Creating Magic: What experiences are you creating for your students?

“Creating Magic”

        What makes experiences magical? Is it the place it occurs? Is it the person’s attitude that makes it happen? Is it the people you are with? What makes experiences magical is how they make you feel in the moment. When a magician amazes people with an illusion that the audience cannot figure out how it was done; people question whether magic is real or not, it might only be for a moment- but the doubt is there. When a Cast Member at Disneyland wishes you a Happy Birthday, by name; even though you have a button on sharing the information, it is still pretty exciting. When a student moves to a new level in reading or has an “ah ha” moment during a math lesson with a difficult concept; the teacher celebrates and makes the student feel special, feel smart, feel empowered to learn!

   How do we make magic for our students? We build relationships and celebrate their successes! But what about on a daily basis? How do we consistently make learning magical or special? Putting our students first is what makes learning magical and special. Not just saying, “Kids come first,” but actually putting them first. What does this mean?

Planning:

    When planning it is vital to think of your students’ needs: their data, their interests, and their social needs. How do you intentionally plan for magic? Do you look for ways to include your students’ interest within your lessons? It is not about watering down the curriculum to make it fun for your student. It is definitely not about making it easier for the students; they need to struggle to learn deeply. It is not about adding hours to every planning session to decorate your classroom (although I do enjoy doing this for large units). It is about knowing your kids and incorporating topics they are interested in when possible. For example, I have seen teachers change math problems from a generic 3 digit math problem to students using a copy of an Amazon cart to compare items that her students would like as a gift. The students were engaged in the assignment more because the topic was more attractive to them. Comparing Video Game Console prices was more interesting to them than comparing the drawn TVs on the original assignment.

Instruction:
    Teachers that use their instruction as a way to connect with their students are going to show their students that they listen to them. The teacher that uses a dog example for a student that had gotten  a dog for Christmas and written a story about that dog to reteach that student a concept is helping make an emotional connection for the student to the concept. The teacher that allows the students to create a Rainforest in the hall to help them connect to the content they are reading in their non-fiction study or the teacher that invites a student to join their club because they see potential in that student, these are the teachers that are being intentional and innovative in meeting their students’ needs.

Culture:

    We are not perfect. We all make mistakes. How we handle our mistakes is what shows our true character. This does not just go for us; it is especially true for our students. We want our students to learn from their mistakes and know that it is ok to struggle. How do we get students to see that both of these concepts are a part of life? We need to show them that when we make a mistake we correct it, we apologize if necessary, and we learn from it. We want students to know that everything is not easy for us, that we struggle as well. Show students times that you struggled; show them how to persevere. Saying and doing are very different. Students need to see models of these. 

When you work at a school that seems like Disneyland, it is easy to think about what we do as magical. However, how are you intentionally creating magic in your classroom? Is it happening by accident or are you planning the magical experiences that have them knocking on the doors to get into school every morning? Think about the magical experiences you have had in your life; they left an impression, they meant something to you, they were fun. Be that teacher for your students. Be the teacher that makes magic with your kids. Be the best you!

The Surprising Impact of Student Led Learning

The Surprising Impact of Student Led Learning

What You Value, You Spend Time On!

       What You Value, You Spend Time On!

      Take just a moment and think about the things that you value in your life. What are the most important parts of your life? How much time do you spend on them? I struggle with these questions on a daily basis, not just in my personal life, but professionally as well.

      

       All of the things are important, but what is taking up your time? There are lots of “things”/ tasks that steal our time, all of which need to get done, but are we spending lots of time on tasks that should be a quick task? If so, how can we be more efficient in those tasks? I do not have the magic answer, but I do have reflective questions for you to ponder when thinking about what you value professionally…

-         If a school task is taking longer than it should for the importance of it, please come see Donae or I for help. Is there a better way to complete the task?

-         Does the task need to be done? (Who assigned it?)

-         Does the task help students be successful?

o   How so? Or why not?

-         Would being collaborative be helpful in this task?

         We are all guilty of getting lost in the “stuff”. We can’t see the forest for the trees. Our goal should be helping our students be as successful as they can be. Each student needs something different, this is not new information, but what kind of time are we spending discussing what our students need? We need to be discussing how we can accommodate for different students as well as how we extend thinking for students that need to be pushed.

           

          We often spend more time talking about the “what” instead of the “how”; how do we switch up our conversations during PLCs to be more student centered instead of teacher centered. We need to support each other in putting the important things first- The kids! The kids should always be our priority, always. When we do our work, we should be spending time on what is going to make the students successful, what is going to help close achievement gaps, what is going to push our students to think at high levels.

        We spend our time on what we value. We often spend time on tasks we enjoy or that are fun, not necessarily what is needed. What is it that you value? Does it align with your actions? If not, what is standing in the way of it aligning?