Building Community

Last week I went to the lunchroom to pick up my students and all of the girls were sad due to social problems on the playground and different groups of girls being mean to other groups. I could only address it quickly right away because we had to go right to the Media center for checkout; however, I made sure to have a class discussion right when we got back to our room. I was thinking of the training this summer and realized I could skim over it and do math, but nobody would be gaining any knowledge if I did that. We all sat in a circle and passed a ball around and gave compliments to the person sitting next to you. The person who received the compliment said thank you and gave the other person a compliment back. Some simply said, "You are a good friend." But some students were really creative and thought of very specific traits to compliment each other on. At the end of the activity, they all were beaming. They just brightened up when they got the compliments. The girls on their own apologized to each other and wanted to make each others' "hearts happy" as I say. :) It was a very meaningful activity that built a positive community in my room.

Tone of Voice

In the past couple of weeks, I've noticed something about the way my students talk to each other.  I have a number of kids who will try to remind students to act appropriately if they are having a hard time.  I truly believe they want to be helpful and get the students back on track, but sometimes, they do it in a way that is counterproductive.  For example, if some kids are chatting while the rest of the class is waiting for them to be quiet, other kids in the class will say "Shh," or "Ms. Towner is waiting for you."  In writing, they seems like a good comments, but in reality, the tone of voice used to deliver these lines could be hurtful. 

I gave an example of this to my students yesterday, explaining that if someone came to me and told me to be quiet with a hurtful tone of voice, I probably wouldn't want to be quiet.  It might even make me want to be louder.  After giving a couple of examples, one of my students raised his hand and asked, "Did somebody really talk to you like that?"  He was shocked that a student would address me so disrespectfully.  I explained that students don't talk to me like that, they talk to each other like that.  In that moment, it was clear that my students understand the importance of showing respect to adults, but have forgotten why it is important to respect each other. 

Being the day before Spring Break, I obviously didn't launch into a major lesson on this idea, but it showed me that I will need to review respectful talk with my students when we come back from break. 

What Keeps YOU Inspired?

In the throes of progress reports, parent conferences, state testing, and the flu season how are you being inspired? I have been asking myself this question a lot lately. I remember the facilitator at my RC session kept talking about staying inspired and inspiring students. It is that time of the year where routines have become old and the students are sick of modeling. So, how are you inspiring your students lately? How are you being inspired?

I have a students who has been struggling socially and academically all year. Today I stopped and reflected for a minute about my students. I realized how far she has come. She was my inspiration today! The growth she has made and the struggles she has overcome was a reminder to me why I teach. There are tough days where nothing seems to be going right but just remember you inspire students, parents, and colleagues! Keep up the great work teachers! Keep inspiring your little ones!! That is my encouraging blog for the month! :)

Teacher Language

As cabin fever and the itch for spring break nears, I know that some attitudes and tempers have gotten more negative in my room than they have been all year long. A few kids in particular have really been trying to push the limits and have begun to act up. As a teacher, I have found that my patience has really been tested lately. As I was thinking about this the other day, I remembered the importance of our teacher language in those situations. I found the green bookmark that we received this summer on reinforcing language, reminding language and redirecting language and have found it helpful. Especially saying "I notice that you...", "Remind us how....", "Who can show...". I will keep this handy the next two weeks!