Quick Sand

It was mid-March when the Teacher Monster finally made an appearance. I'm not sure what caused it. 5th graders showing their middle school side, too many late nights, or maybe I've finally reached the point where I'm just plain tired.

I recently presented the work that I'm doing with kids to help them understand that their voice has power and that power can be used to change circumstances and perspectives. After presenting information and feeling the power of using my voice to share our work, I was inspired. The potential for the work that can be done is huge.

But then, I listened for a few minutes. I heard a parent come to speak about an incident that occurred at the middle school. I heard another local resident of the NAACP speak about injustice and the speed at which things are happening.

And.......I'm knocked right back down.

To each individual of color..... all of this feels like the all deliberate speed mandate of Brown v. Board of Education

I see how people with huge amounts of money are paying for kids to get into college so they can party.....

Something has to give!

If we keep on doing the same things that have always done, we all must be insane (or at least that's how the saying goes).

Dealing with race and race issues in education is no easy task, but as I sit and listen to the people who are in charge I hear and see power to make changes.

One voice speaks in my head.....and in that voice.....I hear everything.....

...a 5th-grade girl "It doesn't matter what I do, the teachers at this school only believe the WHITE kids!"

Most teachers would be offended, but for me, it was a call to action. We cannot get defensive when talking about the issue of race. We have to be able to recognize that people of color are representing not only their lifetime experiences, but the experiences of their parents, and their grandparents, and great grandparents. The story of a black child at school is not isolated to the 13 years they spend in school, but also includes the life and experiences of their families. It is our system that is failing. Talking about race does not make someone racist.

Some people call me a social justice warrior, but I'm not. I'm a teacher, a mom, and a woman of color and I just want to make things better. I want people who are in the way to move and let me through.

So many people around me are stuck
...they've decided not to move so as to avoid sinking in the quicksand
...they've decided to move so much to avoid the topic that they are sinking
...they've decided that enough has been done
...they've decided to fight the change

My question......
Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you now
You got someone to blame
You say
One love
One life

Break the Spell

Scorpion Spellers

Delta Dragons

Under Your Spell

Delta Dragons List
Scorpion Spellers List

Policy of Truth?

It's always a bit scary to ask your students what is it that you love about your teacher. You never know what kind of responses you will get. This is one of my favorite questions to ask because kids don't know that you're supposed to be nice and find something to say. Sometimes kids are very blunt and I'll get the classic - NOTHING, and other times amazing responses make me tear up a little - I love Mrs. Prophet because she is blunt and tells us like it is in the real world because we need to hear it.

Today was a tough day. Students have been struggling with self-management and justice fighting. Justice fighting is my way of describing what happens when kids try to explain what they were doing when it all went wrong in class (some people call it talking back). I talk to kids all the time about using their powerful voices productively, but this year it is been a struggle. I'm struggling to help kids understand that not all adults are like Mrs. Prophet and there are many adults in this world that will try to silence them.

Today was one of those days! I got a little choked up while trying to talk to the kids in my class because I always want everyone to love them the way I do. The kids will tell you that I cry sometimes when we talk about this stuff. It's an unfortunate side effect of getting close to a class and trying to help them become better humans.


Most adults grew up in the era when kids were taught that authority is to be respected and never questioned, but is that really what we want our kids to think? We are living in a world where it's essential for us to learn how to evaluate sources and perspectives and see if they square with a world that we want to live in. I believe that kids are just people that haven't learned how to navigate this world effectively yet.


When they are taught to sit down and shut up, we all lose. When we teach kids that their opinions don't matter, they stop listening to us. When we teach kids content and never build a relationship with them, nothing will happen but resistance. I want my students to learn how to question authority but maintain respect in the method that they do it.

Do I think that teachers deserve student respect? Sure do.

Do I think that teachers are unfairly blamed for many things? Yep!

Do I think that all students regardless of how they treat teacher deserve respect? Of course!

Do I think that teachers do a lot of things that cause students to lose respect for them? Yes!

We are all humans and we need to remember that how we talk to people matters. If we disregard the people element of education, we ALL lose.

So as my kiddo said today: Mrs. Prophet is blunt, she tells us what it's like in the real world because we need to hear it. The truth is we all need to hear it. We need to step up and take care of each other. Maybe flip our thinking a bit. If we start to believe that someone who is giving us a hard time is actually a person having a hard time, maybe we can open our hearts and minds to the needs of others.

Magic Spells

Here are the lists for the 2 spelling groups:
Animals: Spelling List - Prefixes
Dragons: Spelling List - Alliteration Consonants

You Spin Me Round!

Happy Saturday!

October is a challenging month. For much of the first 8 weeks of school, we learn about each other and our preferences/challenges. However, while it is an important time of community building, October is the month when our kids develop social challenges and communication breakdowns as our relationships change and grow.

Many times I've found that in October kids start to bicker like brothers and sisters! I welcome this challenge because it means a couple of things for me. First, it gives me a chance to see how effective I have been at building a community. Kids that are engaged in our community are more likely to have these types of issues than kids who aren't. I always remember back to when I was kid fighting with my siblings. We argue and fight, but after a few hours (or days) we would come back together stronger than before.

Secondly, October challenges present an opportunity for me to continue working on our social and emotional learning (SEL). Often teachers stop this work because the academic learning must take priority over building relationships with kids. I feel that it is my job as a teacher to help prepare kids to be socially and emotionally ready to learn the academic material.

As the year progresses, our SEL will evolve and change because the needs of the kids expand. Rather than working to create agreements about how we will work together, we shift to ways we can follow the agreements. We also have to amend our understanding of each other as we change and mature as 5th graders.

This week I have jumped into talking about self-management and how important it is for kids to control the things that are within their circle of control. We also discussed what to do when presented with a challenge and how to ask for help. Next week, our SEL will shift again as we begin to practice how to speak up and advocate for our emotional, social, and academic needs. 

Here are some great pictures from the work we did this week!

 

Do I Have to Spell it Out?

Here are the spelling sorts - just in case your student 'forgot' to bring their words home. Happy Wednesday!