What day is it, anyway?

I have been so busy and the days seem to run one into another.  I often lose track of what day of the week it is and I almost never know what date of the year it is.  Is anybody else so muddled?  

I thought today might be a rather light one since it is Friday and Mother's Day is this weekend.  I thought folks might be easing up and laying back a little bit.  Nope.  That's not the case.  I started off shortly after seven this morning and wound things up when the sky was beginning to darken.

I wonder what those folks who think testing holds teachers accountable are thinking now?  Do they realize what kind of dedication this group of people have to learning and children?

I have never been more pleased to be a part of the education world than I am right now.  The days might be hard but they are certainly more interesting than they have ever been!

Getting Up To Speed

How many times have we uttered that statement?  Getting up to speed means that you are well-informed about something or that you are moving, operating, or functioning at the expected rate or level.  Gosh! That is a hard goal for me!

I didn't get my usual start this morning.  I was later getting into bed last night and later getting out of bed this morning. That meant I was later being ready to work and later getting down to work and later getting work done and worked later to get things done. Not good.

So, now I'm asking myself if I'm needing the routine of work and interaction with co-workers or if I just had an off day.  Was it because it was rainy after several days of beautiful weather? Was it because it was cooler and I'd grown accustomed to the warm weather? Was it because I'd had some time off and getting back into the routine was not as simple?  Was it just A Monday, Tuesday, Friday?  What day is this exactly?

Why didn't I look at that notification and see that I was supposed to join a Zoom session at ten o'clock this morning?  Then, I wouldn't be scrambling to get all those questions that came in over the weekend answered so I could give the Zoom session my undivided attention.  How did I not know that I was supposed to facilitate the Zoom session at noon?  Why did I agree to participate in a summer PD planning session at one when I was hosting the noon session?  Why did I schedule two more one-to-one conferences after that?

At this point, I think I'd better hit the accelerator or I'm never going to get up to speed!

We're not feeding hogs...or are we?

I remember when I was a young girl that my Daddy often would say to me, "Remember now, we're not feeding hogs."  I had no idea what he was talking about.  I knew we were not feeding hogs.  We didn't have any swine on our farm.  We were operating a dairy farm.  We raised Holstein heifers and milked Holstein cows without a pig in sight.

So, finally one day I asked Daddy what he meant by that.  He said, "Have you ever been to a feed lot?"  I had not.  So, after the morning chores, followed by breakfast, we climbed into the pickup truck to go down to Nashville to get some minerals or a load of corn or some such and Daddy stopped off at a feed lot where they were feeding out pigs for slaughter. 

We got out of the truck and walked over to one of the barns where hundreds of pigs were kept in narrow pens leading down into a lot away from the shelter of the barn.  The smell was overwhelming.  Pigs creating a strong and pungent odor.  The guys working at the feed lot were putting a grain mix of corn and such out for those feeder pigs.  They drove by on a tractor with a mechanical wagon that spit out the grain mix into a trough for those pigs.  Some of the pigs would come running and would dash from place to place lapping up the grain mix.  Some of them would lumber slowly up to the trough and push other pigs out of the way to get a lot of the grain mix.  Some of the pigs came to the trough but didn't get a lot because the other two types kept pushing them away.  Yet others just stayed back until all the other pigs ate their fill and then they came up and licked up the few crumbs that were left. The guys feeding, however, just slowly drove down the long row of troughs and kept the wagon spitting the grain mix out till they got to the end of the barn.  Then, they turned and came back down the other side of the barn to feed the pens on the opposite side.  Once they had finished with that barn, they drove the tractor pulling the wagon on to the next barn and never looked back.

After watching a while, Daddy and I climbed back into the truck and he pointed it toward home.  Once we were settled in and on the highway headed south, Daddy asked me what I noticed.  In my youth, I simply said, "There were a lot of pigs and only a couple of guys feeding them."  Daddy said, "Yep.  What did you notice about those pigs?"  So, I sat and thought and described the way the pigs responded in four general categories.  I was asked, "How do you think each different group produced with that kind of atmosphere."  After thinking a bit, I explained, "Well, those who rushed up to the trough and dashed from place to place got a good bit to eat. Those who lumbered up there and pushed the others away got a lot to eat.  Those who simply came to the trough got a little to eat but not enough to really flourish and those who held back probably didn't gain much weight or grow at all."  Daddy said, "And what was the goal for the pigs?"  I just looked at him like he'd lost his mind and finally said, "I think they were all expected to grow and thrive and gain weight so they can produce a lot of ham and sausage and pork chops."  Daddy said, "Yes, and how do you think our cows and calves would do if we took care of them like those guys were feeding those hogs?" 

