Mrs. Farquhar's 21st Century Classroom Experience

Getting Stronger Everyday! For those of you who are unfamiliar, the breakout sessions at Model Schools are delineated in many ways, but I found the "How-to's" to be the most informative. In today's post, I plan to share some of the ideas I use and some of the many cool ideas with which I came away. This is a small sampling of ideas that I have broken up into three categories. Please comment with unique ideas that you use, I am definitely interested! Building Culture-I market many of these as Life Skills with my students, others are just ways to build community and culture. Shock an Adult Shake a Hand - Teach your students how to shake a hand- right hand, eye contact, squeeze! Shake your students' hands as they arrive and force them to follow all of the steps. I was pleased when the parent of a former student...who is now graduating college...said that she felt confident going into interviews partly because she knew how to shake hands. Giving and Recei...

I teach... because while I was growing up my family instilled upon me that education was the way to financial security and success. My greatest teachers were my grandparents and parents who taught me to work hard and play hard. I didn't have a teacher whose class I really loved learning from until high school, until high school! School was just school, and I liked it, but I didn't love it. I want my kids to love school. I teach... because I want my students to love coming to school. I want them to know that I care because I really do! I care about their baseball games, soccer games, and dance recitals. Yes, I get a sense of pride when I hear them whisper, "My teacher's here." I want them to do well, I want to know about their lives outside of school. I want them to come and say hello when they see my family and I out in the neighborhood. Nowadays we call this creating culture, to me it's instilling humanity. Either way, it's important. I teach... bec...

A sincere and special thanks to everyone who made my/our visit to the Model Schools conference possible, especially...the DuPage School District 45 Board of Education and Foundation, Superintendent Tony Palmisano, Assistant Superintendents Chris Collins and Patti Volling, Principals John Gibbas and Shawna Chambers, additional staff from Central Office who all have their own cool titles- Donna Reboletti, Bru Greco-Lenzey, and Beth Slusher.  The opportunity to attend this event with all of you, and entire gaggle of fellow like-minded teachers from our district and several thousand from our country, is something that I appreciate beyond belief. Thank you! Thank you to my wonderful husband for holding down the fort and taxiing our darling daughter to all of her commitments which all seemed to pop up this week! 

This short week at the Model Schools conference in Nashville, Tennessee has been truly monumental. Not only did I take away specific skills and strategies to direct my new students towards Quadrant D, it left me feeling excited and ready for the new school year. It also affirmed that I am on the right track. Please click here  to help me acknowledge my village who made this professional development possible. I am truly thankful to be doing the job that I do. I really, really don't mind working during the summer. Being a champion for my students (and daughter) is important to me. In Nashville I had the opportunity to hear several keynote speakers, and guess what? They were all fantastic!  Follow Eric at @E_Sheninger.   Eric Sheninger reminded us to maintain a growth mindset. We should not be working to prepare our students for something. We need to teach students  to be prepared for anything! Follow Daniel at @DanielPink Da...

Working with architect, Pat Callahan, from Studio GC, has been a terrific experience. In the early planning stage he brought the knowledge from both good and bad attempts at 21st Century classrooms. Meet the Ruckus Chair from KI. I appreciated his professional insight and positive attitude as we navigated new and exciting territory. We visited the Chicago Merchandise Mart, and I was admittedly overwhelmed by all the possibilities..and thrilled! They're not kidding when they say the Merchandise Mart was designed to be a city within a city. I really did not even know the sheer amount of tables and seating options available. As I stated in a previous post, the design of my classroom was based my methods of instruction. It is important to me that my students have flexible seating options as they navigate learning independently, in pairs, small groups, large groups, or whole class. Flexibility is paramount. The Ruckus chair is designed to be sat upon in a variety of ways includi...

The last several months have included planning, collaboration, reading, among other things like teaching, planning, and report cards. It sometimes feels like I have two jobs that I love, and a family at home too!  Summer is here, it's a random Wednesday night in June, and here I am...working! (To be fair, R is in bed, and Dave is delivering our oldest to the airport.) Planning - What's going on? Well, we've been planning for our prototype classrooms since early February. Curriculum design and implementation have been at the forefront of all of our discussions. After all, the physical design of the classroom should be based upon the methods of instruction. Physically, there will be many flexible seating options. There are standing tables, seated tables, bench seating, a few wobbly stools, and more to come. These options will encourage students to work both collaboratively and independently. Construction is underway, and I am eager to pop in and have a peak. Hopeful...

Fast forward to December, the grant application is (finally!) available! With Winter Break only hours away, I knew I would tackle that bad boy as soon as the Christmas festivities concluded. In a week, the rough copy was done. In writing the grant I had accomplished two goals: applying for EPCOT and writing my own book! Right here, I need to give a shout out to my fabulous husband, Dave, for being my first editor. He meticulously poured over my novela, asking questions, posing revisions, making suggestions. Not only is he an amazing husband and father, but he could also have a post-teaching career as a copyright editor or literary agent. Further shoutouts to my fabulous building administration for their support, suggestions, and edits as well. John and Shawna, your leadership continues to inspire teachers in our building to reach for the stars...or at least the 21st Century! Fellow Wildcats Five grueling days after the scheduled announcement of winners, my principa...

Picture it: Back to school teachers institute. It's hot, stupid hot for August, and you're cooling off with your comrades in moderately AC'd gym of Jefferson Middle School in Villa Park, Illinois. Okay, maybe you're not at Jefferson, but I know that any teacher or administrator can relate to that first back to school professional development day. Everyone is eager with the anticipation that a new school year brings. You chat with your friends, say hello to the colleagues and friends you haven't seen in three months. Finally, you settle in with your school group, to be inspired, lifted, and energized for the new year. The Superintendent, Dr. Tony Palmisano, warms everyone up with both a heartwarming and sometimes shocking video montage. Squeaked in the montage are glimpses of futuristic classrooms.  YOU HAVE MY ATTENTION. "Welcome back....indiscriminate talk....EPCOT grant." My ears perked up, and I tuned in to learned about the Experimental...