book review - Brooks eAcademy

September 26, 2023October 4, 2023

How Your Personal Legend Can Improve Your Teaching

How Your Personal Legend can Improve Your Teaching

A friend of mine recommended that I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I was embarrassed to say that I’d had a copy of the book for years and had not looked at it. I had skimmed a few pages and wasn’t really drawn in so I placed it into a box with some of my other books and forgot about it. I trust this friend and value her opinion about things so I dug the book out and took another swing at it. I’m happy to say that I’m glad I did.

Alchemist Cover

One of the main ideas of the book is the Personal Legend of Santiago. One needs to understand that your personal legend involves what you decide to do with your life. What do you want your life to look like? Who do you want to be? How do you want to be remembered?Will you look back on your life with regret or fond memories? This got me thinking about my own personal legend. Teaching is referred to as a noble profession. It’s a running joke that those who become teachers do not enter into it for the money. I myself chose to be a teacher because I wanted to help others and work with children.

Teaching is my second career. This meant I had to go back to school, take additional classes, and pass the licensure tests for my state in order to make it happen. Initially, I was convinced I wanted to be an early childhood teacher for kindergartners. I was able to get a job as a substitute teacher and quickly realized how much I enjoyed working with children with exceptionalities.

Paul Coelho wrote about how there are four obstacles that can keep someone from following their Legend. As a young child we can have visions of grandeur. I wanted to be a singing astronaut when I was young. People would let me know you could maybe do one or the other but you needed to be practical. Fortunately, I came from a family of people who followed their Personal Legends. My father and brothers embarked on fulfilling careers in the music industry so I saw first hand how one can successfully follow their Personal Legend. We can not let fear of what others feel is impossible stop us. We must proceed in love. We can not let the fear of defeat get in our way. Lastly, realizing what our dream is.

Obstacles Ahead

How does this first obstacle translate to improving your teaching? As an educator you need to approach each new class and school year with a fresh perspective. You must believe in the impossible as you embark on increasing the academic success of your students. Teachers fight against the impossible everyday in their classrooms. Trying to increase test scores, help students regulate their behavior, and many times working closely with families. We have to make sure we are not allowing our own biases to influence our thoughts on how we can help our students.

Love

The second obstacle of love is crystal clear. We need to have love for the profession of teaching. As mentioned before those who really commit to a life of service as an educator, must have a love for the profession. You do not enter this field with the dream of becoming a millionaire. You genuinely have a love of working with children, academic subject matter, or a combination of the two. It is important to also have a support system of those who can love and support you as you follow your Personal Legend. Knowing you have the support and love of others can help you stay focused on being the best teacher you can possibly be.

Goal Completion

For those of us already in the classroom, we know how rewarding it can be when you have assisted a student in grasping a concept. But what about those days when you go home feeling extremely defeated. The best part of the third obstacle, fear of defeat, is that it forces us to reflect on how we can be better the next class or school day. We can reflect on what new methods we can use to help a student progress academically or behaviorally. Being able to roll with the punches and still maintain a positive outlook can make the most of our path to following our Personal Legend.

Successful and happy students

Ultimately, we find we are our own worst enemy when it comes to achieving goals of any kind. Achieving your Personal Legend is no different. Think about what you want to achieve as an educator. I have become an educator which was one part of my Personal Legend. Now I work on being the best educator I can possibly be. My point is that you must keep going and expanding to the next level. Do not be afraid to spread your influence to students outside of your classroom. How, Kandice is what you may be asking. That worksheet you created can be sold on Teachers Pay Teachers. That new research you have read about could be shared with your colleagues in a professional development session. Or you can present at a professional conference. You are the person in charge of the path on your way to your Personal Legend.

I’m interested to know about your Personal Legend. Please feel free to share in the comments!

November 20, 2019November 19, 2019

Brooks eAcademy Bookshelf – Genesis Begins Again

*This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may get a commission at no cost to you. Please see the disclaimer for more information.

Imagine feeling like no one could possibly love you because of the way you look. Constantly blaming yourself for all the problems that your family has encountered, hoping and wishing for things to change. Then you keep a list of reason why people shouldn’t like you and it is almost at 100. That is the current life of Genesis Anderson. A middle school student who feels she doesn’t belong anywhere.

To make matters worse, her father has messed up again and her family is out on the streets, again. Dad promises that things will be better and they seem to be for the time being. Genesis knows all too well what can happen when she lets her guard down. She becomes the source of ridicule. It always happens. Her grandmother dislikes her because Genesis can’t pass the paper bag test. Her classmates usually shy away when they find out the truth about her family.

