Tuesday, June 6, 2017

First-Year Teachers: What to Expect

The months before you start teaching for your first year bring about all sorts of emotions.

Excitement & Nervousness.
Ambition. & Paralysis.
Clarity & Confusion.

Your mind begins to fill with questions upon questions.

Did I choose the right school?
Do I really know my content?
Do I know how to manage a class of teenagers?
Am I ready for this?

All of these feelings and questions are normal responses and you shouldn't worry!  If you're having these thoughts, it likely means that you're concerned about your career and your path in life in a productive manner.  You're a responsible adult who wants to take his or her profession seriously.  But don't let it consume you.  

Instead, choose to be prepared.  Take time to learn about what to expect during your first year of teaching.  Plan for your responses to those different successes and challenges.

Below, I've outlined what I experienced during my first year of teaching.  I know from my colleagues that all of these situations are to be expected.  

  1. You will be overwhelmed.  They're not lying when they tell you that you will have more than you can possibly imagine on your plate.  The teacher role wears several hats.  The counselor.  The curriculum builder.  The assessor.  The instructor.  The planner.  The employee.  The leader.  There simply is a lot to do.

    My Tip: Take time on Sunday or Monday to intentionally plan your week.  Consider all of the tasks that you can imagine for the upcoming week (grading, planning, meeting, teaching, in-services, coaching, etc.).  Then mark 3-4 for the week that are the most important goals to get done.  This will give you focus for the week.  For each day, then, be sure to write a to-do list.  Highlight the 1-2 urgent tasks that you need to accomplish and 1-2 important tasks that will help you with your 1-2 weekly goals.  This is not a mind-blowing solution.  However, taking that time to intentionally plan out your week and focus your actions makes all the difference.  I continue doing that to this day and my boss, her boss, her boss, and his boss are always astounded by the amount of work that I can get done and the level of focus that I have.
  2. You will be confused.  The summer that I was hired for my first teaching job was spent planning. I knew what classes I was teaching and my Department Chair had given me the texts.  However, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to teach those classes with the textbooks I was given.  It was the day before classes started that I finally reached out to him about it.  Turns out, he had given me the wrong text books.

    My Tip: Ask questions but not before you've exhausted all of your options.  Your leaders want you to reach out when you're confused.  As a teacher supervisor myself, there's nothing that I want more than for my teachers to ask me questions. The one caveat here is asking questions for something you should already know.  Please exhaust your options.  Check your resources. Check your emails.  Check with a co-worker.  Then reach out to your boss.  He or she will greatly appreciate your doing so.
  3. You will be challenged.  You will be doing something that you've never done before.  It will be difficult and that's okay!  Some of the most challenging moments are when students challenge your authority.  I still remember on the first day of class where a student told me "I own this class" while throwing a ball in the air.  I had no idea what to do. I'm telling you, they can smell fear from a mile away.  They can smell uncertainty.  That was a huge hurdle for me when I started teaching.

    My Tip: Invest in yourself.  Make personal and professional development on your weekly, if not daily, to do list. I love to listen to podcasts on my way to work.  Listen to teaching podcasts yes, but feel free to branch out.  Podcasts on multi-level marketing are particularly interesting to me because they are always about team-building and creating an environment of safety and recognition.  Imagine if I had started listening to that during my first year!  I would have prepared my communication skills to respond to that troublesome student.  My favorite podcasts are Team Beachbody, Build Your Tribe, The Daily Boost, Coaching for Leaders, and Vibrant Happy Women.  Shameless plug, check out my Spark Mentorship Program for some exclusive training from me!
  4. You will be proud.  You should be!  Your first year of teaching is hard work.  It takes dedication and consistency.  You will find yourself being thrilled over the big and small - from successful units to conversations with students.  I remember a unit I did that focused on giving back to the community by paying it forward - oddly enough it was paired with Lord of the Flies.  I was so proud to read the acts of kindness that my students participated in.  Holding doors open.  Talking to new students.  Picking up garbage.  They weren't huge.  But they were special.

