Never stop dating… your co teacher?

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:14.960
Music.

00:00:15.547 --> 00:00:19.787
Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Balancing Act podcast. I am Jamie Wanko.

00:00:19.987 --> 00:00:22.827
I am here with Mr. Joseph Vitale. Hello, Mr. Vitale.

00:00:23.187 --> 00:00:25.267
Well, hello, friend. How are you? Lumberjack today.

00:00:25.747 --> 00:00:28.707
A regular lumberjack. Yes. Fresh from the woods.

00:00:29.327 --> 00:00:33.467
Still freezing because, you know, New Jersey doesn't have springtime anymore.

00:00:33.687 --> 00:00:36.267
It just goes from winter, winter, winter, winter, fall, spring,

00:00:36.587 --> 00:00:40.647
and then immediately into summer where we sweat and we live like we are living

00:00:40.647 --> 00:00:42.347
in the inside of someone's mouth.

00:00:42.527 --> 00:00:45.407
That's basically what it feels like because of the humidity it does get very humid

00:00:45.407 --> 00:00:48.427
here um shout out to my barefoot neighbor

00:00:48.427 --> 00:00:51.667
one of the cooking people that i love to to watch who lives

00:00:51.667 --> 00:00:54.707
in mississippi who always says that it's like i live in mississippi

00:00:54.707 --> 00:00:58.907
where it's like living inside of someone's mouth so my spices always get clumped

00:00:58.907 --> 00:01:04.007
up and i'm like you're amazing i love that guy um so yeah i've never heard that

00:01:04.007 --> 00:01:11.267
before but okay this is the thoughts of that these are the thoughts of a rambling

00:01:11.267 --> 00:01:14.647
man who uh we are in the throes of the beginning of a,

00:01:14.647 --> 00:01:19.267
of a new marking period, pushing towards the end of the year out through the depths of hell,

00:01:19.407 --> 00:01:21.387
which I also call March, um,

00:01:21.827 --> 00:01:27.287
and into, you know, a new, uh, fun time for, uh, bring time, bring a ding a ding time.

00:01:27.847 --> 00:01:33.187
Yes. So we have a, a, a wonderful guest with us today, uh, who shout out to

00:01:33.187 --> 00:01:37.847
our colleague, uh, Jacqueline, who it does. Oh, yes.

00:01:38.727 --> 00:01:45.207
Jacqueline who keeps our, um, uh, our, our freezer stocked with,

00:01:45.207 --> 00:01:47.287
uh, candy that she buys from the dollar store.

00:01:47.587 --> 00:01:52.027
Um, shout out to the almond, to the, uh, almond Snickers that she buys.

00:01:52.147 --> 00:01:54.367
Cause those are the ones I try to snack on when she buys them.

00:01:54.687 --> 00:01:58.667
Uh, so let's bring her in. Let's bring in, um, Jennifer Mazzocchi.

00:01:58.747 --> 00:02:01.967
Am I pronouncing that right? Or did I forget already? It's Mazzocchi.

00:02:02.807 --> 00:02:08.547
I was so close. Okay. You sound like a wonderful dish at an Italian restaurant.

00:02:08.547 --> 00:02:11.687
You sound like, I will have the Mazzocchi and vodka sauce.

00:02:12.007 --> 00:02:15.707
There you go. Yes. I went from one Italian last name, Petneio,

00:02:15.867 --> 00:02:17.607
to then married to Mazzocchi.

00:02:17.727 --> 00:02:20.107
So I just kept that Italian name rolling.

00:02:20.567 --> 00:02:24.507
Yes. And as I've said before, any friend of Jacqueline's is a friend of mine

00:02:24.507 --> 00:02:26.787
because she is one of the sweetest, kindest,

00:02:27.586 --> 00:02:33.746
nicest people, uh, kind of soul. So I appreciate the fact that she even connected us and here we are.

00:02:33.966 --> 00:02:36.586
So glad, so glad that you were able to, uh, to join us.

00:02:36.826 --> 00:02:41.326
Um, and again, you are from our great state from the great state of New Jersey.

00:02:41.546 --> 00:02:45.386
So we'd love to hear about your journey into teaching and what you do these

00:02:45.386 --> 00:02:48.986
days and all that fun stuff. So why don't you tell us a little about yourself while you're here?

00:02:49.486 --> 00:02:52.526
All right. Well, first off, thank you so much for having me.

00:02:52.646 --> 00:02:57.066
Uh, my name is Jennifer Mizaki, and I've been teaching for over 20 years.

00:02:57.246 --> 00:02:59.386
This is actually my 24th year teaching.

00:02:59.906 --> 00:03:03.426
I'm a special education teacher. I teach in South Jersey.

00:03:04.286 --> 00:03:09.466
I have taught with a variety of people over my career in school.

00:03:09.966 --> 00:03:15.066
On a side note, I'm also a mom. I have two young boys. I'm married.

00:03:15.526 --> 00:03:18.706
And then I have known Jacqueline. I was thinking about this the other day,

00:03:18.886 --> 00:03:19.886
knowing I was going to be on here.

00:03:20.026 --> 00:03:23.746
Her and I have known each other for almost 40 years, which kind of blows my

00:03:23.746 --> 00:03:27.446
mind when I think about that, but I've known her for a really long time.

00:03:28.006 --> 00:03:34.026
As far as teaching, I've pretty much been in the same school my whole career,

00:03:34.346 --> 00:03:36.326
middle school, sixth to eighth grade.

00:03:36.706 --> 00:03:41.226
I've taught self-contained. I've taught resource center, and my favorite,

00:03:41.266 --> 00:03:46.006
where my heart really is, is doing in-class support, resource support.

00:03:46.486 --> 00:03:50.886
I love co-teaching, and I've been doing that for over 20 years.

00:03:51.286 --> 00:03:55.066
So right now, I'm not only an educator, but I'm also a speaker.

00:03:55.226 --> 00:03:58.186
I'm speaking at a lot of different conferences and consulting with different

00:03:58.186 --> 00:04:02.226
districts and going in for PD for my co-teaching connection workshops.

00:04:02.806 --> 00:04:05.686
So can you talk about what that looks like?

00:04:05.806 --> 00:04:09.726
Like if I walked into one of your workshops, what would that,

00:04:09.886 --> 00:04:12.326
you know, I know it's probably tailored in different districts and stuff like

00:04:12.326 --> 00:04:16.666
that, but what's the general gist of, of what you cover and talk about when

00:04:16.666 --> 00:04:19.926
you do a PD for a school district about co-teaching?

00:04:20.393 --> 00:04:24.673
Yeah, so with co-teaching, so, you know, everybody knows the different models

00:04:24.673 --> 00:04:27.733
and most educators have been in some form of co-teaching.

00:04:28.273 --> 00:04:31.033
Whether you've had, you've been a special education teacher,

00:04:31.173 --> 00:04:34.913
you've been a regular ed teacher with a special ed teacher pushing in or there all day.

00:04:35.453 --> 00:04:38.733
And they always, whenever they give us PD, I mean, let's be real,

00:04:38.853 --> 00:04:43.893
most of the time when we have PD, it's really boring and not very interesting.

00:04:44.253 --> 00:04:46.953
And a lot of time I feel like the co-teaching PD they give us,

00:04:47.093 --> 00:04:49.673
these are the different types of models. Here's a video.

00:04:50.013 --> 00:04:52.633
This is what you can do. Mine is nothing like that.

00:04:53.033 --> 00:04:56.973
I actually talk about how co-teaching is just like dating.

00:04:57.893 --> 00:05:02.713
And so you are dating the person that you are teaching with.

00:05:03.233 --> 00:05:07.153
And what it is, is it goes through, it's a relationship. And how do you deal

00:05:07.153 --> 00:05:08.653
with any relationship in your life?

00:05:08.753 --> 00:05:14.773
I relate that to ways to deal with co-teaching and using relationship as kind

00:05:14.773 --> 00:05:17.233
of like that anchor because everybody's been in a relationship.

00:05:17.533 --> 00:05:19.053
And we kind of go from there.

00:05:19.493 --> 00:05:23.313
Really, the first thing I ask everybody to do is you need to look at yourself.

00:05:23.833 --> 00:05:28.193
The more you know yourself and the type of teacher you are, you want to be,

00:05:28.353 --> 00:05:33.133
and who you can be, and share that with your co-teacher, the better relationship

00:05:33.133 --> 00:05:35.233
you'll have. That's like foundation number one.

00:05:37.453 --> 00:05:40.613
That is fantastic. That's fantastic advice just to get started.

