What Our Students Need: Switching from the Behaviorist to Cognitivist model in School (Part 1)

My daughter, age 8, her friend, and I visited the one room school house at our fair yesterday. We love to marvel at the quaintness of the room, the old wooden desks, and toys of yore whose use is lost on the young.

After perusing the Dick and Jane book and citing that it looked, "really old" 😆 (I remember reading that) they noticed a large cone in the front of the room.

"What does this say?" one asked. "Dunce," I said.

"What does that mean?" the other questioned.

"It means you are dumb. If you goofed around or didn't do your job you got stuck in the corner with this cone on your head."

The girls both looked at me with confusion. "Yes, I know it seems unbelievable that they would humiliate kids this way, but that's what they would do, force you to wear a hat that said you were dumb and sit you in a corner." Another patron laughed, and recited what I said to a friend, oblivious to the fact that this was typical back in the day...and sometimes today.

Although I wasn't asked to use the hat, I was asked to put a child in a corner in my classroom, in full view of everyone, when they got in trouble. I refused.

Now here's where it gets tricky. I am (was) a full on behaviorist. Had it not been for statistics, I honestly would have chosen the career of psychologist. So I am well versed in dangling carrots, stickers, intermittent reinforcement, and salivating dogs. I truly believe children can benefit from time to think (Time Out, Think Time) but I drew the line with public shaming in it's most blatant form. A student suffering from ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) who has experienced trauma in ways children, small children, should never experience (IE drug use in the home, lack of food, outright abuse by adults) will not be helped by yet another adult sticking them in a corner to humiliate them, chastise them, mock them, point out their foibles and make fun of them (which is really what the dunce cap approach did). This actually breeds apathy: a lack of concern for others. And soon children will model what they are taught and do the same; leading to another generation of folks who watch from the sideline unfazed by what happens in front of them. Ending apathy needs to begin with us.

One can't teach empathy without using compassion.
One can't teach compassion without being kind.
One can't teach kindness without a connection.

Connections first, consequences second.

Next: Switching from the Behaviorist to Cognitivist model: How to Escape the Sticker Chart

The Last Year in K: A new season of transitions.

I have spent 8 years as a kindergarten teacher, seems like it's been much longer then that actually, kindergarteners do that to you, but alas the door is closing.

Honestly, I never pictured myself teaching K...I originally planned to be a high school English teacher. My sister talked me into primary (thank the Lord). I then thought I would teach 5th, but, again, my sister said I would like littles. I taught my very first year in second and loved it. Then was dropped by the roadside like garbage ( I was teaching a bubble class) when they hired someone else to move up the next year rather than keeping the person who worked so hard all year (I didn't even get an interview!).

Then a spot came open in kindergarten. I thought of my subbing days and the constant whining and help needed with coats in k and thought, for sure, that this wouldn't be for me. But I was proven wrong. I loved those kids and kindergarten!! I loved the rock star status in the lunch room. I loved their hand drawn love notes. I loved the glitter and the toilet paper roll crafts. I didn't love the gray hair it gave me, but I loved it nonetheless. It was amazing to have a student come in, barely able to write their name, and watch them leave in the spring reading. This grade is like no other. It truly is the most important work as we lay the foundation for what their beliefs and emotions concerning school will become.

But as we know, if we stay the same for long periods of time, we become stuck in a rut. That coupled with team struggles, and an unsettling year to come, encouraged my heart to apply for a first grade position that came open this year. I was stoked. I was so excited to bring everything I did up a notch, yet still stay in a grade where students still openly love their teachers. And yet regardless of my technology implementation for math and reading, my use of Makerspace in K, my desire to better myself with numerous trainings, my willingness to pilot science, my fellowship as a Neural Educator, my use of GLAD strategies, my collaboration with educators across the country and world via Hangouts, my willingness to teach others how to use Seesaw portfolios, and my ability to use ASL (American Sign Language) in the classroom, I was not chosen.

