My first day on the job and I’m late
Gum on the bottom of my shoe
At the elevator-wait, wait, wait
Now what am I gonna do?
Gum on the bottom of my shoe
Walk-stick-walk-stick-walk
Now what am I gonna do?
At the door I begin to balk
Walk-stick-walk-stick-walk
Oh, no! My stockings have a run
At the door I begin to balk
This morning’s certainly no fun
Oh, no! My stockings have a run
Now I’m really starting to sweat
This morning’s certainly no fun
And my boss I haven’t met yet
Now I’m really starting to sweat
Circles forming under my pits
And my boss I haven’t met yet
I’m about to lose my wits
Circles forming under my pits
Secretary says, “He will see you now.”
I’m about to lose my wits
But in I walk somehow
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The Writer
Yearning to find the precise words
Digging deep for crumbs
From life and thoughts and wishes
Longing to shape stories
From sights and smells and memories
Desiring to impact a heart one day
With poetic phrases and images
Wanting to change someone’s world
With a tale or a verse or thought
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Effective Teacher
These are my thoughts,written for an assignment at work/school.
The effective teacher has very large shoes to fill. Not only do lessons need to be planned and taught in a clear manner to a complex class of students, but this instruction needs to be delivered in an atmosphere of patience and understanding.
An effective teacher cares deeply. The education of students is foremost in this teacher’s thoughts, but knowing each child personally is equally important. In my teaching career I have found that the students who are struggling almost always have something going on in their home that is bothering them and hindering their learning. Many times I have made allowances for a student who is experiencing a hardship of some sort. I have been a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on. Yet, I find myself losing patience too often in the classroom with students who really need some kindness. I believe this can be resolved with prayer; by asking God to help me to be more Christ like in my treatment of those He has put under my care.
An effective teacher also recognizes complexity. Teaching involves planning, scheduling, dispersing information, leading, guiding, modeling, motivating, and often reteaching. No two students are alike, so lessons need to reflect the various learning styles and levels of the students in a given class. I have to remind myself often that I am dealing with a wide range of students with a variety of needs. I’ve learned that it is often necessary to go back to a lesson and approach it in a different manner in order for my students to grasp the intended concept. I plan to continue searching out new ways to attract my students’ attention and entice them to learn the material they are required to know.
Communicating clearly is something every good teacher must achieve if students are to take hold of the material being presented. Not only should lessons be plainly communicated, but classroom rules, procedures, and expectations need to be presented and practiced so each student knows what is required. Sometimes I find myself going too fast and I have to stop, repeat directions, and slow down. I am still learning that I don’t have to always cover an entire textbook in order to complete a successful year. If my students learn, grow, and make progress then I have done my job.
An effective teacher must be conscientious in planning, managing, and communicating. I know that I am very hard working, but I think I need to be sure my efforts are going in the right direction. I don’t want to be spinning my wheels, or for that matter reinventing the wheel. Instead I want to keep the wheels turning in the brains of the students under my care. I want to enthuse and enlighten, enliven and encourage, and occasionally entertain. I want to be the teacher they remember, not because I embarrassed them but because I listened to their stories. I want to be remembered not as the Queen of Detention, but perhaps as that teacher who turned them on to reading or helped them to love poetry.
In order to be that successful and flourishing teacher, I need to remember the words of Proverbs 16, verse 3: Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established. This is my prayer.
The effective teacher has very large shoes to fill. Not only do lessons need to be planned and taught in a clear manner to a complex class of students, but this instruction needs to be delivered in an atmosphere of patience and understanding.
An effective teacher cares deeply. The education of students is foremost in this teacher’s thoughts, but knowing each child personally is equally important. In my teaching career I have found that the students who are struggling almost always have something going on in their home that is bothering them and hindering their learning. Many times I have made allowances for a student who is experiencing a hardship of some sort. I have been a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on. Yet, I find myself losing patience too often in the classroom with students who really need some kindness. I believe this can be resolved with prayer; by asking God to help me to be more Christ like in my treatment of those He has put under my care.
An effective teacher also recognizes complexity. Teaching involves planning, scheduling, dispersing information, leading, guiding, modeling, motivating, and often reteaching. No two students are alike, so lessons need to reflect the various learning styles and levels of the students in a given class. I have to remind myself often that I am dealing with a wide range of students with a variety of needs. I’ve learned that it is often necessary to go back to a lesson and approach it in a different manner in order for my students to grasp the intended concept. I plan to continue searching out new ways to attract my students’ attention and entice them to learn the material they are required to know.
Communicating clearly is something every good teacher must achieve if students are to take hold of the material being presented. Not only should lessons be plainly communicated, but classroom rules, procedures, and expectations need to be presented and practiced so each student knows what is required. Sometimes I find myself going too fast and I have to stop, repeat directions, and slow down. I am still learning that I don’t have to always cover an entire textbook in order to complete a successful year. If my students learn, grow, and make progress then I have done my job.
An effective teacher must be conscientious in planning, managing, and communicating. I know that I am very hard working, but I think I need to be sure my efforts are going in the right direction. I don’t want to be spinning my wheels, or for that matter reinventing the wheel. Instead I want to keep the wheels turning in the brains of the students under my care. I want to enthuse and enlighten, enliven and encourage, and occasionally entertain. I want to be the teacher they remember, not because I embarrassed them but because I listened to their stories. I want to be remembered not as the Queen of Detention, but perhaps as that teacher who turned them on to reading or helped them to love poetry.
