“The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of the Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of august is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color.” It’s the beginning August which means that teachers everywhere have gotten up and looked at their calendars with some weird combination of dread, joy, foreboding, excitement, reluctance, and determination. As Babbitt so eloquently put it, the first week of August is both an end and a beginning. And I love and hate that feeling. The bittersweet last days of summer. The delicious anticipation of a new school year and new beginnings. But letting go of summer is hard, and I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that part of me feels this way this time of year: I’ll admit, I LOVE summer. I spend most summer days catching up on reading that I couldn’t find time for during the school year, growing tomatoes, and playing barefoot in my backyard with my kids. I love that feeling of “oh-my-gosh-I actually-got-enough-sleep.” I love drinking coffee while it’s still hot. I love being able to sit down and have head space to do my own writing. Everything slows down to be savored. And when I'm sitting in the shade of my back porch with a great book in my hand, or hiking up a hill where the trees look like this: I can't help but to sometimes think things like, "Man, what would a whole life of summer be like?" Which is why the first week of August for me is just as Babbit describes. I often feel frozen between two times and two versions of myself. I'm at the end of one thing and the beginning of another. Because I also really LOVE going back to school. When I walk through that school supply aisle at the end of July/beginning of August, I get the same butterflies of excitement and expectation that I got as a kid. I think about all that promise--all those kids who see this new school year as a fresh start, as a chance to be the best versions of themselves—and I can’t wait to meet them. And summer for me isn't all hammocks and lemonade. I spend more than a few summer days planning, training, and preparing to greet those kids with the best I have to offer. I attend conferences and professional developments. I meet with colleagues, share best practices, and think about what worked and what didn’t, rewriting units and plans to meet my students’ 21st Century needs. So I spend my first week of August feeling a bit conflicted--.like one of those old Looney Toons characters with an angel and devil on each shoulder, one whispering "suuuummmmmmerrrrrrrrrrrrr" while the other whispering "schhhhooooooooooooooollll." I teeter at the top of Babbit's Ferris wheel trying to decide to when to move forward. So how do I get ready to meet the year? How do I make sure that when the yellow school buses pull up, I'm less like Billy Madison and more like this: In this Monday’s “Back to School Blog” post, I’m going to share a few ways I prepare and motivate myself to charge back into my classroom like Jordan in the 1995 Chicago Bulls warm-up. 1. Get Inspired! Watch this TED Talk by Educational Superstar, Rita Pierson: Pierson was an educational dynamo who passed away in 2013. In this, one of her last major public appearances, Pierson talks about the key to success for all students. Now, I don’t want to spoil it for you if you haven’t seen it, but get ready to laugh, cry, and be inspired. It’s just under 8 minutes long, and Pearson reminds us of the incredible impact a real teacher/student connection can be. If you have seen it, watch it again. It’s worth it. I watch it at least once a year, and it’s a wonderful reminder of how important teachers are. 2. Pump up the Morning Those early mornings can be tough after a summer of restful, normal, human sleep. And I’ll be honest here…before 7:00 AM I am not the best version of myself. My senior year of college, a veteran teacher named Cathy Chitester came in to talk to my education class, and she gave this advice: “Mornings are hard. Some mornings, you won’t want to go at all. Make a mix-tape of songs you love. Songs that make you want to dance and sing. Songs that make you happy, and use that time in the car to get in a mood that will make you want to see your students.” Now, these days we call them “play-lists” not “mix-tapes,” but the advice is still sound. A great jam on the radio in the morning can turn the whole morning around for me. Below in no particular order is my ultimate drive to school playlist: Titanium, Sia Starships, Nikki Minaj Seven Nation Army, White Stripes Applause, Lady Gaga Three Little Birds, Bob Marley Work, Rihanna Nothing But a “G” Thang, Snoop Dogg featuring Dr. Dre I will Survive, Gloria Gaynor Ho Hey, Lumineers Changes, Tupac Freedom, Beyonce Respect, Aretha Franklin Don’t Stop Believing, Journey 3. Make it Look Good We all know that the amount of time given to work in our rooms before the students come is woefully limited. Often our teacher work days before students’ first day are consumed with meetings, training, and in-services. And to top it off, most of us have had to pack our rooms up before summer, and now we need to reassemble our classrooms into the magical learning centers we know and love. Trying to make our classrooms look like our Pinterest