A Return and A Portfolio

These moms are laughing because I thought I would have time to blog on my maternity leave.  Or with a newborn.  Or a toddler.  2 and half years later here I am.  It was my evaluation year and I have to make a portfolio.  It was surprising to come back and discover I had previously posted almost 30 times.  I didn't remember having that much to say.  And so much has changed since then.  I now teach 6th grade.  I began to specialize in math and social studies (although that will change with our new team assignments - LA here I come!)  I am in a really good place.  I love my new job and my new team.  Looking back at the last two years feel good - much was done and there is still much to do.  I continue to grow.  My personal reflection turned out to be 8 pages.  Take a look:

Self Evaluation for 2016-2017

Sidwell Friends School

Lesley Younge

Submitted July 21, 2017

2016-2017 marked my 11^th year of teaching in the classroom and my 14^th year in the world of youth development.  It was my 6^th year at Sidwell Friends School and my 2^nd year in 6^th grade.  By many markers it was a successful year, which I evaluate based on my ability to improve upon past initiatives, try new ideas, and see growth in my areas of focus.  Moreover I feel confident that I continued to contribute a great deal to my team, my division, and the school as a whole. 

I again taught math and social studies and was also a homeroom advisor.  As an advisor, I thought my connections with students improved from my first year and I was better able to address their individual needs while creating a safe community for learning.  Their openness in discussions and class meetings indicated their comfort with each other and with me.  It was a significantly more diverse class, and I found ways for them to bring their personal cultures and interests into the educational process, which enriched us all.  I remain a strict, but fair teacher.  I pride myself on my classroom management style and high expectations for behavior and self-regulation.  My primary interest is physical and emotional safety, which students do not feel if the teacher is not paying attention and does not wield some level of control.   I try to be celebratory in times of student success and let them know what I appreciate about them individually and collectively.   I was able to have meaningful conversations with most students around their areas of growth, whether emotional, social, or academic.  I hope they felt understood, cared for, and properly guided.  11-12 year olds are different from 9-10 year olds in what they need and will accept from teachers.  I am adjusting to what is appropriate for them developmentally and to the limits of my influence in this role.

Mathematically I grew as well.  The second year brings more comfort with the curriculum and the levels of learners in the standard class.  Our team met during the summer of 2016 to recalibrate the curriculum scope and sequence, and I was able to address almost all of the topics in a timely way.  There was a mix of hands-on experiences, group work, and traditional practice. Organization was a major focus and that brought clarity to my teaching.  I began using a notes format I found through betterlesson.com.  I felt these notes (to which I attached classwork) helped me communicate the topics, goals, and expectations much more clearly.  Students continued to need guidance on how to use the notes to review material and study for tests, but the work was organized and accessible. It additionally helped in conversations with parents.  When they were unsure about our studies, I could direct them back to their student and their work.  There was a reasonable amount of homework. I liked using Khan Academy for weekly, varied practice and included a problem solving activity.  Most other work could be done in class. I collected completed notes, work, and assessments, and I was able to give each student a portfolio of their work at the end of the year.  A next step is student reflection on the portfolio to which I hope to devote more time.  I will be able to adapt this system to the advanced class I will teach next year.

Differentiation and assessment continue to be areas of focus for me.  The notes system does allow me to set levels of work and individualize the classwork for each student. I need to do more pre-assessments and more intermittent mini assessments.  Time management of a 40-minute class is the primary hindrance.  It does not always feel fair to give students (many of whom were slower readers and processors) five minutes to complete an assessment task, and that was what we had if there was to be a lesson and work time too. With our homework conversation I did feel pressure to give students more class work time so that they would have less homework.  I sacrificed other things to do so.  I hope to improve the structure of my classes in this third year so that I can include these important elements. With a more advanced level class this may be less of a problem.  End of unit assessments came together nicely. I primarily used the ones from Math in Focus, which I will continue to do.  I hope our team can work this year on making common assessments.  Without them it is difficult to compare across classes and that will be necessary with two teachers teaching advanced math.

