Hello world, it's me, MrsEduc8te. It has been a long while, so much has happened in my life that things were put on pause for a minute, so here I am trying to get back to building a legacy for myself and my children. As an educator, we all know to well how we put our jobs before ourselves and sometimes even our own families. I found myself swamped in a list of things that had to be done daily.
As new teacher to middle school, I found myself faced with feeling like a new teacher all over. Even after 20 yrs I wasn't ready for what was to come. The year left me doubting myself and my abilities. I was put into situations that made things worse not better. I couldn't believe how much I was struggling internally and externally. All I wanted to do was crawl back to Elementary, but I sucked it up and found the energy and strength to dig in and do what needed to be done to make it through the year. Well I did!! However, I spent the Summer doing what I do best preparing for the new year. The new year brought new titles to me, I became Team Lead and the Instructional Facilitator of ELA on our campus. So I had to get my stuff together.
Fast forward to the new year. It has been a lot of changes both professionally: New Principal, New positions, New Teks, New initiatives and a New Team. The changes at my job were minimal yet impacting. Not saying the school wasn't awesome under the direction of the previous principal. It definitely was more than a school we were a family. SEL was a big part of our belief and still is needed. It is the initiatives along with SEL that is making the school even better. One of those such initiatives is the active use of THRESHOLD. We were task at meeting and greeting kids at the door every morning as they are lined up 2 by 2, during this interaction give brief and concise directions as to what they are to do when they cross the Threshold. It has been an amazing change in student behavior and student accountability. I also am able to observe students mindsets and moods as I greet them individually. It was hard at first, not know all their names, but I know their names now and a little bit about them has made threshold so meaningful and the kids come up with some of the craziest greetings. I have dabbed, fist bumped, high five, chest bumped, done the butty bump and hugged.
The second initiative that was impactful for me was creating an Intentional Monitoring chart. The idea behind the chart was to track students ability to do task ask of them. You literally walk the room, observe student application of skills and chart it on your monitoring chart. It holds kids accountable. The students are aware that they are being held accountable in not just one class but all classes. They are actively participating and on task. They are listening and performing. It is cutting down on behavioral issues, allowing teachers to focus more on curriculum. It has created an atmosphere where student learning is at the center of things.
So what does it look like, I created a sheet of the skills from each unit of study for reading and writing that we are working on at the time. The goal is for students to practice skills monitored and teacher to track how they are applying goals. As I teach daily, students are tasked with responding on sticky notes and/ or journals. I go from desk to desk giving direct feedback on their sheets using symbols. ( + they are doing it, - they are not doing it ). Sometimes the chart may focused on compliance, but mostly learning targets. It is an awesome accountability system for not just the students, but the kids also.
The last thing that has impacted my year is my 6th grade team. I have 4 other colleagues that I work with and they are the most amazing people. We work so well together. We made a point to get to know one another first, then work on planning curriculum. We all teach reading and writing. I have 2 reading classes, IDS reading and 2 writing classes. As a team, we made a point to start the year setting up classroom expectations, and building relationships with our class. It has made a big difference. I feel that my students know me as much as I know them. We study the curriculum, we share ideas, we problem solve together and most importantly we admit when we need help and we take the time to laugh. Yes, I said laugh. We try to not get so bogged down that not only are we not able to be there students, but our own families as well. This has been the most productive and strong start to the school year. This year start was ten times better than last year. I am no longer doubting my decision to move to Middle School. I know things happen for a reason and maybe one day I can sit down and really think about how last year set me up for this year.
My personal life was affected as well. I knew I had to do things differently. I prayed, meditated and started journaling. I also found some valuable books that helped me along the way to finding peace, acceptance and the energy to move forward without reservation.
I found a way to balance my life at all cost. I am making myself do things that I enjoy more often like; reading for pleasure, walking, listening to music, and spending time with my kids. I try to leave work at a reasonable time, and not to take everything on as my responsibility as far as planning and curriculum. I am making list and setting priorities to help me stay focused. The second semester is kicking in and my focus is on Student growth. Our schools focus in on Student Growth. So stay tune as I take you on my journey as a middle school teacher working to also build a Reading Consultant business.
So when life happens!! It is time to reevaluate and make some changes!
