I mentioned before that I really wanted to figure out something to incorporate into the National Day on Writing’s Online Gallery. And I realized I don’t think I mentioned that I did it! Well, my students’ work hasn’t been submitted yet; however, I did set up our gallery!

OK, so I may be way more interested than most of the kids are about our gallery, but I know some of them thought it was “neat” (and all of them were amused by the challenge of creating our gallery name). I think it’s going to be great…

BUT I’m not 100% sure what the writing will be comprised of that is filtering into our gallery. And then it hit me (and I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before!)….digital literacy narratives.

Again, a huge focus in my classroom is on why English matters (and the fact that we read/write every day of our lives). With that in mind, I think it would be helpful to combine many of our discussions into the foundation for how my students have become the readers/writers they are today. Plus, I have had them writing a lot about what they read/write over the weekend for example. I let them be the judge of what they consider reading/writing and then we discuss what they did. Long story short, I just think creating a narrative about their personal reading/writing journey would be beneficial to help them see the bigger picture of all we do in class. Adding it in a digital format just makes them think about their writing in another way.

I’m excited. I thought I’d have them do it before the end of this semester….but now I’m thinking this is a project we are going to continually build. Thus, spring semester seems better to me…that way they can really apply all of what they have learned and thought about over the year into a great narrative!

My principal sent out this video as part of our weekly notes…

That’s right. The “Fun Theory.” Thinking about all the ways this plays out in the classroom already…and the many more ways it can be included as well. (Because reading and writing is fun! And I think some of my students are truly seeing that as the year progresses!)

On a side note, a comment I most certainly am taking as a compliment…given while discussing this student’s essay…

Student: “Well I haven’t had English since 7th grade.” Me: “Huh? How is that possible?” (thinking English is a required course how have you not had it?!?) Student: “I mean, I haven’t had real English since 7th grade. This is the first time I can remember being really pushed.”

To me, pushed = challenged. For the student to mention this = the student is engaged. For the student to be challenged and engaged = English class is tough but can be “fun.” Hey, I’ll take it!

And as I’ve said so many times before…it’s all about the little things….

I recently had my students work with Glogster (edu version) creating an important scene from their most recent novel Cry, the Beloved Country. I like glogs because they provide a really interactive medium for students to create a multimedia image representation (think: poster) of anything. Just like if they were to create a collage by hand, the kids had to pair their glogs with a written explanation of why they did what they did (you will find this a big question of everything we do in my classroom…I really want them to know and understand there is a point behind everything!).

Anyway, today in class I thought of another idea that would allow the entire class to share in the “written” component vs. just handing it in to me (or placing it on their blogs). We could use Jing!

Here’s what I’m thinking…students can utilize Jing to create a snapshot of their computer screen while they move the mouse/pointer over the different parts of their glogs, explaining all of the intricate details while skillfully putting their image representation into a thoughtful verbal response. Then, they can add the video clip from Jing into their glog (at the bottom corner somewhere) where their representation AND response are all right there.

I like having all of their work in one spot because then when we refer back to previous examples everything is there. I also think it will be interesting to see how they are able to put their words into a different form (image vs. voice vs. actually writing) if that makes sense (think: blog vs. vlog). We will see how it goes, but I’m looking forward to at least trying and seeing how it turns out!

My students laughed when I mentioned the National Day on Writing and thought that I was just making up random days for English “stuff.” Then, I showed them the legislation behind the National Day on Writing, and they realized I was telling the truth.  (They also couldn’t believe that we have a National Grammar Day.)

With that said, happy National Novel Writing Month! I doubt any of them will participate, but I did announce it to my classes. I think the idea behind it is rather fascinating. A hard to reach goal, but what an accomplishment!

