Day 29: My History of Learning: 7 Pivotal Moments #AprilBlogADay Challenge

Prompt: Your History of Learning - What has been your greatest learning experiences?

In the first year of graduate school everyone has to take a methods class- a lot of the content is history of education and the building of a personal philosophy on teaching and learning.  One of the projects we had to do was to identify the major leaning experiences of our life to that point and present it in a creative way.  

I brainstormed a long list of learning moments- some  more cynical than others.  I remember reading the list to my husband, who was then my boyfriend of only 6 months, and he commenting on the TONE of the list.  I weeded down to a robust 12 or so.  I cut out circles of colored card stock and wrote each moment on a circle and included the age that the learning moment tool place.  I then I put them together in to the shape of a caterpillar, not unlike this one: 

I remember feeling like I had all these great experiences but I was just at the beginning, as a career changer.  I was not a butterfly yet. 

I don't know that I see myself as a butterfly yet.

I do know that I have reflected on my journey, a lot. Here are 7 pivotal learning events:

1. JoAnne Jugum.  She was my 3rd grade teacher.  This was the year I learned to write cursive. Cursive provided me freedom to explore and escape, encouraged to write letters and stories. This is also the year that I was granted refuge from the storm of growing up.  I was painfully aware that I was not fitting in with the kids I had gone to school with for the previous 3 years.  She let me spend recess in her room, so I could read and hide.  It was safety when I needed it. 
2. Barely passing math in 8th grade.  This was the first time I felt like a true failure.  I has been told for years that I was better, smarter than the kids in the "regular" classes.  I was condemned and had to repeat math in 9th grade.  I thought I was being relegated to the class with the stupid kids, the slow kids, the kids who were less because they were exactly where they were supposed to be, working at grade level. What did this really mean? It means I hadn't been ready for 9th grade math in 8th grade.  It meant that I started 9th grade with my peers as equals.  It forced me to rethink and reformulate many of ideas I had about being a student, learning and my own experiences.  
3. Not being able to afford to go away for college after graduation from high school.  I applied to visited and got into a private college in Minnesota. I could not afford to go there and I didn't get into the state school I applied to.  I was relegated to community college, which I hated, a lot.  It's not for everyone.  That's ok.  I dropped out after 1 quarter.  I had amazing grades and because I had some college, when I reapplied to the state school I wanted to go to I applied as a transfer student and got in with my 3.9 GPA and amazing essay.
4. Starting college at 20 and a half and not 18.  No dorms.  Living off campus.  Being "non-traditional". Having had to work harder to get there...I soaked up every moment.
5. College, both undergrad and grad school.  I learned to take risks, collaborate, inquire, research, write, read and to be truly curious and creative.  My best friends in life are from college, as I am sure if true for many of us. Three universities, 7 years, countless classes and so much joy.  
6. Moving to NYC.  I am coming up on my 10 year anniversary in NYC.  I didn't move here for college.  I took a risk, mailed 13 small boxes to my new apartment and bought a plane ticket.  I achieved my professional goals from the first part of my life.  I was so poor I couldn't afford to turn my heat on that first year, nor could I afford to go home for the holidays and had my first Christmas away from my parents.  I met my husband, I went to grad school, I became a teacher.  I grew into myself.
7. Teaching and Learning in the NYC DOE. 1.1 million students.  1700 schools. 75K+ teachers.  The numbers are staggering.  Being a teacher here means many things. The odds are against us. Many come and go but many stay, teach, learn, grow.  It's more political than I would like, but I don't show up for the politics.  I show up for the kids.  I show up for Cory so he and I can sit on the couch in my classroom at lunch and laugh about silly things.  I show up so I can have an impromptu conversation with my 11th graders about what life would have been like if they stopped working for the grade on the paper because there were no grades. I show up so I can stop Joaquin, a sophomore, in the hallway and tell him that I want him to sit in on an AP class later in May so he can see what it is like and how working hard pays off.  I show up so I can celebrate Ashley, one of my advisees tomorrow because I was told by her geometry teacher that she is doing exceptionally well and potentially could have an 85-90 by the end of the year. I show up because there are little moments and big wins that teach me about the human experience.

