Lessons Learned from the Bunny Teacher: August 2018

Friday, August 31, 2018

"80 percent of success is showing up." - Woody Allen

A school district in Muskogee, OK, has announced that it will be enforcing a state law that calls for fining students $250 for missing school repeatedly with no valid reason. Students could also be imprisoned for 15 days. Parents are not happy. No kidding.

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?

I have had the opportunity to observe student behavior for 37 years. As teachers, counselors, and principals, we worked with students to discover the reason for school avoidance. Sometimes, there was little parental control, or even substance or child abuse. Some students had low self-esteem, caused by many previous failures. Some students did not want to come to school because of bullying. Some needed psychological help for mental illness. The districts I knew worked with the parents first, and only in severe cases of absenteeism, and only after all other avenues were explored, students were referred to the local magistrate, and parents were fined. Student imprisonment was never an option.

I do not condone student absenteeism. Chronic absenteeism leads to dropping out of school, which leads to economic struggles and poverty. But I simply cannot see fining the student, which is the same as fining the parent, and then throwing the student in jail, causing more absenteeism. This policy is not viable, and not a good idea, in my opinion.

Schools must work toward making the school climate welcoming, safe, and supportive. School must be a place where students want to be and choose to be. Teachers must extend themselves to students to assuage fears and anxiety. Administrators, teachers, parents, and the student must all work together for the good of the student.

I am appalled that any state would actually have a law regarding the imprisonment of students. I could not work as a teacher in Oklahoma.

If you are interested, here is the link to the article:  http://1057news.com/2018/08/26/06/16/20/oklahoma-high-school-to-fine-students-for-tardiness-missing-class/

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

Please invite Grady Gets Glasses (and me) into your school. if you are not in the Pittsburgh area, we do virtual field trips with a group called Field Trip Zoom. www.Fieldtripzoom.com GRADY GETS GLASSES was the winner of Best New Children's Book 2016 from The Authors' Zone. For more information about The Authors' Zone, please visit http://www.theauthorszone.com/submissions/

Visit Dede's webpage for complete details on her award-winning book, STUDENT TEACHING: THE INSIDE SCOOP FROM A MASTER TEACHER. Many colleges have made the book required reading. Signed copies are available www.dederittman.com Dede is also a national speaker on The Three C's for Classroom success: Confidence, communication, and Creativity; Avoiding Teacher burnout; and many other inspirational topics.

I LOVE writing. And I love writing children's books- my newest passion. Although it will be a ton of work, I am looking forward to selling my books. Since I was a secondary teacher, I know that I have much to learn about elementary students, and I will have to follow my own advice and be my genuine self. However, I also know that I am passionate about helping kids who have to wear glasses, and that GRADY GETS GLASSES sends a positive message. I am willing to work hard and do all the things that also made me a successful teacher for 37 years. I remain inspired!

Elementary teachers in Western Pennsylvania and beyond - I am willing to come into your classroom in person or as a virtual field trip through a group called Field Trip Zoom. Check them out! http://www.fieldtripzoom.com/

Teacher friends- let me know if you want me to read GRADY GETS GLASSES at your school. I am willing to come in to discuss the creative writing process, why writing is important, and personal fulfillment through writing, along with reading my book. I would appreciate the exposure, and I would make signed copies available for purchase in your classrooms following the reading. Please email me at dederittman@gmail.com The website www.gradygetsglasses.com now has plush Grady bunnies for sale!

Please like Dede's new page Grady Gets Glasses for updates about her children's book. https://www.facebook.com/gradygetsglasses?ref=hl

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Friday, August 24, 2018

"Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself." Chinese Proverb

And so, it is "Back to School" time again. The ominous advertisements started before July 4th, and now the time has arrived. Teachers can't believe vacation went by so quickly, and neither can the students! Some are stuck in the before school "Land of the Glum", but I always looked to the start of the school year as a whole new beginning.

As a child, my friends and I would walk the half mile to Birdville Elementary School every day to see if the class assignments were posted on the building windows facing Lilac Street. My friends and I wondered aloud for hours - What teacher would we get? Would we be in the same class? Were there any new teachers in the building? Any new students?