00:05:41.733 --> 00:05:47.633
Yeah, that's great. um you know i i've been in various co-teaching environments

00:05:47.633 --> 00:05:52.493
throughout my career um you know early in my career i sometimes got paired with people that were,

00:05:53.633 --> 00:05:59.873
uh on their way out and they were like yeah i have to do this this year and

00:05:59.873 --> 00:06:03.533
i've never you know taught this subject before so i'm not learning the new curriculum

00:06:03.533 --> 00:06:07.253
and i'll just help the kids wherever i can and then you're like okay so i guess uh,

00:06:08.366 --> 00:06:12.286
You know, I guess. And so we're doing this. This is how it's going to be.

00:06:12.726 --> 00:06:18.626
And again, I didn't have the, you know, I'd love to hear you give old me advice

00:06:18.626 --> 00:06:20.886
on how I should have handled that situation.

00:06:21.106 --> 00:06:25.866
But that might be a subject for a question for or a comment for another for

00:06:25.866 --> 00:06:28.286
another, you know, section of our our talk today.

00:06:28.286 --> 00:06:33.706
Um but yeah so you say it treat it like it's like you're dating except that

00:06:33.706 --> 00:06:39.306
if you're dating you don't have to keep going out with the person if you are.

00:06:41.526 --> 00:06:46.566
Yeah exactly so that's the hardest thing yeah that's the hardest thing i think

00:06:46.566 --> 00:06:50.566
um what one person has said at one of my workshops they're like okay so yeah

00:06:50.566 --> 00:06:54.646
relationship they're like but it's like a bad marriage. You can't leave.

00:06:54.786 --> 00:06:58.586
I go, kind of, yeah, you're in it for that year at least.

00:06:58.826 --> 00:07:01.886
So, you know, you have to figure out how can you make it work?

00:07:02.046 --> 00:07:04.686
So like you said, you were kind of like eyes open, like, oh,

00:07:04.826 --> 00:07:06.346
wow, like, you know, know yourself.

00:07:06.806 --> 00:07:12.846
That's the first step. If the pair from the very beginning writes down who they are.

00:07:13.006 --> 00:07:15.646
So just think about who are you as a teacher? Sometimes, you know,

00:07:15.706 --> 00:07:17.046
we've been doing this for over 20 years.

00:07:17.206 --> 00:07:20.706
I know both of you have been in education for quite some time as well,

00:07:21.246 --> 00:07:24.226
you know, you just take for granted that you know who you are,

00:07:24.346 --> 00:07:25.886
what you want your classroom to look like.

00:07:26.006 --> 00:07:29.626
But the person who's new that's coming in with you might not know you from anywhere,

00:07:29.626 --> 00:07:33.486
or they may know you just from passing in the hallway or seeing them in the

00:07:33.486 --> 00:07:37.346
building, but do they truly know what your classroom looks like and what you're all about?

00:07:37.626 --> 00:07:41.986
That's why you really need to share who you are so that that person can get

00:07:41.986 --> 00:07:46.246
a better picture of what the experience will be like together.

00:07:46.906 --> 00:07:51.286
So I mean, anything with co-teaching always relates to communication.

00:07:51.766 --> 00:07:55.406
How are you going to communicate who you are and what you want,

00:07:55.406 --> 00:08:00.266
but how are you gonna communicate it to somebody and they wanna actually hear it?

00:08:01.066 --> 00:08:04.546
How do you make somebody wanna hear what you have to say?

00:08:04.806 --> 00:08:09.526
So I always talk about how, I always had the best experiences with teachers

00:08:09.526 --> 00:08:14.086
who had like a really open growth mindset. They were those plants who always

00:08:14.086 --> 00:08:15.306
wanted to learn something new.

00:08:15.506 --> 00:08:19.706
If I came in and had an idea, they would listen and sometimes they tell me,

00:08:20.026 --> 00:08:21.406
you're crazy, that's too much.

00:08:21.506 --> 00:08:26.206
Other times, they'd be like, oh, okay, yeah, okay, how can we make that work?

00:08:27.026 --> 00:08:31.006
Those are the great experiences. The other experiences I've had,

00:08:31.146 --> 00:08:35.426
which kind of sounds like you had, they don't care.

00:08:35.666 --> 00:08:39.426
They show up. They're there. They're not putting in any effort.

00:08:39.786 --> 00:08:44.266
I call those the rocks. That's the fixed relationship. They're going nowhere.

00:08:44.266 --> 00:08:45.766
They're not going to grow.

00:08:46.266 --> 00:08:50.486
And you just have to figure out how are you going to continue to grow and water

00:08:50.486 --> 00:08:53.526
yourself and have a good experience in the room.

00:08:53.766 --> 00:08:59.006
So I tend to try and bring as many ideas as I can. But if I see a problem,

00:08:59.306 --> 00:09:00.306
I always bring a solution.

00:09:02.191 --> 00:09:07.171
Um, no, that's great. And those are all issues I had earlier in my career as I went on.

00:09:07.411 --> 00:09:12.771
Um, so, uh, at a previous school I was at, I got paired up with a teacher that

00:09:12.771 --> 00:09:17.311
was, uh, social studies by trade, but also had a special education degree.

00:09:17.771 --> 00:09:20.671
And then we wound up co-teaching together which is great because

00:09:20.671 --> 00:09:24.291
we're both we were both passionate about the subject and she

00:09:24.291 --> 00:09:27.291
had that little extra something to you know help with

00:09:27.291 --> 00:09:30.331
you know the modifications and differentiating construction and

00:09:30.331 --> 00:09:33.171
kind of would like rein me in which

00:09:33.171 --> 00:09:35.891
is great because like there are times when i go off on

00:09:35.891 --> 00:09:38.551
my on my crazy harebrained ideas and be

00:09:38.551 --> 00:09:41.371
like well that might not actually work for the kids that we have and you know

00:09:41.371 --> 00:09:44.251
we would we would have these great discussions and actually have a good friendship

00:09:44.251 --> 00:09:47.391
because of that um and i'm currently with um with

00:09:47.391 --> 00:09:50.211
another uh teacher who you know

00:09:50.211 --> 00:09:52.991
we i i mean i give him a lot of credit because

00:09:52.991 --> 00:09:56.411
he puts in a lot of work and a lot of time um both inside

00:09:56.411 --> 00:09:59.271
the classroom and out for himself for his family he's

00:09:59.271 --> 00:10:02.731
a high school football coach um he's also

00:10:02.731 --> 00:10:05.451
he's also the winner of the

00:10:05.451 --> 00:10:08.871
hi hello how are you award from our from our

00:10:08.871 --> 00:10:11.551
um hello police she has a badge that would

00:10:11.551 --> 00:10:14.271
be jamie um just hey how are you

00:10:14.271 --> 00:10:17.311
good morning good morning how i like he's just a very nice guy he's

00:10:17.311 --> 00:10:20.231
also incredibly well read he'll be like oh i read this book or

00:10:20.231 --> 00:10:23.371
oh i just watched the most recent adaptation of

00:10:23.371 --> 00:10:26.971
uh account of monte cristo that was in french it's like bro when do you sleep

00:10:26.971 --> 00:10:31.351
like yeah um and he's got a three-year-old daughter at home and and you know

00:10:31.351 --> 00:10:37.691
she's adorable um but no it's a great relationship um and it's one that i'm

00:10:37.691 --> 00:10:40.811
really looking forward to continuing if we have to do this,

00:10:40.951 --> 00:10:44.911
but, uh, you know, next year, of course it all depends on numbers and demographics

00:10:44.911 --> 00:10:46.971
and who's in what class and all that stuff.

00:10:47.111 --> 00:10:53.451
But I really enjoy the incredible disadvantage when you finally do have.

00:10:53.651 --> 00:10:57.651
You know, you put in the work of that relationship and you are making really

00:10:57.651 --> 00:11:01.611
great progress. It's a great pairing. And then you're separated.

00:11:02.651 --> 00:11:07.391
And, you know, so that, that has been like a source of frustration for, um, for me.

00:11:07.571 --> 00:11:12.831
Um, I went through a time period where in seven years, I had seven different co-teachers.

00:11:12.971 --> 00:11:16.751
And so every single year, it was someone different.

00:11:17.191 --> 00:11:20.891
And it was... And you're starting all over again. And every time,

00:11:20.911 --> 00:11:22.091
you're starting over again.

00:11:22.251 --> 00:11:28.031
And so that was really, really tough. And then I remember I got to repeat someone a second time.

00:11:28.331 --> 00:11:36.751
And it was just so great just because we knew each other and we knew the pacing

00:11:36.751 --> 00:11:40.851
and the experience together. And they understood what was going on in the classroom.

00:11:41.091 --> 00:11:43.951
They knew they could try things if they wanted to try.

00:11:44.051 --> 00:11:47.871
You know, you built that relationship, the trust between the two people,

00:11:48.071 --> 00:11:53.431
only to have it then torn apart, which can be very, very difficult.

