Happy Data

In asking students to complete evaluations of me and my class, I am ultimately collecting what I now deem as a four-letter word...data. Now this isn't your usual kind of data, although I will share some pie charts (pretty impressive, huh?), but some of the data is narrative and not easily put into a chart. The data I will be focusing on today is the stuff that is the hardest to focus on...the positives. When one receives feedback, the positive comments make you feel good for about a second because, sadly, the negatives are much louder to our sensitive ears. I would say that the positive feedback students gave me far outweighed the negatives, but notice yesterday I chose to write about some of the more critical feedback first. So today, I would like to try something that I often cringe at. I am going to share the positives and pat myself on the back.

Below is a word cloud I generated using Tagul. This represents my students' answers to the question:
In ONE word, describe Mrs. Fanning.

If you have never generated a word cloud before, any word you add more than once gets bigger in size. So for anyone thinking that I decided which words to emphasize, I assure you, I did not.  My students did, inadvertently, by choosing the same word to describe me. When I let my eyes focus on the larger words, I get pretty overwhelmed. There is nothing in my professional evaluation that can compare to it. And if you can look at the many smaller words, I get equally overwhelmed at all the really great ways my students chose to describe me. Whether or not I get deemed as Effective or even Developing in the fall (I won't know until then because of how long it takes for the test scores to be calculated, which end up determining my "teacher score", and while I have been deemed both Effective and Developing in the past two years, I know I won't be Highly Effective because administration tells us not to expect such a lofty goal), I know that the majority of my students left 7th grade with a positive experience, and that is all I truly care about.

The next word cloud reflects students' answers to the question:

In ONE word, describe 7th grade language arts.

Below are a few of the fancy pie charts created based on the multiple-choice answers I offered to students for each question.  I chose to include the really positive ones keeping with the purpose of my post. The evaluation students complete is created using Google Forms. Once you have your results, you can open the form, click Responses in the toolbar and choose Summary of Responses to see your data summarized for you.

While the questions on my evaluation are not designed to mirror those on my professional evaluation, there is some overlap, such as the examples above. More than likely I only received an Effective in those areas. One could argue this data suggests otherwise.

Lastly, I give kids room to elaborate on what they thought of my class and ask them to freely express how they feel.  I tell them that this is the most important part of my evaluation as their responses serve as a place for me to learn and grow from as I prepare for next year.  Their responses to this question are the scariest to read as they reveal some hard truths for what the year was like for some students. But today, I am focusing on the happy, so here are some that I would like to hold on to and remember whenever I feel like I'm having a Stuart Smalley moment and need to be reminded that I am good enough, smart enough and doggone it, my students like me: 

I felt that LA this year was the most I have learned in this topic. This topic is my worst and MRS. Fanning made it easy for me to learn and boosted me up skill wise. I thought she did a perfect job teaching. I also like how she incorporated the Chromebooks into the lessons.

I like language arts because most of the time it gives me the opportunity to share my feelings and how my life has been, what I like to do and also it gave me the opportunity to have such a great language arts teacher. 

I think language arts was a very good class to take. It taught me the basic understanding of reading and writing. I feel that my English language has improved drastically over this year. Mrs. Fanning was an amazing teacher. She made class fun, while also taught us very well. She knew how to motivate us and she knew how to properly teach each individual student. Thank you, Mrs. Fanning.  

Mrs.fanning thanks for being our l.a teacher. when ever i walk in your room i always have a smile on my face. I'm really going to miss you.

I loved language arts this year. It was filled with laughs and Mrs. Fanning made it fun for all of us! Mrs. Fanning made it really fun to learn and I have always looked forward to going to her class, especially when we were reading 'A Monster Calls.' All of the projects that we did in her class were fun. Without a doubt I will miss her and her class next year.

I think that Language Arts could be my favorite class of the seventh grade year. Mrs.Fanning is a great teacher to have for this subject. She always listens to what you have to say and will help you in any way possible. I love how she lets us write in our own way about things that we get to choose throughout the year. I wish I could have her for 8th Grade!

This year alone I feel that I have grown so much as a reader and writer because of all the projects we did (The Giver, Truth Piece, etc.), the amount of focus my wonderful LA teacher gave me (thank you Mrs. Fanning), and the ideas of all my peers (parents, friends, etc.) I just hope that next year it will only be better but I will have a hard time enjoying 8th grade LA like it was 7th grade LA because of all the new experiences given to me this year (blog, website,etc.). So I would just like to thank you Mrs. Fanning for giving me a wonderful year at Farnsworth middle school and that no other teacher could teach me as much as you did and no teacher could teach me the way you did. I will remember you because of what you have done for me. Thank you.

