My Non-Negotiables

I buttoned up my suit coat, adjusted my collar, and walked in to teach my first class. It was January 2003 - Ms. South had arrived. By the time the day was over, I had sweat through my shirt and jacket, and I had some of the worst foot cramps I have ever experienced (because somehow I thought that the higher the heels, the more authority I would have over my students. Ha! Isn't that cute?). I was told to set boundaries - keep students in clean rows and keep my desk at the center of attention. I was advised by many veteran educators to start "mean" (I am paraphrasing here) - not to smile too soon in the semester, to be firm with my expectations because it was important to keep things black and white. When it came to my classroom, it was "my way or the highway". I was told that teaching would get easier. I was told to keep my lesson plans in a binder so that I didn't have to reinvent the wheel each year. I believed that a quiet classroom meant that I was doing my job to maintain structure and order. I thought I knew it all. So, I did what I knew, and boy was I ever wrong.

Looking back, it is easy for me to see that Ms. South was scared of her students - scared that she would not teach them well enough, scared that they would hate her class, scared to love them. Ms. South wanted there to be no question as to who was in charge - hence the high heels. Ms. South had a classroom that was designed around her needs - not the needs of her students (I actually remember telling them that certain parts of the room were off-limits). Quite frankly, if Ms. South was going to make it in education - her beliefs and opinions towards school had to change.**

Over the past several years, my teaching beliefs and classroom management have gone through a transformation. I have thrown out my lesson binders. I have given up my teaching desk. I have created a flexible seating classroom that is oftentimes LOUD because students are collaborating and engaged. I do do these things not because they are trends but because I am not the same teacher I was 15 years ago. That makes me proud. If Mrs. Neill met Ms. South in the hallway today, the first thing I would do is march down to the office and ask my principal to be her mentor. If I could go back, I would tell myself to follow my heart and do what is best for kids rather than what is convenient for me. When teachers put kids in the center of the learning, that's when the magic happens. As a young teacher, I did the best I could with what I knew, but thank goodness I never quit learning. I never quit looking for a better way to reach kids and teach the content they need to be successful in life.

So where does this leave me? There are some non-negotiables that define what takes place in my classroom.  It is important that I write them out, but also important that I am willing to edit and change my list as needed - for my school, for my students, and for my own personal learning. I challenge you to think about your Top 5 Non-Negotiables.

1. I will continue being a positive, connected educator who tweets and blogs about her students, philosophies, and colleagues. This is not bragging about what I do - this is a shift in my beliefs that in order to be the best teacher I can be, I must be connected to the best teachers I can find - be it in my hallway, building, district, or online. I will never apologize for sharing my classroom stories or sharing new ideas that may connect me to other like-minded educators.

2. I will never tell a class to shut up or cuss/ degrade/ berate them - NEVER. There is enough negativity and anger outside of the four walls of my classroom - ain't nobody got time for that in room 209. 'Nuff said.

3. I will never create work for students to complete so that I can grade. Not doing it - simple as that. Our time is too short for me to sit and grade, while my class works compliantly on the next task. I may not be the timeliest of graders, but I think you would find a student hard-pressed to say that we aren't working together from bell to bell. Man, those classes go by so quickly. (And that's the goal!)

4. I will continue to develop my love for life-long reading. True story - making time to read has never been a strength of mine, but now I see how important my role is in my students' reading lives. My students and I are more similar than different in this area, but we are improving one book at a time. Reading time is a priority.

5. I will learn and laugh alongside my students. Newsflash: students are smart, and extremely funny. And call me crazy, but it seems the more we laugh, the more we learn. What a crazy correlation!

So I challenge you - what are your Top 5 Non-Negotiables? Take some time to think about it, chew it around, but then act. Make yourself a note, blog about them, tweet them out, discuss them with your colleagues as you start the year - but most importantly, STICK TO 'EM! (And if the new teacher-you is completely different than the old teacher-you, enjoy the ride because it gets better every year!)

**I might add that we tend to be our own harshest critics, which is probably true in this blog post; however, I cannot imagine what my teaching career would have been like if I had continued teaching the same way every year. Oh wait, yeah I can...I'd no longer be a teacher.

They're Going to Take Care of Us Someday, You Know?

