Category: Improvement

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The Spartans of Education

This past weekend, my husband and our two oldest boys ran a Spartan race— a grueling race that includes running along dirt trails for a specific distance all while conquering obstacles along the way. The kids’ races ranged from 1-3K with 10 or so obstacles, and adult athletes could choose between a Sprint (5K + 20 obstacles), Super (10K + 25 obstacles), or the Beast (21K + 30 obstacles). The race course was at a ski resort, which meant steep hills and mountainous terrain. It was 90 degrees outside, and we were at a base elevation of 6,391 feet. It was indeed a test of mental and physical strength and stamina, and was certainly not for the feint of heart. It was truly inspiring to watch the athletes compete and overcome the challenges with which they were faced. 

Some of the obstacles athletes were asked to complete were less intense (like crawling through a tube or crawling under a tunnel), while others were much more intense (such as lifting and carrying a 60 pound ball from one end of the obstacle area to the other and back again, the rope climb, or the inverted wall climb). The obstacles by themselves would be challenging, but not impossible; add in the above mentioned factors of temperature, terrain, elevation, and distance to run, and the obstacles suddenly become much more daunting.

As I’ve reflected on the race over the past couple of days, I couldn’t help but think about how the whole race experience relates to education. At the beginning of each school year, we are given a new set of students, each with their own abilities, talents, likes/dislikes, and interests. They each have their own race to run alongside their classmates, and they all have obstacles to overcome. 

For some students, math may be their rope climb, where they find themselves finally making progress just to start slipping back down as a new concept is introduced. For others, science may be their inverted wall, difficult to gain traction on and overcome, while it may be a tunnel crawl for others, fairly easy to get through. 

It was interesting to watch athletes help each other overcome obstacles. I watched as one friend easily made it over a set of 6 foot hurdles, only to turn around and go back to help her friend by offering a boost to get her started. I watched complete strangers finish the rope climb, then turn to offer strategies and advice to athletes before they took their turn on the rope. I watched as my husband helped another athlete get his footing during a sand bag pull. I was grateful for the four people, all strangers, who stopped and immediately helped my husband when his calves cramped up and he couldn’t walk. As my husband finished the race, two of those people who helped him were waiting for him at the finish line because they “just wanted to see him finish.” It became clear that the people offering help to others weren’t in the race to be the fastest or the strongest. They were there to prove to themselves that they could do it, and to help others do the same. 

As our students learn and grow throughout the year, they are met with many challenges, and some may be in it for themselves, but most are not. Most kids are willing to help their classmates, be a friend, and cheer each other on. It’s remarkable to see the difference it can make when struggling students are boosted by their peers. There is a new light in their eyes when they see that other people believe in them and want them to succeed. 

So while they may be running in the same race, not all students will face the challenges with the same ability or confidence. As teachers, we get the unique opportunity to help facilitate the kind of relationships within our classrooms that will encourage, build, uplift, and carry. We also get the chance to do those things ourselves for our students. We get a front row seat to see our students progress, learn, grow, and thrive. We get to be their cheerleaders, give them boosts, and provide them with tips and advice on how to conquer their challenges. And that, my friends, is one of the coolest parts of being a teacher.

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Turns Out, Adults Can Learn Cool Things, Too!

I was 29 years old when I started taking piano lessons. I had always wanted to learn how to play the piano, but it was never in the budget when I was little (and we didn’t have a piano). Fast forward 20 years, and I was now a grown adult with a career. The attendance secretary at the school where I was teaching taught lessons from her home, and offered to add me on as a student. I was hesitant— what if I was too “old” to learn? What if I completely messed up and had to keep going to work and face this coworker? I finally got a big dose of courage and took her up on her offer. I had access to a piano for practicing, had the time, and had the money to do it— there really was no reason not to try. 

