Calvin Coolidge A.K.A. The Sphinx of the Potomac or Silent Cal, became president upon the death of Warren G. Harding*. He is known for restoring trust in the presidency as the many scandals caused by the unethical dealings of Harding and his inner circle came to light. Although his reputation as a man of few words comes from the numerous parties he had to attend as vice president, he is quoted as saying "The words of a president have enormous weight, and ought not to be used indiscriminately."
President Coolidge was a snappy dresser, as well. He preferred big hats and double-breasted suits. Taking this year's photo was a good chance to take advantage of a boldly-printed vintage tie and a rarely-used chapeau. This year I also enlisted my barber's help in achieving the Calvin Coolidge look.
This is a presidential look I can only dream of pulling off.
When George H.W. Bush passed away at the end of November, I saw this picture for the first time. It was such a joyful president photo I immediately knew that I would need to recreate this one when we had a particularly snowy February. This year delivered: we just came out of our area's longest stretch of days with measurable snow in over 80 years.
George H.W. Bush's presidency coincided with my middle school years when I really developed an interest in politics. After purchasing a President Bush mask (with moving mouth!) and watching Dana Carvey's impersonation on Saturday Night Live again and again, I begin making appearances as President Bush. I even tried out for the talent show my freshman year of high school taking an old George Burns and Gracie Allen routine and adapting it for President Bush and Vice-President Quayle impersonations. For some reason, it wasn't the type of act they were looking for.
Someday I'll share a George Bush picture
from my middle school yearbook.
This picture represents a few firsts for the series. This is the first picture I've done of a president from my lifetime. It's my first color photo. It's also the first time I've had to seek help outside my family to get the picture. A friend from community band loaned me the army cap, and I met a number of families from my school at the local sledding hill where parents of my students graciously provided the toboggan, served as Arnold Schwarzenegger's body double, and took the photo. This photo also represents my most significant photo editing. Arnold's children do not attend my school, so Sarah did some face swapping. The only previous photo trickery involved stretching Rutherford B. Hayes's beard. Who knows what firsts (if any) next year's photo will bring?
Happy Presidents Day! The Presidential portrait series continues this year as I honor both the 22nd and 24th president of the United States of America, Grover Cleveland. Here is the source photo that Sarah and I emulated for this year's portrait.
Last year I said that I would be switching to clean-shaven presidents and doing two portraits a year. So, without further ado, here is one portrait of a bearded president. I guess that's what I get for putting it in writing.
This year's portrait was inspired by this photo of Ulysses S. Grant taken by Matthew Brady circa 1870
One thing I love about my job is I never know exactly what to expect. I teach six very different groups of third through fifth graders each day and they always surprise me with their ideas. I never would have guessed the biggest surprise of my career would be a phone call from the office last Tuesday.
"Jim, would you be willing to sub in kindergarten today? I know some of your reading switch classes are canceled due to today's benchmark assessments, and we can't find anyone to take Mrs. C's class."
I've always liked kindergarteners...from a distance. Throughout my teacher training and time substitute teaching I taught all subjects and worked with tons of high school, middle school, and elementary students, but never kindergarteners. I honestly have a terrible fear of stepping on them. I'm 6'3" and the average kindergartener is somewhere around three and a half feet, so it's within the realm of possibility that I could accidentally crush one under my size 12 Doc Martens.
But I'm part of a team. And it was my child's class. I didn't want those kids to be without a teacher for the day, so I said yes. I'm glad I did.
Kindergarten is a pretty amazing place, and I learned a lot in my day teaching there. These are some of my big take-aways:
I read Mig the Pig's Big Book at carpet time
It's all about community. Every activity in that kindergarten class started with carpet time. Students sat close together and listened to me explain what we were going to do. They were in a safe place to ask questions and clarify their understanding before they tried something new in the classroom. When they had free choice at the end of the day, the kindergartners naturally worked together on activities like puzzles and games.
School should be joyful. I equate music with joy, and kindergarten is a musical place. I didn't get to sing the color songs or the Handwriting Without Tears songs in my day as a kindergarten teacher, but we did get to do "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and I even made up my own "Let's All Come To The Carpet" song to the tune of the old movie intermission song.
Routines give the day a rhythm. This is the first year our school has had all-day kindergarten. It's a long day for those guys. I know my little guy frequently falls asleep on our way home from school. Mrs. C has built a great schedule for her students. They do their reading and math in the morning with breaks for a snack, recess, and wiggle time. After lunch they have some quiet time before afternoon recess and specials. Then they have free choice time before gathering together to wrap up the day. Everything got done without feeling rushed.
