Teaching MY heart out!

As a teacher, I attend many hours of professional development. I love PD. I love going to, presenting, and attending conferences, participating in webinars, chatting on Twitter with my PLN, and snagging amazing ideas from other educators posting on Instagram and Pinterest. My personal favorite PD is physically attending a conference outside of my district with educators I do not see on a daily basis. I do love collaborating with colleagues, don't get me wrong, that's incredibly important, but I love to learn from and discuss ideas with others in my grade level and content from all over the place! 

I currently teach 8th grade ELA. Last fall I saw that a Teach Your Heart Out conference was planned for Atlanta in March. I knew immediately that I was going to go. It fell on my spring break, so I wouldn't have to get a sub. I spoke to my principal about going and he asked if I knew of another teacher in the school that might be interested in attending with me. I told him I'd get back to him. On my way back to my classroom, I immediately thought of the perfect person. 

Her name is Katie Hayes, and she teaches 6th grade ELA. She's one of those teachers that just make you smile. She's always working hard to create innovative, engaging lessons for her students that allow them to grow and feel success in her room. She builds relationships with her students, and is more focused on the best way THEY learn, rather than what SHE wants to teach. Instead of wanting to stick to the same old, tired unit taught every year, she'll scrap it mid-unit and start over to ensure student engagement. We all know those other teachers. They have a unit they just love, and no matter how outdated it is for the standards and students, the teacher refuses to let it go because it's her/his "baby." Katie is a 21st century teacher. She loves learning knew things and implementing them in her classroom. She is also a bundle of sunshine when you run into her in the halls.

You might wonder how I know all of this about her since I teach 8th and she teaches 6th. Her former students are my current students. As we all know... students talk. They like to talk about teachers. Some try to be negative (we cut that right off), but sometimes they'll talk about the amazing stuff they did in 6th grade with Mrs. Hayes. All that to say this: I knew Mrs. Hayes was my tribe, and I knew we were cut from the same teacher cloth. I gave her name to my principal. 

Fast forward to March 27, 2019

Here I sit in my hotel room after day one of stellar keynotes and presenters. Katie and I cannot stop talking about the things we want to do when we get back to school Monday. We have learned so much today, and are amazed we still have another day left. Let me tell you something. If you ever get the chance to attend a Teach Your Heart Out conference, do not pass up that opportunity! WE DECLARED TODAY THAT WE ARE ATTENDING EVERY ONE WE POSSIBLY CAN TOGETHER! In one session alone, I gathered more information than in the past three PDs I attended 

(shout-out to Dyane Smokorowski for that- You're AMAZING)! 

The big take-away today for me came from Eric Crouch. He said, "Kids need to be seen and heard. They don't hug computers and worksheets." He's so right. We have GOT TO make learning relevant to them! We've got to do everything in our power to help these kids gain the deep conceptual knowledge they need to extend their learning throughout school and life.

I love my students. Each day when they leave my room the last words they hear are, "I love you. Have a great day." I mean it too. I love my students. I want them to be successful, contributing members of society one day. I know the only way to do that is by loving them first.

I'm not sure who the original author of this quote is, but it has been said numerous times throughout this conference, "Love first. Teach second."

What Would Waffle Do?

"What Would Waffle Do?"
Whispers From My Ghost Teacher


I know what your thinking after reading that title... WHAT?! Let me explain. When I lived in New York, I student taught under the supervision of the most fabulous secondary educator I've ever known. Mrs. Waffle teaches at a small central school district in upstate New York. Everything she did, and I mean everything, was well planned, 100% engaging, and empowering for her students.

Every single time I observed her teaching (which was often), I thought about how much better life would have been as a student if she were my teacher. I watched her change her plans mid-lesson because it wasn't working out with her students the way her lesson was planned. She was able to gauge her students learning, and ensure understanding. She had engaging bell-ringers and exit tickets daily. She taught mini grammar review lessons weekly to keep her students' writing up to par.

She was, and still is, amazing.

I am now in my 8th year of teaching, and I still find myself asking "What would Waffle do?" It keeps me on my toes. When I have a student who refuses to work, disrupts class, or tells me to go F myself, I simply take a deep breath and ask myself that question. Guess what, after channeling my inner Waffle, I meet my students where they need me to be, make connections, build relationships, and their learning begins there.

Other than modeling the importance of building relationships, Waffle taught me to get creative with my lessons. She taught me that old school teaching isn't what the next generation needs. She taught me the importance of being a lifelong learner and keeping up with the times. I can't truly understand my students if I don't know what they are talking about. She taught me that planning engaging lessons and activities can be as exciting for me to plan as it is for the students to learn and participate.  She taught me to keep it current and relevant.

I've had three student teachers in my classroom. I try to be a light for them as she was for me. I don't hide the truth of the profession; it can be an underappreciated career, but it can also be extremely fulfilling. I write this to say the following:

Students need teachers like Mrs. Waffle. Students need teachers to do absolutely everything in their power to find that connection, build that relationship, and empower them. If you have the opportunity to have a student teacher in your classroom, don't dim their light. Let them shine. Encourage them, help them, and teach them classroom management and all the other things we weren't taught in college. The students need teachers that care. Students deserve teachers who care... at least one in the 13 years they are in school.



Pictures taken over the years at the NYSEC (New York State English Council) conference. Pictures taken from Facebook.

Giving Students a Voice

From Draft to Craft

We all love to be heard. Even the quiet ones need to have a voice. 

They need to know they aren't alone. 

I used to teach a two week mini poetry unit until about three years ago.  I found that when students wrote numerous poems within a couple of weeks of each other, they wrote about the same topic more often than not. I decided to stretch it out over three quarters. I now spend one week in the first quarter going over all of the poems we will be working on throughout the year, poetic devices, and we annotate song lyrics and poems to see the use of those devices in  different types of poetry.  

Once we cover all of the bases, we learn about one type of poem every few weeks. By the middle of the third quarter, they have numerous poems about many different topics. I love that they write at different times throughout the year because they change a lot in 8th grade. It's interesting to see them go back through their poetry in March. They're always surprised at what their topics were.

The types of poems we write may include:

Haiku

Acrostic

Limerick

Ode

Slam

Grabbing the First line

Blackout or Found 

Dialogue

Sonnet 

Some of the poems are simplistic, some funny, some passionate, some emotional, many sad, but most are personal. This project is where the student is given a platform to share their story or thoughts with others. A lot of them write about typical middle school drama, but many take the personal route and discuss death, depression, loss, or anger.

In March, I have the students choose one of their original poems. They spend a day or so editing the poem and planning how they can bring it to life by creating a visual representation of it. Then, we spend a week taking their poetry from "draft to craft" using old hardcover books. 

I give the students one hardcover book each and tell them to cut it up, paint it, fold it, glue it, color it, and do whatever they want to do to bring their poem to life. The results speak for themselves. Here are just a few of the 130+ project.

It was so great to watch them create their masterpieces. I can't wait for their families and the community to come and see what they've accomplished!



Original idea of Altered Art books formed by Julene Waffle.