One of the disadvantages of having a brain skewed to the left is the
tendency to see the practical obstacles (everything that could possibly
go wrong) with a new idea. My daughter and my husband don't see
obstacles; they only see opportunities. So we balance each other out,
and I have to make an effort everyday to NOT be a dream crusher.
So imagine my surprise when my husband and daughter looked at me like I
had two heads when I told them I would be filling in for the band
director
at school. They only saw the obstacles. (I've never directed a band
before; I dropped out of band in 11th grade, etc.) "Did you not
consider what that would involve?" they asked.
They doubted me, but I put my engineering and business management skills to work for me, and the band made great progress that week while the director was out. I just had to choose leaders for each section (cross-functional teams), delegate authority to those with the best skills set (who can best conduct this band for me?), offer the right incentives (if you learn this new Mozart piece, we'll play "Happy" next), and make tool substitutions as necessary to minimize downtime.
Now where did that conductor's baton go? Here's a coat hanger. Use that instead.
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My daughter doubts me in other ways, too.
Then when my daughter came into my classroom the other day to find me wearing
an apron, she said, "You must be doing some sort of messy science
experiment because you couldn't possibly be cooking." Teachers don't have time to teach and cook, don't ya know!
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I got to sub for a weight lifting class the last week of school before Fall Break, so I
challenged the students in the class to one of our Mighty Mom weight
workouts. Who thinks the athletes and/or jocks could keep up with the
Mighty Moms? I lead by doing, so I knew it would be fun, but guess how many agreed to do my workout? Not even one!
Maybe they didn't like having a female in the classroom messing up their mojo. Maybe they didn't want me to guide them in full body training and injury prevention. All I know is that I was not who they were expecting, and they motivated me to bust out a crazy number of pull-ups, plyo-push-ups, one-arm push-ups and a full body weight routine to boot.
#teachertalkingsmack #weteachsowecanplay #onthejobtraining
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Arthur L. Schawlow (Professor of Physics at Stanford University, 1981
Nobel Prize in physics) wrote, "It seems to me that when confronted
with the marvels of life and the universe, one must ask why and not just
how. The only possible answers are religious. . . . I find a need for
God in the universe and in my own life."
We all need God, but few are willing to admit it.
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I encouraged all my students to watch the fourth blood moon of the current tetrad (significant in Jewish history - happening only eight times in the past 2000 years and will not happen again for 600 more years) which took place September 27-28. It was much too cloudy to get a good view of the blood moon last night,
but we did at least get to see it eclipse behind the clouds.
Then when I taught the science behind a total lunar
eclipse at a rather formal Christian school and tried deliver a
compelling Biblical analogy comparing the lunar eclipse to the darkening
of the human heart that occurs when the things of this world come
between you and the Son (the light of the world) so that you no longer
reflect His light into the world's darkness... I accidentally
started singing, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (just that one title
phrase, no mention of needing you tonight) before catching myself and
apologizing for the impact the world's 80's music has had on your own
heart. Then a dear student said, "
That's okay, Teacher my mom
sang that same song too when we watched the eclipse on Sunday night, and
I even know the singer's name. It's Bonnie Tyler."
Another teacher told me I should have given him extra credit! LOL
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Since the Bible is divinely inspired and always relevant, each time we
read the same passage, it takes on deeper meaning or provides new
application for our lives as our circumstances change. It truly is like
no other document anywhere. In the past, when I have gotten in a rut,
usually due to my own lack of focus or effort, studying history has
helped make it fresh again as I see how prophecies have unfolded exactly
as foretold over time. Studying science has a similar effe
ct
as technology enables us to make discoveries deeper into the ocean,
further into space, or down to tiny molecular levels only to realize
that these same discoveries were described in the OT thousands of years
before such mysteries could be fathomed, much less revealed. I dare any
of my believing students who will be learning about some of these new
discoveries for the first time over the next few classes to read
Genesis, Psalms, Job, or Proverbs afterwards without seeing so much more
there than you ever saw before. I pray you will be compelled to
worship and love Him more.
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ANOTHER SOAPBOX RANT ON TEACHING:
I do not have a degree in
elementary education, so I have not been taught by elite academia what
my guiding principles should be in the classroom. Thus, I have adopted
the following principles based on what I have studied on my own,
observed, tested, and learned from God's word. I am stating them
publicly here to hold me accountable. How do these ideas compare to
what they say I "should" be doing?
THEME: Never expect more from students than you consistently give to them.
-
If you expect students to love learning, be passionate about the
subject, or enjoy your class, then you must love your students
unconditionally, enjoy the subject you teach, and point to God's glory
in all of it.
- If you want students to grow in confidence and
achievement, never belittle them, especially when they simply do not
understand the way you teach. Be willing to teach the material in a
different way.
- If you want them to believe that diversity is
good, do not insist that they all conform to your one oddly shaped mold.
Instead of "teaching to the middle" as they say, teach to individual
students by incorporating different teaching methods that appeal to
multiple learning styles, particularly the visual spatial, kinesthetic,
social, or logical learners whose brilliance too often gets buried under
the false perception a teacher gives when insisting that a child can't
learn if he doesn't readily learn in the only way the teacher knows how
to teach.
- Don't expect students to give their very best
effort if you are too lazy to rewrite the same lesson plan you've used
for the past 20 years. Continuously improve what you give them.
-
Similarly, if you want your students to become avid readers,
researchers, and independent thinkers, then make sure you regularly
investigate and employ better curriculum and reinforcement options for
your classes.
