I've worked up some proposals for professional development sessions I am willing to present.  These are areas I can speak to with experience.  They provide a glimpse into our classroom, as well.

IMPROV YOUR WRITING (60 minutes)
It's not a typo!  Improvisation is a fun, effective, and systematic way to inspire writers and get the blood flowing in your classroom.  Here is an unexpected source of drama and humor that may easily be transformed into conversation and writing.  Can you students not think of anything to write?  Improvisational exercises provide the motivation and inspiration to get them started.

I still contend that this year is the year that I found the most involved parents for a classroom of children.  For nearly 30 years, I have heard about parents not being interested in their children's education.  I've heard teachers complain about parents being disconnected.  I haven't always found that to be true.  In fact, we may only need to look in the right places to see that parents really do care.  

On one hand, we can see parents trying to juggle income to support their children's bad habits of eating, wearing clothes, and sleeping under a roof.  On the other hand, they make attempts to help their kids with homework that they may or may not be understand.  On the third hand, they send them to school every day and pick them up at the end.  Parents do not have to volunteer in the school building in order to be involved.

This year, I had more parents interested in hosting our holiday parties than ever before.  We've often had parents show up to help - or even just to stand around - with parties, but this year, we had highly prepared and engaging parties at every turn.  This year, we saw our best homework return rate of all time, with 90 to 100 percent of homework returned each week.  This year, I saw greater positive communications with parents than during previous years, mostly attributed to ClassDojo's messaging and sharing component.

I can't say enough about my appreciation for being on the same team with this great group of 2016/7 parents.  I am humbled by the kind notes from parents on the last day of school - another indication that they were paying attention.  While I accept their gratitude, I can only hope to reach some of the high words in their wonderful expressions (shared below).

Do you ever wonder if you're faking your way through life?  Have you ever wondered if it is worth the time it takes to plan your day?  Interruptions get through into our path as teachers and classes, every single day.  People talk about how flexible teachers have to be, but we don't always bend around the issues:  sometimes we must deflect or absorb the bullets instead.

If every day is another opportunity to experience an adventure, we have to embrace uncertainty.  We can become frustrated, or we can allow the current to carry us hither and thither.  We can know where we are going, but we must constantly enact course corrections along the way.  The last line in this paragraph from Bearden is especially true:

I talk to my class about properly responding to all of these uncertainties and others.  Our responses probably say more about our character than our initial actions.

Your height, your weight, your lack of intelligence, your lack of athleticism - None is a reason for you to feel inferior.  Here is a speech constructed and delivered by a seventh grader.

Teachers just finished the elective Summer Institute for Joplin Schools.

This week, I attended sessions about:

• Making Home Visits (1 hour)
• Six Trait Writing (90 minutes)
• Beginning the School Year (3 hours)
• Interactive Journals (1 hour)

I especially liked the sessions about Six Trait Writing and Beginning the Year.  Not only were there some ideas presented, but I enjoyed spending time with some of my peers in our school that I don't see very much due to our schedules and locations in the building.

I also presented sessions with the following titles:

• Using ClassDojo (1 hour, presented thrice)
• A Website that Works (1 hour, presented twice)
• The Ron Clark Academy Experience Plus (1 hour, presented thrice)
• Competition Math League (1 hour)
• Make Mathematics Great Again (3 hours)

While I enjoy sharing, my presentations about the Ron Clark Academy and Making Math Great were my favorites as a presenter.  These were the sessions I was the most comfortable with, and I felt they were received with attention and wonder.  Attenders demonstrated interest, asked questions, and genuinely applauded at the end as if I had shown them something they could use during the school year.

Summer Institute was an opportunity to share with teachers outside of Cecil Floyd and teachers outside of fourth grade.  It has been a long time since I've presented to these types of groups, as the district has not provided such an opportunity for a while.  As such, some of the people in our sessions were unfamiliar with me, my classroom, my experiences, and the topics at hand.  Some had not heard of Ron Clark.  Others have never used ClassDojo.  As far as Making Math Great, most of that material was developed solely by me, so everything was fresh for participants.

