Sit. Stand. Work.

Photo by edutopia

 The thrill of the hunt continued today.  Despite 3 new CVS location visits, I was unable to locate any more green chairs.  (Now reduced to 75% off!)  I'd really like to find 4 more, as I know that at least a few will fall victim to tomfoolery at some point during the semester.

After seven school days, I am more than pleased with both the chairs, and the reaction to them.  Kids come in my room and perk up, just a bit, and settle quickly into a comfortable space.  I'm still adjusting my opinions about whether I should allow students to sit with laptops in the chairs, working on proposals or written assignments, as the jury is still out on how effective that is in terms of productivity. The only down side appears to be the jealous glares of the members of the class across the hall.

In addition to the green chairs, I've also added a "standing table," -- a 4 foot long table that I picked up at Costco, which which is available to any student who would rather stand than sit in my room.  Standing tables are getting a LOT of attention these days, as is the idea of creating alternative spaces to engage students.  Edutopia has a wonderful article -- which includes the photo above -- that pretty much sums up the "Pick your battles" method to motivating learners. (I particularly loved the story of the boy in the rocking chair on the windowsill.  Fortunately I have narrow windows and no rocking chairs in my room...)

What do I do to show I care about my students?  I have lap robe blankets in my closet, for when the air conditioning gets too cold, or the heat is lacking.  I don't care if they charge their phones in my room, as long as they leave them alone, I bring in aloe tissues for sick kids, instead of the sandpaper tissues the district provides.  I have a stash of inexpensive school supplies that I pick up when places mark stuff down to 90% off, and I usually have a mint or a granola bar for the truly desperate.

Are my expectations for quality work high?  You bet.  Is it a battle to see quality in the work of my students?  Not since I focused on proving to them that I care.

Tomorrow I will check a few more CVS stores, hoping for four more chairs.  It's the thrill of the hunt, I tell you.

And the thrill of successful students.

Room for One More.

An unanticipated advantage to the Inner Circle of Green Chairs revealed itself today when we held the interest meeting for Key Club members in my room during Tribe Time.  Despite the fact that there was also a senior class meeting commanding the attention of 25% of the school, FORTY NINE kind-hearted kids filled every seat, and then some.   

 I dare anyone to spend 20 minutes at a Key Club meeting in any high school, and come away feeling anything but hope for the future.  Ideas were tossed about, some students are launching projects of personal passion, and still others are on board to help rebuild the local playground, destroyed by arson three years ago.  (Local folks, you can volunteer to build Kids Joy Land, September 22- 27, by clicking here.)

So what motivates kids these days?  It could have been the quality door prizes we offered -- a green spatula, a small garden gnome, a triple sealed smoothie mug, or an unopened copy of Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  But I seriously doubt that.  No.....  these kids were stoked to get started on a year of service.

1.  Collecting soda tabs for Ronald McDonald House
2.  Highway clean up
3.  Raising awareness about Prenatal Tentus
4.  Hosting a Coffee House for student entertainment.
5.  Collecting supplies for Caitlyn Smiles for siblings of ill children to play with while waiting at Ronald McDonald House for treatment of family members.
6.  Building the Kids Joy Land playground.
7.  UNICEF collection
8. Homeless ditty bag kits.

The list went on and on.  I've never seen such a great group of brainstormers.

Oh, and we meet on ODD Fridays.  (That's cycle day number talk, for you amateurs who use a calendar to keep track of your schedules.)  I expect that there will be grand things to report on September 11th, when next we meet.  

Including the winners of those fabulous door prizes.

Better than Trivia Crack.

The Philadelphia Inquirer was the newspaper to read when I was a kid.  "Current Events" was an actual assignment, requiring that students find something of interest happening in the world, understand it well enough to share it with a class, and develop an understanding of literacy strategies, society, and public speaking.  The assumption, I now realize, was that the readers of the paper were, by nature, inquirers.  (As opposed to the National Enquirer, which left nothing to the imagination.)  

