Tahoma Student Tributes to Life-Changing Teachers

As a follow-up to last week’s blog post about the traits of life-changing teachers, this week we are featuring the results of a Google survey we did at the four Tahoma secondary schools. This survey asked students to tell us about life-changing teachers—those teachers who made school feel like a place students wanted to be, who served as a role model, or who changed the student in some way.  

Watch next week for lots more.  And, please encourage your students to take the survey at  https://goo.gl/7aAS3H.  Here are some directions for your screen.

Renee Stroup -- TMS -- This teacher respects and is kind to everyone she meets at school; she never shows attitude. She reminds her students very often to be kind, work hard and to try new things. She serves as my role model because her attitude towards learning and people is extremely influential and positively impacts her students.

Matt Tucker -- THS -- Throughout the years I have struggled in English and my confidence in writing has been low. Teachers have always made writing stressful and dull. That is exactly what I was thinking Mr Tucker was going to do in the beginning of the year. I couldn't have been more wrong, Mr Tucker made writing not only fun but stress free as well. I never seen a teacher that not only cares about our accuracy but the stress that an essay can bring to a student. An example of this is he always gives us second chances with making improvements on our writing even after we turn the essay in. He will give a student that is struggling individual attention. This teacher truly cares about his students and their grades.

Joven Bills -- CRMS -- Mr.Bills was the highlight of my 7th grade year because he made every class a joy. He even made test days fun. His simulations literally put history into action and showed us what it was truly like to live in those specific time periods. He was an overall great teacher and an even better guy and he makes me want to become a history teacher in my future.

Traci Cline -- TMS -- She helped me push through my work that I struggled with and she is the reason why I love science.

Jen Hassman --TJH -- Senora! You made me get passionate about Spanish. I remember back to the first day of first-year Spanish when you assigned saying "muddy muddy muddy" as tarea. I was so lucky to have you for 2 years as a teacher. You made me excited about school and I am so excited to be at the same campus again!

Jami Suhoversnik -- THS -- Math has never been a subject that I have excelled in, or even looked forward to for that matter. However, since being in Ms.S´s class, I have actually improved in my understanding of the subject, and I actually enjoy going to her class! She is so encouraging and treats everyone as her kids. I appreciate so much about her, and she has truly served as a role model for me. So thank you, Ms.S.

Branda Almli -- TMS -- I was going through a tough time at home and Mrs.Almli helped me get in a safe place and still helps we with emotional support. I still ask her for help even though the main storm has passed.

Dan Kelly -- CRMS -- He made school fun and he was more than a teacher. At lunch he would always let us go out and play games and he would play with us as well.

Kristen Vanhoomissen -- TJH -- Ms.Vanhoomisen was a very caring and positive teacher. She always made sure that you were okay if you felt down. Also whenever you struggled with math she'd slow down and help you one on one. She is overall a super great teacher.

Jane Magnan -- TMS -- She changed me in a positive way by helping me explore myself until I found out who I was. She helped me be more outgoing and willing to help others. She is a wonderful teacher who was caring and really wanted to get to know your students. I thank her for everything she has done.

Doug Marsh -- THS -- Senor Marsh has changed my life in many more ways then one. Even though Spanish is a difficult course, he has taught me dedication and commitment. Senor Marsh has taught me so many things that I sometimes take for granted and next year I will miss his class. I haven't met a teacher like him that puts so much time and effort into teaching and that I am grateful.

Chris Russell -- TJH -- He was really funny and fun to learn from. I feel like everyone who wasn't in his class, still liked him as a person. Overall cool teacher.

Sam Atkinson -- former teacher at TMS -- Mr. Atkinson was my science teacher in the 6th grade. He was great because he tweaked the curriculum in a way so we still. learned what we needed to learn but we were learning in a fun way and we retained the information

Renee Denny -- TJH -- I was in her weight room Bear Enrichment and in her PE class. When the boys were being obnoxious she would work out with me. We would talk and she actually took time to get to know me. It made the rest of my day better.

Jonell Hohn -- TMS -- Mrs. Hohn taught my English and social studies classes, which are my two least favorite classes. Somehow she made a class that I normally just try to get through into to a class that piqued my curiosity and made me want to write ad learn more about our past, which is big for me because that had never happened before.

Laurie Harrington -- CRMS -- She helped me after school. When she was talking about the wars, that’s when I realized how important history was. I hadn’t really thought about it before.

Martina Morgan -- THS -- She reminded me of the passion in learning, and inspired me to look into cultures and history beyond America. Since then I have been investing in world history and I've learned so much more than all the American history classes I've taken all through my life in public school, and I have never been more interested.