All these moments have influenced and challenged my perception of my world. If you ask me this question in 10 more years I am sure I will give you a new list of moments that I remember, but experience changes perception.  I will keep seeking out new experience, new challenge, new learning in order to grow.

Day 28: The Worst Advice We've Ever Heard About Technology in the classroom? #AprilBlogADay Challenge

Day 28...The Worst Advice We've Ever Heard About Technology in the classroom

It's just after 7 on day 28 and I have been thinking about this topic all day.  For the life of me, I could not think of any specific advice I had been given about using tech.  I am one who has embraced tech and often ends up teaching other teachers how to integrate themselves. 

At my current school, we have a computer science department (because we are a CS school) who for the most part are working on an entirely different level of tech than most of us.  I have great aspirations to let better at tech- at least learn some basics of coding so I can talk more with our students about what and how they are doing- but finding the time to sit down with Alice or some version of Scratch is overwhelming for this old lady.  Eric, graciously spent time with me on two occasions teaching me-or trying to teach me- how to use Doctopus but my brain just can't wrap itself around that one.  I do have my mainstays: Skedula (that has improved so much over the last 5 years) and I wish our school used more of it's features, but it's our online grade book.  I also use Teacher Dashboard, a lot.  It is on my top 5 digital teaching tools ever.

I guess for me, the prompt should really be: what misconceptions did you/do you have about tech in the classroom.  

Here are three:  

1.  All tools work for all teachers, because they are teaching tools.  

One of the most frustrating parts of EdTech- is that there are so many tools and administrators want to try new things, get on board with what will best help students move forward, support teacher development, and provide the all important data to support positive instructional outcomes.  I stand by this: do a few things really well.  REALLY WELL.  Not two dozen things half way or sort of.  I feel this way about lots of school related things.

2. Practice makes perfect.

We are not all excellent at everything.  I can be proficient, even ok- but who wants to be just ok?  I want to be HIGHLY EFFECTIVE.  There are been a few things over the years that I just couldn't figure out.  I don't push myself to master all the nuances (like with Excel) but I also don't have cause to use it very much because I teach English.  


3. More experienced (read: old) teachers can't learn new tricks.

It's all about what an individual clicks with- don't assume talent coaches.  


It's now almost 9.  Cooked and eaten dinner.  Still have a PPT to make for class tomorrow- thankful for this tech that will let me quickly, prep, save and get to go to bed.

Day 24: I Love My School Because... April Blog A Day Challenge

Prompt: I love my school because...

My school is pretty amazing.  I came in the second year of the school and have helped to build and develop this extraordinary teaching and learning community.  Next year we will have our first cohort graduate, the Class of 2016.  I knew it was something special when I arrived for PD in the middle of August two summers ago and proceeded to spend the next two weeks working with a team of educators and professionals who were passionate, excited and committed to our school and our kids.

I love our school because we are an amazing community that is building something special.

11th grade team at Facebook NYC

I love my school because our kids are amazing.  I like to think that all teachers things this way.  Our kids are here.  We have 94% attendance on average each day.  Our kids show up.  They stay and they are learning and growing and I get better at my job because I am here with them.

I love my school because I get to work Rebecca every day.  She and I are both in the Model Teacher program this year.  It's been a gift to have a colleague, confidant, sounding board and friend.  I was lucky enough to meet her sister +Gretchen Ziegler  9 years ago in grad school at NYU and getting to add another member of this family to my circle is a gift.

I love my school because as teacher leaders Rebecca and I have been able to invest in the development of our Year 1 and 2 teachers as mentors and through professional development. Below are photos from PD yesterday where teachers created posters for a gallery walk showcasing a assessment strategy they tried with a target class for the last month.  They had to provide student work, highlight pros and cons of the method, modifications for next time and a ranking- 1-4 stars.

I love my school because it's in Union Square, NYC.   If you have been to NYC you know.  If you haven't, come to NYC! I love my school because we move in a pack through the streets of our city.

I love my school because through my battle with thyroid cancer this winter, they have been a huge part of my support system, cheering me on taking away some of the stress that goes with missing days with my kids.  In other schools, it may have been a different story, and thankfully this was not the case.

