Everything Feeds Into One Thing

This is what Bing made for me when I described my blog post.

I am an IB teacher. I have been teaching in IB schools for about the last 15 years. The other day my wife, who is a Japanese teacher at an IB school, was talking to me about her unit design. 

When I was explaining the how I should structure her unit, I said the lines of inquiry and all the activities should help students build an understanding towards the Central Idea.

This should also happen when anything happens in a school. Everything a school - or organization does - should be able to point back to to that vision or central idea.

It is really a case of knowing and understanding your why. 

What is your why?

What are you looking for?

"When I say go, do a 360 degree turn and count the number of blue objects you see", I ask my class of 19 First Graders. When everyone has reoriented to the front, I ask, "Without looking, how many yellow objects did you see?"

"You said blue Mr. Hammerlund!" they all yelled.

"Yes, but now I'm asking you about the yellow ones."

How to Be Awesome at Your Job: A Podcast for People who Love Learning Improvement Tools for Happier Work, Career & Achieving

How to Be a Better Leader by Being More Positive

Brenda Bailey-Hughes

 via @PodcastAddict

This year I have a challenging class. Period. There is not a night that I don't go home exhausted.
For the past few months I've been focused on looking for the bad - the negative; the bad behavior. All the while, I know I've been missing the good - good behavior, good learning, increasing skills, those students who are really trying. Those students I don't spend enough time with because of the others.

In the above podcast, Brenda Bailey-Hughes talks about looking for the positive, not the negative. She talks about looking for the positive and gives the exercise above as a way to hone in on the positive.

It is a fun exercise to do with a class and takes less than five minutes. I am going to try this with my students for a while to see how it improves their empathy and observation skills.

Let Them Fail

If kids don’t learn early on how to handle them on their own, if they are regularly rescued by well-meaning teachers and parents, then they won’t develop the skills needed to tackle difficult things or bounce back from setbacks.  

                                                       By, Lory Hough from the article Mistakes Were Made

The above quote was taken from the article, Mistakes Were Made which appeared on Medium.com. I opened the article thinking I'd be reading something I agreed with - something reaffirming. A piece that would provide me with a support to my own philosophy.

(That thinking in itself is dangerous and moves to trap us in our own filter bubbles. A resolution of mine was to try, and, for the most part, I have begun to burst my own filter bubble. Unfortunately, that has given me more exposure to Donald Trump than I would prefer.)

No reason, other than I drew it myself with testing out Paper53

Anyway, halfway through the article I was thinking about my own class and how I deal with mistakes my students make.

Namely the mistake of plagiarism.

I teach early high school students MYP Design Technology and I have run into a few times this year where students copy work they find online. Sometimes it has been obvious, other times less so, and other times still, when there is only a suspicion of plagiarism.

Each time I encounter this situation I ask myself: How could the student not know this is wrong and I wouldn't find out.

After reading the above article, though, I am now wondering if I should ask myself: How many chances should students get? Should they be allowed to redo the assignment? Should they be docked any points at all, or should they have a chance at a redo?

How does my philosophy of the school as a laboratory where failure leads to learning fit in?

The Words Left Unsaid

I often think about what I did or said and relive moments in my life trying to think of ways I could have made them better. It's weird and it is probably not healthy, but this is the way I have been since I remember. If unchecked it can spiral into rumination.

summer fireworks in Japan

Recently I feel left wondering if I  could have said something in a different way after an encounter with someone. Questions like these race around my head:

• Could I have extended the conversation? 
• Could I have been nicer?
• Could I have been more engaging?
• Could I have left a question more inviting? 
• How could I have made my conversation partner feel better? 

Don't Wait

There was another post in my drafts entitled "don't wait". I decided to combine these posts since there seemed to be a theme running through both of them.

That theme - there is never a good time, so don't wait. Don't wait to say what you want to say. Don't put things off. If you are meaning to talk with someone, head down the hall and do it. The sooner the better.

Endurance

I recently saw a quote that said:

"     he who conquers, endures

I thought about this for a while, and while it may be true, endure has another meaning. So, this could be turned around to say:

"     he who endures ... conquers

 Endurance is essential to success and it is something that has been on my mind for a few weeks. When I arrived at KAS in August, after being in the city for a month through the heat of July, the superintendent warned me of feeling tired around Thanksgiving.

Well, here we are. Ready for the holiday break. And I'm not one to count down days either.

It's just caught up to me.

Why Teachers Should Blog

This post in nothing new, but rather is a collection of ideas gathered from many places and a way for me to work out an idea.

