The Cornerstone Accolades: January 2009

Welcome to a new monthly feature at The Cornerstone Blog!

As regular readers know, I'm a big fan of Google Reader and highly recommend it as the most efficient way to keep up with blogs. One of the best features is that you can ensure you're viewing only new content by having gReader mark each post as read when you scroll past it.

This leads to a certain dilemma: there are many posts that I feel sad to mark as read and let disappear, but I'm not sure what else to do with them. So I thought, why not dedicate one post per month to the reads that really made an impact on me?

I'm not a fan of the whole blog awards concept because most of them function more like chain mail than any meaningful commentary on the quality of a blog. That's why I chose the term accolades: a strong recognition of achievement, awarded to bloggers for individual posts that were thoughtfully presented and made a lasting impression. In teacher terms, I'm giving specific positive reinforcement (I loved this particular post because...), rather than general praise (great blog).

These are the ruminations which challenged me throughout the month in their unpretentiousness and transparency, or caused me to marvel at their ingenuity and wit. I typically skim through blogs looking for the meat, but I read every single word of these posts. Some were so out of my league that I didn't even comment on them: all I can do is recommend them so you can come up with intelligent replies.

The bloggers featured here should feel free to post the above image or mention the accolade on their sites if they're into awards, compliments, or just shameless self-promotion. I would be honored if they did so. The rest of you, please enjoy this list of what I consider fantastic reading.

Most Inspirational Thought for Teachers in the New Year:
Clean Slate from Classless and Lovin' It. A perfectly chosen photo and verse are all it takes.

Best Reflection on the Inauguration Experience:
4 Years by Organized Chaos. She compares her experience at W's inauguration with what happened at Obama's. A DC resident (God bless her, I know from experience that life in Chocolate City is NOT what they show on TV), she reminisces on how the city--and her own life--have changed since 2005. Beautiful.

Best Advice to Parents:
Response to Frustrated Mom from The Bus Driver: An excellent guide for parents on how to reform their kids who constantly get kicked off the school bus. I wish every bus driver was this caring and knowledgeable.

Best Post on Teacher Accountability:
Teaching: Job? Profession? Career? from Miss Bennett in the Bay. Written by a Teach For America alum, this post is an eloquent yet down-to-earth reflection on the standards that are in place for educators, and those that need to be.

Satire of the Month:
Mr. Bloomberg Addresses Class Size by NYC Educator. Frighteningly believable, this piece of work had many fooled. Kudos.

Introspective Reflection of the Month:
Pride and Prejudice by Mildly Melancholy. The author was recently forced to resign from her position, and reflects on various people's perceptions of and reactions to this news. She touches on the question of whether a teacher could be good in one school and bad in another (a subject worthy of further debate, I believe). Thanks for sharing so honestly.

Cartoon of the Month:
I saw this funny-because-it's-true cartoon first on ChiTown Girl's site. What a perfect find!
Best Post on Reading Instruction:
Reading Wars: Content vs. Strategies by Joanne Jacobs. Concise and powerful. I'm embarrassed to admit how little thought I previously put into this topic.

Question of the Month:
How Would You Teach If You Could Teach Any Way You Wanted? by The Elementary Educator. The scenario posed is an engaging one, and the comments are insightful.

Classroom Activity of the Month:


Have a Vocabulary Parade! by Living the Life of an Educator. This is a wonderful idea for vocab development, and sounds like a lot of fun! Great pics, too.









Best Posts About Blogging:
Why Blogging is Hard...Still by Weblogg-Ed. A transparent reflection on the art and risk of publishing a blog from an amazing man who's reached 3,000 (quality) posts. Another of his recent posts, Deechoing My Reading Practice...Help Wanted focuses on the almost-as-daunting challenge of reading blogs, with some pretty revolutionary techniques for managing online reading.

Most Politically Incorrect Post:
To Stop Kids From Whining, Treat Them Like Dogs by Principal's Office. The Principal's hit on an uncomfortable parallel between teaching children and teaching canines how to behave. I agree whole-heartedly, as you'll discover in my comment on the post.

Most Insightful Reflection on Technology:
I Don't Want to Integrate It, I Want to Embed It! by The Thinking Stick. This short and sweet post cuts right to the chase about how we're approaching technology in the classroom, and what changes need to be made.

