Day 89: Amy Wray, 2nd Grade Teacher

Are you having a laugh?

http://www.kansasbob.com/2013/05/lol-its-good-for-you.html

My laugh is something that people "remember" about me. I can't say I am always proud of it ;-). Some say it's infectious, some say it brings a smile to their face, and some (possibly my teenage daughter) say it's loud and annoying.  

However, it's a part of me and my daily life.  We spend a large amount of our time at work and with our kids. I feel like it's important to incorporate humor and fun into each and every day.  

Recently a former student came to read to my second grade class.  When he was finished my class commented on his reading and asked some questions.  When the kids were finished asking questions, it was my turn.  Even though I like to have fun, I have high expectations! I asked my former student if he felt prepared for third grade.  He said he did feel prepared.  I asked if he thought I was too hard on them?  

"NO WAY!", he said.  "We always had fun in here!"  

That meant more to me than any test any day!!!  Laughter is the best medicine!  Find a reason to laugh today!

Day 87: Tabatha Stover, 1st Grade Teacher at Hilliard Horizon Elementary

What my students have taught me! 

And how many of these lessons have been more beneficial than 100's of hours of course work.

From http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8251/8545067064_4b3f5f8a6b_n.jpg

I have been blessed to be a teacher at Hilliard Horizon for almost twelve years.  When I started teaching I was eager to share my knowledge and love of learning with my students.  I quickly discovered they had more to teach me than I had to teach them.  

I have spent hours, days, and years reflecting, refining, and learning how to be an effective teacher.  However, it was my students who taught me to listen enthusiastically and to embrace everyone's ideas.  They taught me to see the joy in the smallest accomplishment; to take time to celebrate ourselves and others.  

I have learned that learning is a journey full of bumps, mistakes, and re-dos.  I have learned to enjoy each new personality, to take a moment to learn something new about someone else.  The most important knowledge I gained for my students;  learning is a collaborative process and I am merely a participant.      

Day 84: Deb Lairson, Intervention Teacher

Front Porch Reflections

Hi everyone!  I am a teacher at Ridgewood Elementary.  I am friends with Mr. Higginbotham and he told me all about this blog last summer.   I was really excited about the opportunity to share new learning, so I told him that I would post on the blog.  Here it is!!!  :) 

            When I think about learning, I think about so many different things.  I learn something new almost every day.  Most of the time, learning feels great!  Sometimes though, learning is tough.  That’s when the learning happens the hard way…  When you learn something the hard way, it does not always feel so good. 

            I love to learn by watching things on YouTube!  I learned how to install a new light in my daughter’s bedroom.  When I was done, I was so excited!  I did it all by myself!  I was able to learn how to do something without a professional nearby.  My teacher was a man on a video.  I felt so accomplished, that I decided to give it another try. 

            The paint on my front porch is beginning to peel away from being there for a long time in all kinds of weather.  I got on youtube and looked up “How to repaint peeling trim on a house”.  Sure enough, there were many videos to watch.   I watched three and felt like I was ready.  I went to Home Depot to get the things I would need.  Then I prepared my things and got started.  I was using a tool to peel away the old paint and it was working just like the man on the video said it would…  until I went a little too far and left a gash in the woodwork.  :(  I was very sad.  I learned a very important lesson though.  

            I am still working on my project, but I am approaching it in a very different way.  I didn’t just learn how to take old, chipping paint off of the trim.  I learned that you have to do it slowly and carefully.  You can’t rush.  I may have learned it the hard way, but I still learned.  :) 

            Remember that when you are frustrated with something that you are trying to learn.  It might not always feel good, but when you learn it, it is worth all of the hard work. 

Deb Lairson is an Intervention Teacher at Ridgewood Elementary in Hilliard, Ohio.   

 

Day 82: What We've Learned from HZN165

The Finish Line

In September, we set out to start a blog that would share the learning that takes place at Hilliard Horizon Elementary.  The idea came from a couple of other blogs that set out to share what they were learning everyday.  It has been a great experience and we have learned so much about ourselves and each other.

We are officially at day 165 on the project timeline.  So at the end, I'd like to share what we've learned from this project.

165 days was ambitious, but a worthy goal.  With 82 stories, it's easy to see that we didn't quite make it to 165.  However, I can tell you that even though we didn't post a story of learning every school day, great things happened at Horizon everyday -- more than what can be counted or captured in a story.

Failure is natural and should be embraced.  Did we meet our goal to publish a story every school day?  No.  But it's important to remember the original vision of the project: to share our stories with the world and to show that a learning community goes beyond the walls of the school.  In that respect, we succeeded.  We connected with 24 different countries, making our audience worldwide.  When we continue this project next school year, I doubt we will be as ambitious with the number of stories we aim to publish.  But how would we have known what was possible without setting a goal?  So did we fail? Yes, but failure is a natural part of learning and it can be a powerful force if we choose to learn from our failures.