00:11:54.271 --> 00:11:58.771
You know, that's the part of it that is so frustrating, I think, for so many people.

00:11:59.410 --> 00:12:03.710
Yeah. And I, I also, or, you know, even before I got your advice,

00:12:03.810 --> 00:12:05.990
Jen, uh, when I knew that Mr.

00:12:06.390 --> 00:12:09.950
Uh, Mr. Harry and I were going to be working together, um, shout out to Bobby.

00:12:10.670 --> 00:12:14.190
Um, I made it the point to like talk to them at the end of the school.

00:12:14.230 --> 00:12:16.910
I said, Hey man, I haven't done this in a while, but like, I'm excited to do it.

00:12:17.030 --> 00:12:19.070
Like, you know, it's going to be great for the kids. And we'll,

00:12:19.190 --> 00:12:21.790
he also liked teaching social studies.

00:12:21.970 --> 00:12:24.890
So, and I said, like, I told him a couple of things. I said,

00:12:24.990 --> 00:12:30.850
like, I do executive function coaching for a company out of Virginia, study skills.

00:12:31.890 --> 00:12:35.290
And I've looked at a lot of research in regards to deadlines and,

00:12:35.290 --> 00:12:39.090
you know, kids handing in work. So I have a very specific policy in regards

00:12:39.090 --> 00:12:43.330
to late work that I make sure parents are aware of, that I make sure the kids are aware of.

00:12:43.550 --> 00:12:46.510
Because it's research-based. It's like there's a deadline.

00:12:46.770 --> 00:12:50.570
Things are due. If you hand it in 24 hours later, you get 10 points off.

00:12:50.710 --> 00:12:53.490
After that, that assignment is missing. so there are

00:12:53.490 --> 00:12:56.950
very strict deadlines to your work because life has

00:12:56.950 --> 00:12:59.990
strict deadlines as well as uh you

00:12:59.990 --> 00:13:02.710
know that the fact that we can't just hand anything in whenever we

00:13:02.710 --> 00:13:05.330
want to right um but i

00:13:05.330 --> 00:13:09.290
also told him like if there is something that you would like to teach and i

00:13:09.290 --> 00:13:13.770
get tunnel vision and i'm like go go go like just tell me to slow down and be

00:13:13.770 --> 00:13:17.070
like hey i want to do that unit or i want to do that thing like like i said

00:13:17.070 --> 00:13:20.230
i want that communication because I know that's a weakness of mine where like

00:13:20.230 --> 00:13:22.970
I have a tendency to just train track through,

00:13:24.139 --> 00:13:27.079
like rush through material, but like, I have a path of where I want to go,

00:13:27.179 --> 00:13:28.039
like what we're going to do next.

00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:30.879
But if there's an order you want to do things or a lesson you want to do,

00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:33.279
or like, oh, I did this in my class. Like, let's do it, man.

00:13:33.459 --> 00:13:36.339
Like, just tell me and we'll do it. I just need that.

00:13:36.459 --> 00:13:40.379
Like you said, the communication to know that you want to do those things so

00:13:40.379 --> 00:13:42.099
we can incorporate them into our classroom.

00:13:43.099 --> 00:13:48.219
You also made a really good point that I also talk a lot about is you told him

00:13:48.219 --> 00:13:49.339
what your weaknesses are.

00:13:49.619 --> 00:13:53.119
That's what you need to share with your co-teacher. You need to share those strengths.

00:13:53.339 --> 00:13:56.539
You need to share those weaknesses. Just like when you're starting a relationship,

00:13:56.779 --> 00:14:02.039
you know, sure in the beginning, it's all wonderful and you're only putting your best foot forward.

00:14:02.179 --> 00:14:04.399
So that's maybe the time when you're sharing your strengths.

00:14:04.539 --> 00:14:06.439
This is the type of teacher I want to be every day.

00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:09.439
This is what I want to do. This is what I want out of this relationship.

00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:13.419
But just as importantly as sharing all of that, you really need to say,

00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:15.939
hey, you know, I really struggle.

00:14:16.379 --> 00:14:20.479
So this is a funny story. So one of the co-teachers I worked with for years,

00:14:20.479 --> 00:14:24.339
her and I always had the agreement that I always worked with the smelly kids

00:14:24.339 --> 00:14:27.499
in middle school, smelly kids.

00:14:27.699 --> 00:14:32.579
She could not do it. So it was always just like our understanding that whoever

00:14:32.579 --> 00:14:35.059
was the smelliest kid in our room happened to be mine.

00:14:35.379 --> 00:14:39.459
Luckily for me, after I had my kids, I like lost my sense of smell, not COVID related.

00:14:39.659 --> 00:14:44.239
Just, I don't know. I mean, it's there, but it's just, I'm really sorry. I'm still laughing.

00:14:44.459 --> 00:14:47.819
I don't know why that struck me as so funny, but just because I have the sense

00:14:47.819 --> 00:14:51.299
of humor of a 12 year old, You know how true it is.

00:14:51.499 --> 00:14:56.839
I, at the beginning of every fourth marking period for 26 years,

00:14:57.059 --> 00:14:58.339
I've had the same conversation.

00:14:59.099 --> 00:15:05.039
The clothes you wore in September, they might not fit you the same here in April and May.

00:15:05.319 --> 00:15:09.899
So please make sure that you try those things on before you wear them to school.

00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:13.359
And if you are asking yourself, should I wear this to school? The answer is no.

00:15:13.979 --> 00:15:17.979
Number two, number two, if you are not wearing deodorant, you should be.

00:15:18.719 --> 00:15:23.759
And if no one has ever told you that, now they have, because I don't want you

00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:25.219
to be the stinky kid in the seventh grade.

00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:27.859
So let's make sure we are wearing deodorant.

00:15:29.181 --> 00:15:34.421
And it just made me laugh because, like, I thought about that conversation and

00:15:34.421 --> 00:15:39.781
also the fact that, like, you get the stinky kids, which I just. I get the stinky kids.

00:15:39.901 --> 00:15:43.661
I do, but, you know, if somebody has to work with them, it might as well be

00:15:43.661 --> 00:15:45.701
the person who doesn't have the great sense of smell.

00:15:45.881 --> 00:15:48.301
So, you know, and that's what you have to do. You kind of pick,

00:15:48.421 --> 00:15:51.421
you know, what are your strengths? What are you good at?

00:15:51.541 --> 00:15:54.661
Like, when I'm put into a language arts class or even a social studies class,

00:15:54.821 --> 00:15:56.161
that's not really my forte.

00:15:56.441 --> 00:16:00.161
I am a math teacher through and through. Math and science, that's where my mind

00:16:00.161 --> 00:16:01.761
is. That's what I enjoy the most.

00:16:02.501 --> 00:16:07.381
But I let those co-teachers know. I'm like, you know, I am not the strongest

00:16:07.381 --> 00:16:11.081
language arts teacher, but this is how I can help you.

00:16:11.381 --> 00:16:14.601
I'm great with the computer. I'm great with the smelly kids.

00:16:14.841 --> 00:16:19.221
I'm great with coming up with games and interactive, you know,

00:16:19.441 --> 00:16:23.401
different interactive things for us to do in our classroom. I love to get out of the room.

00:16:23.541 --> 00:16:27.521
So I like to do parallel teaching a lot, but not in the same room because I

00:16:27.521 --> 00:16:32.341
don't know what middle schooler or what any student can listen to two teachers

00:16:32.341 --> 00:16:35.061
talking at the same time and pay attention to one.

00:16:35.181 --> 00:16:38.701
I always didn't understand that model. So I take that model in the hallway.

00:16:38.761 --> 00:16:41.381
I'm always a big fan of, hey, I'll take them in the hallway.

00:16:41.381 --> 00:16:44.741
I'll walk around with them and do an activity in the hallway and then send them

00:16:44.741 --> 00:16:47.121
back to you. You can send the other half out to me.

00:16:47.761 --> 00:16:53.361
So I'll do anything like that. I always just say, you know, maybe language arts isn't my strong suit.

00:16:53.441 --> 00:16:58.941
So I might not be able to explain theme as well as you or know the ins and outs

00:16:58.941 --> 00:17:03.261
of every character in this novel, but I will, I will help in other ways.

00:17:04.521 --> 00:17:08.161
And there, it has to be, you know, there really does have to be that,

00:17:08.201 --> 00:17:12.501
that type of like survey of, you know, what are the, what are the subjects that

00:17:12.501 --> 00:17:13.841
you're really most comfortable?

