late night phone calls are rarely a good thing

Disclaimer: Some names have been changed to protect those involved. This is an attempt at making a factual event "fiction" writing. #teacherswrite; www.katemessner.com It was "Friday Family Movie Nite" at the Harris' and we were all snuggled in the living room together when the phone rang. Tom paused the movie, "Soul Surfer", to answer the phone. "Hello," he spoke cautiously into the receiver. ("Who could possibly be calling this late?" running through all our minds as we listened in on his side of the conversation... dreading the outcome. Rarely is a phone call this late at night good news. "Hi Tom, sorry to call so late, this is Mark Carmike at School. Can I talk to Shannon, please?" "Sure, hold on a minute," as he passed the handset over to me. I grabbed the receiver with trepidation... why in the world would my principal be calling me this late and over winter break? This cannot be good. "Hi, Mark, what's up?" I asked. "Shannon, is Amy L. your student?" I can feel the wheels turning in my head... what is wrong... my blood runs cold through my veins instantly as he informs me that Amy has turned up missing. They think she went to a birthday party of another student in my class. "Did you have a student with a birthday this week?" "Yes, Samantha's birthday party was this weekend, and I'm sure that Amy was invited." "Shannon, I need for you to call the FWPD and talk to the sergeant. They have some questions that you might be able to answer. Here's the number, are you ready?" I walked with trepidation from the living room into the kitchen where the pad of paper was and scribbled down the number he gave me. "Got it. Mark, (I could feel the tears spilling down my face and my voice began to waver.), please call me if you hear anything? Anything at all." "I will," he tried to reassure me as we ended our conversation. Quickly, I informed my family of the situation while I dialed the phone number Mark provided. (Our movie was still paused. The family sat rivoted in their seats. Afraid to speak, or move. Knowing that something dreadful was happening and they would get the full disclosure when I hung up the phone. They had the jist of it. They knew it was bad.) I answered as many of the sergeant's questions as I could. I told him everything I knew of the birthday party and pulled up a class list on the computer while we talked. I scanned and emailed a class list with phone numbers and parent names to the police department and gave them the same plea that I gave Mark, "Please, please... please call me if you hear anything" to which he assured me he would. Family movie night was a blur. I do not remember the rest of the movie... one of my students was missing. Where could she be? Who would she be with? My mind began racing with last known information... was there anything I didn't think of to share with the police? Sleep would not visit me this night... awake with images of her hiding, afraid and alone, haunting me in the darkness.

Beautiful Innocence

This summer I am participating in a summer writing workshop for teachers... You can follow the prompts at Katemessner.com or #TeachersWrite. I do not have the ability to share the writing prompts or inspiration behind them - but, please check out the authors that are providing this in-service for teachers -- FREE! (Purchase a book or two from them!) I'm not sure what I will be writing about -- going to let the prompts sink in and bubble up from with-in. Follow if you like, leave comments if you wish. Almost 3 years ago, I was a 3rd grade teacher... new to the grade level (I had previously taught 4th and 5th) and eager to begin a new year with a class of 29 babies. (They were so little!) I remember going through registration and meeting Aliahna Lemmon for the very first time. She was a tiny spitfire of a little girl whom her mom was warning me about... she has anger issues, she broke my rib when she was mad at me, be careful with her... all a bit odd for someone so tiny. I remember the sweet twinkle in her eye and knew that we were going to be ok. I would not have issues with this beautiful little girl. The school year started and I began noticing deficiencies in Ali's work. Writing was a struggle for her. Her number sense was not grounded. Reading was difficult. I began spending more time with her in small groups and looking for resources to help. She was not afraid of hard work. She never got frustrated. She always persevered and gave me the BEST of what she had, with a smile. She was recommended for a speech/ hearing evaluation by mom and soon Ali was wearing hearing aids and glasses. (I still have her batteries in my desk drawer.) Aliahna had two sisters in Kindergarten at our school. Anytime we were in the hallway and her sisters would pass by, she would always ask permission to step out of line to hug them. She absolutely adored her little sisters. She was very protective of them on the playground, always mothering them. Beauty is a strange thing, one can find beauty in the most unusual places: sunsets, birds chirping, the love of another... For me, I found beauty in her eyes, in her spirit, and in the way she loved her sisters. She had a beautiful innocence.

