The Hoggatteer Experience - THE HOGGATTEER REVOLUTION

Back to School: New Year's Eve

8/16/2017

For the new school year
For the smells of new pencils and new
shoes
For the laughter of children
For crisp smiles and laughter

For peers who want the best for our future
For parents and grandparents
For administrators, teachers
For support from many sources

For art and science
For history and numbers
For a love of reading and writing
For music and movement

For peace, perseverance, and passion
For nurture
For patience and cooperation
For responsibility and respect

For challenge
For tears
For empathy
For compassion

For unity
For vision
For legacy
For a universe of dreams and untethered
possibilities

For these and more, we are thankful

May we fill the hungry
May we heal the injured
May we comfort the cold
May we regard the neglected
May we inspire the complacent
May we calm the distressed
May we love the unloved

May we teach
May we learn
May we thrive

Move Your Bus: Wisdom Marinates

8/15/2017

To all of you twenty-four- to thirty-five-year-olds: You don't "see" yet. it's a gift that comes later, and the best advice I can give you is to trust us. We are older, and we may not quite have your energy, but we have our own super power, and it's an understanding of the world that you can't get at such young years. We have the power to "see beyond" what is before us and truly understand the dynamics and motivation s that go into the actions around us. It's a wisdom that has to marinate over time, and when it comes, you will "see" situations much differently. There are some young adults reading this right now who are thinking, "Oh, I know what he means." You don't. You can't. Intellect does not afford you this superpower; it is only acquired with age.

Maybe we will never convince you that wisdom marinates. In a profession where every worker is on the same pay schedule, no matter how much extra work one person does or how far one person takes the organization, it's hard for a conscientious educator to find respect from the rookies.

Colleges graduate students who find themselves in charge of classrooms across the land...and for some reason, many of them feel like they have learned all about the education process. They throw around lots of lingo, but they often fail at the practical. They persist in trying to prove that they have retained all of their four-year education, in spite of what the veterans tell them. They reduce their students to zoo animals. Their job becomes pest control. In effort to please their supervisors, they fall for every new initiative, every new catch phrase, every new gimmick.

But as Ron Clark explains in Move Your Bus, there are people around who might just be wiser. Odds are, they got into the biz for the same reasons as you, but they have seen the world (so to speak). They have many more experiences than you have. They probably have some wisdom that you, Rookie, do not have. You'll get there if you stick it out, but you're not there yet.

Perhaps it is the tone in which the message is delivered. Sometimes the veterans are cranky. Cynical. Sarcastic. Sometimes we exaggerate. Sometimes our memories are embellished with time. And sometimes our passion is expressed differently than yours. We may not jump in with both feet every time an expert speaks to the faculty. We temper our solutions with reluctance and patience. We see things through a different lens.

If you can crack that hard outer shell, you may find that we're not filled with eggy slime. We are filled with soft chocolate and gooey sweetness instead.

It's Your Choice: Powerade

8/14/2017

CHOOSE ONE AND JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWER MATHEMATICALLY:

$21.26

$4.48

Misspellings XI

8/13/2017

What we have here is a
failure to communicate!

Find the misspelled word in each
of these pictures. Write and correct each word on your paper.

Back to School: Rookie Teachers at Cecil Floyd

8/12/2017

You'll see new faces around school, this year.
Take a moment to welcome them at Open House.

Kindergarten Open House is MONDAY (5:30-6:30)
All School Open House is TUESDAY (5:30-6:30)

The mug shots...er...I mean...photo booth pictures here were taken
at the district's recent Teacher Orientation gathering.

Professional Pet Peeve: Stop Sighing at "Back to School"

8/11/2017

It's often the first thing a person will ask of a teacher.

When does school start?

Or maybe this:

Are you ready for school to start?

And the teacher on display will often roll her eyes. Or sigh. Or return a snide comment.

It seems she doesn't want to go back to school any more than her students. She's dreading that first day. She's uncertain about the quality of life she will have when classes begin.

But is that really the image that she wants to portray? Is she being aloof because she thinks it's a funny response, or does she really feel that way about her chosen career?

I wonder how a corporate secretary or assembly line worker would respond if, once a year, we asked him about his impending days. How would the clerk at the store or the janitor at the hospital answer the questions.