Today, people don't really consider the value of "inquiring,"  they just plain old ASK.  But when we "ask" for answers, do we really do anything more with the information than satisfy an immediate curiosity?  Think of it this way -- playing Trivia Crack asks you a question, to which you provide an answer.  If you happen to get the answer wrong, you probably won't seriously consider even trying to remember the actual answer.  The information is there, but doesn't get enough consideration for a transfer to long term memory. Kids sitting in classes receive information in exactly the same manner.

Think about it. When provided with a graphic organizer that provides sentence skeletons or fill in the blanks, even adults sit and listen for key words to trigger the "right" answer to complete the paper.   It doesn't really allow or encourage higher-order thinking, it's more about data processing, as the mind dismisses information deemed unimportant for the task at hand.  It's "garbage in garbage out," in the finest sense of the word.  (And who needs to have the finest garbage?)

We need to be Inquirers.  (And not necessarily just from Philadelphia!)  There is significant evidence that supports the value of students focusing on curriculum topics as a whole and generating their own questions -- essentially giving them ownership of their own learning. Inquiry Learning creates a sense of student autonomy and self-direction that is unlike any environment that exists in a traditional classroom.

Back in January, I outlined my practice for student-designed rubrics.  This is not the "dumbing down" of my gradebook, or lowering expectations of my students.  In fact, these very rubrics have actually increased student achievement, based on evaluating the new papers on the "old" rubrics.  The students owned the expectations, paid close attention o the creation and design of the rubric during the class discussion.  The same can happen with student-designed learning.

Inquiry Learning is a radical idea to some.  For many teachers using Learning Focused Schools or Understanding By Design lesson planning, there may be a philosophical struggle about this process, or the alignment of lesson plans to the actual activities, but it works...

And it works better than anything else that is happening in classroom.  It's learners looking at something -- searching for a current event -- and asking questions, and constructing meaning from what they've discovered.  This is the making of long term learning AND lifelong learners.

I'm hoping to convince a colleague of mine to contribute her classes' success stories as a guest blogger here in the near future. It's her story, and her evidence that she enthusiastically shared with me after school today made it clear that as a teacher, she was clearly as excited as her students about Inquiry Learning, and  felt that it was well worth the struggle of conforming to the almighty lesson plan templates, while encouraging autonomy.  

Hello Mother, Hello Father....

When I was a kid, my father loved to make up rhymes about the start of the school year, usually in the form of questions.

"Was day one.... fun?"

"Hey, Suz, (with emphasis on the Sue), how was day 2?"

"Did you feel free on Day 3?"

You get the idea.  It was a family conversation starter at the dinner table, and a way to connect the generations.

Fast forward to today.  One of the questions I asked my 9th graders this year was "If I had a reason to call home to talk about you, who should I call?"  

Faced with a gaggle of brand new freshmen, the thought of a teacher calling home was petrifying.  The assumption, for most of them, was a metacognitive process of evaluating which parent would receive presumably bad news with the fewest repercussions on their social lives and freedom.  

Perhaps some of them feared that their parents would answer me in rhyme.  In any case, I received more than a few notecards where "Mom" was listed and scratched out, followed by "Dad", also with a big X, and a "Whatever" scrawled across the bottom.  Let the chips fall, so to speak.  What they don't realize is that I don't intend to call home for infractions to the school system, despite what my discipline policy on my syllabus states.  I'm calling home with good news, and only good news.

There is enough bad in this world, that someone else shouldn't be involved in breaking news to parents.  It's about autonomy, and nurturing personal responsibility.  If there is bad news to be delivered, by golly, the person delivering it is going to be the person who caused it to happen in the first place.

Autonomy.  Ownership.  Fostering independence and responsibility.  Because isn't that what we really need to encourage in teenagers?

And maybe the ability to rhyme, just to make it interesting.  

Okay,  probably not.

 

365

Today is the last day.  