Through junior high and high school, we walked to the G.C. Murphy in the Heights Plaza to buy our new 3 ring notebooks, pencils, erasers, notebook paper, white hole reinforcements for said notebook paper, and other school supplies. My group of friends liked school, and we speculated endlessly on teachers and tests and studying and note taking. We never missed school unless we were really sick.

Then came college and I became a teacher. I realized that first day of teaching when a student threw a book, a chair, and a desk at me, that not everyone loved school the way I did. (He did not want to repeat 9th grade English for a third time.) I acknowledged that I had to entice students to like learning and reading a little bit, but I recognized that it was their job to actually do the work. I became a master at the "anticipatory set", a sort of "hooking" kids into a desire to learn. For 35 of the 37 years I taught, I was assigned several classes of reluctant learners, so getting them interested in learning was imperative! I found that through kindness, cajoling, and creativity, the kids came around to working in the class. I opened the door, but they had to walk through it themselves.

Teachers, at this point in the year, when you do not know your students and they do not know you, do the best you can, with kindness and creativity to "hook" your students into wanting to learn. Please, do not look at their "labels" or listen to colleagues who have opinions on a kid based on "last year." The new year means it is a fresh start - for everyone.

I am wishing you a wonderful year. Although I know there will be difficulties, there will also be moments of great joy and accomplishment. Remember that you are not teaching a subject, you are teaching human beings. If you treat your students with care and respect, they will return care and respect. Open the doors to learning, invite your students in, and have a great year!

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

Thursday, August 16, 2018

"Golf inspires us to try things we never thought we could do."

My readers know that I coached Varsity Boys' Golf for 33 years, and I have written many times about the lessons of the game. Indeed, the game of golf is so much like life! I also taught many students with special needs during my 37 years in the classroom, and I always looked for a way to allow them to increase their abilities, not to dwell on their disabilities. I found a terrific story to share with you, my readers, that you will enjoy!

This week, I was fortunate to see an inspiring story about a young boy with autism who has been changed by the game of golf. This story touched me personally, as I also had a player on my team whose whole life was changed by his love and involvement in the game of golf, which encourages the golfer to try hard and be the best he can be.

The First Tee teaches young people important lessons about life through the game of golf, including Integrity, Perseverance, and Respect. No one knows more about these lessons than Maverick Steiner. Maverick was born with a rare genetic disease, and he spent the first few years of life in a hospital. A bone marrow transplant to save his life led to more isolation, as no one was allowed in his hospital room. Once he was home, his parents noticed that he was quiet and withdrawn, and always preferred to be alone, and they received the diagnosis of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder.) They were devastated, thinking of all of the very worst possibilities that could befall a child with autism. Trying to draw him out of his lonely bedroom, Maverick's dad worked with his son to find a sport he might be interested in. Although the parents do not play golf, Maverick chose golf. They enrolled him in The First Tee, a program which is inclusive of all children, working hard to make accommodations to help every child who wants to play golf.

Maverick was shy and quiet at first, but within a few golf lessons, he lost his shyness and became extroverted, interacting with the other kids, raising his hand to answer questions, and immersing himself in learning the game. He learned to come out of his shyness, try over and over to learn to hit the ball, and to do it all with manners. His social skills also blossomed while in The First Tee (social skills can be a real problem for kids with ASD) and his outgoing nature and new confidence even spilled into his school classroom, as he made honor roll for the first time. I am so impressed with this boy, his family, and The First Tee. This real life success story shows that no label can or should limit children, and that with encouragement and love, success and change can happen. I am also thinking about the lessons the other children learned from being with Maverick - lessons like tolerance, acceptance, humility, patience, and even empathy.

If you would like to see this delightful young boy in action at The First Tee, take a look at this link. I promise you will smile. https://www.golfchannel.com/video/first-tee-story-maverick-steiner/

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

Friday, August 10, 2018

"We tend to become like those whom we admire," Thomas S. Monson

Something remarkable happened in Akron on July 30. An new school for at-risk third and fourth graders opened, and the star basketball player LeBron James was there to welcome the students and their parents on their first day. The school was built by James "I Promise" Foundation, because he is choosing to support the kids who are growing up on the same streets where he lived with him mom when he was a boy.

