Conversations Episode 80 - Where do we go for support in our school?

Post-Show description: 

This week, we tackled the question of where to go for support in our schools.  New teachers usually get mentors.  What do others do?  What do you do when you are trying something new and have no one to turn to for support?  We all agreed to try to connect with someone new this week.

Chat:

11:30:24PeggyG: It's a beautiful day in Phoenix AZ! Finally starting to cool off!

11:30:51Maureen: It was 27°F here this morning Peggy

11:31:08PeggyG: brrrr!!! almost never gets that cold in Phoenix

11:31:16loonyhiker: where r u Maureen? It is going to be 85F here in South Carolina

11:31:23Maureen: Western MA

11:31:30PeggyG: it's 70 degrees at 8:30am right now

11:31:39loonyhiker: brrrr Maureen

11:32:01Maureen: 55° here- but beautiful day- sunny

11:32:20PeggyG: I'll bet the colors are beautiful there right now Maureen!

11:32:33Lisa Parisi: Audio is up and running in ETTA and ustream

11:32:36PeggyG: This was always my favorite time of year in Massachusetts! :-)

11:32:39Maureen: They are, just came back from a quick run up to NH- gorgeous

11:33:01PeggyG: hearing the audio in ustream just great!

11:33:21Maureen: Mickey Mouse voices for me- I'll close it and try again

11:33:41Maureen: Oh good- better now

11:34:15PeggyG: love it 10-10-10

11:34:38loonyhiker: ahhhh wish i was 42 again :)

11:34:48PeggyG: :-)

11:34:55Lisa Parisi: Hello Karen

11:35:02loonyhiker: Hi Karen!

11:35:03Maureen: Hey Karen- nice job yesterday

11:35:07PeggyG: Hi McTeach!!! you're up early!! you're supposed to be resting up :-)

11:35:18PeggyG: you did a fantastic job yesterday!!!

11:35:19McTeach (Karen): Good morning everyone!

11:35:25Lisa Parisi: Good morning all.

11:35:30McTeach (Karen): Thank you Maureen and Peggy!

11:35:38connect2jamie: Good morning!

11:35:51Lisa Parisi: Good morning Jamie

11:36:09McTeach (Karen): Peggy...I went to bed way early! :)

11:36:18connect2jamie: Good topic today!

11:36:19McTeach (Karen): Always need it!!

11:36:24PeggyG: I love this topic :-)

11:36:54Maureen: I go to my PLN on twitter

11:37:21loonyhiker: I go to Plurk and Twitter and blogs that I read :)

11:37:52Maureen: I have a friend at school who I can count on to give me honest answers and feedback on my ideas, but there is no one there who can give me help on tech stuff

11:37:54connect2jamie: Nice weather in Houston for a change too! I love fall!

11:37:58PeggyG: I think mentoring has changed a lot with web 2.0

11:38:19McTeach (Karen): Peggy...agreed!

11:38:30connect2jamie: @maureen me either. :( Thank goodness for Twitter! :D

11:38:48Maureen: I need mentoring- on livescribe pens- thinking of getting one for class to test out- looked at @grade1's blog the other day- lots of ideas

11:39:00Sheila: If you are more specialized are you more isolated?

11:39:07loonyhiker: Thanks for saying that Lisa, I will be sharing this with the CEC leadership which I think they will appreciate

11:39:12McTeach (Karen): Somebody needs to get Lisa some caffeine!

11:39:15connect2jamie: @grade1 is so energetic and full of good ideas!

11:39:33PeggyG: the word inclusion should be a "clue" that its for all teachers and not just special ed teachers

11:40:01PeggyG: inclusion means so many different things to different people

11:40:06Maureen: I think that we have to stop thinking about kids on IEPs as different- every kid needs to have an IEP... how do we reach everyone

11:40:12loonyhiker: how many kids are not identified and fall thru the cracks

11:40:22PeggyG: I agree Maureen! Personalized learning plans for all!

11:40:32connect2jamie: almost every teacher deals with SpEd kids! Identified or not!

