Day 19 - Quotes I've Found Helpful

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Today I made sure I got off the kitchen bench multiple times... to walk away from the computer, to walk off my numbing legs, and to make sure my back didn't hurt worse. My sciatic nerve gave me some zingers today, so I knew I had to make some changes.

I was also able to connect with a few other students... I'm still missing eleven, even though according to the team everyone has checked in somehow. Today's goal was to email all of them to say what I thought their grade should be... Here's what I said:

Good morning! 

This email is going out to those students who I believe have earned a (insert grade here) in ELA for third quarter. I am sad we cannot meet in person to chat about your progress and how proud we should be of your work, but...  

So... please respond back when you read this - letting me know if you agree or disagree with this grade (above), and why. If you agree, I'll put the grade in PowerSchool ASAP. If you disagree and make a solid argument using evidence from PowerSchool, I'll put your choice in the grade book. If I have concerns, I'll share the evidence I see in PowerSchool, and we'll continue the discussion via email.  

I hope this sounds fair, and I hope you're proud of your work!!
Here's to doing our best next quarter as well! 

Missing you,
Mrs. Kirr

I've gotten ten responses back so far. 🤞

I loved "team time" today. We were able to talk about specific children we were concerned about, and shared some funny stories, too.

We saw a new Ford commercial... reach out if you are leasing or making payments on a vehicle and need financial support. More and more companies are sharing help like this. I was charged $70 for my chiropractor today, but since I won't be seeing her this month maybe they'll give me two free visits later?

Mandy Froehlich's blog post "Time to Be Still" struck a chord in my heart, especially this part:

My principal shared this article with us via email - "That Discomfort You're Feeling Is Grief." What struck me was this part:

Here's what will help: The author (and me, too!) believes "we will find meaning in it. ... we find light in those times ... people are ... appreciating walks. I believe we will continue to find meaning now and when this is over." No doubt! If we don't, we didn't get the message the universe was sending us.

From my reading last night of The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech:

     Lizzie said that if you imagined you were standing on the moon, looking down on the earth, you wouldn’t be able to see the itty-bitty people racing around worrying; you wouldn’t see the barn falling in or the cow stuck in the pond; you wouldn’t see the barn falling in or the cow stuck in the pond; you wouldn’t see the mean Granger kids squirting mustard on your white dress. You would see the most beautiful blue oceans and green lands, and the whole earth would look like a giant blue-and-green marble floating in the sky. Your worries would seem so small, maybe invisible.

     The first time I tried standing on the moon, what I saw in my mind was a million billion people, everyone of them with problems, all running here and there and screaming for help. It was a scary trip to the moon.

Yup. These days sometimes I'm Lizzie, and sometimes I'm the narrator. The sun is out and bright this afternoon, so I'm choosing to see the earth like Lizzie does. ✌️

Don't Wait - Do It Yourself

I love quotes - would have them up all around the room if I could. Wait. I DO! Because I CAN!

Monday, I signed up to get notifications when George Couros posts something new. As fate would have it, his first post of the year was to share inspirational quotes for 2017! This one from Pharrell Williams struck my fancy...

Created with http://recitethis.com/

When my husband and I were emailing each other (he lived in Detroit suburbs, me in Chicago suburbs), he'd often end his letters with a P.S. ... "If the stars ever line up, you're the one for me!" (Then he'd add the sparkling star emojis - too cute!) Was it too much to dream? Oh, it was a dream of ours, but it seemed so very far out of reach! It seemed impossible that we'd ever have a life together.

Well, guess what? We MADE those stars align. We reached for them, and rearranged them the way we wanted. One. Step. At. A. Time.

And this is the key. Whatever you're dreaming of, it may seem way too overwhelming. Too many things need to be done in order to ever contemplate really making it work!

It's NOT too big.
It's NOT too big - IF... If you take it one. Step. At. A. Time.

So... make the list. Oh, it's a mighty list, for sure! Then begin checking things off that list. What can you do TODAY to help make your dream come true? Tomorrow, do the same thing. Focus on what you CAN do, not what seems impossible. You'll keep adding to the list - even as you check things off. Focus on what you can do today.

And when you hear yourself complaining about how someone else is doing things, remember Sebastian's lesson...

Literary Graffiti

Each time I read a book, I am on the lookout for quotes that resonate with me. I LOVE good quotes. Our classroom has a "Literary Graffiti" board, and it warms my heart when students write on it!

When the board is filled, I type them out and put them on the ceiling tiles, and we add even more.

To spur more writing on that chalk board, I created a slide show of my favorite quotes from books I read in 2016. (All of mine - since I started really collecting - are here.) After finishing this slideshow, I decided to create another for our class - for EVERYONE'S quotes - to be added to our class website's life lessons (because really... that's what they are). When you're finished enjoying, please type one or more of your favorites in the comments below! Feel free to pause the show if it's too fast - the next setting was WAY too slow!

We Are In Charge of Our Attitudes

I just finished the book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand. Woah. Among many things, it made me think of my word for 2014: Gratitude. With that in mind, here is how I'm going to approach the 2014-2015 school year... Have a STELLAR YEAR!

HappinessInYourLife.com

Source Unknown

Illinois State Beach

Our tire cover on the camper...

And this is how I try to live my life... thank you to my husband for introducing me to this quote...

Interest-Driven Learning

Once again, the power of being connected to other teachers just amazes me.

