Curating a School for Everyone

Children come to school each day as different as snowflakes. I think our responsbility is not to make them all the same when they leave. Our job is to create a learning space where they all can thrive. It's not about restricting their experiences. It's all about expanding their experiences by providing them with what they need to be successful learners and happy children.

I have always felt that school belongs to the children. I dream of school as a place where there are no big people and little people but a place where everyone is a teacher and everyone is a learner and where we accomplish more together than we could separately.

We try hard to create classroom environments that support a successful learning community. I want us to celebrate the differences among our students and to make sure we can change the environment when something isn't working for them. As curators of our schools, we need to monitor the environment and change it to meet the needs of each child.

We can't expect a child who has trouble sitting still to overcome what he cannot control. So we mold an environment that matches his needs.

We can't expect a child to read at grade level if she is still struggling to learn basic reading skills. So we alter our instructions as well as the books we make available for her to read.

When a child needs a bit more time to complete work, we give it to them.

When a child struggles with where to sit at lunch and who to sit with, we surround him with buddies who can help him navigate lunchtime.

Instead of trying to change a child to fit the environment, we should be willing and able to flex the environment to fit the child.  Only then, will we have schools where growth is encouraged and learning is fun.

I am participating in the 

March Slice of Life Challenge.
Each day we post our thoughts.
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers!

Day 26 - Curating School for Everyone

I Hear Their Voices....

I hear their voices...
As they walk into the room.
Stories of after-school adventures
From the day before.

I hear their voices...
As the day unfolds.
Pondering.
Wondering.
Discovering.
Sharing.

I hear their voices...
As we learn together.
Tentative.
Frustrated.
Confident.
Joyful.

And...

I hear their voices...
As we end the day.
Goodbyes.
See you tomorrows.
Another symphony of voices.

I am participating in the 

March Slice of Life Challenge.
Each day we post our thoughts.
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers!

Day 25 - I Hear Their Voices

Late Night Post

A late night post
   on this very busy day.
Drove northward 
   in the early hours.

Family.
Hugs.
Hospital visit.
Doctors.
Tests.
Unknowns.
Tears.
More hugs. 

Wondering.
Hoping.
Praying.

I am participating in the 

March Slice of Life Challenge.
Each day we post our thoughts.
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers!

Day 23 - Motivating Readers - A Lesson From My Mom

Motivating Readers - A Lesson From My Mom

As my brother and sisters and I grew older, I remember my Mom wanting to do something outside of our home. She got a job as a school librarian at a small Catholic school near our home. She loved books and reading so it seemed like a perfect fit for her. I also remember her taking classes in library science at a nearby university to help her in her work. She did not have a college degree but she took this opportunity very seriously. If she was going to do something, she was going to do it well.

I have one very vivid memory of her time as a librarian and I love her so much for telling it. I am proud to be a daughter of a librarian who loved books and loved children.

Here's what she told me:

One day the principal of the school walked into the quiet library.  She had assumed that she would find a room of children glancing through the shelves of books and reading around library tables. But when she entered the room all she could hear was a quiet room. She was puzzled because she was sure that a class had been assigned library time.

My mom greeted her with a smile and noticed the questioning look on her face as though to say, "Where are the children?".  It wasn't long before a few heads popped out from under one of the library tables and greeted Sister with a smile. Sister was relieved to know they hadn't lost the children.

My mom knew how to motivated children to be readers. She let them read under the library tables! Her routine was well before her time when most students sat in rows of desks all day.  She had her students tucked away and relaxing under the library tables and they were reading!

I am participating in the 

March Slice of Life Challenge.
Each day we post our thoughts.
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers!

