Reinventing the Mission Statement

Last night I attended a talk at Fordham University given by Dr. Alice Wilder.

Dr. Wilder was the Director of Research and Development for Nickelodeon's massively successful children's program Blue's Clues, the creative force behind Super Why! and is Chief Content Officer for Speakaboos.

I wanted to attend her lecture mostly because I am convinced that I would have been a perfect host for Blue's Clues and thought I might chat her up about upcoming children's programs in need of someone with my unique talents (Alas, I never got the opportunity).

But her words were exactly the words I needed to hear as I work on reclaiming optimism.  She spoke of her personal mission statement and how her journey through college as a research assistant with a knack for listening to children led to incredible opportunities.  Dr. Wilder highlighted the importance of reinventing one's self which can mean making necessary adjustments to a personal mission statement.

And it hit me.  That is what I am struggling with lately, reinventing my personal mission statement.  My Ph.D is now within reach--anticipated date of graduation is May 2014--and although I will definitely continue teaching I also wonder what's next?

I certainly have the desire to reach a larger audience of children and am actually toying with the idea of simply videotaping my lessons and posting them on YouTube for children to watch.

Someday I would love to use my background and experience in literacy research, child development, teaching and American Sign Language to host a children's program (universe, are you listening?).

Dr. Wilder said more than once,  "It is your journey (thus far) that makes each of you uniquely you".  But it's the future I am curious about.

So many possibilities.  It's daunting.

What makes you "uniquely you"?

Reclaiming Optimism

This school year I have become so sadly disenchanted with the educational system.

And that is saying something for someone who is as passionate and dedicated to the profession as I am.  This blog is a testament to the happiness, love and blessings I feel everyday when I walk into my classroom to see the energetic, welcoming smiles of my students.

I am a teacher.

I am an educator.

It has always been my destiny and it is my bliss.  Why, oh, why then am I feeling beat up lately by the disrespect heaped upon those in my profession?  Have my rose-colored glasses slipped a bit?  Am I just more aware of the manifestations of insolence that were always around me?

Who knows?  But in a society that seeks to find fault with teachers (and if none can be found they'll make something up) it is difficult to keep smiling.  In the jungle a zebra can never really relax.

But, today in church I decided to reclaim my optimism and focus only on what I can control and nurture.  And that is the day-to-day learning and interactions with the students entrusted to my care. Today I am reminded to keep my eyes on the joy.

It's the only thing that lasts and in the end it's the only thing that matters.

An Abundance of Riches

At the Children's Museum of the Arts'
"PoetTree Station"

The Artists-in-Residency Partnership Fundraiser for PS347 was held on Monday, September 24, 2012 at The Children's Museum of the Arts.

The goal was to raise $40,000 to continue art education in our school because Department of Education budget cuts slashed funding for this outstanding program.

As of this writing we have raised $21,410!  The online auction is still underway so if you want to check out the fabulous items--from vacation packages to original artwork--click here.

The highlight of the evening for me centered around the nine award-winning children's book authors and illustrators who donated their time to attend the event.  We were blessed to have Jim Benton, Peter Brown, Floyd Cooper, Tad Hills, Victoria Kann, G. Brian Karas, Ann M. Martin, Bob Shea and Dan Yaccarino in attendance.

I excitedly scooped up their magnificent books and headed off to the "library" section of the gallery to pose for pictures and get my treasures signed!

With Ann M. Martin author of The Baby-Sitters Club

With Peter Brown author/illustrator of You Will Be My Friend and illustrator of Creepy Carrots!

With Dan Yaccarino author/illustrator of Lawn to Lawn, Unloveable and Every Friday

With Victoria Kann author/illustrator of Pinkalicious, Purplicious and Goldilicious

In addition to the silent auction and children's book signings, the organizers--led by the indefatigable Kirsten Hall--arranged for two workshops in the art studios of CMA.  Workshop One focused on creating a large-scale and collaborative "expanded alphabet" mural collage while Workshop Two consisted of miniature book-making inspired by and in honor of the children's book authors and illustrators present at the event.

I was asked to speak a few words about the program from my perspective as an educator.  The gist of my speech celebrated the role of art in our schools as a counter balance to the ever increasing demands for standardized tests and assessments which dehumanize children into numbers and hinder policy makers from seeing them holistically.

