Things I'm Loving Friday LVII

Happy FriYAY! It has been a crazy week of volleyball tryouts and two-a-days, and now we head out to Cypress to compete day one of the pre-season scrimmages. It's kind of a whirlwind trying to get freshman ready to compete in this fast-paced introduction to the world high school volleyball, but I'm excited to see what today brings. And while I'm doing that, enjoy some of the things I'm loving this week!

Run Fast, Eat Slow
When a four-time Olympian and American record holder (Shalene Flanagan) joins forces with a chef and nutrition coach (Elyse Kopecky) to create a beautiful cookbook full of healthy recipes for athletes, you know you have to check it out. This cookbook features step-by-step recipes that really squash the idea that eating healthy has to be boring and bland, or that you have to follow some strict, joyless diet. There are so many misconceptions out there when it comes to fueling your body, especially for females, and this cookbook is full of recipes that show you that it's okay to indulge while giving your body the right nutrients. The photos are fantastic, these two women looked like they had the time of their lives writing this book, and each recipe is Shalene-tested and approved.

Cult of Pedagogy Podcast
Okay, maybe only my teachers will be interested in this one, but honestly I think there are episodes that any parent or businessperson can also relate to. I've mentioned before on the blog that I'm not a huge podcast listener. Like it really has to engage me for me to continue listening. And this one absolutely does. I know people love podcasts because they can listen to them while they're driving, but with this podcast all I want to do is write down everything I hear, so it works best for me when I listen to it while walking my dog. Anyway, this podcast series has so many fantastic ideas - from classroom management to teaching strategies to personal wellness to the use of technology - and each episode I have listened to has left me feeling nothing but energized for the upcoming school year. Jennifer Gonzalez is upbeat, gives practical ideas and advice, and keeps me coming back for more. Definitely worth a listen, even if you're someone who claims to not be a "podcast person".

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I only just started listening a couple of days ago, but here are a couple episodes I loved:
   Episode 33: Five Powerful Ways to Save Time as a Teacher
   Episode 57: Nine Simple Solutions for Common Teaching Problems
   Episode 60: Six Ed Tech Tools to Try in 2017
   Episode 67: What to Do on Lame Duck School Days
   Episode 71: Why It's So Hard for Teachers to Take Care of Themselves

Gatorade Commercial: The Secret to Victory

I'm not sure how I missed this commercial when it first came out, but ever since I saw it on TV a couple of weeks ago, I have been all about it. It features star athletes such as Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, and Serena Williams, among others. The whole message is if you want to find success, you first have to experience failure. MJ not making his varsity team. Manning going 3-13 in his rookie season. Williams being on the wrong side of the biggest upset in her sport. But aren't these names some of the biggest in sports? Using failure to fuel growth has kind of been my mantra lately, and this commercial did nothing but get me pumped for volleyball season, the new school year, and marathon training.

Russ Rose: Commitment
Russ Rose is a legend in the college volleyball world. And rightfully so. He has coached his Penn State team to seven national championships and has earned the respect of so many across the country. And when Russ Rose was asked to pick one word for "The Word on Coaching" series, his word of choice was COMMITMENT. He talks about being all-in, about being focused on the end goal and distancing yourself from distractions. Of course, he's talking about the work his athletes put in on the volleyball court, but it applies to so many areas of life. If you want to be the best you can be, you've got to commit. I think the best compliment I have received as of late is someone telling me he has always been impressed by my commitment to my training. Maybe I'm not the best runner out there, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to reach my goal. Whether that's with running, teaching, coaching, being a dog mom, whatever. If you want to be the best, get out there and work hard. It's not supposed to be easy.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: The Illustrated Edition
It is no secret that I am a Harry Potter junkie. Like I have to tell myself that there are so many books out there that I want to read and while I will most definitely get something new out of re-reading the Harry Potter series for the umpteenth time, it's probably not the best use of my time. BUT then I was introduced to the illustrated editions of each Harry Potter book and you guys, they are absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I am trying to be good and only purchase one of them at a time (as of today, only Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets have been released), but these are going to make a most excellent addition to my coffee table. And I might even bring them up to school for some of my more reluctant readers. Obviously these books are wonderful for any age (because 25 is not too old to read a picture book), but these would be perfect if you are looking to open up the magical world of reading to a young one. Bravo, Jim Kay, for so beautifully bringing the wizarding world to life.

Have a fabulous Friday!

Year Three

Well, when I lock up room 327 at the end of the day, my third year of teaching will officially be in the books. Which is exciting, but also, how did that happen? How am I at this point? In many ways, I feel like a mom who has to make what feels like 10,000 game time decisions every single day. I've given out more band-aids than is probably reasonable for an English class. Is fighting the cell phone battle worth it today? Should I give this kid a hard time for not bringing a pencil? And not telling me about it until we are 25 minutes into class? And then other days I'm the one updating my friends as to what all the cool kids are saying these days. One of my favorite memories of the year is when a student told me I was being extra. That's when I knew I was doing my job. Though I will never let go of on fleek, I think it's safe to say that this year was lit.

