#beintentional Archives

Are you a yeller? Hush!

February 13, 2014 by Amber 5 Comments

***disclaimer: This is a continuation from a conversation happening on Voxer. Not a post directed at my current staff! 🙂

Her name was Emily. I remember her sweet round face, her blonde hair, and her sparkling personality. I also remember that she started every single composition with, “Hi, my name is Emily and I’m going to tell you about…” I will also never forget the afternoon I made her get in her chair and announce to the class how sorry she was that she kept doing that and that she would never do it again.

I look back on that memory now and cringe. CRINGE. I am so thankful her mother didn’t come and just decimate me over that poor attempt of a strategy. That was my first year teaching, and thankfully, the only year that I remember having done that.

This is something I am extremely passionate about, probably because I remember sweet Emily. If you don’t like children…or interacting with people…I just don’t know that education is the job for you.

CONFESSION: I don’t think embarrassing students is ok.

CONFESSION: I also don’t think its ok to yell at students.

I’m not saying you have to be sun-shiney and roses all the time. I’m not saying that there aren’t realities that make teachers days a struggle. (or assistant principals!) I know this.

I am saying that you don’t have to be ugly. You don’t have to be sarcastic. You don’t have to yell.

Is this an unrealistic expectation in education?

Tone intolerant,

Amber

What do you do for the unloved? Be a LOVE NINJA!

February 2, 2014 by Amber 3 Comments

In every classroom there are students who don’t quite fit in. They may be more mature than their peers, or less mature than their peers.

They may dress differently.

They may learn differently.

They may laugh differently.

Sometimes they may BEHAVE differently.

It doesn’t take much a for a student to ostracize themself from their peers. How do you foster relationships? How do you help students with social skills? Students without siblings, or in a new environment may need some additional support. A former co-worker I had used to do “Lunch Bunches” where once a month she’d bring in students that needed social skill help along with some of the more established students, and try to develop relationships.

I saw an article posted on Facebook from a friend. It was such a great example of how important dealing with some of these ostracized students can be, and why as a teacher, it should be on your radar too.

Every Friday afternoon C’s teacher asks her students to take out a piece of paper and write down the names of four children with whom they’d like to sit the following week. The children know that these requests may or may not be honored. She also asks the students to nominate one student whom they believe has been an exceptional classroom citizen that week. All ballots are privately submitted to her. And every single Friday afternoon, after the students go home, C’s teacher takes out those slips of paper, places them in front of her and studies them. She looks for patterns.

Who is not getting requested by anyone else?

Who doesn’t even know who to request?

Who never gets noticed enough to be nominated?

Who had a million friends last week and none this week?

You see, C’s teacher is not looking for a new seating chart or “exceptional citizens.” C’s teacher is looking for lonely children. She’s looking for children who are struggling to connect with other children. She’s identifying the little ones who are falling through the cracks of the class’s social life. She is discovering whose gifts are going unnoticed by their peers. And she’s pinning down- right away- who’s being bullied and who is doing the bullying.

You can read the whole article here. (She also talked about what a “Love Ninja” this teacher was, which has given me a whole new goal in life. I want to be a LOVE NINJA!) There are students who truly need our help to be connected. They need to know how to be a friend in order to have a friend. I shared with a teacher this week how absolutely eye-opening it was for me in high school when a boy I wanted to ask to a Sadie’s Hawkins dance told my friend that I was “too immature” for him. It was such a self actualization moment for me….I had no idea. Students can be completely unaware of how they are coming across to their peers and it falls to us to help them see.

Look at your classroom…or your staff, this week. Are there connections to be made? Is someone slipping through the cracks? I challenge you to help make the unlovable feel loved.

Love ninjaN,

Amber

Make an intentional DIGITAL difference!