All in all it was a great evening to support a worthwhile cause.  A huge thank you to Kirsten Hall, Lucia Sheckner and the generous authors and illustrators for sharing their time and talent.

As Dave Bowell, our principal, pointed out in his speech..."Our EARTH without ART is just EH!"

A Visit with Mo Willems

I walked over to Books of Wonder after school on Friday to attend the Mo Willems book reading/signing event.

As I stood on line to have my picture taken with a life-sized Piggie character (I'm not too proud to wait with a bunch of three-year-olds) I overheard one mom say,

"Mo Willems is the rock star of the toddler set".

Boy, was she ever right!  The place was as crowded as Nassau Coliseum for Madonna's 1990 Blond Ambition tour with all the screaming, impatient fans clamoring to get a glimpse of their idol.

I arrived early to purchase some books (Happy Pig Day!,  The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? and Can I Play Too?) but by the time I found my way to the back of the store all of the seats were taken.  I squeezed and carefully stepped my way to a small area in front of a glass-enclosed bookshelf containing classic masterpieces, many of which were first editions signed by the author.

Mo made his grand arrival about 20 minutes later and read from his new Elephant and Piggie book entitled Let's Go For A Drive!  His delivery captured all of the drama and urgency befitting this entertaining duo.

The reading was followed by a Q & A with ground rules set by Mo beforehand.  He stated, "You can ask anything you want.  And I can answer anything I want".  He said he was once asked, "What color is your underwear" and replied, "Next question".

A bunch of little hands shot up next when he asked, "Who has a question?"

He handed the microphone to a little girl sitting on the floor who asked in her tiny voice, "what color is your underwear?"  Ka-Ching! Well played little smart ass!  She had the crowd in the palm of her hand, only I'm not sure she knew she was being funny.

The Q & A was followed by a book signing.  I was number 83 so it took a while before I stepped up to greet the man.  He was gracious and unhurried.  He even took a moment to pose for a picture with me.

All in all it was an exhausting experience but I am thrilled that I had an opportunity to meet Mo. To quote Piggie in Happy Pig Day... "I am so happy! Oinky! Oink! Oink!"

Lockdown

This week we taught and practiced the General Response Protocols (GRP) for emergency situations.  Each protocol has specific staff and student actions that are unique to each response - from the relatively mundane routine of a fire drill to the frightening realism of a hard lockdown.

Evacuate

We began with a conversation about classroom rules and staying safe in school. We established an understanding of new vocabulary--such as evacuation and procedure--whilst reviewing the handy dandy safety PowerPoint provided for us by the good folks at the "i love U guys" Foundation.

We were old pros when it came to following the procedure for a fire drill.  Our timing was as good as Ricky, Fred and Ethel's when they had a dry run preceding the birth of Little Ricky on I Love Lucy.  It went like clockwork - stop talking and listen for directions, get in line, exit the building and go to our assigned location. Piece of cake.

Shelter-In

The Shelter-In was no problem either because basically we do nothing.  We go about our business, unless of course our business involves leaving the building.  That is one thing you cannot do during a shelter-in.

A hard lockdown is another story. My co-teacher Michelle chose a good day to stay home.  I had to delicately finesse my way through the murky waters alone (upstream, without a paddle, at night...). This is scary stuff and I didn't want to frighten the little kindergarten children so I tried to find the proper tone, a mix of seriousness and adventure.

Lockdown

A hard lockdown implies that imminent danger is INSIDE the building and everyone needs to get to their safe place immediately! I told them this meant someone was in the building that shouldn't be there and to stay safe I needed to lock the doors (which I pretended to do as I talked with them to provide an unhurried, calm demonstration) and we all needed to go quietly to the large coat closet and hide.

We did.

There were a few nervous giggles as we stood there hiding before I announced, "The lockdown has been lifted" and we went back to the rug.

Once we were on the rug the questions started...

"Does that mean someone has a gun and wants to hurt us?"

"What happens if he gets in?"

"What if there is a fire in our safe place during the lockdown" (I thought, "what a wonderfully thought out, outrageous question!" and was fumbling for an answer when the little boy said, "Well, that'll never happen").

And then the tears..

"If they get us that means we'll never see our mommy's or daddy's again." (She started to cry, I started to cry.)

And finally the comic relief...

"Next time we practice a lockdown can we do it when I'm not here?"

You and me both kid, you and me both!