So there I was, standing at her door with my “Adult Level 1” piano book in hand, heart pounding, mind racing, ready to start a new adventure. It was a little intimidating at first. I did mess up. My “old” brain did take a little longer to pick up the concepts. But you know what? Slowly but surely, I started to get the hang of it. I practiced every day after work. If I messed up, I tried again. I did my best to make the most of this new opportunity. I was proud of the progress I made, and even found myself making my fiancé listen to me on our nightly phone calls. I felt like a little girl, so excited to share my new talents. 

I took lessons for several months before I got married and moved to another state. I didn’t have access to lessons or a piano while we were living away, and then soon after we moved back, we started having kids, so my skills faded, and eventually became a memory. Fast forward eleven years, and I was casually scrolling FaceBook, when I saw a post from a neighbor— they had been given a new piano and were giving away their old one for free! My heart lit up. I immediately commented that we would take it. We rearranged our living room, recruited some neighbors to help us move it, and are now the proud owners of a beautiful piano. My husband can play pretty well, and it has been so nice having piano music fill our house. 

I didn’t touch it for a few weeks. I loved hearing the music, but knew my skills were rusty and would need some serious work. One day when all my kids were out playing with friends and my husband was at work, I pulled out my old piano book and started to remind myself how to play. The music was slow and choppy, but I was playing! I was reading the notes and making music! It was amazing! My fingers and my brain moved in unison as muscle memory took over and it started to come back to me. 

Now, I don’t want you thinking that I was suddenly playing all sorts of complicated music, because I wasn’t. But I was amazed at how my brain pulled out what it knew and started to use it again. It was proof to me that once you learn something, your mind retains it. Sure, it may be tucked way back in the deep corners of your brain, but it’s there, and as you start to tug on the memory or skill, it slowly works it way toward the front. 

If you’re like me and have a skill you learned long ago but have since stopped using, try it again! Tug on that memory and start to spark muscle memory. Dust off the piano, violin, wood working tools, skateboard, paint brushes, or whatever else it may be and give it a go. I bet you’ll be surprised with the way things start to come back to you. And if you have a skill you’ve always wanted to learn, but haven’t had the chance to for whatever reason, do it! If you have the resources, take the leap and try something new! You don’t have to be an expert at it, but trying is so much better than living with the regret of not trying. 

So go ahead, prove to the world that you can teach an old dog new tricks! 

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Parents and Special Education Services: A Series

As a teacher, I became very familiar with the educator side of Special Education. I knew how to read an IEP, how to accommodate the various needs of the students in my classes who had an IEP, and what to watch for to determine if any particular student presented themselves with a need for additional testing and help. I felt pretty confident in my knowledge of the Special Education terms, processes, and procedures. 

It wasn’t until I became a parent of a child who needed Special Education services that I began to see the SPED world in a whole new light. Suddenly, the testing process, IEP meetings, IEP teams, and services became very personal. I was anxious about what this would all mean for my son. 

Almost four years ago, my then two year old was not hitting his speech milestones as expected. We started him with our county’s early intervention program and saw great progress. When he aged out of their program, they set us up with the school district, and let them take over services. He has been on an IEP ever since then, and has made remarkable progress. 

Fast forward a few years, and our youngest three children are all on an IEP and are receiving SPED services for speech. My previous anxieties about having children who qualify for and receive Special Education services have since gone away. I have come to see, now more than ever, that Special Education is an amazing resource, and that I have an incredible role as a parent to advocate for my children and to develop good relationships with their IEP team. 

I know I am not the only parent who has gone through these thoughts and emotions surrounding having a child placed in any kind of SPED services. I interviewed a few parents who have at a child who is currently receiving or have previously received Special Education services for any kind or severity of disability. Join me as I share a series of these interviews over the next couple of weeks! 

My first interview was with Brandy, whose son received speech therapy services for part of his elementary school years.

Please tell me a little about your child who is receiving Special Education services. (Age, grade, etc.)

* L. is 12 and going into 7th grade. He was in speech from 3rd to 6th.

What kind of services does your child receive? (general education with pull out services for speech/math/reading, etc., behavior unit, mild-moderate life skills class, etc.)

