Beginning my 10th Year...

Wow. Is 2012 over yet? This has been one of the most difficult years of my life and I am ready for it to be over. But, I wonder, is that fair to my students? I think not. So, in the next week, I'm trying with all my might to gain the strength and the energy to get excited about this school year...

A tentative agreement might help... I can only pray that it's on the way...

In the past several months, I've heard some difficult things about teachers. I've made some tough choices about my involvement in "fighting the good fight."  And I realized a great many things about myself in the process...

During these months, we've heard these kind of things...

"Teachers are greedy."

"Teachers are selfish."

"Teachers are self serving."

"Teachers work 177 days a year, 6 hours a day. It might as well be a part time job."

"Teachers are liars."

"The teachers should go on strike already, anybody would be happy to have their jobs."

"Anyone could do a teacher's job, how hard could it be?"

"Teachers coming out of college could make $30K, after a few years when they want to make more, they can go out and get real jobs."

"Teachers shouldn't make more than $75.000 a year."

"You should be happy you even have a job."

"You are caretakers of the unteachables."

And my personal fave... "The teachers are terrorists!"

Without telling the whole story of our Board of Education-Teacher- Support Staff Negotiations Saga this summer, I'm sure you can make your own assumptions about how well they are going judging by the QUOTES listed above.  Yes, those were actual quotes.

After a difficult school year last year, this was not the summer I anticipated. And after a summer full of stress and additional work, I don't feel rejuvenated for a new year. Not only that, I didn't spend the summer collaborating with other educators, reading teacher books, or LEARNING like I usually do. I didn't spend the summer honing my craft as I usually do. And now, I wonder, will I be letting my kiddos down?

So, I have to refocus.

I have to refocus on my kids and on my classroom and I have to set some goals for the year.

My own little IEP for the 2012-2013 School Year-

My Present Levels:
I have had my third grade students make e-portfolios for the past 2 years.
I have used iPads in our classroom for the past 1.5 years, mostly for drill and kill and motivational purposes.
I have participated on teams, typically as the leader, in our building, but tend to take on TOO much.
I have had my class participate in one Global Read Aloud with Flat Stanley.
I typically work 12-13 hours a day IN THE BUILDING.


Goal 1: By the end of the year, first and second graders will have created an e-portfolio in Weebly.com.
            A.  Second graders will create e-portfolios in the first week of September.
            B.  First graders will create e-portfolios in the 2-3 week of September.
            C.  Second graders will add to their e-portfolio weekly.
            D.  First graders will add to their e-portfolio every other week.

Goal 2: During the school year, students will use iPads for a creation tasks at least 3 times each.
           A. Try out Puppet Pals.
           B.  Try out I Can Animate.
           C. Find another great App for Creation for my students (Garage Band? Poplet? Type Drawing?
                Toontastic?)

Goal 3: During the school year, participate on school teams, as a valuable team member.

Goal 4: Participate in the Global Read Aloud with Charlotte's Web.
           A. Complete at least 3 Skype or Facetime sessions.
           B. Collaborate in at least 2 other ways with other classes.

Goal 5:  In any one day, leave the building after NO MORE than 10 hours of work.

I might be adding on in the upcoming days, but for now, if I can complete these tasks, I will feel that this is a great year.

What are your goals for your year?

Yikes! I Don't Know What I'm Doing!

After seven years, one quarter, and 4ish weeks of being a teacher, I still have days when I think to myself, "Yikes, I don't know what I am doing!"  These thoughts generally occur to me and send me into a state of panic on the last day of a break, such as today.  I know I'll have the same feeling on Jan. 2nd, and the last day of spring break, and again on the last day of next summer.

When we've had more than 3 days off, I tend to think I have no idea what I am doing.  I forget about the previous 7 years, 1 quarter, and 4 weeks, and start to panic.  I stare at my lesson plan template for a Monday and think "I have no idea what we are going to do tomorrow."

