Max Made My Day

Lindsay and I have three amazing cats. Their names are Max, Sebastian and Jasper. Today's story is about my main man Max.

Max has a long black coat of hair and a don't pick me up type of attitude. Max is affectionate enough I suppose, but usually when he wants something. It seems that every time somebody pours a bowl of cereal in the kitchen Max feels the need to check it out. He will sit and stare into your soul with his green flecked eyes, and then sit uncomfortably close to your bowl of cereal. If you take it to another room, there is a good chance that Max will follow you.

My sister had mentioned to me she gave the Max and the other cats a little milk last night. It seems that was what Max had wanted and she wanted to do something nice for them. She loves her nephews after all and wants to make sure they have happiness. This morning, their last nights happiness became a surprise for me. As I walked into the kitchen to get ready, I stepped on a milky white hairball and got the mucus and gastric secretions smeared all over my foot.

I love my cats.

Sebastian

Max with a Haircut

Slice of Life #4: Books as a Portal to Another World

As a Child...

I, along with many muggles, might remember the magic of reading Harry Potter series for the first time. Staying up way past 'bed-time' lost in the adventure and escape provided by this series of books is one strong memory from growing up. The power of words just like the magic in Harry Potter can have a reader feeling spellbound.

A Reader Once More

A few good recommendations from my reader friends and coworkers has me falling in love with reading again. I just finished one book, starting another this weekend and am a comfortable 100+ pages in after just a few days. Reading online is so different than the way that I am able to get immersed into a novel. Yes, I may be reading science fiction or fantasy, but if you don't enjoy what you are reading it is okay to find something that you do.

Mark Hamill Likes Reading

A Note to Prospective Readers

Ask your friends, or even better yet a librarian for a book recommendation to get you back to reading.

Consider using social sites for book readers as well! I will be trying to be active on it and hold myself to the goal of reading 24 books this year which would be about a 20 book improvement on what I accomplished last year.

GoodReads is one my friend Trina introduced to me.

You can find my profile here!

Slice of Life #3: One Foot In Front of the Other

New Year's Resolutions

We have a pretty awesome community at our high school. We encourage each other through many ways, but one such way is a community focused 'biggest loser' challenge. While there is a cultural obsession with weight and being thinner, there are real benefits to leading a healthier life style besides being focused on a number.

There are many weekly challenges that to be honest I haven't had the where-with-all to commit to. I was happy with being active, trying to be sensible with food choices, and drinking enough water. My start running this year came from beginning again on ZenLab's C25k program that I swear as the best way to get you from sedentary to jogging over the course of 8 weeks.

I was going strong, and the feedback from friends on my occasional updates via the social media celebrations and progress tracking really had me fired up. Taking pictures of my progress all the way through by always snapping a 'post-workout' data report, would help me see the process even if it was made one day at a time.

This time doing C25K was different. I had a singular goal that was Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic or Time Bound. My resolve was to be able to run a 5k (race or distance) in under 25 minutes by the end of the 8 week program. I made it to week 6 when I got stopped by an obstacle.

Run in the Sun by Lucas Favre

Stubbed Toes and Excuses

There are two things that happened that I can identify as reasons why I am not running a my aforementioned 5k distance right now at that blistering (possibly literally) sub 25 minute pace. My first obstacle was a door frame that decided to move in the path of my foot as I made my way from our laundry room to the kitchen. Clumsy, careless, and now extremely bruised my poor toe became a gorgeous maroon. (I will spare you the picture because eww...) Now I knew I needed time to heal.

After a reasonable amount of time (1 week?) I still had not made it back to the YMCA to resume my progress. I couldn't "find time" even though I had become engrossed with a video game, often playing with my friends, and somehow managed to log 142 hour since I have gotten it. Where did those 142 hours come from? They came from running time, they have come from sleep time, they have come from some quality time spent with my expectant wife.

The time spent on these games are entertaining and yes sometimes social, but they don't make me feel 'alive' the way the other activities do. So my key to a better life is do more of the things that fill  my life.

• Marvel at the wonder and love of a child and spend quality time playing, reading and teaching my nephews.
• Be a better listener, whether as a brother, a friend or a husband. I can practice being present in the lives of those around me as well.
• Read more, watch less. I have started checking out books and have a little catching up to do buy am going to make it my goal to read twenty-four novels this year. (Finished Born a Crime and The Martian so far...)
• Run often and focus on enjoying the process while not just focusing on the progress. Running outdoors is way different than running on a treadmill. I need to remember that progress is putting one foot in front of the other.

You Matter, Don't Give Up, and Crying in Public

Today was the conclusion of an awesome event organized annually by staff and students called Words Hurt Week. During the week of Words Hurt there are many offerings and messages that are important to be heard. Read more about it at this great article covering the event.

What more can I say or write that my coworkers haven't already said beautifully. This moment was cathartic and profound.

He reached out to us and asked teachers to hear the same message we had heard from the bleachers. The staff made its way down to stand lined up together, many already with wet eyes and damp cheeks. What happened next was magic, and I can't do it justice but here are the take-aways.

"DON'T GIVE UP" 

Terrence Talley shared a personal story about his journey and the impact an educator had on him. Teachers needed to hear it, brought me to tears of inspiration. some time we can't see the forest for the trees. He talked to those of us that have thought about leaving the profession for 'greener' pastures. He talked to those of us that have struggles that we don't get to share with the world.

