“What if everyone in our organization, not just our students, was encouraged to pursue his or her dreams?” ~ George Couros, The Innovator’s Mindset This quotation could not come at a more perfect time in my educational career and personal life. Rockin’ my mid-thirties has been an exciting journey to say the least. I have been prompted by my circle of trust peeps, including fellow #IMMOOCer, Tara Martin, and I have been asking myself a version of that question: What are my dreams? I love writing, so I enrolled in a screenwriting class offered at our local arts center. I am so glad I did. I absolutely love the experience and will continue to work on my original screenplay. I want to learn an instrument, so I bought a ukulele and called up a colleague to schedule music lessons. P.S. I CAN’T wait to start next week! I want to continue to learn and fine-tune my craft and continue to inspire kids and fellow teachers, so I am learning as much as I can from my Twitter PLN and sharing, sharing, sharing!
It has taken me a long time to find these dreams and interests but I am glad someone asked me, “What are your dreams?” So often we focus on our students, their dreams, and exposing them to new and amazing things so they can form their own “what ifs,” that we then forget about what makes us tick. It is imperative to inspire students BUT we get to also get to be the recipient of inspiration and shoot for the stars. So what are your dreams? @MenaHillEdu
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I love the song Going the Distance by Cake. Just the first few riffs of the base and guitar and my competitive juices are pumping. MO-TI-VATION! I want to start my workout, project, lesson plans, blog etc. I am ready to be a “do-er.” It’s time to dig deep. How do we get students to dig deep and find their motivation? Just this week, with the guidance of our school counselor, my students were asked to think about their strengths, weaknesses, interests, and hobbies. I prompted the kids into a discussion about what their weakness are and how they can turn those into a strength. They were encouraged to come up with an action plan to turn those grows into glows. They were then asked how all of those strengths can then be funneled into their passion and be released into the world. I watched as students began to take ownership of their ideas, their actions, and themselves -- AMAZING! Their talent, like the giant kraken, is unleashed! Students’ talents grow through relationships. Fostering those relationships further builds a trusting environment that allows students to make mistakes and learn from them. It sparks innovation. Those ideas can and will “blow” minds. This not only goes for students but for us as well! Once talents, ideas, passions are tapped into, the world is theirs and ours for the taking. So will you go the distance? Will you unleash your inner kraken? Do it. @MenaHillEdu Have you ever taken a trip to the ocean? It is one of my most favorite places to be. The sights, sounds, and smells of the world are right at your fingertips. Standing at the water’s edge, you see waves and waves of warm, salty water moving like a mother rocking her baby in her arms. Looking straight ahead, you see rocks from the land that dip into the ocean water and beyond that, nothing but blue and the unknown. The smell of salt awakens your brain as you breathe deeply. Inhale, exhale. Decisions lie before you, should you take a step forward or stay put? You go. You step further and further into the water and begin to swim, taking in all of the beautiful scenery. Soon you are not able to have the comfortable sand squish in between your toes. Your heart races. Coral of a variety of colors grow full of life under the blue water. Schools of fish swim back and forth, reminding you of synchronized swimmers whose water dance makes your heart happy. Swimming onward, the bottom of the ocean seems to get further and further away from the surface. And then all of the sudden, it is just you. You and the water, rocking back and forth. It is somewhat comforting and also terrifying being in the water, alone. Here you are surrounded in the beauty of the ocean, but you are swimming in the deep end of life and you are feeling isolated. How often do students or staff feel this way? How do we reach those students in the deep end and bring them back to shore? You float and move with the waves. Do you let the waves carry you away? Do you reach out for help? BUT you are not alone. Out from the depths floats the most beautiful, most chill sea turtle. He looks at you and almost seems to motion, “Hey, man. It’s all good. Come with me.” Over the course of almost ten years in education, I have seen many teachers and students who put on a good show. Some look like that brave swimmer, but beneath it all, when no one is looking, they are terrified of what is out there, terrified of failure, disappointment, you name it. We are tasked to take notice. By building relationships with our colleagues and nurturing our students, we will find that we can help those who might be stuck. Teachers, we can reach in and pull others out of the depths with teamwork, collaboration, love, and care. But also through those relationships, we may find that when we need to be pulled out of the deep end, we have a strong support team, a family waiting to jump right in. The wise words of one of my fifth graders