School

Hello and happy Tuesday!

Well, as the school year winds down, I wanted to get in at least one more “Teacher Talk Tuesday” for the year.

…via…Talking About it Tuesdays with Joanne.

This was a WordPress prompt a while back, and it had me taking a trip down memory lane…

Look at me in 2002 in my classroom my first year teaching…that’s a big ol’ computer, printer, and floppy disk holder!

Through the years, technology has really changed how we teach. All of my classrooms from my first fifteen years of teaching still had an overhead projector.

My first few years, the kids mostly learned a from textbooks and worksheets.

My previous school was in a smaller district, and they did incorporate more technology before a lot of the larger districts. After my first couple of years at that school, they added on to their building, and my classroom was in the new wing. My classroom had an electronic (Smart) whiteboard that I used pretty often. Also, students had chromebooks before the Covid days.

Now, I’m in a larger district, and through the years, most of the classrooms had the Smart boards, and then last year, we all got interactive flat panels, and it’s another thing to learn!

I still love my regular white board, and still write on it most days.

During Covid, most (all?) districts became 1:1 with technology, and we all became acquainted with Zoom.

We still have some meetings and professional development opportunities on Zoom. Today, I actually have a PD on our new textbooks via Zoom.

Because of their computers, students have easy access to be able to type their papers, do research, and turn in assignments.

Many online resources include:

Canvas
Google: classroom, docs, and slides
Online textbook (I still have a class set in my room which is my preferred method. That being said, at least online is available for students who are absent or who didn’t finish a class assignment) Another thing I appreciate about online textbooks is that students can use the “read” feature to have the text read to them. Honestly, as a teacher, I appreciate that feature…especially when reading Shakespeare!!
No Red Ink – checks for plagarism
Students can easily access and check their grades (even though they don’t do that often)
Email to correspond with teachers

There are so many benefits to what we have thanks to technology that help keep our kids engaged.

Unfortunately, students feel like they have to be entertained all the time. As a teacher, we can plan engaging lessons thanks to sites like:

IXL
Blooket
Newsela
Kahoot
Nearpod
Flipgrid
Quizlet

There are also downfalls to technology, and students being off task because of chromebooks. Don’t even get me started on AI!

Post Covid, many teachers still relied on online learning, but now I’m seeing most teachers split the difference and have some online assignments and some paper assignments.

Overall, teachers do spend less time having to make copies these days which is nice.

I’m still “old school” when it comes to planning. I look forward to buying my new desk calendar and lesson plan book every year. The past couple of years I’ve used Happy Planner stickers to spruce up my calendar pages.

Looking back on my 22 years in education, many things have changed. I think I started teaching right as technology (computers, anyway) started being classrooms.

My first couple of years teaching, I still received a phone call via the phone tree for a snow day. Of course, for years, that information has been on the news, but now we all receive automated phone calls and texts…even the students.

We now have digital hall and tardy passes, there are cameras all throughout the building, we can document parent contacts easily, submit paperwork and so much more now that we have greater technology. As teachers, we can share resources easier as well.

Students now take the ACT and other standardized tests online.

I run my school’s after school tutoring, and just this month, stipends became electronic. I used to lose about thirty minutes every other Friday tracking down paper stipends, getting them signed, scanned and submitted. Now, I can approve everything in a few clicks.

Honestly, most everything I listed is just the “tip of the technology in education iceberg.”

I do think that technology has many benefits in education and technology sure has changed my job. In some ways it’s made it easier, and in other ways, we have other battles now because of it. (Like AI, don’t even get me started on cellphones). I have at least eight more years left in education, and I’m sure more changes in technology will come. They’ll have to continue to “teach this old dog new tricks!”

I like when topics turn in to a “stroll down memory lane.”

Hello! How is your week going? This week has been filled with activities (baseball games and dance classes) as well as many hours of learning for me (online professional development). In some ways, it feels like life is kind of normal again. BUT…I know that it’s not. We are living in far from normal circumstances, and there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight. For me, some days, that can feel overwhelming. That being said, I know the day will come where I don’t have to remind the kids to bring a mask or stress about what school will look like.

It’s been a bit since I’ve written a Currently post, so I thought I would do so again. These posts are a way to share what’s going on, but are also a way to to share a little bit of what’s on my heart or in my mind.

I’m Currently…

Marveling:

I’m marveling at the fact that yesterday was my blogiversary! I posted my first ever blog post on August 4, 2019. This week, I will write my 200th blog post. Writing three days a week was pretty manageable for me, but since April, I’ve been writing a post almost five days a week…Once we get back to school, I may have to scale back again, but while I can find time in the day, I’d love to write as much as possible.

In my first post, I mentioned wanting to start a blog as a way to do something for myself and have a creative outlet to share about family, recipes, books, and more. Show Me and Sweet Tea as provided me with just that…and so much more.

