Sunday, March 6, 2011

I can

At school, we ask the children to tell us what they "can do" as a result of the learning that they've had in each subject. We write "I can" statements and illustrate them, so the students have a record of their learning. We encourage them to think in terms of what they can do, rather than what they can't....It's in that vein that I write the following post.

I can….what can I do? Well, in the context of what can I do as a teacher, I wanted to share a few things with you….

I can remember the names of 23 students every day, what their story is, who their parents and siblings are, what they are allergic to, and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

I can laugh when they say funny things, even if they don’t know they’re funny.

I can be stern when necessary, but not so stern as to be scary, just enough to make my point.

I can exercise patience when I need to, and move quickly when I have to.

I can share a story, read with enthusiasm, motivate, and educate.

I can play, I can make work feel like play, and I can teach kids to learn while they are playing.

I can design bulletin boards for any theme in the entire universe....seriously!

I can fix the smartboard, apply a bandage, log someone on to the computer, and type faster than their mothers!

I can feel real joy when they know a new word, and I can be proud when they do well on something that’s hard for them.

I can find things to fill their minds and thoughts so they are never bored.

I can eat in about 20 minutes, and still manage to have at least one adult conversation during that time.

I can avoid going to the bathroom until 12:55, when all my students are safely delivered to specials.

I can manage 23 students in four small groups, with just a timer and kind word.

I can pick up our class Gecko so the kids can pet his head.

I can read a book....and have the kids on the edge of their seats, waiting to hear the next word.

I can bear being called Mom, Mommy, Momma, and Grandma by my students and consider that a compliment.

I can color, I can write, I can draw, and make the kids believe it's really great stuff!

I can encourage parents, share their child's successes, and help them learn to accept failure sometimes.

I can talk to parents who don't want to listen, and help them see their children for who they really are.

I can remind others why we do this job, even when it's really hard.

I can find joy in small things, and take deep breaths when things are going wrong.

I can tie shoes, and help the kids learn to tie them too.

I can tell when someone's sick or just fakin' it.

With my smile, I can make a kid's day.

I can give and receive hugs.

I can do all this, because I am a teacher, and because teachers who can...do!

Teachers, Unions, and Other Things on my Mind....

So, if you aren't buried under a rock, or lost in space, it's likely you've heard about the teacher's union assault in Wisconsin, followed by a similar incident in Ohio. It's kinda hard not to be concerned when you're a teacher. Now, I've never been much of a union person, simply because I believe in the idea that, if I do a good job, then the people who employ me will want to keep me around. I don't believe I've ever done a bad job at anything I've tried, so I've had a fairly secure employment history.

The problem with this thinking is the issue of who employs me now. You see my boss is a principal, and she tells me I'm doing a good job, so I'm O.K. there. Her boss is the Superintendent, who tells me I'm doing a good job, so I'm O.K. there. His boss is the School Board, who seems to make the weirdest decisions ever, right off the cuff, so this is where my concern lies. I mean, if they want to save the most money, who are the teachers they will cut? Bingo, the ones that cost the most! And, since I'm the consummate over-achiever, I went out and educated myself to the max, making myself an expensive commodity. Why, oh why couldn't I just, for once, be a complete slacker?

Sometimes I wonder just what it was I was thinking, going out and getting my Master's Degree, then adding on an additional certification and some more hours (30 in all, so far).....so that I could be a better teacher! I mean seriously, wouldn't it have been good enough to just make the status quo? It appears that's what the world wants right now, and here I am, over educated, over achieved, and over stressed....someday, when I figure out what the world really wants, I promise to let you all in on the secret.

Anyway, that seem to settle in my brain the most, because this issue has the possibility of removing me from a job I adore, keep me from doing the one things I believe I was made to do, and relegating me to a statistic....one more person standing in the unemployment line! As I ponder this I often think...well, at least my car is paid for! See there is a little sunshine at the end of the tunnel after all.

This week at school was an interesting one. I had so many kids out sick, that I couldn't really move forward in the curriculum, so I spent a lot of time doing some review with the kids. It was a good week, went pretty fast, and the kids are demonstrating that they've remembered things I taught them earlier in the year, which is a serious boost for my ego.

On Thursday night, the phone rang in my room, and when I answered it was a parent of a little boy in my class. The mom said she's, "tired of little F bringing home all zeros on his papers, and we need to meet to figure this out." I explained that he's not reading the papers he gets zeros on, just filling in the answers, which is why he gets a zero. Mom, "Well, that's because little F can't read." I explained that he can, but he doesn't want to, and when he brings papers home and she reads them to him, of course he'll do better. Mom, "Whattaya mean he can read?" "When I go over his papers he just looks at them and waits for me to say the words." I explained that's because he knows she will do it for him....her response..."Well, you mean little F is pulling one over on me?" Now, I wanted to say yes, but I just waited...she kinda laughed and said, "Stop cryin' F, you're not in trouble yet." She said she's "gonna talk at him some" and find out what's goin' on, but could I please write on all his papers that he needs to fix them, so he won't argue with her about whether or not he's going to.

Ohhhhh...so the problem is the mother needs me to tell the child that he has to make corrections, and if I don't he won't do them? And yet somehow, teachers are to blame for all that's wrong with education...? Yeah, I'd agree with that, what about you Mr. Kasich?