Fourteen years ago, my aunt was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer. She fought bravely and fiercely, but lost her battle with cancer about 8 months later. Watching her go through this silent disease, watching her body weaken, watching her suffer through treatments has never really left me. It has always been a fear of mine that ovarian cancer would be a future diagnosis for me; after all, it is known as the cancer that whispers. This spring, as I had a yearly appointment with my OBGYN, she asked me if I had ever considered a hysterectomy. She told me that research is now showing that ovarian cancer is 80% genetic. Knowing that our family was complete and we planned on having no more babies, my husband and I began making arrangements for this next step. I read the research provided by my doctor as well as information that I found online. I made separate appointments with my doctor to talk about what to expect, the procedure itself, hormone replacement, and even my fears of being old enough to make such an important decision. Once we decided this was in my best interest (100% elimination of reproductive cancers and a 50% deduction in my risk for future breast cancer), we scheduled a date: May 31st.

The procedure itself went as well as could be expected. My pre-op nurses, my doctor, and my recovery nurses were amazing. But you see, there is one caregiver who stands out to me, and that is my CNA, Lizzy. As I was coming off of my anesthesia, I got sick a few times. My bladder also didn't want to wake up, so using the bathroom was not an easy chore. But my aide, Lizzy, never complained about cleaning up after me once I had gotten sick to my stomach, holding my gown shut, unhooking my machines, bringing me ice chips, or helping me get up from the toilet. Her concern the entire time was about me, my comfort level, and keeping me safe. To me, it seemed she was a seasoned veteran at her job, and it was not until the grogginess fully wore off that I realized she had graduated from my high school a few years ago. I was surprised at how comfortable I was with her taking care of me. As she helped me to the bathroom, I apologized for mooning her as she closed my gown. As she helped me adjust my heating pad, we discussed how my getting a belly button ring at nineteen really probably wasn't the smartest thing I had ever done (my parents were right - imagine that!). She was my nurse's aide - no longer a student or a kid in the hallway; I was her patient - no longer a teacher at that moment in time.  I was amazed at how quickly that transition occurred.

It made me think about how often I hear people say in regards to education funding, "They're going to take care of us someday, you know?" Naively I always thought of my parents as they are reaching retirement; not once did I apply that to myself. I am so thankful that this student had such an amazing education. I am so thankful that she was able to take care of me at a time that I could not take care of myself. This experience is just another reason why teachers do what we do each day. I truly believe these kids can change the world - be it through a public stance like politics or non-profit organizations, or privately through helping a woman in her hospital room who had just gone through major surgery. Lizzy made a difference in my recovery - my world became her world for a 12 hour shift, and I am so grateful for her. As educators, we must continue to develop curriculum and learning environments that will foster this type of success for students once they leave the four walls of our schools. They deserve it, and so do we.

And now - six more weeks of taking it easy. Good thing I've got some good books lined up to read...

Why I Tweet

"I bet you're going to tweet that out!"

"Umm, yeah, I am."

Education is changing.  It is changing at a pace that is exciting and invigorating.  As an educator, however, that can sometimes be scary - especially if you were trained to teach in the No Child Left Behind era, like I was, when testing was the only measured outcome.  About a year ago, I had the opportunity to learn about the importance of telling my story - controlling the narrative that comes out of my classroom. It was something that I grabbed onto with all of my might.  But you see, I don't know that I always do a good job of explaining what I am doing and why I am doing it.

So why do I tweet so much?  That's a good question.  Maybe I should start with why I don't do it.

I don't tweet to brag.
I don't tweet to make others feel bad.
I don't tweet to say that my class is better than another.

So why do I tweet? Well, there are several reasons.

1. I want to share the story coming out of my classroom. You see, I worked with one of the best English teachers I know for over ten years before her retirement. She got results. The kids loved her. But I cannot tell you how she taught.  I cannot tell you how she hooked those students from day one and got them to do their best. I do have her lesson plans, but they are a labyrinth of notes that I have yet to figure out. I taught next to her for 10 years and I have no idea how her classroom worked.

I had a philosophical change over a year ago that begins with telling my story. I am so proud of the work that my students do each day. I am proud of the innovative ideas that we are trying, and many of those ideas are not difficult to try. They do, however, take courage - so if by my sharing what we do on Twitter, another teacher is courageous enough to try it - then mission accomplished. My classroom is not a traditional classroom. We have moved away from worksheets, quizzes, and tests as our main focus. Those things still exist, but they are not our focus. Student ownership of learning is the focus. I am proud of this shift. I am going to share it.