11:41:00Maureen: I hate thinking about/talking about acronyms- lets just have teaching/learning

11:41:08PeggyG: we required the student teachers in my pre-service program to address inclusion goals in every lesson plan

11:41:10McTeach (Karen): It's just like all us edtech folks going to edtech conferences

11:41:19Maureen: last yesterday?

11:41:24PeggyG: :-)

11:41:58connect2jamie: @Maureen I agree! How I wish my daughter had had the opportunity to have an IEP.

11:41:59McTeach (Karen): I find that middle school gets left out quite often

11:42:26Maureen: We have a lot of kids who are tutored- none of which has ever heard of UDL or any tool that might help them. I've asked them

11:42:32PeggyG: in AZ teachers also have a huge responsibility to teach ESL/ELL students so every lesson requires accommodations and those accommodations are good for all learners

11:43:41loonyhiker: we have a problem with gen ed understanding that students with accommodations are not "cheating".

11:43:57PeggyG: lots of teachers are talking about RTI on the listservs I am on--not too thrilled with it

11:44:16PeggyG: it is statewide in AZ but I don't know how much all of the schools do with it

11:44:50cheryl: Florida RTI is statewide but each district has there own rules

11:45:26loonyhiker: IDEA Partnership has great resources on RTI

11:45:33edwinyauyo -> puentesalmundo: mm

11:45:37Lisa Parisi: Pat, I just had that conversation with a sped teacher this week.  I suggested an accommodation, she suggested it was cheating.

11:45:38Maureen: Is the k12 online conf a lot of extra work for you Maria?

11:46:29Maureen: I wish that ISTE wouldn't charge for their webinars... too much $

11:46:31loonyhiker: as head of the dept. Lisa, I had to mediate a lot between sped and gen ed tchrs on that issue - it drove me crazy!

11:46:36Lisa Parisi: Me too Maureen

11:46:48Sheila: I agree Maureen!

11:46:50PeggyG: I once created a PPT about teaching and technology that incorporated a poem by Bill Page. This conversation reminds me of it because he says kids don't know all those labels and initiatives--they just come to school. :-) You can check it out later. http://www.slideshare.net/pgeorge/technology-and-teachers

11:46:55loonyhiker: looking forward to k12online

11:47:11PeggyG: oh no!! yellow jacket sting!! not fun!

11:47:39cheryl: As Assitive Tech Coordinator I go through that conversation a lot! CHeating vs accomodation

11:47:48PeggyG: now there's testing all year long--not just certain times...

11:48:02Maureen: I have a weird week coming up- grades 5 & 6 are away on trips all week- and I get to sub here and there...

11:48:31PeggyG: that is an interesting week Maureen!

11:48:34loonyhiker: lol

11:48:35MariaK: @maureen - k12online is work - mainly because of the meetings once a week

11:48:49PeggyG: that's hilarious!!

11:49:01PeggyG: doesn't know how to use the crank pencil sharpener :-)

11:49:02McTeach (Karen): Chalkboard?

11:49:10McTeach (Karen): I've heard of those.

11:49:19Maureen: @Maria- thank you... really looking forward to it, as always. But it must take an enormous effort to pull it all together

11:49:23McTeach (Karen): LOL!

11:49:28PeggyG: how about the old ditto machines and film projectors? sure glad those are in the past

11:49:36Lisa Parisi: Love the ditto smell

11:49:59Sheila: I pulled out a form from the office that was a ditto!

11:50:04McTeach (Karen): Peggy...when I first started in my classroom I found a box of old film strips! We had a good laugh over that!

11:50:05Maureen: We have them in every room... there's something different now? :-)

11:50:07Lisa Parisi: Just taught kids this week to say ditto or use ditto marks.  Had to explain what a ditto machine was

11:50:24PeggyG: K12 Online Conference is a huge amount of work but you are doing a fantastic job!! Really getting excited for the first presentations! Loving seeing the teasers already!

11:50:52PeggyG: that's funny McTeach. I've been "decluttering" my house and just came across some old film strips :-)

11:51:31McTeach (Karen): In your house?! Don't you have a DVD player???

