Monday, April 30, 2012

One Teacher's Story....

Meet my colleague here at Goodview School. He serves us all in the military and was recently deployed to Afghanistan. All of us in his teaching community were surprised to learn that upon his return home and to his teaching job, that he was responsible for paying his sub out of his differential pay.  This seemed so wrong and so unfair that the union got to work.  We told his story over and over to anyone who would listen and anyone who would help.  For awhile, it seemed like the cause was hopeless until one day last December.......


I had been invited to the Governor's Mansion for lunch, remember?  I brought along several Christmas cards and letters from kids in our school district and one from my friend, the teacher.  I read his card to the Governor and Mr. Dayton was shocked that such a law would be on the books in Minnesota.  He took the card and told me that he would see to it personally. Weeks and weeks go by and we see few glimmers of hope to change the law for future teachers until............(stay tuned, this could be really, really cool!)  

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington!


Did I mention that I was in DC last week and that I got to meet the President?!

The Vice President and Dr. Biden Live Here!

Before you go anywhere in DC, you go through a scanner.  Before you go anywhere really important in DC, you have a date with the wand. The Secret Service met us at the Smithsonian before we loaded the bus to head to the Biden Residence.

We had a police escort the whole way. When you are on the way to the VP's house, you don't stop for stop lights, you just go! The home is stunning, even in the rain.  We had been invited to tea!

State Teachers of the Year (STOYs) have a pretty tight eating schedule. We quickly acclimate to eating every two hours when we are together. Any longer than that, we get cranky in a hurry. I have never met a carb or a sweet that I didn't like, thus I was very happy to visit the Biden home.

Dr. Jill Biden is a teacher who is wild about teachers and teaching.  She welcomed us into her home and thanked us for the work we do. She encouraged us to pay special attention to the kids in our classrooms who have a parent serving in the military.  After her speech, she welcomed each and every one of us to have a conversation with her about the work that we do. She is lovely and I was so thrilled to be able to spend some time with her.  I felt like one of the 53 luckiest teachers in the world!

Saturday, April 28, 2012

The Bug Squad

I will spend some time this weekend catching up....on sleep, on laundry, on sleep, and on blogging! I have so much more to tell you about my trip! Last weekend, the Pearson Foundation asked the State Teachers of the Year to come to Washington DC early to help them with a project.  Here, from their website...


Jumpstart's
Read for the Record Campaign
Since our first national reading event in 2006, the Pearson Foundation has been a proud sponsor and founding partner of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record. This annual celebration of reading and learning brings young people and adults together to set a new world record for the most children reading the same book on the same day. In addition to helping young people everywhere have an equal chance to begin school with strong literacy skills they need to succeed, Read for the Record also draws attention to Jumpstart’s essential work in preschool classrooms year round.


This was a pretty easy task for me and for my friend Alvin Davis (Daddy Davis), the State Teacher of the Year from Florida and a National finalist.  Alvin has a two year old daughter who stole the hearts of  all who met her last week.  What surprised me most that day was reading to a very captive audience of one Chad Miller, State Teacher of the Year from Hawaii.  As it happens, Chad had NEVER read a children's book until the Pearson event!! He was very interested in hearing a highly trained professional (Me!) read the book before he recorded it.  Chad hosted the Dalai Lama at his high school this spring but was nervous about reading a book about a play date! I was more than happy to help.


It was great to catch up with my teacher friends over a children's book.  The Pearson Foundation is hoping to set a record with their Jumpstart's Read for the Record event this October.  How cool is that?! Meet Adam from Connecticut, Tim from Ohio, April from Louisiana, and Kristin from Oklahoma, great teachers all!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

SMART and Stylin!

 We started the day in Arlington at SMART Technologies. SMART is committed to making sure the SMARTboards we won are making a difference in our classrooms. It was a great day of teaching and learning and DOING! I love how SMART let's us play with their amazing technology while networking with one another. The TOY class of 2012 loves to teach and technology is transforming classroom instruction all across the country! Thanks SMART!