2. I believe in being a connected educator. I don't work well in isolation. I am a people person. I need people. I need to laugh with people. I need to learn from people. I spent the first 10 years of my teaching career, basically isolated in my classroom. It was lonely.  Extremely lonely. I need people, and Twitter makes people available 24/7 - for support and ideas. It breaks down building and district walls. There are educators across the state who I meet at conferences for the first time, but they are not strangers - they are colleagues whom I have just never met in person. They live in Ness City, Hesston, Ellinwood, Frontenac just to name a few.  They make me a better educator because they push me to innovate, ask for me to share what I have learned, and encourage me when things don't work as planned.

3. I have found numerous ideas from my PLN. Until I learned about action research while working on my master's degree, I was comfortable teaching the way I had been taught. While that may have been easiest for me, it was not what was best for kids. I believe with all of my heart that students should not be the ones uncomfortable in my classroom - this was not an easy realization for me to accept.  From my PLN I have learned about #Booksnaps and #Coversnaps. I have learned about "Roll Dice and Black-out Poetry". I have seen flexible seating implemented in many ways - giving me the courage to try it in my own classroom.  I was able to Skype with another class for the first time to share my experience as a foster mom. I did none of these things prior to becoming a connected educator on Twitter.

4. It's how my department shares ideas. I am fortunate to work with a very technologically connected department, school, and district. My department decided last summer that we should create classroom hashtags - #BHSneill, #BHSkohls, #BHSfroese, and #BHSneighbor. This is one way we share what is going on in our rooms.  By sharing these ideas, we follow up with conversations on Voxer, before and after school, or during lunch. Rarely will you find us alone in our rooms - we are planning, collaborating, researching. If you look up "nerds" in the dictionary - we'd probably be listed in the definition. By sharing our ideas on Twitter we are modeling life-long learning for our students.  It is real-time, student-driven learning, and it is exciting.

Recently my department has changed our junior and senior year curriculum.  We polled our students to see where their interests were, and we created high-interest ELA classes to give students more choice in the literature they are studying and the writing they are doing.  We use the hashtag #BHSela to retweet articles, add videos, and share ideas. By doing so, we are creating an online log of ideas to go back to when we need to brainstorm new activities.

5. I want to be able to give students shout-outs (S/O) when they do good work. So I may be a bit biased, but my students are pretty amazing. Many of them have gone too long without any recognition for the work they do each day.  We celebrate the milestones, but sometimes the steps along the way need recognition, too! As we work to change our mindset, it also allows me to highlight the shifts in thinking that I see happening in them - from becoming students to embracing what it means to be a true learner. 

It also allows me to give shout-outs for extra curricular activities, to "like" or "favorite" a quote or idea, or to tag them in an inspirational quote or question.  Earlier this week, I tagged 10 students and asked them what they were reading this summer.  It is a way to stay connected after their year with me is over.

6. It's fun. I am a positive person. I believe that energy creates "like" energy. I have started to turn away from Facebook because I cannot control the political opinions and negativity that seems to fester there. I post on Facebook for my family and to catalog pictures of my kids, but that is about it. Twitter, on the other hand, is always positive. I follow people on Twitter who have a "like" mindset, who are professional educators - breaking the stereotype of the June/July/August teacher. I want to be surrounded by people who are constantly looking for ways to improve education - being solution oriented rather than just complaining about issues like budget cuts. We tweet jokes, GIFs, and Bitmojis to each other (they are my favorite)! It is not uncommon for an author that we are studying to "like" one of our tweets or reply back - they become real people, not just some name on a piece of paper. So yeah, it's fun. It makes me smile. It feels good.

I can see how an educator, who is not connected on Twitter, might view this online interaction differently. Yes, it is "another" thing to do in a day that is already jam-packed. I can see how it might appear that we are only celebrating those educators who have drank the Twitter Kool-aid. But they allow us to celebrate them. By posting what is happening in your classroom, you are inviting in a world who wants to cheer you on, to push you out of your comfort zone, to learn from you. If you aren't sharing, we can't do that; it's as simple as that. There are many more reasons why I tweet, but I want to make it clear that this is not about just about Twitter.  As my colleague Jason Kohls (check out his blog here - he's got some pretty neat ideas) said in a conversation on Voxer this morning, "It is not about Twitter. It is about being connected with our students and our colleagues/PLN. Learning, growing, and celebrating together."  We want to celebrate each other. We want to celebrate you - Twitter just happens to be one way to do that.

I'm Not Ready

On Monday, my sophomores will turn in their research papers.  We have been working on this papers for about 4 weeks now.  This past Friday I said to my students, "If you have used class time wisely, and have met our due dates up to this point, you should be sitting pretty." One of my big, tough, Ferdinand-the-Bull students replied, "Well I FEEL pretty" - and laughter followed. It was at this time that I thought to myself, "I'm not ready."

