Professional Reading [The End of Molasses Classes by Ron Clark]

This is one of those books that every teacher should read for professional development. There are 101 reasons why, but for the sake of time I'll only chat about a few of them and encourage you to read his book - be inspired!

Ron Clark offers example after example as to why we should never, ever have excuses for not making things happen. Each story he shared hit my heart effectively - inspiring me as a Christian, wife, mother, teacher, friend... that no matter what I do, do it well (and as he said, do it with wild abandon). My all time favorite quote that I do not want to forget,

We could be here all day with my favorite sections and quotes, so for the sake of summary these were some of my favorites:

• Don't destroy a dream.
• Not every child deserves a cookie.
• Define high expectations.
• Uplift each other.
• Listen.
• Give all that you've got.
• Get to know your students in nonacademic settings.
• Be selfless.
• Making excuses won't make it happen.
• Be excellent.
• Create moments.
• Love learning.
• Treat students as they were your own.
• Push innovation - beyond your imagination.
• Know names. (This is something I am terrible at remembering. I had the hardest time getting names to stick (until they did something naughty). So I found this particular section super convicting.)
• Use music.
• Know your students.
• No matter your circumstances - don't let moments pass you by.
• Make learning magical
• Do good - get good.
• Live fearlessly.
• Love what your students love. (I once went skeet shooting with a student and found a book on the topic, because I could not get the kid to read at all. I knew that I needed to know something about one of his interests in order to get him interested. That's one of my own examples of this one at work. Also, I found that I really enjoyed it and I'm pretty good at it!)
• Create lasting traditions.
• Create a culture for learners and love. (For the first two weeks we focused on expectations and loving one another. I did 2 weeks of bully training found here: Teachers Notebook and Teachers Pay Teachers
• Create a community environment.
• Encourage students to encourage each other.
• Use chants, kinesthetic learning, and music. 
• Stress the value of a strong work ethic.
• Realize the power of gratitude and appreciation (I've been working on a unit for that since October of this year and the more research I do on the power of gratitude I could go overboard on exclamation points for this one!)
• Set the bar high for parents, too!
• Ask the hard questions - "What do you want this school to be?" (They have to be prepared for the hard answers, if they want greatness, they must put forth greatness themselves!)
• The staff must love one another. "[The staff] knew that through loving one another they would really be helping children. When the kids come to our school they see nothing but a team of individuals who want to be at RCA and how love one another." p.261 I have been part of some amazing teams of teachers and I know when we work together for the success of the student, success doesn't seem unattainable. However, I have been part of some pretty terrible teams that fought and disagreed on everything. When attitudes stink and respect thrown out the window, the environment tanks. No one wants to be in that kind of environment and it's nearly impossible to create a positive learning environment.
• Build a powerful network and work hard to keep those people, "I tell teachers and schools that want to receive donations that they must realize it's all about building relationships and having the patience to start small, show appreciation, and then take the proper steps to increase the donation." (p.306) and the one question he always asks possible donors is one worth writing down, "What would you like to see from RCA in order to get your foundation to a point in the future where you might consider a gift for us?" (p.314)

Now these may seem like "duh" no brainer principles, but it takes a tremendous amount of effort to actually apply them day in and day out. Thankfully his book is full of excellent examples, shared alongside his fallibility. When he shared his failures, followed by his reflections and hindsight, I found him very relatable and thankful for his willingness to share those mistakes and what he learned from them.

If you're like me and find this list overwhelming you must know that from beginning to end two qualities were abundantly clear as he built a successful school: tremendous work ethic and to simply care. Everything on that list stems from those two characteristics. Resolve to work hard and care for your students and your co-workers. When you do those two things that list will just work itself out!  

One of my favorite parts of the entire book was the section for parents. Seriously, every parent in today's day and age needs to read this book. His knowledge and experience and expectations will help you do your important job well. Read it. This particular section is only a little over 40 pages long, a big whoop for all that this will rouse within you. Let me give you a pretty wonderful, motivational  example to wet your appetite,

"Currently at RCA, more than half of our school is scoring over the 90th percentile in math, and I can say, with full confidence, that it is largely due to the role the parents are playing in the preparation for the tests throughout the year." p.256

Teachers, why is parent involvement so important? I'll let Clark answer that with this amazing truth:

"The key is to open the doors of your school to the parents, to invite them in, and to make them feel like a part of their children's education. Once you have done that, it becomes so much easier to work with them on issues that are standing in the way of their child's success, and it makes dealing with any parent issues so much easier to handle." p.259

Another favorite topic (okay, I have many) is his discussion on a teacher's worth, a teacher's education, how much they should be paid and why, and his view on tenure. I think it's worth reading, considering, and joining the debate. I won't give all those details away, GO READ THE BOOK!

His vision for education is one to get excited about. Someday I'd like to visit, but for now it was wonderful seeing it through his eyes in his book.

"Our purpose is to create new and innovative ways to educate children and share our findings with others in a professional development setting." 

Weekly Writing Prompts [Shining in the Middle of the night.]

