Recently, I was eating lunch with a fellow educator, and we discussed how important it is to get real, authentic feedback from our students. They, after all, at the ones that are with us all day, every day and are needing us the most! So, shouldn't we ask them how we are doing? Isn't student feedback and getting to know our students as persons and individuals what learning/teaching is all about? So, why not empower them and give them voice in their learning process AND the reflection process. They need to have the power to offer feedback about their learning experience just like we offer feedback to presenters when we attend professional development sessions and workshops. This led me to create a quick end of the year survey in Google Drive. I wanted to know what they had thought about our school year. So, I created a Google Form then added questions that were created by me, my students, and modeled from other student survey versions that I found. Before I ...
end of the year
I’m Not Ready…to Say Goodbye
I know that summer is getting close for many teachers and students. Many of us are just days away from the end of the year. But, I am NOT ready to say goodbye. This happens every year. There are countdowns, end-of-the-year celebrations. Parties. And, I am just barely holding it together. I don't want to do countdowns. I don't want to celebrate saying goodbye. I don't do goodbyes well. Each year, these students become my family, and I am not ready to send them on. I literally could cry if I really let myself think about just how much time I actually have left with my students. This year has been magical. It has been beautiful. The new grade level has been challenging. Some days I thought that I was the worst teacher in the world and other days I felt we had it going on! Did I mention that this year was magical? I don't want it to end. I love these students. I am going to miss them writing on our ...
That’s a Wrap!
As this post goes live, I know that many of you are still heading towards the "end of the school year" finish line. Me? Well, I am still in my pjs, sipping on coffee, and feeling very happy that this Sunday will not be spent grading papers and writing lessons plans. This year was AWESOME but really, really exhausting so I am so excited that summer vacation is here. But, my rest and relaxation is going to be squeezed in between other things because I am neck deep in my graduate school portfolio, reading and studying our new writing program, and prepping for a tech session that I am presenting at this summer-just to name a few things. Kind of goes to prove that educators are never "done". But, we knew that, right? I wanted to recap just a couple of things that occurred in Ms. Young's Learning Cottage over the last few days of school. I LOVE this cute little Ikea chalkboard. We have used it a lot this year. The students had their pictures taken beside the chalkboard at the beginning ...
