Mrs. Catoe's Chronicles

Having consideration for others is key in our society.  How often do we forget to "walk a mile in someone else's shoes" before we place blame or scorn someone for something over which he/she may ultimately have no control at that particular point in his/her life?  Ron Clark discusses compassion in schools and does so by building climate in his school.  From the moment I arrived in his school in June, from my greeting by the receptionist and security guard, to the tour from the students, to the presentation in his classroom, the message was the same....compassion and passion for teaching.  He writes, "As teachers we must be aware of the climate of our classrooms and how the students are interacting with one another.  We have to make sure that our students feel safe and comfortable and that they are able to focus on their education."  One of the most powerful staff development sessions that I ever embarked on was a bus ride.  We all loaded on yellow school buses and traveled the bus route that some of our students do each day.  We were able to see how long the bus ride was, etc.  We don't know for certain what some of the issues our students bring to the classroom each day, but this bus ride awakened me to this learning experience.  Clark continues, "Once kids understand and realize the feelings and emotions of others, they are much more willing to respect those who are different from them."  

Also, Clark writes about having compassion for the elderly.  Our school does a wonderful job with performing outreach service learning projects with local nursing homes, etc.  However, this year, I want to take this task one step further.  I want each homeroom to adopt a Grand.  Think about someone in our community who may need a little compassion and "invite" them to your classrooms monthly to eat lunch, volunteer, etc.  "What is important is that through these efforts students begin to realize how the elderly in our society should be honored, appreciated, and respectfully treated."  

On to Chapter 7......I look forward to your responses and start thinking about your Grand adoptions! 

Chapter 5 of The Excellent 11 says there is.....When I do my daily walkthroughs at school, I ask teachers, "What can I get for you?  What do you need?"  One consistent response each day is "more time."  Chapter 5 addresses the need for balance in our lives.  I enjoyed the opening paragraph and actually thought about my own son.  Last year, I noticed that he was not reading for pleasure as much as he did in third grade.  After repeated badgering on my behalf, he politely, yet demonstratively responded, "Mom, I have straight A's.  I play football, basketball, baseball, take guitar lessons, volunteer at church, do my chores, do all my homework, stay with you at school all day, and when I come home, I am tired."  I just sat there and looked at him.  Well, he is right.  He does work hard in school and in all of his extra-curricular activities.  He is a shining star, and I do ask a lot of him (and expect that, too).  He does read, but picking up a book to read "just because" is not his cup of tea.  So, I backed off.  As Ron Clark noted, "....our children don't have it easy, either" when it comes to balance in life.  "They are trying to keep up their grades, play sports, be involved with clubs, make friends and fit in, complete their homework, clean their rooms, do their chores, and stay out of trouble" (p. 108).  When I read this paragraph, I reflected upon my own son, and I was glad that he felt that he could respectfully share his concerns with me.  As a "bargain," we began to read together each night - me a page and then him a page.  And, we read the first Harry Potter novel together of which he took an AR test on and made 90!  I was so proud of him.  We are reading The Call of the Wild right now and playing READO for Mrs. Long for our summer reading assignment.  Doing this reading together has been our balance and has brought us closer together as he "grows up" into a young man. 

On a professional level, this chapter hit home with me, too.  As a former English teacher, on page 111, Ron Clark discusses teaching writing.  As a teacher, I loved to teach writing.  This is one aspect of the job that I particularly miss.  I hope to co-teach more this year with some of my teachers - if they will allow me to.  I would love to work with children to help them develop their individual style and voice of writing.  Many of my former students - who are now teachers - I reflect upon their journey as writers. They are magnificent writers - who have grown their craft and intertwined their skills into their careers.  I beam with pride when I see them in action in the classroom passing along their knowledge to their students. 

Finally, I hope that all of you have heeded Clark's advice this summer and allowed yourself to recharge.  "Recharging is necessary, and it will make us a better teacher and also a better person."  I have received postcards from many of you who have traveled this summer "recharging" with family and friends.  As for myself, my summer has been a bit different from the days of old.  Working each day this summer has allowed me time to recharge in my role as principal and prepare for the upcoming school year, but I have not had as much time to spend with my children.  Yet, being the eternal summer girl that I am, when I get home from work after 5:00 each day, my second job begins....being a mom.  We pile in the yard with all the neighborhood children playing games, sports, and exercising....then ride the golf cart until the charge runs out each night.  We long for the next sunrise to begin our days all over again.  Finding balance is necessary....for work, for family, and for personal health and state of mind! 

