Bloggy Award

Thanks to Katie for the Beautiful Blogger award! Katie is a third grade teaching, yummy snack making, good food loving girl after my own heart. Check out her blog Yes I Want Cake.

To accept this award, I need to share 7 new things about myself and pass it to 7 other bloggers.

1. I pretty much refuse to use airplane bathrooms. This includes 9 hour international flights.

2. I have major issues with vomit. I have not thrown up since I was 10 and I'd like to keep it that way. I also have anxiety about others throwing up near me. Weird, I know.

3. I am going to start working on making my first quilt. I picked out some cute Noah's Arc fabric and I am going to make a baby quilt. (No, I don't have any news to share. I am learning from a lady who charges by the hour, so I figured the smaller the quilt the better!)

4. So far in my life, I have never broken a bone which is pretty incredibly considering what a huge klutz I am.

5. I am really bad at making small talk. Germans don't do small talk, so I fit in well here I guess.

6. I have not worked out in the past two weeks. For me, that is unheard of! I am looking forward to getting back on the wagon and making 2010 a really healthy year!

7. I am really self conscious and I always worry that people don't like me.

Ok, now I would like to pass the award to some amazing bloggers. When I look at this award, what I think of is not necessarily the blog itself, but the bloggers behind the blogs. I have selected 7 bloggers whose personalities, sincerity, kind spirits, love for life, and honesty shine through in their blogs. Some of these bloggers have gone through/are going through struggles and I admire each and every one of them for their courage, humility, and honesty.

Thanks for being special!

Kenz @ All The Weigh

Amber @ {ae filkins}

Marsha @ Other Such Happenings

Amanda @ I am mommy / I am baker

Jenny @ Peanut Butter and Jenny

Jen @ Following the Footsteps

Lisa @ Our Journey of Hope through Autism

Hubby's Holiday Help

I feel somewhat out of the blogging loop since I have only posted twice in the past week. Traveling for the holidays, spending time with family, and celebrating took up a lot of time! I am happy to say that we made it back to Germany without any kinks! Our first flight was a bit delayed which made our connection really tight (as in we ran from the shuttle and got straight in line because the flight was already boarding), but we made it and everything else was smooth sailing. Our flight to Frankfurt took off around 10 pm and I swear I was already asleep by that point. I did wake up to eat, but I pretty much slept the entire flight which I consider a great success when I pull that off.

Compared to our travels home, this journey was easy peazy lemon squeezy!

Some friends of ours stayed at our apartment in Germany for a few nights while we were gone and we came home to a bundle of treats that they left for us--chocolate, tea, Lebkuchen (German gingerbread), and a nice big beer stein. What a sweet gesture!

***

Ok, on to the story about hubs. My husband and I ventured to the mall the day after Christmas because we had a few more things to get and a return to make. While I was in line making a transaction, I heard the store employee at the register across from the one I was at asking her co-worker if they had any employees that speak spanish because there was a male customer who needed help and did not speak English. Now, given that I have been living in a country whose language I cannot yet speak, I am very sensitive to what it feels like to not be able to communicate. So when these cashiers were looking for a spanish speaker, I happily volunteered myself and my husband to help out. Since I had to wait for my transaction and provide information, my husband went over to the other side of the counter and asked the man what he needed help with. He patiently listened to his story in spanish and then relayed the information to the cashier in English. The man was able to submit the bill he needed to pay and was very thankful for my husband's help.

I was so proud!

For anyone who thinks that people should refrain from speaking other languages in the US because it's America and English is the official language, I just want to say that it felt really good to help someone out and it was being bilingual that allowed us that privilege of helping. The more languages you speak, the more people you can communicate with and I believe that to be a good thing.

Lunches, Teaching Challenges, and Wedding Pics

I have been so incredibly busy this past week spending time with my family and catching up on my shopping that my blog posts have definitely fallen to the wayside! Sorry to anyone who has been checking in and finding the same post over and over.

I have a few questions left to answer from my post last week, so here it goes.

What do you eat for lunch? What do you cook for dinner? (from a fellow American living in Germany)

I try to eat pretty healthfully, so the typical German diet does not really work for me. Typically I will have a mixture of small things for lunch like a yogurt, an apple, a Babybell cheese, carrot sticks, something with peanut butter...I am definitely tend to eat a lot of little things rather than one big meal. I am going to try doing some salads for lunch once I get back as I want to try to get a healthy start to the new year and I want to include more veges in my diet.

