Turkeys in the Media Center

An innocent turkey call by me led to a symphony of turkeys...

Parents: Do you have a reluctant reader?

I have learned through my own experience as a mom of a reluctant reader that it takes extra work and perseverance to get a reluctant reader to enjoy books. When my child was in elementary school she didn't enjoy reading, yet she did enjoy being read to. So every night at bedtime, I read to her. Nightly read alouds became our special time. When I started reading chapter books to her, we both looked forward to reading the next chapters each night to find out what would happen next. I also took her to the local library and to bookstores to select books. I let her choose what to read and if she didn't want to continue with a book, I allowed her to choose another book. I did everything that I could to make her experience with books enjoyable. Now that she is in middle school she has been reading more on her own and she even refers to herself a "bookworm." I still read to her though, and since I work at an elementary school, I often share a picture book that is silly or one that has great illustrations. I feel that reading together throughout her childhood has been a wonderful experience for us both!

Where have I been?

I have not posted since I started my job as a media specialist. I've thought about posting, but for one thing, I have had time. And it also seems like I have too much to write. How can I condense these days and weeks into a post or two? I will start by saying this: I love the kids at my school. They are wonderful. I also admire and respect the teachers that I work with. Our school is filled with talent. It gives me a lot to live up to as an educator. I am also fortunate to have a county with a Media Services department that is made up of amazing, supportive individuals. "Wow," is all I can say in describing them.

It hasn't been an easy road though. I was thrown off guard by a situation that took place in the first couple of weeks that completely took the wind out of my sails...at least for a month or so. I'm now in recovery mode, but I still wonder what I may have stepped into.
When I'm with my students though, I feel like I'm in the right place.

I am a media specialist.

It's official. I got a job as a school media specialist! I'm still in shock that things actually worked out for me. Of course being the quirky/annoying person that I am, I find myself thinking about all the stupid things I said during the interview. I got the job. Shouldn't I be happy and let it go? Yes, but not me. No, I must worry and go over every stupid thing that came out of my mouth. Perhaps it's my twisted way of mentally, and somewhat physically, uncurling after being in the fetal position for months wondering if I would ever get to be a media specialist. Why not beat myself up now that it's over? That's a theory anyway.

I am excited, yet I keep thinking someone is going to call and say that the committee made a mistake. They dialed the wrong number and did not mean to hire the crazy woman. I am going to visit the media center tomorrow and I am bringing the pink flamingo that I bought for my office. I don't know why I felt that a pink flamingo was a must-have for a school library, but it seemed right at the time. I will use her—I named her Flora—to mark my territory and then I will look forward to my exciting and long awaited future. Can't wait to meet my kiddos!

While I Wait

I am spending my summer waiting for the perfect media center position to be mine. I'll admit that it is not fun. I hate being in limbo and I am chomping at the bits to get started. I have been keeping myself somewhat busy doing the following: refinishing a porch swing, painting the wood floor in our screen room, painting the stairway and upstairs hall, reading "Maximum Ride," starting a gluten free diet (it's official...I have Celiac), getting ready for a vacation to Santa Fe, New Mexico, AND adopting the cutest kitten EVER. He's a straight ear Scottish Fold. I am in love!

Aiden and I

In Summation...

I am done with school. I got my degree, my media specialist certification, and my reading endorsement. It has been a wild ride. I met so many wonderful people and I made some great friends. I laughed a lot, I studied a lot, and I stressed a lot. At one point I had a tough decision to make and I am happy to report that I chose to do the right thing, rather than the easy thing. Later I was given the opportunity to take the easy road, but I chose the to take the hard road because I wanted to make a bad situation better. I spent many hours talking to kids, reading to kids, and helping kids read. I told kids that they were smart and I told them that could do it. I spent nights reading childrens books and YA books. I wrote down tons of ideas and created countless lesson plans. I sketched floor plans and thought about color choices. I took 16 courses and by some miracle I got an "A" in every course. I made plans and I dreamed big dreams.

As I close this chapter of my life, I do not have a job. I do not even have an interview. However my heart is full because I know that along the way I made a difference.
The end.

I am attached.

Today I got a note from my reading professor. It read: "I am so happy with all the progress "A" and you have made. Obviously, "A" has improved a lot in her attitudes toward reading while you have gradually become more experienced with your tutoring sessions. I want to particularly mention your objective part and reflection part. Your personal narrative makes me know you better and understand the reason why "A" feels so attached to you in the tutoring session." It is a nice note and the part that stuck with me the most is the word "attached." I admit I get as attached to my students as they get to me. I worry about their academic progress, their home lives, their future, their happiness...the list goes on and on. If anyone were to ask what my strength as an educator would be I would say that it is the connection that I have with kids. It seems silly because it is something that I did not learn in college or even through my experience working with students. I just understand and like kids. I have worked with teachers who do not like kids and I wonder why they decided to be a teacher. Sometimes students in school library media will say getting out of the classroom is the reason they want to be a media specialist. I have always been baffled by that reasoning. My life experience told me that you have to love what you do to be happy, which is why I chose this profession. Perhaps, this simple lesson should be taught in the Freshman 101 classes.