Here we all are at SMART.  The building was beautiful and the view....to die for!

The National Teacher of the Year Gala was held at the United States Institute of Peace, ooh la la! What a spectacular building.  I felt like a princess walking in. The last dance I have been to is our annual family dance at ECFE.  This gala was quite a contrast to the Hootenanny in February.  The Gala was a wonderful way to celebrate teaching and teachers.  My prince flew in for the event and it was one we will remember for the rest of our lives.


Thanks Congressman Walz

Congressman Walz is just as nice as can be.  He was very welcoming on Capitol Hill.  We sat down and got right to work! It is always great to visit with Tim.  He represents us so well and is in his element as a history teacher and congressman and dad.  We covered politics nationally and at the state level. Congressman Walz is a tireless supporter of education and understands the importance of investing in early childhood. I appreciate his support and his friendship.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The Dead Guy in the Big Chair

When I was in Cold Spring a few weeks ago, the kindergarteners asked me to post a picture or two of monuments.  I had a specific request for a picture of the "dead guy in the big chair" from a little boy.  Here it is.  The amazing guy in the big chair is President Abraham Lincoln.  He was amazing!

The White House

I will have so many pictures to post in the coming weeks.  Here, just so you can all get a feel of the day is this one at the press conference announcing the National Teacher of the Year. I don't know how I got so lucky to be standing right over his shoulder but that's where I found myself this beautiful morning in DC. So much to tell  you all! Just to cover the basics.....I didn't cry, I hugged him, and I was able to speak to him for a bit about parent education and investing in early childhood.  He told me to "keep up the good work" and I told him "you TOO".
I had behaved well for about as long as possible.  It was a very cool day and I needed to celebrate a bit.  This is Brad from Wisconsin.  He asked me to remind him to smile because he tends to look far too serious.  I think we were placed side by side for a reason.  The gala is tomorrow and my prince will be here just in time!  More later!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Smithsonian and the Biden Residence

It has happened, I need to go to bed but feel compelled to post something so I remember this day forever. I had a wonderful day of learning at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. So much to write that I hardly know where to begin so I will save the Smithsonian for another day. I had tea with Jill Biden at the Vice President's home! It is a beautiful house and Dr. Biden was as gracious and welcoming as could be. I have some fantastic pictures that I will post later. Did you see the announcement of the National Teacher of the Year? Her name is Rebecca Mielwocki and she is a 7th grade teacher from California. She will represent us all so well and I know you are going to love her. When I met her in Dallas she told me I was more fun than a sack of cats! Watch for her when she takes the podium next to the President at the White House!! Look for me too. I will be in the center of the pack wearing a royal blue suit. For now, it's late and I need to go to bed....tomorrow is a very, very big day!!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

An Amazing Birthday!

Today is my birthday! I usually do a pretty good job of advertising my Earth Day Birthday.  I typically ask people if they have formed a committee about a month in advance.  I did a bit of ground work before the gathering in DC but being away from home, I wasn't confident that I would get the usual hoopla I insist on.  I did my recording work yesterday and had much of today free to explore the city.  I started the day at the Ford Theater.  It is a great place to take in the life and untimely death of President Abraham Lincoln.
Tonight was all about Target, Minnesota, the Newseum and Birthday fun!  Target is one of the corporate sponsors of the National Teacher of the Year program.  When I got the invitation to the party, I might have mentioned that it was scheduled on my birthday when I RSVP'ed.  We got on the bus in the pouring rain (I can't be in charge of EVERYTHING) and headed to the Newseum.  We explored a wonderful building full of newsworthy events. A portion of the Berlin Wall is there among many other things.
The evening included a wonderful indoor picnic with some amazing food that reminded me of home.  I was totally shocked and surprised when the Target folks announced that it was a very special day for one of the teachers......ME! I got a sweet red velvet birthday cupcake and a full house to sing happy birthday to me! The best gift was a card signed by my brand new STOY family.  Thanks everyone for making the day so special!