00:17:13.961 --> 00:17:16.981
I mean, Because it's such an unrealistic expectation for special ed teachers

00:17:16.981 --> 00:17:21.381
to have to, you know, jump into different subjects, especially the ones that

00:17:21.381 --> 00:17:23.901
they're not, you know, fond of, right?

00:17:23.961 --> 00:17:28.081
Like, we all got to pick what subject was our favorite, and that's what we teach,

00:17:28.181 --> 00:17:30.641
you know, or where, you know, where our strengths lie.

00:17:30.781 --> 00:17:35.901
So it is so important, you know, as a starting off point to say, this is, you know, I...

00:17:38.147 --> 00:17:41.767
Which subjects do you want, which subjects do you want to teach in?

00:17:41.847 --> 00:17:43.087
Which ones would you rather not?

00:17:43.207 --> 00:17:47.207
And then if you are forced to, at least to be, you know, open and say,

00:17:47.367 --> 00:17:49.967
you know, this isn't really my thing, but I can do A, B, C, and D,

00:17:50.147 --> 00:17:51.867
which is, you know, excellent.

00:17:51.887 --> 00:17:56.747
I worked with a teacher last year who had come from an elementary school and

00:17:56.747 --> 00:18:04.027
had taught special ed and even like autistic children for over 20 years.

00:18:04.227 --> 00:18:07.667
And she had decided it was time for her to come to middle school.

00:18:08.147 --> 00:18:13.167
And although language arts is her strong suit, they needed her to,

00:18:13.167 --> 00:18:14.747
you know, pop into a history class.

00:18:14.927 --> 00:18:17.047
So it was like the first time.

00:18:17.427 --> 00:18:23.207
And every single skill that she had in her teacher toolbox was applicable.

00:18:23.767 --> 00:18:30.147
And she was unbelievable. Fantastic. She is great. Just to jump in there.

00:18:30.267 --> 00:18:33.807
And I think that that's the other part also, like the, for like,

00:18:34.007 --> 00:18:36.627
for the special education, a special education teacher.

00:18:36.787 --> 00:18:40.427
It's like, you don't have to be, you know, you can leave that kind of deep content

00:18:40.427 --> 00:18:45.047
knowledge to the gen ed classroom teacher, but all of those other things that

00:18:45.047 --> 00:18:48.207
you know are so valuable and,

00:18:48.527 --> 00:18:51.987
you know, jump in there and get, you know, so anything that she wanted to do,

00:18:52.227 --> 00:18:53.427
anything she wanted to try.

00:18:54.347 --> 00:18:57.667
Anybody that, you know, she sort of, any idea.

00:18:57.687 --> 00:18:59.967
Ideas that she had, it was like, yes, let's do this.

00:19:00.127 --> 00:19:03.447
And I just actually for, um, for autism awareness, this, um,

00:19:04.272 --> 00:19:07.232
She had made these really fantastic stations last year.

00:19:07.272 --> 00:19:10.792
And I just said to her the other day, like, do you mind if I use them again?

00:19:10.792 --> 00:19:12.672
I don't know if you're going to use them or.

00:19:12.832 --> 00:19:15.492
And it was like, no, of course not. And go for it. And great.

00:19:15.732 --> 00:19:20.292
And, you know, and it's like I'm still missing her all these months later.

00:19:20.492 --> 00:19:22.592
So, you know, when it works, it's really.

00:19:23.112 --> 00:19:26.632
I did ask you if I could use those stations before and I did do some of them

00:19:26.632 --> 00:19:30.232
last year. So I hope my students are. Oh, good. No, you know what? You have now.

00:19:30.532 --> 00:19:34.832
I made some new. I made some new ones. Good. But I might actually look at that

00:19:34.832 --> 00:19:37.612
and do some of those as well, because she was willing to share. Yeah.

00:19:38.072 --> 00:19:42.432
I think for for both of the teachers, like the one, you know, Tony,

00:19:42.612 --> 00:19:46.352
who who Jamie worked with last year and Bobby, who I work with this year,

00:19:46.432 --> 00:19:51.412
they're very much like I mean, not like their personality, but like the way

00:19:51.412 --> 00:19:54.432
they approach the job is like they're an improv actor.

00:19:54.712 --> 00:19:57.392
It's like, yes. And yes. And like, there's never a no.

00:19:57.712 --> 00:20:00.772
They're like, yeah, let's try it. Let's do it. Well, sure. Why not? OK, great.

00:20:00.972 --> 00:20:04.232
Stations. Let's do it. Hey, you know, we should use that TV or we should do

00:20:04.232 --> 00:20:09.992
that game or, you know, we met with when we talked to Jamie and I mentioned

00:20:09.992 --> 00:20:13.672
about the idea that you had the one station that has like coloring and then

00:20:13.672 --> 00:20:15.712
you discuss like questions and talk about them.

00:20:16.752 --> 00:20:20.212
I mentioned that to Bobby and he was like, ah, coloring. Like,

00:20:20.292 --> 00:20:24.432
I don't know. Like, he's like, you really? I was like, let's let's try it. Let's try it.

00:20:24.952 --> 00:20:28.712
It wound up being the best one. And we had the greatest conversations with those

00:20:28.712 --> 00:20:33.712
kids there to the point where it's like now we know whenever we do stations,

00:20:33.712 --> 00:20:39.572
there has to be some kind of coloring thing, even if it's juvenile, like coloring a flag.

00:20:39.572 --> 00:20:45.832
And we're talking about the president, the executive branch or whatever. So.

00:20:46.907 --> 00:20:51.087
Yeah, it was it's just it's great when they have that when someone has that

00:20:51.087 --> 00:20:56.287
kind of attitude, because I have also heard people talk on the other side of it.

00:20:56.607 --> 00:21:00.827
Right. About like their relationship is struggling. Like, you know,

00:21:00.967 --> 00:21:04.127
sometimes I'm the one doing all the heavy lifting, you know.

00:21:04.727 --> 00:21:10.907
Oh, I've heard. Why don't you just pay me? I'll do both because I already do both of the jobs.

00:21:12.747 --> 00:21:15.767
So I wasn't going to I wasn't going to go there. But, yeah, I heard that,

00:21:15.767 --> 00:21:20.687
too. Yeah, that's that's that's yeah, I mean, you know, and then it becomes

00:21:20.687 --> 00:21:25.587
one of those sticky situations because now you're talking about someone that you work with.

00:21:25.747 --> 00:21:29.187
Yeah, everybody, you know, and it's really now you're, you know,

00:21:29.287 --> 00:21:32.907
kind of demoralizing somebody that I even I even made the point to go up to

00:21:32.907 --> 00:21:34.367
to go up to Bobby at one point.

00:21:34.467 --> 00:21:36.827
I said, hey, you know what? Every once in a while, I hear my coworkers talk

00:21:36.827 --> 00:21:39.747
about this relationship and that person and might not be going that well.

00:21:39.747 --> 00:21:42.587
I said, but I'm just letting you know, like, I don't have any of those issues with you.

00:21:42.707 --> 00:21:46.507
I said, and I know I ain't perfect and I don't make everything,

00:21:46.527 --> 00:21:49.967
but I appreciate our relationship. I think it's, you know, to the point where

00:21:49.967 --> 00:21:55.047
like in my, uh, summative evaluation for the year, like my principal did make

00:21:55.047 --> 00:21:57.487
a comment, like, you know, their relationship is very positive.

00:21:57.627 --> 00:22:00.347
They're, you know, doing great things for the students. I'd like to see them

00:22:00.347 --> 00:22:01.427
do more of this next year.

00:22:01.527 --> 00:22:04.207
And we had already talked about like, oh yeah, we do want to do that next year.

00:22:04.287 --> 00:22:07.367
We would do want to do more of this or that. Like, you know,

00:22:07.467 --> 00:22:10.647
we tried reading a novel this year because we hadn't, I hadn't done that in

00:22:10.647 --> 00:22:14.627
a while because I get, you know, I was telling a coworker today,

00:22:14.767 --> 00:22:16.547
like she was like, oh, you're reading this novel in class.

00:22:16.647 --> 00:22:19.467
I'm like, yeah, I kind of wanted to do a literature thing and read a book and

00:22:19.467 --> 00:22:21.947
we discuss it. We talk about it. We look at some of the themes.

00:22:22.167 --> 00:22:25.427
And I was like, cause if I do the same thing every year, like I get bored.

00:22:26.760 --> 00:22:30.180
And I don't like, and then if I get bored, I'm like, man, I don't want to be

00:22:30.180 --> 00:22:34.180
here. You know, I don't want to be like that. I want to be enthusiastic and enjoy what I do.

00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:42.100
Anyway, sorry. I, uh, rambling, but, um, yeah, I think it's special education

00:22:42.100 --> 00:22:45.680
teachers never get bored because like you were saying, we get pulled in every

00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:48.160
direction. We're always teaching multiple subjects.

