I finished my graduate degree.
• I started teaching in international education, a field that was completely new to me.
• I was promoted to administration.
• I began training, mentoring, and leading teachers in an official capacity.
• I presented at an national teaching conference on international education.
• I led national webinars teaching administrators on best practices in metacognition and collaboration in the classroom.

Right: Me at my MA in English Linguistics graduation

Left: Me before presenting at English USA

Right: Me training teachers on grading writing

And those are just the professional changes.  No surprises but there have been a lot of life changes as well.  Moving.  Relationships.  Church.  Small group.  Friends.  Too many changes to count.

I'm so grateful for all of these changes, though, because I have grown in a deep and profound way.  In many ways, I'm a completely different person than I was 1 year ago.  I'm wiser, more experienced, and more assure of myself.  I'm comfortable leading others and taking risks on my own.  Even more, I'm comfortable coaching others on how they can successfully and effectively take risks.

And now I'm back.

I'm back and ready share what I've learned with you.   I wouldn't have been able to embark on some of these amazing opportunities without someone sharing with me first. It's time for me to pay it forward.

From this point forward, this blog is dedicated to:

• Developing teachers and enhancing practices
• Mentoring teacher leaders and administrators
• Sharing best practices about management and leadership both inside and outside of the classroom

I'm excited to share content with you on this page.  You'll also be able to find content on my other platforms as well.  Please be sure to like my Facebook page and follow me on Instagram so you can catch this info as well!

So buckle in!  We're in for a ride!

What's In My Bag?

One of my favorite Beauty Guru YouTube tags is "What's in My Bag?"!  I love to see what my favorite YouTubers are carting around with them on a daily basis.  So why not take a look at what a teacher carries around with them everyday?  As schools start up again this week, I thought I'd give you a look into what I'm currently carrying in my bag.  

So here's my new bag.  It's my first Vera Bradley and I LOVE IT (thanks Mommba)! My meetings started up this week and I already had tons of compliments.  I got mine at the outlet mall but here is the closest I could find! The bag itself has two outside pockets and plenty of inside pockets. It's great because I have compartments for my pens/pencils/dry erase markers, phone, and any other random items.  Also, my favorite feature is the clip on key ring!  That way I don't have to worry about my keys falling out!

Inside of my bag I have a binder, agenda, notebooks, books, etc.  Here's a closer look...

Teacher Binder:  This binder has tabs for the classes that I teach and the classes that I take.  I love that the dividers have pockets for me to quickly file away extra handouts or newspaper/magazine clippings I've read that may be useful for class!  I use the front pocket to house urgent paperwork.  That way I don't forget it because it's always the first thing that I see.

Agenda, Portfolio, & Notebooks:  This is my new agenda from Office Max.  I love this one because it's the Week-at-a-Glance style and is set up hourly. The older I get, I find that I have more and more appointments.  I have way more scheduling to do.  Stay tuned for a post on how to use hourly planners as a teacher!  Then I have my portfolio.  This bad boy is from when I visited MIT. LOVE it!  In it I just have notebook paper and resumes.  Hey, you never know when you'll need to pass out a resume!  Lastly, a notebook.  I'm always taking notes in meetings.  I carry one 5-subject notebook: 3 sections for the classes I take, 1 section for the class I teach, and 1 section for programs that I am a part of.

Random Books:  Lastly I have a collection of random books.  I don't teach out of one particular book.  I usually utilize a collection of readings from various books.  At the moment, I am carrying around books for some research I am doing on Onomastics.  You'll also see there a notepad for leaving friends notes when I miss them.  Love that too!  I believe this is from Target, but it was a gift from my Sister-in-Law.

So that's what's in my bag right now.  What's in your bag?  What am I missing?  Tweet me or comment down below!

Field Trip to the Art Exhibit

To change things up in the 4-hour long summer school class that I teach, I took my students to the art exhibit on campus.  After visiting and observing, students were to write a back story on a piece of art of their choice.  It was, in a way, a multi-modal essay because it included both text and photo.  They were to include a photo of the artwork that they chose and reference it in their essay.  Aside from that, there weren't too many restrictions.  This was an opportunity for them to be creative!

