Choose Your Battles

Welcome back for Teacher Ninja Way # 3: Choose Your Battles

 

 

 

A true ninja avoids combat, only engaging when absolutely necessary. A ninja learns combat techniques to fall back on when the need arises.

A teacher ninja should follow the same philosophy. As we discussed in the previous post, the teacher ninja moves with precision, learning the drive of each student and how they tick. This information serves valuable for when to battle or not.

Everyday Benjamin comes to class without a pencil. You’ve given him a pencil everyday for the last ten days. Is it time to battle? Let’s look at what you’ve learned about Benjamin. He has moved three different times since school started three months ago. His mom lost her job and apartment. Benjamin and his mom along with three younger siblings moved in with friends temporarily. They move once again. This time with family until his mom can get back on her feet.

The teacher ninja decides the best course of action should be to keep a sharpened supply of pencils ready for Benjamin. Eventually, the ninja teacher will assess Benjamin’s situation to decide when the best time is to push the responsibility issue. Right now is not the time to engage.

Let’s take a look at Austin. He’s been identified with high functioning autism and receives limited special education services. The majority of his instruction is through inclusion in the classroom of peers his age. Austin is bright. He is capable in the intellectual sense to complete the same amount of work as his peers, however other distractions make it difficult for him. Should the teacher require him to complete the same amount of math problems as his peers knowing it will lead to frustration and shut down?

The ninja teacher carefully chooses a smaller amount of problems to complete that will assess his level of each skill presented. Having observed this student with precision, the ninja teacher knows what drives him. Once the required number of problems is completed, Austin may get out his private container of Lego's while the rest of the class finishes.The ninja teacher slowly increases the number of problems for Austin to complete as the year progresses.

See you next time for the teacher ninja technique #4 of using your words.

Teacher Ninja Way #2;Move with Precision

 

Way # 2: Move with Precision

 



 

 

   Welcome back great Teacher Ninja Warriors. Last week I introduce my version of what it takes to be a teacher ninja, like a real ninja, teachers are experts in their field. Like real ninjas, we have a sense of values and beliefs that we operate under to make us great warriors in the field of education.

 

 This week I want to connect ninja way #2, Move with Precision. I'll keep it brief and to the point. Here it goes:

 

 Every move of a ninja serves a purpose. A ninja learns to study people. Figure them out, see what makes them tick. This information is valuable for leverage.

The teacher ninja must move with the same precision being a purposeful observant at all times. Pay attention to conversations among the students to understand their interests. A ninja teacher takes surveys in order to learn interests and learning styles. In my opinion the most useful information to learn what makes a student tick is frequent monitoring and note-taking on behaviors.

A had a bright student in my class one year that didn’t work to his potential. I’ll call this student Jerry. Jerry often appeared bored and drifted into “la-la land” during instruction. While meeting with his guided reading group I took notes. A book we read one day sparked conversation from him. He connected with a character who went on fishing trip with his father. Jerry was like a sleeping volcano that stirred to life. He spurted out stories of trips to the lake with his family. You better believe I used this new bit of information for all it was worth. Jerry wrote a personal narrative about one of his trips, made a map of his favorite place to fish, and researched the wild life in the area. From then on, Jerry seemed to pay attention more and noticed other things in class that he could connect with.

This is just one example of many that shows how making each move with precision and purpose can lead you to be a ninja teacher,a skilled teacher that is an expert on his/her students.

Next week......Way # 3: Choose Your Battles

*Reference: 5 Ways to Be a Ninja-wikiHow*


What is a Teacher Ninja?

 

 

 



 Ninjas are specialized warriors trained to be masters of combat. A ninja works extremely hard driven by beliefs and principals of the ninja way.

A teacher ninja is a specialized warrior in the field of education. A teacher ninja works extremely hard, driven by beliefs and ideals of….well, that part is a bit muddled. At one time all teacher ninjas were driven by the belief of making a difference in the lives of young people. Excited to shape and mold minds. Using creativity to motivate and engage our students to learn.

Today the teacher ninja is expected to operate under the ideals and philosophies of law and policy makers who haven’t spent a day teaching in the classroom. It’s easy to forget what motivated us in the beginning to become teachers. We’re drowning in state mandates. We tread to keep our heads above all of the paper work and other requirements.

 

 Fear not great teacher ninja warriors. We’ll examine the ninja way and connect it back to our lives as educators.

Way #1

Adopt a Sense of Teaching Beliefs

 

Imagine you woke up tomorrow and all the mandates and tests were lifted. What would a day in your classroom look like? For me, the children would have a say in what interests them. We could spend days on a topic, read books and talk about them. Stop and research questions that arise.

My belief has and will always be that children need to be invested in their own learning. This year my teacher ninja surfaced. The standards and testing has not gone away. In fact, this is the year the new testing is to implemented. I refuse to let it control me. I made the decision to fall back on my beliefs.

My children write stories of their choice. They write every day and request publishing days frequently. They go through the writing process, publish their stories, create covers, and read their masterpieces to the class. Their stories are part of our classroom library to be checked out by other students to read.

