Is Your Bus Full?

My first experience on a school bus came in 1963 as a kindergartner. I was a “p.m.” student and my first afternoon resulted in getting my hand slapped by the teacher for taking one more than the undisclosed number of cookies during snack time.  Nice greeting. Heck, I don’t even like cookies.  If I knew any cuss words back then, I probably would have used them.  Mom instructed me to get on the same bus as my older sister when we were released for the day.  A bus number would have been helpful information. The teacher actually walking us to the bus would also have been beneficial. Heck, all I knew was that schools buses were yellow.   Regardless, I walked up the steps of the first yellow bus that I came to and asked the driver if my sister was on the bus.  He replied, “Sure kid, just get in a seat.” He had all of the comfort of  burlap underwear. The bus left and I still did not see my sister in any of the seats.  About 30 minutes later, I was the only kid left on the bus and had no idea where I was in relation to our house.  Eventually, the driver let me off about a half mile from our house when I noticed a landmark. I walked the distance to our house in a relatively new subdivision. Mom was not a happy camper. Boy, did my sister get it good…right after I got it good. Not surprisingly, the next day I knew the bus number, the teacher made sure we all were headed in the right direction, and I stopped eating cookies.  I did have a hard time sitting though due to inflammation of a tanned hide.  School buses are designed to carry a large number of kids.  Take a look at the next bus you see. Is it full to capacity or are there many empty seats? 

Imagine, if you will, the you have your own “personal success stories bus”. Think about all of the kids you have taught this year and the success stories you share with them.  A standard school bus has seating for 66 students.  Do you have 66 kids that you can honestly say were positively affected by your teaching?  Are there 66 kids in whose lives you have made a difference?  Are there 66 kids with whom you formed a tremendous relationship?  Are there 66 kids who made tremendous gains academically under your tutelage?  Are there 66 kids that grew as a person because of the example you set for them?  Are there 66 kids whose lives are better because you are in it?  Are there 66 kids who would list you as one of the best teachers they ever had?  Are there 66 kids who now have some direction because of your genuine care for them?  Are there 66 kids who would crawl over broken glass for you because they know that you would do that for them?  Are there 66 kids who look up to you as a role model?  Are there 66 kids that can say that your class was the best?  Are there 66 kids who you talked with every single day and asked them about their life?  Are there 66 kids that you phoned home about to tell their parents of the great job they were doing? Are there 66 kids who will forever be etched in your memory?   Start naming them. How many did you get to? In this business, you want your bus to be full every single year. You don’t want empty seats. Is your bus full?

Service Advice

When you have a problem with your car engine, you seek the advice of your optometrist.  When you have issues with your plumbing, you seek assistance from the mail carrier. When you have a toothache, you visit the baker.  When you have halitosis, you visit the psychiatrist. When you have issues with your car, you take it to the barber.  When you have the flu, you communicate with the traffic cop.  If you need legal assistance, you see the taxi driver. When you need help with your income tax return, you seek help from the roofer. If you need surgery, you schedule an operation with the carpenter. When you need help with your golf swing, you get lessons from the seamstress.   When you need to pour concrete, you seek out the nearest maker of fine chocolates.  When you cannot see straight, you go to the proctologist. Hmm, that last one may make sense.  Obviously, there is nothing logical about any of these.  Why?  In these examples, people are looking at the wrong source for assistance…kind of like asking me for advice on hair care.

It is important to seek advice from the right people. When teachers need assistance, where do they turn?  A wise man seeks the counsel of many…if they are qualified to give that counsel.  Never put yourself on an island.  Seek assistance when needed as there is no penalty for asking. In fact, it is encouraged.  We have so many talented people here to point you in the right direction.  Start with your teammates. They share the same kids. Try your department  colleagues. They share the same subject. Work with your grade level common subject area teachers. They share the same curriculum. Ask your Principal – he honestly cares about your growth as an educator.  As the school year approaches our final weeks, I am sure that you have reflected on the many lessons that you have taught and the many relationships that you have formed; both with students and staff.   You may be thinking, “How can I do that better?”  “How do I want the next school year to begin?” “What do I need to leave in and what do I need to leave out?” Toward the very end, pose these types of questions to your students. Ask them what lessons were most meaningful and which ones just didn’t move them. Warning on seeking advice – be prepared to hear some things that you did not expect to hear. Seek advice of the appropriate people.  They will give you the most meaningful advice.

Finish Strong!

What would you think about the home contractor who built a nice foundation, but from that point up, his work is pretty shoddy?  How about the marathon runner who sprints the first 285 yards and then walks the final 26 miles?  How about a baker whose products have an inviting aroma, but taste like they were half-baked?  How about the auto mechanic who changes your oil filter, but neglects to refill the engine oil?  How about the actress who does an excellent job in Act I, but never memorized her lines for the remainder of the play?  What would you think of the hostess who served undercooked food at a dinner party? How about the concrete crew who poured the cement for your new driveway, but failed to smooth it?  How about the tire center that only put 24 PSI of air in your tires instead of the standard 32? The fast food drive-thru that only gave you three- quarters of your order? The shoe store that gave you only one and three-quarters of shoes in the box?  The lawn crew who left 25% of your yard uncut?  In all of these, you are looking for someone to finish the job.

