The (Mis)Adventures of Ms. Burns

Year 3 Begins

2009-08-10T00:22:00.000-07:00

I just spent a few minutes scanning over my posts from my first quarter of teaching. It is exciting to know how much a person can learn in 2 years, even as an adult. I worked really hard and did my best for my students in my first year, but I can already tell that this year the efforts I put in with have much greater yields. I feel I am finally able to create systems in my classroom that are effective and that I can stick with. I can already see how some of these will make my life easier and less stressful. I can also already feel how much better my classroom environment is for my kids (and myself) when I am less stressed. A lot of these systems have to do with managing the use of materials and the movement of children. These things seem like they should be so simple...but somehow they can really dictate how well things run. Who would have thought that bathroom breaks, pencils, seating charts and collecting papers would be so challenging to manage? Managing this stuff comes pretty naturally to some, but this is not my strength, so it has taken me awhile.

I am getting to know my students already. I already love them. I can see that some will challenge me, but I also feel that I have the tools I need to handle these challenges. I am in the process of making a few of my potential "trouble-makers" into my favorite students.

My school is in the process of a transformation. We have new administrators and I can already feel the positive energy throughout the school. As a staff we are more supported and it makes a HUGE difference. School feels like a wonderful place to be. I smile when I think of the place and the people I am fortunate to work with--both staff and students.

In this school year I am striving for excellence in the classroom and balance in my life. Efficiency is the name of the game. I am working on not bringing my work home with me and being organized and well planned in the classroom. I left school before 5 on Friday, my classroom was neat, I had made several parent phone calls, and I brought home no work with me. I will finish up planning for the week before school and during my prep tomorrow. This week my task is to get the next few weeks planned out now that the beginning of the year stuff is getting wrapped up and I need to have solid instructional plans ready to go.

At the moment I am looking back and feeling proud of how far I have come from the disoriented first year teacher. I am feeling content, professionally and personally, and looking forward to things to come...including the challenges.

AIMS Scores

2009-07-13T22:49:00.000-07:00

Really pleased with my students' scores! I calculated the percentage of all my students "meeting" or "exceeding" the standard: 81.8% for writing, 69% for reading. This is a big jump from my students' scores from last year as well as an improvement on this group of students' scores from 5th grade. Standardized tests are not everything, but it is nice to have the affirmation that something is going right!

I am about to buckle down and get to serious work planning the school year. I am really excited for an excellent school year!

Letter to Sponsor...

2009-04-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

a little update from the frontlines......I wrote it to my TFA teacher sponsor.....work smarter, not harder....

04/10/2009

Dear Mark,

I can scarcely believe that my students have finished their AIMS testing for the year. After 8 months of learning and 2 weeks of testing, my students and I paused this week to reflect on what we have accomplished so far this school year and what we have yet to accomplish in our final 6 weeks together. In order to establish purpose and focus--which can be tough to come by at the end of the year, my 6th graders and I reviewed our data. We reviewed how we have achieved as a group and as individuals on each learning goal for the year. We are on the brink of reaching our year-long goal--to have a class average of 80% on all assessment for the year. Our average right now is 76%. The students, having internalized this goal as an indicator that they are ready to move on to 7th grade, and I are planning strategic action to make sure we reach this goal.

The support I receive from my Teach For America Program Director has shaped my instruction and allowed me to lead my students to be within reach of meeting their goal. This support continues to help me refine my practice and ensure that my students really do reach their goal of 80% by May 21st.

My Program Director is helping me ensure that my lesson plans reach each one of my learners. With this support, Oswaldo, who entered 6th grade on a 1st grade reading level, scored 100% on a grade level reading assessment yesterday! Without your generous contributions, the support that leads to victories for students like Oswaldo would not be possible. I thank you for investing in Teach For America, my students and our future.

I have appreciated your support throughout the past two years. While my two years as a Corps Member are coming to a close, I plan to stay in Phoenix to teach 6th grade next year. I cannot wait to see what my students can accomplish in my 3rd year of teaching! I would love to keep in touch with you as I continue my work in closing the achievement gap.

Maybe we can catch the Ducks-Sun Devils football game this fall? Go Ducks!

Sincerely,

Carolyn Burns

"What did you do this weekend, Isaac?"

2009-03-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

"I go to Food City,"

"what did you get at Food City?"

His response? "Food."

This kid catches on quickly....

Things in the classroom seem to go fine...I wonder how much better they could be if I was more consistent. I seem to have lapses of just getting tired and not using consequences the way I need to.

There are so many things that I need to do better. My planning is up and down...and how well I pull off a lesson doesn't seem to always correspond to how much time I spend planning. Sometimes my best lessons are the simplest ones that I put together in a few minutes...and what I think are well planned lessons totally bomb. It is also TOTALLY different with different groups of kids. I need to differentiate better. Then I get overwhelmed when I think of doing everything it would take to do things "right" and I just feel burnt out and I get paralyzed and LAZY. I realize more and more that I am still in the infancy of my development as a teacher...In SO many ways. In terms of my actual instruction, in terms of parent communication and keeping kids accountable......also, I think I need more consistent routines and systems and I have got to figure out a way to make things easier for myself so that I can do the important stuff without getting burned out. This makes me want to stay in my position for one more year so I can try and get it right.

mmmmm. deeeeeep breath. I will get better if I let myself learn.

4th Quarter Begins....

2009-03-28T00:14:00.001-07:00

Well, I actually missed the first two days of the quarter due to illness. Apparently, Las Vegas is a great place to have fun....and come down with a cold. The Grand Canyon is a great place to NOT get over your cold and Phoenix is a great place for that cold to turn into an ear infection. Regardless, I made it back to the action by Wednesday with at least 1/3 of my voice. It was great...I think the kids were so relieved they didn't have a substitute, and felt bad for me that they were really well behaved. We had a really productive and fun three days doing AIMS writing practice. They now feel really comfortable with a pre-writing method we reviewed from earlier in the year and wrote persuasive letters to the cafeteria...they love to whine and try to get their way, so it comes somewhat naturally, plus we all love to talk about food. To top it off, fourth hour got to watch Adam Sandler's "Lunch Lady Land" at the end of class. The amazing thing was, as soon as that thing ended every single one of them was working furiously, determined to get their letters finished by the end of the hour.

