#MissionMonday 5/24 - Focus on the Yes

In education, I am always looking neat and interesting lessons to bring to my students. Different approached to long used themes might help a different group of students. As I sit and think about new ideas and cruise my Google Reader to see what amazing things other teachers are doing, I find myself thinking of more reasons why something will not work or be allowed than reasons why this new idea will work. Why is that?

I wonder if that is a result of my district, state or something all together different. My district has switched to common assessments for all mid term and final exams. I'm not a fan of this because it doesn't allow me to differentiate for my individual classes come assessment time. Also, getting two departments at two very different high schools to agree on one test has been slow and painful. Multiple tests have been created and nothing seems to stick for more than a year in the past 5. Have I been beaten down by this concept of being like everyone else? Am I starting to worry about being different?

In my first year of teaching, I did something totally different for final exam time for my American Literature classes. I created an Olympic style set of events and broke up each of the three classes into 3 colors. Each class competed in events on the football field that mixed questions and physicals challenges. There was a water balloon toss that forced students to take steps back if they answered questions incorrectly. There was a relay race where students had to construct responses to essay questions to advance in the relay. The assessment lasted 90 minutes and it was a blast. The students I still run into remember that event fondly. Layoffs, subject changes and the new common assessment prevent me from even considering do that again. I should say, it did.

I've decided to stop looking at all of the reasons not to do something and focus on the positives. Now, I'm not going to knowingly do something that will break school policy, but I think that more good can be done if I start to focus on the yes instead of the no.

Your #MissionMonday, if you choose to accept it, is to focus on the yes. Stop looking at the reasons why something will not work and focus on the reasons it will work. Do something new and see if it works. If it doesn't, so what. See if the lesson can be fixed and try it again. If it can't be fixed, try a new idea. I'm going to focus on the yes and see where that takes me. You should try it too.

- @TheNerdyTeacher

#MissionMonday - Unplug 5/17

Happy #Mission Monday everyone! Friday night I decided to unplug for the weekend so I could attend to a growing list of to dos. I chaperoned the Junior Prom and that was piece of cake. It's always nice to see kids in their best outfits having a good time with their peers. As teachers, we often forget to look at teens as teens and not just butts in a seat. That is why I loved being a class adviser, coach and chaperon. It gives me a chance to interact with the kids in a positive way outside of my room.

I also spent some time working on my Masters program. I'm putting together a Grammar Web Quest and I will be bugging some of you for feed back later on. Thanks PLN. :-) I will be done with my Masters in Educational Technology by the end of the Summer of 2011. I can't wait. The extra pay will help offset the 3% of my paycheck that now has to go into the State Pension fund to help them balance the budget. Sweet!

I was also able to take in a Tigers Game with @JenniferPro. It's been a while since we have been able to hangout and it was such a nice day I thought it would be good to see the home town team play the Red Sox. Sorry Sox fans, you were not the victors this time. If it makes you feel any better, the Tigers took 3 of 4 from the Yankees. You can thank us later. :-)

I guess the point that I'm trying to get at is unplugging was one of the best things I could have done for the weekend. I love being connected to my PLN and I'm positive that I missed some good resources this weekend, but the fact that I was able to do some great things over these two days was amazing. I suggest that everyone try to unplug for a day or two and see what you can accomplish away from the Twitter/Blog world. I know that my Reader is waiting for me, but it will always be there. Events like Prom and Tiger games with the wife will not always be there. Take the time to shut down and explore the world around you. It might be tough, but you will come back refreshed and ready to grow with the rest of the PLN.

Let me know how yo have unplugged and what you did with your free time. It's nice for teachers to share these stories. We are all in this together people. As they say, it takes a PLN to raise a child.

P.S. - Don't unplug until you have reads this post and passed it to all of your friends.  :-) JK

#Mission Monday - Ask THAT Question

Happy #MissionMonday folks. I trust that you had a great weekend and that you are excited for another wonderful work week with your amazing students. For this week,  was trying to think of something good. I really wanted to focus on me and how I can grow as a teacher and a learner. I realized the only way that was going to happen was to do what my students do every day in my class.

Asking questions is how we learn. However, as teachers, we sometimes feel like we are not allowed to ask questions. As tech people in our respective buildings or districts, we are the ones that have to have the answers for everything. It might be a hardware issue or a software issues, but we are expected to have the answer and make everything work when asked. We can't be afraid to say, "I'm not sure. Can I get back to you on that one?" I love searching for the answers to problem I don't understand, but sometimes asking questions is the best and fastest way to learn something new.