Anyway, I'm still finding it hard to believe that it's really the end of May, and that yesterday I waved my third group of freshman out the door. The end of the year is always a little bittersweet because, while I absolutely welcome the break, I'm also going to miss the ~120 students I watched grow and (somewhat) mature for the last 180 days. I became invested in their lives, and they in mine. For instance, they knew my Monday afternoon routine of running five miles through the surrounding neighborhood because I had club volleyball practice on Mondays and didn't see the point in going home just to get caught in traffic driving to Memorial. And I knew all about spring football and Russian class and the movies I told them I would go see but undoubtedly never would, so I wasn't too mad when they spoiled the ending. 

And now they're sophomores and I hope they know how much they mean to me. That I find so much joy in seeing how far they have come from the awkward, shy, nervous students they were on the first day of school, to the still slightly awkward, but more confident and relaxed students they are now. Sometimes maybe too confident and relaxed - to the point of making me want to pull all of my hairs out, but not a day went by that they didn’t put a smile on my face. And I’m proud of who they are as people as well as who they are as students. I’m proud of the way they engaged with the texts we explored this year – some of them for the first time in their lives. I’m honored that they chose to share their stories with me, because their stories are powerful and they absolutely matter, and I’m thankful for the way they let me learn along with them. So many times this year I found myself saying, “I don’t know, but let’s figure it out together.” It was empowering for all of us. They saw me being vulnerable and realized that they’re not expected to know everything right off the bat. They realized that it’s okay to try and fail, as long as they’re learning from these mistakes and trying again. They saw that getting outside of their comfort zones is a good thing - in fact, it's where the magic happens. And they loved being able to show and explain to the teacher how to do something. Which, I won’t lie, wasn’t always easy for me. But once I let go of the idea that all of the control had to rest solely in my hands, I realized how much more authentic the learning was.

And I think when I look back on my third year of teaching, that’s what I’m most proud of. I’m proud of the authentic learning that took place in my classroom. Of course, I still focused on the objectives that would be covered on the STAAR test, because in the grand scheme of things, many of those skills really are important. But I also tried to do things that would help them build skills they will likely use in the future. Research and analysis and learning how to go back and dive deep into a text. We learned how to compose emails – what not to do: have an email address that looks anything like rockinbrunette32@yahoo.com – we connected the texts we were reading to events that were happening in the world around us, and we even dabbled in the very new-to-me world of coding. It is truly a different language, but it absolutely amazed me as to how quickly so many of my students picked up the skill. And yes, it is kind of cool to say that my students were coding in my class, but what was even cooler to me was that when I took a step back, I watched my students go back into a particular scene in the text, and I listened to each group analyze the characters in Romeo and Juliet so that their virtual reality recreations really matched up to what was happening in the play.

I didn’t always know how something was going to turn out, and yes, some of my attempts were total flops. But on most occasions, my students blew my expectations totally out of the water. They owned their learning and they took pride in their work. It is my greatest hope that they saw value in what they were doing, and that maybe it was hard at first, but it was so much more meaningful than halfheartedly completing a go-through-the-motions worksheet.

It’s crazy to think about where I was in my first year, and how far I’ve come as I wrap up my third. While I’ve still got so much to learn, I owe so much of my transformation to the incredible people I’ve got around me. From my English 1 PLC to the English department to technology gurus to administrators to teachers and clerks all over the building, so many of them have helped me in one way or another and I’m grateful for every single one of them.

I’ve said this before and I’ll likely say it again, but I’ve got a job where I don’t dread Mondays. I know it's in my job description to teach them, but each year they teach me so much more than I could ever dream. And that has made all the difference.

I feel like I grew as a teacher, and I witnessed each one of my students grow as learners. And of course, my learning (and hopefully theirs) doesn’t end with the school year. My mind is already churning with all that I can do to make the next school year even better for my students. And while I’ll probably tackle quite a few of them this summer, there’s a reason teachers have this break. There’s definitely time for a little bit of rest and relaxation. I’m excited to start in on the stack of books that has been collecting dust these past few months, to work on my weird tan lines, to eat lunch with people my own age every now and then, and to keep on running full speed ahead. And I mean that on a couple of different levels. Have a fantastic long weekend!

Genius Hour

Happy  Thursday! This has felt like the longest week ever, thanks to the administration of our annual Mock STAAR test, followed immediately by our annual data day. Add in a couple of apartment issues, and I'm more than ready for the weekend. But with all of that being said, I had a ton of fun writing this post, and I'm excited to be able to share it with you guys.

I'll just jump right in. At the very beginning of the school year, when every teacher at Bellaire High School was gathered in our Multi Purpose Room, our principal stood up and started talking about something called Genius Hour. He talked to us about how, in his 24th (!!!) year in education, he wanted to spice things up a bit. He wanted to focus on becoming a learner again. And he talked about how he dove back into the world of Twitter - discovering and sharing and joining Twitter chats and and developing his professional learning network, and it energized him. He began thinking about how he could use this Genius Hour idea on our campus. He tried it with his admin team towards the end of the first semester, and he was blown away by what was presented back to him.