Well done, sixth grade.

I had a perfect tutoring session with one of my favorite people, Isaac. The great thing is, since he is learning to speak English, we get to chat and joke around and it is a totally legit learning exercise. He is so smart and a very dedicated student. He is still learning the language but makes sure he figures out all the directions and turns in the parts of his science fair project on time something many students fluent in English have a hard time with! He is an amazing person in his personality as well. So good natured...there is more, but I can't quite describe it. I consider myself blessed to work with him.

Success!

2008-12-19T14:47:00.001-08:00

80.25% across the grade level on a persuasive text assessment.

Holler...and on material taught and assessed during the week and a half before break.

My low class went from 52% to 73%.

**I used texts that were written at a 4th grade level for my two lower classes--but with questions that were written to 6th grade level standards.

We will get them to master with grade level texts, but we have to build them up!

Little by Little

2008-12-06T16:38:00.000-08:00

I just realized I didn't post back with retake results! I stayed at school that Monday 'til 9:45 when the janitor warned me that the alarm system was about to be turned on so that I could get results ready to be turned back to kids. The overall average on the assessment went from 52% to 71% in one week! Some students are continuing to retake so they can master objectives. It is exciting to see that investment.

We wrote essays this week. Welcome to formulaic 5-paragraph essays! I saw some great work from many of my students. I am excited to start writing tracking. I am also excited to borrow a document camera and show some student examples of both strong essays and common places where people went wrong. Below I am going to type an essay that one of my students wrote. This student is an English Language Learner, though she has tested out of the program. She is incredibly hard working and an amazingly sweet individual. The students got to choose anything they would like to write about for their first expository essay. I had briefly talked about the AIDS pandemic on Monday--World AIDS Day, the day we chose topics. Kelly asked if she could write about it. I helped her get started, but these are her words and sentiments. I am really proud of her achievement. I'll transcribe the essay:

HIV/AIDS affects kids around the world by killing their parents, kids getting sick, need to take care of their parents.

When AIDS kills parents, kids became orphans which affects them because they don't have someone to take care of them. They're with hunger because they don't have parents to feed buy them food to eat. And by that, they could even die. By killing parents you hurt the kids feeling. They could die if they cry a lot of get very, very sad sometimes too.

Kids get sick for a lot of reasons. For example, kids get sick because when the kid is inside the mother's stomch and the mother has HIV the kid were be born with HIV because the kid has the blood of her and her blood is with the disease. If the HIV gets wrose the disease would be called AIDS. The kid will die faster if the kid doesn't have medicen to take. If the kid has medicen to take the kid will die in a longer time.

Some kids need to take care of their parents because they have HIV or AIDS. People that have that disease need a lot of care. But this taking care of your parents could stop them to be educated. Also, it could affect their future because they're not going to be able to go to school. Taking care of your parents is good but bad at the same time.

As you can see some kids in the world have HIV or AIDS that affects their education, future, family, and friends. That could affect letting them succeed in the future.

I commented at the bottom of her paper:
You are going to change the world if you keep writing like this!

I believe it is true.

Retaught

2008-11-22T09:21:00.000-08:00

I was really impressed with my students this week. The vast majority of them saw their individual data and then worked hard to master the objectives they had struggled with. I had several students who had mastered the objectives act as teachers or coaches to guide students through practice questions. By Friday, students were able to answer practice questions correctly and explain their answers in a logical way. I also realized the potential for using kids as teachers to develop confidence, leadership skills and investment--but also the coaching that they will need to do so effectively. I saw students getting frustrated when other students weren't listening to them or get overly bossy...I know they will be able to do it, especially because they like the role of teacher so much, but they will need some guidance.

We will see how well this really worked when they retake on Monday...

Reteach?

2008-11-17T17:44:00.000-08:00

I am spending the evening with excel...entering assessment data. It is clear that objectives will need to be retaught. Luckily, I have planned each of these POs to be taught at least 2 times during the year...but this data is not pretty. Where I was hoping for us to push the few percentages over the 80% goal, we dropped considerably. It makes sense...expository text is often more difficult for students. However, I am disappointed in myself and my ability to invest my students in working hard to really grasp the material. I am proud that I am assessing and tracking and that I have data to KNOW where I have gone wrong so that I can go back and figure it out. I WILL figure it out. These kids WILL master these objectives...

I think we can, I think we can....

2008-11-14T08:48:00.000-08:00

Today I am assessing expository texts. It is a beast of an assessment--I am assessing 5 performance objectives. I believe that my students are more invested in actually working hard on this assessment, and they know what that means. We have drilled and drilled reading carefully and completely. I am hopeful that they will improve their class averages from the last assessment. From how they have done on daily work, I believe they understand these concepts....think happy thoughts....

Oh, and I bought SMARTIES candy for each of them to remind them how smart they are. Hopefully they will be smart enough to realize that if they throw any candy or wrappers that they won't ever get candy again....

I'll update soon!

2008-10-31T16:22:00.000-07:00

I lost one of my favorite students today. Mom said they are moving but they don't know where to. There was a look of fear in her face as she said this. She told me her daughter said she didn't want to leave. Right now, I feel like this is an opportunity lost. How long will it take her next teacher to see what a light she is? To see how hard she works, but also to realize how much help she needs to be brought up to grade level...to have the opportunities that she deserves? I realize now how much I have connected with so many of my students this year. Even as some push and push and push...I love and appreciate them. I believe that I am doing right by them.

Another student just didn't come back today and the other kids said she moved. This breaks my heart. The lives of my students are increasingly uncertain as the economy goes south. Some families may be making rent, but if their landlord can't pay the mortgage, what happens?