really brings this home, “Sometimes life can come in like a wave and get you, but together we can make a change.” We can make a difference together. What will you do to reach out to your students and colleagues in the deep end? @MenaHillEdu Picture this: you are walking down a long hallway. Dark mahogany wood floors and white walls make the hallway almost seem like a tunnel that lead to an open room. This room is large. High vaulted ceilings are lined with exposed wooden beams. There is a beautiful Persian rug on the floor, in the center of the room where an L-shaped couch is posted. It looks comfortable and inviting. Burnt-orange and teal colored pillows accent the couch. The space is just right for an afternoon of reading that may lead to a nap. It has two large French doors standing opposite of one another. The doors are open allowing beautiful sheer curtains to flow in the gentle breeze. You listen and find a tiny, magical wind chime making music and bringing a calming feeling to the space. Why is this space so inviting? Why do you want to stay there? Let’s apply this to the classroom environment. Teachers try to create a space that is full of comfort, functionality, and happiness. We all want our students to feel comfortable as they spend the majority of their day at school – their home away from home. The space should be a place to work as well as a comfortable space to learn and grow heads and hearts. We want students to want to come to school. We want them to get a fire in their bellies that burns with a desire to learn, an excitement about their education. Of course the classroom is not limited to that room. No, in fact, it is the very beginning. Think back to those beautiful French doors. They are open with the breeze coming into the room. If the radio were on, music would go out beyond the walls. The mindset of the classroom is quite literal. Yes, learning happens within the four walls, but there is so much more beyond those walls. Teachers, we are called to let the breeze in and send the music out. We get the privilege of embarking on a school year that can involve the community, the whole district, the world. Let me ask you one last question. What do you hope to happen inside your room? What might happen if we open those doors? @MenaHillEdu Dreams… we all have them. They are unique, different, unknown, scary, the list goes on and on. Those dreams are uniquely individual and personal. They are constantly evolving based on personal experiences and future outlooks. Just recently I embarked on my own journey. I have a desire to learn more about creative writing and decided to take a leap of faith and try something new. The local fine arts center offers several different classes which tapped into my desire to reach my dream. Fast forward to my first class. I walk in the room. It is a large room that is a multi-functional space used for a shop class of some sort. Large tools are everywhere. But in the center is a large boardroom table suited for meetings of different nature to take place there. The light-blonde, wooden table is almost out of place, echoing the initial feeling I have. My stomach is in knots. I have ideas. Are they good enough? Will my classmates “get it?” Where do I even start? I am jumping off the diving board into the deep end of the pool and I am pumping with adrenaline. How did I ever get to this point? As I look around the room, I see I am surrounded by men and women, young and old, all with the same goal – to be creative, to have an outlet, to make something. Like-minded people, all gathering together to grow writing skills and build camaraderie, offering advice, guidance, and thoughtful criticism. 100% exciting! Here is the question: What are the dreams of our students and how can we tap into those dreams early on? I am sure everyone can reflect back on teachers who have inspired us, gave us that “push” needed to travel down roads unknown towards our own dreams. The single teacher or group of educators who said, “You can do it. You will do it.” Those teachers stopped for a hot second and got to know us. They made a point to find out what made us tick and genuinely take a personal interest in what we did, how we felt, what we experienced inside and outside of school. We teach work ethic. We teach drive. We teach the basic building blocks needed so that ALL dreams can be achieved if our students just dream. How can we ask our students to take a chance on themselves if we are not willing to dive into something new too? We can and will encourage our students to dream because if we play our cards right as educators, we can model what taking a risk looks like – we are still making our dreams come true. So what will you do to find out your students’ dreams? How can you encourage your students to dream and believe in themselves? Please feel free to share your ideas and comments below! @MenaHillEdu Picture this. You are on a huge ship, a pirate ship if you will. The boat sways to and fro with the movement of the ocean. Back and forth, the rocking from the waves used to make you sick, but now you have your sea legs. On all four sides of your ship you can see ocean for days. The map you hold in your hand shows where you are in the water, where you’ve been, and your final boating destination. As you chart the course for your journey, adjustments are made to ensure you and your shipmates arrive unscathed.