Connecting our learning community to social media helped us to be lead learners.  Through this blog, we modeled how to interact with social media for our students and our community.  Let's face it: there are more poor examples of how to interact through social media than there are good examples.  By using Blogger, Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, and Twitter to promote what we were learning and doing as a learning community, we modeled responsible use of social media for our kids.  We hope to build on this experience and continue to be the lead learners in this area to help our students engage with the world in a positive and productive way.

Finally, thanks to those of you who shared in our learning this school year.  We appreciate the support for the blog through your frequent visits.  You helped prove to us that our stories matter.  And, of course, thank you to those of you who published a story on the blog this year.  We couldn't have done this project without your support.

Have a great summer and we'll see you next school year!

Day 78: 2nd Grade Student Reflection

Learning the Power of Setting Goals

A student in Mrs. Potter's 2nd Grade Class wanted to share how he set a goal for himself to go above and beyond when it comes to meeting the expectations for behavior in his class.

Here's his submission:

"One day I set a goal for myself and I learned [I] learned to try to get a certificate and I reached my goal.  I learned that if I try I will reach my goal."

He shared that it was hard sometimes to work towards his goal.  "I got frustrated when I saw others [doing well].  But I set my goal and I got to be student of the month."

This 2nd grader has learned that setting goals for himself can help him stay focused on what he wants to accomplish and that hard work pays off.

Day 71: Reflecting on Math

Doing my taxes helped me understand kids who sometimes struggle with math.

I don't know what got into me.  One beautiful, cold January morning, I decided to begin working on filing my income taxes.  I didn't know it would take me 5 solid hours, which made me regret even starting on the task.  However, I found myself thinking the same thought  the entire time: This must be what kids feel like when they don't get math.

I can't count how many times I was frustrated and didn't know what to do next.  I crumpled paper, grumbled, and got up just to get away from the problem.  Midway through, I began to keep track of all of the things I had to do just to get through my math problem:

• Got up/moved around
• crumpled paper
• bent paper clips
• worked out math on scrap paper
• asked a question on Google
• looked up two forms on the IRS website
• talked to my wife 
• played Angry Birds online
• searched for child care documents
• used a calculator
• got a drink of water
• ate lunch
• took a break by checking Google News 
• reorganized personal files

Looking back at the list shows me that I like to have the chance to get away from the problem to give my brain a break and that I needed lots of tools to complete the task (one other tool I didn't mention was that I used an online tax prep service to "tutor" me through all of this).

When I think about my experience, I started to think, "This is probably the same way kids are feeling sometimes."  Also, look back at all of the things I needed just to be successful on my math problem.  It helped me understand just how important it is to give kids access to tools and allow them enough time to be successful with their math problems.  

Day 58: "The Purple Scarf"

Today's post is from Kelli Litterer, Reading Intervention teacher at Hilliard Horizon

The Purple Scarf

I wore a scarf today.  Not the kind you wear to keep warm.  It was a “fashion” scarf, the kind you wear all day.  This may not seem like a big deal, but in a way it was for me.  See, I don’t really like scarves.  That’s not exactly true, though, because I do like them on other people and I’ve even bought a few. I don’t wear them because I don’t really like things bunched around my neck.  I also don’t wear them (and this is the real reason) because I don’t really know how to tie them and wear them with confidence.  I bought a beautiful purple scarf in December.  I looked at it every day in my closet.  I kept finding outfits it would look great with.  Still... I kept chickening out.  Until today.  For some reason I decided to wear it today and you know what?  It looked good! 

If you’ve read this far -- thank you!  You hung in there even though you probably didn’t know what Mrs. Litterer wearing a purple scarf to school could possibly have to do with Horizon’s 165 Days of Learning.  Here’s what I learned today:  I was reminded of how kids feel every day.  They are nervous.  They are wondering what others think of them.  They want to fit in.  They take chances in their learning and step out of their comfort zones.  I was reminded of how I felt in the days when I was more anxious to try new things yet sometimes unsure.  I am so impressed with our students here at Hilliard Horizon!  They come in to school with a positive attitude (usually!) and every day they put themselves out there.  They share their ideas, they display their work, they listen to constructive criticism, and they keep trying new things.  They do this with confidence, excitement, and even with butterflies in their stomachs.  They do this with the support of the amazing adults in our building as a safety net. 

As adults, I think we occasionally forget what it’s like to do that every day.  We get in our comfort zones and tend to do what we’re used to.  I stepped out of my zone in a small way today.  I like the way I felt.  It makes me want to try other new things. 

Yet again, the teacher learns from the student.