Monday, October 5th is World Teacher Day. UNESCO chooses a theme each year, and for 2020 it is "Teachers: leading in crisis, reimagining the future." Wow. Let that settle in your mind. To pull it into full perspective, remember that teachers are leading our most valuable commodity, children, and reimagining a future they themselves may never participate in. Teaching is an enormous job, period. For the time being, let's set aside the pedagogical training and knowledge of how to teach children. Let's further ignore the administrative tasks of reporting class and student learning achievement and all the record keeping that accompanies that task. Let's also look beyond continued educational requirements to stay relevant to a teaching position. Today I want to focus on the learning environment. Teachers are responsible to establish and maintain an environment conducive to learning. Classrooms are an active social experience. During the school year, it is possible for a child to spend as much time with their classmates as they do with their families. This human condition also means that the teacher arrives with their own personal history and priorities and await the arrival of a classroom full of young minds toting their own interests, attitudes, and baggage. Together, they must not only engage in learning but deal with the truck loads of issues that have been pulled into the classroom simply because it is a place of humanity. Some of the issues are as easy as giving a hungry learner a snack or a rest and continuing learning as usual. Sometimes the barrier to learning happens inside the classroom when personalities clash, and students must learn social coping skills. Many times, the issues are considerable hurdles, and children and teachers can arrive with social media influence, family crises, unhealthy coping strategies, and abuse. On top of that, the world wiggles in with disasters, violence, storms, politics, and this year, a pandemic. Teachers must then navigate a maze that includes addressing issues with compassion, sheltering students from the worst of what is in the world, and empowering students to solve problems. Have you noticed that book learning has yet to be addressed in this post? Go ahead and reread it, I am going to Google teaching in the meantime.... Disheartening search for sure. Many people fail to grasp the very nature of teaching, and yet that understanding is the basis for educational policy and decisions. This leaves teachers feeling as if they are being asked to nail jello to a tree while riding a unicycle in front of a live studio audience. Also teachers, don't forget you'll be judged on this performance, and can you just juggle these flaming shit bags while you're at it?
All joking aside, the mental toll is taxing, and the time commitment is mind boggling. The system takes advantage of the magnanimous nature of teachers by adding more and more responsibilities without compensation in time or money. While the pandemic has helped people to see a small piece of the teacher work, many comments I have read have championed the notion that if this online learning plan is "all teachers do for teaching, then I can homeschool my kids since I am anyway". When our school first locked down, I had a mother sending me daily photographs of her child learning outside and doing crafts so that I could see how easy it was to incorporate those activities. This same mom was posting hallelujahs and celebrating the school reopening because she was exhausted. Mind you, she had long since given up on daily outside excursions and crafts. IT. IS. A. BIG. JOB. I have a friend that is fond of asking me, "What are you doing about it?" whenever I bring forth an issue. And in fairness, that is a valid question. As a teacher, I can see inside and have an obligation to do my part to solve the issue as well. I would hope by now it is obvious, I try to help people understand the true nature of teaching, and I vote education friendly candidates as well as communicate with my representatives. However, I added a layer to my responsibilities this year. When I stepped into an administrative role, I accepted ownership in school climate that I didn't have as a teacher. Additionally, when I accepted my new role as PYP Coordinator, I set a few goals for myself, and teacher well being is one of those goals. While I understand I cannot bear the full responsibility of teacher wellness, there are steps I can take to help establish an environment where connection and health are seen as priorities encouraging teachers to be purposeful in guarding those things. I don't know about you, but I think if anyone is going to be leading children and reimagining the future, I want them to be their best selves, not a watered-down, stretched thin, unrecognizable version of it. Before I left for Autumn break, I started planning and thinking how I would help our school's students show appreciation to our teachers. I have some great things in the work, but I can also tell you I didn't wait for this holiday to begin showing the teachers in our building where my priorities leaned. Since the beginning of the year, I have made no secret that I want them to develop deep connections at work and to watch out for each other. Last year, a teacher struggled within herself for far too long. While I know I helped, I cannot help but feel I did too little, too late. Faced with a similar situation, I know I would handle it differently. As uncomfortable as it is for me personally, I have organized two social gatherings, even hosting one at my apartment. I have tried to reach out to each teacher in a personal way at least once a week. Sometimes I simply bring food because Maslow...that's why. So, love teachers on purpose. Learn what they do and value their input. Appreciate their contributions to not only the present but the future. Find a way to acknowledge their impact. Watch TED talks, read educational articles, and buy them Ticonderoga pencils, dammit! If you are a teacher, you must love yourself on purpose. Read these words over and over until you believe them and then read them again. You are an amazing delight for this world, and there is sunshine in your smile. You are an embodiment of love and hope, and for some, the only love and hope they ever see. Your impact ripples out in rings you never imagined. You are appreciated and loved. You are the Crayola, Elmers, and Ticonderoga of all the people in the world.