- If you want your students to be studious and to
strive for continuous improvement, then pursue new skills and more
knowledge and wisdom yourself through diligent study.
- If you
want them to obey you cheerfully, make sure you do not punish them
unjustly out of your own frustration or desperation while unwilling to
consider the facts carefully or rationally.
- If you want them to care about you, then show them that you genuinely care about them.
Okay, so that sounds like way too much to ask of teachers who are
underpaid, overworked, unfairly disrespected, and overwhelmed (which is
why I only teach part-time. Ha!). It is one of the hardest jobs in the
world to do well. So I'm all for anything that will increase the support
teachers receive.
But clearly, no decent teacher goes into that
profession for the money. It is a calling by God to nurture the hearts,
souls, and minds of the next generation. So to those who love teachers,
please respect and support them. But to those who teach, may we never
underestimate the value of each and every soul in the classroom or the
impact our words and actions could have on them for eternity, be it good
or bad. Let us commit to give our very best. If I am ever unwilling or
unable to uphold these principles, may the Lord remove me from that
post, for it is better to cram too many students into a classroom filled
with love from one dedicated teacher than to have only a few children
in a classroom with a teacher who simply does not care.
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I truly have always thought teachers should be paid more for their long hours
of toil, sweat, tears, heartache, and frustration as they equip the next
generation, but as I've stepped into the classroom a little myself, I'm
discovering that smiles like this one buy more happiness than money
ever could. Who ever thought I, of all people, could love teaching so
very much?
I have also learned something rather surprising through this STEM class. Students who other teachers think should be medicated to help them focus thrive in my classroom. I use a different teaching style that is more geared for visual spatial learners whereas the traditional classroom targets audio sequential learners. My approach is very open and interactive instead of lecture format. Instead of absorbing information, students are discovering it for themselves. It's mostly hands-on with lots of real life technological applications, so students can see how they will use this learning in
the future. We learn by playing games. For example, during the water microbiology class I'm teaching this week, 3rd through 5th graders are given several water samples from seven different sources. By analyzing the microbes inside the water using a DIY microscope made out of $1.17 worth of household supplies, testing the pH of each sample, and measuring the turbidity, they get to guess which sample comes from each source, which forces them to use critical thinking skills and systematic problem solving in a detective style game. I would have never guessed that any of these students had focusing issues based on what I see in my classroom.
I do have one student who appears to have some sort of severe autism or asberger's syndrome who has never been in a classroom setting before in his life. My class is his first, and he's almost 11. I have no training in education, much less special ed, but I'm determined to reach him or at least let him know he's loved. He was sweet to ask me during the 2nd class, "Did I do any better this time?" Even though he tells me repeatedly that my class is boring - oh how it hurts to hear him say that - every other student tells me the opposite.
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Hello, my name is "Mrs. ________", and I'm addicted to STEM projects. I
know I need an intervention because my idea of a good time on a Friday
night is building an early stage prototype of a human hovercraft that I
hope my husband will help me build for my students to reinforce our
lesson on air pressure. (Shhh! It's a surprise to them and will be a
surprise to me if it actually works with human bodies on it instead of a
cup!)
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A typical week of week of traveling all over to collect samples and supplies for my students may look something like this:
 |
| Collecting water samples at the creek after flooding rains |
 |
| Collecting water samples at the lake at sunset was nice! |
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"Let these words SINK into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be
delivered into the hands of men.” (Luke 9:44) - Emphasis mine
For
something to sink, it must be denser than the solution it displaces.
Density = mass/volume
So the massive content of what Jesus said in a
volume of only 15 words made it exceedingly dense, especially compared
to vacuous ears, simple minds, and fragile hearts into which it sank. No
wonder His disciples could not understand it. Oh how those words must have sank swiftly with a thunderous swoosh....troubling their spirits.
What other word than "sink" could possibly convey the enormity of what
Christ did for mankind compared to man's hopeless, empty, estate? Our
greatest good work are like filthy rags in comparison, for no one can
save himself. All glory to the One who is worthy and did the work for
us.
#HowSTEMPeepsDoBibleStudy
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Even though I write my own lesson plans, labs, and presentations while
drawing from numerous curricula and the internet, I have one student who
insists he has already seen all these experiments before on YouTube.
Unwilling to let boredom ruin his learning fun, I am determined to come
up with something totally original. So I am writing this next unit on
oceanography largely from scratch, making up my own experiments and
drawing on my husband's encyclopedia brain and rich experience as an
officer on a nuclear powered submarine for ideas. You know I am getting
closer to something that kid has never seen before when my husband
answers my questions with, "Sorry, but that's classified information",
or "If I told you, I would have to ..."
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The student I previously mentioned who challenged me to come up with
totally original, fun lessons with cool experiments that were nowhere to
be found on the internet...the kid whose zeal for fresh knowledge
combined with my OCD kept me up past 4:30am many nights over the past
week....well, that kid made it all worth it today when he gifted his
teacher with some jewelry! Check out my new bracelet! Try to top
that, Pandora and Tiffany & Co.
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My tutoring schedule continues to grow with four students in the same subject. Praise the Lord. That sure beats five students in four different subjects in years past. I like this meme for them. I'm tutoring the subject I taught last year, so it should be easy enough, but more students are struggling in this subject than any other because it is applied math requiring critical thinking and systematic problem solving and math applied to real life situations, not rote worksheets. They have to learn to think in real world terms and stop trying to memorize algorithms for a test. Therein lies my challenge and the entire reason I started the STEM program. 12th grade is much too late to start learning those skills.
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