Labor Day

We have reached Labor Day weekend which, according to the History Channel, pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers.  Our history has not been so kind to labor. During the height of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800’s, the average American worked 12-hour days for seven days a week just to make a basic living.  In many States we had young elementary school-aged children working in factories and mines. Certainly we can add this to the list of things we are not proud of in our collective history. As time moved forward the error of our ways was identified and things began to change.  In 1894, Labor Day became of federal holiday to acknowledge the significant contributions of labor.  As the first Monday in September, it has come to symbolize the end of summer.  For me, it symbolizes the start of the school cadence and pace. Every educator knows what that means. The idea of structured breaks, meal times, and even structured personal time. Gone are the days of summer when time was not so much the factor. By Labor Day, things have just settled in for the long haul. Statistically the time between Labor Day and Thanksgiving has higher student discipline rates and teacher stress.  Because of this it is important to take care of yourself. When the road begins to get windy, you can do what I do, just lean into the curve. Have a fantastic 3-day weekend. Enjoy...Go PUPS! (cue Keep The Beat, Lin-Manuel Miranda & Ynairaly Simo)

Until next time...

Importance of Music

Every year around this time, I revisit and reminisce my use of music at the end of my opening and the music trivia. Growing up I can always remember being around music.  My parents would play it in the car, around the house, and outside while we were playing.  Music was everywhere.  I grew up listening with my parents to ‘Casey Kasem’s Billboard Top 40’.  My brother, sister, parents, and I would guess what song was going to be number one for the week. We would oftentimes pick a song that was going to be the title song for a trip and then add to it to build a complete soundtrack for ‘our movie’.  No, my parents were not in the music, movie, or entertainment business. They didn’t even play an instrument, but they had a love of music that they gifted to their children. Music can transport anyone to a time and place. It can unlock memories that bring about emotion both bad and good. Music is transcendent. That is one reason the musical references are plentiful.  Imagine your life was a movie and pick a soundtrack that would represent your moment in time.  Transcend the day.. May you have a fantastic weekend. Enjoy...Go PUPS! (cue Cool Change, Little River Band)

Until next time...

Good Old Days

As I was driving to work one day this week, a song came on the radio from January 1986.  The basis of the song is an adult grandchild speaking to her grandfather. She asks her grandfather to tell her about the ‘good old days’ because sometimes it feels like this world’s gone crazy. The more the song played, the more I reflected on the world today.  How things just seem to be a bit crazy.  The land is on fire, the air is so filled with smoke we can taste it, our political process is certainly heated, and COVID is raging. In our case, the ‘good old days’ may just be two years ago.  In the song, the timeframe is much greater.  “Let’s wander back into the past and paint me a picture of long ago”, the artist sings. The more I thought about the lyrics, the more relaxed I became. Yes, everything seems a certain way, but it doesn’t have to be that way.  I do believe life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. Isn’t it all just based on our point of reference?  To reference the song of Carly Simon from 1971, “These are the good old days”. Well, we have made it through the first full week, celebrate that. I wish you all a very relaxing weekend. Enjoy...Go PUPS! (cue Grandpa, The Judds)

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Welcome Back

Summer Break is over and we are back. The long days of orientation are now finished and the arrival of the weekend can bring about some rest.  During your reflection, remember the impact you are having on students when you don’t even know they are watching.  Some students show up ready to learn, some show up ready to be entertained, some show up to entertain, nevertheless, they are here and we are the anchor.  We have to be the stability in the shifting tides of life.  We have to show the students how to persevere daily.  Our profession is not easy, however, it can be the most rewarding because when you find that you have made a difference with just one, the feeling is remarkable.  I wish you all a very restful weekend. You have certainly earned it. Enjoy...Go PUPS!

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Learning Loss?

