Monday, November 3, 2014

November Blog Challenge

Nov 1 What are the best aspects of being a teacher?

I love the contact I have with the children every single day.  There is so much excitement when they grasp a new skill or concept.  There is so much humor that goes on throughout the day.

Nov 2 What is one small delight in the day that you always look forward to?

I look forward to the smiles and greeting from the students each day.  They make my day when I walk into the cafeteria or down the hall and I get an unsolicited greeting from the students.  

Nov 3 What are you most proud of to date in your teaching career?

This is difficult to narrow down.  I have been very fortunate in my career to have received some honors.  All of the items I am listing below have special meaning in my career. 

1. I was nominated for and received Who's Who in America's Educators and from my understanding of this the nomination must come from a student either current or past.  It is wonderful to think that I would be remembered by a student.

2.  The Vermont Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance named me the Elementary Physical Education Teacher of The Year for 2004 - 2005. This is an award that is selected by my peers. 

3.  I have submitted proposals and been accepted to present at 3 different National Conventions for Physical Education and Health for SHAPE America. It is an honor to present at a high level conference and be allowed to present additional years validates my work. 

4.  I was nominated for and elected to the office of Vice President for Physical Education in the Eastern District of SHAPE America.  I currently hold the position of Member at Large for this association.  It is an honor to serve my profession at a level beyond my state associations. 

5.  I did the paperwork and created a plan that began some new initiatives for my school and we received the Let's Move Active Schools National Award for 2014.  This award came with a letter from the White House.  

6.  I had the opportunity to work with Burton Snowboards and helped to create an In School Snowboarding program to be used in elementary schools.  My school was the first school in the world to pilot this program.  It is rare that you are on the cutting edge of something new but to be able to help in the creation of a new program and have your students experience it first hand is very special.  

 

Nov 4 What was the nicest gift that you received from student/parent/colleague?

The nicest gifts that I have received have been the ones that I know thought and time went into.  I love the homemade gifts that I get from my students.  A child today came in with a little paper bookmark he had made.  It has hearts drawn on it and colored in.  He told me it has hearts because in PE we learn about keeping our heart healthy.  I loved this gift because he connected the meaning of what we do to a gift he created. 

 Nov 5 What are your strengths? Which are you most grateful for?

I have a lot of energy.  I am motivated to use my energy to better my students.  I like to try new ideas and am always looking for new activities for my students.  I am also creative.  This bodes well for trying new ideas because I can take an idea try it out and tweak it to fit my needs.  I have also created lots of new games and activities to fit whatever unit I happen to be teaching.  I am professional. I love to network and serve my profession.  Through this service I have been able to network with some amazing people who motivate me and inspire me to keep doing good things in education.  I have a fun sense of humor.  People in my school come to see me if they are having a day where they need a little levity.  I am able to provide it.  I think I am most thankful for my creativity. I am able to link creativity into so many things.   

Nov 6 Share a quote or verse that has inspired you and tell us why.

Is it Friday yet?  Just kidding.  One of my favorite quotes is "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." by Norman Vincent Peale.  I hope that every child I teach will shoot for the moon.  It is amazing to think that just by aiming high we can then have a higher outcome.  If we settle for achieving just those things easily within reach we will never know how far our reach can go.  

 Nov 7 What new learning has inspired you in your career?

I believe that new learning is vital in education.  If we stop looking for new ways to engage and motivate our students we become complacent and uninspired ourselves.  I love attending conventions and professional conferences.  I always come away with new ideas and energy.  Not only are the sessions learning opportunities but network is equally important.  The opportunity to talk and share with other colleagues within my state, district and nationally helps me get excited to try new programs and ideas.  I also value the opportunities that I have had to present at the state, district and national level.  Getting feedback from session attendees helps me to validate that what I am offering is good practice for my students.  When I have the opportunity to excite someone else I know that is going to carry over to their students as well.  

Nov 8 Write about a memorable moment in the classroom and how it reminded you about why you love what you do.

I have had many memorable moments as I am sure that everyone that teaches has.  The excitement that children have when they master a new skill or understand a new concept is always one of the reasons that I love what I do. 
A few years ago I had a child in Early Essential Education who only walked with the aid of a walker or with support from another person.  The parents of this child were told that she would never walk. The fact that she could walk with a walker was a already a great achievement for this child.  One day the school district physical therapist was in the gym with this little girl.  The physical therapist was supporting her by holding onto her shirt in the back.  The physical therapist had spent many hours with this child and worked with her on walking with support.  During this particular day her balance looked pretty steady.  The PT decided to gently remove her hand for the child's shirt.  The little girl didn't realize that she had been let go of.  She continued to move forward.  She took her very first unsupported, unaided steps in my class that morning.  Both the PT and I could not say anything because we knew she would stop if she knew she wasn't being held onto.  We both had tears in our eyes watching her.  

 Nov 9 What is one way you could develop the Attitude of Gratitude in your classroom or school?  Try it out and let us know how it went in a couple of weeks.

I think we can create an Attitude of Gratitude by be examples for our students.  If we show what we are thankful for it can become contagious.  I think we can also develop an Attitude of Gratitude by helping the students understand that we need to be thankful for what we have compared to others who have more needs than we do.  At this time of year often we do a collection for the local community food shelf.  The students learn through giving to be thankful for what they have.