Aug
23
“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” ~Albert Einstein
~~~
Aug
22
I wrote a post last week asking for advice, ideas, quotes, and best wishes for my daughter who begins her first year of teaching next Monday. I have really appreciated the responses and learned from them.
One veteran teacher and friend sent a link for practical suggestions for many beginning activities, such as designing classroom layout space.
The layout of your classroom fosters a great response for learning. I would always have a seating chart set for the first day, even though students would be changing schedules during the first week. Knowing that I knew their name and had prepared for their arrival made a difference to my students.
Click this link to read the blogger’s ideas and apply the suggestions.
Aug
20
I wrote a post last week asking for advice, ideas, quotes, and best wishes for my daughter who begins her first year of teaching next Monday. I have really appreciated the responses and learned from them.
One veteran teacher and friend sent a link for practical suggestions for many beginning activities setting up classroom jobs. Students request classroom jobs using a job application. This is a great idea for building a community spirit within your classroom and teaching real-world job application skils. Click here to read more
You no doubt have your list of Classroom Helper Jobs.
Here is a partial list of some of the classroom jobs I assigned to students:
1.) Greeter(s) (1-2 students stood with me at the door and handled extra books/coats/projects/requests) This is best assigned first to someone who usually arrives early to class.
2.) Technology Assistant (1-2 students who checked that the computer, whiteboard, and printer were turned-on, dusted and the paper was filled with paper).
3.) Writer, Make-up Calendar (1 student who filled in the highlights of the days’ assignments in our make-up calendar.)
4.) Tutor (1-2 students who were available to inform an absent student about what he/she missed)
5.) Lunch ticket counter
6.) Supply Monitor (1-2 students to place the days’ supplies-books, art supplies, maps, worksheets, websites addresses out and ready)
7.) Publicity (one student to use the classroom disposable camera to snap “the learning moment”) I liked using disposable cameras for this job because I could control when the pictures were developed and when/if the were distributed.
8.) Graphic Artist-Bulletin Board (1-2 students to plan and design one bulletin board and keep it updated)
9.) Receptionist (1 student to answer the phone in the classroom. A sample telephone script was written on a card near the phone for students to say.)
10.) Collections Agent (1-2 students to collect papers, projects, printouts from students and deposit them in designated areas in our room)
What jobs would you add to this list?
Aug
4
The 80/20 Rule is one of the most helpful of all concepts of time and life management. It is also called the “Pareto Principle” after its founder, the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who first wrote about it in 1895. Pareto noticed that people in his society seemed to divide naturally into what he called the “vital few”, the top 20 percent in terms of money and influence, and the “trivial many”, the bottom 80 percent.
He later discovered that virtually all economic activity was subject to this principle as well. For example, this principle says that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results, 20 percent of your customers will account for 80 percent of your sales, 20 percent of your products or services will account for 80 percent of your profits, 20 percent of your tasks will account for 80 percent of the value of what you do, and so on. This means that if you have a list of ten items to do, two of those items will turn out to be worth five or ten times or more than the other eight items put together.
I wonder…how would this apply to the classroom?
Jul
26
Educators search for data. They use data for two major purposes: accountability and performance improvement.
Accountability requires schools to prove something, while performance improvement is focused on improving student performance.
The conversation in the media, at the state and federal levels, and often, in schools is focused overwhelmingly on accountability.
A case in point:
Read More
Jul
26
It’s no surprise that students supported by parents involved in their education tend to exhibit higher achievement; this study breaks down parental involvement into subtypes to see what actions make the most difference across 50 studies.
The authors of “Parental Involvement in Middle School: A Meta-Analytic Assessment of the Strategies That Promote Achievement” find that involvement described as “academic socialization” has the strongest positive correlation to achievement.
They describe this as involvement that “creates an understanding about the purposes, goals, and meaning of academic performance; communicates expectations about involvement; and provides strategies that students can effectively use.” Other types such as school visits and volunteering were positively correlated with achievement, but less so.
Interestingly, helping with homework was the only type not positively related to achievement.
Jul
19
Recently I volunteered at our local hospital. The occasion was a celebration for the 2000 hospital employees. The celebration theme was a carnival and there were games, caricatures, a dunking booth, a rock climbing wall, and plenty of food in the serving line. It was a typically hot, July day with temperatures in the 100’s.
All the favorite grilling foods were there…hamburgers, hot dogs, Texas smoked sausage, snow cones, watermelon, cookies, all the fixin’s.
Well, almost all of the fixin’s.
It is interesting how people react to the work done by others. Some are grateful, peppering their speech with smiles, “Please” and “Thank you.”
Not so for others. Others complain about the heat, (to people working in that heat!). Some complain about the lines. Some complain about having a 30-minute lunch.
And some complain about pickles.
Or the lack of pickles, in this case. Despite all the free food and drinks, and condiments, and extras, one woman noticed a lack of pickles. She was not consoled by pickle relish. She wanted pickles. No free meal or festive atmosphere would deter her determined complaining.
As you prepare your classroom for the approaching school year. As you send out your welcome letters and label books, desks, and supplies, please remember that there will be pickle people.
Pickle people are bitter. They usually give birth to pickle kids. And pickle kids are rarely absent. I guess the pickle doesn’t fall far from the tree! As you encounter pickle people, remember your goal, do not allow the bitterness to infect you. Do not let other people’s caustic comments and attitudes literally put you in a pickle.
You are not bitter. You are better. And your kids and students will be better for being in your class.
Jul
30
Well, you have seen them too—the back-to-school commercials. It is almost that time of year.
One of the initial activities in the back-to-school task list is the Student Information Sheet.
Why not add a small section to your Student Information Sheet to reflect your students’ technology skills. If you have a hardcopy handout, add a small section at the end. Or, consider adding a section on your blog or wiki for students to fill out that asks:
Students, Do you have…
~A computer
~A webpage
~A cell phone
~Internet access
~Accounts on Music sites
~A Blog
~Favorite websites (that can be shared with you, the teacher)
~Special tech skills (such as keyboarding, spreadsheet skills, programming skills, hardware skills, graphic design skills, etc…)
Try it and see!
{Add any other ideas here!}
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