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Lucky at 51

My dad's last birthday was his 51st. Today is my last day of being 51. To celebrate, I decided to do a heart pounding workout at the Lincoln Memorial for me and for my dad. I jogged over and took on those steps over and over again. I asked a nice tourist to take my picture before I headed up for the ninth time. On the way down, I passed a pack of students in red t-shirts. I was going to do the steps one more time to make ten when I looked up and saw the back of those shirts. All of them had 12 on them. Twelve is a lucky number at my house. I married a man who wore the number on his baseball jersey on the 12th of June nearly 30 years ago. I took that as a sign. I raced up the steps to catch someone to take my picture with the 12's. I took to the steps for two more trips to make twelve. It has been a wonderful 51st year of pushing boundaries and seeing just what I am made of. I can't wait to see what 52 brings!




Not Today of all Days!!

I have a fantastic story complete with pictures and today, of all days, blogger has decided to change their format. I am confused and frustrated! I am heading down to do my Pearson "Read for the Record" reading now. I will see if I can get someone more tech savy than me to figure out how to upload pictures from my ipad. It is a beautiful day in Washington DC and it is beyond wonderful to be in this amazing place with so many amazing people! More later....

Thursday, April 19, 2012

I AM OFF!!

I leave tomorrow morning for DC! Thanks to everyone for the warm wishes and sage advice.  I am on top of the world and so very excited about a week full of amazing experiences.  I will keep you all in the loop by blogging while I am away!

Thanks HVTU

My friend Randi Kirchner from the Rochester field office of Education Minnesota asked me to speak to the Hiawatha Valley Teachers United group.  I can't say no to Randi.  She wrote a beautiful letter for my state portfolio and has been one of those folks who have helped me navigate my role in the union.

Bonnie Van Putten, a teacher from Plainview-Elgin-Millville was in charge of introducing me.  Bonnie said one of the nicest things I have heard this year when she took the podium after my speech.  She said "that is what a teacher of the year looks like".  I was moved to tears. I had the opportunity to hear Tom Keating at this very meeting in 2005. He was amazing and I remember thinking that I would like to be able to give a speech like that one day. I gave him a shout out in the parking lot before I went in and felt his presence all evening. Tom was an inspirational teacher who was killed in a car accident in 2006. I remembered him last night and have thought about him often this year. Thanks for the invitation HVTU and thanks to Mr. Keating who leaves a powerful legacy.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Happy Hastings!

I don't leave home without a book when I hit the road. Tuesday found me in Hastings at Christa MacAullife Elementary School in Mrs.Wayne's first grade classroom. Mrs Wayne is a highly decorated teacher and someone I have admired for a long time. Her first graders were a great audience as I read "I Want My Hat Back".  We played a game of twenty questions and it didn't take them long to figure out that I am headed to Washington DC to meet the President! Thanks for being such good listeners first graders!

I was in Hastings to meet the film crew! Doug and Joe are busy putting together the film that will highlight my year as TOY at the banquet in May.  Joe took some footage here at ECFE last spring and wanted to capture some reflections now that the year is almost over (gulp).  I will see the film at the banquet and wonder if the year will show on me. Do you suppose that the teacher of the year ages like the sitting president does as he serves in office?  I kind of think so. I will put some good chocolate in my purse just in case!!

Clappy Shoes


Emily and I busted out our "clappy shoes" for school yesterday.  The term was coined by my young daughters.  Clappy shoes are shiny shoes that make a clappy noise when you walk in them.  I have been busting out my clappy shoes to get my feet used to them.  Washington DC requires clappy shoes. Look out DC, here I come.....clap, clap, clap!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Best. Party. Ever.

Last night, I was picked up in this amazing car by three very handsome secret service agents and whisked off to a Presidential Ball right here in Winona.  Let me just tell you this, I have the very best friends in the whole world! I love you all and have memories that will last a lifetime. Thank you so much  XO!    

I Promised.


Here you all are, my friends! Have a great day!

