The Teacher Dog and Pony Show

It's that time of year, or is it "always" that time of year when your door flies open and suddenly your classroom is filled with strangers, looking for evidence of your incredible teaching prowess.  As these moments often bring me considerable stress, I thought I would share my attempt at dealing with it by humor and song.  SO, here it is. The song you've been waiting for. Watch out, Weird Al!

Teacher Dog and Pony
(sung to the tune of Hokey Pokey)

You let the big suits in
You send the big suits out
You let the big suits in
And you wish you had some clout
You do the dog and pony
Cause you want to keep your job
That’s what it’s all about!


You hope your kids tune in
You watch your kids tune out
You watch the suits come in
And you want to scream and shout
You do the dog and pony
Cause you want to keep your job
That’s what it’s all about!


You do your best lesson
You try to impress them
You do your best lesson
And you hope the time goes fast
You do the dog and pony
Cause you want to keep your job
That’s what it’s all about!

So just remember then
It’s not about the show
It’s all about the kids
And it’s them who truly know
You do the dog and pony
Cause you want to be with them
That’s what it’s all about!

Preventing Learned Helplessness by Promoting Independence

It's that critical time of year when kindergartners are becoming more independent. This independence can lead to a strong sense of efficacy with an "I can do it" mentality. Sometimes, though, our actions actually sabotage a child's strides toward autonomy. 
The progress toward independence can be tentative during this time as kids become more aware of their growing bodies, abilities and those of peers. At times kids seem to sense that their parents miss their "preschool years" and their precious dependence. It's wonderful to reminisce and share their sweet memories, while also pointing out how great it is that your child is growing stronger and more capable each day.
If you feel the need to jump in and help your child conquer a challenge, please stop for a moment and think: will my help encourage my child to move on and be willing and able to attempt tasks himself? Am I encouraging and modeling that hard work can solve problems? Or will my help give my child the idea that she is not capable of doing the job herself?
The most effective way to support a child in learning a new skill is to scaffold him, support him to take on a task (or even a step of a task) just beyond what he thinks he can do. Have you ever seen the smile of mastery on the face of a child just learning to ride a bike? Yes, we give them training wheels so they can learn to balance first and get the feeling of the bike.  We run aside them cheering them on, teaching them to keep going when they get scared. We also must eventually let go and encourage them to try their hardest and be prepared for the inevitable fall. Not only must we teach them to work hard to succeed but to fail well and learn from it.  
Yes, we tend to want to protect our children, but we must not hold them back. They deserve to thrive with the right amount of autonomy and independence.