I love my school because it is a home away from home.  I thrive when I am there and I could not imagine being anywhere else at this point in my career. 

Day 19: "I Think In Word Not Excel" or "Tech In The Classroom?" #AprilBlogADay Challenge

Day 19: Tech In The Classroom?  How? Why? Should we?

When I tell my students that When I was in college... I didn't have a laptop,  and a cell phone didn't come until the last couple years and it was a clunker.  When I started grad school in 2006, the idea of having a laptop in class hadn't even dawned on me.  I like taking notes on paper.  Sitting in grad school, next to Millenials with their fancy shiny new Mac Books and me with my spiral notebook, I felt antiquated. 

Boy, have things changed in 10 years.  Today, I sit in the Starbucks a couple blocks from my house, my Venti Cold Brew (if you haven't switched to cold brew, from anywhere for that matter, you should) my morning pastry, the ridiculous music planing in the coffee shop, and me, sitting in front of a MacBook Air, blogging.  Could I embody a stereotype any more than this?

My laptop is provided by my school and I am beyond grateful.  I have gotten so many hours of work done on this little machine.  When I was with out it for a month last summer when they were doing inventory and upgrades, I was at a loss. I do have a desktop, but being tied to my office, especially in the summer, was an inconvenience.  I have embraced tech (well, most of of).

Working at a school that is ALL ABOUT TECH has meant that I ramp up quickly.  I fill in holes that were lacking of resources and find myself looking for new things that I may be able to use.  We have SmartBoards in every classroom, each class has a cart of laptops and as a result I was about 90% paper free in my English classes last year.  It was a eye opening experience.  It was the first time I felt that I was really preparing students for college too.  Using Google Docs and Teacher Dashboard by Hapara allowed me to support and engage with students in more ways than ever before.  Working in a school that supported this use of tech changed my teaching practice for the better.  (I will qualify, there are things I don't like and wont use that some of the CS Department uses and loves.  I don't find it user friendly (yet)  and despite training, wont use. I think in Word, not Excel.) 

Some of my favorites: 

• Google Docs
• It is still the gold standard, despite it's flaws (a completely inadequate grammar support and formatting options).  I lost all the lessons and materials I had created over my first year and a half of teaching thanks to a faulty flash drive.  Never again.  Hello Cloud, I love you.
• TurnItIn.com 
• I started using this platform for AP.  While not a new resource for students and teachers, it was new for me and I love it.  It keeps student plagiarism in check, offers grammar and punctuation tools/support (especially helpful for my ELLs) when students use it, peer review and feedback, and online grading and feedback.  I love it.
• Quizlet Online Flash Cards
• I have used this for both AP and for Theatre Arts. I can create sets of cards and students can create their own.  It can be used online and there is a mobile app. For courses that have a plethora of vocabulary, this is a great tool. You can also generate quizzes (I don't love this feature, but it is there and I have used it).
• Shmoop


• It just keeps getting better and better as year progress. I only use the free materials.  I love the videos they put together for books.  I think it is more visually interesting for students, especially those who struggle.  Adding "academic WD-40 to squirt on the tracks whenever we can." Indeed.

There are drawbacks to using and depending on so much tech- the biggest being, when hardware doesn't work or the network is down, I am screwed.  Thankfully, the percentage of time that this happens is small, but when it does, I have to think quickly.  I have learned to trouble shoot most connectivity problems and students always have a back up- good old paper and pen- just in case.  

I find myself thinking, pen and paper is not ideal and I can't believe that is my thinking.  But it isn't. This is the state of education and it isn't changing.  I hope that when my students look back on their time in my classroom, they say, "I learned to take really great notes in Ms. Towne's class," or "Ms. Towne taught me how to organize my materials when I am doing research." I learn a lot as I go.  Kids teach me more.  I am teacher future developers, coders and designers their inspirations is everywhere and who am I to get in the way of inspiration?

Day 18: Pump Up The Volume #AprilBlogADay Challenge

Prompt 18: What's small step are you willing to take to elevate the profession?

