As a middle school teacher, I use many teaching strategies. I know that there are many different types of learners and that doing something with newly attained knowledge is the best way to retain it and fully understand it. That being said, I love direct instruction. I realize that I learn best from direct instruction, but I think that more people can learn from direct instruction than they think.

At the Tucson Festival of Books, the main way to transmit information is via direct instruction. People watch music, performances, lectures. Some booths do have activities for people to do, especially Science City. However, the majority of presentations are hour-long lectures given to groups of 30-600 people. If direct instruction is so terrible, why keep using it? I do realize that adults have longer attention spans, but I know that adults learn with as varied strategies as children.

I noticed that the lectures of direct instruction were very well received. Not only did groups of 500+ listen on the edge of their seats for an hour, but they took notes and waited for up to an hour in advance. People enjoyed the presentations, behaved perfectly, and retained information. Now, did I retain as much knowledge simply listening without taking notes? No, probably not. However, I did retain the theme of the lecture, as well as the messages that most resonated with me; the messages that I needed to hear and use at this point in my life.

Another aspect of direct instruction working in this scenario is interest. Anyone can sits through hours of TV or movies, provided that they are interested. I think that is extremely important. At the Tucson Festival of Books, everyone was interested in what they were doing. If I were to change how education works, I would try to revamp the curriculum so it is interest-based.

I remember being in middle school and high school when I complained about how many dates my history teachers made me memorize. I didn't understand why it was so important to know exactly when something happened. Of course, by the end of high school, I understood that dates were extremely important because things that had happened in the past or previous philosophies greatly affected the time and caused future events to happen.

Now that I'm teaching middle school, I understand that students this age cannot memorize as much as a high school student, but they should know some basic times of the year, like the month Thanksgiving is in, and Independence Day. I'm sorry to say it, but about 25% of my students did NOT know when Independence Day was in my class, perhaps more. I was not asking for the year, simply the month. I could not believe how many students asked me about when it was. I was dismayed. Something must be very wrong in the educational system if there are these huge holes in student learning. I don't teach history, but I'm sure that my students learned some history from me this past week.

The way teachers are assessed these days is based on standardized test scores and student grades. Parents also get angry if their child's grade is too low. Rather than have their child study more and redo assignments, the first person they blame is the teacher. This is one of the reasons students are not learning as much as they should. While it may be more difficult for the teacher to hold firm on grades--the teacher may in fact lose his/her job for doing so--it is a a disservice to students and the country to let the next teacher deal with it. I will do my best to hold students accountable.

Well, I thought I'd be writing more in December, but time seems to be slipping through my fingers faster than water. I have two more days left of teaching before I can enjoy the holiday season. My shopping is just about done, but I am behind on my knitting. I still can't believe that Christmas will be here on Sunday! It feels like November just finished.

I have finished two hats this month (pictures to come). I have really enjoyed that craftsy course, Hats Four Ways. It gave me the opportunity to experiment. While my designs are not very exciting (ribbings and stockinette), today I'm going to try a little design for the body of a hat. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm also still perfecting the art of making a gauge. I'm pretty close, but I always run a little too big or too small.

I am also working on a shawl for myself. Like everything I've knit for myself, which so far is just a hat, I keep putting it aside to work on items for others. I started a scarf for myself a year ago and I still haven't finished it. Maybe I can use my two weeks off to finish these projects. My goal was to finish this shawl by the end of December, but I'm not sure if I can. I'm using a chart for the first time and there are cables, which slow me down tremendously.

So far the holiday have been happy for me. I usually dread them. They remind me that life goes by too quickly and that another year has passed in the blink of an eye. The worst part? Older people always tell me that it passes by even faster as you get older. Great. Therefore, I comfort myself by doing as much as I can for others.

I have been reading the Yarn Harlot recently and she makes me feel so much better about myself as a knitter. I no longer feel so guilty about wanting to constantly buy yarn, even though my current stash could keep me busy for a year or more. Oh well. Perhaps I should feel more guilty about it. Her ideas for gifts for knitters is great as well. I listen to her book on my kindle as I knit and I feel like I have more company.

I'd write more, but my dog calls. It's time for the nightly potty break and I need to get ready for school tomorrow. Only two more days to teach!