11:51:39connect2jamie: I had a young teacher bring a filmstrip canister to me that she'd found in her closet. She didn't know what it was, and was afraid it was some sort of container for illegal drugs or something. Because it  looked like a pill container to her. LOL!

11:52:00Sheila: Oh too funny!!!!

11:52:17connect2jamie: I felt very old... heehee

11:52:29loonyhiker: I went to an emergency training class on Friday and they actually recommended using carbon paper for taking messages - someone asked what that was

11:53:09Maureen: @loonyhiker I brought carbon paper to school to show kids what it was- they had no idea... was explaining what the cc means in email messages

11:53:10loonyhiker: and a lot of training is not relevant  or they don't show how it could be relevant

11:53:45PeggyG: is it harder to find mentoring in your own school than it is with your online PLN?

11:53:54Maureen: YES Peggy

11:54:06McTeach (Karen): YES Peggy!!

11:54:09MariaK: anyone want to join in the skype call?

11:54:54Lisa Parisi: Peggy, all my support comes from my online PLN.

11:55:02Maureen: If I can get the funding, I want to offer pizza LAN parties for K12.... got to bribe people.

11:55:08PeggyG: I find that teachers don't intuitively know how to "mentor" and need some help knowing how to be supportive and not just enabling or critical or good friend

11:55:10MariaK: where do you go for mentoring support as teacher and why? what kinds of support do you need/want?

11:55:11connect2jamie: Very interesting point. We never, EVER talk about education--about our own profession! We talk about initiatives that the district puts into place, student data, day to day events, but NOT about our beliefs!

11:55:22PeggyG: that is a good start Sheila

11:55:26Lisa Parisi: Yes, Jamie.  It's true.

11:55:37McTeach (Karen): Maria...I go to my PLN. That's the only place I can find support anymore.

11:56:02PeggyG: how do your schools handle mentoring? do they assign mentors to new teachers? do they just leave you on your own to find your own mentor?

11:56:09Sheila: Actually, 2 principals ago, he used to bring us in for discussions. What do you think . . .  got us engaged, thinking.

11:56:45connect2jamie: I find that the things I'm thinking about--the things we discuss on Twitter, or here, etc. are not things that my colleagues at school think about or are interested in. It's more a day to day thing for many of them.

11:56:45Maureen: Our school assigns mentors- totally randomly imho... ie the new film/theater person was assigned to the gym teacher.

11:57:24McTeach (Karen): I was assigned a mentor my first year. She asked ME for help all year long!

11:57:26PeggyG: there are many teachers who don't want to spend the time helping other teachers. I found that a lot when I was placing student teachers in classrooms. I know they require a lot of mentoring but teachers need to be willing to nurture our future teachers! (IMHO)

11:57:40loonyhiker: My former students who have started teaching this year asked me during class if I would be there mentor. We touch base at least once a week and keep in touch on facebook.

11:57:43PeggyG: oh no Maureen! totally random??!! how can that be helpful?

11:57:58Maureen: @Peggy- it's not

11:58:02loonyhiker: @Peggy I totally agree

11:58:35connect2jamie: Can't get tchrs to come to PD after school--even when it's really good and useful! Had a tech integration specialist come last week, and the only people that came to the 1 hour workshop were 5 of the 6 people who were supposedly required to be there, and were paid for it. And me.

11:58:38Sheila: Oh, that's nice @loonyhikeer

11:58:49Maureen: I would love to have Will R and Sheryl NB come to our school and work with faculty- but $$

http://novedadesdelasemana.blogspot.com

11:59:01PeggyG: often teachers just need someone to listen and to let them know they're "OK"--not necessarily advice or tutoring

11:59:41PeggyG: do you think it's any different in schools that used the personal learning community model?

11:59:44Maureen: @connect2jamie Same thing at my school- doens't matter if it's after school, or asynchronous, no one wants to take the time

11:59:46loonyhiker: i think we all need mentors at different times

11:59:54McTeach (Karen): Yes, have we defined "mentor" yet?