I often found that students had trouble applying known processes in new problem solving situations.  Even if similar problems were in the study guide, they needed more examples and more practice to be successful with them on the test.  I struggled with this because I do not believe in teaching them how to solve certain problems in ways that they just mimic and repeat.  Best practice involves taking the time to let students try on their own, work together, and then discuss and share methods.  The schedule made this challenging, and I know I did not offer enough guided opportunities for this work.  However, it was a primary focus of Lauren’s class so it will be essential to manage this better.  Additionally, this year I want to better match the kind of modeling I do to a process that they could generalize in novel situations.  I will use the bar modeling steps as a guide and Andrew has given us several resources that should help as well.  I find out department meetings useful and productive and feel comfortable bringing this challenge up for discussion.

My social studies teaching continues to evolve as I become more invested in and knowledgeable about social justice and global sustainability.  I would not say that these were primary interests of mine even five years ago, but now they are central.  6^th graders are extraordinarily interested in what is real and true about the world. I am proud of the curriculum we are developing that takes their interest seriously and gives them the tools to ask questions, conduct research, make meaning, discover passions, and take action.  I believe this focus is in alignment with the Quaker testimonies. I find ways to bring those into the classroom everyday, which brings joy and meaning to our work.

Our team is in alignment and together we are becoming experienced practitioners of global education.  Our travel to Boston to study with Fernando Reimers was a critical source of knowledge and resources to continue our work.  Our sustainable development trip to Malawi also gave us enormous perspective on the importance of this work and the skills our students need to make a positive impact on the world.  Next week we will process all of the learning we have done and determine how to best implement it. 

I was particularly proud of our Sustainable Development Goal research brief assignment and summit.  I developed the global brief assignment last year.  That all five classes participated was a major advancement we will likely repeat this year.   It was meaningful for students to discuss their research together and present ideas to their peers.  It provided a foundation we continued to build on throughout the year.  The United Nations SDGs have been a central piece of most  global education materials we come across.  We are right in step with recommended best practices to have students delve deeply into these topics and identify problems, partners, and sustainable solutions. Overall we are providing a highly consistent experience for 6^th graders and this is also something we are invested in.  I think we are an exemplary model of collaboration, communication and collegial support within the school.

Green By Design went smoothly and was properly elevated as an end the year project.  The research portion improved empathy, and this year I was able to solidly connect the idea of single stories about Africa to student thinking.  In their work and reflections I saw efforts to see their countries and families in a multi-dimensional way.  We streamlined the math segment, and it felt more substantial.  The assessment materials for this project are outdated.  We will improve them this summer.  Additionally we need to make sure the technology/science aspect is better integrated into the experience.

Our Mapping with Heart project continues to evolve and my class’s work was featured on the website.  The research paper topic was renewable energy in other countries and was again managed very well by 6^th graders.  I provided more guidance on which print and web resources were appropriate, which helped.  I will continue to refine the resources we use to make sure all learners have accessible materials.  There are some technical clarifications (such as the definition of a megawatt) that would be useful, and I will include those next year.  The alignment with windmill making in science and reading The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind provides significant synchronicity, and I will continue to time those intentionally.  The culture scrapbook project and celebration are a nice part of the year and provide an opportunity to share our personal and familial selves with each other.  Our team needs to set clearer goals around the culture unit as it evolves to be an opportunity to undo ideas about “normal”, take alternative perspectives, and demonstrate respect for other people’s lives.

I am proud of how well we use the city as our classroom.  My background is in museum and out of school education.  It was my first love, and I am thrilled to work on a team where being out and about is supported.  The Doctors Without Borders refugee exhibit was exceptional and set the tone for our year.  Visits to the Building Museum and the Newseum enhanced learning as well.   We hope to continue to utilize the resources of Washington DC and to be flexible with each other so that we can take advantage of them.

Following the all-school service-learning grant last summer, I set a goal to restructure the 6^th grade program as a model of best practice.  We decided to focus on food justice.  There were some successes and a lot of room for growth.  It began with a central query for all students on which many experiences would offer insight: If there is enough for all, why don’t all have enough?  (This gem was offered by Stewart when he was still running Global Village.) The entire grade participated in the Oxfam Hunger Banquet.  We then hosted a speaker from DC Central Kitchen and raised over $500 with which we bought turkeys for their Thanksgiving dinners and made a monetary donation.  We also hosted a panel from Everybody Grows and partnered with them to grow seedlings, which were donated to community gardens in DC.  Global Village offered further opportunities to think about inequity and resource distribution.  There were individual class efforts, and classes went to A Wider Circle and Food & Friends or baked cakes for the Boys and Girls Club.  

