Rocks In My Shoes

The rocks that hold me back are my own thoughts. I tend to worry about what others think of me and take things too personally at times. I get stuck thinking about everything I did wrong or what I could do differently and tend to take the blame for things that I shouldn't. 

This year I have slowly learned what works best for me to deal with my thoughts and blame I put on myself. I lean on my coworkers to vent and get advice from. They help reassure me of my actions and help me not put blame on myself. I also find exercise a great way to change my negative thoughts and blame. Exercise helps me deal with my rocks and move forward. 

Being aware of "my rocks" and learning to deal with them has helped me focus on positive things and to be more confident. Each day I am learning to continue to move forward and not let others bring me down or make me second guess myself. My goal is to remove these rocks and bury them. 

Rethinking Recess

Why are there so many kids who can't sit still in class? How do we get kids to sit still in class? These are the questions that pediatric occupational therapist, Angela Hanscom writes about in her posts about movement in classrooms. Valerie Strauss from the Washington Post, writes the article How Schools Ruined Recess- and four things needed to fix it from Hanscom's research and posts. 

Angela Hanscom took a trip to Auckland, New Zealand to talk to the principal at Swanson School, Bruce McLachlan. His school has a very unconventional but very successful approach to recess. During recess there are no rules! When the rules left, so did the behavior issues. Having no rules allowed the children to be creative, take risks, be independent and pay attention in class. This made me think, why do we put so many restrictions on our kids during their play? If we let kids play, they would learn how to problem solve and learn  lessons on their own. So why are we taking away the skill development that we want them to be learning? 

Bruce McLachlan's recess has 4 main things that has changed their recess. He refers to these as their "recipe" for a successful recess:

1. Space: We need to give kids ample amounts of space to play in. If we keep kids in a restricted area, we will have more behavior problems. It is important to let the kids run and go explore, bring their bikes for recess and do the things they like and want to do.

2. Trust: We need to trust the kids by having adult supervision less obvious. We should let the kids lead the play. If adults are less noticeable the tattling will cut down and students will learn how to solve problems on their own. 

3. Time: McLachlan's school has two recess periods for 40 minutes each day. We need to allow our students to have enough time to explore and move their bodies, work through their emotions and dive into their imaginations. Allowing students to get outside and move will help reduce the attention problems in the classroom. 

4. Loose Parts: McLachlan added old tires, wooden planks, etc. to the recess area for the kids to explore. Having objects like these allows the children to create their own worlds and try new things. The more objects we provide them with, the more experiences they will have and their creativity will unfold before us. 

As educators for our children, we need to help our students improve their attention in the classroom by rethinking our recess and including these four pieces. Recess is an important time that kids need each day. We should look at recess as a learning time for students instead of just time for kids to get out their energy. Recess is important for learning social skills and kids need to this time each day to work on them. Recess will not only improve children's social skills, creativity and problem solving skills but also their attention in the classroom. When student's attention in the classroom is improved, then more productive learning will take place. It is a win-win for teachers and students.  

INCLUSIVE

According to the University of Michigan, inclusive teaching involves deliberately cultivating a learning environment where all students are treated equitably, have equal access to learning, and feel welcome, valued, and supported in their learning.

I believe that culture is essential to learning because it plays a role in our communication and thinking processes. It is important to include all student's cultures into the classroom and learning so we can understand each other. I also believe that when we learn about each other's cultures, then we gain respect and build relationships.

Having an inclusive classroom where culture is brought in is very important to me as a teacher. The biggest goal I have for my students when they leave my classroom are to be kind, respectful and accepting of everyone. Having an inclusive classroom and bringing culture in will help me attain my goal as a teacher and help the world become a place of acceptance, kindness and respect.