Teacherscribe's Teaching Thoughts
Week 17 Edition - Post Football Edition
But now that I've take a few weeks to myself, I am ready to get back at it. And I need to! My teaching has fallen off with all the thinking and research I usually do. I hope you are looking forward to the value these offer (or I hope it offers) as much as I am!
Try something new
I'm reminded of that now with the new English courses I'm teaching (Sports Lit, Blogging and Social Influencer Writing, and Hot Topics in Writing). I only teach the first two once a year - first quarter. That means I only have one shot at these. And that also means I sucked the first time around. But next time I'll get better. My fear though is that since I only get to teach them once a year, I won't get the chance to suck enough to improve!
The best thing that ever happened to me as a teacher was my first year when I taught Lit and Lang 10 all day long. Plenty of chances to suck first block and then have it fixed and improved by last block!
What is YOUR business card?
I recall once heading down to the staff room with H. On the way down, he said hello to every single student we passed. As if that wasn't remarkable enough, H also knew the names of nearly everyone we met.
Why is this vital? Because even passing by H in the hallway was an experience you enjoyed and remembered.
So what is your business card? What does it say about you?
Good
Why?
Post traumatic growth. The hard times are what really make you better. Look at every hardship as an opportunity to get better.
What would education look like if we actually did that instead of just complained?
The World is a Fine Place and Worth Fighting For
Below is the story of one man who knew his neighbor was struggling with feelings of isolation and depression due to the 2020 lockdown. To show his support, he strung one single strand of Christmas lights from his house to hers.
This year, more neighbors did the same. All to show they support her and that she isn't alone.
What if he celebrated more things like this than the conspiracy theories and "Let's go Brandon" nonsense that constantly shared today?
Book of the Week - Think Again by Adam Grant
If there ever was a book more needed by the masses . . . This is it.
Grant delves in to exactly why people are so prone to refuse to change their minds - at all costs. Whether that results in the demise of their marriage, loss of friends, unemployment . . . Why do we fold fast to wrong ideas?
Part of it, Grant, discovered is that people often believe (mistakenly) that changing one's mind is a bad thing. Moreover, often our beliefs become so embedded in us that they become part of our identity. And to admit defeat or to even consider changing out minds would go against the very people we think we are!
Sound familiar? If not, go to your social media feed and see what I'm talking about.
Grant calls for us rethink how we think. What is so wrong with being proven incorrect? Reflect on your own life for a second. If you are like me, you realize that some of the most pivotal times in your life were when you were wrong!
I recall in athletics realizing how wrong I was as a captain and senior "leader" to be treating the underclassmen on the team the same way I had been treated by my captains and senior "leaders." I wasn't being a leader or a captain. I was being a jerk! I changed.
I recall having a meeting with administration to talk about some of the harsh criticism and diatribes I had heaped upon them via my blog. When I saw the effect my words had on them, I realized what a critical fool I had been. I changed.
When I disciplined by son once out of anger, not because he had done something wrong but because I was frustrated with him, I realized how wrong and hurtful I was being in that moment. I changed.
And history is full of people who stuck to their wrongheaded beliefs - Blockbuster had a chance to purchase Netflix early on; Barnes and Noble too had a chance to scoop up Amazon in its infancy; Blackberry could have added a touchscreen and effective internet browser but passed believing (wrongly) that people didn't want to text or use their cell phones as mini-computers, they just wanted to really check their email (Ha)!
And if you're looking for more examples, just check out Acts for my favorite example: Saul. In a blinding flash of light he was able to rethink his past and become Paul.
Thinking again is core to being human. And so much of that has been lost.
Teaching Thoughts
Week 17 - New Year Edition
Teaching Thought #1 - Lean into Your Brand
Recently, I was listening to a podcast featuring one of my all-time favorite people, Seth Godin. He was speaking on marketing. Now, hear me out. I know this is supposed to about teaching BUT teaching is really marketing. If you aren't appealing to students to want to take your classes, then you're missing out.
If there is one thing I've learned in 24 years of teaching, it's that there is a huge difference between students wanting to take your class and just having to take your class because they need the credit. In fact, at fall conferences I had two parents tell me their daughters enjoyed my class and all the reading and writing we did simply because of the way I taught and the stories I told.
Godin talked about a key to marketing your brand (or class if you will) is to do so in ways that others can't or won't.
So how can you make your special version of languages, math, science, art, or whatever so unique and interesting and special that it stands out for stands apart from the other sections taught in your school?