12:00:06Maureen: We all need critical friends

12:00:28PeggyG: I'll tell you who is lonely....principals! It's hard to find peers to collaborate with and get support.

12:00:51Lisa Parisi: Who wants to join us in skype?

12:01:03connect2jamie: @maureen how to support teachers in learning to reach out and collaboratively learn?

12:01:04PeggyG: do you find teachers reluctant to share with you when they aren't your "assigned" mentor?

12:01:07Maureen: But Lisa, that's what teachers at my school think about their programs- regardless of what subject/grade- they want to teach their way...

12:01:35PeggyG: excellent point Sheila! people who ask questions and make you stop and reflect! that is so valuable!

12:01:44Lisa Parisi: But Maureen, if everyone does it a different way, then who helps when there is an issue...a question?

12:01:59loonyhiker: i see a mentor as someone to bounce ideas, vent, go to for encouragement, or advice, or celebrate when good things happen

12:02:04PeggyG: that would be a good thing to do McTeach--define mentor. What does it mean to you?

12:02:13connect2jamie: @PeggyG Principals are lonely, and as a librarian, I've gotta say that teacher-librarians are lonely too! No one else in the building has exactly the same goals as the TL does.

12:02:23Sheila: Right PeggyG about the principals but I find they have a hard time sharing with colleagues and staff.

12:02:35Maureen: Lisa, it sounds like you want everyone to do it the same way- but who chooses? Is your way the best way?

12:02:45PeggyG: mentors can also rescue you from doing something inadvisable with a parent or the principal or a student--help you think about consequences and plan a more appropriate action

12:03:03Lisa Parisi: I don't think everyone should do it the same way.  But how do I get help with my way?  How do you get help with your way?

12:03:04loonyhiker: I try to tell my preservice teachers that seeking help or looking for a mentor does not mean that you are incompetent or bad

12:03:07PeggyG: exactly connect2jamie!

12:03:28PeggyG: whenever you're the only one in your job role it can be very lonely

12:03:51connect2jamie: Mentors help you hone your own practice--the listen, advise, help you stretch. But a good mentor helps you practice in your own authentic way.

12:03:56Maureen: Ouch, my tongue hurts

12:04:38connect2jamie: Gary Stager is awesome for making me THINK! You're exactly right, Lisa! I don't agree with him a lot of the time, but he certainly makes me think out why I think what I do!

12:04:51connect2jamie: Whew! I said that poorly, but you know what I mean! :)

12:04:56cheryl: OFten a mentor can ask questions, listen and make you think why- even if they don't  do it the same way but the discussion can help!

12:04:57Lisa Parisi: I get it.

12:05:00PeggyG: I agree connect2jamie! good mentors help you find a way to do what you want to do and not just try to get you to do it their way

12:05:20McTeach (Karen): Thank you! Me too!!

12:05:35loonyhiker: i hated the lunchroom too - i ate in my room and invited positive people to join me for lunch

12:05:50PeggyG: the way you ask the questions is so important! can make teachers feel very defensive and change won't happen if they are defending what they are doing--not open to new ideas

12:06:01connect2jamie: @lisa I don't like the lunch room either--avoided it the first few years at my school, b/c I didn't want to adopt other people's negativity.

12:06:08Maureen: We don't have a lunchroom- kids all bring lunch. Faculty room is only to grab your mail, xerox. We have no place to sit and talk

12:06:13McTeach (Karen): I stay in my classroom at lunch

12:06:14cheryl: @loonyhiker me too!!

12:06:17connect2jamie: I wanted to make up my own mind.

12:06:26loonyhiker: We were not allowed to leave the campus during lunch

12:06:43PeggyG: Who establishes the lunch room culture? I agree with Maria that it can be changed if it's not a positive place

12:07:09connect2jamie: There are problems with isolating yourself like that too, tho. I tried to be aware of that, and reach out in other ways, since I don't really have a "team" of my own.

12:07:11McTeach (Karen): Well, I am feeling rather negative about my hair

12:07:19PeggyG: a teachers lunchroom could be just like a Plurk conversation :-)

12:07:30cheryl: But the lunch room can also be a place that if you go against/or disagree with the admin someone is listening!