Fun at free-choice time
Learning through play is best. When it's time for independent work in kindergarten, a lot of it is done through play. Students cut out rhyming words and scooted them around trying to match them to pictures. During free-choice time at the end of the day, kids picked all sorts of games, puzzles, and other activities to work on and they learned while doing it. I frequently hear upper grade teachers say there's no time for play with all of the pressures of testing and standards. Heck, I know I've said it. Kindergarten teachers are under a lot of pressure, too. They're expected to get kids reading and ready for the demands of first grade, but they still recognize that play is often the best way to learn something.
Kindergarten teachers are magical beings. I had a great time teaching kindergarten for one day, but I was exhausted at the end of it. I was so impressed by the culture of Mrs. C's class and the way the kids, classroom assistants, and volunteers got things done in there. I've always had a lot of respect for kindergarten teachers, but after walking in one's moccasins for a day, I am absolutely amazed by what it takes to be a good kindergarten teacher. I am overjoyed that my son is in such a great class.
I haven't started using pocket charts with the big kids.
I've taken those lessons back to my classes. This week, my students have done more learning through play. In fact, I used games to collect data for some math assessments. I've been using more music in my classroom. I haven't called my kids to the carpet with a song, but we've been listening to appropriate background music - "Switched on Mozart" with a robot challenge and college fight songs with sports problem-solving. I'm still working to improve the community and rhythm in my classes, but I need to keep experimenting to make that work for my 45 minute classes.
Teaching kindergarten for a day was completely worthwhile. I knew a lot of my kid's classmates before, but now every kid in that class greets me in the hallway or out at recess. I feel deeply connected to a part of the school that seemed quite distant in the past. The best part, though, was my kid's comment at the end of the day: "I'm sad Mrs. C was sick, but I'm kind of happy about it because you got to be my teacher."
I hope you enjoy this first guest post on the Teacher With Tuba blog. This time I'm turning things over to my greatest adviser, biggest cheerleader, and best friend, Sarah Windisch. Not only is she my wife of 14 years, she is an inspiring elementary music teacher and technology integration coach and I'm glad she can share this story with you. -Jim
So, I get to guest post here on Teacher with Tuba - and that's crazy exciting. I always get to go to the "writer's meetings" which usually happen in the car or at dinner, and do some editing, you know, in my spare time. And of course, I get to see all the amazing tweets and people who interact with and cheer for my awesome, amazing, rockstar of a husband.
But, you guys, you have to cheer for one of my classes. Because this week, I had some fifth graders who were completely remarkable.
First, meet Mellie.
photo by Amy Marlow - Instagram @mellieandme
My dear friend Amy and her husband Justin just finished the year-long process of adopting her from Bulgaria - she came home last Thursday. Now, since Amy used to work at my school, #mellieday was a big deal. All of us who had participated in a fun run fundraiser in February wore our Mad About Mellie shirts, some of us planned to go to the airport, and we were signing cards and banners to welcome them all home.
Mad About Mellie!
photo by Sarah Windisch - Instagram @slwindisch
All of my classes were curious about my shirt, but one in particular loved it. They loved how excited I was to welcome her home. They begged to see pictures. And then, someone said, "Can we write her a song?"
Read that again. "Can we write her a song?"
The room spun a little and I held back tears. What an amazing gift.
I grabbed a legal pad, and we all sat on the floor. We brainstormed things that toddlers do, things that rhyme with Mellie; I shared that Amy and Justin call her "Mellie Monkey." Then it was things that monkeys and toddlers love. Some kids just shared words - others sang a line. Everyone, literally everyone, contributed, felt heard - it was the most amazing thing that's ever happened in my career.
Brainstorming - all heads in!
photo by Sarah Windisch
I grabbed my guitar and strummed a few chords, helping guide the song together. We sang it. We recorded it. It didn't work the first time, so I went to their classroom at the end of the day and we recorded it again. And every time we sang it together, it was magical. Every time I hear it, it's not just happiness for Mellie, or joy that my students understand these musical concepts we've been working on together for years, it's that these kids are kind. They get it.
I've shared it with Amy and Justin. And their family. And our friends. And now, I'll share it with you.
Oh, so cute.
photo from Amy Marlow - Instagram @mellieandme
Thanks for letting me share how awesome my kids are with you. I hope this warmed you the way it warmed me: with kids like these fifth graders, and people like Amy and Justin, plus thinkers and teachers like Jim and all of you...I feel like the world is in good hands.