I have blogged, every single day, since September 1, 2014.  Today is Day 365.

The primary focus was intended to be my life as a Teacher of the Gifted (Not the Gifted Teacher), and I have attempted to stay at least loosely tied to education in each and every entry.   I've bonded with a Professional Learning Network (PLN) that extends far beyond Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, have joined Twitter, participated in a Twitter Chat.  Last week, I co-moderated a Twitter Chat at the invitation of the moderators, who I now count as colleagues, even though we've never met face to face, or heard each others' voices.

What I have learned about myself has been amazing.  What I have learned about my profession is profound.  What I have discovered about the abilities of my students -- when I DAILY paused to reflect on my classes at the end of each day - resulted in what can only be described as the best year, ever.

I've been teaching at Donegal for 17 years.  I dreamed about teaching, starting at about age 4.   When I do career surveys with my Information Literacy students, the survey bot always recommends teaching high school or college in the top two.  I know I am doing what I was created to do, because I really do love every single minute with my learners.

But, the Best Year Ever?  Yes.

Spending every single day writing something positive about my job (I hate that word...)  daily adventures, has created a mindset -- (dare I say a GROWTH MINDSET?) that frames every single day in positivity. Had I journaled in a notebook each night, I would have been inclined to list frustrations, vent anger, and create a record of hostility and arduous days that should be forgotten, instead of immortalized.  Have there been days where I've been reduced to tears in frustration?  Absolutely.  Have I felt worthless?  You betcha.  Overwhelmed?  More times than I can count.

Fortunately for me, I didn't count them, so I don't know.

What I do know is that I am a happier person for having typed this journey.  As far as counting, as of this afternoon, 37,245 views have hit this blog.  I don't write for an audience, most of the time.  I write for myself.  The blog has started some interesting discussions, has connected me in conversations with family members that I barely knew a year ago, has encouraged at least four of my friends to start blogs of their own, and has served as a portfolio of achievements for the 2014-15 school year -- all bonuses that I hadn't considered in the beginning as well.

The folks at Te@chthought brought this challenge to social media, and continue to do great things in their encouragement of metacognition in the classroom.  Edutopia and Mind/shift are now regular reads of mine, all serving to motivate and inspire me.   Inspiration is key to success, right?

Charles Young did a 365 project that I view as phenomenal.   I don't know what the inspiration was behind his decision to create 365 paper structures in his city, yet it is evident to me that he did so with precision, care, and presumably, a lot of reflection.  (Check out the pictures, this is only a small representation of his total project!)

My husband has challenged people in his congregation to try something new.  (He took up knitting, just to prove he was a risk-taker, and asked others to do something equally whacky.)   

Perhaps it's a Heydt thing that causes me to ask you "What sense of  personal accomplishment is out there, waiting for you to discover? "

Because you're doing yourself, and potentially someone else, a huge disservice for not taking the plunge.  Take a stand, make a commitment, and do something for 30 days.  (And then add 11 months....).  I predict you'll be surprised by the results. 

For today is the last day of the first year of blogging. 

And tomorrow is the first day of year number two. 

Saving Big Bucks on Books.

Recently, Kristin and I took my grandson, Carter, to see the Minions movie.  We headed to Regal Cinemas, with the wonderful recliners for seats, and I chose to pay $7.99 for a bucket of popcorn larger than those sold at KFC.  It was only 80 cents more than the paper bag full of popcorn.  And it was refillable.  (Ha!  WHO eats that much popcorn?  I'd love to know how many people go back for more.)

My logic for this purchase was motivated by the fact that I knew we were going to be sitting in reclining seats, and that a four year old, (okay, and his 54 year old Beanie and Aunt Kristin), are likely to easily knock over a light paper bag, while the bucket will sit flat.

Yes, I chose to spend a full eighty cents on popcorn insurance, assuring that there would be no tears, or loss of story line, while watching the movie.

