What They Don't Tell Us

There are things they don't tell us in our education courses.

"I want to tell you something...

   ...my best friend was raped.
   ...I might be pregnant.
   ...my dad kicked the **** out of me.
   ...I don't have food in my house.
   ...my parents are getting a divorce.
   ...I miss my dog.
   ...those aren't scratches, they're cuts.
   ...I just feel so sad all the time.
   ...my parents drink a lot.
   ...I'm getting new foster parents tomorrow.
   ...my dad's in jail.
   ...the police were at my house again last night
   ...I'm depressed.
   ...we don't have a house.
    ...I feel so alone."

"Let me tell you something...

   ...my door is always open.
   ...I care.
   ...we'll find a way to get through it.
   ...I am so sorry this is happening.
   ...there are many people here that care about you.
   ...I will always listen, but won't always have answers.
   ...education can help get you away from this.
   ...I will always stop when I see you upset.
   ...you are not alone.
   ...this sucks.
   ...I'm here if you need to talk.
   ...I will do my best to get help.
   ...you can do this.
   ...I don't know why.
   ...it may take time, but you will be okay.
   ...I promise.
   ...I believe in you."

"I want to tell you something...

   ...you make me smile.
   ...I wish I was your kid.
   ...you really get us.
   ...I miss your class.
   ...you are always there for us.
   ...I love coming to your class.
   ...you believe in me.
   ...I made this for you.
   ...you are going to be at graduation, right?
   ...I wish you were my teacher next year.
   ...you are my favorite teacher, ever.
   ...I'm going to come to visit!
   ...you believe in all of us.
   ...thank you."

There are things they don't tell us in our education courses.

An 11 Year Old Smile

All we need to do is listen.

I could tell this was going to be a kid I'd remember for a long time. Her 11-year-old smile could light up the room. Her enthusiasm for learning and passion for life was contagious.

She had me fooled.

She had us all fooled.

I can hear it like it was yesterday. Her eyes tearing up, struggling to get the words out, shaking...

"Mr. Storm I have depression."

I had so many questions that I knew I didn't have answers too. I wanted to help but didn't know how. I wanted her to feel better but didn't know what to do. All I knew that I could do was listen.

I spent the rest of that year listening and learning.

Time went on as it does in middle school, as it does in life. She moved on to 7th grade and eventually 8th grade. I would occasionally see her in the hallway or she would stop in my room to say hello. That smile still there brightening up the room, but the hurt still remaining in her eyes.

Time moved on and she was off to the high school. The chairs in my room filled with more kids, each with different needs, each with different strengths, each with different smiles. New kids filling my heart, and the old ones moving to the side to make space for the new ones there.

I would often wonder what happened to her. Students would visit from the high school and I would ask about former students. I would hear sad stories, happy stories, and everything in between.

Time continued to move on and the teaching didn't stop. The world was changing. Social media was beginning and it became a part of all of our lives. Former students began to connect and it opened my heart again to all of those kids.

A notification came through from that kid from many years ago and I smiled remembering her. I accepted and looked at her profile picture. That same 11-year-old smile was there,  and so was the hurt.

Years would go by and I wouldn't have any face to face interaction with this kid. Until this year.

My classes were beginning a research project based on student interests and passions.  I decided to reach out to former students on Facebook and arrange for them to come into our class to speak about their passions and their journeys. The response was overwhelming and I was humbled. I was surprised when she reached out to talk with my class.

She arrived at my classroom door and when I opened it, she smiled. There it was. That 11-year-old smile. There was still hurt in her eyes, but they had a new sparkle to them.

She went on to tell my class about her journey- through middle school and high school, her battle with drugs and her fight with depression. There were moments that I fought back tears, and I wasn't alone. My students did the same. Her story continued to how she had managed to survive and was in college now, holding a 3.87 GPA and looking to graduate as a social worker and wanted to help others facing similar problems like hers. When she finished her story a student of mine walked over to her and hugged her. My class was speechless.

She stayed into my prep period to talk and shared more of her story. She shared that she had taken a train from Maryland to Pennsylvania to talk with my students. When I asked her why she had done that, her response was, "I saw your post and knew I could help your students. I wanted to share my story. Plus, if my favorite teacher of all time is asking for help,  I couldn't say no".

We talked for an hour. I walked her to the door and she turned and gave me a hug and thanked me.  Before she walked out, she turned and said, " I look forward to talking with your classes next year."

I can't wait to listen to more of her story.

You can read more about Teen and Adolescent Depression here.

Making the Weather

We often hear of bad weather, but in reality, no weather is bad. 