I suspect that what Chris meant when choosing the word "elevate" was about bringing the profession to a new level, to rise up.  I quickly looked up the definition of elevate and read: To increase the amplitude, intensity, or volume of.  The first thing that came into my mind was, I need to pump up the volume around my craft.  And of course, being a woman of a certain age, this is what popped into my head next: 

For those of you not familiar with the 1990 movie, Christian Slater (swoon!) runs a pirate radio station that earns a cult following amongst his peers.  At the time it was a lesson in free speech and chaos and continuing to cement Slater as my dream husband for many years to follow.

There has been so much rhetoric, both positive and negative about teachers, unions, charter and public schools over the last few years and its place in social media is achieving a fever pitch now especially around opting out of state tests. My Twitter feed is regularly flooded with tweets that are highly political, teaching activists pumping up the volume on what they think is important.  I love that colleagues feel passionately about this work and are willing to elevate knowledge of the interwebs to shed light on things that are happening in and around education.

I however have never been especially political.  While I do feel strongly about many things, for example, I am NOT against the common core, but I do have some very specific feelings and thinking about where it has gone wrong, I am not 100% comfortable flooding social media with my platform.  I think there are better ways for me to elevate the volume on what impacts teachers and what I think is important.  For me, this small step towards elevation and increasing the volume and rhetoric around my profession is going to be through blogging.  While I may not get the same coverage and dissemination that others get, I know many of you are reading, and hearing and sharing.  

I will keep talking about what I have experienced, what I think is important, and working to elevate my craft every day through doing so.

Day 16: Professional Learning Groupies #AprilBlogADay Challenge

Prompt 16: Why does a PLC or PLN matter? Are they different? What do they look like when they work? Not work? True purpose? 


I went my own way with this one.

I applied to a new program for this fall- it's school, a 2 year program in school based leadership, the nice way to say administration.  One of the questions on the application was about school based teams that I am on or could do work with next year.  Like many teachers, there are many.

• Model/Master Teacher Team
• ELA Department
• 11th Grade Team
• 9th Grade Team
• 10th Grade Advisory Team
• School Leadership Team

AND don't forget committees...sigh. Some of the groups meet more often than others, some I plan for, lead and/or facilitate.  Being in a small school means there are many "opportunities" for teachers and this school is no exception.  Of these six groups, one has really continued to my development as an educator because in many of these meetings I am the one supporting the growth of others.  

I won't lie, I crave experiences that support my development.  The most growth for me has come through 1:1 conversations or collaboration with both my Principal and AP or with my fellow Model Teacher, Becca or Master Teacher, Cameron.  The cultivation of my self-awareness, of my strengths, and areas for growth have come when I have worked in a mentoring role.  I have learned what roles I love (1:1 collaborative curriculum development) and those I love less (group lesson planning).  

I try to learn from each experience but somethings are harder than others.

My ideal Professional Learning Community would be one where all grow and thrive, it is collaborative and constructive and there is room for discussion and expansion of thinking.  I am hopping that, if accepted into the program for the fall, provides me with a cohort of colleagues who can take on that role.

Three weeks ago, when I ventured back into the twitter, I had no idea I would begin to make connections, and develop my network of colleagues and inspiration.  Like any tool, it is what you make of it.  I am excited to see how this professional learning community continues to grow and evolve.  

Day 15: "The Twitter" or "Get Up! Stand Up!" #AprilBlogADay Challenge

Prompt 15:  How has social media changed your classroom?  

Personally? Professionally? With students? Families? 

Last year I sat in a parent meeting with one of my advisees, two other students and each child's parent.  The parent was preparing to request what we call a safety transfer for the student because of bullying that had been taking place on Facebook.  It was no joke.  I watched as my principal skillfully facilitated a heated discussion between three parents.  It was social media once again as the chief method for instigation.

When I was a kid...In reality, it doesn't matter any more.  Times have changed and social media isn't going anywhere.

Today, I was talking to my Juniors and I said, "You, know when you are following someone on the Twitter...." and you could see and hear the audible giggles at Ms. Towne's faux pas.  I do it on purpose, of course.  I also use terms like: the facebook, interwebs, and insta-vain.  I do it because it is silly, it's good to get kids laughing, even at my expense.  Laughter feels good, releases great natural chemicals and helps kids relax before you make them do 40 minutes of Socratic Seminar.  