* He was in general education with pull out for speech.

What has been the most difficult thing about navigating the SPED world in schools?

* When we first started I knew almost nothing about SPED lingo or the different tools and tests used. Going in for IEPs was difficult when I didn’t feel like I understood what was happening and therefore didn’t know how to be a good advocate for my child.

As a parent, what has been the most rewarding or positive thing about working with SPED services in schools?

* Having a team of people who care about my child and are working to help him grow has been awesome.

How do you feel other students and teachers respond to and interact with your child? Do you feel like there is a good amount of inclusiveness at your child’s school?

* Inclusivity is huge at my kids’ school. L’s teachers have been super helpful with input during IEP meetings and with helping me know how to best advocate for additional help and testing where needed.

As a parent, what are some ways you advocate for your child to make sure they are in the least restrictive environment and receiving the services they need and deserve?

* Being in speech, my child was already in a minimally restrictive environment. He was only pulled, at most, 10 minutes, twice a week. I feel like my kids’ school does a great job of getting students their service time, while making sure they aren’t missing areas of necessary general education.

If you could tell one (or two or more) thing(s) to people who don’t have much experience with working with children with disabilities of any kind and severity, what would you tell them?

  • Love and caring always comes first. Children can’t effectively learn and grow without it. Once they start picking up on the skills they’ve been working towards, it’s so rewarding to see the pride they take in themselves.

I really enjoyed hearing from Brandy about her experience with the Special Education department in her son’s school. It’s always so great to hear about teachers and support staff who are genuinely concerned with the progress of their students! 

Thank you, Brandy, for sharing your experience!

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Avoiding the Summer Slide

Just looking at the name, the term “summer slide” seems like it might be a fun thing! Summer? Slide? Wahoo! In reality, though, a summer slide in the context of education isn’t as fun as it might seem. When we talk about a summer slide, we are referring to what happens when students get an extended break from learning. Sometimes it is also referred to as the summer slump. Without constant practice, many students tend to regress and forget some of what they have learned during the school year. 

Keeping information fresh in their minds will help kids to more easily jump back into learning in the fall when school starts back up again. In addition to an easier transition back into school, summer learning practice helps kids’ minds stay active and growing. This can be done through various methods. Below, you will find a few ideas to help your kids stay on track during summer break and avoid the summer slide.

For mid-upper grades:

  • Encourage daily reading. Most public libraries have a free summer reading program, offering prizes and other incentives as kids read books. You can also download my free summer reading tracker here.
  • Find and print some pre-made worksheets. The inter webs are teeming with options, many of which are free! You can easily find a plethora of downloadable worksheets for any grade or any subject. Some good websites to try include Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, or Super Teacher Worksheets.
  • If you’d rather have a book of worksheets for your kids to work through, rather than printing off a bunch, there are many options for practice workbooks that can be ordered through Amazon or other retailers.
  • Print off or create some building block challenge cards and have your kids use their imaginations to create whatever the card suggests. Some ideas might be to use blocks to build a house, car, flower, animal, and so on.

For preschool-lower grades:

  • Incorporating learning into their play time is a great way to get them engaged and excited about learning practice. 
  • Puzzles are a fantastic way to keep young (and more mature!) minds active and engaged.
  • Cut out several paper shapes of varying sizes and colors. Have your kids sort them by shape, color, or size. You can even have them order the shapes from largest to smallest or smallest to largest. 
  • Practice letter and number writing using different mediums such as play-doh, pipe cleaners, string, etc. 
  • Do an alphabet search and match activity by writing all 26 letters (lower case) of the alphabet on a large piece of paper. Use 26 sticky note sheets and write all 26 letters in upper case. Hide the papers around the house and have your kids find them then match the upper case letter to it’s correct lower case partner. 
  • Using the same idea as the alphabet search and match, do a number search and match, where you have kids match the numeral form to the word form of a number (ex: 1 and one). You can also write numerals on a large piece of paper. On sticky notes, draw dots or shapes to match the numerals you have on the larger paper (ex: 5 on the large paper and five dots on a smaller paper).
  • Incorporate math into snack time by having your kids count out how many crackers, marshmallows, apple slices, etc. they have on their plates. 