You all know the feeling. As you sift through the pile of papers in front of you (or in the online dropbox in my case), you think to yourself, “Oh, boy!” You spend a large amount of time carefully crafting your revision comments, corrections, and what I like to call “what the author did very well/what the author needs to work on for next time” notes. Then it’s time to give back/upload to the students. Do they glance over every carefully crafted mark on their essays? Maybe a few. Instead, most go directly to the last page searching for their grade. And then you realize all of that time and effort you put in to the corrections and comments = nothing. OK, maybe not “nothing,” but I’m guessing any English teacher out there knows what I’m talking about here…

So, I have been debating in my head: how do I get my students more concerned about becoming a better writer (as in reviewing the comments) vs. only worrying about what the grade will do their overall average in my class? How do I get them to see that they need to look at the bigger picture here (becoming a better reader/writer)?

I don’t think there is an easy answer, though I know there are a few “solutions” out there. First, I don’t put the grade on their essays at all. I fill out a rubric and put the grade on that document. Is this an absolute solution? Not at all. But a start, I guess.

My next idea is to give back the marked up essays, without a grade, but with a rubric, without a grade. Then for homework, have them go back through their essays and write a paragraph or so on what they think their grade should be based. I remember one of my favorite professors (he was a Donne/Shakespeare expert) had us do this occasionally. [He also gave us extra credit if we managed to write our entire essay without any "being verbs" (maybe I'll incorporate something similar one day because it does make you think!).] I think we got a lot out of this assignment because it made us 1) re-read our essays and 2) think critically about those marks on our paper and what we really deserved.

I also think it would be interesting to see what the students had to say about their essays again, too. Specifically with my seniors, I told them that Word’s spell-checker is no longer “enough” for them to get a good grade. I suggest at the very beginning of the year to create a word document, a sticky note, whatever works….and on that note, each student should write down things they have a problem with in their writing (i.e. run-ons, their vs. there vs. they’re). Then, before they hand-in their final drafts, they need to go back and look over their problem list and make sure none of those errors appear in their paper…after all, if they can establish what their weakness is, then they can better combat the problem! I’m not sure any of them actually did this (in fact, by some of the prominent errors, I’m sure no one has), but maybe in the future, I make this a mandatory thing…I mark up errors that are repeatedly occurring in their writing, they place it on their problems list…hmmm…

Other essay grading strategies? Using Voicethread or Jing. These tools would allow for a visual reference to the issues with me vocally addressing the essays. I haven’t personally used these yet, but know a few teachers who swear by their productivity. I imagine the first couple of times would take longer than usual to grade until I got the hang of how to best utilize those tools for grading (since I’ve used them before, just not for grading), but could be worth the end result = students reading more about what they did vs. only the grade!

I know it’s been awhile, but I haven’t been slacking on my blog. More like thinking. Yeah, lots of thinking. See as I mentioned previously, my students have taken it upon themselves to become detectives. They’ve googled me until Google has probably rejected my name, the name of my blog, and anything to do with me. I’m ok with their interest. I’m ok with being googled outside of class if that’s what they really want to do. Yet, I questioned if I should continue writing….

BUT is that really an option? I don’t think so. My blog is the place where I work out pedagogical ideas and connect with other educators all over. In a sense, my ideas on my blog propelled me into the job I have now. It also has created a large readership (which suggests I might have something valuable to say, ha! ). So I’ve decided if my students really want to read about all my English education “stuff,” then they are welcome to…and you will find on my About page that I do value the thoughts/opinions of people all over. And who knows, maybe some of them will find something they are passionate about to begin writing on their own blog (as some of my students already have!).

And above all, I hope they truly realize the value of a “digital footprint.” As I’ve asked them before, what do YOU want people to find out about you?

That’s right. Not only am I Ms. Beach, the tough, first year English teacher…I’m Coach Beach, the (I have yet to fill in the blank here). And as I sit here typing away, I can’t help but wonder what I’ve gotten myself into this time!

OK, really I’m sorta joking, but I’m really not. Everyone laughs and is shocked that I would be more nervous about coaching than teaching, but everyone just doesn’t understand. I have a pretty extensive (not sure that’s the word I’m wanting to use here, but I’m going with it, ha!) background in athletics. I seriously have played just about everything (and if not played have tried). I was (well, who am I kidding, AM) a very competitive, hardworking, intense individual. That’s just me. I work hard at all I do, and sports was never an exception. Maybe this work ethic stemmed from always being busy with school/sports, and I pushed myself to excel at both. Being a collegiate athlete is also tied in there somewhere, and I don’t think people realize how demanding playing sports in college can truly be.

