teachers – Page 6 – Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Challenge, General Inspiration, Teacher Testimony, Theme Song

Why You and I Are Here…You Raise Me Up

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Yesterday I talked about how I was feeling overwhelmed when I looked at my goals and expectations for the new year (and all the work it will take to get there). This morning I am feeling overwhelmed in a different way…a good way. First of all, just a quick follow-up from yesterday. I took my own advise and just worked in the areas I knew that I could get some stuff done pretty easily. Throughout the day, those little things built on each other and I was able to make some great strides in climbing that mountain of preparation for the new year! I had a few people cheering me on, and that helped!

This is not why I am overwhelmed this morning, though. I am overwhelmed because of you! I had more people respond to yesterday’s post than any other. Most of the feedback came through Edmodo and the Facebook Page, and it just kept coming. Many people shared about how yesterday’s post encouraged them and helped them to keep moving even when the task was daunting. Along with this, many of the messages also shared what this blog means to them and how the encouragement, hope, and challenges help them to feel like they are not alone. Knowing you are not the only one feeling what you feel and that other people are going through the same things that you are going through goes along way to renew you teacher’s heart.

These messages make me want to share, again, why I started this blog and what I hope to spark with it…and I think the sparks are flying. But before I do, I am going to veer a little off of the new normal here and have a song to listen to while you read on a Thursday (two songs in one week! Woo hoo! 🙂 ). Play the song and then read on.

Teacher, I am just like you. I teach because I love it. I teach because I want to make a difference. I teach because I do not think I could not teach. Teaching is in my heart, blood, and soul. I am a teacher, just like you.

I am also a teacher just like you in that I get stressed by the expectations from others. I love my students, but sometimes teaching them can be difficult. Sometimes the weight of all the little things that come along with teaching weigh me down. Sometimes those things can bowl me over and run me down. I get tired. I get beat up. I get worn down. I see the ebb and flow of the year that always wants to push me closer and closer to burnout. I fight it off…but it is hard. I know what you go through in a year, Teacher. I am just like you. I am a teacher.

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to this blog or give credit to this blog.)

Every school year I get to that point right on the precipice of burnout. I can see and smell it. I don’t get to the point of burnout every year, but I usually get close. Really close. Last year was different, though. I saw burnout on the horizon, but I never really got that close to it. It stayed in the distance, far away.

Why? What was different last year.

I can actually point to a number of things that helped make that happen, but I want to focus on one. Hope. The power of hope. The funny part is, it wasn’t hope for me. It was hope for others.

I read through the book Teaching with Poverty in Mind by Eric Jensen near the end of the school year (great book whether or not you teach at a Title I school or not), and I got to a section that talked about the power that hope has on the brain and learning. This opened my eyes. I needed to help give my students hope and encouragement more intentionally and make it a priority. I took on the task of handwriting personal notes to all 80 of my students. The response was amazing! I will write more about this another day, but the students loved getting these…I had some students hound me about it until they got theirs. They started asking the other teachers when they would be writing notes! Sorry teammates! 🙂

As I wrote these letters, I got to thinking how much some simple words of real encouragement (based on positive truth..the only kind of encouragement I know how to give) would make me feel and spur me on to bigger and greater things. I went looking online for some kind of source of this kind of encouragement for teachers. It wasn’t there. I could not find anything like that. I wanted something for teachers by teachers to give hope and encouragement. I just couldn’t find it. So I decided to create it myself! Thus Dear Teacher/Love Teacher was born!

The purpose of Dear Teacher/Love Teacher is give hope, encouragement, inspiration, and challenges to you, Teacher, from another or other teachers (me and my Substitute Teachers). More than giving you hope, though, the other purpose, or the sparks, is that I want to push you on to do the same for other teachers and for your students. I want you to be a conduit of hope and inspiration. There is so much negativity in education right now…I want to start an Encouragement Revolution. That starts with me and starts with you.

Going back to the beginning when I talked about burnout, I think that hope giving and spreading is one of the big reason that burnout stayed away from me this year. Encouraging others encouraged me and kept me going!