Most Practical Post on The Technology Gap:
Helping Teachers Embrace Technology by Betty's Blog. In the wake of all the EduCon tweets and posts, Betty (who didn't attend the conference) offers what I consider to be the most helpful suggestion for seeing REAL change in the way non-tech-savvy people teach. Betty puts out a call to tech-lovers: Come alongside the slow adapters as a patient friend. If each one of us tech-savvy teachers did this, our schools would be a different place, indeed.

The blog accolade categories will change each month and are based entirely on the beautiful thoughts and amazing ideas you all post in the edublogosphere. Thanks to each and every one of you on my blogroll (and the new folks I met who haven't been added yet): please keep writing. Your words mean more than you know.

Picture Mail I Dream of Sending

My fiancee's sister is a long-time IEP teacher in the Bronx, and boy did we have a good time exchanging stories over the winter break. She mentioned that she uses her cell phone to take photos of kids misbehaving and sends them to parents via Picture Mail. With her particular demographic, this works exceedingly well: parents get instant notification (and proof) of what their little darlings did, and the students live in constant fear of their bad behavior being indisputably immortalized for all time. Used with proper judgment (and written permission) this could be an excellent behavior management tool.

Of course, it's much more fun to imagine the INAPPROPRIATE use of Picture Mail. Oh, the possibilities are endless for classroom teachers of every grade level...



To the parent of the kid in the background:
Your kid is a bully. See what I go through everyday at recess?


To the parent of the kid in the foreground:
This is your child every time he doesn't get his way, AKA pretty much all day long.










Told you she didn't know the answers to those test questions. That "F"? Totally justified. Boo-yah!










Johnny spent fifteen minutes crawling under his desk. "I'm tying my shoe," he says. Playing Nintendo DS, I say.









Assignment: Page 293, #1-25.
Time Frame: Forty-five minutes.
Your child's accomplishment: Pictured.












That time I caught your son fondling the Cabbage Patch Kid in the dramatic play area wasn't just an isolated incident...











This was your daughter's response when I asked her to redo a problem she answered incorrectly. Or maybe this was taken after I asked her to get out a pencil. Or maybe when I asked her to stop talking. I'll have to check the time stamp.






I've saved this pic to my phone. I'll be resending it to you EVERY. DAY. Or at least on the days that your kid bothers to show up to class.








No, this isn't a photo of your son. This boy lives in Haiti. Which begs the question: What's YOUR kid's excuse for not wearing a belt?

Twitter sucks, apparently.

Not ONE of you blog readers took advantage of the opportunity to pimp your Twitter username and gain more followers.*

Not ONE of you Yahoo Group members did, either, when I made my request a week ago.

And, not ONE of my real-life friends and family members are on Twitter. (My mom called after reading my blog. "Okay, so what's the purpose of this Twitting stuff?". She dozed off after my vague and repeated use of terms such as networking and driving blog traffic.**)

So that's over 500 SUBSCRIBERS (not to mention the hundreds of random blog visitors and folks I actually see in person) who neglected to share a Twitter username here, on their own blogs, or anywhere, for that matter.

The only logical conclusion: Twitter may be gaining 5,000-10,000 new users daily, but none of them know ME.

Either Twitter is going to be a complete waste of time because no one of importance is on it yet...or it's going to be life-changing because every single one of the people I'm conversing with is currently outside my current circle of reach. Each of the millions of Twitterers I could "meet" will be a person outside the familiar realm...a person I would have otherwise never had contact with...a new being with whom I can exchange brilliant ideas.

Kind of exciting.

Now if you'll pardon me, I'm going to check my TweetDeck to find out what a total stranger's cat just barfed up. Surely that's the best use of my time.

*Other than someone who I was already aware of on Twitter (yay, Cardiogirl!) and one person who informed me that he joined but doesn't use it (thanks for nothing, Wow, That Was Awkward). And note: Neither of these bloggers are educators.

**But not before retorting, "Wow, Twitter only lets you use 140 characters per post? That's going to be REALLY hard for you, Ms. Wordy!". Precisely why Twitter is such a great writing exercise. Right? Right?