Social media also inspires a plethora of feelings and experiences for all of us.  For me, social media has provided me things like: 

• connection with old friends
• networking and professionally developing
• staying connected with family 3000 miles away 
• sharing my Ponderous Journey over the last year and a half through blogging
• finding support and inspiration from strangers all over the world
• knowledge and inspiration
• community

Social media has also caused hurt and frustration...

• miscommunications (this happens more than anything!)
• de-freinding (I hate that this word even exists, but you know exactly what it is.)
• body shaming 
• throwing subs
• bullying, especially for my students
• Comments....NEVER. READ. THE. COMMENTS.

Working at a school that is ALL about tech, social media in many ways is a necessary component but most is blocked by the DOE (along with many other things, that in my mind shouldn't be).  How do we support students, teach them interwebs self-defense strategies, and model positive ways to engage with social media?  It's becomes theoretical and a bunch of what if...? scenarios. 

Ultimately, the power of social media is inspiring and fantastic.  I believe this is where the current and next generations of social justice activists will grow, thrive and get people moving.  It will be the answer I have been looking for when the question has been: What will get the millennials to stand up for something...anything? What will get them out from in front of the screen and and speaking out and speaking up?  Hopefully social media will do just that.

Day 13: Leaders For Literacy Day! #AprilBlogADayChallenge

Prompt 13: Leaders for Literacy Day Challenge!
How is literacy critical to the advancement of society today?

It was 6:30 and I was still at school, like many of us, I’m sure.  Every other week I only have one class on Mondays- AP LANG which is always challenging and wonderful (well, most of the time).  I have learned more teaching this curriculum than I have since the boot camp of year one.  Despite only having one class today, I am always exhausted these Mondays and I am often at school late.  Andrew, who teaches AP Chem came in to check in re: test prep and time going into may.  We got onto talking about books and I was relaying a conversation I had with my husband about why he disliked the Game of Thrones series (he knows he is not the norm) after Andrew expressed that he had not liked them.  We moved fluidly from idea to idea, talking about literature, authors, genre. Then I told him about today’s April Blog A Day Challenge.  “This is what my blog post is going to be about…”  

I have never heard my students have a conversation about books the way Andrew and I just had.  Working in a CS school, I hear conversations about video games, which in their own right often have complicated and nuanced story lines, characters and each fall into genre of their own.  Does this mean that the reading of books is disappearing?  Can students cultivate literacy in new ways- like through classes like video game design-or do we need to foster literacy skills the way most of us built them- by reading books? 

I don’t think that video games are a substitution for reading.  In AP Lang the majority of the reading students do is nonfiction.  I made the choice, as I developed my curriculum to anchor each of the 4 units in a novel that is connected to a larger theme in the context of rhetoric. Our current unit is Language and Community and our anchor text is the perennial favorite, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.  Today was the first day of a three day sequence and preparation and participation in Socratic Seminar.  I had spent the weekend creating a multitude of documents for students to use and to help them prepare for the two rounds of discussion they will each have to participate in on Wednesday and Thursday this week.  It’s essentially fancy Book Club for anyone not familiar with the discussion.  It works and it works well.  I am by no means an expert but I think it provides students to demonstrate mastery of a plethora of skills in a compact package.  The directions for the prep today were as follows:

1.  You will have 2 rounds today, in small groups to break down your assigned questions and then discuss informally, look for evidence and begin to collect evidence in your SocSem planning doc I put in your Google Drive.

2.  The first round will be in groups of 4 (there should be 8) and we will all be discussing Question 1

3.  The second round you will be in groups of 5-6 to discuss your second question.  There should be 6 groups, 2 for each question.

As I circulated around, listening in on conversations, I could not help but think, THIS is when the real learning happens. I could see it: ideas flowing, uncensored, unafraid of making mistakes, to be right or wrong, to challenge thinking and to BE CHALLENGED.  I sat down with a group discussing the evolution of the protagonist through the course of the novel.  It was fantastic.  They brought up great points that I had not ever thought about despite having read TEWWG a dozen or so times.  Fresh eyes brings new perspective, especially important for educators: we don’t know it all. I found myself getting excited about the discussion and stayed longer than I should have, caught up in the exchange and listening to the learning happening.  THIS is literacy at work.