It is hard. It is real.

Possibility can be tiring

2008-09-23T22:27:00.000-07:00

First question: does the new color hurt anyone's eyes? I like it and it seems very "Phoenix" to me, but I don't want to cause any headaches. Speaking of which, I passed out a handout printed on yellow paper last week (not on purpose, it was left in the copier) and one of my students told me that it gave her a headache. I think maybe she just didn't want to do the assignment...but I gave her the original that was on non-headache inducing paper. I think she was a little disappointed. I digress.

Right now I am weighing my desire to post with my desire to sleep. I'll compromise and post briefly. I want to share some of what is tiring me out.

The year is still going well. I am having a wonderful time with my kiddos. This year I am able to focus on my instruction a lot more because behavior is so much more under control. I have been thinking about my instruction a lot and how it is doing a lot of things that I want it to do. My students are, as a whole, mastering the knowledge and skills I am teaching them. Yay! I have identified where some of the gaps are and am working collaboratively with the reading specialist to fill in those gaps. I am working to get parent volunteers to help me pull off the intensive reading intervention that needs to happen for my struggling readers. These things are going well. I want to restate how AMAZING it is to have my classroom be a positive place for my kids and myself to be every day. I am happy to go to work every day. I respect my kids and genuinely enjoy them and they know this.

Yesterday and today I was privileged to attend Understanding by Design training. This is training on strategic backwards planning to increase student engagement and achievement. This is the model that TFA uses to train us--this is the way that I generally understand planning. However, the training the past two days pushed me in two main ways:
a) I realized that I AM backwards planning--planning with the end in mind. I identify standards that go together, figure out the knowledge and skills involved in the standards, create an assessment that measures the knowledge and skills and then plan from there. This is good. However, this is only the basic level. I am not actually pushing my students to higher levels of thinking--I am not actually backwards planning for higher levels of understanding. I am focusing on the level that is required by the standardized tests and then hoping that higher level thinking happens along the way. My assessments are NOT multiple and they are NOT varied and they assess knowledge and skills but NOT greater understanding.

Hmmmm....what does this MEAN?

This means that I am on the right track. I have a firm understanding of all the processes involved here. I have identified what is missing. I have the resources to begin to bring higher level thinking goals into my units. This will not happen overnight, but the important thing is that I am moving in the right direction.

now, for the second way the training pushed me
b) I am part of the Understanding by Design Leadership Cadre for my district. This is new. 15 people are being trained in UbD throughout the year and at the same time using the planning framework to plan how UbD will be implemented in the district. It is EXCITING to think of being part of an initiative that is being thought through and will be implemented strategically and that I actually believe will impact student achievement. It is also OVERWHELMING to think about all of the challenges to implementing it successfully. Instead of criticizing how my district doesn't implement anything consistenly, efficiently or effectively, I am stepping over to the other side and challenging myself to actually put my money where my mouth is (so to speak). Wow. This is scary. And exciting, especially given that in this cadre I am amoungst a group of passionate, effective and SMART teachers. We care about our district, schools, teachers and especially students. Its feels risky to think and believe that what we are doing might actually change things for our kids in a significant way. I have an understanding of my ability to change things for my kids within my classroom, but being part of change on a district level feels way different.

Being pushed in this way the past two days has been tiring, especially since I've been going back to school afterwards and have stayed til 7pm both days. You would think having someone else teach your class would mean less work. It doesn't! Its LOTS more. I also missed being with my kids. I was very pleased that they generally behaved well for the sub and that she would be happy to sub for me again. This means that I have trained them at least reasonably well :)

On that note, I'm going to sleep.

Two Words: Second Year

2008-09-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

Yes. The second year of teaching has commenced. We are one progress report (five weeks in real people time) into the school year. I am continuing to enjoy a honeymoon period with my students, and also enjoying very much knowing what I am doing much more than last year. Now, that is not to say I am an expert, but this time around I am calm as I bumble my way through things. We started reading Bud, Not Buddy today and the kids seem to be really enjoying it. Even more exciting, I have a clear unit plan and know exactly which objectives I will teach with this book and how I will assess them! (that may not be as exciting to the non-teacher nerds who are reading).

My students are wonderful. I encourage everyone to come and visit my classroom and see how delightful they are. If anyone wants to send me used books or $ for my classroom library, as always I welcome it.

Personally, I am enjoying having a little more balance in my life...which is not to say that I didn't spend 12 hours at school today...but I am bringing much less work home and I am feeling purpose in the work that I am doing. I am spending time doing the outdoor things that I love.

On that note, I am off to the gym. My roomie and I are training for a half marathon at the end of October.

SOrry for the scattered nature of this post--my brain is a little shot my the end of the day!

Back to Life, Back to Reality...

2008-07-19T10:26:00.000-07:00

I leave Eugene headed south today. I am supposed to be packing and getting my car ready right now. I better hurry with this post before Dad catches me! I will stay with my counsin, Joe and his wife Karen in San Jose tonight and then all the way to Phoenix tomorrow. When I get back I'll be moving apartments, moving classrooms and getting some planning in place before I start teaching in just two weeks! It'll be a busy two weeks but I anticipate a (hot) and happy return. A couple of friends are there already and the rest will be trickling in over the next week before our (mandatory) teach for america training next Saturday.

I am happy to report that I achieved my summer "big goal" of visiting 8 breweries while in Oregon this summer--the 8th occuring just yesterday. I also went to an Organic Brewers Festival in Portland. Success!

Best 2 Reasons to Become a Teacher

2008-06-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

June and July. Well, maybe not the BEST two reasons, but they are two pretty awesome perks. I am spending my summer in Oregon...though if you ask my parents, I'm not exactly spending them "at home." So far my 3+ weeks in Oregon has included: a trip to the beach, 2 trips to central oregon, a trip to portland, a backpacking trip on the Middle Fork of the Willamette River and a camping trip (with my parents). Unfortunately I spent most of the trip with my parents sleeping, as I seem to have come down with something.