Is that being selfish? Is that being a show boater? Is that making the class all about me?
I don't think so. It's about making your class an experience. It's about making your class somewhere students are eager to go and learn. Whatever it is, it's more than teaching curriculum and covering standards.
So what ways can you make your classroom experience and content appealing to your students in ways others can't or won't?
I know one teacher who often dresses up - whether it's donning a World War II helmet or a Civil War hat - to engage his kids. I know another who often bakes treats for their students. And I know yet another who will take small field trips with them. These are gold!
And I know another - perhaps the greatest teacher I have ever worked with - who just engaged and wowed his kids with his stories, knowledge, and mastery of the content. So it doesn't just have to be about dressing up or baking or taking field trips.
Teaching Thought #2 - Too Much and Not Enough
I saw a picture that a teacher tweeted out this weekend that read "I am doing too much and not enough."
Isn't that the truth this year? I also saw a tweet from an administrator that admonished other administrators to not add anything more to their teachers' plates this year, but that hasn't been the case.
Coming off of two years of - basically - distance learning (some would even say, "non-learning"), I hear so many teachers talking about how hard it is just to teach their normal classes given that students haven't been use to structure, routine, due dates, and let alone actually being held accountable (remember the state required us not to fail anyone back in 2020). All that of that has made teaching incredibly difficult this year along.
So if you find yourself doing too much and you realize all that hard work isn't enough, take a deep breath. We all feel like that.
Our administration has been great about saying that this is exactly what we need to do as our students have had two years of little in the way of expectations and accountability.
Just know it's perfectly okay to do nothing over a weekend . . . if that's what you need to maintain your energy to come back ready to go on Monday. You aren't helping anyone by burning yourself out.
Teaching Thought #3 - Close Your Door and Do YOUR thing
What happens in your classroom is up to you. Don't forget that. If people go into teaching because they love standards and assessment . . . Well, they won't last long. Teaching is all about people.
Don't forget that in this time of political turmoil (I see ND had has now passed a law prohibiting the teaching of CRT in the classroom - which is ironic because it isn't taught anyway) and the vitriol on social media (At the beginning of the year, I saw a parent questioning how much homework their child was getting by posting it to social media?? How about actually reaching out to the teacher rather than just voicing the question into the echo chamber of social media?) that what you do matters. Teachers - not curriculum, not technology, not standards, not textbooks - are the number one factor in the classroom.
Remember one of our core values - "Our work matters." So close that door and do your thing!
Teaching Thought #4 - What Kind of a Salesman Are You?
In a book I read last year, In a book I read last year, The Art of Possibility, the authors used this classic sales example:
A shoe factory sends two marketing scouts to a region of Africa to study the prospects for expanding business. One sends back a telegram saying,
SITUATION IS HOPELESS STOP NO ONE WEARS SHOES
The other writes back triumphantly,
GLORIOUS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY STOP THEY HAVE NO SHOES
What perspective are you going to bring every day to your classes? Don't gloss over this. It's vital because the students can tell whether you consider the situation as hopeless or a glorious opportunity.
The choice is yours.
Why I Love Teaching
"She comes home and says, 'You won't believe the story Mr. Reynolds told us today in class about when he and his childhood friend tried to build a fort.'"
"After he told me some of your stories, I just asked him if he just laughs all the time in class or does he get any work done!"
"She really appreciates how easy it is to reach out to you via text and get her questions answered right away."
"He really loves this classroom. Heck, I'd like to take a class in this room."
Curriculum and standards are musts. I get it. But the number one factor driving student engagement is us - teachers.
And it isn't all unicorns and rainbows in room 205. I have students who I struggle to engage and motivate. But I think it's a bit easier when they know that I enjoy coming to work every day and am not afraid to show the mistakes I made too.
Podcast of the Week - 60 Minutes
I was able to find a podcast version of the 60 Minutes episode. And as I looked through the episodes available, there are so many great episodes full of all kinds of great content. And content that isn't just controversial. There are current issues galore here. How can't you just browse the offerings and find things that you can't use in your classes tomorrow?
For example - this episode from 11/14. It first delves into the supply chain struggles that every one can relate to that were highlighted by the ship that blocked the Suez Canal for days. How interesting would it be to have students find one item that they (or their parents) can't get at Wal-Mart or Hugos or any of their favorite retailers anymore (in my daughter's case it would be Kraft squeeze cheese at Hugo's) and, with some research, find out how it can be traced back to a supply chain issue? That single snippet from the podcast relates to my College Comp II class when we explore what Thomas Friedman calls "The Flat World" via chapters of his iconic work: The World is Flat.