Now that the ISTEP is completed, many would think that the gig is essentially over.  Wrong!  There is still a job to finish!  Do this for the kids.  Do this for your colleagues.  Yes, it is understandable that there are some issues with having the state tests, the ones that are supposed to measure the academic achievement and academic progress of a student at a particular grade level over a school year in time is given in two parts – one 5 weeks before the end of the school year and one 12 weeks before we close up shop.   Now that the results are not expected back until sometime in the Fall, why not let us teach what needs to be taught until the end?  Let’s not go to the flaws of having two versions of the exam and two ways to take it and then compare the results as though everyone had the same playing field. Then, of course, the state insists on comparing growth on two different sets of standards rather than using this year as a base measure.  To say that some folks are disgruntled would be an understatement.  I have listened to and read opinions from colleagues around the state, parents, teachers, students, and the general public.  We have no control over these concerns and that is not what this message is about.  What we have now is an opportunity. Yes, we have an opportunity to make a difference.  Let’s face it – this may be the final chances that you will get to formally teach those kids that have been in your class since August. There is still a great deal more to teach our students this school year.  Think about those long-term goals that we are striving for in all subjects.  Think ahead of what these kids really need to successfully begin the next grade level.  Think about what they haven’t been taught yet in more than the academic sense.  Each grade level has some exciting events left.  Those are fairly large culminating projects that the kids have been working on for quite some time. It sends the wrong message to have “count down” calendars posted. The kids know how many days are left. We don’t need to advertise this.  We all need to finish strong with our best effort.  We need to finish the job.

Read the Fine Print

If your mailbox at home is like ours, it is filled with “special offers” almost on a daily basis.  These range from reductions on prices for oil changes, eyeglasses, sports physicals or dog neutering. Of course, the oil change does not cover synthetic oil, the eyeglasses are for single vision only, the sports physicals are between the hours of 1:00-1:15 p.m. and the dog neutering is only for dogs that do not have wet noses.  Maybe that junk mail is an offer for a special on laminate flooring installation, but the ends in 10 minutes and by the way, materials are extra.  How about five rooms of carpet cleaned for $119.00, but the fine print says up to a room size of 2” x 3” and only shag carpeting is included?  What about that “free” checking account?  Folks, there is no such thing.  The “$2.00 off any purchase of $15.00 or more”…if you pick up the entire dinner tab for the table next to you.  You get the point – there’s no such thing as a free lunch. If it’s too good to be true, then it is too good to be true.  This is not to say that all offers or coupons are bad, just be sure to read the fine print or you may be making payments on beach property in Nebraska. 

Take a look at your teacher contract.  The one that you signed.  In ink. With a date on it.  Within the contract is a bit of “legalese” verbiage such as “All of the terms of Chapter 182 of the Acts of 1915…” and “acts supplemental thereof and amendatory thereof” and a bit more that will exhaust you just deciphering it.  This is all under the title of “Regular Teacher’s Contract” (I would rather receive the “Exceptional” or Highly Effective” teacher contract, but I guess those don’t exist).  Regardless, in the entire contract it never really specifies what you are signing up for.  That’s where the beauty and dare I write, nobility, of being a teacher comes in. While others in different professions may say, “I didn’t sign up for that”, we cannot truly say so.  Yes, in signing up to be a teacher, we signed up for everything included in that.  Huh?  What’s “everything” mean?  I don’t know.  What comes your way.  We have to be the teacher in an academic sense.  We have to be the teacher in setting examples.  We have to the counselor.  We have to be the Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, or whatever gap needs to be filled.  We have to be the statistician. We have to be the planner. We have to be the mind reader. We have to be the support system.  We have to be a data analyzer. We have to be the communicator. We have to be….We just have to be whatever is needed.  Thanks for signing up.

Be Where Your Feet Are!

Roll Tide!  I have a direct connection to the University of Alabama football program.  My great uncle, Frank Thomas, was the Head Coach at Alabama from 1931-46 compiling a record of 115-24-7. His 1934 team finished 10-0 and beat Stanford in the Rose Bowl and was named national champions!  Prior to his coaching career, Uncle Frank played quarterback for Knute Rockne (yes, that Knute Rockne) at the University of Notre Dame from 1920-22.  One of his players – Paul “Bear” Bryant, who would later succeed Uncle Frank as Alabama’s coach.  Uncle Frank was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.  Today, there is a statue of him outside of Alabama’s stadium. He passed away in 1955 of heart and lung disease - missed him by three years. I would have loved to have known him by something other than family records and books.  The Crimson Tide of Alabama continue to be one of the top football programs in the country.  They are continually ranked near the top and this past year made it to the “final four” of college football. Their current Head Coach, Nick Saban, was interviewed just prior to their final game and made a comment that stuck with me.  He was asked how he had his team focus on the task at hand and not get caught up in the hype of all of the festivities. His response was simple – “I tell them every day to be where your feet are.”  With that, he ran off to join the team.