For dinner, I have made sushi, roasted chicken with potatoes, sauteed veges, soup, grilled cheese, chili with rice.... I try to be a good cook, but I think I am still honing that skill. I am much better about cooking now that I don't work full time because I was pretty lazy with my old job and found that I did not have the patience to cook nice meals after working all day. I got myself the Pioneer Woman cookbook for Christmas, so I am hoping to try out some of her good recipes in 2010! Although, her recipes don't seem too good for the waistline...

What is the biggest challenge you face as a teacher?

This was a question I asked my readers a few months back and I got a lot of different responses. I think I also answered it back then, but now that I have a different job, the answer has changed. I have to say my current job is not that hard. I am not the one that has to spend all the time working hard to prepare lessons. I am not in charge of the curriculum, so a lot of the challenging parts are done by others. With that said, I am really learning a lot in this job because I get to witness great instruction done by others, so I am really happy and am enjoying it a lot. I think the biggest challenge that I have right now is collaborating with other teachers and making sure I am working within their classrooms in a way that works for them. I want to make sure that I am helpful and a positive addition to their teaching environment which means accepting that they are in charge and driving the lesson and I am there to support and help based on their choices/instruction/teaching methods. Although I am a "real" teacher, I feel like I am still in a position where I need to take a back seat and let others be in charge. I don't find this super difficult and I think I am a good team player, but keeping a good balance and relationship with several different teachers who have different styles and expectations for me can be challenging at times. I hope I am doing a good job because I really hope to get hired back next year for the same department.

Did you ever show pictures from your wedding?

I think I have posted a few pics from my wedding, but here is a brief recap:

John & Katie

August 18, 2007

This is one of my favorite wedding photos (my nails never look that good!)

something old

handkerchief that my grandmother gave me. It belonged to her mother.

bouquet with yellow roses because my grandmother-in-law loves them

mom and dad

my maid of honor (bff)

my girls

gotta love the wedding day footwear....

***

Tomorrow we head back to Germany and hopefully this end of the trip is not as eventful as the last! We arrive back in Germany around 11 am on Monday. Hopefully my posting will get back to normal then!

I did not take a lot of pics, but my sister-in-law's sister did, so I am hoping to steal those from facebook and have some nice family shots to post!

Happy Holidays everyone!

The Adventure Home and Questions Answered

I have been MIA for a few days as we were traveling from Germany to the states to spend the holidays with my family. Unfortunately for us, we had the first snowfall of the season in Germany (besides some flurries in October) and we were not sure how our travel would go due to the weather. We left around 6:30 am on Saturday because we drove 2 hours to the Frankfurt Airport and by the time we arrived, it was no longer snowing, but our flight was delayed three hours due to the weather. We were set to fly to Dulles airport in Washington DC with a second flight from DC to White Plains New York, which is a smaller airport. We found out before we even left Germany that due to a very bad snow storm in DC, our second flight was cancelled. We were just happy that we would at least make it to the states and figured we would play it by ear once we arrived in DC. As we were approaching Dulles and about to land, we started to fly higher and the pilot announced that Dulles had closed due to the weather (they got about 2 feet of snow) and we were re-routing to Chicago! When we landed in Chicago, we were informed that no flights were taking off and that we would get out on Monday at the earliest. They said we could go standby on Sunday and they would try to get us on a flight, but there was no guarantee since many flights were being cancelled and lots of people were trying to travel. So at about 9:00 pm, we decided to just rent a car in Chicago and drive through the night all the way to CT. I had slept on the 9 hour flight from Germany, so with the help of a little coffee, I was okay to drive for the first 5 hours while my husband slept and then he drove the rest. It took us about 14 hours and we arrived around 12:30 on Sunday. So in total, we were traveling for about 36 hours. LONG day! We are very happy to be home, but still recovering from the time change and the exhaustion!

Ok...on to a few of the questions asked in my last post....

How did you meet your husband?

