Crayons - Who doesn't know that the start of the school year is also the start of a new box of crayons? I love that fresh box of crayons with all of the colors. The box of 24 was the one that most students could afford and the most practical.
What I did not know when I started teaching was that there were going to be so many decisions about crayons. This is something that I do not ever remember being addressed in college.
So here are the things to think about for those of you who are entering the elementary classroom as a teacher for the first time.
1. What do you do when the tip of the crayon is gone?
2. Should you tear off the paper?
3. What happens when you break your crayons?
4. What do you do when one of the students sharpens a crayon in the pencil sharpener?
5. What do you do when someone comes to school with the box of 64 crayons? Do the crayons have to go      home?
6. Do you let them color with the side of the crayon?
7. What do you when the crayons get all mixed up?
8. Is it okay to bring your iron to school to melt the crayons to make stained glass windows?
9. Do you have to buy a new box of crayons if you one?
10.What do you do when the student brings the box of 128 crayons?

These are the basic questions about crayons. These questions make sense even though they do not address them in college. But one question that I remember about crayons had more to do with coloring.

During the 1973 - 74 school year, I taught at a private special education school in Dallas, Angels Inc. I had 9 students in my class. Their ages ranged from 3 - 9, but for the most part they functioned like they were 1 or 2 years old. My Aide and I had our hands full. But I loved it because these children wanted to learn no matter what we tried to teach them. We finger-painted, pounded blocks, played scooters in the yard, and, yes, we colored. Our exciting days occurred when the children actually colored the pictures that we had made for them. Anytime this occurred,  we celebrated by putting their papers on the wall.

Like any other school we had open house. When the parents came to the classroom, these parents got to see what every other parent saw in their child's classroom --- papers that their child had completed. The night of our open house, we were also visited by school board members. That night, one of the school board members asked me why I had put this scribbling on the wall. Why hadn't the children colored in the lines?

I was appalled by the question. I would have thought that a board member would have more knowledge about the abilities of these students. This was a great accomplishment for each of them --- they had held crayons, they had gotten the crayon on the paper, they had followed directions, they had sat in a chair to complete the work, and so on. I was proud of them. We celebrated. And the more we celebrated, the more that they accomplished. I knew that they would never be able to live independently, but they did understand when they accomplished something. That year they accomplished many things --- including stealing my heart!

Remember to celebrate the small accomplishments of all of your students --- the more you celebrate, the greater are your rewards!

Books have always been a apart of my life. As a young child, there were the Golden Books. They provided opportunities for stories and for advice about going to the doctor or taking care of your pets. The rack at the grocery seemed to be filled with an unending souces of them. Fortunately my mother always put one or two in the grocery cart.

As I matured, I found the Hardy Boys, the Bobbsey Twins, and Nancy Drew, of course. Although the pages told simple stories, these characters helped me get better with my reading. I discovered biographies on my own. Reading about historical figures --- science and history figures. In fifth grade, I discovered Beverly Cleary's The Luckiest Girl. She led the most exotic life --- her black and pink checkered raincoat and visiting California for a summer vacation seemed so exotic. In high school I discovered Hannah Green's I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. It was a relief to know that the main character had voices in her head like I did. Of course, the main character had a mental breakdown so I just hoped that I would not suffer from the same!

Books allowed me to have a multifude of "friends." They allowed me to live many lives filled with adventures. But more than anything they helped me learn morea about me.

When I started teaching second grade, books were even more important to me because I was responsible for teaching others to read. I had a library in my classroom which consisted of old books from basal series. At that time it did not occur to me that I could bring in many types of books into the classroom because the students were expected to be able to read the basal. Sound familiar? Complete the curriculum??? I had one student, Frank, who was a struggling reader. As the year progress, I noted that he seemed to be picking up on his reading. Because I had to "cover" the basals, I had Frank work with all four reading groups so that he could catch up. He did catch up and ended up as one of my top readers. It was thrilling to know that I had made a difference.

