This Makes Me Happy

There are many things that can make me

happy.

This weekend,

I was in Dubai.

And while the weather,

shopping,

food and

 mates

were great,

there was something else

that made me truely happy.

I attended a Cultures of Thinking

workshop

presented by Ron Ritchhart.

To spend 2 days,

listening to this man

was inspiring.

And truely made me happy.

Conferring: The Keystone of Reader's Workshop - Patrick Allen

A lot of what I've been reading recently

is about reading.

I've noticed the last few books 

I've read

talk about getting students to choose

their own reading materials. 

In Zambia,

I met a teacher 

that did not have reading groups

but instead conferred with her students.

Conferring: The Keystone of Reader's Workshop

follows this premise.

Allen shares his experiences

as he improved his ability to conference

one-on-one with his students.

He spends some time explaining his purpose

or philosophy for conferring. 

He provides examples and strategies. 

What I really loved,

was how he related a lot of his thinking

to developing students' metacognition. 

The strategies and routines he sets up

help students become better

readers, writers and thinkers.

Now, 

the challenge lies,

in getting schools and teachers to see the benefit

in conferences over the 

group sessions where students

are not reading for themselves.

The Writing Thief - Ruth Culham

I'm a huge fan of Ruth Culham.

She's written a lot of books about the

6-Traits of Writing.

She's a great resource

for mentor texts. 

And basically,

that's what

The Writing Thief

offers. 

Culham explains how stealing from

authors and books we love

is great when teaching writing. 

She focuses on 

informational, narrative and argument

types of writing.

She explains them in simple terms

and connects the 6-Traits to these 

text types.

With the 6-Traits,

Culham points out

the simple differences

in each text type,

and offers some mentor texts

to support them.

With Ethan having completed 

first and second grade,

and with having taught,

in recent years,

second and third grade,

I found myself making notes in the margin

about which texts I could see myself using

with a specific grade,

or even matching ideas

with a unit.

The Writing Thief

is one of those books

that you're glad you read over the summer

and gets you excited about going back

into the classroom. 

The Book Whisperer - Donalyn Miller

My first year in Zambia,

my teaching partner and I

scoured the server

to find a ton of reading logs.

We went through them all

(they were used by the previous year's teachers)

and found the one we would implement

in our classroom.

By October,

I hated the reading logs.

It felt like I was giving parents homework.

If a student wasn't reading,

I'm sure the parent would tell me.

So what did purpose did the log serve?

Unfortunately,

I was alone.

The following year,

my teaching partner was an avid

book log teacher.

And since we were a small school,

it was hard for her to do something

and not me.

So,

when I read in The Book Whisperer

how the author also has a distaste

for reading logs,

I knew we were kindred spirits!

The book is more or less
her thought process
on how to create a generation of readers.
She has instilled a love of reading in her students.
They don't read books because the curriculum says they should.
They read books they want to,
they share ideas,
thoughts
and recommendations.
It's what I would love my students
to feel about reading.

Miller teaches middle school.
Her methods work great in that setting.
As a second grade teacher,
I'm not sure how much of this I could use
but it was truly inspiring.

Writer's Workshop - Summer

So June 21st,

was the official first day of summer. 

Also known as Summer Solstice.

And this year,

we were in Seattle.

There were many things happening

in Seattle on this day.

There was the Rock and Roll marathon.

I hear the Summer Solstice parade

in Freemont is quite the site,

But our first day of summer,

had an excitement of it's own.

June 21st marked my graduation day!

Woohoo!!!

For the last 2 years,

I have been working full time,

being a mom

and a student.

And it finally paid off.

On Saturday, 

I graduated with my 

Masters of Education

in Reading and Literacy.

It was truly a day

all about me!!!!

Teacher's Appreciation Week

It's Teacher's Appreciation Week.

Personally,

as a mum,

I think every week should be 

Teacher's Appreciation Week.

If I think about the hours in the day

that Ethan is awake,

he spends most of this time

with his teacher.

So not only is she his teacher,

she's an influence

and role model to him.

There have been tons of comments

on Facebook

regarding teachers

and the Common Core.

Granted,

I don't know a whole lot about the Common Core

nor do I think this has anything to do with the 

actual teachers.

There are tons of comments on Facebook

of parents posting something 

their child's teacher wrote

and furious

WWYD questions.

What would you do?

Really?

Talk to the teacher!

Why does that seem so difficult?

Yes I know,

sometimes we get upset with teachers

and sometimes we feel 

our child is being picked on

or treated unfairly,

but do you honestly think your child's teacher is mean?

Evil?

Heartless?

Assume good intentions.

Normally I cringe at that,

because from what I have seen

it's a phrase that gets thrown

when someone complains about someone else.

But seriously,

before you get all mad at your child's teacher

and think s/he's an idiot

or you hate the homework

or think your child deserves a better grade,

can you just stop for a minute 

and assume your child's teacher

has good intentions?

After all,

s/he didn't choose to become a teacher

to make a lot of money.

We don't always get along with everyone.

It's human nature.

And, as a teacher,

I know that not every child and parent I teach

loves me.

Nor do they all hate me.

Some love me.

Some don't.

Same goes with Ethan's teachers.

I have loved some

and liked some.

But never have I made these comments to Ethan.

You're allowed to be upset with your child's teacher.

But before you start the name calling,

stop and think.

Do you really want your child to hear that?

Do you want your child to have little to no respect

for their teacher?

Don't you think you'd be a great role model

when you talk to the teacher?

Ask them why they did something.

Have them explain what they meant.

If you don't like the homework

or grade

or how well your child is progressing,

why does it seem easier to complain?

Why is talking so difficult?

Now before my very few readers

jump down my throat,

this post is not in reference to any specific

Facebook event.

Nor is this about any of my current students.

If I'm honest,

I have to say I have amazing parents this year.

(Or rather this term)

I think the constant

negativity towards teachers

has really begun to bother me.

I'm starting to feel like teachers are no longer appreciated.

So this week,

think back to the teacher that influenced you the most.

Think about the positive effects your child's teacher has on your child.

And please, 

don't forget to thank them.