Kristi's Korner
January 4, 2016
Quote of the Week
There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.
--Soren Kierkegaard
Ramblings
Welcome back! I look forward to hearing about your winter break!
I have been binge watching Carbonara Effect over break. Now, it is not necessarily binge worthy, but interesting. Basically he is a magician who poses as a worker at different jobs. It is amazing what he can get people to believe. For example, on one episode, he was working at a toy store and on the counter were stickers of goldfish. He would take them, submerge them into water, and they would turn into real goldfish. While disbelieving for a short time, eventually the patrons were wowed and bought some. This got me to thinking how often we believe things that are not true. I would share the story of how I thought Atticus looked just like Eric and I and was always blown away that people knew he was adopted, but that is ridiculous and you may not believe that is true. Eric couldn't either until he finally sat me down and said, "Kristi....." Well, you get the rest.
I also did that in my classroom. I continually put students on the wall, at Barrington we called it on the bench, for misbehavior or missing homework. Now the same students that were on that bench in September were sitting there in May. For some time, I turned a blind eye to that. When I finally took notice, probably because my administrator turned my face that way, my next thought was, "While it may not be working for Darius, it is good that the other students see that there are consequences for that behavior." This allowed me to continue this practice guilt-free. Now if I knew it wasn't working, was I crazy to continue? No. Was I lazy? No. It was more about it was something I had always done. It was done to me in school. So, it must be the correct thing to do. This thinking is what makes change in the school system so incredibly slow. We are still operating under a system that was developed to mass produce factory workers. While that need has gone, our schools stay the same.
If you have read my Kristi's Korner the past three years, you know I LOVE New Year's goals. I call them goals instead of resolutions because resolutions so often fall by the wayside. I love New Year's goals so much that I set new ones throughout the year long after January has left us. I encourage you to think about a practice in your classroom that is going on just because you have always done it that way. Set a goal to make a change. Enlist help. The best way to stick with a goal is to create a support system. If you have wanted to try something new but don't have the time, as always, I am here to serve. You might just be helping me make one of my new year goals.
News and Notes
PD on the Couch
Blog about Setting Goals with Kids: http://www.davestuartjr.com/back-from-winter-break-classroom-activity/ (While he is a high school teacher, it would be interesting to adapt this for our kids.)
Smile of the Week
Snippet from Carbonara Effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRsMhzb4WHQ