Another part of asking questions I think people should think about is asking THAT question. Every district has rules as to why you cannot do this or that and we take many of them as they are and go about our teaching lives. We might not like these rules, but we accept them. Sometimes asking people, "Why?" is all that it takes to change the system. Some rules have been in place because of past management and new management has never thought about them because nobody asks. Forcing people to explain rules might actually make them realize the need to change those rules.

EX: I asked the powers at be if it would be possible to use Skype in my class in the near future. Now, we have so many filters in our district, I thought there was no way that it would be possible, but I decided to ask the question and see where it lead. I was surprised to find that it was something they are considering but were not sure of the interest. When I'm ready to try it, I just need to let them know and it will happen. A simple question might now open up Skype to other classrooms in the district because I asked THAT question.

Your #MissionMonday, if you choose to accept it, is to ask THAT question. It can be the question you have been afraid to ask your PLN about because it seems remedial or it can be a question about a policy you think is outdated and needs to be revisited. The world changes when questions ask. If teachers don't ask questions, how can we expect students to do the same?

#MissionMonday - Say Thanks!

Happy #MissionMonday everyone! I have been thinking about this #MissionMonday for a couple of days and wasn't sure where to go with it. There are so many things we can all do to make a difference it is very hard to think of one thing to do. I was sifting through some great resources on Twitter this morning and I was hit with it. I wanted to thank so many people for tweeting some great info, but I didn't know where to start. I think that is a big obstacle we face as teacher at times. We want to thank all of the people that have helped us along the way, but we are too busy and promise to do it after this task is complete. Then another task comes up and another, so on and so forth. Taking a couple of minutes to thank the people that deserve it should be a priority and it is going to be my focus this week as I wrap up a unit, enter in report card grades and start the next unit.

Your #MissionMonday, if you choose to accept it, is to stop and thank the people around you that have helped you in some way. This person can be a parents, a mentor, a student, an administrator, a Twitter Friend or anyone else that has helped you in some way. Let them know how important their help was to you. Make a card, buy some flowers, post on your blog, rent a sky-writer, etc. We love nothing more than to be thanked for a good job, so we should thank others for doing a good job at helping us grow as teachers and learners.

Good luck with your #MissionMonday.

- @TheNerdyTeacher

#MissionMonday - Listen

Happy Monday everyone! For some of us, we are getting back from a very relaxing break and are hitting the home stretch of the school year. I hope you are nice and relaxed and ready to grind out the last 10 weeks or so.

Today's #MissionMonday is hardest simple thing to do. I want all of you to listen today. Listen to your students, listen to your colleagues, listen to your friends and listen to anyone else you see today. I'm sure many of you have a wierd look on their face, so let me explain.

As an English teacher, I will assign reading to my students. The next day they will come back and tell me they have read the chapter. When we start discussing it, some of them have blank stares. They say they just can't remember it, but they read. I told them they read the words, but they did not actually read the chapter.

Listening and hearing are not the same thing.You might register the words coming out of someone's mouth, but are you really listening to them? I always try to keep an eye on my class when I'm talking to students to make sure everything is ok. I'm hearing the student talk, but I'm not listening all of the time. It's a tough job for teachers, but it is something we have to master. We need to listen to our students when the talk because it's not what they say sometimes, it's what they didn't say or even how they said it.

Your Mission, if you choose to accept it, is to listen to people this week. Take the time and give people the attention they need and listen to them. You might be surprised and what you will hear. :-)

- @TheNerdyTeacher

#MissionMonday for March 22

Today's #MissionMonday is "Treat yourself to something nice at the end of the day. As educators, we deserve nice things too."

It's not news that our jobs are not always easy. There are a million different things that are going on and we need to get them all done by the end of the school day or take all of it home. The economy has hit many areas very hard and education is an area that always loses the economic battle. I'm going to be spending tonight with my fellow teacher picketing the school board before the meeting because we are not happy with their suggested 14%-20% pay cut they are offering us in the new contract. Not cool.

It is easy to get wrapped up in the stress of things and forget to treat yourself to something nice. Our concern is focused on our students, other teachers, the district and our families. Take a moment to treat yourself to something nice. Maybe it is a cupcake or a cookie. A massage you have been putting off could go a long way. Remember that we are only useful to our students and loved one if we are happy, healthy and relaxed.

Have a great week everyone. Remember to "Teach the Crap out of those kids!"