Brave is Vulnerable

As mid July fades to late July, school stuff tends to be on the minds of many a teacher.  While some spend hours prepping their classroom and some pack their summer full of activities they never get to do during the year, sooner or later everyone will be thinking How should I start my year?  What do I need to do to get ready?  What do I want my students to learn from me from day one? And although I really want to write a detailed activity post later, I want to dedicate this post to a larger, more all-encompassing idea:  being brave.

You see, I read this post from Spanish Mama earlier this week and it really struck a chord.  She talks about many different ways that she wants to be brave:  in the classroom, with her children and with Spanish.  She even shared one of my all time favorite quotes:

Because those with accents speak at least one other language better. Think about it.

She caused me to reflect on the ways that I, as a teacher, should dare to be braver.  Ways I should lead by example.  Should set the tone in my classroom not in level of perfection, but in desire to learn.  So, I wanted to encourage YOU to do the same.  Spend time before the school year starts deciding how you are going to be brave in front of your students on a daily basis this year.  In my school we use the terms "growth mindset" and "life-long learner" a lot.  But how valuable are those words if we are not living them out?  Have you shown your students that you are learning something?  That would mean getting up in front of your class and potentially *gasp* making a mistake.  Looking foolish.  As teachers, we should be demonstrating to our students that sometimes being brave is being vulnerable. In language learning, in other classes, in relationships...in life!

Here are some ways to be vulnerable with your students:

• Tell a failure of a study abroad story.   Be specific.  Tell them a time you messed up pronunciation or couldn't remember a word.  Find a picture to go with it.  Don't skim over it:  tell them what you were feeling and how the situation was (or wasn't) resolved.  
• Start fresh with another language. Many Spanish teachers may be at a point where Spanish is second nature to them.  I know I had personally lost part of that frustration or "it's on tip of my tongue" problem...until I tried French. Or Turkish! *face palm*  Then I remembered my frustration very vividly.  Use Duolingo or another tool to try a language you are completely unfamiliar with and then relate it to the issues they are having in your class the first few weeks.  Share with them a few sentences you are learning to say and the phrases that you can never remember.  Tell them how long you're practicing and what your goals are. (You can read how I incorporated Duolingo into a lesson here!)
• Demonstrate a hobby that has nothing to do with your class. Bring in your clarinet or put your hand-lettered canvas under the document camera.  Tell your students how long you have been practicing and show them some before and after evidence of your progress.
• Challenge yourself to really USE your Spanish once a week and report to the class.  I have known many Spanish teachers who are so skilled in the classroom and their level of content, but don't have the time or intent to use their language outside of their school.  Call a friend, go to a local restaurant or volunteer to translate somewhere.  Whatever makes you a little uncomfortable to commit to because you might mess up or it doesn't suit your personality...do it. Then tell your students details of how it goes each time. That's being vulnerable. That's being brave.  

This Pinterest board might come in handy as you push yourself and your students towards braver steps this year.  Maybe you could print one out each week and put it at the front of the class to initiate a class discussion about your individual bravery goals.   

And perhaps the ultimate leap of vulnerability  for a Spanish teacher is the commitment to daily teaching Spanish in Spanish.  Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell posted a really though-provoking article about her position on how much target language should be used in classroom and when/how.  It is definitely worth a read (or two!) as we approach the school year.  It will shake up some of your preconceptions (it did mine!)  I am still working on my position statement and I truly think we all should be.  May we see our role as teacher as a platform from which we can (and MUST) model life-long learning by being bravely vulnerable.

Original pin here.

P.s. The title graphic at the top is one of my favorite examples of being vulnerable.  The girl with her back to us and the girl we can't quite see are two of the students that traveled with me to Spain earlier this summer.  This is a picture of them in El Mercado de San Miguel, Madrid striking up conversation with a woman who was shopping there to ask her questions about why she comes to the market and what her life story is.  Pretty BIG conversation to strike up out of nowhere.  No teacher waiting to help.  No manual on how to go about it.  Just two girls on their first day of language immersion learning being brave by being vulnerable.  And they got an AWESOME story out of it.

