Here is one example -
What I love about this is the positive message. What would the news look like if just half of it was positive?
*****
15 plus ways to bring your textbook to life. This is a great resource. I wish I would have had this when I was teaching my Teaching and Learning class at UND.
Bringing Your Textbook to Life: 15+ Tips & Resources from Shelly Terrell
*****
An interesting perspective from an American teacher now teaching in Finland. One big difference? Young Finnish students are far more independent and resilient than American students.
One point - in Helsinki, where the American teacher teaches, there is no school bussing. Students have to take the public transit system. Imagine first graders riding busses and subways! And all have cell phones to stay in touch with their parents.
So this teacher has to do a lot less hand holding and modeling the first few weeks of school in Helsinki than he had to do in Boston because these kids are far more resilient than American kids.
*****
Here is another interesting perspective from a student who spent several years under the Shanghai school system, which is supposedly superior to any other school system than Finland's.
The author argues that Shanghai's system isn't superior, it's terrible.
*****
I saw this at the start of George Couros' TIES presentation. This is exactly how I feel every day I go to school.
*****
If you aren't on Pinterest yet, what are you waiting for? Thanks to Pinterest, there is no excuse to ever have anything unoriginal or boring going on in your classroom ever again.
Here are 15 ways to use Pinterest to enhance your classroom.
****
I know UPS is taking some heat over their holiday shipping, but watch this and you might take that criticism with a grain of salt.
****
Some thoughts on Etiquette on line. It's so much harder to grow up today than it was 25 years ago. One foolish publish photo to Instagram or Facebook, and a teen suffers dire consequences. I'm so glad that I didn't have Facebook in the late 80's, for lord knows I did more than my share of stupid things.
This is why I think it's vital for teachers and parents to model respectful and proper etiquette online.
It's not easy, though. Just peruse your newsfeed on Facebook right now and you'll see adults posting stupid things, whether it's them arguing with their own children quite publicly on Facebook, butchering the English language, or posting ignorant beliefs, they are not anywhere near being role models.
Even adults, though, can make mistakes. And often times, those mistakes carry vast consequences, as this illustrates.
****
I am in no way a reading expert. Though for three years now, I've been charged with teaching a Lit & Lang 9R class that focuses on basic reading strategies, I've taken a keener interest in reading, particularly how to get students to enjoy reading.
Let me tell you, it's no easy task. And it's something I don't have an answer for. I always loved to read. I remember, in fact, the first book I ever read all the way though (it would be called a "chapter book" today but back in 1979 it was just a book).
Then in Mr. Mueller's fifth grade class I fell in love with biographies, reading bios on George Washington, Harry Houdini, and Henry Ford.
I devoured every Stephen King book I could during the summer of 1988. Then I eagerly consumed all the horror and science fiction texts our small town library could order over the next three years, that's where I found the works of Richard Matheson (I Am Legend and The Incredible Shrinking Man), Ann Rice (Interview with the Vampire), Ray Bradbury (Something Wicked This Way Comes) and H. P. Lovecraft (At the Mountains of Madness).
The first book I ever remember reading and enjoying for school was in Mrs. Chirstensen's class. It was The Outsiders. Then I loved reading Of Mice and Men a year later in Mr. Sorenson's class. I also remember Mrs. Matzke posting a "College Readiness" reading list up on her wall. I read every book from that list that sounded like it had a bit of science fiction or horror to it.
This background more than prepared me for the daunting reading demands of college. The two most difficult courses being a Victorian England class I had my first year at BSU (where we had to read Stanley Weintraub's Victoria: An Intimate Biography, which was out of print. There were only six copies available in the book store. Our professor, Gerry Schnabel, did have two copies reserved in the library, but you could only check them out for two hour intervals) and a Frost/Dickenson class I had my final year as a graduate student. Both of those classes included immense amounts of reading and comprehension. But I did well in those class - and best of all, learned a lot - because of the amount of reading I did beginning in elementary school.
Then when I began working a summer job, one of the most dreaded tasks was counting gravel trucks. This mean sitting in a county pick up truck, parked at a remote gravel pit, recording every time a gravel truck pulled in and was loaded with gravel.
It was long (12 hour days) and isolated. But I loved it. Why?
I could read all day long. In fact, it was this experience that helped me land a job. For as I sat there all summer long reading for pleasure, I thought, what if during one of my teacher interviews I'm asked what books have I been reading? That lead me to begin reading some of the best works in all of literature. And that was exactly how I spent the rest of the summer of 1998.
