A Knitting Disability

One of my hobbies is knitting.  I first learned how to knit when I was ten years old and in Girl Scouts. We learned to knit a pair of slippers.  I may have tried it a few times after that, but I didn't really knit again until January of this year, when I found and made that very same slipper pattern.  Since that time I've been enjoying taking classes, learning new stitches and improving my skills.  I am fascinated by how each stitch works together to create the fabric, and then finally a beautiful usable item.

Yesterday I took a class to learn how to knit a shawl.  The pattern is called Highland Fling.  I had met the instructor before. I knew her to be a very skilled knitter with a brusque style.  At that first meeting she asked me why "I knitted like that", and had I thought about "changing."  Last night she told me I knitted "funny" and again reiterated that "I should change."

You see, I have a knitting disability. I am left handed.  I didn't really know it was a disability until I began taking classes.  After all, I have been left handed all of my life, as are about 10% of the population, so it seemed natural to knit left handed.  Apparently, most left handers adapt and learn how to knit right handed.

Knitting left handed does have its challenges, because all knitting patterns are written for right handed people. The left hander needs to analyze and reverse all the directions.   When given time and quiet to think about things, I have been pretty successful in doing this.  This shawl is the most complex pattern I have tried.  Given time, I know I can do this, but being yelled at because I don't understand immediately was not very helpful.  Nor was being asked to change who I am.


While I did think about gathering up my things and fleeing, I'm glad I stayed.  It was a good experience for a teacher to have.  Every now and then, we need to be on the other side of things.  It made me think about what our kids go through, especially those who struggle. I want to become more sensitive to my students who process and learn differently than the majority.  We need to give kids the Quiet (see my previous post) and space to learn and think.  


How many kids feel secure in their own uniqueness at home, only to lose that sense of security once they enter a classroom.  Kids should not have to change who they are to be successful  at school.  Nor should they be humiliated because they don't learn or process in the same way or as quickly as others.  Increasing our time for small group work in both reading and math is an important way to respect this uniqueness.  Also providing students with a variety of ways to demonstrate their learning will be helpful.  


Most important, I need to slow down, listen, and monitor my own tone of voice as I am working with students.  How many kids withdraw and shut down because of the sarcasm or irritation in a teacher's voice.  Last night's experience was a reminder of that. When it comes to fight or flight, I always pick flight.  I'm going to make sure my kids don't have those feelings because of something I do.  I rededicate myself to making my classroom a safe place to learn.


There is room for all of us in this world, even those of us who are left handed knitters.  

Quiet

I just finished the book Quiet, The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain.  It is a book that I would highly recommend to others.  Here is my review from Goodreads.


Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I first learned about this book when I saw Susan Cain on a TED Talk. It got my attention, because like at least a third of the population, I am an introvert. I was eager to learn more about what she had to say. This is a really excellent book. It is well researched, and for me there were many times when I thought, "So that's why I feel like that when I'm in that situation."

She does a good job explaining the cultural attitudes regarding introverts and extroverts, as well as helping people to understand why others react the way they do. I thought it was very interesting to learn how western culture has transformed into a culture of personality, from Dale Carnegie on. Understanding the differences in the way introverts and extroverts function and think has implications for all of us, but particularly for me as an educator.

Jill Burruss and Lisa Kaenzig from the College of William and Mary state, "The truth is that many schools are designed for extroverts. Introverts need different kinds of instruction from extroverts. And too often, very little is made available to that learner except constant advice on becoming more social and gregarious."

As I set up my classroom and get to know my students this fall, I am going to keep the research cited by Cain in mind. One study showed that "College students who tend to study alone learn more over time than those who work in groups. . ." We do a lot of partner and group work in my classroom. I plan to offer more options for those who prefer to work independently. There will be two other teachers working in my classroom during parts of the day. As we collaborate to set up the room, I will make them aware that,

"Indeed, excessive stimulation seems to impede learning: a recent study found that people learn better after a quiet stroll through the woods than after a noisy walk down a city street."

Introverts and extroverts respond differently to rewards as well. Extroverts are more likely to seek reward, whereas introverts may be more interested in pursuing a personal goal or studying a subject because it is of particular interest to them. Cain refers to this as reward-sensitivity.

I liked the fact that Ms. Cain did not write this book to tell the introvert how to change, but rather how to be one's true self and cope more effectively in today's world. She states, "Understanding where we fall on the reward-sensitivity spectrum gives us the power to live our lives well."

