Teacherscribe's Teaching Thoughts
Inservice 2019
You gotta change
I said, "That's kinda the point. Do you want to be like this forever?"
Leadership is Everything
Learning slowly
"The world is a fine place, and worth fighting for" - Ernest Hemingway
This might seem like an odd one for the world being a fine place, but I think it fits. A black family first contractor who shows up with a Confederate flag on his truck.
I think this is great because it shows the power of our choices and actions. We have freedoms here, but the one thing we aren't free from is the repercussions of our actions.
You can say whatever you want, but you can lose business over it. You can blog or share on social media whatever you want, but you can get in trouble for it.
That's what is wonderful about freedom.
The Trust Edge - David Horsager
Here is a link to my thoughts on the book.
Teaching Thoughts
Inservice week - August 27, 28, and 29
Teaching Thought - Inservice Day #1 - What is your noble teaching purpose?
Oh lord, Reynolds, here you go again! I can hear you thinking that. Hear me out, though. Just hear me out.
I stole this from a podcast I heard several years ago. Only they were calling it a noble ‘selling’ purpose. It was based on a case study of the most productive pharmaceutical reps in Atlanta.
A researched followed her around and was amazed at how effective she was compared to the dozens of other sales reps she shadowed over the summer. What she came to realize was that all of them were just doing their job for the large paycheck. But not the number one sales rep.
As she was leaving town, the researcher took a flyer and asked the sales rep what she was actually thinking about when she was making a sale.
The woman didn’t hesitate and talked about how years ago during her first year she was sitting in a doctor’s office waiting to speak with the doctor when a little old lady sat next to her and began visiting. When the little old lady learned that the woman was a sales rep, she asked her if she sold a specific drug to the doctor.
The rep said yes. Then the little old woman got down on her knees, took the rep’s hands, and with tears in her eyes thanked her for giving the woman her life back. You see the new drug drastically improve the little old lady’s quality of life. Before the drug, she was home bound and mostly bed ridden. However, after the drug, she was able to move around again, pain free. Soon she was able to travel and see her family again.
So the sales rep told the researcher that she thinks of that little old lady every time she goes out on a sales call! That is the power of having a higher, noble ‘selling’ purpose.
So I apply that to teaching. What is your noble ‘teaching’ purpose?
For me, it’s to do for my students what my freshman high school English teacher, Amy Christianson, did for me. Every time I walk into the school, Amy and what she did for me and how she changed my life is at the forefront of my mind. So I don’t begin a lesson with just “how can I get the students to realize the author’s purpose through the use of language in To Kill a Mockingbird or The Crucible.” I do have that in my mind, but that isn’t all. I also am thinking, how can I positively impact each student’s life? How can I turn them on to learning? How can I get them to tap into their potential and true talents no matter how deeply they are buried?
And that is my noble teaching purpose.
Teaching Thought - Inservice Day #2 - Relationships are everything. If you ever want to really impact your students, it all comes down to relationships. Maybe 50 years ago things might have been different. Back then maybe students showed up and were content to just “sit and get” their information from their teachers, but that is so far from the reality of today.
If you don’t seek to build a relationship with the students, you’re lost. What is vital about building a relationship is this: it allows you to give them legit feedback and criticism. If you attempt this without having a relationship or connection, it’s a lost cause. You’re just an authority figure acting like an a*(&ole.
But when you build a relationship, you’d be amazed at what type of feedback and criticism you can get across to your students (or athletes for that matter). Relationships are like bridges. They carry the weight of that feedback or criticism from you to your students. If there is no relationship established, you’re just heaving feedback/criticism at the students hoping for the best. And we all know “hope” is not a strategy at all.
Teaching Thought - Inservice Day #3 - Success isn’t owned; it’s rented, and the rent is due every day.
I’ve heard this uttered several times on the Entreleadership podcast, but I don’t know who is responsible. But I do know that it’s true.
What if we approached our work every day like that? We certainly expect our students and athletes to do just that.
For what it’s worth, here is how I try to pay the rent every day
I read constantly (Twitter is a gold mine. I read books, mostly on teaching and leadership all the time. In the summer, I try to read 3 per month. During the school year, I try to get one per month read).
Podcasts. Entreleadership. The Cult of Pedagogy. Live Inspired. Are just a few of my favorites.
I write every day. Whether it’s putting my teaching thoughts together every summer or blogging (again, mostly during the summer) or writing with my classes (I always develop rough drafts with my College Comp I and II classes, though I never develop them beyond the rough draft stage).
I hand around my tribe. These people are positive. They inspire me. They practice ‘can do thinking’ as opposed to ‘can’t do thinking.’ And they are as geeky about professional and personal development as I am.
What do you do to stay on top of your craft every day? I’d love to hear.