Somehow with all of these trips I've also been working on the Littleton School District 6th Grade Language Arts Curriculum Map. I have finished up a draft and just have a few things to change before it is done. It has been a project that has lingered on a little longer than I anticipated, but it has been a rewarding project, knowing that I'll be ready with a long term plan at the beginning of the year and hopefully it can be helpful to other teachers as well.

Now I am at my parents' house in Eugene...sleeping and lazing the day away. I know there are things I must be taking care of, but mostly I am focusing on resting so that I can get better and be ready for my next set of adventures. I'm heading to Portland later in the week to celebrate Breanna's birthday! I'll also stop in Salem to meet up with some Willamette folks on my way through. Jerry Bader has promised me a beer and I have a long overdue gift to deliver to the Wogan's from our shared host mother, Silvia.

Besides this little sickness, life has been EXCELLENT and I am doing my good balance of relaxing and planning. It took me a couple weeks to be able to let go and stop being physically stressed, but I have done it. Hopefully this will last well into the fall :)

SIG GAINS!!!!!!

2008-05-17T09:25:00.001-07:00

In Teach For America we have this belief: our students are grade levels behind--this is the achievement gap. If our goal is to close the achievement gap our students must make MORE than one year's progress in a year, otherwise the achievement gap stays the same. SO we set these Big Goals at the beginning of the year for our kids which are supposed to equate to at least 1.5 years of growth. Most subject areas the goal is a class average of 80% on a summative assessment. I actually set a growth goal--that my students would make 9 points of growth on the 6 traits of writing. If your students meet the goal you are said to have made "significant gains." If your students make 1 year of progress you are said to have made "solid gains." Basically, one of the main goals of TFA is for Corps Members to make "significant gains." They have this whole document that states their goal for what percent of Corps Members will make significant and solid gains within their first, and then within their second years. They set goals that this percentage will increase each year...cause that's just how TFA rolls.

OK I have set the state for you to understand my announcement:

4 out of my 5 classes made 9 points of growth on the 6 traits. WE MET GOAL!!!!! My other class made solid gains at 6 points of growth.

WAHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! Somehow, someway, I actually taught my students something. They are better writers now than they were at the beginning of the year. NOW my data is far from perfect. Kids that came in during the year didn't count into my total because I didn't have beginning of the year data for them and scoring writing always will have a certain degree of subjectivity....but even if I give a 2 point +/- margin of error, which is the most I think it would be...my kids MADE GROWTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time to CELEBRATE!!!! and now I am going to go write a curriculum map for next year. Next year I am teaching both reading and writing in the same amount of time as I taught just writing this year. I have a challenge ahead of me....but it's a GREAT challenge.

Home Stretch

2008-05-14T23:04:00.000-07:00

Last week I was sick and I taught anyway and it was just a TERRIBLE week. I felt like I was getting run over by a mac truck driven by 6th graders. THis week I feel better and have had some changes in mind set that have allowed me to have a much, much better week. This is a good way to finish out my year. FAR from perfect, but not miserable.

7 more teaching days. What does this mean for me, Ms. Burns, the 6th grade language arts teacher? It means a lot of things. It means that in just over a week I will heave a huge sigh of relief. I will feel a certain weight off my shoulders. It means that I have almost made it through my first year of teaching! It means that I will get a break from hormonal 6th graders and their drama. It means that I only have a little bit of time left to teach these particular students. As I read their year end essays I realized that my students actually became better writers this year. I actually taught them something...I also realized that there is so much that I want to be able to teach them. There are a few students who didn't make the growth that I had hoped for them. There are those students who I feel I am on the brink of getting through to...or the students who I just recently figured out. There are also those students who I know I connected with, I know I pushed them and helped them see why writing is important. These students I will miss greatly.. it is with a little sadness that I send them on, but also with great satisfaction and confidence in their ability to continue to do well. Of course, I would be lying to say that there are not a few kids who are just bugging the crap out of me and I cannot wait until another wonderful educator gets to work with them instead of me.

At this point in the school year, all of my students know what they are responsible for accomplishing by the middle of next week--they have projects they are working on. My job this next week or so is to guide them in their work and let them do their thing. They get to choose what they make of their last days in 6th grade, but I am setting high expectations that they will use their time purposefully. I will not force anyone to work...they know what they are responsible for and they know their grade will reflect the work they put in. Hmmm the joy of putting the burden on them instead of taking it on myself. I learn things, little by little.

I have a lot of paperwork, packing, grading, curriculum writing (whoo hoo this is a sweet project), and some celebrating of a year of HARD work between myself and my summer break, but I feel totally up for the challenge :)

2008-04-22T16:46:00.000-07:00

Today I had a student keep track of all the interruptions during my 7th period class, because there seem to be a lot and it is throwing my teaching off. I was curious how many there actually were. Celease counted:

12 Intercom announcements
5 Bells
2 phone calls
1 person walking in to deliver something (plus a student bringing me a cupcake, but I didn't have her count that one :))

That totals 20 times during one class--granted this class is longer than others, with silent reading time included--that we had to pause what we were doing, our attention was broken and we had to then get back on track. Let me tell you, 6th graders are not easy to keep on track at the end of the day. I am getting frustrated with all of the interruptions! The strange thing is, today, with the student keeping track and the other students conscious that these were interruptions and our learning shouldn't be interrupted, they actually got off track less. Crazy. Anyway, I think I might have a different kid keep track for a week and just see what the average is. I am going to use the data to try and push for some different systems for next year within the school. If we really are prioritizing student achievement, and students have consequences for interferring with learning, there won't be 20 interruptions in one class period.

Maybe, just maybe, it is possible to get my students so invested in learning that they do not even flinch at an announcement, but the truth is, i lose my train of thought when i have to pause mid sentence for a few seconds. Maybe I am just venting about things that are out of my control because i like to blame things on other people. maybe it would be better if i just focused on the things that are under my control. ah. there are a lot of those. things i could do better. such is life as a first year teacher. my brain is mush and my post is quickly deteriorating into a stream of consciousness narrative. I'd say it's time for me to get out of here!

