THRIVE

The first day of school is coming... for some it has already come.

I always loved the first day of school---as a student and as a teacher.

The possibilities that hung in the air as we drew nearer to opening day.
The learning waiting to happen in those sparkling clean rooms.
The brilliance ready to sit in those empty seats.
The collaboration and inspiration ... the AHAs!

The anticipation  was such a grand and welcome feeling.

On the first day, we meet those who will be part of our learning community for the coming year.

We meet those who come ready to learn--those whose experiences until now have been wonderfully successful and encouraging

We meet those who are coming with years of negative  school experiences behind them--bringing their wariness and fear.

We meet those who are coming with worries and   baggage  from home-- those with nowhere to turn except you.

And we meet those eager to start anew, anxious to wipe the old slate clean and begin again.

The first day  brings all of these together.

As a teacher, how will you meet each one's needs?  How will you meet their collective needs?

How will your nurture yourself so that you can in turn foster growth and learning and unlimited possibilities for your students?

As we begin again.... or as we enter as new teachers for the first time into this magical space where anything can happen,  we know that  the teaching profession has become more challenging.

As we face economic and political roadblocks, as we face legislative and corporate demands, as we deal with new standards and old   scenarios,  we need ways to sustain ourselves and our work.

Meenoo Rami offers us this sustenance.  In Thrive: 5 Ways to (Re)Invigorate Your Teaching she offers practical and necessary ways we can  remain true to ourselves, connected to others, and able to deal with the vulnerability of being a new or veteran teacher in this century.

Rami suggests ways that we can combat the isolation of our own classrooms, seek and choose mentors, work collaboratively, online and  face-to-face, to build networks of learning and support, as well as advocate for, and empower both our students and ourselves.

She shares her own journey:

... the  sheer exhaustion from long days of teaching, grading, and planning that would leave me depleted...sometimes my best effort would not even be enough, and I would have this dreadful feeling that I was not even prepared to teach on that particular day.

She also shares how she

 discovered her own power to find meaning solve complex problems and make meaningful connections that inspire me to this day.

As I reflect on my own teaching career, I realize that I have been fortunate to have followed the path beyond survival to thriving as outlined by Rami.

From the first day of my first full-time experience, I have always had mentors who offered their shoulders to stand on--mentors who pushed me forward, pulled me back at times, and always had my back.

Mildred Dorr was my assigned mentor in my first assignment.  She remained my friend and advocate until the day she died.

As I was invited to join curriculum development groups within my district and also began to provide professional development training in variety of areas ( mainly literacy related), I also developed friendships with like-minded colleagues--several of whom I am still friends today.

Within these groups, I found folks interested in growing professionally in ways similar ways to my own interests. Our professional paths and training developed a parallel manner.

We challenged each other's thinking, theories, and practice.
We collaborated, wrestled, argued, laughed, experimented... and grew together.

I was fortunate.

In addition, I found, and continue find, support locally and nationally in formal professional organizations and their respective programs, including:

National Writing Project (NWP) 
The Columbus Area Writing Project (CAWP)

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
The Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (OCTELA)

International Reading Association (IRA)
The Ohio Council of the International Reading Association (OCIRA)

Reading Recovery Council of North America



To whom will you look as mentors this year?

Where will you look to establish networks of support and communities for collaboration?

What routines and disciplines will you  institute to empower your students and yourself?

What are your sources of new knowledge?

What will you do this year so that you and your students can thrive?

Related Posts

School Daze, my "first day of school post"  from last year.

Teacher Vulnerability

The Joy (and Burden) of Teaching

Today's Deeper Writing Possibilities

Reflect on your profession.  What characteristics and conditions  are essential for  effectiveness and success?

How can you develop these characteristics and establish the necessary conditions?

Identify current or possible mentors.

List current and/or possible networks of support and communities of learning.

What are your goals this year?

Who can help you achieve them?

Write a letter to yourself outlining your plan to thrive this year.

SCHOOL DAZE

I have always loved the first day of school.

