Volunteering

If you have been reading my posts, you have gathered that I am finding it difficult to get enough calls to substitute in Clay County right now. One reason is that the county has been flooded with people wanting to substitute. They have even stopped accepting applications from anyone not certified to teach. However, I discovered another reason recently. With the budget cuts planned for next year, everyone is trying to focus on saving money. One thing teachers have been asked to do to save the county money is to limit the number of days they are out of the classroom as much as they can (to save the cost of substitutes). Schools are also trying to cover classes with assistants and other teachers when they can.

I am substituting for two reasons. First is that I need an income. Second is that I want to teach Elementary. With very few teaching jobs out there, substituting is the second best way for me to gain experience at this level.

Now with so few sub jobs to go around, I have started my third best way to get experience...volunteering. Schools tend to get most of their volunteers from parents and grandparents with a pointed interest in the school's success. However, they are open to non-related volunteers, as there is always much work to do.

I offered to volunteer at Tynes Elementary for several reasons. It is close to my son's preschool, so I can minimize travel time, in turn maximizing time on site volunteering. Also, every time I have walked into the front office or spoken with any of the staff (from teachers to front office to cafeteria), I have gotten a friendly, open, cheerful, helpful reaction. One of the things I noticed and liked was their demeanor interacting with children. When students walk into the front office, they are not treated like they do not belong there. Immediately someone's attention is turned to the student; they are greeted with a smile and then assisted with whatever they need. That is how it should be. It was pleasant to watch. I imagine students at Tynes must feel happy, wanted, safe and like everyone wants them to succeed. It is a community, and I want to be a part of it.

You may think that you do not have the time to volunteer. I only offered 2 hours once a week while my son is in preschool, and they are grateful for it. There is someone in the front office talking to teachers about what they need done, offering my time, so that we can make the best use of it. In lean times such as this, your local schools can use as much help as you can offer - whether it is one hour here and there or several days a week. If you are only available in the evenings, consider contacting the parent teacher associations to see if they need help with any projects.

Lake Asbury Junior High

Tuesday (2/17) I subbed at Lake Asbury Junior High in a seventh grade ESE classroom. Here, there were 5 to 7 students, changing by 1 or 2 with each subject. Some students had 7th and 8th grade classes and some had a few "regular" classes. We changed subjects with the bell, like all the other classes, spending time on math, science, language arts, reading and social studies.

The classroom teacher left detailed lesson plans for each subject, including additional activities and notes about work for specific students. This class also has an assistant. She was invaluable, telling me how they run their classes and why, curbing any misbehavior before it started, scoring papers as the kids submitted them, etc.

It was a good day for me and a "normal" day for the kids (meaning that due to a dedicated and caring assistant and a teacher with the foresight to write comprehensive plans, having a sub didn't mean interrupting their learning).

First Sub Assignment !

Much has happened in the very long time (roughly 3 months) since I last posted. On the personal front, our family has celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, 11 family birthdays, 1 friend birthday, finished moving from Duval to Clay, and started my son in preschool in our new town. We are getting acclimated to the community and love our new woodsy, peaceful yard.

Professionally, I have been visiting schools with my substitute card in hand, humbly offering my services. Just when I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get called, last week Tynes Elementary called me to substitute Thursday in an Autistic Preschool classroom. The classroom assistants were invaluable. They explained the schedule that includes activity changes every 10 minutes and the needs of the individual students. The children themselves were a pleasant surprise. Before entering the classroom, I was not sure what to expect. Would the children be responsive? Would they make eye contact? They all made eye contact, and all were responsive - some verbally and some in their own ways, just like in other preschools. A couple of years ago, my brother-in-law completed certification in Relationship Development Intervention therapy (RDI), a method for working with autistic children. As I watched and interacted with these sweet and fun kids, I heard his words, observations and enjoyment in his work run through my head. This only added to my enjoyment of the day with these special children. In addition, everyone from Kathy in the front office, to the teachers, to the cafeteria assistants and even Principal Newhall were very friendly and helpful. I hope all Clay county schools are as inviting and pleasant.

