A Few Deep Breaths

I read an email today from someone who had judged senior projects in which she lamented the quality of grammar in students' portfolios and asked if we are really graduating students who "who cannot reliably write grammatical sentences." 

Now, first of all, I feel compelled to say that I am open to hearing what people have to say about what they see in our seniors' work, and at that same time, I expect that it be balanced and not solely criticism. We know we have areas to work on; we also know there are a lot of strengths to what our students produce. I say that because I don't want people to feel they can't dialogue openly with me.

But with that having been said, I am going to drop her comment, even though I have a lot I could say. But as my day is winding down, I am not pleased the I am focusing my energies on such a short - albeit negative - moment of an otherwise wonderful day. So for that reason, I am going to end my day with a list of ten things that made me happy today:

1. I was able to give blood today. This made me happy because my iron is often one silly little point below the cutoff. It also made me happy because, as a baby blood donor, I get treated like a very special person when I walk through the doors of United Blood Services. Case in point: today I was told today I was "a very special person." Who wouldn't love that?
2. While donating blood, I had fifteen lovely minutes of quiet time to myself.
3. At The Salvation Army store, I found three - count them THREE, pair of pants for my son. As a boy who loves to play with trains, he wears out the knees of all his pants, so much so that patching doesn't do any good. So I am always looking for pants that will fit him for a reasonable price.
4. My students made me laugh today - a lot.
5. My students wrote very sweet things in their letters to next year's seniors.
6. After they took a shower, I got to sit with my kids for over a half an hour reading an Ivy and Bean book. This especially pleased me because Ivy and Bean are chapter books for girls, but my son was still happy to sit quietly in my lap and listen to the story about two girls getting themselves trapped in a crawl space.
7. The Senior Project Committee chose the recipients of our senior project awards. Some very deserving -- and probably unsuspecting students -- will be receiving these awards next week.
8. We had a nice family dinner tonight. It's simple. We do it every night with a few exceptions, but I feel lucky to have my two kids and my husband at my dinner table with me every night.
9. My kids cleared the table, took out the recycling, and cleaned up the living room. 'Nuff said.
10. In a few moments, I will be reading another chapter from Tina Fey's book Bossypants. This book isn't for everyone. You have to like her sense of humor. If you do, this book will make you laugh out loud - literally.

So, yeah. I guess I have become a little bit of a Pollyanna lately, as someone mentioned the other day. But as I am learning to let things go, I am increasing my capacity for happiness and making life better for those around me.

Cheers to the little things like a blood donation appointment and a chapter book!

Senior Academic Letter Night Speech

Last night I spoke at the award ceremony for seniors receiving the academic letter. Although I was nervous, it was fun, and the entire ceremony was over in less than twenty minutes, which gave us more time to mingle and enjoy cake. It was a great experience for me because I was very nervous, which I needed as a reminder for how my seniors felt today as they gave their senior board speeches.

Here is my speech transcript:

I would like to start by thanking Melissa James for asking me to be here tonight. It is an honor to be here with you all. But I also want to thank all of you for being who you are. I think I can speak for the entire staff of Carson High School when I say that over the last four years, you have brought us a lot of joy with your enthusiasm for life. Looking back on the last four years, I think of the homecoming assemblies, theater productions, musical performances, art shows and athletic competitions in which you have demonstrated your passions.

You have brought us pride by working hard and excelling in what you do – all of you – that’s why you are here tonight. Looking back on the last four years, I think of all the novels you have read, the A.P. government essays you have written, the debate cases you have developed, and the smelly science projects you have completed. You have completed trig problems that look like a foreign language and written essays in an actual foreign language. You have designed web pages in Dream Weaver and architecture in CAD that rival that of professionals in those fields, and you have made us proud with your efforts in your athletic endeavors, knowing that even when you didn’t win, you represented your school with dignity.

You have brought us inspiration by demonstrating kindness and generosity to others. Looking back at the last four years, I think of all the money you have raised for organizations such as the Invisible Children Foundation, the canned foods piled high at Thanksgiving, the adopted families at Christmas time, and more recently the generosity and love you have all shown Mrs. Peton as she prepares for her heart transplant.

But now that you are leaving, you bring us great pride tinged with sadness as we see you leave our small school community to explore the world at large. Our one hope is that you continue your patterns of joy, hard work, compassion and generosity. If you always look to your heart when making a decision, you will not go wrong.