That is when the lesson really hit home to me.  We looked at each animal on our farm as an individual who was going to work hard to produce a lot of milk and provide us with a good living.  If one didn't come to the trough and eat well, we took a bucket over and fed her individually so she could continue to grow or so she could continue to produce as much milk as possible.  If one pushed the others away from the trough, we would move her to another place to eat alone so that the ones being pushed away could get more and the push-away cow would not get too much.  If one ran from place to place to eat, we made certain that there was grain in more than one place for her to eat.  We treated each individual like she was special because she was.  She was our livelihood and there were not hundreds more in the next pen to take her place.

Throughout my career as a teacher I have kept my Daddy's lesson in mind.  I haven't been just throwing corn out to the hogs and hoping they produced sausage and ham and porch chops.  I've tried so hard to meet teachers and students where they are and support them and nudge them and encourage them to grow to where the needed to be.

Yet things have changed since schools were closed and we began distance learning.  So very many people needed extra support and needed to quickly grow their digital skills that we have been working for the masses.  This week, especially, I feel like I've been feeding hogs - just taking a bucket and casting the corn into the trough and hoping for the best.

Times

As a team, instructional technology coaches in my district have been responsible for teaching, training, and supporting teachers as they learn, grow, and improve their skills at integrating technology into their classroom. We were tasked to help them understand that technology is simply another tool in their toolbox to support good teaching and learning.

We were taught to offer a high quality product that is a model of the ideal for teaching and learning.  Every I should be dotted and every T should be crossed with precision and as near to perfection as we could get. Most of us have worked hard to set the bar high and uphold those expected standards.

We felt as if we were shouting from the mountain-tops at times and it was simply echoing back at us.  Why? Because the very next classroom that we would walk into to offer support would still be needing so much support, so much teaching, so much training. 

Our job is one where there is never a dull moment.  Tools we use are always evolving, changing, and moving forward.  Keeping up with the newest technology is a daunting task that keeps us scrambling and running at full speed. 

Just when we think we have made a little headway and most everybody has been informed, somebody or some tool comes along to present a new challenge.  Those we have worked with closely have grown and are leading the way for others and reaching out a supporting hand to lift their colleagues up along the way.  Those who chose not to work closely with us continued forward but might not be at the cutting edge.

Then, school was closed and students were told to stay at home.  Teachers were told to provide online learning resources and opportunities for students to continue learning.  All of a sudden, integrating technology and using technology as a tool for instruction is a Big Deal. 

Those who worked closely with us hardly had a bobble.  Those who had not - bobbled a bit.  I have felt like I was shouting from the mountain-tops and there is no echo this week.  There is no echo because there are so many out there who are absorbing bits and pieces.  I'm not shouting anything new.  I just have a new audience who is really listening this time.  Not just allowing me to share information, ideas, and tips this time.  Really wanting to know the information, to apply the ideas, and to use the tips to make things go better.

Times.  They are a changing!

Equality and Equity

There is such a difference between equality and equity.

Equality is when everybody gets the same thing.  Yet, equity is hen everybody gets what he/she needs.

Today we were in meetings where grades and grading were being discussed.  It is hard to justify grades in the situation we are currently living.  Everyone doesn't have the same opportunities.  Everyone doesn't have the same environment.  Everyone doesn't have the same support.  Things are not equitable.

We don't want to have to justify the assignment of a grade when we don't have the ability to provide equity.  So, there is a struggle.  It sort of feels like we are conducting a science experiment and there are too many variables.

This causes me worries.  I fear that the powers-that-be - our governmental guidelines - don't really see the components of the big picture - the variables - and are making decisions based upon that broad overview instead of  the component pieces.

If one has never been a part of the minutia, it is hard to take that into consideration.  So, I wonder about concepts like equality and equity.  I wonder about how it is going to impact our students.  I wonder if we are becoming more a part of the haves and have-nots.

I always look at the faces of students and try to think, this might be the one person who comes along and has the opportunity to save my life.  I sure hope I teach him/her what is needed so that they are prepared to do it!

It is all in the details

I've been working on putting materials together for this week's training webinars and I find that I could get bogged down in the details if I'm not really careful.  I'm a very visual person and I have a hard time understanding why some people don't have the same sensibilities that I do about some things. 

