5:1

Have you ever felt annoyed with someone due to something they said or did only to realize the same comment/action probably would not have bothered you had it been said or done by someone else? I have realized throughout my life that 'friends' are able to say and do things that I would find upsetting if they were done by 'non-friends.'Now, in many ways this makes perfect sense and it is logical to think that 'friends' have different boundaries due to our friendship than 'non-friends.'

Psychologist Dr. John Gottman has found that a ratio of 5:1 for positive to negative interactions can predict whether or not a marriage will survive. His research looks specifically at marriage but researcher Dr. Barbara Fredrickson has similar data that takes the 5:1 ratio even farther.  According to her research 3:1 is the ratio needed for flourishing.  This, she says, is true in all situations: relationships, business, at home and at work.  3:1, 5:1.  Think about all of the interactions you have throughout a day.  How many would you classify as positive?  How many are negative?  When I think back to "bad" days, it almost always comes down to these ratios.  Days that are filled with positive interactions are fun and enjoyable.  Days that are filled with negative interactions are stressful, frustrating and exhausting.

Go back to that time a person annoyed you because they said or did. Think back to all of your interactions with that person.  How many were positive?  How many were negative?  When I think about the situation the other day when I became frustrated because of something someone said, I realize that I have not had many positive interactions with this person.  I would not qualify our interactions as negative necessarily, but they are not overly positive.  I would qualify them as 1 negative and many neutral interactions.  For me, I think this is exactly why I became frustrated.  It was a negative interaction without positive ones to counteract it.

Joshua Medcalf (Train to Be Clutch) introduced me to this concept of positive interaction ratios through two of his books ('Burn Your Goals' and 'Chop Wood, Carry Water.')  This information was eye opening to me and made me better understand moments when I was feeling frustrated or stressed.

As teachers it is easy to focus on what our students are not doing and sometimes it feels impossible to create a positive interaction, but this research proves how important it truly is for ourselves and our students.  I know how I feel when the majority of my interactions with my husband are negative.  Now, imagine how a student feels has they go through a day at school and they receive only a few positive comments but are constantly corrected.

I have found that class goes smoother and I feel better when I am focusing on giving my students positive feedback.  It is not always easy, but I have found hammering students on all the things they are doing wrong is also not beneficial.  As I finish my first week back since Winter Break, I am going to continue to focus on being more intentional on giving positive feedback.  Humans in general are not told often enough about all the great things we are doing.  Yes, we can all get better and we all have room to grow, but we are also already doing great things.  We need to take small moments to enjoy and acknowledge these acts of greatness.

Expectations

The last few weeks I have found myself starting my morning off in a cranky mood because I kept feeling behind.  It took me a while to figure out why I was feeling this way.  I was expecting way too much from myself and getting mad when things did not work out the way I had planned.  I am a believer in high expectations, but expectations also need to be realistic.

My Mourning Plan

Get up at 5 am

Workout, read, shower, get myself ready for school, pickup around the house, do dishes, clean the kitchen, make breakfast, pack lunches and pack the diaper bag.

6:40 am

Wake up my daughter (if she is still sleeping:), get her dressed and ready to go and feed her breakfast.

7:00 am

Walk out the door to drop kiddo off at daycare on my way to school.

Now, maybe I am an underachiever, but after writing down this list I quickly realized why I was stressed out.  I was expecting way too much to happen in a very short amount of time.  These expectations left me constantly frustrated and rushed.  Once I realized the issue, I was able to create a better morning routine which has been helping me start my day more relaxed.

How often do we do this with our families and students.  We have crazy expectations and get mad when they do not achieve them.  Yes, we need to push them, but we also need to look at what we are asking of them and make sure it is logical.  We also need to make sure that those around us truly know what we expect of them.  We may think we have been clear, but sometimes we are not and it is vital that others clearly know what to expect.

Podcast Favorites

I have been listening to a lot of podcasts lately. Right now I am listening to a lot of self help, productivity, health/fitness and education podcasts.  I find that shorter podcasts are easier for me to listen to, so I tend to listen to more of those than thirty minute interviews.

What are your favorite podcasts?

The following is a list of my top ten podcasts. These are not in any particular order, but they are ones that I routinely listen too.

My Top 10 1. 5 AM Miracle
2. EduAll Stars
3. The Project Life Mastery Podcast
4. Love and Logic
5. Rapid Fire
6. Switch on Pop
7. Take Back Your Life
8. The Charged Life
9. The City Church
10.  The Productive Women

The Breakup

You know those moments that follow a breakup? The days, weeks and months that are filled with doubt, confusion and emotion. The questions...

Why was I not good enough?
Why didn't they stay?
What did I do wrong?
Why?

I find myself recovering from a breakup, but not one with a person. In May my school district and I broke up. It was a mostly peaceful split but it still took me months to come to terms with my emotions. I realize I still have issues to overcome.

