Sam+Bennett+Reflections

Reflections...Thoughts....Take-A-Ways...Next Steps

Julie: I saw Sam in Dublin last May and I thought that I stretched myself then...but after the last two days I am amazed at how I continue to stretch! I thought the experience was incredible...the dialogue, the collective thinking, the excitement, the questioning, the digging in...I was proud of teachers for stretching themselves and proud of myself for wrestling with tough structural issues that impact students and their learning. I don't think we have all of the answers, but it really feels like we are committed to learning together!

Shelley: I missed Sam in Dublin last spring, so I was thrilled to get to work with her so closely & with such a small group of co-workers. She is personable, dynamic, and challenging. Much of what she talked about was from the book, but it really made it come to life and work around in my brain. There were also a lot of new information and approaches. A few particular thoughts: Thanks so much to all of you who made this happen! Thanks also to those of you who made it to Tremont last week--hope you enjoyed it. Hope all who go in November have a great experience too.
 * There were some immediate take-away things that I literally took into my classroom the first afternoon: "The person doing the reading, writing, and talking is the person doing the learning," and "We are all smarter together" have been written on my wall & said out loud every day since we worked with Sam. The kids are starting to internalize both of those ideas and coalesce around them. Those sayings and the idea that everything we do must be purposeful and have an expressed purpose were the biggest pillars of learning for me.
 * Sam's packet also included a fantastic t-chart on why annotating texts that we read is so important for students and for teachers. That became a mini-lesson in my reader's workshop this week and I found that it was a great building-block on top of Fountas & Pinnell and Stephanie Harvey and others. The kids really took off with the idea and did some great thinking.
 * Sam really challenged us as a staff to think about physical space and how we use it. She noted that we have a lack of student work hanging in the rooms, which is true. We are now struggling with how to better use the space and how to find ways to display kid work in the rooms, given Tremont's physical challenges (one wall is windows, one is lockers, and the ends are boards). We're trying to get creative and solve some of these problems together. We're already seeing some people make some dramatic but simple changes.
 * There was some serious inspiration to work together and do some brainstorming and planning, particularly on the second day. At my table, there was some pretty powerful planning and exchanging of ideas both at my grade level, 4th, but also some great vertical planning with some 2nd and 3rd grade teachers.
 * There were still a lot of questions about how to make workshop work, especially for classrooms that aren't full day, self contained (half day K, departmentalized 5th, intervention/gifted). I'd like to see Sam follow up with us on those trickier areas.
 * Sam did an amazing job of modeling the workshop structure and teaching us according to the same values and methods. It may have ruined me for future professional development that doesn't. :-)
 * I have to admit, I came away feeling a bit unsettled. Sam has set the bar really high (as she should) and I didn't feel like there was a lot of validation (great job, great point), so I'm left with a lot to aspire to, but not necessarily feeling like I'm anywhere close to meeting those aspirations. That said, the beauty of the book for me was that you can enter anywhere and start building. And there's certainly something important about being unsettled & uncomfortable--that's what helps us grow.

Angie ~ Reflections I saw Samantha in Dublin last spring and hearing her for a second time was very powerful. She is so passionate about the profession of teaching and her energy is contagious! She pushes your thinking, reaffirms your reasons for teaching, and challenges you to plan effective instruction for every minute of your day. I am excited for my colleagues at Greensview to listen to Samantha's presentation in November. I am positive she will spark great conversations that will lead to powerful collaborative professional growth in our building!