I know you are all being showered with advice right now – everyone wants to tell you what to major in, how to be successful, and what NOT to do at college, but I want to take a moment of your time to share with you the lesson that teaching has continually presented to me. And that is the importance of remembering to always be kind to others because you never know what may be going on that you don’t see.

I am reminded of particular student – Armando – who was in my freshman English class. He was enrolled into my class a month into the school year. I didn’t think to ask why. He rarely smiled. I didn’t think to ask why. He never did his work – in class or at home. I didn’t think to ask why. I did try, however, to get him to work. I first tried joking with him. That didn’t work. I tried befriending him. That didn’t work. Finally I tried being aggressive with him and insisting he do his work. As you can probably imagine, that didn’t work.

Ultimately, I decided to let him be. I reasoned that it was his prerogative to not do his work. But then one day, I assigned an essay written in letter form. Students were to write to their parents asking for something. When I walked past Armando, he said to me, “Miss, I can’t do this assignment.” I wondered why this was different than any other assignment. A few minutes later, he repeated his claim, “Miss, I can’t do this assignment.”

Now, you think by now I might have keyed in to his need to tell me something, but I kept walking.

Finally, Armando asked to talk to me in the hall. There he said to me, “I can’t do this assignment because my dad’s in prison.” And then he paused, “And my mom died of cancer in August.”

At that moment, it became clear to me why Armando wasn’t doing his work. He felt like giving up because he felt life had given up on him.

From that moment on, our relationship changed. I looked forward to seeing Armando every other day. This change was not because of something he did differently, but because I saw him as the human being he was – a person just trying to get by.

Armando is fine now – every now and then he sends word to me about where he is and what he is doing. And I am grateful for those updates and for having known him.

I know that many students have walked in and out of my classroom who have struggled just as Armando had, and I probably never knew it. I stumble a lot with this lesson, but I do try to remember that every person is fighting some battle, and I hope that as you explore the larger world, you make it a better place by always remembering to forgive and to share your time and compassion with others.

Congratulations and thank you.

                 

Simplicity Update

I haven't posted much about this, but my goal for this year was to simplify my life. The challenge to this is that -- paradoxically -- it sometimes takes work and time to simplify, and as I have learned, sometimes life has other plans. I planned on simplifying, and the next thing I new, life got pretty complicated with the Teacher of the Year responsibilities, few as they are in comparison to most other states.

However, I have made some changes in my life, and I have seen the difference in my state of mind and happiness. My intention is to simplify so that I can spend more time doing the things that I value most, that bring me the most happiness, that enrich my life. Here is what I have done so far:

• Cleaned out some closets and drawers, resulting in many trips to local thrift stores. Our coat closet has - gasp! - room for more stuff, though I hope to keep it the way it is now.
• Almost entirely eliminated regular TV viewing from my life. I say almost because I do watch Top Chef every week with my husband and the occasional movie on Netflix. We are even cancelling our cable, though we will have instant Netflix and Hulu available through the TV. Honestly, though, I have to say that this one change has made the most difference in my life. TV is nothing but visual and intellectual clutter that takes time away from other more meaningful activities.
• Established more routines. In general, I am not fond of routines. Of course, I live in a world of routines. A bell tells me when I can use the restroom and when it's time to eat, and I am not sure if my dislike of routines is because of this or despite it. Nevertheless, I am making a conscious effort to incorporate more routine into my life. A simple routine can free the mind and the schedule up for more important activities. I won't bore you with the details, but even something as simple as charging my cell phone on particular days helps streamline my life.
• Largely reduced my time on Facebook and the Internet in general. Like TV, Facebook is digitial clutter. It's easy to spend an hour on Facebook and accomplish nothing. There have been some times when I have consciously chosen to devote some time to Facebook, and last week I spent a lot of time on Facebook for a few different reasons, but overall, I feel as if I have lost nothing in this reduction of computer time.
• Said no to a number of invitations. This is hard for me. I am a shower-upper. If a friend is having a get-together, I not only want to go, but feel obligated to go. This is silly, of course. In fact, I am reminded of an article I used to give my students "Saying No So That I Can Say Yes" in which the author argues that it is important to say no to certain demands on your time so that you can say yes to those that most matter. I have said no to a night of wine tasting so that I could spend time with my kids. I have said no to coffee with a friend so that I could fit in a workout at the gym. (And I said no to a nap this weekend so that I could have coffee with a friend.) In general, I have slimmed down the items on my calendar, as that blank space usually means more family time, and happily I still have plenty of fun and still go out and have coffee and enjoy the company of other grown-ups; I am just more discerning in what I say yes to.
• Put my master's on hold. This has helped me manage the extra tasks on my to-do list that I hadn't expected.
• Stepped down as department chair, which has freed me up in terms of time, energy and emotions. It sort of doesn't count because I made that decision over a year ago, but this one action inspired me to streamline elsewhere.
• Cleaned out my email in-boxes at home and at work. Everything was filed, handled or deleted.
• Cancelled email subscriptions. Although this took some time, the 50 fewer emails I get a day has made an enormous impact on my time at the computer. And I don't miss any of the coupons, sales indicators, Facebook notifications, or newsletters I previously received. 