The options are endless, and they don’t have to be expensive or fancy. Sometimes the best activities are the simplest. The goal is to provide kids with opportunities to keep their minds active and engaged during the summer months, with the hope that come fall, their minds will be able to more easily transition to learning mode.

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The Great Debate: Is End of Year Testing Worth It?

End of year testing. State testing. End of level assessments. Whatever you call them, students dread them, and most teachers do too. Across the nation, most schools administer some kind of end of year assessment to measure progress in core subjects, usually English/Language Arts, Math, and Science. 

There’s always been debate surrounding these kinds of assessments. Many believe they do not offer a truly accurate picture of progress and growth, while others see them as an effective tool for measuring progress. If you’ve been a teacher in any of the core subjects and have had to administer end of year tests, you can probably see evidence for both sides of the argument. For some students, the tests really do show the progress that has been made and do offer a pretty good picture of the knowledge that has been learned. For other students, test results are not an accurate picture of what has been learned— many students deal with test anxiety, simply don’t care and therefore give little effort into the test (were you one of the students who would use your Scantron sheet to make a picture rather than trying to find the right answers?), or perhaps are just having an “off” day for whatever reason. 

From a teacher’s perspective, I had a love/hate relationship with test days. By the end of the year, I was always physically and mentally exhausted, and test days provided me with a few very low-key days where I didn’t have to plan any structured lessons. I was able to catch up on grading, plan out the rest of the year, and take a minute to breathe. On the other hand, test days often proved to be a struggle, as many students would finish their test the first day of testing, then would proceed to cause problems or distractions for the students who had not yet finished. It became a game of “how do I keep these kids entertained” while also keeping the test-takers focused. 

And while I am all for seeing the improvement and growth that my students made over the course of the year, state tests didn’t provide an full picture of that growth. As their teacher, I was able to see their progress from month to month, and could truly see how far they had come. Since I was not the one who wrote the test, nor did I know what questions they would encounter on the test, I could only do so much to prepare them for the test. I would obviously teach the core standards that I was expected to teach, but as far as how the test was worded or the kinds of questions that were asked, that was out of my control. 

In order to decrease test anxiety as much as I could, I would always do my best to review core concepts in the weeks leading up to the test. I would assure students that their test score had absolutely no impact on their grade for my class. As long as they tried and put in effort (and didn’t bother other students during testing), they would get a participation grade. I would remind them that this was a test that they were required to take, and that they should do their best, but that their results didn’t indicate their worth. I would also usually offer some kind of “reward” day after testing to give them a chance to unwind. 

Though I’m not currently teaching, I am now seeing testing from a parent’s view. I’m always sure to let my kids know that they are smart and capable, and that as long as they do their best, that’s what matters most. My husband and I do our part to get them to bed at a good time so they are well rested, and make sure to feed them a good breakfast before they go to school. We don’t make a big deal out of it because we don’t want them to feel any extra pressure or stress about taking the tests. 

I don’t know that there are any easy answers to the testing debate. Will there ever be a day when state tests are not given? Maybe. There will always be need to measure progress, but what that looks like and how it is measured may change. Until then, we will continue to do our best and encourage our students and kids the best we can!

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Creating A Unified Classroom

My third period class on A-days was something special. We started off the year a little disorganized and unsure, but by the end of the first term, we had settled into a rhythm and were in a groove. The kids all got along well, supported each other, cared about their learning, and genuinely cared about each other. It was magical. It was a stark contrast to my fourth period on B-days, who quickly became the class that I had to mentally prep myself for the most— the kids didn’t get along very well, didn’t care if their classmates succeeded, and just plain didn’t care about much. 

