Update from an external processor

Wow... as usual, I'm STUNNED by how long it has been since I last posted. Time. Is. Flying. I put the 27 on my calendar, in preparation for Monday (which is indeed, February 27.) and I'm shocked.  I don't think I've come to terms with the fact that it's not still January!   It's been a busy busy time in 2nd grade! We've trucked on through the War of 1812, Westward Expansion and now the Civil War. We just rocked prefixes and fractions... as well as contractions and fractions. And before that: multiplication and division.  All since we got back from Christmas Break!! I have 17 beautiful, multicultural brain-marathon runners... or I suppose more like Iron Man competitors. Of course, they haven't always taken it on joyfully. But, we've made it... for the most part.  I've seen success a few times in students who typically struggle to succeed at 2nd grade level. And I've seen Spring Fever at its finest and most destructive... yes. In the beginning of February.  (Thanks, Texas, for the inconsistency and the tease... you're making my students think it's almost time for Memorial Day hot dogs and swimming pools.)  I'm fairly certain I've written this at least once before.... but the tale of werewolves at full moon probably came from a school teacher after observing elementary students around the time of the full moon. Just sayin'.

We took a field trip to the local children's science museum--- which was so fun.  We still do a zumba-revised dance every morning, and the kids still love it. And as a class, we're beginning that transition from primary education to secondary.... socially speaking.  I think I put on caps other than "teacher" more often than I actually wear the "teacher" cap.  I am often wearing "referee", "social worker" "counselor", "confidant", "mom", "endocrinologist", "punching bag", "triage nurse", "life coach" and "corrections officer". I suppose "teacher" would be more of the Sheriff's-badge I pin on while wearing all these hats... sometimes stacked atop one another. I can't say much without violating FERPA-- but let me say, this year has been an emotionally heavy year for me.  I love my students so much, and my heart breaks into billions of pieces for all of them. Many of them are dealing with things no 7, 8 or 9-year old should be dealing with... some are dealing with things no human should have to deal with ever. That being said, I'm looking into getting my Masters of Education in Counseling.  The only things holding me back at the moment are:
1. A life-committment to live debt-free.
2. The idea of taking the GRE. I just don't want to.

And, the biggest personal revelation of this year so far comes from Exodus 14:14: "The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest." (AMP)-- coupled with Psalm 82:3-4 "Defend the weak and fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."  The latter, I adopted as a vision-verse for teacher as a junior in college. Until about January, I never really gave consideration that it is not God's instruction to me, but a cry out to Him.  Of course I am where I am to see justice and hope brought to these students and their families--- but it's not ME who does it all.  God's in charge here... and it took me 2 extremely painful, disappointing, frustrating, sleepless weeks to come to that. And since then, it all still hurts.... don't get me wrong.  While I remain at rest, letting God fight all the tumultuous battles, my heart of flesh still hurts.  To see the injustice of this world... to see the enemy attacking little girls in areas I knew no attack until I was a teenager. Having overcome many of these issues myself, as an older teen, and in my twenties, I've seen firsthand the goodness, protection and redemption of God. Having said that, I've found encouragement in Revelation 12:11 (NIV) "They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.  They did not love their lives so much as to shrink back from death."  Where I have seen freedom, others behind me may "stand on my shoulders"... and the list of freedom for my life is not short.... or irrelevant to the current or future situations of these dear kids. I guess this is all just a part of "glory to glory". (2 Corinthians 3:18 NASB)

I am so bad at updates.

