Monthly Advice–January & February

Next month is Black History Month. Black History is American history. Black History is World History. So while learning and celebration, discussion and recognition, should happen all year, February is the focused time of the year.

As we gear up for Black History Month, I challenge all teachers, parents, families, and students to read stories by Black authors and to read about Black history–and when I mean history, I mean dig deep: go beyond the staple names you have heard year after year. Find a new story, a new person, a new part of history.

Elementary teachers, and secondary ELA and History teachers, are uniquely positioned to read to their students. Secondary teachers not in ELA and history, I challenge you to be seen reading such literature and histories.

Need some ideas? I found this list Top 150 Recommended African-American Children’s Books. I wish I had had this years ago! Some I know and love: Brown Girl Dreaming, One Crazy Summer, and Henry’s Freedom Box. Some are new and I can’t wait to read them!

Let’s make this the best Black History Month for all our students–let’s provide them, and ourselves, as many stories as possible, as many mirrors and windows as possible. . .

Conference List

Conferences are right around the corner–are you ready?

Have you contacted each parent, at least once, before conferences? Establishing a relationship is critical to conference attendance.
Do you have a conference schedule? Have you planned some make-up time–before and after your designated conference schedule?
Do you have snacks? Conferences can make the days long, snacks and water make the day manageable.
Do you have work samples? Work samples are excellent, critical, tools to demonstrate success and concern.
Do you have an up-to-date progress report? It can get lost in backpacks. Have one handy for families to review.
Do you have talking points? Having a concrete set of items to discuss, for all conferences or for particular students, helps guide the conversation and keep it focused.

Conferences are time-consuming endeavors. Staying organized keeps you organized and limits the amount of time wasted. Conferences are incredible moments of opportunity too. Being prepared, having clear talking points and examples, allows you to maximize this opportunity to further your partnership with families and to continue working towards a year of optimal learning and growth—for your students and your practice.

Academic Compassion

Reflect.

Today . . . do you know if your students . . .

have eaten breakfast?
brushed their teeth?
heard some praise?
managed to stay warm?
listened to a story?
solved a problem?
eaten lunch?
smiled?
spoken?
felt heard?
had a chance to be creative?
felt valued?
slept well last night?
will be able to sleep well tonight?

It’s not an exhaustive list. It’s not just a classroom list. It’s a list I am working on–it is my list to encourage academic compassion.

There are only 180 days of learning, for most of us. As teachers we feel this sense of urgency, there’s never enough time and there’s so much to do. As we plan and monitor the academic pace, the academic merit of our efforts, it can be easy to forget that our students are children. They are whole people with whole stories.

Some of our students are coming to an urgent learning environment tired, hungry, lonely, and/or distracted. And sometimes they’re just having a bad day.

Extra Money? Added Benefits?

I am a firm believer in making a little extra cash, a little extra money, on the side. Somehow. Whenever possible.

I don’t necessarily want a part-time job on top of teaching–though I have done it. I am not advocating it either, per se–I know we all have physical, emotional, and time constraints. However, if you are curious and you are interested, here are some education-based, money-making endeavors I have done . . . to earn just a little more money . . . and maybe a little more experience.

summer school: classic (great way to dip your toes into another grade!)
tutoring:
- after-school tutoring: classic (can be at your school, can be at another school–at another school is a great way to scout out other schools, or see how other schools in your neighborhood are doing)
- unaffiliated tutoring: this is what you find through your own network and is not necessarily affiliated with your school or your dominant subject matter. For instance, while I taught elementary I tutored a friend’s daughter in Algebra II, which led to tutoring a few of her daughter’s friends, once rumor spread I was helpful 😁.
- online tutoring: this can take many forms. I joined WyzAnt one year, I had some success. I have recently looked into VIPKid, DaDa ABC, and EF (Education First)–though I haven’t started anything on any of these platforms yet. The beauty of online tutoring is not being tied to a particular location, you don’t have to travel anywhere to earn money.
district training(s): during my second year of teaching I finally had room to breathe, to have some shorter days. I could have enjoyed some me-time away from work; instead, I pursued every kindergarten training available within the district. I earned a few hours of added pay, I gained a whole new world of ideas and professional development, I expanded my primary teacher network. Win-win-win!
teacher store: I have known a few teachers who have worked at their local teacher store — Lakeshore, Learning is Fun. It was not an option for me, given my schedule and needs, but I will add it to the list for inspiration.

If you have the time and the energy, if your schedule and life circumstances permit it, I like to encourage you, people, anyone, to pursue added money-makers. Every little bit helps–and sometimes it’s not even the money that becomes the goal or the achievement, sometimes these added pursuits can lead to a new job opportunity, more ideas, and more connections–and these are some amazing added benefits too.

Monthly Advice–October

If you started in August, you’ve had almost two months of school already. If you started in September, a month. Simple math.

Regardless of when you started, here’s a friendly reminder: check your gradebook.

At this point every child needs a few grades, a few items in their portofolio, and a note or two on their progress. Check your gradebook and records, make sure you’re up-to-date.

The first couple of months are filled with adjustments and changes that can overwhelm teachers and students alike. So take a cursory look, just make sure everything is in order as we enter progress report season.