When I have a crazy week followed by another crazy week, I spend a week playing catch up! That's three weeks gone and I find it incredibly frustrating. Our craziness began the last weekend of January. Our dog Quigley had been sick for weeks on end and he took a nose dive that Friday night and had a horrible night Sunday into Monday. It was heartbreaking. In the end we had to let him go. His liver failed and we have no idea why. That week was a difficult one with two weekends of visiting family and then extra babysitting needs from some individuals in our church. I finally feel like I'm (temporarily) back on top of things. I say temporarily with confidence knowing that something else will come up eventually to upend my blogging schedule! That's life as a wife and mother of little people, not to mention life with family and friends, and as I recently found out... that's life as a pet owner.

With that said, here is the weekly writing prompt:

I tear apart books that were thrown into the recycling bin and create all kinds of book crafts. One thing I thoroughly enjoy doing is taking words and phrases to create my own poetry (more on that at another time). I also take favorite sections of books and poetry for students to use as inspiration in their own writing.

This particular section was taken from Lewis Carroll's poem titled, "The Walrus and the Carpenter" which offers an intriguing idea with which to write. Once the writing is complete I encourage you to read the poem in its entirety and ask students to share their own writing with the class: The Walrus and the Carpenter.

Here is my example if that is helpful for you:

The sun was in an ornery mood that day. Tired of being predictable and following rules. Tired of the same old duties day after day. After thousands and thousands and thousands of years of his obedience, he decided to allow himself one day of fun. He laughed at the chaos that ensued and thoroughly enjoyed the Earth's surprise. For Mother Earth didn't know what to do and became quite cross. Tossing her waves, causing her mountains to quake, compelling eruptions, and brewing storms. She was in a fury! The more Mother Earth gave rise to her anger (in the most unbecoming ways) the louder the sun laughed and the more he fanned the fire. One by one the planets attempted to help. Mercury felt too close to both of them, reluctant to take sides. Venus tried a lovey-dovey approach, which only agitated them further. Mars sided with the sun angering the Earth even more. Jupiter argued with Mars, thinking Mother Earth's anger was justified. Saturn rolled her eyes and told the sun to, "Put a ring on it already!" Uranus was a butt to everyone. Neptune was too far removed and wanted to stay out of it - completely. But when he was unable to, he was all out of orbit! One by one the sweet stars twinkled a bit of kindness and each act changed each of them slowly, but it was enough to calm things down. As time elapsed, the stars were seen as wise. For one alone may not have changed the course, but together - with each small act of kindness - eased anger, hate, and pride.

Your turn...

An Idea To Cultivate a Love of Learning From One Mom to Another (For teacher's too!)

My "Professional Development" book of the month is Ron Clark's The End of Molasses Classes: getting our kids unstuck: 101 extraordinary solutions for parents and teachers. So far this book has inspired me as a mother and a teacher - to step it up a notch (or 2, or 3, or 101). 

One of the ideas that I had to share was of a mom who found creative places for her children to study before a test. She listed all kinds of places that offered free admission and adventure to enjoy as a family and study the material learned for any particular lesson or unit (Clark included letters from parent's throughout his book, this idea was from Mrs. Nesmith, mom of Cameron, class of 2012, in chapter 31, Show them how to study; don't expect it to come naturally). I love that idea! As a reading teacher who began each year discussing and writing about a student's favorite place(s) to read - I took this mom's idea and made it my own. 

Before I go there (and encourage you to do the same) let me explain. I used this prompt (Where is your favorite place(s) to read your favorite book?) for two reasons:

1. It helped me determine my readers from my non-readers. Readers have favorite places to read. Non-readers typically have no idea this is even a thing.
2. It helped me cultivate a love for reading. As favorite places are discussed, written down and shared it always amazed me how quickly readers and non-readers alike got lost in their own idea of a favorite place. And eventually grew into this delightful bucket list of places they'd like to visit and read a book! As the year progressed, and their love for reading grew, they were able to talk about their favorite place to read. Encourage students to find a drink... grab a snack... pick a book about your favorite thing to do (for example, where I'm from, most boys picked hunting)... go to your spot... and enjoy. I loved hearing how they'd get lost in this place.

As a mom who wants to cultivate a love for reading in my own children, I couldn't wait to take this mom's idea and run with it! The idea of taking my girls on adventures - with a book - appealed to me on so many levels. I'm making it a goal to go to new places with snacks, drinks, and a book. Explore, learn and see something new, make memories and take the time to enjoy a book too. My brain is rolling... there's an old abandoned church out in the middle of a field I would like to see (bring a blanket, snacks, and books!), hiking trails with marvelous views (bring snacks and a book!), go to the Tin Roof Sundae (enjoy ice cream and - you guessed it - books!), the possibilities are endless and the result is memorable reading excursions. 

And that in and of itself is amazing.

Did you know that the majority of my non-readers or struggling readers had no memory of their parents reading to them? They also hand no positive memories or experiences that included books or stories. Be that parent who provides memorable moments surrounded by books. The most amazing gift you can give your children is wonderful memories surrounded by books and learning. Also, be that teacher who provides memories surrounded by books! Especially if your students possess zero memorable moments with books, make sure you give them one (or a hundred). Cultivate a love for reading beginning with the things and places they love the most! 

Parents and teachers, I'd love to hear how you pulled this off. Please share!