A Simple Moment: Tremendous Impact! They Care That We Care!

I was cleaning out a folder in which I keep a lot of my "teacher stuff" from the last couple of years.  In it, I found a short essay I had written a few years ago in response to a question from Project Wisdom . When I read it, I thought how well it goes along with Angela Maier's concept, "#You Matter." This is what I wrote:


Over the years, I am proud to have become one of "those" teachers.  You know, the ones parents request every year. They request you because they have heard great things about you from other parents or your colleagues. Or maybe their child persuaded them that your class is where they wanted to be.


One moment in my teaching history stands out, a moment, out of so many, that I have not forgotten. It was the end of the school year, and I was talking to a student who had "requested" me.  She was a bright child, very sweet, always polite.


I can't remember what our conversation was about, but I found myself asking her what drove her to ask her Mom to place her in my classroom.  I have never forgotten her answer. It wasn't that a friend or sibling told her that I was a great teacher. It wasn't that she had heard great things about all the fun activities that occurred in my classroom.  With a beautiful smile on her face, she said, "One day you told me that I had on a pretty dress!"


Wow!  She was referring to a time when she was in the fourth grade. I didn't know her, but as I was passing her in the hallway, I complimented her on the dress she was wearing. I'm not kidding when I say I teared up.

We really, truly, do not understand the impact we have on our students!  Can you imagine?  I complimented her on her dress, and she remembered that a year later! That compliment, a year ago, was enough to make me a teacher she wanted to spend a year with.


 It reminded me why I teach, I  teach to make a difference.
If  one compliment can make such a difference, imagine what we could do, with the 180 days every year that we teach! 


Let them know that they matter! It may not be a big deal to you, but it means tons to them!

How Emportent Is Gramar and Splling? Grammarly Thinks, Very!

I hope you realize that my errors are intentional. :)

Spelling and/or grammar errors bother me. It bothers me when words are spelled incorrectly. It bothers me when I see signs, emails, and/or posts with the word your when it should be, you're.  I know I shouldn't let it bother me, but it does. There are times when I have walked through the hallways, read students' work, and cringed.

We seem to have become a society where spelling and grammar are not supposed to matter.  Where we should  allow our students' writing to flow, spelling and grammar be damned.  But I can't do it!

 It might be because I am "old school".  It might be that eventually our students are going to be in a situation where spelling and grammar are necessary. I believe that if you are going to write a final copy, adult or child, your spelling and grammar should be correct. I am not a perfectionist, I understand typos, I am guilty of  them myself.

However, as our students progress through middle school, high school, and college, how they write becomes even more crucial.  An essay that is phenomenal in content, but can not be understood because of spelling and/or grammatical errors, will not be judged as phenomenal!

Sometimes you need a little help!

I think students, and adults, should know how to spell and write using correct grammar. However, we can't all be that person. So, we call in the reinforcements.  In this case, a Grammar Check site, Grammarly, will come to the rescue! Keep in mind,this site is not just for students. Educators, bloggers, authors, anyone who puts fingers to the keyboard, or however you're publishing these days, can take advantage of this site.

It is very simple to use. You upload or paste your document.  Click Start Review and it will ask you to define your paper type. (i.e. casual, academic...)  Once your paper is scanned,  Grammarly provides you with a summary report that you can save or print. You can choose the short explanation or the long one.  Below is a portion of a report created using this blog post. (And yes, I went back and tightened it up.)

The report not only highlights what is wrong in your document, but also explains why it  is wrong, and offers suggestions!  Still stuck?  You can access Grammmarly answers or the Grammarly community.  There is a Grammarly Handbook available as well.  Here's another plus for educators!  The plagiarism feature points out portions, if any, that is believed to be lifted from other text on the Web.


In my opinion, I think it is better suited for higher ed in terms of individual use. I would use it with my 5th graders in small groups, correcting errors on papers students have published, (anonymously of course). Or use it as a mini-lesson to guide instruction, working our way towards better writing. Content is important, but spelling and/or grammar are too. And as a blogger, I believe this is a great investment!

Is Grammarly perfect? No, it is a tool to be used to supplement writing, a proofreader.  When I used the plagiarism feature, it thought I had plagiarized a phrase. Never!  But, just like any other tool you use, decide what you think is best for you.   Grammarly offers a FREE trial so that you can determine if this is a product that would benefit you.


On their Twitter page, one of their tweets says, "Friends don't let friends use bad grammar."  Think of Grammarly as your friend!

Sir Ken Robinson:Do Schools Kill Creativity?

The story of the little girl who became a dancer because ADHD had not been "invented" really touched me. Too many of our children are labeled and medicated!

Sir Ken Robinson was the keynote speaker at ISTE12! Wish I could have been there!

I Just Want to Teach: A Teacher's Plea!

The other day I posted a status on FB, "They are sucking the joy out of teaching!"  You know who "they" are. I have taught for 27 years, and never have I felt this way.  It's not the new principal. It's all the next "new" things that have been lobbed at me from one day to the next. After I duck one, or get hit, depending on what innovative thing they have come up with, something new is thrown at me. 