The exhibit, called Plop Art by Erik L. Peterson, was interesting to say the least.  I'm not an artie by any means but I would assume that this would be considered contemporary art... I know that only because I Googled it. It seems to only be defined by the time period that it is produced in.  In reading the Peterson's description, he mentioned that the art was to serve as commentary on various norms in our culture including narcissim and ADHD.

While I won't tell you about all of the art work we saw, I'll mention a few. We saw a Reflecting Pool which at first we all thought was a pile of sand...Then we realized that it transformed colors as you looked at it.  After realizing what it was, the iPhones popped out.  Everyone wanted a shot.  It was hard to capture the rainbows on film, though.  As you can see, mine looks a little bit more ghostly.

We also saw a tapestry created out of the two billboards.  It took us quite a while to figure out what it was but, once we realized, we understood the large amount of time and painstaking attention to detail it must have taken to create.

We saw another piece known as the Cooler.  It was just as you would think. It was a cooler with two ice cream cones inside.  I'm not quite sure what the purpose was but I'm sure it's ironic in some way.  Students joked about it being a "grab-and-go" and not a piece of artwork.  

And then we saw my favorite.  The neon plop cone with spilled ice cream (it had no name).  Isn't it amazing? Surprisingly, we had a lot of conversation about it.  I say surprisingly because this isn't an art class and none of us have any idea how to discuss art.  Students argued about the focal point - "It's the cone.  It's on the wall.  How could it not be the focal point?" - "No it's the blob of ice cream.  Is it melted or did it fall off?  I think it melted because it's so much bigger." - "It's neither.  It's the light that catches your attention. The light and the color."  I was impressed with the amount of conversation that they had.  They enjoyed it, observed it, and didn't take the art viewing process too seriously. 

So what did I learn from this experience?  Take your students out of the classroom!  We all need a change of pace.  It doesn't have to be serious!  It can be fun and enjoyable but still educational.  While there, students took notes on the art work of their choice and later they wrote an essay on the back stories for how the art came to be.  Perhaps taking our students out of the typical classroom fires up their creative impulses.  One thing's for sure though, they were able to experience something new and creative, use a different part of their brain, and interact with one another in a way that encouraged discussion and collaboration.

So where to next?  Maybe the Student Center Coffee Shop?  Maybe the lake in the courtyard?  Perhaps even the observatory!   I'd love to hear any suggestions that you may have!

Top 8 for Summer Break Linky

Welcome to the Top 8 for Summer Break Linky!  Here are the only two rules:
1.  Post the Top 8 To-Do's for your summer break
2.  Include the Brownbag Academics logo with a backlink to this blog so your viewers can see everyone else's posts

Summer is here whether we are ready or not.  After a long school year, it's time for some much needed R & R.  This year I'm trying to make the most of it.  Wait, scratch that... I'm GOING to make the most of it.


I have lots on my to-do list:

1.  Lounging Poolside: Normally I like to bring school work and grade some papers (since I'm teaching summer school). This year I plan to bring some books to read to prepare me for my Comprehensive Field Exam in Linguistics.  And... of course snacks. Nothing beats a string cheese wrapped in a little Buddig turkey meat.

2.  Stand-Up Paddleboarding:  If you haven't done it, try it.  Who wouldn't want the opportunity to quite literally walk on water.  The first time I did it, it took me about 45 minutes before I could stand-up.  For those of you who have done this before, don't hate.  I was doing it for the first time of the rough waters of Lake Michigan.  I'm sure there's a lesson here about falling down and learning to get back up again...

3.  Freelance Writing:  Excited about some new freelance writing opportunities that have come my way.  I've never had that opportunity before but I'm looking forward to the challenge!  Among the opportunities, writing a chapter on "Onomastics" for The Year's Work in English for The Oxford Journals.  Don't worry!  A post on this will come soon I'm sure.

4.  Summer School: Yup!  That's right!  I'm taking my summer off to teach some Pre-College Composition Courses.  This summer has been quite a different experience but it has certainly been a growing one!

5.  Vacation:  Who knows when.  Who knows where.  But I AM going on vacation.  It's necessary.  I have the itch to travel and the need to get away.

6.  Strict Money Diet: I'm obsessed with Dave Ramsey.  His book The Total Money Makeover is a God send. I used to follow it strictly.  I used his methods to help get me out of debt!  Now, I have a new job and a vastly different lifestyle.  It's time to be wiser about the way I handle my money.  Envelope system -> here I come!

