teacher character

Why I’m Participating in the Staff Back-to-School Picnic

by Kendal Privette on July 30, 2012

When I read or watch the news these days, I learn about climate change. And how it affects me. And what I can do to affect it. This is a little overwhelming, really to think of just one person having an effect on, oh I don’t know, the entire atmosphere, but it has made me think of climate in terms of my school. What is our climate? Is it changing? If so, is it improving or deteriorating? Does it matter? What role do I play?

Just what is school climate? According to the National School Climate Center, it is the quality and character of school life. School climate is based on patterns of students’, parents’ and school personnel’s experience of school life and reflects norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures. Research shows a correlation between positive school climate and student achievement. Furthermore, just like in our physical environment, people want to stay in a pleasant climate. Teacher turn-over is lower in schools that report a positive climate.

These are high stakes, but what do we do? How much is left up to us, the educators? Isn’t it enough that we plan relevant, rigorous lessons based on national standards? Isn’t it enough that we incorporate Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy into the very fiber of our beings? We have to be relational too?

I want my school to be a favorable place, conducive to accomplished teaching and authentic learning, and that cannot happen in a harsh climate. A first step toward this favorable school environment is building positive collegial relationships. And this is why I will participate in our staff back-to-school picnic. Not just attend. Participate. I’m not talking about getting my teammates off to a table to begin unit planning. No, I will not even take a notebook or pen. I want to welcome and get to know new staff members. I want to listen to my colleagues. And on Thursday, that means hearing about the new houses, the vacations, the gardens, the aged parents and the new babies’ accomplishments. Later, like Friday, I want to hear, really hear, their ideas about students, discipline, essential questions and assessments, but first, over a hamburger, I want to know them as people. This, I believe is a vital first step in creating a positive school climate.

So, to what have you been invited? Will you participate? What does your staff do to promote collegiality on your campus?

kendal’s personal blog is a spacious place.

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Be the Bean

by Kendal Privette on May 15, 2012

The North Carolina Teacher of the Year, Tyronna Hooker, spoke at one of our faculty meetings recently – a shot in the arm as we enter this season of testing. She shared an inspirational story with us, and, although I have to admit that I don’t always pay attention to the heartwarmers, I was…inspired. In the story a woman who is facing adversity boils a carrot in one pot, an egg in another and a coffee bean in another. The carrot gets mushy and the egg hard, but the coffee bean? Changes the water. School isn’t always easy, but we all, teachers and students alike, have a choice in how we respond to challenges.

I thought about the ways in which my students have been the bean this year. Making bracelets to raise money to provide clean water in Africa, welcoming students with special needs to their classroom, writing award-winning speeches, assisting teachers in a grant-writing project to provide a defibrillator for our school, pitching in to help our custodian while another has been on medical leave for four months, and the list goes on.

I want to be the bean everyday for my students – challenging their minds, dispelling myths, breaking up stereotypes and always, always pushing for more.

I want to be the bean everyday for my colleagues – smiling, working as a team player, and helping in any way I can.

I want to be the bean in my community – listening, advocating for students and speaking positive words about my school.

How about you? In what ways have your students been agents for change this year? In what ways do you want to be the bean?

Kendal teaches 7th grade social studies and blogs at a spacious place

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How to Enjoy Teaching During Testing Season

by Kendal Privette on March 22, 2012

Testing season has opened in North Carolina Public Schools. Over the next eight weeks we will train for a field test, administer the field test, review the field test, train for the state end-of-grade tests, administer the state end-of-grade tests, remediate for re-tests and administer the re-tests. Sigh. Deep, heavy, ragged sigh. I want to teach. I want to help students explore culture. I want to tap into their creativity. As I reflect on the sheer number of hours we will spend in still, silent, sequestered testing sessions, I am faced with a choice: work myself into a frenzy, fretting over time boxes, answer documents, test booklets and data or focus on why I do what I do.

And why do I roll out of bed at 5:00 every morning, looking forward to unlocking room 712? Because I have the privilege of unlocking more than a door each day. When students return smiles and greet learning experiences with enthusiasm, when they want to save the world and come alongside the classmate with special needs, I am filled with inexplicable energy (remember the 5:00 wake-up call). I feel like I could do this forever. Thirteen-year-olds really can display these positive characteristics, and unlocking them is crucial to maintaining joy in this profession. And it starts with me – my smiles, my enthusiasm, my willingness to let them try to save the world, my teaching them to come alongside the ones who need assistance.

There are a plethora of other things that keep me going, too. My colleagues, who are professional, learned, kind-hearted and helpful. The student mini-laptop program. Strong, freshly ground coffee in the workroom. A new(ish), beautiful facility. But number one? Students. And I refuse to let hours of standardized testing rob me of the joy of working with them.

How about you? What keeps you going this late in the year?

Kendal writes at a spacious place

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A Meaningful Gift for the Imperfect Teacher

by Kendal Privette on December 16, 2011

Writing for this blog has forced me to analyze what I do and why I do it, so today, because I was curious, I asked my students to compile lists of the qualities they appreciate in teachers. They wrote, ranked and shared until they had assembled forty-five adjectives. It’s a tall order, this list, and one I strive to fill. Here are a few of my favorites -

patient

creative

loving

kind

fun

active

helpful

optimistic

even-tempered

humorous

world-saving

But there are days. Headache days. Should-have-gone-to-bed-earlier days. Worried-about-family days. Days I make ineffective decisions. Days I am unprepared and self-centered. Days I expect perfection from 12-year-olds. I admit that on those days I embody few of the qualities my students treasure in a teacher. I had one today, one of those days. It started with a 9.5-on-the-Privette-scale headache and slid quickly into the pits by noon. Bedraggled is the best adjective to describe me after a twelve hour day.

But thank goodness for tomorrows. And thank goodness for gifts. Oh, it is the Christmas season, and my students will come bearing gifts. Coffee. Mugs. Candles. Chocolate. Nutella. Gift Cards. I am smiling now, thinking of how excited they are to give. But on the top of my wish list tonight? Grace. These students, I know them, and I believe that they will give and give abundantly. They will bestow upon this teacher forgiveness undeserved.

So I would like to add a forty-sixth adjective to the slate - blessed.

Kendal blogs at a spacious place

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When a Teacher is Tired

November 17, 2011

When your patience with that student and that colleague is spent, when grades are due tomorrow and lessons plans were due yesterday, when you are tired– here is where the true grit of teaching rises to the surface. Because anyone can teach for an afternoon, fresh out of the shoot, full of smiles and candy [...]

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Be a Better Teacher {10 Questions to a Happier You}

October 19, 2011

Do you Want to Be a Better, Happier Teacher? Do you want to be a more positive person– Someone a little more glass-half-full and a bit less eeyore-sound-alike? Here are ten simple questions to honestly ask yourself, which just may hold the key to greater joy, easier smiles, and louder laughs in the classroom and outside [...]

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