12:07:52McTeach (Karen): Maybe we should create a teachers lunchroom online

12:08:16PeggyG: @cheryl--someone is listening no matter where you go if you are venting/disagreeing about something someone else has done whether principal, parent, another teacher, a student...

12:08:19MariaK: Love that plurk idea peggy

12:08:36PeggyG: we have a teachers lunchroom online in Plurk :-)

12:08:38Maureen: I just saw the K teacher the other day, seems like I never see her anymore. She doesn't even see the people in her own building anymore- a couple of severe peanut allergies- so she doesn't even go there.

12:08:45loonyhiker: many tchrs start acting like the students and it gets gossipy about other teachers rather than a discussion about school, life, etc

12:09:04PeggyG: and we choose to follow people who are positive and supportive and can help us grow (at least that's what I do)

12:09:15connect2jamie: @loony I think so too.

12:09:31connect2jamie: @PeggyG I try to too.

12:09:50PeggyG: yes loonyhiker! and student teachers are often advised to avoid the lunch room--so sad for a beginning teacher! where do they go then?

12:10:40connect2jamie: @PeggyG you are right. Where?

12:10:45loonyhiker: @PeggyG and what message r we sending these student teachers

12:10:57PeggyG: do you do things socially with teachers in your schools?

12:11:09Maureen: @PeggyG only one or 2

12:11:20connect2jamie: not much social at my school. People don't even come to holiday parties, etc.

12:11:40PeggyG: do you do things like Secret Santa's, etc. to give positive messages, gifts to other teachers in your school?

12:11:46Sheila: I went to the lunchroom as an intern and stayed for all the lunches to get a sense of the school/individuals. Reaching out to make connections.

12:11:55connect2jamie: librarians in my district do social things together, but not tchrs at my school.

12:12:13loonyhiker: we had 200 teachers so there were a lot of cliques and we hardly ever saw others other than faculty mtgs

12:12:17PeggyG: exactly Sheila!! That's such an important experience for interns and student teachers--passing on the culture of the school

12:12:26connect2jamie: We did secret santa for years, but got to the point that no one was participating.

12:12:27Sheila: Who would want to connect with me, an intern who will be gone in a year? Interns need to seek others.

12:12:48loonyhiker: oops i mean 100 teachers and 2400 students

12:13:09Maureen: Teachers at my school feel so overworked that unless they have to, they will not stay after school, or even go to a social thing.

12:13:33PeggyG: we often had game nights when I was a principal where we all got together to play things like pictionary--had lots of fun and usually had 30-40 people come with spouses & significant others. Great way to know each other better

12:13:57PeggyG: that's so sad Maureen

12:13:59connect2jamie: We have about 100 staff members too. Teams eat together--many of them in their hallway @ their conference table. So some gr levels never "interface" with other teams.

12:14:46Maureen: So, that is assuming that the admin knows who is doing what :/

12:14:49PeggyG: we need to start using Kevin Honeycutt's keychain idea to identify mentors for different topics/tools, etc. :-)

12:14:59Maureen: Good idea Peggy

12:15:01Sheila: Yes, Peggy!

12:15:11loonyhiker: I had one admin who put us in groups, one person from each dept. and had us meet once a month to discuss an article, talk about lessons that work, etc. for one hour

12:15:18PeggyG: you don't know who to go to or who would be willing to help you--the keychain is artificial but gives you permission to go to someone

12:15:34loonyhiker: it was a really neat way to get to know what is going on in other depts.

12:15:53connect2jamie: @loonyhiker how did that go over? was it met with positive attitudes?

12:16:14Maureen: We have an "academic affairs committee" which could be used for things like this- but no one who teacher in grades preK-3 are on the committee. Slants the discussion

12:16:21PeggyG: that was a really important role for me as a principal--to know what teachers are doing, who has particular skills/knowledge and to connect them with others. I did that all the time!

