My new job: Learning Coach

Yup. That's me. Learning Coach extraordinaire.

Mom by morning. Learning Coach by day. Exhausted by night.

Lather. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

What's a learning coach you ask? It's any adult (usually mom) who facilitates learning via virtual lessons and school, while still doing more or less what a homeschool teacher/mom does.

Let's start at the beginning......

First, a recap of my anal retentive tendencies...I'm a researcher. Not only do I love to do it, it soothes my angst and worry, especially during a pending PCS (Permanent Change of Station- military speak for "fuck me! we are moving again!"). I researched my ass off about schools, the local housing and job markets, and as much as I could about the area.

What I found was disturbing. Schools were not the best in the immediate county of the new Army post, with state tests being the barometer for success. Hey I don't decide this, your our lovely government officials seem to think success is directly linked to some stupid test the kids are prepped all year to take. Never mind the fact that teachers teach to the test, but I digress.

So, blah blah... scores were shitty in the area that we really wanted to live in. Odd occurrence given the fact that 3 major companies are located within spitting distance of the area: Gulfstream, Mitsubishi and JCB. Oh wait, and the housing market has houses in this area that command upwards of $350, 000 homes. Ludicrous! The neighboring counties had better schools, but in one of them the housing market was even higher, if you can believe that. In some instances rent increased by $400-600. Yeah.  In the other county, it seemed rural and from what I could see the drive hubby would have to endure would be difficult.

Lotsa research. No assuaging of fears. Minimal options. And the PCS is right in the middle of the school year which doesn't allow for a huge margin of error. So I keep looking.

In this research I find Georgia Cyber Academy. Hear the choir of angels? Well it was a life saver. It was a virtual public school system open for any student living in Georgia. Hmmm.... keep talking.
The sample lessons online and the information they provided was a huge plus for me, because it allowed me to see exactly what we were getting into. I thought it was a great idea! Online schools, interactive lessons, point and click assessments, and even Blackboard collaborative classrooms where the kids received direct instruction from an actual certified teacher! Winning!!!!!!

What more could you want? School in your underwear or jammies. Wait isn't that always the bad dream? Either way, it was a win win. So I thought.  Now if you know my child, you know he is a computer/gaming geek. He is a techie. I'm thinking attending a public school that's virtual, with no building that he had to wake up and to go, and no real set schedule- well I thought that was right up his alley.

Yea. No.

Week one could have been Navy Seals Buds Training for all the torture it was. He whined and moped and literally cried about the amount of work he was doing. Mind you, it was from 8:45am until about 3:00 or so and no homework! The lessons were no longer than a 55-65 minute class session, and the activities were incorporated right into the assignment/learning.

By Friday I was ready to kill him. On Saturday we went out and got him all he needed so that he could attend the regular local middle school. Let's see how that works for ya big guy!

It didn't. He went there for 1 day. I left the school crying when I left him (fodder for another post- How Shitty My Experience Was at West Chatham Middle), and he walked out at 2:45pm damn near in tears. Between unruly students in Math and the teacher continuing to teach through the disruptions, to a fight in science class, and eventually kids upending chairs in a classroom. I think he got his first real taste of how the other half lives- you know the half that attend crappy public schools. This speaks nothing of the crappy attitudes I had dealt with that morning in Guidance department.  We withdrew him and took back his school uniforms. Thankfully Wal-Mart was friendlier in their return policy than the school staff had been to us on our first day.

Score one in the winner's column for GCA. He promised he would make it work until the next school year.


And that is how I became the Learning Coach.


We are about a month into this adventure, and some days I want to bash my head, or his, against the table. Some akin to the scene in True Lies with Arnold Schwarzenegger, where he is riding in the car with the used car sales man, and he head slams the salesman's head into the steering wheel. Go watch it and you'll understand. *wink*  I haven't caused him harm, yet, and by the looks of it we should make it until May 23rd, which is the official last day of school.