The reason that I believe encouragement is so important to give out, is that it is a part of our job as teachers…or should be. I had you play this song, not so you could think about the people who “raise [you] up” but to start thinking about yourself as someone that others could sing this song to. I want you to be a person that raises people (both other teachers and your students) up to more than they could be.

How can you…

lift some burdens from some of your fellow teachers?
sit a while with someone who feels alone and help them feel less lonely?
fill your students with wonder?
help students and other teachers feel like they can climb impossible mountains?
walk with a teacher over a stormy sea?
make a student or a younger teacher stronger by being on your shoulders?
push those around you to be more than they could be without you?

Teacher, if you are here reading this. You understand the importance of hope. You get the need for encouragement. You want to be inspired and challenged. I am glad you came. I am glad you are finding that here. Now go and give what you have gotten here out to others! If you just keep it to yourself it isn’t worth as much! If you give away all the good that you have and run out…come back here for a refill. That is what I am here for!

You are so awesome! I know that you will leave a trail of that awesome behind where ever you go! You are amazing and you are making a difference! Keep going and keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

General Inspiration, Pep Talk

Small Steps that make Big Differences

Posted on July 17, 2013July 17, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

I don’t know how this week has been for you, but it has been a tough one for me. It is only halfway through summer, but I am already getting a bit overwhelmed with everything that I need to get done before school starts (not to mention all of the summer chores to get done here at home). This is coupled with trying to pick myself back up after finding out the state test scores from last school year. I want it to be a motivation to try to streamline and learn from my mistakes for next year, but it still takes a bit of the wind out of your sails.

Have you been where I am? Excited about planning and setting expectations for the new year, but also a bit overwhelmed and pre-defeated by the staggering odds against you? It is hard. It is like setting a goal to climb a mountain, but standing at the bottom of it and seeing how impossible it feels to do so.

We make big plans and set huge goals for ourselves and our students for the next year. We get psyched up and amped up as we plan and see all the possibilities. Then reality hits us. We think about what hasn’t worked in the past. We start to wonder if our students will buy-in. We think of all the obstacles in the way of our goals. We start to wonder if the hard work of planning in a new direction is worth it. It gets hard to focus on the details needed because the climb seems so daunting. We won’t give up, but something inside wants us just to do what we did last year or wing it. I am at that point. How about you? I will push through it, but I am just there.

But I won’t give up, and I will keep going. So will you. And you know why? It is because we know a secret. It is this secret that we live by in these times, and it is this secret we hope to pass on to our students.

There is a often quoted, and probably cliche, Chinese proverb by Laozi that sums up the secret. Here is the traditional translation:

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Or, another translation:

The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one’s feet.

The secret is this. No matter the odds or the pain of disappointment, we keep moving. We set a destination and move towards it. We power through. We keep taking the steps. No matter the situation. We know where we need to go, and we keep trying to get there. Step by step. Even if those steps are baby steps at times, we keep going. We keep soldiering on!

In my case, I am looking for the little things I can do to push me forward. I am trying to break my big goals into smaller steps. I am finding little areas of planning that are very real and easy. This way, as I am pushing through the hard parts of starting the climb I am still moving in very real and measurable ways. In a few days or a week, I will be able to look back and see that I am actually gaining ground. That will push me to keep climbing!

What about you? What are you doing? Are you planning for the next year? Are you still teaching right now and in one of those spots that happen during a school year? What do you need to focus on? What little steps can you take to keep you taking the big steps?

Never forget…no matter how impossible the journey, JUST START SOMEWHERE! Each little step makes a big difference! And remember, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!

No matter where you are or how you are feeling, I know that you will press on. You are awesome! You are amazing! And you are making a difference! Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

General Inspiration, Quotes to Inspire

Apple Influence

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Good Saturday morning!

Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday, it was quite a busy day. If I find the time, I might do two posts today. For now it will just be a quick one. A friend of mine share this quote with me. He is a “teacher” at our school (he is not a teacher-teacher, but he is a teacher, he runs our ISS), and he is really good at working with our most difficult cases. This has stuck with me ever since he said it do me.

