As a teacher of 10 years I have come to realize that my anxiety really is passion and not some medical mistake I need to get checked by a psychiatrist.
Based on ....it's that time of year....let me set the stage, distress, uneasiness, insecurity of your pedagogy all begin to surface. Okay there are those who are ladder climbers and really thrive to be the all out achiever...so school like isn't it. I think we use to call them Teacher's Pet's! But in general all teachers and administration feel this crazy mindset. It's that new on the job feel. Only for teachers it's after a 7-9 week break every year.
Yet it is ironically a time to enter into the halls and classrooms where in fact your mind is what is in session. We are educators developing minds, even our own. We can't forget about us, the teacher who must begin getting up early dressing for success and never show you're tired or frustrated.
Yes, it's a time to learn not only the abc's and 123's but we are forming our mindset. Mindset is the new buzz word that really has great merit. I googled "forming a mindset" and found Kate Powers among many others who teach or advocate to aide our mindset. Kate creates change for organizations and develops good leadership skills. which is what I see is most difficult for me and my colleagues. We all have egos to set aside and just focus on what is the topline main objective. That could mean so many different things to my team so therefore my mindset is on my trade. Teachers teach little kids how to function in an academic world and share this pedagogy with their colleagues and parents. The mindset is to raise above the egos and do what is intended for all.
Teachers, I want to impress upon all newbies and veterans, anxiety is and will always be there. It does not mean you are disrespecting authority. It means you are passionate and just need some calming skills! I know I do!! I eventually get there, so be patient,... another mindset.
Take your first week of prepping for the students to arrive. You got staff meeting after staff meeting after staff meeting. All you want to do is decorate your classroom and sit down with your team to go over your lesson plans. During this time of staff meetings you're meeting new teachers whether newbies to the profession or veterans and you want to remember their names, what they are teaching, you want to impress, I get that.
Then it's training time! Oh boy, you can hear the sneers in the back of the room...."I've had this already, why do I need to stay here,.. why can't I just get to my classroom." But this is the collaboration time, this is the time to start feeling less anxiety because you do have the passion. Really, I know you don't feel it but think...mindset! I know that's easier said than done. In these trainings there is so much to take in, you have to create a login, follow the presenter as he or she dictates where you are to navigate in this unfamiliar website, where you have no time to remember how you even logged on!
Don't you just love summer break right now, because in these staff trainings what do we do less of in the summer and more of in a training session....sit, sit and sit some more. After being on a 7-9 week summer break where there was no limits to your movements, you now have to sit! I'm feeling the love here because I now know how my kiddos are going to feel the first days of class, especially those boys who just can't sit still. My mindset is changing on that one for sure.
Then it returns as you envision your classroom a mess, a wreck, boxes unopened, where is my favorite reproducible books, oh my! Worst of all, your colleague is all done. She or he has been planning all summer long how to decorate their classroom. That's ok. The great thing is the students could care less about how you decorated your classroom over the next teacher's room. So relax, what is thee most important piece to your student's learning; the first week that's it. Go no further....one week at a time.
Yes, teaching is a roller coaster of a career....but we are passionate people and we love the thrill of the unknown, of the change and results we create with our anxiety, passion and mindset to succeed.
The anxiety stays for about a month or two depending on your administration and how demanding and unorganized they are but in general you got this teach! You have that passion, but don't stay at work past an hour over your allotted time. That is just asking for more anxiety and it ruins your home life. Put the laminating aside, remember your objective and that passion will take you there. Then stop, get out, go home and enjoy the evening because there are lots and lots of papers to grade next week!
Friday, August 14, 2015
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Who Makes the Education Choice?
Of course we all need to be schooled, that is to be educated, but what I'm talking about is schooling by choice. Now I've never homeschooled my own children other than helping them with homework and kept their educational interests over the summer break. I have however, taught children who were homeschooled prior to my teaching them. With all of my 10 years in teaching adding to that my two children's education in a very public traditional/compulsory environment and now seeing my three grandchildren's experiences in traditional education environment this is my experience of school choice.
There is a new buzz word out and what I'm talking about is UNschooling. I've never heard of it but I recently read an interesting article about how UNschooling is performed.
In reading the article and snooping around for more understanding I found first of all that history shows us education is experimental. Schools in America started out as a need to become a demand as parents left that part of raising their children up to others...and many still do. Once traditional or compulsory, brick and mortar type schools began showing order and control over children, parents either allowed it, agreed with it, or despised it. For the control meant unification, equal opportunity, fairness, and like minds were to be produced. But as the centuries progress especially now in our 21st century we are able to see equality in a rather different form.
I believe this is where UNschooling takes the stage.
Homeschooling offers parental control but the children are still not in control of their own destiny, the likes of education. The parents still based their children's education on what the parent wanted not what the child wants. Frankly, most of us believe it is the parent's responsibility to control and conform their children's lives through the path as they, the parents choose. But now as traditional/compulsory, and homeschooling has shown us the good, bad, and the ugly of education through teaching and learning we have unschooling!
Unschooling is about freedom for the child says a father and author living in the state of Vermont.