We both went to college at Villanova University in Pennsylvania and we were in the same dorm freshman year. Although we had many of the same friends, we were never friends and actually took somewhat of a disliking to each other at first. I was in a long distance relationship at the time with my bf from high school. We were placed in the same dorm again sophomore year and right before school my bf broke up with me, so John and I started to hang out and became friends. He was interested in me first, yet I was still hung up on my bf. BF and I had been together for about 4 years at that point so it was tough getting over my first love, but eventually I did with the help of a very sweet guy who showed me that my bf had not treated me the way I should be treated. We didn't officially start a relationship until junior year of college, but we have been together ever since.

This past November marked 7 years together and we have been married for 2 years.

What brought you to Oregon?

We moved to Oregon in 2005 because my husband got an offer to work for a company in Portland. Aside from college, I had never lived outside of CT, so it was a big move for me, but I loved it! I tried to get a job teaching public school, but was unsuccessful, so I worked for a bilingual Head Start Preschool program that served migrant families who were in Oregon seasonally. I really improved my spanish speaking skills during that job and although it was not my ideal job, it was a great learning experience.

How did you end up teaching overseas?

Again, it was my husband's job that pushed us to move. He grew up living in several different countries abroad, so it was an experience he really hoped to get as part of his own career. At first, I was not really excited, because I had just gotten my master's and I was really getting into the groove of my job teaching first grade. I would love to say that I was totally up for the adventure or that I had the drive to teach in another country, but it was just because of John's job circumstances. His company's global headquarters are located in Germany. He got a great opportunity and I was lucky that his company helped me get an interview with the international school. I do not speak German (yet), so the options for teaching were quite limited. The international school was pretty much my only option. At first, there were no openings for classroom teachers, so I accepted a job as a teaching assistant so that I could get my foot in the door. It only took until October for a few positions to become available and I was able to get hired on as a Support Services teacher which is a "real" teaching position. Although, I was hesitant at first and nervous about living in Germany, I am SO glad we decided to go for it. I love my job, the friends I have made, and how much I am growing as a person. We have only been there 4 months, but it has been a fantastic experience so far!

I got a few more questions and I am going to save those for tomorrow!

CopyCat

I saw this "Ask Away" post on Leslie's blog and decided to be a copycat. I am SO excited about my trip to CT that I have had a hard time this week focusing on other things...like blogging.

So the idea is...you ask any burning questions you have for me and I answer them! Simple enough right? Hopefully someone has a question because it would be sad if this were a total bust! I am traveling all day tomorrow (and I mean ALL day) so I will leave this post up for at least two days and then answer any questions posted in the comments.

Looking forward to hearing your questions and sharing my answers!

Grades are in...

10762 CI 514 002 MULTICUL & URBAN ED Institutional (PSU) A

17237 CI 605 0 R&C: ISSUES IN ED Institutional (PSU) A

17238 CI 607 0 SEM: LEADERSHIP IN CI Institutional (PSU) A

14938 LIB 533 118 GLOBAL LITERATURE: K-12 Cont Ed-Education A

Woot! Woot!

If I were one of the seven dwarfs I would definitely be Grumpy

Warning: This is a rant about my horrible experience attempting to get a German driver's license. You may find it entertaining, or you may think I need some nice pills.

***

I have a confession.

I just failed my driving license test. So did my husband.

We are failures.

Well, we didn't exactly study all that much, I mean, we have both been driving for over 10 years and we both easily passed the OR state driving test when we moved there after college.

Driving test in Germany...different story.

We were warned it was very hard, and despite my negligence in actually studying the book or completing the 50 different practice tests we were given, I kind of just wished for a Christmas miracle that would allow me to pass and never have to think about the test again.

No. such. luck.

So, we got up early today to head over to the Tüv (DMV place). There was so much traffic which prevented us from getting there by 8. Well, we actually probably walked through the door at 8, but that was too late and we literally got hissed at by this German woman. Seriously. She hissed! That is the only word I can think of to describe her tone of voice.

So, they decided to let us in to take the test since we really weren't officially late, we just showed up exactly on time instead of early. I am guessing most Germans show up early. Usually I show up early, but when it is the husband and me, we are always late. I blame him.

So they allowed us to come into the classroom where about 10 other people were already seated and getting directions from the test administrator. He looks at us and very seriously informs us (in German of course) that the test started at 8 (and he pointed to his watch just to be clear). Ugh! So we made apologies and tried not to look like asses. They were not amused with us.