World Language Week: Polyglots (and what they can teach us!)

Today is the FINAL day of the week set aside to celebrate World Languages. I hope you have sparked some enthusiasm in your students, your coworkers and throughout your sphere of influence:  Languages ARE influence.  Languages are power.  Languages are connections and communication and change.

Here is my last suggestion for celebrating languages (yes, MORE than just Spanish) in your classroom:

Introduce your students to the AMAZING reality of polyglots!

If you hadn't heard the term before, polyglots are individuals that can communicate in multiple languages (often used to describe people who know more than SIX).  In the most incredible cases, these individuals know more than 12 and are called hyperpolyglots.  Yeah, #mindblown.

This can be a really fascinating discovery for your students that value competition, records, trivia and hold themselves to high expectations or like to be known for something they can do that no one else can (um, hello every middle school student ever).  Here are some fun resources you can use to wow your students with the perfect representative for this week of celebration:  The Polyglot.

• This article gives basic information on what a polyglot and hyperpolyglot really is, as well as lists some amazing, living examples.
• This blog post includes 5 mini-interviews with polyglots where they share language learning myths, their favorite technique to learn a new language and things they wish they would have known when they started their journey.
• Tim Doner began teaching himself languages when he was 13!  Here is a video in which he demonstrates many different languages, and here is a Ted-Talk where he discusses the issues in our school system when it comes to language education and gives us many ideas of how to improve it:

• And this final video is of a young boy,Ravi, from India who uses an AMAZING amount of languages to sell things on the street. Genius.

I love the intrigue that discussing individuals such as polyglots bring to our class.  It's amazing! It astounds us!  We immediately think of how difficult just one or two languages has been for us, and we think How in the world did they do it?!  This is a great place for your language learners to be:  curious, motivated, and challenged.

How did you celebrate this week?  Please reach out and tell me; I would love to hear from you!

E3Technology Conference: My Reflections (Day 2)

After a wonderful first day of learning about incorporating technology in education, I was looking incredibly forward to Day 2!

We began by listening to our keynote speaker, Shannon Miller.  As a teacher librarian, Shannon has had so many interactions with so many different students...and in one way or another she has equipped each of them to go after even their craziest dreams.  She had branded their school library "The Voice" because she kept reiterating how important it was for students to share their stories with their own personal voice.  I loved that the students in her building truly embraced that motto!  She showed us countless pictures, videos and news articles of students taking ownership of their education and making something unbelievable happen. One of my favorite stories she told was of a a student who showed great promise as a writer.  Shannon reached out to friends on social media and asked how to get this young lady in touch with a publisher.  Now, this girl spends lunch time skyping with her editor and publisher in New York City to discuss her four novels-in-progress. Thanks to Shannon I desired to dream bigger.

I then headed to what I knew would be a wonderful session by a Andy Streit.  He has earned the reputation in our district for his work with reinventing his curriculum in his 20th year of teaching to incorporate the corporation's move to 1:1 and becoming nearly entirely paperless in that time.  Obviously, he would be an ideal person to lead a session on Essential Apps for the 1:1 Classroom!  And, we were not disappointed.  Check out everything he taught us about here.  My favorite apps he demonstrated were Nearpod & Reflector (more to come on their uses later!).  Andy used the perfect blend of TONS of information but at a pace that allowed questions, real examples from the classroom and even some experimentation time.  Thanks to Andy I desired to dive in with less trepidation.

At lunch I had the pleasure of becoming more acquainted with two of the new teachers hired at my beloved Lakeview.  It was so encouraging to see experienced teachers already mentoring them, and also to see brand new teachers with the desire to learn, try new things and ask questions.  Lakeview is undergoing a ton of huge changes this year (new principal, 1:1 for the first time, over 10 new teachers hired, etc) but I am so confident that our students are in great hands!

