I Hope My Students Pass Notes in Class

       

The top 6 things I Want From My Students

This afternoon I went over to my mom's house to work on our presentation for the upcoming Educators' Conference that is occurring in a couple of weeks.  Like always when my mom and I get together, we talk about school and she listens to all of my crazy ideas and things I want to do this school year. At one point in our conversation she looked at me and said, "So at what point are you going to have any time to teach the actual curriculum?" Obviously she was joking when she asked me this question but as I drove home from her house it really made me think.  Though I undoubtedly will focus most of my energy and lesson plans on the Common Core standards and curriculum for 5th grade, at the same time I realized I want so much more from my students and I almost feel that there are other "lessons to be learned" other than reading, writing, and Social Studies. So, I began to sort through my crazy ideas and really thought about the importance of each of these.  For the past four years, I have been a Special Education Resource teacher and though I have loved every minute of my job, I am so excited about having my own students in my own classroom.  With this new classroom comes new challenges and new things that I get to teach that I have never been able to teach before. I have a million ideas running through my mind but below are my top six items I want my students to learn and take away with them by the end of next school year. I hope that teachers can find these six things to be an inspiration and a motivation. I hope that teachers who are dreading starting a new school year can read this and remember why they chose to teach.  Unfortunately, teaching is not looked upon as the best profession to have, especially if you live in North Carolina. But, in my mind, I can't think of anything better! At the end of the day, its not about the money, the curriculum, or the silly laws that our legislators pass. Its about what your students take from you and more importantly what you take away from your students.  These six things I have listed below are what makes it all worth while!

1. I want to teach my students how to sign the pledge of allegiance instead of putting their hands over their hearts. Why do this? Not only do I think sign language is cool but it gives meaning to what we say each morning. The pledge of allegiance is not just something we recite because the principal gets on the intercom and tells us to do this.  It has meaning and the words that we speak deserve to have emotion and action.  I want my students to learn that when we recite something every day whether it be the pledge or any other daily ritual, that it needs to have meaning.  As we go through our lives, too many times do we do things just because we have to and we rarely stop to think about the true meaning behind something. I am just as guilty for doing this and I want my students to really stop and think about things they say and do.

2. I want my students to sing and dance on a daily basis.  I for one LOVE music. Ever since I was a toddler, I loved when my mom would sing songs to me or play songs on the radio.  One of my all time favorite things to do is to ride in the car with the music blaring singing at the top of my lungs.  Music makes me HAPPY and truly brings joy to my life.  I want my students to experience this joy.  I want my students to learn that they are allowed to enjoy the things that make them happy and should never feel embarrassed or ashamed of things that make them truly happy. I also want them to dance. Not only is movement fabulous for students but it also builds confidence. No matter how silly they look  (and believe me they can not look any goofier than me dancing) I want them to be confident and not worry about what other people think or say.  At the end of the day, we all have to be happy with ourselves and I want my students to ENJOY LIFE!

3. I want my students to write notes in class. Notes in class? Absolutely. Now, do I tolerate hateful and rude notes that hurt people's feelings? Of course not. Do I want little Johnny writing a note to Timmy during math class about going hunting this weekend? No! However, I do want my students to have the opportunity to write positive notes to one another that are uplifting and encouraging.  I personally love to get notes, letters, and cards from friends and colleagues. There is nothing better than when you are having a bad day to come in and find a note from a friend or loved one. I want my students to experience this.  I want them to not only become better writers but understand  how it feels to get a nice note from a peer as well as how it feels when you make someone else feel good.  At the beginning of this school year I plan to read " Have you filled a bucket today?" by Carol McCloud. I will then have a "bucket filler" in our class where students are free to write positive notes to one another.  Check out the book at Amazon and click here to get the activity!

4. I want my students to cheat.  I actually stole this idea but I thought it was brilliant! I once read an article in which a male student came to school and had not done his homework.  He said he had no way of finding the answers because they were not in his text book. So, the teacher told the student to find another student in the classroom and copy his or her answers.  Once the student copied the answers from the student she asked they boy "Why did I let you just copy the answers on to your paper?" Of course the boy did not know. The teacher went on to explain that when we do not know the answer to something, we have to use other sources to get our information. Now, was just copying answers going to cut it in this teacher's classroom? Absolutely not. But, the moral of this story was that when students do not know the answer to something, they need to be taught how get the answer. Sometimes this is as simple as asking someone else. Other times they may need to use resources such as the internet or an encyclopedia. In the real world, when we do not know the answer to something what do we do? We get on our computers, pick up a telephone, or email someone. Why are we not teaching our students this? I want my students to learn how to use their resources. Do I necessarily care if they have memorized the date Lewis and Clark started their adventure towards the west? No. Do I care if they have the means to find the answer if they need to? Yes.  I want my students to use the tools that are at their finger tips and worry less with memorizing and having crash study sessions just to forget the information after they hand in the test.

5.  I want my students to learn manners.  When I started teaching, I quickly learned that most students have little to no manners. Now, this is not true for all students but I think this applies to most students.  Kids now days expect people to give them things without giving anything in return. Please and Thank You does not exist in their vocabulary and introducing themselves to a stranger means mumbling their name while looking at their shoes.  I decided this year we are going to work on one rule every week of the school year.  These rules include things such as:
             1. saying thank you when you are giving something even if it is a simple as a piece of paper
             2. shaking someones hand and looking them in the eye when introducing yourself
             3. Never asking for something such as candy or a prize when you have done nothing to deserve it
             4. saying excuse me when you burp or do other gross things that 5th graders like to do
I not only want my students to be smarter when they leave fifth grade but I want them to be better people. I want others to look at them and think to themselves how polite and respectful the students are in Mrs. Quarles' class. I truly believe that being polite can take you a long way in life!

6. I want my students to receive sweet treats and enjoy every minute of them!  I remember on my 10th birthday I looked at my mom and said I wished I was turning 16.  At that time I really did wish this were true. Now that I am almost 26, I wish I were 10 again.  I feel like in today's society we push kids to act older than they really are and expect them to be more mature and learn more things than there bodies and brain can actually handle. One time I wanted to give my 5th graders a treat at the end of school. When I asked the other teachers if they wanted to do the same they replied that the did not like to baby their students and that 5th graders did not need to be given "treats". I was shocked. These kids are 10 years old. I want my students to enjoy being a kid for as long as they can. Do I want them to be independent? Yes. Do I want them to explore and learn things without being taught by an adult? Absolutely. But do I want them to enjoy fun games and treats and be given hugs when they leave the school building? You better believe it.  These students have the rest of their lives to be grown ups. I want them to remember having the time of their life in 5th grade. I want them to remember Mrs. Quarles giving them icy pops on hot days and giving them treat bags on Halloween. Yes, they have to be prepared for middle school and be able to care for themselves but let some of that learning happen in middle school, not in the elementary classroom. I am almost 26 years old and I still love a good icy pop on a hot day! Let the kids be kids!

I know that as an educator I must teach all of the standards with in the school year and make sure my students have the knowledge to be successful when the enter middle school. However, I feel that it is my duty to make my students better human beings.  At the end of the day, I want my students and myself to be able to go to sleep at night knowing not only did we learn new information but we also learned how to be respectable, loving people. I want my students to love to learn and to love school which sometimes means allowing them to dance around the room to their favorite song while eating a handful of skittles!