How much fun would this be? I want to do this when I retire!

Fried breaks this book down into five parts -

1. The Passion, which argues that the teacher's passion for a subject and their freedom (if they're lucky enough) to design their own curriculum, is the most powerful guarantee for student engagement and, ultimately, learning.

2. The Game, which examines the 'game' of teaching, that is having to meet standards and placate grading scales and so on.

3. The stance, which delves in to how to best engage the students who wander into our classes each day.

4. The Student, looks at what we can expect our students to know when they enter our rooms and what to do when we have to meet them where they really are.

5. The Course, looks at how can we have high standards for our students and how can we develop a grading scale that accurately accesses what they know.

I'm probably on my fourth reading of this book, and this paragraph gets highlighted and annotated and underlined each time I read it -

Teachers can stop being the servants of a syllabus or a curriculum produced somewhere else and take charge of a course or program of studies they have shaped out of their convictions of what is truly important and what they want students to remember and be able to use months and years later. We identify our passions within our subject area to separate what we care deeply about from what we are less excited about. We teach wholeheartedly those things that open up pathways to knowledge and engagement within our discipline for learners who have not yet come to appreciate them. We take courage from our deep interests in some things to pay less attention to other things, and we exercise a teacher's most solemn responsibility in choosing what to teach and what to ignore or pass over lightly.

Man, that is deep!

Week #22 – February 8-12

Teaching Thought #93 - E + R = O

This is a simple equation I came across thanks to an excellent podcast Coach Mumm told me about. It’s called the Focus Three Podcast.

Tim Kight, the host, has this equation of Event + (your) Reaction = The Outcome.

The more I think about and reflect on that, the more powerful it becomes. Especially as it relates to my teaching. The one thing I’ve been quick to do especially during hybrid and distance learning is to give grace. I don't think that you can ever go wrong giving grace. Even if it’s more grace than you should.

Time and again, I weigh that equation in my mind before I react. A student is late with their assignment. They are less than kind and professional in their response to my email or text reminding them to get their work in. Do I let them have it? What is going on in their lives that I don’t know? Is there a better way I can handle this? Will burning this bridge do any good? Is there a kinder way for me to respond than to just let them having it?

All of these things factor into the only thing I can really control in this situation, which is my reaction. And ultimately, especially when I give grace, my reaction also controls the outcome.

And that’s the big takeaway.

Teaching Thought #94 - Embody what you Teach

Students can spot a phony a mile away. They know if you’re really here just to have the summers off or to coach or to hand out worksheets all day long.

I’ve been listening to Father Mike Schmitz on the the Ascension podcast, “The Bible in a Year.” What I find so inspiring is just how much Father Mike loves what he is doing. His voice is so full of energy, passion, enthusiasm, and honesty that you can’t help but get excited about what you are going to listen to.

That is what it means to embody what you teach. As soon as Father Mike is done, I think, That is how I have to sound tomorrow when we are talking about Ch. 5 of Outliers or when I’m showing students the power of a great narrative essay.

Do that and the work gets easier.

Teaching Thought #95 - What if You Don’t Like Everything You Teach?

It’s hard to embody teaching something you don’t like, right?

I agree. So what if you dislike a unit or a part of your curriculum? Well, that’s where our good friend Dave Burgess comes in with his Teach Like A Pirate book. Burgess reminds us that there are three types of passion we can draw on to help us embody what we teach, even if we aren’t overly excited by it.

There are three types of passion you can draw on to help you embody anything and everything you need to teach: Content passion (this is me when I get to teach books like Outliers or The Element that inspire students to think differently about things); Personal passion (this is me when I get to take out a box of Legos and let kids go crazy in creating Lego sets based on several of the short stories we read); and Profession passion (this is me when I love seeing that look on a student’s face when they finally get it or when they impress their peers with an essay they wrote). Sometimes, such as when I’m teaching grammar (something that doesn’t get me jazzed up at 4:10 in the morning when my alarm goes off), I have to rely on one of those passions to push me through. That’s when I lean on my professional passion and look for the success in seeing students master punctuating compound sentences or using just the right compound complex sentence to better illustrate their thesis statement.

Teaching Thought #96 - Choose a Leader, not a Position

This is for you young teachers or those who are looking for their first teaching position. It might seem counterintuitive but if you’re taking the first job that is offered so you can start paying off all that student debt, you’re being short sighted.

Look for the school that has the best culture and the strongest leaders. This advice reminds me of something Mr. Zutz told my class awhile ago, “Don’t choose a job. Choose a leader.”

Why? Well, I just think all you have to do is look at the vast number of teachers who quit after their first few years to see why.

If you take the first job that comes your way, what are the odds that it will have a strong culture that will nurture and develop you? What are the odds it will have a strong mentorship program that will inspire you to not just improve but to actually stick with the profession.

I was blessed in landing at LHS. I turned down a sure fire job in Mahnomen just to interview at LHS. I truly believe if I had taken the job at Mahnomen I wouldn’t still be teaching. I mean I was lucky to still be teaching even when I took the job at LHS!

But at LHS I had a very strong principal, Mr. Soine, who always let me know exactly where I stood. Then I had a great mentor in Mrs. Semanko and an amazing role model in Mr. Dyrud.