Lots more next week! Stay tuned :-).

Life-Changing Teachers

As the 2016-2017 school year rapidly accelerates to its final good-byes, it is easy to get overwhelmed with the never-ending To-Do list: lessons left to create, students suddenly motivated to pass your class, parents emerging from the dark, mountains of papers to grade, emails needing responses, boxes to pack, a room to sort, committee work a room to sort, committee work to finish, new classes to create…and the list goes on and on.

Sometimes you forget that your overwhelming efforts and late nights and too-little-free time weekends are absolutely worth it in the long run, for you have changed lives. You are the teacher who saved students from depression or shame or loneliness, or a belief that they couldn’t write or read or do math or be succeed. You are the one who first piqued an interest in robotics or nutrition or politics or theorems or literary devices or Raku pottery or rock-climbing or video filmography or French verbs or sight-reading music.

An Edutopia article titled “6 Traits of Life-Changing Teachers” by Betty Ray, shares the results of a 700-person Facebook survey that asked, “What are the standout qualities that make some teachers life changers?”

Their responses showed that life-changing teachers (like you!) share the following traits:

•          They possess a contagious passion.

•          They help their students feel safe.

•          They model patience.

•          They know when to be tough.

•          They believe in their students (and help them to believe in themselves).

•          They love their students.

To all of you who have changed one or more lives—and that’s all of you!—THANK  YOU. Thank you on behalf of the students, the parents, the grandparents, and all who are ever-grateful that their child’s life intersected with yours.

Over the next two weeks, we’ll be sharing some anecdotes of how Tahoma secondary teachers have changed lives.

Hang in there, and know that you have one of the most meaningful careers of all!

Moving from brain breaks to brain energizers

If you are a teacher who thinks that last week's subject, "brain breaks," is something that you and your students simply don't have time for in a crowded curriculum, you might, instead, want to think about them as "brain energizers.”

Finland is frequently touted as one of the top educational systems in the world. Interestingly, though, according to author Tom Rath in Are You Fully Charged?, elementary students in Finland get a 15-minute break for every 45 minutes in class. An American teacher who moved to Finland in 2014 reported that he eventually started "to test the 45/15 model" and found that kids returned to class with a "renewed bounce in their step...more focused on learning throughout the day" (61-62).

Likewise, Rath reports that a software application called Desk Time that tracks employees time use found that the most productive 10 percent of their 36,000-employee user base were those who worked for about 52 minutes and then took a 17-minute break.  They worked "with intense purpose," but then took a walk or tuned out to recharge themselves (62).

And while no one in education would be naive enough to recommend 15-17 minute breaks once every hour J, you might want to consider trying a brain energizer at least once during your class.  After the brain energizer, do you see more student engagement? More interest? More focus?  If so, maybe after Memorial Day, you could add a second brain energizer to your class period.  If it works in Finland and for adult employees, the results should be equally good in your classroom!

Here are three brain energizers to get you started, all from Energizing Brain Breaks by David Sladke. You might  ask an energetic, charismatic student to be the leader for each brain energiizer.

Letter Spots:
1. Stand up and find a partner.
2. Take a second and think of a word that involves the letters A,B,C,D, and E. Don't say your word aloud.
3. Here are the spot values: right shoulder = A, right ear = B, nose = C, left ear = D, and left shoulder is E.
4. Without talking, the first person will make a word by touching a few of their own letter spots, and the second person will have to say each of the letters out loud, and then say the word.
5. Once the first person has given a word, switch and have the next person give a word.

Bizz-Buzz
1. Stand up  and get in a gorup of two, three, or four.
2. The goal is to count from 1-40 using the following rules: Say "Bizz" for every multiple of 5 or every number that has a 5 in it. Say "Buzz" for every multiple of 7 or every number that has a 7 in it. You will also need to say "Bizz-Buzz" when the number is a multiple of 5 and 7. (Example--first person says "1," next person says, "2," next person says, "3," then next says, "4," and next person must say "Bizz.").
3. Continue until you get to 40, following the rules above.

T Stretch
1. Stand up, and put your arms straight out at shoulder height like a T.
2. Keeping your arms straight, try to bend down to touch  your left hand to your right toe. Your right hand should be high in the air. Hold for a count of five, and return to standing.
3. Now bend and touch your right hand to your left toe for a five count. Repeat.  Be careful not to hit the person next to you when stretching.

Incorporating Brain Breaks

It’s spring, and the weather is stunning, and teachers are packing and the walls are bare…so, how do you maintain student engagement, motivation, and mood?

