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Called

Called – a poem by Angela Dau, 5^th grade teacher

You probably aren’t cut out for this job. It’s hard. It sucks the life out of you.

You read.

You research.

You tell stories.

You plan lessons.

You analyze data.

You grade papers.

You go to meetings.

You make phone calls.

You worry about your kids.

You listen to stories – lots of them.

You prepare and hold conferences.

You practice lessons the night before.

You go to conferences   just   for   teachers.

You wipe noses, tie shoes, and bandage cut knees.

You figure out how each student in your room learns.

You go back to school to learn more so you can teach better.

You deal with some crabby parents and some pretty great parents.

You are constantly learning something new to try out in your classroom.

You hold students as they sob in your arms because of some pain in their heart.

You watch for signals – Is she sad? Is he frustrated? Did she eat today? Did he get enough sleep last night?

You meet a previous student in the grocery store line and she tells you she’s pregnant – you’re the first to know.

You tell her - Just. Finish. School.    And    she   DOES.

You laugh.

You cry.
You never forget. Not one of them.

You look back at classroom pictures each year remembering.

You give every last ounce of your blood, sweat, and tears for this job. For these kids.

You choose this path – the one less traveled – for a reason greater than

money,

prestige,

or a retirement fund.

You choose him.

You choose her.

You know – the one who thinks he’s not cool enough to be part of “that” group.

You know – the one who doesn’t want to leave at the end of the day because this IS her safe place.

You know – the one who is about to change the world but needs the challenge, 

the push to be the man of integrity he was created to be.

You know – the one who is scared to death to share any of her brilliance except in her journal.

You know – the one who is angry at everything      

but not really.

You provide safety.

You provide acceptance.

You provide encouragement.

You provide challenges.

You provide a place to be seen and valued.

You probably can’t handle this job.

But

if

It calls you

It pulls you in

It grabs you by the heart and won’t let go…

Demanding that you give your life for theirs -

 I

guarantee

you can.

School Story

Presenting... School Story!

ClassDojo steps it up another notch! What you love about Class Story but now at a school-wide level!

That means increased connectivity with parents, strengthening the home-school relationship, and real-time communication - all in a safe location for ALL connected parents in the WHOLE school! 

Wow!

ClassDojo has revolutionized my classroom and the connection parents have with their children's everyday education. I am so excited that we will continue to foster those relationships on a school-wide level!

For more information on ClassDojo, please visit www.classdojo.com/press or

ClassDojo.com

ClassDojo's Facebook 

ClassDojo Instagram

ClassDojo Twitter

ClassDojo's Class Story

I love ClassDojo.  Like, I really love it. And it seems that every time I turn around, ClassDojo is giving me another reason to love it even more!  Just two weeks ago, ClassDojo released the new Groups feature (read about it here in my blogpost). And today ClassDojo is introducing another awesome feature…

classdojo.com

What teacher doesn’t want his or her students’ parents to be connected to the classroom? I’m not talking about the twice a year conference or the occasional phone call home. I am talking about an everyday connectivity that fosters real relationship, investment, and ownership. Class Story provides this connection!

At any time during the day, I can upload a picture or an announcement to our Class Story. I know my parents will see what I post because they will receive a notification. Maybe a parent won’t be able to view what I have posted to the Class Story right away – but they can do it on their own time and they will able to able to view it in the same place. No longer will parents have to scroll through all of their old messages in order to find whole class broadcasts – Class Story keeps all this information in one place! My parents will have a real connection to what their child is accomplishing throughout the day. Parents and students will have even more of an opportunity to discuss what happened during the day. It’s kind of like Class Story lifts the veil between school and home!

Teachers will also be able to receive some really great feedback: every time a parent views a post in Class Story you will receive a notification! Parents will not be able to post or comment on the wall – but they will have the opportunity to “like” posts by clicking on the heart.

Here is an example of what the feature will look like in the app:

Posting to Class Story couldn’t be easier! Just click the picture icon located on the bottom of your screen right in the middle. At the top of Class Story is a button “What’s happening in your classroom?” Click and then you can type or upload a picture. How easy will it be to include a picture of a math problem or your kiddos working on a Social Studies project in teams or completing a science experiment? Class Story gives teachers the opportunity to connect with their students’ homes in real time. So cool!

(This feature is not officially released yet. If you are interested in trying it out, ClassDojo is opening up the Beta sign up list here.)

I CANNOT wait to try out this new feature with my class and parents this year! What benefits do you think this feature will provide in your classroom? What questions do you have? Let me know below or reach out on twitter @Mrs Dau.

Classroom Culture and ClassDojo

Teachers are idealists - especially in the summer. We dream, learn, plan, set goals – all with a beautiful, almost-perfect school year in mind. Then the school year begins.