From the Mailbag: How To Motivate Teachers

I regularly receive emails asking for help with various teacher problems, particularly those related to my favorite topic, classroom management. Usually I can provide helpful information, and if I can't, I direct the person to The Cornerstone yGroup,where the question can be posted to hundreds of other teachers who have better ideas than I do.

This particular email, however, stumped me. I got the author's permission to share it here so that my fabulous readers can offer some advice:

I am the principal of a small rural school. I was an aide for 7 years. I taught for 5. I was an assistant principal for 1. Now I landed "the big job."

How do I motivate my staff? I have always been a "bootstrap" and "hours" kind of guy. Lace 'em up and work as long as it takes! But not everyone I work with shares my values. I feel like some are going about 50%. What aspects of administration motivate you to "go above and beyond"?

Any good suggestions?

I deeply admire any new administrator who cares enough about his staff to pose this question, and I think this guy deserves some sincere responses.

I happen to have worked for The World's Worst Principal (oh, the stories I could tell if I never wanted to work again) as well as a bunch of eh-schmehs that are basically forgettable. They pretty much did the opposite of everything I'm about to mention, or they flip-flopped back and forth in a schizophrenic way that made me afraid to breathe wrong. At the moment, I have an absolutely amazing principal, so I can share some tips that actually do create a positive school climate and keep teacher morale generally high. (Yes, it's possible. I never thought so, either.)

* Smile frequently and genuinely. * Ask how your staff is doing, and listen to the answers you get. * Share information about your personal life, but don't overshare. * Hold meetings only when absolutely necessary. * Create an atmosphere of trust through small gestures, and never make it seem like you're trying to catch your staff doing something wrong. * Compliment your teachers in writing after a classroom walk-through and in public as often as possible. * ALWAYS have your teacher's back when a parent makes a complaint. Reprimand the teacher privately if needed, but create a united front to outsiders. * Take on some of the district's demands yourself, rather than hoisting them all on teachers. *Don't create additional paperwork. *Make "a trip to the principal's office" something to fear for unruly children, and non-threatening for teachers (not the other way around).

The majority of you really dislike your principals and assistant principals. (I know, I read your blogs and comments.) So here's your chance to sound off: What do you wish administrators knew about motivating teachers? How could a principal entice--or better yet--inspire you to go the extra mile? What does your administration do (or fail to do) in order to create buy-in and give staff ownership over the school?

YOUR principal may not care what you think. But this guy does, so let's show some love. And the revolution begins!

Why I Don't Twitter (Except When I Do)

I love technology, but I'm not an early adapter. I prefer to wait for the kinks to get worked out and see what's (really) useful for other people. Twitter's been around for awhile, but isn't ubiquitous yet, so I'm apprehensive.

I wrote a post in October called "Why I Don't Twitter", but I didn't publish because I was still trying to draw some definite conclusions. Here's what I wrote:

Tonight, I felt the urge to Tweet for the first time. My fiancee, who is a professional musician in Williamsburg (that's Brooklyn, not Colonial, as SITC fans will appreciate) was playing at a gig in the Bowery in Manhattan. My tweet thought: Went to a gathering tonight which I initially assumed was a costume party, until I realized everyone was just that tragically hip. I can haz top hat with circa-1940 beaded lace?

There. Now that you know, is your life any better? Or for that matter, worse? My fake twittering was utterly inconsequential.

Decrying the micro-blog as pointless is dangerous territory. After all, not every blog entry I post is consequential enough for me to be all high and mighty (although in fairness, that Rihanna post was my deliberate backlash against Twitter. Why go hi-tech when you can scrawl something on a post-it note?).

But regardless of depth and quality, the blog posts are there. Still. They're part of a package of entertainment, a collection of thoughts that I've carefully put together as a representation of the person I want to share with the world. Why not take the time to craft my ideas into a thoughtful blog entry, to be indexed by Google and accessible for all conceivable time? If it's worth sending into the internetz, isn't it worth preserving? And if it's not, why share?

I don't want to fall prey to the 21st century western presumption that every thought that comes into my mind is worth sharing with the world.