I’ve “met” so many people along the way. I’ve read a few blogs (Mix and Match Mama, A Little Bit of Everything, Momfessionals, Bev Cooks and more) for a few years. BUT…interacting with other bloggers, finding new blogs to follow, and reading comments on my posts from readers has been so rewarding for me.

I don’t get all caught up in the stats of my site, but WordPress makes it easy to take a peek at site activity.

This is my 199th post that I’ve written.
This year, I’ve had 12,400 visitors and 27,800 views on my site.
My most read post had 694 views.

My mind is just blown by those numbers. Again, I don’t get too caught up in the numbers game as there are people who have thousands of views every single day, but again, it’s just gratifying to be a part of this blogging community.

Thanks for following along on this journey!

Planning:

I’m currently thinking about and planning our back to school breakfast. I started this tradition a few years ago, and even though we start from home, virtually, on August 26th, I will still make that first morning back special for the kids.

I always luck out and find books on Amazon with the kids’ grade (5th) in the title.

Last year’s books were Fourth Grade Rats and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.

This year, I found Tales of a Fifth-Grade Knight for Hayden and President of the Whole Fifth Grade for Hadley!

Reminiscing:

I’m reminiscing about the kids when they started kindergarten. How in the world will they be in the 5th grade already? That means next year is middle school. Start praying for me now, y’all.

This pic popped up in my Facebook memories…Hadley with the crossbody purse and Hadyen’s toothless grin…⚾️

I clearly remember taking them into their school, having them meet their teachers, and praying that they’d remember how to count to 20 and spell their name, so I wasn’t a total failure as a parent who is an educator 😉 Now, flash forward to today when I had to watch a You Tube video to help them with their math in their summer workbook.

Watching:

I’m watching Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi. Travis found this show, and I’m hooked. I love food and learning about other cultures and cuisine. Padma explores food and culture across the United States. It’s on Hulu and most episodes are 30-40 minutes long. I’ve seen the first few episodes which focused Mexican food in El Paso, hot dogs and German food in Milwaukee, Indian cuisine in New York, the Gullah Geechee people of South Carolina, Chinese food in San Francisco, and Persian food in Los Angeles.

Every episode is so informative, interesting, and inspiring.

Ordering:

I’m ordering baseball and dance photos. I don’t always order the photos, but I’m realizing how big my kids are getting, and I loved the pics. With that combo, it was hard to say no to placing a picture order!

Laughing:

I’m laughing at this meme that I saw on Instagram. I have a “note” on my phone where I keep a daily schedule and “to do” lists. It’s become really easy for me to move some of my least favorite “to do” items to the next day!

Trying:

I tried something new at Sonic last week. I always get a Cherry Limeade or (diet version) at Sonic. This time, I had them add in Nerds candy because Hayden and Hadley get that option in their Sonic slushies. Y’all! It tasted SO good!

Snuggling:

We are all snuggling with Homer any chance we get. I know Homer loves having us home so much!

Reading:

I’m currently reading Maid. I’ve had this book on my list for a while, and I finally started it. In Stephanie Land’s memoir, she shares about being homeless, a single mom, and working to do whatever it takes to provide for herself and her daughter. This book explores poverty in America and shines a light on the inequities of working, middle, and upper class societies.

I’m about halfway through with the book, and it’s an interesting and eye-opening read so far.

Praying:

I’ve been (worrying and) praying about the start of the school year. At this time, our district is starting with virtual learning on August 26th. Usually, our first day of school would be a week from today. Teachers will start back August 10th and prepare for the start of the year.

I’ve had to let go of some of the things I took for granted like walking my kids to school on the first day which is what we’ve done every first day of school since kindergarten. This is my kids’ last year of elementary school, and it saddens me that this year will look so different for them. Kids are resilient, but honestly, they shouldn’t have to be.

Last year, I realized all the fun privileges the intermediate grade level students receive like being in chorus, on academic team, and so much more. My kids are going to miss out on some of those opportunities, not to mention simple pleasures like lunch and recess with their friends. It hurts my heart just thinking about it.

Parents are having to make decisions about school that they never thought they’d have to make. Classmates that Hayden and Hadley have had for five years may be educated virtually when we go back to face to face instruction. Some friends may enroll in private school for this year. It’s heartbreaking to me that elementary school will look so differently for them compared to what they’ve experienced in previous years.

And, of course, there’s the weight, worry, and burden that teachers carry thinking about their students and preparing for the school year with so many unknown factors.

I’m always positive when talking about the upcoming school year with my kids, but some days it is hard to put a smile on my face, answer all their questions, or wipe away a tear when they are sad or frustrated.

That being said, I’m trying to keep this in mind moving forward…

So, that’s a bit of what’s been currently going on. As always, thanks so much for reading.