Love is All We Need

 

Huge Beatles fan here. Always have been. As I think about teaching in February, and February in general, the word most on my mind is LOVE. No surprise there. It's almost trite to say what word reminds you most of February? Love of course! This is the month of love - chocolates for your sweetie, cute and fresh valentines for your students, maybe a romantic dinner this year since February 14 falls on a weekend. 

 The word love always reminds me of my students as well as my precious hubby, daughters, sons-in-love, and grandkids. Students' sweet little faces from years long past, their grownup selves who have invited me back into their lives through the magic of Facebook, and the most recent ones who I run into regularly at the gym, the supermarket, the drugstore, and the hairdresser.  LOVE! Love them all!

I really think love is a magical word and if you really feel it when you look at your students, its magical effects will be life-changing. Want to love your job again, and pull it out of the winter doldrums? Love your kids. Stand back, really look at them, and find something to love. There is something lovable in each one. Fake it till you make it if you really think there's nothing to love.

I was planning to continue rambling on here in another of my way too long blog posts when I realized that my boys John, Paul, George, and Ringo have already said it all. As a teacher, those lyrics ring so true for the classroom as well as for life.

"There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game 
It's easy"

Thanks boys! My interpretation: love makes all things possible. A person who is loved feels really good about himself/herself and has confidence in all they try to do. A student who feels loved will "get with the culture" of your class and be higher-performing and better-behaved.

Idea #1: Start with a compliment. Greet each student before class with a quick compliment. "You look amazing today!" "Love your smile!" "That orange shirt is perfect for you!" "I love those shoes! Do they come in my size?" 
Make complimenting each other part of your classroom culture. Try some compliment cards or just make complimenting each other  at least a small part of each day. Make your kids feel loved and they will "learn how to play the game" of school the way you want them to play it.

Here's a great resource to get you started:

"There's nothing you can make that can't be made
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn to be you in time
It's easy"


Thanks again lads! It IS easy! Make something together! Add some hands on to your lessons! If you're already a hands on teacher, add some personal choice to it. It is never too late in the year to switch up your routine and surprise your kids with some fun-while-learning activities.
And, it truly is never too late in the year to save an unruly, disrespectful class, and turn it into the class of your dreams. You have had the power all along my dear! You are totally in charge of the culture that will be built in your classroom. No state or federal guidelines for that. You are in charge here!
Visit Rainbow City Learning on TpT for lots of hands on ideas to make learning fun!
Never say "can't". If it seems like a good idea to you, try it! Have some fun together and build the idea that learning together is fun into your culture. It's easy.

Rainbow City Learning has a resource bundle for each month of the year to make leaning fun without losing the rigor! Just click!

"There's nothing you can know that isn't known
Nothing you can see that isn't shown
There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be
It's easy"

The answer for classroom harmony in February and beyond is right in front of you. Step back and take a look. Find something to love in your classroom community and build from there. You are exactly where you're meant to be! And your students are so lucky to have you!

Love yourself, love your students, and have the best February ever, teachers! Did I ever tell you that I love your smile? I do!

For more February Teacher Talk, please stop by and visit my amazing blogging friends! I love them too!

If I can do anything else to help make your job easier this year, please let me know in the comments below! If I use your idea for a new blog post, you will win a TpT $10 gift card. If I create a new resource for Rainbow City Learning based on your idea, you will win a free copy of that resource to use in your classroom! (Note: all comments are reviewed before appearing on my blog. It may take a few hours for your comment to appear! Thanks for your patience!)

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at TeachersPayTeachers.com.  For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

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Teacher as Life Mentor

 We've all had that "favorite" teacher. The one we remember throughout our life, the one whose name conjures happy memories of days gone by. Some of us were fortunate to have had more than one. Some of us are also fortunate to have become "that" teacher to our own future students. I've written two previous posts here about two of my most important life mentors, Miss Jean Brooke, and my Aunt Harriet. A life event in my home has brought back memories of another teacher, who I know has also become a part of the teacher I was, and the human that I am today.

My husband is currently in the midst of a health scare, and of course we are hopeful for having a positive outcome. However, he has been engaged lately in getting his stuff in order. Several weeks ago, he came downstairs with a pile of old pictures. Among them was a pencil portrait of me as a seventeen year old. He was fascinated by this portrait, and wanted to hear its story (as, I'm sure, do you!). Get a cup of coffee or tea, or a fresh mason jar of Kachava, and take a seat. 