After lunch, I learned how to make Excel my BFF with Amy Mencarelli.  Amy is the perfect person to teach me something intimidating like Excel.  She is upbeat, she is relaxed and informal, and she is incredibly knowledgeable.  That, mixed with a group of teachers who asked great questions, lent itself to a lot of applicable tips and shortcuts that I had never known before when using Excel. She showed me things like how to format multiple sheets at the same time (hello MUCH faster Cross Country Season Records!) and also how to concatenate (WHAT?! Excel is a genius robot!).  My mind also really benefited from big picture things ("Think of Excel as a much smarter calculator").  Thanks to Amy, I desired to be more efficient in the little things. 

The last session of Day 2 was my last presentation.  I had the honor of teaching 12 educators about the "Vast World of Twitter Chats."  You can read about the first Twitter Chat I helped to create, or some helpful resources I have found on Twitter as a teacher, as well as what my presentation description was at E3tech. We worked under the assumption that these educators were already on Twitter and knew the basics, but didn't feel like they were truly tapping into the resources others spoke of.  So, I taught them the basic "how-tos" of Twitter chatting as well as some of the best education chats out there to date.  But the last half of my presentation tried to focus on how student directed education Twitter chats are still few and far between.  I challenged them to think of how student learning in their content could be amplified with regular Twitter chats like #spanstuchat or #scistuchat.  I really hope that some of the teachers in that room experiment with reaching students via Twitter chats...I think they have huge potential! The Haiku Deck I used is here, as well as the Smore flyer I sent around with additional notes and links if you would like to look over exactly what we discussed.  Below, I included the mock Twitter chat we participated in during our session. You'll definitely want to follow these new "Tweachers"!

#e3tchat Tweets 

And once again, no prizes won for this Maestra :( BUT I left with a huge smile on my face due to all the transforming conversations that were had and the electric encouragement that is spread when so many inspiring educators are in the same place.

(This professional development opportunity brought to you by the Indiana Department of Education's Summer of eLearning.) *Applause*

E3Technology Conference: My Reflections (Day 1)

What a wonderful two days of learning we have had!  Every year this conference gets me energized and inspired to make differences in the lives of students by thinking outside the box.  And this year, although I am for the first time not preparing to welcome students into my Spanish class in the next two weeks, was no different!  We heard incredible stories, made unbelievable connections and drank in TONS of new possibilities.

Let's all take a moment to thank Indiana eLearning for this opportunity.  *Applause*

Day One:

As our first keynote speaker, Todd Nesloney blew our minds with each story he told of how "students stop having limitations when we as teachers stop creating them."  He challenged us to hold students to extremely high expectations.  But something I heard repeated throughout his stories was the idea that we as teachers must hold ourselves to that same high level of expectation.  Not in that our classrooms have to be perfect and all our papers have to be graded on time, but in that our students deserve our best effort everyday to blow THEIR minds.  The part of his keynote that stuck out to me the most was how he opened:  with a picture of children in mid-lurch at the start of an Easter egg hunt, with excitement flashing through their blurry movements. He posed this poignant question that really got to me:  "How is it that children have such natural awe and wonder at things and yet often those same children, by the time they sit in our desks, have somehow lost that?"  Thanks to Todd I desired to be more engaging.

Then, I had the privilege of presenting what I have done in my classroom with EDpuzzle in a small breakout session.  You can read my first experiences here, or read what my session description was here.  I was so thankful for the 18 educators who came to learn about this video editing tool and how they might be able to use it to enhance student learning.  If you want to learn more about what we discussed, my Emaze Presentation is here as well as my Smore flyer with additional links and notes.  Here are the thoughts and comments we exchanged on Twitter about my presentation:

#e3edpuzzle Tweets

Next, we had a delicious Panera lunch as we enjoyed further conversations with educators and companies we made connections with earlier that morning.

Two more sessions we available in the afternoon.  I chose to see some of my former colleagues present (Dr. Chris Boyd & Mrs. Val Weinstein) about engaging apps to use in the secondary classroom.  These two ladies have a reputation in our school for experimenting with new things, learning quickly and utilizing innovative technology for student learning in ways the rest of us only dream of.  I knew I couldn't miss their session!  Thanks to them, I learned about ThingLink, Pocket, and many others.  Check out their presentation here! My mind reeled with the many ways these apps could have positively affected student learning in my classes the past three years.  Thanks to Chris and Val I desired to venture outside my comfort zone to find new answers to recurring problems.

