Reflections on #Culturize

I have to admit, I have somewhat of a book buying obsession.  Unfortunately I don't always get to read the books I buy right away, and I often end up with a stack of books that get overlooked.  Such was the case with #Culturize, by Jimmy Casas.  I kept looking at, saying next week I will read this, and then life would get in the way. 

Which is why I was so excited when #122edchat announced it as the Summer Book Study, because a book study pushes you to read the book on a schedule.  I also have the added pressure of agreeing to host the chat on July 25th, and I picked it as my choice to present for my district inservice Professional Book Club. (I love a double dip!)  I was excited to start reading it, and boy was I not disappointed.  

As a teacher with almost 15 years of experience in the classroom, I am still learning new things all the time.  That is what I love most about teaching.  There is always an opportunity to evolve and grow.  No two years are ever the same.  The only limitation is what I put on myself.  Since moving to my current district 5 years ago, I have evolved greatly as an educator, really working on refining my craft.  I have discovered the power of growth mindset, inquiry-based learning, #edtech tools and quality formative assessment.

As I was reading #Culturize, I often found myself saying, "THAT'S ME! I DO THAT!"  

and then I got to Chapter 3..... and read "Leaders Don't Need a Title" and it clicked.  

You don't need an invitation 
to be a leader...Just be one!




I have always been reticent to consider myself a "leader".  The voice in my head would say "You are "only" a teacher, you are not a leader."  I try the best I can to make a difference in my school community, joining committees and volunteering to help with special projects or events.  But I never considered myself a leader.......UNTIL NOW!

I feel like Jimmy Casas gave me the best gift anyone could give someone, permission to lead.  I AM a leader, both in my own classroom and as part of the school I work in.  I don't need a special title or special permission to do things that will enhance the culture and climate of the building I work in.

I have already made a few strides towards this new mindset.  I will be joining a few, special like-minded educators in my school next year to bring the Positivity Project to our building.  We have the support and backing of our Assistant Principal, and she has made it clear that this will be a team effort.  I am excited for this year, because I know that we have a huge opportunity to effect change within our students.  I also plan to to develop some inservice workshops next year to share with other teachers the power of Twitter, Growth Mindset and #tlap. 

I became an Educator because of the immense power I believe teaching has it in shaping future generations.  I have never wanted to be anything else other than a teacher, and feel it is my calling.  It is why I loved #Culturize so much, Jimmy gets it!  

When I got to pg. 10, I knew I was all in on this book.

"To be an excellent educator is a gift-- 

a gift to our students, our families, and our communities.  

Being an excellent educator is, in fact, a gift to our humanity."

We have so much to deal with on a daily basis, it can be overwhelming at times, but when you think about what we do as a gift, it makes it all worth it!

Reflecting on a year full of challenges and successes

Some of you might have noticed that I haven't posted on my blog in awhile.  In all honesty, I had every intention of making blogging a regular thing this year, and then IT happened.

As teachers, we all have years with THOSE classes.  The ones that have reputations that seemingly follows them from Kindergarten.  You hear the stories and warnings, but say to yourself "It will be different when they are in my class," and "They will surely mature before they reach 7th Grade." Most years we get through the honeymoon period and the inevitable middle school slump as the pressure increases, and then we come out the other side.  Usually by the time they reach the end of the second Marking Period, they have matured and settled into their school routine.  We have procedures established, and we can go about the business of exploring, working hard and having fun.  But NOT THIS YEAR!  This year was a bit different.  I can't exactly explain what happened, but things that had previously worked just didn't anymore.  Activities and assignments that were previously captivating and engaging just fell flat.  Starting after the holiday break, things just became more difficult.  Students were harder to motivate in class, and many didn't think they needed to do anything outside of class time.  In my team meetings we all found ourselves saying, "What has happened?!?"

So what is a teacher do?  We still had half the year to go and a lot more content to cover.

You reassess, reexamine and keep moving forward.  I had to dig in, not give up.  Nights and weekends were spent scouring for new approaches to reach my students.  Materials were tweaked, reworked or thrown out all together.  Twitter chats became a source of inspiration and motivation to just keep working for all my students.  I needed to focus on teaching the students that were in front of me each day, and they deserved nothing less than my best.  Fortunately I have a very understanding husband, and my dog is happy as long as he can sit next to me on the couch and gets the occasional scratch and cuddle.

In the end we all made it through the year.  I was not able to reach all students in the way I had hoped, but I know that I did the best I could.  Middle school is a rough time, and I hope that students are able to take what they learned about themselves as learners to start off 8th grade on the right foot.  In 7th Grade sometimes we are the transition year, and we don't get to finish all the work we need to do with students.  On the anonymous end of the year feedback form I give, most of my students said they enjoyed the class and learned new things in Science.  Many of them thanked me for making Science fun for the first time for them.

As I reflect on the year, there were a lot of challenges but there were also a lot of successes.  I discovered some great new tools that I will continue using in the future, including Plickers, Quizizz, Formative, and Quizlet Live and the amazing power of sketchnoting!  I moved away from whole class instruction and gave more opportunities for choice in what and how they approached a task.  It has led me to my direction for next year, which is more of a blended learning approach.

My most difficult students have in fact made me a better teacher.

I have no doubt that in my career I will encounter this again before I leave the classroom, but I will see it as an opportunity to rise to the occasion and up my game.   As teachers we have students in front of us that we are charged with teaching to the best of our ability each and every day.

We have 180 days to make a difference in the lives of our students.
It is not always easy, but it is ALWAYS WORTH IT.