The partnership with Everybody Grows has enormous potential that we hope to better develop this year.  We were unable to have each class visit the community gardens as we had planned.  There is a possibility of doing this in the fall when things are more flexible.  The spring was very challenging schedule-wise for all involved.  We will better coordinate with the science unit on plant growing to emphasis that application of knowledge.  A trip to a food farm would offer even more insight.  There is a lot of interest from other teachers about establishing a garden on campus and a container garden might be the best solution at this time.  Additionally we need to develop some final way for students to reflect on this work. I had my students wrote persuasive paragraphs on whether we could solve world hunger.  It was sufficient for this year, but I think we can do more, perhaps involving collaboration and art.

My work as the clerk of the service learning committee was very fulfilling and I look forward to continuing in that role this year.  Our presentation at the beginning of the year went very well and subsequent meetings with grade levels furthered the conversation in a meaningful way.  Our committee continued to be productive, and we had enjoyable meetings. It was a huge accomplishment to develop and present the ideas for the 7/8 service orientation.  Together I think we can successfully deepen that experience with little impact on teaching schedules.

I am involved with a number of initiatives this summer.  The prospect of Mac books for all students means that many aspects of teaching can and should evolve.  I am excited to learn from the 7/8 social studies team and develop better ways to document and assess our students thinking and learning using these devices.  Our 6^th grade team will meet next week to further develop our social studies program and its interdiscimplinary connections.  I hope to continue our excellent work together as one of the 6^th grade clerks.   Though time consuming, meeting by discipline weekly kept us organized and in line with each other. 

The global education and social justice grant work is moving along and will support both the 6^th grade program and our plans for the 7/8 service orientation.  I feel we are moving in the right direction.  There is a lot of work to do and a long way to go, but we are doing what is right for us right now with an eye towards progress in the future.  I am disappointed that the Upper School was not supportive of our efforts, but hopeful that the new strategic plan will pull them along.   At any rate I will continue to tend the lawn that is the Middle School and ensure we are progressive in our efforts to weave critical service learning into the student experience.

This year will bring new challenges as I add language arts and advanced 6^th grade math to my plate.   I am excited to develop and model more interdisciplinary models of curriculum now that I teach all three subjects.   This type of teaching is a strength, and I will be able to draw upon my past experience in the elementary classroom to maximize my and the students’ class time together.  I am grateful to work with people who inspire me to offer my best work knowing I will receive their support and best work in return.  We are able to be vulnerable with each other (rare in this environment) and can be sure that any critique is offered with love.  This is the most collaborative I have ever been, even under a co-teaching model.  It is the ideal work environment for creativity and self-improvement, and I look forward to what lies ahead.   

Love That Boy

Like many other people, I became familiar with this poem because of the book Love That Dog by Sharon Creech. It's a popular fourth grade read. I recently came across it again in another cool book someone sent me called Brown Angels, a neat collection of Walter Dean Myers' poetry paired with turn of the century photographs of black children.

This poem especially speaks to me now because on February 2nd I gave birth to Allen Royce, my own little brown angel, and gosh how do I love that boy!!

 

Love That Boy by Walter Dean Myers

Love that boy,
like a rabbit loves to run
I said I love that boy
like a rabbit loves to run
Love to call him in the morning
love to call him
"Hey there, son!"

He walk like his Grandpa,
Grins like his Uncle Ben.
I said he walk like his Grandpa,
And grins like his Uncle Ben.
Grins when he’s happy,
When he sad, he grins again.

His mama like to hold him,
Like to feed him cherry pie.
I said his mama like to hold him.
Like to feed him that cherry pie.
She can have him now,
I’ll get him by and by

He got long roads to walk down
Before the setting sun.
I said he got a long, long road to walk down
Before the setting sun.
He’ll be a long stride walker,
And a good man before he done.

On Mastery

This Ted- Ed talk by Sarah Lewis (http://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_lewis_embrace_the_near_win/transcript?language=en) was tweeted out recently. There are some real gems that spoke to me at this point in my teaching career:

- mastery is knowing that it means nothing if you can't do it again and again. 

- mastery is not a commitment to a goal but to a constant pursuit.

- mastery is about sacrificing for your craft and not for the sake of crafting your career.

- we thrive when we stay at our own leading edge. 

- success motivates us, but a near win can propel us in an ongoing quest. 

