Suits Blog Post 3: Routman Ch. 12 You Only Have So Much Time

Live an Interesting Life
I loved this section of the chapter. It was so true! Whenever I have brought my interests into the classroom, my kids have always responded with high interest.  Something as small as my Clemson poster sparks meaningful conversations with my kids. They get to know me and I get to know them.  Creating that relationship with students in the best strategy for motivating a student to work when they don't want to.  I have been VERY blessed in my life to be able to travel to different parts of the world. I LOVE doing it and I love sharing about it with my kids. My first three years of teaching I traveled to Africa and Asia for short trips.  The experiences that I share with my kids from those trips stick in their mind for a long time.  Booki, the elephant I rode in Thailand, is a staple in Room 109.  We write about him, draw him, talk and laugh about him.  They know about my friend Slamond from Sierra Lione.  We bonded because he was reading a book called A Foot Out of Eden, but didn't have the cover of the book and didn't know the title. Since I had read it, I was able to tell him the title and we talked about the book.  That started a unique friendship for my short time there.  Through that experience, though, my kids and I have had conversations about the importance of taking care of books, understanding what you read, and how to talk about books.  They saw how books make intriguing connections for me in my life. That can motivate them to want to read too.  Sometimes, those experiences can be used to distract me. One of my students was trying to get out of extra time he spends with me during the summers by saying, "Miss Suits, don't you just want to travel some place you've never been before?" He knows my heart, I'll give that to him.


Keep Work Meaningful, Simple, and Lively
Pinterest can be a teacher's best friend and worst enemy all at the same time.  It is full of incredible and tangible resources for us to use to create great instruction in our room.  It can also engulf us in insane classroom projects that look great at the end, IF you follow the 50 steps it takes to complete it.  Don't even think about having the kids do the creative part, that would definitely end in a #pinterestfail! I love the three suggestions this chapter made. Is it meaningful? Is it simple? Is it Lively? I could so use that as a quick checklist in my brain before I decide to start an activity.
The teacher that comes to mind when I think of this little checklist is Mrs. Lesa Banks. She was my Anatomy and Physiology teacher my senior year at Dorman.  She always had the best activities that made us think, work as a team, apply our knowledge, and get our hands dirty. She is still the teacher that I think of when I think of my #teachergoals.