e-learning day

Today is a cold, snowy March. All schools in our household have been closed -- but that doesn't mean the learning has stopped. My daughters attend a different district than what I teach in. They have a 1:1 computer ratio for students and have implemented "e-learning days" so that when the weather does not cooperate with transportation, learning becomes virtual. So, I sit in the dining room, all three of us plugged in, and school is in session. I quickly check my email, twitter feed (don't post anything) and look over the Weebly website I am working on for my classroom. In no time at all -- I am engulfed. The teacher becomes the student. Time is lost as I realize how much I don't know about technology! Just when I think I have a handle on all the newest and latest apps, gadgets, and websites -- I find myself blown away by my own ignorance. It has literally taken me 3 hours just to find this blogger account and gain access to it again (mostly because I haven't accessed my Indiana Wesleyan accounts in a while! Graduation tends to do that, I think!). What I have realized in the last few hours is that: 1. I have so much more to learn! 2. I need to better manage my accounts and passwords! I want and need to get more comfortable and consistent with the technology I currently use and to stretch myself to learn new things regularly. I need to find my inner voice and start speaking out in the Twitter forums (I am still in the infancy stage, there.) and my blog -- and do what I love to do most -- learn and write.

Teachers as leaders... IWU devotional

Maxwell (2007) says that “Leaders act from a deep sense of responsibility”. Discuss the idea that “teachers act from a deep sense of responsibility”. It is ironic that this is the topic today... having just left church where the sermon was about finding our own "Target". What is our (individual) target in life? Finding our spiritual gifts will help us to reach the target that God has intended for us. We read through Romans 12 and 1Corinthians 12. Basically, the sermon was to find our own spriritual gift and then use it to glorify God. One thing that I found interesting was the distinction the apostle Paul made in Romans 12:7-8 (NLT) "If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. (8) If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for sowing kindness to others, do it gladly." A point that Pastor Scott Greene made today was that Paul used the name of the gift in the action we are to do -- all except one: to lead. Paul made the distinction for leaders to "take the responsibility seriously". As leaders in our school we are called to not only be teachers of children, (in which a tremendous amount of responsibility has been placed upon us for), but also to responsibly lead others in our building. Yes, I agree with the statement that teachers act from a deep sense of responsibility -- and most of us take that responsibility seriously... but also I think there's so much more that teachers feel than just a responsibility to teach. I go back to the sermon today... a spiritual gift is a supernatural gift from God that was woven into us at birth. God has given us (teachers) a predisposition to teach, most of us (if we have found our target) have a passion for our students and our profession that goes beyond just the sense of responsibility we feel... it's a calling. (Thank-you Scott Greene for a wonderful sermon today... I hope I hit the "target" in recapping your message.) Shannon

Choices

As I was reading the IWU devotion for this week-- one thing that struck me for the first time was the blame. I don't think I ever noticed it before... Adam blamed God, “But it was the woman you gave me…", while Eve blamed "The serpent tricked me" (Genesis 3:12,13 NKJV). Neither of them accepted responsibility for breaking God's command. As a parent, I know that my reaction is totally different when my children accept responsibility for their actions instead of blaming others for something that they did. I wonder if God would have given the same punishment (Romans 5:12) had Adam and Eve said they were sorry and repented instead of hiding and blaming. Just a thought... Many things keep us separated from others and God -- pride, shame & guilt to name a few. When we are ashamed of where we are or what we are doing we draw away from God and others. Things that keep us connected to others are faith, friendship, common likes/dislikes, occupations, etc. When we have things in common, it is easier to stay connected. When we attend church, we as a church body are connected together and also to God. Church brings people together. We were created to be with God, to be a part of His family. Our sin causes a strain in our relationship, just as a child breaking the rules needs to be corrected, we as sinners need to be corrected by God. He holds us accountable and lets us know when He disapproves of our choices and/ or actions. Sin affects our destiny and our sense of purpose because for God it was always HIS plan that we be with HIM for eternity. Now, it is our choice whether or not we go into eternity at His side. We can choose to accept Jesus or not. We can choose to live according to His plan - or not. The choice was never in God's plan. His plan was perfect until Adam and Eve chose to sin. What choices will I make as a result of this new understanding??? I choose to accept responsibility for my actions because I choose to Live for Him. (Romans 5:12 – When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.)