Sponsor Letter

2008-04-13T20:24:00.000-07:00

I had to write this letter to my sponsor--someone who has contributed financially to Teach For America, but I figured that these reflections might have a place on my blog....

Ms. Carolyn Burns
350 S. 118th Ave.
Avondale, AZ 85323

Dear Mr. Leinweber,

Thank you for supporting Teach For America and my classroom. As the end of the school year approaches, I have been reflecting on what this year has meant for my students and I. All of us have come a long way in these past 9 months. The gains we have made together would not have been possible without your support.

At the beginning of the year I set a goal for my students that they would make a gain of 9 points on the 6 Traits of Writing rubric. Students can score from a 1 to a 6 on each trait, for a total score of up to 36. I chose this goal because it is based on growth, rather than expecting students starting at a wide range of levels to reach a given score. This ensures that our goal is both feasible for all students, and ambitious for those students starting out at a higher level. My students have been tracking their progress in their writing folders, so with each writing project they can see how they have progressed towards their goal.

Many of my students began the year without being able to write a basic paragraph. Even some of my students with high language abilities struggled to organize their writing. I would read a paragraph that covered such a broad range of topics it would leave my head spinning! From the first time I had them attempt to write an essay I knew we would have to go back to the beginning to learn to organize writing. We worked with pre-writing techniques, practiced connecting main ideas to relevant details. My class has been centered on equipping my students with the tools they need to take their excellent ideas, rich experiences, and wonderful senses of humor and communicating them in a way that makes sense to a reader.

This work has not been easy. We have all had moments of frustration. There were times when my instruction just wasn’t making sense to my students. Other times, I was the one left clueless as to how to understand the behavior of 11 and 12 year olds caught in the transition between childhood and adolescence. Sometimes I have felt as if I was pulling teeth just trying to get some of my students to put a pen to their paper.

Though sometimes it has felt as if we were working against each other rather than together, my students and I have worked hard. Through this hard work we have found success. Success when my students apply the skills I have taught them. Moments when they have tracked their growth on a specific writing trait and I know that, not only has their writing improved, but they feel confident in their abilities. We have also been successful in understanding the importance and relevance of being an excellent writer.

One particular afternoon one of my 6th graders asked, in response to a conversation we were having as a class, “Ms. Burns, you mean that we can change the world through our writing?” This is what I have been trying to communicate to my students in so many ways. To hear Celease articulate this message so clearly was like music to my ears.

This first year of teaching has been challenging in a multiplicity of ways. First, I have learned what it means to work harder than I have ever worked before and continue to feel like I am failing—and despite that, to keep working to be successful. By continuing to work, I have developed professional knowledge and skills. I have learned to relate to the pre-teens that I work with. I have learned how to respond to a wide range of parents—with wide-ranging questions, concerns and priorities. I have also developed a strong understanding of many of the issues that plague our education system. As I move forward, I continue to develop a sense of what needs to be done to address some of the challenges that we face. This year has changed me, and I feel that I have found my passion and my calling in effecting change in education. For this opportunity, I am filled with gratitude.

I cannot begin to express my gratitude for your support for Teach For America and my classroom. Knowing that you and others like you are committed to our work, to our schools and to our students reminds me that “One day all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.” Thank you.

Sincerely,

Ms. Carolyn Burns
6th Grade Language Arts
Collier Elementary School

Spring has Sprung

2008-03-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

We have entered the fourth quarter here at Collier Elementary School. The weather has turned warm. Today's high is supposed to reach 90. The pool looks more and more appealing every day. I feel that I, along with my students, have a little case of spring fever. This is balanced, to a certain degree, with a sense of urgency and possibility regarding what my students have left to learn this year. Some of the writing skills that we have been working on all year are finally starting to show up in their products. It is extremely exciting whenever I realize that maybe, just maybe, my students are learning something from me. Those moments of excitement are tempered by those of panic when I realize how close we are to the end of the year and how far it feels that we still have to go.

Today a student asked me "what is a conclusion?" While this question at this point in the year hurt me to my very core, I was saved from falling into the depths of despair by the student sitting next to him who looked at him with disbelief and said "are you serious? this is what we've been doing, like, the entire year." The student went on the explain to the other student what a conclusion is.

After seeking the advice of the school counselor, I believe I am finally getting an idea of how to handle oppressive statements that I overhear my students making. During my last class today one of my spaciest, yet favorite, students stated to the person next to him "whoever made that must be gay." He was referring to a little paper folded hat that was found in the classroom. I called my student over to my desk and gently, quietly asked him what he had just said. I prompted him by restating the beginning of his sentence. He looked at me and repeated what he had said. I explained to him that some of the people that I love are gay and that they have been teased by people calling them gay and that it isn't a word that should just be thrown around all the time. I asked him if the paper hat had anything to do with whether boys liked boys and girls liked girls or girls liked boys and boys liked girls. I then explained that there really is no reason to use that word in that context and that there were many other words that could be used that would be hurtful to no one. I told him I understood that it was common for students to throw the word "gay" around in contexts where it can be hurtful, but that because I know he is not a hurtful, mean person, I would expect that he would try to find other words to use. I asked him to come up with a word that he could have used instead. I told him to stay int he chair next to me while he thought about it, and after he had come up with one he could tell me and then go back to his chair.

This approach seemed much more appropriate and constructive than my angry, punitive approach. I KNOW that hurtful language has no place in a classroom, but it is challenging to determine one's response. I want students to truly understand WHY and HOW language can be hurtful. I found that when I was punitive students simply got defensive and shut down. They never understood what I was talking about, they only understood that saying this certain word is "bad." Which is not at all what I was looking for.

I think that as I continue I will find more, effective, sensitive, constructive ways to handle words that stem from and lead to hate, and I also know that I will probably botch some situations.

