Teacher Tuesday

I had a hard time figuring out what to write about today in regards to my classroom. I really wanted to report on an amazing scavenger hunt type activity that I put together for Spanish level 2, but I haven't polished that yet and need to wait a little longer.

But then I had lunch with my coworkers who were very aggravated and not so positive. It seemed to mirror how I get by the end of each school week. I start Mondays very motivated and positive and ready to make a difference in the lives of tons of kids. Then Tuesday I start to get a little tired. Wednesday I start to want to give up. Thursdays I actually do give up.

I don't want to be another typical whiney teacher, because there are countless things I love about my job. For example, nothing beats the moment a past student comes back and thanks you for making a difference in their journey, or tells you how much you have used the skills you taught in their daily lives. It really keeps us going. Also, I really like the "lightbulb" moment. That's the moment when a kid who has struggled with a concept for a while and you tried a new angle to explain and all of a sudden they get it, and they feel such self price that it's contagious.

But, what I am struggling with today is what we can actually hold the kids accountable for. Yes, these are teenagers we are talking about, and we all know that the teen years are a strange and challenging time. What really blurs the lines for me, is when to joke with students in order to make a connection, and when to draw the line. Even as a student was trying to bring up a serious point (about how they don't necessarily know when I am joking and when I am upset), he couldn't even discuss it with me seriously. There was just not any level of self reflection, only blame shifting.

So what I am struggling with in my classroom (and in our culture as a whole) is the lack of a "time and place" for professionalism. Our current students seem confused about what is an out of school joke/trend and what is appropriate for in the classroom. In turn, I struggle as the adult to be able to make connections with them while still maintaining a distance from the more inappropriate trends.

I've learned this year that what I view was too far across the line for school isn't the same as a lot of parents and even a lot of my coworkers.
Is a t-shirt that says "John did-er" instead of John Deer okay for a student to wear to school?
Even though girls can't really find longer shorts in the store, so we ban all shorts or how do we decide the line?
Why are students still arguing to wear hats in the classroom?
How can I give them homework using technology they relate to to see Spanish in their personal world, when lots of things they find online have inappropriate language?
Should I kid chewing tobacco during class be suspended?
Why not, since a kid smoking a cigarette in class would be?
How do you tell high school couples not to make out in the hallway when they see much more than that on prime time tv?
How can I ask them to use their phones in class for certain activities (again, in order to connect to what they're used to) but expect them to be able to manage themselves enough to actually work on the phone and not text, snap, tweet, post, etc?

The idea I am trying to pin point is, these students aren't horrible, aren't messed up...they are just exposed to so much more mature content than generations before were used to. Because of this, they have a low maturity mixed with a large knowledge of things they don't really understand. And since we have this type of student in school now, how do we manage this? What rules do we set? How do we connect with them, while still modeling how to appropriately behave in the work place?

If anyone out there has input, I would love to hear thoughts and suggestions.

This last class was a tough one for me and I am full of reflection in this Little Life.

Teach Tuesay

I had GRAND intentions last August about being very consistent with my teaching themed blog post. But NO surprise...teaching got in the way of blogging about teaching!!

Just to remind you, I took on several new theories of teaching this year: I went to a blended classroom model, mixing lots of flipped classroom techniques, real world applications, ditched the textbook, added as much technology opportunities as possible and went to a project based system. I have tried to implement more rubric based grading and lots of more opportunities to speak and hear and read Spanish.

Now, that was a short paragraph on paper but a VERY tall order in real life! I just told a student that I feel like I am only "5 minutes ahead of my lessons." With recreating the curriculum, constantly trying new activities, falling behind on the amount of grading I have with all those new assignments...I have just not been able to stop and think about what I am doing.

I am holding on to the hope that next year, once I have the packets typed and the curriculum laid out, that getting in and getting my hands dirty with the students, working with them non stop will be much easier. But for right now I am in the beta phase. Just totally experimenting, trying things by myself with no guidance or advice, making up all the worksheets and units the students get as well as making all the podcasts that go along with the new units. Just writing that makes me feel stressed.

So, anyway...as I am still putting all the puzzle pieces together in my classroom, I just wanted to do a quick list of things that have worked very well for me this year! These are activities, lessons, techniques, etc. that I have loved and my students have loved even more than me (if that's possible)!

1st Semester Home Runs:

• Baile Jueves. I found resources from a teacher doing something called "Baile Viernes" or "Dance Friday." I changed it to Dance Thursday because we are a 4 day week and most students LOVE the opportunity to dance and get up to move around. Some kids loath this activity and fight me every week, but I have two classes in particular that really get into it and I just focus on them and enjoy those 5 minutes each week! 
• Google Voice. For any teacher needing a way to speak with students one on one and possibly have it recorded, Google Voice has been amazing! For my Spanish classroom, I have the students call my "voicemail" number each week, listen to one question in Spanish and answer it  in a complete sentence or two. This allows me to check in with them on their fluency and pronunciation, and not have to waste an in class period calling them up one by one. Also, Google Voice let's you send a text message back to the student, so I give them feedback based on their performance on that assignment. 
• Storytelling. I am not a gung ho TPRS teacher, but I do see the fun and the benefits of storytelling with language students. I have been selecting one or two stories for each unit and dedicating one or two class periods to each story. The students love when I tell the story because I am goofy and act it out for them. Some classes I have asked students to act it out to check for understanding. Some of the stories are turned into videos on YouTube. I have not mastered the reading comprehension part (IE: do they write answers to questions, do we discuss, how do we ever get the point if they just miss something in the target language, etc) BUT these have been a very fun addition to my lessons!
• La Silla Caliente. I love doing the hot seat at the beginning of each class, and I think any classroom can benefit from this. I have the last person who walks through the door put on the hot seat, and they spend 2 or 3 minutes answering questions in Spanish from their classmates. This could serve any subject, because the class can come up with review questions about a text, current event questions, discussion questions...essentially they are making up assessment questions for the student in the hot seat to answer.
• A "Standing Teacher Desk." The more and more I got bogged down in making videos, typing curriculum, adding grades online, etc. the more and more I sat at my desk and the more and more my back and neck started hurting. It was just so easy to fall into this bad habit. BUT I recently ordered an adjustable laptop stand for my desk, that will reach a level of standing or be lower if I choose to sit. This maybe doesn't directly help my students, but it makes a fitter, happier teacher and maybe that helps them in the end too!

So, that's my list of things I love in the Classroom for now! 

Until next week, the classroom is crazy but progressing. I am trying in this Little Life.