Genesis becomes fixated on making things better by trying to change her appearance. But her choice of how to do so could do real harm to her health and her relationships with others. Alicia D. Williams does a great job of making readers feel Genesis’s plan and cheer her on to the road to recovery and acceptance. This book is perfect for students ages 9-13.

April 7, 2019April 7, 2019

Brooks eAcademy Bookshelf – Dragons in a Bag

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A new fantasy fiction book, click here to purchase

In February I signed up for the Just Like Me Box. Each month members are sent multicultural books geared towards the age group of your choosing. I chose ages 9-12 since I work with fifth and sixth graders. As I am always on the lookout for new books to share with my students, I was very excited to receive my first package. When I opened the box to see that one of the books was a fantasy fiction books and included dragons no less, I couldn’t wait to start reading.

Immediately I was drawn in by the title of the book, Dragons in a Bag. I needed to know who has dragons and why are they in a bag?! The author, Zetta Elliott does an excellent job creating suspense in the first page of the book. The main character Jaxon is a smart young man who knows that all is not well with his mother. He can tell by the way she is acting and the fact that she is taking him to a place that he has never been. Things have been hard for Jaxon and his mother since his father passed away. Now his mother that he affectionately calls Mama is now dropping him off at someone named Ma’s house.

Jaxon also known as Jax, is suspicious of Ma right away. So many thoughts are swirling through his head. He has never heard of or seen this person before. Their first meeting does not go ideally. Ma seems to be rude and abrupt. Jax can’t believe that he has to spend any time with this lady. He also wonders how does Mama even know someone like Ma. Then there is the matter of the strange package sitting on Ma’s kitchen counter. If Jax didn’t know any better, he would swear the package was moving!

Elliot continues to unravel a story that draws readers in until the very last word. Not only does she write a story about the exciting world of magic, she also tells an important tale of family love and loyalty. Jax learns that sometimes secrets hurt more than they help and that we must forgive others if we want to be able to move on. Did I also mention that this book is the first in a series? The next book, The Dragon Thief, comes out in October 2019! And you definitely have to read it because Dragons in a Bag ends with a huge cliff hanger. I’ll be chomping at the bit until October!

Do yourself a favor and order your copy of this book right away!

March 13, 2019March 13, 2019

3 Steps to Make Your Classroom Trauma Sensitive

Over the last month, I’ve talked excessively about consequences. First I explored whether or not consequences even work (you can read that post by clicking here). Let’s just say there was no clear answer, but I did find a few school districts that offer alternatives to consequences such as teaching kids yoga. I then explored whether or not teachers were being sensitive enough to the needs of their students (you can read that post by clicking here). This meant looking at the relationships that we are forming with students and keeping that front and center if the need should arise for a consequence.

It is an ultimate irony that at the time when the human is most vulnerable to the effects of trauma-during infancy and childhood-adults generally presume the most resilience.

Perry, Pollard, Blakley, Baker & Vigilante, 1995

As adults we have the tendency to put our own childhood experiences onto our students. For example, we’ll say things like, “when I was young, I always did my homework.” We cannot look at our students through our own life lens. Things are so different than even ten years ago. Some children deal with issues that many adults have never encountered. For those children it is important that they are educated in environments that can cater to their needs. In order to be the educator these students need, we need to ensure that our classrooms are trauma sensitive. In the book, Fostering Resilient Learners by Kristin Souers with Pete Hall, the authors give a road map to creating a classroom environment where all students can learn.

How can we do this? By following these three steps:

Identify our own triggers: As a special educator, I’m always watching to learn the triggers of my students. For those not in the education field, triggers are the things that make you upset or frustrated. It could be loud noises, when people ignore you or people who talk too loud. Triggers are things that we want to avoid. If that is not possible, we want to learn ways to deal with our triggers. Take for instance, a trigger for you is a student talking out during instruction. Instead of yelling at the student to shut up or get out, you can come up with a talk out protocol; steps you can use to address a student who is talking and not engaged in the lesson.
Take your student’s background into account: Souers talks about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the book. ACEs can include but is not limited to substance abuse in the home, divorce, mental illness and death of a loved one. Souer goes on to point towards research that has shown that ACEs have a negative effect on a student’s academic progress. Trauma is toxic to the brain, so the larger the number of ACEs the more difficulty a student will have. If we have knowledge of a student’s background, we can be proactive in helping them navigate those situations and create an environment in which they can learn.
Stay true to your mission: If you are in the teaching industry or even thinking of entering teaching, I’m sure your mission statement says something like I want to help kids learn, blah, blah, blah… News flash: Teaching is difficult! Many teachers leave within their first five years of teaching. Having a mission that you revisit throughout the school year is important. It can help to remind you why you chose to “help kids” when you have a student who seems determined to not succeed. Souer calls it putting on your cement shoes, keeping yourself grounded in your why.