I start to breathe a little faster.  And I close my eyes and imagine the resources I have in my room so I can think of something to put into the lesson plans.  My head says "Am I really responsible for 8 little kids and their education?  What do I know?"  And I sit with my eyes closed and my fingers on the keyboard.

Three years ago, I used to walk into my principal's office after each break and, I would tell her "I don't know what I'm doing."

She would stare at me, then laugh a little.

"What?  Yes you do.  Go back to your room."  This was her response after the third time I did this.

Hahahahahaha... That was exactly the answer I needed.

Yes I do.  I know what I'm doing.  I know what we are doing next, and even though I teach something different at this time every single year to every single kid, I know exactly where we are headed.  And I know it, inherently now.

You see, there were years when I would pull out the content standard books.  And there were years when I would have the books and the website pulled up at the same time so I could reference the content standard as quick as possible.  And then I could check it off.  I would sit with old lesson plans of each student and check off where we'd been and where we were headed.  I would keep each IEP next to me to make sure I included goals and objectives each day so I could instruct and then assess regularly to keep data.  I would keep a chart for each student of both IEP objectives and then content standards to make sure each student was introduced and instructed on each standard...

But now, after the panic settled, and I remembered what my former principal used to tell me, I could breathe again.

I know exactly where we've been and exactly where we are going.

And if you asked me about any 1 of those 8 students, I could tell you, without having to look it up.  I could tell you about his or her data.  I could tell you about his or her likes and dislikes, his triggers, her favorite foods, his best friend, her new "stim" and all her former "stims."  I could tell you how many times I've tried to teach her how to count coins in how many different ways. I can tell you what meds she's on and what he eats for breakfast every day.  I can tell you how long he's been working on the Dolch Primer Sight Word List.  I can likely tell you what joke he may tell during circle time or what icon she may click first 99 out of 100 times on the computer.

But I have to remind myself that I know these things.  I have to write blogs to be able to reflect on these facts.  I have to remember these things when I hear those comments about being "status quo" or "mediocre."

Because at least 4 times a year, I forget that I know, and I question myself.

Please believe that I still look things up once in a while and still reference IEPs and content standards, but often, it's to confirm things I already know.

And today I can confirm something I already knew, that I was meant to be a teacher.

10 Things Special Ed. Teachers Should Be Able To Do...

After reading the post What Teachers Should Be Able To Do on the "What Ed Said" blog tonight, I got to thinking...

If I made a list of 10 things that every special ed. teacher should be able to do, it would go something like this:

10. Write a legally defensible IEP using the IEP writing software provided by his/her district. (i.e. When learning the new software, do not ask, out loud, how to log in to the computer.)

9.  Give a reasonable learning objective for every activity planned throughout the course of the school day.  (Sure, you might see my student playing Wii Bowling once a month, but I have at least 5 objectives tying to his IEP objectives, developmental stages, and academic content standards that explain why.)

8.  Proofread an IEP written by someone else and ask questions/provide suggestions/find errors.

7.  Explain and/or demonstrate how he/she stays up to date or gets the latest research or information on best practices in special education.  (Can you say PLN?)

6.  Describe how your students can use at least one new piece of technology in making life/communication/ social skills/ social situations/ academics easier.

5.  Relay the relevant background information and likes/dislikes of each student on your caseload without having to look it up.

4.  Describe, demonstrate, or provide evidence of the research based strategies/ interventions/ methods used in your classroom.

3.  Describe or demonstrate assessment and data collection for each student on the caseload.

2.  Create student schedules, special education aide schedules, therapy schedules, and a personal daily schedule from the school master schedule keeping in mind the exact minutes of pull out or inclusion each student has listed on his/her IEP.  Execute and tweak that schedule.

1. Communicate with parents!  Blog, twitter, daily reports, Friday folders, progress reports, notes home, phone calls, emails, etc., etc., etc...

But yikes, this list could go on and on and on and on....