boards in the 20 minutes between meetings leaves most of frazzled, stressed, and overwhelmed. But here’s the thing: your room is important. It’s where you’re going to be spending most of your time for the next 10 months, it’s going to be the first thing your students see, and it will be the first impression your students have of you. If you are trying to teach in an unorganized, messy, sterile space, whether you realize it or not, it will affect your mood and your teaching which will directly impact your students. You’ll be less stressed and more prepared to deal with new beginning of the year policies, procedures, and information if you’re not worried about when you’re going to get time to tape your favorite motivational posters to the wall. So here’s what I do: I go into school and set up my room before I’m supposed to be “back,” usually a day or two before teachers' first day. Now, some of my colleagues will view this as working for nothing or “giving up” my free time, and maybe they’re right. But for me, the juice is worth the squeeze. When my first official day to return to school arrives, I feel “ready” knowing I’m going to walk into a finished room. 4. Set a Goal for Yourself and Keep Learning Every school year, I try to do something new in my teaching and for myself. This will make you a better teacher. By trying new things in your curriculum you're keeping your content fresh and your classroom current. By learning new things you are reminded of the feeling our students have in our rooms everyday. Last year I taught a unit on sentence patterns. I had never done this before, but I felt that it would give my AP Lang students stronger analysis skills. I had to work hard to familiarize myself with the content and the lessons since it was all relatively new to me and as a result, it was one of the best units of the year. The students got so much out of it, and I got to step out of my comfort zone which made me more aware of every aspect of the lessons. I also signed up to play the violin in a "Teacher Orchestra." I also have ZERO experience with playing a string instrument. I had to learn everything: how to hold it, how to read music, how to not sound like a dying cat. It was hard and wonderful. And it gave me a powerful lesson on perspective. I looked at my struggling English students differently knowing how powerless I felt with my new violin in my hand. These experiences made me a better teacher and person. 5. Remember Why They Need You Over the years, I’ve kept all the notes, thank cards, drawings, and funny little gifts my students have given me. When back-to-school blues hit, I sometimes pull out some of the more special ones and give them another read. And when I read those notes and cards, I remember why this job is so important. This year, there’s going to be a kid that is waiting for YOU. There’s a kid out there that wants to be inspired, that wants you to connect with her. There’s a kid out there waiting for you to share that one special book with him. There’s a kid out there, maybe this year that will write that one special paper for only you. There’s a kid out there that will read the comment you write on his journal and cry because nobody has ever praised his work. There’s a girl out there who has never seen herself in literature until you assign that novel. Remember why they need you. YOU are a change maker. As we return to our classrooms this week and next, I wish you all a happy, productive, and inspired school year! (And in case you need one more bit of inspiration for getting back into your classroom, here is the 1995 Chicago Bulls warm-up. You are the Micheal Jordan of your classroom. Go change some lives!) Happy school year everybody! WVCTE is wondering… What strategies do you use to prepare to head back to school and leave summer behind? How do you beat back-to-school blues? What do you use as inspiration to return to your classroom for a new year? Leave us a comment, find us on Facebook, or tweet us @WVCTE.
Jessica Salfia teaches AP English, English 11, Mythology, and Creative Writing at Spring Mills High School in Berkeley County, WV. Jessica has been teaching in Berkeley County, WV for 12 years, and also serves as an adjunct professor at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, WV. Before she became a teacher, she was mediocre white-water rafting guide on the Cheat River, and feels that these exploits best prepared her for the adventure of being a classroom teacher. Her most recent venture has been to work with her best pal, Karla Hilliard, to rebuild the West Virginia affiliate of NCTE, WVCTE. Jessica is an accomplished writer of both fiction and poetry, and has been a finalist in the WV Fiction Competition in 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013. Her work has appeared in the Anthology of Appalachian Writers Volumes III, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII. When she’s not writing or teaching, you can find Jessica in her garden or chasing her three lovely children or sitting at a ball field watching her husband coach the Spring Mills Cardinals baseball team. You can check out what Jessica is doing in her classroom by visiting www.salfiaenglishclass.weebly.com, or by following her on Twitter, @jessica_salfia.
