One of Life’s Tough Lessons: We Do Make a Difference
By Susan Fitzell, February 15, 2000

I have something to share tonight… not sure why, except that I need to…

I went to a concert at my son’s school. There was a resident artist there, a musician, Randy Armstrong, that I have been following since my college days. Wow, that’s over 20 years.

It was a wonderful concert and to see the spark that Randy ignited in my son by inspiring a passion for the African drum was a wonderful thing.

But, the night was bitter sweet.

Well over a year ago, the principal at my children’s school, Mr. F. had a sudden aneurysm and stroke. He is probably in his early 50’s. He had all kinds of complications that didn’t allow him to recover, as we would have hoped.

He was a man who lived his life for his school. He had been the principal there for at least twenty years. I was fortunate enough to get to know him when he allowed me to do my conflict resolution practicum in his school. To my daughter, he was an extremely special man. My son, although he only knew him for a little over a year in school, had tottered around the building from the time he was two. He also, knew the principal well.

I consider myself to be a very spiritual person, however, I had a very hard time accepting that this charismatic man, this man who had given his life for the community’s children, this man who would bend over backward to help me, my children, and set such a strong positive role model for generations of children would be dealt such a blow.

I know it is not my place to question why things happen the way they do. Even if I do question, there are no answers. All I can think of is the loss that everyone who loves him feels and the loss for all the children who won’t know this great man the way he was.

He came to the show tonight. As he entered on his walker, he looked frail. The entire auditorium rose and cheered and let out whoops of happiness to see him. I did to. But, then I cried. I’m not sure all that I’m crying for, but the tears flow nevertheless.

My daughter wanted to see him after the show. She was his shining star. She knew that. She was warned that he might not remember her name, but, in her young mind, her hope was that he would. She thought, “How could he forget her?”

I went with her. I’m grateful that I was there to support her. As she met him, he looked at her like he knew her, but kept saying, “I can’t remember your name.” He looked at me, and I saw recognition in his eyes, but pain. I told him who we were and he started to cry. He said, “I can’t remember names. This stroke did this. It’s so frustrating, I can’t remember names.” I hugged him, and said it was OK.  But, I knew, to him, it wasn’t. One of the things he prided himself in all his years as principal was that he knew every name of every child in the school.

My daughter and I came home. We had a bedroom talk about life, fairness, expectations, letting go, life lessons and harsh realities. And, we cried. I tried to tell her that the past has not changed. She still holds it in her heart and her mind. And the future is just different. Maybe there is a lesson for us to learn here, too.

I am a teacher. He, a principal, was also a teacher. In a different way, he still is one. So many times in life, we wonder what we give to our students, our families, our children, and the world. So many times we question the value of our own lives or our own contribution. Maybe it is not ours to question. Only those who experience life with us, whose lives we have touched and whose lives have touched ours, can really know what it is that we give. Could he have really known how much he was loved? How much he gave to the children in his building? I doubt it.

He is still touching my life. His experience has made me look at life differently. I guess facing your own mortality does that.

People constantly tell me to rest, to slow down, that I will die young if I keep the pace that I keep. Well, there are two ways to look at life. One way is to go through life more relaxed attempting to preserve my health and savor the moments. The other is to live every moment with as much gusto as I can because I can’t foresee the future. My life as I know it could change tomorrow. So, I want to experience everything that I can and give as much as I can to the world now, while I can.

Another thing he is teaching me is that as teachers, principals, peacemakers, humans contributing to the world, even when we think our contribution is minimal, that our efforts are in vain, that our voices are not heard, someone we have touched has learned from what we have given, has grown from our efforts, and has heard our words. We just seldom know it.

My daughter told me of her first memory with Mr. F. It was a simple moment of teasing over a troll she had in show and tell. I’m sure he walked away that day and thought no more of it. But, 7 years later, she still remembers it. To her, it meant he noticed her, that he cared for her, that he liked her. At that time, *that* was important to her.

We touch lives. Even the mistakes we make in our lives are opportunities for ourselves and others to grow. We touch lives for good or for bad. Sometimes it is the smallest of acts that is remembered. For me, tonight was a powerful reminder of that simple truth because this man has touched my life more than he could ever know.

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On Standardized Tests:

The easiest questions are at the beginning, the middle more difficult and the end, the most difficult. If a question at the end seems too easy, it’s probably the wrong answer.

