My First Presentations...So Fun

I may have mentioned this, but in the last year or so I have become what is referred to as a connected educator. My interactions are mild but increasing as I gain confidence in myself and the direction that I am heading in the world of education. In the spring my school district announced that they would be doing a conference-ish event (the Franklin County Public Schools Learning Summit). With over 200 teachers in attendance in the 3 days following the end of our school year, I would consider it pretty successful, especially for a first attempt at something.

When I found out about it, I had no hesitation. I wanted to help my district get this off the ground. The prospects were very exciting. As I read and interact with different people, I feel as though I have many ideas to share. There was an application process and I put in two concepts; my previous introduction to the benefits of using Classflow and a forming concept about creative lesson planning. Both of my ideas were approved and I was off.

The creative lesson planning session came first. I was nervous as all get out. This concept is my baby. Part motivational speech fueled by a desire to never hold back a crazy idea and part planning philosophy that I employ which has been enhanced and refined in the wake of reading Teach Like a Pirate (have I mentioned that everyone should read that book). This is a message I feel strongly about. I opened by sharing stories that brought me to this point. Being a teacher who is always willing to try an idea that I feel would inspire kids and honor content. I momentarily got on my soapbox about being great. Then I introduced the concept of melding Content + Passion + Desired Outcome to come up with lessons that are memorable and relevant to the students. Listing successes, coplanning, and failures, I wanted this group of willing teachers to hear examples of it working well, but also know there were times it did not. However, that doesn’t mean we should quit. After an hour and 5 minutes I wrapped up (a tad shorter than it was supposed to be, but I cut some things fearing I would go over my 75 minute time frame). People in the group were very encouraging and man, I felt great.

Me rocking my fancy Kids Deserve It! shirt.

The Classflow session came at the end of the third day. Coming in, I could tell the group of motivated educators was tired. Reading my audience, I laid out my intentions to go through my presentation, and then work with anyone who did not need an extended bathroom break. My enjoyment and excitement about what Promethean is doing Classflow is pretty well documented, but I had a lot of fun with this presentation. After talking about change and sharing what Classflow is, I hit the meat of this presentation by sharing what makes Classflow special: engagement.  On the fly feedback from your constituents that can help you gauge when to move forward and when to circle back. I tried to use humor to share the polling tools, asking questions like…

Word Seed: What word or phrase comes to mind when looking at this picture?

I shared other perks of using the program like uploading already made flipcharts (that admittedly need some touching up) and assessment tools that make formative assessment easy. Finally, I closed by encouraging people to play with it over the summer or when we get back to work in August. To my surprise about half of the group stuck around to play with it, which was super encouraging.

Having a great time sharing Classflow with educators.

The bottomline in sharing all of this is that I hope that you will be willing to share too. We all have things that we are passionate about. It may be scary to put yourself out there, but there are people in our profession who need what you have. I implore you to be willing to lift others for the better of the school. It is worth it. I know I will, hopefully at next year's Franklin County Public Schools Learning Summit or with anyone who will have me. Man, I have the bug.

Battling Self Doubt

We have reached Christmas break! It is a wonderful time. There are many things that this two week block is good for. One of those things is reflecting. So, as I take this opportunity to write some new posts, the first thing I want to touch on is being unsure about yourself. Quick history lesson: I have failed before. Like, in a job, fallen flat on my face and needed to change/find a new job. It was rough. It hurt. It impacted me a lot. This has created, at times, doubt in myself. That same self doubt will then push me to seek the approval of peers. Calling it what it is, this is pride, and frankly, it usually makes me feel stupid.

Students using Fruit Loops to identify ratios...that's a good idea, right?

I am not the only person out there who struggles with this. There are a lot of people that we affect in and through our classrooms. I think that because of this we want to do our absolute best, and for varying reasons, some of us don’t know that our best is good enough. Whether we are new, trying something different, struggling to find a way to communicate a concept, or feeling the weight of data, there are a lot of reasons to feel unsure of oneself. 

Here is the thing, we don’t need to feel this way. We need to understand that we are gifted at this. There is something in you that made you want to do this job, that is an area of strength for you. It may be the content and how well you know it and LOVE it (I am looking at you English buffs and History nuts). You might just be really good at communicating with the age group you work with. Like the Kindergarten whispers out there who get five year olds to go from no knowledge of the concept of words to stringing them together to create sentences with meaning. You might know how to harness creativity; your own or those around you. You can turn something mundane into a frenzy that pushes your kids into the halls to sing the wonders of snowmen dying as matter changes from one form to the next. Whatever it is, in these three, you have a foundation. Trust that about yourself and build from there. 

Next, we, the unsure, must trust the response of our target. This can through assessment, student reflection, or just plain seeming enjoyment of an activity or class period. On my best weeks, I use any combination of the 2. Enjoyment is easy with most kids. Smiles, intensity, or just flat out engaged in what we are doing. It is anecdotal. Conclusions lend themselves to reflection. With new concepts I usually give a…

3 things you learned

2 questions you have

1 thing you think I should know

Something that simple can be the difference maker.

That leaves assessment, which can be a question sample at closure, morning/bell work the next day, or waiting for the test depending on your time frame. Look at the data, folks. Don’t obsess over what it says about you, but use it as a tool for what your kids need. Last I checked, education is still over testing kids. There are signs of improvement, but that is where we are. So take the cracked eggs and make a delicious omelet, where you know what the class needs and you adjust to meet those needs.

Finally, trust or adjust. If the response you elicit is good, you can trust that you did well. If not, then make the adjustment that is best for your room based on the need of your students. Unsurity is a tricky beast, but you got this. I’ve got this. We’ve got this. And trusting that will make ourselves, our rooms, and schools better.