what I've learned

When I wrote the grant for this weaving project, my goals were centered around the primates learning to weave and using their own handwork as the basis for a writing project, therefore motivating them to improve their writing skills. very MI, I thought, as this is a great example of offering multiple entry points into writing. And those are still my goals, and it is a great MI-ism.

But here's what I've learned, and these are goals I never considered:

* I see the primates differently. It really is happening--the primates who struggle with traditional academic activities are leaders in weaving. I've read about this, I've aspired to this, I've probably even experienced it before...but this time it's different because I am reflecting on it, and this reflection will drive my instruction in a very real way. This project is providing opportunities for primates to genuinely feel successful in school. Weaving is valued by our class community as an important skill to learn. We are creating products that matter to our society.

* I'm not doing as well as I had imagined at teaching the primates to weave. But I'm OK with that because I realize there is a much deeper lesson happening: you need to work hard, make mistakes, solve problems, and practice in order to learn something new. This lesson transcends any traditional academic content or skills. In this way, our weaving project may be an entry point to multiple areas of learning for the primates.

* I'm not sure I can measure progress or the overall success of this project in a way that could be considered equivalent to a test score in a psychometrician's eyes. Actually, I want to change that to "I'm not sure how" to do it. This is where my focus should be now.

really good stuff

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/opinion/02engel.html?ref=opinion

This is my first attempt to add a link in my blog, and being the Internet newbie that I still think of myself as, I have no idea if this will work, but it's a great article and I urge you to check it out some other way if this doesn't get you there. Also,

www.allianceforchildhood.org/sites/allianceforchildhood.org/files/file/kindergarten_policy_brief.pdf

more good stuff, although, while I support the encouragement for parents to talk to teachers and principals about testing, it's not up to us. We are expected to follow directions we are given by lawmakers. Contacting your local politicians would have a far greater impact. They are the ones calling the shots, and voters are the voices they listen to--not teachers and principals.

teacher evaluation

well, this is actually going to be a very different post than I originally thought as I fumed home from work today, but I am really proud of myself for keeping to my goal of trying to stay positive this year and not get bogged down in ed drama.

So, you may not be surprised that this has been another dreadful week. yes, I say ANOTHER because so far 2010 sucks--and I apologize for not having a better way to say that. But it is what it is.

However, that is not the direction I will go tonight because I am instead thinking of two things that happened this week that have me all teary and sentimental about being a teacher. First, I had a lunch date with a former primate of mine from many years ago. He's been struggling and I've known about it for awhile. But it is impossible to remain deeply involved in every former student's life, so I heard the stories from other staff and felt bad. Last week I decided to take action and spoke with his current teacher. A different colleague suggested I have lunch with him, so I invited him for this past Monday. Nothing earth-shattering, no "Mr. Holland's Opus" moment, and I have little hope that re-connecting with me will have much impact on this primate's daily struggles....but that speck of hope resulted in a really pleasant, sweet, and memorable lunch. I felt that sappy, sugary, some may say naiive, sense of making a difference in another person's life that you see in those goofy teacher movies--only it was real, and I was the sappy star of the movie feeling like the pebble I'd just thrown had made a ripple. Sharing lunch with this young man who only a short time ago was clutched to my leg because someone stole his blue crayon, made me smile--a true, genuine, deep smile. The rest of the day continued with the dark cloud of doom hovering over my head, but that lunch made a real difference for me, and I think it was nice for the primate as well. We made a pact to meet once a month for lunch, just to connect, and I look forward to getting to know him all over again as a young man. Maybe it will make a difference for him too.

SO my other sappy moment this week was Tuesday, 3pm-ish. Another former primate who now attends a different school has been visiting me 2-3 times a week on her way home. She is a special case (really, they all are-and I'm not just saying that--it's something I think only a true teacher can understand...the ways each child who passes through your life adds a little, takes a little, and leaves you with an altered perspective on humanity because they've taught you something new---and they all really do that, it's just not often we have the time to sit and reflect and really appreciate it) anyways, this primate has allowed me to take the moment, reflect, and feel good about her desire to stay connected to me. She's been borrowing books from me--returning them all!!! And I'm proud of the fact that she is seeking out books we read last year. I made an impact! I made an impact! Our educational journey together resonates with her and she is compelled to revisit these experiences a year later.

So while I have the pleasure of constantly living in a work world where we are mandated to go against everything we believe about teaching and learning (i.e., the data collection frenzy that has a choke hold on American public education), I submit the above two stories as evidence that I'm doing a good job--and test scores have NOTHING to do with it!

**Please note this post is dedicated to all the policy makers out there committed to reducing teaching and learning to psychometrics.

phase two: weaving projects

If we can call our months of exploring, examining, and experimenting with weaving (messing about), phase one, we have definitely moved into phase two. Each primate has chosen a method of weaving, (some have used multiple methods) and is working on a project. I included simple braided friendship bracelets to appease frustration for those who wanted to quickly create multiple products...for example, one primate makes two friendship bracelets a day and gives them to different friends. I am encouraging her to choose a longer term project as well, one that will be more challenging. Time to take a risk since she clearly has established a level of comfort with this new skill.

exploring tools

We spent some time exploring some weaving tools (and learning the associated vocabulary, ie loom, shuttle, needle, "threading the needle"). We also examined some examples of weaving from the Native American culture (connections to our earlier study of Native American traditions), and some amateur woven items. Primates immediately began comparing their knit sweaters and cotton sweatshirts to the woven items, and we began distinguishing between knit and woven artistry.

We also experimented with winding the warp on one of our class looms and using the shuttle--which is really a meter stick, but works the same way.

we are weaving!

I'm really overwhelmed and swamped and drained, but I don't want to fall too far behind on our weaving progress so this will be short on words and heavy on visuals. The primates LOVE weaving, much to my delight! Things are running more chaoticly than I had planned, but we are moving forward. We are collaboratively working on the big wall loom pictured above. The demands of 22 students has limited my time to monitor and guide this weaving, and at Portfolio night, our weaving consultant parent pointed out that we have several rows that are off track, which will affect how the piece stays together. We have some unweaving to do, and hopefully the arrival of our new student teacher will allow me to get out there more often. Even still, the primates are enjoyed the act of weaving, the process. They aren't really concerned with a final product with this piece. Interestingly, it is three of the least likely primates that are the most frequent contributers. Good example of why it's so important to pay attention to their interests and proclivities!

too much to do, too little time

A terrible, recurring struggle I face as a teacher, (and I believe there are many teachers that can also identify), is too much on the plate. We have about 3 weeks til Feb break. I have not started report cards, we are just starting buddies with a 3/4 class, we are in the midst of this major weaving project, the overwhelming demand for mid-year testing primates is in full swing, I planned to run our annual dog biscuit fundraiser for Valentine's Day, and yes, there's Valentine's Day. Now I've also committed to a new committee at work and I'm teaching a course for undergrads at SSC, and most heavily weighing on my mind and sucking all my energy and anxiety is my daughter's first day of preschool in a couple of weeks and where in the state of Massachusetts my son will attend kindergarten this fall.

This is a regular occurrance prior to vacations--there's always, always a million things spinning at once. And the clock is always ticking.

I suppose this is why I view school vacations as necessities rather than perks of teaching!