Believe in Yourself

Of all the Ali quotes that I saw at the Museum that rang true to me, this one is probably the most fitting for my work situation.  When I first decided to run a self-paced math class, I had many critics, especially from my own colleagues.  It was a very difficult time for me at work and can still be at some times.  I was not appreciated for my efforts, in fact the opposite really.  Don't get me wrong, I received plenty of praise from my administration but just not from the other teachers.  It actually really hurt.  I had done nothing to hurt any of them and had never claimed that my way was the right way or the best way, it was just what I felt in my heart was the best way for me and for my students.

I was a third career teacher.  My first career was as an IT consultant who helped companies embrace change and change their companies for the better using new technology.  My second career was as a stay at home mom of 3 kids.  Both of those careers helped me decide to teach in a completely different way. I was convinced that my students were not learning well through traditional instruction with me as their teacher.  This is NOT to say that other students with other teachers were not learning.  It was just not working for me.  When our district started to go to a 1:1 ipad initiative, I immediately saw the possibilities!  I used my change agent background and my love of technology to make it happen.  My first semester and first year didn't have the greatest of results and it was a TON of work to do what I wanted to do.  However, I did not give up, despite the growing resentment in my building.

I have now been teaching a self-paced 6th grade math class for almost 5 years and I will not go back.  Yes, I continue to modify, Yes, I continue to improve the process.  Does it work perfectly for every student?  Of course not!  But does any teaching method?  No!  Do I think it allows more students to be successful?  Yes, I absolutely do!  Will I continue teaching this way?  Absolutely!  Do I think every teacher should do this?  Definitely not!  Some teachers are great at direct instruction and some subjects are better taught in that manner!  However, I would challenge any teacher to evaluate your reasons for doing things the way you do.  If the reasons aren't for student success, you might want to reevaluate?  Just a thought as we enter the new year!

Impossible

As I just finished taking the Flipped Learning Certification Course, this rings very true to me.  I have been a Flipped Educator for 5 years and many people have claimed it is "impossible" for them to flip their classes because of the content, lack of time, and the list goes on.  As Ali states above, Impossible is not a fact.  It is an opinion.  Nothing is impossible.  I am a 5 time Ironman finisher and was never an athlete.  I never knew how to swim front crawl until I was almost 40 years old!  I have one knee that is nearly bone on bone arthritic, yet I did not find it impossible to complete an Ironman.  In fact, I enjoyed the experience so much, I completed 4 more after my first!

Yes, it was hard to create my flipped mastery level classroom.  Was it impossible?  Definitely not!  Was it easy? Definitely not!  Did it take alot of time?  Absolutely!  Was it perfect the first time?  NO WAY!  Has it been worth it?  100%!  Is my life easier now that I have done it?  Definitely!

Challenge yourself to do something you think is impossible!  I promise you won't regret it!

Present Voluntarily....

How true is this Ali quote, especially during this special time of the year?  The holidays are upon us and it is a time of giving!  And giving without expectation of anything in return.  I love to give gifts!  I love to give to my students - treats, rewards, candy canes at Christmas, you name it, I love to give it.  Do I expect anything (well, other than a thank you?) from the people I give to?  Of course not!

I have the same philosophy in my teaching.  I continually want to give more to my teaching practice and I do not do it for any other reason than the satisfaction I get from making changes or improvements to my craft.  I like to give in the form of my time to my teaching counterpart. I have more free time than her, the mother of two twin boys in second grade.  My children are much older and need much less of my time right now.  So, I choose to give my time to our personalized learning environment and I really don't expect her to give back at the same level.  She gives back plenty and I want her to know that!  Just in professionalism, a shared desire to improve our students and in friendship.  I don't give my time so I can get a better evaluation either.  I truly give because I want to do right by my students.  I believe that by doing right by my students, the evaluation will take care of itself.

I believe the world would be a better place if more people gave rather than took.....

Maintain a sense of Awe....

As we head into the holiday season, it seems fitting to talk about my feelings on this Ali quote.  I think it is important to always maintain a sense of awe in all that you do. I do really do this in my teaching, my athletics, my personal life, with my children and the list goes on.  In my teaching, I am constantly in awe of all those out there that have done this for so many years and have done it so well.  I am in awe of the teachers that teach in my district who are so inspired, hard working and caring for our students.  I didn't always find that caliber of teachers in the district where my own children went to school and I believe that is because the teachers didn't feel like they had to try very hard in our district because the kids had so much family support presumably.  In the district where I teach, the students really need us and we have to work hard for each and every one of them.  I see the teachers in my district working very hard all of the time and it is awe-inspiring.

In athletics, I am constantly in awe.  I am not a very gifted athlete, but what I lack in genetics I have in heart and effort.  I never give up, sometimes even when I should.  There are always people to be in awe of though.  Some are those that are genetically gifted and very fast.  However, those aren't really the ones that get my awe and admiration.  My awe and admiration go to the slow, the overweight, the handicapped, and the ones you would never expect to be there.  Those people inspire me constantly and make me try harder!

My children inspire awe in me because I honestly never thought I could love so much.  However, my children, as flawed as they are, bring me to tears on a regular basis in my worry for them and love for them.  I hurt when they hurt and want so much for their success.  I hope that they one day find what inspires them and they live a life of reverence and awe as well, realizing that there is so much out there greater than they are and there is a power greater than them that will guide them.

I won't lie, I am still searching for the inner peace written above but I am closer to it than I had ever been before and hope to continue building upon it.  I plan to continue to look for ways to be inspired and awed by all that is greater than me, even if it is simply a beautiful display of Christmas lights.  It is important to take in the little things in life and enjoy every moment.

Happy Holidays to All.....