    My Tip: Journal.  Keep track of what you're proud of.  If you don't want to keep a journal, then keep it in your planner.  At the end of the day or week, make a note of what was successful.  I like to do this as it keeps me motivated.  Sometimes it's easy to move from one thing to the next without truly reflecting.  This gives me the opportunity to be joyous in the work that I've produced.  Do this with your students too.  Choose 5 students a week to write notes to.  Tell them that you're proud of their hard work, their effort, or how much they've grown.  Not only will it show that you notice, but it'll create an environment of recognition.
I know the first year can be scary. But revel in it. Allow yourself to experience those fears and truly engage those feelings.  Be prepared on how to handle them when they come up. Most of all, give yourself permission to grow.  Often times, we just want to be in the end result.  But that's not how it works.  We need the growing pains if nothing else to appreciate where we end up.

Love y'all!

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

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!

Friday, October 10, 2014

Positive Thinking Fursday

Happy Thursday (or in this case Friday) and welcome to Positive Thinking Thursday, Mrs. Laffin's Laughings weekly linky party where you can share a positive thought with the rest of us.  We're glad you're here!  Per usual, I'm a day late.  BUT it's better to be positive late than never right?!

(click to see what other bloggers are so happy about!)

So I just started picking classes for my Spring 2015 semester.  Yes, that's right! This will be my LAST semester to finish up my M.A. in English Linguistics!

One of the amazing class offerings...

HUMOR AND ADULT LEARNING

Amazing right?  For a while I sat there thinking... "Well, I should really take another course in my major shouldn't I?"  But then I thought, hey! The chance of me having the opportunity to take a class called "Humor and Adult Learning" is pretty few and far between.  Also, why not take a class that I think will be fun for once?!  So often we get into the mindset of doing what we do because we think we're supposed to.  It's so easy to fall into that trap right?  With professional, academic, and personal expectations, it's easy to see why we get so tripped up by what is essentially appearances.  In general, what I'm saying is, if something is fun or perks your interest... DO IT!


Live life to the fullest in whatever way that means for you.  For me, that means taking a super weird class that I'm hoping is as interesting as it sounds.  For you that might mean signing up to run a marathon even though you have a list of other things that you could or should be doing with your time.

Enjoy your life!  There's only so much of it that each of us has left!  Positivity doesn't just come from attitude.  It comes from our abilities to make wise choices for ourselves that not only impact use professionally but also personally. So radiate positivity in and through your choices.  Be someone that people describe as "Full of Love" or "Shining with Positivity!"

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Commenting Manifesto Freebie

Caution: Freebie for My Followers ahead!
Commenting is something that I didn't used to discuss with my students.  Sure, I would read my students' papers and mark allllll over them.  I felt like I was imparting my wisdom.  After all, I had studied this content intensely... shouldn't I be sharing my wisdom?



It wasn't until I read and heard Nancy Sommers talk about Responding to Student Writing that my philosophy of commenting completely changed.  Where as before I would mark up the drafts as much as I could, now I follow the Minimal Marking Philosophy (though I'm not a devout disciple).  I give my students one long note at the end of the paper that points out the general strengths and weaknesses dealing with global issues like logic, reasoning, organization, purpose, etc.  Not only do I point out the weaknesses but I give them suggestions as to how to improve.  They're no longer overwhelmed with corrections that they need to make.  Instead, they are focused on developing their writing in a deeper and more fruitful way.

But what does all of this mean if we don't have a conversation with them about essay commenting?

Absolutely nothing.  Our students need to be involved in the commenting process.  Sommers suggests to create a class manifesto.  

Bouncing off of that idea, I have my students create a Mini-Class Manifesto on Commenting with a small group.  They collaborate with 4 peers to create 4 general guidelines for paper commenting.  That means they need to boil it down to the 4 most important elements to a successful essay.  This is hard work!
(to get your hands on this bad boy, see the directions down below!)

