Teachers have a lot on their plates and they have a lot to contend with when it comes to administration, high stakes testing, student behavior, boring meeting and more.. Then we tend to take work home never to be touched because most times we are exhausted beyond belief! We have good intentions, but intentions doesnt get the work done.
I have roughly 125 students that I teach on a daily basis and two preps (actually 3 but they are semester courses). Imagine the amount of work that involves and then double it. Most of the time I am tired and want to take a nap when I get off. Sometimes I oversleep for bible study and sometimes I oversleep in the morning for carline duty. It is like that sometimes. We are tired a lot. In the spirit of understanding that we are tired at times and sometimes we overextend ourselves with projects and assignments, I decided to invite a friend, Kiesha Easley, to speak to educators about Wellness. Kiesha recently lost 75lbs after she realized she had to do something about her wellness. She wrote a book entitled “ Worth the Weight” that is available on Amazon as well as her website: https://www.kieshaeasley.com/ You can also contact her at [email protected] Wellness is sooo important for educators. Here are a few wellness tips:
I hope you enjoy this podcast today and take some time to relax.
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Because I am an educator and I am here in my home alone and have been for the past few weeks, I decided to tell a little of my feelings about this current situation in my latest episode of 5Cs. Here is a transcript of what I had to say:
Welcome to the 5 Cs Podcast: 8 Million Stories. Today I’m bringing you part of my story as a teacher in this period of sheltering in place. I’m a greys anatomy series long fan. I watched it faithfully from the time it came on TV up until now. they’ve always dealt with topics and diseases that were cutting edge but what I love about the Show that I basically spent my entire adulthood with is the simple phrases, quirky commentary, and speeches that the characters give that start and end with the same sentence. Okay so, where do we begin? Everyone’s has a story to tell. They will tell it whether or not you’re listening. They’ll tell it in their body language, the lack of communication, the little glances to a confidant when they disagree or cant stand you... they’ll tell it in their whispers behind your back or in their clear defiance in your face. They’ll tell it in a smile or the way they share with yiu. Ppl Students tell their stories to teachers in the subtle way in which they avoid eye contact, constantly vie for your attention or even say that they hate you and then warm up to you because they liked you all along. Teachers open themselves up and allow their stories to be heard in how they interact with their pupils, cry over what makes you cry, defend you when you have no idea that they’ve done so... I had a teacher defend me once and it could have cost him his job....Ill never forget him for it! Teachers are people and we are moved by what is currently happening in the country. Contrary to popular belief, we are not on vacation. Some of us.... present company included are in constant contact with students on remind, Showbie classroom discussion, WebEx online classes and through email.... We are still teaching... students are still learning.. some might call this overachievement... Ive seen some opinion that since there are no tests, that we should allow for creativity.... I agree that creativity should be included in curriculum all the time...It is high time that we started the conversation on equity in education... now is the time to see that not all schools in the US are created equal... some students have access that some students will never see.. We have to remedy that and the push should come from educators. Gone is the season that we sit back and wait for the administration to dictate that direction in which we take our students. We have to tell the story of the student who lives in a rural area that has zero access to the internet. And by the way... why isn’t INFRASTRUCTURE a campaign issue? The internet should be accessible to all! I’m not saying free but everyone should have the opportunity to access it. The price should be reasonable yes.... I understand that we live in a market economy... we need competition.. I get that... I’m teaching those concepts now... I just desire to see a world where we are all on a level playing field, especially in EDUCATION... It’s time for districts to include robust technology plans in their overall plan.. Can we get a Special option local sales tax on that? Each student should have access... How will we hear the voices of the children if we dont allow them to be heard? We