I started the year really not liking language arts class. I thought it was a waste of a core block. When I came to this class Mrs. Fanning really showed me how much fun it is to write and how important languages arts was. Mrs. Fanning made everything fun or tried her hardest to make everything fun. I would definitely stay in this 7th grade class if I could.

Mrs. Fanning was a wonderful teacher. I appreciated the way she handled herself as a person and as a teacher. One thing that really stuck out to me was when she was home she video chatted with us so we didn't have to miss a day. I was very impressed with her effort to help her students in the best way possible even though it might not be as convenient to her. I liked how our year was set up. I thought that our curriculum was well thought out and planned.

I think that language arts was a class I had to work very hard in. It was difficult but not impossible, that's what I like. Mrs. Fanning was a very excellent teacher that was able to explain things well and also demonstrate them. I think that Mrs. Fanning gave a lot of useful assignments like the fish bowl and the writing prompt. Student next year will do just fine with Mrs. Fanning. :)

This year in language arts I thought was one of the best and hardest. I was pushed to think outside the box and creatively. Mrs. Fanning always helped me when I needed it and would always make sure that I was doing okay. When I was at my weakest and thought I could do nothing she let me know that she was there for me. That was all I needed to feel better. I needed to know that someone was there for me when I needed them; and she let me know that there was always someone there. Without Mrs. Fanning I would have failed seventh grade and would have felt like no one cared about me. Mrs. Fanning was one of the best teachers I could ever ask for. I loved how she made language arts interesting and fun. She had the right amount of discipline and fun for me to look forward to my class.

Language arts this year was an interesting class for me. I never would've thought that PSAs could be included in the class, but I still enjoyed making them. At times I kind of didn't want to go to language arts because I never could figure out what we would be doing, and it was one of the classes that I struggled a bit in. I enjoyed having a blog. Being able to write freely just makes me feel good about myself, even though that I'm not really a great writer. Mrs. Fanning was (and still is) an amazing teacher. She responded to every email quickly (and I still wonder how she does it), and she answered so many questions that I had. She listened to every student, and helped to make sure that their work was completed. When something didn't make sense, she explained it in a way that I could understand. She helped students to stay on track when they were fooling around. Mrs. Fanning (it feels weird to not say "you") helped all of us grow this year, and I really have to thank her for that. Although, Mrs. Fanning really needs to blog more. Her last post was from March.

Answering My Critics

Yesterday, I mentioned that I ask my students to complete an end-of-the-year evaluation where they get a chance to tell me what they thought of me and my class. A few students chose to critique the focus I have on their digital student portfolios. They told me that it was a waste of their time and didn't understand the purpose. Some of these comments came from students who didn't truly engage in the work and whose portfolios were haphazardly done without much effort. And then there were the critiques from kids whose websites were exemplary. These comments were the hardest to digest because to look at their work you would think, Wow, this student really understands what it means to reflect on their work and their learning. It takes some time for me to read through these evaluations and then I have to walk away for a bit. In order to be able to think through this student feedback, I need a couple of weeks to distance myself from the personal reactions I have initially.

People ask me why I even bother with student evaluations, especially if I am going to take it personally. Well, my whole job is personal. How can it not be? We are dealing with human beings. If I was able to go through an entire school year and not make a single personal connection with a student, I shudder to think what that year would be like. So when I earnestly ask my kids to give me feedback, I know that it will bring me some moments of heartache and that my feelings will be hurt. 

But it is worth it. 

I look at my class as an ever-evolving course. Having the luxury of continually teaching 7th grade ELA for the past 15 years, it is an opportunity to hone my craft in a way that few educators get. If I was silly enough to think that my students didn't have anything to teach me, my work wouldn't be in the place it is today. So during the last week, I make that time to change roles with my students and ask them for feedback on what they both appreciated and what they didn't in my class.

Now that I have had a few weeks away from the classroom, I read these negative comments about our portfolio work with clearer eyes. First, I can remind myself that just because these students didn't get the purpose behind their portfolios doesn't make the work any less valuable. Instead of being disappointed by these comments, I am able to ask myself some great questions to continue to improve this work for my students next year. How can I make the purpose more visible for kids? How can I bridge the work to other 7th grade teachers who share my students? How can I work with teachers K-6 to build more of a foundation for this work so it isn't brand new in 7th grade? How I can I hand the baton to my colleagues 8-12 so that the work isn't abandoned but extended to a point where these sites have a real world currency for students as they enter college or the work force?