Teacher Evaluation

I have done lots of thinking and have had many conversations this year about teacher evaluation. I think it happens to all of us, teachers, parents, professionals in all kinds of careers, that we find ourselves feeling ineffective every now and then.  It is an uncomfortable feeling at best and the cause of great anxiety at it's worst. As a teacher, I get really uncomfortable when I don't feel like I am teaching "in the zone" and quickly change gears.  It doesn't happen too often.  I can't imagine anything more difficult than having 15-35 faces looking to me to teach everyday while struggling to connect to them.  I captured two moments last week that had me on the spot to either connect or be ineffective.

It seemed like a giant sea of kindergarteners as I sat alone on that blue chair at Coldspring Elementary.  This is not a spot to be unsure or tired or out of sorts. Good thing I brought my best singing voice (and that the audience really didn't care what that sounded like) and a wonderful book. It was a wonderful confidence booster as I headed to St. Cloud.



I don't think I will ever really be comfortable in the first three minutes of a speech.  On this stage I was especially nervous.  This was a gathering of teachers, coordinators and rock stars at the Minnesota Association for Family and Early Education (MNAFEE) annual conference. It was a thrill for all of us who work in ECFE programs all over the state to have a parent educator be honored by Education Minnesota. In celebration, the committee asked that I close the conference. I spent the first three minutes choking back tears. I imagine that one day in the near future, to measure my effectiveness, I will need to document peer evaluation. I will start my portfolio with this, it's blurry because it is hard to take a picture while I am shaking and moved to the core.


It is with great pride that I have represented this fine group of teachers who have dedicated their careers to parents and small children in the very beginning of their journey together.  Thank you so much for the opportunity to share my journey with you! 

After my speech, a few of the rock stars in the room gave me some advice about my next steps. Thanks Lois Engstrom, Jean Illsley-Clarke and Susan Hoch for the work you have done to support the work of ECFE. It was a very good day indeed.  

I Love Kindergarten!


I was so happy to be invited to Mrs. Baumann's kindergarten classroom on Friday morning.  Mrs. Baumann was a Top 10 finalist in my class of TOYs.  She is also my successor as Minnesota's National Education Teacher of Excellence. She is well suited to represent us and as I found out, a perfect fit for her job as a kindergarten teacher. Thanks for letting me read and sing with you all!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Albert Lea, The Encore


Early in my TOY journey, I had lunch with Dr. David Walsh (remember how cool that was for me?) and one of the things he said to me was "Walk through every door that is opened for you". With that in mind, I was happy to go back to Albert Lea to visit with Lutheran Church professionals. Pastor Mark had commented that the childhood we create for children is a moral issue and he wanted his church community to hear my message. It is a little daunting to speak to folks who speak to large audiences every week but I held my own. Afterwards, they invited me to a good old fashioned Minnesota Lutheran lunch in the church basement. I am adding pictures for my friends from parts of the country that may be confused about barbeques and bars. This is how it looks here in Minnesota!



Staples of a Minnesota Church lunch; strong coffee, a salad with a mayonaise base and a sloppy joe (barbeque for some folks but for me it's not a barbeque unless the grill is fired up).  Don't get me started on the differences between a casserole and a hot dish!


Bars have nothing to do with alcoholic beverages here in the land of 10,000 lakes.  If you are lucky enough to go bar hopping in Minnesota, go for the lemon bar and the Scotcharoos. We solve lots of world problems here with bars and coffee.  Thanks for the invitation, I had a lovely morning with you and appreciate your interest in the lives of small children and their parents.