On Essay Tests:

• Make notes on back of exam sheet, eg., ACRONYMS, Visual Cues, etc.
• Read directions carefully
• Underline key question words.
• Number all parts of the question.
• Jot notes along side each question as you read it for the first time.
• Pretend the reader is totally ignorant of the topic!

How to Handle Reading Passages on Tests:

• Find the main idea: Each passage has a main idea. Read for the main idea and skim the details.
• Read quickly, answer slowly: Most students do the opposite: read slowly and answer quickly. Read for the main idea and you’ll read quickly.
• Mark as you read: After reading each paragraph, make a brief note of two or three words in the margin. Indicate what went on in the paragraph. Circle important details.

How to Handle Math Questions on Tests:

• Look for shortcuts: For example, you know that an odd number multiplied by an odd number gives an odd number for an answer. If only one of the choices is an odd number, it has to be correct.
• Work in consistent units:
  • If one side of a rectangle is given in inches and another in feet, convert them both to feet or inches before you multiply or add.
  • Don’t do all the computations in your head.

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1. The Power of Positive Thinking

How many times have people told us, or have we told others, “Think positively!”  Turns out, that simple piece of advice may be some of the best you’ll ever give or receive.

In fact, positive self-talk encourages the brain to release helpful chemicals, dopamine and adrenaline, in the right amounts to the frontal lobe, the part of the brain responsible for problem solving, judgment, and memory.

Teach your students to be ‘mind detectives’ and, when they experience test fright, to think about what messages they are sending to their brains. Teach them how to identify and use positive self-talk so their brains release the right chemicals for their working memory during times of stress.

2. Water Your Brain!

We are “electrical” beings and our brain’s neurons work by electrical connections. Water has been found to be the best thing we can use to facilitate the thinking process because of its capacity to conduct electricity and assist cell function.

Carla Hannaford, author of a best-selling book on brain exercises, says, “Water comprises more of the brain (with estimates of 90%) than of any other organ of the body.”

So, a simple drink of water before a test or before going to class can have a profound effect on a student’s brain’s readiness to work. On the other hand, coffee or soda will have the opposite effect since these will upset the electrolytes in the brain.

3. Simon Says, “Study!”

I was presenting a seminar a couple of years ago and we were talking about ways to help students improve their memory, especially for students with attention issues.

At one point a very seasoned teacher came up to me and said, “Do you know what I do? Every day I shut the door and I play Simon Says with my students.”

She said she taught middle school and that her eighth graders loved it. Then she said that she had noticed they paid attention better all the time. They listened better and they were ‘present’ when she was giving instructions. She said,“It’s the Simon Says.”

Sometimes these types of activities, like Simon Says or other games, may seem like something we shouldn’t be doing in the test-frenzied world we live in right now, but these activities make neurological connections in the brain that cross over disciplines. Simon Says may be a game in the moment, but the neural connections that are made will be used in other places in the classroom and help on tests too!

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Superintendent Attends School District n-service; Sends a Powerful Message

On January 4th, 2010 I had the pleasure of presenting a seminar on teaching strategies to over 150 teachers from  Havana School District 126 in Havana, Illinois.  The Superintendent, Dr. Mark Twomey,  was there too meet me before the session started, he not only introduced me, he STAYED for the entire presentation.   It’s not uncommon for an administrator to stop by and greet me, or to say a few words of motivation before I begin a presentation,  but for an administrator to make the time to spend his entire day, on the first day back from holiday break, in a seminar… that is huge.

We spent the day discussing teaching strategies and ways to involve all learners in the classroom. At the end of the full day session, Dr. Twomey got up and endorsed the ideas I had spoken about.  He expressed his desire to see the strategies that we covered actually being implemented in the classroom and was so passionate about that desire that he offered an incentive to his staff.  He asked that teachers nominate each other and identify who they saw actually using strategies to differentiate instruction in their classrooms. He promised that he would have periodic drawings  to recognize and reward those teachers for implementing strategies learned in the session.

Teachers Nominated by Teachers and Rewarded for Outstanding Work

I  learned late last week that Dr. Twomey had just awarded a FREE day off to each of three outstanding teachers (one from each district campus).  I’m not talking about extra prep time, or a sick day.  This administrator awarded each of these outstanding teachers a day off, with pay, and no strings attached!

An Administrator who Follows Through!

