Jill Puchacz and thoughts on Digital Learning...

Last night was my first class of the new term.  I have a professor that I have never had before and I am willing to admit I think this is going to be a fantastic class.  The other students are intelligent and engaged and the professor is witty and very knowledgeable.  With that being said, I learned a lot about myself as a teacher last night.

As we were going through the class I found myself struggling when he would explain the next task to us orally. I began to get confused and then I realized that it was because I couldn't actually SEE what he was talking about.  I then informed him that I had no clue what he expected from me and that I needed to see what he needed us to do.  In a great show of humor he then began to draw a visual depiction of the assignment on the board and it all made sense, he made it into a joke overall and I knew that he was being playful.  It made me think though... Do I teach enough to all of the three learning styles?  I am a Masters of Education Student and it took me some time to recognize that my learning style wasn't being met... what about MY students who really don't have a clue what a learning style is and can't self regulate and realize that they aren't understanding for a specific reason like that?

I began to think through my lessons and how I implement them, and even though I do try to have part of my lesson be hands on, listening, and visual... I realized that not every specific part of my lesson is differentiated to be all three.  On top of that I realized that even when my lesson plans are differentiated to be all three... I really am not sure if I have been doing as good of a job really making sure that I am sticking to that lesson plan 100 percent.  Depending on the class period, sometimes my lesson plan goes completely out the window as if it was just a rough draft.

So I began to really think about what this all means.  I realized that during my other grad course work I always assumed that I would have technology in my classroom and be able to use power points or youtube videos or be able to put things at the very least on an overhead or have a computer that students were able to access to work on specific programs.  I have none of that, so what do I do? I realized I have to make class more interactive overall and have the students be doing while I am talking and demonstrating.

How can I make things interesting to a class of students who really have no interest in anything that doesn't have a screen? Should we consider a new kind of learning style?  The digital style?  Is that why digital media is so popular?  On a smart phone you have visual, auditory and kinestetic all at once.  I wish I knew a way that I could really grab the attention the way a phone or an iPad does, I guess it will come with experience, but if anyone out there has any thoughts I would LOVE to hear them!!


Jill Puchacz: How to make it work!

. "I will ALWAYS have your back." ... Jill Puchacz

So this past Friday I was in my room eating my lunch during my lunch period.  Normal day for the most part until a familiar face walked through my door.  This student is a frequent flyer in my class during this period as they make up detentions during their lunch period by helping organize things and keeping things in working order.  It has been a pretty great arrangement actually as other teachers probably can imagine.  They seemed a bit different though because there was no friendly smile and "Hey Ms. P Whats up?".  Just a frustrated look and a plop on a chair.  I knew this couldn't be good as this is a student that tends to act on frustration instead of working through it or talking it out.
As the student began to tell me what was going on, I found it to be a common issue, High School relationships... As my student vented out what was going on I listened and offered up some advice, trying to get them to realize that as an 18year old, they needed to remember to act like an adult as they would be treated like one... After a long discussion the period ended and then new period came... and class began.

I was a little bit worried that there would be some trouble that weekend for my student and hoped for the best as I really wanted them to make some great decisions. On Saturday I got a text message from an unknown number, all my students have my cell phone as my program does follow up outside of school hours as part of our overall goals, and it was from that student. I was relieved when the message said "Hey Ms. P, thanks for the advice I let the issue go and nothing happened, it felt good to be the bigger person."  I am not going to pretend that I didn't get a bit teary eyed realizing how proud I was of them.  My response was "I am so proud of you, and I hope you are proud of yourself, you are a total rock star!" The kicker to all this... and if anyone has ever worked with any child ever will probably get a bit emotional as this next part made me sob like a baby.... "Ms. P, there is a reason I keep your number, it's really great to know that someone has my back."
I have goose bumps just typing this out.  It made me realize that all the singing and dancing (literally) that I do in class to try to get my students attention and all the times where I tried to level with my kids and tell them the way it is.... was worth it!

I am just a long term substitute... this is the first time I have been in a public school classroom as a teacher and I was able to connect with a student enough where they know that they can trust me and know that the things that I tell them are true.  Being a teacher is my dream, not because I get to grade papers or teach kids things about subjects that I really enjoy.... but because I can be that person that helps a student believe more in themselves than they ever did before.

Jill Puchacz and thoughts on Full Moon and Attention Spans

So this is what I have noticed... Please keep in mind I am not a scientist and there is no real proof other than my observations of my small group of students.

My kids lose it around a full moon.  Its almost as if my voice doesn't exist and they forget that when they are in school it means that they have to accomplish things. I am a very loud and animated person, very difficult to ignore or tune out, but I feel like they manage it!  I have tried writing the assignments and topics on the board, handing out a list of things to accomplish as well as stating it 3 or 4 different times... and I still get blank stares as if I am either a mute or speaking a whole different language.

I wonder if other teachers have the same experiences as me.  Any thoughts on how to make this a little more workable?

Jill Puchacz and The icing on the cake

So as some of you may know me on a personal level, you may know that I work with students who some may feel are a 'difficult' group.  I find them to be some of the most amazing people I have ever met.  Their perseverance and positive attitudes (most of the time), are contagious.  I love my job and find myself to be one of the 'lucky ones'. 

