Fall #TheEdCollabGathering Reflections

     This post has the purpose of celebrating the learning I did in my pajamas yesterday!  OK, if I am being truthful, I was showered and being a mom while I learned.  But, I could have been in my pajamas.  The Educator Collaborative, under the direction of +Christopher Lehman, held their Fall #TheEdCollabGathering online yesterday.  They had 4 sessions over the course of Saturday, with 18 workshop choices and 2 keynotes.  I was able to attend most sessions live, thanks to a rain out of a soccer game, but they are all archived online too!  Here is the link:

https://gathering.theeducatorcollaborative.com 

     The opening Keynote was by Penny Kittle.  Wow.  I really wish I could go back to school and be in her classroom.   She is simply amazing.  She said a bunch of awe inspiring things, but the quote above was the huge take away for me.  She talked about giving the students time to read, and getting them to have momentum while reading, and using Book Talks to gain some momentum.  But when she said that her job is to sit down with individual readers and teach them were they need to be taught, it really hit home.  There are so many things that teachers do, and somehow reading with kids seems to get bumped off our to-do lists.  As a coach, people always tell me that they don't have time to conference with students.  But, as she sees it, that is our JOB.  I need to help them find the time to confer!  

     The session by Franki Sibberson was actually about using technology in a reading workshop.  This topic interests me, as our district is 1:1, and I am actually leading a session at the Illinois Reading Council conference in a few weeks about literacy and technology.  She had many wonderful things to say, but the idea of "intentionality" that she weaved throughout was my biggest take away.  I am constantly talking to teachers about being responsive, and making choices that are relevant to the needs of their students.   We can't be intentional if all the choices are made for us.   It matters that teachers can weigh their options, either with tech programs or instructional delivery, and that they can decide which will make the difference for their students.  It matters, as well, that our students are faced with choices.  If they never have to weigh options and make decisions about their own learning goals, they can't learn to be intentional, either.  

     I would talk about my learning from Jennifer Serravallo's session, but to be honest I want to watch the archive a few more times and make a blog post about her new book all by itself.  So, I will.  Every time I listen to her speak, I find a new way to organize my brain a bit more around literacy.  She is amazing.

 

     The closing keynote was by Kristine Mraz and Christine Hertz.  They recently wrote a book (pictured below) that talks about how to create a mindset for learning in our classrooms.  They described the kind of classrooms that would create better humans for the world of tomorrow.  They think that by teaching empathy, optimism, persistence, resilience, and flexibility, we can actually show our students what it means to have self-control and be in control of their own learning.  They have the goal of building community, not compliance, in their classrooms.   They know that students don't always come to us with the independent skills that they need to be successful, and that it is our job as teachers to help mentor them into those skills.  As a mom, and as a teacher, my thoughts exactly!!!

     I happen to believe them 100%.  I always felt that my relationship with my students was the single most important thing that I could give them, because not all my students develop at the same pace.  If I know them, and I myself have the same empathy and optimism and flexibility that I ask them to have, we almost always came to a place where we were both successful.  

    I need this book.  :)

     I went to a few more sessions, but it is beautiful out and the park is calling my family.  So, here are just a few more people from yesterday that I would add to the people you follow on Twitter.  Your PLN will thank you!

@ichrislehman

@JSerravallo

@KristinZiemke

@MrazKristine

@christine_hertz

@MrBronke

@kimyaris

@frankisibberson

@pennykittle

The Kids are My Curriculum

There I was, standing in front of 2 sessions of new teachers, giving an overview of reading workshop during New Teacher Week, but starting with an apology... 

     I apologized for the overwhelming information I was about to give.  Yes, I tried to make it general, and less daunting to our new staff who come with a range of experience.  I tried to think of the questions new staff would ask.  I put on my smiling face, and talked about the underlying principles of workshop and the resources we have and the things to consider at the beginning of the year.  But with each question asked, I somehow starting talking about common core, and Calkins, and formative assessment, and guided reading, and CAFE, and balanced literacy, and leveling systems, and workshop set up, and curriculum resources, and...

     The truth is, ALL teachers want to know what they are going to teach.  Sessions like that are necessary, because whether they are new or not, workshop model is an expectation and they need to explore it.  But, workshop and balanced literacy is NOT a script.  There is no one *right* way to do it.  There are guiding principles, but no clear recipe for success.  So, sometimes, when you talk about it, it actually creates more questions.

     And, maybe, that's ok.

     If teachers are questioning their practice, and looking to their kids for answers, they are probably going to teach better than if they just followed a script.  Even if at first things are a little rocky, the reflection and kid watching will smooth things out.  BUT... Sometimes we do need to follow something.  Experience builds with action, and with knowledge, and with time.  We need to fill our teaching toolbox before we can really look at the kids and know what to do next.  Programs and workshop overview can help do that.  But, it is up to the teacher to determine their path.