00:22:48.460 --> 00:22:52.460
Um, this year, you know, we teach in blocks. So I have three blocks a day.

00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:56.320
I have an eighth grade science class where we're of course starting a new curriculum.

00:22:56.560 --> 00:23:00.200
I have a seventh grade math class and then I have an eighth grade math class.

00:23:00.380 --> 00:23:05.060
So luckily it's all of the subjects that I enjoy as opposed to last year when

00:23:05.060 --> 00:23:09.400
I had a language arts class thrown in there and the regular ed teacher was on maternity leave.

00:23:09.520 --> 00:23:13.120
So that made it even more stressful because like I said before,

00:23:13.120 --> 00:23:16.800
I'm not the language arts minded teacher.

00:23:18.200 --> 00:23:24.000
But yeah, we're never bored and we're constantly trying to be flexible and change

00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:27.900
up our game plan and learn the new content because unfortunately they do move

00:23:27.900 --> 00:23:30.380
the special education teachers around so much.

00:23:30.600 --> 00:23:36.700
So what I've learned is like one of the best ways to be a helpful co-teacher, two things.

00:23:36.840 --> 00:23:40.080
Well, I mean, I have a whole list of the ways to be successful and we kind of

00:23:40.080 --> 00:23:43.240
talked on quite a few of them. First one is share the workload.

00:23:43.540 --> 00:23:49.480
And whenever I talk about sharing the workload, it's not a 50-50 share, but it is a share.

00:23:49.780 --> 00:23:53.040
So most likely you're teaching with somebody who's done this for years.

00:23:53.320 --> 00:23:56.740
There may be the expert in it, or they're doing it all day long.

00:23:56.740 --> 00:23:59.740
Whereas I come along, I'm just there for one block and I'm gone.

00:23:59.780 --> 00:24:04.460
So my share isn't a 50-50, but I definitely need to have my part.

00:24:04.620 --> 00:24:07.500
I need to be able to, you know, make some of the activities,

00:24:07.760 --> 00:24:11.620
grade some of the papers, not just focus, and especially this,

00:24:11.740 --> 00:24:16.380
because this bothers me so much, not just focus on the special education students.

00:24:16.380 --> 00:24:22.360
I have teachers who are like, I'm going to take care of my kids. I go.

00:24:23.213 --> 00:24:29.273
All of the kids are your kids. It's a class, both of your class and some specialized

00:24:29.273 --> 00:24:31.493
teachers like, no, no, no, I'm just going to take care of my kids.

00:24:31.633 --> 00:24:33.793
I'm like, that's not how it works. When you're in that room,

00:24:33.993 --> 00:24:37.693
they're all your kids, you know, and, and you have to work with the other teacher.

00:24:37.853 --> 00:24:41.273
It's not like these are her kids and these are your kids. That is not how it works.

00:24:41.393 --> 00:24:45.053
So that's one of the, just changing some people's mindsets about what co-teaching

00:24:45.053 --> 00:24:48.593
is, because sometimes, I mean, a few weeks ago, one of the kids is like,

00:24:48.753 --> 00:24:51.493
why are you, why are you teaching the lesson. You're the assistant.

00:24:52.233 --> 00:24:55.653
I was like, wow. And that's what I, that's what I don't want.

00:24:55.833 --> 00:25:02.393
I, and I, I unfortunately still, um, that's something I also struggle with.

00:25:02.513 --> 00:25:07.153
Like I, I want to make sure that I incorporate, um, him as much as possible,

00:25:07.153 --> 00:25:10.093
but there's a lot of times he's helping out those other kids.

00:25:10.573 --> 00:25:14.113
Um, so I try to be cognizant of that to be like, Hey, do you want to do this

00:25:14.113 --> 00:25:16.853
lesson this time? Or like, like you want to do this unit?

00:25:17.013 --> 00:25:19.173
Do you want to plan these stations, like, and have him like,

00:25:19.253 --> 00:25:20.333
okay, you're a star of the show here.

00:25:20.393 --> 00:25:23.113
I'm just going to be, I'm going to be the guy that's going around and,

00:25:23.113 --> 00:25:26.733
and helping people and doing all that stuff. So we try and do that as much as we can.

00:25:27.153 --> 00:25:31.473
You know, ironically enough, like I teach just as much as the other teacher

00:25:31.473 --> 00:25:34.573
does. And this is like halfway through the year, they're saying this it's,

00:25:34.593 --> 00:25:39.393
it's the mindset that they know that that teacher is in that room all day long

00:25:39.393 --> 00:25:41.533
and that I come in and out.

00:25:41.873 --> 00:25:45.353
Um, I don't know. It's just something about it, no matter how much you teach.

00:25:45.473 --> 00:25:47.833
I think that's one of the hardest struggles to get over.

00:25:47.993 --> 00:25:52.033
Even if you have a very supportive co-teacher and you are both teaching the

00:25:52.033 --> 00:25:56.473
lesson, still there's something about it because I'm always walking into their classrooms.

00:25:57.341 --> 00:26:01.601
So there's always that. So try and support your co-teacher as much as possible

00:26:01.601 --> 00:26:02.761
because it's hard on them.

00:26:02.961 --> 00:26:05.621
I mean, I've been doing this for over 20 years and some days I'm like,

00:26:06.101 --> 00:26:07.901
really? How do they think I'm the assistant?

00:26:08.101 --> 00:26:12.481
I just taught the entire lesson the other day or I made all these activities.

00:26:12.741 --> 00:26:17.021
I'm just as busy as the other teacher. But I think it's because in middle school,

00:26:17.141 --> 00:26:21.061
you know, they walk into that classroom and they know it's, you know, whoever's classroom.

00:26:21.181 --> 00:26:23.701
This is Mrs. Wyatt's classroom, not Mrs. Mazzocchi's classroom,

00:26:23.921 --> 00:26:25.861
even though it's both of ours when we're in there together.

00:26:26.121 --> 00:26:32.121
Yeah. Right. Yeah, we tried really hard to, one of our goals was that the kids

00:26:32.121 --> 00:26:35.021
couldn't really tell who was for who.

00:26:35.661 --> 00:26:41.061
And we really, it was, it was most important, I think, for us that the students

00:26:41.061 --> 00:26:46.621
continued to guess, you know, so that there wasn't any sort of idea of like,

00:26:46.721 --> 00:26:49.621
oh, it's just Mrs. E's kids, or oh, those are Mrs.

00:26:49.701 --> 00:26:53.401
Wonko's students. We really and we also had a very unique situation because

00:26:53.401 --> 00:26:58.061
we had so many ESL students in our class together.

00:26:58.461 --> 00:27:05.241
So not only did we have a large special ed population, we also had a lot of

00:27:05.241 --> 00:27:10.041
ESL students. So it was a completely and totally like all hands on deck situation.

00:27:10.461 --> 00:27:15.381
And and as a language arts and social studies teacher, the special education

00:27:15.381 --> 00:27:19.801
teacher had some of those students a couple times a day.

00:27:20.481 --> 00:27:23.961
And there would be days when she would like

00:27:23.961 --> 00:27:29.241
she just had to give me a look and i knew like that was it for her with a couple

00:27:29.241 --> 00:27:33.161
of the other kids because they had already spent a great deal of time together

00:27:33.161 --> 00:27:38.241
so they you know they kind of needed their separation as well um and we got

00:27:38.241 --> 00:27:41.541
to the point where we just could kind of just glance at each other and we knew

00:27:41.541 --> 00:27:43.741
like okay you you know i'm tapping,

00:27:43.901 --> 00:27:46.661
you tap in, I'm tapping out. I can't. Yeah.

00:27:47.221 --> 00:27:53.261
You know, which is a challenge because as we know, middle schoolers are challenging.

00:27:55.521 --> 00:27:58.481
That's also good that you're able to recognize that because that's,

00:27:58.481 --> 00:28:03.181
that's a dynamic that might get missed. Yeah. Um, where, you know.

00:28:04.075 --> 00:28:10.735
I know, I believe that, um, Mr. Harry is in with, he's in with, yeah.

00:28:10.895 --> 00:28:15.675
So he doesn't have that, that up there go the balloons again. Um, he's damn max.

00:28:16.375 --> 00:28:19.155
Hooray. Hooray. Hooray for Mr. Harry. Okay.

00:28:19.395 --> 00:28:23.875
Um, so, um, now the balloons distracted me and I can't remember what I was going

00:28:23.875 --> 00:28:26.855
to say. Oh yeah. He's with, he's with different teachers at different grade levels.