In high school, I had a pager. If someone wanted to tell me something, they had better figure out how to do it in ten digits or less (the most expressive number we had was 70793739, which spelled I love you upside down). I'd go to the mall with a friend, and tell HER everything I was thinking, because she was with me. If I needed to share with someone else, I waited till I got home and called them. It turned out most of my thoughts weren't that important, because I forgot about them between the Gap and my waterbed. Life was good.

Neither do I need to burden myself with the thoughts, problems, and opinions of everyone else who has access to the internet. There's something to be said for a low-information diet. So you found a great website and you twitter it. Will the quality of my life be measurably enhanced by that link? 99% of the time, no.

I'm a teacher and a writer. Of course I value the exchange of knowledge, and I always put myself out there in search of that 1% of life-changing information. But I have to set limits for myself, and right now, micro-blogging is where I draw the line.

That was my perspective in November. Since that time, several people have inadvertently won me over to Twitter's side. The first was JMoney, who displays tweets on her blog. I thought to myself, now there's a woman who knows how to effectively tweet short, witty, random thoughts: there must be more like her, and I don't want to miss out on the pithiness. I signed up reluctantly and posted my first Tweet: I can't believe I joined Twitter. This is going to create a ridiculous distraction from doing anything productive. Crap.

That was all I micro-blogged for two months. I finally bought fully into the concept this weekend after reading a bunch of articles on how Twitter can drive blog and website traffic. I also paid close attention to how Matthew K. Tabor (Education for the Aughts) and Angela Maiers effectively use Twitter to share educational resources and insights, and their techniques interested me.

Even after Googling the questions I have about Twitter, I'm still not entirely clear on how this process if supposed to work. For example, if I have hundreds of followers (and that's not atypical for many who tweet), how will I be able to keep up with any one person? Doesn't the flow become disjointed? And if I don't log on for a weekend, I'll have thousands of messages--am I supposed to go back and read them like old emails, or just write them off like TV shows I miss? And most importantly, won't my tweets be irrelevant to a lot of people? After all, EduNews bloggers and my mom don't exactly have the same interests.

I don't really know what I'm doing, or how this will play out...but I'm willing to try. Twitter could be a fun way to connect with other bloggers/educators, share great resources, network, and show a more personal (read: random and silly) side of myself that doesn't fit well into this blog or the devotions site.

I'd appreciate any tips you all have for helping me use this thing productively. And I'd love to find people to follow. So far I've met a lot of interesting Twitterers, and found some familiar faces as well (The Jose Vilson, Mamacita, Joanne Lee Jacobs, The Reading Zone).

Which of the 5 steps of Twitter acceptance are you on? If you're loving it, be sure to leave your Twitter name so I can follow you. Mine's AngelaPowell.

Best. Memorabilia. Ever.

Since I'm in NYC this weekend, any tacky Obama t-shirts I might try to rock would be covered up by my jacket. Fortunately, I planned ahead and scored these earrings for $1.00 at The Swap Shop. Ironically, they were made in China.

I'll be watching the inauguration at a viewing party in Harlem on Tuesday. I left strict instructions with my favorite sub to make SURE the kids watch the ceremony on TV. Wonderful discussions will ensue when I return to work on Wednesday.

HAPPY INAUGURATION DAY!!

The Internet vs. "Real" Reading

Hours spent reading books in the past month: 20
Hours spent reading on the internet in the past month: 120

These are troubling personal statistics from a former voracious book fiend. I taught myself to read at age 4. I read Judy Blume's entire collection of books in one month when I was 7. As a teenager, I heard my father say countless times, "There's Ang, with her nose stuck in a book again". Books have been my solace, my escape, my source of wisdom, and my fiercest passion throughout college and a few years beyond.

And then came the internetz.

The realization of it's power dawned on me slowly. So, anything I want to know can be uncovered in seconds via a search engine? And...I can connect with strangers halfway around the world? You mean, I can type a few sentences and voila, my words are immortalized for the entire planet to see? Really--all this for a dial-up phone connection and $29.99 a month? For a person who loves sharing and acquiring knowledge, this was surely the greatest invention of all time.

