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They say you're never too old to learn.

They also say you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

I believe the latter to be true...but I am no dog.

Some may look at me and see an old codger, set in his ways and unwilling to change.  What they don't know is that I have always been set in my ways!  Actually, to an extent, they may be right.  But they should also look to see that I am open to learning new things...if they work.

Because of that, I also recognize that a veteran teacher can learn from many sources, one of which is youth.  With the advent of having three new, young teachers on my team, I want each to understand that I am looking to learn from them.  It may be difficult to predict, but I'm looking for:
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• Fresh Energy  For several years, I have worked with people closer to my age.  Our team has been cohesive and open - much like actual brothers and sisters.  Just as siblings grow up in the same setting but turn out completely different, our team has respected and celebrated our differences.  Now, with me being the "old guy", I am hoping not to be put out to pasture just yet.  I seek challenge and I can feed off of your energy.  In many ways, I just want to teach from my chair, but I know that if I want to keep up with you, I have to keep moving.

 

• Fresh Ideas  You're straight out of college and you don't know much about the real world.  For many, those college courses did not prepare them for the actual classroom.  Even the internships and student teaching did very little to get you ready.  And 100 percent of them could not prepare you for working alongside of somebody like me.  In 31 years, I have continued to develop and hone my teaching skills, every year introducing or trying new ideas for projects and lessons.  I have not stopped searching for lesson fodder that could be used creatively in my classroom.  That may be where you come in.  While I am willing to share ideas and dreams, I hope you will be willing to help me out.  I recognize that what I do can be improved, and it just may be that your brain is where that improvement originates.  Help me by having your own original ideas and not just by spitting back the district mandates and standards.

 

• Ways to Pay Back  I feel like you're supposed to learn from those who are more experienced in life.  I've always tried to learn from past generations and even periods of history.  I pray that you can find something in me to emulate and make your own.  In giving, I hope to be rewarded with the smallest bit of legacy.  Often, teachers leave and never return.  Their names are quickly forgotten when the name plaque on the door is removed.  That's a shame.  The best deserve to be held in higher esteem than that.  I don't need a stadium named after me, but it would be nice to know that something I do continues after I am away.

Here is the last group of photos before the final dark ride project is ready (We'll get those up when we finish everything.). Things have been a little hectic, but the scenes are mostly in their final positions.  This week, we will add the tracking for our robots, rehearse the narration, and see how far we get.

For several years, I have welcomed college interns, student teachers, new teachers, and veteran teachers into my classroom to observe.  I have also hosted teachers from other schools, administrators, and people from the state department of education.  When I need it, I know that I can ask my peers to observe them, as well.  I've gone to their classrooms, as well as teachers in other schools.  I've gone as far as Atlanta, Georgia, to observe other educators at work.  I believe in the power of observation - both to learn how not to do something, as well as to pick up little pointers and tweaks.  I simply want to offer new teachers teaching across the hall and next door to my classroom whatever I can to ensure that they become longtime, creative, unique, and effective educators.

I also believe in the power of a mentor.  I had an excellent principal to take me under his wing when I started my career.  He taught me the difference between a lesson and an assignment.  Then he helped me "play" with the lesson line - switch things up, move things around.  He taught me that an objective does not have to be explicitly stated right away.  He taught me that mystery in a lesson can be a powerful thing.  He gave me the same things I will give you:
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• Freedom​  ​For years our fourth grade team has prided ourselves on our individuality, and I hope we can continue to respect that with our new team.  The world would be a boring place if we were all the same.  We are expected to adjust our teaching to meet the needs of our students, so why would we not recognize our own strengths and weaknesses, as well.  With our differences, we will be able to lean on each other more moving forward.

 

• Understanding and Patience  I get that you won't be a master teacher in your first year.  While you have some inherent skills to lean on, I can help you develop in some of those areas you need.  I hope you can be as patient with yourself.

 

• Space  For the most part, you're going to be on your own in your classroom.  That's the nature of the job, so I don't want to hover over you and pick you apart for every little detail and move you make.  You need to have some space to feel like you're in control anyway; I'm happy to grant you that space.

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• Ears  At the same time, I'm here across the hall, right next door, close enough that if you need a sounding board, I'm it.  Yes, there is an age difference - a generation gap between us - but I hope that can also mean that you can acknowledge the wisdom of having someone to listen to your struggles and ventings.  After all, I am a teacher (been one longer than you've been alive), so I know a little something about listening.  You may not be comfortable being professionally vulnerable, but you can.

There are going to be areas in which you can improve.  I can help you with this.

• Lesson Planning  How are you at planning lessons and filling your day?  Yes, you did those ridiculous plans for your college education courses - the ones with every single nuance of a lesson - but can you imagine writing separate lesson plans like that for every 20- to 30-minute lesson of every school day?  We can do better.  The truth is, lesson planning should be a troubleshooting step assigned by a supervising administrator to find a solution to an identified issue.  You're going to want to do smarter plans, have some idea of what you are doing, but not to become rigidly locked into a written plan.