As a teacher, I did my best to create a classroom community where all of my students felt safe, included, and supported. I taught the same material, assigned the same assignments, and was consistent in my management. The biggest difference between the two classes? The kids. The students in these two classes came to school each day with different attitudes toward learning. One class came ready to learn, ready to be engaged, and ready to help each other. The other rolled into class, counting down the minutes until the bell rang and they were done. It was every man for himself. 

It’s probably not a surprise that the overall success and grades of the first class was higher than that of the second. It’s amazing what can happen when students care about each other and encourage each other, especially in junior high. When an already vulnerable teen feels safe and supported by their peers, they are more willing to take risks and ask for help when they need it. They are more willing to learn from each other and share their knowledge with others. Confidence increases as students work together to learn. 

The question here, then, is how do we as teachers encourage a tight-knit classroom community? Often times, we can do all that we can, and if the kids just aren’t interested, we can only do so much. But sometimes, students can be encouraged and gently nudged into supporting each other. When we provide opportunities for students to work together and cheer each other on, we are working toward that community feeling. When we give kids the chance to feel like they matter and are safe, the walls start to come down, and they begin to build trust in their peers. This usually isn’t an automatic or natural thing for kids to do, but it is worth working toward. 

We can encourage a classroom community by modeling what that looks like. Share and celebrate successes. Demonstrate what it means to show up and support someone in a time of need. Teach your students to invest in each other by asking questions about their lives and interests. Model what it looks like to genuinely listen. Show how students can have a meaningful conversation where they both hear and are heard. Provide them with opportunities to engage with one another and work together. 

It might take some work and practice, but once they get the hang of it, you will see a difference in your students and the way they show up for class and in the way they treat each other. It’ll be worth it, and you won’t regret it!

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Life-Long Learning

My husband’s job has recently started requiring him to go into the office full time rather than work from home most of the week. We live over an hour from his office, so rather than driving by himself every day, he has opted to join the company vanpool. He now finds himself with anywhere from two to three hours total of commute time, sitting in the back of the van. Instead of wasting his time playing games on his phone, he’s decided to learn some new things. He has researched grilling techniques so that he can get the most use out of his new grill. He’s started learning a new language. He’s read informational articles on self-improvement. He’s proving that learning doesn’t have to stop once you leave formal schooling. 

The value of continued education is immeasurable, as are the things you can learn. The local university where I live offers adult continuing education classes each semester for anyone over 18 years old. The classes are either free or very low cost. They cover subjects like welding, dancing, all kinds of art, physical education, and so on. The goal isn’t to get a degree, but simply to learn a new skill. 

Learning new skills, information, or hobbies does wonders for our adult brains. It keeps them thinking and working. Research shows that continued learning allows brain cells to continue to stretch and grow. Learning improves the brain’s ability to remember things, giving you an edge as you age. Some studies even show that healthy brain activity can delay the onset of memory related conditions such as Alzheimer’s or dementia. 

Other benefits of life long learning include increased creativity, better mental flexibility, more creativity, greater self-confidence, increased career advancement opportunities, more fulfillment in your job and in life in general, increased personal growth, and increased motivation.

When you engage in adult education, you often have the chance to create new friendships and relationships, often leading to other opportunities. You might learn new ways to do things. Perhaps you might pick up a new skill that can benefit yourself or your family. Even if you aren’t pursuing further education for financial gain, learning and researching can prevent boredom, expand your interests, and make you a well-rounded thinker, none of which are bad things!

Just because you aren’t actively working toward a degree or any other kind of certificate, you don’t have to stop learning. Education is for everyone, and it provides both tangible and non-tangible benefits. You don’t have to sign up for a fancy class or spend tons of your free time learning— even a few minutes a day spent reading about a new topic can benefit your brain more than you’ll know. So the next time you find yourself with a few spare minutes, you might consider reading up on how to grow a successful garden or how to bake the perfect cheesecake rather than mindlessly scrolling social media. You’ll be surprised at what you learn, and your family will thank you when you put a slice of homemade cheesecake in front of them!