Then we needed to pay. Thirty-three Euros each or something like that. Thank goodness I decided to run downtown yesterday (literally I killed two birds with one stone by running to the bank) to get money out or else we would have had to suffer embarrassment #2 and leave the test as a result of not being able to pay. Normally, I don't carry around an extra 70 Euros in cash...it would have been nice if our relocation people would have informed us that we needed to bring that much money...in cash. But alas, the relocation people suck. I know that sounds harsh, but I got so tired of listening to our relocation woman converse in German for 10 minutes only to translate one short phrase to us that I became a relocation lady hater.

Back to the test. After we paid, we had to show our passports to the super friendly test administrator and he told us where to sit. The test was to be done on the computer, so there was a computer that looked like a closed lap top on our desks. The screen was what would normally be the top of the closed laptop, so we had to look down on the test instead of looking in front of us (does that even make sense?). The super friendly (where is that sarcasm font when you need it?) administrator guy proceeded to give about 15 minutes of instructions (ok maybe it was shorter, but considering it was all in German and I didn't understand a single word of it, it seemed to take a really long time). When he gave everyone the go ahead to start the test, he kind of glanced at us and asked if we understood. I said, um no, actually I didn't understand a word of what you said...probably to my husband's embarrassment.

So he came over, said something to the effect of click on the answer then click continue. OK?

Really...that is all that you said in the past 15 minutes of German instructions because it sure sounded like you gave detailed instructions about many different aspects of the test. I don't think people understand what translating means! It doesn't mean just tell one main point from a very long discussion and then move on leaving the other person confused and out of the loop!

The part that really got me was that during the instructions, he came over and said to push the button on the computer screen which said "skip instructions." If he is giving instructions only in German, yet the instructions on my screen are in English, why do I have to skip them? I wanted to know what to do! Once I pushed that button, I could not go back, which made me upset. I was doomed to not get instructions.

It's not as though hearing his shpeal would have given me the information I needed to pass, but I feel that if you offer a test in English, then instructions should be provided in English.

Is that crazy?!

I was the first one finished with the test. I guess the computers were all linked to his because he said my name then out loud said that I did not pass. Isn't that private information? Because I didn't really want everyone knowing that I failed.

At least my husband failed too, although I did a lot worse than he did.

Most questions had three choices, but the difficult part was that 1, 2, or all 3 of the choices could be correct. There was not just one answer so you could be partially right, but if you don't check all the correct choices you lose points. You can only lose a maximum of 10 points.

I lost 32 points.

Crap.

Now, we have to go back and take the test again in January. Unfortunately, we only have until 6 months from the exact date we moved here to pass or else we cannot become licensed drivers here. Also, you have to wait two weeks after failing to try again. I figure we have two more shots at most.

I don't even drive at all and I am trying to convince my husband I simply don't need a German driver's license, but he is insistent that I do.

For emergencies.

Or nights when he has a few beers.

Either one.

So, we both failed. We have to retest. And most importantly, I have gained a whole new level of understanding for people who live in the US and might still be trying to learn English. I would never want to make anyone feel the way I felt today.

I felt what it's like to be in a classroom and have the instructor speaking in words that made no sense to me. I immediately felt lost, got angry, and wanted to cry all at the same time. I looked like I was getting it, my eyes were on the instructor, I was alert, but not a single word had any meaning to me. I feel like, I am gaining a better understanding of what it's like to be an ELL student and I hope that my experiences here help make me a better teacher, so that days like today serve a bigger purpose.

A purpose other than making me feel like a failure.

And a grump.

Holiday Traditions

I already posted here about my family's advent tradition, but my family has another special tradition I want to share. Each year since we were born, my mother has gotten both my brother and me a dated Hallmark ornament. When we got old enough, we were allowed to choose which one we wanted. It is so fun to look back and see my entire collection and think about why I chose each one.

This year, I chose this one because I think it is reflective of how I am now teaching at an international school.

We did not put up a tree this year because we are leaving the week before Christmas to go back to the states, but last year was the first year that my mom handed all of my 26 years of ornaments over to me so that I could put them on my own tree instead of having them on the tree at her house. It was so fun looking back on all of the ornaments I chose and putting them in order from 1982 to 2008.

I love this tradition and hope to carry it on when I have kids of my own.

What do you celebrate this time of year?

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Sushi by Sneaker Teacher

One of my co-workers, who is from Japan, taught me how to make homemade sushi the other day at lunch time. I decided to make a sushi feast for dinner to surprise my husband since he returned from a business trip tonight. It's actually not that hard, but boy did it taste good!