My heart hurt...a lot. It hurt the most that I had bared my personal trauma and feelings concerning my ex's upcoming release from prison and my several year feeling that I needed to be inside, rather than a portable, and yet that made no difference. #kindness

Then an opening came for fourth grade and honestly, I didn't even think about taking it at first because it was so far removed from the littles I loved. But I thought about my concern for safety, my love of the Titanic and history (both 4th grade topics) and decided to give it a try.

The ensuing mess of cleaning, sorting, and packing my room has made me wonder if I made the right choice. But the smile of former students eager to have me again has me hopeful. Maybe I can survive fourth grade. Stay tuned to see.

Someone Was Going to, but No One Did: The Life of a Parent Group

I wasn't planning on going. Honestly, I didn't remember there was a meeting until I saw a familiar parental face setting up in the cafeteria as I finally left school at 5. I checked my email and sure enough there was a Lincoln Parent Council (LPC) meeting.

There is a parent group meeting tonight, I told Sierra. I tend to think aloud and really didn't expect a response. We should go, she said. We have to go home and let the dogs out, I said.

And so home we went. Sierra brought it up a couple more times in the car, but I was sure she would forget about it after we got home.

I have many good intentions that do not come to fruition. So many times  "I'd love to do that" becomes "I don't want to get back up off the couch." Teaching is tiring in a way non-teachers cannot even comprehend. I giggle each day as I see my student teacher say things like, "I can't even talk anymore" or "Why was I over here again?" I giggle and tell her she is indeed a real teacher now, not just a student teacher, and that her funny notations let me know I am normal, which is not always apparent to me.

Yet, as I sat, lethargically on the couch, at 5:25, Sierra showed up saying, Please Mommy, can we go? I promise to do my job while you are learning. You know learning is important. Who is this kid? And where did mine go? Okay, but you'll be with the child care group, I lamented.

As we approached the school I "ugh"d, as in UGH I forgot my phone! Not missing a step Sierra replied, That's okay, you won't get distracted while learning. Again, my chin fell to the floor in shock. Pod people? Alien invasion? Sierra maturing? Pod people seemed most likely.

Upon entering I was perplexed: there were 4 board members present and 5 others. The 5 others included me and our vice principal. So really, there were 3 people present. 3 (even with free childcare).  Did you hear me say 3 parents to represent the 500+ students in our school????

Now, I'm not shaming anyone, as previously noted I have a hard time getting off the couch, however, there should be some folks, out of 500-1000 parents (depending on the 1-2 parent household ratio) that ARE available to attend at least once in a while. Ones that are younger, in better shape, and can get off the couch easier than I.

I'm seriously still in shock...and that takes a lot.

It reminds me of

“The Responsibility Poem”

There was a most important job that needed to be done,
And no reason not to do it, there was absolutely none.
But in vital matters such as this, the thing you have to ask
Is who exactly will it be who’ll carry out the task?

Anybody could have told you that Everybody knew
That this was something Somebody would surely have to do.
Nobody was unwilling; Anybody had the ability.
But Nobody believed that it was their responsibility.

It seemed to be a job that Anybody could have done,
If Anybody thought he was supposed to be the one.
But since Everybody recognized that Anybody could,
Everybody took for granted that Somebody would.

But Nobody told Anybody that we are aware of,
That he would be in charge of seeing it was taken care of.
And Nobody took it on himself to follow through,
And do what Everybody thought that Somebody would do.

When what Everybody needed so did not get done at all,
Everybody was complaining that Somebody dropped the ball.
Anybody then could see it was an awful crying shame,
And Everybody looked around for Somebody to blame.

Somebody should have done the job
And Everybody should have,
But in the end Nobody did
What Anybody could have.

Charles Osgood

Who is responsible for our children, our school, and therefore, our parent council? The village: we all have a part. Whether you are able to show up, or just volunteer for an at home job (like coordinating an event) step up. Our village desperately needs you...