00:28:26.975 --> 00:28:31.035
So he does not have that situation, but we do know that there are some tough

00:28:31.035 --> 00:28:35.255
kids where there's some moments where like, I know it's escalating and I'll

00:28:35.255 --> 00:28:37.795
be like, Hey, yeah, why don't I step in there for like,

00:28:38.095 --> 00:28:42.775
or you just go in or there's times where I feel that the kid needs that,

00:28:42.955 --> 00:28:48.115
that like, you know, he's playing good cop and it's time for me to come in and be like, Hey,

00:28:48.535 --> 00:28:52.535
no, we're not talking to somebody like that. That is not how we are reacting.

00:28:52.755 --> 00:28:56.115
That is not the environment that we create in this classroom. Absolutely not.

00:28:56.795 --> 00:29:00.055
And even though he's very calm and level he never raises

00:29:00.055 --> 00:29:02.735
his voice calm level-headed you know

00:29:02.735 --> 00:29:05.615
i'm i'm the guy that'll like step in and do

00:29:05.615 --> 00:29:08.415
that which is very rare because i'm my wife calls me can of

00:29:08.415 --> 00:29:13.435
snakes because i don't ever really get angry or blow up but when i do it's like

00:29:13.435 --> 00:29:18.115
can of snakes you like open up the little prank thing um and there i go flying

00:29:18.115 --> 00:29:22.935
off the handle so uh i think it's important to realize that like we complement

00:29:22.935 --> 00:29:27.415
each other in that way which makes the relationship even that much better.

00:29:28.115 --> 00:29:31.155
So, so what about brand new teachers?

00:29:31.635 --> 00:29:37.575
What, what are some of the things that you say or would give advice to them just starting out?

00:29:37.655 --> 00:29:41.635
You can start with maybe with advice for like new special education teachers.

00:29:42.236 --> 00:29:47.076
Okay. You know, as a new special education teacher and you're walking into maybe

00:29:47.076 --> 00:29:50.656
even just one or multiple different classrooms, the first thing I would tell

00:29:50.656 --> 00:29:54.596
you to do is observe, especially if you're in with a veteran teacher,

00:29:55.216 --> 00:29:59.096
like not sit back, but observe, see how they handle situations.

00:29:59.096 --> 00:30:03.276
Because, you know, if you're a brand new teacher, sure, like you're excited,

00:30:03.276 --> 00:30:06.056
you're ready to get out there and start teaching every day.

00:30:06.216 --> 00:30:11.376
But there is a lot of value in watching other people teach and how do they run their room?

00:30:11.656 --> 00:30:15.876
So like, first off, I would say, you know, observe a little bit before you come

00:30:15.876 --> 00:30:17.916
in with a million grand ideas.

00:30:17.996 --> 00:30:20.896
And the reason I would say sit back and observe a little bit longer,

00:30:21.076 --> 00:30:25.576
especially if you're a new teacher, is that sometimes a veteran teacher might be put off immediately.

00:30:25.836 --> 00:30:29.136
You're brand new here. Like, just give it a minute.

00:30:29.316 --> 00:30:34.096
And if you are going to come in with some suggestions, I wouldn't give a million suggestions at once.

00:30:34.216 --> 00:30:38.656
So kind of really take it for a great learning opportunity.

00:30:39.416 --> 00:30:43.596
I remember I learned so much. I mean, I did not teach a lot.

00:30:43.776 --> 00:30:49.356
I really observed a great deal. My first two co-teaching relationships that

00:30:49.356 --> 00:30:52.276
I can remember because I was with veteran teachers.

00:30:52.516 --> 00:30:55.136
And when I say veteran, they were like old school.

00:30:55.436 --> 00:30:57.896
They had been there for like 30 years.

00:30:58.416 --> 00:31:02.416
And I mean, they ran the building and they were tough. I mean,

00:31:02.616 --> 00:31:05.696
this one teacher that I worked with, he would call me Hun every day.

00:31:05.956 --> 00:31:08.556
Hun, can you do this? Hun, can you do that?

00:31:08.896 --> 00:31:16.056
And at first it completely shocked me, but I observed how he taught and I learned

00:31:16.056 --> 00:31:18.396
so much from him, so much good stuff.

00:31:18.496 --> 00:31:23.496
And I learned a lot of bad things or things that I knew I would not take away.

00:31:23.696 --> 00:31:26.936
So as you're in there, new teachers, know that you're

00:31:26.936 --> 00:31:30.496
observing and like learning from people who've been doing this for a while but

00:31:30.496 --> 00:31:35.076
also know that not every teacher is a great teacher and that some of the things

00:31:35.076 --> 00:31:39.656
you're seeing are probably things you might not want to do for instance at this

00:31:39.656 --> 00:31:44.876
point i would never allow somebody to call me hun in front of the students but i also,

00:31:45.981 --> 00:31:49.261
have been there a lot longer, and I wouldn't feel as intimidated.

00:31:50.461 --> 00:31:55.061
So that would be the first thing, observe. Also, try not to let them intimidate

00:31:55.061 --> 00:31:59.041
you, even though I'm telling you this 60-year-old man telling my 23-year-old

00:31:59.041 --> 00:32:02.381
self, can you do this, can you do that? I was like, sure, okay.

00:32:03.101 --> 00:32:06.961
So try not to be intimidated. Try, if you do feel overwhelmed,

00:32:07.221 --> 00:32:10.601
try and find somebody that you trust that you can talk to, to see if they can

00:32:10.601 --> 00:32:14.401
give you some advice about how to deal with that person before you take it upon

00:32:14.401 --> 00:32:20.121
yourself to just, you know, get all angry at them. So that would be two really good things.

00:32:20.241 --> 00:32:24.201
And the third thing I would say is know what your strengths are,

00:32:24.321 --> 00:32:27.421
that if you're a young, new teacher, and maybe you're working with a teacher

00:32:27.421 --> 00:32:28.661
who's been there for a long time.

00:32:29.741 --> 00:32:32.841
If somebody has been in this business, I'll call it a business,

00:32:33.021 --> 00:32:37.021
you know, our show performances every day, because that's what I feel like I am on stage every day.

00:32:37.321 --> 00:32:41.781
You know, we have a lot of tricks, but we've kind of let things go.

00:32:41.921 --> 00:32:47.541
And if you kind of remind us of some new, fun, fresh ideas, that's what teachers need.

00:32:47.661 --> 00:32:52.161
We need to keep giving each other different ideas and remind each other of our whys.

00:32:52.581 --> 00:32:57.981
And maybe you're fresh out of college and amazing with technology and the person that you're with,

00:32:58.683 --> 00:33:02.823
has learned technology as they went. Like they didn't have one-on-one computers

00:33:02.823 --> 00:33:07.363
when I first, you know, I don't even know when was the first time we got computers in my building.

00:33:07.483 --> 00:33:10.963
I think I had like one classroom computer when I first started.

00:33:11.123 --> 00:33:13.163
Now they're all one-to-one devices, right?

00:33:13.463 --> 00:33:17.143
Yeah. So it's just crazy. So you can like, your strength could maybe be that

00:33:17.143 --> 00:33:21.423
you're very savvy with technology and you can help that teacher learn things

00:33:21.423 --> 00:33:23.043
that would help them there.

00:33:23.843 --> 00:33:27.623
Did you ever watch Everybody Loves Raymond? Do you remember that show?

00:33:27.963 --> 00:33:33.463
So on Everybody Loves Raymond, they had the daughter and then they also had twin boys.

00:33:33.923 --> 00:33:41.263
And the grandpa would come from across the street and he would like smell the top of their heads.

00:33:41.403 --> 00:33:45.323
And Debra used to say like, I know my father-in-law was here because I can smell

00:33:45.323 --> 00:33:47.083
his cologne on the baby's heads.

00:33:47.523 --> 00:33:50.683
And he would say like, I'm sorry, I'm just like, I'm sucking their youth.

00:33:51.223 --> 00:33:55.663
And he would just, you know, smell them. And so that is how I feel about new

00:33:55.663 --> 00:34:00.923
teachers. Like, I want you to be so shiny and so bright and so excited that

00:34:00.923 --> 00:34:05.423
I'm just blinded by all that, you know, because you're not jaded.

00:34:05.643 --> 00:34:08.103
You're not, you're ready to go. You have all the energy.

00:34:08.623 --> 00:34:12.303
And so I want to, like, I want to have that experience from them.

00:34:12.303 --> 00:34:16.743
So I would hope that they know that that is, if they can get through some of

00:34:16.743 --> 00:34:21.303
the, you know, curmudgeony practices that some of us do have,

00:34:21.303 --> 00:34:24.263
because that's what happens after 20-plus years.

00:34:24.383 --> 00:34:28.043
You know, you do get a little bit jaded with different things.