When my students come into class on Wednesday, some of them will be nervous, they will feel the pressure of a grade and having to answer to a parent.  They may not have prepared enough, found enough evidence, been sure enough.  What they don’t know is that you can never be sure enough.  Life, knowledge and understanding is fluid and there is always something new to change what we may have been sure of just a few weeks earlier.

It’s now 7:30.  I am typing away on the R train and I am ready to be home.  This is what I know:  the real power of literacy is having the ability to read in the first place.  I am grateful that all my students can read.  They have this cultural collateral that will help gain them admission to great colleges, it will help them apply to amazing jobs after they graduate and it will help them in those moments when they are at work later than they planned and got to have a lovely conversation with a colleague about books.

Day 12: Passion!! Do you have it? #AprilBlogADay

Prompt 12:
What passion project are you working on? 

Professionally, there is always something I am thinking about, things I want to do.  I have hatched a lot of plans of the year and some things work, some don't.  For me, a passion project is to following something
from inception to completion, to collaborate and learn, and create something that will last beyond me.  Working in a school where are the students are learning to code and about CS, I am learning too.  Many kids talk about design and not engineering.  (While I am sure many consider engineering an art form, I have a design background and for me there is a difference between design and construction...two different skill sets.)  Currently, it's all about laying the ground work and beginning to develop a pilot course blending ELA, ARTS, and CS in a course in Video Game Development & Design.  This to me is STEAM (not just STEM) and an integral aspect of education for Millennials and preparing for College and Career. (Here is some really interesting research on Arts Integration from Edutopia.) I think I do my best work when I am collaborating with people who want to collaborate and create something together, to exchange ideas. I am hoping it is what I can work to develop this summer to prepare an elective for Seniors next year.  

I also want to work to develop and create a TEDx event at our school.  It is a LONG process and there are a plethora of rules and guidelines but I think it would be an amazing piece for out school and for AP Lang students to do in the month between the AP exam in May and the end of the school year mid June.  This idea is new and fresh.  Lots of learning to do

Personally, I want to be healthy.  My hope is that by September I have my voice back (my right vocal cord is paralyzed at the moment and I teach with a mic and amp- although I have to say I love it in many ways, especially in Drama class!), I have the cancer "all clear" and that I can begin the school year strong and ready to hit the ground running. 

One of the things I love the most about being a teacher is that there is always a new school year, there is always an opportunity to reflect, grow...evolve and educators and humans.  This is why I still get nervous the night before school starts.  It is my passion, this journey, this life.

Post 11: Reading??? #AprilBlogADay Challenge

Prompt 11: What are you reading? Professionally or Personally? And if you aren't reading right now, why?

Growing up I loved reading serials- The Baby Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin, in high school I discovered Armistead Maupin's Tales of The City.  There were novels I enjoyed too: Pigs in Heaven and Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver and Their Eyes Were Watching God by ZN Hurston and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (which I struggled through but went to the library and listened to all 18 hours on cassette tape and cried at the end).  I know that reading these books growing up had a huge impact on my thinking on narrative and telling stories.  

As I have gotten older, the more I come to terms with the fact that I am not the best reader. I know all the propaganda we teachers use: good readers make better writers.  The more you read the more exposed you will be to big ideas that guide and challenge global leaders and historical events. I don't disagree. I read, but most of the reading I do is sporadic and/or for pleasure (I love romance novels). I have been very honest with students (in AP) this year about knowing one's strengths and when one is is not as strong at something how we develop the skills to push through: the cultural collateral of the cannon. Meaning- I learned to read but didn't really enjoy it until college.  It was in graduate school where I finally came to understand, through  Maureen Barbieri (at NYU) and the works of Nancy Atwell, that when readers select what they read, and are given permission to put a book down if they don't like it, they will own their reading and have great success.  In my teaching career I have never been able to teach a course where students get to read for pleasure.  My favorite English class was in 10th grade, when my teacher, Ms. Van Zwol, designed a course where we were able to select the novels we read.  They had to fall into specific categories and had to be approved.  We also had to do culminating writing at the end of each novel.  I remember more from that year than almost any other.  The power of choice (and of fiction) is something missing from HS ELA today. 

