Cecil Floyd invited veterans to a special music program performed by our third graders.  Following the program, my students had full permission to rise from their positions in the audience and personally approach each veteran.

Earlier in the day, we spent a great deal of time discussing the significance of the holiday, its origins, and its history.  Students were very receptive and interested in hearing about the holiday.

With two very well-done online videos, I wanted to address our November lifeskill focus:  gratitude.  How do we show our appreciation to men and women who may have put themselves in harm's way for the future of the United States of America?  The answer doesn't have to be complicated or huge:  it's simply a matter of saying something like "Thank you for your service."

All the television stations reported on the program, along with the newspaper, but the local talk radio station specifically mentioned my students, the ones with permission to approach the veterans personally.  As students looked those men and women in the face and told them thank you for their service, reporter Joe Lancello interviewed Robert Lansing, a Vietnam veteran.  Lancello asked what he thought about the program.  Lansing responded:

The quote that stands out to me, however, came from a fourth grader:  returning to our classroom, one of my boys expressed, "I shook a man's hand, and he cried."

All in all, even the smallest show of gratitude makes a huge difference to people, whether military or civilian.  Why don't we do show it more often to everyone?

As a member, former president, and current communications officer for the Joplin Teachers Association, I had the honor to represent Joplin Schools at this week's Missouri State Teachers Association's annual convention of delegates in Columbia.  Columbia is home base for  the nation's oldest teaching association and Missouri's largest teaching association.  

The Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA) is a grassroots professional association that serves as an alternative to the National Education Association (NEA).  After a few years as a member of NEA, I could not support many of their practices, proclamations, or political leanings.  Without going into too much detail about it, I made the switch to MSTA after a year of teaching in Missouri.

Since then, I've served as an observer, a commenter, president-elect, and president.  The role I am most comfortable in, however, is one I have served in on many occasions - communications officer.

With fairly late notice, I agreed to be one of three Joplin teachers (I recruited the other two fourth grade teachers to attend the event with me.) with voting credentials at our Assembly of Delegates.  We voted as a grassroots team with some 700 other teachers from across the state, concerning ourselves with the issues education faces in 21st Century America, two topics of which included transgender and gender-identification policies for school districts, and whether to back new mothers by accommodating their needs for breastfeeding at intervals throughout the school day.

Before we head back to Joplin, at noon today, we have the opportunity to listen to a keynote address, during which I hope to glean inspiration to use in my educational walk.

In addition, my daughter and I will perform in the Joplin Little Theatre production of Yes, Virginia the Musical in the December 10 and 13 shows, as well as the evening presentation on December 12.  I proudly announce that my daughter will play the title role, while I will play the crusty, old newspaper editor. I'm not sure I know how to be crusty or old, so audiences will witness some true acting on my part (No comments from the Peanut Gallery!).  A couple of Cecil Floyd students and graduates also made the cut, including Hoggatteer alumna JACKY.

We like to stress the importance of communication skills and get kids to confront their fears - in this case one of the greatest single fears out there, namely public speaking.  Our Hoggatt Cave project is a terrific way to work on both of these.  Most of my criticism of our tour guides has always been to slow down, enunciate, and speak louder.  As we work the cave tours, this week, students get to practice their public speaking skills in the dark, holding a flashlight.

Once again, we gather in this place to honor those who have achieved greatness.  This time we put forth the names of PAYTON and KAIN as masters of multiplication  Congratulations to these two fine individuals who have proven that hard work pays off!

If you are in our class and have not yet achieved mastery, don't worry:  there will be more opportunities - sometimes when you least expect it!

In the past several years, I've seen teachers struggling with a "curriculum" that was probably more rigid than rigorous.  Now, with changes in leadership styles, Joplin teachers are being given some respect as professionals.

And they don't like it.

That's hyperbole, of course, but it gets your attention, doesn't it?  Let me explain.

For the past several years, administrators have expected classroom teachers to teach the same content at the same time with the same materials and the same methods.  It was headed to the point that every classroom would look the same and feel the same.  Every teacher would countenance the same expression on his/her face.

I saw it coming.  Any perfunctory glance at America's education system reveals it.  Certain people's idea about equity and fairness is socialist at best.  They expect the more prolific schools to be brought down to average because it's not fair that they are scoring higher and getting more positive publicity.

That's hyperbolic only because it makes a point.

Teachers across the nation have been treated like pawns in a malicious game set on turning kids into numbers and lines on graph paper.  The science of teaching overrode every artistic aspect of the process, and teachers were/are turned into cookie cutter, robots, and algorithms.

It's now possible, however, that changes are in the works.  From the inside of the system, there is a fresh feel to the air.

But some people don't understand it...and that's not an exaggeration.

I've noticed some teachers that need to be weaned from the system we were in.  While they went into it kicking and screaming, it's almost scary how fully they were sucked in.  They were "spoiled" by the control others had over them.  And now they don't know what to do.

