Today I'm Grieving

I want to pick you up from this fallen place

Give you the love that's long overdue.

I can only listen with my ears and my heart,

Today I'm grieving what I cannot do.

 

You deserve a mom and dad who make you feel safe

Not the violence and drugs you're so used to.

Tears in my eyes, I see a child grown up too fast

Today I'm grieving what I cannot do.

 

How have you withstood so long this pain and heartbreak?

We adults expect for you to just pull through.

But, no, not me, hide here in my wings.

Today I'm grieving what I cannot do.

 

Words cut like knives and you're bleeding to death.

People see the anger and they don't know you.

I see past the anger and bind your wounds with love.

Today I'm grieving what I cannot do.

 

Come find me when you feel forgotten by the world,

Not everyone will understand what you've been through.

My heart will hold space for your hurt and suffering.

Today I'm grieving what I cannot do.

Facilitating a Volunteer Appreciation Reception

Everyone loves a "thank you." 

 

Volunteers are more likely to return the following year if they feel appreciated and can see the "fruits" of their efforts.  One way I do this is by facilitating the Volunteer Appreciation Reception every year.

 

Here are a few key tips to help make your Volunteer Appreciation Reception successful:

1. Provide teachers with a paper copy (bi-lingual if needed) of the invitation that they can send home for any parents or individuals that volunteered in their classroom.  The paper copy should have a place for volunteers to RSVP.  Once returned, teachers should return the RSVP form to your mailbox.
2. If your volunteers are tech-savvy, create electronic invitations and be sure to include a RSVP.
3. Make the kids part of the reception!  Individuals volunteer because they love children.  Our kindergarten students sang and did hand motions to the song, "You've Got a Friend in Me" this year.  Our 1st grade students decorated flowers for the place settings.  Our Student Lighthouse Team greeted volunteers as they arrived.
4. Create name tags so that volunteers can mingle without the awkwardness.
5. Have the principal, a teacher, yourself, or all 3 share a super short heartfelt thank you speech to the volunteers. 

Our Volunteer Appreciation Theme this year was, "Thank You for Helping Us Bloom!"

School-wide College Exploration for the Elementary School

In the main hallway, I created a hallway display with teacher's pictures (visual) and their name listed under where they attended college.

 

In addition to the visual display, every morning, I chose a teacher to give a one-minute overview of their college experience during the morning announcements. Some chose to talk about time management, while others talked about intermural sports. Students were excited to find out about their teachers' college experience.

 

The college exploration project was a success in introducing students to the world of college!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Work at a Low-Performing School. I Am Not a Low-Performing Teacher.

I work at an impoverished school.

I love my job, and my students.

My test scores come back.

I am an ineffective teacher.
 

One of my students is living in a motel.

They need extra food.

Six people living in one motel room.

I am an ineffective teacher.
 

One of my students is a newcomer.

They just arrived from El Salvador.

I greet them every morning with a hug.

I am an ineffective teacher.
 

One of my students stayed up late, real late.

Mom and dad were fighting again.

The police came and took dad away.

I am an ineffective teacher.
 

My students love being at school.

One student tells me they want to live with me.

When winter break arrives, some are saddened.

I am an ineffective teacher.
 

One of my students is little, but can't be little.

She helps takes care of the baby in the house.

She wakes up in the night to feed the baby.

I am an ineffective teacher.
 

 

I work at an impoverished school.

I love my job, and my students.

My test scores come back.

I am an ineffective teacher.

 

It is a new year and I move to teach at a new school.

The parents donate everything on my wish list, and more.

The students spent their summer at camps and museums.

Can I hide that I am an ineffective teacher?
 

I work at an affluent school.

I love my job, and my students.

My test scores come back.

I am an effective teacher.

Wait, I am the same teacher.

A new teacher takes my place at my old school.
The "effective" teachers don't want to work there.
The students wonder why their beloved teachers are gone.
She is a first year teacher.

She works at an impoverished school.
She loves her job, and her students.
Her test scores come back.
She is an ineffective teacher.



Kindness Month

Do you want to bring a positive focus to your school climate?

Do you want to empower kids to be "change makers"?

 

 

For the past two years, I have facilitated Kindness Month at my school.  Below are some of activities that have been included as part of this exciting time!

 

 

 

 

 

The Kindness Calendar

Kindness Calendars are posted throughout the school, including in each classroom. Students are challenged each day to fulfill the random act of kindness. I made my calendars bi-lingual (English on the front and Spanish on the back) so that teachers could copy and send home if desired.

 

 

Kindness Counts Spirit Week - A newsletter is sent home with all students informing students about Spirit Week.  In addition to the Spirit Days, information about bullying is included.

 

           Kindness Bucks - All staff are given Kindness Bucks. If a staff member "catches" a student being kind, they give the student a Kindness Buck.  Students write their name and their teacher's name on the Kindness Buck. In mid-February, students are allowed to use their Kindness Bucks to enter raffles to win prizes (e.g. soccer ball, puzzle, jump rope).

 
 
 
 
          The Raffle - In the morning before the bell rings, students can bring their Kindness Bucks to the main hallway and put it in a bowl of their choice for the item they want to win!  I have the table set up for two consecutive mornings in case a student is absent. I announce the winners over the morning announcements!

 

 

 



Step Out of the Quicksand

When we graduate college, we have only worked with "textbook" problems. We haven't yet experienced the complex multi-faceted real-life situations that will face us.

When I walked across the graduation stage in 2010, I set out to change the world.  I wasn't exactly sure how, but I felt destined. 

And then...reality hit. And what a crushing blow reality can be. 

First, there's bureaucracy - a system that creates barriers for those with less.
Then, there are the naysayers - the people who discount your dreams and tell you "how it really is."
And lastly, there are so many problems - how can I change the world when SO much is wrong?

There are so many wonderful quotes about optimism.

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."     Winston Churchill

 "Don't dig up in doubt what you planted in faith."     Elisabeth Elliot

"Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams."     Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Optimism has captured the attention of researchers.  They find that it may improve outcomes for health, lifespan, and life quality.  If this is true, then can't it surely improve outcomes for educators?  Yet, we as educators find ourselves drowning in the quicksand of pessimism. 

So where do I begin my journey of educational optimism?  It is a path riddled with bureaucracy, naysayers, and problems.  Here's are 3 points for a simple starting place.

1. Start with one daily affirmation.  Below are some choices.

• I am in charge of my happiness today.
• I will bring light and peace to others today.
• I will focus on what I can do today.
• I make mistakes and learn from them.

2. Start with one child.

• Choose a child that both pushes and pulls at you.  Here is what I mean...the child's behavior pushes you away but their emotional and/or social needs pull you in.  Focus on building a positive relationship with this one child.  Just one child.

3. Start with the 2 people closest to you at work.

• Share with them your goal to choose optimism.
• You need "wing men/women" to support you in your journey of educational optimism.

No, you're not too late to be optimistic.  You can start today.

Being optimistic doesn't mean you ignore the problems that poison society. It means you find happiness and joy in your choices in this journey of life.  You find peace and contentment in the light you bring to dark places. It means you intentionally remember your calling to be an educator and the greatness of that calling. 

Step out of the quicksand today. And step into optimism.

Winter Bulletin Board

There's "SNOW" many ways to be kind!