All that said, while I have a pile of books waiting to be read (The Martian by Andy Weir is at the top followed by the first book in the Outlander series.) I do love to write and I know that is my strength.  It always has been but I push myself to read because the love the feeling of finishing a book, seeing the journey and how a book feels in my hand.

Day 10: What's Left? #AprilBlogADay Challenge

Prompt 10: What is left to do with your students? In your classroom? With your colleagues? Personally?

I had started a post this morning that over the course of a few hours became irrelevant so I am starting over.


1.  With my students...

• prep for the AP exam in May!
• Move the 3 kids who are not "college and career ready" to get at least a 75 on the NYS ELA Regents
• Read A View From The Bridge with 9th grade
• Teach 9th graders about theatrical design

2.  In my classroom...

• I am expecting to have to change rooms again so I suspect packing up is going to have to happen.  Ugh...yuck.  Packing.
• Find ways to share a classroom that I feel comfortable with and can still be proud of the space and what it reflects.

3.  With my colleagues...

• I want to learn to ask better questions to when I mentor so teachers lead their own development through inquiry.
• I want to help new teachers to take on new roles in a growing school.  
• To help teachers build up their capacity as teacher leaders.

4.  Personally...

• I want to be better with each year I continue a career in education.
• I want to develop interdisciplinary curriculum with ELA/CS
• I want to get my admin cert 
• I want to be healthy 
• I want to love my work
• I want to inspire others to do great work
• I want to grow...grow....GROW

Day 9: Dear Meredith... #AprilBlogADay Challenge

Prompt 9:
"What would you say to your
beginning teacher-self"?

We have all been there: if I knew then what I know now but in reality, we can't know- it's what helps us grow as humans, as educators.  This was my first classroom, before kids, before piles of papers, before learning happened. It was also my home for 5 years.  I loved this room.  The first thing I would tell my younger self is: Always create a space that YOU feel good in.  You will spend more time here than anyone else (even kids).  It is an extension and representation of you, what you believe and the teaching and learning that is taking place there.

Eventually I had a smart board and white boards, but this is how the school year started.

This is my favorite board of ALL time. Books allow us to travel,
even if real life keeps us in one place.

Armed with materials from undergrad, I showcased different careers in theatre.
I had not learned to laminate yet and this didn't make it into year two.

In looking back, I did feel good in this room.  It had a stage, there was space to create and learn.  All teachers should be as lucky as I was to have a room this large.

Second thing I would tell myself is: Always stand up for your curriculum, prepare as much as you can and pick your battles.  In the first 5 years, working in a Transfer School I wrote 6 curricula a year- each 12 weeks long.  That is 30 different curricula.  Out of 30, there was 1 trimester where my choices were questioned and challenged.  (Not for the right reasons though.) I stood by the challenged planning but untimely I had to rewrite 2 weeks into the school year.  I had other battles that last year and this didn't need to be one of them.  

The third and what might be the most important thing I would tell my younger self: Don't be afraid to move on.  Life is too short to be unhappy.  I should have moved forward after my third year, to find a new working community.  I would always tell myself, one more year.  I'll give it one more year. Then I should have really moved on after my 4th year, but again I gave myself another year.  I would tell myself things like: I'll stick with it- for the kids...until so-and-so graduates...am I good enough to leave a place where I know I am good?  Can a be successful with a different population of students?  So much self-doubt had crept into my teaching practice, my confidence was gone.  I cried at work, more than I would like to admit.  I wish I had had the courage to do what I knew was the right move: leaving a place where I didn't feel welcome any longer.

My new classroom (above) after I made the decision to move forward.  

Me ready for a drama class at my new school, that I can teach in the auditorium (below).

Day 8: What was the question again? #AprilBlogADay Challenge

Prompt 8: How should we foster question asking instead of answer getting?

I struggle with this.  Not in my design of challenging and rigorous questions to provoke higher level thinking but with the engagement of students in deeper thinking an questioning of each other and of the material....

