Blue-Sky Teaching

This week I got to do a post for Booksource Banter, the Book Source's blog.  Check it out here: http://www.booksourcebanter.com/2016/04/20/14323/

For months now, our team has been planning a TEDx event at my school.  This Friday is IT!  While it's been A LOT of work, it's been so worth it.  The twenty-one students who are speaking are amazing!  Check out my blog post   here .

-  T.S. Eliot from quotesgram.com A Message to the Student Disrupting My Class: You, the one who keeps talking to other kids, across the room, when we've all just settled into our books. You, the one who lost your book, abandoned your book again , and forgot what page you were on. You, the one who needs a tissue, a sharpened pencil, some lotion. RIGHT NOW. You, the one who doesn't show up on a regular basis, who always has an excuse for what's not done, who tells me that poem was stupid. You, the one who  has  to use the restroom, go to the nurse, leave for an appointment. You, the one who talks back after a simple request to have a seat, to throw away your candy wrapper, to take off your headphones. Yes, YOU. You are more capable than you know.  I see that you don't believe you can do this thing called school, so you cover your shame by slamming the door, walking out, losing assignments, or sleeping.  But I know that if I meet you where...

Early mornings on the weekend, before the rest of my house is awake, I sit with a mug of coffee and write, read or just think.  The quiet space allows my mind to breathe, to wander freely in my notebook, or to get completely lost in the world of my book. Some of my best ideas for my classroom bubble to the surface during this time; I clear out old problems - even if by just dumping them on to a page; or I escape off into the world of Mary Oliver's poems or a Kate Morton novel.  These quiet spaces in my life rejuvenate like nothing else.  It's just me and my thoughts. This week my students and I read Billy Collins' poem, "The Trouble with Poetry".  Before we began I asked them, "What happens to your mind when you're just walking somewhere quiet by yourself?" My students looked at me kind of funny, so I waited.  Still nothing.  They looked like they were thinking, but no one responded.  Suddenly, someone's phone dinged.  A thought scramble...

Several years ago, I left my middle school classroom to work as a full-time literacy coach for a year. Besides learning that I really like being in the classroom, I learned for the first time about Standards Based Grading.  When I returned to the classroom the next year, I decided to ditch my traditional points grading system, and go whole-heartedly into Standards Based Grading.  I got permission from my principal to not use our district grading program except for end-of-semester-grades (which meant I did everything by hand), and I spent the next two years with my 6th and 7th graders trying a variety of reporting systems, trying to learn -  what kind of communication helped the kids most? what did I need to record to see their growth and to plan my next moves in our lessons?  and what information was most valuable to parents? After two years, my whole team got on board.  We sent home an 8-page progress report every time grades were due - each content teache...

Captivated by Kwame Alexander's The Crossover When I talk about independent reading in my classroom, one question that comes up a lot is, “Have you read everything your students are reading?”   The answer is a resounding no.   The follow up always comes: “Then how do you know they’re really reading and understanding their books?”   Since “Oh, I just know” doesn't seem very professional, I decided I needed to write a post about this topic, which of course forces me to really think through the question. When I was a brand new teacher teaching in a private school in Tampa, I remember wanting desperately to feel like a real teacher.   I wanted the more experienced teachers and administration to take me seriously, like I knew something and was a real adult; I wanted my students to see me as a real teacher, not a fresh-out-of-college kid; and I wanted parents to accept that I did know something about education and that I was teaching their child valuable things....