I do have to say, it's a nice change of learning/teaching modality. It really syncs up nicely with our current generation's need for tech-y things all the time and the "right now" mode at which they process everything. They still have books and many of the supplemental activities take place offline, which allows me to interact with Bear while he is doing some active learning. I hate to admit this, but I think I like it more than the traditional brick and mortar- it's what we call the old fashioned building. *snort*  On top of all of that GCA, does a great job at trying to incorporate "field trips" or outside learning opportunities. We will be attending a Science event in our area next month and it takes us out to the coastal areas to learn about the local environment. Oh did I mention that it counts as "classroom" time? Too cool!

All in all, I'm happy we had an alternative for schooling- many people don't and are stuck sending their kids to sub standard schools, wondering what's next for their child. I'm truly blessed that right now our lives permit me the time and space to make this work. I can't imagine trying to do this 10 year ago.

Georgia Cyber Academy and k12.com- I'm giving you a 2 thumbs up!



Oh and GCA, I'm also giving you my résumé and filling out an application for the 2014-2015 school year. How about a job next year?

Click on the banner above to VOTE!!

Welcome back, Kotter

So this past year in Germany I have been unable to find a teaching job. Not for lack of trying, because my application has been in for the last two years. My only contact with the teaching world has been through my position as a substitute teacher at the local intermediate school, and of course my friends who are still teaching. This was a challenge because I am a high school teacher. I like teaching that age group, hence why I am certified in that area. Intermediate is 3rd-5th. Yes third grade through fifth grade. This age group is only fun is they are your little crumb snatchers, not someone else's.

But either way, I did it. I subbed and survived this year. 

Then I get an email while we are stateside. "Can you interview this Friday?" NOOOOO!!!!   I wasn't going to be back from the US yet. Just my luck. 

After missed flights, jet lag, and scheduling conflicts I got my interview. And I ROCKED IT! That and a great letter of recommendation from my previous principal, which didn't hurt any at all. Hell I wasn't sure if he had the right person when I was reading it! Thankfully he actually mentioned me by name so I am pretty sure he was talking about me. 

So I got the job. WHOOP! WHOOP! My inner goddess is doing the Ally McBeal baby dance.

The job is only part-time, but it's a perfect fit for my Euro lifestyle. (AKA Travel Whore)

I will teach 3 classes a day every other day. Yup...part-time teaching ROCKS!

This schedule couldn't be better if I had created it myself. Because of the nature of the school's A/B day rotation, one week I work 2 days and the other I work 3 days. It still leaves me plenty of time to continue my work-outs, keep up with my travel whoring, do the BS mom thing, and I might even keep my little bar tending gig. Who knows? The possibilities are endless! Ok well maybe not endless...but you get my drift.

I am excited! I am thrilled to be back in a classroom. I am excited to get back to teaching, and doing what I love. I am just excited to feel relevant again. That my friends is the biggest part of all of this. I will matter again.

I know I matter to my family and friends, but there is validation in doing what you love and loving what you do. This matters to me, and it completes the circle of who I am.

So the song plays in my head...

Welcome back,
Your dreams were your ticket out.
Welcome back,
To that same old place that you laughed about.
Well the names have all changed since you hung around,
But those dreams have remained and they're turned around.
Who'd have thought they'd lead ya (Who'd have thought they'd lead ya)
Here where we need ya (Here where we need ya)
Yeah we tease him a lot cause we've hot him on the spot, welcome back,
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

P.S. Hopefully I haven't dated myself with the references to old TV series.  :)

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The Story of Bear

Warning! Long post ahead... proceed with caution. :)

An afternoon with Bear can go from a fun-loving, joking afternoon to an ugly battle of the wits in less than 60 seconds flat. I really try to have patience with him, but I find the older he gets and the older I get, the less patience I tend to have. It seems that his pessimistic attitude runs all over me. I am a 100% go-getter in virtually everything I do. I try not to quit at anything so that my children don't learn the lesson of giving up. I also pride myself in being a good mommy! Maybe not 100% of the time, but 95% is still an A. But with Bear sometimes, it isn't enough. He gets frustrated easily, doesn't want to try, and is flat out difficult. He believes that if it's above his "skill set" then why bother.

I don't even know how to cope most days and it's a struggle! Now we compound that with him hating school/teacher, not really having friends here in Germany, missing Maryland, missing Dad who is deployed, and what you have is Debbie Downer taking up residence in my home.