Well, hello, 5 followers! :-) I am so bad at updating this blog!  If you want to see one I update, check out misskoontz.weebly.com.  I update the spelling words every week, and often add pictures.  :-)

This school year has been TREMENDOUSLY easier!!!!! It's amazing what a difference one year under my belt has made!  I teach with much more fluency and sense-- and teach even better on the fly. (That's just how I do things, really.) I have awesome students, and work with awesome parents. My students present a much bigger challenge than last year's, and some parents give last year's parents a run for their money on... uhh... "iron sharpens iron" if you will. But, I'm much better at handling it-- most of the time. Interventions are harder to do this year, because my kids who need it go to the Reading Specialist during computer time, which is when I would like to pull a group to the center table to work with me... and then they go to Math Intervention during centers/writing-- which is the other time it's possible for me to work one-on-one. We hired another TA to assist with everything... we're just spread so thin with budget cuts this year!  Ya know, when you realize you only have one piece of turkey left for a sandwich, so you embellish with lots of spinach that's about to go bad, with cheese from a month ago, and a tomato that is questionable? Like that. Except, maybe that's just me who knows what that's like. ;-)
     We also lost one of the most dear and valuable people in the founding and building of our schools a couple weeks ago.  She was our Dean of Students my first year, and went to be with Jesus nearly 3 weeks ago. She fought long and hard against lung cancer-- 4 or 5 months in hospice.  She was one of the strongest, most passionate women I've ever met.  Last year, she pulled me into her office to try to break me.  This was just after my dad had announced he was divorcing my mom, and I was emotionally numb and cut off.... and Mrs. Perkins noticed. Believe it or not, faculty and students didn't see the over-the-top extrovert you all know until Mrs. Perkins made me cry... I am so thankful for that conversation and her willingness to break me so I would become the teacher they hired. My heart is filled with joy when I imagine her free of cancer, shouting praises to Jesus (because she's undeniably shouting, jumping and waving her arms in the air because she loves Him so much)-- and my eyes well with tears as I realize she's not with us anymore, that she left such a beautiful family and legacy behind.
     Oh, goodness. That's enough emotion for now! In lighter news, I have become the clumsiest person in the building. This year, I have ripped off a fingernail lifting up a desk, without making sure another desk wasn't on top of it.... *eyeroll here*... I slammed my arm in my classroom door two weeks ago, and couldn't hold a dry-erase marker for a week... (nonetheless a pencil!).... and this week: I stapled all the way through my index finger. I was trying to fix a jammed stapler in the workroom, and sure enough, I fixed it! In the process, a staple entered through the pad of my finger, and stopped at the back side of my nail. Yep... it hurt about as bad as it sounds! I'm forever grateful for Donna Murphy, a Pre-K teacher who got up from her lunch and pulled on it long enough to get it out.... and then gave me two Excedrin extra strength.
 
2nd grade epiphanies: One student thought he was 9 until I told him he was born in 2003. And another student, just 2 days ago, realized I'm not married. Which, by the way, is the kid whose football games I attend by myself on Saturdays.... who brought me roses for my birthday.... and writes my name as "Miss Koontz".

That's all for an update right now.

Wow!

Wowwww... We all probably realize I'm TERRIBLE at updating this blog!!!  But, I have a class blog at www.misskoontz.weebly.com that is updated regularly by me, and my students!  Check it out! This school year has been fantastic!  My kids are so sweet and are making such a fantastic classroom culture!  My favorite part of the day is morning meeting-- where we: do a dance I adapted from the zumba class I go to, say the Pledge of Allegiance and the Texas Pledge, say our school chant, share teacher and student announcements and apologize for any way we have hurt the community. :-)  I have much more complicated students this year, but I LOVE working with them!  My heart is super burdened for these kids, and so passionate to see each one succeed!

Now, I'm actually blogging so I can post pictures of the decorations in my apartment, so I can add them to Pinterest. Holy addiction, Batman!

Staff Development Day 2

Yesterday was a work day for returning teachers.  It was super fun to hang out with my coworkers again--- and to have my partner teacher back from Maternity Leave! :-) My room is almost ready, minus a few super minor things. Today, we had staff development all together as a district and it was good.  I'm really excited to be back and start the new year! And I'm SO excited for our new teachers!  In my district now, with probably only 200 teachers max, I went to college with 3 people. (As in, actually had classes with them...)  One teacher and I were interns together at another school.  He's been looking for a full-time teaching job since we graduated, and PRAISE THE LORD-- He got one TWO days ago!!! With us! :-)  And I'm really excited about our new teachers on my campus-- one of which I sat next to in a class my junior year!  It's so cool to see how God is putting people in our district to invest in the lives of our students.

