Santa, I have been a bad blogger

Yes, it is true my last post was October 3rd. The good news is I am back and ready to resume blogging. Where did I go? Why did I not post? Goodness, I do not know nor does it really matter at this point. But, I do know that I trained and finished the Honolulu Marathon, I completed my second term as a graduate student, and I made progress on some of my fellowship projects. I am glad to be reunited with my much neglected blog.

A couple of days ago, my husband attended a retreat for technology resource teachers. During the retreat, they completed an activity that led to each person creating a list of their top five strengths. One of my husband's strengths was input. I too have this strength; I love to learn and collect new bits of information, but I am challenged when it comes to the output. This blog is to help me with this particular weakness. Ironically, part of my job this year is to help students self-assess, advocate, and find ways to accommodate both their strengths and weakness. So, output here I come; it is time that I address my own weakness.

For two months, I spent hours in and out of classrooms, observing teaching and learning. It was great to sit in a desk and watch the class unfold from a different perspective. This new perspective made me reflect on my own practice. What do I want my students to feel like in my class? What do I value the most about learning? What type of opportunities do I provide for my students to demonstrate their learning? Most of all, what type of learning environment do I create? I found this checklist referenced on my husband's blog in a post titled Checklist Stoke: Creating a Caring Classroom. I like this list, but I can't help but feel its generic quality. Meaning, all of these aspects of teaching and learning look great on paper, but from my experience they look even better when you observe them. I think all teachers can make a list like this, but I am more interested in seeing the list come to life. All in all, I hope that these items extend beyond paper, becoming a reality in practice.

* I provide opportunities for success to each child in the classroom, encouraging growth from wherever they start.
* I assess student ability and adjust instruction to maintain an appropriate level of challenge for each.
* I offer students a variety of ways to demonstrate their knowledge, intelligence, and mastery.
* I attempt to build interpersonal skills, positive social behaviors, character skills, and resistance to failure.
* I attempt to accommodate a variety of interests, motivators, modality strengths, and learning preferences in my directions, instructions, and assignments.
* I attempt to accommodate tactile, kinesthetic, visual, verbal, and auditory learners.
* I make sure kids have ample opportunities to move around and help them learn to maintain an appropriate level of alertness without disturbing others.
* I avoid using humiliation, sarcasm, ridicule, anger, impatience, or manifestations of disappointment in dealing with students.
* I honor students' needs for respect, dignity, purpose, success, acceptance, attention, and motivation.
* I model standards of behavior, language, and tone of voice that I expect from my students.
* I work to eliminate prejudice toward students based on racial or cultural background; physical appearance; sexual orientation; academic, artistic, or athletic competence.
* I strive to stay aware of put-downs or slurs expressed by students or staff, responding immediately.
* I sometimes allow and encourage students to make decisions about their learning (what, where, with whom, how, or how much).
* I sometimes allow students to create, design, or renegotiate assignments to make them personally meaningful.
* I motivate through access to positive outcomes, rather than avoidance or fear of negative outcomes. I emphasize the positive consequences of cooperation.
* I consciously anticipate what students, teachers, and parents will need in various situations in order to prevent problems from occurring.
* I follow through immediately, avoiding warnings and threats.
* I make students and their parents aware of changes in behavior or performance that could affect grades or promotion.
* I utilize parents, administration, and support staff for feedback and support (not for punishing students).
* I attempt to meet students' needs for attention in positive, constructive, and proactive ways.
* I reinforce positive behavior with positive outcomes.
* I communicate with parents, regularly and frequently, about what their children are doing well.
* I respect students' affective needs and am committed to listening and supporting their feelings and problem-solving skills in positive ways.
* I respect confidentiality to the degree that doing so will not put anyone in danger.
* I immediately respond to incidents involving any form of bullying, harassment, or threat to safety.