Uptight or Inappropriate?

Last night I attended the 3rd/4th grade disco at my school. While there was a little bit of dancing, like the choreographed routine to Thriller the kids apparently learned in their sports class, most of the night consisted of about 60 kids running around, grabbing handfulls of snacks off the food table, then proceeding to run around some more.

Kids were hyper, sweaty, and having a blast.

The music, all of which was American pop music, was blasting. I had a hard time trying not to dance as I worked the food table, refilling bowls of chips and popcorn, but I didn't want to look like too much of a dork!

As I was listening to the music, I was a little surprised at some of the songs that were played. I don't know if I am being too conservative in my thinking, but I just didn't think a few were appropriate choices for a disco catering to 3rd and 4th graders.

For example:

Katy Perry's Hot and Cold: you change your mind like a girl changes clothes. You PMS like a bitch, I should know....

Also, Flo Rida's Right Round... from the top of the pole I watch her go down, she got me throwin' my money around...

I don't know. I am certain that the kids were not intently listening to the lyrics. They probably didn't hear the swears or understand the messages in the songs, but I was still surprised they were played. It reminds me of one of my first grade students last year singing I kissed a girl and I liked it in the lunch line. They may even sing along and still not know what they are singing about, but there are a lot of cool songs out there that don't have mature lyrics.

What do you think? Inappropriate to play songs like that or all in good fun??

Oregon Department of Education plays the Grinch!

I read this morning in this article, that the Oregon Department of Education cut title III funding for Portland Public Schools because of a lack of compliance with regulations and previous warnings about the nature of instruction for ELL's within the district.

Although I did not work for this particular district, this really hits home for me because my district was also visited by ODE which infused stress in many teachers due to the fear that something like this would happen.

As I read through the comments following this article, I became both fascinated and shocked at the attitudes of some people regarding the education and instruction of English for students whose native language is not English. People expressed that bilingual education should be cut, students should only speak English at school and at home, that students should learn that if they want to survive in OUR country, they need to learn to speak English. It was obvious to me that many of these comments came from individuals who are not educators and are also not familiar with research on language acquisition or multicultural education. For that matter, they may not even be aware that many of the original inhabitants of our country were not English speakers. ::gasp!::

Check out some of these comments that made me cringe just a bit:

I'll bet that if multilingual information was eliminated, they would all learn English. My family did back in the 1920s. It would also help if the people in school learning English were using English in the home.

When are people going to get it? Teachers don't care if they learn, to them it's all about the paycheck and their union. No work, more pay??

Of all the worthless programs being forced on the taxpayers to cover, ESL is the one that needs to go. Many of us have insisted for some time that it is a total waste of time and money as this article reinforces. It should not be the public schools responsibility to teach english to a population that has become nothing more than a plague on this country. Laws need to be passed to ensure that English is the offical language.

We as a country must stop welcoming these foreign invaders with open arms, pushing one for English is an insult as is my fifth graders school news letter being printed in both English and Spanish, enough. This is America lets keep it that way.

We have EVERY right to want to maintain our heritage and if foreigners' want to do the same they are more than welcome to in THEIR OWN COUNTRY.

Then there were some comments that I was happy to see:

Immersed? So a beginner, new to the country, speaks no English at all, comes to the USA as a middle or high school student, should be thrown into classes like English Lit, political science, Biology, etc? How much do you think the average student (or, you for that matter) would get from this sort of immersion? How much do you know about the theories of language acquisition? Perhaps you'd like to do a bit of research? Try this site. http://www.sdkrashen.com/index.php?cat=0

I am reading the comments to Betsy Hammond's article with disgust and some degree of rage. Most of you are obviously the ancestors of the folks who came here originally and destroyed the people and the cultures of the original occupants of this piece of geography we call America. Xenophobia is the fear of strangers and your fear is manifest in your snide and sarcastic references to bilingual signs and messages. I sincerely despair that we have not as a nation embraced the value of multiculturalism and the value of what it means to communicate in a language other then our own. Children from pre-school on should all be taught in multiple languages and share in the many cultures that have created this nation. The only illegal immigrant in this country are the ancestors of the people that stole the land from native populations. Shame on all of you for being narrow and mean spirited. You are talking about children who came here with their parents, not on their own and as someone who works in the school as I see those same children struggling as well as embracing education to better their lives. They work twice as hard as our citizen born and behave better too. You mean folks do not know what you are talking about.