I looked it up and there are conflicting sources as having said this, but the top two are Robert Schuller and Karen Jensen. They both have a nice ring to them, and Jensen focuses on teaching, so I am going to share both.

Any fool can count the seeds in an apple. Only God can count all the apples in one seed. -Shuller

You can count the seeds in an apple, but you can’t count the apples in a seed. When you teach, you will never know how many lives you will influence…you are teaching for eternity. -Jensen

I share this quotes and this poster because we need to focus on the big picture. This week I talked a lot about our need as teachers to change (Wednesday and Thursday), and I will continue to talk about it for the next couple of weeks…can you tell the workshop I went to had a big effect on my thinking? We do need to take a look in the mirror and see where we can change to make a bigger impact on students and our learning. I think the idea of never knowing how many lives the live you influence will go on to influence. It puts it all into perspective.

It is time for us to get out of our comfort zones. Another Jensen, Eric Jensen (who put on the training I went to) said something that stuck with all of us there:

Is maintaining you comfort level more important than our kids graduating?

Read that again and let it sink in. Is being in a teaching “grove” and being good enough worth any student not graduating if you could have affected this at some point for the better? This should speak to you no matter what kind of school you teach at or the grade level you teach? Can you stand up and say, like Jaime Escalante said at t staff meeting, “I’m not [doing enough]. I could teach more.” Escalante is the teacher that the movie Stand and Deliver was about and the center of my first Teacher Rockstar post series I hope begin next week.

We can all do more. It is probably not “doing more” for most teachers, especially you. You, and others, already do so much. It is more about doing what you do more effectively and with a new focus. I think the quote about seeds and apples is a great place to start to thinking about what our focus is. How can we grow the most apples from each seed that go on to grow more apples from more seeds?

You are so awesome! I know that some of this is hitting home, because the post It’s Not Me, It’s YOU has been the most viewed post here…hitting 800 in three days…and still going up. I am going to keep hitting this them, but I am also going to give you so help, ideas, and models that will help us all go out there and grow as many apples as we can…and we will never know the final tally! You ARE making a differences and influencing those seeds! Keep growing and keep teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

PS…Dear Teacher/Love Teacher has made the move use Instagram, along with the other social media sites (Facebook and Twitter). Check us out!

Challenge, General Inspiration, Pep Talk, Teacher Testimony

Teacher Rockstar: Jaime Escalante

Posted on July 11, 2013July 24, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Today I want to build on my posts from a couple of weeks ago (It’s Not Me, It’s You; The Power of Real Encouragement; and Apple Influence) and talk a little more about change and the drive to change ourselves in order to spark change in others (namely, our students). To do this, I want to focus in on someone I would definitely call a Teacher Rockstar: Jaime Escalante.

If you are not familiar with Mr. Escalante, he is the teacher portrayed in the movie Stand and Deliver (if you haven’t seen the movie, you need to…great inspiration for teachers!). He taught at a high poverty high school in a Latino community in Los Angeles in the late 70’s through the early 90’s. At a failing school that focused on remedial and low level math, he pushed students to take AP Calculus. The students, starting in small groups and growing in the large groups (in the hundreds), succeeded in his class and passed the AP exam. There is much more to the story, but you can go to Wikipedia for that. 🙂

What makes Mr. Escalante a Rockstar Teacher is not his accomplishments. The results of his teaching strategies and methods were amazing, but they are not what makes him one of the great teachers of all time. What makes him special is his drive. It was his willingness to stand up and do more, to be more, to expect more. One of my favorite scenes in Stand and Deliver illustrates this drive perfectly. It shows in what he is willing to say (and backup with action) at a department meeting.

In a school of under-resourced, overworked, beat-up, worn-out, and burned up teachers with students that have a history of being under-performing students with the threat of losing district accreditation looming on the horizon, he stepped up and said, “I can teach more.” He volunteered to do more. To take on more students. To be more. I love what he said, “The students will rise to the level of expectations.” He looked resolutely at administration and expected more of himself and of the students.

His response to the question of what he needs in order to do more really shows his drive and why he had unbelievable success with students. “Ganas. All we need is ganas.” Ganas was the key for Mr. Escalante. Ganas made the difference.

