Happy Anniversary (to me).

It has been one whole year since the cancer debacle. 


I don't have cancer, nor do I mean to make light of the disease in any way. 


This is the one year anniversary of being told that I AM a cancer. Those words still sting. They were told to me by someone I trusted and respected. I was told that I was the only one with any issues and that I was welcome to leave if I couldn't get with The Program. 


I was devastated. I came home crying the Ugly Cry and continued crying for about two days. I had never been spoken to like that EVER. I replayed the conversation in my head incessantly for days. My husband was invaluable and unwavering in his support of me. Our school counselor acted on my behalf as well. My teammates comforted me and if it weren't for them I might have quit my job mid-year.


I can't believe it's been a year already. I hoped I'd be 'over it' by now. I guess I am, but then again it affects me daily. 


After The Talk I sought help through a career counselor online. I truly thought I must be in the wrong career if, after 12 years,  I was comparable to a dreaded life-threatening disease. She was amazing and helped me see that although I didn't want to make my unhappiness about The One Who Shall Not Be Named....in the end it was. My husband helped me with that epiphany too. His suggestion? "Why don't you just transfer?" Hello??? How simple it sounded! 


After digesting the idea of a transfer and all the ways it would impact our family, I went for it. Fate has a way of helping things along and 2 weeks before school started I found myself at a very different school. I love it. My children love it. I have great teammates and a fantastically supportive and fun-loving principal. I'd never have found this new home if it hadn't been for The Talk.


Perhaps sometimes we have to be kicked from the nest in order to learn to fly?? I didn't enjoy the kick, but the flying is magnificent.

Going Rogue

In my previous post, Are You a Team Player, I mentioned that I'd worked with the Super Team for two solid years. One of the traits we shared is that we looked for opportunities to include one another. This came naturally to us. It wasn't like we'd worked together for years (although I'd have liked that!). And it wasn't as if we were all best buddies outside of school (although I'd have liked that too!). I've worked on many different teams over the years and the most successful and enjoyable teams have included people who are inclusive and sensitive to the needs of the team.

I'd say I've spent about 75% of my years teaching on solid teams. The other 25% have been somewhat of a struggle. Some years you end up working with people who just aren't into the whole 'Team' mentality.

Several years ago another team I was on (totally NOT the Super Team) agreed on a cutesy Mother's Day project only to have Rogue teacher completely outdo us. Rogue teacher's students came out to board the buses carrying the equivalent Ralphie's fruit basket in A Christmas Story - their eyes proudly peeking out from behind a magnificent gift. Rogue teacher's 'twist' on our project put the rest of us (and our students) to shame. The team would have been more than happy to share and join in....if only we'd been invited. Rogue teacher sat in on the planning meeting when the project was discussed and said nothing. 

If you're a teacher you know what I'm talking about. Some teammates just don't get the Warm Fuzzies from working in a group. These people tend to stay quiet and on the sidelines in meetings. They contentedly sit back listening to ideas being tossed around and withhold comments. Frequently, in my experience, they've gone on to do the very thing that was discussed in the meeting, but with their own little 'twist'. (A 'twist' that makes the lesson waayyyy better!) Or they've gone in the polar opposite direction of the team leaving us wondering what happened to 'the plan' and feeling somewhat hurt by the departure.

Why don't rogue teachers share? I cannot say. Perhaps they don't feel supported by their teammates (Unsupportive naysayer teammates are a whole 'nother post!). If you're shot down at meeting after meeting it's understandable to feel discouraged. Maybe they don't think their ideas are good enough. Another (unlikely, I think) possibility is that they want some sort of glory from being the one who thought of something awesome.

Look, I'm cool if you want to do your own thing. One of the greatest things about our profession is that teachers are allowed to create and adapt lessons to help students learn the content assigned by the Standards. However, don't sit in meetings, nodding your head, withholding comments, agreeing by default and then take off in a different direction. I WANT to know what you're doing if you're one of my teammates and I'll tell you why.

You may be doing something that is:

• way better than what I'm doing.
• completely amazing that I've never seen or heard of.
• the BEST way to teach the topic, but I didn't know about it.
• something my students would absolutely LOVE.

You can be sure if any of the above are true and I get caught using your idea I will give YOU all the credit. (Shoot, even if no one catches me using your idea, you can be sure that I know where it came from and will never forget that my teammate influenced my teaching.) That's how I roll. Give credit where credit is due. What could be better if you're in it for the glory than having four or five teammates singing your praises for being the one who came up with the super amazing brilliant idea that we've all implemented??

If you feel unsupported by your team, hang in there. Keep offering ideas. Take an interest in what they are doing (even if it seems lame). If none of those suggestions works, close your door and keep on truckin' (I've been in that position too!). Cross your fingers and hope for some fresh, amazeballs teammates in the upcoming year.