Budget cuts are never fun and being a music teacher, I feel like my job is always on the line. I realize now that this experience is shading how I view issues now and that is something I am trying hard to change.

At the end of the day, it was not my performance that caused me to loose my job. I know this is a fact, but it is still tough to accept. There is still a feeling of rejection, like I was not good enough and this emotion shows up every time I have a challenging lesson. The doubts sneak in. The questions pop up.

Maybe I'm not as good as I thought I was. Maybe I didn't work hard enough.
Maybe I need to find a new profession.
Maybe I made too many mistakes.
Maybe I'm not meant to be a teacher or a coach. 

Maybe this is why I was riffed.
Maybe...

Rejection is never easy and I am slowly working my way through this experience.  How do you deal with rejection? Two things that have helped me are reflecting and writing in a journal. Rejection is a fact of life and I will learn from this experience and move on. It will not define me. Time to focus on the present and not dwell in the past. This year is full of great opportunities with a new district.

Autonomy

According to the Webster Dictionary; Autonomy is "the state of existing or acting separately from others. : the power or right of a country, group, etc., to govern itself."

I will be honest, I never really understood this word until recently when my husband explained it to me.  I remember being in interviews and making up answers because I didn't understand the word.  Now I get it and after reading 'Drive' and 'The Fireproof Teacher' I have a better understanding of myself and my desire for autonomy.

One of my first jobs was teaching in a district with three elementary music teachers and it was a huge challenge.  Not only was I a young teacher, I felt like I was always being compared to those teachers in my district.  I figured out quickly that I prefer a situation where I am the only elementary music teacher in the district.  I love learning from other teachers, but I prefer when I can do my own thing and not have group lessons.

One of my favorite school activities is setting up my classroom and creating bulletin boards.  I realized after reading both of these that this is in large part because of I have complete autonomy over when I work, how I work and where I work.  This is also why I enjoy teaching music as much as I do.  What I teach is not dictated to the degree that other subjects.

An important concept to remember is that not all people and not all teachers like autonomy? What side do you fall on?  I have realized that my stress level is significantly higher when I feel like I do not have autonomy over my career.  How do you help put yourself in autonomous situations?

Day 14: Why I Teach....

I recently read a blog post that said your WHY has to be big enough to get you out of bed each morning.

Why do I teach?

It may have taken me a few years to figure out, but my why has always been for my students.  I was fortunate to have a few great teachers and I am the product of their dedication.  I hope to repay this influence on my students. 

The extra parts of being an educator tend to add stress to my life, but my students are the entire reason why I continue to work hard and why I show up each morning.

I teach for Mallory, Lane, Michael and all students who have entered my room.

No News is Good News

Lately I have been very frustrated.  I realized over spring break that a lot of this frustration stems from not feeling appreciated.  One quote that I grew up with was the idea that "No News is Good News."  If they are not telling you things you are doing wrong, than you must be doing things right.

I understand the purpose behind this quote, but is it really what is best for humans?  I asked my students today (3rd graders) how many of them ever felt unappreciated and I was saddened by how many raised their hands.

People want to know they are doing the right thing, they want to know people are noticing their actions.

I recently read about a study that found that 5:1 is the perfect ratio for positives to negatives when it comes to performance.  I read somewhere else that when you get to a 2:1 (it might have been 3:1, I can't remember exactly) is a state of clinical depression.

If I asked you to remember events from last week/last month/last year, what would you remember first?  The good memories or the bad ones?  Our brains are wired to remember the negative.  We remember when we felt embarrassed, hurt, sad or when things went badly.  This does not mean that bad things happen more than the good, it simply means that we are focusing more of our energy on these times.

The study on the ratio of positive to negative interactions really struck me as a teacher an a person.  Think about one of your classes.  Now, think about "that kid."  You know the one I mean.  The one who can't sit still, can't raise their hand before speaking out, the one who has to constantly be reminded of something.  Now, think about list from their perspective.  How many times a day is their behavior corrected (this is a negative interaction)?  How many times are they told something positive?

I see my students for 40 minutes two times a week and I can tell you right now I know there are students who hear way too many negatives from me compared to positives.  It makes me sad to even consider what the ratio may be.  It is not even close to 5 positives to ever negative.

We need to stop living in a world where no news is good news.  We need to share with our students and our communities about the positive things that are happening.  It is better for our students and it is the only way the community will hear about the great things going on in our schools.

Thank you for reading!

We Are Not Peers

I recently read "He's the Weird Teacher" by Doug Robertson. (Yes, this is my second blog post related to this book and no I am not receiving and money for publicizing his book :)

Part of me has always struggled with coworkers.  I am almost always the youngest on staff (or one of the youngest) and I have a hard time relating myself as an equal to those who are old enough to be my parents.  I also have a hard time relating to my principals and those in administration.  As much as I would like to be "friends" with those I work with, those in administration are the ones who sign the dotted line that allows me to have a job the following year.  For this reason alone, I will always be guarded when speaking to them.

