Books I enjoy!

Saturday’s Book: Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg

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I do this sometimes – read a number of books by the same author in one year. This is the last Fannie Flagg book in the library.

This one is not quite as good as “Welcome to the World Baby Girl” and ‘Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe” and I think she overdid it with the length of the book – 500 pages! However, she has a gift. While the author  seems to simply be occupied with telling the most mundane details of every day life whenever I stop reading I’m amazed at how things connect to life in the U.S today, the “Tea Party Movement” for example.

Certainly a book I want to finish.

May still be reading it next week too – have only read 300 pages!

 

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Comment on Willy Cardoso’s Post “London Writing”

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Once again a post by Willy’s Cardoso has kept me up late feeling I just HAVE TO write and examine why it has struck a chord with me.

At first glance, you may be tempted to make some false assumptions regarding my connection to this post, named “London Writing” . Since you know I’m not in London let me make it clear that I don’t play the guitar (love to listen to music but just played the piano badly for a few years). In addition, I haven’t met any of the people Willy mentioned (though I DID have an interesting conversation about David Crystal in the remote island of Skellig Michael in Ireland and then corresponded with Professor Crystal about it!).

Willy Cardoso writes:

“…encounters I would have with amazing and inspiring ELT professionals, with whom I was able to socialize and learn thanks to this blog and to Twitter. I know I wouldn’t have done so much in this first year here if it wasn’t for the people I met through blogging…”

ABSOLUTELY TRUE! Ties in with my previous post about the long reaching power of my PLN.

Another quote:

“It was a year of writing…The more I blog, the more I learn. The more I blog, the more I position myself in the profession and in the world, and then I change, I find new perspectives, watch my language and bite my tongue. All in all, I’ve found a channel of self-expression so important to any professional life, but extremely important to the education profession.”

It’s only been nine months since I began my blog but it has had a profound impact, as Willy put so well into words for me. I feel the same way. And I never would have guessed it would be so because how many teachers-of-English-as-a-foreign-language to deaf students are there out there? Yet, I feel I am “growing” in the same way that Willy describes!

One more quote:

“…I don’t know who is actually on the other side…Hence, I rarely have a reader in mind,” – yeah, me neither. I know a few and am grateful that they read. Basically I’m writing because I need to write yet there is great power in every comment left on my blog. Writing that is noticed seems to lead to more writing.

 

So, I’ll end this post by wishing Willy Cardoso the best of luck with his M.A. I finished mine 15 years ago and can say that I’m glad I have it.

P.S Here’s one my favorite photos from London (notice the “School of English” sign in the background) by Gil Epshtein

 

hitchiker

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My PLN ACTUALLY Got My Classroom Computer Hooked Up to the Internet!

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As my PLN is SUPER HELPFUL I was determined to make the most of my classroom computer even though it wasn’t connected to the Internet. With such support I had lots of useful suggestions to try.

Well, my PLN has turned out to be quite a formidable source of influence, even from afar! On May 3rd I was told that the woman in charge of the computers had decided that I’d better be given an Internet connection and AS OF TODAY MY CLASSROOM IS CONNECTED TO THE WORLD!!!

If you want to know how this came to be, I’m reposting the May 3rd post describing the sequence of events. You can read it here.

 

Imagine me handing out virtual champagne, or orange juice, whichever you prefer!  I know the picture below represents  neither of them but THAT got me very excited and feeling the power that having a network of teachers has given me gets me very excited too!

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Thank you everyone! I plan to continue “picking your brains”!

Day by Day in the Classroom

What Do You Talk About in the Staff Room?

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It’s funny how things tie in with each other.

I hadn’t thought much about our staff room since the school finally purchased more chairs. Since I’m not one of those teachers who is in the staff room the moment the bell rings I often could not find a free chair. But that has been taken care of.

Tyson Seburnt’s interesting post “What’s a Staff Room to You?” made me realize that there are other kinds of staff rooms, reflecting a whole different approach to a staff room, one used for collaborating on school issues, for instance. Our HUGE room (there are approx 140 teachers at our school) is mainly used for eating /drinking coffee and talking. Although the room is enormous most teachers sit around specific tables, in sub groups. During the so-called lunch break (25 minutes at 10:40 in the morning!) the noise of conversation is loud. But what are teachers talking about?

