I've been in the business of talent development for a long time, although I didn't always realize it. I really dove in deep when I had my own children. My husband and I always thought that when we had children someday, they would be a product of our careful efforts to guide them to be their best. What I didn't understand then, was how much of a child's personality, temperament, and even some talents are wired in their DNA. I, along with many child development experts, thought that nurture was much more important than nature. For some things, it certainly is. That's not so true of talents though. I came to understand this as my children grew from toddlers to preschoolers. Very early on, it became clear that each child already had his/her own interests, which were probably based on some already developing innate talent. My son had an incredible memory, so he was very good at games and puzzles involving visual memory. My daughter never preferred these types of activities, but had an uncanny eye for color even as a three year old. She could match colors of clothing in the store exactly to an item of clothing she already had at home. In fact, she started helping her older brother pick out his clothes at about the same time. We never taught her that, or expected it, but there it was!
As a veteran teacher, one my biggest priorities is to get to know my students, their interests, struggles and especially their talents. Many times when I watch and listen carefully, I learn surprising things about some of my students. I remember at a parent conference how surprised a mother was that I knew her son so well. She said that nobody had ever shared that level of insight into her son’s abilities, learning preferences, and hidden talents. It cemented our working relationship and our trust, which created a fertile ground for my student to blossom that year. Thinking back to my first year of teaching in my own classroom, where I was in charge of exactly what happened each day, I know that I did some things right. I also know for sure, that I did some things very wrong. I was a great teacher for the kids who were easy to teach: those who achieved easily, those who could sit still and listen, and those who were ready to learn. Where I struggled, was with the children whose curiosity drove them to ask too many questions, with the kids who didn't learn easily because maybe they had a learning disability, with the little boys who had so much energy and just wanted to move more during the day. I can still remember several of the children from my first class, even though I haven't seen them for over 25 years. The ones I remember most are the ones who challenged me to be a better teacher. I had varying degrees of success with those students, some achieved well that year, a few of that small group had a mediocre learning experience, and a couple needed another year in first grade. What I still think about all these years later is how I didn't take the time to find the hidden talents in each child. Even the two girls who needed another year to master first grade had strengths. I was too busy teaching to their weaknesses to see their strengths. Even if I had seen them, I hadn't yet learned that focusing on student strengths is a highly effective way to encourage academic growth. That perspective underlies everything I do today as a teacher. It guides the types of activities I choose for my students, the way I form collaborative groups, the commentary I write as feedback on their work, and the things I share with their parents. Self-inventories for learning styles, Favorites Lists, seat-mates, partners, etc. are all good ways to learn about your students. While they may not always voice their preferences or opinions, they are usually willing to share these in a survey or questionnaire. Starting the year with these activities gives teachers a head-start on getting to know their students, helping them plug in to likes/dislikes from Day One. Students immediately feel more comfortable when the classroom environment, activities, and seating are better aligned with their preferences. While it's not currently the start of a new school year, many teachers are still in the early stages of Emergency Remote Learning with their students. Although there are many challenges, we can think of this as an opportunity to see our students in a new light. Ask your students what they like, what's keeping them busy, what new hobbies they may be discovering, what books they're reading, what movies or TV shows they recommend. Try using an online poll in Edmodo, Seesaw, Poll Everywhere or a simple Google Form. Maybe you'll find the glimmer of a new talent or one that has been hidden. You may be surprised at what you discover, and I hope it will influence how you teach. Check back here for the next part of our journey in uncovering hidden talents. Until next time, Dr. Kraeger
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As I write this, we are over a month into Social Distancing, which for schools across the country and world means online learning. It's like the Wild West right now. Educators, parents, and students are scrambling to figure out how to create a new way of learning for a while. At this point, we know it will continue through the end of our school year. Nobody is sure what the next school year will look like, and we can't worry about right now. We have to prepare for the long haul. There are many school districts across the country which were unprepared for this sudden need to switch to digital learning. Teachers had little to no training on using online presentation tools, accessing digital resources, sharing digital work with students and families, or collaborating with colleagues via digital means. What we found out as the days went by, was that many families didn't have enough technology to support fully online learning for their children. So, the focus shifted from sharing digital resources to sharing activities and materials that could be used offline. This was when children's talents really started to emerge. The focus changed from webquests and digital worksheets to more creative activities. Kids got more choice of how to share their learning. Many of the activities incorporated things from nature or their homes.