January 28, 2014 by Amber 2 Comments

Digital Learning Day is about giving every child the opportunity to learn in a robust digital environment everyday, with the goal of success in college and a career. On Wednesday, February 5, tens of thousands of teachers and millions of students across the country will participate in the third annual Digital Learning Day—a national celebration of innovative teaching and common-sense, effective applications of digital learning in America’s schools that support teachers, improve learning, and help students achieve at their highest potential. We here at Watson MST have a higher cause to celebrate this day, this is the style of learning we are leading our MST charge with. To make this day stand out, I am offering different ways that you can add some digital spice to your classroom. I’ve attached a digital challenge bucket list…if you can complete 5 of these activities through the month of February, I’ll either do a week of your duty or teach your class for three hours. Your choice! Now, 5 out of the list…that will require some extra effort on your part, but I think you can do it! Set a personal goal..can’t handle 5? Do one, do two…just make a digital difference, intentionally, this month! Day 1, I gave ya yesterday via email:

Virtual Valentines

The K-12 Virtual Valentines Project designed to teach students geographical awareness and cultural understanding while connecting classrooms all around the world for Valentine’s Day. Our goal is to circumnavigate the globe with virtual Valentines. Whether your students are in kindergarten or are seniors in high school, this project will help them learn something new. This project is being organized by the EdTech Chat ‘n Chew Podcast Team. Our mission is to help you empower your students through 21st Century learning. Throughout the year we’ll be sharing opportunities for your students to learn by connecting with others around the world. Feel free to use the twitter hashtag: #k12valentines Day 2: Have a conversation about DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP and what it means to be active learners in a world full of other people’s creativity. Start conversations about what it means to be a digital citizen from this poster, print it out, and hang it outside of your classroom.

Here is the bucket list….game on! Amber

A unified vision marches on…

January 4, 2014 by Amber 1 Comment

A lot is written and shared about how important it is for a campus to have a shared, unified vision. What you are doing when creating a vision statement is articulating your dreams and hopes for your campus as well as establishing a strong foundation for your strategic planning guideline. It reminds you of what you are trying to build, and keeps everyone moving in the same direction.

During this break, I’ve read 3 (yes, 3) biographies of John F. Kennedy. Maybe the boldest vision ever articulated by any leader was John F. Kennedy’s dream of putting a man on the moon. On May 25, 1961, in a special address to Congress, he said, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” Although, at the time, very few people believed it could be done, the vision was achieved on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong stepped on to the moon.

There’s local high school has done an amazing job for creating and aligning a unified vision, thanks to the administrative leadership of their lead learner, Virdie Montgomery. (disclaimer: Virdie is the father of one of my best friends and will be the high school of my girs.) He lives, eats, and breathes his campus mantra, AHMO. From Letterman shout outs, to class point competitions that invite global participation, to hundreds of ipad photos taken daily, he has created an environment that supports students in a way that supports them as a family. Even when times are tough, they rally together in a way that defies their high school maturity. You can’t go anywhere without seeing a student, a bumper sticker, or a yard sign, that proclaims that AHMO pride.

This video was shared with me by my beast’s math teacher. It is a great example of people working together to create something really incredible. And…every member has to work hard to memorize all the music and all the steps. If even one person forgets, the whole show will not be as spectacular. It takes a unified vision to make this happen.

May your vision be as spectacular!

Vision focused,

Amber

It’s the little things…how to bounce back from a bad day!

December 4, 2013 by Amber 3 Comments

We all have bad days. We all have days where things didn’t go right…or as planned. Days that derail even th most positive of attitudes.

The real question is what you do when you have them. As a teacher, your mood affects the class. As an administrator, your mood affects the building. (When the principal sneezes, the whole school catches a cold.) So what do you do?

You could:

** Take a page from Venspired and just let it go.

free

**Appreciate the little things on your campus, like the funny jokes your SPED teacher posts each day outside his room.

(seriously, I chuckle.every.single.day.)

**Have someone you can Vox with that will give great “chin up, butter cup!” advice! (High five, @mrmacnology!)

** Borrow cheetos from your school counselor.

** Walk from classroom to classroom and be amazed at the incredible learning that is happening around you each day. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we do what we do. We didn’t get into this profession for money, for a fame, or for a campus rating. We got into this because we wanted to make a difference, and make education better. For all these kids and our own.

And you can’t do that if you’re being a Mr. or Mrs. Grumpy Pants. So put that smile one, channel your inner Mrs. Ripp, and get into those classrooms.

Who knows who is looking to you to be their sunshine?

Smilingly,

Amber