Some may say that just that in itself is a reward, which it is... but truthfully it gets better than that.  I am a pretty high energy and positive person as is, but what happened on Sunday just makes me so happy.  Let me tell you a little bit about how great my students are.

I will start with Friday.  Typically Fridays are one of the most trying days as its the end of the week, my students are usually a mix of excited/anxious for the next two days away from school.  My last period especially has a high amount of energy as they are my largest class and there have some pretty funny personalities in there as well.  As the period was drawing to a close I mentioned to them that I was running in the Shamrock Shuffle on Sunday morning before the citys Saint Patricks Day Parade.  They all thought it was especially funny when I told them that I would be wearing a tutu and some pretty awesome shamrock jewelry.  So I put the offer out there for them to come early to the parade and watch me run, promising them that they would not really be able to miss me as I would be looking particularly green. The response was a bunch of 'yeah rights' and 'good luck Ms. P', but not a single 'sure Ill be there'.  Even if I had heard that as a response, I probably would have assumed that there would be no follow through because, who actually wants to see their teacher when they aren't in school?

I went through my weekend and woke up Sunday morning and got on all my Irish gear, I was looking pretty fantastic to be fair! Met up with my friends and off to Elm Street we went.  As we were standing around waiting for the race to begin, I saw a familiar face scowering the crowd, and to my surprise it was a student of mine walking around with a couple of his friends.  I didn't think much of it but said 'Hello' as he walked past and when he realized it was me he get a huge smile but then tried to play it cool.  I was so happy to see one of my students but didn't read much more into it, as the race was about to begin. 

The airhorn sounded and we all took off on our two mile journey and there wasn't much going though my head past the fact that it was really windy and I would have been okay still snuggled up in my bed as I was freezing!  As the race continued and I drew closer to the finish line I began to pick up the pace, and out of the corner of my eye something grabbed my attention so I looked to my left, and sure enough there was my student waiting at the finish line cheering me on lounder than anyone there.  I waved at him and of course had a huge smile on my face as I was honored to have a student there cheering me on. After I crossed the finish line I wasn't able to find him which was a bit of a bummer and I am still looking forward to seeing him in school today to say Thank You.

The reward was not so much that I had someone cheering me on, but that a student took time out of his weekend to come and cheer on his goofball teacher at a race.  I don't think that he knew how much that meant to me, and honestly I don't know if I can put the right words together to express it either, but I can say that something like that makes all of the late nights and early mornings a little bit more worth it.

A cool speech I came across... "What do I make?"

A couple days ago my mother sent me this incredible e-mail.  It was of a principles speech at a graduation.

I thought I would share it because it made me smile and it also made me happy to see something that makes sense about what a teacher really gets 'paid'. 
I also LOVE the part that talks about how keyboarding isn't everything and writing is so important. The timing of me reading this couldn't have come at a more appropriate time!

Hope you enjoy!

From A School Principal's speech at a

graduation...

He said

"Doctor wants his child to become a doctor.........

Engineer wants his child to become engineer......

Businessman wants his ward to become CEO.....

BUT a teacher also wants his child to become one of them..!!!!

Nobody wants to become a teacher BY CHOICE" ....Very sad but that's the

truth.....!!!

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.

One man, a CEO, decided

to explain the problem with education. He argued,

"What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life

was to become a teacher?"

To stress his point he said to another guest;

"You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?"

Teacher Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied,

"You want to know what I make?

(She paused for a second, then began...)

"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't

make them sit for 5 min. without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.

You want to know what I make?

(She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table)

I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them how to write and then I make them write.

Keyboarding isn't everything.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math.

They use their God given brain, not the man made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need

to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they

were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life

( Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)

Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money

isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because

they are ignorant. You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN ALL YOUR LIVES,EDUCATING KIDS AND

PREPARING THEM TO BECOME CEO's ,AND DOCTORS AND

ENGINEERS..........

What do you make Mr. CEO?

His jaw dropped; he went silent.

 http://agogodavid.com/2012/04/from-a-school-principals-speech-at-a-graduation/

Always up to learn: Using Daybooks: Jill Puchacz and talking on paper

Always up to learn: Using Daybooks: Jill Puchacz and talking on paper: I started using daybooks in my classroom and I have had a mix of responses, some students love using them and other say they would rather us...

Using Daybooks: Jill Puchacz and talking on paper

I started using daybooks in my classroom and I have had a mix of responses, some students love using them and other say they would rather use a lap top or text their thoughts on their phone.  Even though I understand that using a paper and pencil is archaic to them, I find it important and almost freeing to leave the phone or computer behind for a few minutes a day and just write.

I wonder how I could get kids more excited to use paper.  I model it for them and show them how I write and that its okay to be messy and spell incorrectly.  They have such a hard time writing for the sake of writing because they were never taught that.  How do I teach them that writing isn't only for when you need to pass in  a paper for class, but as a way to organize your thoughts and sometimes find out thoughts that you didn't know you had?

This goes back to a post I made a while ago about being a digital native or a digital immigrant.  How do we express the wonder of using paper?


Jill Puchacz