When does the store open back up for the season?

Are you ready for the mopping season to begin?

Actually, they would probably roll their eyes and sigh, as well. Maybe that's just human nature. Dreading the work. Feeling the impending burn. Being forced back into service for another nine months.

I think we might do well to rethink how we answer. Our constant response of, "Don't remind me," just doesn't cut it when we maintain that we are teachers because we want to make a difference. Well, do we or don't we? You just can't sigh about it and still be passionate about it. I wonder why we don't anticipate August in much the same way as so many anticipate baseball season or football season.

If we feel like we have one of the most important jobs in the world, why do we play it down so much when somebody asks if we want to do it? That's clearly the wrong message to put out there. We don't accept such from our students, so why do we accept it from ourselves? We don't have to demand respect from the general public, but we would garner a fairer amount of it if we humbly and cheerfully anticipated getting to do it for another year. It's time to rethink our response to Are you ready?

What Does the Text Say: Kate

8/10/2017

These days, we ask students to cite the text

when answering questions

and justify their comprehension,

so let's use text messaging shown here

to get our point across.

Be ready to answer some questions.

Always cite the text to justify your answers.

(Click the image to enlarge.)

Back to School: 27 Yearbooks

8/9/2017

This puts things into perspective. It is my annual display of annuals, my yearly display of yearbooks. From my first year (1990/1) to last year (2016/7), I now have a complete collection of 27 of these precious mementos.

Really! Twenty-seven years.

This is more than a pile of pages, a plethora of pictures, a menagerie of moments. These are the last 27 years of my life - a big chuck of them anyway, 27 years of connections with other human beings, 27 years of entertaining and teaching, laughing and crying, 27 years of living.

This, the 28th year of this great experiment, and I continue to tweak and tighten my teaching. Those in the know have long realized that a teacher never "arrives", that we never experience mastery in this profession. I suppose that's because there is certainly a human factor to our job. We don't assemble our products on the conveyor in a standardized line. Here are some observations:

Our products have names.
Our products have souls.
Our products have flaws.
Our products come packed with history.
Our products come to us with appetite.
Our products are not lessons forged from ore discovered in data mines.
Our products are more than graphite on paper.
Our products have tremendous potential energy.
Our products require occasional troubleshooting.
Our products move on their own, think on their own, and make decisions on their own.

Our products cannot be bought on the open market.
Our products are both consumers and producers.
Our products have tremendous potential to succeed, but only after they fail.
Our products are precious and fragile.
Our products affect other products.
Our products do not come to us under warranty.
Our products grow and adapt.
Our products are sentient beings.

On and on we could go, filling the pages of a book with thoughts concerning our students. At this time of the year, I tend to have double vision: I look back to almost three decades of elementary students, and I look forward to the next one.

We're all a little apprehensive.

Nervous.

Anxious.

We're all a little frightened about what lies ahead - but all we need to know is this:

We will make mistakes.
We will delight in finding our mistakes and learning from them.
We will celebrate each other.
We will celebrate our successes.
We will celebrate our progress.

We will learn and practice good citizenry.
We might learn as much about the human condition as we do about the Three Rs.
We will laugh and cry. We will get angry, and we will love each other.
We will be a family.

Are you ready?

Move Your Bus: Professional Ethics

8/8/2017

Here is a collection of things to help every teacher. These short chapters of Move Your Bus make a lot of sense to anyone who is a lifelong learner. If not, author Ron Clark lays them out for our consideration. Taken to heart, this collection should help the learner become something better than s/he is.

Say hello
Whether it's in the hall, on the elevator, or at the start of a meeting, look people straight in the eyes, smile, and say, "Good morning." You may not be doing the heavy lifting and running at work, but the least you can do is be cheerful and lift up those who may be doing more.

In my own book, There's No Busyness Like School Busyness, I give a few examples of the greeting. It is a pivotal part of my day - greeting students - not only because it allows them to practice their eye contact and firm handshake, but also because of the one-on-one connection it affords each of us. I make an effort to call students by their names in a positive greeting every morning, knowing that for some their names are only used, along with their middle names, when they are in trouble. Using their names in a positive manner each morning helps unravel some potentially negative feelings they may have about themselves.