I thought about this a lot today.  Here is what I came to:  in order to ask great questions, and engage in discussion means you have to LISTEN.  What I have seen my students do is this: they sit, they not, they can't really engage in discussion because they are NOT LISTENING. 

I did an exercise one day- having set a goal that I wanted my AP students to really work on note taking skills that they will need in the college classroom- I had showed them a brief 4 minute video on feminism.  There was a lot of information and the presenter spoke quickly, rattling off facts and figures interspersed with some humor and reflection.  The first time I showed them the video none of them took notes.  They watched passively, enjoying the video and laughing from time to time.  The following class I asked, "How many of you think you could pass a quiz about the video you watched on Monday?" A few, maybe 5 raised their hands.  "How many people took notes during the video?" Two kid's hands went up.  I knew I had missed the boat on this one.  It was a skill I should have been building in from day one.  Not just taking notes from lecture but from reading, class discussions, videos, reading homework!  These are the skills they are going to need to be successful in college.  Copious notes to digest, process, reflect, ask questions, thinking critically.

It's not a natural skill- it is something to be cultivated over time.  Accountable talk is great (and the prompts that we get students to use) but I need to do more to help kids develop the ability to listen, really HEAR and critically engage. 

Prompt 7: Champions #AprilBlogADay Challenge

The end week one. Prompt 7: Has anyone ever helped you in your career? Been your champion? How will you become someone else's champion?

Has anyone ever helped you in your career? 

Theatre is all about collaboration (and networking).  I have been lucky to have mentors who have, not to be cliché, seen something in me. My high school drama teacher, my costume design prof- who when I came to him at the end of my second quarter and said that I wanted to try my hand at design he jumped into the pool with me and put me on the Fall schedule to design my first show: The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and eight shows after that in a short 2 years.  

When I transferred to a larger university and a more rigorous program, I switched my focus to construction.  Mentors provided opportunity and new knowledge to help me develop in my field.  After I graduated, I did the Professional Artists Training Program at The Seattle Repertory Theatre.  I met amazing mentors and professionals while interning in the costume shop.  Drapers, First Hands, Stitchers, Wig Makers, Designers, and Milliners.  This is also where I began to focus and hone my craft, refining my focus to millinery.  I fell in love with making hats.  Each chapeau was a piece of art, telling a story about who the character was.   Again, mentors pushed me by making me work, taking chances, learning through doing to grow and improve.  It was this time and these relationships that ultimately brought me to NY to work as a milliner for Broadway, Opera, and Film, ultimately achieving all my professional theatre goals.

The challenges placed in front of me by each mentor over 10 years changed me.  Each step pushing me forward, improving, letting me make mistakes, and learning from them.  With out each of these mentors (and many others) I would not have had the career and opportunities I did.

Has anyone ever been your champion?

There have been many champions of me or my work over the years.  The most consistent has been Marci. I met her years ago when she was an ELA coach for the network our school was in. I always believed she understood my thought processes, my logic for choices and she was never afraid to speak frankly with me about my practice or advocate on my behalf when she felt it was necessary. When she left the network and I was so sad to not have her with me but I quickly saw that she had become part of my community.  In the years following she has served as a sounding board and become a friend. Her insight and thinking is always inspiring and helpful. Even though I don't get to work with her as I did, I know she is in my corner and will always be my champion and my friend.

How will you become someone else's champion?

Much of the work I have done this year, in addition to my teaching load, is as a mentor of new teachers.  Working in a school that is at its beginning has a host of challenges.  One of the biggest challenges has been that teachers in their first and second year don't know what their rights are, have not taken the time to read their contract, usually because they are busy with other things, oh, like getting through their first teaching year, writing and implementing curriculum and learning 150+ names and developing a working relationship with a new group of people.  So, beyond mentoring and supporting teacher development, I have been in a position to speak up when it comes to union issues and teacher rights.  Some things have been as small as making sure teachers have access to information on the different insurance plans each fall when the transfer period opens. Bigger things have been about working with Administration to develop structures that support teachers at school events like Parent/Teacher Conferences. Professionally I am at a place in my career where I am an advocate and able to be the kind of person people like Marci have been for me: Leader, Friend, Sounding Board, Advocate and Champion.