My head is spinning again today. Less than a week ago, a tweet went out with the following page from Connected Learning: What Does "Interest-Driven" Look Like? The question posed: How can educators - in school and out - support youth to pursue and document the ideas that matter to them, while simultaneously helping them to use a critical lens?

Here is the Google HangOut, if you'd like to listen during your lunch hour, like I did...

Watch live streaming video from connectedlearningtv at livestream.com

I didn't know the contributors before it started. See the link above for their full descriptions, but here are their names:
   Paul Oh
   Mimi Ito
   Nicole Mirra
   Paul Allison
   Stephanie West-Puckett

I cannot put my thoughts into cohesive sentences like they can. I loved listening to them describe the difference between interests and passions. I loved how they shared stories of how students can flourish in an environment where they know their ideas matter. One of them (Stephanie?) talked about a book she was reading again, and she mentioned these four things that will aid interest-driven learning:

I believe we all need to keep these in mind, whether we are trying Genius Hour / Passion Projects / Inquiry-Based Learning / or just trying to give students more ownership in their learning.

Of course, how can you make this day of learning any better? Have a chat on Twitter about this very thing! They wanted to continue the discussion, so I followed #literacies at noon today. I am fortunate to have been able to participate. If you missed it, here is the transcript of the #literacies session, moderated by Emily Pendergrass:

More Determined Than Ever

The first one through the wall - he always gets bloody. Always.
           ~ Moneyball (movie)

I've broken through. I'll need to bandage my knuckles, but I'm on my way.

My teaching methods have been questioned recently, and I am now more positive that what I'm doing is right. My administration has been behind me since I began "changing things up" last school year (even going so far as to send me to workshops and conferences that helped me change my thinking!), and I'm keeping current with my research and my professional reading.

Now that I'm through, what's next?
Take one step at a time.
     1. Work diligently on communication pieces to parents.
     2. Continue to reflect on my own teaching - answering the WHYs.
     3. Continue to make this learning transparent to coworkers and administration.

Soon I won't be the only one paving the way for other teachers.
Is this a fad? No.
Is this a trend? Maybe.
Is it a shift in education? Yes.
And I believe in it.
Please pass me the peroxide, so I can get back to work.

Pictures ARE Worth a Thousand Words

I wanted to share with you one more thing I learned in Boston at the BLC12 conference...

I had so many theoretical ideas swirling around my brain, I needed to take a step back. I had introduced myself face to face with Sylvia Rosenthal Tolisano (@Langwitches) the night before, and I decided to head to her session entitled "Presentation 21 Makeover." She'd told me she'd talk more about the impact pictures can have on an audience (or class) than the words projected.  Off I went. (See her slides from the presentation here.)

The biggest lesson I learned - Forget bullet points. The photograph is the most important part. The photograph is what the audience will remember. You have to figure out - what is your message?

Sylvia had some stunning photographs - some she'd taken from other sites (and given credit, of course!), and others she had taken herself.  One question everyone was thinking was raised - where do you get your photographs? Sylvia had a slide with sites to search, but what my brain heard, from all she was describing... "I've been taking my own." When I got home, I went to the library to check out a book, and found this...

I love my camera, but I only had the iPad with me with my list of books to check out. Also, I had to take the pictures from up above, or else I'd get the frame from the painting that was behind this cute pair in my picture. (It was right above her head - I've named her Emma...)

I posted one of my many pics on our Flickr T365Project group, and Sylvia responded, "The bronze book screams to have a quote on it!" Yes. I noticed that as well when I got home and uploaded them. I looked through my pictures, and noticed this one might be more conducive to "writing" on the book...

Alas. I knew I had to go back to the library, use my Canon Rebel XTi, and get a different perspective. (Is my passion for photography one of my geniuses?) I suddenly absolutely needed this picture for my parent night slides. I'd reviewed them after Sylvia's presentation, and knew I didn't have a ton of bullet points, but knew I still had too many. I wanted ONE idea on each picture. And I needed my own pictures, not pictures I had Googled! For shame! (I really was astounded at all the pictures I'd just plopped right into the Keynote! I did have the resources on each page, but were they really available for my use??? See Bloggers Beware!)

So I went back today, and captured this shot:

Now, you've seen the other two pictures, and you know that it's a boy and girl on a bench reading a book. But without the previous pictures to aid you, can you still figure it out from this picture? And just WHAT could I write on that book?

Here's where you could help - please join this conversation and put your thoughts on the comments. Do you think this picture could work? What quote would YOU put on the book? I won't write back, as I just want to know what you think, but I thank you ahead of time for your two cents!

Ray Bradbury's Wisdom

"It doesn't matter what you do...so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardnener is in the touching...The lawn-cutter might just as well have not been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime." - Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, pg. 150.

I decided today that I needed to read this classic, since it's been on my list for years, and Ray Bradbury passed on, at the age of 91 this week. I read it in one day (you can do that when you don't have children!), and it was even more thought-provoking than I thought it would be. How can I relate it to Genius Hour?

Genius Hour can be just that - an hour when students pursue their passions. Or... It can go another step or two. First step - teaching others in the class their passions. Second step - teaching more than just the small scope of their classrooms...going out and teaching to another, broader audience, or putting what they've learned out on the web. The biggest step, however, would be to change something. To put their mark on something. To spread their message enough that others knew they'd been there. My hope is that my students, some day, will not just cut lawns. My hope is that they will cultivate gardens and leave their mark.  Thank you for your inspiration, Mr. Bradbury.