Only years later did I realize that his reading improved --- not because of the book series, but rather because he was reading more. Instead of spending 20 minutes in a reading group, Frank spent over an hour in reading groups during school and more time at home.

So what do I know about books and helping readers??? First, you need a wide variety of books. The experts indicate that a classroom library needs to have at least 500 books --- different genres, levels, topics, etc. Time. Time. Time. The more time that students spend reading, the better that they can get. Modeling in the classroom is essential. The teacher cannot merely say reading is important, but a teacher must read when it is reading time. Our students will understand that reading is important if we are reading. If we spend reading time talking to our colleagues, grading papers, answering emails, then we are sending a different message. Do book talks so that students will learn about other books that they might want to read. Let your students do book talks. Recomend books to students. Know your students well enough so that you can say, "Tom," I think that you would like this book because it is about ___________.  Keep in mind that everyone is a reader --- but each person reads differently. Frank Smith reminded us that everyone needs to be a member of the literacy club. So... Celebrate reading and all readers!

I am a long way from being that child that read the Golden Books. I believe that is what all teachers want to have happen for students. Marie Clay proposed the idea that reading is a self-improving system. But that can only happen if we believe that all students are readers and that we take actions that support that idea.

Insights regarding the Alphabet

1. What good does it do a child to learn a letter a week? If I have to wait 26 weeks in kindergarten before I know all of the letters of the alphabet, then the year is over! I might as well have stayed home. And I might already know many of my letters before I enter school, so why should I waste my time???

2. Children who need to see the letters of the alphabet are not very tall. So why do we always put the letters towards the top of the classroom. Would it server children better if the letters were put at their height?

3. Does anyone remember when students were sat in alphabetical order? What purpose did that serve? Was that the only way that the teacher could remember student names? It might be interesting to find out where that idea started?

4. Alphabet books are a great tool for any age level. They can be used to develop easy ideas --- A is for apple, b is for ball, etc. Or they can be used to help others understand a period in history - like The  Roman Empire -- A is for Aquaduct, B is for Brutus, C is for Caesar, etc. So much can be learned through creating your own class book.

5. It is important to practice the Alphabet Song -- not so much because it helps students know the letters, but rather because it helps them understand rhyming. It also has an impact on fluency. When we sing something, we tend to be much smoother.

June 7, 2014

I am a reflective person. Sometimes I reflect on situations to a fault! While reflecting, I sometimes become to critical of myself. In fact, that is what made me think of the name of my blog. What's the connection? A number of years ago when I was working on my doctoral degree, I began teaching preservice teachers. Because I loved teaching so much and because I expect my work to be "flawless," I assume that my students will be the same. As I worked with the preservice teachers, I found that their work was often less than what I expected. One assignment that they completed was not only less than my expectations, but I took the responses personally. I wondered how they could be so careless with the work??!!! When I explained what happened to Dr. Griffin, my doctoral committee chair, she simply said, "Carol, let your hindsight become your insight."

That phrase was a gift to me. It meant that I could let go of what happened. It was no longer my fault but rather a way for me to improve my practice. It also meant that I no longer had to spend hours critiquing my teaching which was basically telling myself everything that I did wrong. But rather, I could figure out what happened and move on.

Now, I realize that I was beginning to use adaptive action and using the inquiry cycle --What, So what, Now what? The problem back then was that I spent a long time in the what telling myself everything that was wrong with what happened. Sometimes it is good to take that time in the what, but not always. When I moved myself through the cycle more quickly, I realized that I got "my happy" back sooner.

So, I hope that I will be able to use this site as a way to capture some of those "Hindsight to Insight" moments. I guess that we will wait and see.

This is my first post. I think that I could stop there, but I might try a few more lines just to see what happens. In the past, I have tried to keep a journal --- to be disciplined enough to write regularly. However, I have never been disciplined enough to do it. What makes me think that this time will be different? Perhaps it is because I might have an audience. Or it could be that I have matured into a more responsible person. So I will see if this time is any different than any time in the past. Have I learned anything from my prior experiences? Knowing that I might have something to say, might make this time different. We will see.