So often administrators fail to follow through, or simply don’t know how to support their teachers, or motivate them to be the best teachers that they can be.   I could not pass up the opportunity to recognize Dr. Twomey and the tenacious support he offers his teachers and, in turn, the students of Havana School District 126.

Congratulations to Wendy Saylor, Music Teacher at New Central Elementary, Janet Barker, 5th Grade Teacher at Havana Middle School, and Barb Ramsey, Chemistry Teacher at Havana High School for their hard work and dedication to good teaching!

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Special Needs in the General Classroom: Strategies that make it work by Susan Fitzell, M.ED, CSP

For more information on differentiation strategies to reach ALL learners, see Susan Fitzell’s book, Special Needs in the General Classroom, Strategies That Make It Work. Available in both print and electronic versions!

We also offer a Professional Development Kit, for all teachers, with a Graduate Credit Option!

Bring Susan to your campus!

Featured seminar – Differentiation Strategies to Reach ALL Learners in the Inclusive Classroom

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Effective Strategies, Dynamic Presentation
Engage Educators in Quality PD

Disability, Difference, and Diversity

Program Description:
There’s a world of difference between those words, particularly when they are applied to students and how they learn.  It’s all too easy (and common) for people who merely learn differently to be branded as “learning disabled,” “hyperactive,” “ADHD,” or “unteachable,” and shunted into the educational backwaters of Special Education. If ever there was a time when society needed their rich diversity of intelligence and fresh ways of thinking, this is that time. We can’t afford to let the ideas and abilities of our different thinkers go undeveloped simply because they don’t fit into one narrow educational model.

Too many classrooms still rely solely on verbal linguistic teaching methods — lectures and verbal instructions delivered by one person standing in front of a roomful of more or less attentive children. Many kids can and will learn  in this type of classroom, but too many others will lose their joy of learning and start to dread going to school.

Differentiated instruction involves a flexible, dynamic, and interactive teaching model that doesn’t expect all children to learn the same way, at the same pace, with cookie-cutter results. Students learn the same content and standards based curricula, but the path to learning is much more varied and responsive to the different learning styles and levels of the students in the classroom. Students who learn best through words or who think in more logical-mathematical ways, or those who respond to visual cues as well as the more physically and mechanically gifted students can all be engaged effectively in learning when we differentiate instruction. We reach the listeners, the talkers, and the introspective thinkers.

Once the basic concepts are understood, though, there are many simple and effective techniques for implementing differentiated instruction in the classroom. Introducing pictures and images, movement-based exercises, cooperative projects, and color-coded instruction aids are four teaching strategies that target the special needs of diverse learning styles, while still benefiting all the students in the classroom.

In the weeks to come, I hope to talk some more about the background issues and practical methods I have explored in depth in the second edition of my book, “Special Needs in the General Classroom: Strategies that Make it Work  2nd Edition (2010).”*

Though it may be challenging at first for teachers to learn these new strategies, differentiated instruction has the potential to bring much greater satisfaction, and fun, back into the classroom for the teacher who embraces it as well as the children who will benefit from it.

For Thousands Of Tips To Teach… So Your Students Are Top Performers Get this Book Now! Gain more knowledge on differentiation strategies to reach ALL learners Get Susan Fitzell's book Now. Don't waste any time Special Needs in the General Classroom, Strategies That Make It Work. Available in both print and electronic versions! Want quality professional development you can afford? Save time with this popular PD option: A Professional Development Kit, for all teachers, with a Graduate Credit Option! Bring Susan to your campus! Featured seminar – Differentiation Strategies to Reach ALL Learners in the Inclusive Classroom

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Kindergarten teacher Marna Ingerson of Lancaster Schools writes, “All of my transitional directions are sung. ‘Line up! Line up! Everybody line up!’ Directions for activities: ‘Turn your eyes up here, up here’. Repeat and point up or down or left or to the chart. Then we begin to read, write, etc. We sing a thank you song for our guest speakers, volunteers, etc. ‘Thank you! Thank you! Thank you very much, Mr/Mrs ___________.’ We deal with respect and consideration of others constantly.”

Singing instructions to children early in their education is a marvelous way to introduce music to learning as well as a unique way to help students transition and to draw attention. Try it and see how it works for you!

For more help with using music in the classroom, visit www.songsforteaching.com for downloads, cds, and other sources to promote learning on any subject with music.

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