According to Urban Dictionary, “ganas” is a slang word for desire or urge that is most likely based on the Spanish word “ganar,” which means to gain or win. Ganas is desire. For Escalante, it was a little more than that though. It was desire backed by the willingness to go after what you desired, no matter how hard you have to work to get to it.

He talks about it again in another quote from the movie, and this time he is speaking to his students:

You’re going to work harder here than you’ve ever worked anywhere else. And the only thing I ask from you is ganas. Desire… If you don’t have the ganas, I will give it to you, because I’m an expert.

He desired for his students to learn, achieve, and truly be successful. He expected his students to have that same drive for themselves. He did what he could to inspire that in his students. He worked hard at it. Year after year he took a look at his students and himself, and then pushed harder the next year to improve. He took a lot of flak. He arguably made a lot of risky choices and decisions, but it was his “ganas” that gave him the ability to focus on his students and their future success. That is what was in his blood. He passed this on to his students. So many of them went on to lead successful lives because of what he instilled in them.

I wrote a good bit and shared a lot from the movie about Jaime Escalante. Let me let him speak for himself. This was an interview he did while he was still teaching. It is so inspiring to me! I hope you feel the same way!

Now that you have learned more about this teaching rockstar, what can you learn from his example? Can you be one of the teachers in your school, in the midst of all of the finger pointing on what is wrong in education, to stand up and say, “I can do more,” and back that up with action? Is your teaching and relationships with students marked by “ganas” about their achievement and success? What can you do to be different and make an even bigger difference than you already do?

You are awesome! I know that you probably already think a lot like Mr. Escalante. Your students and their learning and success is of utmost importance to you. You do so much already and make a big difference! But can you do more? I know that I can!

You are amazing, and never forget it! Find the more that you can do, and do it! I know that you can! Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

Challenge, Pep Talk, Quotes to Inspire, Uncategorized

It’s Not Me, It’s YOU

Posted on July 10, 2013July 10, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

I mentioned this briefly at the end of my last two posts, but I am at a workshop this week. What I did not mention is that I am at one of the most amazing workshops EVER! Well, at least the most amazing one I have ever been to. :). I am learning so much and getting to meet some awesome teachers from around the US and this corner of the globe.

The workshop is put on and led by Eric Jensen, who is the author of the book, Teaching with Poverty in Mind, which inspired the events in my teaching that inspired this blog (see my About page for that story). The workshop is called Teaching with Poverty in Mind, and it gets into the research behind the book in depth, but it has been mostly about how to use the research and giving very real strategies and practices that allow students, brains to change for the better. Basically, it is about how poverty changes the brain and what we can do about that as teachers.

The workshop has been wonderful, as I said. Everything being taught is being modeled ad we are helping each other practice. We are being given ways to take this all back to our campuses and to help other teachers apply the principles, strategies and research and spread the fire of change at out schools. We have been shown examples of what we are being taught working at schools like ours and being challenged to prove it can work at our schools. Have to say, I am quite fired up and there are still two days left! I can’t wait to take what I am learning back to my school!

I share all of this to talk about a theme and idea that has come up over and over. I am really buying into this idea, and I hope that it will inspire you and that you buy into it to. Something has been said over and over, and I bet it will be said more over the next two days: teachers are the key to change in students. Teachers…not the students, parents, administrators, legislators, etc…TEACHERS. If we make the needed changes in how we approach what we teach (not necessarily how we teach…a lot of us our doing the “right things” but our approach, reasons, and intentions need to be adjusted and tweaked) then we will start to see changes and successes in our students, especially the harder cases.

I won’t get into details here…I will leave that to Mr. Jensen (read the book and catch the workshop if you can)…but I want to focus in on the idea of change. No matter how good we are, we can find things that we can change and do better. It does nothing to lean back and just bemoan what is going wrong. One thing that has been repeated at the workshop is that “we need to stop pointing fingers and start holding up a mirror to see what we need to change.” I know that teachers are blamed a lot….I am not saying buying into that, but I am agreeing that we all need to stop pointing fingers and start changing what we can…and that starts with us.