I started blogging way back in 2003 when I went to Japan as a way to keep in contact with my friends and family. It evolved into a photo blog, and when I became a teacher, it became what it is today - a blog for me to reflect on teaching and learning.

I am a believer and proponent of blogging. 

I believe teachers should blog for the following reasons (which are all related and some could probably be combined):

1. Blogs are a great platform for reflection. Write about your day, lessons, current issues, or ideas you have and invite others to join the conversation.
2. And speaking of ideas, blogs are a great way to keep track of ideas you have. Sam Sherrat had a great line in his Learning2 talk,"Ideas are like bubbles, if you don't catch them, they float away."
3. Blogging also has the potential to show you your own thinking. As Shelly Blake-Plock explains, in ‘Why Teachers Should Blog’, “… to blog is to teach yourself what you think.”
4. Not only does blogging show you what you are currently thinking, but it keeps a record of it so the changes in thinking can be seen over time. 
5. Blogging helps me organize and articulate thoughts in my head and helps me work through ideas.
6. It helps make connections to other topics.
7. Blogging is a great way to share ideas with others and make connections with other educators. 

Like I said, this is not groundbreaking, but I was doing #5.

You can also take a look at George Couros's ideas on the topic.

The Importance of Enthusiasm

“Put Enthusiasm Into Your Work” - Dale Carnegie

I had spent almost a week preparing a presentation about my role as a learning technology coach is and how I could help support teachers. The elementary principal agreed to let me come in to talk to the team during their weekly meeting and I spent more time than I would care to admit putting together a presentation.

The morning of the presentation I was listening to a podcast about giving presentations and the advice was don't use images from Google Image Search. I don't have many pictures from my new school, so I had filled my presentation with Creative Commons images, but since I feel the same, I took the message of the podcast to heart and stripped out all my images during the school day.

At the meeting, I looked around the room at the elementary teachers and I did not see any energy. I was not feeling good about my presentation anymore either. Then I made my mistake, and one that I will try to not make again, I matched the energy of the room and spoke without slides.

Big Mistake

I fell as flat as the room's energy, and my message was not even remotely received. I had been afraid of coming off as fake or annoying, but worse, I  didn't come off as anything at all.

I did not inject my message with enthusiasm.

Enthusiasm and confidence are linked. They both come from within. Since I did not speak with the enthusiasm I have for the topic, I did not have the confidence while speaking that I could have had.

My presentation

If I had used my original presentation, and spoken with enthusiasm, I think I could have garnered some interest from the teachers. If I don't speak with enthusiasm for a topic I am passionate about, why would anyone else be excited to receive my message?

From now on, I will do my best to put enthusiasm into everything I do because who else will be enthusiastic about what I do?

This post was inspired by Episode 12 of the Carnegie Coach Podcast - Put Enthusiasm into Your Work.

Smile Because It Happened

Today I there was a little good bye ceremony today at our last faculty meeting today, and as one of the leaving teachers, I cringed as we went around and people started giving speeches.

After 12 years abroad, I have seen many people come and go from my life, and the good-byes never get easier.

One colleague told me that she appreciated me "popping in" to classrooms and helping out when there. I didn't know how to respond to that.

I think it was hard to respond because that is just what I do. I like watching other teachers teach to get ideas for my own classroom. It is one of the reasons I enjoy talking with my colleagues. It helps me think and reflect on what I am doing.

I have been fortunate to work with inspiring educators.

Dealing With Challenging Students

I came across this article on Teach Thought entitled, "Growing Closer To Your Most Challenging Students" and it inspired me. Of course, that was last week.

When I encounter a challenging student, I try to win them over. I do this by trying to get to know them better and building a bond with him or her.

By creating this relationship, more times than not the student will settle down. I usually learn something about him or her. By understanding where the behavior issues are coming from, I have more empathy and am able to handle issues that arise with more compassion.

This is not to say that issues disappear when a relationship is built, but rather that issues are able to be met with more understanding.

Time for recess duty.

Community Support

I believe in parental support to help my students be successful. I have relied on parents often in the past and I have experienced great success when they were in the room.

When I had the support in the past, I had a few parents I relied on. They were great. They were self-reliant. 

They moved away.

Today marked a new chapter in what I hope will will be a long successful partnership. Today I had a few mothers come in and help out in the morning. 

With my class this year, I have several students who need a lot of assistance. It was great to have everyone covered. 

Thank you moms!

How Can I Make A Friend?

If only this student learns how to make a friend this academic year, it will be a success.

Just before we were starting our reading time today, a new Japanese-American student who started today came up to me and said, "Mr. Hammerlund, how can I make a friend?"