I have heard rumblings from my district that digital portfolios are the direction they want to move in. While this was validating, I haven't felt like I was viewed as a resource in making this shift. Again, I reacted by taking it personally and allowed my emotions to get the better of me. But after time to mull over this lack of action and the critique that my own students offered, I have a renewed sense of purpose. I am going to move forward and make the powerful collaboration I envision happen rather than wait for administration to figure it out. I am going to continue to revise the portfolio process to work on those weaknesses that my former students pointed out. This work will never be finished. Like anything worthwhile in life, time should be given to stop, reflect, acknowledge, and revise. For if we don't, we never point to the success in the work or the areas for improvement. We don't continue to evolve. I would never want the work I do with kids to become stagnant. Their evaluations are a reminder of how I can continue to push myself. I attempt to answer their critiques and use them to guide me as I head towards another fall.

Summer Time

In my end-of-the-year student evaluations, a student responded to my question of how I could improve for next year with, "Mrs. Fanning should blog more because her last post was in March." Late March, actually, but her comment was true. In early June, another student asked me why I didn't blog each week as they were required to do. In response to both of these students, I have lots of reasons why I don't write more often: grading, meetings, lesson planning, oh yeah, my family.  (Did I mention we are trying to sell our home?) During the school year, time is precious for any teacher. So as a writer/blogger, it is easy to push it aside as something that doesn't fit into my day that already doesn't have enough hours in it. 

And then summertime comes along, or as I like to call it summer time. This break from the hectic school schedule that allows educators the freedom to go at a slower pace, catch our breaths, and, hopefully, recharge before we begin again come September. During this time, I finally am able to immerse myself in the writing I am kept from all year (and reading for that matter). I begin summer by co-facilitating the Capital District Writing Project's Summer Institute (SI), a three-weeklong intensive inquiry into the teaching of writing. I write every day. And each day I tell myself that I will use some time to generate my long-awaited new blog post, and yet, two weeks have gone by and nothing. 

So here I sit outside writing on my in-laws' deck under cover of an umbrella on a gorgeous July Saturday, and I have finally the courage to write. And yes, I do mean courage. Blogging for me is terrifying. At the end of the day, it isn't my to-do list that keeps me from typing up a new post. But rather, it is the voice inside my head that asks, Who do you think you are? Who gives a damn what you think about teaching or education? Why is your classroom so interesting? It is the ever-popular roadblock of self-doubt that I believe any writer struggles with that keeps me from making the time to write.

So for today, I am telling that voice to shut up. I can write whenever I feel like it. Because if there is one thing you realize from participating at the SI (or are reminded of when you return as a facilitator), it is that to be a teacher of writing you need to write. Not necessarily for an audience, but that is a bonus, but to engage in the act and constantly remind yourself how hard it is. To never lose that feeling of what our students go through in our classrooms as we ask them to engage in the act of writing. I write because I know what it teaches me, how it enriches my teaching, and the joy it brings to me personally.

I am under no delusion that my writing needs to serve a greater purpose than that. For what remains of my summer time, I hope to continue on this path as I think on this past year and begin to imagine what the coming year will bring. I will write my way through it and to it.  Because when I let three months slip by without it, I know it is a missed opportunity to reflect and get down the story of my classroom and the vision of what my classroom could be. 

Day 18: Create a metaphor/simile/analogy that describes your teaching philosophy

Confession: I skipped 'Day 17'. That prompt asked me to identify the most challenging issue in education today. For that I will simply refer you to some of my earlier posts. Not to mention there are too many at this moment to possible narrow down. And I simply don't have the energy.

So!  On to something a bit more positive and, hopefully, energizing. (Fingers crossed.)

This past Tuesday I had the honor of being invited to speak at a UAlbany graduate class that had read an article I had co-authored (with the amazing Brigid Schmidt!) on assessment and the importance of teacher inquiry. Professor Kelly Wissman's course, Practitioner and Participatory Action Research, revolves around teacher research. She asked me to talk about my own inquiry experiences as well as my involvement in the Capital District Writing Project (CDWP). I, of course, was very nervous and not sure of what exactly I would say that afternoon to her students. But once our conversation got going, it allowed me to reflect on my teaching and philosophy in a public setting that reaffirmed why I do what I do.