Mahatma Gandhi is often misquoted as having said, “Be the change you long to see in the world.” Great idea, but what he actually said is even stronger.

“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do.”

What he is basically saying is that change starts with us. We, as teachers, can’t wait for our students, the environments, or the education system to change. We need to hold up a mirror to ourselves and change what we can change for the better. We can then be an agent of change by spreading the changes to others. That is kind of what this blog is about…changing the climate of negativity towards teachers to an atmosphere of encouragement. We need to make the same adjustments in our classrooms!

So how are you doing, Teacher? Are you ready to hold up a mirror and let the changes start with you? Find a deficit or weakness in your teaching, find out ways to change it, makes some plans, and then make changes. Are you ready to start this? A know that I am!

You are so awesome! I know that you are going to take this challenge in stride! I believe in you and I know that this coming year (or current one) will be the best one yet! Keep on teach, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

Get Psyched!, Pep Talk, Theme Song

Monday Morning Motivation: Here Comes the BOOM!

Posted on July 8, 2013July 7, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

For the last two Mondays, I have really striven to give you some motivation and get you pumped up for the week ahead. I have been posting theme songs for you to play while you read, and this has been extremely popular and well-received. I have loved doing this myself, and I the theme songs have stuck with me through the week. So, I think I am going to stick with this new trend I started. I have a week of training that I am excited about; it is training about poverty and brain research that I think is going to give a new edge to my teaching next year, and this song sums up how I feel about it. Play the song before you read on. It is an awesome song and a pretty funny video (you may want to watch it after you read, if you have never seen it before). Also, it is the theme song for the movie, Here Comes the Boom, which is a movie that centers on a teacher that is committed to the needs of students (namely the Arts Program).

(Disclaimer–if you have never heard this song before, there is a lyric you may think is saying something that it is not…the line is “big S.D.” for San Diego…not what it sounds like the first time you hear it.)

Teacher, you are awesome. This week is yours to own. Don’t let this week happen to you, happen to this week! Make a plan and stick to it. Follow through. Set a goal to accomplish something big, work at it, and accomplish that goal. You can do it! Tell this week that the BOOM is coming and you are the one bringing it!

No matter what you have ahead of you, you’ve got this. You are amazing. You can get through anything. You can do anything. You can achieve anything. You can do anything and get through everything, if you set your mind to it. Set your mind to it and do it!

For those of you teaching right now:

Get your plans together…make them happen.
When things get off plan, monitor and adjust like a champ. You can make anything work. Roll with the punches that come, and punch back with your skills, experience, and abilities.
Know where you want your students to be at the end of the week and get them there. Use what ever you need to use to get them there. You are awesome and know what to do. Do it.
DO NOT let the little things get to you. Stay calm, stay patient, and stay in charge. You are a professional and you know what you are doing. Rely on the fact the that little things do not mean much in the big picture. Work around them and do not let them get you frustrated.
Love your students above all else. Knowing and caring for your students is the most important thing you do. Encourage them and tell them how much you care. Tell them how awesome they are and why they are awesome.

For those of you on summer break:

Don’t let the summer get away from you. Make a plan to accomplish something this week and then accomplish it. It can be for school or otherwise, but do something this week. Get something done.
Read one thing to help you do even better next year than the last. Find a good article on teaching/education (Edutopia is a great source, my current favorite). Read a book. Find something. Hone your craft this week, Teacher!
Come up with one new goal for next year. Find a new place you want your students next year or a new strategy to try. I gave a similar challenge yesterday. It is so important to set new expectations for yourself to rise to higher heights and become an even better teacher!
Plan a lesson or unit for next year. Don’t put it off. Plan to do something for next year this week. The more you do now, the better off you will be next year!
Make a plan for getting to know your students and other teachers next year and plan ways to spread encouragement and hope. I know a good place that you can find notes to print and write on! 🙂 Know how you will get to know people and spread the Encouragement Revolution next year!