That evening I was called to substitute at Wilkinson Junior High for a language arts teacher. Being a math teacher that loves reading, I was excited about this one. As it turned out, she also had 3 drama classes. Great. I took drama in high school, but it was only an extracurricular activity (club); it wasn't offered as a course. The teacher I subbed for this day (Friday) went above and beyond to make my day (and that of her students) run more smoothly. She actually came up to the school to print lesson plans and make copies of the assignment for two of the classes, preventing me from having to run around to get this done in time. Since I was there when she was, she explained how to work the equipment in her room and even discussed an alternate activity for one of the classes, leaving the choice to me. She could not have made it easier to sub for her. One of the drama classes did improv the entire period which was fun to watch. They were creative and lively. Again, everyone I encountered at the school offered their help if I needed it, asked how my day was going/had gone, and was genuinely friendly.

Thursday I also got called to go to Lake Asbury Junior High tomorrow (Tuesday). I am not sure yet if I will be substituting in a special education or a science classroom, but if it is anything like my experiences so far, it is sure to be a good day.

Writing Prompts

In order for our students to be successful in school and in life, they must know how to communicate. Most jobs I have ever applied for required "excellent oral and written communication skills." I think we can all agree that to be a good writer, one must read a lot as well.

Reading:

• improves vocabulary and spelling
• helps develop critical thinking skills
• encourages perspective by exposing one to other cultures and places
• increases understanding of abstract and complex thought processes
• reduces stress
• adds to one's knowledge base
• improves focus and concentration skills
  
• boosts self-esteem
  

Writing:

• expands vocabulary
• develops and provides an outlet for creativity
• invokes imagination
• encourages one to find their voice
• reduces stress
• gives a sense of pride and accomplishment
  
• boosts self-esteem
  
• improves writing skills

You may think that last bullet has circular logic, but it does make sense. Writing practice improves writing skills. You only get better by doing it. Children tend to fear writing. I did when I was in school, too. Only practice (and the environment in which the practice takes place) can reduce this fear. Hence, the reason it is so important for us as teachers not only to give students frequent opportunities to write, but also to offer a wide variety of topics to write about and different types of writing to do. We need to allow children to explore their own voice and ideas in their own way. They will have enough parameters and expectations put on their work when they are adults. For now, we must encourage them to explore and take risks so that over time they can find their own "unique writer's language". See theteacherconnection.net for many writing prompt ideas. (This site has more ads, but it also has a plethora of ideas.) Here is just one that I liked:

The Present--Four Ways (Paragraph Writing)

"Here's a great writing activity for the holidays that reviews the four basic types of writing styles and that can be adapted to any grade level. My students write one expository paragraph explaining how to wrap a present, one descriptive paragraph describing what the present looks like after it's been wrapped, and one narrative paragraph describing what will happen to the present. The final paragraph is a persuasive paragraph explaining why the present is the best present given."
Submitted by: Kevin Buchman, a fifth grade teacher at Perry Middle School in Perry, Ohio. This tip was published in the NEA's Weekly "Works4Me" Email list.

But you can find other prompts on this site. Take a look at the One Minute Writer blog by C.Beth. She adds a writing prompt idea just about every day. You are bound to find some that interest you.

The Mailbox

Snoopy & Woodstock mailbox
Originally uploaded by lslphoto

Last year, while looking for magazines for my son at our public library, I stumbled upon The Mailbox magazine for teachers. I fell in love with this resource! The Education Center publishes this magazine at five levels (Preschool, Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grades 2-3 and Intermediate. They advertise being the #1 idea magazine for teachers. On this point, they may be right. Every volume I have seen was full of ideas for displays, classroom management, literacy, activities to go along with books, math fun, activity centers, organization tips, etc. The ideas are more appropriate for regular classroom teachers, however, I have adopted many ideas for use with my preschool son, and I think substitutes could glean plenty of ideas from the pages, as well.

The Mailbox also has a website (with free ideas) and a blog. Within the blog, I found a great post with some fresh suggestions to help teachers help their substitutes. Here is an excerpt:

• Come back to an orderly classroom by leaving the substitute a deck of cleanup cards. Write a classroom job on each of several cards that students can do. Ask the substitute to pass them out at the end of the day for a quick and easy cleanup.

• On large individual cards, describe your favorite classroom songs, chants, greetings, games, and time fillers. Keep the cards in a box, or hole-punch the cards and thread them on a metal ring.