Ben Hewitt says of the labeled name Unschooling, "But “self-directed, adult-facilitated life learning in the context of their own unique interests” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, so unschooling it is.
Sounds earthly to me and I love it.
What Mr. Hewitt and wife Penny have created for their two sons is an environment that only one can receive if lived in the country. Because in the country you have freedom to explore, to hypothesize, to create, and so much more than in a budgeted classroom of 15-30 children or at one-income home in the suburbs waiting for mother to introduce the next homeschool curriculum. I wonder how these two boys' behavior are. I mean my experience has been once a child gets the chance to make their own decisions they are out of control. They are everywhere but where they ought to be. They are children that need direction.
Don't get me wrong, I believe in choice for school. That is why I do not teach at a district school anymore and that is why there is a teacher shortage in this state I live in.The compulsory, brick and mortar has met it's match.
I believe in choice, parental choice though.
However, I cannot hold a child completely to their own choice of education let alone without a structured curriculum of any kind. Mr. Hewitt's curriculum it seems is based on nature. Sounds awesome, no books, no rules, no teachers, no classrooms! But he must have instilled some form of structure onto his two children for them to be so self-directed, reliant, and confident in learning, exploring, etc.
So it really is a parental control over education. Lucky and blessed families get the countryside as their educational backdrop. But many living in crowded cities and areas still leave education up to the "experts".
But we all know the experts should be the parents!! Don't we? Yes, they should be!!
If I had to do things over, it would be nice to have home schooled, or even lived in any open area to create an unschooling environment. But I chose what I had in my life's pocket and my kids seem damn fine. Will Mr. Hewitt's children become the Bill Gates of their time, or the inventors of our next century? Hope so, I hope our history shows us as it has before great Americans from all over the likes of learning modes have/had made a huge success out of their lives despite their life. Such as George Washington Carver; botanist and inventor who was born into slavery, lived with a couple who bought him but whom instilled education unto Carver... He made it and so will your children. IF you parent with respect to the education given.
Not everyone wants to become the famous success. Some just want to live a decent life. Judging others' education will not equal the outcome. What will equal will be choice of opportunities given in small, medium, or large doses regardless of the environment.
Traditional, home or unschooling, it is education guided by a parental force and lead by children. We all need to show our country education is a community effort, parents and teachers must become a unit to instill inquiry, exploration, and open the minds of all children to lead us into our future. It may not be in the countryside of Vermont, it may be in a shack in the ghetto. Either way education has to be given with an understanding that our furture is at stake so move forward as a parent, guardian, educator, neighbor, whatever. Make the right choice and follow through as an adult guiding a child to their future.
There is a new buzz word out and what I'm talking about is UNschooling. I've never heard of it but I recently read an interesting article about how UNschooling is performed.
In reading the article and snooping around for more understanding I found first of all that history shows us education is experimental. Schools in America started out as a need to become a demand as parents left that part of raising their children up to others...and many still do. Once traditional or compulsory, brick and mortar type schools began showing order and control over children, parents either allowed it, agreed with it, or despised it. For the control meant unification, equal opportunity, fairness, and like minds were to be produced. But as the centuries progress especially now in our 21st century we are able to see equality in a rather different form.
I believe this is where UNschooling takes the stage.
Homeschooling offers parental control but the children are still not in control of their own destiny, the likes of education. The parents still based their children's education on what the parent wanted not what the child wants. Frankly, most of us believe it is the parent's responsibility to control and conform their children's lives through the path as they, the parents choose. But now as traditional/compulsory, and homeschooling has shown us the good, bad, and the ugly of education through teaching and learning we have unschooling!
Unschooling is about freedom for the child says a father and author living in the state of Vermont.
Ben Hewitt says of the labeled name Unschooling, "But “self-directed, adult-facilitated life learning in the context of their own unique interests” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, so unschooling it is.
Sounds earthly to me and I love it.
What Mr. Hewitt and wife Penny have created for their two sons is an environment that only one can receive if lived in the country. Because in the country you have freedom to explore, to hypothesize, to create, and so much more than in a budgeted classroom of 15-30 children or at one-income home in the suburbs waiting for mother to introduce the next homeschool curriculum. I wonder how these two boys' behavior are. I mean my experience has been once a child gets the chance to make their own decisions they are out of control. They are everywhere but where they ought to be. They are children that need direction.
Don't get me wrong, I believe in choice for school. That is why I do not teach at a district school anymore and that is why there is a teacher shortage in this state I live in.The compulsory, brick and mortar has met it's match.
I believe in choice, parental choice though.
However, I cannot hold a child completely to their own choice of education let alone without a structured curriculum of any kind. Mr. Hewitt's curriculum it seems is based on nature. Sounds awesome, no books, no rules, no teachers, no classrooms! But he must have instilled some form of structure onto his two children for them to be so self-directed, reliant, and confident in learning, exploring, etc.
So it really is a parental control over education. Lucky and blessed families get the countryside as their educational backdrop. But many living in crowded cities and areas still leave education up to the "experts".