You are so incredibly awesome! This week is yours for the taking. Take it! Make it yours! Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

PS…While I am at a training this week, I need your help. Please share this link in your Edmodo communities and groups, share on Facebook, share on Twitter, and where ever else you can! Spread the encouragement because I can’t! Thanks! You are awesome! 🙂

General Inspiration, Secret Occupations of Teachers, Weekend Note

S.O.o.T. Sunday: Flooring Specialist

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Great Sunday morning to you! I hope you are having a wonderful and amazing weekend! Today’s post is the second installment of my new weekend post series called S.O.o.T. (the Secret Occupations of Teachers) where I focus on what we do as teachers, even the stuff that a lot of people don’t realize we do, and compare it to other professions. Each week I will acknowledge those “secret” jobs of our, give encouragement for you in those roles, and the give a little challenge to you about those hidden parts of your work. Last week, the first S.O.o.T., I talked about how teachers compare to landscapers/gardeners. If you did not get a chance to read it, you should check it out. The image stuck with me, personally, and I thought about teaching and the things I needed to do in that light throughout the week. Enough of the back story, let’s get to the S.O.o.T. for today! 🙂

This past week, I got a little (minuscule, really) experience of what another profession would be like. If you read my post on Friday, you know that I spent the week working on installing a hardwood floor at my house and practicing the art of perseverance. We worked with a friend, also a teacher, who has a good bit of experience working with professional flooring installers, and we went and consulted with the professional guys to get some pointers, help, and borrow some much needed tools. Those were amazing guys that really know their stuff! We finally finished the floor, which looked pretty good, and I have had a day or so to reflect on the experience. For this reason, today’s S.O.o.T. is flooring specialist.

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the picture if you link back to this blog.)

This is going to be a bit long in the beginning, but please read on to how it compares to teaching. I think it will be worth it!

As I said, flooring specialists are amazing people. Flooring specialists install floors (hardwoods, laminate, carpet, tile, etc…), repair said floors, and beautify the floors. I never realized before how many “moving parts” their are in installing floors! There are so many things you need to think about, know, and keep track of throughout the job. There is a ton of planning. There is a ton of prep work. There is a ton of grunt work (the actual install). And there is a ton of finishing work. When you are done, you have a completed and beautiful product, but there is SO MUCH that goes into it before you get there.

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the picture if you link back to this blog.)

Flooring specialists have to take a look and plan out the floor before they can even start thinking about how to get the job done. It usually includes their client explaining what they would like…which is not always easy to make happen. One part of this phase of the job is explaining the reality of the “vision” to the client and what is possible/impossible, what would go into making it happen, and estimating cost. This lets the client know if they can afford to make their dream a reality. Once this is done, a preliminary plan can be thought out.

The next phase (and part of the planning phase) is getting rid of the old floor and looking at the sub-floor and seeing what needs to be done to it before installing a new floor can happen. Sometimes it means the need for ripping out old sub-floor to put more permanent and reliable sub-floors in, and it almost always need to be leveled with leveling compound so that the new floors will lay flat. Investigating and improving the sub-floor is a vital step in ensuring the longevity of a new floor.

Once the planning and sub-floor prep work is completed, then the actual installation can happen. There is measuring, cutting, gluing, stapling, nailing, tapping, moving, hammering, and a number of other things that I am leaving out. There is even some “undoing” if you make a mistake…which is time consuming and stressful because you do not want to damage the floor that does not need to be fixed. The tools you use to do all of this are special and specific to the job, as well as some power tools for cutting that most people do not have just sitting around. It is all pain-staking and precise work…and the less experience you have the harder it is!

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may us the picture if you link back to this blog.)

At the end, you need to clean. You need to fill in areas that may need more precise cuts. You need to putty holes left by nails or staples. You need to carefully replace molding and shoe molding. And then you need to clean again. When it is all said and done, it is a beautiful job done…but it was a lot of work to get to “done.”

Acknowlegement

Teacher, you are a flooring specialist. You are given a vision of what the end product needs to look like with your students. You are told what they need to know, understand, and be able to do by the end of the year. You try to be realistic with the “clients” giving you this vision for your students and show them what is possible/impossible, what it will take to get to the vision, and estimate the costs of the vision (in money, time, and energy), but in the end you are given the expectation for what the “floor” needs to look like.

