Thanks Mama

"Any mother could perform the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease." ~Lisa Alther

I probably should have saved this blog entry for Mother's Day in May, but my thoughts would not allow me to go to bed before writing first. Tonight I experienced "motherhood" firsthand by spending the evening at the Binns household. How do mamas manage to take kids to softball practice, church, cook dinner, complete homework, bath time, and read a story...all before bed? I have a better appreciation of parents, and have decided that I will start building up more energy before I have my own children. Any mother should be considered "Super Woman!"

"I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine-she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights." ~Adabella Radici

Today I spent the entire afternoon with my mama as she helped me prepare for yet another classroom (school) event. She spent her morning off from work at the hospital trying to catch up on cleaning and laundry while taking care of my sister's dog before coming to Page Street at 12:30 to help fifth grade with the glamour shots fundraiser. She managed to dig in her closet to discover the sparkling clogging outfits and her old cheerleading uniform for the girls, since she just experienced this problem a few weeks ago at the wax museum. She became the hostess by taking up money and making the students excited about their photographs. She recorded each name and rewrote the list again to make sure everything was organized. When the bell rang at 3:00 after extended day, she helped me tidy up the classroom since I was going to be out the next two days. She sanitized each student desk and organized my book shelves while I was able to complete sub plans. Finally at 6:00 we walked out of the school building and I treated her to Zeno's, which is her favorite! Upon returning her to the car, she was still going to stop by Beth's house to take by her contact and let Ally (Beth's dog) out. This is just one day! I could probably make the day even longer if you count my 2 phone calls on the way home just to share a frustrating occurrence that day and to get her opinion.

"A mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled." ~Emily Dickinson

As all of you know, my mama doesn't miss anything! Believe it or not, she has always been this supportive. She never missed a school play, sporting event, or awards ceremony while my sister and I were growing up. She was the director of the Highfalls Cloggers practicing once a week and traveling with middle school girls across the state. She did this job for free by the way for ten years! It was obvious to find mom in the audience during our performances because she was on the floor bobbing her head up and down. My fondest memories were our clogging trips! She instilled this love of dance within myself to eventually become a clogging instructor. She made sure our house was always clean because we never knew which group of kids would just drop in, even my dad's chemistry students at Christmas time for the annual Pictionary game. Everyone referred to 179 Grover Road as "Grand Central Station." She ironed every shirt and pair of pants in our closets (sometimes even underwear...haha), and even found time to label my dad's clothes since he is severely color blind. She made scrapbooks of every picture taken for easy access to our wonderful memories. Oh, did I mention she worked full time as a microbiologist at Moore Regional Hospital? The list goes on and on...maybe that is why Will Muse calls her the "wind up toy" because she never stops!

"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life." ~Abraham Lincoln

27 years later, my mom is still always there. She never misses a basketball game at Peabody Gym when my students are playing this sport for the first time. She makes sure she attends every field trip opportunity to provide additional help. She decorates every year for the end of the year luau. She stays at the clogging studio until dark to make sure Beth doesn't have to lock up by herself. She freezes in the stands with me at Will's baseball games.

I hope to be half the mother Susan Caviness is, and can you imagine how she will be as a grandmother? Wow...will there ever be a day when I will be ready to exert that much energy?

"Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible"
~Marion C. Garretyy, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul

Teaching is leadership and networking

The last two days, I sat in a room surrounded by educational leaders across our region as we were trained on the new teacher evaluation tool. We have all "heard" about this instrument, but we never expected how useful it will be for our teaching performance. The expectations in our classrooms will change with the implementation of this evaluation method as it ensures that North Carolina will maintain high quality teachers and administrators. Thirteen school districts in our state piloted the program this school year and fifty additional systems will be encouraged to try it next year. The entire state will be mandated to use this tool in 2010-2011.

As with any staff development, I was empowered as a teacher leader to make these improvements to my own professional endeavors along with spreading a positive outlook to my colleagues. The two main goals of this instrument was to make sure the thirty kids who usually dropped out of school each year would stay and to promote 21st century learning skills for our students. Once again, technology was emphasized and it is actually a main element of the evaluation standards.

It is always uplifting to come together with other passionate educators who share a common goal to better education. I always call this beneficial networking. The educational world makes the world even smaller with the connections we make with other teachers across the state. We become each other's valuable resources during challenging times and each other's cheerleaders during times of success. It is obvious we must work together as a team, not only in our individual schools and districts, but as an entire state and nation.