The Domino Affect: Negativity- The Thief that Steals Happiness

It's taken awhile to get happy again.

As a child I was overly jubilant, just ask my mom. She said I was so giggly I nearly drowned every time I swam: there was no way to keep the water out of mouth. Looking at childhood photos shows a happy child with a permagrin...typically wearing a bell on a string (I've always been a trendsetter, although my sister would disagree), ENJOYING life. I was good at it.

The permagrin left for a long time (that's a story in need of a book) but resurfaced when my daughter was a toddler. Her joy and interest in the minutiae helped me to relocate that lost inner child. The one that says, let's stop to smell the flowers now...before we die and can't.

Let's be real...time is fleeting. You can waste it enjoyably or unenjoyably, the choice is yours. Where would you prefer to spend your time? Around people who are laughing and joking through this thing called life or amongst a group of serious, joy killers?

This is not to say bad days don't happen. I am the poster child for it. My motto: if I didn't have bad luck I'd have no luck. But we need to realize the effect we have on others when we choose to have bad days (yes, choose). Everything is a choice. And in life the domino affect is ever present.

I went to a meeting yesterday with someone having a bad day. It wasn't meant to be shared, but unknowingly it was. I immediately felt the negativity creep over me. It continued to creep on during the day, rearing it's ugly head during class time. Exposure to negativity can lead to a case of the grumpies. And boy did I have it.

This person didn't realize what was happening, but by the end of the day I was in a foul mood and they had regained all their love for the world.

Remember to live in the now and come in with a happy heart. Problems can be left at the door. They'll still be waiting for you when you're done.

I'm in LOVE.....with Seesaw

It's only appropriate that I am in love with something as Single Awareness Day approaches. The day when people profess their love so much that single people fall ill in the fog of it.

I have been in LOVE with the Seesaw App ever since we met at the NCCE 2015 conference in Portland.

This was my first ever tech conference. I scoured the program for interesting titles. I had no background knowledge of Seesaw. My only construct was the name similarity to a Scholastic book club magazine, which I was sure had nothing to do with it.

Heather Marrs was our teacher and led us through activities a class could easily do: interview a partner, take a selfie, add text to a selfie, add a comment to a photo, solve simple math problems by using your finger as a stylus to show how you found your answer. Our "work" seemed more like "fun."

At the end of our workshop I was smitten. Heather mentioned how she was a Seesaw ambassador and I immediately scoured the web to find out how to become one.

What I saw was a digital online portfolio created by students and teachers. One that allowed students to be engaged in authentic audience interaction. Depending on the age of the student, they can provide positive comments on classmates work and see positive comments written by family members. No longer do you need to ask the dreaded, "What did you do at school today?" question. The one that is answered by a shoulder shrug, an, "I don't remember" or "nothing."

Parents, aunts, uncles, long distance grandparents can all check in on their smart phone or computer and see at a glance what and how their loved one is doing. They can see the joy in their heart during science centers, they can see them goofing off in the back, sometimes, but they see it! Like a porthole on a steamer Seesaw brings that authentic learning to life.

This time of the year I teach a few friends to start doing the seesaw documenting for me. It's a little bit of a learning curve...blurry photos with heads cut off don't quite equal quality examples (it is Kindergarten! but everyone is a beginning and soon everyone is an expert.)

Thank you Seesaw for such a great portfolio system!!

Top 10 Reasons to Try Seesaw
1. Its FREE  and parents can access it on their smart phone or computer.
2. The kids are excited to share what they learned.
3. The kids can no longer claim you teach nothing during the day.
4. You've got documentation for parents, TPEP, or any other hoop thrown at you. ❤
5. Students can document learning while you are teaching. They can capture what you miss.
6. Students not only document but they interact with assignments posted via teachers.
7. Students can work towards mastery: they can reevaluate work and edit it as their knowledge base expands.
8. Using it for reading fluency peaks student interest on attaining personal goals. They hear themselves read!
9. It translates posts into 55 languages!! There is no language barrier!
10. It can be used to connect with other classes (the blog feature) or to share information (like class newsletters) via notes!