*I'm not ready to be done with 1st hour's random outbursts of music and moments of honesty. I can always count on a good start to the day with this bunch. We are a class of 13 girls and ONE very, very brave boy. 

*I am not ready to for the conversations to end after 2nd hour with a few students who always stick around a minute or two after the bell. These small conversations mean so much on days when I am questioning my effectiveness as a teacher.

*I'm not ready for silence that will follow the passionate and opinionated comments of my 4th hour - no doubt these kids will move mountains. Creativity flows from them; it is in the air they breathe.

*I'm not ready for my laid-back, good ol' boy and girl 5th hour to end - what a little family we have become. Singing to Bon Jovi, the Beatles, and Lynard Skynard has become a norm. Respecting our very different opinions and truly learning from each other is what makes me most proud.

*I'm not ready for my 6th hour's variety of learning styles to move on to junior year. These kiddos have learned to take risks in their reading and writing - seeking out my help on an individual basis. They are working, always working, to get better each day.

*I'm not ready for my dynamic, ornery, and energetic 7th hour to stand by the door and wait for that last bell to ring. They keep my on my toes, and at the end of the day I wouldn't have it any other way.

Don't get me wrong. I am tired. My brain hurts. My classroom is a mess. My house is even messier. I have a pile of laundry 3 feet tall. My kids have eaten PB&J more times that I can count in the last few weeks. Not to mention I am not sure the last time my husband and I went on a date. But I am not ready to be done with these kids. Have I taught them enough about English and life? Are they readers? Are they becoming learners instead of students? Do they know how much I care about them? Have I told them they are important? I have seven days left. S.E.V.E.N. - quite frankly, it's not enough.

I am excited to see what lies ahead for them.  Such talent, such wisdom, such kindness. I am excited to see what students walk through my door next year, but for now, I will hold on to these seven days with all of my might because I'm not ready.

What Lesson Should Students Learn?

This week my Honors Freshman English students completed their research papers, and they were to submit them online at 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday morning.  While I am ecstatic that 100% of my papers were turned in on Tuesday, nearly 30% of those papers were considered late.

"Mrs. Neill, I can't find one of my note cards."

"Mrs. Neill, I closed my computer before my paper uploaded, so it didn't upload on time, but I promise I didn't make any changes."

"Mrs. Neill I printed my paper instead of turning it in online, is it still late?"

"Mrs. Neill, I only had to fix my title, and I forgot to resubmit my paper."

True statements from some really great kids that tugged at my heart strings, but the fact of the matter was that the papers WERE late.  What a horrible feeling for them, but they had to own it.  They had to know what that felt like.  It is through failure and missed opportunities that we truly learn - we remember that bitter taste in our mouths.  But you see, this is where my struggle began.  We had worked on these research papers for 6 weeks.  It was as much a learning process as it was a paper, and I hated the fact that students would be penalized 10% for turning in a paper late, even if I could go in and prove that they did not make any changes to their work after the 8:15 a.m. deadline.  

The best collaboration happens in the hallway, so I walked down to talk to Mrs. Moler, one of our awesome science teachers, and asked her opinion.  I told her about the late papers, but then I proceeded to tell her about my idea.  I wanted them to feel that "failure" for a day, but I wanted them to have the opportunity to reflect and earn the credit back.  I wanted them to answer two questions:

What thoughts or emotions did you feel once you realized that your paper was late?  Why?  Please explain two thoughts or emotions in your response?

What do you currently do to remember when tasks need to be completed? Is there anything you would do differently? Explain.

Mrs. Moler agreed with my idea, but then she added one more thought that turned into this question:

List three instances, outside of school assignments, when firm deadlines will result in negative outcomes.  Talk to other teachers or your parents if you are struggling to think of examples.  What would you possibly miss out on if this happens in the future?

What is it that I want my students to learn? I want them to know my room is a safe place to fail or make mistakes, but with failure and mistakes comes consequences. As a result, those three questions are due in an essay by Monday. My students will think about their actions, and they will most likely not turn in late projects again. I hope they will look back at this (while they are not happy about it now), and realize that this was much more beneficial to them than taking a 10% deduction for their papers being 3 minutes late. There will come a point in time when they realize that late means late, and that will result in a loss of an opportunity. But you've got to know what failure tastes like to know the sweetness of success. However, success may have to come with a little more work.