Sit with the Runners
This is what tends to happen in high school: you're inclined to acquire the characteristics of the people you choose to sit with, eat lunch with, and hang around with after school.

When you have assigned seats, this one can be tough. I know because I sit in the teachers lounge to eat my own lunch. It's a very small room - not one that allows a person to distance himself from negativity - but I feel like eating with my peers is a professional thing to do. As a new teacher - even before that - I was always told to avoid the lounge. My college professors seemed to know the lounge as a den of whining and complaining, and they were right. We learners, however, must learn how to face the negativity and perhaps even turn it. When you are a fourth grader, this may require some intervention in the form of a cafeteria supervisor or a classroom teacher, but together, perhaps the positives can influence the negatives rather than the other way around.

Change the conversation to change the culture
Trust me, people will allow you to be a sponge, soaking up all their negativity...Don't be someone's sponge...A positive conversation brings positive results. It can empower everyone around you.

In general, Mr. Clark is right. I want to sit with the winners, too, but if I segregate myself and make no effort to change the conversation of negative people, have I been a part of the solution, or have I only contributed to the problem. If we want a positive culture, we have to actively participate in positively influencing the people around us.

Ask for help
Don't be afraid to ask for direction when you need it. I think sometimes employees fall into this trap of thinking they must prove themselves by demonstrating they have all the answers...

It can be hard to ask for help. I never enjoyed admitting my shortcomings. I know what it's like feeling as if I am the only person in the room who does not understand something. Perhaps my mind wandered during the instructions or perhaps I just haven't wrapped my mind around a concept. In my high school algebra course, for example, I missed a few days of instruction due to band and speech competitions. Upon returning I was entirely lost and could not seem to catch up for the rest of the year. But as much as I didn't like the feelings that brought, I still did not want to admit I didn't understand. I still have problems with this - a matter of pride, I suppose - but I keep reminding myself that if I ever want to progress, I must admit when I do not understand and when I need someone else's help. My peers and supervisors are great resources for helping me get through my problems. Naturally, if I can get fourth graders to understand that, as well, I can also bring them forward. Of course, that means I also must -

Accept criticism
If you want to improve constantly, then you must tinker with the bus on a consistent basis. There are always ways to be more efficient and effective...

Speaking of speech contests, that is the point in my life when I learned that criticism is not all negative. In fact, when the performer deals with criticism well, sorting through anything that might be insulting and getting to the constructive portions, said performer will improve. I've come to understand that even the harshest critics have something to say. Just because they are yelling or calling me names does not necessarily indicate that I should stop listening to them. Just because they lack the tact and respect does not mean there is no validity to at least part of what they tell me. I've received some very tough criticism from certain people. In retrospect, some of that criticism served as a kick in the pants to jump start a new chapter of my career. Sometimes a kick in the pants is exactly what the doctor ordered - even if it is unpleasant at the time. Now, I just need to recognize the value earlier in the process - maybe I would enjoy the ride a little more if I realized I was on it in the first place.

Listen more than you talk
When you meet with other team members, it's important to be present. You want to make eye contact with the speaker and look interested.

There's the eye contact thing again. Call if active listening if you must, but a learner's eye contact is the window to his learning. The eyes give away the true object of your attention. If you are not focused on the speaker, you will not reap the full benefits of his or her wisdom. We call it tracking the speaker, and it is an important and impressive skill for nine and ten year olds to develop. It's cool to see it working in class, but even cooler to see it outside of the classroom. I, too, must continue to work on this skill. Eye contact is difficult in one-on-one situations, as well.

Stay in your lane
Tunners fall into this trap more often than you might think, because they are so focused on moving that bus along and always trying to pick up speed. But there's a fine line between helping the organization as a whole to accelerate and meddling in someone else's job.

OK, Mr. Clark, you caught me with this one. In my efforts to keep the entire school on track, there have been times when I failed to stay in my lane. But in my defense, I don't think this lane-staying is necessarily true. If I don't wish to see my friends fail, isn't it my responsibility to help out from time to time? I don't want to watch them step off of a cliff; shouldn't I put a sign up at the edge to warn them the drop is coming? At the same time, I understand what Mr. Clark has written here - that others also have to learn from their mistakes. If that's true, I have to be willing to let them make their own mistakes. I think his last line in the quote above is the qualifier here: There's a fine line... I just need to be more alert to the placement of that line, and then strive to not cross it.

