So I have done more than 5000 Burpees since January. I am a bit off the pace compared to some of the other Burpee Challengers but I am still plugging away. It is still unpleasant...it is not all that hard to do anymore aside from just getting motivated to change clothes and do it. Especially if I just set out to do 100 Burpees in no particular amount of time.
The problem is...the Burpees I do at home have a very direct impact on the ones that I do in class...so I find myself trying to push harder in my home workouts than I was. Which as a result makes them harder....but a nice side effect is that it takes less time. I can confidently complete 50 in a set.
My current goal is to maintain 3 burpees per set. For example: Do 3 Burpees, Rest 2 seconds.....I AM TERRIBLE AT THIS. But I am quite good at doing 2 per set....
It is Spring Break so I am on my own for 2 weeks. Just want to keep plugging away. I have never maintained a daily workout through a break...I also intend ot get my road bike out this week and start reminding my rear end what a bike seat feels like.
Here's to Spring!!
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
What I know about teaching....
Teaching philosophy has been weighing heavily on my mind....in recent weeks some things have come to light to make me reflect on this - what is best for kids....
First, let me define the kids...the kids I speak of are not the preschool attending, nurtured, 2 parent, enriched, read to children, frankly, these kids do not really need me...the kids I speak of are the ones who do not have it all...now I am not saying they don't all have loving families because that would be wrong...they just don't have the advantage...These kids comprise about half of who I teach. At any rate these are the kids we fight to help pass standardized tests and such....these are the ones...
Now the how...I taught for 8 years at a small school....a school so small that I actually taught 3 grades...my coworkers each taught 2 grades. We went through 8th grade so there were 4 of us plus a resource room teacher and some phenomenal assistants... There were 90 to 100 kids at a time in this school and we knew Every. Single. One. Of. Them. We knew who their siblings were, who their parents were, what kind of pets they had, even where they lived. We cared deeply for these kids and worked as a team to help them. It was not uncommon for me to check up on former students as they aged. And it was not uncommon for the 5th/6th grade teacher to stop by my classroom just to say hi or to check up on someone who had had a rough day...this was the unique factor - the being known part.
You see - it is not that we were teacher of the year teachers...oh we were good! Sometimes great! But not always...We taught. We used the same stuff the other teachers in the district used. We used the same tests. We did collaborate across grade levels...we said things like "what would you like the 3rd graders to be able to do when you get them?" Maybe that was it... At any rate our test scores turned heads. People thought we were doing something special...No not really. But because they were known, kids bought in...there was no hiding. Last years teacher knew everything because they had had you for 3 years in the same class....and they would tell what you could really do. So they bought in. They tried hard...they scored well...
And the standard school model goes away from this...they are ours for a year and then they are someone elses...some teachers don't even want to hear about their incoming students...there is little opportunity to have a conversation or stop by and keep connections with kids. The kids just keep moving and the tough kids are passed off often with great relish (guilty as charged). Imagine though that you need to keep those kids for 2 or 3 years...with nowhere else to go...would you teach differently?
I will not harp on those other philosophies....I will just say that kids being known works. I know it does. Know your kids. Care about them. Follow them and encourage as long as you can...especially the tough ones.
First, let me define the kids...the kids I speak of are not the preschool attending, nurtured, 2 parent, enriched, read to children, frankly, these kids do not really need me...the kids I speak of are the ones who do not have it all...now I am not saying they don't all have loving families because that would be wrong...they just don't have the advantage...These kids comprise about half of who I teach. At any rate these are the kids we fight to help pass standardized tests and such....these are the ones...
Now the how...I taught for 8 years at a small school....a school so small that I actually taught 3 grades...my coworkers each taught 2 grades. We went through 8th grade so there were 4 of us plus a resource room teacher and some phenomenal assistants... There were 90 to 100 kids at a time in this school and we knew Every. Single. One. Of. Them. We knew who their siblings were, who their parents were, what kind of pets they had, even where they lived. We cared deeply for these kids and worked as a team to help them. It was not uncommon for me to check up on former students as they aged. And it was not uncommon for the 5th/6th grade teacher to stop by my classroom just to say hi or to check up on someone who had had a rough day...this was the unique factor - the being known part.
You see - it is not that we were teacher of the year teachers...oh we were good! Sometimes great! But not always...We taught. We used the same stuff the other teachers in the district used. We used the same tests. We did collaborate across grade levels...we said things like "what would you like the 3rd graders to be able to do when you get them?" Maybe that was it... At any rate our test scores turned heads. People thought we were doing something special...No not really. But because they were known, kids bought in...there was no hiding. Last years teacher knew everything because they had had you for 3 years in the same class....and they would tell what you could really do. So they bought in. They tried hard...they scored well...
And the standard school model goes away from this...they are ours for a year and then they are someone elses...some teachers don't even want to hear about their incoming students...there is little opportunity to have a conversation or stop by and keep connections with kids. The kids just keep moving and the tough kids are passed off often with great relish (guilty as charged). Imagine though that you need to keep those kids for 2 or 3 years...with nowhere else to go...would you teach differently?
I will not harp on those other philosophies....I will just say that kids being known works. I know it does. Know your kids. Care about them. Follow them and encourage as long as you can...especially the tough ones.
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