Teacher Doing What They Love Best

       Public schools are filled with great teachers who love to teach.  Third grade teachers who, "Love the 3rd Grade." and high school teachers who, "Love to teach Biology." and (yes) lots of middle school teachers who, "Love Middle School."  I've put these sentences in quotes because very often I hear teachers make these statements.

       Sometimes people who don't work in education can't believe it when they hear teachers talk about how much they love working with students.  Maybe this is because they have a negative attitude toward children or teenagers.  Maybe this is because television and movies have portrayed school classrooms as disorganized and chaotic.  But the truth is that many teachers love what they do and they love to help students to learn.

       Parents are much more comfortable with school when they know that their children have excellent and caring teachers.  Students do much better academically when they have knowledge teachers that love what they do.  As a country, we succeed when we have a well education population and that begins with teachers.

       Everyone remembers their favorite teacher.  Who was your favorite teacher?  It was probably a person who was very nice; who loved teaching; who loved being with students; and who made an effort to really get to know you.  Great teachers have a great influence on people and (by extension) on our society.  Teachers make a difference everyday.

       I am thankful for the great teachers in our public schools who love what they do everyday.

We Want to See You Everyday

     Public schools have something for everyone.  Aside from the "core four" subjects of Math, Science, English, and Social Studies, schools offer Art, Music, Physical Education, and Foriegn Language.  But even more than that, schools at every level offer all sorts of clubs and teams and groups for students to join and to learn more about.

     While school is mandatory for all students, we know that students will not come to school everyday if they don't feel a good and positive connection to their school.  We also know that students who come to school everyday tend to have better grades (see chart).

     Of course, it makes sense that you have to be in school to learn.  We know that students who are absent a lot, often struggle to keep up academically.

     Sometimes we have students who struggle in their core-four subjects, but love Art and Music and come to school everyday because they don't want to miss their Art and Music classes.  Even these students will do better in Math and Science than students with poor attendance--just because they come to school everyday.  And maybe as they grow up, they will learn to actually enjoy their Math and Science classes more!

     Every day counts in school; every day is important.  And, we want to see you everyday because we like to see your smiliing faces too!  So come to school to learn, to play, to socialize, to be on team--but be sure to come to school everyday.

We Teach All Students

     A business executive comes to a high school to say that students graduate without the skills they need to succeed in the business world--the World of Work.  He says, "If I had employees that didn't do their job, I would fire them."  "In fact," he says, "I would only hire the best people in the first place."  And the school responds, "That's the difference between public school and business; We take all students; We teach all students."

     Public schools don't pick the best students or the students with the most potential to enroll in their schools.  Public schools take all students.  As the old commercial used to say:

Big kids,

Little kids,

Kids who climb on rocks.

Tough kids,

Sissy kids,

Even kids with Chicken Pox.

And public schools are proud that they teach all students.  We are not a business.  And while we often compare our student achievement data against other schools and other school districts, as a national public school system we are united in our efforts to teach all students.

     Of course, allowing unlimited access to our schools comes with challenges.  Most notably, a recent report has informed us that half of the students in our nation's public schools are poor.  Poor students (as a group) often struggle to succeed in their academics due to limited supports at home compared to non-poor students (and many other factors).  Also, students with identified learning disabilities are often below grade level in reading and mathematics.  Finally, even students without the handicaps of low socio-economics or learning disabilities sometimes graduate with low skills by only striving to do the minimum that is required of them.

     There is no question that public schools can do better in graduating a higher percentage of students that process the skills they need to succeed in the world of work.  But we are not going to artificially raise graduation rate by only enrolling the brightest students.  We take all students; we teach all students; we help all students.  And if some students require more of an effort on our part, we are glad to take on that challenge.

     What's so good about public education in America?  We teach ALL students.

Happy

Teachers and Parents Working Together

     They say, "It's takes a village to raise a child."  And it is certainly true that we want our children to have many experiences with many different people as they grow and learn about the world.  Teachers will tell you that when parents are involved in their child's education, the child tends to do better in school.  I would go a step further and say that it is very necessary for parents to be invested in their child's Pre-K to Grade 12 education if we want the child to be very successful.

     Teachers spend 7 or 8 hours a day with the child and the parent spends the rest (or most of the rest) of the waking hours with the child.  It is beneficial for teachers and parents to work together to help children to learn and to grow with confidence.  Public schools understand this very well and the best public schools actively seek ways to get parents involved.

     When I taught middle school children, some parents would tell me that they planned to "back off" and allow their child some freedom to complete assignments and to study on their own.  I would gently tell them that their child needs them in middle school every bit as much as they needed them in elementary school.  The same is true for high school students.  Children need their parents for encouragement and assistance throughout their school career.  And teachers need parents who are involved in their child's schooling.

     Teachers in public schools do all they can to help students to be successful.  It is a difficult job. Often it is the students who don't have support at home that have the most difficultly in school.  When parents aren't available to their children, it is hard for students to do well in school.  And it doesn't have to be that the parents are "teaching" them at home.  It is enough to provide a safe place at home to do homework and to have rules about study time vs. play time.

     Public schools always want parents to be involved.  When teachers and parents work together, students succeed.  It's that simple.

Science Fairs

     Another great thing about public schools in america is the Science Fair.

     The science fair has been part of public education for generations.  Parents and grandparents come to see their child present his/her project and to have fun seeing other project displays.  Students get the chance to proudly show their work to an audience and to explain their findings.

     Science Fairs are fun, exciting, educational, and often community events.  Kids get to see experiments and they get to do experiments.  PlayDoe, slime, volcanoes, hovercrafts, popcorn--it's like an amuzement park in your very own school for a day.

     Science Fairs are great.  Everyone loves the Science Fair.

     Have a great time at the Science Fair!

This is How We Learn in the 21st Century

      We know that good teachers become great teachers when they collaborate with other teachers.  No matter how good you are, you can always improve when you share ideas with other teachers and listen to ideas from other teachers.

     Today "other teachers" doesn't only mean the teachers in your building.  It could mean other teachers in your school district, or other teachers in your state, or (really) anywhere.  Social media makes it possible to communicate with teachers virtually anywhere and virtually at any time.  And when we do, we improve.

     Yesterday, the middle school math specialists in my school district met with their counterparts in a neighboring school district--along with math specialist from other surrounding districts.  We call ourselves the Mid-Maryland Math Specialist Group (Twitter hashtag #M3SG).  The theme of the day was Preparing for a 1-to-1 Learning Environment.  It was a great professional experience in which we got to hear ideas and plans from people in nearby school districts. 

     The highlight of the day was a virtual panel discussion with help from Google Hangouts.  The people on the panel were from Arkansas, Illinois, and Utah.  One principal, one middle school teacher, one technology resource teacher, and one school-based technology coach.  All but one of the panel members were people that I "met" on Twitter (never in person) who have had some experience with a 1-to-1 learning environment.

     We were in a big room with a large screen in the front of the room.  The panel members were visable on the screen.  We could see and hear them and they could see and hear us.  This isn't "cutting-edge" technology, but it is a new way to learn and gain professional knowledge in a very "21st century" fashion!

     This is how we learn today.  Blogs, twitter, edmodo, and lots and lots of other similar venues are the new "teacher lounges" of today. We still learn from teachers at our school, but we are no longer limited to such a small group of professionals.  Today we learn and improve by communicating with everyone and anyone who has knowledge to share.

     This is how we learn today.