Which One Are You? A Teacher or an Educator?

Principal ponderings...
Take 12 minutes to watch this Ted Talk given by a high school senior from Burlington, MA:

After I watched this, I thought back on different teachers that I have had when I was in school.  I certainly had many who were simply what their job title said they were...teachers.  But I definitely was fortunate to have several educators throughout my career.  My 1st grade teacher who let me call him when my mom gave birth to my baby brother and then he let me share the poem I wrote about my new baby brother with the whole class.  My 6th grade teacher who knew that I was new to the school and wasn't always willing to speak up initially, but as soon as she found out that I loved to write, she encouraged me to write letters to the editor and enter writing contests. My middle school art teacher who let me design my own project and encouraged me to color outside of the lines.  My AP History teacher who knew that I wasn't exactly one to conform to the essay structure that she was supposed to teach us so she let me do my own thing. 

There were certainly some amazing educators that I had over the years.  They got to know the real me.  They told me that they cared about me.  They knew my interests, my fears, my favorites.  They remembered me when I went back years later to visit them.  And in between those educators I also had many teachers.  They did their job.  They taught me things, some of which I remember, others I can't really recall.  They gave me assignments.  They might have remembered me...I don't really know because I didn't remember them enough to ever go back and visit them.

You have a classroom full of kids in front of you.  You have the opportunity to be a teacher to them or you can be an educator for them.  What will you do today to let your students know your choice?

What will you be?  A teacher or an educator?

Currently reading:
After our visit from the author Jeff Kinney, I started reading one of his Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever.  He autographed a copy for us, and it will be added to our library collection.

Events this week:
***Scholastic Book Fair will be in the library all week!
Monday - DMG Focus groups at the middle school
Tuesday - DMG Focus groups at the middle school
Wednesday - Picture Day! DMG touring the schools, Staff Meeting @ 3:30-4:30
Thursday - Grade 3 Groton Light Presentation, PTA Family Book Fair Event, 6:00-8:00

Don't forget...3 day weekend and then PD day on Tuesday and a half day next Friday.

Great things I noticed last week:

• A big thank you to Karen Dunham and the Groton Public Library for bringing Jeff Kinney to speak to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders!  Jeff Kinney gave a great talk about how he persevered and became the writer and an illustrator.  
  
• These two 4th graders were nervous about doing the announcements, but they did a great job! 
  
• I joined these K students who were working on hidden partners.  
  
• Wednesday was a loonngg, hot day!  I managed to squeeze in a ride home on one of our buses to help one of our drivers reteach students about bus behavior.  And then I was able to pop into most of your classrooms.  Way to represent FloRo and share with parents the amazing things you are doing in your classes! 
  
  
  
  

• Loved getting an invite to this impromptu math lesson that involved paying for a movie theater ticket and finding my numbered seat! 
  
• I was able to spend a lot of time on the playground this week.  Loved seeing this 3rd graders shirt.  Seems like the best motto! 
  

Check it out:

Since I have been spending time each day in the cafeteria...this definitely had me laughing out loud!

Great post about not being afraid of change: http://www.kidsdeserveit.com/single-post/2017/05/17/Change-is-Good-KidsDeserveIt