So in August, our fearless leader then invited every member of his staff to participate in this Genius Hour. He asked all of us to choose something that we want to learn about. It can be related to school, or not. There are just four rules --

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1. Find something you are passionate about
2. Get really good at it
3. Figure out a way to measure it

4. Share it with us (and then the world)

My first thought upon having this presented to me was, "Yes! I am finally going to learn how to play the piano!" My second was, "Well, I'm coaching tennis next semester, so perhaps I should learn the rules of the game." (This coaching gig didn't end up happening, and I think it was probably for the best of the players on the tennis team.) My third thought? "Realistically, I don't have the schedule, at least in the fall, to keep up with regular piano lessons. And I can't get really good at something if it's not happening on a consistent basis." So finally, I settled on Spanish as my genius hour. I redownloaded DuoLingo on my phone and set out to commit ten minutes a day to a language I've been dabbling in since about the second grade. And about two months into this, I realized something about myself. I am very much a classroom kinda gal. This self-paced thing was so not for me. Sure, I was learning some random vocabulary words I didn't know before, but I wasn't getting really good at it, and I wasn't quite sure how I was going to measure and share it. I wasn't invested in the learning. I felt as though I had already done this over the summer with my trip to Argentina. So, I quit the Spanish thing. And deleted everything I had typed up on my IPDP.

Not sure what I wanted to learn, I revisited criterion number one of this genius hour thing. Find something you are passionate about. And while there are quite a few things I would put under the passionate umbrella, running definitely fit the bill. And I had already embarked on this very focused training plan journey, thanks to a coach at school as I have mentioned in past blog posts, so this seemed like the perfect solution. I typed it up, sent it in, and ran on.

Fast forward a few months - I stuck to that training plan. I'm very Type A, so routine, to-do lists, and schedules are how I operate. And having this set running routine was (and is!) really good for me and my Type A personality. And I had some good runs, I had some great runs, and I had some not-so-great runs. And I did not run a half marathon with this time I had been training for. I wrote about how bummed I was about that here, so I won't throw myself another pity party in this blog post. But I will talk about what I've learned.

I haven't hit my big goal quite yet, but I'm learning to trust the process. I'm learning about humility, and I'm learning a lot about myself and my mental toughness. Just the other evening I was fast asleep on my couch after a long day of analyzing STAAR data and grading expository essays essays when I heard my phone ding. I glanced at it and saw that I had a message from one of my good friends, whom I hadn't seen in awhile, asking if I wanted to walk at Memorial Park. Knowing that speed work was what was supposed to happen that night, I said yes to the walk. I told myself that my legs were still tired from last week's runs, and besides, I was so tired, and I wasn't really feeling 100%. Flu season and teenagers is a winning combination. But I digress. After our walk, I made my way back to my car while admiring all of the dedicated Memorial Park runners. I thought, "I'm here, so maybe I should just do this. Maybe I won't do my speed workout, but I'll get in a solid six-mile run and that will be good enough." Which, by the way, reporting back that I opted for an easy run over speed work because "I just wasn't feeling it" would have gone over really well (sarcasm). After a pretty easy warm-up mile, I decided to give that first 800 a go. And when that went well, I went for the second. And then the third. And before I knew it, I had finished the workout. And I felt pretty great about it. It wasn't a matter of my legs being tired. And if I felt well enough to walk around the park with a friend, "not feeling well" wasn't a valid excuse, either. It was a matter of owning up to the fact that I just didn't want to do that speed workout, but that I found it within myself to get it done. Mental toughness.

I'm learning about grit - sidenote: everyone should read this book!!! - I'm learning about perseverance, and I'm learning how to be relentless. And I am seeing growth, despite the fact that I can't yet check off a sub-1:45 half marathon. I don't think I had ever run a sub-7:00 mile, let alone two in a row. I'm learning that I'm capable of a lot more than I think I am. I've learned the importance of accountability, and how helpful it is to be able to talk through the struggles with others who are experiencing something similar. I've learned the value of someone investing his time in me. I've learned how to handle failure - better than I have before, at least - and I've seen time and time again the value of hard work and a never quit attitude.

Mr. McDonough, I think I see what you're getting at here, and I thank you for this experience. I have learned, and I have no doubt that many others have learned, that all of these values and lessons are 100% applicable to the work we do in the classroom. I'm not that far removed from being a student, but it's amazing the things I've forgotten. Learning is certainly not a walk in the park. There are hills and valleys (quite literally, though maybe not found in Houston), and this journey is taking a little bit longer than I thought it would. And I think I would be hardpressed to find a student who doesn't face these exact same challenges that I'm facing. I don't think there's one student out there who doesn't need someone to invest in him or her. Running isn't easy for me, and reading isn't easy for so many of my students. I don't know that there will ever be a day that Thursday tempo runs don't push me to my limit. And some of my students will forever find writing to be a challenge. But that doesn't mean that we can't learn. And that we can't embrace and enjoy that challenge.

For me to be able to go on this learning journey along with them is such a real and raw experience. And I hope I never stop learning, but I also hope I never stop realizing that I'm learning. Whether this Genius Hour was presented to me or not, I would have kept running. But I'm getting a lot more out of it than I ever could have dreamed.