Happy Holidays

What a wonderful weekend!  I had the privilege of being a part of the Lights of Lugoff parade and the Camden parade this weekend.  It was so exciting to see so many people in our community come together to start this holiday season together.  I wish great times for you and your family this Christmas.  Enjoy one another… 

Students amazed me…again!

Today is my birthday.  I love birthdays- my birthday, anybody’s birthday.  My students, 9 and 10 year olds, went out of their way to make it special.  Smiles, hugs, cards, notes, chocolate, and other gifts were showered upon me.  At the end of the day, they sang Happy Birthday in unison.  It was obviously planned ahead of time.  Just another reason why we have the best job in the world!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I hope you enjoy fabulous family time and much needed rest!  My family will head down to my aunt’s farm to visit with our HUGE family on Thanksgiving Day!  I will spend the rest of the weekend shopping and hopefully top it all off with a big win on Saturday!   Go Cocks!!

Reading Teacher of the Year Banquet

I attended the Reading Teacher of the Year Banquet at Doby’s Mill Elementary Thursday night.  It was a wonderful experience!  Not only was the food fabulous, but the displays were amazing.  It was so exciting to see so many elementary and middle school teachers passionate about teaching reading!  They put so much time and effort into the displays, which I know reflects how much time and effort they put into their classrooms everyday!  Congratulations to all of you!  A special congrats goes to Wendy Todd, second grade teacher at Doby’s Mill, for being selected the 2009 KCSD Elementary Reading Teacher of the Year and to Cindy Sparks, North Central Middle teacher, for being selected KCSD Middle School Reading Teacher of the Year!

What will be our story?

Can things get much worse?  Sometimes I find myself asking that very question as I read the paper, sit in board meetings, and read blogs.  But another question tugs at me too.   What will be our story?  One day when all of this is over and things are back to normal, (and this will happen, you know!)  what will be our story?  Will we be able to say that in spite of the circumstances around us, in spite of our lack of paper, copies, and funds, in spite of pay cuts and difficult decisions, we still put the children of KCSD first?  We still gave our best to our students.  Or will the story go a different way?  Will we have to admit that when things got hard, we gave up?  We stopped giving our best because we were tired and frustrated.   I know that we can’t change much right now, but we can write our own story.  We get to decide what will be said about us when this is all over.

Congrats, Robert!

Congratulations goes to Robert Ondere for winning the Milken award!  What an amazing honor!  Kershaw County is lucky to have you!!  I heard a parent say just the other day that her son had Robert in the 9th grade.  “It was an awesome year,” she said.  We are all very proud!

Monday Morning Choices

Our SC Teacher of the Year, Bryan Coburn, has chosen the book Monday Morning Choices by David Cottrell for this year’s theme.  Being the avid reader that I am, I rushed out to find it.  I love a good book!  After hearing several times, “We can order it for you!” I finally found it at Barnes and Noble on Harbison.  The book really isn’t written with educators specifically in mind, but it is so appropriate for the times we are in.  The author suggests you read one chapter a week for 12 weeks and focus on one choice per week.  I, however, can’t do that!  I’m already in week 3 on day 3! 

Choose NOT to be a victim- that’s the first choice.  We can complain, even whine, about our circumstances- EVEN WHEN they are justified, but it doesn’t help us move forward.  He suggests that on life’s journey we get to make a choice to be a driver or a passenger.  “Passengers are subject to going where other drivers are going.  They have no control over the speed with which they move ahead… Those who choose to be drivers accept responsibility for moving forward toward their goals.  They pay attention and focus on getting to their final destination.” 

Wow- the unexpected has certainly hit KCSD.  Will we, as teachers, be drivers or passengers?  Will we stay focused on the goal and move forward or will we get bogged down in the dips and bumps along the road?  (I know these are big bumps, but together we can DRIVE!)

We have an awesome Teacher Forum!

I have had the privilege of serving on Teacher Forum for a few months now.  I was very impressed with it but really had nothing to compare it to.  Well, that all changed this week.  I attended a State Forum meeting for District Teachers of the Year in our region.  I spent the day listening to and learning from the stories of these wonderful educators.  I found out that there are some districts that don’t even have a Teacher Forum in place.  They have no voice and no where to turn for support.  How lucky we are in Kershaw County!  I guess thanks goes to Rhonda Horton for having the foresight 10 years ago!  That’s right… Teacher Forum is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year!  Bryan, our State Teacher of the Year, passed out packets to districts without a forum.  To my surprise (although I shouldn’t have been surprised) the packet was made up of our materials.  We were the example given for others to follow!  This is just one way Kershaw County is a step ahead!

Have you tried podcasting?

A colleague sent me an email this week asking questions about podcasting.  So, I thought others might benefit from this too.  It’s easy and free!   Download audacity.com to your computer.  It’s a very simple, user friendly program that children can easily use.  I have students podcast discussions about books they’ve read, information we’re studying in class, or songs we’ve written together.  They podcast their own writing and are currently podcasting clips about one another for our class movie!  As a teacher, I podcast tests and any other reading assignments that would help students who struggle with reading comprehension.  They can take headphones to a computer or listen on one of our class IPODs.  If you’ve used podcasting in other ways, share it here!  If you haven’t, try it.  Let me know how it goes.

Does perception really matter?

At a Teacher Forum meeting on Thursday, I participated in an eye opening activity. I was asked to make a crown showing my strengths and likes. I spent a few minutes in my unartistic way drawing stick figures and symbols to show that I enjoyed talking, learning new things, running, and spending time with family. Even though my drawings weren’t that good, I thought my strengths were obvious. Next, other teachers entered the room and started talking to me (and the other crown makers). Each person seemed to be yelling at me. I couldn’t imagine what on my crown would make them treat me that way. What on there made them think I was worthy of such harsh words? Only afterwards did I realize that someone had added something to my crown. It said, “behavior problem.” Because I had been labeled…

Do you think this happens in our classrooms? Do we ever hear something about a student that makes us treat them a certain way? Do we have students that wonder, “What about me makes him/her speak to me that way? What about me…?”