Podcast of the week - Relentless Learning with Hamish Brewer
Video of the week - Hamish Brewer
Thoughts from Twitter
Tech Tool of the week - Flipgrid
Flipgrid allows students to film video responses for your class. I used it all last year, and my students loved it. It is also a great change up from reading essays or evaluating guides.
I use it several ways -
1. As exit slips (have students quickly record what the big take away was).
2. As a change up for reading guides or even reading check quizzes.
3. To work on summary skills.
4. For feedback on projects or assignments.
Where are they teaching now?
Ciera Mooney
I graduated from Lincoln High School in May 2014.
Where did attend college?
I went to Northland Community and Technical College for a year, and graduated in May 2015. I then went to UND, studied Elementary Education and Special Education, and graduated in May 2018.
Where are you teaching now? For how long? What grades/subjects?
I am now teaching at Phoenix Elementary School in Grand Forks, North Dakota. This will be my second year teaching fifth grade. I worked at Phoenix as a para while going to UND, and absolutely love the school and people within it.
What do you love most about teaching?
What I love most about teaching is the connections I make with my kids. I love getting to know them, their interests, and their goals. My fifth graders became some of my best friends last year, and I miss them now. Teaching is a crazy career; every day is different, and it makes the time fly by.
What made you want to be an educator?
I wanted to be an educator because of some amazing teachers I have had in the past, Mr. Reynolds especially. He showed me how much fun it can be to read and write, and how to be your own person. I hope to show my students that learning is fun, and the best thing you can have is knowledge.
Bonus content - 7 Life Skills . . .
I have shared this in the past, but it's just too good not to share again. Our students need mentors and role models more than ever. This is a great guide for skills they need to thrive.
If you take one thing away from these newsletters, let it be this.
Chief Inspiration Officer of Room 205
I am married to the most amazing person in the world, Kristie. It was love at first sight. At least for me. And it still is.
We have four wonderful children, Casey, Koko, Kenzie, and Cash. I also happen to have the greatest job in the world: teaching English to high school students. I'm was even blessed enough to teach an Intro to Education class at UND during the fall for seven years. I also help Coach Lingen with Prowler football and help advise the LHS yearbook.
I am in my 22nd year of teaching at Lincoln High School. I graduated from Lafayette High School in 1992. I come from a family of teachers: my grandmother was a country school teacher for a number of years before finishing out her career at Knox in TRF; my uncle Jim was an English professor at Western State in Gunnison, Co. My niece, Amanda, is a math teacher in Wayzata, MN. Teaching continues to run in the family.
As a result of my family influences, teaching was always something I wanted to do. The deciding factors, though, came because of two amazing teachers, Mr. Mueller, my fourth and sixth grade elementary school teacher and assistant baseball coach, and Mrs. Christianson, my 9th grade English teacher, respectively.
I attended Northland Community College, and had my life changed by the amazing Dr. Diane Drake. Then I transferred to Bemidji State University in 1995. There I had amazing professors who further inspired me to teach English (Dr. Helen Bonner, Dr. Mark Christensen, Susan Hauser, and Gerry Schnabel). I graduated with my BS in English Education in 1997.
I student taught with the wonderful Lisa Semanko and then began teaching full-time at LHS in 1998.
I took a year's leave of absence in 2001-02 to return to BSU for my MA in English. There I had the privilege to teach and work closely with my greatest mentor, Dr. Mark Chirstensen. I earned my MA in English in 2006 and was honored with "Thesis of the Year" for my creative non-fiction, braided, multi-genre memoir, "Meeting Myrtle: A Biography."
In 2013, thanks to my dear friend and mentor, Dr. Jodi Holen, I was offered an adjunct teaching position fall semester at the University of North Dakota. Tuesday nights I teach Intro to Education: Teaching and Learning 250 from 5-8. Those three hours fly by in about ten minutes.
Then in 2016 I was blessed to win a WEM award (thanks to a nomination from a former student - and now an amazing elementary school teacher in her own right, Ciera Mooney).
In 2017 I became part of the #pineconepd podcast club along with Brian Loe, Jeff Mumm, Kelsey Johnson, Kelly Weets, Josh Watne, Tevia Strand, Megan Vigen, Mariah Hruby, and Laura Brickson. This has been one of the best forms of PD I've ever been a part of. They make me a better teacher every time we meet. Please think about joining us in the summer at the Pine Cone Pub from 6:30 - until we've solved all the world's problems. For that evening anyway.
Thanks to the inspiration of Shane Zutz (our former principal), whose weekly newsletter "High Impact Leadership," is directly responsible for influencing me to create this newsletter.
I devised this as a way to distribute my Teaching Thoughts and add more content to, hopefully, help out and inspire others.
Email: kurt.reynolds@myprowler.org
Website: http://teacherscribe.blogspot.com
Location: 101 South Knight Aver Thief River Falls MN 56701
Phone: 218-686-7395
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Twitter: @teacherscribe