You make a preliminary plan of what it will take to get the job done, and then you get to looking at the sub-floor. You meet your students. You get to know them. You learn what they know/don’t know. You figure out their strengths and weaknesses. You find out what they have and what they need. You try to find a place that you can teach from that will address the needs of all students. Some students need new ways of thinking and studying…you need to work to replace their “sub-floors” with something more permanent. Other just need to be “leveled out” a bit to be able to keep up with the content, work, and other students. You work hard to get this all done as quick as you can in the beginning so that you can get to the hard work of “laying the floors” of knowledge, understanding, and accomplishment.

Once the prep work is complete, you get to the installation. You measure student data as you go. You use specialized teaching tools appropriate for each situation and student. You find ways to make the new content, understanding, and application “stick” and “adhere” to students minds and thinking. You move things around (content and students). You make sure everything fits. You have a lot of moving pieces to keep track of, but you do it like a champ! Sometimes you have to “undo” some mistakes make, and you do so carefully so you do not damage what has already been done that is working well. You work hard with expertise and professionalism.

In the end you do the finishing work of filling in gaps. You even out places that are a little off. You “putty” in small pieces of understanding that may have been missed here or there. You then replace the molding and finish out what you can to send a beautiful product up to the next grade. You send on an amazing product, but it took a lot of work to get it done!

Encouragement

Teacher, you are amazing at what you do! The job so often seems hard or impossible…the vision given seems unreachable, but you work hard at it anyway! You get as close to the vision as you possible can, and sometimes you even go past that vision. You are awesome!
There are so many pieces to what you do, and you have to be great at all of them…and you are! You have to plan with realism. You have to get to know your students. You have to measure, cut, apply, and adjust constantly. You have so much to keep up with…but somehow you do it! You are amazing!
You do a great job when everything is said and done at the end of the year! Do not be ashamed to look back and see how great the floors are compared to how they were before you got to them! Take a look back at students that you have brought a long way and be proud! Don’t be afraid to do this. You need to do this. Remembering our success is the only way to be even more successful in the future!

Challenge

Teachers on summer break, set a vision for next year. Work at that this summer. Yes, you don’t know what your “sub-floors” are like yet, but you can plan a vision. You know the expectations for you, so work from their. Don’t be afraid to plan big. I know I am this summer. Your big plans may not pan out, but don’t be afraid to dream. Come up with the most creative way to meet and surpass the vision that has been set for you by others. You can do it! Come up with at least three real things that you can do different this year to get to the impossible goals set for you. You can do it! You are amazing!
Teachers teaching right now, stop and think about one real way that you can change what you are doing to better address the needs of your students. Take stock of your “sub-floor” with each student and find one way to help “level” or “improve” the knowledge, understanding, and/or abilities of each student. It is hard work , but worthwhile in the end. One thing for each student. You can do that! Just do it!

Teacher, you are an amazing floor specialist! You work so hard to meet the goals set for you. In the end, you have brought each student so far and have installed beautiful floors. Don’t forget that. Never forget that. You are awesome! Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

General Inspiration, Hope for Teachers, Perseverance

Pressing On

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Sorry for the shortened and less regularly timed messages this week. We have been working on a big project at my house. We are putting in our own hardwood floors with a little help from some friends. This is where most of my time has gone this week. 🙂

I have learned something from this home project, and it reminds me of teaching. I have learned/remembered that jobs are not always easy. It takes work. You get tired. You get stressed. You have obstacles. You get frustrated. You want to stop. You have to keep going (or not have a kitchen for longer than that is a good idea). You push through. It seems impossible…until you push through that wall and it slowly starts to seem possible…and after a while it almost seems easy…until you are glad that you started the process in the first place.

The kitchen looks good now, but it didn’t for a while. This has been a long week, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel this morning. I feel good, and I could almost see myself taking on a project like this. It is amazing how this transformation happens…from impossible to possible to easy…and sometimes in a very short time.