Find solutions
When you become known for offering up solutions and finding ways to get something done, you raise your worth in the organization and become the most valuable player in your supervisor's eyes...When others can't find a way, but you can, trust me, your initiative will always be recognized and rewarded.

I want my students to be creative problem solvers. I want them to look at situations from different points of views. I want them to critique others. I want them to find solutions in unlikely places. I want them to apply the skills they already have to new situations that arise. Then and only then will they contribute to society in general. Their success depends on how quickly they can think on their feet, how accurately they can identify a problem, and how precisely they solve it.

Mr. Clark covers a few other topics in this section of Move Your Bus, but these are the ones that stood out to me. Again, they are real and realistic, and they just make sense. I need to remain conscious of these important skills and ethics as I teach, and I must teach my students to do the same.

It's Your Choice: Breakfast Essentials

8/7/2017

CHOOSE ONE AND JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWER MATHEMATICALLY:

$9.48

$4.84

Book: The Only Game

8/6/2017

Mike Lupica always seems to bring out the best in sports. I have read a few of his books, and even though I do not enjoy sports (never have), I always enjoy reading his books. I especially liked the first half of The Only Game, a character-driven baseball and softball story.

There's more to The Only Game than a story about sports. The first half of the book sets up the story quite well, with the star pitcher quitting the team after his brother dies in an accident. The reader questions the reason for his quitting the team, as do his teammates, and his new friend - a girl who stars on her softball team. His new position on the sidelines gives the main character a different perspective than he had before. Another character, an unlikely fellow student who is not physically fit and is often bullied, rounds out the story.

The second half of the book reads too much like a play-by-play radio broadcast and doesn't feel like part of the story that Lupica started to write. The play-by-play always shows up in Lupica's books and often moves the story along, but in The Only Game it got in the way. There was just too much of it.

From the publisher's website:

Jack Callahan is the star of his baseball team and seventh grade is supposed to be his year. Undefeated season. Records shattered. Little League World Series. The works. That is, until he up and quits.

Jack’s best friend Gus can’t understand how Jack could leave a game that means more to them than anything else. But Jack is done. It’s a year of change. Jack’s brother has passed away, and though his family and friends and the whole town of Walton thinks baseball is just the thing he needs to move on, Jack feels it’s anything but.

In comes Cassie Bennett, star softball player, and the only person who seems to think Jack shouldn’t play if he doesn’t want to. As Jack and Cassie’s friendship deepens, their circle expands to include Teddy, a guy who’s been bullied because of his weight.

Time spent with these new friends unlocks something within Jack, and with their help and the support of his family and his old friends, Jack discovers sometimes it’s more than just the love of the game that keeps us moving forward—and he might just be able to find his way back to The Only Game, after all.

I'm glad Lupica's books have made the Mark Twain Award list (Missouri's middle-grade literature awards). They aren't books I would pick up to read on my own. In fact, I couldn't help but think that Mike Lupica is probably a pretty nice fellow. His books show the most romantic and idealistic parts of sports. They also display kids who have great character and citizenship. The characters in this volume are especially supportive to each other. I like that.

Music Appreciation: Try

8/5/2017

Students are often called upon to read "chorally".
That is, they read together simultaneously as a group.

Repeating this practice assists young readers
with reading fluency - the speed, accuracy,
and inflection of oral reading.

Why not, since it's called "choral" reading anyway,
actually read the chorus of a song?

What Does the Text Say: Brian

8/4/2017

These days, we ask students to cite the text

when answering questions

and justify their comprehension,

so let's use text messaging shown here

to get our point across.

Be ready to answer some questions.

Always cite the text to justify your answers.

(Click the image to enlarge.)

Move Your Bus: Punctuality and Appearance

8/3/2017

These are two things we did used to have to say. Two subjects that used to be common sense. Things we assumed people knew.

Be punctual, and dress appropriately.

Ron Clark addresses these two important qualities in Move Your Bus, and I must agree. While we may have dismissed these so-called common sense qualities, they have become an issue in society. Many around us have disregarded their own images in a tradeoff with comfortable laziness.