Not only that, but they need to give a full description of what that guideline entails.  So instead of suggesting we comment on organization, they have to be explicit with what makes a good organization or why organization is important to an essay.  Furthermore, their Mini-Class Manifesto on Commenting has to include sample comments representing these guidelines.  So what would a helpful comment on organization look like to them?

Once they have finished creating this Manifesto on Commenting, they then need to try it out! Let them experience what it is like to comment on an essay with certain expectations.  Then have a discussion about it.

What worked?
What didn't work?  Why?
What comments kept popping into their heads that didn't fit their criteria?

In general, this exercise is very beneficial to the students.  They get a first-hand look at the grading process.  Even better, they give you insight into what's most important to them!

(click me!)

-> Like my Facebook page and you'll see a tab on the top (or side) that says "Freebie Grab Bag!"  (If you don't, it's either because you haven't liked the page or you'll find it under "More").  Click the Freebie Grab Bag tab and you'll be rerouted to free content just for my followers!

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Beauty Bag: Lavender Ion Color Brilliance Review

Hello Brownbaggers!  If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that I am VERY passionate about education.  Theory and pedagogy are my thanggg!  However, just like every other teacher on this planet, there is more to me than teaching.  For that reason, I'm going to start posting more frequently about health, wellness, and beauty - the other loves of my life.

For quite some time now I've been wanting a change with my hair color.  I have been blonde almost my entire life.  And I've been loving the pastel, candy-colored hair trend.  I especially love it when it's all-over color.  How cool, right?! 

However, given my career choice, I can't color my entire head cotton candy pink. In addition, I don't have the style to pull that off.  I would describe myself as preppy, equestrian boho... not eclectic.

So, I decided to put in some lavender peekaboos!  Below is my experience with the Ion Color Brilliance Brights (semi-permanent) Hair Color in Lavender:


A product thumbnail of Ion Color Brilliance Brights Semi-Permanent Hair Color

I won't lie.  When I first bought it, I was quite intimidated.  I've never colored my hair at home.  Ever since I was a young girl, my mom would tell me her horror stories about at-home coloring.  But, with my mom there to help me, it was on!  The best part about the Ion Color Brilliance Brights collection is that so many of them were candy-colored.  This specific line carries the true pastels I was looking for.


What did I like even more?! It ONLY came with a packet of directions and the hair color.  No mixing involved.  Just squirt the THICK hair color creme into your gloved hands and go to town!  


I wanted my color to be subtle.  Not stop and stare but more like the... "Oh wait? Do you have purple in your hair?" kind of a response.  So I pulled up the top inch of hair on both the sides and the back of my part.  I wanted the top of my head/hair to remain professional for work.  

Then I had my mom GLOBBBBB on the color cream in large chunks.  She spread the thick cream on starting 2" inches from the root of each section and working the color up and down the strands.  I made sure that the hair was saturated and left it on for 1 hour.  The directions say to leave the color on for 20-40 minutes but from the beginning I knew it would take longer to get a more vibrant color pay-off.



You can see from the pictures above that the color turned out great.  It's pretty subtle.  At first I thought I should add more; however, the more I look at it, the prettier I think it is.  At only $4.79 a package (from Sally's Beauty Supply), what a great deal!  I  would for sure do this again if my hair was previously lightened.  It does require pre-lightened hair which is something I don't feel comfortable doing on my own.

Final verdict? LOVE.  It's super easy to do and idiot proof.  It semi-permanent, so you're not married to it.  And it's right on trend.  I'm trying cotton candy pink or baby blue next time!





Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Positive Thinking Thursday

Welcome to Positive Thinking Thursday!  I'm glad you are here.  I hope you will visit Mrs. Laffin's Laughings to see many positive thoughts from the teacher blogosphere!  Everyone is welcome here.


As we settle into the school year, we need to be reminded of our passions.  It's easy to get into a comfortable routine.  My passion in my teaching career is two-fold.  I love my students and I love innovation.  But how do I combine the two to stay fresh and unique each day?  That's the question I attempt to tackle before every class meeting.