Years ago, when I would present to middle or high school teachers, they would look down their noses at me (as an elementary grunt).  They paid no attention to the guy who only teaches ten-year-olds.  After all, what could I possibly have to say that would be relevant to seventh graders, right?  This week, however, I heard them express their wonder as I presented tools and structures they could apply to their classes.  I certainly hope they will.

Teachers also gave me direct input and ideas for different ways in which to use the structures I presented - other Math applications, as well as ways in which we might apply those structures in areas outside of Math.  I knew, when teachers were dreaming up creative uses for my tools, that they were listening with appreciation.  Some expressed their appreciation for my classes and respect for this extensive website.

On Wednesday, I taught six hours worth of classes, and some teachers staying for all four of my sessions.  A few even skipped their scheduled classes to stay in mine.  While I am flattered, I don't mention this to brag in any way, but to emphasize that there was value in the manner in which the Summer Institute was managed, this year.  I feel as if:

• I have something to offer in a setting such as this one.
• teachers need to hear from veteran teachers like myself.
• there is a need for teachers to feel like the person standing in front of the room knows a thing of two and has the confidence in his material.  
• there needs to be a setting in which participants can interact with the presenter and not just receive a lecture.
• teachers are longing for some guidance from within the district and not from some hired guru.
• teachers appreciate being treated as important professionals and not all forced into the same mold.
• teachers can be creative when given the opportunity and proper guidance.

The week after school is over for the summer is probably not the ideal time to hold a professional development fair such as Joplin's Summer Institute.  Much of the information dispersed during this week fell upon receptive ears, but will nevertheless be lost by the time school begins again in August.  Hopefully, however, there will be a spark left over with which a great educational blaze can be spread.  I was happy to be a part of this year's professional development fair, and I look forward to reaching out in similar fashion, a year from now.

For now, I'll be toting my own children to church activities, Bible Camps, Vacation Bible Schools, Summer School, and selected online and home-school coursework.  I will also spend most Sunday mornings preaching for congregations in Columbus, Kansas and Grove, Oklahoma.  There may be some day trips and multi-day trips along the way as we relax over the season, but for the most part, we'll be around, here and there and everywhere.

We asked third grade parents to tell us what they wanted in a teacher for their child in the fourth grade. These questionnaires were then considered in the assignment of students to the teachers in the fourth grade.  Mr. Bozarth allowed me to have the responses for my future class, and I have studied the comments closely.  I don't know if I match all of the items the parents listed, but I am humbled once again as I see what some people think are properties of my teaching.
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​Talk about high expectations!  While these may not be the exact words I would use to describe my classroom, I would hope that you will see me put in my best effort to fit the bill.

It is inspiring to see that people look forward to our time together.  I also received this message from a grandparent:

Once again, it seems time to reflect upon all the principals I have worked for through my 27 years in the teaching profession:
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1. Robert Higgins:  This was the first man to hire me as a teacher.  Mr. Higgins was akin to Morgan Freeman's portrayal of a high school principal in Lean on Me.  In my interview, he (Higgins, not Freeman) asked me what kind of car I drove.  Since I owned a Ford, he hired me, since "they" tended to steal Chrysler products from the playground/parking lot.
2. Robert Shelton:  This was the man who taught me what a lesson really is.  He quickly determined that I was unprepared for my classroom, but with quick coaching, he also figured out I was easily trainable.  Shelton is the reason I often ask my class to respond in unison rather than call on an individual (both overtly and covertly).  I also started thinking about high-order questioning under his tutelage.
3. Gary Blevins:  Blevins is the man who gave me responsibility and authority.  I was his lead teacher, in charge of the building any time he was out.  He confided many things to me and spoke to me as an equal and a friend. Under Blevins, I made schoolwide decisions concerning parents, students, and other teachers.
4. John Williams:  Williams is the principal who hired me at Cecil Floyd.  He told me, one time, that if he were to ever return to the classroom, he would choose to be a teacher like me.  He was also the first principal to write a suggestion for improvement on my evaluation.
5. Dr. Price:  Price was our principal for about a week before being removed from his position.  He wrote nice notes to me about my hallway bulletin board.  While many were afraid of Price, he never had a negative word to say to me - at least not to my face.
6. Janice Southwick:  Mrs. Southwick was the first female principal for whom I ever worked.  She was experienced as a leader and commanded respect among parents.
7. Steve Jones:  Jones taught me what it was like to slow down and to be calm.  Nothing seemed to rattle him in his potentially stressful role as a leader.  I have had a hand in teaching a couple of his grandsons, as well. We still see Jones, from time to time, as a substitute in our classrooms at Cecil Floyd.
8. Evan Mense:  A couple of years before Mense came to Cecil Floyd as our principal, he served as our assistant principal.  In between, he was the principal at Kelsey Norman.  Mense enjoyed having a good time, and administrators respected him.
9. Doug Adams:  Mr. Adams returned to the role of principal after his retirement from one of our other elementary schools.  He brought some degree of moral clarity to our staff and served to "right the ship" of our building following some rough seas.
10. Elaina Edman:  Replacing Mense and Adams was Edman, promoted from assistant principal after being an art teacher for several years.  Edman was energetic and her mind seemed to be constantly in high gear. She was driven by her compassion for children.
11. Gayle Hennessey:  Ms. Hennessey was the right person during some trying times in our district.  She gave me the gift of empowerment before that was a buzz word.  In the few years Hennessey was with us, she helped our school unify and encouraged me to become a leader once again.
12. Chris Bozarth:  Mr. Bozarth arrived in 2016.  With experience as a high school and middle administrator, Bozarth also has a degree in Health and Physical Education.  He is a strong, church-going family man and strives to be servant-minded.  He is supportive and personable, and he has brought our Cecil Floyd family to new levels of understanding and trust.  When I retire in 2022, Mr. Bozarth (Chris) will move on to another job as a consultant for the Southwest Center for Educational Excellence in Webb City, Missouri.  I hope to continue working with this good man in some capacity the future [revised, 4/22/22].

There you have them:  12 principals in 32 years - and that doesn't count the numerous assistant principals and summer school principals [revised, 4/22/22].

The class emerged from the 2016/7 school year with 5409 positive points, and 568 "Needs Work" points on ClassDojo.  That's 90% positive!  The breakdown looks like this:

Individually, the girls dominated the top three spots, with AVA and ALLIE showing up in all four categories (See below.).  Some of the boys were not far behind.

With the distribution of yearbooks on the last day of school, we might have noticed the page of fifth grade memories in the back of the book.  I'm always interested in seeing what the "graduating" class of our school thinks, and while I wish they would remember more than one unit from our class, I am always humbled by the recognition they give to their fourth grade year:

Finally, the tears came.  A group hug in the center of the room accompanied one last "Once a Hoggatteer, Always a Hoggatteer", and the day was over.  Our hugs continued in the hallway and throughout dismissal.  Later, Principal Bozarth acknowledged his pleasure that so many kids were genuinely sad about the last day of school.  He had noticed that "I saw a lot of Hoggatt kids with tears in their eyes."

Friends, it takes something special to create an atmosphere in which students at school feel like they have such dear relationships with one another and with their teacher.  In these latest years of my career, I have looked forward to this last day - not because I get the summer off (That's a myth!), but because this is the day I get to see my students step up and express their love.  They encourage each other in unexpected ways...

​...and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The second half of our Field Day on Wednesday was mostly indoors with an obstacle course and a big parachute game.  Kids still had too much energy for their own good, but they spent it with smiles.

This year's Field Day is history.  It was a blustery day, but we were happy to get outside for the afternoon.  Then, we were glad to come back in for more festivities.  The class loved the activities.

A huge thank you to Coach Dance for her hard work in organizing, setting up, and managing the entire day.

I look forward to our Fly Up day every year, and I hope we continue the tradition for years in the future.  This is the day that I meet the next class.  This is the time when the third graders get to meet their teacher for the next school year.

I treat it as a day to celebrate.  Collecting these boys and girls from the third grade holding area, I gave a rousing woohoo before leading the unsuspecting children to Room 404.  They happily followed me, sat down, and listened to my presentation.

They tried to get an idea for the way I do business, but in the thirty-minute period, it was only a small taste. Tiny really.  I introduced the class, myself, and gave only a short speech about what they're in store for.  Hopefully, they went home with quizzical expressions and unencumbered intrigue.

I know it sounds clichè, but I really am looking forward to seeing what develops in my 28th year of teaching.  How far will we go on this new journey?