Part V - a chicken come home to roost

At the beginning of the school year, last month, as I was sitting at my work station in the library, a former student appeared right at my desk. He was positively beaming, was this young man. He was almost glowing so I asked right away what was the cause of such joy. Master S. said that he had just passed all Advanced Placement tests at his new high school and was very excited about the opportunities such Advanced Placement would offer to him. He mentioned also competing for a position on the Varsity soccer team and that that had also worked out to his benefit. He also said that for him one of the most amazing parts of his experience was that as he answered different questions for the Advanced Placement he would see Mr. W. teaching him the concept in math; he would see Ms. K. illustrating the idea in science; and he would see Ms. W. accessing resources. As each of us passed in his memory he knew that he had the response he needed for the questions! And he knew that he had reached a new level of awareness. The look on his face as he told the tale was affirmation enough.

The piece of the story I want to relay for every one of us who struggles to make sense of what we try to do on a daily basis is this: one student out of many is enough to validate what we do. Our voices are heard, we do tell the truth. And enough are listening. I have a tendency not to remember the positive. I can get easily lost in the struggles of the day - too much to do and too little time in which to get it done, and the list grows daily! Be of good cheer - one day, one student did realize and he returned to tell the tale, and that has made all the difference. We each contribute a part of this student's story.

Part IV

Using Roman numerals makes me feel as if I am Sue Grafton - will I run out of numbers before I run out of things to say? Whatever, here goes Part IV. We are in the second month of the academic year and either I am getting use to the pace or things are slowing down. Probably a function of familiarity rather than reality.

We have had conferences for twelve of the past twenty-four hours. I have always been very impressed with the skills required for effective conferencing; want to give good, clear messages and communicate concerns but do not want to startle the care-givers with "too much information." I believe having good conferences is a real skill. I love to have the students bring their parents into the media center, you can almost see a gleam in the eye because they are so proud that they know where to find their favorite books.

Grades were due last week for middle school. I teach third, fourth, and fifth plus three hours of kindergarten on Fridays and I have one hour of media technology with the seventh or eighth graders every day. We have a new program to put all of the grades on-line. The primary benefit is to give the parents access so they can stay aware of what the student is doing, with fewer surprises when the grades come home. I have really struggled with this program, I am still not comfortable with whatever it is doing. The good news is that it increases my awareness of challenges in technology, so I can be more patient with the users at school.

Went to a wonderful wedding last Saturday. Two good friends who are nothing but the very best for each other. Had the opportunity to visit with friends who helped to shape my teaching so many years ago! Shared the day with my nine-year old granddaughter - what a treat! Good company, good conversation and I did not get lost - does not get any better than that!

I have developed a photography unit for the middle-schoolers using digital still cameras and processing the photos on Photo Shop. We started this week with the story board and I think I definitely heard enthusiasm. Next week we bring out the cameras. I have the class divided into groups of two or three and we will stay in the library. Not sure how all of this will work out so I will take great notes!

Have an excellent week-end.