Go forth young seeds, for there is much to be done

Our classroom is a garden that is full of different seeds,

Of cultures, languages, and diverse needs

With passion, creativity, and inquisitiviness

The glory of our garden lies within every fiber, every pulse, every breath.

For where we once grew, to where we will blossom

Prosper and live within our microcosm

Spring forth and be kissed by sun

Go out, young seeds, for there is much to be done

              Escalante Elementary is a school that promotes a rich and respectful learning environment by cherishing exploration and committing to the representation of diversity. Over the past couple of months I have come  to know Escalante’s school, community, and students on a deeper, more meaningful level. 
               The community inquiry project gave me a broader and extended knowledge on the Escalante community demographics, interests, and ways of life. In exploring the area in which I teach, I was able to gain an in-depth understanding of my students’ cultures, ways of life, passions, struggles, and dreams. As I immersed myself into this process a quote by Jean Meidck popped into my head. 
“As a teacher I feel I have a moral obligation
to help the children in my classroom  grow 
toward becoming full human beings and to feel successful. 
Teaching cognitive skills is  not enough...”
               Teaching requires so much more than knowledge of content. Being a teacher means you have to be passionate about the students you are teaching and speak up for those students who have been continually silenced.  In gathering information about the community, I am able to design a classroom that promotes peace and highlights the unique qualities of each individual student. 

This is how I felt today. Haha! :) Teaching can be a whirlwind.

Children Full of Life

I continually look to this documentary for teaching inspiration. This is the class I strive to have.


Children Full of Life (Click to watch)

My students

My students know laughter

They know tears

My students know peace

They know conflict

My students know acceptance

They know rejection

My students know joy

They know pain

My students know health

They know illness

My students know emptiness

They know hope

My students know hatred

They know love

Together we are room 143.

Our class is a microcosm of the world.

The power of literature

            
"Books are the carriers of civilization" -Thoreau


One of my favorite parts about being a teacher is the literature I get to read everyday. 22 bouncing 1st graders are suddenly mezmorized by words and pictures on a page. 


Today during literacy, I read "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein. This book was one of my favorites when I was young and reading it to them was very eye-opening. I can't begin to describe how blown away I was with my students insight and connections while reading this book. 


Literature is a great force within the classroom. It can heal, it can inspire, it can save. During read aloud is when I hear the greatest wisdom from my students. Literature stretches their minds and expand their horizons...I hope it will always. 

Energy Boost

There is this beautiful thing about the body, and it is called the immune system. Sadly, mine seems to not be working. I have caught a nasty bug from the kiddos. Symptoms include runny nose, sore throat, throbbing head, and zero energy.


Right now I need an energy boost. In the profession of teaching, you have no other choice. Everyday you have to be 100% for the kids, not matter what you feel like. In the morning I will be sunshine for my students...because they deserve nothing less. :)


I can do this.

Maslow's Hierarchy-Keeping them safe

                                                  Today we had a fire drill. 

Students did their best to stay calm, quiet, and walk quickly out the door to the field until we were signaled to come back inside. When we returned to the classroom, I sensed that some students were feeling anxious about what had just occured. Tapping deeper into their feelings, I learned that some students were afraid of fire. For 30 minutes we sat in a circle and discussed fire safety, shared stories, and even dove into the composition of what fire is. 


Was it off task? Yes. Was it needed? Definitely.


My students did not feel safe. They had "burning" questions that needed to be answered and stories that needed to be shared. As a class, we couldn't move on until everyone felt secure.


Today, I saw first hand how Maslow's Hierarchy plays a huge role in the structure of a classroom.

To sit beside

The Latin root of the word assessment is assidere, to sit beside. This symbol of sitting beside someone is the foundation of teaching. Not just the physical aspect of sitting by students, but the deeper meaning of staying by a student’s side through their challenges and their triumphs. This is the community in which students and teachers come together to learn and live. “To sit beside” students and truly understand them is the deeply rooted purpose behind assessment.

         

The coming and going

Today I learned that one of my students Grandfather died. She will be traveling to Mexico with her family for his funeral and will be gone from school for a month or more. I'm glad that she will have this time to be with her family and celebrate her Grandfather's life. I think that is very important.


The difficult thing is that she will be gone. The class will be missing their dear friend, and she will be missing out on valuable learning time. In my classes at Westminster, I read stories of students leaving. The coming and going, the traveling and staying. 


But living it now is more difficult than I imagined. 
I will miss her and hope she returns back sooner than later. 

The space that shrinks...

              Blocks away from Escalante Elementary, I pull up to a white apartment complex. Miscellaneous toys, bikes, and barbeque grills adorn the front yards, showing a presence of children and families. I approach apartment number 18 and knock on the door. Behind the wall I can hear a muffled voice shout, “Ms H. is here!” The door swings open and there is Ashley, beaming with her sweet smile. Behind her stands her mother, Maria, and her stepfather, Marvin. Together, they welcome me into their home. For the next half hour, I dive into the intimate points of who they are and what makes their family so special.

                  Through this process, I found myself crossing over the invisible borders that so frequently keep people apart. Joe Beth Allen in Creating Welcoming Schools describes this idea as “the space between two individuals that shrinks with intimacy”  (p. 139). This space that once existed between Ashley and I was soon filled with appreciation, respect, and understanding. From this, we began to live within our own element, outstretching the confinements of race, religion, SES, and gender.

            When teachers break down boundaries and borders, cross over the lines, and step out of boxes- we are building intimate relationships that carry more meaning and purpose than is ever imaginable. If we teach in this way, a whole world of learning and compassion is opened up and experienced for both teachers and students.

Flexibility and Balance

          One thing I have recognized about good teaching is having the ability to be flexible. 
          Teaching is not always about having a fixed agenda, but being adaptable and fluid. Constructive teaching is having the confidence to react and adjust to changing circumstances. Sometimes, it means only getting 10 percent of what you wanted to do in class done. It's about deviating from the course syllabus or daily schedule when there is enhanced learning elsewhere. Good teaching is about the creative balance, the yin yang, the “going with the flow” and enjoying every minute of it. 

"Show me a day when the world wasn't new"

This summer my Mom gave me a framed picture with a quote by Sister Barbara Hance. The picture now sits on a small desk in my bedroom surrounded by candles and other odds and ends. Last night I was looking at the tiny words below the black and white picture, “Show me a day when the world wasn’t new." 

In the world of a 1^st grader, everything is wondrous.

With wide eyes they observe.

Words and sounds, ideas and dreams, tears and laughter.

What isn’t new through the eyes of a 1^st Grader? They are learning and discovering not only their world, but themselves.

They naturally have an adventurous and awe-struck spirit about their surroundings.

From the simplest things like recognizing what the different colors are, to more complex observations about how things grow, my 1^st graders are already teaching me to continuously be amazed by life.

I am a teacher

This morning, I sat in front of my 21 students and taught a literacy lesson. With Tillie being gone, it was my first day in charge. As I did the literacy lesson, a quote that I have heard numerous times in my classes at Westminster popped into my head...


I have come to a frightening conclusion.

I am the decisive element in the classroom.
It is my personal approach that creates the climate.
It is my daily mood that makes the weather.
As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous.
I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.
I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.
In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis
will be escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanized or de-humanized.

-Dr. Haim Ginott

I'm at a point where I have the opportunity to take everything I've learned; all of my life experiences, all the knowledge I gained from my EDUC classes at Westminster, and apply it to Dr. Haim's quote. 

Today, for the first time, I truly felt like a teacher. 

Rotator cuff

          Tomorrow, Tillie gets surgery on her rotator cuff. She tore it over the summer and tomorrow they are going to do the repair. The surgery should take about an hour, but the full recovery will be a year. 
         It's considered one of the most painful and limiting surgeries. Tillie is expecting to be gone for 4 days. So for the next 4 days, I will be in charge of the class with a substitute. 
         I'm hoping Tillie's surgery goes well.


Bring on the full responsibility of 21 little kiddos!

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Sometimes, I feel like the greatest teacher in the world. There are days when transitions are smooth, students are engaged, and everyone gets along.

Then there are the days that…

-They can’t focus

-A broken pencil is the end of the world

-*Jenny’s hair is more fascinating than clapping syllables

-Centers are the epitome of chaos and confusion

-Talking is waaay more fun than listening

-Tattling seems like the most affective way to solve a problem

-Running through the halls is the only way to go out to recess, duuuh

Lunch numbers are forgotten, sharing is the last thing they want to do, and bathroom visits are an excuse to tell *Johnny all about your new Smurf backpack.

But the amazing thing is, is that we are all in this together. I remember what it was like being in the 1^st grade (it was only 17 years ago!) and I know that everything takes time and a lot of practice.

I am learning right along with them. Some days are perfection, and some days are less than perfect. We all learn from our mistakes and we try our best.

And tomorrow is a new day. We enter class with a fresh perspective and a brand new start.  :)

It's all in the details...

Tying shoes. Tissues. Band Aids. Sharpening pencils. Lunch numbers. Hand Sanitizer. Allergies. IEP’s. Seating chart. Markers that work. Room arrangement. Emergency procedures. Rules. Transitions. Technology. Centers.

  

         One thing I forgot about 1st graders is how young they are. My students are continuously looking to me for help and guidance in the smallest of ways. An issue I have come across (that I didn't think about before entering the classroom)  is tying shoes. 

         "Ms. H!!!! Can you tie my shoe?" "Ohh Ms. H!! I need help tying my shoe too." 

         Tying a shoe is a basic, life-long skill. But most of my students haven't had the opportunity to learn how to do this at home. As a teacher, it is my role to help my students become autonomous individuals. Next week I will take the time and do a "tying shoe" lesson.

Build a tee pee
Come inside
Close it tight so we can hide
Over the mountain
And around we go
Here's my arrow
And here's my bow!

To my 1st Graders:

Children,

your education will make visible

what is hidden as a seed within,

a seed that will transform into uniquely, beautiful, YOU.

YOU are the gardener of your own being,

the seed of your own destiny.

You will take root, and someday you will flower.

Opening up your petals and stretching to sun-

blossoming into your own.

 Your journey has just begun.

And someday soon

You will scatter...

and watch as your own seeds help others expand around you,

blooming in their turn.

It's a zucchini blanket party!

        It's Friday morning. Students enter the classroom with more excitement and anticipation than normal. Why? Today is a party. Over the first couple weeks of school, students earned marbles for good behavior, listening, and learning. Once the marble jar is filled, they get to have a celebration.
       In science, we have picked fresh zucchini from the garden. When asking the students what they want for their party, they reply "Let's have a zucchini party!!!" "And can we bring our blankets too?"
       Thus, our "zucchini blanket" fiesta is born.
       Mrs. Uribe and I lead the students in making zucchini marinata and zucchini chocolate cupcakes. As we cook, we are introducing them to chemistry, measurement, and the basics of cooking.
        "Yum! This is gooood." *Janay smiles and munches on her assortment of zucchini delicacies.
          I'm surprised by how many of the students enjoy the sophisticated taste of the fresh zucchini salad. 
         As we eat, we put on a movie and enjoy their much deserved party. 


         And the greatest thing about this day is that they are celebrating and learning simultaneously. 
                                                         
                                                     Learning is a celebration.

The Art of Play

 “Without this playing with fantasy, no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of the imagination is incalculable.”

       Today, students earned “free time” if they completed their centers. I walked around and observed as students played with cards, dice, pattern blocks, and connecters. A group of girls stands around a table and build what they call an “octopus flower”. Their creativity is alive and wild. 

       I am quickly impressed by how well everyone plays with each other, how easy it is for them to come together and explore. It becomes apparent how important playing is within the classroom, not just for intellectual stimulation, but for building community. Their imaginations, problem solving skills, and inquiry are all being utilized. 

They are in the midst of learning and discovery, and they don’t even realize.