I'm sure they wonder similarly about me in some respect.

I want to be sure that we are teaching enough but not too much.  I map and plan with the end result in mind.  Sort of that idea of creating the test and then creating the lessons to teach the skills and knowledge so that the students do well on the test.  However, everybody doesn't seem to have that same mindset. 

I will get going on something and realize that I also need this piece and this piece and that piece so that the entire puzzle is complete for me.  So, I get bogged down a little bit and things seem to take a bit more time.  The details.

I want the end result to be meaningful.  I want the experience to be impactful.  I want the activity to be satisfying.  I want to meet folks where they are and move them nearer to where I think they need to be. I persevere and buckle down and hone in and focus more in hopes that what I'm sharing will meet the needs and expectations of the masses.  Then, in the end, I find that my expectations are far headier than the masses.

Where does that vision come from?  Is is a matter of focus?  Is it a matter of experience? Is it a matter of tradition?  Does it matter?

I get going with something and then somebody will bring it to my attention that it might be too much for some people.  So, I put on the brakes and I wonder.  Did I skim over the real details?

Good Friday!

Ah!  Good Friday morning to you on this Good Friday!  No expectations of working from home for me today but I probably will do a bit anyway.  Only today I will probably work from my front porch.  It is a little cooler than the past couple of days but I can put on a sweatshirt and sit out there and do a little summer professional development workshop prep, I think.

I checked in with my grandchildren at various times this week to find out if they were still participating in their online learning.  Most of them are doing a bit on some level.  Some of their learning has been expanded a bit.  Lydia was learning about sewing, health care, and benevolence a couple of days this week.  She was helping her mother to make cloth masks for local medical facilities.  That is certainly something she wouldn't have learned in middle school in the past!

They've also had a bit of social time in a distancing sort of way.  Harris had Facetime with one of his dear friends.  Lillie and Lydia had Google Hangouts with some of their friends.  Luci had a Hangout with me.  I watched her jump on the trampoline, ride on a turtle racer, climb on their home playground, hide in the little plastic playhouse, and numerous other adventures.  She chatted the entire time filling me full of valuable informational tidbits!

We saw Levi, Easton, Abby Lee and their mother getting a little exercise one day this week.  They walked down the driveway in their colorful boots.  One fellow had on a left green boot and a right blue one and the other had on a left blue boot and a right green one.  They were cute bee-bopping down the hill and back up.  I'm sure mom was grateful for the energy that was spent up doing that1

We've seen photos of Cassie and Evie pulling weeds as they tag along with their parents doing landscaping jobs.  They are smiling and enjoying the sunshine and the finished products their mother posts really look nice!

I've seen Twitter and Facebook posts where local schools are highlighting senior students and turning on the athletic field lights to honor 2020 graduates.  I saw a video post of a couple of school choir collaborations where students each sang his/her part and all of the recordings were mixed together to make a performance and I was amazed at the beauty of the voices and the talent involved.  Small gestures like that have got to make a difference in times like these.  My heart goes out to them at what experiences they are giving up in order to preserve health and well-being of themselves and others!

I've interacted with teachers all week who have been learning something new and taking risks to try new things in order to step up and try to meet the needs of their students.  Distance learning is definitely not as easy as one might think and distance teaching is a whole different animal than classroom teaching.  I applaud those who are taking those risks and reaching out to students and working to try to help educate those who will be our future leaders, caregivers, service providers, and fellow citizens!

I've also seen folks making an effort to learn new things like gardening.  Many questions and responding suggestions have been popping up about growing vegetables in a back yard.  I also saw a teacher post a math problem that involved four cracked eggs.  One had a dark yellow yolk and the others had a lighter yellow yolk,  The teacher was asking students things like:

• Identify which came from the farm and which from the store and explain why you think that
• Express that as a fraction
• Express that as a decimal
• How many ways can you represent this relationship?
• Research to find out why the eggs might look different
• Create a graphic of the life-cycle of an egg
• Use 3-4 adjectives to describe each egg
• What is the ratio of yolk to white?
• If you double the number of farm eggs, how many eggs would there be altogether?
• If a chicken lays one egg per day, how many eggs would you have in two weeks?
• What is your best recipe using eggs?
• Is there a line of symmetry in this picture?

This certainly has been a different week!  It has been a good one, though.  Still, I'm glad it is Friday.  And, even better, it is Good Friday!