My last session of the day was spent learning from Justin Weaver about the best ways to go about blogging and using social media to advertise your school or classroom.  He even taught us some best practices of photography (which I am clueless about!).  Many times these conversations are a little over my head, and although I didn't get everything that was being discussed, I definitely benefited from tips that were mentioned (for example, how to interpret stats from your blog, some design suggestions, options for featuring student work, etc).  Thanks to Justin I desired to be more intentional with my blog.

Great prizes were raffled away to finish up Day One, including a Chromebook, an iPad mini and a 3D likeness of yourself thanks to the 3D printer everyone was excited about.  I'm decidedly NOT a lucky person when it comes to these types of things, but it was awesome to see area teachers get incredible things they could use in their classes or for themselves.

I left PUMPED to see what Day Two had to offer!  I also left so encouraged and thankful for the school corporation we live in where the educators that impact students in our area are so motivated to be their best. Have I mentioned that this place is my dream job?! :)

My Confession...and Resolution

I guess I have to come clean:  for much of my adult life, I have been a thief.

Probably much of my student life, too, if I'm being honest.

In the name of full disclosure, my stealing was as a result of laziness, not intention.  But, still.  Even just this summer I was regularly in the practice of using images made by someone else and never never NEVER giving credit.  My mind reels to the dozens upon dozens of PowerPoint presentations I have made teaching, the brochures and marketing that I did for our trip to Peru, the countless handouts and worksheets that I have tried to "spice up", and the hours upon hours that I have spent Tweeting or reTweeting something I liked.

So.
Many.
Images.
Used.
"Borrowed."
Stolen.
And no concern whatsoever for citing their origin.

Perhaps that lack of concern is rooted in the fact that I assume everyone feels as I feel.  I have a laid back personality in this respect.  I couldn't care less if someone knew my name or not.  I despise being the center of attention.  I can't think of a scenario where I would demand credit for anything.  Most of the time, I do my best to push credit (even deserved credit in some instances) to others.  I've always found humility to be an attractive quality.

And then Twitter rocked my world in SO. MANY. WAYS.

Recently I over-read (oversaw? eavesdropped? stalked?) a conversation I found to be rude and ridiculous.  Five or six people were ganging up on one individual who had tweeted an image without citing who created it.  They attacked like a flock of vultures who saw an opportunity to pick their prey apart.  Did they have a valid concern?  Probably.  But it's hard for me to hear anything you are saying when you are obnoxiously rude and petty about it.  My empathy is for the other person and you become the bad guy instantaneously.  And then one apparent-vulture-lady Tweeted something to the same effect as the vultures, but with all the emotion removed and just the facts stated objectively. Not vulture-like after all.

@justintarte @stumpteacher @surreallyno Need 2 note it's not yours. Don't share w/o making effort 2 track it down 1st. #digitalcitizenship

— Mirna Jope (@MadameMoodle) July 20, 2015

Their words specifically caught my attention because Justin was Tweeting exactly what I had done/felt before.  I never claimed to create this.  What is the big deal?  Isn't it assumed that everyone "Google Images" what they need and comes up with something they didn't create?  Mirna was Tweeting something so black and white, something I would tell students, and something I myself was not doing. Ouch.  As I searched for more #digitalcitizenship Tweets, I came across this one:

Such a great point! If we don't model, how can we expect Ss to follow #digitalcitizenship #leadbyexample #FPSteach https://t.co/eUpIzGkCe4

— knives chau (@iwearthecrowns) July 7, 2015

OUCH. (Have I said that in this post yet?!)
How can I create projects where I require students to cite their sources if I'm not bothering to cite mine?  How can I expect the librarian to co-teach with me for 2 days to correctly explain the difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing when the remaining 178 days I undermine what she just taught?  How can I continue doing what I've been absentmindedly doing for the past 5 years if I want to improve in so many other areas?