According to Judy Willis, MD, in “Using Brain Breaks Restore Students’ Focus,” “Brain breaks are planned learning activity shifts that mobilize different networks of the brain. These shifts allow those regions that are blocked by stress or high-intensity work to revitalize. Brain breaks, by switching activity to different brain networks, allow the resting pathways to restore their calm focus and foster optimal mood, attention, and memory.”  She adds that middle and high school students need 3-5 minutes of brain break following 20-30 minutes of focus.

So, what are some quick and easy brain breaks to build in to your lesson plans?

• Lead students in mindful breathing or meditation
• Read aloud to class a short passage from a relevant, engaging book or article or poem
• Have students do some stretches, or move to a different part of the room
• Lead them in singing a song relevant to content
• Create a classroom-appropriate limerick or poem together dealing with the content
•  Have students pretend to jump rope
• Ask students to share with their partners a personal connection to the learning
• Have a two-minute music break--even better if the music can connect to the content
• Have students toss a beach ball to the next person who is going to respond to a question
• Have students move, or act as if they were a biological process, a mathematical process, a social studies concept, a literary character, etc.
• Ask students to stand with a partner and perform an energizing brain break (example: Lap Tap: stand up, take right hand and tap a slow beat on left thigh, tap right foot  to the ground faster than the right-hand tap, then switch sides. Last, tap opposite thighs with hands and then tap both feet faster than hands).  This is from the book Energizing Brain Breaks by David Sladkey, which contains 49 additional energizing movements and challenging physical maneuvers. You might also ask your Health and Fitness teacher for movement ideas.

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Differentiation through Flexible Seating

The article “Optimal Seating Plans? Letting Your Students Choose”, by Emelina Minero, is a case study of a California high school that has embraced the idea and technology of flexible seating which has led to variety differentiation opportunities in their high school.

They have categorized four different seating arrangements that help kids make the decision of what seating arrangement will help them be the most successful. Each one of these seating arrangements has it’s own differentiation potential. Since it’s spring time now and a sense of trust and respect for the classroom as been grounded, and teachers have a clear picture of the needs of their students, this would be a really interesting next step to try this in a classroom.

Independent Work Time: This is a time when kids are not in need of collaboration and work solely by themselves. The teachers in this video and article have them facing a wall so that there is little to no distractions. This also signals to the teacher that this student has a plan and they are working to meet it. Individual desks or tables work well with this type of seating plan.

• Differentiation Potential: In this seating arrangement, students who are more self-directed learners can work by themselves to accomplish the learning target and success criteria. Many students prefer to work alone because it creates a more focused environment which makes them feel more successful. The teacher could easily come and peek over their shoulder to check in to provide feedback. 

Collaborative Work Time: Students are seated at the front of the room with room enough for 4-5 students to sit and work together. There are usually more than just one table so the collaborative groups aren’t so big that students get off task. These groups have a goal they want to achieve and work together to gain better perspective and understanding of the task. Small tables or a few desks pulled together to form a table would work well with this type of seating plan.

• Differentiation Potential: This seating arrangement is meant for those who work better in a more collaborative setting. Kids who need this type of seating benefit from bouncing ideas off of one another and to receive peer feedback. This is also easy for a teacher to monitor and to have quick check-in conversations with the group as they progress through the task. 

Mini-Lesson Work Time: This seating arrangement is usually one small group who would like some one on one time with the teacher to ask questions and practice a skill they have deemed they need help on. A teacher could also create this group based on assessment data they have received and now have an opportunity to work closely with them to ensure they are leaving the mini lesson with a better understanding and practice. A small table or a few desks pulled together to form table would work well for this type of seating.

• Differentiation Potential: This seating arrangement is most beneficial for kids who have been absent or have not shown growth on a particular standard. The teacher can provide a pre-teach or re-teach model and additional practice for those who need it. This could also be a check-in time for students who want or need a one on one conference with their teacher about their progress. 

Whole Group Work Time: Students in this configuration are usually facing one another in a large circle. This arrangement is great for whole class discussion, such as a Socratic Seminar. In the video a girl makes a comment that sometimes it's easier to understand a concept when you are able to make eye contact. Possibly not having any tables, but a circle of chairs would work well for this seating arrangement.

• Differentiation Potential: Students hearing other students ideas is one way for them to comprehend a concept or skill. This seating arrangement is also for those auditory and verbal students who learn best when they can share their thinking aloud. This is also a great opportunity for the teacher to identify and address misconceptions the class as a whole may have.

Even without the fancy tables, many teachers could make these types of seating arrangements in their classrooms. Might take some imagination, but kids might think it neat to come into a room that has been totally rearranged! Offering them the seating choice might also up their engagement level as the sun starts to make its way to the Pacific Northwest!