I'm mostly writing today to point out some funny observations I've made about being a teacher.

1. Now that I'm back at work, I talk to myself again. 

2. During the summer, I don't talk to myself.

3. I talk to myself in my classroom, and at stores--- but only when I'm trying to remember what I need for my classroom.  I'm starting to wonder if this is a function of my level of exhaustion. 

4. I had more observations, but being back at work from a summer of relaxation is exhausting.  And I have successfully forgotten everything else I was going to write.   But, I've had some really funny moments with my friend since I've been home... so much that she laughed about it an hour later, too.

More funny observations about what it means to be a teacher coming soon... hopefully!

TAKS ratings...

Wow! I don't know exactly when TEA released TAKS ratings for the past school year, but I know that I looked at them less than an hour ago... and now I'll write what I think about them, in case anyone is wondering how a teacher feels.

I am excited to report that my campus was rated "Recognized"-- so way to go 3rd and 4th graders!!! I had only a small part in this, as a first-year, 2nd Grade teacher in the 2010-2011 school year.  I tutored 3rd grade students twice a week in math; and words can't describe the joy I felt when one particular student shouted to me, coming in from 3rd grade's award ceremony, that he did well on his test. :-)  I'm hopeful and expectant that the students I sent on to 3rd grade this year will continue to do well and show the state how prepared and knowledgable they are on the STAAR test.

As you know, my school is a charter school; in the middle-ish of the largest district's territory in our county.  The neighborhood school just down the road was rated "Academically Unacceptable", which absolutely breaks my heart.  Our student populations are just the same, really. They're all young--- a variety of "at-risk" and "performing", from nuclear families and broken families, wanting to be cared for and taught.  Because my school is a charter, we're probably a little less lopsided with different demographics. (Being a charter allows us to accept students from anywhere in our region-- so we have many students from our neighborhood, and a handful from each part of town/suburbs.)  To admit my naivety, I have yet to wrap my mind around how such a gap between two neighboring schools is possible. Surely the teachers at both schools invest equally in their classes and work toward success with great intentionality each day.  But maybe not?  I guess that's really the hard part for me to understand.  The population of our schools are extremely similar... and surely adults wouldn't decide to be teachers if they didn't care.  I can't imagine being a teacher without the passion that is in my heart for education, students and this neighborhood.  So now, I'm grappling with the question: are we somehow denying children a quality education?  My building has limited space, and can not accept everyone who applies.  (Not to mention, students learn less effectively and richly in classrooms with 25-30 students, which is a reason why we cap our classes below 20 students.) And I truly have no idea what all goes on any day at the other school.... I wonder what their teachers are like; how they feel, what they do, what they're passionate about....

I have no conclusion to all of this... not even to what I, personally, think about all of it.  But I'm thinking that this is probably the root of why I cry when I watch the documentary, Waiting for Superman.... and why I have to take a long walk by myself afterward (every time!) to process it and my place within all of this. Ohhh pubic school....

Holy Moly!

Sorry to anyone who ever reads my blog! I said in April that I would update more, and totally didn't! So sorry!

The end of the school year was crazy busy. My partner teacher had a baby, so I had to learn how to be more independent. :-) Luckily, I had her for almost 9 whole months, so 2nd grade survived under my leadership! The last month and a half certainly came with its challenges, which after all was said and done, made me a much stronger and more confident teacher-- but it was by no means easy! I'm not sure that I have ever been more humbled in my life, or more desperate for guidance and assistance-- nor have I been more thankful for administrative staff and co-workers!