7.  Run a 5K:  Enough said.

8.  Professional Development:  I plan on reading quite a bit this summer.  While many of the books are academic, I'm currently finishing up BRIEF.  I highly suggest that we as teachers read about what successful business people do.  If it works for them, it will work for us!  It's all about becoming efficient employees and effective service-providers.

That's what's on my agenda for this summer.  I wonder what everyone else will be up to?  

Click the "An InLinkz Link-up" button below to add your link to this linky party :)

An InLinkz Link-up

How to Collab Effectively

As teachers we like to incorporate collaboration into our classroom. When students learn from one another, they learn more than just content - they learn to challenge each other, question themselves, and incorporate teamwork. All of this is important to teachers too. 

But how often do we collaborate when we're not forced to for our PLC's???

Today I met up with another instructor and LEARNED from her. It was by choice and it was a good reminder as to why we need to collaborate with each other regularly. 

Who Should We Collaborate With?

1. Teachers in our content area

2. Teachers outside of our content area

3. Administrators in various positions

4. Business people outside of the education sector

Why the Variety?

We learn valuable information from talking to different people. You never know what you could learn or what opportunities will present themselves. 

In a recent meeting with an entrepreneur, I learned about better communication and how to be more effective as a leader. As a result, we decided to collaborate on a writing curriculum.  It is because this person was outside of education that I learned these skills and was offered this opportunity. 

How Do I Effectively Collab?

1. Come in with a plan - Be prepared with what you want to get out of your meeting...but be flexible.

2. Ask about that person - Learn about their specialty and be open to learning their skills.

3. Plan - Be aware of what you will implement post collaboration. Maybe you learned a new skill you want to practice professionally. Maybe you experienced a new type of teaching or activity that you want to put in place. Be aware of what it is that you want and create and action plan.

4. Follow-Up - Always follow up.  Be kind, grateful and interested in that person.  

Most of all, remember that we need to be excited about all of the opportunities that come from collaborating with others!  From collaboration comes learning, growth, and influence!

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Back to Basics

Recently, I've become obsessed with Alaska.  I mean, I watch Living Alaska and Alaska the Last Frontier.  I've even been looking to see if there are teaching opportunities in Alaska.  There's something about it that I find fascinating.  I love the outdoors so I'm sure that has something to do with it: the mountains, the ocean, the forests, the prairies.  It seems like a place of such exploration.

At the same time, there is something about Alaska that seems so foreign to me.  Even though it is a part of The United States, it seems like it's a different world.  Some of these shows (yes I know that they are extreme and perhaps distorted representations of reality) show Alaskans hunting and growing all of their own food and stock piling for the entire year.  A lot of homes have outhouses and no running water.  There was even one episode where a man laughed out loud thinking about why people would even consider having a bathroom indoors.  It's such a different way of living.  

Rustic and wholesome.

In thinking about it, it made me reflect on my teaching.  Teaching these days has become all about the bells and whistles.  What "new thing" can we do in order to show that our students are learning.  We try online classrooms, Twitter, small groups, large groups, partner work, bodily-kinesthetic learning, writing across the curriculum, reading across the curriculum, right-brained activities, left-brained activities, experiential learning, Cornell notes, etc. This list of new fads goes on and on.

These new fads are good!  That means that we are constantly using reflective teaching practices and trying to learn how to teach better.

At the same time, though, I wonder why I'm so drawn to things and places like Alaska which offer rustic and wholesome lifestyles.  Our entire lifestyle here in The States is so fast-paced and data driven.  We're constantly trying to get better and better.  But what's wrong with the tried-and-true?

I think about the teaching practices that have been long-standing in my content area - reading, writing, and discussion.  There is an authenticity there that we, including our students, crave.  They don't want or need us to be Tweeting them their homework assignments or discussion questions.  They need communication, relationship, and community.  These are things that are only developed on a deep-level with in-person, consistent interaction.

So what am I really getting at?  I suggest that, in order to become more authentic and effective teachers, we all ask ourselves these questions:

1. What are the tried-and-true practices in my content area?
2. How can I utilize those to teach my students?
3. How can I evolve these practices to better match my teaching philosophy?