During a conversation I had with Noam Chomsky he mentioned that "...you're supposed to challenge.  Come up with new ideas.  [And] go in new directions" in regard to education.  This thought really stuck with me over the years.  I challenge both you and me to mesh our passions with creativity and innovation. Stay current in your content area and pedagogy.  Try new things.  Explore new routes for teaching.  


As always, good luck and happy teaching Brownbaggers!  I look forward to hearing (or seeing) your innovative ideas!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

How-To Record Your First Screencast

So you've decided that you want to record your first screencast!  That's excellent!  Once you get the hang of it, it will become a natural part of your teaching repertoire.  I'm here to help make the "getting started process" easier. What do you need to have ready?  How do you set it up?  How do you post your information?  All of that is included down below so let's get started!

How do I prepare?
1.  You'll need to have some objectives.  Just as you would with a normal class period, you'll need to figure out what your students need to know by the end of the tutorial.  What's you end game?  It could be as simple as giving them definitions and them being able to identify strategies or terms.  Or it could be more complex where you're teaching them writing strategies and want them to be able to identify and apply these strategies.  You decide.

2.  What do you want the screencast to look like?  You can create a PowerPoint and lecture over it.  You can pull up student work samples and do "read alouds".  You can pull up a blank document and record yourself through your own writing process.  The options are endless but they should match up with your objective(s).  Once you figure that out, get all of you information prepared.


How do I record?
1.  Choose your recording technology. There are quite a few options out there but the easiest by far is Screencast-O-Matic.  It's pain free, user friendly, and requires NO installation.  

2.  Start recording.  Once you have your documents pulled up on the screen (or PowerPoint), hit the record button!  You'll see a little dot-outlined box pull up.  Anything inside of that box will be recorded in the screencast.  You can, of course, change the size.

You can also choose whether or not you will have audio.  You can have no audio if you would like to just show them how to do something.  Or you can turn the audio on and talk them through the process or the lecture <<<< that's the best option!  Audio and visual together make for a more successful screencast.   Talk through your information and be your normal self.  Your students will like that it's your voice and your personality.  They will trust the material because it's coming from you so be you!


What if I mess up?
1.  Pause, Rewind, Start Over.  So you started rambling on and on about last night's episode of The Good Wife.  Happens to the best of us.  You have a couple of options.  If you're not too far into it, just start over!  If you're 6 minutes into a 10 minute screencast, don't start over.  Rewind the video to the part right before your "mess up" and start recording from there.  The technology for Screencast-O-Matic allows you to be flexible with your recordings so don't worry.


Where do I post the screencasts?
1.  YouTube or Screencast-O-Matic.  There are three options using the Screencast-O-Matic software.  The first is to download the screencast you've recorded.  I wouldn't suggest that since it will take quite a bit of time and take up a large chunk of memory.  Instead, let this bad boy live online.  Option two is to leave it on Screencast-O-Matic as a searchable video.  This is a good option for those of you who would like it in a somewhat private environment.  You can then send the link to your students.  Option three is to upload the video to YouTube.  This option is only good if you don't mind your screencasts being available for all of the world to see.  Remember, you can always take it down in the future.  Regardless, do whatever is most comfortable to you.


What sorts of things should I record?
1.  Options are Endless!  Below is a list of my favorite ideas for screencasts:

Introductions to a Unit
Literary Definitions with Examples
Vocabulary Context Clues in Action
Student Essay Samples
Common Errors from Previous Assignments
PowerPoint Lectures
Questions from the Last Class
Read Alouds with Texts or Student Work
Example of Your Grading Process
How to Use Your Online Grading System
How to Use Your Online Classroom Platform
How to Create an Email to a Teacher
Review of the Prompts
Study Materials
Collection of Sites to Find More Information
How to Search for Scholarly Journals
How to Use the Library Software
How to Set Up Their Blogs

Really, the options are endless.  Just be creative!  Remember that when you make these, you can use them for years to come!  That's the best part :) Happy screencasting y'all!