I think the big "AHA!" moment came when one of my blog posts about "Tweachers" really took off.  I mean, "took off" for me.  I posted resources for teachers found on Twitter and all of the sudden some of my educational role models were posting my link on Twitter!  Before I knew it, people I didn't even know were linking my blog post in articles they publish weekly.  For those of you who have largely successful blogs, just pretend you remember what it felt like when you were first getting noticed :)  It. felt. good.  I liked seeing my name next to work that I had put effort into.  I liked getting credit.  I liked people knowing my name because of my work.

Wait, WHAT?!

And all of the sudden, it clicked.  All of the individuals out there who have created visuals, photographed incredible scenes, and come up with ideas better than mine deserve credit for their accomplishments. And that doesn't make them self-centered or rude or demanding.  They don't even have to care about it, to be honest.  It is my responsibility as a professional and as a respectful human being to make whatever effort necessary to give others rightful credit.  In word or in deed.   And I'll be honest, I have very little clue of where to start.

Here are the links I am currently searching to find out more about how to be a more responsible digital citizen and how to teach students about digital citizenship as well.  With more and more schools moving to 1:1, I am realizing how pertinent the need for teachers educated on this topic and actively modeling this topic truly is.  So, feel free to browse along with me if you find yourself in the same boat as I am:

1. Curating vs. Stealing
2. Why Digital Citizenship Should be on the Minds of Educators
3. 6 Resources for Educators
4. Teacher's Guide to Digital Citizenship

My "next step" for the moment is to read through these articles (and more!) for future change, but also change in small ways immediately.  Recently, I have begun just tweeting someone and asking/checking if I have their permission to link something to my blog, Smore eflyer or even in a presentation in advance.  They always say yes, but some do specify "please give credit."  Which I no longer think is self-seeking, but rather a legitimate concern.

I should include that Justin (the man I mentioned who was attacked by vultures?) corrected his mistake for all to see.  I was pretty impressed that someone with his platform for influence would admit an error and post the correction publicly, even when that correction came because of vultures.  And the kind not-vulture lady?  She kept being kind :)

@justintarte @betamiller Thanks for fixing it, Justin.

— Mirna Jope (@MadameMoodle) July 20, 2015

What Kind of a Teacher are You?

I loved this challenge to reflect posted by Laura Sexton on her blog.  I wanted to define my teaching styles and influences in a concrete way, and I thought this was a great way to do so.

1. I am a good teacher because:  I am a good learner.  I am curious.  I hate to be stagnant.  I revise, reflect and revise again.
2. If I weren't a teacher I would be: A full time student. Probably getting my master's at a university abroad and never wanting to come back. 
3. My teaching style is: Relationship-oriented.  My classroom management, my report, everything is centered on how well I get to know my students and how much they trust me.
4. My classroom is: MESSY.  Blue walls, travel maps and pictures, papel picado, magnet manipulatives, student work, library books and magazine...learning is messy.  And I'm unorganized.
5. My lesson plans are: In an adorable polka dot planner.  I write/plan in that over the weekends and then I transfer them to a large calendar at the front of my room and a day-by-day agenda on the marker board. Each night, I also update my Teacher Webpage.
6. One of my teaching goals is: To grow our program to reach our elementary schools.  I want to show and convince our community how vital language learning is even BEFORE kindergarten, but especially in the primary years.  I hope I get to see the program trickle down to all grade levels. 
7. The toughest part of teaching is:  imposing things on students that I do not personally agree with. When I know something negatively affects them or their learning of Spanish, it is hard for me to put any amount of effort into it.  I know there will always be things that we must do simply because we must do them, but for me rationale behind the duty is everything.  If it is not there, I can rarely fake it.
8. The thing I love most about teaching is: character development.  Helping students to become better people, not just better language learners. 
9. A common misconception about teaching is: that one should teach the way that one was taught. Times are changing. Students are changing. We must change, or become irrelevant. 
10. The most important thing I've learned since I started teaching is: I know much less Spanish than I thought I did. I have not "arrived." I am not "accomplished." I continually have a long way to go, I just happen to be helping others come with me.