We have one goal: to impact the children we serve! We are the professionals who strive to make a difference, and it was proven today that this job has become so much more than teaching...

Get Knocked Down, Get Up Again

After surviving throughout the entire week of constant coughs, runny nose, body aches, and headaches I finally realized that a doctor's visit was desperately needed. It became time to slow down for a change and take time to rest for me. Since there is never enough time to make an appointment to see a primary care doctor during the day, I managed to make it to Urgent Care. Just as Cindi predicted (she had heard me coughing the night before over the phone) I have bronchitis...just something else to "mark off" the list. However, with the help of strong antibiotics and hot chicken noodle soup I was able to make it through another day of school. I only had to take five cough drops today instead of thirty.

Teachers are prone to all of the contagious germs that enter the school building, but it is inevitable our immune systems become stronger and stronger every year. We become warriors against illnesses, but at this time of the year we remain exhausted, so it becomes difficult to fight off the sicknesses. Teachers also know how crucial it is teach each valuable lesson, so we force ourselves to not take the sick day. It would be interesting to research the health of teachers during a school year because we have a habit of sacrificing our own health to ensure the job responsibilities are fulfilled.

I was determined to be in the classroom throughout this entire week because we had to finish our pen pal letters, start measurement in math, begin a new theme in reading, and complete my Social Studies National Board video taping session. Of course, it is always nerve racking for any type of video recording, especially when I know the deadline is quickly approaching for these entries. I exerted most of my energy to use my voice during the lesson, but the students took charge of their learning making the lesson successful. Their discussions were so intense and intriguing that I didn't have to use my voice, which proves the most beneficial learning. They became my vocal chords because each student already knew what I was thinking...

We get knocked down, just get up again...

Unpredictable Weather

After living in Boone for five years, I immediately adjusted to the changing weather. We always said you did not like the weather, just stay for five minutes because it would quickly change. I am grateful for making an easy transition between seasons because the last few weeks have reminded me of Katy Perry's song, "You're hot, then you're cold..." At the beginning of this week, we had recess outdoors with the beautiful sunshine and some kids even wore shorts. Yesterday, we were bundled up in our jackets and rain gear. Even though it has been difficult for me to find the appropriate outfit, we must must adjust to these constant, unpredictable weather changes.

This weather is comparable to the continuous recent adjustments in education. Most educators consider themselves fortunate because our profession will always be needed, no matter the situation of the economy. Right? This concept became somewhat questionable with the budget cuts across the state's education system when large school districts recently let go of hundreds of teachres. I feel that it is essential to stay informed with recent educational trends, so I have become very concerned about the budget in education. We have even discussed this in class as we have talked about the challenges that Barack Obama is facing. I became amazed when Wake County, one of the nation's strongest school system, had to make the difficult decision to cut teachers this week. It is now clear that our future teachers also need to be thinking about this concern.

Future teachers...have become my passion, especially after traveling across this state speaking to this specific group of educators. One of my goals is to inspire the youth of our profession because they will eventually become the teacher leaders. I an remember my own beginning teacher preparation and the component that affected my overall attitude towards this career. I think the key factor for preparing me as a teacher was observing other teachers and sitting in a classroom. Some teachers would encourage me by reminding me that this was the most rewarding profession, and then there were others who tried to convince me that "this job" wasn't worth it!

This past week was spring break for various colleges and universities, so I enjoyed visits from two prospective teachers. The students and I are always excited to have these young people in our classroom because we get to share our eagerness to learn along with our regular routines of a school day. The young man who visited our class on Tuesday is actually the son of my mom's work supervisor, and I have watched him grow up from a little 5-year old to a responsible young gentleman. Nathan is a sophomore at Sandhills Community College trying to make that "final decision" before attempting the next step of his academic journey. He remained uncertain if he wanted to pursue a career in education, and specifically what grade level he wanted to teach. Therefore, he was able to visit my sister's high school English classroom at West Montgomery during the morning hours and concluded his afternoon with my fifth graders at Page Street. Of course he was more popular than a rock star in my classroom with kids shooting questions from every angle. Where did you go to school? Why do you want to be a teacher? Are you married? How old are you? We all laughed when Aaron (who sits on the front row) said that our class enjoyed playing twenty questions. Nathan was able to observe our reading rotations for the last two hours of the day along with Memorie sharing our class memories through photo albums from the previous year. I also showed him my elaborate lesson plans for every subject, including four separate lessons just for reading. i think this became an eye opening experience regarding elementary school because we are required to teach everything. I always laugh when Cindi Rigsbee speaks to groups of educators and admits that she could never teach elementary school because we keep the kids all day, the kids are always thinking of something else rather than the subject we are teaching, and we teach all subject areas. I tell Cindi that is why I teach this grade level while I admire middle school educators! After speaking with Nathan about my job, I hope he left open-minded and encourage to pursue a career in education.