Apart from this particular topic, I feel that I am beginning to figure out my "teacher self," or at least determine what I want my teacher self to be. This week I had a realization that I stress out way too easily...I didn't even realize that when my classroom was not running the way that I want it to, that I physically, mentally, and emotionally, take on a huge amount of anxiety. I believe that something has clicked where I have finally seen another way to be. To realize that what is happening is, in fact, happening, and that sometimes when dealing with children, things do not go as planned. I need to learn how to be stern and strict and to show my kids that i am not pleased without actually taking that on myself. I also just realized that I completely base my self worth and sense of success on how my classroom runs...and therefore I am ultimately motivated by myself and my own need to feel good about myself, rather than my students. In reflecting I realize that I need to get back to my students and their needs in order to be the most effective instructor I can be.

Phew. I have written a lot. It is crazy how just writing this down can help me reflect and make my realizations more concrete. I have been starting to journal again, but that tends to be of a more personal nature. When I sit down and deeply reflect on my practice as a teacher, I believe it helps me to feel centered and focused. This leads me to feel more purposeful and powerful to improve myself and be more successful. There is also something about reflection that can lead me to have more patience. I have to tell you, there are so many times during each day that I lose patience with my students. Sometimes it is important for them to realize that they are being ridiculous and causing me to lose my patience, but other times I have to recognize that situations would be handled better with an extra tablespoon of patience.

It is Wednesday afternoon and my students have been gone for two hours. I am still in my classroom. I intended to sit and grade papers and give students feedback on their writing. I believe that I must spend a little more time doing this. I have been pushing my high class to write more and to take some writing home as homework. I think this is good for them and makes my class more rigorous. The downside to having students write more is that in order for it to be purposeful, you really should give them timely feedback on their writing. SO I suppose I will spend another little while reading student work. To tell you the truth, I really do like reading their writing. It can be pretty entertaining.

If you made it this far I am pretty impressed and perhaps a little apologetic that I rambled so much. Send me prayers, positive thoughts, good luck, whatever the case may be, for more patience and dedication for my students as we finish out the last 8 weeks of school.

Attitude...with a capital A

2008-02-10T10:47:00.001-08:00

WOW! What a rough week. It turns out that just like they can be amazing, 6th graders can be terrible little creatures when they want. I decided I needed to crack down on my students by consistently using our management system. It backfired in my face! Some of my students just don't respond to it well at all. Some of them check out, refuse to check back in and the day ends up being all about management instead of learning. This reminds me that regardless of what people have told me, I have to adapt my management techniques to different classes and different students. Friday finally got better. Some of my students and classes are needing more positive feedback...others are needing me to be more strict and hold them accountable--in a more real way than the management system that some just don't buy into.

It is a constant learning experience. As soon as I get one thing figured out, there is something new to work on. I think this is true of almost everything in life, but especially in teaching. I think/hope this week will be better. The math teacher and I did one day of lunch detention to make one of my classes do the work from a class where they were punks and just messed around. We will continue this as needed. I also made some of them call their parents and explain their behavior. The joys of working with little cherubs just beginning to go through puberty!

THis week we are starting writer's workshop, which means that I teach a mini-lesson and then the students get to chose their own writing projects to apply them. I am still working out how the logistics will work in the context of my classroom and given my students and how they work. That is a project for this afternoon. I am sure there will have to be some adapting as we go, but I think student motivation will increase a lot when they get to choose their own topics.

It is almost noon, which means, time to head out to a coffee shop to spend the afternoon planning! It is actually a pretty nice little ritual :)

On becoming a better teacher

2008-02-03T16:58:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer--"better" in no way implies "good."

Four main things are helping me to make strides in the right direction. I really believe that all 4 of these things are leading my students to achieve more and more each day.

1. Balance. Trying to take care of myself, and spend less than 12 hours at school every day. Leaving more school stuff at school. I bought a bike! I went backpacking last weekend!

2. Organization. I've figured out some systems that actually work for me and my students that are reducing the crazy hurricane of papers in my room...thereby reducing my stress level.

3. Smaller Classes. We got a new teacher at semester, so our class sizes are more normal. This has helped in a myriad of ways. The most notable is that there are few enough kids in my classroom at any given time that I can begin to see their individual needs. Next step: actually address their needs. A big part of this has been to shift my mindset from thinking that my trouble students had behavior issues to realizing (with the help of my PD) that they are so far behind that they don't understand my instruction. It is better to be rebellious than to be labeled stupid. It turns out that I need to break things down MUCH farther for some of my classes and not rush things so much.

4. Differentiation. This is directly tied to number 3. Break things down for the kids that need it, provide extension work for the kids who are bored. Now I am better able to do this because I am not so overwhelmed by simply teaching the same thing to everyone.

I feel like something has clicked. I may actually be on my way to becoming competent. Let's not count any chickens just yet...

I still miss my friends and family in Oregon immensely. I wish more of you could come and visit and that everyone could spend at least one day with me and my kiddos in my classroom. It is such a funny place and they are so hilariously wonderful (and sometimes terrible). I really do count my blessings for getting to work with them. I only wish I was better and more each day to be able to give them what they need.

A semester passed

2007-12-20T15:51:00.000-08:00

I complete my first semester as a teacher tomorrow!!! WOW! I was looking around at some other first year TFAs yesterday afternoon and I realized how much OLDER we seem now than we did 5 months ago. We don't look so shiny and obviously new. We are a small bit wiser, but mostly more tired and worn out. Though we live in the valley of the sun, we are all very pale from all the hours we spend under fluorescent lights.

Somehow, I am starting to feel more comfortable as my teacher self. I am starting to realize that I can handle difficult situations when they come my way. This morning, as my students were coming in, somehow one of my students ended up being knocked to the floor and for a minute couldn't seem to get up. He even started crying. All the while I am trying to get my other students to settle in and get their work out. I found myself standing over Bryan on the floor while looking up and counting down for my other students to be at their desks in between asking Bryan if he is ok. Luckily, Bryan is my tiniest little student, so i could just pick him up to get him on his feet once i realized he wasn't seriously injured. Never a dull moment.