Even so, whether you realize it or not, everyone you work with knows if you are consistently cutting your days short. It's one of those things that everyone notices, even though no one ever mentions it.

When my dad worked 40 hours a week, he would wake up early. Really early. I remember he was always gone before my brother and I had to get ready for school. Mom even got up with him to fix his breakfast and pack him a lunch.

Those were special times.

Then Dad would drive himself across town to inspect fine parts to microscopic specifications, even measuring some of the smallest pieces to be delivered to NASA to be included on rockets and shuttles. Dad would arrive at work 15 to 30 minutes before he was required to clock in, at which time he also phoned Mom - every single day - to let her know he made it to work safely. If anyone asked why he would get there so early, Dad told them he allowed time for car trouble, flat tires, etc.

My dad believed that clocking in on time was his responsibility, not only to his company and to his supervisor, but to his family, as well. Even if he had car problems, icy roads, or traffic jams, he would arrive on time. I can't remember ever hearing that he was late. He was known for it.

That must be something my grandparents engrained in him. That tells me they must have trained him early on - when he was in their care at home, while he was a child. Grandpa must have left early every day for the glass plant in Ada, Oklahoma. Grandma must have arrived on time to teach her fourth grade class. And they must have made sure that their sons were on time to their classes.

While Ron Clark specifically addresses adult punctuality in the book, I think he would agree that this is a learned behavior. When it is modeled correctly, and explained appropriately, punctuality should become second nature for students.

That's also true of the manner in which we present ourselves. I like to be comfortable, but I also recognize the reason for dress codes - for both students and faculty. At the Ron Clark Academy, the men wear suits and ties every day.

I don't think people realize that everything you say or do is always better when you have on sharp attire. When you in a meeting and you give an idea, it seems smarter and more logical when you are neat, professional, and dressed to kill...

There are no dress-down days, because our performance is never dressed down.

I don't have to wear a suit to teach elementary school, but I do have to dress up rather than down. If I dress down, I succeed in sending a message to students that they do not have my respect. I have told parents that I didn't care enough to pick out a proper outfit. Dressing sharply also affects my own performance, since I tend to take on a more authoritative persona than when I wear sweat pants and a t-shirt.

In the same vein, the neatness of your environment means a lot to those around you. You may be completely fine with piles of paper on your desk, pictures taped to the wall, and piles of clutter, but keeping your space clean is also about contributing to a successful environment.

And there you go. Clark didn't have to include this thought in the book, did he? Piles of papers? Pictures taped to the wall? No, I understand. It doesn't project a care for the appearance any more than wearing pajamas to WalMart. I try to keep my area neat and organized, but it doesn't always happen. I also try to teach my students about the importance of keeping a tidy workspace. Again, it doesn't always work. At least we make an effort though.

I watched a teacher receive the Golden Apple Award from the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce one year. While she was making her way to the dais to accept the award, pictures of her in her classroom were projected onto two large screens at either side of the banquet hall. The first thing I noticed was the mess behind her in the photos. All the pictures were of this lady in her classroom. Behind her desk. With cluttery clutter cluttering the shelves behind her and the desk before her. I could not believe this was an image she was OK with.

And I think those are the images that I remember because they made such a negative impact on me. Later, whenever I saw this teacher in the district for many years to follow, I never failed to conjure those same images of clutter to the front of my brain.

Certain images stick with us: that teacher who is chronically tardy to class, the teacher who shirks her duty for personal errands during the school day, the one who searches relentlessly for ways to dress down in the name of comfort, the one who wears her clothes too tight, his shirt wrinkled, her skirt too revealing, and the teacher who keeps a messy room.

Remembering that every action gets a reaction and that we are there for the purpose of teaching (modeling) proper behaviors for our students, let's step up our game just a little in response to this call to be more professional. They really aren't even the most difficult of Ron Clark's advice - as we shall see in the next reflection I write about his book, Move Your Bus. Stay tuned.

It's Your Choice: Pennies and Nickels

8/2/2017

CHOOSE ONE AND JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWER MATHEMATICALLY:

A five inch stack of pennies

A one-inch stack of nickels

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