Movie popcorn aside, I'm not a big fan of overspending for things with huge profit margins.  Case in point, college textbooks. Kristin is now a senior in college, and after 11 1/2 semesters between she and her two brothers, we've done some serious experimenting on how to save on textbook purchasing, saving literally thousands of dollars over the twelve college years.  It takes a bit of time, but it's worth the bonding experience.  Last year, after a particularly wonderful evening of saving nearly $600 between the bookstore price and our actual out of pocket, we wrote this tutorial, and shared it on Facebook.   Using this formula, this year's total out of pocket for the semester was less than $150 for all textbooks, including shipping!  Given that a number of former students are followers of this blog, and not friends with me on Facebook, I thought I'd offer a second edition.  (Get the textbook reference?  I crack me up.)

The statistics are staggering.

Most colleges have their bookstores online, and many have already linked the required textbooks for your student's classes directly to that site.  If this is the case, start there.  Sometimes the college bookstore IS the cheapest place.  But not all the time.  Once you have the list of books you need, take care to note the edition needed.  Make sure that you are searching for, and buying, an edition that will work for the professor teaching the class. 

Gather the ISBN from each book.  It is located on the title page of the book, on the back of the book at the barcode, or on the bookstore or other site (like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.)

We usually use two computers.  One signed in to the university bookstore with the list of books and the baseline of the college bookstore, and the other with several tabs open.  It's not entirely necessary, but if you have them in the house, use them.

TAB #1:  google

TAB #2: Amazon

TAB #3: this year it was Bookbyte.com that was most successful.  We've also had success with thrift books.com.  Some will pop up as affiliates of Amazon.

1.  Locate title and ISBN.

2.  Type ISBN into google, and hit SHOPPING tab.  You should get a list of available copies of the book.  Make sure you are not clicking on an ADVERTISEMENT at the top of the google page.

3.  Copy and paste the ISBN into Amazon and compare prices there as well.  We almost always buy used books, and often the ones that are only listed as "good".

4.  Pay close attention to shipping costs.  If you're a PRIME member at Amazon, you've already got an advantage.  Many of the independent sites offer free shipping.  That's fine if it is 3 weeks before classes start -- not so fine when it is 3 days, because most shippers use media mail which can take up to 10 days.  (And more, if it is coming from overseas!  So watch the location of the book before you buy!)

5.  Identify some similar sellers for some books.  For me, it was worth it to spend a couple of dollars more for a book, knowing that there were more than one coming in a package from a closer location.  (Shipping from MD vs OR, for example).

6.  If you are not already signed up for ebates.com, DO THAT!  (And use me as a reference, so I get the cash!)  Bookbytes, some Amazon transactions, and many other online purchases will get you CASH BACK.  This morning, I was able to get 3.5% back from Bookbytes on top of the 1% I get from using my Discover card.  On Amazon, part of my order supported the Donegal Foundation, as I've elected to donate a percentage of sales there through their "Smiles" program that supports non-profit organizations.

It's worth noting that sometimes there is a CD that comes with the book -- so make sure that it is included before purchase.  Also be wary of European editions -- although that only happened to us once, and it turned out not to be a problem.

Consideration should also be given for the cost of shipping.  Sometimes it's worth paying a couple of dollars more from one vendor, if they cut the shipping charges on multiple books. 

We've never rented textbooks or ebooks, although some of my former students have.

When I first posted this on Facebook a year ago,  some former students had some great advice, so I'm adding that here:

Chloe:  I would also recommend that when you purchase a textbook to not be afraid of older editions. This is advice that depends on the subject and professor, but almost every semester there has been at least one book that I purchased which has been an older edition. I have never ran into any problems apart from a few page numbers being off, but that is easy to get around just by checking what the syllabus says you should be reading about. Usually social science and history textbooks fit well into this category. This might not work as well for a math class where you need to do specific problems or examples. If you need to read an area of a specific textbook that isn't in an old edition, try going to the library as many colleges keep a copy of each textbook that is being used.