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by Dr. Renee Peterson Teaching is a very difficult profession. I have heard some teachers warn their students away from teaching. “Don’t do it!” they say. When you are considering a major for college and a profession for your life, it can be discouraging for those in the profession to attempt to deflate the passion that you have for education. Why would current teachers discourage their own students from pursuing their profession? It’s a very difficult way to make a living. When I am approached by a student who has the desire to become a teacher, I give the expected “Are you really sure you want to do this?” speech, but then I couple it with a statement about passion: “You must have enough passion for kids, for learning, and for teaching that you can endure the CRAP.” By CRAP I mean, Criticism, Regulations, Accountability, and Problems (yes, sometimes the P stands for parents). Fellow veteran teachers, I just heard you chuckle…because you know exactly what I mean. There are many reasons that the school year still runs from August to May (or June with snow days), but I think the most important reason is to allow the teachers to find their passion again. I’ve seen many memes and videos on social media this summer describing the emotional roller coaster that is the school year; it can wear you out. Excellent teachers are expected to be passionate about their students and their role in the lives of those students every single day, but the CRAP can take its toll. Having a summer respite allows us the breathing space to find our creativity, our passion, and our desire to go back for another year. The summer, while allowing us that space for creativity, can be overwhelming. There are so many things that you want to accomplish: things you put off during the year because there was just no time, but what you need to do is rest. Rest allows our bodies, minds, and spirits to recharge. We need REST – Reignite an Educator’s Sustaining Passion – to return even better than before. Once you experience REST and your passion returns, so does the creativity. Attending workshops, participating in Webinars and on-line chats, reading books, and relaxing with other teachers just brainstorming ideas can allow those creative juices to get flowing again. The thoughts of fun lessons and educational experiences for your students come flooding back, and the passion that encouraged you to become a teacher in the first place returns like a tidal wave. You actually start to get excited about the new school year! Unfortunately for many, that grand excitement wanes during the preservice meeting, diminishes during the procedural necessities of September, and is squelched by external forces by October. How can we keep it going? How can we take the passion that we reclaimed in the summer into the doldrums of winter? We need FOCUS: Fix (y)Our Commitment Upon Something specific. As your ideas multiply in the summer, choose ONE thing to add or change or create this school year. Trying to adjust too many of your procedures or pedagogy will set you up for failure. You are preparing yourself to be disappointed in your lack of commitment to all of those many things you were going to do better this year, and then you give up. Don’t do that to yourself! Choose one, maybe two, new strategies to try or lessons to add to your already excellent collection and FOCUS. Maintain that new strategy by practicing it often. Prepare that lesson unit well, make notes during delivery, then take the time to reflect when it is completed. How can it be better next time? You know you will be bombarded with fires to put out and external requirements to complete, so do not purposely add to the stress you cannot control. Control the things you can and handle the rest. Fellow passionate educators, life-givers, future-preparers, I wish you a blessed school year full of promise with less CRAP and occasional periods of REST so that you may FOCUS on what’s important: the kids. May someone present you with a bouquet of beautifully sharpened #2 pencils for your first day back in the classroom. WVCTE is wondering... How do you maintain your passion throughout the school year? What do you do to recharge that passion in the summer? Dr. Renee Peterson is the theatre instructor, the International Thespian Society Troupe 8066 director, the Cardinal Players director, and the Drama Club advisor for Spring Mills HS in Martinsburg, WV. Renee spent 21 years as a teacher of English in public and private schools, for grades 7-12, with students of all levels in three states before changing her role to theatre director. She reared two wonderful children to adulthood while earning two master's degrees and a doctorate. Second only to teaching her own students, Renee finds joy in encouraging young teachers because "They are the future of our profession, and our students need them to be awesome teachers!" she says. Renee and her husband Tom enjoy their empty nest that is perched on 50 acres on the top of a ridge in Southern Berkeley County, West Virginia. To read her musings and missives, follow her blog at www.thelearningdoctor.me and her Twitter posts @renpetwv. To keep posted on the shows and activities of The Cardinal Players, follow them on Facebook or Twitter @smhsplayers. |
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