Be where your feet are.  We have a big week next week. Round two of ISTEP.  We cannot afford to not be focused in. We have to be where are feet are. Here’s how it works – the Department of Education combines the results of the first round of ISTEP with the second round for a total score.  It’s not really like a first half/second half thing; it all counts!  Instruct your students to be dialed in.  Instruct your students to take care of business.  Instruct your students to give their best effort.  Instruct your students to be on time and on task. Instruct your students to show all of their work as required and to submit complete answers; even the ones that have more than one answer!  Instruct them to show, in dramatic fashion, just what they have learned this year.  Okay, that’s the kid part.  What’s the teacher part?  Encourage your students before and during the test.  Be up and about during the test. It is a temptation to get on the computer and answer emails while the kids are testing. Wrong move. Take this opportunity to check their efforts.  It’s the little things that make the big differences. Tell your students that the expectation is that no one is finished with their test until you physically see it.  Make that the expectation.  If you want to see achievement and bubble growth, this is another opportunity to encourage your students and increase their confidence.  Don’t miss that opportunity.  Be where your feet are!

Going the Distance!

What is the longest distance that you have ever walked or jogged without stopping?  Hopefully, your answer is not “from the couch to the refrigerator!”  We have several staff members who are active runners and who have completed full marathons.  Here’s the old coach in me coming out.  There is a vast difference in training for a marathon (26.2 miles) and the shortest sprint in Track & Field (100 meters). It means very little to a marathoner if he or she covers the first 100 meters in 10 seconds (but if they did, I can tell you that they are in the wrong event!). The finish line is still over 26 miles away.  It’s not about where you start. It matters where you finish. The best coaches will plan training for their athletes in a backward manner starting with the ultimate championship race.  They schedule training by then working back to day one. The end goal is always in sight and all work is directed toward achieving that goal.  For a long distance runner, it is the ability to stick with it mile after mile that counts. Being steadfast, not just short sprinting, will determine the outcome. 

You may want to spend time with your classes impressing upon them that the long-term goals are what they are shooting for and that the daily goals factor toward achievement. Use a backward approach to teaching = determine what the desired outcomes are, then script the assessments, and finally plan your instructional route.  Of course, be mindful of informal and formative assessments to guide your plan along the way.  This school year is not a sprint, although some days and units will feel like it.  It doesn’t matter where you start. In fact, it is far too late to change that.  It matters where you finish.  No one remembers who won the first race, but they do remember who the state champion was (missed that personally by one place…still bugs me). Always keep the end goal in sight and all work is directed toward its achievement. Right now, we are just past the three-quarters race that we call a school year.  That’s like lap 7 in the 3200 or the gun lap in the 1600.  This is no time to take your foot off the pedal!  Be intentional. Be purposeful. Be prescriptive.  Be inspiring. Be creative. Be logical. Be a critical thinker.  Nothing can stop you with a great plan!

Tossing Things Overboard

You may have heard that items have been thrown overboard from ships when in rough seas.  What exactly would be thrown into the sea?  A non-specific list would simply be cargo, tackle, and food. Thus, I am not including the Boston Tea Party.   Why would the crew do that?  Well, most importantly, it would lighten the ship.  The heavier the ship, the deeper the ship will sit in the water.  That is especially problematic in shallow water. Tossing cargo overboard lifts the ship in case the ship is blown to less deep areas where reefs and rocks could cause destruction. If the ship ran aground, the crew could be tossed into the sea. The moral of the story:  when faced with life or death, everything becomes expendable.  Taking weight off the ship also results in stability and prevents the ship from being capsized.  Lastly, throwing cargo overboard would allow the ship to go faster just in case the crew wanted to outrun the storm.  This all makes me think about the 60’s show, Gilligan’s Island. What the heck, “The Professor” could make an FM radio out of a coconut, but he couldn’t fix a hole in a boat?  Lame as it gets.

What things do you need to toss overboard as a teacher? As the remaining time available wanes, there is just no time for meaningless activities.  So, what can you get rid of? No, you cannot toss the kids.  Explore first the lessons that just don’t engage the masses.  Activities that do not have a positive impact toward reaching the daily or long-term goals is a waste of cargo. Throw it overboard.  But I really like that activity. It’s fun. I do it every year because well, that’s what my plan book says. Dump it. Next, take a good look at the collection of “materials” that you have. We don’t want to see you anytime soon on Hoarders. If you haven’t used something in the last two years, zip that sucker over to the USS Dumpster.  What else can lighten your load?  Try looking at grading in more specific ways. If you are assessing correct usage of adverbs, then why grade an entire paper?  Save the big grades for the big grades.  Outrun that storm by focusing on what the assessment is all about.  If you are assessing a Math problem set of “the odds on page 213 from 1-23 and each problem requires the same processes, why grade all twelve when grading a few will get you the data that you need?  Throw that to “Davy Jones Locker”.  Keep looking for things to toss overboard besides your cookies. While you are at it, toss the Gilligan’s Island DVD collection.