If you try Seesaw I bet you will love it too. Feel free to text me with any questions.

Happy Seesawing!!

I LOVE STUDENT TEACHERS: The Myths, The Truths, and The Legacy.

When the new tech comes out that allows your thoughts to be sent to paper, or document, without stopping other chores, tasks, and minutiae (ie vacuuming) I will be the first one to sign up.

I get so many great ideas for my blog that I want to write down, but other things take constant priority. And if you are like me...at the end of  a long day...last thing I want is to do some heavy thinking.

It is spring break here (can I get an amen?) and while my "To Do" list is still TOO long, I have a little less rushing around and consequently, decided the last fleeting thought for my blog deserved recognition.

I'm not sure about your week before spring break, but mine was a killer. I have a student teacher and so I was having these beautiful dreams of finaling finding the actual top of my desk, you know before all the paper piles started in September. I know it's there, but it has become akin to an archaeological dig.

However, Monday came and Monday went. Tuesday came and Tuesday went. You get the drift.

In kindergarten we describe our problems as big problems or little problems and there was an abundance of big problems. Ones I had to jump right in and solve, try to solve, find someone to help me solve them, etc.

And each day I would say..."Today, today is that day I am getting X done." And yet "today" never came. My days were full of problems clear up to 3pm on Friday. And, here is what gets me, there were TWO adults in the class! Two teachers for the love of all things holy. Typically, there is one, who must survive...amidst the chaos...on her (or his) own.

Which gets me to the point of this blog...I LOVE STUDENT TEACHERS.

When you teach K you love anyone with a heartbeat that can help out in your class, because you realize two arms, two ears, and one mouth is not enough. You know what I'm sayin?

And in weeks like this last one I realize why student teachers are the bomb.

1. You actually see things that happen when you are usually too busy teaching. Like Billy glueing pencils to his chair and Blaire tripping kids on purpose. (Names have been changed to protect the guilty) I then get to bring up these topics with my St Ts and we laugh about how little we are able to see, when we really do think we see everything.

2. You get more done. I was serious and kidding about my desk. I didn't get done nearly what I hoped to have done, but when you are finally able to go through and pitch the mimeograph copies in files that have lived there since someone so graciously gifted them to you, you jump for joy (not really as I'd hurt something, but I do in my mind).

3. You leave a legacy. This week I had the privilege of watching two former St Ts on Facebook, posting pics of things they did with their classes, things I did with them when they co-taught in my class, and it hit me...I made a difference. I helped grow another teacher. They planted the seed. I watered and tended the sprout and seedling and watched it bloom into a sunflower, radiating promise and belief in the profession. Their students enjoyed celebrating St. Patrick's Day, as we enjoy celebrating it in my class. They made art and traps (STEM people, STEM!!) just like us and what I saw was kids loving learning, and Ts loving teaching. It made my heart happy.

The Myths: I hear people say they don't want student teachers. They say it's too much work (really? because they are the ones who have to create a portfolio, not you). They say they had a bad one (it happens--which is why I am a proponent of meeting the St T ahead of time and seeing if your personalities match). If you feel you and your padawan are sympatico the more likely you are to enjoy the experience. But, no matter what, the benefits far outweigh the costs.

The Truths: I am on my 4th student teacher and each has brought me great joy. My first was interviewed by my principle. It was a great match. Both Amber and I had been "non-traditional" students (code word for old). She did a great community outreach that netted us plants from the garden club. We put them in the much neglected planters outside our school. Our legacy lives on in them. My second, Amy, I was allowed to interview and she brought her wonderful skill of art to the class. She reminded me of the joy in homemade cards and in the eternal joy she brought to every event. We started a list of funny kid sayings that year. My third was Jo. She was a former TESL practicum who asked to student teach with me. I was honored. She was all over everything but had to learn the art of being a teacher not a friend (everyone does- we jokingly call it "getting mean" as that's how student teachers feel). She taught our class (and me) about football. She shared the love of the Patriots in tandem with the class majority love of the Seahawks and the kids were the winners. And now there is Meagan...she came to me under different circumstances, but the result has been the same: learning for her, learning for me, and a friend for life.