It used to coincide with a change in the weather-- an increased nip in the air, a morning chill forcing us to wear jackets or sweaters, and a slight tinge of red or orange on  the leaves.

Now we return to school with the sun blazing high in the sky and schools considering just how little clothing is too little, and little league teams still going-- as summer has eased into an earlier opening of school.


What will we find as we return?

What new responsibilities will be introduced?

What new materials, what new schedules and procedures--- and more importantly, what shifts in thinking are expected and what new reform efforts are being implemented?

See related  post, The Joy (and Burden) of Teaching, which includes more on our increased responsibilities and features several picture books related to school reform approaches.

As we return to school, what is important for us to know?
What do we want folks to know about our roles as educators?

What would people learn about us if they spent the year in our classrooms?
Everyday, all day long. Every child, every lesson.  Every worry, every joy.

Tracy Kidder spent an entire year in Christine Zagac's fifth grade classroom.  The result of that memorable experience was his poignant book, Among Schoolchildren. We watch through Kidder's eyes and listen through his telling prose, as Mrs. Zagac moves through her daily routines, celebrates her victories, worries over her students, supports their growth, and bemoans her own frailties.

What would an observer write if they spent a year in our classrooms?

I am a product of public schools (Columbus City and Westerville City in Ohio) and I am a staunch public school proponent.

I am for having excellent public schools to support our children within strong, supportive communities.

Yet, having said that, I also recognize gross inequalities between and within school systems. I acknowledge that there are some issues that must be addressed to create excellent schools for every child..

Jonathan Kozol was one of the first to bring to public attention the disparities that existed in the past, and still in our public school systems.  In Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools, he opened windows and doors on school situations that were beyond belief.   He laid bare the horrors (and desperate souls) trapped in inadequate schools --school that were failing our children miserably.

Kozol has written almost a dozen other books about the lives of children in poverty, their teachers, and their schools in our nation. Click here to read more about him and his books.

As Kozol points out the differences and deficiencies in many of our schools and school systems, we must also think about how we teach children who are not like us.  This is the subject of Lisa Delpit's landmark book, Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom.   Children of color, children in poverty, and children from other lands-- other people's children-- are often the victims of cultural miscommunication, lowered expectations, and a disproportionate probability of being labeled for academic and/or behavioral issues.

Chris Lehman in his response to CNN's Inside Man fosters more reflection and adds information on this issue in his blog post, Should We Teach "Other People's Children" Differently?

How do we teach other people's children?

What do you, as a parent, want your child's teacher to know?

And finally, in this nation, we tend to continuously  compare ourselves to other countries and their respective school systems. It used to be Japan.   Today it is Finland.

Bonnie Kaplan guest blogs on the Two Writing Teachers blog about her travels to Finland with Christine McCartney. She details her observations about the schools and includes an excellent video by McCartney which clearly outlines the complex and different paths that the United States and Finland have taken since the 1950's in efforts to improve their respective school systems.

Finland is widely reported to treat teachers in an exemplary manner. Perhaps this is the biggest  lesson for us.

One thing that struck me in Kaplan's blog is the notion that elementary teachers are the most  revered and early education  training highly sought  in Finland.  As a former elementary teacher this warms my heart.

Students choose their paths  after ninth grade- moving toward college or vocational school--both free. Perhaps this is another lesson.

Pasi Sahlberg, Finland's leading expert on school reform and author of Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland?, questions  whether the current U.S. focus on teacher effectiveness is really the best reform strategy for American schools, What if Finland's great teachers taught in U.S. schools?

What is the best way to reform our schools?
What do we need to know and do?


Where do we turn for information and inspiration as school opens again?

Today's Deeper Writing Possibilities

Reflect on what the first day of school means to you. Do you remember a particular first day or a particularly memorable year? 

Write a narrative about that memorable first day or year.

What reforms do you feel  need to be implemented in your school or school system?

Write an essay detailing  your ideas.

Write a poem or song capturing first day emotions, anticipations and anxieties.

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