Sunday, March 4, 2018

Thank you, Mrs. Smith

When I was nine years old my family moved from Los Angeles County in California to a small town in Alabama. As a half-Colombian girl who loved and missed her Abuelita so much, this was a hard move for me. I was always happy to go to school when I was in California. I got to go to the "gifted" classes, I was totally obsessed with a classmate named Mario, and my third-grade teacher was a Sci-Fi geek (apparently I was, too). Our class was full of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and this new movie that was so awesome. You may have heard of it... Star Wars? I got to make my very own R2-D2 (well, my dad did). And our school had a great day of dancing and celebrating for Cinco de Mayo each year. School was awesome.

When we moved to Alabama it was a little different for me that first year. My teacher wasn't my biggest fan. She didn't like all of my ideas and talk about California. She wanted me to be quiet. She would "give me licks" on my palm with her ruler. I just always had something to share (I'm still like that, actually ðŸ˜ƒ). I remember my report card saying, in her best teacher cursive writing, "Monica is too talkative." 

Next year was 5th grade. That's a big year. You turn 11 in that grade. And my mom had a baby. Whoa. A big year. My teacher was Mrs. Smith. Thank goodness.

Mrs. Smith is a beautiful lady that seemed to love being a teacher. I can remember that she turned 50 that year. On her birthday I said, "Don't think of it as half a century, think of it as 'Nifty Fifty!' ". I remember that so well. She said she liked that and wanted to remember it so she wrote it on the board in her perfect teacher cursive writing. I felt really proud and I think I felt like she liked me. That wasn't the only thing Mrs. Smith did that made me feel like she cared. Once I cheated off my best friend during a spelling test. She was kind. I was glad Mrs. Smith didn't want to whack my palm with a ruler.

Another thing that she did was let me draw. She not only let me draw, she let me draw for my classmates. They would pay me a nickel or a quarter for a drawing of a funny looking elephant or turtle that used to appear in the back of magazines. If you're younger than 40 you may not know about those. Drawing was my past-time, even back in 1980. What was so great about Mrs. Smith was that she made me feel like I was good. My fourth-grade teacher didn't make me feel that way. 

I think about Mrs. Smith anytime I hear about teachers making school amazing for kids (a.k.a. Teach Like a Pirate). I am so glad that I had Mrs. Smith that year. I think she helped to make me who I am today, and maybe she helped undo what that fourth-grade teacher had done the year before. 

She let this doodler draw. She let this talker talk. She let this person who makes mistakes try again. 

Thank you, Mrs. Smith. I hope I can be like you for someone in my classroom. (By the way, she's still out there giving of herself at the age of 85! She volunteers at the hospital in that small Alabama town.)


Sunday, January 28, 2018

Tending the Fire


This winter has been really cold. I do not like to be cold. So, here in Georgia where it stayed so cold for so long, we built a lot of fires to keep our home nice and warm. The cold didn't bother me as much when the fire was blazing. I could go about my business getting things done around the house. But, when I got really cold (remember, I do not like to be cold) I could stand right in front of the fire and get really toasty. Then I could sit close by and enjoy the view and the warmth.

BUT, the fire must be "tended". That's what we say in the South. If no one tends the fire, keeps it stoked and refueled with more firewood, then it will eventually go out. There will be some warmth if you get really close, but it won't be pretty to look at and will go out soon.

I can't help but compare this to our passion as educators. Teachers need a fire, a.k.a. passion, in order to be the most effective in the classroom. You can teach without passion, but I wouldn't want to be a student in that classroom. Just sayin'. So, assuming you have a passion for teaching, how do we tend to those passions? Without passion, the demands of being an educator these days can be overwhelming. So many demands and needs in the classroom can really take their toll. Passion needs to be tended to help us stay above the weightiness of our profession. 

The passion I have for education fuels my curiosity to continually learn, make the most of my interactions with students, and to give as much as I can to my community. Helping others is fulfilling, but it can distract you from tending the fire. The fire needs attention. One of the best things I've discovered is that I can lean on others to tend the fire, to keep it going. That's why I love being connected with other passionate educators. There's so much support and inspiration to be found in those people down the hall or around the world. They help you tend your fire when they share, connect, and support you. And you can help someone else in that way, too.

Reach out to others and share. Be a fire tender. Help out a colleague, be inspired by others, and make a difference in your school. It works out great for both sides. Twitter is where I connect the most with those who can help me stay passionate about my job. And there are people in my own school district who help tend my fire, too. So, to all those that help to tend the fire that is my passion for education, THANKS FOR SHARING, CONNECTING, and SUPPORTING! You make a positive difference to educators, which impacts students in an incredible way! 

Keep that fire tended! 

Monica

Monday, January 15, 2018

Reflecting on the 1st #PassTheSketchnote for World Sketchnote Day 2018


#PassTheSketchnote happened on January 11, 2018. Why that date? How did this even happen? What is #PassTheSketchnote? 

The website and community called Sketchnote Army, created by Mike Rhode, declared January 11th World Sketchnote Day a couple of years ago. I had no idea that was a thing! Carrie Baughcum shared a post about it on Instagram, which inspired this thought:  "We should pass around a sketchnote and have people add to it all day!" So, we sent out a Google form to gather names of those who were interested. Carrie posted it on Twitter and we watched (totally amazed) as the interest grew and grew!

The basic plan was for teams of about 5 people from all over the world to contribute to one sketch, and PASS it to next person on the team. With 117 participants, we had about 20 teams, some doing digital sketches and some using paper. Twitter was our "playground". You can click on the following link to see some of the images posted to Twitter for this super fun event: #PassTheSketchnote Images. I loved seeing the images of the sketches as they were in progress and then was WOWed as they were completed.

Did I say how much fun this was? The world came together to draw and share a passion for a pastime that we have been told for so long was only for children. "YAY" is all I can say about the fact that this is NOT true! I'm sure there will be deeper reflections on this topic in the future.




This day was already set to be AMAZING, but then DAVE BURGESS posted a blog featuring my Teach Like a Pirate sketchnotes, Carrie's YouTube sketchnote channel, Matt Miller's (Ditch That Textbook) pirate hooks sketchnote, and Julie Woodard's lovely Lead Like a Pirate sketchnote.

I am beyond thrilled that all of this could even happen. Fun fact: Carrie and I have never met! I Twitter-Know her. Isn't this world amazing that we can connect with other people that share our passions, even if they live in Chicago and you're down in Georgia! You don't have to be isolated! That's from Teach Like A Pirate, too! It's an awesome book. Here's some info on the book if you don't already know what it's all about. http://daveburgess.com/teach-like-a-pirate/

Sketchnoting isn't about art, it's about ideas. So next time you need to learn something you should give it a try!

***Watch Carrie's wrap-up video for this awesome day! Youtube video link

Have a great day! Do something positive. 🙂

Monica
@mospillman on Twitter




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