But after all that I- I mean we- have been through with Bear, and all that we have worked to achieve, it frustrates me to see him this way. To hear him speak so down about everything. I am not sure what to do for him or how to get through to him.

I really wish I knew.


Here is the story of Bear.

He was probably about 4-6 months here.

Bear's was an normal pregnancy and an easy delivery. I should have known it wouldn't always be that easy! We brought him home and he was a difficult little man. Always hungry. Never enough boob to satiate him. Colicky to boot, and had to drink soy milk. Jacked up sleep patterns, unhappy baby, always fussing or crying.

We get through those first few months, and life got a bit better. He was always a bit cranky, and not always happy but we dealt with it.

Bear walked at 8 months and was progressing like a little boy on roller skates, just breezing past everything. Still a bit cranky, but Bear-able. (Couldn't resist!) We PCSed around his 1st birthday. For all the non-military folks, PCS is a Permanent Change of Station, essentially the Army moved us. We moved to NC. Life was trucking right along.

I wasn't working in those first few months. Bear was doing great and loving the warm weather.  He had a growing vocabulary but nothing like The Princess had at 12-18 months. However they tell you boys can progress slower, and because he was the 3rd child (at the time we had custody of my step son), it was possible that he had older siblings to do the talking for him. Got it! No worries.

Eighteen month well-baby appointment.

Doctor says "He has over 50 -100 words in his vocabulary right?" "Um, not even close?" I respond, completely worried. So we take this questionnaire home and come back for another visit. More testing, more observations. Bear wasn't in day care or anything related because I was still not working. However, the doctor believes it might be Autism, and sends me to the county for more evaluations.

So what was he like? He was becoming a pill at this time. He wouldn't play with toys. He couldn't communicate unless he was pointing and crying or screaming. He couldn't go into restaurants to eat because once he was done eating he wouldn't sit in his high chair or stay seated anywhere. We basically had a normally progressing child at 12 months, and an impossible bear at 18 months.

In the meantime, I got a job. It was chaos trying to find him daycare as the county was labeling him Autistic, and few were able to handle a special needs child. Yes, he was truly displaying signs of perhaps some developmental delay if not exactly Autism. This was when I decided to go into teaching. Partly because of the school schedule, but also to be close to my children and have more time with them. I did what I thought would be best at the time, and got a teaching job. (Which by the way, I absolutely loved- still love- even if I never had considered it my calling before that moment!)

I worked my ass off to get Bear into a pre-school program in the county we lived and I taught in. I pulled a few strings and we got it done. We met for an IEP meeting, and Bear was on his way towards more structure and learning than the average daycare could provide. He had goals and strategies in place to help him progress. That was a huge milestone.

Bear never had imaginative play. Didn't like cars. Never made them go VROOM on the carpet. Never made dinosaurs ROAR. He just wasn't that type of child. You could sit him down with an educational computer game or search and find stuff on the computer, that he could and love to do. Give him a mouse, controller, touch screen computer that was his thing.  It was what he enjoyed and excelled at. So the older kids had a PS2 which soon became Bear's PS2. He could figure out how to make Jak & Daxter jump, play, knock shit over in the game. It was developing his language and his ability to communicate as a result of the games. So we went with it.

Just after his 2nd birthday. See what's in his hands?

Two years later, I could see a HUGE improvement! Between structured preschool and the outlet provided by the computer and PS2 games, he was no longer throwing as many horrible shit fits. He could "use his words" to communicate. He could follow directions. We could take him places for short spurts of time and not have a meltdown. We could even understand him now and we could talk to each other, for the most part. He graduated pre-school and I was so happy I cried! He was so happy too! It was a HUGE DEAL! I remember him saying "I did good, Mommy!" You did AMAZING Bear!

My Bear on graduation day! June 2006

Don't get me wrong there were still social issues and speech issues, as well as behavioral issues. We didn't take him to a it-down restaurant until he was almost 5! Even Golden Corral was an ordeal and the food is already prepared (buffet) so you don't have to wait! At any rate....Army said Go North, Clan of the Macs. So North we headed to MD.

