Michelle Watt - Educator
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Thoughts from Module 2 - Emotional Regulation - Dr. Jody Carrington's Kids These Days

5/22/2020

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When I had my kids and they were just little, I was on the phone talking to my Dad and as all children do as soon as a parent is on the phone they started to get into something. This is what my Dad said upon hearing the commotion in the background, “Just whack them! We whacked you and it worked didn’t it?”...ummm ok Dad, you did - but I hope we have evolved since then.

​I never let my kids cry - I just couldn’t do it. I once went against my intuition, I went to get my infant son who was fussing in his bassinet and my Dad again (honest he was a good Dad), said just leave him, he will be ok, when I finally relented and picked my son up he had peed all up the side of his sleepers - I was new to boys and didn’t realize that when that thing pointed up the pee could leak out the top of the diaper. 

I never let my kids cry without finding the source of the cry and I always consoled them, or now I understand I was teaching them to regulate. And, not to brag (ok maybe a little because it is safe to now that the children I own are 17 and 20) but my children did not have temper tantrums. I wondered how I got off easy - even the terrible twos weren’t bad, although when my daughter was three she said that she was “free,” my come back was, “yes she is free, but you will bring her back.” 
Teaching came naturally to me.  When I graduated at the young age of 40, my brother-in-law said, “Michelle, we’ve always known you were a teacher.” I have known him since were were in high school. And I have to admit he is right, I naturally default to teaching in almost every situation - my 20 year old now stops me, and I have to catch myself, he doesn’t want my teaching - and I’m ok with that. I trust I have taught him what he needs to know. 

My son taught me one of the best lessons and I use it daily in my teaching. He was in kindergarten and a very social kid - he loved to go to school. On picture day he was adamant, he wasn’t going to school. I was puzzled, he wasn’t sick, he didn’t have a bad experience, he just wasn’t going. As I quizzed him, I realized he was fearful of picture day, it was his first, it was going to disrupt the “regular” day and he was fearful of the unknown. So I walked/talked him through the day. I said, “you will line up in your class, you will walk down to the gym, you will wait in line, then you will sit on a box, the photographer will turn you this way and that way, and then you will walk back to your class.” I literally finished this explanation and he said, “Ok, I’ll go.”  I had taken away the “unknown,” painted a picture for him, made it known and he was ok with it. Think about situations you have been in. The fear of the unknown is very scary and hard to overcome. That is why so many people are stuck in a rut - they can’t step out of the known. They didn’t have someone to walk them home and let them know they will be ok. 

Because of my experience with Ethan on that picture day way back in 2006, I post a Daily Agenda on my class webpage. Our daily agenda serves two purposes. The first, I sit down with the class first thing in the morning and explain what the whole day looks like. Think about it, you probably like to know what is going on with your day, their day shouldn't be kept a secret from them. I have explicit directions in the agenda so they can be as independent as possible in our class. Secondly, I post a daily agenda that is on my class website, that all parents and relatives can have access to. Let me tell you the love, sweat and tears I have poured into my class website have paid dividends during this pandemic. My son again taught me that parents need conversation starters. He would come home after being away from me for about 8 hours and his day was “good” and they did “nothing” in school. That was it. No explanation. Good. Nothing. Good Grief! By posting our detailed, daily agenda on line, parents can access and then have conversation starters. “I see you are reading The Breadwinner, what is that book about?” “In Science Mrs. Watt posted you were starting a new unit, tell me about that.”

​It is simple. But I would not have thought of it if I didn't have to regulate Ethan. It wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t have to walk him home. For that, I am grateful.

That's My View from the 86th Pew,
Michelle


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My Why - Module One Kids These Days

5/22/2020

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Why am I in the classroom, why did I choose this profession?  I didn’t.  It chose me.  I remember the day that I decided to be a teacher.  This may sound hokey for some of you so hang on to your hats and reserve judgment, please.  I remember the day I decided to be a teacher.  I was in Heather Scott’s 10-2 ELA class, not as a student, but as an Educational Assistant, that day the heavens opened up, I could almost hear angels singing, but most importantly what I heard, what I knew deep down, was that this was where I was supposed to be; in the classroom helping children.  
    When I arrived in Ms Scott’s class I had been an EA for six years.  I was in many classes from grade 5 - 11.  I had seen many teachers. Some really great, like Mike Brown at the time I met him he was a grade 6 teacher at West Meadow Elementary School.  He taught me one of my most essential tenets - “it doesn’t matter what was said, what matters is what was heard.”  This means, “perception is everything.”  I LOVE that. I had also seen some not so great teachers - I like to think I am a consummate professional so I will not mention any names - but they taught me a lot about what not to do in the classroom.  For instance, if you have a student with ADHD in your class and he is new to the school do NOT bring a study carol in and stick him in it to keep him away from the other students - good grief! I can see Shelley Moore rolling her eyes and nodding her head right now.  I knew I could do better than ostracising students and I hoped to be as good as Mr. Brown.  
    I quit my job as an EA and enrolled in post-secondary (again) this time in hot pursuit of my passion - Education. When I was thinking of resigning to become a student I asked the veteran members of the school I worked at what their teaching philosophy was - no one could tell me.  I found that very strange.  I do have a philosophy, I developed it while at university and I still live it.  I aim to be respectful of every interaction I have with students.  My goal as an educator is to reach every student in my care.  That may have nothing to do with the instruction of the curriculum.  I have no idea what each child goes through just to walk through my door each day.  I aspire to reach my students in whatever manner they need on a daily basis.  That could look like an extension for no reason given other than a student asked and the look in their eyes tells me all I need to know.  That could mean that I take my lunch to help a student with a paragraph because they can't string three sentences together, let alone write an essay.  That may mean I give my sandwich to a student who does not have a lunch.  It could be as simple as a heartfelt hello. Recently, Shelly Moore summed up what I am talking about in a hashtag #connectionbeforecurriculum.  This has become my mantra.  
    I love connecting with my students.  I want to know what books they like to read - if they like to read. What sports they take part in or clubs they belong to. I get to know my students as people. I have attended hockey games, soccer games and dance recitals to watch my students do what they love. And I try to be as real for them as I can.  Dr. Jody Carrington says we can’t tell we have to show. I show them I am real, that I make mistakes.  When I do I apologize.  I let them teach me if I know what we are talking about is an area of interest for them. I am sincere. I really want to know what is going on with them.  The good, the bad, the ugly and I want to help and if I can’t help, I will find someone who can.
    This is my purpose - again judgers reserve judgement - I get a rush helping children.  I am elated if I can be the first person to introduce a concept to my kids (I call my students my kids), I am genuinely excited when a student can teach me something, and if I make a mistake I own it and humbly learn from it. I can’t imagine any other job in the world I would rather do. It is not what I do, it is who I am. I am a teacher.

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    The Born Again Teacher

    I am a teacher who came to education late in life, and like those who are born again I love to preach and teach about my vocation. I am a teacher who is always a student.  Here you will find my thoughts on how to improve my practice as an Educator.  I sign off with "That's my view from the 86th Pew," the reason is that I own an old church pew that sits in my front entrance and the plate on it says 86.  I love that it is a play on words in that the view is what I see as well as what I think. 

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