If you feel that your ideas aren't good enough maybe they aren't...but I doubt it! You have to start somewhere. I can't tell you how many very LAME ideas I've thrown on the table to my teammates. And either my teammates have improved the ideas with their additions or they've helped me to see why the idea just needs to be tossed or sometimes put on the backburner for another year.

In my previous post, "Are You a Team Player?" I stated that I've never been in a meeting where an idea wasn't somehow improved by the input of others. I stand by that statement. It's how I work. I throw ideas around and expect people to help me flesh them out. I totally enjoy listening to other people throw around ideas too! That's how we learn and grow as professionals. 

Have you had rogue teammates? Do you have any tips for encouraging a rogue to join the flock (or at least share a little hay)? Do share!

Are You a Team Player?

When I was in school I hated it when a teacher announced that we'd be working in groups. It was awful. It generally meant that I'd have two or three slackers assigned to my group and then I'd do all the work. I do not recall ever being given instruction on HOW to work in a group when I was in school. I can now say I am a reformed group worker. One of the absolute best things about the last two years of my teaching career has been the strong support of my teammates and working in a group.

We were thrown together sort of randomly a couple years ago and I had no idea how we would pull ourselves into formation. Thankfully, we had a scheduling crisis trying to accommodate the varying co-teaching schedules for English Language Learners and Early Intervention Program kiddos. Initially, we had kids going every which way, but when our super awesome Instructional Coach suggested departmentalization all the blocks fell neatly into place.

You'd think we would have had a marathon meeting-of-the-minds to determine who'd teach which subjects and who'd host which co-teachers. But no. The synergy was instantaneous. The subjects just sort of fell into the hands of the people who could best teach them.

For two years now we've had the privilege of practically reading one another's minds. It was the kind of team where you could just pop in and grab what you needed out of the other person's closet. (Easy for me to say because my teammates were WAY more organized than me!) We even had nicknames for one another based on our strengths. How cheesy is that?? Better yet...we called ourselves the Super Team and named our folders on the shared drive at school accordingly. This year's folder was named "We Rock 2010-2011".

I've taught on a couple of good teams over the last 12 years, but it's been sporadic. In my experience, it is rare to be on a team with the exact same people more than a couple years in a row. Things change from year to year - people move away, teachers get moved to different grade levels and even different schools. Our team had a good thing going for two years in a row, but this fall I'm the one moving to a new grade level.

I know all the peeps in the grade level I'm joining and I've taught fifth grade before so there aren't too many surprises in store. However, I haven't taught with this particular combination of people. It got me thinking about what made a team great or not-so-great.

Here are my top five ways to be a team player.

Step 1 - LISTEN! Be open to the ideas of others. I am an idea person and tend to rattle off tons of ideas. I NEED teammates who can help me filter and then decide which ideas to act on.

Step 2 - Share. If you've got something awesome (or even something mediocre!) I might want to try it too! Hey, you never know...you could save a teammate's day by offering up a lesson. Is there anyone who hasn't rolled out of bed on the wrong side at least once during the year and ended up late to work then suddenly realized...'Hey...what am I teaching today?'?!

Step 3 - Participate. If you're in a meeting with an idea person like me, it could be difficult to get a word in edge-wise. (If you are like me...this is a HUGE skill for us to work on - we must learn to stop and listen more than we talk.) I have never been in a meeting where an idea on the table wasn't made better by others adding their two-cents. Meetings are only a waste of time when you don't participate. (Grading papers while everyone else talks doesn't count as participation.)

Step 4 - Use humor & kindness generously. There have certainly been times when teammates have been irritated with me (I'm flighty & disorganized) and I with them for whatever reason. The best way of handling those situations was always head-on with humility and a sense of humor. By first admitting confusion or concern and then addressing the situation frankly we avoided ever having arguments or tantrums. If you find yourself in the wrong, be humble and apologetic. Chocolate can be the healer of many wounds.

Step 5 - Keep your door open. (Unless you're doing something loud!) There's something about approaching a closed classroom door that is discouraging (and somewhat suspicious). It's one thing if ya'll are up in there having a dance off to a multiplication song, but during the course of the day it's nice to see open doors. It gives a feeling of 'Come on in - see what we're up to!'. The only reason my door is ever shut is because a student shuts it - usually when I'm reading aloud and there's noise in the main hall from classes going to recess. If you're in a room with another adult and the door is shut you are sending the message that you want privacy. That's completely understandable if you are having a sensitive conference or you've got some serious thinking to do, but you can't tell me that's the case every afternoon!

I have high hopes for my team this year. It helps that I've been at this particular school for three years now. I've gotten to know people and I've gotten to know myself better. You can bet I'll be following the five rules above in hopes of being a part of the best team ever!

If you have tips that you think are important for creating a Super Team, please share them in the comments! My top five is by no means exhaustive. ;)