Thinking back to the beginning of the journey, it is hard to believe you have been at sea since August. Where has the school year gone? I don’t know about you, but I remember jumping onto this crazy ship at the beginning of the year thinking, “We have SO much to learn! I can’t wait….” The year starts out unknown, with so many possibilities. Teachers attend professional development, read books, take some much needed “me-time” in order to prep for the year. You knew the this year would be different than others because there is ALWAYS something new to try with your students. Possibility and the unknown were before you, all that existed was the open ocean. Let’s fast forward to right now, the end of November. It is hard to believe that in only four-ish weeks students and teachers will be rolling into Winter Break. Four weeks! Gah! There is so much to teach, to learn, to glean. The kids would benefit from some lessons on empathy, the joy of encouragement, helping others, and more, to say nothing of what we need to learn in our core academic subjects. BUT there are only four weeks! This time of year is a great time to re-evaluate and examine, “What am I doing and what can I do better?” As the captain of my classroom, I am tasked with charting the course of learning. I have the honor, privilege, and responsibility of figuring out where my students are, where they need to be by the end of the year, and how in the world we’ll get there. The adventure will be a wild ride through language arts, history, math, science, writing, and character development. Do not be afraid to make adjustments. They are needed for you and for your students. Doing what is best, right, and needed to get to the final destination is key. What that looks like is up to you. Chat within your personal learning network, talk to your administration or learning coach, give your students a survey, try something new – it’s not too late! Course adjustments SHOULD happen. With four weeks until break, do it! Why wait until January? Change can lead to greatness. I don’t want to be cliche, but I have learned a TON from my students and hope they have learned as much from me. Good luck to all of you classroom captains out there. Your journey will be AMAZING. Chart the course that is best for students and have fun along the way. @MenaHillEdu Most of our students ride the bus into school. They have a fifteen-ish minute drive in where they can get caught up with friends, play Pokemon with their pals, sit quietly, or just enjoy the ride. Students hop off the bus, are greeted by staff, and walk into a building where they spend more time than they do at home each day. But they come with a lot of “home” piled into their backpacks; baggage that student and teacher sort through together. When a student enters the classroom, they cross the threshold with a variety of expectations, attitudes, feelings… you name it. They come to school, leaving the joy of the weekend in the rearview mirror. School can serve as a refuge from the expectations of the street. Sometimes kids come to school just to see their friends. Often they can’t wait to see the staff and teachers. The students have to enter your room knowing that it is a SAFE space. They have to know that regardless of their ethnicity, socio-economic background, their sexual identity, political points of view, the list goes on and on, they have to know that they are valued. They are special. Their thoughts and ideas are validated. They can share highs, lows, and everything in-between. They can dream. They can cry. They can grow. They can dance. They can fall. They can come to a place to give and receive compassion. All along the way you, you the teacher, mother, father, friend, honorary grown-up, will be there to cheer them on. You will be there to encourage them. You will be there to hold them accountable. You will be there to teach them. You will walk the walk, talk the talk, and get moving with them every day. Create a space where dialogue can happen, where it is okay to get off topic and “bunny trail” when the kids NEED the space to be curious. When a safe space is created and honored, kids learn how to communicate, how to be respectful, how to be inquisitive, how to process life… So create a safe space. School is a second home. Build this “house” on a rock of peace, compassion, grace, and kindness. @MenaHillEdu I recently attended a professional development session where teachers were asked to draw a picture of what a quality educator looks like. I sat in the quieted room, completely brain-fried from a day of teaching and having a hard time thinking what that looks like. After a minute or two, thoughts began to flood my mind of teachers with exceptional traits needed order to make an impact inside and out of the classroom. There have been many teachers of whom I reflect upon fondly. Many have challenged