Happy knitting!

One really cool thing about working in the school district that I attended is seeing teachers that I had. This time, I get to know them from a different perspective. It's weird to think that while I've gone to high school, college, and started working, they have stayed at the same school, sometimes in the same grade, teaching year after year.

Yesterday I had a first-year teacher meeting. One of the presenters was a special education teacher in my 5th grade class. It's been over 10 years since I last saw her. However, she is one of those people that just radiates joy and safety. She still calls the student in my class that she assisted. She calls him every year on his birthday and keeps in touch with his family. Although I wasn't one of her direct students, she did remember me, which was touching. It made me think: if a teacher has 30 different students a year in elementary school and over 100 in middle and high school, it must be difficult to recognize all students one has had in over 10 years. What really touched me was that she has continued to be a role model and a friend to students that she had over 10 years before. She really goes above and beyond, especially in a culture that does not appreciate teachers the way it should.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/20-tips-create-safe-learning-environment-rebecca-alber?utm_source=housead&utm_medium=post&utm_content=blog&utm_campaign=20tipsforsafelearningenviro

All you teachers out there: this is a quick read to give you ideas to improve classroom management. I'm sure you're all doing this already, but sometimes I find it helpful for a fast reminder.

Have a great school year!

Some pictures I took of the beautiful Santa Catalina Mountains in Tucson, AZ while at Camp Snowball.

As many of you unfortunately know, "Jersey Shore" is a show that is extremely popular among preteens and teenagers. In a nutshell, you find average Americans in their early 20s, the ones who passed notes in class rather than listen to anything, give them alcohol, put them in a luxurious house and watch how they create disturbing love triangles and waste money. They don't even try to act and make even the most mundane human interactions overly dramatic. Their Jersey accents are supposed to make them sound exotic (I suppose) to the majority of Americans, when really it only makes them sound like young and ignorant Americans; in short, the people on "Jersey Shore" completely embody the American stereotype that is held around the world. Absolutely pathetic. But enough about my rant on the TV show.

Last Friday, my 8th graders were promoted to high school. I remembered that: I felt a little sad that a phase of my life was over, like I ought to cry, but I was too excited for summer and high school to feel much remorse. I was mostly concerned about being gutsy enough to ask my crush to dance (I did, he said yes, but I asked so late into the song that we danced for 30 seconds). My 8th graders were ready to leave middle school, very ready. They could hardly listen so that they would know what to do come promotion night.

My school has a tradition of making a human tunnel for the 8th graders to go through at the end of their last day. I expected a stampede of ecstatic students. I got a dribble of students, boys and girls crying. I kept telling them that they would be back in a few hours for promotion and that they would be dancing together later that night. It didn't seem to make a difference. I suppose I'm a little cynical because I kept thinking of "The Wizard of Oz:" "Lions, and tigers, and bears--oh my!" except I changed it to, "Girls and hormones and tears--oh my!" I had thought that the 8th graders hated middle school, but after Friday, I now think that they are just great actors who aren't ready to take the big step to high school.

The promotion mass went beautifully. I didn't see anyone cry, but I was up in the choir loft. The dance went very well, too. For the most part, 7th and 8th graders danced in this bear-hug huddle. Right as the last song was being played, the first 8th grader started crying. Minutes later, she was bawling. For 15 minutes after the dance, the 8th graders wouldn't leave: about 90% of the class was crying and the other 10% felt like crying, but couldn't. Even one of my tough male students was crying. What was I doing? Cracking jokes to lighten the mood. I reminded them that they could skype, facebook, and that they would probably text each other before they even made it home. Really, all of the crying was a gross exaggeration.

Which brings me to my point. I told my boyfriend about all that had happened and he summarized it succinctly: they are Generation Snookie: everything is overly dramatic. He added some other Snookie characteristics that made his argument all the better, but I'll have to ask him to go over it again.

As a teacher and future parent, I will do my best to prevent these "Snookie" characteristics.

As some of you may know, being a first-year teacher is a rough job. Teaching six different classes one's first year is even harder. However, I made it through with great help from supportive faculty and staff. Still, the sixty-hour work week was rough on my relationships with pretty much everyone. My relationship with yarn and knitting was basically the only thing that I could do daily to relieve some stress.

