Learning to be a SuperHERO

Shelly Webb

         

          Being a mother of two girls I developed a deep knowledge of the many woes and triumphs of the Disney Princesses. I was greeted daily by posters of ‘Sleeping Beauty’, ‘Belle’, ‘Princess Jasmine’, ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Snow White’. We owned every VHS in which these fine ladies were featured and read lots of stories about their exciting love lives. I also gained a keen understanding about ‘Barbie’, ‘Skipper’, ‘Ken’, all the American Girl dolls and Polly Pocket. The greatest lesson that I learned through this was that I should have purchased stock in Disney and the other companies pushing these products because then today I could look at all those purchases as an ‘investment’ and rest easy. Instead I find myself trying to justify those purchases by interesting my one-year-old grandson in Barbie’s little skateboard or Jasmine’s flying carpet, which I can tell, annoys my son-in-law.

          I was blessed with my girls and they are beautiful and amazing. I am glad I have a grandSON today because I realize I missed out on a lot of boy stuff when my girls were growing up. For example, I don’t know a thing about the ‘Power Rangers’, the teenage mutant turtles, or the “X-Men”…are they good or evil by the way? And if not for my awesome friend, Sandy (who had two boys) I would have missed out on the most important and life changing men besides my husband…BATMAN and SPIDERMAN!

          My girls were not into superheroes when they were young, and as a result I turned down many movie invites. Thank goodness the ‘Dark Knight’ had three parts and I finally relented and agreed to accompany my friend to part-three. I was reluctant and went into it thinking, “ugh I hope this isn’t a long movie”! BUT… I not only loved it, I saw it two more times in the next couple weeks and bought the first two movies of the series. I also bought the Spiderman Movies, saw Superman and Iron Man. This completely changed me into a SuperHERO freak, not quite on the same level as Sheldon Cooper…but close.

          Now imagine my excitement when our principal announced that the theme for Warsaw Elementary this year will be: “Be Someone’s SuperHERO” H=Helpful, E=Energetic, R=Respectful, O=Optimistic! How awesome is this?

          A SuperHERO spends a lot of time ‘rescuing people’ and who needs rescued more than kids? Some may need, rescued from boredom, some from a bad day, some, from a forgotten lunch sitting back on the kitchen counter, some from lost homework or a failed test. Some may even need rescued from ‘themselves’, or a bad attitude or arrogance or bullying or being a bully. The point is we all need rescued from time to time and I will be in a perfect position to rescue and make a difference.

          A SuperHERO is someone you admire and trust, I hope my students will admire and trust me. Creating a positive relationship with them honestly means more to me than the curriculum, whether that’s wrong or right, I’m not sure, but relationship has to be the number one goal in my opinion. Without relationship, respect and trust, why would they even care to listen to anything I have to say?

          When you believe and know that someone genuinely cares about you, you will listen to them; when someone takes a risk for you, you will respect them; when you really matter to someone, they become your SuperHERO.

          I am excited because even though I don’t have this ‘common core’ things completely down and I am still learning about assessments, technology, differentiation and a ton of other education terms---I’ve got the SuperHERO background completely covered!

And just like Batman I’m sure I will encounter a ‘joker’ or two, like Superman I’m sure I will meet my Lex Luther…..but I have one thing Batman, Superman and all the others lacked… I have ‘a no recess card’, so I’m sure I’ll be just fine until I win any little villains over with my super charm!

Reflecting on my soon to be--graduate 

With the shadow graduation looming on the horizon, I simultaneously feel mixed emotions of pride, joy and sadness. First, I have been very blessed to have two unbelievably awesome daughters. Tonight, however I am reflecting on how quickly time has passed between the day I dropped Kennedy off at preschool and now.

I remember picking her up at preschool the first day and how excited she was to show me the little playground. She wore a Scooby Doo denim dress and pony-tails. I also remember the day she came home from preschool and proudly explained that she had gone to the bathroom, and had NOT yelled for Mrs. Coffman to “come and wipe”. The confidence she had after that accomplishment was amazing!