This is just a glimpse into my day. My point? My children are excited about writing. This is not to say I don’t teach the mechanics of writing and types of writing. I do. This particular class is motivated by story writing, so that drives my planning. I carve time out of my schedule for it. Should I be doing more test practice? Maybe. The teacher ninja in me doesn’t believe so. I can live with that.

What is your teacher ninja saying to you? Listen to the ninja. After all a ninja is a specialized trained expert in the field.

Next week.....Way #2 Move with Precision

 

*Reference: 5 Ways to Be a Ninja-wikiHow*

 

The Great Race

   

 A day at school often feels like a race in which I never reach the finish line. I rush before school to make sure I have all I need, papers copied, lunch choices ready, today’s schedule displayed on the board, etc. On mornings that I start the day with a meeting before the kids come, forget it. I never catch my breath.

Factor in what I have to accomplish long term and I want to throw my hands up—wave the white flag of surrender. Nine months of curriculum needs to be taught in five months so that the children are prepared to take “the test”. Sigh.

I took a deep breath this year and made myself take a step back. I realized in order to finish the race, that I needed to set my own pace. After evaluating what was most important, I decided on things that should take priority each day. Here is my list:

-My children need to read a book of their choice every day.

-My children need to write every day.

-My children need to hear me read every day. (Read Aloud time)

-Spiral Review of math skills and grammar-each take about fifteen minutes.

My reasons for the list? I want the children to develop a love of reading. I want them to stretch their imaginations while writing and gain knowledge of the writing format at the same time.

In math we review skills previously taught and always apply them with problem solving. We go over every answer together and the thinking process behind it. I want them to learn how to think through the problems in order to solve them.

These are my priorities each day. Beyond that, I plan my lessons according to the curriculum map. However, I don’t sweat it if I’m not exactly where I should be. I know my priorities and I set my own pace. I refuse to be driven by a test. Once I made this decision, I felt more relaxed and better able to focus on my children. After all, they are the reason I’m there.

Note: “The Teacher Ninja” goes into greater detail on these topics. It’s still a work in progress. I hope to finish it soon.

The Teacher Ninja in You



Calling fellow teachers. I'm working a book titled The Teacher Ninja. Unlike my young adult and children's stories, I'm publishing this one myself on Kindle. This book will focus on teachers. A book for us.

 I would like to include comments and thoughts from teachers on various topics based on experience in the classroom. My goal? To publish a light hearted book focused on teachers as the experts in education.

 If you are interested, please follow the link below to fill out the question form. I'll contact you if I decide to use your answers or an answer in the book.

I hope to hear from you! Click Below.

Questions for The Teacher Ninja by TC Booth

Witness the Heart of a Champion



Have you heard that LeBron is coming home? Of course you have, unless you've been vacationing on Mars this summer.  As a loyal Cavs fan this makes me happy to say the least. I'm pumped to see LeBron and Kyrie on the court together. However, I'd like to take my fan hat off and talk about his return from under two other hats that I wear.


"Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio. It’s where I walked. It’s where I ran. It’s where I cried. It’s where I bled. It holds a special place in my heart. People there have seen me grow up. I sometimes feel like I’m their son. Their passion can be overwhelming. But it drives me. I want to give them hope when I can. I want to inspire them when I can. My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball. I didn’t realize that four years ago. I do now." LeBron James opening quote from SI Post.

I tear up every time I read this. It is so true. I remember my husband following LeBron's journey as a kid in Akron. We knew he'd be a star player someday. When he was drafted by the Cavs he became our star, the people of Northeast Ohio. So when he says that sometimes it feels like he's our son, he is right. I can't image the pressure this would put on a young man. Wearing my mom hat, I have to say that I couldn't be prouder of the person he has become and the positive role model he is for children.

With that said, it's time to put on my teacher hat.  LeBron and I share a passion, not just for basketball, but more importantly, our love and hope for the children of Northeast Ohio.  He is the ultimate example of giving back to the community. Among the numerous ways he's given back to his community, the focus on education is the at top of my list. As a third grade teacher, my social studies standards require me to teach about citizenship and giving back to your community. I'm proud to use LeBron James as a role model for the children in my classroom when teaching these standards.

The children already know him as a basketball star and champion. Now they'll get a look into the heart of this champion and learn from his example.

Happy Friday! I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for Five for Friday.

 

 

 

We had our second round of parent-teacher conferences at the beginning of the week. They went well. I didn't have many grades to share due to all the snow days!

 

 

 

 

 

We began our Volcano Unit. This is always a high interest topic for the kiddos.  One of the skills we're working on is questioning the text. The kids make foldable Volcanoes to write their questions and answers on. Then they add "lava" erupting to make it fun.

 

 

Every year my class writes a myth and publishes it with Student Treasures. We worked on our class draft this week. The children decided to explain how lightning and tornadoes came to be. It is so cute . Children have amazing imaginations. 

 



 

 

We ended our week with the Valentine exchange and party. My room parent planned fun games for the kids. They enjoyed a game of Valentine Twister.

 

 

 

 

On a personal note. I finished my guest post at the Writer's Drawer.  My post is titled  A Writer's Heart. You can click on the post title if you're interested in reading it.

 

 

 

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!