I told him that was a great question but we were doing reading now. "For now," I said, "could you read with this boy? His name is Jonny."

Jonny is also a Japanese-American boy who started this year.

I saw Jonny sitting by himself so I asked the new boy to go read with him.

A few minutes later the new boy again came to me and asked again how to make a friend. I told him that I wanted to talk to the whole class about how to make a friend and we would do that after recess.

A while later he came back up to me and said, "Mr. Hammerlund, I think I know how the make a friend."

I thought he might.

When the time came, I talked to the whole class about how to make a friend. For first and second graders, they have it. Now they just need to practice it.

Maybe everything they did need to know they learned in kindergarten.

One of Those Days

Today was one of those days. I switched around two lessons in my mind and almost missed our collaborative session with the kindergartners. Then when we were making our family trees, I forgot to cut the construction paper in half.

I was apologizing to my class telling them that I made a mistake. I was hamming it up a little expecting them to say it was OK, but instead I got:

Mistakes are welcome!
We learn from our mistakes!

They do listen.

Enjoy the Process

A dual-level classroom is an interesting environment to teach in.

Every year the students I had the year before amaze me when I compare them to the new students coming in. I just started teaching the grade 1-2 class last year, so I didn't see it, but I have been happily surprised at how much the second graders can do by themselves.

The high of seeing what the second graders can do is seeming to distort my perception of them.

I have to constantly remind myself to see them for what they can do, and not what they cannot do.

This summer I had a list of things I wanted to do with my class this year. And we will get to that list, but it will not come right away. It is hard not to fall into the trap of rushing them, pushing them too fast, trying to get too much done. It is a hard thing not to do.

So I wrote myself a reminder and hung above my door, "Enjoy the Process".

Volunteering at the Neighborhood Festival

The beginning of the festival in a gym - this would be backed before long

A lady at my tennis school lives in the neighborhood. A few weeks ago I heard that she was in charge of setting things up for the neighborhood festival, and since I am interested in volunteering more, I told my wife that I want to get involved somehow. Today was the day of the festival, so my wife called the lady and said I am interested in helping out and she said I should show up at 3:30.

I got there and went to my area's booth (the cotton candy and popcorn booth)  at 2:30 just in case there was anything I could help out with, but they said there wasn't anything and to come back at 3:30. When I came back (on time this time) I talked to a guy at our booth who looked like he was in charge. He showed me around and had me practice making cotton candy a few times. Making cotton candy is harder than it looks. I bombed both times I tried and the guy asked me if I would rather help get the cups of sugar ready to pour into the machine. That I could do.

There I was scooping sugar in front of a wall of people while Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" and the odd mix of pop and rap when I got the call to step up and relieve someone making cotton candy. This time went better and for the next few hours I alternated between pouring sugar and making cotton candy with a mix of Western music and Japanese cultural dances.

Everyone at the booth was very friendly and it was a good way to get to know some of the people living in my neighborhood.

Unfortunately the fireworks were cancelled due to rain.

Goals and Motivation

I started playing tennis a few years ago. It came about as a perfect storm of influences came together at the same time: my wife was playing, we wanted something to do together, and my futsal club fizzled. (I really wanted to continue playing futsal.)

So I started taking tennis lessons on Saturdays. I did this for a while and I saw mild improvement in my game.

I switched tennis schools last fall and happened to be put into a class where I was the only student. This allowed for not only personalized instruction, but I also got to play against the coach.

Side note: For some reason three of three tennis schools I have been to do not have beginners play games. A topic for another blog post is how playing games shows the students why the coaches have the students play a certain way. Without playing the game, the drills and instruction have no meaning. Once you play a game, you can see why the coaches have you do certain things.

Playing against him was a lot of fun and helped me see [the many] flaws in my game. Which in turn got me thinking how I wanted to get better, so naturally I decided that I needed to play for more than one hour a week.

Knowing that I liked actually playing tennis matches, but not know what else to do, one day I told my coach I was interested in joining some tournaments in the region and asked him if he knew of any I could join.

From that day, even though I know I am not very good and entering a tournament would be futile, I have become much better.

Why?

One reason is that I went from playing one hour a week to playing 6-8 hours a week. Anyone who  did that would get better.

I think though it is because I set a goal for myself. I told that goal to someone who is watching me and who can help me achieve that goal which in turn increased my motivation.

I am not a goal setter myself, but maybe when I do set a goal for myself I am doing it wrong.

I have been thinking about goals, motivation, and tennis this through the summer and I have been trying to wrap my head around increasing motivation for my students. First and second graders love to learn, but I want to know how I can get a student who shies away from reading to like reading - or writing. How can I get my students to care more?