00:34:28.183 --> 00:34:33.763
But we want to, you know, get all the energy and youth that you have and give

00:34:33.763 --> 00:34:38.163
it, you know, and hopefully it'll be contagious in our practice every day.

00:34:38.163 --> 00:34:42.123
I think that's an interesting part of the dynamic, which I, you know.

00:34:42.783 --> 00:34:46.103
Would hope that if I ever get paired with a younger teacher,

00:34:46.383 --> 00:34:51.123
like, you know, just fresh out of college, almost at high school,

00:34:51.703 --> 00:34:58.223
fresh out of college, that I'd be able to still have the energy and the foresight

00:34:58.223 --> 00:35:03.323
to be like, I want to make sure that they have a good experience and learn the right things for me.

00:35:04.123 --> 00:35:10.783
And also try to absorb a little bit from them to re-energize yourself in the career, right?

00:35:10.863 --> 00:35:15.683
Because we're in a profession that you have to constantly be learning or you

00:35:15.683 --> 00:35:18.843
become a dinosaur and you die. And you mentioned the technology thing.

00:35:19.343 --> 00:35:22.363
That's what I had to decide to do because it was either like,

00:35:22.383 --> 00:35:23.983
I didn't grow up with this stuff.

00:35:24.083 --> 00:35:27.443
I didn't grow up with computers. It was either like I'd be a dinosaur and I

00:35:27.443 --> 00:35:34.523
go extinct with my short little arms or I dive myself in and learn and understand

00:35:34.523 --> 00:35:36.783
because I knew that's where the puck was moving to.

00:35:38.683 --> 00:35:43.063
That's an important realization to come to. But I'm also curious as to if you

00:35:43.063 --> 00:35:49.543
were a not a special ed teacher and you are working with a veteran special ed

00:35:49.543 --> 00:35:51.603
teacher who's maybe stuck in their ways,

00:35:51.603 --> 00:35:54.943
what suggestion you might have to that new teacher to...

00:35:57.198 --> 00:35:59.478
Improve that relationship, when

00:35:59.478 --> 00:36:03.038
or at what point should they get their administrator involved as well?

00:36:03.898 --> 00:36:06.638
So that's what I'd be curious as to your advice on that one.

00:36:07.198 --> 00:36:10.598
Yeah, that's a slippery slope to talk about.

00:36:11.998 --> 00:36:17.738
So, I mean, as a new regular ed teacher and you're brand new,

00:36:17.958 --> 00:36:22.998
again, I would kind of give you the same advice I would give a new special ed

00:36:22.998 --> 00:36:25.418
teacher in the way of if somebody's coming in.

00:36:25.418 --> 00:36:30.138
So say I started working as a 20 some year co-teaching expert,

00:36:30.358 --> 00:36:34.018
even if I was in a language arts class as a special ed teacher,

00:36:34.018 --> 00:36:36.418
I would tell this regular ed teacher like.

00:36:36.778 --> 00:36:42.058
Yes, I might not be the content expert, but let me show you how I would run

00:36:42.058 --> 00:36:45.838
this or how I would do this. And I would give them the same advice.

00:36:46.018 --> 00:36:51.018
I would say, you know, use that block or that period to learn from that teacher.

00:36:51.198 --> 00:36:56.158
As comfortable as that special ed teacher is with teaching that content, kind of maybe step back.

00:36:56.318 --> 00:36:59.878
Tell them how you did it maybe in your other blocks, but give them a chance

00:36:59.878 --> 00:37:04.378
to lead the lesson and learn from how they would present it.

00:37:04.378 --> 00:37:08.198
And, and the other thing is, is so sometimes we think that we have to do the

00:37:08.198 --> 00:37:10.278
exact same lesson every block for every kid.

00:37:10.338 --> 00:37:13.218
So all the seventh graders get the same type of experience.

00:37:13.358 --> 00:37:16.398
Well, not every teacher is the same. Not every class is the same.

00:37:16.578 --> 00:37:20.898
The, when you teach by yourself class doesn't have to look exactly like when

00:37:20.898 --> 00:37:23.738
you have your co-teacher in the room, it should look a lot different.

00:37:23.738 --> 00:37:28.698
So I kind of feel like I would give the same advice to both,

00:37:28.838 --> 00:37:32.218
whether it's a regular ed or a special ed teacher, as long as that special ed

00:37:32.218 --> 00:37:36.778
teacher is, you know, comfortable. And if they're a veteran teacher, they're comfortable.

00:37:36.938 --> 00:37:40.178
OK, I can run a language arts class if I have to.

00:37:40.418 --> 00:37:45.158
Do I choose to? Do I say, yes, sign me up for that? No, definitely not.

00:37:45.478 --> 00:37:48.758
But any teacher who's a veteran teacher, whether it's a special ed or the regular

00:37:48.758 --> 00:37:52.878
ed teacher, observe them, learn from them because they have so much to offer you.

00:37:53.798 --> 00:37:56.838
When do you get administration involved? Well, before administration,

00:37:56.838 --> 00:38:02.218
I would start with go talk to if in your building you have a mentor,

00:38:02.438 --> 00:38:03.778
talk to your mentor first.

00:38:04.418 --> 00:38:08.198
I would talk to whatever friends you might have made that you trust.

00:38:08.458 --> 00:38:12.678
Now, obviously, as a new teacher, you have to be real careful who you want to

00:38:12.678 --> 00:38:16.838
start talking to because you don't know the dynamics of the school. Very good advice.

00:38:17.198 --> 00:38:21.278
Yeah, you do not know the dynamics of the school. The people who have come up

00:38:21.278 --> 00:38:24.678
to you, who smile at you every day, who truly say,

00:38:25.384 --> 00:38:28.184
Let me know if I can help you in any way. And they've said it more than just

00:38:28.184 --> 00:38:31.564
that once to be polite. Those are your people, new teachers.

00:38:31.784 --> 00:38:35.564
Go find them because they truly mean it. Like they will help you.

00:38:36.124 --> 00:38:41.824
You can see or who do they, who do people talk about as far as like our lead

00:38:41.824 --> 00:38:42.884
teachers in the building?

00:38:43.024 --> 00:38:45.084
Maybe talk to that. Like we have core leaders.

00:38:45.264 --> 00:38:48.704
So we have, you know, the eighth grade teachers that are in charge or the seventh

00:38:48.704 --> 00:38:52.324
or sixth grade. I would go to them next. Talk to those teachers.

00:38:53.124 --> 00:38:57.864
I run the like mentoring. it's called support on site for all the non-tenured

00:38:57.864 --> 00:38:58.904
teachers in my building.

00:38:59.124 --> 00:39:01.484
I don't know how many other buildings have something like that,

00:39:01.684 --> 00:39:03.184
but that's the person I would tell them.

00:39:03.304 --> 00:39:07.724
I would tell them to go to all those people before they're bringing it up to administration.

00:39:08.064 --> 00:39:12.424
I mean, you need to talk to a lot of other teachers in the building before you

00:39:12.424 --> 00:39:14.344
want to step foot in the office.

00:39:15.244 --> 00:39:19.684
I agree. Yeah. What about support on site?

00:39:19.844 --> 00:39:23.324
Is that something that your district provides? I've never heard of that before.

00:39:23.984 --> 00:39:28.744
Yeah. So one of the teachers, so she presented this and we have something called

00:39:28.744 --> 00:39:30.844
support on site. We have, what do we have?

00:39:31.184 --> 00:39:34.544
Eight elementary schools, three middle schools. And in every building,

00:39:34.544 --> 00:39:39.344
they have a teacher, which would be in my building. It's me.

00:39:39.484 --> 00:39:43.584
I'm the leader of it. Once a month, I have a meeting after school for an hour

00:39:43.584 --> 00:39:46.984
with all the non-tenured teachers, whoever wants to come. It's by choice.

00:39:47.104 --> 00:39:48.644
If they don't want to come, they don't have to come.

00:39:48.984 --> 00:39:52.424
And we just kind of give them the lay of the land. This is what the building

00:39:52.424 --> 00:39:54.304
is like. This is who you can trust.

00:39:54.664 --> 00:39:58.304
This is what you can expect. Like I just had my meeting yesterday and I was

00:39:58.304 --> 00:40:00.584
like, okay, so testing is coming up.

00:40:00.744 --> 00:40:03.204
This is what testing looks like in this building.

00:40:03.584 --> 00:40:07.604
And just to give them before we have the real faculty meeting of sitting down

00:40:07.604 --> 00:40:11.784
and hearing about it, I'm like, okay, this is what it looks like when you go on the website.

00:40:11.884 --> 00:40:14.704
This is what you're going to press. This is what you're not going to press.

00:40:15.624 --> 00:40:19.624
And just kind of giving them an idea of what it looks like. So that's what it is, support on site.