But we all know the experts should be the parents!! Don't we? Yes, they should be!!
If I had to do things over, it would be nice to have home schooled, or even lived in any open area to create an unschooling environment. But I chose what I had in my life's pocket and my kids seem damn fine. Will Mr. Hewitt's children become the Bill Gates of their time, or the inventors of our next century? Hope so, I hope our history shows us as it has before great Americans from all over the likes of learning modes have/had made a huge success out of their lives despite their life. Such as George Washington Carver; botanist and inventor who was born into slavery, lived with a couple who bought him but whom instilled education unto Carver... He made it and so will your children. IF you parent with respect to the education given.
Not everyone wants to become the famous success. Some just want to live a decent life. Judging others' education will not equal the outcome. What will equal will be choice of opportunities given in small, medium, or large doses regardless of the environment.
Traditional, home or unschooling, it is education guided by a parental force and lead by children. We all need to show our country education is a community effort, parents and teachers must become a unit to instill inquiry, exploration, and open the minds of all children to lead us into our future. It may not be in the countryside of Vermont, it may be in a shack in the ghetto. Either way education has to be given with an understanding that our furture is at stake so move forward as a parent, guardian, educator, neighbor, whatever. Make the right choice and follow through as an adult guiding a child to their future.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Life IS worth living....
So here it is, a diagnosis from that ugly word...CANCER. you feel low, tired...but you always did. This was different. So your sister takes you in and insists you get healthcare and a checkup. Low and I mean LOW and behold you have tumors in your chest. You said you did to yourself...you lose control of YOU.....
It's not me, it's my only brother. Right in the middle of the hierarchy. We looked up to him. Sadly he did not. But we endured with him, loved him as a sister would and should.
Then THEE only sibling that had it in her, to care, to nurture regardless, helps.....Our only brother has cancer in his lungs. She spends no expense to help...why that's who she is......
Chemo, radiation, a year later, all seems well...isn't that how cancer fools you!! liar cancer, cheater cancer, deceiver cancer!!
Ugh, then it hits, aches, pains, where do they come from? Cancer of course!
Then my big Bubba brother is given 9 months to live. But there's my 2nd oldest sister caring like no other would. Bringing him in, tending to him as God would ask.
Now, 9 months later my bro has 7 days left of life. Are you kidding me? I saw him 8 months ago. I didn't believe it, huh, 9 months is not going to happen, that's so far away....
Nope, it's here, now, today. What is happening to my siblings?, as my parents are looking on from heaven. My siblings are cloudy in thought, missing the real idea of family, love, caring,...enabling......
But most important, I'm about to lose my only brother!!
Men,.... men in our girl ridden world. What's wrong? Why are these men not taking the reins to aide and care, and comfort us women. Why are we, the women taking the front controls and succeeding. Or are we?? What are we women not seeing in our men???
I see it as a collaborating effort. But how many woman and men can not accept the idea of a woman and a man collaborating to accomplish a task? rare indeed.
People, realize this IS the FUTURE. Without common people we are lost.
To live is to collaborate and compromise....HELLO!!!
Just learn from your mistakes people, me too, you too! Caring on from there. NO ONE IS CORRECT! But we can resolve correctly.
We all mess up. Accept it and move on to what is the real issue, real objective for the day.
Life IS worth living....Patty Gayle Perkins-Schumacher-Christensen
It's not me, it's my only brother. Right in the middle of the hierarchy. We looked up to him. Sadly he did not. But we endured with him, loved him as a sister would and should.
Then THEE only sibling that had it in her, to care, to nurture regardless, helps.....Our only brother has cancer in his lungs. She spends no expense to help...why that's who she is......
Chemo, radiation, a year later, all seems well...isn't that how cancer fools you!! liar cancer, cheater cancer, deceiver cancer!!
Ugh, then it hits, aches, pains, where do they come from? Cancer of course!
Then my big Bubba brother is given 9 months to live. But there's my 2nd oldest sister caring like no other would. Bringing him in, tending to him as God would ask.
Now, 9 months later my bro has 7 days left of life. Are you kidding me? I saw him 8 months ago. I didn't believe it, huh, 9 months is not going to happen, that's so far away....
Nope, it's here, now, today. What is happening to my siblings?, as my parents are looking on from heaven. My siblings are cloudy in thought, missing the real idea of family, love, caring,...enabling......
But most important, I'm about to lose my only brother!!
Men,.... men in our girl ridden world. What's wrong? Why are these men not taking the reins to aide and care, and comfort us women. Why are we, the women taking the front controls and succeeding. Or are we?? What are we women not seeing in our men???
I see it as a collaborating effort. But how many woman and men can not accept the idea of a woman and a man collaborating to accomplish a task? rare indeed.
People, realize this IS the FUTURE. Without common people we are lost.
To live is to collaborate and compromise....HELLO!!!
Just learn from your mistakes people, me too, you too! Caring on from there. NO ONE IS CORRECT! But we can resolve correctly.
We all mess up. Accept it and move on to what is the real issue, real objective for the day.
Life IS worth living....Patty Gayle Perkins-Schumacher-Christensen
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