What Have You Done For Me Lately?

Hey, everyone!
So... it's been a really long time since I added a new post--and yet hundreds of people are still visiting this blog everyday, which I find fascinating! I hope these older posts are still working for you and that you are able to find some great information that is helpful!
Today I wanted to talk a little bit about building relationships. This year has been a challenging one for me! I am in a new district, back on one campus, in a similar position to the one I've held for the last eight years, but every campus is unique, and some of the things I'm used to doing (like RTI!) are no longer part of my domain, and I have some new responsibilities, too, (like MTA!) I came into this new school not knowing a single soul except for the principal, who I met a few months before the rest of the staff at my interview (I didn't know her prior), and so the last few months have been all about getting to know my co-workers and students.
I did happen to bring a couple of cute little girls along with me, though! ;)

This little girl loves her new school and her new teacher!

Building relationships is so important to the success of our students and our fellow teachers.  I cannot effectively coach a teacher and help him or her become stronger in the classroom if that person does not respect and trust me. Likewise, we cannot teach students effectively if they do not trust and respect us (notice I flipped those two words around--that was on purpose.)  The make-up of our student population is quite interesting. We have a good number of students who live in a very affluent neighborhood where houses literally cost in the millions. We also have a good number of students who live in run down apartments who aren't sure where their next meal is coming from. We have to know our kids to understand how to approach them; earning trust is different for children with opposing mindsets, and if I don't know who I'm dealing with, I won't know how to earn that trust and respect.
So, I have spent a great deal of time getting to know the kids.  I still don't know all of their names or all of their stories, but I'm getting there. I am especially partial to our kindergartners, as I have been at lunch with them for most of the school year thus far. What a great group of kids!  Children at that age want to trust, they want to love, they want to be loved. It's very easy to win over the heart of most kindergartners if you get down on their level and let them know you care. Even knowing their names makes their day. (It helps that a lot of things are still labeled for them!) Sometimes I'll run into a kindergartner who has already begun to question authority or has had past experiences with grown ups who didn't follow through. This is always disheartening, and it takes a while to get those kids to come over. But once you do, you're golden, unless of course you accidentally disappoint them as well. Then, you'll have to work twice as hard to earn that trust back.
For many of our older students who have lost their confidence in academics, it can become quite a struggle to get them to see us as allies. We have to work harder to let them know they matter to us as individuals. We have to let them see that we can relate to them. I do know what it's like to be in your shoes--as a kid, I was hungry a lot of nights, too. I missed my dad when I only got to see him every other weekend. I get it. I understand.  I also know what it's like to think I'm not very good at something. For me it was math.  But with the right teachers, confidence goes up, and so do scores. We can win these kids over by talking about things that interest them. Most of them are pretty impressed that I know who Steve from Minecraft is, or when I can pretend to know a thing or two about Pokemon.  Some of the sixth grade boys are super impressed when I can say things like, "Can you believe Dan Bailey made that field goal last night with only nine seconds on the clock? Man, I was afraid the Cowboys were going to lose again."  They think that's pretty cool, which makes me pretty cool, which means they'll work for me--usually.
But we have to take the time to work on those relationships everyday.  And sometimes that's hard when you have so many kids to reach out to. I had a kindergartner once who introduced me to her mother as, "the lady who comes to school to see me." In little Emily's world, my sole purpose for existing was to visit her. And that's fine with me.  I'd rather let her think she's my whole world than not be a part of hers.
Think about one kid today--possibly one you honestly don't really like that much or know that well--and set a goal to reach out to that child at least three more times before the holiday break.  (Or if you are reading this later, in the next week or so.)  Find out what he or she likes.  Make an effort to single them out for something good. Say "hey" in the hallway. Call him or her by name. If you're a classroom teacher, find a student who is NOT in your class.  You don't have to buy anything or give them anything tangible. Just make them your world for a few minutes.  And then, most importantly, follow through.  Make this year count for that kid by being there as much as you can. I promise you, they'll benefit  from it, but you'll benefit from it even more.
My next post will be more academic, I promise! And it won't take me another year to write it either!

The Dreaded Month of October!

