Proper Mindset

We ran a few end-of-the-summer errands yesterday, ending up at one of those off-price department stores. Technically? We were there for fun and colorful poop bags, one of the items on Heidi's list, and since she picks up most of the poop, I am not going to question that. 

But of course, we sped-browsed through the other departments, too, Heidi looking at dresses and blouses, and I at kitchenwares and active clothing. It was on the rack in this second section that I found a lovely seafoam-colored crewneck sweatshirt from one of our favorite clothing companies. It had a little dragonfly in the center and the caption, "Change is Good".

Embracing change is not really how I roll, but I bought the sweatshirt anyhow in a conscious effort to be mindful of the concept. And I wore my new pullover today, on the first day of school for teachers. Perhaps it served me well, because there was talk of some big changes coming along, but I wasn't bothered at all.

At the risk of being over-confident-- Year 31? I got you.

Holding Out

 Our last meeting had ended and I was ready to bust out of school. "Let's go!" I said to Heidi around 2:45. "We can pretend it's still summer!"

Oh, we didn't leave right away. Even after our stuff was packed, there were so many friends and colleagues still to catch up with, but we did push open the heavy doors and step into the unbelievably beautiful August afternoon a little before 4. 

On the way out we ran into another teacher. "One is done!" he sang.

"Only a hundred and ninety-nine more to go!" I agreed.

And once we were home, we changed our clothes and walked the dog up to a nearby shopping center. I got groceries while Heidi and Lucy browsed in the craft store. Then we lugged a couple of heavy bags the mile back home. I put a dry rub on the pork butt and set up the sous vide. Our neighbors are coming over for game night on Saturday, and the recipe called for 24 hours in a 165 degree water bath.

I also stuffed a dozen squash blossoms that I picked the other day. By that time, I was slowing down a bit. Even though I wanted to ignore it, the truth was that we had spent 8 hours at school. We did get a little summer in, but? Vacation is definitely over.

Repurposed

When I checked out my classroom for the first time this school year, I was genuinely pleased to see that those vintage trapezoid tables had returned. By my reckoning, they are original to the building, circa 1971, but they have been in my possession since 1993. Already 22 years old when I got them, at 50? They have been with me much longer than that, but last year, COVID social distancing requirements meant every classroom was equipped with single-seat desks, and I had to trust that the trapezoids were in safe storage.

There was something missing from my room, though. An abandoned typing desk that I adopted many years ago to provide a little technology dogleg to my teacher desk must have been moved out with the student desks. To be honest, I was a little at a loss for how to finish setting up my room without that small but crucial surface, and so once the bookshelves were moved (Teflon sliders!) and the tables and chairs were placed in their customary positions, I started a treasure hunt through the building.

Along the way, I began to feel like the little red hen, but in reverse. Everyone I asked was kindly willing to help me find my table, and by the time I ended my search, I was surrounded by 3 custodians, the director of facilities, and my sister-in-law the art teacher, all offering solutions to my dilemma. When the head custodian wasn't quite sure what piece of furniture I was looking for, the facility director tried to describe it to him. "Ms. S is old school, like me," he said. "She wants a table like they used to put typewriters on,  long, long time before they had computers"

The other guy looked blankly at him. "What for?" he asked.

"For her computer!" his boss told him.

An hour later? They brought a table to my room.

Onward!

We should make all our meetings virtual! seemed to be the consensus this morning when we finished the first part of our all-day agenda an hour early. And it was nice to go out for a walk around the neighborhood at lunch and not worry about finishing the last of our meal even as the afternoon session got started. The chat feature on our virtual meeting platform turned out to be another blessing-- it was way better for questions, concerns, comments, and even jokes than any stack of post-it notes and a chart paper "parking lot" ever was or could hope to be. Plus, texting took the place of all those whispered side conversations and snarky asides.

BUT...

There were lots of people we never saw or heard from at all, and 5 hours sitting at the dining room table in front of a screen was uncomfortable. It was also hard to stay focused and engaged, especially when my camera was off and the kitchen was eight feet away.

My take away from today? Distance learning is going to be challenging for reasons I haven't really been considering, but there are going to be good things about it, too. 

Let's Go

It was a good first day back.

Everyone was nice, and it was nice to see everyone. I got two hugs, a few compliments, and several laughs at my jokes. Even though I was a little behind, it was easy to take the time to be kind and empathetic. The activities were a good mix of meetings, professional development, small group, and on-your-own time. Lunch was good. Class sizes seem manageable, and the kids look nice, but not without some wackiness.

Year 27...

I see you!

Chops

I came home from school this afternoon and cooked. I took what they gave me in my veggie share and what I had on hand, and I put it all together to make corn on the cob, braised cherry tomato sauce, and kimchi pickled cucumbers: something for today, something for tomorrow, and something for the future.

I think that's the kind of year it's going to be. 

I'm With Her

Because of construction going on at and around our campus, parking is going to be at a premium for the next couple of years. Fortunately, the district secured spaces in some temporary lots; unfortunately, over half of them are about half a mile away. Oh, there is a shuttle, but, well, it's not very convenient.

In the interest of fairness and transparency, the administration did a double blind lottery right after our meeting the other day. I waited to see where my spot and those of my friends and teammates would be, silently considering the logistics of all the possibilities. When at last my name was called, I was assigned to the far garage. Rather than despair, though, I crossed my fingers for Heidi's luck, since her name had not yet been called.

When it was? She got a spot much closer to school. "Another plus for marriage!" texted our friend Mary.

On to Y24D2

Observation from Year 24, Day 1:

Wow, that was a lot of sitting!

Out of the Gate

This morning was the first meeting of the year for me; at 8:45 I took my place at a group of round tables hastily pushed into an un-nameable shape and quietly waited for the folder that would mark the official beginning of the SY 15-16. 

This was my 17th team leaders meeting, and as they go? It wasn't too bad. We talked mainly about big ideas: leadership, morale, motivation, collaboration, vision, and mission. There was pizza and salad for lunch. I spoke up a few times, and my contributions were noted. On my way out of the building the principal promised to get me the info I needed to register for a training I volunteered for. 

"Oh, I already did that," I told her.

She seemed impressed. "Well! Look at you-- registering, and coming up with slogans, and adding to the statements!"

"I know, right?" I answered. "I'm going home to take a nap!"

Rockin Robin

Tweedily deedily dee, tweedily deedily dee

In a year of many new technology initiatives for our school system, there is one that seems to have been embraced whole-heartedly by senior administration.

He rocks in the tree tops all day long

It's not iPads for students,

Hoppin and boppin and a-singin his song

and it's not getting the bugs out of our student information system.

All the little birdies on J-bird Street

Someone at the Ed Center seems to think that 140 characters is the perfect way to connect with students, educators, and families alike.

Love to hear the robin go tweet tweet tweet

#APSback2school

It's Brain Science

We had an all-day packaged training at school today. As it happened, there were many practical ideas offered, and spending the day in the library with my colleagues actually relieved a lot of my usual first day back stress-- there was really no other choice, so I just went with it. My group of four was also awesome, making it that much easier to relax and enjoy the day.

Oh, I still have a philosophical objection to the merchandising of education; I believe we paid a lot of money for nothing more than a common sense set of strategies and the common language that goes along with a whole-staff orientation, but I am glad that we did not buy any test-taking and remediation advice from any subsidiaries of test-making companies. (That will come later.)

The session itself was generally engaging; the presenter very effectively used the strategies she was selling to get her message of structured cooperative learning across, and although I do have some concerns about extrovert bias, this introvert had an okay time. I even learned a few things, like for example your brain is constantly evaluating your experiences and sorting them into threats, opportunities, or neither (which are things to be ignored). Once you perceive a threat, your amygdala goes into hyper drive, resulting in a mental state where it is impossible to think clearly or even learn for up to three hours.

Later, when Heidi and I were debriefing at home, I asked her about one of the activities. "So, what did you say your ideal job would be? Dog training?"

"Yeah, with Cesar Milan," she said. "What about you? Park ranger?"

"Yeah!" I said. "How did you know that? I could barely think of ianything to say myself this morning."

She shrugged. "I know you."

Better than my own amygdala, apparently.

Back in the Saddle

When I was in high school, I was lucky enough to take a few bike trips through some amazing areas of Europe. In addition to touring the Ticino Canton of Switzerland where our school was located, I also spent a week riding through Tuscany and another cycling through the south of France.

I confess that at the time I could not have fully appreciated the splendor of those opportunities, but even so, each trip was unforgettable to me-- there are still nights when I dream of some stretch of pavement damp from an earlier shower, with lilacs, daffodils, and recently plowed fields sprouting their first green on either side. The road curves, and I literally gasp-- it's the Alps, or the Mediterranean Sea, or the Towers of Siena. Their beauty is visceral.

I will also never forget how much my ass hurt on the second day of every trip; just sitting on the narrow seat of the touring bike was excruciating. We all groaned and whined our way through the first couple of clicks until the rhythm of the pedals and the sound of the tires on the asphalt shhhhhhishhhed our complaints away as we rode into the rising sun.

We did what we needed to do, and after a while, it didn't hurt at all.

What Else Is There?

Over the summer, our school system implemented several technology upgrades. Such an ambitious project rarely goes online without a few hiccups, and this one was no exception. Last week at our team leaders' meeting we received the following update: The new system is up and running, except for problems with saving, printing, the electronic grade book, and other applications.

Today when the whole staff arrived for our first pre-service day of the week, the message was not much amended, except to add that there is mandatory technology training tomorrow.

Lookin' forward to it.

Note to Self: Schedule Introspection ASAP.

We had our annual summer team leaders meeting yesterday. This is where the leadership cadre of our school devotes several hours the week before everyone else comes back to getting up to speed on what's developed since classes ended in June as well as laying the groundwork for the year to come.

I've had the privilege of being included in this group since 1999, so what does it say that I was most engaged when it came to the discussion of our new building security system? Sure it involves card swiping and new keys for everyone, but it seems like the other stuff on the agenda should have grabbed my attention, too.

The earthquake was cool, though.

Happy New Year!

My first year of teaching there was a story going around about a guy who got his job by answering one question in the interview.

"What makes you think you'll be a good middle school teacher?" he was asked.

"I'm a tree; I can bend," he replied.

According to legend, he was hired on the spot.

Today was the most chill first day of school ever. There was none of the hectic pace that has welcomed me back in years past. It is counter intuitive, too. Our building was updated over the summer and was only released to us this morning. Let's just say there is a rather lengthy punch list of finishing touches that must be completed before the students arrive next Tuesday (like furniture in the art room). It seemed like the staff kind of rolled with it, though, and what good would it have done to do otherwise?

(Oh, there was another interview story, too, that first year of mine. In reply to the question Why do you want to be a teacher? the candidate had rehearsed his answer carefully and meant to say I really want to help kids and touch lives, but he mixed the phrases up. As a result he looked the principal dead in the eye and said, I really want to touch kids, and...

That guy was not hired on the spot.)

The Assignment

We had our end of summer leadership meeting for school today. Administration, team leaders, and instructional lead teachers all gathered to come up to speed on what's been happening over the summer and to formulate a plan for the coming year.

I attended my first leadership "retreat" twelve years ago. Back then it involved an overnight stay at a motel in Leesburg, a community just far enough outside the city limits to justify calling it a retreat, well, that and the two day schedule. The next year we got a new principal and she put her own personal stamp on the event by reorganizing it into a 9-3 meeting, with lunch, held in our library. (I approved of the change, mostly because I didn't have to share a room with anybody, although I did kind of miss drinking beer on the porch until midnight with Larry and Mark.)

This year we went to someone's house because our building renovation won't be complete until next Monday. We met in the family room, and I got the leather easy chair, so I can't really complain, especially when the principal perched on the stone ledge of the fireplace all day. The meeting had a different kind of feeling than those in the past, and in odd moments, I found myself trying to figure out why. Was it the setting? The ever changing cast of attendees? Or could it have been me? After 17 years, I'm on the downswing of my tenure.

At the end of the session, which ran long as usual because of so many non-agenda issues that seemed worth spending time on, our attention was directed to a single sheet in our folders. Its title was Focusing Work to Improve Instruction and it consisted of six questions:

What does success look like?
How do I impact instruction?
What is my role in our success?
How do I help all kids excel?
How do I monitor progress on a regular basis?
What do I need to do differently?

I folded the paper in half and tucked it into my writing notebook. As the new school year begins, I couldn't ask for better prompts.

21st Century Buzz

We met with our financial advisor the other day. The guy is a stitch. Originally from Australia, he found his way to financial planning via a career in the Air Force. A retired colonel, he's not yet 50. All of these elements combine to create quite a character. For example, the guy is big on empirical data. He takes his observations and spins them around in that hopper of a brain of his and then presents them, shiny, but undeniably a tad dizzy. He carries a yellow legal pad and is perfectly willing to diagram and chart his theories.

These ideas of his are not limited to investment, oh no, and that accent will charm you and carry you right along with him. I especially appreciated his skepticism about the rise of the multi-tasker. He reckons it's impossible for so many to be so proficient at several simultaneous pursuits. He bases this on his own experience. According to him, he is a good multi-tasker, but this simply must be a rare talent, because he is of above average intelligence and very hard-working, and he knows how tough it is for him to juggle so many considerations at once.

I thought of him yesterday, when we kicked off our first big meeting of the school year with a couple of YouTube videos describing the world our students are growing up in, contrasting it not only to the one in which many of us came of age, but also to the way things were just five years ago. Information and technology are growing exponentially. (Hello? We watched YouTube in a staff meeting...)

I'm guessing my money guy would make an argument for adaptation without disregarding the value of the basics-- those things that do not change or lose value; he is definitely a pragmatist. But in such a fast-paced climate, how do we determine what those are? To me, the take away was that we must prepare our students for the world that they will live in in the future, not the world we grew up in, or even the world today. Multi-tasking is the least of it. We have to think beyond our personal experience, and (now I'm doing my own empirical thing) that's really hard.