When we help others grow in the profession, it in turn helps us grow...and so just like every year, I am about ready to remind my principal, "Now remember, I'd REALLY love a year long student in the fall...."

From my class...

From Aimee's

From Jo's

I am creating a legacy...

The Most Terrible Week of the Year

It's here...that week that goes on forever...the week before winter break.

If you are a teacher, you know why. It's not that we are eager to finally focusing on Christmas ourselves (I don't even recall the gifts I have already bought and hidden...(where? who knows. hopefully I left myself a note...somewhere)) but due to the kiddos excitement for the holiday themselves.

I typically describe the week before Christmas break to my student teachers as the week the kiddos act like they ate cookies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, even though we (A) know that is not true and (B) keep being told by "researchers" (real definition: people without children) that sugar does not impact behavior. Oh, Mr. or Mrs. Researcher, please come into my classroom after the doughnut day breakfast. Sugar impact is real.

So...It has seemed a little longer than normal...strange, and I have counted and it's still 5 (Kindergarten joke )

but other than that, this week has been pretty fluid, pretty calm (not counting the chaos of loading donations into bags for the Community Food Bank), and pretty enjoyable....what's wrong with this picture?

I'm pretty sure it happened last week instead.

We had Christmas related theme all week. We wrote our letters to Santa. We made reindeer (at least I think we did...it's all kind of a haze...) and we had our Christmas program. Last week also included the Creation Station teacher flip out and subsequent hiatus of said center.

It went something like this...see if you can relate...
Scene: All kids are thoroughly enjoying Creation Station (making cards for loved ones, making hats, making super hero bracelets. It's like a Makerspace for K including paper, tape, staplers, and stickers.)

Scene 2: T sings the, "Clean Up, Clean Up, Everybody Do Your Share" song.

Scene 3: All kids continue to make things.

Scene 4: Sing again, with added freezing to secure listening.

Scene 5: 1 girl starts cleaning, 10 continue working on what they want, 8 wander around the room because the mess they just made wasn't "MY mess."

Scene 6: T begins to threaten the lose of privileges of CS.

Scene 7: No one cares. Not one iota. They are seriously in an alternate universe where I am their maid and rules do not apply. (Note to kids--I know this scene because I personally dream about it daily--It ain't happenin.)

Scene 8: Me and Student Teacher clean up with about 5 kids who are now so riddled with guilt they have to help. The rest still oblivious. Highlight: S.T. telling kids, "We don't need to unroll the whole roll of stickers to get one since they are all the same sticker." Ya think?

Scene 9: Announcement is given in crabby teacher voice: Creation Station is on hiatus until we can remember what we do as respectful, responsible students.

Scene 10: Crabby teacher takes out class and eats peanut butter cups to feel better.

What was missing last week?
*regular routine
*regular curriculum lacking any real bells and whistles
added to:
*excitement for winter program, class party, and gifts for parents
equaled=
CrAzInEsS
 (Did you ever think math problems would become part of your vernacular while you were sitting in math class in high school? Me neither.)

Teaching is about reflecting, realizing, revamping. I was reminded during my National Board cohort meeting last night...and it all came together. I have never explored Christmas until the last week of break. Since we did it last week, and moved on to gingerbread stories and Venn diagrams, we are much calmer...and most importantly...I haven't had to replace my Reece's peanut butter cups.

Live Life. Love Life. Lead Life.

Fate, Destiny, or Divine Intervention: A Little TMI About Me!

My life experiences are an open book...I guess you can say anyone connected to the internet has a pretty open book nowadays. Google search your name and all kinds of stuff (fun, not so fun) can come up. If you have read my other blog you know I have been through some very rough patches this last 5 years. That said, I have come out a better person for it.