I have worked in schools that had a traditional principal and one that had more of a head teacher.  I felt more comfortable with this setup because that "head teacher" was still teaching daily.  I was also confident they were an amazing teacher and I did my best to learn from her everyday.

After reading "He's the Weird Teacher" I started wondering if I have been thinking about this all wrong.

Is it possible to be "friends" with your principal/administration?  Is it necessary?  Should we think of principals as former teachers or is it a whole different position and therefore we should not relate as peers?  Is it like relating to upperclassman when you are a freshman or relating to college students (who you are not peers with)?

At the end of the day, the principal is the one who evaluates me and signs my contract, so I have a hard time considering myself a peer.  Maybe this feeling will change after I am in the classroom longer.

I Am the Drummer of a Never Ending Jazz Ensemble

I recently read the book "He's the Weird Teacher" by Doug Robertson.  During one of the first chapters, he talks about his philosophy as a teacher.  I don't want to give away his "secret" and I encourage you to read the book.  Great investment or time and money!

I did take his idea and adjusted it for my own situation.  What I really liked about his philosophy is that it is simple and not a cliche.

I Am the Drummer of a Never Ending Jazz Ensemble

Being part of a Jazz Ensemble is something special.  Music has its own language and being part of an ensemble takes cooperation, listening and improvisation.  Improvisation is a great philosophy for learning.  A joke in college when I was just learning how to play Jazz was that you are only a half step away from the right note.  Learning is the same way.  We try things and mess up and although we feel we are far from being "right," we are only a half step from figuring it out.

I am the drummer.  I am the leader.  I set the tone.  I set the tempo.  I set the mood.  All of these characteristics are true for the drummer in a band and the teacher.  

Learning is a never ending journey.  This is the greatest gift we can give students and people in general.  Learning has no finish line. 

Parable

Is it worth my time if only 1 student learns?

Is it worth my time if only 1 student is impacted?

Is it worth my time if I only help 1 student?

Is it worth my time if I only help 1 coworker?

Is it worth my time if only 1 person notices?


My Time is Valuable...

Are all students worthy of my best energy and focus?

Are all coworkers worthy of my best energy and focus?

State Testing

I completely agree that our students, teachers and schools need to be held accountable, but I don't agree that weeks of testing are the answer.  In my experience, I have seen very little positive impact of these tests.  When I was a student, these tests were a mere blimp on the radar.  Now, these tests take up months of class time.

Here are my questions and thoughts regarding standardized tests.

• Why are people outside of classrooms in charge of making decisions?
• Why are outside people not allowed inside our classrooms when we are PARCC testing?
• Why do we thinking testing is the answer?
• If standardized tests are an accurate measure of learning than students who receive and A or B in their classes should have to issues.
• Core subjects seems to be an acronym for tested subjects and these are the subjects that "really matter."
• Testing reminds students that they are not good at something.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the PARCC test.  As educators we need to use our voices in a beneficial way.  Although I am not sure what the best course of action is, I do believe knowledge is power.

March, April and May

All over the country teachers are being told that their contracts will not be renewed due to budget cuts. One of the podcasts I listen to often talks about the "Obituary Project" where you write down how you want people to remember you.

Even if you will be at the same school next year, you have three months to leave a positive impact on your students.

What will you do with these three months?  How do you want your students to remember you?  How do you want your coworkers to remember you? How do you want the parents and community to remember you?

iDoceo

The ultimate goal for my classroom is that assessments will be snapshots of the learning journey and this information will be used as a guide to shape future activities.

I still struggle with the concept of grading participation. I know some students can sit their and still learn while others need to be actively involved. I have started "grading" participation with the intention of tracking behavior.  I only downgrade for misbehavior. I try to give my students the benefit of the doubt.  In my opinion, not participating is different than causing a distraction for the class.

I have started using the iPad App iDoceo and I absolutely love it!  This app allows me to take pictures of my students and use them for seating charts.  I am a visual person and this helps me remember names.  This app also allows me to customize grades, add notes to specific assignments, add notes to specific grades and to use images for grades, which is very helpful for quick assessments.

How do you keep track of student growth in your classroom? 

Thank you for reading.

Christmas Program 2014

Typically I hate themes, but I saw this idea in a Facebook Group and it became stuck in my head. This year I am going to do "A Night at the Movies" for my Elementary Christmas Program.  There are so many great choices for music so I am very excited for the program.