Of course there are many other things you can do to create a trauma sensitive classroom, but these three things will get you started. If you haven’t already, click the link above or the title here to order, Fostering Resilient Learners. You will not be disappointed! Souer also provides a link to resources that will be helpful in creating a trauma sensitive classroom.

January 21, 2019January 21, 2019

Brooks eAcademy Bookshelf – All of the Above

If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that every other year the school where I work holds an all school read. Students are given a copy of the chosen book, participate in school led activities and the culmination is a visit from the author. This year the chosen book for the all school read is All of the Above by Shelley Pearsall.

The book is based on actual events and set in a junior high school in Cleveland, Ohio. That alone immediately makes me bias as I am Northeast Ohio born and bred. As a Northeastern Ohio resident herself, it is understandable that Pearsall uses the streets of Cleveland as the setting for a few of her books.

The story follows Mr. Collins, a beyond frustrated seventh grade math teacher who is looking for any way to motivate his students. As an educator, I could feel his pain. I have had that moment in the middle of lesson where the faces of the students are blank and you just know that no one is learning. In that moment you want something, anything that will engage your students. In his effort to reach his students Mr. Collins takes the suggestion to enter a contest. That contest becomes building the largest tetrahedron. One so large that it beats records and can land Mr. Collins and his students in the Guinness Book of World Records.

This is a tetrahedron built at Copley Middle School in Ohio

Pearsall does an excellent job of drawing you in to each of the main characters. The students who become members of the “club” to build the tetrahedron are complex characters who on the surface seem like your typical run of the mill teenagers. As you continue on, you realize that is not the case. The “club” becomes an outlet for them as they deal with everything else in their lives. Broken families and dreams that may not materialize are real issues that affect many young people today. It is also one of the reasons that many young people can relate to the characters in this book. Pearsall has created characters that are in your schools and classes right now. Will the club meet their deadline to finish the tetrahedron or will they get thrown out of shape? Pun intended! 🙂 Read to find out!

All of the Above is a must read for you and your students! I forgot to mention that there are also tasty recipes included in the book. Mrs. Pearsall will visit our school this week to speak with students and families. Students have also created their own tetrahedrons. Check my instagram account for updates later this week!

If you are looking to create your own tetrahedron like the one above, click here for directions. You could use a Cricut machine to get a precise cut for your individual pieces.

Until next time, read on! Kandi B

September 19, 2018

The Brooks eAcademy Bookshelf – One

I love to read! Thus, my desire to become a teacher and now an online reading tutor. I always have at least two books in rotation at any given time. I will read just about anything, trade journals, textbooks, children’s books, mystery and science fiction. As I struggled with what to write about on my blog, my giant book of ideas in my head (formerly known as my brain) opened up and I realized that I could share my book finds here! So, this is the first of many Brooks eAcademy Bookshelf posts. Enjoy!

During the day, I spend my time as an Intervention Specialist Teacher to 5th and 6th grade students. I teach Math and Language Arts in a resource classroom. I love to start the year reading one of my favorite stories to my students. It is “Thank you, Mr. Falker,” by Patricia Polacco. In this book, Particia tells the story of Trisha, a young lady who struggles to read but is an amazing artist. During her early school years she realized her problems with reading which leads her to feel that she is dumb. It doesn’t help that she becomes the target of bullies. Finally, she meets the teacher that changes her life forever, Mr. Falker.

I take few days to read this book to my students, many of whom also struggle with reading. This book really opens up the discussion of not feeling smart. It really goes hand in hand with discussing growth mindsets with students. Trisha learning to read shows students that with practice you can improve your skills in reading, math or whatever you are working on. The book also touches on losing someone close to you in death and how painful that can be. Many of my students are moved to share their own stories of loss. It helps me to get to know more about my students and their family lives.

Besides, Trisha learning to read, my students are always amazed that this is actually a true story! In fact you could call it an autobiography. The story is about Patricia Polacco and the teacher that did change her life. When I tell my students that the author and illustrator of the book is Trisha, they can’t believe that someone who wasn’t able to read grew up to be an award winning children’s book author. I always end by telling my students anything is possible if you work at it.

How do you start off your school year with students? And for my fellow online teachers/tutors how do you start a first session with a student? Please comment below and let me know! If you have read “Thank you, Mr. Falker” to your class or students, please share how you use it in your classroom.

Until next time, read on!

Kandi B