The best thing that ever happened to me was when I had my daughter in 2010 after a successful IVF cycle. She (and her potential sibs) were created in a lab with the help of amazing science. You see, in layman's terms, my parts are not so good. They didn't want to work how they should.

I'd like to thank the Christianson's of Hendricks, Minnesota for that. Genealogy is my FAVORITE hobby and it gave me lots of interesting tidbits about where I came from. The Christianson's were immigrants from Norway arriving circa 1871, settling first in Iowa, then moving to Minnesota.

 

Christian (center front, and whose name I would have used if I had a boy) was a successful farmer and served as mayor for the town of Hendricks. He and his wife Agnetha (Nettie) had 8 children. Now I don't know whether to blame Christian or Nettie, but out of the 4 girls in the photo, only two were able to have children. Betsy (on the far left) my g-g- grandmother had 4 children, 3 of whom lived, and Christine (on the far right front) had 3. Neither Bertha nor Emma (back row) were able to have children. And poor Peter (center, back row) died at age 20 from Diabetes. In my mind, we're pretty lucky the line continued on.

 

Had I been born then I would have just not had any children (which is fine, when its a choice, not when its chosen for you). Thankfully, due to science, Sierra and some potential sibs were created in a dish in a lab. 2 were implanted and 1 very strong willed child put down her roots and grew.

 

I always planned for another child. Perhaps a Christian, maybe a Sienna. I always wanted Sierra to grow up with siblings, like I had--annoying in your youth, blessings as you age. However, her potential siblings were destroyed in May. The last control my ex could exert: no him, no further kids. It was a very emotional time for me...

 

For the last 2 years or so Sierra has repeatedly asked me to get her a brother or sister. She was pretty sure I just had to go to the doctor and pick one up. With the ever present prodding I started to think about other ways a child could become part of our family, given that the option of a 1-night stand was out of the question. I was lucky enough to meet several adoptive parents and talk to them about their varied experiences. By happenstance, our paths crossed (I like to call it fate).

 

I started to think about the possibility of becoming a foster parent. However, honestly, I was put off by the requirements. A long list of trainings and paperwork and home visits. Don't get me wrong: I understand they have children's' best interest in mind. But when you repeatedly see reports of abused kids, in the foster care system itself, you wonder how well the current system is working. One would think a kindergarten teacher, with expertise in early child development, already back ground checked, might make it to a, "fast track" or something. Maybe get credit for college classes already taken on positive behavioral support instead of 40 hours of classes??

 

So I didn't act. I just waited.

 

I'm not sure what you might call it: fate, destiny, divine intervention, or serendipity, but those happenstances kept on happening. Across my path people working for the system, people fostering, kids in care, would end up on my radar, mostly in my face. And each time I would think, "well isn't that quirky." And each time I would negate it.

 

Today we were at the Goodwill...looking for games for my summer school "kids." Sierra was, as always, perusing the shoe rack...trying on high heels, hoping I would too. We were looking at the kids section when she picked up an obviously too small pair of shoes.

"Aren't they cute mom?" she said. "These could be for my baby sister." At which point I agreed they were indeed adorable but obviously not going to be used any time soon. She gingerly looked at them for a few minutes. I took her picture with them, as I often do for the many things she'd like to buy, but doesn't need, and she put them back.

We started to make our way to the cash register when I ran into a former college acquaintance. She was walking with a little girl, about two, and was looking for a particular toy. We began talking and (what's the chances) she does foster care. The little, sweet, happy child was a foster kiddo. I looked at that sweet girl and decided, "Ok God. I think the 20th time is a charm."

And I jumped in...

Now it may not go anywhere...they might decide a single mom with an incredible past is not the right fit...but who knows. As Sierra's latest (and most incredible--you must read it!!) book says...

"...if you love each other, then you are a family." Families come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. My style just might work for someone.