Sine Wave Start to my 2020-2021 SY

This school year has really been like no other! I have had so many highs and lows starting off in a virtual setting. I've gone from overwhelming pressure to everything that is working! I've made mistakes and found valuable resources. There are times that I have had to show more humility and grace towards my students, and allow myself to have more humility and grace for my own mix-ups. 

It's embarrassing to admit, 

1. I sent the Zoom Link for my 5th Period to my 4th Period, and was getting upset my AP-level students weren't showing up! Luckily a student e-mailed me and I saw the notification on my phone, and popped in the Zoom with them!

2. I sent an assignment to my 1st-period class twice! Because I auto-assigned it to both my 8th Period & 1st, the same course on another day! 

3. I used the headings from my AP CS-A course for my AP CSP Assignments. 

4. In my College Calculus class I have forgotten multiple times to add a Submission option for my Canvas Assignments!

5. I cannot remember names like I used to and I am more forgetful in the online conversations that I have had with students!

6. I cannot motivative my best students to even show up for the fun events! Students are not showing up to online tournaments and events that I have helped set-up. I was even ghosted by a student from the club, he has not messaged or logged into the club page in weeks. 

I do not understand this year, I have had frustration after frustration, been turned down on several opportunities and grants. Through it all, I am making sure I build brand new virtual courseware for students and when we have successes, I am trying to make sure I celebrate them!

From the challenges, I have also had successes:

1. Building my Exploration of Game Design Course, of course, is the top success of this new school year.

2. Becoming a NASEF Fellow, and having my draft for an Esports Book Chapter accepted! (I am going to become a published author!)

3. Building up our Cybercat Video Game and Esports Club, one student at a time!

4. Having students featured on the NASEF Rube Goldberg Minecraft Challenge. 

5. Using Among Us to bring our Game Club together, and just have fun in my Exploration of Game Design Course, while teaching about Persuasive Arguments. (Thank you to one of my NASEF Mentor’s Angelique Gianis!)

6. Being interviewed by the Literacy Advocate on his Podcast! (Take a listen here:  https://anchor.fm/timmy-bauer)

Students in my Pre-Calculus Section Completed the 
Khan Academy Learner Storm. 12 Trophies
were collected in 10 Weeks!

This school year is far from perfect, and it’s way more stressful than I have ever been in my life. Trying to balance this virtual work life with a home life has been difficult. I have had to set boundaries and not answer emails or Remind Messages or texts from parents late at night. I also realize that this is nothing I was ever trained to work in, nor thought would be possible in my lifetime. But a wise Tik Tok Teacher explained that we cannot beat ourselves up because at this moment and during this stressful time, we may feel ineffectual and feel like terrible teachers. But we have yet to see the full data, or any of the anecdotal evidence this is 100% true. Watch the TikTok Here!

It has been a wild, sine function wave of a ride, but I am doing exactly what I should be doing. We are challenged daily, learning from those embarrassing moments, and successes are happening that should still be celebrated!

The Tale of the White Math Teacher

From previous posts, and my obvious profile picture, I am pretty much the whitest guy you can ever meet. I grew up in the country, riding horses, bailing hay, tending gardens, and lived my first years on a plot of roughly 15 acres of land. My high school had a total of 318 students, 7th-12th grade, and I graduated with 62 other people in my class. Our school was far less diverse than anyone could even imagine.

I graduated from a small private Catholic college, with about 400 other students, and made my way to York, PA to teach at an urban district, for my one and only major career choice, teaching mathematics.

I would like to say that I am not a racist, that I have never done or said anything that could be recognized as negative to my fellow man, but I am not perfect. I grew up around people who said, "Don't go into the city, you know what kind of people are there!" or "All the Mexicans have come in to work and it's becoming an unfit town!" or "All of those people are the same!"

When I started my job in York City, a few people asked if I was going to take a gun to school. I have read news articles that have called my school building "Wild Zoo"! I remember watching the beginning of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement, saying, "YEAH! Let's go for Equality!", but I did not do anything else.