It's been quite a while since I found the time to post anything. There are a number of reasons for that. First of all, like all of you, I've been very busy getting back into the swing of things.  This is the time of year when students, teachers, and administrators need "stuff." One of my jobs is to help make sure people have what they need--in the form of resources and materials, information, or just a big pat on the back! That has certainly kept me busy.  It's also a time of information overload. Teachers don't have much free time to read a blog post and if they did, chances are they wouldn't have time to actually absorb the message.  So, I've taken a little break from blogging.  But now, it's October--that month when everything starts to roll downhill. It's time to refocus, re-energize, and remember why it is we chose this profession in the first place.

At the beginning of the year, teachers are still "high" from the fumes of crayons and new pencils.  Our passion for education has been softly simmering beneath the surface all summer, and now it's time to unleash all of that pent up energy and let the creative juices flow!  Over the summer break, we have thought of thousands of amazing and creative ways to insure that this school year is the best yet!  Through August and most of September, we were excited to come to school.  We loved seeing our kids, seeing our colleagues, and getting into the swing of things. Of course, we had a lot of information thrown our way all at once--new programs, new student expectations, new staff members, new procedures and protocols. We handled it pretty well for those first few weeks.  As time went on, there were more changes and tweaks, new things to implement.  We found out we were "doing it wrong" a few times or that we weren't quite meeting the standard for what-have-you.  "Oh, I'm supposed to stand right here when I hold the crossing guard sign?  I did not know that!" "I have to check both boxes and initial here?  Good to know!"  Now, the swing we were "getting into" is swinging a lot faster and it's getting harder to hold on.
Our kids are different, too.  They are no longer as excited to be here.  They do not greet us with the same enthusiastic smiles, nor do they hang on our every word to see what magic will pour forth.  Their energy supply has started to run low as well, not as low as ours but they are no longer running on a full tank.
Collectively, we know that Thanksgiving Break is out there somewhere. We can't really see it from here. It's like a distant dot on the horizon, more like a splotch than an actual form.  But we know it's there.  We also know that we have a long, long month of October to go before we can even think about tracing little hands and turning them in to turkeys.
So, how do we get from October 1st to Thanksgiving Break without losing our minds? It's not easy. If it were, there'd be no talk of  the "October Dip."  I have three suggestions that I hope will make your October a little more Spooktacular and a little less Dreadful.
1) Ask questions!  If you need help with something, please ask someone. Anyone.  And if they can't or won't help you, ask someone else.  Everyone has a lot on their plates right now but chance are, the things that are weighing you down are not the same things weighing down  a team mate, administrator, or instructional coach.  So, ask for help.  There are a plethora of people around you who are here to help and support you. Never feel like you are drowning without at least signalling for a life preserver.
2.) Help someone else!  Nothing makes me feel better than when I know I have lightened someone else's load. Even when I have a ton of my own work to get done, I never miss the opportunity to help someone else. Gratitude from others goes a long way toward changes our mood and our perspective.  Just a few minutes each day assisting someone else is sure to improve your own state of mind and their's as well.
3.) Focus on the kids.  Take a few moments each day to look around your room and appreciate the children that you work with.  Notice, I used the word children, not students.  As I grow older, I notice that time passes by much more quickly. Our kids have not reached that point of perspective yet.  For your kiddos, this may be a landmark year for them. You only get to be in kindergarten once. If they celebrate Halloween, they've got a lot to look forward to! This is a great time of year for family outings to apple orchards and pumpkin patches. Let your kids have the opportunity to share their lives with you.  Even if they don't have family experiences to share, they will still have autumn moments--crushing through leaves, feeling the changing wind on their cheeks, brilliantly colored sunsets--to discuss. Give them the chance to talk to you about all of the amazing sights and sounds October has to offer and you'll start to remember why it is that we are so lucky to have the opportunity to work with these amazing little people. After all, do you think there's anyone sitting in a corporate office right now who just got 22 hugs because she showed up for work?  Probably not!
If you work in CISD, you have 8 weeks until Thanksgiving Break. Make them count.  Take each day and make the most of it.  And if  there's anything I can do to help you get over the October Dip, I'm always a few clicks away!