Think about your toughest year at school, your toughest classes, your toughest students. It was hard. It was stressful. It seemed impossible. You wanted to quit. But you didn’t. You pressed on. You kept going. You made it through. In the end, you probably found that you learned something, you found out more about yourself, and you became a better teacher. It did not feel good going through it, but you felt better in the end once you survived. In the end you were stronger for having gone through the year that you did.

Remember this as you look forward to another year (or right now if you are not on summer break). Nothing lasts for ever, and you CAN persevere. You have made it through before, and you can do it again. What ever you are going through will be worthwhile in the end! You can do it, and it WILL make you a better teacher. Keep going and never give up!

You are an awesome and amazing teacher. You don’t give up and you make something beautiful in the end. You are making such a difference because you do press on through everything! Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

PS…Today is the last day for the giveaway at the Facebook page. You need to comment with your story by the midnight tonight (July 5th, 2013). Go check it out and share if you haven’t!

General Inspiration, Note to Teachers, Reason for Teaching

Celebrating Independence

Posted on July 4, 2013July 4, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Today’s post will probably mean most to my American readers, but even if you are from another country, read on…it may still speak to you!

Today is July 4th. Happy 4th, everyone! Today most of us will go to a cookout and/or watch some fireworks while we spend time with friends and family, as well as a number of other traditions people may have. It is a day to celebrate and to remember when our country was officially founded.

July 4th is the day that we mark the Second Continental Congress’ passing and signing of a resolution of independence from England called the Declaration of Independence (though there is a lot of debate about when it was actually signed by most of the people who signed it). This document was the founding document of the United States as an independent country with its own government and no longer under the reigns of England. Today is the day that we celebrate that independence.

This morning, I read up a bit on the traditions, celebrations, and meaning of the 4th of July holiday (Wikipedia had some pretty fascinating tidbits on it). I found out some interesting pieces of information about it. It was almost an instant holiday. The year after the Declaration was passed, there was a celebration on the 4th in Philadelphia (the capitol at the time and where the Continental Congress met), and the party even included fireworks! The tradition of celebrating on that day continued year after year and spread throughout the country. To me, this seems pretty amazing that the holiday basically began the year after the event! But it was a pretty amazing event, and it should be remembered, honored, and celebrated!

Now, how am I going to bring this back to teaching? I don’t know that I need to, but I think I will anyway. 🙂

Think about your students. I know that we all teach students of different backgrounds and each year our students are different. Most of us are on summer break, as well. For this reason, just think about your students in general. Some come from excellent homes and environments…other don’t. Some have amazing and obvious gifts and talents that will take them far…but not all of them. Some know how to learn, think, and explore knowledge independently…but not every single one of your students. Some know how to be independent learners…a lot may not. Some students know what it means to be free and what freedom means…other have no idea.

We are teachers. We are like the armies, soldiers, and volunteers that fought for the freedom for our countries founders to be able to declare independence from England. We have to fight for our students to know thinking independence. Without the freedom to think on their own, they will never know true freedom as an adult…and I believe that most of our job is to get students ready for the future, no matter what we may teach. We need to know each student and what their individual learning styles and need are, and then teach them how to know how to do this on their own. They will not always have us fighting for them…we need to teach them to fight on these battles on their own!

I know this post may be a stretch, but a part of celebrating independence is understanding what independence is. We as adults have a pretty good understanding of what freedom is. Not just freedom in the sense of the freedoms we have in our country, but freedom of mind…to stand and think on our own. We need to remember that our job is to help our students to be able to do the same one day. We are fighting for their freedom to be who they will be one day, on their own. Don’t give up the fight for your students’ independence!

(c)DearTeacherLT (You may use the image if you link back to this blog.)

You are an awesome teacher! You are a great freedom fighter! Don’t give up and don’t ever stop! You are changing the future one student at a time! This makes you amazing! Keep on teaching, Teacher! Happy Forth of July!

Love, Teacher

PS…The picture is from when I went on a cruise and got to sail past the Statue of Liberty. It was hard not to think about what it must have been like for the millions of people that sailed to Ellis Island from around the world in hopes of finding the freedom promised in America. Are you that beacon of hope of future independence for students? I want to be.