Acceptance

Every year, I work really hard to cultivate a classroom environment centered around respect and acceptance. Yesterday, I realized that what I was doing was working.

Yesterday was 80's day at my school. After our Morning Meeting, I decided to play "Vogue" for fun. The next thing I noticed was that my kids arranged themselves in a circle to have a dance-off. I had no part in this, besides video taping my students.  What I observed during this was wonderful. They cheered each other on, helped organize the circle, laughed, and just had a lot of fun.

I think adults could really learn a lot from these kids.They demonstrated what it looks like to accept others, regardless of the differences present. In fact, diversity is embraced and acknowledged in my class, by my kids.

Take a few minutes and watch this heart-warming video!

YOU MATTER!

"You matter" might look like two words put together. You might think, "yea, okay...I matter." However, it's so much more than this.

Before I get into this blog post, I want to thank Angela Maiers for inspiring this post. She doesn't know me and I don't know her per se, but that's why the Internet is beautiful.

What makes an exceptional teacher is the connection he/she has with his/her students. Without a connection, it doesn't really matter what is taught.

What makes a good person, is not the talent, job, money, or possessions one has. What makes a good person is someone who recognizes the people who matter, who thank those who help him/her, who knows that other people matter and acknowledges them. It's someone who not only works hard and passionately, but recognizes others who do the same.

My students matter. They matter to me, to each other, and to people around them. How else could their confidence grow? How else could they truly be successful? Mattering is the easy part. Students and all of the human race need to be recognized, something that we often do not think about.

In a class of 23 students, each student matters differently. It's recognizing a student who is working with a student needing help, without me asking. It's acknowledging a student who struggles with remembering what is learned day-to-day, when he/she connects to something learned the day before, to a current read-aloud.  It's taking the time and recognizing those students.  It's modeling this behavior constantly. It's understanding that recognition is the key to success.

"YOU MATTER" is my behavior system in class. There are no prizes or extrinsic rewards. When recognized, students get a token to put in our class bag and a stamp on their hand to show their parents. Tokens are pulled to help with classroom responsibilities. 

I wouldn't be the teacher I am today without certain people in my life. They know who they are, because I've told them that...they matter. And, thank you to those incredible professionals who have recognized me, because... I know that I matter.

Walking in Someone Else's Shoes

To a third grader, walking in someone else's shoes is such an abstract thought. Teaching empathy is necessary in today's schools, though. Kids have to be able to relate to others and understand the way that they feel. This is what helps today's youth grow into productive and respectful citizens.

With that being said, I made it a point to have a class discussion about the horrific tragedy that occurred in Japan. With technology creating a global learning environment, kids need to be exposed to current events from around the world. But more importantly, I wanted my students to understand what Japanese children and adults were experiencing.

Then, my unit on empathy started to come together. After much discussion about empathy, my grade level partner and I put our heads together and came up with a culminating activity that allowed our 3rd graders to process the definition of empathy, and how it related to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Walking in Someone Else's Shoes

The students chose 2 different shoes. On one shoe, the students collaged words that dealt with empathy. On the other shoe, they described why they had empathy for the Japanese people.

I Teach Children

I teach children.

I do not teach curriculum or subject areas. Now, before you start thinking that this blog post is taking a strange turn...hear me out. 

My passion for teaching lies within the children to whom I teach. I love to think of ways to reach them and I am continually looking for new and innovative ways to foster life-long learning. I differentiate instruction daily, even though it's easier to teach to the whole group. I spend many evenings and weekends looking for web resources that support the learning that goes on in my classroom. I create and recreate lessons regularly. I self reflect daily. I make changes all the time. I understand that my goal every day is that my kids learn--that they learn the daily objectives, how to have good character, and that to accomplish their goals, they must be the best they can be...all the time.

Wow, that's a huge responsibility. Every single child must learn every single day.

So, I teach children. I teach them first and the curriculum second. And do you know what? I think they learn the curriculum much better this way.

The Hidden Curriculum

The Hidden Curriculum. There is nothing more important in a classroom.

Kids want to feel safe, happy and wanted in their environment. Research shows that test scores improve when kids are happy. This year, I decided that it was important that I teach explicit lessons in Character Education. My kids and I have discussions about real life issues, we read books about people with good character, we learn words such as perseverance, to describe peoples' actions.

For the first 3 months of school, I taught character lessons at least 3 times a week. The lessons slowly became shorter or more infrequent because I was using that time to teach other curricular topics. But...It doesn't matter. The community in my classroom is built, and where I still do lessons, the goal is to build upon what we already have, not to change it or to convince them to be good people. They already understand that (as much as 3rd graders can). Character building is integrated in everything that I do in my classroom. I don't have any bullying problems in my class. In fact, most kids go out of their way to show good character. They point out when their friends have good character or not-so-good character. They write about it. It seeps through every lesson and discussion we have.

Amazing. It is my passionate belief that Character Education be part of the curriculum.

Just Write, Right?

I love to teach writing.

I also love to teach character education. 

During the essay unit we do, the kids observe or notice events, objects or people around them. Then, they think about what it/they mean(s) to them. It's always during this unit where I learn so much about my students. Essay beginnings such as: "What does being trustworthy mean? OR Why can't people do what they are supposed to do? flood my classroom.

Struggling writers no longer have as big of a struggle. Avid writers seem to write essay after essay; reflecting on the world around them. Yes, they are 8 and 9. And, yes, their views are fascinating and very real. And finally, YES they LOVE to WRITE. Why? Simple. They are writing about topics that interest them.

My kids also blog. They go on to our class blog and write. They edit and revise. They can't post without doing so. They write about what INTERESTS them. See, it's simple. INTEREST. You can view their blog to see the beginnings of their essays.

My kids' response to literature has improved.
Their discussions have become rich and engaging.
Vocabulary development is obvious through their writing.


I love to teach writing.