Areas in need of more simplification:

• Not shopping. Getting rid of things is one thing. Not bringing more into the house is entirely different and even more important. I need to be more discerning in what I buy. It has become increasingly apparent to me that my consumeristic patterns are going to take some time to overcome.
• Saying no to tasks at work. Oh, goodness, this will by my challenge until the day I die, though I am working on it. I just applied for a giant year-long project at work. Why, you ask? Good question.
• Getting my kids involved more in chores. Let's face it, they can pick up the towels and clean off the table just as easily as I can.
• Getting rid of more stuff. We're working on this.

Washington DC, Day 4

I was really excited for today. We started off with a meeting at the hotel for the official introduction of the new Teacher Leader Model Standards. Teacher leadership is a new concept for education, one that is considered a quality of 21st Century schools. With all the new programs and school improvement processes that go on in schools, schools need teachers to become leaders for those processes. The standards spell out what exactly teacher leaders do and set the foundation for professional development and evaluation criteria.

After this meeting, we headed over to the National Department of Education. I had been looking forward to this roundtable discussion for months. We all separated into topic groups where we had an hour to discuss our topic, after which we presented our ideas and questions to a panel of department members in a townhall meeting format. I appreciated that the department took this time with us, though I am skeptical as to how seriously they took our comments.

My table discussed school leadership. My colleague from Oregon asked this question: If there has been a strong movement to standardize teacher evaluations, why has there not been an parallel movement to do the same for administrators? Her question was not answered by the panel, although after the meeting, a department member pulled her aside to tell her that A) That is happening and B) It hasn’t been a priority because the public attention is on teacher performance, not administrator performance.

I also presented out for our group on our suggestion that administrative prep programs need to be more practicum-oriented. You cannot learn to teach via a textbook; similarly, administrators cannot learn to lead via a textbook. Specifically, we feel that the less tangible elements of administration – things like conflict resolution, dealing with the media, and evaluation of instruction – should be practiced by administrative candidates in their prep programs. Often administrative candidates find themselves doing nothing but student discipline in their internships, which does not provide them with the real-world principal responsibilities they will encounter later in their careers. That experience is important not only for learning but for discovering whether or not principal work is a good match for an administrative candidate.

Jay from Washington, me, Kathy from Arkansas, and Elizabeth from Oklahoma at the DOE.

After the DOE meeting, we went to the office of … where we had a less intensive meeting. Their office is on the top floor of a building directly across from the capital, and our reception took place on their balcony. It provided a lovely moment of reprieve from the hectic schedule and meetings. After some refreshments and mingling, we listened to some speeches, and discussed some issues of concern. One particular issue raised, which is of concern to me, is that of online education and what it means for learning and public schools.

The view from our last meeting of the week.

While I was running around DC discussing educational issues, my mom was visiting with my cousin who drove in from Virginia for the day. Unfortunately, I missed her by five minutes, so I didn’t get to see her at all. I haven’t seen her for over ten years, so I had been looking forward to the visit. I guess I will have to try to make it work another time.

That evening, Target sponsored a bus tour of the monuments, which was a fun and relaxing way to end our week. I am immensely grateful to the Nevada Department of Education, the CCSSO, and everyone who made this trip possible. I feel lucky to have had my mom along with me to make the trip more enjoyable. Mostly, I am grateful to my colleagues, whom I wish could have attended with me and who deserve this trip as much as anyone does.

The 2011 STOYs.