In having to do the business of school and learning differently, many of us discovered that our students have amazing talents we knew nothing about. We've also adopted a whole different mindset about teaching and learning--one we probably should have been using all along. We teach kids, not standards or concepts. Kids are SO different from each other and bring a multitude of hopes, wishes, dreams, talents, weaknesses, emotions, and ideas to class with them. It doesn't matter whether we have class in person or remotely. If we are to do our very best for our students, we must really look at who they are and what they need while we plan for their learning. The expression "Meet them where they are" has become ubiquitous for good reason. It sums up best practice quickly. It is, however, only a sound bite. It offers no direction or explanation of how to do that or why it is so important. While we always have learning targets for our students, ideally, the support we provide varies by student. I'm working on a series of blog posts. One of the main goals is to guide teachers in figuring out which kids need what support to develop their talents as fully as possible. Each post will highlight a different type of student, including some common traits and needs of that type of learner. I'll also share key tips that provide a helpful place to start. I hope you'll join me in exploring where we go from here. Until next time, Dr. Kraeger We'll...not just any teacher, this teacher--me!
So, I didn't intend to write a blog post today. Then I read this great post from one of my favorite education writers, Jon Harper. In his post, Jon talks about self care and how important it is for educators. He goes on to share that while he enjoys his work, it doesn't feed his soul the way it used to. He got me thinking. I'm lucky that my teaching does feed my soul, but that may be because I do many other things to fill my cup. Some are education related, but most aren't. This mix of self-care and professional collaborations and development has worked well to fill my cup and feed my soul. As my youngest child moved across the country to her first full time job and pursue her music career, I find myself seeking out new friends and deepening relationships with old friends. Sure, my children will always fill my soul, but not as routinely as they used to. New interests, hobbies, and more date nights with my hubby (yippee!) are filling more of my evenings and weekends lately. Being intentional about self-care has become so much more important this year in the midst of a global pandemic. The demands heaped on teachers grew exponentially, while some of the joys of teaching were diminished. Not being in the classroom with all of our students made everything harder and stole some of the fun of teaching and learning. The feeling of always being "ON" didn't work well for me, so I set some boundaries. That helped, but wasn't enough. The next step was adding in self-care. Self-care started with adding more yoga and meditation and walks outside. All of those habits have stuck because they work for me. I also decided to join my neighborhood book club. Getting lost in a book is one of my favorite activities, and it was made better through community. I also decided that I'm worth splurging on simple things like my favorite jasmine green tea, so I can make a cup whenever I want it. Now that these changes have taken hold, I'm enjoying life more. There's more to look forward to outside of work. My creative spark is back and I'm starting a new writing project. Give some thought to how you can find more in life outside the classroom this year. Perhaps you start something new this summer. Or maybe you pick a few things you love doing on Summer Break and find a way to keep them going during the school year. Everywhere I look, people are talking about "Saying Yes" and how that transforms lives. How jumping in and doing things spontaneously is a good thing. That may be a good thing, but saying yes too much can land us in places we don't want to be.
In my last post, I mentioned my car accident. While I was blessed to sustain only a head wound and a broken ankle, the accident had major impact on my life. You see, all my life I've been an achiever. For many years, I've worked hard to learn more, read more, do more. Why...because that's the what people do, isn't it? Having to stop everything because I was in the emergency room hit me like a ton of bricks. All of the sudden, I wasn't going to work that day, wouldn't go running on the weekend, couldn't even get to the bathroom on my own. As I moved through my recovery, things started to change. At first, I had to say no to many things because I couldn't physically do them--things like playing tennis with my neighborhood team and attending a school competition at a large high school 40 minutes away. It was hard to say no to the things I wanted to do, but couldn't. What was even harder though, was saying no to the things I could do, but shouldn't. In an effort to promote good healing and a more rapid recovery from my injuries, I began to put my health first. This meant leaving work on time, and not bringing work home. It meant asking for and accepting help from friends and family and sometimes even strangers. Dinners became a simple affair, even though I LOVE to cook, because I didn't have the energy for complicated, time-consuming recipes. Sometimes, I even picked up prepared food or ate cereal for dinner. The house cleaning took a backseat to other things. And you know what, it was OK. No, better than OK, it was just fine! I rested more in the evenings and went to bed early to get extra sleep. Other things changed too. I slowed down at work, out of necessity. Most of my grading and lesson planning got done in a reasonable time, and nobody seemed to notice the difference. As I started to feel better, I began to do more cooking and got out a bit more to stores. For the rest of the school year, I continued to keep my evenings quiet with no work to intrude on my rest. As the school year ended and summer began, I started to think about the big lessons from my accident. One of them was learning to say "NO" more often. I was reading Present Over Perfect, by Shauna Niequist, and really enjoying it. This quote really impacted me: “But you can’t have yes without no. Another way to say it: if you’re not careful with your yeses, you start to say no to some very important things without even realizing it. In my rampant yes-yes-yes-ing, I said no, without intending to, to rest, to peace, to groundedness, to listening, to deep and slow connection, built over years instead of moments." So, now it's January. My idea to do less and say no more, has been semi-successful. Work demands have increased this year, so I'm doing more than I planned. I'm trying to keep extra work to weekends, and only if it's absolutely necessary. That's been good. More time for self-care and more time for fun with family and friends. All good things! As you get back into the swing of things, now that school is back in session, think long and hard about what what you say "Yes" to. If the yes isn't good for you, maybe it should be a no. Until next time, Karen Some people feel that they're extra lucky. You know the ones that always seem to win the prize, get the freebie, find money on the ground... I'm not one of those people, and I think most of us aren't. What I am is lucky enough. Let me tell you why.