Coaching will be a great learning experience for me. And it’s going to be tough. A lot tougher than I thought. It’s hard to explain. I just have this “drive” inside of me…it’s sorta like this exploding feeling that builds up inside my chest. As an athlete, I would’ve used this feeling to dive for that loose ball or sprint down the line to beat the throw home. As a coach, I have no where for that feeling…that heart…that passion…because I am not the athlete. Sure, I motivate, I push my girls, but it’s not the same. (It really is hard to explain.) But as a coach, you can only do so much…the athlete has to find it within herself to find that exploding feeling. Does this make sense? I hope so…at least a little bit.

I don’t think what I’m explaining is too foreign to the English classroom, too. I mean, hey, let’s be honest…English class isn’t always the immediate favorite among students. I work every day to make English class challenging and engaging. I just haven’t found my comfort zone with coaching yet. I don’t want to be too hard, but I am intense and I have high expectations both in and out of the classroom. That’s how I’ve always been. That’s how I’ll always be.

Well, we will see how it goes! I’m definitely excited and looking forward to a great season…and finding out who I truly am as a coach as well. And I think it will be very exciting to see these student-athletes develop and grow on the court/field. And to see that exploding feeling kick in because it truly is an amazing feeling!

Spirit week. Enough said. We ARE doing work in English class, but I think spirit week is taking over. Not to mention PSAT practice. PSAT testing. Just getting back from trip week. Conference day. Holiday. Oh, and we just switched our schedule around, so morning periods are in the afternoon and afternoon in the morning. In other words, the past two weeks have been a bit hectic to say the least!

Yet despite the craziness (and my learning experience to plan more appropriately next year), today I was more than pleasantly surprised by a comment one of my classes made as a whole. In fact, I was shocked…humbled…happy.

It was towards the end of class, and I’m not even sure how or why the comment was made. “Um, Ms. Beach…when we all first met you, we were, well, um, seriously like scared to death of you.” I replied, “Well, you still should be.” Followed by laughter and then they said, “No, I mean we have just realized that you are tough. And sometimes we get frustrated at ourselves because we put things off, but we appreciate you and have realized that you really do care a lot and just have really high expectations for us.”

Yep. Not going to lie, that really meant a lot to me.

And, perhaps the biggest surprise out of all of this…in case you didn’t get it…I just dropped my name. I really struggled with the idea of  letting people know who “English Teacher, Too” truly is because my blog was a place for me to really explore my thoughts (though anyone could’ve figured it out I’m sure). So many of my peers told me I needed to go truly “live” and be proud of my thoughts/works/ideas. And it wasn’t that I wasn’t proud, I just didn’t want to do it! Maybe that seems weird to some of you, but it was just a thing for me. I liked the anonymity.

Nevertheless, allow me to “formally” introduce myself.  This is me. Ms. Beach…the first year, tough, English teacher.

I’ve been meaning to blog about this for a while now, but forgot to hit “publish.” Anyway, during my last English Dept. meeting, my dept. head asked us to think about what is keeping us from being the teacher we want to be. Our answer couldn’t be “having more time” because everyone needs time (though perhaps managing time could be an answer), but she wanted us to take time and think…

This question is something I think about all of the time honestly. And there is one simple answer: me, myself, & I.

I have so many ideas that sometimes I feel bogged down. 1) because I’m afraid these ideas are too “different” they won’t be successful perhaps? 2) because I have a hard time deciding which idea to use at what time perhaps? 3) because I devise great plans off of these billion and one ideas and forget to put them to use until after I had planned to use them perhaps? (if that one even makes sense, ha!)…seriously, the list could go on. But overall, it’s something with my over abundance of ideas that weighs me down at times….thus, I am my biggest obstacle to overcome to become the teacher I want to be.