have to be a voice to the voiceless... We have to see a better life and point our students.. our district offices... our co-workers.. the heads of technology... in that direction. So... As teachers during this time we have time to reflect on our practices.. I find myself becoming even better educator because I have to explain things to people who are not in the same room as me, so I’m depending on less words and more pictures... more student engagement by asking what they think... not necessarily verbally although I’d love to hear them speak, but more with a teacher driven Q and A on Socrative... a site that I love so much! I can ask questions about what I’m teaching and the students can respond in real time and I see their answers.. It gives me an opportunity to give feedback... I love feedback. I like to know how I’m doing when I’m completing something... which brings me to the point that teachers need teachers too... We need community and not just mandates from administration... our communities should not have to be forced upon us.. They should be voluntary.. sometimes those communities are not within your school.. sometimes they are outside of the school that you teach in.. They are PLCs that push your creativity and ideology to the limits and produce gems that you would not have received otherwise..... I’m a part of a great group of educators that shares and creates things that you only dream of... You might say “Seriously” Woodard... youre doing too much and you lost your original point.... Well isn’t that very Greys Anatomy of me... I haven’t lost it.. Allow me to finish... As a teacher I dont rejoice when I cant have class or school.. I love my classroom.. Tis my sanctuary... I even refer to it as the church and you dont walk in front of the church when the preacher is preaching... lol.. ... I long to teach my students because I actually love the subject that I teach... I long to get back in my classroom to sit in my chair and type like only I can on that old Windows computer that I would prefer to switch out for an iMac...to open my door and play DJ for the students when they come in to class... to see the faces of the students that just drive us up the wall on a daily basis and I’m sure that they are ready to drive us crazy in return.. to declare, as I often do, “its my time now” when the bell rings to get the students started with the warm up... to say hey... make sure you do those cornell notes... to embarrass the student whose soccer game I attended the night before or to call the pitchers name at the baseball game who drives me crazy in class.. to say What up Coach Bell and hear her say What up Bianca!!!... to see Maggie and Slater and Saniya and Kristen and Emma and Klayre and Lauren and Shaelyn and Daisy and Kyrie (who refuses to look at me because he thinks I’m nuts) and laugh with Johnny (who totally gets me) and to listen to Ashton calling everyone country because he’s from Philly and to hear Logan call me Queen or Tyson try to negotiate or Gabby try to argue with me or Jadens smirk... or to mess with Justiano when he comes in late or to have banter with Justin (who is always mad about something) or to hear JAaron talk loud... to see how Jebritney has blossomed into a young lady this year.. or laugh at Chris and Brett because they play forte night all night every night.. or to hear Alena talk about the latest and greatest in documentaries.. or Noah try to crack a sly joke in class that always falls flat... to fuss with Jerron or get stale cookies from Ansley.. or to watch the genius of Jeremy or the love of Savanna for agriculture... to watch Meme, April and Charity try to practice their routine for a TicTok... and have diaglog with them.. to hear Taylors opinion on just about everything or to hear Summers accent... there are just too many instances to name.. to see the eager hands raise when they know they are competing for class participation points in AP Human... watching the light bulb go off when they realize they know more than they thought... to see them learn about the world in which they live.... I teach global citizenship.. I teach one world and one race.. It’s human... It’s our story and its my story.. I’m an open book.. dont be illiterate.. Everyone has a story to tell. Will you listen? I hope you enjoyed my diatribe today on 5Cs: 8 Million Stories.. I know it was a rant... very random but given the randomness of 2020... i think it was in line.. I’d like to challenge every listener to reach out to a student or a teacher this week and listen to their story... they are always speaking... lend your ear.. Thanks for tuning in!
We are currently living in a time of swift transition in America. So much has happened in our lives in the past 2-3 weeks, that sometimes it feels like a lifetime.