In late April, I was offered a job teaching Spanish at my old middle school. I will only teach two different classes and I will be placed in the state pension fund (let's hope my state still has one when I do retire!). I was relieved, knowing that I would have more time for myself, my boyfriend, and my family and friends this coming year. Still, I was nervous to quit my current job.

After teaching 6 different classes for a year, I resigned today. It went really well and my principal understood completely. Additionally, it will help one of my coworkers, who will teach fewer classes and be in my old room and out of her portable.

I learned a lot this year, about teaching and life. I think my most important lesson is to not ever sacrifice friendships and to make time for people daily, even if it's only for a quick cup of coffee.

Often I have been in situations where I say something heartfelt and what I feel to be true, but then it is misinterpreted. Being a first-year teacher, expressing myself has been a challenge all year, which is strange for me, who loves reading, writing, and communicating.

Today I realized what it is that I need some work on: diplomacy. I need to learn to speak like a politician. Why? By learning this kind of "language," I can express what I mean without being misinterpreted or without coming across as ignorant, sensitive, mean, or naive. Everyone who works in a professional environment needs to be adept at this skill. For instance, instead of saying, "I'm afraid you won't listen to me," say, "How will you use my comments to do ______?" In this way, your concerns/opinions are heard and you will receive a response that you want. A diplomatic way of speaking tends to be straight forward and clear, which helps to avoid misunderstandings. The other trick I learned is that you should ask the person to do something that will show you the change that you want to see, or that they have taken your concern into consideration.

For the teachers out there, it's like writing your standards on the board. Ask yourself: is this observable? Is this measurable? I can't see if you understand something, but I can see your level of understanding if you write about it or say it. Diplomacy should function the same way because, unfortunately, someone's "word" might not always be trustworthy.

It seems that teachers have been making news nationally. With American students not performing as high as their European peers, it is logical that federal and state governments are reevaluating the system to improve education. Therefore, teacher accountability does enter the conversation.

Teacher accountability is very important. Teachers do need to be dedicated to students, willing to try new teaching techniques, and open to professional development. Yet, when teachers are working 60+ hours a week and implementing all improvements, there is only so much more that they can do. Yes, teachers get two months off for summer vacation. However, during the school year, they were so much that friends and family seem to be ignored for a while. Teachers work long after the school day ends: they have planning, grading, creating materials, and responding to parent emails. They are lucky if they have time to look for professional development opportunities or time to find and write grants to get supplies to their schools. They tend to have 150+ students that they see daily. With less and less money going to schools, teachers have fewer resources, older resources, and more students with NO additional compensation. Teachers train the leaders, inventors, and workers of the future. If the system is burning them out in one or two years, the system is unsustainable. It is better to have more resources and smaller classes for the benefit of all: the school, community, and students.

Now, I am mostly referring to the teachers who constantly work to improve their craft. There are many of them. However, some school systems make it so even the bad teachers stay in the system for a while. That means a teacher can be fired from one school in the district, but other schools have to pick up those fired teachers before they can look for new teachers outside of the system. Those situations can be hurtful to the schools and the students.

Lastly, teacher accountability is only one aspect of the problem. The culture of schools and learning needs to be changed. When I was a student, if I got a bad grade, it was because I did not perform up to the teacher's expectations. If I wanted to improve my grade, I had to do extra credit, or work harder on my assignments. Nowadays, it is the teacher's fault for a student not getting an "A" or "B." A teacher can work around the clock to improve students' learning, but if students don't study at home or turn in their work and if parents don't provide a quiet learning environment, it is almost impossible for that student to succeed. Like anything, the student has to WANT to succeed in order TO succeed.

Students have to stop being apathetic and they need to be dedicated to their education. Instead of seeing school as something adults and the government make them do, they should look at it as their job and preparation for their future.

Yet students are children as well and just want to have fun. They don't see the importance of education until they are adults (usually), if ever. Therefore, we need to strike a careful balance between work and play.

Accomplishing balance is the key to success for everything.

