Monday Motivator #22 2017-18

Meeting Learners Where They Are

http://reflectandrefine.blogspot.com/2017/10/meeting-learners-where-they-are.html

As a classroom teacher, the first weeks of school were always among my favorite.  There is something about spending the time to get to know a new group of learners and their families.  There is something about sowing the first seeds that will help a community grow together across the year.  There's something about the first books that will start us down the path to discovery.  The first weeks are a delight, but there was always this point where I looked out at the students and worried if I had what it would take to get them where they needed to be.  It's a tremendous responsibility.

Now that we know our entire community of students, let's be honest, we worry.  The needs in a classroom are varied and diverse --- and the expectations are great.  Additionally, there are students who will not just need our support academically, but those who will need to know our classroom is a safe space for them.  We wonder if we are enough.  If we aren't careful, we can find ourselves looking at the factors we cannot control.  For me, when I felt the moment of worry coming that I might not be able to get this group where I wanted them to go; when I heard that little voice saying I'm not enough, I had to change my lens.

Here are a few things I remind myself when I begin to worry:

1. Start where they are.  There isn't any need to think about the fact that the group is in a different place than the previous year's group.  Often we forget the beginning, and it doesn't change anything anyway.  They are where they are so I remind myself to go meet them where they are. 
2. We only control our time with students.  Students can come to our classrooms with a lot going on in their lives.  It's life.  They're people.  Families have people who get sick.  Parents have to work extra jobs to maintain their houses and put food on the table.  They might move from one parent to another in the course of a week.  They might be with an older sibling for hours after the school day ends.  We can't control any of that, but we can make the time they are with us their safe space.  We can help them continue to learn in these situations by listening but maintaining high expectations for their learning.  
3. Show them how.  When I begin to feel overwhelmed I go back to think about the gradual release of control model.  I remind myself that high support components of the literacy framework such as read aloud, shared reading, shared writing, and interactive writing, are essential in helping students find their next steps.  I remind myself that making learning visible by creating charts that help students refer back to learning conversations can help them in their work.  
4. Try something new.  When I feel that learners aren't making the progress I'd like to see, I try to figure out something to do differently.  Sometimes this means taking a closer look at assessment information and artifacts from the classroom.  Sometimes this means videotaping and reflecting on a few lessons.  Sometimes this means inviting a peer or coach into the classroom to help me problem-solve.  
5. Celebrate small steps.  Maintaining high expectations for our leaners requires knowing where they are and what is next for each of them.  Taking the time to notice the small changes and celebrating them can help maintain momentum and keep me focused on the positive.  
6. Know I'm enough.  This one is the hardest, and even as I type it I know there are times I don't quite believe it, but I just keep telling myself I can do this.  I just keep reminding myself I'm enough.  

We've got this.  

Monday Motivator #21 2017-18

How To Drastically Improve Your Class

https://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2018/01/13/drastically-improve-your-class

by Michael Linsin on January 13, 2018 

There is a secret a small cadre of teachers share that can drastically improve your class.

It works in all situations and grade levels.

It’s simple and straightforward.

It causes a giant leap in progress—from behavior and listening to work habits and attentiveness.

It’s an approach, or rule of thumb, you can abide by and count on every day.

It does take a bit of discipline, especially in the beginning.

But the results can be remarkable.

So what is it?

Just this:

If ever your students aren’t giving you what you want . . .

1. Stop them in their tracks.
2. Reteach your expectations.
3. Begin again.

Now, this very likely isn’t new to you. You may have tried this strategy in the past or believe you’re following it fairly well right now.

I call it a secret, however, because after observing hundreds of classrooms over the years, only a small percentage of teachers actually do it.

You see, it isn’t something you can dabble with or only kinda-sorta do. Trotting it out every once in a while—or even more often than not—is not only confusing to students, but it sends the message that you don’t really mean what you say.

You’d be better off not doing it at all.

But if you follow this simple script for every time your students fall short of your expectations, and really commit to it, you can transform your class. Few areas of learning and classroom management will be unaffected.

But again, it must be an every lesson, every routine, and everyday part of your classroom culture.

The strategy works because it forces you, as a natural consequence, to become extraordinarily effective with your initial instruction. At the same time, it causes students to become strong, active, and tenacious listeners and doers.

In other words, it holds both you and them accountable for performing your jobs well.

In time, you’ll become so good at communicating what you want, whether how to work in groups, turn in assignments, select a library book, or anything else for that matter, that the exact vision you have for your students will materialize before your eyes.

Reality will match your mind’s eye to a scary degree.

Your students in turn will become experts at knowing what it is you want and translating it into action. This is no pie-in-the-sky scenario. However, there is a caveat.

When you first begin using the steps in earnest, it may be slow going, especially if you try putting them into practice mid-year. Your class may be so used to half listening, or not listening at all, that you’ll have to repeat nearly everything you do.

You may feel as if you’re falling behind your grade-level counterparts or that you’re never going to get through all that you need to teach.

But if you stick with it, the light will flicker on, bright and clear as the coastal sun.

Your students will realize that when you give an instruction, when you teach and model what you want in explicit detail, or just make a simple request, you really do mean for them to follow it.

Every day will get a little better. Every day your class will get sharper, faster, and more efficient. Eventually, you’ll have more time than you’ll know what to do with.

Furthermore, you’ll be able to offer the kind of accurate, worthy praise that matters to students and pushes them on to greater and greater levels of accomplishment.

But it starts with an all-or-nothing commitment to mean what you say, to make your actions congruent with your words. After all, raising expectations isn’t about what you say.

It’s what you do.

Monday Motivator #20 2017-18

	January 15, 2018
14 Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes http://www.jongordon.com/positive-tip-mlk-quotes.html In the spirit of MLK Day, here are 14 of my favorite Martin Luther King Jr. quotes. On this special day let's remember they were spoken by a man who changed the world with his words and actions. As we read them let’s think about ways we can live them.  LOVE "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.' "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend." "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant." "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." "Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it." "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." "If you can’t fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward." HOPE "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." SERVICE "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'" "Everybody can be great because everybody can serve." UNITY and EQUALITY "Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men." "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." EXCELLENCE "If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well." What's your favorite MLK Jr. quote and why? Share on Facebook or Twitter. -Jon *Martin Luther King, Jr. photo by Marion S. Trikosko, 1964. Source: Library of Congress. Photo believed to be public domain.

Monday Motivator #19 2017-18