A Different Classroom- by K.McCutcheon

  January 29, 2022      When I went to college, there was a heavy focus on lesson planning and how to implement those plans. The layout was simple and easy to remember. I do it! We do it! You do it! This idea of gradual release was called "teaching." It made sense. The idea of modeling a strategy or technique first, then allowing students to join before releasing them to go do it by themselves. Then, the game changed 1-2 years into teaching.       At first, I was not interested in this new approach. I was confused. It wasn't how I was trained. I was frustrated. I didn't understand. I'm sure many teachers have these same exact feelings when presented with something new in the educational field. It's hard! We already work hard as it is. When we have to learn something new, sometimes it can be overwhelming and frustrating. But that is education. It is ALWAYS changing.       It did not take long to realize, I was struggling with th...

  January 22, 2022 What does thinking look like in your classroom? Whose doing the thinking? Are you thinking? What are you thinking? Are you thinking about what to say, do, and when?  Are students thinking? What are they thinking? Do you know what your students are thinking? How do you know that?  I’m going to pause and give you a minute to think…  … … … I’m not going to lie. It actually makes me super excited inside to wonder what you’re thinking right now. This is the magic and power we all have. The power of thought is a wonderful thing and tool that should be present in every classroom. The sad thing and truth of the matter is it’s not!      Thought is the moment when everything is silent and you’re brain generates an idea. It’s those things floating in your head when you read a book or listen to a song. It’s the time when a student starts to connect prior knowledge to new knowledge. It’s magic! However, in many classrooms this magic is dying. We ...

  January 15, 2022      How do you define behavior in the classroom? What have you seen happen in your classroom? I have some stories of my own. I have been punched. I have been spit on. I have had chairs and classroom items thrown across the room at me. I've had students take their shirt off in defiance. I have stories! I have done it right. I have done it wrong.       In my experience, I've learned somethings in the department of classroom management. In fact, I'm not a fan of this so called classroom management. I don't want to manage children. I want to teach them. I want to learn with them. I want those "ah ha" moments. How can that happen when I confine my students to behavior charts and classroom rules?      A few years ago, one of my teaching besties and I decided to stay positive. Nowadays, I'm the one to find the positive in every situation. I found that hard when I had classroom rules and a behavior chart because both can...

  January 8, 2022 Before we start, let's reflect. What do you consider old? What do you consider new? Carriages being pulled by a horse... old or new? Electric cars... old or new? Candle light versus electricity? Now, what do you consider old in the classroom versus new? Do one room school houses come to mind? Do desk with chairs connected come to mind? What are the children learning? What is the teacher saying? Are there white boards or chalkboards? Are there any computers? Are there projectors or overheads? Do children have paper or IPads?      I think you get the point.  Not one teacher can tell me "It's always been done this way!" I've been in the game for 10 years and I can tell you almost nothing is the same. New studies and research are happening all the time. These change the field of education as we know it. Sometimes things circle back around, but in some way it's different.       Look at 2020!!! Hello?! Teaching was flipped upside ...

 Someone said, "You should start a blog." So, I did. January 1, 2022 This is definitely new to me. I'm the person who is perfectly fine with hiding in the shadows. I'm sort of the quiet one when it comes to new ideas. It's rather funny, because I have ideas I want to share and many would classify me as blunt. But, I'm not the person to just put myself out there. Well here we go... I'm going to put myself out there.  Hi! I'm Kim. I'm a teacher. I have taught 2 year olds all the way to 5th grade. I've done my fair share of professional development, data talks, MTSS, SST, and so on meetings. I started my career teaching in Tennessee and now teach in Georgia. I am married to a wonderful man I call my husband. He keeps me grounded. We have a wonderful 3-almost 4 year old son. Also, we have two fur babies in the family.  I went to school for my undergrad in early childhood education. Then, later on, I went back to school to get my graduate degree foc...