Now I try to read at least one book per month during the school year and two books per month during summers. Of course, now all I tend to read is nonfiction related to teaching, writing, or creativity, but still, that's 300 books I've read since I've been teaching that have made me a better teacher and writer.
So how do I get my students to love reading like that? How do I prepare them for the rigors of college reading?
I don't know.
But two recent discoveries have me second guessing some of my practices.
First, Tony Wagner wonders if we aren't teaching students to read too early. I had never thought of that before. Just because students can begin reading in kindergarten doesn't mean they actually should. Maybe we should give them more time for socializing and playing and creativity instead of charging them with reading. Maybe that' what my grandmother did for me when I spent so many vital days with her. She never sat me down in front of a book and forced me to read. She read to me often, but she also had me color, paint, tell her stories, and play. I think that laid a great foundation for my imagination. That foundation, I now believe, helped making reading so much more enjoyable for me later in life.
Second, this interesting post.
I especially like this passage
As we seek to improve reading scores in our testing heavy school environment, we must not forget that students’ enjoyment of reading matters as well. As another of my reading heroes, Maria Walther challenges in her book, “Month by Month Reading Instruction for the differentiated classroom K-2” “What is the point of teaching a child to read if they will never pick up a book again?” When I first read that quote, it was a two by four that hit me right between the eyes and has stuck with me. We need to look carefully at the practices in our schools and the messages they are giving to our kids. If you were to check the mission statement of almost any school, it would include something about making kids “life long learners.” As we throw that term around again and again until it has almost no meaning, do we really think about what it means? What practices will lead to students wanting to learn or read outside of school? What will our kids do if they have a choice? If a student will pick up a book when there is no pizza to be earned, book report to write, points or grades to earn, or log to fill out, we will know we have done our job.
****
Of all periods in history, one of my favorites to read and study on is The Victorian Period. Maybe it's thanks to the class I had from Gerry Schnabel at BSU. Maybe it's because of my love for Sherlock Holmes. Maybe it's because of the notorious Jack the Ripper. But whatever the reason, I love anything (film or story or book) set in this time frame.
Because of the wonders of Twitter, I found this gem from the Victorian Period.
****
How to be a better Tweeter (gotta love info graphs)
****
This flowchart (scroll down a bit on the site) on student workflow is awesome.
****
A very interesting read from one of my new favorite people, Gary Vaynerchuck (whose new book Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook I just bought a few weeks ago). It has a most interesting title - and one that seems to be very true for many of our best entrepreneurs today, I Failed All My Classes and that's Why I'm Winning.
***
And finally, there's all kind of crazy going on here.
I cannot stomach narrow minded fools like this. They should be called out as such at every possible chance.
Now the video embedded in the article is relatively harmless. But when anyone calls for any sect or membership to get on a plane and leave the country because they don't agree with their beliefs, is not - in my opinion - being a true American.
It's debatable exactly how religious our founding fathers were. (I mean it's impossible to deny that they were sexist slaveholders too). But let's remember to judge them by their historical context, not our current one.
But to demand someone leave the country because they're atheist is stupid. So is saying you should leave because you're Catholic, Lutheran, or a Satanist. What is great about America is that you can dislike it and actually stay and have a voice, regardless of how (or who) may disagree with your voice. You should not be forced to leave the country.
As much as I disagree with the hate spewing Westbestoro Baptist church, they have the right - in America at least - to express their beliefs. Likewise I think the Patriot Guard Riders have the right to block families from the Westboro protests and hate.
I also don't think Phil Robertson should have been suspended for his comments about African Americans and homosexuals. Do I agree with them? Absolutely not.
Do they surprise me? Not coming from a man of his beliefs and generation.
In America he has the right to state his opinion. I also agree that his employer, in this case A&E, has the right to suspend him for his comments.
That is what I love about America.
The minister's kind of thinking - where, again, he tells atheists to board planes and leave the country - reminds me of how stupid the old saying, "America. Love it or leave it" was. The whole point of this great country of ours is that you can dislike it, stay here, and work to change it. And that's exactly what our founding fathers did. Regardless of their religious beliefs or disbeliefs.
"America. Love it or leave it" is not American. It always reminded me of Russia under Stalin, where if you didn't like it, you were either liquidated (usually beaten to death) or shipped to Siberia where you were rehabilitated (which usually meant worked to death in a slave labor camp). That doesn't sound anything like our great American experiment.