When educators throw around the term ‘learning loss’, they are using the term generally. As educators, we understand the importance of education. We talk to students about it all the time. We also understand that from our viewpoint, there has been a massive learning loss due to the pandemic. The virtual education we have been providing, though needed, is not equivalent to students being in class. We try to uphold the same rigor, however, it just hasn’t happened. The nationwide organization that administers the Advanced Placement (AP) exams, the College Board, has also acknowledged that this year is different. They are allowing students to take the exams at home. That is a far cry from the rigid environment that we usually use for the tests on campus.

That being understood, though educators acknowledge this year is different and have identified a gap in the learning from what would normally be covered, students are not searching for the learning. I say that because when any of us lose something of value, it is a loss because we care. If we lose our car keys, we immediately begin searching for them. To that behavior, we can add our wallets, purses, cell phones, and anything else that we care about. When we lose something we care about, we begin searching for it. Why isn’t education the same way? Students don’t seem to care about the loss, because we have not made it valuable to them. Yes, everyone cares about learning, but to a certain extent do they really? Do they really care about how they excel in academia? Because if they did, then the learning loss would trigger an emotional response.

For me, education has always been about the search for knowledge. A quest for developing knowledge. When I lost learning because of my behavior or such, I never really cared about it because I never owned the knowledge in the first place. In the post-pandemic education world, we have to change our thinking about learning. Our students are hungry for knowledge and it is incumbent upon us to cook up the feast that the students cannot refuse. To borrow a sports analogy, our goal should be to meet the students on their turf and play a better game. We cannot continue to deliver our lessons the same way in the post-pandemic world.

Excitement breeds desire. If we can build excitement with the students about learning, they will have a desire to learn more. If we place them on that path, then if we find ourselves in troubled times again, our students will never lose their learning simply because they care.

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Grit and Resilience

Recently, I’ve been thinking about the words grit and resilience. I guess my thoughts have been lead to those words by the end of the school year and the hurdles many of our students have created for themselves. If it wasn’t for the pandemic, I would probably have more thoughts of grit at this time of the year instead of resilience. Grit, as a combination of perseverance and passion for a goal, is totally relatable to educational or athletic pursuits. Resilience, however, is the ability to mentally process or emotionally cope with a crisis and return to a ‘normal' state. That obviously applies to our world today, as we hope to return to our pre-pandemic status as soon as it is possible and safe to do so. Both grit and resilience, are words that are important for us today. We all need to keep our eyes on our individual goals and stay passionate about the reasons that drive us. We also need to overcome everything that has been thrown at us this year. For me, this year has been an opportunity to reset and recalibrate my ‘why’. I feel as though I am coming out of the COVID pandemic better. Every day, I wake up feeling lucky to have another day to get it right. With grit and resilience, I will. May you all enjoy a fantastic weekend! Go PUPS! (cue Jason Mraz - Have It All)

Until next time...

Cultural Relevance

Our student populations are becoming more diverse in America every year. Though diversity is growing annually, our teacher population has not kept up with the same demographic distribution. It is for this reason that educators need to pay attention to and are responsive to the backgrounds and cultures of our students.

Studies show that a culturally responsive classroom leads to more engagement of the students. That, of course, means that not only is diversity among the student population celebrated, but it is highlighted. When this happens, the students are more likely to engage with the teacher and ultimately have better scores and achievement tests.

The best way for teachers to embrace cultural diversity in their classrooms is to start with learning about the cultures in the room. Reach out and understand the background of students. Learn about their experiences and their families. Through listening and actually understanding where students are coming from will be a great first step toward building an inclusive classroom.

Follow that with building on the strengths a student brings to the classroom. All students have dreams and personal goals. When a teacher understands those goals, they can help them by channeling their strengths. This will assist the teacher to build rich learning experiences for both teacher and student.

Finally, the culturally responsive classroom really does keep the student at the center. Student-centered activities and learning should always be the focus. The idea that a subject was taught can no longer be the benchmark. Did the student learn the concept? That should be the primary objective. If the student does not learn the material, then instruction was not successful. We should always concern ourselves with student learning.

Teachers and schools that embrace cultural relevance and are culturally responsive while keeping student learning in clear focus report higher academic achievement. The bottom line is that students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Until next time...