It's not their fault; as educators, we seek to please.  As professionals, we put on positive faces and we make our schools look like they are chock-full of positive teams.  We park straight in the parking lot.  We walk into our buildings 15 minutes before we have to.  And many of us take tons of work home with us every night.  On weekends and holidays, we even take extra (just to keep ourselves busy - hey, it just might save us some of that drama that comes from conversing with our extended families!).  We spend our summer vacations thinking, at every turn, "Hey, that would look good in the corner of my classroom," or "Hey, I bet I could work a unit around this experience."  We dole out personal monies to pay for things that the school district won't provide.  As the ad says, It's what we do."

In short, for the most part, we walk the line.  We want to do our best.  We want to do things right and in accordance with the research we're being fed.

So when something is handed to us, and words like curriculum and non-negotiable are used, be panic only briefly before picking it up and muddling through it.  We have to do it, so we do it.

And with that tight expectation to do everything to the letter, some of us have lost our creative focus.

And with the loss of creativity and creative presentation, some of our students have lost their joy of learning.

Dear educator, please don't be that teacher.  Don't lose focus that it is still your classroom, that you are the professional in that classroom.  How many times do we express that we want to be treated like professionals, that we want to be paid like professionals?  How many times do we feel spat upon by our leaders in the legislature or some distant department of education?  How often do we yearn for more autonomy.

That's where we're trying to go in Joplin Schools.  It's apparent in the way we see students taking responsibility for their learning, freeing teachers to present lessons in more creative ways and foster critical thinking.  It's also apparent in the ways our curriculum is being presented to us - as a guideline and not as a "script".

And that's why some are flailing.  While students are required to become more responsible for their learning, teachers are now required to be more responsible for the ways in which curriculum is presented.  It's not a totally new way to think about things.

I've recognized for many years now that my classroom is different.  It doesn't matter who is enrolled into my class, simply by being Hoggatteers, my class is different.  You won't look through our window and find a cookie cutter or a robot; you look in there to find, hopefully, a teacher who does everything he can to make lessons unique.  You'll find, hopefully, students who are having a good time in spite of their struggles and mistakes.

In other words, this is my classroom.  That doesn't mean I don't answer to supervision and expected standards.  If you think about it, doesn't it make more sense than following a fixed script, a mass-marketed textbook, or whatever Bill Gates throws his money at.  It means this is my classroom!  These are my kids!  Who knows my kids the best (besides their own families)?  Not Bill Gates.  Nay, I shall not wait for someone to hand me my cues.

Teachers, let's not deny any opportunity that comes our way.  As professionals, we must seize those opportunities and regain authority in our classes.  We can only shine when we creatively think beyond the pattern that has been set before us.  If we allow ourselves to be the same as everyone else, we have given up our humanity.  It may be time to break away from the Bill-Gates-Common-Core-universal education system that has attempted to seize our careers and our children.

Just for fun, we used our Corps of Discovery studies to kick off a little measurement series.  As Lewis and Clark took detailed notes about the wildlife along the trail to the Pacific Ocean, we are now in a study to track the growth of five animals of our own.  These animal specimens were put in a tub of water, Tuesday.  They are absorbing the water and expanding, so each day as we measure, we will track their growth.  All measurements and descriptions are being recorded on Seesaw (If you are a parent and would like the information to log on to Seesaw, please contact me, and I'll get you set up.).

Our class collaborated with Mr. Culbertson's students, this week.  The subject at hand was finding the main idea of an informational text.  After instruction, students from each class teamed up to complete the task.  Overall, they did so pretty easily and accurately.

Here's our latest collection of snippets.  This time we're displaying our owl pellet event from last Friday.  Notice the communication skills some of these students are presenting, as well as the level of conversation occurring in our room at any given moment.

How does a teacher curb the energy and excitement that comes with Halloween, parties, and (possibly) a full moon?  How about with engaging lessons and activity?

On Friday, after reading about the extensive reports written by Lewis and Clark on their Corps of Discovery, students in Room 404 were charged with the same task.  After classifying beans four different times and a quick discussion about scientific convention, we dug into owl pellets, making discoveries, drawing conclusions, and carefully observing details.

This project lasted to the very last minute before the kids had to change for the Halloween parade.  They were busy all day in organized lessons, and they had to work cooperatively (the hardest part for some).

If you are interested in learning more about owls and owl pellets, check out Kidwings for videos, virtual dissection, and more.

It was an engaging lesson about the scientific process of classification.  Each team was given a scoop of assorted, dried beans.  They were also given the task of separating the beans into two, three, and four categories.  Along the way, they recorded their progress by taking pictures of their groups and adding labels in Seesaw.  Parents who opted to connect with Seesaw, can see their child's evidence.