Have a great weekend. On to Chapter 6....Compassion
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Chapter 4 of The Excellent 11 discusses the importance of reflection. Confucius writes:  "By three methods we may learn wisdom:  First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is bitterest."  This quote was fitting to begin this chapter - as I read the chapter, I noted times when I have jarred awake at 3:00 a.m. to "think" about the past day's work.  What I could have done, what I could have said, how I could have reacted, .... all run through my head as I ponder learning from my experiences to work to become a better educator, a better mother, a better wife, a better person. The NCLB push toward accountability urges us toward academic excellence.  We, as educators, continually strive to work to reach the bar that is set - oftentimes very high.  At DME, I feel that bar is our goal, and we work to lift each other and our students to surpass this standard.  However, along the way, I believe that Clark makes excellent points that school is not just about learning the academic "stuff" - we must provide children with other opportunities for extra- and co-curricular activities throughout the year.  These, my friends, are oftentimes the memories that children hold most dear to their hearts as they proceed and finish school.  One of our faculty writings for this upcoming year asks that we reflect and provide advice to next year's rising fifth graders.  We have so much to share.  I can't wait to read these writings which won't be posted until the start of fourth nine weeks, but I will get a hint at them in August as the teachers turn them in from their summer assignments. 

As a matter of fact, speaking of reflection, our beach leadership retreat last week with my grade level chairs was fabulous!  We were very productive; not only did we revise both our math model and our RA schedule for the upcoming school year, reflect on last year's challenges and successes, and discuss Clark's The Excellent 11, we even had time to float down the marsh on inner tubes to the ocean twice....and we didn't lose anyone on the tubes!  That trip was a wonderful team building experience.  It was so uplifting to be with my teachers to think about last year and plan for next year.  Now, I am back at work this week -  putting into motion our plans!  Read on....Chapter 5 "Balance" is next!

If I can say one thing about my visit to the RCA, it is that this entire school is based upon the creative vision of Ron Clark and Kim Bearden.  Every classroom is themed; the SS classroom is a Delta airplane; the science classroom is a space shuttle....Get my drift?  Moreso, the students feel an ownership of this school because it was created for them by people who want to make their dreams come true.  In Chapter 3 of The Excellent 11, Ron writes, "One of the keys to having a successful classroom and a high-performing school is to create unity.  When all the students feel ownership of their school and feel part of a place they are proud of, they are going to enjoy being there and become better students."  Well, this concept is the same for us as educators.  We have to feel ownership of our workplace.  We must take pride in the fact that our ideas are going to be heard and that we are free to "think outside the box" so that we can be creative in our instruction.  I started laughing at the end of the chapter when Ron writes "as a parent or teacher it's also important that we remember not to take ourselves too seriously at times."  For those of you who know me,  this quote sums me up perfectly.  I guess that is why I love working as an educator in a school setting - I am still a kid at heart!  (Having a four year old will also do this to you, too!) 

As a sidenote, we just returned from a wonderfully professional conference of school administrators at the beach.  I had the special opportunity to present with Jennifer Ard (Kindergarten team leader) and Vickie Norton (Intervention Specialist) about our Kindergarten regrouping this year.  Our flexible grouping worked for a group of 23 Kindergartners and we look forward to using this experience to springboard to other grade levels.  This type of creativity and flexibility is exactly what Ron Clark alludes.  I thank them for their leadership and assistance with sharing a success story from this school year!  They did a super job presenting!  I also had the opportunity to facilitate the presentation led by Camden High School's leadership team - It was wonderful to support them and to hear about their staff's professional development this year.  Got lots of ideas....get ready!  I am taking my grade level chairs on a leadership retreat this week.  We will continue to discuss our Ron Clark reading as well as spend some time articulating about our plans to work on our math curriculum. 

Keep reading.....on to Chapter 4.....

We are getting packed up to head to the beach this morning.  Rushing around getting last minute packing and details taken care of for a week of fun in the sun is how we hopped into our Saturday morning.  I am excited about attending this year's Summer Leadership sponsored by SCASA.  In fact, Jennifer Ard, Vickie Norton, and I are presenting on Monday morning about our Kindergarten regrouping/flexible scheduling program.  Presenting with a team of educators from your school is a highly professional experience.  Not only do you learn more about each other, but you are able to showcase a best practice about your school and student population.  I look forward to sharing more about our presentation and the feedback that we gain from others.  Also, I look forward to a week of networking with other district and state administrators and their families.  This annual conference is a great way to catch up with one another.  I can't wait to try to meet up with Sharon Huff and her family; she and I taught together at LEHS and now she is the principal of Daniel High.  We always enjoy dinner together and share laughs watching our children "catch up" and interact.  Finally, I am very much excited about spending time with my dear husband and my two adorable sons.  Of course, we have planned dinner trips to our favorite beach restaurants (King's Pizza and Burro Loco), gathered our sand castle building tools, packed the camera for priceless pictures, and have planned afternoon visits to Par 3 and the new Hard Rock theme park, but more importantly, I look forward to some quality time with my children.  Even more priceless is that this week is a combination Father's Day weekend and Marcos's birthday!  I am truly blessed! 