Bear started kindergarten in MD with a brand new IEP (Individualized Education Plan). Speech therapy, occupational therapist, psychologist and a whole host of other team members to try to facilitate his learning. He made it through kindergarten, but not without effort. And LOTS of it! But HOLY shit did we make progress! By November of Bear's kindergarten year he was actually able to sit in a restaurant, and get his hair cut at a salon without having to hold him down and buzz cut him! I was so proud! Milestones. Every last one of them.

At the start of first grade we opted for a one-on-one, which is essentially an aide designated just for Bear's help. This woman was fabulous! His one-on-one coupled with all the other people helping at school and us working at home, and Bear no longer needed speech or occupational therapy by the end of first grade. PROGRESS! Oh did I forget to mention that I was "in his business" the whole time?(insert sarcastic snort)

Matt and Ms. G.

For first grade and the bulk of second grade, Mrs. G helped Bear in the classroom by keeping him on task, helping him when he would start to meltdown, keeping him organized and at times just letting him rub her hand. Bear went through a phase where to soothe himself he would rub you, and Mrs. G helped him through all of this. Bear made REAL progress! He was excelling in school and loving every minute of it. And yes there I was behind the scenes and in front of the curtain making decisions and pushing him along. Doing homework and going to IEP meetings to make sure his goals were being met and he was where he should be. 

Bear graduated from Special Education and an IEP in May of second grade. He no longer needed a one-on-one, and his speech and social skills were incredible. They no longer even sought to label him Autistic. WOW! My son went from not being about to speak at 18 months to being able to get through an entire day of school and not meltdown. All through the combined efforts of people who cared.

He is now 10 years old soon to be 11 in March. I don't know that I would ever categorize my children as normal. I think they are too exceptional to be normal children. Bear functions in a classroom like every other child. He does his work, hates homework and sometimes forgets to turn in his completed assignments. Socially he is a bit more sensitive than the average fifth grader. He is intuitive and kind, and we often say he is an 'old soul' trapped in a boys body. Because sometimes the things he says, I am convinced he was already 70 years old in a former life. He is smart, has an awesome and quite diverse vocabulary and was recently in his school's Spelling Bee. He is still a gamer and that is ok. Because at times he talks about being a graphic designer or gamer designer.... so I will take it. He is finishing up his Webelos Scouts and receiving his Arrow of Light. All things that when he was 2, I never thought possible. All things that I cried and mourned the possibility of losing.

No matter what though, I am proud of all his accomplishments. I am proud to be raising a resilient, sensitive young man who is kind hearted and loving.

He worries that I don't have a high opinion of him. He thinks I blog about him because maybe I don't have a positive opinion about him. You are so wrong young Padawan!

So Bear, when you read my posts and want to know what I think of you.... I love you with all my heart. I am so proud of you in ways that only words can begin to express. You are a masterpiece in the making. Whatever you do, just don't give up. Always keep trying. Because what you have accomplished is already one for the blogs. :)

On the train back from Nuremberg Dec 2011

Mean-y

I believe I have mentioned that I am a teacher, but just in case I am a high school teacher. That could explain the need to blog and vent! So today I hear through the good ol' high school grape vine, that I am a mean teacher. This really bothers me. Not that it should because I don't believe I am mean. I do have exacting standards and I work to get my students to achieve those standards. However many make the CHOICE to do otherwise, and as much as I try those students tend to be counterproductive to my goal of getting the very best out of children. So in short they tend to fail themselves by not trying. So today two of my students from last semester, who did not pass, were in a different classroom discussing my "meanness". Yea... as if there aren't other topics of discussion.
So I look up mean. Here is what I got from Merriam-Webster:
1 a : to have in the mind as a purpose : intend —sometimes used interjectionally with I, chiefly in informal speech for emphasis or to introduce a phrase restating the point of a preceding phrase b : to design for or destine to a specified purpose or future



2 : to serve or intend to convey, show, or indicate : signify


3 : to have importance to the degree of


4 : to direct to a particular individual
 
I gotta say it makes me feel better. It validates that what I am asking them to do isn't unrealistic or too demanding. Since when is demanding someone's best a sign of meaness. Well according to Merriam-Webster it isn't a bad thing!! Thanks M-W... I needed that! I can wear my mean-ness with pride.