Reed's Reflections

I love that our school takes field trips that are educational and fun. My first thought about going to the Wax Museum was that it would be creepy and weird. And it was. But it was also fun. Of course, my teacher brain couldn't let go of the fact that my students were able to visualize some of the parts of history that we learn in our class. Oh, and did I mention that I have a tiny crush on Thor?

I'm a little late posting this, but I appreciate that our small school makes sure that our local Veterans feel appreciated and that our young students understand that this is important. It was a small ceremony, with pomp and circumstance, but then every student walked through the line to shake the hands of all of the Veterans present. It was very heartwarming to watch my two boys do this, especially since we come from such a proud military family.  My father and brother when they were serving in Afghanistan together.  I think the most unique part of our school's Veteran's Day celebration is our participation in the Platoon of the Fallen in the Dallas Veteran's Day Parade. For the last three years, our seniors and some juniors have carried the portraits of fallen soldiers from Texas.  Shad and I did not know about this until about a month ago, but we are true believers that God allowed us to be a part of this special event for a reason bi...

I love my students. I do. No matter how much they make me grit my teeth and roll my eyes some days, I still love them. Just like almost every teacher I've ever worked with. One particular grade level I currently teach is full of a bunch of rowdy boys and dramatic girls. As a teaching team, we've all tired different approaches to help these kids grow into young men and women, but some lessons are just hard to understand and apply--like discipline..... or responsibility.... or that actions speak louder than words. Next year, these students will venture across the way to the secondary building. They will have to step up their game in each of these areas. So in a joint effort help students grow in maturity and begin building relationships with future students, my husband has stepped in to teach leadership lessons with my sixth grade students. The hope is that some of what he says sticks and that they will learn from him and see him as a teacher or mentor before they see him as the ...

Action research has a very practical approach to discovering new and better ways to approach instruction in the classroom. To me, this becomes more of an active approach to trying out ideas at the classroom level with real time feedback and ability to make adjustments as we go. Teachers make adjustments on lessons from the beginning class to the last one of the day.  During this class, I believe I will spend the bulk of my time on the first stage of planning and hopefully begin the acting stage. It will take some time to complete the first three steps so I can narrow the focus of my topic down to precisely what I hope to improve in my classroom, gather all of the information needed, and review the literature to make the best plan to put in place in my classroom. I believe the more information I gather from my own data, other sources, and literature, my topic will become more refined and specific to best meet the needs in my classroom. I am always looking for different ways to impr...

Our students are growing up in a world that is changing at a faster pace than ever before because of all of the new technology concepts and innovations that are being created every day. But sometimes, it's good for students to take a step back in time and gain some insight and more of an understanding of what the world used to be like. I'm blessed to work at a school with the tradition of having an on-site field trip day for our 5th graders to learn about life during Colonial America. Students spent the day playing, learning, and "cooking" like children did in the 1700s. We made Whirl-i-gigs and then played with tops, jacks, and pick up sticks. We mixed up cranberry crumbles, created log cabin ornaments, and painted Dutch art designs. Students also spent time learning to weave yarn, making butter by hand in a mason jar, cooking Johnny Cakes, writing letters with a feather pen, and even taking turns grinding corn for grain. Students also had to use wash b...