*****
An interesting perspective from an American teacher now teaching in Finland. One big difference? Young Finnish students are far more independent and resilient than American students.
One point - in Helsinki, where the American teacher teaches, there is no school bussing. Students have to take the public transit system. Imagine first graders riding busses and subways! And all have cell phones to stay in touch with their parents.
So this teacher has to do a lot less hand holding and modeling the first few weeks of school in Helsinki than he had to do in Boston because these kids are far more resilient than American kids.
*****
Here is another interesting perspective from a student who spent several years under the Shanghai school system, which is supposedly superior to any other school system than Finland's.
The author argues that Shanghai's system isn't superior, it's terrible.
*****
I saw this at the start of George Couros' TIES presentation. This is exactly how I feel every day I go to school.
*****
If you aren't on Pinterest yet, what are you waiting for? Thanks to Pinterest, there is no excuse to ever have anything unoriginal or boring going on in your classroom ever again.
Here are 15 ways to use Pinterest to enhance your classroom.
****
I know UPS is taking some heat over their holiday shipping, but watch this and you might take that criticism with a grain of salt.
****
Some thoughts on Etiquette on line. It's so much harder to grow up today than it was 25 years ago. One foolish publish photo to Instagram or Facebook, and a teen suffers dire consequences. I'm so glad that I didn't have Facebook in the late 80's, for lord knows I did more than my share of stupid things.
This is why I think it's vital for teachers and parents to model respectful and proper etiquette online.
It's not easy, though. Just peruse your newsfeed on Facebook right now and you'll see adults posting stupid things, whether it's them arguing with their own children quite publicly on Facebook, butchering the English language, or posting ignorant beliefs, they are not anywhere near being role models.
Even adults, though, can make mistakes. And often times, those mistakes carry vast consequences, as this illustrates.
****
I am in no way a reading expert. Though for three years now, I've been charged with teaching a Lit & Lang 9R class that focuses on basic reading strategies, I've taken a keener interest in reading, particularly how to get students to enjoy reading.
Let me tell you, it's no easy task. And it's something I don't have an answer for. I always loved to read. I remember, in fact, the first book I ever read all the way though (it would be called a "chapter book" today but back in 1979 it was just a book).
Then in Mr. Mueller's fifth grade class I fell in love with biographies, reading bios on George Washington, Harry Houdini, and Henry Ford.
I devoured every Stephen King book I could during the summer of 1988. Then I eagerly consumed all the horror and science fiction texts our small town library could order over the next three years, that's where I found the works of Richard Matheson (I Am Legend and The Incredible Shrinking Man), Ann Rice (Interview with the Vampire), Ray Bradbury (Something Wicked This Way Comes) and H. P. Lovecraft (At the Mountains of Madness).
The first book I ever remember reading and enjoying for school was in Mrs. Chirstensen's class. It was The Outsiders. Then I loved reading Of Mice and Men a year later in Mr. Sorenson's class. I also remember Mrs. Matzke posting a "College Readiness" reading list up on her wall. I read every book from that list that sounded like it had a bit of science fiction or horror to it.
This background more than prepared me for the daunting reading demands of college. The two most difficult courses being a Victorian England class I had my first year at BSU (where we had to read Stanley Weintraub's Victoria: An Intimate Biography, which was out of print. There were only six copies available in the book store. Our professor, Gerry Schnabel, did have two copies reserved in the library, but you could only check them out for two hour intervals) and a Frost/Dickenson class I had my final year as a graduate student. Both of those classes included immense amounts of reading and comprehension. But I did well in those class - and best of all, learned a lot - because of the amount of reading I did beginning in elementary school.
Then when I began working a summer job, one of the most dreaded tasks was counting gravel trucks. This mean sitting in a county pick up truck, parked at a remote gravel pit, recording every time a gravel truck pulled in and was loaded with gravel.
It was long (12 hour days) and isolated. But I loved it. Why?
I could read all day long. In fact, it was this experience that helped me land a job. For as I sat there all summer long reading for pleasure, I thought, what if during one of my teacher interviews I'm asked what books have I been reading? That lead me to begin reading some of the best works in all of literature. And that was exactly how I spent the rest of the summer of 1998.
Now I try to read at least one book per month during the school year and two books per month during summers. Of course, now all I tend to read is nonfiction related to teaching, writing, or creativity, but still, that's 300 books I've read since I've been teaching that have made me a better teacher and writer.