Before I moved to York not once in my life did I question, or stand up for a person of color, or a minority who was being discriminated against. I just rolled with the comment. I was a white guy who did not understand… That has all changed! I am an ally for my students, parents and coworkers!

Wearing Black to Support our neighboring 

SOC's in a rough time, Dated 2016. 

I have challenged myself to become better in recent years and look for more views on education from outside sources, my favorites most days are on my Twitter Account. There I have been challenged to think more on the white washed version I have had on history education, as well as how to incorporate more successes from BIPOC in history, and not just the white washed version I have been given. 

I have incorporated the study of Fractals into my own Geometry Curriculum, and have shown students that places in Africa have been using Fractal Geometry for centuries in their creation of their villages. We also look at how recursive self-similarity is important in computer graphic imaginary, game design and coding. (See a list of YouTube Videos I use here: Fractal Playlist)

From my outlook, my students deserve a caring, respectful teacher willing to listen to their circumstances, understanding of their humanity and community! I will always be an advocate for my students, and make sure the relationships I form with them are one the basis of respect. I will help them find their learning path, and engage in more lessons that help my students discover their place in this world!

Flattening the Curve: Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ten weeks, that is how long online remote teaching lasted and the ups and downs of social distancing were a constant pull on my emotions. I never thought in a million years that I would live through and work during a global pandemic.

March 13th, 2020 we received an all staff e-mail, that stated the Governor had closed all schools until March 30th. We all walked out of our building unsure of our next steps, when we would ever see our students again and with no clue how we would teach our students. The college I adjunct at also had decided after the Spring Break, to go online with all courses as well. Between TikTok, Tiger King,  Video Games, Cleaning, and Legos, at first helped me keep my sanity.

March 25th, two weeks later we were informed we would start online distance learning with our students.

The process to start online remote-learning during the social distancing lock down was not easy.  It was bumpy, filled with frustration at a slow approach to disseminate information. The district was deliberate in only giving information when they finalized it and gained our state's backing for the plans. Then after two weeks of the administration planning, it was our turn. We were given training on how to use our school's selected means of educating students. Then we were asked to create modules for our common courses and share them with staff who teach the same courses. Students began logging in a week later, and we were on week four of lock down when all students were instructed to login. Our district worked with teachers and the Local Intermediate Unit (a state-affiliated education specialist facility in PA) to use Odyesseyware and run courses for our senior students.

I was allowed into my classroom March 28th to pick-up any supplies I needed to help with online teaching. It was very surreal walking in and only having a few moments to gather the things I thought I would need.

@a4jsk Missing my students!! ##gibsongeometry ##teachersbelike ##teachersoftiktok ##fyp ##foryoupage
♬ Robin Williams Edit - twelveshade

The following week we would start to go live in our online platform for students. I made sure all students were enrolled in one of my Google Classroom Courses. A great positive, all but 2 students responded to my course enrollment requests! I then used my Google Classroom Streams as a way to push out announcements, I sent memes to help add a little humor to the days. 

April 1st students saw an important link that said, "Urgent Update" which led to this YouTube Video: News Alert - Breaking News, yes I Rick Rolled my classes.

At home when classes started, my wife, a 1st-grade teacher in a neighboring district, was already working on online instruction and with her students. My daughter, a 1st-grade student, was also working with her teacher daily online. I was left with the toddler, to keep her entertained and out of the way while my wife taught her students and guided our daughter in the asynchronous work she was assigned. This was very difficult at times when I had morning faculty and PLC Zoom meetings myself. We made it work while working from home we navigated our way through teaching students.

My Best Covid-19 Looks & Memes!

The rest of the days became a blur. One morning I found dirt tossed into my coffee, the start of a really bad day. There were terrible meetings, information that was ineffective, and the thought of not seeing students ever again. Then another day a squirrel busted in through the unused chimney flue that is in a room we have dubbed the "Sun Room". Causing a full ruckus to our morning routine, he came back a few weeks later as well, disrupting the new normal. 