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When I first moved into my apartment, I had a small get together with the teachers. It was the perfect way to christen the apartment, and I loved the energy it brought to my place. I swore I would do it again, but secretly I knew that opening my home to them after I had moved in would be a very different story. For as outgoing as I seem, I am an extremely private person. There are times my blog takes me places that I probably wouldn't share if we were sitting and speaking face to face. It isn't that I don't value the connection, it is past experiences still shade my current ones. Nevertheless, I hosted a get together after work last Friday and had a blast...even if I got bullied into serving food. 😉 It was a great way to connect with staff members and unwind away from work. This year that is so important especially since the reality is that some of us will be spending all of our holidays in Norway. Travel and quarantine restrictions have impacted our lives to varying degrees. Honestly, I don't think I missed my boys as much as when I was told that visits wouldn't be possible. While I was able to help Brad with his vet school essays, it was all online. When Bird needs support, online has to suffice. Even seeing Brendon's handwriting on a box made me cry. Amazing what being told "no" can do to the mind. While I have been missing my kids like crazy, I try not to dwell on it. There really isn't much to do about it at the moment. Norway does not allow children from outside the EU that are over 21 to visit their parents. We are still connected through social media and phone calls. Plus, I have the luxury of being able to go visit over the summer because if I leave straight away, I can quarantine on both sides. If I can wait for summer that is. Life continues on, and I am still making my apartment a home. My kitchen is almost completely equipped for cooking. I have tried a few dishes from home with supplies I can find here, and I am okay with the results. It could simply be that I have forgotten what tuna noodle casserole tastes like, but at least I can have a passable fix. I have almost enough lights in place for the darkness that comes with late autumn and winter. I think I will finish that shopping very soon. Plus I really need some rugs or I will be bitching even more about being too cold. I still find little things to wonder and fawn over. For instance, as much as I want to see a moose here, a hedgehog was a close second. I had been told they are almost considered pests here. As they say, one man's trash....BUT! This week I got to see one! They are so stinking cute, and I could not resist a quick touch. I did resist the strong temptation to pick it up as I am sure he was as terrified as I was awestruck. Plus, I am quite sure I would have wanted to make him my very own. Autumn is peeking and hinting at a full presence. I've been able to see my breath in the morning for weeks now. I love the reds and yellows that appear overnight. I am not so in love with needing gloves, but I understand I am just a weenie about chilly weather. I might even purchase that heated jacket I saw advertised on FB. 🤣 Work continues to be a challenge in all the right ways. I really think we have a great staff this year, and I have enjoyed getting to know all of them and seeing them in action. I so appreciate my position in that I get to see teaching at all levels. It is something more teachers should get to experience. There is definite benefit in seeing outside yourself.