The next story covered in this podcast is an interview with a man I never even heard of before, Andrew Sullivan. He is a conservative writer who once was editor of The New Republic. In this episode, 60 Minutes interviews him and explores how Sullivan believes America has lost its ability to civily debate or even reason our way around ideas and topics.
One of the first quotes from Sullivan is fascinating and worthy of a research paper - "Too many Americans are no longer the citizens that the Founders were counting on. The American Constitution was set up for people who can reason and argue and who aren't afraid of it. And then reach comprises."
Wow. If that isn't a topic worthy of debating, researching, and striving to answer, I don't know what is!
Best of all, I found that Sullivan has his own podcast series. Look for future episodes from his podcast to be featured here.
Video of the week - The Present
Give it a watch. See how you can connect with your students who are all hurting in their own unique ways.
Thoughts from Twitter
Give this a try in your classroom . . .
The Social Media Scavenger Hunt
I let the class organize themselves into several groups. Then I had them begin in my room with my TA, Debbie. First they had to complete a cross world puzzle I developed based on current events, information from teacher websites, and information about TRF.
After completing the cross word, each group was given a clue that sent them to the location of clue #1. Once they found the answer to that and shared it with me via social media, there were given a clue to the next location and so on.
Finally, after 10 clues, students had to figure out where I was hiding (in a side room in the Brick House).
Outside of one mistake (I thought the pump house in the basement of LHS was the boiler room), it worked very, very well.
How can you use social media to get students working in teams, exploring issues, and, hopefully, learning something?
Article of Interest - Ban ALL books
I find this passage particularly interesting -
They are an insidious and deadly poison. Years after you read them, they come back and bother you late at night. They clang around inside your skull. They make strange things familiar to you and familiar things strange again. They have no respect for the boundaries of your dreams. They put turns of phrase into your gut where you digest them slowly and regurgitate them where they are least expected.
That reminds me of a short story I read while still in high school (shout out to Mrs. Matzke here). In fact, I still have the book. It's a collection of short stories organized thematically. I may been guilty of liking it so much, I never did return it to Mrs. Matzke after the class was done. See, books are bad! They lead you to theft! Anyway, the book in question contained the short story, "The Bamboo Trick" by Achintya Kumar SenGupta. It involves an impoverished family whose father and oldest son perform a stunt where the father lies down and places a long bamboo stick in his navel while his son climbs up the stick and then places the top of the stick in his belly button. Once the son is in place, the father begins spinning his son on top of the pole. However, the older son fell off and injured his stomach, which (if I recall correctly) has become infected and scabbed over.
In order to earn money, the father must perform the bamboo trick. However, his oldest son is too injured to perform it. So he turns to his youngest son. But he is too scared to attempt it.
The story ends with the older son bravely unwrapping his bandaged stomach and climbing up on top of the pole again to perform the bamboo trick.
After finishing it, I was shocked. How could the younger son not suck it up and climb the pole to spare his brother? How brave (and tragic) of the elder son to face the pole again even if it means further injury. What kind of world do we live in where people are so poor they must endure such things in order to earn a living?
Well, those are questions that have stuck with me all my life. I am reminded of them often, and I am even more haunted by their answers today as I was a junior back in 1990.
Those damned books, I tell ya. They get you all worked up! And for what? To make you think? To scare you? To challenge you? To make you think critically? Who needs that anyway?
Bonus content of the week - How to Build a Positive Team Culture
If you can't state what your culture is and why it's so important, then you don't have culture. If you don't have culture . . . well, you've got a J-O-B - and that doesn't inspire anyone, wether that's your students, your staff, your customers, or your boss.
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. And now we have been blessed with five grandchildren!
I also happen to have the greatest job in the world: teaching English to high school students.
I am in my 24th year of teaching at Lincoln High School. I graduated from Lafayette High School in Red Lake Falls in 1992. I decided to enter the field of education 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.
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 Christensen. 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 elementary school teacher), 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, Laura Brickson, Loren Leake, Katie Hahn, Melora Burgee, and new members all the time. 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.
In 2021, I became head coach of the Powler football team. It is a dream come true. I have an amazing staff and had an excellent mentor in two amazing former head coaches, Jeff Mumm and Bryce Lingen. I couldn't have asked for greater men to learn from.
Finally, thanks to the inspiration of Shane Zutz (our former principal) 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
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