I like that. Putting all politics aside with the sports/politics fray, I like the message that LeBron James is sending to these children in his hometown. His monetary and personal investment in this school tells these students that they matter, which is something every child needs to know.

Children need strong and positive role models. Recognizing that sometimes parents need some help at modeling positive behavior, especially if they are struggling and down on their luck, LeBron has stepped up to become a positive role model for children. Personally, I believe that most athletes do not fully grasp the power they have as role models, but LeBron James gets it, and I applaud his efforts.

The new school for 240 kids in grades 3 and 4 promises to be more than a school. The school will offer wraparound support for kids, as well as help to the parents who are seeking employment. A food pantry is also an integral part of the building. Programs at the school will provide structure and care to the students, and offer hands-on STEM activities to encourage learning. Also, the school day and school year will both be longer. The "I Promise" school hopes to be serving grades 1-8 by 2020.

Athletes are admired for their agility and prowess on the court or on the field, but I am admiring LeBron James for his service to the children and parents of his own community in Akron. LeBron James, through his generosity of time and money, and his vision to help lift his childhood community, is a role model kids can emulate.

Want to know more? Here is a link to the NBC report about the school: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAF7zAThTus

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Rittman Publishing, LLC ®

Thursday, August 2, 2018

"I like you just the way you are." Fred Rogers

Fred Rogers hosted 895 episodes of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, beginning February 19, 1968, and ending August 31, 2001. I never knew about Mr. Rogers in 1968, as my youngest brother was 10 that year, and not watching Mr. Rogers on Channel 13, the PBS station in Pittsburgh. When I began my teaching career, I heard more and more about this wonderful man named Mr. Rogers, who was even discussed by my 9th and 10th grade students. Sometimes, when discussing a poem or an idea in literature, a student would say, "Once on that show, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, he said . . . " The student would remember a lesson from the show that applied to our learning in English class. Mr. Rogers did, indeed, have a profound influence on children.

I went to the movies to see the documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" on the weekend. The film was so wonderful, and because I did not have children or very young siblings, the movie taught me many facts about Fred Rogers and his love for children. The film is narrated by a multitude of people, including Fred's wife and sons, his producer, and some characters on the show. Each gave great insight into Fred Rogers' mission to help children negotiate the bumps and lumps and difficulties of childhood. Fred recognized that children have real feelings and fears, just like adults. Using a variety of puppets (Daniel Tiger was Fred - as a puppet), important topics were covered, including divorce, assassination, bullying, and more. The movie shows some of the excerpts of episodes, and I am not embarrassed to tell you that I was moved to tears on several occasions. Mr. Rogers was just so GOOD. His serenity and caring are apparent in both the scenes presented in the film, as well as the interviews of the man himself. The poignant interviews showing Mr. Rogers interacting with children with special needs are so touching. I was especially moved by his conversation with Jeff Erlanger, a quadriplegic young boy he had on the show. If you have not seen this short episode, take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BZlyxS37Kk ) When Mr. Rogers was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame, Jeff Erlanger was a surprise guest for Fred, and their on stage reunion is so pure and true - straight from both of their hearts. Here is that link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcNxY4TudXo Mr. Rogers authenticity shows in every word he utters. What a guy!

Mr. Rogers treated his "neighbors" with respect and love, and he taught millions of children to do the same. He modeled that behavior in his real life and on television. Through the TV medium, he taught children to cherish and appreciate life, and he also taught them acceptance of themselves, and tolerance of others. To me, Mr. Rogers is a hero, a person I can look up to and admire for his dedication to children.

The documentary of Mr. Rogers just surpassed the $20 million dollar mark, making it the highest grossing documentary of all time. What a beautiful accolade to the man who brought calmness, good manners, and love to so many. We could sure use Mr. Rogers in today's world!

I urge you to see this wonderful film. Although Mr. Rogers lived in Pittsburgh and I am a Pittsburgher, this film offered some great insights into the making of the show and the man himself. I promise you will enjoy the film! He was a great teacher, with an ongoing ministry of kindness. His love and acceptance of children "exactly the way you are" is a lesson for all the world.