Being Courageous

This quote really resonates with me regarding the flipped classroom.  Teaching was not my first career or my easiest job!  When I started teaching, I was not very proud of my work and did not feel like a very good teacher.  In fact most days I felt like a failure.  I didn't feel like I was reaching very many students and I didn't feel like the students were really learning.  I felt this way especially about my average to higher average students.  They were not reaching their full potential in my class.  Honestly, I don't think I would have continued teaching had I not started flipping my class.  I am one who loves and embraces change and is always looking for a better way to do things.  I attended a math workshop with my teaching counterpart, where the 7th grade Special Ed Math teacher introduced us to the concept of self-paced math.  Right away I knew this was the answer to my problems.  My school was about to go to 1:1 ipads and my technology and change agent background allowed me to see the potential ahead!  I looked at my counterpart at that moment and said "I am going to do this as soon as I get the ipads!".  Luckily for me, she was willing to try too.  Even luckier for us, our administration was willing to let us try.  Honestly, I had not done any research on flipped learning or self-paced instruction, but I was courageous enough to start.  What we have developed has taken off and we have now been teaching this way for nearly 5 years and have inspired several other teachers in several other subject areas to do the same. I was awarded Teacher of the Year in my District 2 years ago, and I firmly believe that never would have happened had I not been courageous enough to take this risk! My students are doing so much better and in general I feel so much better about the job I am doing. Is it perfect all the time?  No, definitely not!  Does it work perfectly for every student?  No, of course not!  Is it a lot of work and difficult?  Yes, but not all the time and the benefits far outweigh the costs!  Is it better for the majority of students?  Yes, I believe it is!

Devote all your energy...

I want to dig a bit deeper into the quotes from Ali, the Greatest and show how they impact me and my teaching.  I like to start each new week with my students with an inspirational quote and ask them to think about how the quote relates to their lives so I want to do the same with these quotes from Ali.  The first is:

  "DEVOTE ALL OF YOUR ENERGY, EFFORT AND ABILITIES TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS"

I think this is important, depending on your goals.  If your goal is to simply come to work, teach students, go home, maybe grade a few papers, then do it again the next day, you probably don't need to devote all of your energy, effort and abilities to your teaching.  Maybe it isn't the most important thing in your life and you need to devote all of your energies elsewhere.  That is ok if that is what works for you.  I know myself, personally, no matter what I have chosen to do, I've wanted to do it well and wanted to be recognized for doing the best job I could do.  So, yes, many would say I am a workaholic, and yes they would be right.  But when I decided to become a teacher, I wanted to be the best teacher I could be and give kids  the best experience I could give them.  I expect them to give me their best, so I plan to give them my best.

You can't expect to be recognized, or admired if you don't give 100% to the tasks at hand.  Its just like I tell my students, I don't give you your grades, you earn them.  I feel the same about my own career. No one gives me recognition or awards, I have gone out and earned them. It has not been an easy journey but I have felt that I have given it all my energy, effort and ability and will continue to do so as long as I am in this career!

Ali - the Greatest and his effect on me...

So, recently I went to Louisville Kentucky to compete in my 5th Ironman race.  While there, I had a few hours to spare and am not good at staying off my feet so I wandered over to the Muhammad Ali Center.  It was a great choice of how to spend my time!  I was so inspired there!  The man was a poet, an artist, a boxer of course, a helper, a teacher, the list goes on but no matter what he was passionate about everything he did and everything he believed in.  It inspired me to be more passionate in my beliefs.  I am sometimes too quiet at school about how passionately I believe in the flipped model of instruction because I know many of my co-workers disagree with me.  I no longer want to hide my feelings because I do think it is a better way for students to learn.  Does everyone have to do it my way?  Of course not, there are so many variations but one thing I do know is that children should not be forced to learn on a teacher's timeline or just their way.  I want to share some of the images I took while at Ali's museum- I hope some of them inspire you the way they did me!

What's next?

So, now that I've been running a self-paced, flipped mastery math classroom, I am often asked what is next?  That is a good question.  I truly love teaching the way I do and passionately believe it is the right way to teach and best for the majority of students.  I think students are held to a higher level of accountability and can no longer hide in the classroom, not learning.  However, I am still struggling with what to do with the very unmotivated students who don't care or want to learn.  Maybe they would learn better in a direct instruction classroom where they are forced to listen?  But how do I do both?  That is my biggest struggle and I think it is a prevailing issue in our culture today.   How do you instill motivation?  I would really love to hear from others how you motivate students to want to learn and succeed.

My resistance to blogging......

So, if I am totally honest with you, I have never been a fan of blogging....  Why, then am I all the sudden blogging?  Good question,  that I am still trying to fully answer.  Let me start by saying that I am a passionate supporter of Flipped Learning and have been a flipped educator for nearly 5 years!  I have been able to spread my love of flipped learning to several other teachers in my district and have even worked with another school district to help them begin to teach in a more 21st Century manner, utilizing some flipped learning techniques.

I was recently awarded the honor of being named one of the Top 100 Global Flipped Ambassadors by Jon Bergmann, who has been credited with starting the Flipped Education movement.  I am incredibly proud of this honor and really want to begin to spread my passion and knowledge to other teachers who want to try flipping.

I feel that I have a lot to offer other teachers, in the way of technology training, innovative ways to flip and how to run a fully personalized learning environment in your class.  I recently reached out to Jon Bergmann to ask how I could become more visible and perhaps start training other teachers and he gave me the valuable suggestion to start becoming more recognizable outside my school and more active on social media, starting with a blog.

I have always been one to try to stay humble and never want to be seen as someone who brags but I do feel really passionately that flipped learning is best for students and I truly want to help other teachers embrace this way of teaching!  I hope that by blogging, I can start to reach teachers away from the walls of my district!