To me...this is teaching

It began with a tornado drill just before 10:00...cause we didn't have enough practice last year when we had to herd the toddlers into the basement (and keep them entertained) 3 different times.

During my break the Warning System went off again...no sirens, just the possibility of tornado sirens this afternoon. Great.

We still went outside. It was warm and windy and brilliant to watch the trees dancing. We ran and pedaled and dug for 45 minutes before the first crack of thunder. Made it back inside moments before the rain pelted down. Decided to keep the door open anyway. Best idea ever.

Toddlers squished together just to be able to find space in the doorway. But no one argued. No one screamed for more room. No one cried because their foot was getting stepped on. We were all mesmerized.

Laughing as the wind tickled our hair. Taking deep breaths and remembering that we are safe at school whenever the noises rumbled above. Listening as the rain splashed on the sidewalk. And then we noticed something.

Little white balls. Dancing on the sidewalk. What are those? Where did they come from? A few even danced their way into our open door. At first we weren't sure about those. But soon we were brave enough to touch the tiny specks in our teacher's hand. Cold! Ice! And then the tiny specks disappeared. Where did it go? What was that? It's called Hail.

More Hail! More Hail! Were the chants. Arms reached as far as they could under the gate trying to catch the dancing hail on the sidewalk. Friends who could reach scooped many up, pulled them inside the room and gave small Hails to their friends. Watched as the small Hails once again disappeared before us. Wondering again, where did it go? Can I make it stay?

We stayed squished in this doorway, working together for 10 minutes. Figuring out how to coexist in this small space where we all wanted to be. Figuring out who can reach the Hail and the responsibility that comes with being the toddler with the longest arms. Wondering out loud, where does the Hail come from? Where does it go when is disappears?

They say toddlers aren't developmentally ready to share. They say toddlers have a 2-3 minute attention span. They say toddlers don't engage in collaborative play where they work together towards a common goal. And while I agree that 4 of out 5 days we don't...this doesn't mean that we can't try.

Because sometimes we are able to be bigger than ourselves. We are able to reach heads taller than ourselves and grasp the big concepts. We are able to work together like 4 year olds. We are able to question and form hypotheses like 2nd graders. We are able to test our theories like high schoolers do in a science lab.

Taking advantage of ordinary moments. Exploring with wonder and amazement. Finding something new. Adding big vocabulary describing what we are doing. Reminding that we are brave. Cheering as we investigate our ideas. Celebrating our discoveries.

Fumbling for a way to begin...

I do not teach in the K-12 system. Im an early childhood educator (before K) I do not have a union. I do not have state sponsored benefits. Senate Bill 5 does not directly affect me. It is a bit like comparing apples to oranges, the beauty being that its still comparing fruit to fruit. And it still makes me angry.

John Kasich's children don't even attend public schools (you gotta scroll way down to personal life) what does he know about whats its like to be a public school teacher

Lets talk about tuition:

An elementary classroom with 20 kiddos (although many many classes have more)

5500*20=121 000

121 000- average teachers salary of 57 000= 64 000

Lets take out another 50 000 for building expenses/curriculum costs/

a plethory of #2 pencils for test taking and we're left with 14 000

Do you know what I could do with 14 000 to spend each year in my

classroom on my kiddos.

My budget is 600 (for 12 kids) extrapolated to 1200 for 24 kiddos.

BIG DIFFERENCE

Let's talk about testing:

And they want to judge a teacher's performance on how their kiddos perform on tests...the tests don't even paint a clear picture. One group "passes" at 31% while another "passes" at 63% really? really?

Judge me based on my kiddos and how far they've come THIS year. You can't compare one group of kids to another- it does not work. Give them a test at the beginning, then at the end. I'll show you improvement.

And while we're at it, lets talk about these kiddos who are in my room. 22 Kids. 5 with IEPs that means 5 with different needs/plans/strategies that I modify my plans to accommodate their individuality. Oh and lets throw in a couple of ESL kiddos.