When she was in First Grade my oldest daughter, Katilyn cut ALL her bangs off. It was right before Christmas pictures and I was livid, but Kennedy’s attitude was priceless, “I have to go to school until they grow back Mom, now stop crying”, she ordered as I sat on the bathroom floor threatening to cut Katilyn’s hair too. I think facing the world with NO bangs, not a one, gave her even more confidence than the whole wiping thing in preschool.

In Second grade for career day, she wanted to be President of the United States. “There’s no costume for that,” I told her. “All I need is a badge,” she explained. So she dressed in a little plaid coat dress, all buttoned up and wore a “Vote Kennedy Webb for President 2032” badge, (which I still have). We ordered them online and she passed one out to everyone in the class and again, her confidence grew a little more.

In addition to confidence she began to develop a lot of compassion. She always stuck up for the underdog, she tried to right every wrong and felt a sense of responsibility to make things better. She was on a mission to be the ‘fixer’ of all problems and troubles. This was great when she was successful, but tough when she wasn’t.  

“I don’t want to be 11”, she told me on her eleventh birthday. I remember telling her that she was silly and had to grow up, but that she would always be my baby. Inside though… I was thinking the same thing… “I didn’t want her to be 11 either”. I missed the rustling sound the diaper would make when she would run away from me with something in her hand that she shouldn’t have. I missed how she only wore one sock, and hid in the cupboards and watched the “Wizard of Oz” non-stop.

Through Junior High and High School I watched helplessly as the last shred of my “little girl” disappeared into a beautiful, strong, somewhat opinionated young woman. It’s amazing to me how she can light up a room by just walking in; or how her very odd sense of humor can send people into hysterics. “She’s a weird one,” her dad whispers to me, “wonder where she gets it from” he winks. I could only hope she gets some of her characteristics from me.

But regardless, I am so proud of the person she has become and the passion she possesses. I know I have been given a great privilege to ‘watch’ this very special person change and grow into someone I want to be more like. It’s strange, when you become a mom, you always think in terms of “teaching and molding” this new little person so they can make it in life. But I feel like I am the one that has been “taught and molded” by her. I pray I am blessed with good health so I can continue to watch the wonderful, unfolding of her story. I’m sure it will be a classic/ comedy/ drama/ academy award winning saga.

‘will the test count against us’?

 Shelly Webb

          “Will the test count against us,” a third-grader asked me when we were reviewing for the upcoming PARCC Math Assessment? She thought this was a simple question and wanted a simple answer. I told her that it wouldn’t really count “against” her, but it would just show a picture of what all she had learned. But wow, was that a loaded question!

          After I answered her question then my own mind started racing…”will the test count against ME, the teacher”, “will I be viewed as a failure if 80% of my students don’t pass it”? I continued mentally processing, “I have 25 kids so five can fail, which five will that be”? I actually looked around the room and quickly counted…I saw potentially seven students that may have a tough time passing this test. Then I thought, “what if seven don’t pass, what percentage is that of 25”!

          I could have continued in that thought pattern all day long, but I forced myself to STOP.

It is a stressful concept to grasp when you realize that twenty-five, eight or nine-year-old kids that you have taught for a year will be taking an OAA, PARCC, STAR and SLO to measure their growth and achievement. Whether I like it or not, test scores do reflect back on me. But despite this, I am trying to focus on the fact that what I do every day is what defines me as a teacher more so than a test score.

          In my opinion, the biggest measure I am defined by is how my students perceive me and the relationship I have with them. I want my students to ‘know’ that I care and think about them more than the six hours a day I have them in class. I want to be defined by the fact that I know my kids on a personal level, I know their strengths, their weaknesses and their personality. I know how to get them motivated and what shuts them down. I know their learning style; I know who gets it better ‘visually’ and who gets it better ‘by listening’. I know which kids prefer ‘hands on’ learning and which ones don’t. I can tell by the look on their faces, if there’s a problem or concern. It’s amazing how well you get to know someone that you work together with every day and that is exactly what we do…work together.

          I realize that my student’s attitude towards learning will define me much more than the score they receive on a test. I want to see myself through their eyes. I love it at the end of the day, when the one child that I’ve had to speak to three or four times or dock some recess time from, hugs me bye and still says, “You’re the best teacher”. Now I’m not sure if he really means it or if he is just trying to make amends for a rough day, but I love it because even though I’ve scolded him, he still ‘knows’ I genuinely care about him and I am up for a hug.