"YOU MATTER"  

The work that we do on a daily basis means changing and saving lives even though we may not always feel it. I know lately, there have been times were I have felt introspective. While reading and doing a self-evaluation on the Danielson Framework for teaching and felt pangs of guilt rationalizing some of my ratings as 'two - basic'. I teach students that are complex human beings, but I wouldn't change it for the world. Some students and I shared profound moments in our mini-teacher student conferences this week, and in conversations held informally. I  and the work I do is more than a rating on a framework.

"EVERY STUDENT MATTERS" 

They need to know, and they need to hear it, and even at the high school students need to feel it. A student may be able to really trust a teacher and open up but there are boundaries that aren't usually crossed in high school. Our school learned today what a "Dad Hug" is, it turns out some of my students needed it, and I realized that I needed them too. Students need unconditional support as well, and one expression of that is a "Dad/Mom Hug" the way a 5 year old daughter looks to her dad or my four and half year old nephew goes to his mom. Terrence told those students that needed one to come down to their teachers gathered before them and get a hug.

According to some estimates, the hugging and exchanging of affirmations and  went on for 15 powerful minutes.

I couldn't wait to share my positive stories about this week with my family and other coworkers. This is a slice of life that I am going to keep in my fondest memories.

Kazoos and Happiness

Reflecting on the celebration of life that was lived by my dear friend Ms. Katie. I resolve to live with the same light that she brought to the world.

Today there was a beautiful analogy in a presentation for the Words Hurt Week at Appleton East High School. The speaker urges us to light our candle, and use that flame to light others as well by sharing our light. When you share the light it doesn't take away your own, but only spreads to others. Miss Katie had Kazoos at her celebration / funeral and encouraged her friends to play along to songs like "This Little Light of Mine" and "When the Saints Go Marching In".

On my way home from a busy and fulfilling day I reached into my jacket pocket and found a blue kazoo. This blue kazoo has a magical energy about it, it quite literally is plastic happiness. All it takes is humming into the correct end and I become a darn fine musician. I attribute my talent to a musical upbringing and always whistling, that and being involved with choir all my high school years.

Do you think my students will see it coming if I start using the Kazoo in class as an attention signal? If you talk into a Kazoo, it reminds me of how the adults sound in the Peanuts comics. I wonder if that is how some of my own high school students think I sound.

If I have any magical Kazoo moments I might just be putting it on my Instagram that can be found @jeremy_kautz

I was surprised to find that Blue Kazoo even has a social media presence. 

Summer of Classcraft

I took some advice after watching a great webinar about classcraft by Mr. Andrew Hutchinson. Classcraft is best implemented after you already have started teaching your class. Perhaps getting a unit in. Every other time playing I went feet first and this time it allowed me to lead with my head.

Summer school classes started with structure and class routines. Introducing the game on day four of fifteen with my students meant that I could identify real reasons for why I wanted to play the game with my students.

1st Session Reasons
Rude/Impulsive Ss
Ss Falling Asleep In Class
Inappropriate use of technology
Reward students for progress made

2nd Session Reasons
Lack of collaboration and communication
Limited participation
Reward students for being positive and hard working.

What Classcraft does is give students the ability to earn privileges (powers) as they advance their character and become heroes inside the classroom. It was important to tweak these abilities so that they mattered, and I took some great suggestions from the Hutch Playbook, like mage council meetings for major assessments.

It gave students a better sense of belonging in the classroom, allowed them to have rewards and a means to own their class. They also gave me many tools to help gamify over the existing structure of explorations, examples, assignments and assessments and reward students for pursuing quality in their practice.

Students were always more interested in doing extra practice before an assignment if I phrased it as a Boss Battle, and were more focused and collaborative on a review if it was a race to find treasure. Summer really flew by because of the fun my students and I had while learning Algebra 2 and playing Classcraft.

Summers Gone By

Some teachers look forward to summer, every summer I look forward to summer school.

Teaching summer school was the very first gig I had out of college. Working in the district where I completed my student teaching, I started as a long term sub for first session then became a teacher for their second session. A friend from college thoughtfully designed the course to focus on skills. The students worked towards mastery, with a constant spiraling back to foundation skills on assessments.  We focused on relationships, and made sure that while they were required to come every day that every day was a day they wanted to be there.

Fast forward to year two... Now at a new school (new district) I taught Algebra 1 and then again at a different high school across town. This was the last summer I settled with using printed curriculum documents and taught without a true online resource. I had been introduced to Classcraft this year and had some experience playing with my students during the regular year. Now was a great time to start the journey together with a fresh group of students.

My department chair introduced me to a new resource at the end of year 2 (before summer 3) called SAS Curriculum Pathways. There was near perfect alignment with our regular curriculum. It provided students with the opportunity to get feedback while pursuing mastery at their pace. I was so impressed with teaching with online assistance. When students know that they are getting it, they have confidence to continue forward. When they know that they aren't, they know it's a good time to ask for help and that is where I had an invitation in to teach them.

Side Note: Our district had not adopted a resource/textbook in many years as they made the conscious decision that the textbook is not the curriculum, and standards must come first.

The flexibility of learning this way allowed us to enjoy our time together, some students worked ahead, others dragged behind the suggested deadlines. Memories were made and students kept morale high by taking occasional breaks to play games together. The way we learned about our classroom community and each other through gaming taught the soft skills that many of the students needed.

Whether through gamification (Classcraft) or through games the secret to a positive classroom (summer school) experience is to make it about learning and fun too!