Our students crave authenticity, not the next big thing.  Let's get back to the basics and teach them what it means to be real.  Let's set an example and show them what is truly important: communication, relationship, and community. 

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What It's Really About

A few weeks ago I was at church and listening to the Pastor talk about being a servant.  It was the weekend following Easter, so it was not a surprise to hear about extending your faith from passive to active.

The Pastor talked quite a lot about how people in The Church can often times miss the point.  He said, "You can ruin a church by making it activity-oriented instead of Jesus-oriented" and it reminded me of the most profound thing that I learned during my time teaching at the high school level.

I remember sitting in a meeting with my Department Chair, my student teacher, and my student teacher's advisers.  You see, my Department Chair and myself were co-cooperating teachers.  As we sat in this meeting we were discussing the use of activities in the classroom.  He said:

When you wake up in the morning and are thinking about your day,
 are you thinking about the activities you will be doing in class?  

If so, you're missing the point.

Of course what he meant was, we need to be thinking about what our students will be learning.  That needs to be our focus.  The exciting activities we use or cool technology we have implemented means absolutely nothing if we have not really focused on our learning outcomes for the day.

So my question to you is: 

what do you think about when you wake up in the morning?  

It's important to remind ourselves of the purpose of education and why we are teaching who and what we are teaching.  Let's remember to focus on what it's really about in the classroom... our students, their development, and their learning.

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End of the Year Ideas

As the end of the year approaches, many of use are reconsidering what we do to wrap up the entire semester/year.  Some of us have weird end-of-the-year schedules.  Ya know, the ones where final exams are a week before the end of the actual year?  Or grades are due on a Wednesday but you still have class on Thursday and Friday?

DON'T FRET!  We, here at Brownbag Academics, have some great suggestions to get you designing your End-of-Year Curriculum!

Remember please that all of education is simply a reformulation of ideas.  These are ideas that we have used in our classrooms and have found to work very well!  We've collected these ideas over the years: some were developed by ourselves, some were inspired by lessons found online, and some were collected from colleagues.  Feel free to use and abuse these suggestions!  No sense in recreating the wheel.

1.  Create groups and reflect on the year.

• One of our favorite activities involves separating the class into groups to have them reflect on the course's objectives.  Have each group reflect on one of the following: 
• syllabus & course outcomes - did the outcomes match what happened in class?
• readings - favorites?  least favorites?
• assignments - which did they learn the most from?  least?
• activities - did they prefer group work?  partners? individuals?
• advice - what advice can you offer to next year's group of students?
• Then, have the groups present their findings and have a whole class discussion!

2.  End of the year slide show.

• Have students create a slide show welcoming next year's group of students.  Have them work together to include the following:
• welcome notes
• course introduction
• syllabus review
• what to learn
• what to be prepared for
• what they liked best about class

3.  Reflection essay.

• Having students write a reflection essay is a great way to see how each individual student has grown.  Start with having the students review the syllabus and course outcomes.  From there, have students look back at their work - for English teachers, this may mean looking at old essays; for Math teachers, old tests and assignments; etc.  Then have students write about the growth that they have experienced.  What are their strengths?  What are they still struggling with?  How do they plan to continue improving?  This should be a reflection of them and their work, not you and your teaching.

These ideas should get you started!  We like to think that the end of the year is a time for a reflection - a time for students to begin thinking about what they have learned.  With reflection comes growth and that is what we hope for and expect of our students.  Have a wonderful end of the year!

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Conferencing with Students

A few weeks ago I flipped my classroom.

I sent out audio/visual lectures that were 10 minutes in length for my students to learn the content before we met. Then, instead of meeting as a class, we met in small groups. Throughout the semester I have been encouraging community in the classroom through group work so this worked out well.  Obviously the not meeting as a class could only work at the college level, BUT there are ways around this.  For instance, meeting with groups while others work individually.

Before my 20 minute conference sessions with each group, students were required to have watched the first lecture and read/annotate an article. This would be the article they would later write on.

During the conference, then, we briefly reviewed the content from the lecture and then moved on to applying what they had learned.

I got to work with students on their ACTUAL papers. This wasn’t theoretical. It was practical. The response from students was overwhelmingly positive. How this will affect my future classes, I don’t know, but I do look forward to the journey!