In high school, I discovered a very special oasis amidst the chaos of finding my way as a freshman. I bought an "elevator pass" on the first day, thinking that the price was well worth the amount of my lunch money for the week, considering that my homeroom was on the third floor. (Our building had zero elevators, and I had zero lunches that week.) Just figuring out how to get to each class on my schedule, and how to deal with the ever increasing homework assignments were chaotic and difficult for me as well. The usual teenage angst of meeting new friends was there as well. I had signed up to take Ceramics as an elective class, not knowing what a life-changing choice that would turn out to be. 

When I entered the Ceramics classroom for the first time, I was greeted by a man with a beautiful wide grin, and a soft and gentle voice. He never needed to raise his voice, as he was a master of "wait time" long before I arrived. He was quiet, and his "people" easily matched his volume level. He called us "people" or "class", never "boys and girls", despite that being the most common way that we were addressed in most classes. 

I quickly learned that this was more a class in living life as an artist, rather than just a focus in Ceramics. Of course we learned to create slab pottery items, and to throw a pretty decent pot or bowl on the wheel, but we were led to discover art and its creation is so many additional ways. I developed a love for collage and stained glass mosaics. Three of my mosaic pieces can be found in our garage today! At the end of freshman year, and each succeeding year, I found a way to continue choosing Ceramics as an elective class. I took advanced tests to skip a year in French language, decided to forgo the study of shorthand and typing, and ended my participation in Home Economics. I became a master of persuasion in the Guidance Counselor's office, and managed to stay a student of Mr. K for a full four years. 

Mr. K's Ceramics classes were mixed grade, comprised of students from all grade levels. This was likely due to the fact that students chose other art electives more frequently. I remember that my sister and several of my friends took Jewelry Design as an elective. Mr. K's class became a microcosm of our school and the surrounding communities. As a parting gift to seniors who took his class, our Mr. K created a pencil sketch portrait of each departing senior. (Remember when it was cool to be a senior? Sigh. IYKYK.) Here is mine:

Mr K was an accomplished artist apart from his teaching career, and sold his work. He had a degree in art from Carnegie Mellon University, and brought that background as well as all that he was as a person to our high school ceramics class every day. After finding the above portrait, I did a deep dive on Google to discover an old interview he had done on his role as a holocaust liberator before he was my teacher. This interview occurred 20 years after he was my teacher, showing once again that each of us is so much more than who we are in the classroom. 

The link to this video is here, if you are interested. Interview With Edward Kosewicz

During my four years in "Ceramics" with Mr K, here are a few of the things I learned. I carry each of these lessons in my heart and in my very soul today, Thank you, Mr. K!

Lessons from Mr K

If you haven’t tried it, how do you know you won’t be good at it?

Although his class was officially, ceramics, Mr K shared his vast artistic background with us, using ceramics as an entry point. His example, I believe, led me to share my whole authentic self with each of my students. I found Reading and Writing to be great opportunities for sharing. You may find this resource useful during reading/writing conferences to share your authentic self! Just click!

Imagine the possibilities

Mr. K taught us to start somewhere, and then to explore and dream! Each class began with a short demo, bringing in new materials and fresh techniques, along with an invitation to soar! He also highlighted some of the projects other students were working on. Having a multigrade class enabled him to use the work of other students, as well as his own, for mentorship. 

You don’t know everything

My high school years were filled with turmoil on the world stage, with protests and political activism at home. The war was raging in Viet Nam, but the time period could be any time, including the present. In his quiet way, never revealing to us his own involvement in WWII, he listened, said something like "Hmmm." Or "Ya think?" "Tell me more." and then invited us to think things through before forming our opinions so quickly. He basically taught us not to be know-it-alls while preserving our dignity.

Be part of a community

Mr K taught us that our class was a community, our three or four distinct neighborhoods were actually one community, and that the world was a community as well. We treated each other with respect, critiqued each others projects honestly and fairly, but kindly, and we learned from each other as well as from our amazing teacher.

I guess I've reached a point in my own life where I am considering who I am, who I was, and what my own legacy will be. If any of the lessons I've learned from my own teacher mentors and life mentors are helpful to you, I will be grateful.

If I can do anything else to help make your job easier this year, please let me know in the comments below! If I use your idea for a new blog post, you will win a TpT $10 gift card. If I create a new resource for Rainbow City Learning based on your idea, you will win a free copy of that resource to use in your classroom! (Note: all comments are reviewed before appearing on my blog. It may take a few hours for your comment to appear! Thanks for your patience!)

For more great December teaching ideas, be sure to check out these Teacher Talk bloggers! 

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at TeachersPayTeachers.com.  For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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