The Washington Monument at sunset.

Washington DC, Day 3

On Wednesday, we headed out to a SMART Board office where we received training for the SMART Boards the company has donated to every 2011 State Teacher of the Year. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a lab for us to work in, and the facilities were small for such a large group. I did get some great ideas on staff development and was refamiliarized with the software for the handheld student receivers, which I needed. We had time to share ideas at the end of the day, and Matinga, the 2011 Michigan State Teacher of the Year had some great ideas and web pages.
After the training, we were bussed back to the hotel where we had an hour to get ready for our black-tie dinner. My mom looked stunning in her black dress, so nice that I felt like wallpaper next to her. We arrived and enjoyed wine and hordourves. When it was time for dinner, we were shepherded to the ballroom where we enjoyed a delicious three-course meal. The first course was a crab timbale with a bisque sauce. The second course consisted of two types of bison, risotto, and fresh vegetables, and the dessert was a chocolate flourless cake with strawberry sorbet.

In the meantime, we heard speeches from various people. My favorite speech was given by Michelle Shearer, 2011 National Teacher of the Year, whose speech inspired me as both a teacher and parent. I also really enjoyed the speech by Lily Eskelsen, Vice Preseident of the NEA, who gave a speech that was both funny and moving.

Day 2: Washington DC

I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful today was. We started out at the White House. We stood in line for quite some time, waiting for our photos with the president. All of the sudden, the door to the Oval Office opens, and President Obama throws his arms in the air and says, "Well, hello there!" At that point we were ushered in one at a time for our photos. The president graciously engaged in small talk with each of us about where and what we teach.

We then stood behind the president as he introduced the National Teacher of the Year (NTOY), Michelle Shearer. We are all incredibly proud of Michelle and honored to be among her NSTOY class. Michelle is not only an incredible teacher, but an incredible woman, as was made clear by her first speech as NTOY. (How would you like to give a speech immediately after President Obama, arguably one of the best orators of our generation?)

After the ceremony, my mom and I grabbed lunch and then headed to the Capitol building, where we received a tour from a Reid aide. He accompanied us to Senator Heller's office, where we briefly met with the (almost) Senator and where a previous student is aiding.

After this brief meeting, we jetted back to Senator Reid's office while I was interviewed by a reporter from the Las Vegas Sun, where I sat and talked to his education aide and another former student. Senator Reid was running late, but I loved talking to Maria and catching up with her. I didn't think to talk education with the aide until just minutes before Senator Reid arrived. We sat and talked very briefly, had some pictures taken, and had a short, impromptu press conference.

Senator Reid received a note that Senator Inouye from Hawaii had arrived for a meeting, so Senator
Reid ushered my mom and I into his office to introduce me to Senator Inouye, who I believe is the oldest member of Congress.

At that point, we caught a cab back to the hotel. Shortly, we will head down for our dinner. I am both thrilled and excited by my day. I thought I would be nervous, but I wasn't. I mostly couldn't contain myself. I feel so lucky to get this opportunity.

Day 1: Washington DC

My first day in DC has been great. We started off at the Smithsonian, at which point we were separated into groups that went to different museums. My group, which went to the Museum of American Art, spent most of our time at the Alexis Rockman exhibit, observing and discussing. It was wonderful seeing this amazing art and being able to just talk about it and explore how we could use his art in the classroom. If you have never seen his work, you should check it out at his official site. His work has this feel of botanical and scientific drawings, but they carry a social message regarding our consumption patterns and our destruction of our own ecosystem.

My favorite called Golf Course is not available on his site, but I also really liked the one with the cows here. It addresses our need to bioengineer our food and the consequences of that should it go unchecked.

After the Smithsonian, we headed off to the Biden residence, where we attended a reception hosted by Jill Biden, who was incredibly warm and friendly and welcoming. She took care to meet each of us personally; then she addressed the whole group, during which time she focused on the role teachers play in students' lives and particularly addressed the needs of military children.

We headed back to the hotel. Since we had a free evening, I was glad to spend that time with my mom. We walked around, bought some books for my kids, and ate a meat and cheese tray for dinner at an Italian restaurant.

Tomorrow we head to the White House for the National Teacher of the Year introduction. After that, my mom and I get a tour of the Capital by some Reid staff and then have a meeting with Reid himself.

Iwill try to update tomorrow.