20% time is something I have wanted to start in my own classroom. Last year I thought about it, but I don't know what it would look like so I didn't implement it. Yesterday I was mapping out my weekly schedule and looking at my units for the year, and I calculated 20% of the week and was getting ready for the new school year.

This morning as I was starting to write this I came across a post on Google Plus by +Vicki Davis about a MOOC about 20% time. It started last week, and I don't like joining late, but I joined.

Now I need to motivate myself through this heat and humidity.

Taking the Time to Blog

Since winter break I have struggled to post to my blog. The words did not flow from me and felt forced; as a result blogging and ultimately reflecting felt like a chore.

I think that I was simply out of practice. As I allowed other tasks to fill the time I had been using to reflect, I fell more and more out of my rhythm and each subsequent post became less and less frequent. The downward spiral had begun.

I was still really good at coming up with ideas to blog about and I saved them as a draft post. Right now I have 45 ready to be completed. I hope I can remember what I wanted to say.

When the new school year starts in August and I find out what my schedule is, the first thing I am going to do is to take one period a week and block it off. I am going to use that period for reflection and writing.

The Mirrors in My Classroom

I remember the day in the beginning of the year when I sat down with one of my first graders to review writing. She was talking about something I didn't completely understand. When I asked her about it she pointed to the part of her writing she was referring to.

But the pointing was not pointing; it was a rude kind of tapping that left me wondering where in the world she could have gotten that from.

A few days later I caught myself doing the same tapping.

Doh!

Fast forward to last week. The mother of one of my students commented on my new haircut and how it looked different since the front of my hair was kind of up. I told her my hair was up because I have a habit of brushing my hair back. Now that it is shorter, it stays up.

"So that's where he got that!" she said.
"Got what?" I asked.
She explained, "He always does that with his hair. I hate that."

Doh!

I have been amazed at the ability of these younglings to absorb the information from around them. When it's good, it's really good. When it's bad ...

What is Freedom?

"What is Freedom?"

I was asked the above question this morning. My first thought was, "You are in second grade.Your life is freedom!"

Then I asked, "Do you know what free means?"

"You mean doesn't cost anything?"

"No, the other free. Like you have choices."

"Oh! You mean like free time?"

Yeah, it's kind of like free time.

What My Blog Says

In response to the post @whatedsaid made, I decided to create a Wordle showing what my blog says.

I am glad to see the most common word is students since this is a reflective blog after all.

International Mindedness in the Holiday Season

Sendai, Japan in the winter

I began thinking about this post topic today while reading the section about perception in Engaging Minds. I was particularly moved when the authors talked about how a participant in the research study brought to attention Christian symbols in the school. (p. 53) They talked about how we can sometimes dismiss these claims as not getting into the spirit. But it is really?

The winter holidays here in Japan look a lot like they do in the U.S. There are decorations all around, people are out and about shopping, and there are lights put up all over the place. Every year our school does some caroling with traditional and non-traditional songs. They are even sung in different languages. It can make one feel as if everyone is on the same wave length about what it all means.

My class is currently in the middle of learning about Fairy Tales, and for part of this unit I want the kids to practice acting and performing. So, before the unit started I decided to use some cardboard tubes to make a forest.

I had some 3D shapes hanging in my room from the last inquiry about geometry, and wondering what to do with them, the trees, the holidays and the shapes came together - I decided to make one of the trees into the shape of an evergreen and hang the shapes from it.

I made it, taped it to the wall, and hung the decorations one evening after all the students had gone home so the next morning they came in and were excited. This brought up all sorts of connections they had to the holidays - about what they do in the holidays, the decorations they have in their houses, and their own trees.

This is when I looked at one boy right in front of me. This boy is a from a devout Muslim family. So devout in fact, that a few weeks prior had to cancel school lunch for a day because it contained pork. (That's when I learned why he usually brings a lunch from home.) He is also a textbook TCK (Third Culture Kid) with parents from different countries and the family living in a third.

Realizing he probably does not have a tree at home, I asked him what his family does around this time. Do they have any decorations?

He said they have a wreath.

That was perfect I thought. It was a way we could use the hands we had made in our unit on culture. The kids traced their hands on paper the color of the flags where they are from. We used the hands to make a wreath that we are hanging in the front of the room.

• This brought up a good observation from the same boy referred to above about how all the colors of the hands we made have the colors red, white, and blue even though the students took colors from many different flags. (It also gave me an idea to do a graph of the colors in the worlds flags since we are studying graphing in Math now.