00:40:19.764 --> 00:40:25.304
And so as like, so we're like the mentors to everybody who's non-tenured.

00:40:25.484 --> 00:40:29.484
So if they have a mentor, they still get a mentor, but then they get me as well. Like they can come.

00:40:29.704 --> 00:40:32.964
Oh, is that, do you get paid for that? We do.

00:40:33.284 --> 00:40:36.364
Oh, we talk, we talk a lot about on the pod about.

00:40:39.024 --> 00:40:42.484
You know, what you get paid for, what you don't get paid for as far as teaching

00:40:42.484 --> 00:40:46.764
and how different the newer generation is with saying no, how much better they

00:40:46.764 --> 00:40:49.244
are at saying no than we were, right?

00:40:49.404 --> 00:40:53.224
I mean, I totally can relate to your Han story because that,

00:40:53.404 --> 00:40:56.164
you know, it was just, yeah, you just smiled and nodded and were polite.

00:40:56.184 --> 00:40:59.544
And I mean, I was even doing, I was doing my student teaching and one of my

00:40:59.544 --> 00:41:05.504
cooperating, the person who comes from school and she came and she safety pinned my skirt.

00:41:06.291 --> 00:41:08.711
Had like a little, like a slit in the back. And when I tell you,

00:41:08.831 --> 00:41:15.831
I'm like the most modest dresser now in 1999, like I was not, and she pinned my skirt.

00:41:15.991 --> 00:41:20.631
And I think about that often of like, why did I, why did I let like what,

00:41:20.851 --> 00:41:23.791
you know, and you just, you know, now we've, we've gotten to the point where

00:41:23.791 --> 00:41:26.211
we encourage, like, speak up for yourself and it's all right.

00:41:26.331 --> 00:41:27.391
And, but that's interesting.

00:41:27.531 --> 00:41:33.111
Yeah. So, so that's a great program because then they know that they have you to come to. I love that.

00:41:34.411 --> 00:41:39.411
So we also like, and then we meet all, all the support on site,

00:41:39.591 --> 00:41:42.411
like I guess a supervisor, I don't know what it is, whatever,

00:41:42.851 --> 00:41:47.011
whatever the technical type leaders, we all meet together too and share ideas

00:41:47.011 --> 00:41:48.731
like, oh, this is what I did in my building.

00:41:48.971 --> 00:41:52.771
Oh, we try and do like themes and different things. So it's,

00:41:52.851 --> 00:41:55.611
it's a great program. Every school should have it, honestly.

00:41:56.071 --> 00:41:59.651
They really should, because we talk so much about the new teachers,

00:41:59.911 --> 00:42:04.571
the non-tenured teachers, and how much they struggle, or, you know,

00:42:04.611 --> 00:42:08.351
how many of them seem to present, like, that they already know,

00:42:08.551 --> 00:42:12.311
but they don't, or they are too afraid to ask, or,

00:42:12.571 --> 00:42:14.691
you know, so there's just so many different parts to that.

00:42:14.811 --> 00:42:17.071
So that's excellent. I love that idea.

00:42:17.411 --> 00:42:21.931
I also speak on that as well. So if you go on my website and stuff like that,

00:42:21.991 --> 00:42:23.271
or anybody wants to reach out to me,

00:42:23.371 --> 00:42:26.331
I speak about, so like my three things that are my top things

00:42:26.331 --> 00:42:30.411
co-teaching um how to work with a paraprofessional because it's pretty much

00:42:30.411 --> 00:42:35.191
co-teaching again and um you know how can you make that successful and also

00:42:35.191 --> 00:42:38.991
new teachers because i've been mentoring new teachers for probably at least

00:42:38.991 --> 00:42:44.171
12 14 years actually you know what ironically one of my first um.

00:42:45.541 --> 00:42:49.381
People that I mentored, I just said to her, I go, oh, look at this worksheet

00:42:49.381 --> 00:42:52.541
I found. I'm like, it has my maiden name on it. Remember when I was pet now?

00:42:52.681 --> 00:42:56.601
And she's like, no, I came like right when we'd gotten married.

00:42:56.601 --> 00:42:57.881
And I'm like, oh my goodness.

00:42:58.061 --> 00:43:01.421
Okay. Cause I feel like you've been here for so long, but so that means I've

00:43:01.421 --> 00:43:06.141
been doing that for like 15 years now, mentoring teachers. So I do a lot of that as well.

00:43:06.481 --> 00:43:11.361
That's great. And I think that those of us who have the ability to mentor and

00:43:11.361 --> 00:43:15.701
the expertise to, to tell a new teacher or not tell a new teacher,

00:43:15.821 --> 00:43:20.221
but to help a new teacher acclimate to the job, because we've talked to a lot

00:43:20.221 --> 00:43:22.281
of people in the academic side of,

00:43:22.441 --> 00:43:28.521
of the profession where these kids in air quotes come into the classroom,

00:43:28.841 --> 00:43:31.641
you know, having all of their practicum stuff and all these things.

00:43:31.801 --> 00:43:35.241
But like once the, once the door closes and you are on your own,

00:43:35.481 --> 00:43:37.901
all of that goes out the window.

00:43:38.621 --> 00:43:45.221
And it is literally an analogy that I've used many times is you are building

00:43:45.221 --> 00:43:46.461
the plane as you are flying it.

00:43:46.581 --> 00:43:51.801
You are figuring all this out as you go, which can be a very daunting task if

00:43:51.801 --> 00:43:56.881
you don't have a support system in place that's going to help you acclimate

00:43:56.881 --> 00:44:00.241
to your building and also figure out all of the ups and downs,

00:44:00.381 --> 00:44:05.981
ins and out of this profession, which is becoming more and more challenging by the day, as we know.

00:44:06.121 --> 00:44:11.361
I think it's also important that we, as some of the advice would be,

00:44:11.581 --> 00:44:16.321
and I tried to remember where the quote was from, to ask more questions than

00:44:16.321 --> 00:44:19.161
you answer, right? To make sure that you are.

00:44:20.155 --> 00:44:23.975
Being inquisitive enough and asking the right questions, but making sure that

00:44:23.975 --> 00:44:30.195
you're not giving unwanted advice to those who maybe don't need it at specific times.

00:44:30.275 --> 00:44:32.835
I think that needs to also be part of the relationship too.

00:44:33.875 --> 00:44:39.815
I don't want this to sound crass, but when we're coming in and we're in a new learning experience,

00:44:39.935 --> 00:44:43.475
knowing that you are in that space, I don't want to say know your place because

00:44:43.475 --> 00:44:47.635
I think that's obnoxious, but you need to know what space you're in to understand,

00:44:47.635 --> 00:44:49.535
like, okay, how am I going to grow in this space?

00:44:49.695 --> 00:44:54.035
How are you going to find your voice in the classroom? I think those are all

00:44:54.035 --> 00:44:57.155
things that are important for a new teacher to learn.

00:44:57.375 --> 00:45:00.855
And that co-teaching relationship, if you have a new one, can either foster

00:45:00.855 --> 00:45:06.155
or have you take some steps backwards if it's not a positive one, for sure.

00:45:06.715 --> 00:45:11.435
Yeah. Well, this has been such a great talk, Jennifer. We appreciate you sitting

00:45:11.435 --> 00:45:13.055
down and talking with us today.

00:45:13.455 --> 00:45:16.935
Yes, I appreciate you too jennifer masi

00:45:16.935 --> 00:45:24.795
masoki masi god damn it i'm masaki um yeah i'm gonna go order me some uh masaki

00:45:24.795 --> 00:45:28.795
with vodka sauce after we're done here masaki rhymes with sake how about that

00:45:28.795 --> 00:45:35.295
there you go see you always got something close like our sake i don't know yes again jen uh.

00:45:37.555 --> 00:45:41.855
Absolutely jen thank you again for joining us uh you can check out uh jen on

00:45:41.855 --> 00:45:44.155
instagram at co-teaching connection.

00:45:44.695 --> 00:45:48.535
She also has a website where you can find links to information about booking

00:45:48.535 --> 00:45:51.095
her or her other PDs that are there.

00:45:51.315 --> 00:45:54.155
She's a wealth of information about the co-teaching relationship.

00:45:54.435 --> 00:45:57.015
So please give her a follow on all the socials.

00:45:57.595 --> 00:46:03.755
So thank you again for joining us. We'll see you next time on the Balancing Act podcast. Bye.

00:46:03.920 --> 00:46:18.960
Music.

00:46:18.295 --> 00:46:22.995
Look for the balancing act podcast every week on your favorite podcast platform

00:46:22.995 --> 00:46:26.675
new episodes drop every tuesday Thank you for being a part of this podcast.

00:46:26.640 --> 00:46:42.089
Music.