I particularly like this quote from Susan Cain,

"If you're a teacher, enjoy your gregarious and participatory students. But don't forget to cultivate the shy, the gentle, the autonomous, the ones with single-minded enthusiasms for chemistry sets or parrot taxonomy or nineteenth-century art. They are the artists, engineers, and thinkers of tomorrow."

I highly recommend this book. Whether you are an introvert, or you know one, you will come away understanding yourself and others better.

View all my reviews  Check out Susan Cain's TED Talk here.

Pinterest: Professional Development From the Comfort of Your Couch

Since I first began using it, Pinterest has become a very popular social networking site.  If you have never checked it out, it's a social networking site with a twist.  Instead of carrying on conversations with other people, you follow their ideas and interests.  Pinterest works like a virtual bulletin board.  You create boards about things you are interested in, and when you find websites, blogs, ideas or photos that you like, you pin them to your boards.

Like other social networks you follow other people, but in this case you really follow their pins and boards.  In other words you see the things they are pinning to their boards.  If you like it, you can repin it to one of your boards.  At the present time, I have 29 boards.  My boards center around education, food, my hobbies, and a few other topics.

If you are a very visual person, like I am, you will love it!  It is sort of an on-line magazine. In this magazine you choose the topics that you want to see.

During the year or so that I have been using Pinterest, I have been inspired to try many new things in my classroom.  I have been introduced to blogs I didn't know existed, and astounded by the dedication and creativity of teachers from around the world.  Pinterest has also prompted me to be more creative myself, and to put my own spin on things.

Of my twenty-nine boards, nine of them are devoted to education topics.  I have a Math Board.  When we were learning about geometry, I found many great ideas including this lesson for using Cheez-Its to learn about area and perimeter.

I discovered the world of Foldables on Pinterest, and I have a board for that.  I saw an idea using a foldable to create a book report for biographies.  I addapted that idea, and when we studied the Middle Ages, we created Medieval Paper Dolls.  Each person chose someone from the middle ages to learn about.  They used a pattern that I had, leftover from my days of teaching first grade, to make the paper doll.  They wrote a story in third person, describing life for this group of people,  then they also wrote a story from the point of view of their character.  All of this was in the little book that their person is holding.  I was very happy with the way this project turned out, and I will definitely do it again.  We were also satisfying the requirements of one of our Iowa Core Standards.

Right now there are many ideas being posted for beginning of the school year activities.  Last year my class created a Name Puzzle, which hung on our classroom door all year.  The original idea for this puzzle poster came from a blog from Germany.  While I had a year of German back in college, it wasn't enough to enable me to read the blog post, but I managed to read the picture well enough to come up with this "getting to know you" activity for our first day of school.  It was a great illustration of the fact that everyone in our class is unique, but without everyone, our class would be incomplete.

Good ideas are always a catalyst for more creativity.  Where are you finding inspiration as you move toward a new school year?  If you haven't tried Pinterest, I highly recommend it.  My recommendation does come with a warning.  Pinterest can be highly addictive.  You can spend hours exploring one great idea after another.

iDeas for Our iPads

This week will be my fifth week of summer vacation.  Up until now, I have not wanted to think about school at all.  Now that July has begun, there is this tiny part of me that is beginning to plan, and longs for a little of the structure that is part of my school year. As I browse Pinterest, I'm starting to look at beginning of the year ideas with a little more interest.  Now don't get me wrong. I am in no way ready to go back to school just yet, but I am ready to do some of the creative planning for school that I really love.

Two weeks ago, when I was participating in professional development for math, we were asked to write some story problems for math.  I had one of my classroom iPads with me.  I started creating my story problems on the iPad using the app, Keynote.  This app was so easy to use and the slides looked fantastic.  It was easy to use the camera on the iPad2 and insert photos into the presentation.

I feel like I kind of missed the boat here last year.  While we used our iPads daily, we primarily used them to blog or research.  Next year my students are going to use Keynote to present their learning to the class.  There are countless ways that we can use this app.  I have no doubt they will be very successful.

Another app that we have on our iPads but have not used is iBrainstorm.  I plan to model using this app for class discussions.  After my 4th graders have seen it in use a few times, I think this is another app that will be very productive, especially for collaborative work.

My principal asked each of us to check out one of our iPads for the summer.  She wanted us to play with them and explore.  I have a feeling this was just what she had in mind.