Obviously this issue, like many others, is politically charged and elicits strong opinions from different people that can be polar opposites. I think you can tell where I stand however, regardless of what side I agree with, I truly do not see how ODE ripping funds away from PPS is a viable solution. How can they be expected to improve if funding is lost? I understand that there were recommendations made regarding what types of programs/instruction should be taking place for ELL's and that they improved for a bit, but then started to slide again, but I can't help but think that more education, support, or direction would be better than removing funding.

Thoughts??

seriously??

During last period today, I worked with my high school friend. Remember Henry? My friend who has been rocking it out in his Algebra class? This time, he was working on some history homework. He was completing a timeline about the Civil War.

So Henry takes out this beat up looking photocopied packet that he was supposed to get his information from.

Not a textbook with colored pictures.

Black and white.

Photocopies.

At a school where tuition is at least 10,000 Euros a year.

I opened up this little bundle of historical information and was appalled.

Appalled!

The packet was bound together and the words were so close to the margin that they disappeared into the binding so that the first one or two words on the left margin were obliterated. Try to read something with every 8th word missing....it gets a little tricky...

The pictures were black. This was not a case of not being the greatest quality but still doable...these pictures were b-l-a-c-k black. I could barely make out anything! Below the picture, the text said something to the effect of.... "as you can see in the picture..."

Wait! How on earth can a student draw conclusions from a picture that he can't see?!?!

On certain pages, there was a black stripe going down the middle of the two pages from the crease in the book that was being copied. Again, many words were blacked out making it quite difficult to gain meaning from this text.

When the student had to look up a specific amendment, I realized there was no table of contents and no glossary of terms.

On many pages, the font was very tiny and so dense, I would be entirely overwhelmed if I were a high schooler trying to make sense of it.

Not to mention a high schooler who has a learning disability trying to make sense of it.

Or a high school student trying to learn English trying to make sense of it.

Tiny print. Missing words. Black pictures.

Seriously?

Why aren't there copies of the textbook for each student? Why are they given photo copies instead? I can understand the value in being able to make notes or highlight important information, but at the cost of having all the information there? I think not.

I can't help but feel like what I saw was completely 100% unacceptable.

How does a teacher provide that and feel it is sufficient for learning?

Is it just me or are you sharing my thoughts....

Seriously???

Getting in on the SITS action

and a Merry SITSmas too!

I kept seeing references to SITS on different blogs, so today I decided to see what it's all about. When it comes to blogging, I am definitely a joiner, so I thought I would join in on the SITS fun. I absolutely love connecting with new people through blogging, especially teachers, so this seems like another great chance to meet some new bloggy friends.

If you are visiting for the first time, here is a brief run down. I am a teacher and my husband and I recently moved to Germany. I am currently teaching at an international school where I work as a K-12 Suport Services (special education) teacher and I am also working on a doctorate in educational leadership. I love to talk shop with other teachers, but I also like to blog about fitness, Germany, baking, and my obsession with books. I hope you will follow along! Leave me a comment and I will be sure to check out your blog as well in the SITS fashion.

Princpals' Princples

How hands on is the principal at your school?

Principals have different leaderships styles which means not all principals are stopping by classrooms on a daily basis checking in with teachers and students. When I was part of an interview committee last year in order to help select a new principal for the school I was working at, all of the candidates emphasized how they would be visible in the school, how they would greet students in the morning, and how they felt it was important to be in and out of classrooms throughout the day. I was pleased with their statements and ambitions because I really do think the visibility, familiarity, and presence of the principal are all very important.

The principal where I work now is wonderful. He knows the names of students so that he can greet them personally. He teaches the students' IT class, so they interact with him in a learning environment every single week. He also fills in for teachers when they are sick. This morning one of the teachers whose room I work in was absent and the principal was there filling in for her. His commitment to the school, teachers, and students is really evident in the way that he can easily take over for teachers. He has classroom management skills and he has a great repertoire with the kids that is not reflective of them being intimidated by an important person they barely know, but a true respect for an adult they know well and like a lot! I think it is extremely important for administrators to maintain an understanding of what it's like to be the teacher in the classroom with 20-30 students.

