Ready for Virtual Open House

Virtual Open House is a great idea that is long overdue. It may be one of my favorite things brought about by COVID. My past experiences with Open House have shown that it is not the most productive thing teachers do. Virtual Open House give students and families the opportunity to get the basic information quickly and easily. There is great collaboration going on everywhere online about how to make the "perfect" presentation. I encourage everyone to remember there is no "perfect" presentation or video. We all want to make a good first impression, but don't stress out over it more complicated than it needs to be.  

I started small with just a video and then went a little further because technology is in my wheelhouse. All in all it took me about 1.5 - 2  hours. I might have been done sooner than that if I didn't have to keep saying, "Do I really look like that?" (Seriously those COVID pounds need to go....but I digress.)

Basic intro video:

• Keep it short. You just want to be welcoming, introduce yourself , and convey excitement for the new year.
• Use a recording tool you are comfortable with - that can be your phone, screencastify, camtasia, google meet, or any other tool you love. 
• LIGHTING...LIGHTING .... LIGHTING  - One thing my (selfie queen) daughter has taught me is how lighting makes all the difference. Good lighting makes you look happy and healthy, and bad lighting makes you look like you will be teaching from prison. I recommend outside if at all possible. 
• Make sure you look at the camera. It is so tempting to watch yourself....but looking at the camera is more welcoming for your students. 

Ok - Here is my basic video. It gets the job done and only took 4 takes.

Now after I did that, I wanted to do a bit more....so I looked at sample videos with all the cute stuff. Made this little Hola video using Snapchat. I did it that way so I could easily share with my daughter (the selfie queen), but you can just record it on your phone as well. Truthfully this one took about 15 takes until I was happy. 

Once I did this I wanted to make it loop, but after lots of searching, I couldn't find a way to make it loop in Google. Sometimes...you just have to let it go. 

I found this video that I liked, so I decided to adapt some of the ideas (and simplify).  I could feel myself going down the rabbit hole. Here is the final presentation that I made. 

If you want to do something similar - I used "insert shape" then changed the fill color to match our school colors and then "insert text box" on top. There are details about linking pages if you are unfamiliar with that in the YouTube video I shared.

Remember you don't need something complicated. You only need to briefly introduce yourself and convey your excitement for the new year. I would love to see your videos in the comments!

The only thing certain is change

Note: This blog has always been for my own reflection. I needed to get all of this out, but will understand if you don't want to read it. 

 I feel as though I have been struggling through the wilderness of my career. After 12 years at Elizabeth High School in Colorado, I have moved on. As I look back on it now, I should have done it sooner. I would not trade my time there for anything, but as I reflect, I now see things more clearly and hope others can relate. If my reflection resonates, please let me know.

1. The year before I left I was angry, actually ANGRY. Although I was one of the more senior staff members, it was made clear that I wasn't ever going to be considered for a leadership role. I had written curriculum, maintained the department standards as there was turnover and we dwindled to two staff members, and always volunteered to help with anything and everything. (Well, not the teacher vs. student volleyball game...I am NOT athletic). However, I FINALLY realized that nothing I did was going to move me to the leadership table. I could not even be named Department Chair. All I wanted was for my title to reflect the work that I had done and was still doing. 

2. My anger was my fault. I did not get into teaching for recognition. I knew what the school and district I was teaching in was like from the beginning. I knew that sometimes my mouth gets me into trouble (anyone who knows me can attest). It is a small district, and opportunities for advancement as a teacher were few and far between.  I was able to ask questions and give feedback and my principal had my back. I know that these are things that not everyone is lucky enough to have. If I felt unappreciated by the school or district, all I had to do was look at my students and parents and I would quickly see how much I was valued. I was looking in the wrong place for validation.

3. The longer you stay the harder it is to leave. Truer words have never been spoken. This is especially true in a small community where you can teach ALL the brothers and sisters. I had taught my two oldest children and got to hand them their diploma. Leaving is HARD. However, I think I had reached the point where I was looking for more from my career and my district wasn't able to provide it. I should have realized that sooner. 

So in the end we moved from Colorado in January of 2019. As it turned out, I was able to teach my students remotely for the remainder of the school year (which has come in handy now!). I left not for higher pursuits, but because my husband got a new job in Atlanta. We were happy because we wanted to be able to be closer to our older children who were at Auburn University, my brother in South Carolina and my parents in Florida. It is a move that has been good for everyone....bet you can't guess who has had the hardest time???

People, transitioning to a new school is hard! I spent the majority of the year feeling like a new teacher again. I moved from a district that handed me a book and said good luck to a district that has a curriculum map and common assessments. It has been a bit of a culture shock. I work in a department of 5 and my coworkers are all talented teachers. Just as I felt like I was hitting my stride, we shut everything down. 

Now I have decided to go back to what works for me. I am going back to the flip and I have plans of using it to require mastery (but of course, COVID again) but those plans will have to wait for another year. 

I am teaching Spanish 1, Spanish 1 Honors, and Spanish 2. I am recommitting to using the flip to help my students learn at a pace more comfortable for them and being able to better challenge my advanced students. 

2020 - The Year of Change. Let's do this. 

The 7 deadly sins according to CCFLT Teacher of the Year!

So I know...if anyone is still with me they are thinking, "Where have you been?". Well...you know....life. But I am back and ready to go!!