me, supported me, and have taught me many lessons. There are two teachers who rise above the rest when considering who made the largest impact on my life as a student. One was my high school choir director. I had been encouraged by a fellow classmate to audition for choir. Having zero experience, I was pretty nervous. My teacher had high expectations for excellence challenged me to strive to do my best. I was exposed to a variety of music, culture, and talent that I would never had experienced if it had not been inside (and out) of that classroom. Through his encouragement and guidance, I gained confidence, learned how to prioritize my needs vs. desires, and try new things. Never once did I believe in myself or see myself in the manner in which he saw me. I sang, participated in choral events, auditioned and was cast in musicals, and more importantly, I found a passion within myself that would have remained untapped if it were not for this teacher in my life. The second was one of my college professors. At good ol’ Adams State University, I entered a classroom as a freshman filled with excitement, apprehension, and fear of the unknown. When I walked into my Interrelations of the Arts class, my professor greeted me with a handshake, smile, and promptly addressed me by my last name, “Good afternoon, Miss Patrone.” He addressed everyone by their last names and did so in a manner that made me feel like an adult; I felt respected as a college student, leaving the old high school years behind. In his class, we explored the cross relation of art through music, plays, literature, etc. It was one of the most invigorating experiences of my undergraduate career. In that class I was able to be engaged in the conversation, share my ideas, and feel validated for thinking, sharing, and experiencing. If I could bottle up the essence of these two teachers, I would. I would give it away to all teachers at the beginning of the year and include the note, “Use wisely.” The essence of these two teachers has impacted me so that I feel indebted to them for taking a chance on me, supporting me, and rooting for me. The best cheerleaders in my life, aside from my family, have been these two teachers. I would say that is an essential part of who I am now as an educator. I strive to be a cheerleader for my students, to guide them, encourage them, and expose them to a variety of learning opportunities. I hope that my students will one day look upon me fondly. I hope that I will have not just done enough, but done more than enough. The reality is that I may not be that teacher for every student, but I sure can hope, I sure can try, and I sure can look upon my past educators who have that essence, quality and keep dreaming, keep trying, keep learning, and keep sharing my passion with my students and colleagues. @MenaHillEdu Humility. Patience. Kindness. These are all words that I think of when I am walking into my classroom. These are life goals, personal goals, and professional goals that I try to meet every single day. As I drive to work each day, I try to not just think of the work that my students need to complete, copies that need to be made, an email to a parent that needs to go out first thing, etc. Of course all of those things are thought of and a mental list is created for the morning before kids walk into my room. But I honestly, try to remember my three goals. Humility. Patience. Kindness. Humility. What does that even mean? Well, it means to have the heart of a learner. I tell my students to “trust the process.” If I am not willing to do just that, to try new teaching techniques or be willing to receive feedback from a colleague or administrator, then I have not achieved humility. To be humble means to be willing to learn, willing to have a conversation, and willing to ask for support when needed. The power of “YET” is a big thing in my classroom. If we don’t know it now, it just means we don’t know it YET! But I know I will at some point. Model this mindset for your students. They will appreciate to see that you, the amazing teacher that you are, are still trusting the process and learning along the way. It is a small, but great step on the path toward being better at being you. Patience. This one's a doozy! I have heard from an amazing wise man, that we will always have an opportunity to practice the area in which we need to grow the most. Well, you’ve guessed it. Patience is mine. For as long as I can remember, I have been one of those people who has always want “it” right now!!! :) I laugh to myself right now because, I can see how exhausting it is to live a life of “right now.” Isn’t it better to “just be?” It is better to be in the moment of your life that is good, bad, or mediocre (insert voice snippet from Mad Max: Fury Road). To be patient means to enjoy the classroom conversation, yes being mindful