I feel acutely right now the need to stay on "my leading edge". I've had a few near wins that are pushing me to seek that which truly hits the mark.  And having had some moments of actual success, I do know what it feels like to stand back from a lesson or experience and say, "Yes!"  But Ms. Lewis is right. That success was for but a moment. To have mastered something would mean I had accomplished more. 

Lately, I have been making some decisions that I hope are propelled by my interest in mastery and not just success.  I say they are. I think they are. But this talk reminded me to be really sure I am making certain moves for the right reasons. Mastery is a lofty and noble goal. It begs the question: to what end do I try and achieve mastery in any aspect of my teaching? It's certainly not the money or the fame.  I like the approval of my colleagues, but I don't dance for them.  I believe there is only one good answer: my students. I should strive for mastery because it will benefit my students. Simply because they deserve it. 

Gooooooaaaallll!!!!!!

I used to play soccer when I was younger - AYSO style, all day at the town soccer field.  My dad was a ref.  My favorite part was buying candy from the snack bar.  I quit in 8th grade because some of the girls were a touch too competitive for my tastes and they kept yelling at me to run.  Which I wasn't good at and didn't want to do.  Our goals were not aligned and there was tension.  So I quit.  I've since decided team sports aren't really my thing anyways and I would have been better at something like tennis or swimming.  Oh well.  Now I have Zumba.

Luckily teaching is my thing and I do have goals that are deeply aligned with the needs of my students and my practice.  Here they are in no particular order.  I have included the ones from last year as well. Our principal has us do this at the beginning of each year.  As I prepare for maternity leave, we are supposed to check in.  I am pleased to say I have remained committed to these goals and to taking steps to improve in each and every one.  Feels like a big step up from that quitting 8th grader I used to be.

2014 - 2015

1)  Assessment:  In math, I want to implement a system of regular assessment to use in designing differentiated lessons.  I plan to use a “show what you know” model for pre and post assessment.  I did this some last year, but not regularly.  I will continue to select activities and problems that allow me to assess during instruction, but find a more systematic way to document the work done by students and to more regularly group and regroup students according to what they need.  

2) Differentiation:  This goal continues from last year, but will focus on math.  I found last year that most of our writing and social studies activities were open ended enough to allow a variety of students to be successful.  Our method of conferencing is improving and I was able to give better feedback, so I will continue working on that.  Using improved assessment I hope to provide a more individualized math experience.  Last year I found a way to discreetly provide students with activities at their level using math folders and I plan to start this earlier.    

3) Essential Questions:  Last year I began a project to determine the essential questions available in each of our units of study.  I am continuing that work, fine tuning the questions, and this year I plan to explicitly present them to students and use them to guide our work.  We are now regularly asking students to reflect either in discussion groups or writing and I would like to use the essential questions during that process to better assess student learning throughout the projects.  

2013-2014

1) Developing a more comprehensive system of portfolio assessment for each child.   I would like to successfully implement student blogs as a logistical tool for doing this.  

2) Improving instructional and assignment differentiation across subjects to reach students at varying levels of remediation, practice, and extension.   This will involve more effectively utilizing the team teaching model and classroom space to organize lessons and activities.  I would also like to be more deliberate in determining which skills students are working on and keeping track of their progression. 

3) Offering more consistent and useful feedback to individual students.  I currently find this task overwhelming and do not have an organized system for giving meaningful commentary after an assignment is completed, beyond verbal compliments and questions.  Again, I am hoping compiling work via the blogs and being able to comment digitally will assist with this task. 

A Musing

Have I mentioned I’m pregnant?  I’ll be 30 weeks tomorrow.  10 weeks of baking this bun left.  Right now I am sitting in a noisy multi-purpose room watching the 2nd to last rehearsal of our class play, while 48 kids cut vegetables on the other side of a blockade of tables.  I can feel my baby moving around right now.  It’s a magical feeling - totally distracting when it occurs.  

This year our play is in November.  Last year our play was in March.  The ironic thing is I was pregnant during that play too, but not with this baby.  Had it worked out, I would have been due this week; instead our baby boy should arrive towards the end of January   Oh how the world keeps turning.  

I have one month of teaching left before winter break, and then another few weeks before an extended maternity leave.  I won’t return for the rest for the rest of the year thanks to a generous administration and a dream replacement.  