All too often, administrators get far removed from daily classroom life and lose the ability to relate to the hustle and bustle that can sometimes be a bit chaotic (especially in elementary school). I really appreciate the fact that this principal is playing for the same team as the teachers and shares in the responsibility for teaching the students. Of course principals have many responsibilities that require them to be away from the building or in their offices, however I am so happy to be at a school where the Principal's door is always open and he is routinely popping into classrooms and circulating throughout the building. A quality of a good leader is leading by example and my principal truly does that.

What kind of leadership does your principal demonstrate?

If you are a teacher, do you feel supported by the principal in your building?

Would you feel confident leaving your students in the Principal's hands if you were absent?

Done!

I just finished my unit plan for my global literature class, submitted it to my teacher, and now I am officially done with fall term 2009!

Woot woot!

I am not going to know what to do with my spare time for the next few weeks before we go on break from school and hubby and I head to CT!

Online Shopping

I finally started my holiday shopping today. After rethinking my plan to leave all my shopping for December 20th-23rd once I am in CT, I decided to order dabble in some online shopping because it will make my life so much easier.

I am so thrilled to be able to shop for my niece this year, because buying stuff for little girls is oh so much fun! My sister in law mentioned some good options, so I began hunting around online this morning before my meeting. One of the things I was looking for was at Pottery Barn Kids so I was browsing their fantastically adorable products. Little did I know how much "play kitchens" have improved since I was little. I think of the little plastic Fisher Price kind of kitchen, but no, Pottery Barn offers this:

And let me just say for the price, it ought to come with a little slab of granite!

Maybe play kitchens like this one turn little ones into the next Rachael Ray!

Pretty fancy, huh?

I also fell in love with some of the little fabric food items they have for sale!

Again, expensive, but SO adorable!!

Check out these puffy cookies. I would assume those cookie cutters are not sharp since this seems meant for little little ones.

And how about these totally charming puffy cups of hot cocoa complete with puffy white marshmallows? Love it! Putting those marshmallows in those cups also offers good dexterity practice!

These two items are sold separately, but I would probably have to get both because I can't decide which is cuter! Puffy cupcakes or a puffy three layer cake. So fun!

I did have a special request for some Melissa & Doug wooden play food, so I didn't get any of this stuff...this time.

Also, because the item I was hunting for at Potter Barn was backordered, I came across these as an alternative. Make sure you look at all the choices because they are SO cute. I am not going to say which one I chose on the chance my sister-in-law reads this, but I would love to know which one is your favorite! I actually like these ones better than the ones available at Pottery Barn because that selection was quite limited, yet there are so many choices here. Not to mention, I was excited because shipping is free with Amazon, so I was able to get all of my niece's Christmas and birthday gifts for reasonable prices and free shipping. When I get home to CT, they will be waiting for me.

No stress. No fuss. No crowds.

I love online shopping!

Thanks!

Thanks for all the comments on which course I should take next term. It was pretty much unanimous that I should go for the course about teaching struggling adolescents in reading. I agree that I will learn more from that course as opposed to another course about teaching English Language Learners (even though I do think those skills/strategies are extremely important). Since it's almost 1,000 dollars a course, I just want to make sure I am getting the most out of each class and I have already taken a lot of courses geared towards ELL's. I am currently working with about 5 middle schoolers who struggle with reading fluency and comprehension. I am excited to learn some good strategies and challenge myself to come up with some ideas as to how I can work with them more effectively.

***

One of my students was absent today, so instead of just wasting that 45 minute period, I went to one of the third grade rooms I used to assist in, since they still do not have a new assistant (even though I switched positions a month ago) and offered to help out with whatever the teacher needed. She asked me to take two ELL students and play a game with them on initial consonant blends. They had played the game before, so they were familiar with the rules, but I noticed right away, they were playing the game and using strategies, but they weren't really getting a ton out of it. The object of the game was to match consonant blends with word endings to see if a real word can be made. Each player has a pile of word endings and in playing the game, they land on certain spaces that allow them to take three blends and see if they can make any words. The point of the game was to make as many words as possible.

I immediately saw that one student was simply using the "self correction" clues on the back of the cards to see if she could make a word, without sounding out the words or thinking about the meaning of the "correct" words. It is so interesting to me how students learn "survival skills" when they are navigating activities and lessons that don't really make sense to them.