Keep reading Ron Clark and share your comments on Chapter 2/3.  I have my summer beach reading packed.  Also, I will send a postcard of my travels. Don't forget to send your postcards and be working on your summer writing.  We will use these exercises when we return to school in August.  Have a great Father's Day!

I am up and running already.  The biggest compliment one of my teachers gave me this past weekend was that I acted like Ron Clark.  Now, I took that as a compliment, but I know that she meant that I am high energy (often mistaken for high maintenance - LOL) and enthusiastic.  But, I have so much to do today.....I am still amped from our visit to RCA! This morning,  I am taking my son to LEHS baseball camp (Thanks, Coach Stokes!) and then going to vote - We all need to exercise our civic duty today and get involved in our community and FUTURE by voting today.  Hope to see you at the polls.  As a matter of fact, DME is a voting precinct, so I will get to see some of our local community members there today.  Let's hope that it's a great day for us all! Go, and make a difference, my friends.

Well, it's back to work today after spending the weekend at the Ron Clark Academy. If you have had the opportunity to read over the comments posted on my blog, you will see what a wonderful time some of my DME teachers had during this professional development site visit.  This visit was a step outside the box to a traditional school - all of the instructors demonstrated innovative instructional strategies "for reaching every child."  Also refreshing was the conversation that we had with each other as we drove to and from Atlanta.  This time was a great chance for us to talk about this past school year as well as plan for next year.  We took two cars, so we had to make some cell phone calls to the other car on some occasions.  One of the realizations we had is that we just don't really get to "talk" to each other often enough - during the daily rip and run at school, we see each other in passing as we accomplish our mission and tasks, but the conversations and discussions that are needed to truly articulate and enhance student learning and teaching often falls by the wayside because everyone is so incredibly busy.  We took the wonderful driving time to discuss past, present, and future.  These suggestions and feedback will serve as an impetus for me this week as I head back to work and continue reading Chapter 2 of The Excellent 11. 

Well, we are slide certified!  The visit to the RCA yesterday was truly an adventure!  We spent the entire day there visiting teachers' classrooms and touring the facility!  We participated in instructional activities; I must say that DME teachers were a hit!  Jakki's rocket flew on top of the building!!!  We finished the day with a two hour visit to Kim Beardon's and Ron Clark's classes.  In Kim's class, she was "speaking my language."  As a former English teacher, so many of the ideas that she shared with us - I was ready to go and do with my students.  Even though I am not in the classroom as a teacher, I can still share this newfound knowledge with my teachers during our professional development activities and meetings.  Then, we concluded the day with Ron's students.  The entire two hour observation was one of high stakes, high expectations, and all about holding children accountable for their learning!  If a student didn't know the answer, then Ron "stayed with that student" - holding his focus and instructional targeting on him/her until there was a "lightbulb moment."  Sometimes this "wait time" was lengthy; in fact, probably more than I would have allowed, but he waited and waited and waited....which held that student needing help in check and on point for his/her learning.  This practice also held the other students in focus because they KNEW they were accountable and had better know the answer when he called upon them.  All during his lesson he practiced his Essential 55 rules.  They were his mantra and were creatively instilled as non-instructional and instructional procudures in his classroom and all over the school. 

Chapter 2 of The Excellent 11 talks about adventure. In fact, Ron begins the chapter with a quote from Abraham Lincoln:  "only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."  That quote sums up what I saw in this school yesterday.  This school was built from an abandoned warehouse in the middle of Atlanta.  It is not in the most pristine section of the suburbs.  Still, like a phoenix, it rises from the ashes of a neighborhood that may not have the promise it holds if Ron Clark had not risked "going too far."  I have truly enjoyed the comraderie that I have felt this weekend with our team leaders.  (It was also an awesome experience to be among fellow KCSD educators and enjoy some time with our colleagues from other schools - elementary, middle, and high school!) Their dialogue and articulation of ideas has been uplifting and enlightening.  We have made plans for next year, discussed programmatic changes, discussed the related arts schedule, and socialized.  Over dinner each night, we have not had to eat hurriedly, open any ketchup packs or milk cartons, or hold a detention table.  Still, every bit of our discussion has been about the students at Doby's Mill Elementary. 

Keep reading Chapter 2....I am almost finished.  I will share more about the adventure of becoming slide certified later and the prom last night.  Ron even asked me to dance at the prom!!!  Now, that was truly an adventure!