With joy,
Sarah (The other Teacher with Tuba)
Twitter: @slwindisch
According to Doc Brown's time machine, the future has arrived. Image from Back to the Future II
The Back to the Futuretrilogy has always been a personal favorite. As a result, I've been looking forward to October 21, 2015 for quite awhile. I don't have a hoverboard or drive a flying car. I still only wear one necktie at a time, but the future has arrived.
Okay, I am actually wearing two neckties today, but only because it's officially the future.
I've always imagined the classroom of the future as a place where students explore passions, communicate with the broader world, and develop their skills to be life-long learners. I've frequently experimented with giving my students more freedom and responsibility for their learning, but I always came up short on resources to make my grand plans a reality.
A little over a week ago, I learned that the EXCEL Foundation funded my "Googley E.Y.E.S (Exploration Yields Extraordinary Students): Chromebooks for Life-long Learning" grant for the second year in a row. But this time, they are funding enough Chromebooks to go 1:1 in my Advanced Learning classes. My principal handed me the grant award letter in the office, and by the time I reached my classroom I was crying tears of joy. This is going to bring futuristic opportunities to my students.
We'll start by expanding our class blog. Last year, my students focused on writing book reviews. They were able to take turns using the five Chromebooks and two desktop computers I had in my classroom to put together some great work, but most students were only able to publish twice. This year, we'll be using the blog for reflection and original fiction and poetry in addition to book reviews. With a Chromebook for each student, they will be able to grab one and work on a post whenever they are ready, the need for sign-ups and computer rotation schedules are a thing of the past.
This year we'll really be able to try out Passion Projects (AKA Genius Hour or 20% Time). I still need to work out the details, and I'm sure we'll learn a lot as we go, but I am unbelievably excited about this one. As soon as we work out the new classroom culture of using Chromebooks, I plan to devote one class session each week to student chosen and executed projects. I've made attempts in the past, but lack of access to devices has always been a hindrance. After reading Learn Like a Pirate this summer, I am convinced that giving students time to explore their interests and share with others is essential to educating students who are prepared for their futures.
Harnessing all this power for students to research, connect, and create will definitely transform my classroom. There is so much I still need to figure out, but that's what the future is for! And I'll keep you updated as I continue to experiment and refine...
Another school year starts on Tuesday. Am I ready? I sure hope so. No matter what next week brings, I had a terrific week of getting ready for the new school year.
On Monday, my principal gathered our entire school staff for team building and goal setting at the North Idaho College Challenge Course. We've always had a tight staff, but it was amazing to see the trust exhibited on that ropes course. About half of us were willing to go up and try the high wires, rickety bridges, and swinging balance beams, but everyone took part hoisting ropes and working together on the ground-based challenges. It was the best start to teacher meetings I've ever experienced.
Tom Schimmer came to speak to all of our district's teachers about grading on Tuesday. He presented the idea of a standards-based mindset for grading. I really got a lot from his presentation, but the best were his explanations of summative vs. formative assessment that helped me understand the difference better than ever. We also received copies of How to Grade for Learningby Ken B. O'Conner for a district-wide book study. I'm excited to delve into this topic.
The purpose of summative assessment is to verify that learning has occurred & report that to someone -@TomSchimmer#CdAedchat#271leads
Speaking of book studies, my school staff read Dave Burgess's Teach Like a Pirate this summer. I read it the year before, but I was happy to share the experience with my staff. We had a pirate party to celebrate and discuss some of the ideas that came from reading it. Many of the teachers commented that the high school orientation of the book was difficult, but everyone came away with ideas for the coming school year. For me, the best part of our discussions was hearing about the plans to bring more joy into the classroom. The emphasis on testing and rigor has taken a toll on our kids and I'm glad to see our school focus on incorporating more fun and excitement into the good work we're already doing. I put up a Teach Like a Pirate bulletin board in our staff room with space for teachers to add notes about the ways the book affects their classrooms. I look forward to seeing what shows up there.
In addition to getting ready for the new school year as a teacher, I am the parent of a kindergartener this year. Thursday was kindergarten orientation for parents and our school's open house. Orientation was a remarkable event. My school's kindergarten team, Title I teacher, and district math coaches gave parents games and strategies to help their little guys succeed. We left the event with great information on assisting our son with handwriting, reading, and number sense. The evening's open house was a blast, too. It totally changed my perspective to experience this event as a parent. My son is lucky to have some friends from preschool in his class, because I think that helped put him at ease. He also got to meet his teacher, find his locker, and play on the playground. He seems really excited to start school next week: I'm the one who's nervous about it.