Yesterday afternoon I decided, based on a recommendation from a Program Director, that I needed more face time with my Spanish speaking parents. So, I decided to go to the houses of a couple of my...i guess you could say...challenging students. I called ahead and was able, with 2 hours notice, to be able to sit down with both parents and the student at each house. It was great. I think we made some progress. The students, I think, were shocked that I actually came to their house. I made it very clear to them that I was there because I know how smart they are and I want to help them do better because they are fully capable of more. I also made it clear that I was tired of them disrupting my class. We made some plans...rewards and consequences. They both did much better today. We will see how long it lasts...but i think they know that i will have their moms sitting in class with them if they don't shape up...and i will be back at their houses if i have to. Today one of them earned being able to stay after school. Isn't that funny? FOr him, detention is a reward rather than a punishment. I should do this home visit thing more often...

I have to get out of here! SO much grading to do, but it is all at my house.

hasta luego

ups and downs

2007-11-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

My students wrote very formulaic 5 paragraph essays this week about their place in the family. I am going to write a blog post in the format that my students used:

Mrs. Nehs showed up at my door and asked "there are 4 students out here in the hall who claim they are with you," I look out in to the hall to see that, yes indeed, 4 of the students I was helping during my lunch hour, were standing sheepishly in the hallway. It was clear that they knew they had done something wrong. I teach Reading and writing to 130 11 and 12 year olds. Each day brings many new challenges and rewards.
Classroom/student management is one of my greatest challenges. I am constantly trying to figure out the best way to get my students to stay on task, finish their work, not throw things, not call out, not shoot each other with rubber bands, take care of the classroom, be respectful towards each other, walk in a straight line without talking. The list could go on forever. Each day I figure out new things that work and encounter new classroom management challenges.
Teaching effective lessons, aside from the classroom management side, is another one of my challenges. Some days, I feel like my students really understand what I am trying to teach them. Other days, I see blank stares and I wonder if I will ever learn to communicate in 6th grade language. I am also challenged to write engaging lessons that wont bore my students to tears. Facilitating student learning is one of my greatest challenges.
With so many challenges, one might ask, "why do you come back each day?" There are moments. There are days. THere are times when I believe that my students are really learning. That they feel respected by me. That they grasp hold of their writing goals for the year and really want to achieve them. They know that I care about them and their learning. This is true for many of my students. Knowing that I am reaching students keeps me coming back each day.
Classroom management can be very tough. Presenting material in an engaging and understandable fashion is also challenging. Changing the lives of children, no matter how clique that sounds, makes all the challenges worthwhile. Being a 6th grade teacher is the hardest thing I have ever done, but I cannot imagine myself doing anything else right now.

There it is...perhaps my sentence fluency and word choice is a little higher level than my students, but that is the format that I am teaching them to use. They are a little overwhelmed, but they are getting it.

I want to jump off a cliff all day and then there is a moment ...

2007-10-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

that makes me realize why I come back to school every day.

back to school, back to school

2007-10-14T22:28:00.000-07:00

After a week off, I feel recharged. I feel like I can tackle what's in front of me. At the same time, I wonder what this next quarter will hold for me. I wonder what challenges will come up. I wonder how much work I will have to do to retrain my students after a week off. As one experienced teacher at my school said "teaching is a lot like being a firefighter. You never know what you are going to end up doing in a day." Having done both of these jobs, I certainly agree with the analogy.

one reason to teach in Arizona

2007-10-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

FALL BREAK!

My mom came and visited. We took some time to play, but mostly got stuff done...the stuff that normal people do on a regular basis but you neglect when you are completely consumed by your work. Now I am taking time to plan for the next quarter, trying to set my students up to learn a LOT more than they did 1st quarter. I am also reflecting on how I can better involve parents, and also how I can keep my classroom culture positive. I can feel that things could explode...the students like me and trust me, but issues between students are brewing. These conflicts could spell disaster for my goal of a "positive, productive learning space." Hmmm. Right now I am focusing on having my quarter planned out very well--my learning objectives calendared, and some idea of how I am going to teach those objectives. I need to have a more coherent idea of what I am doing this quarter so I can communicate that to the students. This is much easier said than done...but it HAS to get done. Teaching is such an interesting profession...so many things to think about!

OK that's all I got for now.

I have to admit it's getting better

2007-10-04T00:23:00.000-07:00

I have to take the moments to embrace the things that are getting better. I am FAR from an excellent instructor, but I am making lots of progress. My classroom is running much more smoothly...at least most of the time. There are still moments of chaos at the very end of the day.

A couple funny stories:

I had the kids correct a messed up sentence. In it was supposed to be "piece" but instead it was spelled "peace." I asked the kids what "peace" meant and one kid says "you know, like peace out, when you are leaving."

Monday my class got video taped by my program director. I had to step out of the room to round up some loose kids. While I was out a student went to the sink to wash his hands. While he was up there he broke the faucet. It came clear off. A couple kids joined him at the sink to watch as he put it back on. The funny part was that I had no idea this had even happened until I watched the tape this afternoon. I almost fell out of my chair laughing. I can't wait to bring it up to the student tomorrow.

SO MUCH ASU HOMEWORK. OK, if i was a good student and did it throughout the week it wouldn't be bad, but it makes for a rough Wednesday night when you put it all off. but TOMORROW is the last day of this darn technology course that eats up so much of my time. Next 9 weeks is ESL which will be much more useful, I hope.

I am enjoying myself in my classroom more often lately...getting overwhelmed with frustration a bit less often, and looking forward to next week off. I hope to get my next unit planned well during my time off. It'll be exciting to have more effective instruction :)

ohhhh i'm a nerd, but i love it.

