8.31.16

#ObserveMe

Today we learned about a really cool Twitter trend, #ObserveMe, started by Robert Kaplinsky.  

The idea is to post a sign on your classroom door inviting other educators, school administration,  and school visitors to visit your classroom, observe your lesson, and give feedback on specific areas of the lesson and classroom environment.  

Kaplinsky shares on his website that the idea is to collaborate with those around you, learn from their perspective, and improve our own practices.  One quote that really stood out to me that Kaplinsky introduced the idea by saying, "A teacher who doesn't collaborate works on an isolated island."  What a mental image.  Without collaborating and sharing ideas with other educators we are essentially working alone.  

Dr. Parker has challenged us to introduce #ObserveMe to our CE as well as our principal and asking to use this for our student teaching experience.  By using this tool and introducing it to our school administration we are being leaders within the school as well as leading the profession (NCTCS 1b and 1c).  We would be leaders in the school by working "with school personnel to create a professional  learning community."  How cool would it be to present this idea to your school principal and CE, implement it, and then start a something that is used for school-wide professional development?  #ObserveMe is also a way to improve the teaching profession by encouraging "positive working relationships within the school."  Working together to provide critical feedback in order to help those around you succeed is a great way for teachers to build positive relationships with one another and to make their school the best that it can be.  I also found that implementing #ObserveMe in the classroom relates to NCTCS 5b.  The goal of #ObserveMe is to learn from the advice of others and to improve your skill by working on specific areas of your teaching.  The areas that you list and ask others to observe could tie in with your professional goals for the year and what better way to track your growth than to record others thoughts and suggestions for improvement and then to act on them.

I am so excited to try this idea with my CE and school administration and hopefully implement it some this semester and a lot next semester!!!

http://robertkaplinsky.com/observeme/

8.25.16

Wow!  It's that time of year again.  I can't believe that summer is over and we have already completed our first day of class.  As all of my friends were posting that it was their "last FDOC" (First Day of Class) yesterday, I had the realization that for us there really is not a Last First Day of Class.  As teachers we will continue to have first day's of class year after year until we retire.  To my friends that sounded crazy, but to me it was exciting because this time next year I will be a teacher with my very own students and my very own classroom with my name on the door. 

Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day!  Not only was it my first day of my senior year but I also met my CE for the first time and even got to meet some of our students.

Right off the bat my CE demonstrated what a teacher leader looks like.  She took me on a tour of the school and introduced me other teachers, the librarian, the custodial staff, the cafeteria manager, as well as the Principal and Assistant Principals.  She also let me know that she is here to support me with this experience, with any questions that I may have, with navigating the school, and working with other teachers.  I can tell that she is willing and excited to help me grow this semester and step into my role as a teacher in her classroom next semester.

I had a really neat experience last night at Orientation/Meet the Teacher with one of my students.  His mother informed us that he was ADD and I noticed that he was distracted by all that was going on in the classroom and unable to focus on talking with my CE and his mom.  My CE has a picture of the Wright Brother's plane hanging in her room and I heard him talking about it so I struck up a conversation with him about how in 4th grade we will be learning about NC state history and how the Wright Brothers and their plane are a part of that history.  His face lit up and he then told me how he had seen a replica of the Wright Flyer at the Aviation Museum in Charlotte.  I did my virtual museum last semester in SSED on the Aviation Museum so we talked about all the planes there.  When he left he gave me a hug and told me he was "so excited for Social Studies and to be in [my] class" because I "know cool things about planes."

To me teaching is about way more than passing a test or a grade it is about shaping lives and building relationships.  Last night I was able to see first hand how making instruction relevant to a student (NCTCS 3d) and by taking time to speak with that student, I made a relationship and now have a connection and respect from him before I have even stepped foot in the classroom as the true teacher.

I look forward to working with my CE and our students to make this a great school year!