Then I got a laptop. The internet, in bed!
Then I got high-speed modem. The internet, in triple time!
Then I got a better laptop. The internet, light-weight with longer battery life!
Then I got wireless access. The internet, in my kitchen, on my balcony, by my pool!
Then I got an even better laptop. Dual processor, 17 inch screen, built-in webcam!
Then I got a MacBook. 'Nuff said.
Then I got an iTouch. The internet, in my pocket! I tremble at the thought.

And now in 2009 I must reluctantly conclude that going online has replaced reading a book as my favorite past time.

It isn't hard to understand why only the rare book can still capture my interest for prolonged periods. The computer keeps getting faster and more powerful, and is virtually unlimited in its ability to provide up-to-the-minute information. The book is nearly the same as it was thousands of years ago. The book has gone essentially unchanged.

But I haven't.

I want to interact with text, and books frustrate me in that regard. When I read a controversial self-help book, I want to click on 'comments' to see how others responded. When I read a really compelling (or really weak) novel, I desperately want to visit Amazon to see how well it's selling and read other people's reviews. Even when I read the Bible, that ageless classic text, I find myself wanting to click on 'show alternate translation' to see how the phrase reads in the original language or in a loosely-interpreted version, and I'm compelled to compare how classic commentators and contemporary thinkers reflect on scriptural truths.

I want to follow embedded links, see related posts, and access recommended reading immediately. I want to find the origin of an idiom. I want to Google unfamiliar cultural references. I want to search for other authors who have written on the same topic and gain their perspectives.

Put together, these instincts comprise the quintessential picture of a good reader. I'm making text connections, summarizing, comparing and contrasting, utilizing research and reference tools, analyzing charts and graphs and maps. I'm an enthusiastic, purposeful reader who takes charge of her learning.

So what's the problem? Clearly the issue is not that I've stopped reading. Nor am I concerned that I'm wasting my time surfing from one meaningless website or pointless online game to another. I don't use social media at all (the audacity of refusing to join Facebook or MySpace!). My time on the computer is spent either writing (this blog, my other blog, my website, and email) or it's spent reading...and each activity fuels and inspires the next. It's an integrated and intuitive process that I've been following--and simultaneously denying--for years.

Most of the online text I consume is high-quality, well-written nonfiction. I subscribe to over 200 blogs in my Google Reader and empty most of the folders daily. That's at least 90 minutes a day of reading about what's new in education and world events, and 30 minutes of reading about spirituality, fashion, celeb news, and random humor on blogs that are exceptionally well-composed and inspiring to me as a writer. These blogs (even the shallow ones), accompanied by a variety of websites and my numerous daily Google searches, lead me to all sorts of new information that challenge the way I perceive myself and the world around me.

I'm reading carefully chosen content that satisfies me and enriches my life. So why, instead of feeling well-informed, do I lament losing my passion for books? Why do I feel as though the internet offers a cheapened version of knowledge, the Wal-Mart of intellectualism?

I'm not the only one. Sarah at The Reading Zone has an excellent post about how students don't count the internet (along with magazines and other authentic texts) as 'real reading'. Just like me, the kids have convinced themselves that they are only improving their reading skills and experiencing real learning when it comes from books. After all, you READ a book. You GO ON the internet. You SURF the internet. Surfing is not reading. The Internet is the laid-back, less authoritative version of its more respectable cousin, Real Literature.

Those nagging feelings of doubt about the validity of reading online compete fiercely with the part of me which enjoys it so deeply. I hear an undeniable internal voice that demands an answer: Who says that someone's writing is inherently more valuable just because it's in a book?

I suppose I know there is no substitute for the artful weaving of a lengthy narrative or the depth of information that a book can offer. (If there was, I never would have published one myself.) And there is no substitute for the feeling of a real book in my hands as I settle in on a long flight, or bury myself under the covers after a stressful day. So I continue to fall into old habits, checking out innumerable books from the library and renewing them to their max as they pile up on my nightstand only partially read. I look over at the stack longingly and guiltily, remembering the days when I would devour the pile in a matter of hours. And I force myself to read them.

But maybe I wouldn't have to force myself to read books if I stopped requiring myself to read the way I did when I was younger: curled up in a cozy chair, totally absorbed in the text.

Maybe I would enjoy books more if I allowed myself to read in a way that makes sense to me now: sprawled on the daybed with my MacBook opened beside me, poised to research at any moment.