It is all delightful, though in different ways. 

Some weather may be bad for farmers or crops, but for man all kinds are good. 

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating. 

As Ruskin says, "There is really no such thing as bad weather, 

only different kinds of good weather." 

~John Lubbock, "Recreation," The Use of Life, 1894

As an undergrad, I had a professor make me memorize the following statement. I wouldn't understand what it truly meant until years later.

A copy of this still hangs in my classroom

Weather forecast for tonight: dark. ~George Carlin

I once knew a teacher who was in their first year and he was beyond stressed. The year was coming to an end and we were all beginning to feel the end of year stress. Kids were talking and upset with this teacher because he wasn't listening to them and they didn't like his class. He was consumed with "covering the material". He had to get through everything.

As the warm May morning was creeping towards lunch, he bent over in class to pick up papers and split his pants. Now if that's not a teachable moment, I don't know what is.  That same day, around the same time, I was standing in line at the cafeteria and a student "accidentally" dropped an entire gallon container of ranch dressing down the front of my pants and onto my dress shoes. The girl looked mortified.  I turned to the kid and smiled and said, "Guess I'll have to use Italian now".

I saw that student of mine later in the day. At this point, the smell of ranch was pretty strong in my room and when the kid entered, I could tell she was going to be upset. I smiled at her and made a joke about how I will never eat salad the same way again (or some version of that). She laughed. And then she cried - in the way only a twelve-year-old can. I pulled her aside and apologized for joking about it and that it was not a big deal at all, that I'd be able to get a new pair of pants. She replied that it wasn't me, it was another teacher. This teacher had split his pants in front of the entire class and when the kids laughed he yelled at them and made them sit quietly and told them if he heard another sound they would all get detention. She was terrified of getting a detention and wasn't sure what was going to happen. At that moment, that Ginott quote came back to me...I decided I would always try to be the "Storm" that my kids needed.

Rainbows apologize for angry skies. ~Sylvia Voirol

I spoke to that teacher after school. I told him I heard what had happened. He went on about how embarrassing it was and he didn't have time for this nonsense with everything he still had to teach and I shared with him another little "teaching philosophy" that I held dear ( I was not sure who had said it at the time, but later learned it was a Maya Angelou reference). I told him, "They will not remember everything you taught them, but they will always remember how you made them feel". He thanked me and told me he needed to get ready for tomorrow's lesson and didn't have time for this. He even asked me what that smell was. When I told him my story, he commented that he couldn't believe that kid wasn't in trouble.

At that moment I realized that you can't change the weather...outside of your classroom. But you absolutely can MAKE the weather in your classroom.

I like to think this is what it's like to walk out of my room at the end of the year.

It Gives Me Hope

"It gives me hope."

Moments

Words will not do this justice, but I feel it necessary to share what I saw a group of middle school students do this past Veteran's Day. Sometimes things happen in our world that make us ponder what we are doing as Americans, yet, there are moments, real moments, those genuine unplanned moments, that make you realize we are all in this together and we live in a pretty awesome place.  

I want to share what happened in our school's cafeteria on November 11th, Veteran's Day, during our 7th grade lunch - a cafeteria full of almost 300 twelve and thirteen year olds; a cafeteria not much different than most middle school cafeterias. However, on this November day, in this modest and humble town of Quakertown, hope was felt.

As our 7th graders were settling  into eating their lunches and starting to talk with their friends in the cafeteria, a few yards away an assembly was ending in our auditorium. Veterans had gathered to hear community members, politicians, and other veterans speak and recognize their many sacrifices and service. The ceremony ended and the Veterans began to appear at the entrance to the cafeteria and began walking through the cafeteria towards the library for a luncheon. What happened next was awesome.

Hope

There was a buzz of excitement in the cafeteria and the 7th graders started to clap and move towards the Veterans. They formed a line and began to cheer, clap, and shake hands with the Veterans. I could hear "thank-you's", see kids taking their phones out to snap selfies with the vets- and I even saw one of my students helping a vet to snap a selfie on his phone, handing them letters, and giving high fives. I also saw so many genuine smiles from both the students and Veterans - and I even saw tears from both as well. This moment continued until every Veteran, well over 75 of them -  men and women from every branch of the service paraded through our cafeteria.

As the last of the Veterans made their way through, a gentleman who appeared to be in his late 50's approached me. His eyes appeared glassy and I  could see tears on his cheeks. As he began to speak I could feel myself fighting back tears. He smiled at me and took my hand and said, "I woke up this morning and put on the TV. I watched the news and just felt awful. I knew what today was but I wasn't feeling too good about things. Then this all happened, and I'll tell you what, looking at these kids, talking with these kids...it gives me hope."