We are in the middle of a pandemic unlike any we’ve experienced in our lifetime and it has caused an abundance of disruption in government, church, social life and the big one for us: School The class of 2020 is in an uproar because it appears that the second half of their senior year has been disrupted. The school buildings are closed and and teachers are being pushed into the unknown world of distance learning. For many, this presents challenges on its own, so when you add the pandemic, family life, closed day care centers, unemployment and more to the, it gets complex. Everyone has a story to tell about this time in our history. Whether its the mother who is struggling to feed the family, the teacher that is new to technology, the school district that was caught off guard, the student who feels overwhelmed or those who are gliding through this time without a care in the world. We all have a story to tell. At 5Cs, we are capturing those stories from educators, parents and students. Those stories deserve a platform. At times, my story will be featured. I’m alone in the house, save a lone puppy named Frodo and at times, I need to reflect on what’s going on around me. For now, enjoy Rhonda’s story. She’s an educator and mother in South Carolina who is doing her best to make the best of a challenging situation. Enjoy and Share!! On episode 3 of the 5 Cs Podcast, we talk to an aspiring teacher, Miranda Mullins, who is about to graduate from The University of South Carolina Aiken. She is a social studies teacher who is eager to enter the field of education. We spoke to her about how prepared she believes she might be for the new year in her own classroom as how veteran teachers can help prepared and support new teachers in the beginning of their careers. She shares some insight on how the teacher preparation program can set realistic expectations and provide more training prior to the teachers being on their own. Here are a few simple ways that veteran teachers can help:
Episode 3 Community Conversations Betsey Devos, our Secretary of education, (in my opinion) has made several missteps this week with her budget proposal – first the cut federal funding in Special Olympics as well as other funding for special education that caused an uproar on the TV news and social media… as that died down elements of her testimony came to light in regards to stance on classroom size. Here’s the quote “There is no evidence that Federal taxpayers investments in existing professional development programs or class size reduction have meaningfully improved student outcomes. In fact, students may be better served by being in larger classes, if by hiring fewer teachers, a district or state can better compensate those who have demonstrated high ability and outstanding results.” This is where I’m going: Even economists measure the well being of a country by their access to knowledge and pupil to teacher ratio. The fewer the pupils a teacher has, the more likely that each student will receive instruction. We are a MDC or a more developed country and our education system cannot remain in the industrial revolution. We have to make sure class sizes are as small as possible and some have even recommended that we maintain a 15:1 ratio. This might seem like a joke, but it’s true. I don’t know anyone who has a 15:1 ratio in their classroom. It really seems like a dream, but the reality is we have less teachers in the profession and that is due in part to the pay that teachers receive. It is sad that students see the amount of work that we put in and THEY- THE STUDENTS say that they don’t understand why anyone would want to be a teacher. It’s really telling because a student said that to me the other day. The Bottom line… We need to keep class sizes small to make sure that students have a chance to succeed. An education secretary that has no experience in education should not be the education secretary. She should at least try to understand the classroom and practical ways that the education system works. Perhaps we need reforms in education. Perhaps we need better professional development. I can agree with that, but larger class sizes in exchange for higher pay is not the answer. Our profession is long past overdue for an overhaul in pay. We are a female dominated profession and our pay shows that disparity. We spend enormous amounts of time preparing for classes on the weekend and at night. Our summers are spend in professional development, seminars, conferences and more. We are preparing the society of tomorrow. We deserve more. Democratic candidate for president, Kamala Harris, wants to increase teacher pay from the federal level. I tend to agree because we are preparing the nation’s children and the nation will reap the benefits. We’ll see how this plays out and if it actually becomes policy in the next few years. If you want to hear the podcast, please listen on any one of the following places below
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Does the outside culture bleed over into the classroom? Is it enough to simply say that the school system can only influence what goes on inside of the classroom and school? Should we be doing more in the community to reach our students and influence their culture as educators? We discuss all of this and more on Episode 2 of the 5 Cs Podcast.
We speak with an educator, Mr. Andrae Walker, from a rural district in the South about how culture and community play a role in the education of our nation's children. Talk about on education issues by emailing [email protected] or call 706-925-7490. We'd love to hear from you. Thank you for listening and tell a friend! Starting a podcast dealing with education can be a daunting task, but I'm ready to take the bull by the horns and step out into the world of podcasting. The first episode of the 5Cs Podcast is ready to go and is currently live on Anchor.
Here is the link to the show The first episode features a discussion with Technology Integration Coordinator, Carla Jefferson. Carla was an absolute joy to speak with and has a wealth of knowledge on how to take a school district to the next level when it comes to integrating technology with the curriculum. Listen and learn about her journey. Teachers Talk Back We have a segment on the show called Conversations and Critical thinking where a question is posed based on a current event or policy in education. Educators are asked to provide their opinions. This episode's topic comes from an article on NEA Today.org entitled “Educators focus attention on glaring failures of merit pay.” According to the article, Merit Pay doesn’t work in education.. Here are some of the reasons that were given:
What do you think works for pay for educators? Should we have a bonus structure that is a nation wide standard? Has anyone gone through the National Certification process and does your state give you extra for completing it? I want to hear from all of you educators out there listening. Drop a VOICEMAIL at 706-925-7490 or email me at [email protected]. You may also leave a comment below. You might hear your opinion on the next show! |
AuthorBianca Woodard is an educator, podcaster, blogger, singer and more. ArchivesCategories |