Possible Good News

2007-09-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

Friday my principal told us that he is going to hire a new 6th grade teacher. This would mean 2 absolutely fabulous things: my class sizes would be normal, around 26 AND my students would have 1 hour for writing and 1 hour for reading. The only issue here is that these two subjects cannot be taught in isolation. I have to decide by tomorrow what I am going to teach. I am tempted to choose writing and have the kids read novels and use those novels as models for writing and to give us things to write about. Then the reading skills/basel reader would be taken care of during reading and we could focus on reading as authors. I don't really know. Teaching both reading and writing is really tricky! There is one part of me (a very silly part) that doesn't want to give up teaching reading after I just spent so much time writing a summative assessment for reading. I think I need to sit down with my PD and my vice principal to talk about what my course will actually look like. hmmmm.

This coming week, I have decided, is going to be better than the week that just passed. I have rearranged to desks in my classroom and soon will make a seating chart. I hope that this seating chart will alleviate a lot of the management problems I've been having in my classroom. Classroom jobs will also begin on Tuesday. The kids are writing letters this weekend to apply for them. I hope that investment in our classroom--if not the course itself--will increase with having students with jobs.

There are so many things to fix...so many things that are NOT working in my classroom, I just have to fix them a couple at a time. This is hard because I want everything to be perfect NOW. Well, not even perfect, but functional.

I am going to attempt to not think about teaching for about 30 minutes now before I get going on a long sunday of planning and preparation for the week.

Post me a comment so I know someone is reading :)

Mama said there'd be weeks like this....

2007-09-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

This past week was so filled with highs and lows I can't even believe it. I started off the week with a bang, spent all day Sunday planning and was inspired to be more consistent with my students. Monday went great! Tuesday was fine. Wednesday was a disaster. I woke up (late) sick. I was frazzled, I didn't feel well and as a result I was not patient or consistent with my students. Therefore, lessons did not go as they should have. I felt awful physically and emotionally. I started crying in the faculty restroom and when I returned to my staff meeting my vice-principal insisted I go home and get a sub for thursday. I did not argue with her. I went to bed early on Wednesday and slept for 12 hours. Friday I was feeling better and had it much more together...which was a good thing because we had a LOCK DOWN. 35 6th graders in my classroom for 3 hours straight. AWESOME. Actually, it went fine, I figured out an activity for them to do and then made them read silently, but it certainly mixed things up.

I realized again that I still don't really know how to do effective literacy instruction. I have been looking at some sample long term plans and have decided that I need to follow a pre-made one instead of trying to make my own. I will have to adapt it because the ones that I am provided with are designed for 2 hours of literacy instruction each day and I only get one. I am not sure exactly how I will teach them everything. I am going to have to prioritize and be creative. I know I can do this, but I also know that it is URGENT that I get my long term plan in place because right now my instruction has OK but doesn't really have direction. These are all things that I know and have known it is just a matter of finding the time to do it.

In other news, I am losing a roommate. This is rough. She has been having a really hard time and has decided that it is best that she not continue teaching. It is strange to think of Phoenix and this apartment without Julie. She is leaving on a trip on Monday and I'm not sure when she will be back and how the whole moving process will work. Hopefully we'll get to talk about that before she leaves. I still can't believe it.

I continue...I woke up at 7:30 this morning and my alarm was not set til 9:30. Those of you who know me well will understand how strange this is. I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep...so I ate some fruit and got to work. It is time for my break to be over. I need to clean my room, something I haven't done since I started teaching 6 weeks ago. Oops.

A few quotations from my students...

2007-09-04T15:57:00.001-07:00

"Can I eat cheetos during healthy snack time?" -Na Quay
"No. You already asked me that question and I said no." -me
"No, before I asked if I could eat spicy cheetos. They are different. Spicy cheetos are spicy. (sticks out tongue and squirms it around to illustrate spicy)" -Na Quay
"No. You cannot eat cheetos of any kind during healthy snack time." -me

"Ms. Burns, is that your husband?" a student, about the picture of me with my dad from graduation.

"Ms. Burns, is that your boyfriend?" a student, about a picture of me and steve from graduation.

"Ms. Burns do I have a beautiful smile (GIANT toothy grin to illustrate)?" Na Quay
"Yes, you have a very nice smile. Now sit down and get to work." me

student raises hand in the middle of my lecture "That's a really pretty shirt"
"Thank you, Na Quay. Let's keep it on topic." me

"Ms. Burns gots skillz!" --several 6th grade boys when I played basketball with them at lunch

we hope

2007-08-27T23:17:00.000-07:00

that at some point this year we will feel confident that we are providing the education that our kids deserve. we do this work because we believe that our students deserve an education as good as the kids in scottsdale and paradise valley, but we wonder....how the heck are we supposed to provide that? our jobs are made all the more challenging by the fact that in order to do what we want to, we actually have to be MORE effective than the teachers in those districts, because we have to move our students more than one grade level in one year. oomf. this is big. baby steps. i have to keep my head up. do my homework. etc. etc. etc.

one day.....

3 weeks in...

2007-08-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

overwhelmed. overjoyed. pissed off. lost.

OK these are a few of the things that I have been feeling lately. I love my students, they crack me up. I don't really know what I am doing. I know I need to figure out it...quickly. I feel so limited in my abilities. I see good teachers doing things that I am attempting and failing at. I know I will be a good teacher eventually...or at least I usually believe that.

It is crazy to see yourself through the eyes of a 12 year old who is looking to you to be consistent and to teach them what they need to learn.

It is also just funny to hear the things that come out of their mouths sometimes. They look like little kids and often act like them, but they have moments of trying to act like teenagers.

Today was beautiful, around 100 degrees most of the day, so a break from the intense heat. It'll be real hot again later in the week, but I took advantage of the nice weather today and went down to the pool for awhile to soak up some vitamin D.

I really like my roomies and I am adjusting to phoenix pretty well. Julie (one of my roommates) and I went to Pizzeria Bianco on Friday, it is supposed to be one of the best pizza places in the country. It was certainly delicious.

OK I need to grade diagnostics and get my week planned out so Julie and I can go for a night hike tonight. It is the best time to go so it isn't quite so hot.