I also have found myself frustrated with time (though that’s not allowed as an answer), but not time in the sense of grading, planning, you know, those sorts of things (though I will touch upon this in a new post to come). I notice time issues with my planning in advance…coming in, of course I wasn’t familiar with exactly what trip week entailed or spirit week or conference day or … this list continues as well…but now I’m being hit hard by it. I’ve been flexible and switched things around here or there, but unhappy with how certain things turned out. For example, Canterbury Tales with my seniors…let me tell you all, I was SO looking forward to teaching it this year (especially after not being able to include all of my creativity last year when I taught it), and I feel that it has been an EPIC FAILURE, haha. OK, so not really epic, but it didn’t play out how I wanted it to…trip week sorta threw me for a loop with it and I didn’t like how it was broken up (prologue before trip week, tales after). The stretch of time was just too long and something I will definitely need to reconsider for next year. (Then again, it’s not a total failure because I learned from it and have had to think on my feet…and I believe anytime we learn and change to be better next time, we have never been a failure!)

So, how am I going to combat myself? Well, I’ve come up with a few strategies.

• keep a notebook of my ideas as they come. literally cross them off as I go. that way they never “disappear” out of sight
• start saving ideas via twitter. it has become an instantaneous place for me to RT (“retweet”) ideas I like
• get back on diigo/delicious. (side note: want to incorporate diigo with sophmores’ research projects in spring)
• stop posting blog drafts and hit PUBLISH! (this has become a bad habit and keeps all of you readers wondering if I’m still alive. (LOL, ok, I’m being a bit dramatic, but you all get the point)
• be confident and go for it! (it = random ideas that come to mind that I think will be effective in the classroom. try it. learn from it. tweak it. and try it again)
• copy/collect students’ work examples after I grade to go back to and see what worked and what I (and the kids) liked

Anyway, that’s a little bit about my thoughts on my own teaching right now. I’ve always said that as long as I’m learning, too (again, refer to the About page for more on the “too”), then I’m going to be OK and will work towards becoming the teacher I want to be. Then again, I think it’s good to constantly strive to be THAT teacher…THAT teacher meaning one that constantly changes and improves his/her pedagogy.

I wonder what others would say about what’s keeping them from being the teacher they want to be as well…

Well for those of you who doubted my survival during the freshman’s class trip week, I survived, ha! I do not teach any freshmen courses, so it was a good opportunity to get to know more of the students at the school. I was thoroughly impressed by these students in many ways…

First, the kids were divided into groups by colored bandannas. I had the yellow group and lets just say that our teamwork skills started off a bit rough. Through the various activities, the kids just didn’t communicate to help each other do whatever the task at hand was. At this point, I thought I was in for a long trip. They were just so anti everything…and I’m such a “team” player (years of sports will do that to you, ha!)…I was really stumped on how to bring this group together. However, by the 2nd day (and an increased emphasis on the importance of communication), the yellow group rocked. From relay races to wall-climbing races, everyone worked hard to come together as a team. Thus, trip week isn’t all about fun (though we had lots of it!)…it was more about learning to work with others and being successful “team players.” I think this is an extremely important lesson learned because no matter what these kids do when they grow up, communication skills are an imperative part of anything people do.

I also really enjoyed seeing many students step outside of their comfort zones (even if it required me to go upside down on a zip line, ha!). I know we all have our comfort zones…and I have my own as well…but I truly appreciate and respect people who at least *try* (fill-in-the-blank-of-something-seen-as-”different”). And there were tons of kids trying lots of different things during trip week and that was very refreshing to see.

During our last night at the campfire, each student and chaperon went around the campfire and told the group what he/she learned during the trip. Here is where I really saw these students shine. Their responses really showed that they got the point behind their trip week (teamwork) and why it matters. And what did I learn? Well, I learned that 9th graders aren’t as scary as I thought they were (not saying I’m ready to jump in and teach them though, hahaha!) AND I can go upside down on a zip line