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If you had asked me that a week ago I would have said: Teachers’ offspring, fashion and television. Maybe some politics.

Right after reading the post, the head of our deaf and hard of hearing staff department implored us not to talk about students during our breaks around the table.

Hmm, that’s right. I didn’t really pay much attention to it but we do talk about student. or rather “vent” our feelings about them.

She’s worried that sensitive information we know might be overheard by people who shouldn’t be privy to that information (not that you can hear much with the noise level during the break…)

The same day I read an article in EL (ASCD) magazine called “Respect – Where Do We Start” by Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin. The author talks about the negative influence of teachers sitting and complaining about their problematic students during lunch breaks. She says that these kind of conversations do not lead to the creation of constructive suggestions on dealing with students. The reverse may be true – hearing other colleagues also complain about a pupil makes the teacher feel more entitled to her negative feelings about that pupil. In addition, the author also claims that when teachers spend their free time talking about what brings them down and not what they feel good about it encourages our brains to think in more negative ways.

From what I understood, Beaudoin calls for a “no-talk-about-students” rule for lunch hour.

I see the author’s point but I’m not sure I agree. In fact, I’m not sure it is a rule we could live by. With all the support systems such as my AWESOME PLN and my patient husband who listens to me in the evenings, there is nothing like the support of your fellow teachers, who actually teach the same pupils, as you exit a lesson ready to tear your hair out.

Do YOU agree?

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How many faces does a teacher need for the first day of school?

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People often wonder how a teacher can come home from a short Friday morning at school (08:00-13:00) utterly exhausted.

If they could count the number of different faces I needed this morning, maybe they would understand.

 

The first face is the obvious one, the one needed by all students, in all classes:

The Welcoming Face – “how are you” “how was your summer vacation” “such a nice haircut you got” “have you seen the New-Year’s Greeting waiting just for you?”

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Then there is the pupil who comes to the classroom during the break to tell me that she has already (first day! before her first lesson!)gone to the class website to see which homework I’ve put online for her. She needs to see The Impressed Face – “it’s so nice to see that you are motivated, that you have come to school all energetic”…

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Then there are the two 10th grade girls who waltz in on their first day of school eager to test my limits. One tries to make a case for eating her sandwich during the lesson and the other proceeds to pull out hand cream, lipstick and her cell phone. They need The Stern Face.

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Then there are the kids who transferred from a regular school, where they were the only kids with a hearing problem in the entire school. Some are a bit in shock either from the behavior of some of the other kids (those limit-testing ones) or from the low level of some of their new peers (I teach EVERY imaginable level!). They need The Reassuring Face – “ this is a learning center, everyone has their own learning plan, you progress at your own level disregardless of whom you sit next to” “everyone will settle down after the initial excitement”…

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Then there are the 11th grade students who are disappointed they aren’t going to be studying for the level of “exit exams” they desired (these kids expectations are totally unrealistic). They need The Motivating / Energizing Face – “you know, it is all up to you. the exams are modular and if you study you can progress to the next level”…

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I needed The Don’t-Show-Your-Real-Feelings Face for the 10th grader who complained that her New-Year-Greeting wasn’t as pretty as another student’s greeting (I pasted the same text for all onto different colorful photos).

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There are more but I feel I am getting tired all over again just thinking about it all. I guess that’s the face I wore on the way to the car: The Tired Teacher Face

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Perhaps YOU have faces to add?

Books I enjoy!

Saturday’s Book: ” The Accidental” by Ali Smith

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I can’t make up my mind whether I like this book or not.

While I was reading it I alternated between wondering why I’m still reading and it and going ” oh! wow! intriguing!”

I guess what counts that, as a person who will stop reading a book I don’t like, is that I COULD NOT stop reading and had to see how it ended.

The book made me think of a modern, unorthodox Mary Poppins story, without any of the British “proper” behavior of Mary Poppins!

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Thoughts about YOU MATTER – Angela Maeirs Powerful TEDx Talk

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I found this to be an INCREDIBLY powerful talk. I’ve already listened to it twice.

Just thinking about it has already sparked interesting chains of thought and its only been two days!

