Do Work.

I have been inspired to write again tonight by some of the students that attend Menomonee Falls High School. Due to privacy reasons, I will not say their names or what hour they are in, but leave it to the open mind on which these students may be.

The conversations that I have had with students over the past several years have been memorable. There are a few students who have turned me onto motivational speaking to inspire them and myself when we need a little boost. One of the most memorable things I took away from one of these is now something that I live by. One line of a speech inspired me to live my life this way… “when you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful.” This is definitely very powerful words, but there are a few students in my math classes that I see this effort come from them every day. When I see these students working hard, it reminds me that there are so many students who want to breathe, not only in math, but life outside of MFHS. When I see this drive and the determination, it motivates me to do more and to become a better teacher. When I am able to grade a test from one of those students who are giving maximum effort that makes all of my time and effort worth it. If I could find something to motivate all students everyday (other than using candy) I would feel more accomplished that giving all of my students A’s.

These students have (or are on the verge) of finding something within them that will motivate them to be successful in life. These students want to breathe I can only hope they can’t catch their breath later on in life.

I try my best to live by this motto in my life. Sometimes it doesn't always show and we all get tired, but whether it’s working at the high school or working at the fire house, I try to find a reason to get up everyday and go get what it will take to be successful. 

Podcasts

The past few weeks have been quite the emotional roller coaster. From considering to not buy a house, to making the decision to fully submerge myself into a career that truly inspires me…ACT style. I should be so grateful to have the opportunities this early in my life to be making such big decisions. Working with Ulrich everyday has inspired me to think differently and try to understand what students are going through everyday. One thing he has turned me to is listening to podcasts, specifically ones that change the way we think about life. Here are a few things that I’ve taken away from several of the podcasts that I’ve listen to..

1.       So often in life we are given an opportunity and forget to realize that every moment is a given moment and a new gift. There are so many moments in life that we don’t take full advantage of. I look back and wish that I would have taken advantage to everything that has been offered to me so far in life. I have passed up so many things that I feel as though I haven’t really lived up to the full potential. I believe that we don’t seize the moment because we are afraid of change. Everyone struggles with change, but yet, we come out growing and learning more than ever before.

2.       Ulrich has inspired me to firmly believe that everyone loves to learn. Although it does take some people a long time to truly find what it is they love to learn about, one thing we don’t learn about enough is ourselves. We don’t take enough time to stop and actually take advantage of those given moments. We try and fly through life without slowing down to enjoy the little things in life. We don’t take the time to fully grasp the ideas and bigger pictures of what life is truly about.

3.       I heard podcast about making mistakes and understand what it means to be vulnerable in life. It talked about how we have these ideas of what it means, but try to hide this characteristic. We, as a society, don’t allow other people to see those true, genuine moments of into our lives (eventually we do). I truly, truly believe that since we hide this, we don’t take advantage of those moments that have been given to us in life. We don’t take the risk necessary to grow as people. We build up our walls and don’t want them to be torn down, in fear of someone causing our world to collapse. We NEED to take those risks and opportunities to seize those given moments that have been given to us.

     These are only a few thoughts that I have taken away from over the weekend. I know these are not new ideas or concepts, but need to remind myself that stopping and seeing the bigger picture in life is what I need to do.

     

     Find a reason everyday to wake up and go get it. 

The Outside your Element

I had a few students stop in after school this week to talk with me about things that are going on in class. There were three students that stopped in and only one of them was my student. We sat and talked about all of the things that are happening in and out of my class. I thought that this was a very unique experience and appreciate those students stopping in. Even though I didn't get any of the work done that I wanted to, I don't really mind that. It's always interesting to see students outside of being a student and me, the teacher, being outside of my element as the teacher. The students gave me some feedback on how class is going and where it can be improved. They also told me about how other classes are going and some interesting things that other teachers do, such as a motivational day or how things are done. I have been able to have these opportunities with several other students before, but knowing students in other classes was differently out of my element.

The Ulrich

After working at MFHS for the past semester, I've had a little bit of time lately to think about the last semester and reflect upon the things. One of the main things I've realized here is how valuable it is to reflect on how things have gone and how they are going. I've learned from several co-workers that if something isn't effectively working, I need to try out new things. Over the past several months, I've tried out a ton of different things and have some things that I did/didn't like. I'm going to keep changing things up until I find out things that I do like and things that DO work to help students.

I know that there are a lot of teachers in the building that have the students help them do their PDSA charts, figures, graphs, etc. along with doing a plus-delta. The teachers see the value in this process, but I'm not sure if the students do. Mr. Ulrich is trying out something new to help the students reflect upon how well they studied and prepared for a unit test. I'm very interested to see how this process works and if the students really take it to heart or not. I know that Mr. Ulrich will share his results with me, so I'm curious to how this process will work.

I haven't just been reflecting upon math class and the teaching of math. I've been able to reflect upon my life and the experiences that I've gone through to help me to where I am today. The last year and a half haven't been the greatest times of my life, but I'm very grateful for what it's taught me about life. Here are a few things I've come up with:

1. Listen to those people who are older than you and trust in the advice that they give you. They have been through a lot of life experiences and know what their talking about.
2. You control your own happiness. Don't let anyone else in this world tell you differently. Y
3. Be patient.
4. Communicate your ideas with people. They will listen and try to understand you better.
5. Help mom and dad out around the house. They do a lot for you and helping them out WON'T kill you.
6. Enjoy life.
7. Eat your vegetables.
8. Do your homework. You learn best from doing this by YOURSELF.
9. Don't settle for anything less than what you think you deserve in life.
10. Follow me on twitter: @mathwithfranzo
11. Tell those people who you truly love in this world, that you do. We don't say it enough.
12. Take spontaneous trips.
13. Not everyone shares the same view points, but listen to what they say.
14. Listen to understand, not to respond.
15. Try new things.

Those are just some of the things that I've thought about over the past month. I hope to continue this growth mindset and keep my mind open to all of the changes that are happening around me, just like my co-worker, Mr. Ulrich.

Long Time No Post

It has been a while since I've posted something, but here are a few observations and thoughts from the past semester. It's been quite a roller coaster of a time trying to figure out everything that goes on in the high school. One thing that has surprised me over the course of the time I've been here, is that the students seem to amaze me more and more everyday. They do/say things that are absolutely amazing and really make it an interesting day. I've enjoyed getting to know the students and see what's going on in their lives. Talking with other teachers and hearing their reactions is always quite comical.

Being the new guy in the math department, I've been trying out a lot of different ideas and techniques on how to make my classes run smoother, not only for the students, but for myself as well. I'm learning a lot about how to stay organized and becoming more organized which is helping my progress. I know that there is still room to improve and I hope to improve my classroom throughout the course of next semester.

Someone sent me an interesting article the other day about parenting and how today's society is shaped. I can't comment on a lot of what the article said since I'm not a parent, but reflect upon my childhood growing up and the lifestyle that my parents helped me achieve through their parenting skills. I'm thankful for what they have shown me and for what they have let me experience.  It's amazing how much someone can grow on their own without the guidance of a parent, but know that their parent is still there just in case something happens.