Visit http://flippedclassroom.org/ for more ideas on how to flip your classroom at any level with any subject!

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Smart Phones & Robot People

Edudemic recently published the post "A Visual Guide to Slowing Down The Distracted Generation".  I really love that they are recognizing the fact that not only are we as a population not reading as much but that technology has a lot to do with the problem.  

Unfortunately, we have lost the ability as a population to just sit and be.  This is something that I talk with my students about quite regularly.  I'll ask them, "How often do you just sit without watching TV or checking your phone?  How often do you go on a walk and not listen to music?"

We have adapted this crazy lifestyle where we have to be entertained at all times.  And what's really upsetting is that we have lost the ability to entertain ourselves.

Edudemic suggests that we "create passion for the written word" and "make reading fun" among other things.  Is it really that easy to create passion in someone else?  

A question that teachers have been asking themselves for generations is: 

How do we create intrinsic motivation?

Unfortunately I'm not sure if we truly can create a long-lasting intrinsic motivation.  However, as a teacher I'm willing to go for it.  

In general, I would argue that this all starts with open conversation.  We need to talk to our students and children. Ask them what they like and why they like it.  It's not good enough to just ask our students about their passions.  We must get to the root of why their passions are their passions. Probing them to think deeper about what they like and why they like it.

Asking questions like the ones below will help us to better understand them:

• What is it about ____ that you love so much?
• Tell me more about that.
• If you could describe your perfect day, what would it be?
• Why is that so enjoyable to you?

By simply asking questions, we can develop a meta-cognitive behavior in our students.  If we get them thinking and questioning, they will soon be able to take risks in their passions.  Hopefully we can keep them away from having a "device in hand at all times, hopping from shiny thing to shiny thing on the internet" as Katie Lepi mentions that we all do.

As a teacher, I of course care that they are reading.  I care more about their thinking, though.  Yes, reading affects thinking abilities but if they're not thinking on their own already, what's the point of reading?

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Dear Brownbag: Boiling Points

Dear Brownbag,

It drives me absolutely crazy when my students walk in to class without having done their homework. To me, it’s a blatant disregard for my authority. Even more so, it puts us behind schedule. Then I feel like I have to “tell them” all of the content to catch them up. I’ve tried pop quizzes and calling on them during discussion but I still feel my blood boil when they walk into class and I hear them telling each other “No I didn’t do it either.” What should I do?

-Boiling Points
______________________________________________________

Dear Boiling Points,

I get it. Trust me when I say we’ve all been welcoming our students into our classrooms with a smile when you overhear them talking about not doing their homework. It can be really irritating. There are two things to consider in this matter.

1) Your reactions: Don’t consider their actions as blatant attempts to hurt you because 99% of the time they are not. That being said, don’t get angry. Respond with grace and respect. Be kind to your students even when your natural human instinct tells you otherwise.

2) Your presence: How do you present yourself and class material/assignments in class? If there’s a hint of uncertainty in your voice, students subconsciously pick up on that. If you don’t think it’s important, they won’t. Instead, present all material with a spirit of excellence and the expectation that they will complete the assignments with that same spirit.

Frequently students will follow the leads of their teachers. Continue working on yourself and developing who you are as a teacher and you will find your students will be responsive to that.

-Brownbag

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Dear Brownbag: Bored Teacher

Dear Brownbag,

Sometimes I feel like I do the exact same thing in class everyday. As a teacher, I get bored. I do the same sorts of activities and I have the same format for my class everyday. Now I know that kind of regularity is good for my students, particularly those with learning disabilities, but it’s driving me crazy. I feel the itch to change it up but am not sure how to do it. Any suggestions?

-Teacher 
______________________________________________________________________

Dear Teacher,

I totally understand! Even though I am a person who thrives on routine, doing the same thing everyday drives me crazy. My suggestion, do one thing different every week. This can be trying a new activity or having class in a new location like the computer lab or library. It can even be doing the same activity in a different way. For example, if you silent read in class everyday, try it with partners where they summarize each page together. Having one thing different every week keeps it fresh for you.

I know it’s not about the teacher per se but keeping it fresh is what keeps you motivated and doesn’t burn you out! And that, ultimately, effects how you teach and how your students learn.

Brownbag


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