So how do I get my students to love reading like that? How do I prepare them for the rigors of college reading?
I don't know.
But two recent discoveries have me second guessing some of my practices.
First, Tony Wagner wonders if we aren't teaching students to read too early. I had never thought of that before. Just because students can begin reading in kindergarten doesn't mean they actually should. Maybe we should give them more time for socializing and playing and creativity instead of charging them with reading. Maybe that' what my grandmother did for me when I spent so many vital days with her. She never sat me down in front of a book and forced me to read. She read to me often, but she also had me color, paint, tell her stories, and play. I think that laid a great foundation for my imagination. That foundation, I now believe, helped making reading so much more enjoyable for me later in life.
Second, this interesting post.
I especially like this passage
As we seek to improve reading scores in our testing heavy school environment, we must not forget that students’ enjoyment of reading matters as well. As another of my reading heroes, Maria Walther challenges in her book, “Month by Month Reading Instruction for the differentiated classroom K-2” “What is the point of teaching a child to read if they will never pick up a book again?” When I first read that quote, it was a two by four that hit me right between the eyes and has stuck with me. We need to look carefully at the practices in our schools and the messages they are giving to our kids. If you were to check the mission statement of almost any school, it would include something about making kids “life long learners.” As we throw that term around again and again until it has almost no meaning, do we really think about what it means? What practices will lead to students wanting to learn or read outside of school? What will our kids do if they have a choice? If a student will pick up a book when there is no pizza to be earned, book report to write, points or grades to earn, or log to fill out, we will know we have done our job.
****
Of all periods in history, one of my favorites to read and study on is The Victorian Period. Maybe it's thanks to the class I had from Gerry Schnabel at BSU. Maybe it's because of my love for Sherlock Holmes. Maybe it's because of the notorious Jack the Ripper. But whatever the reason, I love anything (film or story or book) set in this time frame.
Because of the wonders of Twitter, I found this gem from the Victorian Period.
****
How to be a better Tweeter (gotta love info graphs)
*****
Speaking of Twitter, here is one for teachers The 10 Stages of Twitter.
*****
How cool is this?
Bringing the digital age to community service, Big Brother / Big Sister, and volunteerism.
****
This flowchart (scroll down a bit on the site) on student workflow is awesome.
****
A very interesting read from one of my new favorite people, Gary Vaynerchuck (whose new book Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook I just bought a few weeks ago). It has a most interesting title - and one that seems to be very true for many of our best entrepreneurs today, I Failed All My Classes and that's Why I'm Winning.
***
And finally, there's all kind of crazy going on here.
I cannot stomach narrow minded fools like this. They should be called out as such at every possible chance.
Now the video embedded in the article is relatively harmless. But when anyone calls for any sect or membership to get on a plane and leave the country because they don't agree with their beliefs, is not - in my opinion - being a true American.
It's debatable exactly how religious our founding fathers were. (I mean it's impossible to deny that they were sexist slaveholders too). But let's remember to judge them by their historical context, not our current one.
But to demand someone leave the country because they're atheist is stupid. So is saying you should leave because you're Catholic, Lutheran, or a Satanist. What is great about America is that you can dislike it and actually stay and have a voice, regardless of how (or who) may disagree with your voice. You should not be forced to leave the country.
As much as I disagree with the hate spewing Westbestoro Baptist church, they have the right - in America at least - to express their beliefs. Likewise I think the Patriot Guard Riders have the right to block families from the Westboro protests and hate.
I also don't think Phil Robertson should have been suspended for his comments about African Americans and homosexuals. Do I agree with them? Absolutely not.
Do they surprise me? Not coming from a man of his beliefs and generation.
In America he has the right to state his opinion. I also agree that his employer, in this case A&E, has the right to suspend him for his comments.
That is what I love about America.
The minister's kind of thinking - where, again, he tells atheists to board planes and leave the country - reminds me of how stupid the old saying, "America. Love it or leave it" was. The whole point of this great country of ours is that you can dislike it, stay here, and work to change it. And that's exactly what our founding fathers did. Regardless of their religious beliefs or disbeliefs.
"America. Love it or leave it" is not American. It always reminded me of Russia under Stalin, where if you didn't like it, you were either liquidated (usually beaten to death) or shipped to Siberia where you were rehabilitated (which usually meant worked to death in a slave labor camp). That doesn't sound anything like our great American experiment.
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