Day 23 - Motivating Readers - A Lesson From My Mom

What I Know About Myself as a Reader - Part 2

On March 17, I posted 25 things I know about myself as a reader. I continue to add to the list. It's a great exercise reflecting on the reader that I am. 

http://talkworthy.blogspot.com/2016/03/what-i-know-about-myself-as-reader.html

26. I have always wanted to read Anna Karenina. Someday I will tackle it.
27. I like to read maps. Have always been fascinated by them.
28. I love infographics. That's reading too!
29. I can't read in bed. I fall asleep!
30. I usually read only one book at a time.
31. I read/watch the weather report every day. 
32. I love to read and collect quotes. 
33. I get car sick if I read in the car.
34. I like quiet places to read. 
35. I was a Nancy Drew fan when I was young and I collect vintage Nancy Drew books 
36. I need to carefully read directions when I am putting something together. Can't put something together without them.
37. My mom was a great reading model for me.
38. I loved walking to the library when I was young.
39. I love collecting bookmarks.
40. I like to collect quotes about reading.
41. I like free form poetry.
42. I started reading mysteries again.
43. I get frustrated reading magazines because there are too many advertisements. 
44. I research the flowers and plants I put in my garden.
45. I can never have enough bookcases.
46. I don't like reading comics so it is hard for me to read graphic novels.
47. I have favorite words like "serindipity", " persimmon", etc.
48. I love to read with my grandchildren.
49. I can never have enough picture books.
50. I sometimes get to the bottom of a page and have no idea what I read.

I am participating in the 

March Slice of Life Challenge.
Each day we post our thoughts.
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers!

Day 22-What I Know About Myself as a Reader - Part 2

 
  
 

The Way We Treat Others

Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.

 ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

I have always kept this quote on my desk. I moved it from school to home when I retired because it reminds me to treat people in ways that help them grow. I think it is a really important quote for educators.

As a teacher, I wanted my students to believe they could do anything they set their minds to do. That meant that I needed to treat them like real writers, readers, scientists, historians, mathematicians, artists, singers, and musicians. Our conversations needed to be thoughtful. Their experiences at school needed to be authentic. The workshop model promoted the most authentic experiences for my students.

When we opened a new elementary school, we were determined to treat our students like leaders. We established a student leadership team that helped make decisions about our school and the way we would live and work together each day. We even included a group of students in our summer retreat after our first school year. At the retreat, teachers and students brainstormed what was going well and what we needed to improve. We gave our students a voice in our school because we believed they could be leaders.

This quote has guided me in all aspects of life. When we treat our family, our friends and others we meet along the way like they already are what they ought to be, the world is a better place.

I am participating in the 

March Slice of Life Challenge.
Each day we post our thoughts.
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers!

Day 21 - The Way We Treat Others

It's Hard

This morning I was getting ready to go to the gym. I am on a quest to get healthy. I have changed my eating patterns and adopted an exercise schedule. I know those will get me where I want to be. It will just take time. 

My husband is my cheerleader. Countless of times over the last few months he has said, "I'm proud of you." My trainer, who is also my cheerleader,  pushes me hard but believes in me. He knows I will try hard and won't back down from a challenge.

But today was a hard. I wasn't excited about going to the gym and working out today. I made it there and got in a pretty good workout. I am glad I went.

But on the way home I was thinking about those kids for whom school is hard.
Maybe academics are hard. Maybe friendships are hard. Maybe just getting to school is hard.
Do they wake up in the morning and say to themselves, "I just can't do it today."
Do they go through the motions of getting ready for school but are so tempted to just go back to bed?
Do they hesitate as they head out the door, pausing to look for a way out of going to school?
What is the voice in their head saying? 
Are they coaching themselves with an uplifting message or falling for words of defeat?

Who are their cheerleaders? 
Hopefully, they have parents who encourage and support them - parents who celebrate what the child accomplishes. Parents who recognize and appreciate what their children can do.

And what about their teachers? 
I think back to my years of teaching and hope that I was the kind of teacher who encouraged those for whom school was hard. 

Did I recognize those children whose feet dragged as they entered the classroom?
Did I appreciate why some kids just couldn't stay on task when the work was hard?
Did I greet students with a positive attitude and kind words of encouragement?
Did I position myself near those children who felt alone when the work got hard?
Did I think about revising my instructional strategies for those students who needed to learn another way?
Did I support them with encouraging words?

I know I tried. Hopefully, I succeeded in being the cheerleader I needed to be.

I am participating in the 

March Slice of Life Challenge.
Each day we post our thoughts.
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers!

Day 20 - It's Hard