 

• Time Management  You're going to want to get to your extra duties a couple of minutes early.  You're going to need to get your kids to the busses on time at the end of the day.  You're need to be ready for lunch and other classes.  That all means time management.  It's not going to be easy when you're just getting started, but remember that you are the captain of your ship.  You decide if a lesson needs more time.  You decide which lessons can be cut short or combined.  In a self-contained classroom, you have the privilege of flexibility, and you are professional enough to call those shots.  Just make sure you don't leave empty spaces in the schedule.

 

• Restroom Management (your own, not the kids)  Go whenever you have a break.  Go at the beginning of the break, and go again at the end.  Drink plenty of water, but be careful:  you can't leave your class unsupervised.  We need to depend on each other for the occasional three- to five-minute break while we visit the outhouse.  You watch my class, and I'll watch yours.  Trust me, it happens (more for me, being of a particular age).  There's that flexibility thing again.

 

• Classroom Management  Most new teachers experience difficulty with managing students who, despite the clean if/then statements of an educational psychology course, basic computer programming languages, and puppy-training sessions, do not always follow the script.  Closer relationships with those students go a long way to getting them to do what they need to do, forget their struggles, and fall into line.  When all else fails, learn how to love the currently unlovable, be unpredictable, control the tone and volume of your voice.  Use some unique call backs, but no too often.  Embed them in in your lesson.  Embed everything into your lesson.  Don't stop, but be ready to include a social lesson.  Discipline comes before any other instruction.  Invest up front, so you don't have to waste time later.  Keep things positive, but don't be afraid to be truthful with kids.

You're going to excel somewhere, but you're going to make mistakes to get there.  Lean on me when you need to. I am confident that I can help you find your niche and hone your skills.  Welcome to the party.

There's less than a month left in the school year.

We've met in person since the beginning.

This class is amazing, and I love 'em.

But here we are...

Suddenly, our classmates seem to want to argue with each other, push each other's buttons, get under each other's skin.  On the morning of the day I am writing, things happened during PE class that got a couple of the boys upset with each other.  Other class members stepped between them to keep the peace, but then they decided to bring the problem back into our room with them.  What should have been a quick and accepted apology ended up being a larger problem because it wasn't taken care of where it happened.

With all of our culminating projects, afternoons have been, understandably, less structured than usual, but our afternoons have also been revealing.  While students have been able to do smaller group tasks over their tables in the classroom, these looser, more creative projects have presented more difficult challenges.  Some groups have split in two in order to keep the peace, with one or two working on one thing while the rest do something else. Even at their stations, their groups are not cohesive.  Other groups have also split, but one or two students simply have off-topic conversations rather than work on anything related to the projects.  It's as if they just go into the project already expecting to be irritated with each other.

I know that we ended the last school year several weeks ahead of schedule due to you-know-what.  Going back to a full year may seem to be extra-long to these kids.  This time of year usually brings its share of impatience and anticipation, but it has been all too noticeable with a group that has always gotten along.  We have three weeks remaining to tolerate each other.  There will be weather changes along the way, pulling at our inner tides.  There will still be special end-of-year activities.

​There are still things to learn before we leave for the summer.

Our coller roasters just have not panned out as planned.  Using them as stations and rotating groups through them just has not worked, and I finally deemed it less important than other activities.  Before wasting any more time or supplies, we officially scrapped the project.  We finished the Ferris Wheel, last week, and our dark rides and puzzles are finally coming together.

Can you tell what kind of teacher I am from these writings?  They certainly help me to reflect on my teaching abilities and the things that make me who I am.  Have I projected my values well?  Have I made a difference?  That's not for me to say...but it's nice to hear some of the specifics from the people who may know.

We began (and almost finished) our testing, this week.  Beginning each day with some physical activity - usually a lap around the track - to activate those brain cells.  Most Hoggatteers report that the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test was a little challenging but not overly difficult.  We certainly hope that is true.

We tried our hands at some different kinds of comparisons, last week.  In a morning competition, students worked together to complete various analogies.

Yeah.  I know.  Maybe now you'll understand when I say I get better looking with age...and yes, I also realize that I still have some aging to go.  It may not have been the most flattering period of my life, but I'll have you know, I still had a couple of girlfriends at the time!

I was a serious fifth grader when these pictures were taken on March 12, 1976 (over 45 years ago). The occasion was a presentation about the American Revolution, right in time for the nation's bicentennial celebration.  I was the master of ceremonies for an audience of thousands, holding all of the acts together while standing in a costume sewn entirely by my mother.  I think I still have the script somewhere, but the costume is long, long gone.

At our house, we had red carpet, which went perfectly with the fife-and-drum wallpaper in my bedroom and the miniature American flag collection I wish I still had.  Besides rocks, those flags were probably the first collection I really was serious about.  At that period in my life, I was also reading lots of biographies from the school library.  I can't say my interest in colonial history and the Revolution began at that point, but it must have at least made an impression that stuck with me for the next five decades, only to be rediscovered in the last three or four years.