Many of the posts in their blog advertise other books or products that they offer for sale, but all that I have read also include sample pages from each level that you can use without making a purchase. Also, many posts are a sharing of experiences and ideas from the readers. Take a look for yourself.

Bag of Tricks

Every teacher (ESPECIALLY substitute ones) needs a Bag of Tricks. As a substitute, your bag of tricks might include a foam ball or small stuffed animal that you toss out to kids for answers during a discussion as a way to keep them interested and engaged. It might include a CD to play a fun movement song to aid in transitioning between activities. For high schoolers you might include logic puzzles or encrypted messages. It may even include something similar to Emily Phillips’ Smiley Face which she uses for classroom management by giving the class (as a whole) a face part for every well-behaved activity, building up to a complete smiley face for an unknown surprise at the end of the day. My Bag certainly has a few of my favorite books (some with an associated puppet or stuffed animal for the lower grades). (I’m hoping that after reading my blog, you have a few blank copies of the End of Day report in there, as well.) For your own protection and use, you may want to toss in some hand sanitizer (keep out of the reach of tiny hands), latex gloves, a whistle (for outside only), the district or school’s emergency procedures, and any specific information you have on that particular school.

These “tricks” are not really tricks at all. Some are ideas and methods to help you manage the classroom more smoothly. Some might be fun activities, notes or certificates to use as rewards for great behavior. Others need to be possible lesson plans (like creative writing prompts or math relays) in case the classroom teacher was out for an emergency and was unable to leave you her desired lesson plans.

But keep in mind that some of your “bag” is figurative – it includes all the sage advice you have garnered from fellow educators (and your mom) about how to deal with children’s needs and behaviors; it includes any reading or professional development you have done; it includes all the resources and network of support to which you have subscribed. In this light, please take a look at Teacher’s Bag of Tricks blog. I have not been able to find an author, but the entries range from links to great resources, to meaningful commentary on articles and ideas to tangible suggestions for use in the classroom. I especially liked the Triple A Treatment post advocating acceptance, approval and affection for classroom management (May 7, 2008) and In Praise (July 22, 2008) about how specific praise can shape how a child thinks of himself, making our every single word important.

I hope this makes you cry....

Because if it does, then your heart is in the right place to be trusted with the hearts of our children.

In all my life, regardless of how many people might have made threats toward me or even chased me all the way home from school, I have never once been in a fight where I hit another person. There are two reasons for this. The first is that I never once thought an issue was important enough to be thrown out of school for fighting. The second is that I could not bear the thought of hitting and hurting another person (even if they were out to get me).

I have always been the person up on the soapbox, trying to protect the underdog, the innocent, the teased, the bullied, even the dismissed. As a teacher, some of my favorite students were not the ones who knew they were smart (and had the attitude to accompany the good grades). One was a class clown on whom most teachers had already given up. Another was a sixteen year old girl who had a son already and had a difficult time passing math class. (I continued to tutor her in subsequent years when she had other teachers, and she graduated, probably surprising herself.) Most of these students were not my same race, they didn't share similar backgrounds or even family structures. At times I am sure they thought I dressed as frumpy as I thought they dressed revealingly. They weren't the smartest or most successful students, and they suffered drawbacks - suspensions (one girl was caught for drugs in school), skipping, failing a test, etc. But I could not give up on them. So many already had. I know it made a difference. I may or may not have been their favorite teacher. I KNOW math was not their favorite subject. However, every day no matter what was going on with them or with me, they knew I cared. They knew I would not tease them or put them down in any way. They could count on me to listen and encourage them. And they listened. They all graduated.

Keep in mind as you enter classroom after classroom that sometimes the slightest comment or smallest gesture can affect a child's self-esteem for a lifetime. Please do not think that because you may only be there for one day that your presence or attitude does not matter. You might be the only person who ever listened to Mary or the first teacher ever to notice that William bullies Sarah every day on the playground. You might be the only teacher to giggle instead of scold when the class clown acts out, and therefore the first to make a connection with him. You cannot know what it will be, but I guarantee you that if you are always kind, listen to all (not just the attentive, attractive, good smelling, behaving ones) children with your heart, keep an open mind, treat them with respect, and never allow student to student teasing, ridiculing and bullying in your presence, you will make an impression and a difference in the lives of many of them.

If you are passionate about caring for children, you might want a tissue....