No longer a tech blog... just my own.

Ok, so my technology class ended and I have had a professional crisis in my classroom... need an outlet -- gonna let it flow and try to maintain the professionalism in a personal blog.

Why do senseless crimes take place? Why do people make devastating choices with no regard for the consequences on the lives of others -- especially the innocent? Why are children so often the target of evil?

I'm referring to Michael P. and the brutal killing of my student, Ali. What I am left with are the 28 little faces that need me to make sense of this for them -- need to feel safe again. If this can happen to their friend, what's preventing it from happening to them? Michael picked Ali up from school, he was HERE -- in their safe place. What's keeping him from coming back for them? These are valid questions in the minds of 8 and 9 year old boys and girls.

How do I make them feel safe again? How do I comfort the loss of their friend? How can I ever expect them to learn academically if their basic needs (safety and security) are not met?

I pray that God gives me the wisdom and courage to answer their questions. I pray that they have the courage to express their feelings and questions. I pray that parents are asking the types of questions that spur discussion and talking about this with their kids -- not trying to protect them by sheltering them from the tragic events that happened.

Healing takes time. My students will never forget Ali and her beautiful smile. My hope is that in time, they will remember her for who she was and not what happened to her in the hands of an evil man.

Last Tech Class??

It's official -- I'm a junkie -- a techie junkie! I love technology. I have thoroughly enjoyed this technology class. It has stretched me beyond what I thought imaginable and pushed me to accomplish more than I imagined possible. How can it possibly be over? Well, it's just a 6 week college course, that's how!
In the past 6 weeks, I have:
***created a webquest (which I will be implementing this week with my students!),
***created a blog (who'd of thunk it?, me blogging!),
***designed a classroom newsletter (I have learned to respect it's value.),
***designed a teacher webpage (with wonderful links to my teacher blog :O))
***created a technology enhanced lesson plan,
and . . .
***started a Class BLOG on my teacher website!. Wow! Really?

I am amazed at the growth I have made with this class. I never would have thought that I could do so much in such a short period of time. I have also joined several 2.0 websites to keep me headed in the right direction and not get stagnant. I need the constant drive of being pushed -- it makes me better. It makes me want to succeed.

I love watching the kids' faces as they see me implement new technologies they have not yet had the opportunity to explore. I showed them the webquest today and now they are all excited about going to computer lab on Friday. I can't wait to get them started!

I hope that my teaching practice changes by always bringing in fresh, new ways of incorporating technology into what the kids are learning at the moment. The one KEY thing that I have learned is that using a technology lesson takes time. You have to prepare well and plan for the worst -- but the benefits and skills that the students glean from the lessons are so much deeper as a result. The payoff is huge!

(This week, I found a Smartboard activity for taking attendance -- it took some time, but I was able to attach an image (group) to a student name and then be able to slide the image & name together as one across the board to either the hot or cold lunch sides. The kids LOVED it! They totally love to see new technology and get to play with it!)

I have enjoyed this blog -- I hope that my next teacher requires us to keep it up -- otherwise I may have to come up with my own writing prompts! I enjoy the journaling of my thoughts. I can get them out so much faster on a keyboard than I can with a pencil/ paper.