As I got back to my room after lunch, I noticed two girls who were visibly upset. I asked them what was wrong and one of the girls replied, "It's just...just that was so awesome. We take so much for granted and if it weren't for all those Veterans, we wouldn't have what we have," and the other girl replied, " I handed one of the Veteran's a letter I had written and he started crying and so did I...he told me he was so happy".

It's moments like this that make me realize as long as there is kindness, there is always hope.

Not Many Mondays Left

There aren't many Mondays left in this school year.

I know some of my colleagues are counting them down with huge grins on their faces and looking forward to not knowing what day it is when they wake up. Personally, I am struggling with these "final" Mondays.

This is my first time looping with students. The majority of the kids I'm teaching this year I've gotten to know over two years. I was really worried about making this transition but now I'm worried about these kids leaving. This looping has reinforced what I have felt all along about teaching - that building relationships is the most important part of what we as educators do.

Monday I shared an audio clip by Eric Thomas which asked, "What is your why?" My students posted to their blogs what they felt motivated them to do what they do. This video got me thinking about my own life, both as a teacher and a parent.

There is nothing more important to me than being the best parent I can be. As any parent can attest to, this is no easy task - especially if you come from a household without parents or parents who were dealing with other problems. My parents were both alcoholics and to this day it still bothers me. It's hard to understand what it means to be a good parent until you are one. I'm not sure this makes sense but looking back I know I didn't grow up in an ideal environment and learning to be a parent has been one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. I know I'm not perfect and I know I've apologized to my oldest son for some of the things I've said or done as a parent. I continue to learn as a parent and hope that I can always give my kids what they need. They are my "why" in my life. Why I go to the gym each day to stay in shape, why I wake up early to get the most out of each day, why I try (but don't always do a good job of this) to stay positive, why I try to be the best person I can be - they are my why.

The other part of me that is important is being the best teacher I can be. Some days I wish I had taught my own kids so they could see why I spend my early mornings planning or connecting with teachers on Twitter or attending EdCamps (my oldest son calls them Teacher Nerd Camps). I know why I started teaching - like so many teachers, I was inspired by another teacher. Her name was Mrs. Bailey, my fifth grade teacher.

The why I often try to answer is why do I still teach the way I do- giving everything I can and really never taking a moment to not think about teaching? And the answer is simple. I teach because of kids that walk in my room everyday. These kids are my "why" in the other part of my life. Why I get up early on the weekends and plan, why I constantly think about how I can make their day, month and year memorable, why I talk about them to people like they're my own kids, and why I love what I do everyday. These kids are my why.

Yeah...there aren't many Mondays left in the 2015-16 school year. These kids are why I don't want the Mondays to end.

Be sure to check out my man Dr. Eric Thomas' Website - he is a true inspiration.

Paint By The Numbers

"You can't be creative unless you are acting with high intelligence."

-Sir Ken Robinson

Does education allow our kids to paint outside the lines or does it encourage teachers to have the kids paint by the numbers?

One of the greatest joys I find in teaching is challenging my students to be creative and "paint outside the lines".

One of the greatest challenges I find in teaching is being allowed to challenge my students to be creative and "paint outside the lines".

How does a teacher help foster creativity with their students when they're told they think too far out of the box or outside of the lines? How does a teacher motivate their students when they're told they should try to do some more traditional lessons or keep their kids painting by the numbers? Does thinking like this prepare our kids for what they need NOW?

Like Sir Ken Robinson points out in this talk here, human beings possess one of the greatest qualities necessary to move forward and make great strides in education...our imagination. Robinson points this out in 2008! Why is it that seven years later teachers are still being questioned on making kids think imaginatively and creatively? Why do administrators, teachers, and communities continue to stifle it?

Robinson encouraged us to no think of  "reforming" our education system, but to think of "transforming" it. Has the education system been transformed yet?

I have roughly 180 days with my students. Every one of the those days I need to challenge their thinking and encourage them to look at their learning a bit differently and "transform" their thinking. I want my students creating their own paintings.

Robinson believes creativity is as important as literacy and numeracy. Why do we continue to not promote this with teachers and students? What can teachers do NOW for our kids?

What do our students need NOW?

Our students need to...
...have creativity as a centerpiece to their learning
...know that they are valued
...know they can make a difference
...think creatively
...have teachers that will encourage them to think outside the box
...understand all "courses" have value to their life
...be given opportunities daily to develop their creativity
...understand that they are all creative


What else do you believe our students need right NOW?
What kind of paintings are your students creating?