After I noticed the "strategy" that was being implemented, I encouraged both students to tell me the sound the blend made and then sound out word made by adding the blend to the word ending, whether or not a real word was made. I tried to encourage them to think about the words and decide whether or not they were real words or nonsense words rather than just checking the back of the card and seeing if there was a word listed that began with the blend they had.

Let me tell you, this game was not for ELL's. Nonsense words are supposed to not make sense, however many of the real words were so abstract, I had a hard time explaining the meanings, since they didn't come across many words they already knew.

There I was trying to explain the words slack, grim, clam, flush, and trot without any additional visuals or supports. I tried drawing pictures on the whiteboards and using the words in sentences, but these words certainly were not familiar to the students. At the end I switched gears, because although it is fun to play games, when the necessary learning is not really taking place, they aren't really that useful and effective as teaching tools. I started to show the blend cards one at a time and had the students take turns saying the sounds. Then I asked them each to come up with a word that began with that blend. They came with the words like star and play that meant something to them and practiced actually verbalizing the blended sounds which they were not doing during the game.

Had I actually planned for this activity, there are so many other things I would have/could have done, but I was just spontaneously trying to help out a friend since I know the workload of those teachers has increased since I switched positions.

It feels good to be nice. :0)

advice?

I just talked with my advisor on skype and we discussed which courses I will be taking next term. I am going to do 3 courses (11 credits). He teaches two of the courses and I want to take one more that is a WEB course and completely online. My first two choices for the WEB course were a no go. The class called American Culture was restricted and the class on Minorities was full already. Boo!

So I am left with two more choices:

Teaching Struggling Adolescent Readers

or

Literacy Instruction for ELL students K-12

I can't decide and I definitely don't want to do both because it's expensive and 11 credits is definitely enough.

Since I am now working with several older students who are struggling readers, I feel like that course would be very applicable to my current job. The drawback is that it is more aligned with SPED and not necessarily so much with culture or multicultural education which I am trying to focus on.

The other course on teaching reading to ELL's is more applicable to my program and my overall course of study. The drawback to that one though, is that I did a whole ESOL endorsement already and I am not sure if it will really introduce a lot of new knowledge and ideas.

I am leaning towards the class geared towards middle and high school struggling readers because it is different than other classes I have taken and I have always taken classes focused on elementary students rather than older students. I think it would be good to take a class that only focuses on older students.

Which class do you think I should take?

school is expensive

I just found out that I have an outstanding balance of $41 on my school account even though my tuition for fall term was paid in full three months ago. I called the Accounts Receivable office to ask them why there was a hold on my account (preventing me from registering for winter term) and why there is an outstanding charge in the amount of $41 after I already paid.

Apparently, this is a new charge, documented as a "Rec Center fee" which students now have to pay each term to subsidize the new buildings that are being constructed on campus.

I didn't sign up for that.

I definitely understand the need for suitable learning environments, but that will be an additional $164 a year that I have to pay on top of the already costly tuition. I guess it's just a bitter pill to swallow because at this point, I am not even setting foot on campus because of my remote learning situation. hmph!

I guess it's a necessary evil..paying for the upkeep of the campus, but for some reason I feel like that money should not come out of my pocket or any students' pockets.

Here in Germany, university is free. Well, there are some nominal costs involved, but it's not at all like handing over several thousand dollars every few months.

Doesn't it make a lot more sense for learning to be free!?

***

On a different note:

I worked in my friend's 7th Grade English class today and she was using a great writing strategy she just learned about at a conference for international schools in Hamburg last week. The acronym STAR is used to help students in the revision process. This teacher used a piece of chart paper with the letters S T A R written across the top, each with its own column underneath.

The letters in STAR stand for

Substitute/Replace

Take out

Add

Rearrange

When I came in, they had already been working on this strategy and had listed different examples under each category. The goal is for students to get rid of boring useless words that don't serve a true purpose in their writing and add vibrant, significant language that is powerful and has an impact on making their writing meaningful and entertaining.

She had also written on the board:

Rule #1

Don't fall in love with your first draft.

This strategy comes from a book called Teaching Adolescent Writers by Kelly Gallagher. I only know what I saw/learned today, but it seems like a great strategy that I would enjoy learning more about. It is really important for writers to understand the value in editing, revising, and working on a piece of writing until it is ready for publishing.