Case in point:
https://crawlingoutoftheclassroom.wordpress.com/2015/08/19/what-my-reading-conferences-have-become/
@JessLif

     That blog post was written about conferring and the other day I found it on Twitter.  Yes, conferring is on our puzzle pieces of balanced literacy and is an expectation.  But, after reading the blog post below, I started to think about what happens when something is taught because it is "an expectation."  I have seen it with my own eyes a lot as a literacy coach, and as a classroom teacher myself.   Decisions are made, and sometimes people jump to do them not because they understand the purpose or because they have adapted it to meet their students' needs, but because they have to, or their principal wants them to.  And often times, that isn't really the case.  And, things fall a little flat.

     But then, there are moments of brilliance.  Moments when teachers try something new, or adapt things to fit their own teaching style, and it resonates with both the teachers and the students.  Learning just starts oozing from the classroom and spills into the halls.  And people notice the great instruction and want to learn from that teacher, or even her students.  We begin to inspire each other.  And our students grow.  And we grow.

     Those moments of brilliance sometimes happen after we allow our selves time to develop as {both new and experienced} teachers.  

    So, I apologize to the new staff who might have wanted me to give them the one answer on how to teach workshop.  I really can't, because I don't know your kids.  Sitting in that room during New Teacher Week, your kids were still registering.  I can make assumptions and use my experience to generalize, but I want to meet them.  Then, I can guide you better.

     And, the truth is, many of your questions will be answered as you need them answered.   Some answers will come from within, and others from colleagues and Twitter posts and professional resources.  My email is always open to you, and the rest of the D100 literacy coach team is here to support you as you follow our literacy plan.

     Workshop model and balanced literacy are the heart of our district literacy plan.  It is driven by shared beliefs and common planning and a growth mindset mentality and lots of best practices.  We do have a program.  I even held up the Units of Study box and showed it.  But, I held it up and hopefully made it clear that the program is not our curriculum.  THE KIDS ARE.  

     Meet your students.

     Set up your workshop.

     Incorporate pieces of balanced literacy into your literacy instruction.

     Ask for support.

     Invite me, your literacy coach, your peers, etc. into your classroom.  

     You will be great.  And, someday, I hope you appreciate that this district that hired you believes in teachers so much that YOU can make decision in your classroom about how your students need to be taught.  We learn from each other, but respect each other enough to allow for instructional differences.  Workshop and balanced literacy allow for you to find the pieces that fit your students' needs.  Putting together the puzzle isn't always easy, but it sure can be powerful.

     Welcome to D100!

In case you needed my presentations...

K-2 Workshop Overview

3-5 Workshop Overview

#TheEdCollabGathering Reflections

     Yesterday was a pretty phenomenal day to be a teacher who embraces Twitter and the digital world as her PLN.  

     +Christopher Lehman and his friends at The Educator Collaborative put on a whole day of online FREE learning for teachers.  They had 11 sessions and 2 keynotes, to make a grand total of thirteen chances to learn and grow about a wide variety of topics.  The best part was being able to do it from home on a rainy spring day (and in the car on the way to MSI!).  The second best part is that it is completely ARCHIVED here!

     During the opening session, they had asked how we were going to share our learning from the day with others.  I had said that I was going to share my learning through tweets, blogs, and conversations as a coach.  The tweets were live tweets yesterday.  For the blog, I thought I would use a new app that I learned about from one of my Maker Communities on google.  It's called Word Swag, and I love it.  So, here are some of the biggest quotes or take aways for me personally as a teacher.  

     To see any of these sessions, just go the the archived link above and scroll through the orange bar at the top.

     So, here goes!  My top 10 big ideas or inspirations (in no particular order) in Word Swags.  

Opening Session: Who Inspires Your Thinking?

@ichrislehman @KristinZiemke  @heatherrocco

Session 1, Workshop #3: Teacher Poets

@ichrislehman

Session 2 Workshop #6: Leading with Joy

@tonysinanis @JohnFritzky @jschwarzeteach @MrLeBrun @heatherrocco

@janinecrain beat me to making this one!  She tweeted it before I could make it.  :)  

Session 3, Workshop #7: Blogging for Teacher Voices

National Blog Collab founders @natblogcollab @MrBronke 

Session 4, Workshop #10: Celebrating and Supporting ELLs

@EmilyDeLiddo @mary_cappellini

     At the very least, please go on to twitter and follow these FABULOUS educators.  Your PLN will thank you.