The lesson in all of this will be bigger for some of them than they can process right now, but this is the lesson that I want them to learn. What does an arbitrary 10% off teach them? I am interested to see what they write about, but must of all, I am glad they are learning.

It Takes a Village

This fall, my husband I decided to become foster parents (definitely a decision that deserves its own blog post). Anyone who has gone through this process knows that there are a lot of hoops to jump through to make sure that your home is ready for a foster child. One of those hoops is called the TIPS-MAPPS class.  It is a 10-week, 30-hour class in which prospective foster parents are asked to learn more about how trauma affects brain development and decision making. It also prompts future foster parents to discuss if the decision to foster a child is in the best interests of their families and if they are willing to do what is best for a child to help reintegrate him into his original family or prepare to be adopted. This is definitely not a decision to be entered into lightly - it is life changing for all involved. Most people have heard and used the phrase, "It takes a village to raise kids" - but do we truly respect it?

This weekend, as I was skimming through Facebook, I came across this post (I do not know if it is true or if it just fake news. Based on my research, the due to lack of specific names or places, or an original post site, I would put money on the fact that it is a propaganda piece meant to divide those who read it - in which case it succeeded):

AND IT MADE ME SO MAD!

This made me mad because it's making a division between the "haves and have-nots"; this made me mad because teachers are sharing and "liking" it. This supports a notion that only children who act a certain way deserve to be educated. There is nothing about this that says, "Hey parents, let's work together to guarantee your child's future success."  This letter says, "It's all your fault." Not sure about you, but as a parent, that doesn't make me want to partner up and work together with a school.

If there is one thing I have learned during this foster care journey, it is not to place judgement or blame. I know that my foster son's mom loves him. I know that she did her best to teach my son manners and rules. I know that she did the best that she knew how to do as a mom with four young kids and very little education. I know that her intentions were always in the right place. I also know that she was just trying to survive each day and keep her kids safe. I know that in doing so her children were sometimes placed in sketchy situations because she could not afford daycare during the day and had to work 2nd shift to make ends meet. I know that she never meant for him to be in situations where he got hurt. But you see, this is where I can step outside of the box and really analyze my feelings.  She did the best she knew to do with the knowledge that she had. She is not a bad person. She did, however, make bad choices - because she didn't know any different and she did not have the resources to be successful. 

There is a barrier between families who struggle economically and the schools their children attend - that barrier is built out of fear and judgement. I am not condoning the abuse that many children face. I am not saying it is okay for parents to abandon or neglect their children. I am not saying any of those things. What I am saying is that the finger-pointing needs to stop. People do the best they can with what they know - and no one knows more about children than teachers.

Imagine the difference this letter could have if it read:

Dear Parents, 

We are here for you. We are here to help educate your student BOTH socially and academically. We know that you are trying to teach your kids to use kind words, be truthful, demonstrate manners, and show respect for others. We are not here to judge you, but we would like to help you. We have spent years reading and researching techniques about behavior and manners. We have resources to share. We would like to help you if we can - simple as that.

I am not a perfect parent. My birth son sometimes wears dirty jeans to school without me realizing it. My birth son lied to his teacher even though we stress the importance of telling the truth. My birth son did not have his homework done on time the other night because we were too busy to get to it. And my birth son's mom is a teacher. I am a teacher, and I struggle, too! I am glad that his teacher is part of my team, my village. I am thankful that she knows how important my son is to me. If we hope to change the feelings towards education - we have to start changing the way we treat each other. We have to take the barrier away between parents and teachers. This is not a "them vs. me" situation. A chid's parent is my strongest teammate because it takes a village - which is why this rhetoric must stop. 

How Do You Learn In a Room Like That?

As a new teacher, I always felt a need to make sure my students knew I was the teacher. It's almost like a drew an invisible line in my classroom, and I remember telling students that my chair and desk were off limits. What I didn't realize is that by saying those things, I was inadvertantly making myself off limits to some of them.

In the last month, with input from my students, I have transformed my classroom into a flexible seating classroom.  In lieu of desks, we now have futons, video chairs, lawn chairs, exercise balls, and floor chairs. I might also add that I teach high school, and yes, my kiddos were super excited about the exercise balls the first day they were in class. One of my sophomore boys walked into the room, and he asked, "What is this glorious awesomeness I see? Do we get to sit on those!?"  Gosh, it is crazy to me that a $7 exercise ball can bring this kind of joy to a student.

(Edit: my room really isn't as big as it looks; I had to use panoramic view to get it all in. I might add that getting rid of desks really opened up room.) 