The other visitor last week really isn't considered a visitor since she was former intern two years ago, "Miss Dawn." It is always a delight to have her visit because she is not only one of my mentees, she has become basically another sister and friend. Dawn is the reflection of myself...it is ironic how she continues to follow my path during the different stages in life. I encouraged her during her junior year of high school to attend Governor's School and as myself, she loved every minute of that life changing summer. I assisted her with the Teaching Fellows Scholarship process and even took her to ASU for Open House. She decided also wanted to become a Mountaineer! I was delighted to have received an Appalachian Alumni Christmas Card this past year from the Chancellor and immediately noticed Dawn's picture on the front standing in front of the breaking group for the new Reich College of Education. She is in a leadership role for the NC Teaching Fellows and she even works in the Dean's Office---the same job I maintained throughout my entire college career. I am extremely proud of Dawn's accomplishments and there is no doubt she will continue to amaze me as she finishes her college preparation and into her own elementary classroom.

As the economy remains unpredictable, along with the educational realm, I know the rain will cease when promising future teachers will positively impact the profession by bringing hope and change. Thanks to Dawn and Nathan for reminding me the sun will come out tomorrow.

The wisest man I have ever known

We have all looked up to our grandparents because they are probably the "wisest" people as they have experienced the joys and challenges of life. As I would say, they have "been there, done that." As children, our grandparents hung the moon because they not only spoil us rotten, but they serve as other positive role models who have a tremendous impact on our lives. This is no exception with my own grandfather, Theron Caviness. He has lived in Northern Moore County throughout his entire life, and he will still tell you there is no place like "Caviness Town." I was blessed growing up in this same area because we only lived a mile from Papaw, so there were many times Daddy would put Beth and I on the tractor or 4-wheeler to visit him. For 40 years, my grandfather worked tirelessly in Robbins Mill while also maintaining a farm with cows, chickens, and hogs. He and his family lived by Deep River, which helped with agricultural needs and even provided entertainment for youngsters during this time period.

As a child, I used to love listening to Papaw tell stories about his own childhood. I had to complete a fifth grade olden days project as a student, and I have hours of audio recordings with Papaw expressing his thoughts about how life has changed since he was a young boy. My grandfather even visited my class that same year and brought antiques to show my classmates how they used to live without the conveniences and technology we have today. This will probably be one of the most memorable projects I have ever completed because it provided me with rich family history and now I have a greater appreciation of my Caviness roots. I have tried to instill this thoughtfulness with my own students encouraging them to talk with their own grandparents or older family members to gain insight about their own family traditions.

Within the last few weeks, our class has discussed the differences and similarities between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and President Barack Obama. We talked about the economic crisis of the Great Depression and compared it to the turmoil our own families are facing presently. Instead of just reading about the Great Depression, I decided to invite Papaw to share about his own experiences during this difficult time.

The students compiled questions to ask Papaw, not only about the Great Depression, but about what life was like 60 years ago. My 84-year old grandfather slowly walked down the hall and it seemed as if a celebrity had entered our classroom. The students were captivated with his stories, especially his silly jokes (Papaw is known for his jokes). He told the kids that even though all the communities were struggling financially during the students by relating to them and reminded them that he was young once. He told them instead of playing video games for fun, he would ride a mule across a river (even though that was his only means of transportation). He and and his brothers formed a bluegrass band after learning various instruments that entertained the entire Highfalls community. He never received more than one gift Christmas, but was grateful for having food on the table throughout the entire year after working on the farm for hours.
He stressed the importance of getting an education and to enjoy every moment of school. He attended school in a one-room school house with a heater in the middle of the room for warmth during the winter months. He did obtain a high school education, but never went to college. He claimed the most inspiring people he ever met was at Campbell University, where my father attended in 1970. I am convinced that my grandfather encouraged my father to pursue his education, and my dad graduated with a bachelor and master degree in science. My father also stressed the value of education with me at a young age, and the love of learning continues!

I was amazed at the eager hands raised to ask more questions about the life of my grandfather. I was probably the one most enticed by Theron Caviness that afternoon. It made me proud to be a Caviness.