My friend, who is a retired kindergarten teacher commented that when you walk into a kindergarten class and feel the calm, relaxed atmosphere, you know that the teacher has adopted the “you matter” attitude. She always used lines such as “you waited patiently for the slide today” “you let your friend use the crayon” and says it made  a world of difference to the kids.

That part of the talk is not new in itself – I believe all teachers know this is important (at least theoretically). And as a special ed teachers I have watched Rick Lavoie’s film “When the Chips are Down” countless times. But Angela Maeirs takes this point beyond education, into our daily life! Now, you may say “duh”, but Maeirs is a really great speaker and I found myself asking “why has the focus only been on the pupils? What about us teachers, and everyone else I meet regularly? Being polite and noticing aren’t the same!

A few hours after I first listened to it I had to go to a stationary store and found myself buying a “noticing notebook”. I got home and stopped myself from putting it into my schoolbag. I was “blown away” Maeirs’ description of the impact of such a notebook on the students. But I’m not Maeirs! I teach in the format of a learning center with five or seven different things going on in class at the same time. In the short breaks between lessons I barely have time to put my stuff back in order or take some bites of my sandwich. I’m also trying to remember to drink more often… How can I write those “I noticed” notes? And if I wait till the end of the day, and it is one of the days of seven classes in a row, who will be insulted by what I forgot by then to write?

But it is such a good idea…

This talk also really highlighted another aspect of the brilliance that is the Y.A.L.P Project, and how lucky I am to have Dr. Judy Yaron helping me implement it. In the project not only do the pupils get individual attention from someone, but because it is structured so that non-teachers can teach, pupils teach each other. And when Maeirs talks about showing the pupils we trust them with important tasks, it really means a lot to some of the kids when I say to one of them “Danny really wants to work at his Y.A.L.P Project now and you are a great teacher, will you teach him now?” I’m hoping to expand the scope of the project this year! (you can read about the project here and here).

 

I haven’t exhausted all I feel about this talk, but I guess this is enough for one post. I just wish I could get it subtitled into Hebrew – I can’t share it with my Hebrew speaking staff at school and at my counseling job. You may hear about it again…

* note – I say “listening” to the talk and not “watching” it as I have upgraded my mp player and can now do housework as I listen! HA!

Day by Day in the Classroom

Amazing! He Knows My “back-to-school” Dreams!

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I was really amazed to read Scott Thornbury’s post “D is for Dreams” – he seems to have looked into my dreams!

Although I am about to begin my 26th year as a teacher, I have bad dreams during the second half of every August, like clockwork, every single year.

I wasn’t aware that other teacher do too. Although I teach in a very large high-school with many teachers, the subject has never come up. When we meet during “preparation days” before school starts one either talks about the fun one had on holiday or gripes about the new timetable or changes that have just been intoduced  for the upcoming school year.

My dreams would fall into the “loss of control” category.

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The odd thing is I don’t dream about the REAL “loss of control” issues I am worried about when I’m awake. Such as the 12th grader that goes from being sweet and working nicely to saloon-type fighting in about 30 seconds if someone sets him off.  Or the two 11th graders who kept all levels of the school administration on their feet dealing with their disregard of anything their teachers tell them (for instance – you cannot enter a class that isn’t your own in the middle of the lesson!). And what about all those unknown 10th graders?

Instead I dream that I can’t seem to be able to get to the classroom. The car won’t start, the bus won’t come, there is trouble on the road, people keep obstructing my path and forcing me to stop, etc.

There are also the dreams when I DO make it to the classroom but the pupils keep coming in, more and more and more and they don’t seem to stop. I can’t manage to talk to any of them as the door keeps opening…

So, thank you Scott Thornbury! I found your post on dreams very encouraging!

Books I enjoy!

Saturday’s Book – “Freakonomics” by Levitt and Dubner

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I had heard that this book was engaging , thought provoking and even amusing.

Therefore I delayed reading it till the trip to Alaksa.

Four people (two young adults /teenagers ) on the road together for three weeks – nothing like adding some unusual topics to discuss along the way! The chapter “Do parents really matter?” really caught everyone’s attention (it includes the question “Does it matter if parents read aloud to their kids or not!!!! Boy, have I read aloud!!!) . The chapter about the reduction of violence in the USA during the 1990’s was also fascinating!

Even if you aren’t going on the road for three weeks – it IS an engaging, thought provoking and amusing book! Glad I read it!

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