Prior to this leap, I was a 50/50 flexible seating classroom; I had comfy seats that lined the back of the room. I kept the 24 desks in rows for "instructional" time, and once it was time for individual or group work, students moved to more comfortable seating. Before deciding to jump ALL IN with flexible seating, I polled my students.  I asked them which type of seating they preferred.  I wanted their opinions before I changed seating options.

I also asked them how flexible seating would help them learn. A few of their responses were:

The desks and tables are a designated sign of a rigid classroom and portrays the classroom as a place of frustration and anxiety, but with a more free, flexible seating arrangement, students could shed this stereotype. In a flexible seating classrooms students would feel less obliged to follow structured class and would be able to learn more at their pace. (I promise I did not revise this answer - wowza loving the thinking this student showed!)

It would help us feel more comfortable to talk and have discussions. (Check!)

I'm a person who likes to move or fidget and the chairs would let me move/fidget around while doing my work. (You know this student; this is an easy way to help him/her out!)

I think I'd learn just as easy as I do with a desk; it probably wouldn't effect me much. (Love the honesty here!)

Finally, I asked how it would improve the classroom environment. They responded by saying:

I'm not a student who regularly uses flexible seating because I'm more comfortable at a desk, but I think flexible seating opens up the room and doesn't make it seem crowded.

Even though I don't use them I think it helps the rest of my classmates learn better. (Again, loving these honest opinions!)

It makes it more comfortable, and I focus better when I am comfortable.

It gives a more relaxed feel to the classroom that helps us to feel at home. (And for some kids, school is the most relaxed/safest place they are all day!)

It makes the classroom feel more friendly and inviting. (WELCOME! Now let's learn!)

In order for this to work, the #1 aspect of a classroom that had to be established is a respect for learning.  My students know that it is my job to help them become life-long readers and writers.  They know it is their job to take ownership of their learning and optimize their time in class as much as possible. If those expectations aren't clear, I could see how this type of seating might cause some issues.

I can say, without hesitation, that flexible seating has single-handedly changed the environment in my classroom. Kids are happy to walk in my room. They are comfortable throughout class. They have the right to move to a new seat if they feel sleepy after lunch or if a classmate is bothering them. They know that I will move them (or move to them) if they choose a spot that is not in their best interests for learning.

So, a few questions have also come up along the way, let me take a minute to address them.

1. How do you teach? How do they take notes? Can they all see the board?

We are fortunate to be a 1:1 school, so every student has his/ her own laptop.  I teach the same way I always have, but the delivery method comes through their computer screens instead of a projector.  If they have room in their laps for a computer, then that is all we need. I might also add, that for my students with visual impairments, this takes away the "differences" they feel each day because they do not have to sit at the front of the room to see the board - their board is right in front of them.  And I do have students who tell me, I learn better by the door or I prefer to sit by myself until we need to do group work.  The kids are honest.  Just ask them what they need.

2. What do you do about tests/ quizzes?

I will be honest, I am starting to move away from a class that uses 100% traditional tests and quizzes and instead we use project based learning or informal assessment so that I can judge the comprehension in my class and determine which direction to take the lesson. There are times, however, when traditional tests are used.  I bought 30 clip boards for our paper/pencil tests and quizzes.  The kids like it.  If the quiz is online, I simply ask them to turn so that I can see their computer screens.  Finally, I ask them to spread out.  That means that some kids move to the floor, some kids move their chairs, and only 2 kids can sit on the ends of the futons.  We brainstorm solutions to these problems together.

3. How do you keep everyone involved in the conversation and keep the same level of discussion?

It's simple - I don't, and I never have.  In a classroom with desks and rows, I sometimes struggled to get the conversation started (insert cricket sounds); oftentimes, I had 1-2 individuals who refused, no matter what I tried, to talk.  So now, we do a lot of pair-and-share discussion, and then they share it out.  If I feel like a student is struggling or doesn't want to talk to his/her classmate, then it is much easier for me to get to where that student is and then I get to be the partner.  The change in discussion and comments from my students has amazed me.  On Friday, I had students asking questions like: "What is a better way to say the word 'but'?" and "Should I join this sentence with a semi-colon or a comma/Fanboys" and even "I think this first clause sounds weird, can you help me?"  I'll take those conversations over silence any day.

It's not perfect.  Some days it's messy.  Some days my kiddos don't put their chairs or pillows back.  But those some days are few and far between.  What a beautiful mess I'm in - ever changing, constantly moving, but always learning. So the next time a student asks me to sit in my teacher chair, the answer is YES!