Remember Ebooks! They are not always cheaper but at times they have been for me. I have saved at least $50 through the purchase of Ebooks over physical copies. I would recommend this mainly for books which are intended to be read from cover to cover, such as an English book. I do not recommend Ebooks for textbooks that have a lot of graphs or pictures unless you have a device that can easily handle the images in a large enough screen.

Also remember to use other people and see if they are willing to sell or let you borrow their old textbooks. This works especially well for core requirement classes and ends up saving many people money as you can exchange and borrow books.

Lastly, look into CLEP exams at your college and see if there are any subjects that would fill core requirements. In May I taught myself Micro and Macroeconomics and my college accepted my CLEP scores. I had had no prior instruction in either of the subjects, but I got college credit for taking one exam! I saved over $1600 (what it would have cost to pay the overload fees for taking more than 5 classes and the cost of the textbooks) as well as my sanity. Not all colleges accept CLEP exams so check with the registrar's office or your adviser to see if the college does. They can save you time, money, and possibly help you graduate faster if you can get a couple of credits worth of general education classes done. The exams are essentially AP Exams without a written component.

Shannon:   I used cheapesttextbooks.com as a starting point, usually. You search for the ISBNs, and it brings up that book on a bunch of major sellers (Amazon, Chegg, etc) so you can compare prices! Also helpful if you want to eventually sell the books. It can compare selling prices too!

Lucy:  Also when selling books back wait until textbook buying season starts. Then use comparisons of the various trade-back programs. Prices can vary up to 10 dollars on one site in a day and over 30 dollars across all sites. I have seen a book go from 50 dollars to 100 to 70 in the course of a month. NEVER sell books back at the end of the semester, that is when the worst prices are offered.

Kindred Spirits.

Kindred Spirits.  Yes, that is who teaches in the classrooms in my school.  We've made it through the first three days, aka the first week, and have wandered in and out of each others' classrooms, noticing structure, behavior plans, classroom goals, organization techniques, and room arrangements.  

We all know that creating a streamlined, attractive, and well-communicated learning environment for our students makes the rest of the job so much easier.  

Last year, I touted the wonderful influence of the characters at A Lunch.  This year, the dynamic group has been split up -- with some of us actually assigned to cafeteria during the coveted A Lunch slot. It's not bad, it's just different.  And those of us who no longer eat together realize that lunch is not the only time to connect with colleagues, once you realize who is in the building before or after school - for that is when the unhurried collaboration takes place.

The green chairs, aka the INNER CIRCLE,  have unwittingly called to other teachers as they've walked down the English wing hallway, the neon green beckoning them to enter.  I think the green is bright and cheery, and am confident that my quest to get 26 matching chairs by visiting 11 CVS stores in 2 counties has been worth every minute of my time.  The green chairs are my current research project -- and my colleagues are individually trying "something new" in their rooms as well.  For some, it's new technology, for others it's encouraging inquiry, and still others are working to improve executive function and communication skills of students. 

We can't all try everything at once.  We get that.  The cool thing is that we respect and communicate with each other, sharing success stories, and offering encouragement through our enthusiasm.  I know that I fail, miserably, at the whole classroom structure thing.  I can barely keep my own desk clean, let alone track the belongings left behind by the dwellers in my room.  

So right now, I am queen of the chairs. I can talk about their value, and their success.  Down the hall is the most amazing Mindmap of the Odyssey, created by a few English teachers one afternoon, because of the sheer love of the story, and the desire to draw students in with a visual representation of the journey.  Upstairs, the science department works to create an environment/lab similar to the real world organizational structure of labs inhabited by professional researchers.  

If we all taught the same, it would be a boring place, and there would be little to discuss at lunch.  Instead, the Spirits call, silently, to connect colleagues at the exact moment they need connecting, offering the perfect tip or strategy to improve a struggling situation.

It's all about listening for the whisper.