Maybe reading books wouldn't feel like a chore if I gave myself permission to take a month to read a book that I am capable of finishing in a day.

Maybe I'd be more excited if my goal wasn't to get through the whole book so I could get on to the next one, and it was to instead just experience the book.

Maybe if I gave myself permission to read a book and the internet together, I would solve both of my problems: I would value the information on the internet more highly and I would regain my enthusiasm for the old-fashioned book.

I'm tired of feeling guilty for being on the internet too much and neglecting my books. The world has changed and I have, too. This is my manifesto of maybes, and it's where I stand for now. Tonight I'm going to make myself a cup of tea and curl up with a good book and my laptop. Probably with some chocolate, too (I can eat with the left hand and scroll with the right). I think that's the way it's supposed to be, for me. And I'm going to keep doing it that way until I truly give myself permission to just enjoy READING, in any format that interests me.

Inspiration when you don't feel like teaching math...

Outrageous Parent Request Results

On Friday, I gave five scenarios in which parents asked me to go above and beyond the call of duty. I asked you to tell me which ones you'd honor, and to make a guess at which ones I did. Some of you also shared your own insane parent requests, which were hilarious (please leave more on this post!). Thanks to everyone who commented! Here are my own responses (drum roll, please)...

Scenario 1: Stop marking a child tardy because she lives out of school boundaries.
Yes. Mitigating circumstances: This child was reading a year and a half below grade level when she came to me. We placed her in intensive remedial reading small groups and she was ON GRADE LEVEL when the mom made this request. Going back to the home school would have been disastrous. We made a deal: if she was less then five minutes late, I wouldn't mark it as a tardy. Mom was thrilled to see that I was trying to work with her, and made a huge effort to get the kid to school on time. The tardies decreased to one a week and the little girl finished the year in my highest reading group. Totally worth it.

Scenario 2: Call parent to convey the day's lunch menu.
No. This request was communicated through the child, so I just told the girl that if her mom wanted to know, she should check the lunch menu that was sent home or get on the district's website. I think the mom ended up calling the office, though. (Our secretary told me one year that a certain parent called her EVERY day to ask about the lunch. When informed that the info was on the calendar, the mom said, "Yeah, I know. But it's easier for me to call YOU.")

Scenario 3: Photocopy birthday party invitations (a piece of notebook paper) for the entire class.
Yes. I know the family's financial situation, and I thought it was sweet that the child was inviting the whole class. I also noticed that the child had written the same info on the top and bottom of the page, so that each child would get a half slip. That was rather considerate of our paper shortage, so I relented.

Scenario 4: Send make-up work for a child who will miss 4 months of school.
No. After ten days, the child would be automatically withdrawn from my roster, so I couldn't send books even if I wanted to (and I didn't, because who knows if they'd be returned or if the child herself would be back.) I sent one old practice workbook for math and told the little girl she could keep it (and she actually did most of the pages!). She informed me that she enrolled in school in Mexico, but they only attended on Fridays (?!). Hmm. At any rate, we did some intensive work in reading when she returned and the little one passed the state test and was promoted. All's well that ends well, I suppose.

Scenario 5: Wipe a three-and-a-half year old child's behind.
No. Being anywhere near a child's private areas is dangerous territory for a teacher, and I'm not going there, literally or figuratively. As pointed out by an anonymous commenter, children are supposed to have already been potty trained by the time they enroll in most 3-year-old preschools. Aannnd, that should include wiping. My assistant talked the little one through the process a few times until she had it down. That incident is one of many that inspired me to take a nice seven year hiatus from teaching preschoolers (although I would do it again).

Perhaps the most outrageous parent request in the history of outrageous requests was made to Mrs. Mimi at It's Not All Flowers and Sausages. If you haven't read her blog before, it's hilarious. Trust me, that post is only the tip of the iceberg.

Teacher, at your service

Some parent requests are SO above and beyond the call of duty. Here's a (partial) list of outlandish things I've been asked to do over the years. Let me know which ones YOU would honor and which you wouldn't by adding a comment to this post (just number from 1-5 and put yes or no for each). After the weekend, I'll share which requests I allowed and which ones got the hand.