All students did not work, and the AP Classes that I teach had all of the seniors removed to the LIU course, and then halfway through the Marking Period given back to me to hurriedly prepare for an exam that they had missed too much content for. All of my AP Computer Science A students took their exams with no problems, but my AP Computer Science Principles only had 9 of the 24 students prepare all of their AP CSP Performance Task Projects. This was a major let down, and one that had me questioning how to feel. Do I go with the school's mantra of "Grace over Grades" or make sure to uphold the expectations and rigor of an AP course. I felt very torn over this issue... It did not help that the students were not added into my own AP Course until part way through the marking period. 

Teaching in a college course online was not as difficult. I only had issues with attendance while trying to have open Zoom Meetings for my 5 freshmen and 1 Junior. Usually it was just me and my Junior, chatting about the weeks events and then leaving to check out the newly arriving finished assignments. Our Distributed Leadership Team began meeting virtually and had several meetings with themes to lighten the mood as well!

DL Zoom Hat Day

DL Zoom Dress to Impress

While there was a feeling of having so many drawbacks, there were also many great moments as well! My wife while working with her students was able to reach and help one of her most in-need students. My daughter increased her reading fluency, and our toddler has been progressing with her vocabulary as well as her ability to interact with the family in very positive and mannerly ways. I had a zoom paint night with students in the YCCOSP Program, a very fun evening! Students who were very successful finished my online courses early, and some who did not fare as well on the unit pretest, that wanted to do better, actually reached out for help. I did so by giving new assignments and additional options for finishing out the year with a stronger grade.

The most exciting thing to happen in all of this was for my proposal to have a Game Design Academy was picked up by our curriculum director. I am now starting to create my own 1 credit Game Design Course, a part of the full 3 credit idea I promoted, but one that I am super excited to fully develop to help students learn in exciting new ways. At the college I adjunct for, I used my love of technology to facilitate a discussion on Social Media and Wellness. I also kept up with my online learning and started to do learn more about Distance Learning from educational companies like Nearpod, Flocabulary, and Flipgrid. I tried to incorporate a little bit of each in my teaching. I tried to push myself and build my own abilities in technology while at home teaching. 

May 29th all grades were due. In the end it was very anti-climactic. There were no hugs good-bye or great hilarious moments in the classroom that I usually have my final days of the school year. My students did not get a Prom, they did not have a formal Graduation. We missed out on a lot of time together, and great projects that I have developed over the years. All because of a microscopic threat, one that cannot be fully understood yet. 

June 4th I watched The William Penn Class of 2020 Graduation from the online streaming video produced for our students, parents, staff, and community. It was a surreal event, full of real emotions, highs, and lows, and the events that occurred can never be forgotten!

2020 #PaSTEMambassador

This week started off with the flu hitting home.  My wife and daughter both fell ill and missed school for several days, I was very cautious in helping them with their sickness and thankfully I did not catch the stomach bug they had.

My Acceptance E-Mail into the 2020 PA STEM Ambassador Program

This was great news because for the final two days of February I was at training because I was selected as a 2020 PA STEM Ambassador through the Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool Youth Development Network (PSAYDN).  I was chosen as 1 of 28 educators and business leaders to work with PSAYDN to develop our advocacy efficacy and work with policymakers in The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The Stats of this Amazing Cohort!

For two days we listened and learned about great organizations such as The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC), the STEM Education Coalition, the Afterschool Alliance, the PA Department of Education STEM Initiative, and the PA Workforce Development Board.  All of these advocacy groups had great information and a powerful message to engage students in STEM activities, during and after school.  One of the best nuggets of information was from the Keynote Speaker was that STEM is not just content, it is an inquiry-based take on processing and learning.

With coming on board for this program I met some great innovative educators and business leaders.  We are all being tasked with creating a policy project for the next 10 months, and with my passion for computer science and gaming, I think this is a great way to help push game design and video games are legitimate STEM learning opportunities.  I hope that this will also have a greater impact on urban student experiences.  To find out more about the features of the program check out the press release: 2020 STEM Ambassadors!