Kindergarten
All I Want For Christmas Are My Two Front Teeth from Alvin and the Chipmunks

Jingle Bell Rock from Home Alone

Kindergarten & First Grade

Feliz Navidad from Feliz Navidad

First Grade Scarves- Dance of the sugar plum fairies from the Nutcracker
White Christmas (with unpitched percussion) from White Christmas

Second Grade
Do You Want To Build a Snowman? (with boomwhackers) from Frozen
Carol of the Bells (on Boomwhackers) from Home Alone
Somewhere in my memory from Home Alone

Third Grade Silent Night (chimes and singing) from White Christmas
Jingle Bells (chimes and singing) from White Christmas

Fourth Grade When Christmas Comes Around from Polar Express
Little Drummer Boy (on Recorder) from Little Drummer Boy
Buckets to Trepak from Nutcracker

Choir
Where are you Christmas? from How the Grinch Stole Chrismas

Lessons From Observation #1

Two weeks ago I had my first formal observation of the year. As a non tenured teacher (Illinois does not have tenure in the traditional sense but it impacts how often a teacher is observed). According to my district's evaluation tool, I was rated an excellent teacher. Some days I feel like I deserve this title and others (like today) I feel like anything but an excellent teacher.

Do you learn from your observations? I am a busy person and I hate feeling like my time is being wasted. I have decided to make myself learn from this experience (even though I want to feel like it is a waste of time.)

I was complimented for getting to my students level and correcting them individually. I realized I don't do this all of the time and I need to make more of an effort to jot take the "easy" way out.

I was complimented for being organized and using technology in a positive way. I know I am not always as organized as I could be and this was a reminder that I need to be.

Observations are a snap shot of me as a teacher. I need to remember this feelings and and use it when I relate to my students. A class, project or activity is only a snapshot of their achievement in my class. I need to make sure I do not let a small piece of data to define them.

Thank you for reading.

My Problem with Student Growth

I love watching my daughter learn new things. At four months old she is just now realizing what surrounds her.

Children (people) learn and it does not always matter who is around them. Yes, great teachers help, but kids are going to learn because that is what kids do.

My problem with Student Growth being tied to teacher evaluation is that it makes it sound like teachers are the only one in control of students learning. If you take a class of students who are from stable healthy families, eat filling meals and are nurtured; they are going to learn more if they have a great teacher rather than an average or bad teacher. Sadly, not all of our students live in this environment.

Students will learn and they will grow as they are ready. Yes, we should aim to put high quality teachers in every classroom, but please realize that teachers are not in complete control.

Thank you for reading.

App: Simple Mind +

The first project I had my music appreciation students complete was a Musician Family Tree Project. They had to research and artist and find out who influenced them. Through and Twitter conversation on Twitter I discovered the app Smart Mind. It is a mind mapping application,  but I had my students use it to create a tree of who influenced their musicians. I love free apps! This one is great and easy to use. Plus it is another great example of thinking outside of the box when using an app. 

Here is my example of the Musician Influence Tree I made for my class. 

Day 339: New Ideas for Gamification (Technology Tuesday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 339/365

Technology Tuesday

Last year I started using gamification in my media class during second semester. This year I plan on using it all year.

I like that gamification allows me 1:1 time with my students and it allows students to work at their own pace, which is a skill many of my students struggle with.

Things I am changing this year...

-This year I am going to have worlds instead of levels and each world will be a collection of projects using a specific tool: docs, spreadsheet,  slides, calendar, maps, coding, sites and audio/visual.

-Students will earn badges for showing mastery on different tools.

-I am brainstorming ways to add powers to my setup. Students will be able to "buy" powers with their achievement points: pick where to sit and other things like that.

-We will use Edmodo for our LMS. I will use groups to organize students and their assignments.

How do you use gamification in your classroom?

Thank you for reading.

Day 335: Be The Change

Daily Blog Challenge Day 335/365

I have accepted a challenge and I urge everyone to take on the challenge too.

Be the change you want to see...

If you want to see people be kind, be the kindest.
If you want to see teachers teach a certain way, teach that way.
If you want teachers to use technology, use technology.
If you want to see your players work hard, work hard yourself.

This year I am challenging myself to teach the way that I think teachers should teach: to have high standards for our students, to use technology, to be kind, to treat people well and to share my passion with my students.

What change do you want to see?

Thank you for reading.

Day 326 Is This Normal?

Daily Blog Challenge Day 326/365

I am the proud (and tired) mother of a five week old baby girl. Since June 18th I can't even begin to count how many times I have asked my mom, doctors and friends "is this normal?"  I learned very quickly that normal does not really exist when it comes to babies. Just when I get used to something she would do, she grows and starts doing something new.

What if we got rid of the word "normal" from our vocabulary and from our schools? What if we just saw each child as they are and each experience as a chance to learn?  I believe this change could be powerful. Instead of labels, we try to help each other grow and learn. In the end, who can really define normal? We are all "normal" in our own way.

Thank you for reading.