Scenario 1: Parent calls me. "Can you not mark my child tardy anymore? We live out of boundaries and I always get stuck in traffic on the way here. That's why she's twenty to thirty minutes late everyday. If we have any more tardies, they're going to make me switch back to our home school."

Scenario 2: Child raises hand. "My mom wants you to call her. She wants to know what's for lunch today."

Scenario 3: Child approaches me. "Can I pass out birthday party invitations? Except I didn't have enough invitations for everyone in the class, so I made my own." Pulls out piece of loose-leaf paper with party details on it. "My dad says can you make photocopies for everyone in class?"

Scenario 4: Parent sends in note. "Our family leave tomorrow October 4 to go to Mexico. She come back January 19. Please you can send work she will miss."

Scenario 5: This happened when I taught HeadStart, and the student in question was three and a half years old. "My child doesn't know how to wipe himself. I need you to take care of that, especially when she goes #2."

I'm looking forward to reading your responses, and hearing your own outrageous parent demands.

And by the way, I did say yes to two of those requests. Can you guess which ones?

And...we're back.

My "Not Waiting For a New Year" resolutions:
Get passionate about educational reform again.
Refuse to be a pawn in a system that doesn't understand real learning.
Stop relying on test prep and start preparing really engaging lessons.
Seriously. Put some effort in.
Get off the internet and grade some papers.
Use those assessments to drive the following day's instruction.
Go to bed earlier.
Don't get up in the morning without asking--and receiving in prayer--the fruit of the Spirit.
Walk in love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faith, self control.
Show less frustration when kids act inane and immature.
FEEL less frustration when kids act inane and immature.
Ask more higher level questions.
Listen more.
Talk less.
Smile.
Love the kids like they're my own.

Administrator LOLcats

Resolved!

Your "Not Waiting for a New Year" resolutions are in! The request was for you to post some improvements to your teaching practice that are just too critical to delay until the new school year. I first posted the topic on The Cornerstone yGroup, which is a listserve community I started over the summer for teachers to exchange ideas related to classroom management and other education-related topics. There are nearly 400 members already, many of whom added very thoughtful ideas about what they plan to change. If you'd like to read the full posts, simply provide your email address and you're in the group.

Many of the yGroup members had planned to postpone their changes until next year, but reconsidered after reading the thread. (Yes! My work here is done.) Cath is exhausted from all the bumps so far in the school year and says, "I agree with you... My first thought was next year but it really needs to be this year." Tina explains that she's reconsidered waiting until the fall and plans to make changes next week instead: "I have decided I am going to restructure how I am pulling guided reading groups and conferencing during reading workshop. I have several different ideas and I need to take the time to sit and think all the way through each option. I will add some more key words to how I call the students to each new task making transitions easier. I am also rotating the seating arrangement to discourage talking. I will introduce some additional mystery motivators. I also decided to move the classroom library to a different location. I have a busy weekend ahead!!!"

Audine (an AMAZING woman who posts incredibly wise responses to just about every question one the group members tosses out) wants to concentrate more on the individual progress of students. Another faithful poster who goes by the name of Flutterbybem plans to have more meetings at the carpet in the morning, tweak her block schedule, and add more tangible ways to understand the comprehension skills in a story.

Harmonee's resolving to fix a problem I've noted in my own classroom. She writes, "I too found that my instruction at times seemed to lack focus. I will be revisiting/revising and re-teaching the procedures that are not working smoothly and I am going to structure lessons so that they are tighter and less susceptible to behavior and other interruptions."

Many of the yGroup members indicated that they plan to start using Bucket Fillers with their classes after break. I wasn't aware of this anti-bullying system until the group chatter began a few weeks ago. Raye says: "I teach in the inner city and people always assume that means all of my students are hoodlums and don't care about learning. That is so not true. MOST of my kids are really sweet and respectful. As with anywhere else, we have a few who make everyone look bad. I have found myself increasingly frustrated with these particular students (who happen to all be boys) and I do not want to encourage the negativity any longer, from them or myself." Catherine Mlodzik concurs: "I am starting it as well. I can't wait to give it a try."

Cindy is also planning to implement some of the changes discussed in the group: "I would like to add more zest to my teaching in 2009. I ran out of steam way before Thanksgiving break, but feel recharged and ready to hit the ground running now. I feel excited about this new year and I'd like to make learning more exciting for my kids."