Now, I have 2 weeks left until Staff Development resumes, and less than 3 weeks until an entirely new group of students steps across the threshold of my room.  This will already look tremendously different from last year!  This summer I have been working on making my room more aesthetically pleasing, and adding more posters that are specific to what students will consistently encounter, primarily in reading. I have also added a Word Wall to my room, which I'm not entirely sure how to use yet. :-)  But today and tomorrow, I have been and will continue to learn about a writing "curriculum" of sorts, called "Writing with the Traits".  Today was really great; I learned  A LOT and was very inspired to plan for the new year.  That's about the only thing I have left to do besides to write students' names on desks and such.  I am also planning to do a little different schedule-style, if you can call it that. :-)  I plan to have an hour, or hour and a half, or maybe 2 hours... or 3.... set aside for centers.  My classroom will be baseball themed, so this will be called, "In the Batting Cages".  The goal is to have students working in pairs or independently at stations where they will practice necessary and previously-learned skills in spelling, math, reading, writing, language arts, art, listening, and maybe somehow: music. While students are working without my assistance, I plan to have a small group of 2-5 students working with me on skills needing extra attention, whether the student(s) are struggling, excelling or just learning content. So it's kind of a big plan requiring lots of time.

And my sweet, dear, lovely friend, Amanda just got here... so I'm giving her my undivided attention and will finish this later.

5 months later...

Sorry to anyone who actually reads this to keep up on my life! (Mom... ;->)  The past 5 months at school have been a whirlwind.  They've gone by so fast, yet so slow.  They have been filled with victories and failures, joy and frustration.  I have certainly learned A LOT.  Such as:
1. Students do not want to take tests the day before a week-long holiday, and therefore WILL NOT do it with their best work.
2. Changes in weather really DO make a huge difference in behavior.
3. Indoor recess is NOT the same as outdoor recess.
4. Math is really abstract when it gets into multiplication, division, fractions and measurement.
5. Language Arts is more fun when students get to put all they things they've learned into a writing of some sort-- like a letter or a poem.
6. Seating charts, at least for my class, need to change every couple weeks to keep physical aggression to a minimum.
7.  There's always a better way to do what you've always been doing.
8. Observing your peers has tremendous benefits.
9. The third round of Parent Conferences is a little more challenging than the first two.
10. Parents can still be mean. For no good reason many times.


Now, I'm doing a lot to change what I've been doing all year.  Reading Centers are different now.... well, I don't remember if I even had them before Christmas.  Students do one center a day, Monday through Thursday and take the assessment on Friday.  Reading scores have improved since I've started centers.  Each week, students do a listening center, where they listen to a narrator read the story we're working on, and do a follow-up vocabulary page.  They do a center using their spelling words, a center writing something, and working with me.  Lately, I've been researching other ways to do centers.  So next year, or if I can figure it out logistically before then, I hope to have 6 or 8 centers instead of 4 so there are fewer students at each center.  One challenge I have, minus wrapping my mind around the logistics, is space.  My classroom is an open-concept room, and not very big.  We only have 1 computer for the teacher and students, and my cd player is now broken.  We only have 3 walls, one with a whiteboard, one with the door, and the other with a window.

Another challenge of my year has been the academic levels of my students.  I have a group that is below average, and another group that is well above average... and no average. So, whole-class lessons are difficult, and finding time to differentiate instruction has been a challenge as well.

So, now I'm researching ways to overcome these challenges on google.... and hoping to find some professional development on these things over the summer.

And for anyone wondering out there, I have only taken 3 sick days this year.  1 for vomiting, and 2 more for a fever exceeding 102 degrees.

It's been a pretty exciting year so far.  I look forward to finishing this one, and building upon what I've learned next year. And I'm hoping to blog a little more. As I'm searching for things about how to schedule centers and a whole day using more centers,  I find myself wishing more people blogged about it or made websites about it.  So, realizing my blog really isn't helpful for anyone, except maybe those deciding if they really want to teach, I'll still update it in hopes that maybe some day I'll be an extraordinarily brilliant teacher. Maybe someday I'll have a really good idea or insight... maybe.



But one last note, I finally saw the movie Waiting for Superman.  I HIGHLY recommend it!  It changed the way I view my profession as an educator in a charter school, and reminded me of the responsibility I carry. Now I'm learning how to steward the responsibility and privilege well. Wish me luck! :-)