I would LOVE to hear your answers.  Share them with us!

#Teach2Teach: Q2: Politics

How do you stay inspired and not get bogged down by the politics of teaching?

Especially recently, this is a very tricky thing for me to do.

This past year our school was given a "D" by the state.  It felt like a punch to the stomach for a school that had been part of a corporation of "A" schools for the previous two years.

I know I must be biased, but my current school is the absolute best building of administrators, and teachers that I have ever been a part of.  Creative, passionate, talented adults truly looking out for students and challenging them to be their best.  All the parts of education I have always longed to be a part of, and none of the stuff I hate.  The despair and discouragement that rippled from this injustice was a knife to the heart.

So, this year, the politics of teaching have taken a front seat, I hate to admit.  Our school has been forced to make decisions that don't put students first.  Our administration has been backed into a corner and our teachers have been pushed to their breaking points.  Inspiration has felt sparse at times.

BUT.  There are still gems of individuals who say the right things at the right times and burst through all that negativity to remind me what is most important:  the relationships we build with students.

If there is one sure fired way to stay inspired and not get bogged down by the politics of teaching it is this:  invest into the souls that are in your classroom each day.  When it seems easy to feel burdened, stressed and overworked by things that are out of your control focus your energy on asking questions of your students. Not "Did you get your homework done?" or "Are you ready for the test?"but rather "What are you looking forward to this week?" and "What inspires you?"  Use your life experiences and perspective to shed light on their emotional disasters and challenge their black-and-white thinking.  Present them with more than assignments.  Present them with challenges and opportunities.  Push the pause button on the all-consuming conversation of standardized testing and offer a handshake and a personal greeting to the shells of people walking through your door.  Refuse to accept the answer "fine" when you ask how Juan is doing today.  Take notice when Melissa can't stay awake at the back of the room.  Congratulate Mitch on winning the geography bee last night.  Double check with Ellie when you notice a pattern of nurse visits right before quizzes.  Channel the energy typically put into teacher's lounge gossip and pointless complaints into how to better relate to and connect with your students.

The politics of teaching could leave me feeling inadequate, undervalued, ignored or stifled.  But the faces staring up at me from my desks beg for more than my wounded ego and victim mentality.  They deserve my fullest attention and energy for the moments that I stand in front of them.

Choose to matter.

#Teach2Teach Q1: The Balance

How do you balance the workload between teaching and planning? 

This is a question that I have grappled with every week since I began teaching.  There are thousands upon thousands of new, great, creative and inspiring ideas out there...and I, for one, have been known to spend hours upon hours just pondering the philosophy of what I do in my classroom and why.  But, when the bell rings and the students file in, at some point I am going to have to actually teach, explain, and model all these fantastic thoughts.  And, if I'm not careful, my passion for deep thoughts will impede my effectiveness as a teacher.

I hate that last sentence.  But it has been true at different times in my career.

So, here is my best advice for anyone embarking on this intimidating adventure of education:  prioritize.  You cannot do it all today.  You cannot do it all this week.  But you can do it all (to some degree) this year if you prioritize your goals.  Easier said than done, for sure. If I'm being honest, the following tips are best case scenarios for me...they don't always happen.  However, they have become vital to me this year in particular as I try to manage time with my 5 month old and time at school.  So, take everything with a grain of salt and fit it to your style, but if you're like me this might help you balance your enormous "To-Do" list:

1. In one sitting, plan out an entire "unit" (chapter of a textbook, project, etc).   As any good education major knows, start with the end in mind.  Focus on 3-5 objectives that are vital to your students' success.  Look at a calendar and vaguely map out how long you want to spend on each topic.  If you're new to teaching, this might be a MESS at first.  Just jot it down, even if it changes daily, to give yourself a timeline to work from.  I write down what formative assessments I think I'll need along the way (not specifics, just where I think I'll want to quiz) to give myself some short-term goals.  If I have any specific activities already in mind, I write those down too, but I don't spend time "lesson planning" per say.  Just over-arching themes here.  This is normally a Saturday or an evening a couple of days before I begin a unit.