I sat at our last meeting, completely overwhelmed, when our principal told us that she wanted us to use data to develop carousel workshops, every week, for reading and math.  My first thought was, in order to gather this data to use every week, I would have to test the heck out of my kids. My second thought, when am I supposed to teach? Teach! Remember when we used to be able to do that?  My third thought was, this is utterly ridiculous, and I cannot do this anymore! My mind is flailing as I try to stay afloat in a sea of acronyms! EQ, CSR, KUD, LM, NCLB, DCAS,  some one throw me a life raft!


I have come to the belief that we have been pimped out for RTT (Race to the Top) money. The powers that be jumped at the chance to accept that money, and agreed to do anything  that was asked to keep it.  But in the end, who actually completes all the requirements?Teachers do! Who benefits from this money, the kids? I think not. The teachers? A resounding no! We have "coaches" running our schools. My principal has at least three different coaches telling her what to do and how to do it. And then, she tells us. 

An example, the coaches walk around with her, enter our classrooms for five minutes, and then leave us a feedback form with 5 questions we have to answer. (What happens if she doesn't have 5 questions?) It's called 5 X 5, isn't that the cutest thing? How much are these coaches being paid and do any of them have a background in education? I know some of the ideas have merit. As a matter of fact, I have used some of them. But when you are told how often you should use them, when you should use them, and penalized if you don't, my gosh, doesn't that defeat my purpose? Why bother to pay me if I can't make any decisions, if my judgement cannot be trusted?

 I began every morning watching my administrator walk through the halls, making checks on her clipboard.  She was  checking to see which teachers are in the hallway, greeting the children. I received a newsletter(emailed), every Monday, 4 pages long, (I am not exaggerating), with the percentage of teachers who were observed meeting the requirements along with the new requirements of the week. I am losing my drive, I don't want to, but I am. :( I want to teach! After 27 years, I still love teaching!

So, I am going to try to not let "them' steal my joy! I will go in my room, and Skype, integrate technology, have meaningful discussions about anything and everything, watch the smile when one of my kids finally "gets" it, laugh, tell jokes, blog, create global learners, teach my students to problem solve, and most off all,I promise,  I... will... teach!

POSTSCRIPT: Many of the things I mentioned, stopped as the year progressed, well, except the coach part. And they didn't steal my joy, I will be back in Aug 2012! :)

Sit Down, Let's #Chat!

I stumbled on the 4th grade chat (#4thchat) by accident. I was minding my business, perusing tweets, when this great conversation appeared before me. I had no idea what #chats were, I had never been a part of it,and I was kind of wary of jumping into someone else's conversation. But I did, and I was glad.

They welcomed me with open arms and I learned, and shared,  so much from the teachers who participated. Kudos to the person or persons who came up with this idea! So what is a #chat? And how do you get to be a part of it? Well, you need Internet access, a device that will get you on the Internet, and a Twitter account. Now, I know some of you think Twitter is for tweens, teenagers, etc..., but guess what? It's also for teachers! The #chats are hosted on the same day, at the same time, once a week. .

Prior to the chat, the moderators send out a Tweet asking participants to choose one of the given topics.(How democratic,right?)  The topic with the most votes is what will be discussed. The great thing about #chats is that they are informal.  You can  lurk  and get ideas, or you can jump in and share.You can interact with all, or none, of the participants. You can join the conversation late, or leave early. And,  I've never attended a toxic #chat, they have always been attended by , well, just very nice people. The conversation is always stimulating, and  strategies, books, ideas, links, and more are shared by like minds.

Whether you are a newbie or a veteran, you will get something out of it.  You definitely get  a chance to meet new people who are interested in what you are interested in. I have to say I have met more people participating in #chats, than I had the entire time I was on Twitter. Here's another reason, I love #chat. Let's say you would rather go out to dinner with your hubby, then attend a chat. But, you are bummed about missing that fantastic #chat they were having that night.  Don't worry! Each #chat is archived, so you won't miss out on those wonderful ideas , and you can still enjoy your dinner.:) And there are so many chats!

There is#edchat, #4thchat, #5thchat, #6thchat, #teachchat, #ntchat, #educhat, #elemchat, the list is endless! Sometimes, I find myself looking at the intials of some of these chats,  trying to figure out what they stand for. Don't be like me, just ask, they'll tell you. :)  Cybraryman has put together a comprehensive list of Educational Chats on Twitter, so look through it, and see what interests you. His list includes, days, times, and time zones. I remember seeing a question tweeted, and I'll paraphrase, "Are all these chats breaking us apart?"I love the fact that all these chats are out there.

 I usually don't get to many of them, but I try to make sure I attend  #5thchat, because I am a 5th grade teacher. I enjoy talking to those who are experiencing my little part of the teaching world.  Having said that, I also enjoy participating in other chats, because it gives me a chance to hear other viewpoints.

 You choose your chat!  I can almost bet that any #chat you attend, will most likely be a wonderful, learning, experience!