These people were instrumental in building me up as a new teacher.

So don’t just take a job. Look for a strong leader who can lead and inspire you in the future.

Teaching Thought #97 - Re-imagine the Experience in Your Classroom

I was listening to an amazing podcast featuring David Salyers from Chick-fil-A. He said one thing that set Chick-fil-A apart was the drive thru experience. When they were looking at ways to re-imagine the fast food experience, they looked at a variety of areas: food, service, marketing . . . No one was looking at the drive-thru experience.

Yet, Chick-fil-A focused on what no one was looking at. They re-imagined what could be done to make the drive thru experience different. And it worked. Brilliantly. If you’ve ever gone through the Chick-fil-A drive thru, you know what I mean.

Because they dared to re-imagine what everyone else was just taking for granted, I mean could you imagine going through the Drive- Thru at McDonalds and having workers standing outside handing out menus or greeting you? Shut the front door! But that has allowed Chick-fil-A to differentiate themselves and stand out.

How can you do this in your classroom? It’s harder than ever. Trust me, I know this. And it’s always changing. I was fully on board with embracing cell phones and giving out my number to my students to ask questions or contact me. This differentiated me from almost every other teacher I knew.

But times have changed and many more have started doing that. So what is the next thing I have to re-imagine? Well, I’m not sure just yet. But when I find it, I’ll let you know!

This is short podcast, but it's packed with a ton of thoughtful content. Wow.

Why is it so bad? Here are two quick reasons.

1. When there is conflict between two sides, there has to be a right side and a less-than-right side. If you don't clearly side on one side, then you're giving equal weight to both sides. That just increases the fear of conflict. Nothing gets resolved.

2. Own your values. When you make a decision - even if it's an unpopular one or a decision that will lead to conflict - tie it back to your core values. This teaches others how to make decisions based on your core values.

He reached out to me about being on it. All I had to do was come up with the topic, and he'd find the songs.

How cool is that?

My first show was a take off of a Facebook Post that I'd been tagged in asking me to list ten albums over ten days that shaped my musical interests.

My second show was my take on my favorite Christmas songs.

My latest show featured the top ten bad songs by popular bands.

We had a blast recording it.

As we talked, I kept thinking about how cool it would be to work in something like this to my classes in order to get students to show what they know.

The more avenues you can give students to display the knowledge and skills they are passionate about, the more you will empower them and shape their thinking.

In fact, now every time I'm driving somewhere, my mind starts thinking about new shows I can suggest to Pat. The learning and engagement is infectious. Who can't use more of that in their classes?

I am married to the most amazing person in the world, Kristie. It was love at first sight. At least for me. And it still is.

We have four wonderful children, Casey, Koko, Kenzie, and Cash. And now we have been blessed with five grandchildren!

I also happen to have the greatest job in the world: teaching English to high school students.

I am in my 23rd year of teaching at Lincoln High School. I graduated from Lafayette High School in Red Lake Falls in 1992. I decided to enter the field of education because of two amazing teachers, Mr. Mueller, my fourth and sixth grade elementary school teacher and assistant baseball coach, and Mrs. Christianson, my 9th grade English teacher.

I attended Northland Community College, and had my life changed by the amazing Dr. Diane Drake. Then I transferred to Bemidji State University in 1995. There I had amazing professors who further inspired me to teach English (Dr. Helen Bonner, Dr. Mark Christensen, Susan Hauser, and Gerry Schnabel). I graduated with my BS in English Education in 1997.

I student taught with the wonderful Lisa Semanko and then began teaching full-time at LHS in 1998.

I took a year's leave of absence in 2001-02 to return to BSU for my MA in English. There I had the privilege to teach and work closely with my greatest mentor, Dr. Mark Christensen. I earned my MA in English in 2006 and was honored with "Thesis of the Year" for my creative non-fiction, braided, multi-genre memoir, "Meeting Myrtle: A Biography."

In 2013, thanks to my dear friend and mentor, Dr. Jodi Holen, I was offered an adjunct teaching position fall semester at the University of North Dakota. Tuesday nights I teach Intro to Education: Teaching and Learning 250 from 5-8. Those three hours fly by in about ten minutes.

Then in 2016 I was blessed to win a WEM award (thanks to a nomination from a former student (and now an elementary school teacher), Ciera Mooney).

In 2017 I became part of the #pineconepd podcast club along with Brian Loe, Jeff Mumm, Kelsey Johnson, Kelly Weets, Josh Watne, Tevia Strand, Megan Vigen, Mariah Hruby, Laura Brickson, Loren Leake, Katie Hahn, Melora Burgee, and new members all the time. This has been one of the best forms of PD I've ever been a part of. They make me a better teacher every time we meet. Please think about joining us in the summer at the Pine Cone Pub from 6:30 - until we've solved all the world's problems. For that evening anyway.

Thanks to the inspiration of Shane Zutz (our former principal) I devised this as a way to distribute my Teaching Thoughts and add more content to, hopefully, help out and inspire others.

Email: kurt.reynolds@myprowler.org
Website: http://teacherscribe.blogspot.com
Location: 101 South Knight Aver Thief River Falls MN 56701
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