Last weekend, a fellow teacher and dad of two asked me what I will do for me during that leave.  He is the first to ask this question.  He is a very hands on father from what I can tell.  He knew about all of the mommy groups in our neighborhood, dished on the the best library story hours, and recommended some nearby playgrounds with good bathrooms. “What will you do for you?” he asked.  And truthfully, he hit a chord that has worried me.

It will be the darkest days of January when my baby is born.  Spring won’t show up until at least April, thanks to the return of the polar vortex.  I am from California and hate the cold so I assume we will be pretty housebound. (I am thankful I tricked my husband into staying in our walkable, shoppable neighborhood where there are lots of options for idly wandering the aisles, as long as the baby is quiet.)  I’d like to think of myself as an intellectual.  One who really likes reality TV too.  I’m not a crafty lady or a tinkerer.  I don’t knit or code or scrapbook or cook.   I don’t like team sports or group exercise situations where people remember your name.  I never really had many hobbies - I like to work.  To fill up time in the past, I’ve signed up for committees, coached cheer, found tutoring clients, and started this blog.  Even when I volunteer, it is usually to do more teaching. Maternity leave is about not working and paying attention to your baby.  All of my usual crutches and time sucks will be less accessible. Everyone says I won’t have the time or energy to do anything else except mother anyways.   Then again I hear some people go crazy if they delve too far into the infant mind, and you’ve got to have a mental place to come up for air.  

What will I do for me?  

I don’t know yet how this will all play out.  I require eight hours of sleep, which I am reluctantly accepting will not be possible anymore, so that is my first concern.   I also have learned one should turn the TV off while the baby is awake lest you forget to talk to it and deprive it of early verbal exposure and social interaction.  And I was going to upgrade to the good cable…

What will I do for me?  

I guess the real problem is that I don’t know who I will be after this baby is born.  I do know it will fundamentally change me.  Having a baby is a life changing event, and I am going to literally be a different version of myself once it occurs.  I don’t mind this process.  I’ve gone through it before - when I moved to New York, when I discovered I was a teacher, when I got married.   Each time I like who I am a little bit more even as I miss the various skins I have to shed in order to grow.  I have also learned that it is hard for an old self to make big plans for a new self.  The old self has little idea what the new self will want, so it’s best not to get too invested in big ideas about what the new self’s life will be like.   

So for the moment, like all good questions that don’t have answers, I am just glad someone thought to ask.  

A Return to Paper Blogging

I'm back! And ready to admit that I completely failed in my goal to use this blog to reflect on my teaching at least once a week.  The lesson learned?  Don't set such lofty goals.  

But let's not dwell on the past.  Success lies in the future and after a whirlwind spring, summer, and fall, the dregs of winter are setting in and I am once again motivated to share my work with the people.  The latest project is jump starting our class blogs.  Last year's experiment went really well - over 500 blogs posts!  Over 500 pieces of writing, artistic projects, personal experiences, and you tube videos about raining tacos shared.  I learned a lot (which I should probably write about in a separate post) and I am really excited to see what this class of students does with the opportunity.  Already they blew me away with our first step: Paper Blogging!

This year's students really took the paper blogging challenge on with gusto (click here for a post on last year's lesson).  First we watched a really great video from BrainPop on exactly what blogs are and discussed the purpose of a blog: to share ideas and connect with other people.  I explained that paper blogging would let us practice the three roles of blogging (writers, readers, and commenters) offline before we moved online to our KidBlogs.  Then students got to work writing their first blog posts on something that they loved.  

It was really fun learning more about my kids and the things in their lives that they like and love to do.  I think they enjoyed learning more about each other too - an added community building bonus!  They added an artistic design and submitted it for "publishing".  This year we "published" the paper blogs on lockers.  We used post-its for "comments" and everyone was encouraged to make sure they continued the conversation.  They actually are going back to read each other's comments, ask questions, answer questions and generally make their paper blogs a really vibrant place for discussion.   Some students took the opportunity to redesign their blogs or added updated posts - all really cool ideas that they will be be able to do with their online blogs.  The next steps are to transfer these skills online, get used to KidBlog as an app/website, and start sharing, documenting, and reflecting on our work! 

Exploring Buddhism

Our study of The Three Ways began with Buddhism.  This study is close to my heart as I connect philosophically to many Buddhist beliefs. It has been my favorite part of traveling in Asia. Many of the artists in our displays are items I brought back with me.

We also meditate daily with the help of these resources: