Jefe/ Líder

Thanks to Catalina Aragón for sharing this on FB. 

Looping: An Investment in Students

By Jessica Cuthbertson

I wasn’t prepared for my first classroom.
Hired right after completing a one-year fellowship with a scholarship foundation, and just before the No Child Left Behind law went into full effect, I slid into my first classroom idealistic, inexperienced, and ill-prepared.
I studied communication and sociology as an undergraduate, so I knew a fair amount about the history of schooling—and precious little about what it meant to be a middle school literacy teacher in the 21st century. But I was given the keys to my first classroom anyway.
Miraculously, my first group of students learned in spite of me. They are now fresh college graduates who are starting their own careers and lives in various fields.
What made it work? I wasn’t prepared for my first group of students, but they were ready for me—they had firm foundations and relatively stable home lives. Also, I “looped” with my first group of 6th graders, following them to 7th grade. And then I looped again with them from 7th to 8th grade. That’s right: three years with the same group of students.
In those three years, my students taught me how to be a teacher. They taught me that relationships are the entry point for adolescent literacy instruction and that rigor is a byproduct of trust. They taught me to be honest and patient, and to involve students as much as possible in the learning journey—from lesson planning to final assessment.
Looping changed my professional life.

Relationships Matter

Eleven years later, I’m finally back to looping again, working with a group of 26 7th graders whom I taught last year as 6th graders. I hope to continue the loop to 8th grade next year. I now teach in a large, diverse district with challenges that range from a steep achievement gap to scarce resources. I teach second-language learners and students living in poverty. The reading skills represented in my room range from 2nd grade to high school text levels.

See Also

Previous pieces by Jessica Cuthbertson:

“Open Your Classroom Door to 'Be Better'”

“The Class Whisperer: How I Learned (the Hard Way) to Shut Up and Listen”

Meanwhile, everything about my pedagogy—from the way I plan to the tools I use—has changed over the past 11 years, except this: Relationships matter. They drive the rigor and expectations behind the reading and writing-workshop practices in my classroom. And looping supports that.
Admittedly, looping may not be for everyone. It requires flexibility and constant reflection to avoid stagnation and a too-familiar or too-comfortable teaching and learning environment.
In other words, you cannot rely on something working just because it has in the past. Instead, you must train your eye on grade-level standards and expectations and be two steps ahead of the savvy students who know you so well. You have to seek to learn new things about each student and their families rather than relying solely on prior knowledge and previous interactions. You have to work harder to keep things fresh and relevant.
But the benefits are worth it, especially during critical developmental periods like pre-adolescence and adolescence, when so many other factors in students’ lives are in flux. Looping supports student learning and accelerates growth. By building on a foundation of relationships and learning history, the first day of school is simply a continuation of the learning journey.

Planning to Loop

Think looping might be for you? Here are three steps you can take today to plan for looping with your learners:
• Advocate: Deep knowledge of the needs of individual students is far more complex than knowing content and grade-level standards. If relationships are the driving force in your classroom, collect data and artifacts that demonstrate how looping with your students will accelerate their achievement. Communicate with your school leader throughout the year about your interest in looping—grounding your proposal in the student-learning information you’ve collected.
• Communicate: As you plan, keep in mind that looping is most successful when all stakeholders understand and have a voice in the situation. I surveyed my students and their parents at the end of the first year to give them a choice to opt in (or out) of a second year of instruction with me.
• Collaborate: Involve other teachers in your grade level or team in the looping discussion and scheduling decisions. Having multiple teachers loop within a grade level or content area can help with tackling new standards, curriculum, or grade-level expectations as a team. Aligning expectations across classrooms (regardless of whether students are looping) will ensure a supportive and equitable learning community for all.
Looping is a tangible investment in our students. It tells kids we care about them—that we’re in it for more than this moment, this unit, this school year.
Given my personal lack of preparation for entry into the profession and the myriad reasons teachers leave the profession, some days I still have to pinch myself. Not only am I still teaching, but I also love my work. A brief stint of instructional coaching that took me away from the classroom led me right back to it. I choose adolescents over adults and I choose looping over the merry-go-round of students shuffling through our classrooms and schools.
I can’t help but wonder … if more first-year teachers were hired with the expectation that they would loop, would there be more career teachers—and more successful students?

Jessica Cuthbertson teaches middle school English language arts in Aurora, Colo. In her second year as a CTQ teacherpreneur, she divides her time between teaching and supporting national teacher-led common-core implementation efforts. She is an active member and virtual community organizer in the CTQ Collaboratory, which welcomes all who believe in teacher leadership.

Web Only

Everybody Started Out Small

Stuart Stotts And Tom Pease








Everybody Started Out Small


Look at an elephant, it weighs eight tons
look at a pine tree, reaching for the sun
see that giraffe, twenty feet tall
but everybody everybody everybody everybody
everybody started out small.
Your mom and dad, seem so giant
they seem so strong and self reliant
but they used to wear diapers and they used to crawl
but everybody everybody everybody everybody
everybody started out small.
One tiny seed can make a sequoia
one grain of sand makes a shiny pearl
one little baby makes a boy or
girl who’s ready for the great big world.
You start out small, but you never know
what you’ll become or how far you’ll go
so take a little step and if you fall
remember everybody everybody everybody everybody
everybody started out small.


This is a must get CD!

10 Reasons To Become A Library Addict

10 Reasons To Become A Library Addict

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Laura Grace Weldon

Image: CC by 2.0 ricardo266)

My name is Laura. I have a chronic library habit.
Sure, I have other, less socially acceptable habits. We can talk about those another day. Right now I’m trying to convince you to become a fellow library fanatic.
I’ve already been successful with my kids. The stacks of books my family brings home may be pushing up the state average. Now that my kids are older they are surprised most of their peers don’t bother with libraries, in person or online. And I’m surprised to see how many of my friends don’t use libraries either. Some haven’t been since high school. For those of you who don’t bliss out over libraries, or worse, dismiss libraries as dim places with a distinctive old book smell, here are the ten best reasons to get hooked on libraries.
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1. Magic water.
As a small child I was convinced there was something magical about drinking fountain water at our local library. It tasted better than water anywhere else. I wondered if it had to do with enviable proximity to all those books.
When I had kids I  rhapsodized about the water at libraries. And they’ve always been able to taste the difference. Even though I realize there’s no factual basis for this belief, library water still seems more deeply refreshing than ordinary water. Try it and see for yourself.
 
2. Awe.

A much more vital magic is evident in libraries around the world.

It has to do with a sense of history, of freely shared knowledge, and awe-inspiring architecture. When traveling I make sure to hang out in libraries. Most recently I found time to soak up the atmosphere of one of NYC’s awesome libraries.
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3. Librarians.

ala.org

Surely you celebrate the annual Hug Your Librarian Day. These folks are amazing. As  Erica Firment writes on Librarian Avengers,

People become librarians because they know too much. Their knowledge extends beyond mere categories. They cannot be confined to disciplines. Librarians are all-knowing and all-seeing. They bring order to chaos. They bring wisdom and culture to the masses. They preserve every aspect of human knowledge. Librarians rule. And they will kick the crap out of anyone who says otherwise.

Librarian stereotypes aren’t relevant or cute. Don’t believe me? Check out The Bellydancing Librarian, The Steampunk Librarian, and Miss Information. Still think of them as chronic shsser’s? Then read Your Librarian Hates You.
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4. Library materials are free!
Our taxes pay for them whether you use them or not. Only suckers don’t get in there to scoop up books, magazines, movies, digital downloads, recorded books, electronic readers, programs, classes, performances, and more. My kids and I have strolled out after a library visit with well over 100 items checked out on a card or two.
Today’s libraries offer much more than well worn books and a chaotic Story Hour. Click over to your library’s website. You’ll find an amazing array of offerings well beyond the newest bestsellers. There are probably programs to get you started in fencing or felting or fraternizing with fellow foodies, just this week alone.
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5. Ordering.
OMG, I love ordering materials. In my area library systems are linked, so holdings can be sent from libraries in quite a few counties right to my own little branch. I can read a review of a book before it’s released, then go to the library site to pre-order it. I can order special book group offerings for our book group (up to 20 of the same book) that come organized by some saintly librarian with supplemental materials. I order obscure specialty books that were published back in the 1920’s and earlier.
We’ve homeschooled on the cheap thanks to our library system and the wonders of ordering materials. No way could I afford to expose my kids to the depth of information and range of experiences they’ve gained via libraries.
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6. Online renewal.

I don’t know about your library system, but mine permits renewals up to five times. Online. That gives me several months to adore most materials. Those months are necessary. I use books in my work, take them with me lest I have a dull moment, and leave them around for my family members to pick up when their eyeballs are unoccupied.
Sometimes I find books so precious that when they are finally and irrevocably due I end up buying a copy. But let me point out, I only buy books after proving their worth to myself. No regrettable book purchases here. Yay savings.
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7. Library privileges.
I’ve been in a steady human relationship for a loooong time, but I’m a non-monogamous library user. Judging by the number of library cards in my name, I’m a pushover for the sweet allure of any library’s New Acquisitions section.
It’s hard to unearn library privileges. Late fees are usually minimal and in many systems there are no late fees for seniors, teachers, and homeschoolers. Even when my account is labeled “delinquent” due to a late book or two I’m still able to check out and reserve materials. I don’t mind a few dollars here and there to make up for my late return crimes. Totally worth it. Unlike most human relationships, my library is always buying me something new, forgiving me when I atone, and consistently planning unexpected ways to lure me.
*
8. Research databases.
Library systems subscribe to pricey online database services that none of us could afford on our own. I access most of them from my home computer, simply logging in with my library card number. These databases include genealogy, academic research, news archives, digital images, health, and much more. I relied almost entirely on the resources of my award-winning Medina County Library for the research necessary to write my book.
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9. Book Zombie Fuel

sundaykofax via Flickr, CC by 2.0

A wealth of materials is essential for those of us who are Book Zombies. We absolutely must gorge on fresh brains books, feeding an insatiable hunger for that oblivious-to-the-world swoon we call reading. We don’t hear or see what’s happening in our “real” lives when lost in a book.
Libraries feed that hunger, gladly buying books for us and storing them until we’re ready for more.
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10. That smell.
Libraries don’t smell like someone’s musty basement. The odor is something entirely different. I’ll tell you what it reminds me of, right after I tell you about how much I appreciate Russian language library materials.
For five summers we hosted a little girl from Belarus  through the Children of Chernobyl project. And every summer before she arrived I called the librarian in charge of the foreign language collection at the Cleveland Public Library. We talked over Tatiana’s age and interests, then every few weeks through her three month stay this librarian sent to our rural library branch a wonderful selection of Russian materials including Harry Potter books, children’s magazines, recorded children’s books, popular music, and much more. When my kids curled up with books or went to bed listening to CD’s, Tanya was able to do so as well. I hoped it eased the hunger she must have felt to hear her own language. Beyond that, it built connections between us almost immediately.
The first day she arrived, exhausted from long flights and weak from some medical problems, there was no way we could really communicate. It became obvious that our efforts to learn Russian had been laughable and as a seven-year-old her grasp of English was limited to “yes” and “thank you.” Then I remembered those blessed library materials. In a few minutes all of us were dancing to the Russian version of “Hokey Pokey” and laughing before collapsing in a heap on the couch together to giggle as we paged through a Russian/English picture book, challenging each other to pronounce the words. That stack of Russian library materials smelled, more than anything, like home. To me, every library smells like my place. Bet they smell like your place too.

About Laura Grace Weldon

Laura Grace Weldon is a writer and editor, perhaps due to an English professor's scathing denunciation of her writing as "curious verbiage." Her recent book is "Free Range Learning" (lauragraceweldon.com) and she's working on her next, "Subversive Cooking" (subversivecooking.com). She lives on Bit of Earth Farm with her family where she is a barely useful farm wench. Although she has deadlines to meet she often wanders from the computer to preach hope, snort with laughter, cook subversively, observe chicken behavior, discuss life’s deeper meaning with her surprisingly tolerant offspring, sing to bees, hide in books, feed cows, walk dogs, concoct tinctures, watch foreign films and make messy art.

 

And Then Some....

Essay by Carl Holmes




And then some… these three little words are the secret to success.  They are the difference between average people and top people in most companies.  The top people always do what is expected …and then some.  They are thoughtful of others; they are considerate and kind …and then some.  They meet their responsibilities fairly and squarely …and then some.  They are good friends and helpful neighbors …and then some.  They can be counted on in an emergency …and then some.  I am thankful for people like this, for they make the world a better place.  Their spirit of service is summed up in these three little words …and then some.

Esperanza Groundbreaking

Thanks to Karina Taylor!




Thanks to Dawn Foutz!
 

Thanks!!!

Received the following email from Jeff Beisinger after our Esperanza Groundbreaking on Saturday, September 28th. 

 

 

September 30, 2013

 

Barbara and Steve-

 

I just wanted to send a quick thank you to the both of you. Saturday was such a great event. I was so excited to be invited to attend. Esperanza has truly been a blessing for me to be a small part of. I get the chance to work with so many good people with my job, but I can honestly say that Esperanza is special. I have been so amazed by everyone involved. This school is special. I can’t wait to see it start going up and the joy of everyone when it opens next summer. It will be here before we will even know it!!

 

Again, thank you. Misty [Jeff's wife] and I were so grateful for the kind gift [copy of the book Esperanza Rising]and words that you said. She stole the book from me and has already read it! Hopefully, she will give me a chance at it. J

 

If there is anything that either of you need, please let me know.

 

Jeff Beisinger, Esperanza's financial/facility consultant

Red Apple