About that third hour class…

Our district has set up a program so that teachers can get into each other’s classrooms and learn from each other: both ways. I find that I learn so much about myself when someone comes into my room. It often validates the thoughts I’ve already had. When I have the opportunity to get into someone else’s room, I learn so many ideas and wonderful techniques to add to my “bag of tricks”.

Today I had a brief meeting with another teacher about the 3rd hour class she visited. She said that something just felt different with this class. The fun, bubbly connections weren’t being made. The laughs weren’t being had. The fun wasn’t there.  The worst part? I remember thinking that day was a good day. I’ve been ruminating about these kids/this class a lot lately… so having the discussion just brought the issue to a head.

So many of the kids in this class are hurting. They struggle academically, socially, with figures of authority, or at home. I love loving these kids, but this class is full of so much need that I have felt like I just can’t help all of them. I’m used to about 20-40% with such high needs. This class easily has 70-90% with real needs in one of many spectra. I’m feeling a bit “in over my head” when I think about the lives and futures of these kids.

I need to come up with a plan so I can feel that I’m giving them more of what they need and deserve. I just wish I had more time with them now that we’ve gotten to this place.

Ideas:

• weekly conferences with each kid: brief, 1-2 minute conferences about the week, my class and their other classes, and their outlook
• make a list: make a list and make “relationship plans” for each one
• hmmm… ideas? anyone? Bueller?

My stress pyramid: Code Green

So it’s been a while since I’ve posted. If I look back, I am sure that the patterns are similar across the years. Suddenly, after a long dry spell and around spring break, I “find the time” to post. For me, “finding the time” is probably a bit of a lie. I have plenty of time once the kids calm down and go to bed. I have plenty of (or at least some) time as I sit at nights and check Digg or read e-mail or check out xkcd or read the blogs from my rss feed. I have the time.

What I don’t seem to have is the peace of mind that allows me to process what has gone on/is going on in my day.

So, after ruminating for a while, the logical/sequential part of my brain has put together a chart about the effect of stress on my life/profession. (It took an entire week of spring break to get here… boy, much like drinking, I just don’t bounce back like I used to…) I’m probably throwing a bunch of analogies at the wall here… we’ll see if any stick.

The shape of the triangle represents the quantity of stress I have in my life (or the inverse proportion of how much time I have to just “think”). The larger the piece, the more stress I have. The descriptors (swimming analogies) are where I am in my life/job when I have that level of stress.

Many people talk about “just surviving” when times get tough in the land of teaching.

For me, that’s the bottom of the light (dare I say “grass”)  green box: treading water. I’m able to (sometimes barely) maintain order in my class, my life, and my curriculum. I’m (sometimes) able to correct things within a legitimate amount of time. I don’t plan ahead. I don’t improve my lessons. I’m just getting by. But, yes, I am alive, and yes, I am surviving.

Beneath that is a place that I’m sure we all have when we get to those stress levels. It’s probably coming dangerously close to the “big D Depression”. Those are the times when I’m glad that I’m dressed and in building. (One without the other constitutes a Fail, IMHO.) I’m a zombie all day and, honestly, I just hope to have a neutral effect (keeping it positive enough to just not be negative). I don’t like it when I go here, and I hate seeing it in other teachers as well… but I’ve seen it in quite a few others as terms and (sports/activities) seasons come to an end.

Moving up in the world, swimming is when life starts to get fun again. We swim along, we have some fun, we learn. Lessons get changed, activities are tried, Moodle is updated.

Stroke refinement (and movement in that direction) is when I can look at the broader spectrum: ask those essential questions, figure out those enduring understandings, plan for the whole instead of just the part. I get into the deepest depths of this calming blue in the summer. I really enjoy this time whenever it comes my way. It brushes my brain and my intellect in a way that revitalizes me.

So how can I stay out (and help others stay out of) of the reds and move into the calming greens and blues more often? (Much like a 90s mood ring.)

That, dear friends, is the question of the year.

How do you do it?

Does any of this even make sense? Maybe I need another week off.

Happy Spring Break!

Wordle Wonder

I’ve heard a lot about Wordle lately… and I do think it is beautiful… and I do think that people could do a lot of analysis about writing with it. It makes for possibly interesting discussions about theme and many other things… before even reading the text.

So I did a wordle from Barack’s speech in Berlin. Here it is:

It’s easy and fun to make… I’m betting it has a ton of implications and possibilities in the English classroom… thinking it might be fun here and there in the German classroom… perhaps when they are reading articles in the upper levels… do one of these first to find which words they should be sure that they know and understand in order to really “get the gist” of the article.

Here’s a quick example:

There was an article in the German news-machine, der Spiegel, about Obama’s Vice-President list.  Here is the link to the article: http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,568623,00.html

Taking the text and putting it into Wordle creates this:

“Wordle: Obama Vize-Praesident”

So students should be sure they know many of the names that are listed there as well as the German words (many of them cognates… but, dependent on the student, they could look at even some of the medium to small words to be sure they will be prepared for the reading that day). What a great way to start class… give them something to do as they wait for the bell to ring.

Any other ideas for Wordle use in the classroom?