12:16:40loonyhiker: like any mtg that you are required to go to, there was resentment initially but it is hard to hold that resentment once you start getting to know each other and learning more about them

12:16:43McTeach (Karen): We did that at our school a couple of years ago. If you have a question about ___ go to ___

12:16:46connect2jamie: you crack me up Maria!

12:16:56Maureen: Garlic is cool- love the way it grows!

12:16:56McTeach (Karen): Vampires...not werewolves

12:17:03connect2jamie: LOL!

12:17:09PeggyG: we also used to move our faculty meetings from one classroom to another so teachers got to spend some time in someone else's room and changed the conversation :-)

12:17:33PeggyG: that's the key loonyhiker! it's all about the relationships!

12:17:35Sheila: Oh, I like that idea Peggy!

12:17:42connect2jamie: That's a good idea, PeggyG

12:18:14Maureen: We have such a small staff that we all think we know each other, but don't spend time with one another.

12:18:35cheryl: Maybe we need to just share our style - or ideas maybe someone else wuld be interested inlearning your style!

12:18:40PeggyG: that's exactly what we did with our staff newsletter :-) news, upcoming events and feature a teacher :-)

12:18:53Maureen: I like the write it yourself idea Lisa, our former admin did that for a bit- but he wrote them and picked his favs

12:19:05loonyhiker: i went to a xmas party once and talked to someone i recognized but didn't know where i knew her from - i was embarrassed when she told me that we teach at the same school!

12:19:10PeggyG: teachers don't like to write about themselves though so it was easier to ask teachers on their grade level to tell something about them

12:19:19cheryl: @lisa great idea -

12:19:23connect2jamie: I've been at schools where we do something like that, @Lisa. And it was interesting to find out about fun facts about my colleagues that no one knew previously. Helped build collegiality.

12:19:30connect2jamie: Is that a word?

12:19:46PeggyG: or any teacher in the school could write about something they saw/heard from another teacher.

12:20:29Maureen: @Peggy- we should make acrostic poems about ourselves and put those in a newsletter

12:21:10PeggyG: make it a "twitter-like" kind of announcement/sharing in the newsletter. Limit them to sharing something positive and specific in 140 characters. I saw____ doing ____ to teach ____...

12:21:23PeggyG: yes Maureen!!

12:21:29connect2jamie: Great idea, PeggyG

12:21:38loonyhiker: We had a trivia contest and the teacher with the most correct answers won a prize. Each teacher submitted something interesting about themself and then a list was compiled. Then we had to figure out which teacher matched the information. It was fun

12:21:50PeggyG: that would be so much fun! you could do the activity of creating the poem in a faculty meeting and you would have them ready to share all year long :-)

12:21:59PeggyG: that would make a fun collaborative activity

12:22:50PeggyG: we once wrote a poem about our school featuring everyone in the school and collaborated around tables to write the verses--then passed them on to the next table to refine. Fantastic poem that gave lots of smiles, giggles and good feelings

12:23:45Maureen: @Peggy- fun way to intro google docs to faculty- start a story/share it and pass it to the next one to add

12:23:49PeggyG: the trivia contest reminds me of the icebreaker--2 truths and a lie--and that's a fun way to get to know people better

12:23:54connect2jamie: Oh, you must be such a wonderful principal PeggyG! Sounds fun, team-building!

12:24:08PeggyG: Yes Maureen!! fantastic use of google docs! use a tool to do something fun!

12:24:20PeggyG: I'm a retired principal now :-)

12:24:32PeggyG: but team building and relationships was very important to me!

12:24:39connect2jamie: :)

12:25:21PeggyG: I still get together with lots of my former teachers and it makes me sad to hear how they no longer do those kinds of nurturing, community building things and they say the morale has really gone down!

12:25:37Maureen: There is no trust between faculty and faculty and admin at my school- long history. Team building based on knowledge/trust is critical to learning/mentoring

12:25:57PeggyG: I so agree with that Maria! We all need to know that people care about us and what we are doing.

12:26:03connect2jamie: A good leader is crucial.