How Family Saved My Career

I am far from a perfect human being and far from a perfect teacher.

I never wanted to go above and beyond what I considered my job until I met my wife.

The year, 2011 was the start of something special, my wife went on a first date with me, and that was the start of our amazing little family.

Three houses, three energetic dogs and two remarkable daughters later I have found myself wanting to make sure I am pushing myself to be the teacher that my daughters deserve in my own classroom.  It is funny how having your own children can change your perspective on teaching.  My family gave me the confidence to step-up to more leadership roles, go for the master's degree I wanted and become an educator that my students deserve.

My Girls 

After starting courses on Technology in Education, I brought up my Twitter account and started following more educators, growing an awesome #PLN (Professional Learning Network).  I found the Math-Twitter Blog-o-Sphere (#MTBoS) and followed more like-minded math teachers which in turn helped me find fun, engaging activities for my students. While researching and finding more information during my second master's, I dove headfirst into video games in the classroom and exploring the ever-growing eSports in education movement. I also found the #eSportsEDU and #games4ed hashtag followings on Twitter.  Growing my #PLN to include more technology education and game-based learning in the classroom.

Search Twitter for #MTBoS

Finding support in my family, both in my home, in my Bearcat Family and also with my Twitter Family, has given me more confidence in my teaching, pushed me to find meaning and challenges in education, and ultimately saved my career.

Search Twitter for #esportsEDU

Constant Change

As I started my 13th year, I was naive and hopeful.  Yet again I was starting with a mostly new group of students, and adding another course to my repertoire, AP Computer Science A.  I also finished up my second master's, a MsEd in Instructional Technology Specialist, which added to my PA State Certification.  I have always wanted to teach students about computers, it was originally my reason to go into teaching, now I am living that dream.

2nd Master's Degree

IT Specialist Certification

Having added the AP CSP course in the 2018-2019 school year, helped our school achieve the 10th Annual AP District Honor Roll, which also shocked our surrounding community.  (See the Article here: Surprising Results for York County AP Honor Roll)  But I did not want to just stop with computer science.  I grew up playing video games, and as an avid gamer, a lot of my graduate work incorporated gaming to learn, gamification and video games in the classroom.  Through this research and willingness to learn, I found help from some amazing places.

AP CSP Added last year to increase
our student AP experiences

My co-worker, Nicholas, and I decided it was time to do more, and we became Class Advisers for the incoming freshmen, the Bearcat Class of 2023.  We also are still co-advising the Video Game Club.  Over the summer we attended the CS For All PA Summitt, which helped us discover the great program, NASEF, which started the process to become a part of a sanctioned High School eSports League.   Though we have some hiccups in setting up our online games, there has been a lot of interest in the club and eSports team.  Check out the William Penn Cybercat's Facebook Page for more info on what the students are doing.

The new Cybercat Student Leaders.

My PIC, Nicholas Naugle and I
on Twin Day.

Some other projects I am excited about working on include partnerships in my community and abroad have brought on new opportunities. The biggest one involves helping build a former student's student-driven eSports and Video Game community, the BEAST Initiative Push.  Through this partnership, students will have more opportunities to build and be a voice in the eSports community in York. 

Cybercats playing on the Occulus!

I also have a good idea of what to do next with students who are not going to compete in the eSports competitions, and just want to game with friends at school.  Finding the organization VGC USA and it's founders right in South Central PA have opened up the possibility for more gaming learning, volunteer experiences, and career exploration for the Cybercats. 

Cybercats Gaming Together.

Finally, I would like to share where I have been finding more inspiration in gamification, and gaming to learn in everyday life from the Podcast, Professor Game.  I have ideas galore and studies to back-up my desire to game and play games in the classroom.  I am thinking to start by creating a new card game for my students to play when we learn about congruent triangles.

My Gaming Information Folder.

All of these great resources have just fallen into my lap and I wanted to make sure I shared them with others who are looking for similar information.  This blog started as a way for me to share mathematical experiences, but now is morphing into my entire educational experience including my push of educational boundaries to include video games.