In talking of CDWP, I explained that I would not be the teacher I am had it not been for my Writing Project colleagues. This organization teaches me how to be a reflective educator, encourages my teacher voice and helps me to truly know the importance of inquiry both for me and my students. I wondered what my classroom would be like had I not participated in their four-week Summer Institute in 2004. I encouraged all the graduate students, many who are full-time teachers and literacy specialists, to consider applying this summer. It was transformative for me...and I never hesitate to invite others to apply and let it transform them.

As the conversation shifted to my classroom, I spoke of the ways that technology and inquiry have shaped my pedagogy. We talked about the messiness of teaching and how one has to be comfortable with that messiness in order to improve and try to make it less messy the next time. I wanted them to know that I didn't have any "answers" to how to successfully center one's practice around inquiry; I only had experiences ripe with failures. But in thinking through those disappointments, I regrouped and adjusted for my next lesson, next unit, next year's group of 7th graders. I thrive in the examination of my teaching choices and how it can always be better...even when I feel something was successful.

I'm not sure if there is a good metaphor/simile/analogy that describes all of this. I'm not a chameleon. For the chameleon changes and camouflages in order to protect itself. That's not me. I change in order to meet the needs of my students. And while this constant change and revision of my craft makes me feel alive as a teacher, it is driven by what is best for them. My students.

I like the idea that there simply is no metaphor that would do my (and really it is so many teachers') teaching philosophy justice. I believe that, despite what you hear in the media and from politicians, this thing we call teaching is the most complex profession there is. It is not something you can package, bottle up, and market. There is no rubric that could cover the many facets of what we do in a day. And there certainly is no test that could measure the impact we have every day. It is, in fact, messy. When it becomes easy, straight forward and simple to predict, it isn't being done the way it needs to be. So if you happen to think of a metaphor, keep it to yourself. I'm not interested.

One of Those Days

Today was one of those days. You know the kind. The sort of day you wake up and wonder if you are going to make it through to the end. For teachers, those days are usually ones before a long break. But today was a triple whammy: the day before vacation, the day before Valentine's Day (lots of candy and sugar running through the halls) and Friday the 13th. Trepidatiously, I began my day.

On top of these beyond-my-control variables, I also had planned our team's annual PSA Film Festival. Being my fourth year, I was determined that this year, things would go smoothly. (Friday the 13th be damned!) Each year this simple celebration of student-created  public service announcement videos has been a stress-filled, hectic afternoon that came close to being a disaster. In past years, I've been screamed at by parents, had major technical difficulties, and even shed tears (sad, not happy ones).

But this year, I was prepared and made sure that nothing could go wrong. I left plenty of time in between grading the PSAs and the film festival.  Time to give kids feedback and allow them time to revise their videos if needed. Time to look through all of their video footage and create a surprise blooper reel video for them. Time to do a practice run with Mrs. Nichols to make sure the videos would play with no trouble.

And so, it was one of those days.

One of those days where you couldn't be more proud of your students. A day where you get the opportunity to share kids' hard work with their parents. A day where former students return to support their younger siblings. A day where you get to laugh with everyone who makes up your team: teachers, students and families.  A day where you feel like you might want to shed some tears (happy, not sad ones). This was one of those days.

So as we head off to our February break, I just want to say thank you to everyone. Today was one of those awesome, wonderfully fabulous days.

#InviteCuomo

*This is part of the social media campaign to invite our governor into our schools to say what our schools and students really need. 

Govenor Cuomo,

I would like to cordially invite you into room 356, an 7th grade English Language Arts classroom, at Farnsworth Middle School in Guilderland, NY.  Here are just a few things that the 7th graders in room 356 are working on...writing, reading, blogging, reflecting, creating, thinking, worrying, growing, maturing, listening, speaking, producing, procrastinating, inquiring, laughing, hiding, figuring, analyzing, comprehending, hypothesizing, theorizing, brainstorming, arguing, and being.

If you accepted this invitation you would write with us, hear us share our writing, and listen to us share our stories. You would read with us, hear us share our thinking and listen as we try to make sense of our world.  You would see us use paper, pencils, Chromebooks, imaginations, cell phones, apps, opinions, cameras, experiences, folders, hearts. Some of us would be sitting at desks, some in couches, a rocking chair, bungee chairs, or standing at pub tables.

In room 356 you would find we are writers, filmmakers, photographers, readers, story tellers, citizens, bloggers, artists, learners, journalists, thinkers, friends, a community. The students you declared you are the lobbyist for are room 356.