When I'm not knitting, I'm a middle school teacher. It actually takes up a considerable amount of time. I would about 60 hours a week to prep and grade six different classes (I plan six different hours of work a day). This week, my school's email went down. I spend about an hour a day responding to parent emails. As terrible as it sounds, I'm rather glad that the email went down...

Here's why.

I spend day after day with students and I often explain the same concept 3+ times a day per class. My students should have heard the assignment, read the assignment, and wrote the assignment in their planners before leaving the class. So when a parent emails me asking for the homework, I'm a little irritated that their child either forgot, lied to them, or didn't want to tell them. Secondly, I post my weekly homework online the Sunday before the week starts. Rather than email me, parents can simply check the website. My most common email is about lost work. Of course your child thought s/he turned it in; they always do. However, after going through the backpack for five minutes or less, usually the child or parent will find the assignment. If a child is disorganized and lost the assignment, that is not my fault. My school provided an organizational class and all middle school teachers taught it at the beginning of the year. Therefore, 95% of the emails I receive ask for information that the parents can get in another way.

This tells me a few things about modern parents. They have tons of resources, but they are lazy, much like their children, and contact the teacher, giving teachers more work on their "off" time. Parents don't help their children stay organized. And lastly, helicopter parents believe that the more they check their child's grades and email the teachers, that their children should get A's in the class, regardless of natural intelligence.

So at the end of the day, it's really nice to not have to repeat myself to the parents, teaching them via email what I taught their children in class. Now I can spend more time grading and planning during my "off" hours.

Or more time knitting :D

I am currently in the process of teaching a unit on "Wishes and Nightmares" for my summer school students. While I was helping a student with her thesis statement, I got to thinking about phobias.

I reflected on the short stories "Poison" by Roald Dahl and "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier. Both stories deal with phobias of common "nouns" in the world. Dahl's story is about a fear of poisonous snakes, whereas du Maurier's story is about a fear of birds that have suddenly decided to attack the whole of England. Here in the desert, snakes and birds are quite common. If people want to survive without having a heart attack each day, they really need to overcome their phobias. I will give you a personal example.

Before moving to Tucson, I lived in Northern California. When I was a child, I was terrified of spiders. Who am I kidding? I still am! I remember seeing a spider slightly larger than the tip of a pin. I screamed for my dad who took care of the creature for me. Once I was safe from the frightful beast, he calmly informed me that when we moved to Tucson, there would be more spiders and they would be larger. I had big eyes as a child, and I imagine that they bugged out a lot when he told me. I remember thinking that I wouldn't last. Little did I know what I would encounter. As a child in the desert, I talked my dog into killing spiders for me. He was territorial and thought of it as a game, especially since he got a treat afterwards. Once when I was staying with friends in central Arizona, there was a Daddy Long Legs spider in the shower. It didn't move, so I shut my mouth and took a very fast shower--with a spider in it. When I was in high school, I house-sat frequently. Two summers in a row I had to vacuum up a wolf spider, which are the most disgusting spiders I have ever seen. I still had to call my dad, who patiently stayed on the phone with me for one hour while I cried, until I finished the job. If my childhood self knew about the types of spiders she would encounter and how she would deal with them, she would have laughed in my face or she would have asked to live with her Grandmother and forsake the family instead.

Fear. It is a primitive emotion to guard us against animals, plants, and other dangerous objects so we can live another day. However, my fear of spiders had nothing to do with surviving. I simply thought they were ugly. There are a few poisonous spiders in the desert, but they really are no match against a vacuum cleaner or poison that you can spray at them. Reflecting on this, I realized that I should not be afraid of spiders because they cannot harm me. Yes, my dad has told me this many times, but it takes a while to truly understand messages at times. I also realized that, though I still greatly dislike spiders, I have a coping mechanism and I can somewhat coexist with them--as long as they're not in my house.

Logic tells me that I should not be afraid of spiders and my experience confirms it. Through the years, I have been able to deal with larger spiders in scarier situations and live to tell the tale. Although I would not invite a spider to dinner, I no longer believe that I have a phobia. Perhaps this was one of the messages that Dahl and du Maurier was trying to reveal: we are not actually afraid of common objects, but we are averse or dislike being around disturbing ones. However, modern phobias really have nothing to do with primitive fear.