My students are fantastic and just in love with learning. I marvel at how fast they are picking up English. They are voracious learners, and I think the year is going to be even better than last year. While I realize teaching first grade isn't for everyone, I think everyone could benefit from the love a six year old throws around like confetti. I had a student that simply could not stop dancing once he found out his birthday was the day after mine. Another student joined him when he found out that his birthday was the same month. That giddiness over the smallest things....man that is priceless. After I taught the students to say I love you in sign language, they started secretly showing the sign to me when they think no other students are looking. They make videos for me to tell me how much they love learning and school. They touch a special place in my heart, and I am so happy I made the choice to move back to teaching the small ones. My heart needed every drop of the enthusiasm and energy they pour out daily. Autumn Break is a week away, and I plan to reestablish some self care that I have been letting slide. I think I will also catch up on some sleep. The one thing I am not going to do is take work with me! That means this week, I will be pushing extra hard to finish all my tasks. But not so hard I can't take time to visit the salon because while I can embrace a lot about my life, grey is not one of them. So off I go to embrace the little things, hug the children, and love on purpose because that really is what makes my world go round. Last weekend I turned a five minute trip to the hardware store into a fifteen minute rescue mission after I wandered off. This is common for me as I am easily distracted by so many things I see in the stores I visit. Thank goodness Tony is patient and doesn't mind hunting through the store to find the lost toddler he brought with him. Although I have noticed he holds my hand a lot more inside now. Hmm... In my defense, there are some really interesting products and practices in Norwegian stores. Stores are also a great place to practice reading and finding items in an authentic setting. I was so proud the day I found the strawberry jam from reading the aisle placards. Then again, that can go horribly wrong as I learned this weekend. Fresh off of a lesson about animals, I saw løvbiff in the store. Now, I didn't actually believe I was staring at a package of lion, but I was curious enough to ask what it was because honestly, what if it WAS? I didn't tell my inspiration to ask, so, of course, Tony explained while holding my hand and pulling me toward the register. It was meant to be a quick trip after all. It's beef in case you're curious. I'm not sure what the fascination or why I get drawn to looking at products, because in general I dislike shopping. However, when I am just along for the company, I become like an annoying kid you're afraid to leave alone with the shopping basket for fear it will be full of all kinds of shit you do not need when you return. But seriously, how cool is the three size egg carton?? Another really interesting store trip was the serve yourself hardware store. You drive your car into the barricaded section of the store and load up what you need. Then you go tell the cashier what you have unless one of the elusive employees happens to see you. Then you can simply tell them and they will tell the cashier so the list is ready to bring up when you get there to pay. I say elusive employees because I didn't see one wandering in the wild until our third trip. There is a different kind of personal responsibility and thinking here.
It really is amazing the amount of brands and items that are shared, but then equally interesting are the products that are generally the same but with small tweaks that make them useful in a different way. Sometimes for the better, sometimes in a way that is hard to get used to and generally unhelpful. Another place you will see these differences are in concepts that on their face seem universal. Take for instance cake batter and cake pans. I am currently on my third attempt at a marble cake trying to get it right using the Norwegian recipe and a cake pan the looks suspiciously like a bread pan. We will see if the third time is the charm. I was initially skeptical about using the "bread pan" cake form, but after mixing the THICC batter, I realized I was wrong. By the way, I will always believe there is a pep in the step of a certain Norwegian that has been told, "you were right and I was wrong" so those words will be used strictly when necessary. 😅 I don't think anyone minds the three attempts to get it right because the cakes shrink in the night. My coffee cup/bowl has been noted as another cultural difference, and I still cannot go to the store without Tony holding up a bowl and asking if it would be a more suitable coffee cup. FFS, the man just as well drink from a child's tea set. The discussions have bordered on tense because you simply do not mess with a Norwegian's coffee habits. It must be served piping hot in an appropriately sized (tiny) cup. I'm convinced it's so they can humble brag about how many cups a day they drink, but that's another story. All joking aside, it has been fascinating to see my own culture and habits from an outside perspective. I find it helps me question my habits and responses, and I think in the long run it makes me more empathic to my students and people in general. It helps tremendously that the conversations are exploratory rather than accusatory in nature. I can see how it would be so easy to turn that way as I have answered endless questions about "What is going on in the states these days?" I also can't help but feel I have stumbled onto a path I have needed to take for some time. |
Nellie HillJust a woman leaping outside her comfort zone and telling the tale. Archives
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