I love reading about different instructional approaches...

Article from the New York Times about a curriculum that includes neurology.

Ethics

This weekend I participated in a webinar about the Georgia Professional Standards Commission and the Code of Ethics for teachers. I did not know what to expect from a webinar and I was pleased to find it extremely well done and informative...and all from my bedroom "office." Most of the discussion was about matters that do not concern me because I am a very boring person. I do not cuss, drink, smoke, or do anything else that might raise eyebrows. At one point the speaker said that it is best to drink coffee before coming to school and I thought that I might actually be a rebel because I do drink caffeinated beverages, but he elaborated on his statement by telling us about a teacher who went ballistic and claimed it was because she did not drink coffee that morning. Alas, I will never be a rebel. I was very interested in learning about professional behavior around students because it is something every educator must think about. Following the set guidelines when using a school computer was also a subject of interest since I will be spending a lot of my time on a computer. I did not realize that the school system can access every site that I visit which means my personal email account may be viewed. Even though I am not a rebel, I still need to be careful with my email. I have read about professionals emailing jokes to friends and later getting fired. Though I don't normally forward jokes to others, I have had friends email them to me and I certainly don't want to be accountable for every email someone sends me! I used to joke with a friend of mine about spam emails that I would get with the subject: "Wanna See My Pics?" I haven't gotten one of those in a while so I should be OK. I am just glad that I was able to participate in the webinar before getting employed so I that am prepared for the open book that my life will become!

From the files of my mind...

I have had an idea for a children's picture book floating around in my head for 10 years now. For some reason I suddenly started working on it a few weeks ago. I illustrated my main character along with the first page of the book and I wrote all of the text. It went fairly quickly since everything has been stored neatly in my mind for so long. I have already sent it out to an agent. Now the waiting begins...along with the anticipation of rejection. I know that the odds are stacked against me. I suppose that is why it has taken me so long to actually start writing and drawing. I'm not the most confident person so it's actually amazing that I sent it out. I believe in my character and the idea though, so I have to try. The entire time that I have spent working on the book I have been completely focused on the creative process and what I am trying to convey with the text and illustrations. It came from a good place. I hope the finished product projects that good place :)

Maybe I'm OK

So I am in the midst of my last semester and I have been very busy completing the assignments for my reading courses. I am also tutoring a middle school student in reading and I have really enjoyed it. This week it was my turn to post a clip of our tutoring session to the online class board for my group members to listen to and comment on. I was a little nervous about it. I know that I am a little crazy and I was afraid that some may not think I am serious enough to be a teacher. One person in my group is very smart, serious, and from what I can tell, he is a great teacher. I really wondered how he would respond to my clip. Today he posted this:

"Obviously we can't see what is happening, but as I was listening to it, in my mind your student seemed to be really engaged, smiling, and enjoying herself. It seemed like she was grasping the "silent e" concept and the vowel sounds, but it was really her joy and enthusiasm that stood out to me. Keep up the good work!"

I was thrilled with his comment. It meant a lot to me that he appreciated how humor can make learning fun. I started thinking that I may be OK. My student and I do have fun, but what really excites me is how much she has improved with her reading. Her attitude about reading has also improved greatly. I did a book selection activity last week and at the end of it she literally ran into the media center to select a book. I gave her the tools that she needed to understand what kind of book she wanted and she ran with it. I love teaching. I am quirky. And it's OK.

It ended before it began

I graduated from UGA and applied to readmission over the course of one week. It was nice to not be a student for a few days... The new semester has started and I am already feeling overwhelmed. Not only do I have new classes to prepare for but I've also been busy this week getting all the needed documents ready to obtain my media specialist certification. I always describe myself as "overwhelmed," yet I confess I am also excited about what I will be learning this semester. I sound a little nerdy to actually admit that I am excited to learn. How can I get students to feel this way? Excited, not nerdy.

The part that excites me the most about this semester is the fact that I will be serving as a reading tutor for a student who is disadvantaged and attends a school in a rougher part of the city. I have a soft spot for kids who do not have the advantages that I was given. I love working with them and letting them know that I care about them and their education. Obviously, my main objective it to help improve the reading skills of my student, but I know how important it is to connect with a child too. I have had so many great connections over the years that I've spent working with children. Sometimes I think that I've learned more from my students than they have learned from me. As much as I want to do well in my reading courses, I really want to make a difference this semester. So watch out kiddo because we are going to do great things!

Equality—Now that's what I'm talking about!

Read article: "What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland's School Success" from The Atlantic