of the clock, but not rushing the learning and creative process. How often do we rush to get through the lesson/curriculum? Too often the expectation is to see how fast we can get to the end of the trip rather than stopping along the way to take pictures of the beautiful scenery. Patience… just be. Enjoy the ride. Kindness. This past Friday, I shared the video, Imagine by John Lennon with my students. So often people are judged by the way they look, where they live, the clothes they wear, how they learn, etc. These personal biases are sometimes passed down generation-to-generation. But think… I enter my classroom with a perspective and so does each one of my students. I wanted to show the Unicef version of the video because it has people from all over the world singing the beautiful and inspiring lyrics of John Lennon. My kids could not only hear but see diversity. We live in world that is filled with so much hate, judgement, closed mindedness that in order to create a growth mindset, in order to create a better tomorrow, we MUST start with kindness. If I do only one thing, teach my students one lesson, let it be that of kindness. I hope that they will learn to be kind to one-another, tolerant of one-another, to seriously treat others the way they want to be treated. On a side note, yes, I cry every time I hear that song because it is an honest hope of mine - that we may live in peace. Kindness is the first step. I may not achieve these goals on a daily basis, but by golly, I sure will try. I commit myself to striving toward these life goals. Your life goals may look differently. But they are your goals. That is amazing! Strive to be your best self and you will teach your students, and all you encounter, what it means to be a good human. That is my life goal. What’s yours? Education is and will continue to be filled with a multitude of personal and professional lessons that I have learned both inside and out of the classroom. I have learned a great deal about who I want to be as a human and as an educator. I guess the purpose of this blog is to share some of my insights from the past nine years and put it out there for the world to read. You may glean from it what you will, but I hope, as I hope for my all of my students, that you will learn an important little nugget to apply to your life so that you may have a positive impact on those around you.
When I think of the beginning of a school year, I think of a wheel. Not just any wheel, but a ferris wheel. This ferris wheel is huge, sitting on the top of a mountain that has trees, snow, rocks, and a very narrow road. There is a long line to get onto this ride. In fact, the line curves back and forth down the side of the mountain. People have to stand close to the side of the mountain for fear of slipping down. But there you are safely perched at the top of the rock. You’re next, awaiting your turn on the ferris wheel. You are scared. This is the highest you have ever been. Yes, you have been on a ferris wheel before, but those other wheels were smaller; closer to safety and the comforts of your personal limits. Even though the ride is free, it requires that you must make a choice as to how you enjoy your experience. You can sit and hold on for dear life. You can keep track how long this ride will last before you can finally get off and move on with your day. Or you can embrace the beauty of the ride and try to enjoy every moment. Ideally, I would hope you apply this metaphor to your classroom experiences. The ferris wheel represents a brand new school year and classroom filled with students. Each student waits in line to get into your classroom and has an idea of what to expect, but bases that on previous experiences. Maybe your student experienced motion sickness the last time he was on the ride. Maybe he had so much fun that his expectations are super high. Maybe he had a mediocre experience and now he is not pumped about learning. The point being that our job is to make learning engaging, exciting, and fun. Our job is to also protect, guide, and hold students accountable. The reality is that the ride will be scary, it will have boring times, it will have moments of sheer beauty. To say that the ride will be all sunshines and rainbows is just unrealistic. A student will probably experience all of those moments over the course of the year. Guess what, that is okay. But the ultimate hope as educators is that our students walk away from ride having something positive to remember. Something that was learned, accomplished, and gleaned from a year of growth. My hope is that you enjoy the ride too. One glance to right or left can completely change the perspective of the viewer… Enjoy the ride and have a great year. |
Mena T. HillEducator, Wife, Mother, Colorado Native Archives
September 2018
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