On October 6th, I was so honored to have been selected at CCFLT's Teacher of the Year. Although I had submitted an application, to be honest I really didn't think I would win. I mean seriously....there are so many more qualified people out there. But not going to lie...felt pretty good to be chosen. I had really been struggling and not feeling especially loved and appreciated at school (maybe you can relate?). So, I have decided I am going to make the most of my award and try to really make an impact.

So when considering my acceptance speech, I thought, "What can I do that someone might actually listen to and remember?" After many drafts, Googling "how to write an acceptance speech" and still not being happy, I went to my true inspiration, my students. Many years ago, I heard a group of students give a speech based on the 7 deadly sins. So I thought...that's it. The Seven Tips for Teaching based on the 7 deadly sins.

So here it is hope it brightens your day and maybe even inspired.

Envy - Envy all that your students have ahead of them. They are just at the beginning of their journey. Be that guide that they remember. Always help them to challenge themselves, tackle obstacles and keep going on their journey

Gluttony - It's ok to be a glutton. Take all the ideas offered by colleagues, at conferences, from professional development and from your students. Don't get locked in to one methodology. Use all of these ideas to help you continue to improve your teaching and make you class an even better place to be.

Greed - Teach your students to be greedy. Get them excited and inspired to learn more every class. Teach them to be greedy for knowledge of not just a new language, but to learn about other cultures, and to travel to faraway lands. Show them that being greedy for knowledge is not only ok, but the best way to better themselves and find the path for their future.

Sloth - Take downtime for yourself. Being a great teacher is hard work and we all need to recharge occasionally. Sometimes we just need to remember to put ourselves first....just like on the plane with the oxygen masks. ;) 

Wrath - Although there are always times when we can lose our temper and be frustrated with students, classes, colleagues and administration getting angry doesn't really solve anything. Remember that sometimes the students that make us the craziest, are the exact ones that usually need us the most. Dig to find out what is going on and those students will be on your side forever.

Pride - Help students take pride in their work. Help them see how far they have come and that the next step may be challenging but it is attainable. Take pride in your own work. Toot your own horn occasionally...it's ok...you deserve it!

Lust - Not going to lie...this is my favorite. Get students excited about learning. Help them lust for everything we know and more. Help them not just be able to learn from us, but to learn from each other and on their own as well. Give them a lust for learning and they will become lifelong learners and always be motivated....even in the down times.

Being the champion for your students

There are times when as teachers we sit back and wonder why we continue teaching. More and more it feels as though we work for not just little pay, but little respect from the outside world. We are constantly working to find new ways to compete with all of the distractions in our students lives. We are trying to reach the students that seem unreachable, teach the students that can seem unteachable. Most importantly we try to give our students a base of knowledge, compassion, drive and the ability to think so they can be successful when they leave our classrooms, no matter what they choose to do later in life.

Of course in the education world driven by achievement and test scores, this often seems like an insurmountable task. As teachers we often look around and feel a sense of hopelessness because it doesn't seem like we are making a difference to anyone. We start to wonder if it is time for us to do something different-we can't imagine what. This is what drives teachers to be constantly changing and evolving what we do. To drive us to find our spark again. In 2011, this brought me to the flipped class movement.

As I look back now and reflect on how far I have come since that conference in Woodland Park with Jon Bergman, Aaron Sams and about 60 other interested flippers, I realize that the biggest change I made had nothing to do with my curriculum. My biggest change was the way I thought about my job and what I did. I stopped thinking that I taught Spanish. I don't teach Spanish at all. I teach students. 

My focus on teaching students is helped by the additional time I can spend with each of them in my flipped classroom. I am able to get to know them: how they learn, issues they are working through, challenges they face. Teaching students gives me the power to stop a lesson if someone asks an off-topic question that should be answered. To get side tracked in a good way to promote student thinking and questioning of their education and their life.

This last week I was reminded of the best part of teaching students - the influence that we have on them that sometimes we don't always realize. The best part is that sometimes these students manage to turn up right when we need them; right when we start questioning all that we do. This happened in a few ways for me last week. It started with a small thing, a huge hug from a student who senses you are having a bad day, students that bring you chocolate ice cream because they want you to have a good week, etc. Sometimes it is a Facebook friend request from a student that joined the military and wants to let you know how they are doing. Other times it is a student that contacts you to taunt you about a football rivalry, but also mentions that even though they are in college now, they learned more from you than in any other class.

Then, there are other students, the special ones that maybe you don't want to love, you know they are trouble. However they somehow find their way into your heart. They are the students you give a hard time to because you know that they can be more. The students that aren't making good choices, in school or in life, that you keep trying to get through to. The ones that other teachers, administration, and maybe even their parents don't know what to do with anymore. The ones that goes away for the summer and then doesn't come back. The ones that you find yourself thinking about and wondering about long after they are gone from your class and your school.

Sometimes these students show up out of the blue to thank you for what you did for them: for believing in them, for pushing them, even for giving them a kick in the pants when they needed it. These are the moments that we as teachers live for - to realize that we have truly made a difference. These moments, though often few and far between, can keep a teacher going for months or even years.

Teaching students is what we all do. Forging positive relationships not only makes a difference in our students' lives, but in our own. It is the reason why teachers go to school everyday, plan and grade in their free time, spend summers planning and learning. I think this quote sums up my perspective now more than ever. "Every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be." - Rita Pierson

I will continue to strive to be that champion for my students. I don't know any other way to teach.