In order to be that successful and flourishing teacher, I need to remember the words of Proverbs 16, verse 3: Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established. This is my prayer.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Home Ec
At fourteen I cut the pieces carefully
According to the directions
And stitched that hideous
Kettle cloth jumper
That I would not wear
It did not fit
Nothing much fit
When I was fourteen
Written for Day 11 of Writer's Digest November PAD
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Off My Usual Topic
This was written for a "job" on Amazon Mechanical Turk.....
Mrs. Candle’s, was a much respected member of the local church whose life was snuffed out yesterday after a strong wind made its way into the sanctuary. Known for her elegance, she has graced the weddings of generations of lovers as she played a crucial part in the ceremony that united husband and wife. A pillar of the community, Mrs. Candle glowed as she worked, never tiring of shedding light in the darkness. A beacon of hope in the midst of trials, a shining light for all to see, her luminosity preceded her everywhere she went. Preceded in death by her first husband, Mr. Lighter, she leaves behind four votives and seven tealights. The candlelight service will be held at Radiance Gardens, after which Mrs. Candle’s remains will be melted and recycled according to her last wishes.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
What's Next?
This will be a bittersweet posting for me and a complete change is in store for this blog. After eighteen years (five homeschooling and thirteen in the classroom) I will not be going “back to school”.
As a kid I loved school, especially the beginning of the year. There was the trip downtown to Sears to get a few new clothes, the excitement of meeting a new teacher and seeing friends again, the school smell that seems to be universal. When it was time for my kids to go, I loved picking out lunchboxes, buying them a few new clothes at the mall, and taking the first-day-of-school pictures in front of the house. And there was still that smell when I entered their classrooms.
When we homeschooled I enjoyed buying curriculum as well as making my own. I loved the planning and the teaching and the days when we read Little House on the Prairie. I was thrilled when I taught my youngest to read at five and saw her begin to devour books, just like her siblings.
In 1996, I took my first paid job teaching in a Christian school and then began the final leg of my education in January of 1997. Finally, in 1998, at age 39, I graduated with a BS in Elementary Education. I have been teaching in many diverse areas ever since, both in Polk County and St. Johns County, Florida. I’ve been in schools where over 50% of the students were Hispanic and whose parents could not speak English; and I’ve been in schools where some of the kids lived in million dollar homes with maids and nannies. I’ve taught gifted children as well as learning disabled, physically disabled and autistic. I’ve been praised by parents and put-down by principals, hugged by little ones and disrespected by middle schoolers. Over the years I’ve received many gifts, from hefty gift cards to a large pink rock. But the best gifts were the ones no one could see. Like the parent who told me her child had never like writing and now she had a notebook with her everywhere she went. Or the note thanking me for teaching poetry from the kid who then gave me a copy of an excellent poem he had written. Or seeing my students win awards for speeches so full of their own thoughts and ideas, delivered with excellent rhetoric.
Where do I go from here? I do not know. It is a bit of a grieving process. Earlier this summer I read these words from Psalm 6 and could definitely relate: vs.6 – I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim; I water my couch with my tears. vs.9 – The LORD has heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.
Then I came upon chapter sixteen, vs. 11 – You will show me the path of life: in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future. It may be a trial or an adventure, or I may even return to teaching one day. But for now I will try to make the best use of my time and wait for what lies ahead.
As a kid I loved school, especially the beginning of the year. There was the trip downtown to Sears to get a few new clothes, the excitement of meeting a new teacher and seeing friends again, the school smell that seems to be universal. When it was time for my kids to go, I loved picking out lunchboxes, buying them a few new clothes at the mall, and taking the first-day-of-school pictures in front of the house. And there was still that smell when I entered their classrooms.
When we homeschooled I enjoyed buying curriculum as well as making my own. I loved the planning and the teaching and the days when we read Little House on the Prairie. I was thrilled when I taught my youngest to read at five and saw her begin to devour books, just like her siblings.
In 1996, I took my first paid job teaching in a Christian school and then began the final leg of my education in January of 1997. Finally, in 1998, at age 39, I graduated with a BS in Elementary Education. I have been teaching in many diverse areas ever since, both in Polk County and St. Johns County, Florida. I’ve been in schools where over 50% of the students were Hispanic and whose parents could not speak English; and I’ve been in schools where some of the kids lived in million dollar homes with maids and nannies. I’ve taught gifted children as well as learning disabled, physically disabled and autistic. I’ve been praised by parents and put-down by principals, hugged by little ones and disrespected by middle schoolers. Over the years I’ve received many gifts, from hefty gift cards to a large pink rock. But the best gifts were the ones no one could see. Like the parent who told me her child had never like writing and now she had a notebook with her everywhere she went. Or the note thanking me for teaching poetry from the kid who then gave me a copy of an excellent poem he had written. Or seeing my students win awards for speeches so full of their own thoughts and ideas, delivered with excellent rhetoric.
Where do I go from here? I do not know. It is a bit of a grieving process. Earlier this summer I read these words from Psalm 6 and could definitely relate: vs.6 – I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim; I water my couch with my tears. vs.9 – The LORD has heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.
Then I came upon chapter sixteen, vs. 11 – You will show me the path of life: in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future. It may be a trial or an adventure, or I may even return to teaching one day. But for now I will try to make the best use of my time and wait for what lies ahead.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)