Book studies planned for after Christmas:

Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov-John Wiley and Sons 2010.

Ruby Payne A Framework for Understanding Poverty, by Ruby K. Payne, PhD.

Good morning! I wanted to show you why I haven't blogged in a while! I'm a Nana! My grandson, Liam, was born 12/12/12 at 12:48!! It sure has been a roller-coaster of a ride to say the least.

My daughter's pregnancy was picture perfect up until a week away from her due date. She woke up last Friday with her left leg swollen almost double her right!!! She propped it up all day and drank plenty of water thinking she over-did it on sodium. By Saturday morning it still was not down, so her and her husband decided it would be best to go to the ER and have it checked. Her feet didn't hit the floor until a week later! She had a HUGE blood clot in her upper thigh/groin area. It started because the baby was lying on the vena cava (major artery) that runs down both sides of your legs. They immediately put her on heparin drip to start to dissolve the clot. Her doctor also inserted a filter into the vena cava to catch the clot if it were to break free at any time. To go from perfect pregnancy to high risk in a day was very scary for everyone! As soon as her blood levels got to "therapeutic" they scheduled the c-section. She was fortunate enough to get to have a spinal block so she could be awake during the entire procedure and see her little guy as soon as he was delivered.

As of today, both momma and baby are doing fine :) My daughter will have to stay in the hospital for 2 more days instead of the 10 days they originally planned. She was very lucky because she did not ignore her swelling. Usually with a clot like that (DVT) you have many other symptoms-red, painful swelling, can't walk on the leg. All she had was the swelling and some tingling. Like if your leg fell asleep. As for the clot, after Christmas she will go back in to see if it has dissolved. If not, she will have a procedure done where they go in and try to remove it.

We have a wonderful support system of family and friends that prayed non-stop. We also believe in a compassionate GOD that never left our sides throughout the entire ordeal. God is good, all the time!

Good to Great Teaching

My sister is a teacher for Mustang Elementary School and she told me that she was going to be featured in a book about literacy! How awesome to be part of teaching legacy! The book is titled Good to Great Teaching. Focusing on the Literacy Work that Matters, by Mary Howard. I am only on page 5, but I felt compelled to share what I have read so far! Have you ever read or heard something that hit home so well that you start having a dialog with yourself?! (MmmmHmmm, Tru Dat)

The first of my moments begins with a reference to a business book called Do More Great Work, by Stanier 2010. He makes a plea to Stop the Busywork, and Start the Work that Matters. Nothing is more true than now as schools are moving into Common Core State Standards. He says that our work falls into three categories: bad work, good work, and great work. Of course the book starts with bad work! Not to discourage, but to say "Yep, we've all been there and sometimes fall back there, but here's what we're going to do about it." Good teachers reflect on the value of their work. By noticing the quality of work they have their students to do and by creating plans of action based on their reflections is what sets the good teacher apart. Every teacher does bad work and anyone who says they don't is delusional (Howard). Curious to know if your work falls under the category of "Bad Work"? I can tell you a lot of my work did, especially during my first years in the classroom!!

• passive worksheets
• round-robin reading
• irrelevant computer tasks
• fill-in-the-blank, circle, underline
• teacher sitting passively at desk
• one-size-fits-all grade level texts
• trivial games and activities
• crosswords or search-and-find puzzles
• cut-and-paste or meaningless coloring
• "stuff" over substance (learning)

I'm not going to admit to you which of these things I'm guilty of doing! But I will say that as I learned more about the way kids learn and research based strategies to engage my students, my items from the list started to decrease or morph into something better. If the items above are just a piece of a bigger and deeper understanding, one that leads students to gain a deeper understanding of real-world issues then they are not such time wasters. Howard cautions teachers to not start doing "good bad work" though! Ways to make the above list into a more meaningful list is to ask yourself if what you are having your students do will deepen understanding in a meaningful, real-world way.

Instead of/ why not:

• passive worksheets/ sticky-notes on visual charts (Chartchums)
• round-robin reading/ Socratic Seminar or Jigsaw
• teacher sitting passively at desk/ teacher facilitating groups and conferencing
• fill-in-the-blank/ Mock Trials

As I get deeper into this book, I will continue to blog on issues I feel are worth your time!

Shifting the Monkey(s

About a month ago a friend recommended I read a book by Todd Whitaker titled Shifting the Monkey: The Art of Protecting Good People From Liars, Criers, and Other Slackers. I have so many professional books that are piling up on my desk the thought of adding another one to the pile seemed like a very foolish thing to do! As soon as I got the book and opened it up there was no way I was going to put it down!! Now I recommend this book to everyone I talk to and here is why: We all have responsibilities (monkeys) that we deal with day in and day out. Laundry, cooking, paying bills, reading with our children, and the list goes on. Where the problems arise are when the monkeys start "shifting". Some people learn to be master monkey shifters! They know exactly how to shift their monkeys onto the backs of good people and walk away happy with the world. The good people are left behind with the monkeys they started out with AND the monkeys of others that have been shifted onto their back. This can happen at home with family or at work. Recognizing the monkeys and how they get shifted was an important focus as I read through the pages. Don't get me wrong, I want to help others, but if the monkeys on my back are getting to big, I need to deal with them before I accept to take on any more!

Monkey’s you may be familiar with:

The Blanket Monkey -

“ We use the Blanket Monkey when we want to avoid dealing with someone directly - like the employee who never arrives at the meeting on time, or turns in sloppy paperwork, or doesn’t turn it in at all.  Instead of dealing with these people individually, we try to correct the problem by addressing an entire group and putting the monkey on everyone’s back.”

The Rule Monkey -

“The Rule Monkey … the leader creates a new policy that makes more work for those who did nothing wrong.” “Leaders who use the Rule Monkey are under the impression that you can control a person’s behavior with rules.”  

The Avoidance Monkey -

“Leaders who use the Avoidance Monkey think they can manage without engaging in any potentially challenging situations.”

  

 The Yelling Monkey -

“The Yelling Monkey is used by leaders who deal with everyone and everything by force: by trying to be loud and obnoxious.”

 The Blame Monkey -

Leaders who operate as if nothing is ever their fault use the Blame Monkey; all problems are laid at someone else’s feet.  

 The Pouting Monkey -

“People who use the Pouting Monkey become aloof or withdrawn in a silent expression of resentment when they’re upset about something.” 

 The Arguing Monkey -

“The Arguing Monkey is handed out by people who are great at arguing.  They love to confront others, take exception to just about anything, and flat-out contradict others.”