Finally, I was able to end the week with one of my favorite things: seeing and hearing live music. Sarah and I went to see Junior Brown in Spokane at Pig Out in the Park. I've loved Junior Brown's music since I was in high school. I saw him perform last time he visited the area nearly 20 years ago, when the world looked like this music video.
If it's possible, he was even better at playing the guit-steel this time around. The sounds he creates with his instrument are absolutely jaw-dropping. When we discussed it on the way home, we figured that he's had 20 more years of practice. I want to continue improving my practice as a teacher the way he has improved as a musician - maintaining my enthusiasm, experimenting with new techniques, and refining my craft. Here's to another year of practice!
Here's some more recent concert footage if you want to see what I mean about what happens with 20 years more practice!
Since becoming my official Building Technology Leader, I've been working to provide meaningful professional development to my colleagues. I often share a new tool or idea with my staff at our collaboration sessions or staff meetings. I have made it a priority to give teachers time to discuss, experiment, and play with new technology in my sessions, but everyone seems a little reserved and hesitant and I can tell that many are much more concerned with the impending morning bell and preparing for the day to come. I knew I could make professional development more engaging and memorable. Press 'play' below, read on, and see what I mean.
Welcome to Monday Morning Appy Hour!
Care for a drink? It's okay, these mimosas are made with 7-Up, not champagne. Fire up that iPad and learn about a few new apps.
Stemware & iPads: what a combination!
The content of Monday Morning Appy Hour wasn't radically different from my other PD sessions. I shared SeeSaw, ChatterPix, Shadow Puppet EDU, and Telestory, discussed the importance of moving students from consumers to creators, and gave everyone some time to try the apps and generate ideas on how they could be used in the classroom. The attitude and level of participation, though, was a huge improvement from my past morning trainings. Everyone was having fun, and they were really discussing how they could use these tools in their classrooms.
So, is providing refreshments the key to engaging PD? I don't think so. I transformed my classroom and broke everyone there out of the expected environment. I've done it before for my students by disguising myself as a signer of the Constitution and being my own substitute teacher for the day or starting class with kindergarten-style circle time for fifth graders, but I'd never transformed a presentation intended for other teachers.
PD featuring the smooth instructional stylings of
Jim Windisch
In Teach Like a Pirate, author Dave Burgess devotes an entire chapter to transformation. In the chapter, he asks a powerful question: "If your students didn't have to be there, would you be teaching in an empty room?" Teachers are busy; they have a lot to do to be ready for the day each morning. As much as they want to learn new technology, I know my PD sessions wouldn't be everyone's first choice for that precious before-school time. This session was optional, but most of my school's staff was there. In fact, after the first couple teachers came in, received their drink and heard the lounge music, they went and grabbed others because "Mrs. X just needs to see this!" It went from a training to an event.
Making it fun loosened everyone up. They were excited to participate. The room was full of terrific conversations about giving students opportunities to create. I jumped in to support and tell some lousy jokes, but I refrained from actually doing any lounge singing.
It was also a memorable experience. I feel like breaking away from the ordinary got the morning's content stuck in the participants' heads. Instead of having teachers ask me to remind them the names of the apps, they're coming to me to share how they've incorporated them into lessons and looking for support to take it a step further.
I'm sure this is only my first foray into transforming professional development. I'm already thinking of themes for future sessions. And I'll keep you updated at I continue to experiment and refine.
Thank you, thank you, and especially, thank you. Remember to tip generously. I'll be here all week!
A few years ago, I decided that I needed to bring fun back into my classroom. All of the pressure to perform on the test, direct instruction initiatives, and fidelity to adopted curriculum was pushing the joy out of my classroom. I happened to grow a winter beard that year and it needed some trimming by mid-February. Since Presidents' Day was just around the corner, I decided to ditch the moustache in favor of Abraham Lincoln's famous chinstrap. Next thing I knew, I was wearing my top hat and posing for pictures to share with my students. They had a laugh at my expense and it sparked some conversations about U.S. History. A fun tradition for my classroom was born.
Each year since, I've been growing "facial hair of the presidents" to celebrate the big day in February. Chester A. Arthur's friendly sideburns followed Lincoln. Then, last year, a friend sent me an inspiring article about a high school student who took photos as all of the presidents. I knew I had to go for it, but I would keep my pace of one per year. A little calculation made me realize I would be in my seventies by the time I finished. I want to complete this project before retirement, so Rutherford B. Hayes and William Howard Taft ushered in an era of double duty for me.
This year's portraits of James A. Garfield and Theodore Roosevelt probably mark the end of bearded and mustachioed presidents for awhile. We'll all have to wait for next year to see how I do at clean-shaven presidential impersonation.