          I want to be defined by the expectations I set, the tears I prevent and the ones I wipe away. I want to be defined by the math concepts they finally understand, the number of books they read, the narratives they write and the critical thinking skills they develop. I want to be defined by their laughter when I make a lame joke (and most of my jokes are pretty lame). I want to be defined for how I make my kids feel about learning and themselves.

          I full well understand that test scores are vitally important and those scores will be a reflection on how well I have presented and taught the standards. But I do realize it is just one piece of the overall picture. There are so many other issues and goals during the course of a year, and the individual child that I see and interact with every day is my top priority. I want to always see the ‘child’ and not a potential test score. Every student deserves that and every teacher deserves it as well.   

Biggest Thief of Life, 'TIME'

 by Shelly Webb

The greatest thief to ever burglarize the human race does so without raising a single weapon or breaking into a single building, home, garage or store. He is a quiet thief, subtle, cunning and undetected. We base much of our life on him and allow his constraints to prioritize most of our days. His name is ‘time’ and he alone has perpetrated more crimes against humanity than most of us realize.

The problem with ‘time’ is you don’t understand his power until it’s too late. You might notice him occasionally lurking at your bathroom mirror. You’re brushing your teeth or applying mascara when you suddenly catch the glimpse of a small line beginning to form at the corner of your eye.

But, you’re busy. You glance at the line, wonder what it is and how it got there and then rush out on your way.

You pick up your three-year-old at preschool and celebrate the fact that she can finally write her own name, all the while the thief, ‘time’, smirks in the backseat. Only he realizes the significance of this accomplishment. Only he sees how quickly Kindergarten will come, junior high and graduation. You’re just happy she can write her name…finally because…it’s about time.

Summer days seem shorter, months begin to fly by and you start understanding that ‘time’ is moving at a much faster pace than he once did. Then, one day you reach for the phone book and find yourself squinting. You ask your high schooler, yes the one that used to be a preschooler a short time ago, “why are they making the font in the phone books so small now”? And in response to your question, ‘time’ laughs out loud and adds another line to your face. So you buy reading glasses and wrinkle cream and hope for the best, but the thief continues to rob and steal. You find yourself getting your hair colored every five weeks now instead of six and choosing comfortable shoes over fashionable ones. And ‘time’ is humored by your state of denial and vain efforts to slow him down.

Birthdays slip by, anniversaries come and grandparents die, pictures are taken, videos created and 28 New Year’s Eve parties later…you’re a grandma!

And at this point, you start to develop a little more fear and respect for ‘time’ and his little game. You know now that all the events in life, the joyous and the sad are presented in part, by this great thief. He is the uninvited, unseen guest at every dinner and every vacation. He introduces us to new vocabulary like cholesterol, annuity, retirement and ‘son-in-law’.

Ironically, we spend most of life trying to manage ‘time’ only to actual be managed by him. Time to work, time to rest, time to spend with friends, time for kids, time for fun, time to plan, time to learn time management and eventually just coveting time for bed. It’s hard to believe that such a tiny word, ‘time’, can possess so much power and influence over life.

‘Time’ is a thief, there is little doubt about that…but for every antagonist there is a protagonist and this story is no different. Another tiny word…called ‘memories’ is able to diminish ‘time’ and weaken his cold grip.

‘Memories’ are the ultimate weapon against ‘time’, because they are actually created by ‘time’; something ‘time’ probably hates in the same way Voldemort hated that he transposed some his power to Harry when he tried to kill him.

‘Memories’ are powerful and can be replayed over and over in your heart and head where ‘time’ cannot touch. ‘Memories’ can capture ‘time’ and hold him in perspective. ‘Memories’ can transcend the damage ‘time’ can do into a glorious time of reminiscing. ‘Time’ may be a thief, but ‘Memories’ bring back everything ‘time’ steals and does so with laughter and joy.

I believe that the memories we make with the time we are given are priceless treasures that cannot be stolen forever. They are always there, embedded deep within our hearts, whether or not we can express them or recall them, they are there bridging the gaps that ‘time’ creates. Spend your time wisely in 2015 and make great memories whether you have the time or not.