Several years ago, I decided to pursue my gifted endorsement. I was teaching fourth grade and loving my job, but looking for a new challenge. I was lucky enough to have two amazing educators as part of this journey, Sarah Kessel and Becky Shulman. Both challenged my thinking and broadened my horizons on how gifted kids are and what they need. It changed my teaching forever! I was lucky enough to work with Sarah Kessel through my district's math department, forging a bond that would later move me to a completely different path. You see, Sarah is the one that first challenged me to evaluate whether my work environment at the time was meeting my needs. On the surface, I had it all! I was working in my neighborhood school, enjoying the fantastic students and families I worked with, and pursing a doctoral degree in education. But, and this is a big but, I was beginning to comprise my own happiness in service to others. Sarah recognized this and encouraged me to really consider where I wanted to be. I didn't pursue that idea right away, but later, I had the courage to take a leap of faith and leave my school. I was lucky enough to find a part-time gifted position for the next year. Well, I don't think it was luck. Really, I think it was divine intervention. Think what you want, but that's my take on it. This allowed me time to finish my degree, jump into a new role-in a new school, and most of all--get my mojo back! I knew the first day in the gifted classroom that I had found my place and my people! Not that I didn't enjoy teaching in the regular classroom. I did for MANY years, and loved my students and families. But, at this point, I was ready for something new and I was lucky enough to be given an amazing opportunity! The following year, I was lucky enough to find a full-time position at a new school. The scary part was, I would be the Gifted Lead--with a brand new gifted teacher. Whew! That was a big challenge, but REALLY exciting too! We grew into our new roles together, and were lucky enough to be in a place and with people that supported that growth. We learned A LOT, grew the gifted program, and tremendously enjoyed the amazing students, families, and staff at the school. Things were trucking along just fine, until last March, when I was literally hit by a truck! I was on my way to work, in my Mini Cooper. I was broadsided by a full-sized pick-up truck, with a loaded trailer. Amazingly, I was lucky enough to only have a gash on the back of my head and a broken ankle. Through my recovery, I was showered with prayers, well wishes, and so much positive energy. This week, I was lucky enough to be able to run again, something I've done for most of the last 35 years. It wasn't fast, it wasn't long, but I had a run. OK, it was a walk-run, but it was still a run! For me, running is the way I recalibrate. It's a time to get quiet and listen--to new ideas, and the still, small voice that keeps me on track. Hmm...a question for you. How do we decide what lucky is? I think I've changed my mind about it. I AM the lucky one! I'm surrounded by love from my family and friends. I have the best job in the world, and I can do the things I enjoy both at work and and at home. In some small way, I'm able to touch the future through the hearts and minds of the kids and teachers I work with. If that's not luck, I don't know what is. Until next time, Karen I guess I'll just jump right in! I've waited long enough, so here goes!
I'm an elementary gifted specialist at a suburban school in the Atlanta metro area. Most of my efforts at work are geared toward providing learning experiences that encourage my students to be creative producers, rather than merely consumers of knowledge. I enjoy this work tremendously and see positive learning outcomes for my students as a result. Recently, I was checking in with my Professional Learning Network on Twitter when I came across a Tweet by a person new to me, Cristina Dejara. She was calling for educators to #ThinkAboutItThursday to evaluate how we can make a difference. That was the push I needed to move beyond engaging in the Twittersphere into blogging to be a creative producer myself. Although most of my work is serving gifted students, I also have the opportunity to work with many other students through talent development activities. With that in mind, much of what I'll share in this blog applies to education and student learning overall. I hope you'll stop in to see how this journey goes, and I look forward to hearing from you! |
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