With the hectic nature of this time of year – concerts, last minute shopping, wrapping, baking, more shopping, more wrapping, another concert – it can be easy to lose perspective.

A magnet on my fridge reminded me, “Today is the greatest day available.” Whatever else is going on, be sure to enjoy the moment: the stranger who holds the door open, finding a parking stall, Silent Night playing on the radio, the lights glistening on the tree, the laughter of children.

Despite the frenzy or the fatigue, enjoy today.

Last week while working with one of my small groups, I asked a student if she was ready. Her reply: “I was born ready!” She said it with such gusto that all of us burst into laughter.

This from a little girl who was quite discouraged and disheartened last year. Learning is difficult for her. And yet, she has made great strides and found a glimmer of hope.  She now understands that these symbols on a page hold meaning. She has found the key to the literate world and she is truly feeling empowered.

Words really do change worlds!

One of my goals with my struggling readers is to be as consistent as possible. Normally I’m pretty good at honouring this goal. Yet lately my schedule and my days have been a little hectic. I’ve been away a couple of days, and when I have been at school a few issues surfaced that demanded my immediate attention.

When my little readers arrive at my office door, bookbags in hand, and they realize that I’m busy, their shoulders tend to sag. And on Friday when I went into a grade one class to ask the students if they wanted to read with me that afternoon (since I missed their morning time), it was art class. Both students chose to read.

These kids are doing their part: I will keep trying to do mine!

“The world belongs to those who read.” Rick Holland

In households around the city families are carving pumpkins, preparing costumes and more than likely taste-testing the Halloween candy. Parents will send their princesses, pirates and ghostbusters to school tomorrow.

Let’s face it: students enjoy Halloween much more than most teachers. Yet if you teach in an elementary school, Halloween comes with the territory. It’s just a bunch of hocus pocus… enjoy the day!

Last week I was reminded of the thrill of emergent writers when I spent time in kindergarten and grade one. In both classes, the students were eager to write, thoroughly engaged in the process and enthusiastically able to explain what they had written.

Despite the various levels of their writing – pictures only, mock letters, a string of letters, invented spelling or more conventional spelling – all students were engaged in the process. Each stage is an important one for emergent writers.

Although our ultimate goal is to teach students to be effective writers, teachers of emergent writers must be careful not to overcorrect. Overcorrection quickly dampens the enthusiasm of our young writers. When they are still experimenting with language and letters, proper spelling and punctuation are secondary. We must celebrate their attempts at language and honour what they have written.

Rather than correct their work, we can teach the elements of good writing through modelling and explicit instruction. And by the way, good writing includes much more than proper conventions… just ask our kindergarten and grade one students!

Last week I was reminded how important it is to teach with intention. My reminders came in the form of adults working with special needs students. Everything they did and didn’t do, everything they said and didn’t say was purposeful.

The result? Students who know that the adults in the room care for them, students who are engaged and students who are learning at their own pace. In other words: education.

We are changing the world, one intention at a time.

 

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am writing to express my gratitude.

To those of you who greet me with a hug every day without fail, thank you for beginning my day with a smile.

To those of you who hang onto my every word, thank you for giving me the validation that what we do is important.

To those of you who share a cracker or a candy from your lunch, thank you for showing what it means to give.

To those of you who find learning challenging, thank you for demonstrating the true meaning of perseverance.

To those of you who have experienced abuse, neglect or trauma in your young lives, thank you for inspiring me by your courage. Thank you for giving me perspective and reminding me that life is precious.

To all of you, thank you for making my work both rewarding and enjoyable. Thank you for making me a better educator and a better person. And thank you for ensuring that I laugh – every day.

Sincerely, your teacher.

A few weeks ago I heard someone say, “we can’t not be a model” when speaking of the teaching profession. Whether we realize it or not, whether we want to be or not, we are full-time models for students. Our words, our body language, our social media profile, our actions and even our inactions have many eyes.

Typically, we are deliberate in our words and actions when we stand in front of our classes. And yet sometimes, we are caught in moments of fatigue or frustration, or we might become more casual or inadvertent as we speak to our colleagues in the hallway. It doesn’t hurt to remember that many eyes are watching.

The joy of this profession is the tremendous influence we have on our students. And perhaps this is the burden, too. Kids and parents hold us to high standards. As they should.

“Children are great imitators so give them something great to imitate.” Anonymous

The theatres are replaying some of the classics. Today I watched one of my all-time favourites: Field of Dreams. And although I can recite almost every line, I didn’t: I restrained myself for the sake of the others in the theatre.

But today, there was one line in particular that struck me: “You know we just don’t recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they’re happening. Back then I thought, well, there’ll be other days. I didn’t realize that that was the only day.” Moonlight Graham

What are you waiting for? Today is precious and significant. Find your reasons. Enjoy the moment. Be present.

What better gift can we give our students?