I am inviting you in not to meet with me. Not to put my teaching on display for you, but to put you in touch with a chapter of the NYS K-12 Student Lobby for whom you are working so hard. My fear is you know nothing of the craft that is my profession. For while your mother happened to be a teacher, that does not give you the right to judge my work. My own mother was a nurse, but yet I do not profess to know the best way to treat a patient.  So if you accept this invitation, it would be to meet with your constituents, the students of room 356. Because before a lobbyist can attempt to influence those who make the decisions, he must first talk to those whose interests he represents. Otherwise, on whose behalf are you lobbying?

I propose you visit the 7th grade students in room 356, your 7th grade students, to tell them how you are representing them. Let them hear from you what you are demanding from the legislature on their behalf. Come and explain to them how their test scores will be responsible for 50% of their teachers' evaluation. Hear their reactions as they try to understand how their performance over three days won't simply determine whether they are a 1, 2, 3 or 4, but their score makes up half of their teachers' score. It could result in their teachers' termination. That their younger sibling might not have the same teachers. That they might not be able to visit me in room 356 next year as the 8th graders do so often. Come and help them understand why those three days in April sitting, reading, bubbling and writing aren't stressful enough already. Because I have a feeling, that unlike most lobbyists, you didn't run your ideas by the students you represent.

Better yet, Governor, you should come and sit in room 356 on one of those mornings in April. Sit among your students with your No. 2 pencil for 90 minutes and take the all-important test. Sit and bubble as one of them and struggle to determine the best answer. And after those three days sitting, reading, bubbling and writing, talk to the students you lobby for about why their answers are more important than all the other work we have done all year that can't be measured via Pearson or PARCC and convince them that what you are proposing is in their best interests.

Their responses would hopefully give you pause. I wonder, would you listen to them? Would you entertain their questions, their doubts, their concerns? Or would you be silent? And would your silence reveal you for the true lobbyist that you are? The millionaires' lobbyist. The hedge fund managers' lobbyist. The charter schools' lobbyist. 

This may seem like I am putting too much trust in a group of 13 year olds, but I know one steadfast truth about kids: they can spot a phony a mile away. A phony who claims to be looking out for them when he clearly has another agenda. A politician through and through, who misuses his power instead of doing what is right. 

So come into room 356 and have at it. Because my guess is, you won't last even a few minutes.

Virtual Me

Last night was one of those nights where it is difficult being both a teacher and a mom.  My daughter didn't have an appetite at dinner due to an upset tummy. I knew this was a real ailment since we were having her favorite, my husband's chicken parm, for dinner. She would never pass that up.  So as we got ready for bed, we prepared too for the chance of vomiting (sorry I can't think of a euphemism for that).

After attempting to get some sleep, she soon called me back upstairs and the inevitable happened. As I cleaned her up, threw her bedding in the washing machine (I let me husband take care of the actual mess), I mentally began to prepare for the fact that I wouldn't be in school the next day. This is where being a teacher and a parent is challenging. On the days that my husband stays home with one of our sick daughters, he simply sends an email and that is that. For a teacher though, not only do I email, I have to request a substitute (hopefully one is available...this is a growing problem these days), and write lesson plans so that classes can happen in my absence.

Simply taking a day off for a teacher is never simple. I find it is more work than actually being there. So as I began to plan for what I would type in my substitute lesson plan, I was concerned about the wrench that my absence would throw into the work that my students are in the midst of. They are working on a group project in order to plan, shoot and edit a public service announcement video or PSA. In order for this process to go smoothly, I have learned in doing this unit for the past several years that my feedback is crucial in order for the kids to produce a successful video. As they brainstorm a topic, slogan, scenario and the voiceover, I am there checking in and approving their ideas along the way. This year we were off to a great start...barring a few two-hour delays that had cut our time together short last week.

Luckily since I have my Chromebook cart, I initially started to think of how we could use email to conference on ideas during class. But the thought of my students having to type out their ideas, and then me typing my feedback in response seemed like it would take too long.  I then thought about how the kids could call me at home via my classroom phone so we could talk instead of type. That thought, though, lead to an even better one. Google Hangout. I realized we had the power to have a video chat where we could both see each other. I immediately texted my teammate who co-teaches with me during class to see if we could make it work. As usual my colleagues were supportive and set up a Chromebook where the kids could step up during class to run their ideas by me.

Class went extremely well. Not only did I get to see how class went, but I was able to talk to each group several times.

Some groups even carried "me" into the hallway to conference so we didn't have to talk over the din of the other group conversations happening.

It was also nice to see my students working diligently.This is what I truly love about technology. It allows for so many great learning opportunities.  And for once, not being at school wasn't so stressful.

PS:  My daughter is feeling much better!