12:26:16loonyhiker: same with admin - i had a principal who really appreciated my hard work and i would have done anything for him (well almost) then i had a new principal who couldn't care less about me and i knew it s0 i wasn't thrilled about doing anything for her

12:26:49PeggyG: @loonyhiker--that happens too often

12:26:50connect2jamie: @loonyhiker True--in that way, we are just like our students!

12:27:43PeggyG: Even very confident, experienced teachers still value others saying they really learned a lot from them and a thank you for... that's why Plurk and Twitter and Facebook can be so reinforcing and supportive!

12:28:29loonyhiker: CEC has a great mentoring program where we volunteer to mentor those who sign up for a mento in their final year of univ. before going into teaching sped.

12:28:49PeggyG: remember the old "IALAC"-I am lovable and capable?? You can just visualize how bad you feel when your tag keeps getting torn away

12:28:57connect2jamie: I notice that in this chat room, almost every single one of us has contributed to the discussion. We're here on a Sunday morning! How do we help our colleagues understand how rich an experience this can be? I feel at a loss to figure that out.

12:29:15McTeach (Karen): I can't see myself staying in the classroom

12:29:23PeggyG: @loonyhiker do you have trouble getting teachers to volunteer to mentor in CEC?

12:29:35Sheila: Good point connect2jamie!

12:29:39Maureen: @Karen what do you mean?

12:29:45loonyhiker: @jamie - i talk to lots and hope that i can influence just one person

12:30:13McTeach (Karen): Maureen...I'm just not liking being a teacher. It's far too stressful and it's affecting my health.

12:30:18loonyhiker: @Peggy - i think they had plenty of volunteers and some of us offered to take 2 students if necessary

12:30:18PeggyG: yes--it's really building a culture of sharing and relationships and every person contributes to it

12:30:43PeggyG: let's talk McTeach!!!! you are such a wonderful, masterful teacher!!!!!

12:30:52Maureen: @Karen- that is so sad, you have so much to give to students and other teachers

12:30:53loonyhiker: awwww

12:30:55connect2jamie: Me too--new person on staff that I've never even talked to! I never see her! I'm going to seek her out!

12:30:58PeggyG: maybe you just need a change in environment???

12:31:24McTeach (Karen): Maureen...problem is it feels like my PLN are the only ones who notice that

12:31:36McTeach (Karen): Peggy...I'm sure that would help

12:31:42PeggyG: this also reminds me of the "campaigns" some people have started (like Jen Wagner) where she picked one new blogger a week to feature on her blog and tweet about

12:31:45McTeach (Karen): But I'd really rather work with teachers

12:31:46connect2jamie: See PeggyG--you're not *really* that "retired!" You're still reaching out to colleagues! :)

12:31:55Maureen: I think that is pretty normal- prophet in your own land thing... we need you!

12:32:03loonyhiker: someone went thru starbucks the other day and the unknown person in front paid for their coffee - we can do random acts of kindness in our schools :)

12:32:07PeggyG: :-) I don't think I'll ever completely retire!

12:32:16loonyhiker: me either peggy :)

12:32:31PeggyG: thank your for such a positive, encouraging conversation!! great ideas!!! :-)

12:32:58connect2jamie: It was a good conversation this morning! Thanks everyone!

12:33:10loonyhiker: thanks for this! I feel inspired and motivated :)

12:33:15PeggyG: year round school just redistributes the time--not necessarily increasing the time you have to do it

12:33:34PeggyG: I'm definitely inspired and motivated :-)

12:34:06connect2jamie: Inspiring group of people here! Thanks!

12:34:06Sheila: EVeryone has homework now!

12:34:08cheryl: thanks everyone great CHAT!

12:34:13Lisa Parisi: http://ettconversations.blogspot.com/

12:34:33PeggyG: I love those kinds of random acts of kindness! We used to do that for a whole week at my school and saw some great things happening!

12:34:34Lisa Parisi: Bye Everyone

12:34:40loonyhiker: bye

12:34:42PeggyG: bye everyone! See you next week!

12:34:50connect2jamie: bye! Happy autumn!