#TEACH

I just finished watching TEACH on CBS tonight, and I have a mixture of emotions.  I felt proud to be one teacher in that profession.  I felt honored to have the profession I love celebrated this way.  I felt concern that there are people who don't feel the same way about teaching who would say, "Whoop-de-do!  My job is important too," and "Now teachers will walk around thinking they're something so special." I also felt grief watching the teachers and students on the show say their goodbyes at the end of the school year.  Although I look forward to a break and warmer weather, I don't look forward to parting ways with my students.

I also felt worried that perhaps I'm not a great, or even good teacher because I didn't seem as outwardly stressed about the test scores as the teachers profiled on the show had.  Or am I?  Perhaps I don't show emotion or wring my hands while they're taking tests or as I'm getting the first glance of their scores, but that doesn't mean my mind isn't going at full throttle.  That doesn't mean that I don't seek advice from other teachers, no matter whether or not they have more years in the classroom than I do, on how to deal with a child's struggles, whether academically or behaviorally.  That doesn't mean I'm not scouring the Internet looking for ideas to get their attention, to motivate them, to engage them, and keep them that way.

I've been teaching, as a classroom teacher, an ESL teacher, and a Resource Room educational technician, and as a substitute, for 11 years, this year being my 8th year in my own classroom.  During much of that time I've been a student as well.  Even now as I'm finished my Master's Degree, I feel I'm still a student, learning a new math and spelling program, for example.  But I'm also learning about different classroom strategies that will help make a difference in my student's learning.  Searching for ways to turn my classroom around to be a more student-lead environment, and for ways to reach all of my students, and the whole student.

I guess after having watching the 2-hour special (which I've also recorded in case there was something I wanted to get a closer look at), it's helped me to reflect on my own teaching, how I think about teaching, my past attempts at making my teaching better, and especially how to reach individuals rather than a group.  This leads me to ask...

1- What more can I do?

2- What am I doing right?

3- What am I doing wrong?

4- Am I forgetting anyone?

5- Do I make all of my students feel valued?

6- Do I make an effort to make sure ALL students are reached, and to take their individuality into consideration?

Perhaps I'm being too hard on myself, or not.  Perhaps I'm just trying to sort everything out, or perhaps it's just a Friday night that was so filled with emotions for me, and a wonderful program that made me think.

Excited about science!

A few years back when I was teaching middle school language arts, I joined my science teacher friend at a 4-day workshop 6 hours south from my home.  Granted one of the motivators of taking the workshop was that it was an "vacation" with a friend away from home, near the ocean, free of charge, and I was getting paid a stipend from the organization giving the training after all was said and done.

Aside from the immediate and monetary benefits of attending the workshop, it was an opportunity to be trained in something science related, which appealed to me as a language arts teacher who loves science, and that uses technology.  It also is a way for my students to have an impact on their community and have a genuine purpose for their inquiry-based learning and exploring.

Now that I'm being relocated to another building in my district, I'm excited to get started.  I was so overwhelmed with my own learning last year, that I didn't get the opportunity to even consider implementing the unit in my class.   This school is located near a boat landing on a river, and has a wooded area near our playground.  These are perfect locations for my 4th graders and I to look for native and invasive species in both plants and aquatic animals.

The whole purpose of the unit is for students to identify species of plants, insects, or aquatic animals, by using species cards. They collect data, draw the species, use the species cards to determine if they have found or not found the species they were looking at, as well as include the coordinates of where the species was found.  All of this data is uploaded to the website called Vitalsignsme.org and is eventually verified whether it was found or not.  

It's a process, but after all is said and done, students have helped their community, both local and state, by identifying a species, and if it is an invasive species, then scientists in our state know where it is found and can monitored.  The unit can be kept as a small unit, or one that is on-going throughout the school year.  The thing is, in our area, we have snow for a large part of the school year, so we can't continue our investigations until the spring.

As for where it falls in the standards, it includes writing for an audience, student-driven investigations, use of technology, as well as collecting data and making graphs to represent data.  Depending on how in-depth the teacher wants to take the lessons, depends on how cross-curricular it becomes.

The training I received provided me with materials, such as cameras, GPS devices, contraptions for collecting aquatic plants and capturing aquatic animals.  The website itself provides tons of materials for teachers, citizen scientists, students, and anyone who wants to participate in any way.

I feel it's the perfect unit to begin the school year with, and one that can be my signature unit.  No one else in my new district knows about Vitalsignsme.org or how to perform the lessons.  Although it was originally designed for middle level to high school students, I can see how it can be easily adjusted for upper-level elementary grades, too.  You're welcome to check out the site.  I recently did an investigation for Cow's Parsnip, or Indian Celery, and I'm just waiting for someone to review my data and verify whether or not I've identified it properly.