Last week, we focused on "growth and gratitude" for our quote of the week. I found this great quote by motivational speaker and best-selling author, Steve Maraboli. When the time came for my students to write about this quote, some of them really struggled with what it meant to "find the message in the mess." As I wrestled to find the words to explain the question and give them context, I shared a time in my life when things got a little messy.
It was spring of 2019. Track season was in full swing-I was coaching and officiating track meets. My girls were heavily involved with their own activities--club volleyball, ballet, etc. We also had on-campus physicals coming up for our athletes and feeder elementary schools, which was a big deal, considering all of the organization and coordination it takes to make this day run smoothly.. AND to top it off, my husband was working out of town a lot during this time, so I was juggling all the things. Life was BUSY!!
The day before physicals, my Great Dane Violet began showing some weird symptoms. I called the vet to get her an appointment first thing in the morning and had made arrangements with my principal to be a little late to school. I had awakened in the middle of the night to check on her, and Violet wasn't moving. In fact she was struggling to breathe. I was beside myself with grief. It was about 3:45am, and all I could think to do was to call my husband David, who was 2 hours away to tell him that Violet was dying. He immediately hung up the phone and drove in the wee hours of the morning to help me.
Tears streamed down my face as I sat with sweet Violet, waiting for my husband to come, petting her head as she took her last breath (less than 24 hours after showing her first symptoms). I was in total shock. I could not imagine what would have caused such a swift and painful death in this otherwise healthy dog! When David finally arrived, I was a complete blubbering mess, as you can imagine. He hugged me, then, followed in by our sweet neighbor, proceeded to take care of getting her 125-pound body out of the house and to the vet's office so she could be "taken care of."
It was about 6am by this time, so I had to finally wake my girls and tell them about Violet. After all of us had a good cry, we still had to get ready for school. We still had physicals happening, and we still had to get through a very tough day.
As I told my students about this tragedy, I realized that my "message in the mess" is that I have a husband--a person in my life-- who is willing to do anything for me--even drive 2 hours in the early hours of the morning-- to help me when I need him. I am so very grateful for his dedication to our family, and the love he shows me every day. He truly is my treasure!
"It helps me by like knowing no matter how bad things get there will always be positive things to realize and that you have." Mya M. 6th Grader
"No matter how hard it is right now, think about how the result would make you feel. Try your best to overcome all the hard/bad stuff. :) Being grateful helps you be happy and thankful." Valeria M, 6th Grader
"Well first of all, messages don't always have to be, "See the beauty in the pain," or Live life to the fullest." It can be figuring out more about yourself as a person. When I admitted to myself that I am grateful for the people and situations that put me through what I didn't deserve, I found a version of myself I didn't know existed. I found stability in the storm. I found myself. All because I was grateful." Becca B., 7th Grader
"It means that when you are grateful that whenever life throws something at you you can always find a way to surpass it." Amyrian R. 7th Grader
"The 'message' helps you think of the good things that are happening at the bad times, even if you are not thinking about the good things at the moment." Aubree H. 7th Grader
"It means that when you are grateful, life can knock you down, [but] you can find the better in the bad situations." Iyana M. 7th Grader
As Thanksgiving approaches, I ask you.... 
What is YOUR message in the mess? What are the things you are most grateful for? I would love to hear your thoughts! Have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving break, and remember to always count your blessings!
Having a growth mindset is so important, that we have been talking about it in my classes. What does it mean to have a growth mindset? How can having a growth mindset help me be successful? etc. I have been sharing quotes each week, and the students have been collaborating on various lessons that center around resilience and developing their own growth mindsets.
"If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." Frank A Clark.
I have learned so much from my students this year, that I wanted to share a little bit of their brilliance with you (with their permission, of course!) . I hope you learn as much as I did from my students! Enjoy!
Question of the Day: How does having a growth mindset help you overcome life's obstacles?
"By helping me look at every obstacle as a good challenge. It helps me to look at failure as a opportunity to learn something new and to not make the same mistake. It also helps me to be confident when taking a test or having just a hard time understanding something." Kati B., 8th grader8th grader Simon C. found this great quote by Carol Dweck:
"Growth mindset is one's intelligence or developed with persistence, effort, and a focus on learning. Individuals with a growth mindset believe they are capable of learning nearly anything if they work hard and accept failures and challenges as opportunities to grow. Also you choose to learn from the experience, work harder and try again until you reach your goals." https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/dwecks-mindsets.htm
Because I am teaching in the cafeteria this year (fondly referred to as the classeteria), I found it wildly important to go 100% digital. So far, it has worked well, with lots of grace and patience extended to both students AND The teacher. I do my best to maintain a growth mindset, especially with how we have had to start the year; however, I have noticed that there are some things that make my tiny "fixed mindset" voice rise up and scream in protest--like grading procedures and the idea that I don't have to grade EVERYTHING my students do. Fortunately, my growth mindset voice wins in the end, and keeps me on the right track.
I love the idea of Universal Design Learning, because it helps students to understand the "why" behind the lessons. So often, teachers focus so much on content that they forget to stop and explain the reasoning behind what they are learning. Over the last several years , I have done my best to explain to my students WHY we do some of the more complex things we do, the way we do them. I have found that when I do this, my students are able to focus better on competing their work. Conversely, when I tell them they have to do it a certain way "because I said so," fewer of my students will engage with the lesson or the work. Like most people, they just want to know that they are not just wasting their time by doing busy work.
Be sure to check out my Growth Mindset plan!
For more years than I can remember, I have lived by the motto, "Improvise, adapt, and overcome." This school year, more so than the last 20 years, this motto has served me well. As a coach and a teacher, I have tried to teach my students that "I can't " should not be part of their vocabulary; but over the years, I have learned that simply adding the word "yet" to the end of that sentence has made all the difference in their motivation for improvement. Over the years, I have seen those students who really grab hold of the "yet" work their way from lower level middle school sports teams to varsity level high school teams--a few even to college teams. This growth mindset is what I try to instill in every one of my students.
As I have gotten older, I have discovered the NECESSITY of maintaining a growth mindset. Without it, I just don't think I would have survived this long as an educator. This pandemic has changed the face of education, and I have watched teachers with a fixed mindset panic, cry, and even quit. Those who continue to improvise, adapt and overcome, still get frustrated ( and maybe cry a little), but they keep pushing through, finding solutions to the problems they run into, and working collaboratively with others to help them along the way as well.
In the 2nd nine weeks, my AVID classes will be discussing Growth mindset and how having one can help you be successful in school, in work, and in LIFE!
Teaching in the "classeteria" has been great so far. The students and I are getting into a routine, and I think they are really liking AVID! One of my goals this year is to connect more with my students, so I have committed to using Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies in my lessons. The one I have started with as a bellringer is a question of the day. As the students come in, they get out their chromebooks and answer the question of the day. After roll, we then go over their answers, which has sparked some great conversation. This has provided me with opportunities to share my own answers with them. I am amazed at how much I have in common with my students!
With tutoring starting up this next week, I am making it mandatory for my virtual students to log into the Google Meet for their class period. I am hoping that I will be able to connect with more of my virtual students. It is one thing to read their responses and grade thier work. it is quite another thing to get to talk to them and see their faces. I am also hoping that by requiring my virtual students to log in, they will be able to make connections with my face-to-face students.
This pandemic has definitely changed the way I think about education and what I must do to reach my ALL of my students. I am working every day to come up with ways to engage them and bring them together. I would love to hear your ideas! What you doing to reach your virtual students and help them connect with their F2F classmates? I look forward to reading your comments below!
My students continue amaze me. Our big project for AVID this semester was to create a video to express our thanks to all ...