Goodhue County Providers

I owe a world of gratitude to the fine child care providers in Goodhue County.  I have been asked to provide a training for them for some 15 years.  These are some of the heros in the world of small children.  Their work lives are often isolating and far from glamorous but OH. SO. REWARDING! They give me the best stories for the road and give me insight into the lives of small children in daycare.  This year they celebrated with me as the Minnesota Teacher of the Year and are pumped about the last leg of my journey! Thanks Ladies, I am so happy to call you my colleagues and my friends!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Holiday Fun

I think I will be grateful anytime one of the kids, just one of them even, is home for a holiday.  This Easter was all about Erin.  She was a great sport, dying eggs, making a bunny cake and hunting for eggs while her dad and I cheered her on in the morning. I miss having kids in the house, not enough to have another one or offer to have one of them move back in with us, but the life they bring when they are home.  I also miss their friends and the community of adults who come with them.  Erin has some great pals and it was great to have coffee with them and their dads. We share lots of memories and hours upon hours of cheering our daughters on, most notably on the soccer field.

We talked about  how important good friends are to young people and remarked that these women have been friends since preschool. I have the cutest picture of Ellen and Erin at a preschool pool party in my front yard.....adorable little girls....messy with watermelon...getting teary now...

And fun, did I mention fun?

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Full House!

It has been 10 months since all three of my girls have been home at the same time! It took a visit from two of my favorite women from Montana to make it happen.  It was so, so, so, so, great to have Traci (one of my top three favorite sisters in law) and Jordan (one of my top six favorite nieces) stay at our house for the week.  Good conversation, good food, great laughs, lots of memories and "The Hunger Games" are the glue that keep us together. A very old cat is just the icing on the cake.

Get Off of I-90 in Fairmont!

I had the most amazing day in Fairmont! In the morning, I toured the early childhood facilities with Michelle Rosen, the Early Childhood Coordinator and Assistant Principal.  There is so much to see in this new facility, I swooned more than once.  I was treated to lunch with Joe Brown, the Superintendent, Bob Millet, a sixth grade teacher, Jackie from the Education Minnesota field staff and Michelle (pictured above).  Michelle passed me off to Bob after lunch and we moved! To the newspaper, to the high school, to the middle school, a quick spin around town and back to the elementary school all in a drivers ed car complete with a brake on the passenger side (oh so tempting....). It may not have been the best day to break out the high heeled strappy sandals for the first time this spring!  Bob moves!! It was so great to tour all that Fairmont has to offer with someone so proud of where he lives and works, thanks Bob!

It is hard to tell from this picture how big the crowd was at the union meeting after school! I have gotten pretty good at spotting a camera in a room and freezing to avoid yet another crazy looking picture of myself floating around out there. From the union meeting, I headed to ECFE to teach three classes.  It was so nice of Patty to let me join her and well, kind of take over.  I had a great time in Fairmont, an educationally vibrant community with so much to offer.  I hope to be invited back soon.


http://www.fairmontsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/520974/Teacher-of-Year-visits-Fairmont.html?nav=5003

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

I Got Pinned!

While the prospective inductees stated the Kappa Delta Pi pledge, I did too.  I have never been inducted into anything before.  I confessed that I had pledged and the very nice, very smart, newly inducted Kappa Delta Pi officers decided to make me an honorary member! Yeah! I wore the pin all day with pride and hoped that no one did the research on my cumulative GPA.

Here we are, me and the rest of my friends in Kappa Delta Pi. On just this day I was a member of an international honor society! Thanks for the invitation to speak at your induction ceremony.  I wish you the best of luck in your careers as teachers!  The world is waiting for you.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Reading on the Mall


Reading on the Mall is an annual event in our community.  It is a celebration of reading hosted by Winona State University and several community partners, The day is full of reading, art, a parade, live music, food and FUN!! I was invited to read and had fun sharing lots of my favorite books.


I am pretty sure Logan enjoyed my performance. It's hard to know how well you are doing when much of your audience is strapped in. Logan and I are pretty good friends. It just wouldn't be Thursday without seeing Logan, his brother Luke, and their sister, Emily before she graduated to Elementary School.

Congratulations to Winona State and Dr. Donna Helble! Donna has been the heart and soul of this event. She will hang up her Doctor Seuss hat now after 25 years of Reading on the Mall. Thank You!! Reading on the Mall is a great event for kids of all ages.