 

 “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry…”

 

During my first year teaching I often thought, “No one prepared me for THIS!” I wanted a happy, safe, awesome classroom but most days it felt as if I was swimming upstream - up the side of a mountain! The reality is – and we learn this as we mature as teachers – we can and should plan completely and thoroughly BUT if we do not establish the culture and environment of our classroom our students will not learn as effectively. We must dream about and plan for our classroom climate – it is necessary if we want our students to succeed!

 

Here are a few of the characteristics I strive for, plan, and teach in my classroom (many overlap):

 

Safety: Students will know and truly believe that they are safe every single day they enter our classroom. They will not be bullied, ridiculed, disrespected, neglected, or harmed in any way. My students are safe to share their thoughts and questions because they know they have the support of their teacher and classmates.

 

Happiness: My classroom will be filled with joy! We will be happy to see one another each morning. Students will celebrate each other’s achievements. No one will struggle alone – classmates and teachers are there to encourage everyone!

 

Excellence: We will strive for excellence in all that we do! We will do our best in every subject – this doesn’t mean we will always achieve an A+. This means we put all of our effort into learning and trying our best. If we fail, we pick ourselves back up and try again.

 

Integrity: We will make a decision to do what is right – no matter what. We won’t do what is right in order to gain a reward or avoid a consequence. We won’t do what is right to gain recognition or fame. We will do what is right simply because it is right and that is who we want to be. We know it will take hard work and no one may even notice but we do it anyways – because we are determined and have grit!

 

Grit: We will determine our current level of grit and work hard to increase grit in our lives because we know that is the main tool we have to combat frustration, distraction, boredom, temptation, and fear. We will build our stamina, passion and perseverance for long-range goals, and work hard to make our futures a reality. We will hang on! We will stick to it! We can do it!

 

Teamwork: We will work together to achieve our goals. We will encourage, celebrate, support, and respect one another. We will be the strength someone needs and receive strength from others when we are weak. Our team, our class, is behind us and has our back!

 

How ClassDojo Helps Me Establish Classroom Culture and Characteristics:

 

ClassDojo has revolutionized my classroom! ClassDojo supports me in my efforts to develop a safe, positive classroom environment. I can encourage the positive behavior that will help establish a classroom culture of teamwork, integrity, grit, safety, and happiness! My students love their avatars and the ability they have to change them into the type of creature they want. This encourages students to participate and view their performance. Parents enjoy the constant communication with the classroom – through viewing their child’s points/behavior at any time and the messaging feature which allows them to send and receive messages.

 

 I LOVE that I can consistently reward my students for demonstrating the positive characteristics of our classroom culture. Tyrone showed grit? Add a point! Maria helped a classmate? Add a point! Duane is working really hard on a math problem? Add a point! All day long I can communicate awesome behaviors to my students and their parents. I am also able to review the positive things happening in our classroom throughout the day. I can assign a negative point when needed, as well. This happens FAR less often but also helps teacher, parent, and student review performance. On top of all of that, I can message my parents, individually or as a whole-class broadcast at any time. Think of texting but without everyone knowing your phone number! I even receive notifications on my phone, iPad, and/or computer when a message is sent to me so I can communicate quickly. Talk about increasing parent involvement! It is for these reasons and, oh, so many more that I absolutely love ClassDojo and can say with confidence that it has revolutionized my classroom!

 

However, I am over-the-moon excited about the new feature being released tomorrow: ClassDojo Groups!

 

https://www.classdojo.com/groups

 

This new feature allows teachers to place students into a group (or groups) and quickly award points based on that particular group’s performance. Those points are then applied to the individual students’ totals. How cool is that? When using the app on my iPhone I am able to easily switch between groups and individuals by a quick swipe (indicated at the bottom of the screen by a grid or dot). I am excited about how this will streamline giving out points throughout the day. Before, I would have to search for individual students in a group to award individual points. Now all it takes is one click! Group 1 is working as a team? Add a point! Group 4 is demonstrating integrity by following instructions? Add a point! We are all about teamwork in my classroom so this feature just amps up my ability to encourage and reward awesome teamwork. Students will be able to see that teamwork benefits not just the team but their individual total, as well!

 

I can’t wait to put this new feature into practice once the new school year begins. And, yes, I am one of those idealistic teachers. However, I know that with ClassDojo supporting me, my students and their parents we WILL have a successful, positive, fun classroom culture and year!

 

Have you tried ClassDojo yet? Do you want to know more about ClassDojo? Connect on Facebook here, on Twitter here, and Instagram here.

 

What do you think about this new feature? Please comment and share any ideas or questions you have! I can’t wait to hear from you!

 

 

You can also connect with me on Twitter here. :)

 

 

-Angela

Twitter Romance

Yeah, so... I love Twitter.  This is a recent thing. I tried Twitter about 4 years ago. It was a personal account and I think I tweeted twice. For real - 2 times. I didn't really get it. And as so often happens... what I didn't understand I decided I didn't like and dropped it. 