I remember in high school dreading, hating, avoiding at all costs 3rd period. 3rd period was my French Class. I do not do foreign languages. I could not understand what my teacher was trying to say. I struggled to translate simple phrases like "I walked to school" Can't even imagine trying to translate "Pick up your #2 pencils and fill in the appropriate bubble" (once I again translate the question) and they are evaluated on the same test as the kiddos who live in suburbia who have personal tutors and have been practicing their bubbling in the answers technique since pre-k (maybe coloring sheets do teach important skills after all)

Oh and the 2 schools they referenced as low performing? Wow, they are in great neighborhoods

Oh and Beatty? yeah that school is for "emotionally disturbed elementary students" they concentrate on making it through each school day, not making it through a test

Let's talk about what a day looks like for me:

I walk in to find last nights snack all over the floor of my classroom (cause apparently the cleaning company didn't feel up for it last night)

In the midst of cleaning up stale cheerios and dirt, a grumpy toddler enters my room. Dad says he didn't sleep well last night and good luck this morning. Great

2 minutes later I notice he is standing in a puddle. His diaper leaked (guess Dad didn't feel like changing him this morning)

While changing and cleaning this newest mess up, kiddo launches into a tantrum b/c he does not want to take off his spiderman shirt. Finally convince him that batman is just as cool. He calms down and promptly slips and falls in the still wet puddle (cause I chose to clean him up first, then worry about the floor) Major tantrum ensues as I am now forced to remove the wet batman shirt.

**I have been at work for 10 minutes**

Later that morning a kiddos pushes another face first into the sandbox. I count my lucky stars that sand is soft and he still has all his teeth. I secretly chuckle a bit at the sand boogers dripping out of his nose.

Later I intercede in what I in vision as a viscious vampire like attack only to be assured by the lil aggressor "gentle hugs" (as opposed to a little nibble)

Later as I take lil johnny's temp for the 5th time in 3 hours I realize that his stable temp of 98.6 is spiking to 99.8. Lil johnny has a history of seizures when his temp spikes too quickly. My team rushes into action: a shot of tylenol and phone call to parents and he is out of my hands. The report comes back that he slept off the fever and never seized- wahoo

5 min after said temp taking I once again don protective gloves as a kiddo slips and bumps his eyebrow on a table edge. A rounded table edge. Get the bleeding under control, call dad. Who asks me if I think he needs stitches. Wait? Did I get a medical degree? No! Go ask a doctor!

Later as I change a kiddos diaper through the well honed technique of changing squirming toddler while they remain standing...I deny a request to sit on the potty. Kiddos stares me in the eye and pees on the floor. When I ask if she did this on purpose she continues repeating "on purpose, on purpose, on purpose"

and that was all before lunch.

So John Kasich and your 144 000 salary... how bout we trade for a day. Or even just a morning

What I learned last week

Always, always bring extra coffee to work when getting new children and/or changing the classroom schedule. And if they both happen the same day (and you get 2 children) make sure the coffee is extra tall and extra hot.

I quickly realized my error when I walked into the day empty handed. I rectified it at lunch. Coffee goes a long way to making my day run smoother.

Even on the crappiest of crappy days, humor can be found- usually in the midst of another crappy situation. Why is their poop in your underwear? "I dunno. I just coughed and it snuck out."

Provided a great distraction from the chaos of the classroom

Having to play man on man instead of zone defense in a classroom is exhausting. The constant stress over where is so and so. The constant creating new ways to convince him to want to stay by my side. The constant stern looks- now what makes you think that is an appropriate way to handle the situation?

The day I've planned to NOT drink wine with dinner is the day I'll need it the most. And cave in. And drink nearly the whole bottle.

Getting up for work the next day will once again require large amounts of coffee. Viscous Cycle.

A fresh coat of paint makes a world of difference. Also makes me rethink everything that was hung on the walls. Makes my store room a disaster from storing said things that no longer hang on the walls.

Here's to needing fewer cups of coffee to get through the days this week