Those in the blogosphere also responded with a barrage of improvements they want to make during the second semester. Sarah from The Reading Zone excerpted my request for resolutions on her site and collected a few herself. (If you haven't visited The Reading Zone yet, this is a great excuse to do so!) She writes:

"My resolution? To give my students more time for independent reading and writing. I have somehow managed to lose focus as the year has moved forward and that independent time has fallen by the wayside. So I will be reworking a few routines and procedures so that I can make that time every day".

Amber has a two-fold resolution which incorporates both practical changes and a shift in mental perspective:

"Last week, I started rearranging my entire classroom space. I moved all the tables, the rug space, utilized some furniture in different ways, rearranged the library a bit, found a home for the listening center...and on and on. There are MAJOR changes coming after break. Job charts, centers, rubrics, blahblahblah. You'd think I would want to spend some of break taking a BREAK. But I'm convinced that it will all be worth it.

Also, I think one thing that I want to change, personally, is the attitude that I take on when faced with something difficult in my class. I try to cover it up, but I know that they sense frustration from me. Must remember to SMILE more and be like a duck more (let things roll off my back like water off a duck's feathers)."

They Call Me Teacher also has a two part approach to which I can totally relate:

"I want to find a way to make sure my students are reading more... probably by setting up a more solid buddy reading system and working extra hard to make sure my students are reading books on their correct reading levels.

I also want to find a way to enjoy myself a bit more than I did for the first part of the school year. Hopefully my patience will be recharged and ready to work full force on the 5th of January."

Marlene wants to experiment with a new behavior management system, specifically one called The Bead System which I explain on both my website and in my book. Marlene is a member of the yGroup, so I'm sure she'll be posting more about how it's working in the future:

"It's so great that you posted this because I was just thinking about it the other day. I tend to wait until the next school year to change things. But I was thinking that I could just change it now because there is still plenty of this school year left. I want to change my behavior management plan. I was thinking of doing the bead system. My students are pretty well behaved with the system I have now, but there a few that need something different. And if I can get them to behave on a more regular basis, my classroom would be much more productive. I already have Fun Fridays for those that complete homework, so I am going to add behavior to it too using the bead system. You're right about confusing the kids. If you show and model, kids can pretty much pick up any new procedure."

ChiTown Girl teaches kindergarten, and has a great perspective on returning to school in January which she thoughtfully shares with her kids:

"I've always treated the 2nd half of the school year as a 'new year'. We always make changes, in our routines, our lessons, everything. I always explain to my babies that it's because they are so much more grown up now than when kdg. started, and they are almost 1st graders, so I know they can handle it! ;-)"

Miss Profe agrees with ChiTownGirl about her perspective on the 2nd half of the school year, and adds a GREAT idea:

"So, what's mine? Engaging the students in student-centered projects - at least one a trimester. Something they can own and about which to get excited. Which means that I need to devise something soon; the mid-term for the second trimester is fast approaching already!"

Saii has many things in mind, since this is her first year in a new school. She writes in her typical inspirational fashion:

"I want to have a discipline method that really works, I want to motivate my students in all ways possible, increase their vocabulary, convince them to join the wonderful habit of reading, and... I want to build a relationship full of respect and love between my students and me. I want to do all things with excellence and see my students succeed :) ohh ... I almost forget! I want to be more O R G A N I Z E D :)

Ms-Teacher has a resolution that's short and to the point, and cuts to the heart of how we need to accommodate the needs of children who learn at a different pace:

"Re-evaluating how to challenge my GATE students and how to more more effectively teach them spelling and vocabulary."

Last but not least, Allyn reflects on how to give more responsibility to students and find effective assessment methods:

"It is time for my 8th grade babies to step up to the plate and really get ready for high school. I need to baby them less and put more responsibility on them. I also need to find a better way to assess writing assignments. Students should be more active in this process."

Be sure to check out each of the blogs above to see how those resolutions play out during the second half of the school year (how's that for accountability?). Many, many thanks to all who contributed! You may want to also check out this article about attainable resolutions for teachers. I'll post my own resolution in the next post.