 

I tried it again at the beginning of last school year. It was an account I started so I could tweet updates and links to my classroom blog. It was nice. But not too exciting.

 

Then, about 6 months ago, I decided to try a Twitter chat. I am a ClassDojo Mentor and Ambassador and am a part of that community on Facebook. ClassDojo suggested joining #dojochat. So I did a quick google of Twitter chats (for dummies lol) and jumped in. Was it overwhelming? Yes! Was it a bit confusing? Yes! Was it awesome? Yes! Was it full of information? Yes! I am so glad I jumped in!

 

Here, for your information and enjoyment, are a few of the reasons I love Twitter:

 

1. Twitter expands your Professional Learning Network (PLN). I truly love my grade level team/Professional Learning Community (PLC), leadership team/PLC, and the contacts I have made at professional learning seminars and conferences. However, my ability to grow my PLN was limited to my personal experiences. Twitter has allowed me to create professional relationships with people all over the world. These people are technology experts, teachers, principals, reading specialists, authors, professional development speakers... the list goes on and on. My PLN is no longer defined to my limited experience! I have met many of these spectacular people through Twitter chats.

 

2. Twitter chats rock - I'm so serious. Twitter chats give you the opportunity to learn about a plethora of topics - just choose one that fits your fancy and try it out! I tried #21stedtech tonight and LOVED it so I will keep going back! I have tried others that were nice but didn't meet my needs or challenge my thinking so I just stopped by for a visit.  That's it! No two year commitment or broken contract - just try it out! You can "lurk" and just read the conversation to start but I encourage you to push yourself and try commenting! People are so welcoming and excited for you to join the conversation. Really like someone's comments and ideas? Follow them! And the PLN grows...

 

3. When purposefully used for growth, Twitter will help you become a better educator. That is what I have always wanted. Many years ago, I taught at a private school that offered little in the way of professional development. I remember thinking, "I just want to be a better teacher. How do I do that?" Thankfully, about 5 years ago I was embraced by an AWESOME district and school that has given me so many opportunities to learn and grow as an educator. Now that I have added Twitter to the mix I am beyond excited about what I am learning and how I can implement it in my classroom. And isn't that what it is all about? Learning and growing so we can do our absolute best for the precious kiddos we are privileged to get to know each year.

 

If you are interested but feel overwhelmed and lost like I did here are a few tips:

 

1. Google what you don't know.  Yep, it's that easy and it really does help.

2. Create your profile and include a picture!

3. This is an excellent article written by Craig Kemp: I'm an Educator, What Should I Tweet about? and then make sure you tweet!

4. Find an educator/author/organization who tweets (here are some to get you started:  ClassDojo, GoNoodle, Edutopia, Wonderopolis, The Educator's Room, Pernille Ripp, Craig Kemp, Jennifer Gonzalez,  Vicki Davis). Once you find someone you like, sneak a peek at who they follow - lots of gems there!

5. Try out some Twitter chats: #classdojo, #teacherfriends, #teacherswrite, #21stedtech, or search for some chats in your state, grade level, or interest.

 

Good luck! Let me know if you use Twitter or start using Twitter - I want to hear your stories! Oh, and by the way... my Twitter handle is @MrsDau - I would love to connect with you! :)

 

~Angela

Update: Here is an incredible post to help you get started on Twitter if you haven't already. Mr. Kemp rocks! 10 Steps to Creating the Perfect Educational Twitter Account

Teachers Write! Tuesday Quick-Write

I am so excited to join #teacherswrite! As a teacher I have often felt that I should be writing just as much, if not more, than my students. I need to start practicing what I preach! I am going to try my best to participate in as many days of this Virtual Summer Writing Camp as possible.  You can find information about the Teachers Write here and here.

Today's prompt was provided by Phil Bildner.

 

Here is my quick-write based on observations of 12 cousins playing together:

 

Children. Like little ants. Running, tumbling, twirling. Hugging. Hitting. Silent. Playing softly - an imaginary story that only he knows. Singing and dancing - a song that only she can hear. Suddenly a symphony of sound and they are all connected. Friends and rivals. Moments shared, games constructed, art created, life lived! Joy and energy fill the room - it is truly electric. This electricity flows out and brings life to the adults fortunate to be there. Smiles and guffaws, even giggles from the weary ones. What a gift! What a blessing! Life breathed into us by the ones we gave life.

 

I truly enjoyed this prompt!  I did something similar to this last year with my fifth graders.  We read the book Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street by Roni Schotter. We discussed how much is truly happening around us - if only we would take time to notice it.  My students then went out in small teams to observe different parts of the building.  They had about 10 minutes at each location where they would journal anything and everything they saw or thought. When we reconvened students wrote a short story based on their observations. The writing they produced was excellent! I am hoping I saved some examples that I can post here once I can get back into my classroom. I have included one picture of a few of my students observing the playground at recess. People truly are wonderful prompts!