Calendar in my classroom for student use.

2.  Now focus on step-by-step lessons for one day at a time. I know not everyone has to do this to be a good teacher, but I definitely did at the beginning (and still do when coming back from summer break, Christmas break, etc until I'm used to it again).  Using the general timeline you made for the whole unit, look at the activities you want to do on the first day.  I usually split mine up into a "Para Empezar", a few activities as a class and a "Tarea/Salida".  I go into school, sit at my desk, and open all my files and cabinets for this step.  I make my copies for the week.  I post as many details as possible on my Teacher Webpage.  Rarely do we get to everything I've planned for a day, so as I look at specific details for Day 2, I adjust.  When I first started teaching, this was something I did literally the night before a lesson.  Now, I can do most of my detail planning on Saturdays for the following week.  The more detailed I get at this step, the easier everything goes on the day of the lesson.

3.  Mentally plan to spend 1 evening a week at school. When I say evening, I mean an additional 2 hours after school.  I advertise to my students that on Thursdays from 3-4 I am theirs.  They can study with me, ask questions, make up assessments, work ahead...whatever they need.  Then, I usually stay until 5 working on my own organizational nightmares.  When I first started teaching, this was every night of every week until 6 or 7...or 10pm.  I simply cannot commit to that anymore, so I make stringent limits for myself.  This is not planning time; it is essentially additional teaching.

Baby Girl comes to Momma's study sessions.

Students at study session after school.

4.  Grade immediately. My policy has become that if I cannot grade it and get it back to them the next day, it is not worth assigning.  My first year, I was the teacher who put stacks of worksheets in a random desk drawer and ended up throwing them away the day before grades were due out of total frustration.  I've learned now that feedback must be immediate and consistent in order for it to affect learning.  So, when baby girl goes to sleep, Momma gets out a stack of exit tickets or quizzes and grades while she watches old Tonight Show episodes online.

First year frustration:  Why did I assign this nonsense?!

5.  Dream!  After you have mapped out your unit, zoomed in on what you will do tomorrow, set aside time for students, and graded what you've assigned..now you can change the world!  Or, at least, this is what I tell myself.  It's like a reward system:  if I've done the tedious items above, I will allow myself to #langchat, to read up on blogs (Maris Hawkins, Amy Lenord, Sr. Howard, yeah, I'm looking at you!), fantasize about future field trips and delve into what practices I've let slip into my routine that are not aimed at proficiency.  If I do not let myself get to this step, I wither away.  If I let myself start here, I'm about in tears by 2nd period because nothing seems to be going right.

Field trip to La Carniceria!!

As I look over what I've written, I'm amazed by how crazy it looks. But, it is honest.  I force myself to plan the little things (what I assume most people see as teaching) and reward myself by planning the big things (the things I LOVE to incorporate, but the things that are sometimes too huge to tackle everyday).  To teach, you must define what is most important for your students and put that first.  To teach effectively, happily, and for many years, you MUST define what energizes you and purposefully put doses of that into your life as well.  

Year Three.

My goal has always been to improve.  To better myself and what is around me.  To put forth all my energy and all my ability and to come out on the other side more efficient, more creative, or more than what I was at the start.

My first year of teaching was a whirlwind.  An organizational nightmare.  A failure, in many regards.  An experience that any goal-oriented person would have to choose to see as simply a starting point.

My second year of teaching was a step in the right direction.  A fresh perspective.  A renewed source of energy.  An improvement.

And now, year three, I'd like to think that improvement is being accelerated even more.  This year will be defined by huge changes (expanding department, maternity leave, etc) and hopefully huge progress.  This blog is one way I hope to propel myself to continue to think of new and better approaches to teaching middle school students about the beauty and importance of learning languages.  So look around, borrow, share...and enjoy!