Mrs. Catoe’s Chronicles

My blog  - “Mrs. Catoe’s Chronicles” has moved. Please join me on my new blog at

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I finished reading The Excellent 11 almost a month ago, and I have been spacing out my blogs until tonight to finish the book chat.  Wow!  What a powerful message that this book holds.  After visiting the RCA this summer and reading this book along the way (before and after my visit), I see firsthand what this message truly means.  Each chapter began with a quote….Chapter 11 heralds the famous Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”  Truly powerful…Oftentimes, leaders (those who take risks) are viewed as being overzealous or overenthusiastic. I have been accused at times of “overreacting.”  I can understand why someone would say this…but I try to “see the big picture” when I am working to solve a problem.  A very dear colleague of mine, Morgan Lee, shared this quote with me when I became Interim Principal last year….”Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes.” (Maggie Kuhn)  Well, being
5′2″, I sometimes feel that I have to speak loudly so that people will listen.  We, as educators, must be resilient to all of the challenges that come our way in our profession.  We are truly at the mercy of legislation, taxes, etc., but we truly can make a difference if maintain our “focus on your students” (p. 241).  As we begin a new school year tomorrow, I am sure that we will face many obstacles and challenges.  However, we must not get bogged down in the administrivia of the daily grind.  Instead, we must “remember that the work they (teachers) are doing is changing lives, and in many cases they (teachers) have more impact on the children in that classroom than any other person in their lives” (p. 241).  We must be passionate about our work and maintain our hope for the future of these children.  We have a great challenge, but I guarantee that working together and having a little (or a lot of) fun along the way will make us all more resilient to life’s curveballs.

Thanks for reading along with me this summer and chatting - sharing your thoughts, memories, and stories has been insightful to me.  As a matter of fact, my former high school World Geography/AP History/Yearbook Advisor emailed me on Friday.  She was headed back to school, saw a great friend of mine who mentioned my blog, and responded.  Her email recollection of my high school class and friends brought tears to my eyes.  I shared this email with my teachers on Friday to show that we do make a difference….not just in the lives of children, but in the lives of teachers, too.  I printed out a copy of her email and saved it in my “Sunshine File” for days when the times get tough.  Being resilient is the final message that Ron Clark shares….a meaningful and serious one.  I look forward to a great year!

Feeling appreciated in your workplace and home is something of which most people enjoy and thrive.  When you feel appreciated, your motivation to do a good job increases.  This chapter hit home with me as I recalled my teaching days.  I tried desperately to make sure that each and every student felt appreciated, worthy, and respected.  I wanted these children to enjoy coming to my class knowing that I appreciated what they had to offer to my daily instruction.  I feel the same about my faculty and staff at DME. I greatly appreciate their input and trust their opinions as they truly have their fingers on the pulse of our school - our students.  Their feedback helps to guide our daily instructional decisions.  As a matter of fact, I enjoyed our Back To School Professional Development activities yesterday.  They came in yesterday full of excitement…..ready for a great year.  We completed several activities - ice breakers, discussed school data, talked about school safety, and planned professional development for the school year.  All the while I told them how much I appreciated their time, respected their views, and was excited about the new school year. Yes, I know that actions speak louder than words…..That is so true, but I certainly hope that when my career is over that my faculty and staff and those who know me will say that I do show appreciation to those with whom I work.  Believe me, I am so completely blessed to work with this wonderful faculty - We have lots of hard work to do this year, but I hope that at the end of the year in May 2009, teachers will reflect that we had fun while getting our job done!  Welcome back…..On to Chapter 11, the end of our book study.
Get ready….Our students will be back next Monday.

This is obviously my favorite chapter of the book….not because I am the eternal prankster and love to have fun, but what Ron Clark says is so incredibly true.  He writes:  “When dealing with kids, it’s a good idea to attempt to see things from their vantage point and find humor and understanding from their mistakes and embarrassing moments. It’s all about putting things in perspective and realizing that minor frustrations and annoyances that can come from children aren’t worth getting worked up over and making a mountain out of a molehill” (p. 167).  How many times have we heard that molehill analogy?  Well, I sure have….the whole time I was growing up, my parents would tell me this.  As annoyed as I would get with my parents, I know that they were teaching me to not be so uptight about things - to help me “see the humor in mistakes and difficult situations” (p. 169).  When I was teaching I also tried to impart this lesson to my students; I wanted them to have fun in my class while they learned.  Oftentimes, I would sprinkle lots of personal stories and lessons in my teachings so that I could grasp their attention and use these personal messages as a springboard for my academic content.  Then, we would go on to discuss great works of literature, like Macbeth or The Heart of Darkness - not too humorous to discuss - but we would find the irony in the works and characters.  With my own children, I live by this chapter’s message, too.  Having a 10-year-old and a 4-year-old will help keep things in perspective for us.  What is important to me at the time may not be the most important thing to my sons.  So, I have to keep my vantage point on their level and focus on what is important in their lives.  By doing this, we share a common bond and laugh a lot in our house.  Ron reminded me, “When dealing with them, we need to be reminded of what we were like at their age, and how strong the emotions can be, and how the view of the world is completely different….” (p. 172).  Now that is a powerful realization for most parents and for some teachers, too. 

One of the great things about our school is that humor abounds everywhere.  We are all quick to laugh - sometimes at each other….we laugh with the children and teach them to find humor in difficult situations.  There is always a light at the end of the tunnel.  Sometimes, we just can’t see it yet.  But, it takes teamwork to find that silver lining, and that is the power of our grade level teams and the leadership of our team leaders.  I look forward to having more fun this upcoming school year.  I wonder what kind of pie I will get pied with this year?   May I recommend peach filling, Mrs. Thrall?

On to Chapter 9…Common Sense….We are almost finished with our book study and blogging.  How do you plan to incorporate this book in your class?  How will you keep this momentum going?