To give or not to give.....

I know it's the timeless question. How much homework should be given out? As it stands, I do believe that homework should not be anything new, or difficult. It should be something that the student can do independently without taking up too much time. Yet I fear that there are teachers out there who feel uncomfortable in not giving loads of work to be done home. Old habits are hard to kill, and I do believe that with good first teaching, homework shouldn't be so taxing.

As a former second grade teacher, I used to make sure that one thing that they would always have to do is read and have their parents sign their reading log. As the year went on, I had them summarize and infer on what they were reading. Spelling and math worksheets were sent home every once in awhile. I made to sure to focus on getting what I wanted the students to learn in class which I saw made a huge improvement on their reading scores later on.

For anyone else out there who has been having similar problems with this dilema, here's a story from the houston chronicle telling how one school district is handling it. How much homework do you give your students? Do you feel that you are giving too much?

Sad day...

Today my wife and I gave our black lab to a friend of ours. Even though we barely had him for a year, he was by far the best dog I have ever had. This wasn't an easy thing to do, and if anyone has ever lost someone they loved, than you understand what I'm going through now. You see my friend and her husband were going through some hard times before they got married and at the core of their problems was his black lab. She couldn't stand his dog because not only was he a large dog, but they wouldn't be able to move into an apartment together with the lab. Well, one night they had a phone conversation/argument and when she thought he hung up, she told her friend who was in the room "I wish that dog would die". Needless to say, he told her that he heard that and hung up. The very next day his dog died from being hit by a truck.

By giving them our dog I was able to heal their old wounds and bring some peace to their lives. I feel good knowing that Buddy is in a good home now. They said I can come over to visit, and maybe in time I just might.

Sooooooo...I since I'm feeling rather dogish right now, I thought it would be nice to share this link about dog friendly hotels. For dog owners, this site is a great tool when planning your vacation. It's hard to leave our loved ones behind, and with this great site, now you won't have to. Enjoy.

What will happen next...?

It's a sad day when a school district does not have enough money to support their finances. It's hard on the school admin, teachers and most importantly the students. So when I came across this story I was really surprised by the way this district is trying to handle their problem. I like the outside the box thinking, and I hope that this solves their short term and long term problems. What do you think of this? How would you solve this problem?

A great book for every teacher...

With the begining of school right around the corner, I thought it would be nice to sit back and relax for a moment. I just read 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny by Phillip Done and I feel more energized to get back in class than I ever was. His stories are honest and funny, and very easy to relate. I found myself having a hard time putting the book done, and if you get a chance to find it, you'll understand why. Here is a short excerpt from his book...

I Am a Teacher
I read Charlotte's Web and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory every year, and every year when Charlie finds the golden ticket and Charlotte dies, I cry.

I take slivers out of fingers and bad sports out of steal the bacon. I know when a child has gum in his mouth even when he is not chewing. I have sung "Happy Birthday" 657 times.

I hand over scissors with the handles up. My copies of The Velveteen Rabbit and Treasure Island are falling apart. I can listen to one child talk about his birthday party and another talk about her sleepover and another talk about getting his stomach pumped last night--all at the same time.

I fix staplers that won't staple and zippers that won't zip, and I poke pins in the orange caps of glue bottles that will not pour. I hand out papers and pencils and stickers and envelopes for newly pulled teeth. I know the difference between Austria and Australia.

I plan lessons while shaving, showering, driving, eating, and sleeping. I plan lessons five minutes before the bell rings. I know what time it is when the big hand is on the twelve and the little hand is on the nine. I say the r in library. I do not say the w in sword.

I put on Band-Aids and winter coats and school plays. I know they will not understand the difference between your and you're. I know they will write to when it should be too. I say "Cover your mouth," after they have coughed on me.

I am a teacher.

I examine new braces and new blisters and holes in mouths where teeth have just fallen out. I can spell vacuum. I know the magic word.

I wear four-leaf clovers and dandelions in my shirt pocket that have just been picked with love at recess. I pray for snow days. I pray for Stephen to be absent.

I spend Thanksgiving vacation writing report cards, Christmas vacation cleaning my classroom, and summer vacation taking classes on how to relax. I know the difference between a comma and an apostrophe. I can say "apostrophe."

I buy books about cats and dogs and sharks and volcanoes and horses and dinosaurs. I turn jump ropes and am base in tag. I am glad you can only get chicken pox once.

I correct pencil grips and spelling mistakes and bad manners. I push in chairs all the way, push swings higher, and push sleeves up while children are painting. I can touch the paper cutter.
I own one suit, two pairs of shoes, and eight boxes of graham crackers. I have every teacher mug that Hallmark ever made and every Save the Children tie too. I say, "Use two hands!" when they carry their lunch trays. I say, "Accidents happen," after they did not use two hands.

I wear green on Saint Patrick's Day, red on Valentine's Day, and my bathrobe on Pajama Day. I poke straws into juice boxes and untwist thermos lids that are too tight. I unpeel oranges that are too tight too.

I sign library passes and yearbooks and new casts. I attend soccer games and Little League championships and funerals for guinea pigs. I answer to both "Mom" and "Dad."

I am a teacher.

I hope April Fool's Day is on a Saturday. I blow up balloons that will not blow up. I always blow the whistle too early at recess.

I can borrow and carry very fast. I give them more time to answer six times eight than two times three. I never end a sentence with a preposition. I know what a preposition is.
I draw stars and smiley faces. I say, "Take over," in four square games when I was not looking.

Once I forgot eight plus seven.

I know when to say "can" and when to say "may." I have worn green marker, red paint, yellow chalk dust, glue stick, and glitter all on the same day. I hate glitter.

I always begin a sentence with a capital and end it with a period. I always walk in line. I always lose at arm wrestling.

I leave "shuger" and "vilets" misspelled on their valentines. I know all my continents and all my oceans. I tape pages back into books. I can find the end of the new roll of Scotch tape. I call on children whose hands are not raised.

I know that colonel is a really hard word to read, and so is doubt and so is gauge. I know that kids will read started, when it says stared. I have spelled out because and beautiful and friend six million times.

I am a teacher.

I look both ways before crossing the street. I save balls stuck in basketball hoops. I have given 842 spelling tests and have written "Have a Good Summer!" that many times too.

I collect milk boxes and coffee cans and egg cartons. I know all my times tables. I can type without looking. I know that two pretzels do not equal one Hershey kiss.

I can make a telescope out of a toilet paper roll and a totem pole out of oatmeal boxes. I can make snowflakes out of coffee filters and a space shuttle out of a Pringles can too.

I know my notes because "Every Good Boy Does Fine." I know my directions because I "Never Eat Slimy Worms." I know all my planets because "My Very Elegant Mother Just Sat Upon Nine Pickles." And I can only say my ABCs if I sing them.

I fix watchbands, repair eyeglasses, and search for lost milk money after freeze tag. I know when their fists will make a rock and when they will make scissors.

I know when a child does not understand. I know when a child is not telling the truth. I know when a child was up too late last night. I know when a child needs help finding a friend.

I am a teacher.
Copyright 2005 by Phillip Done

This is a great link....

I know that many of you have already found and played around with cool image generators. Well here's one more to add to your favorites. Says-It is a great site that has a ton of funny images. Enjoy....

Learning without walls.....

How many times have you gone past a university and cringed at the thought of paying the high tution. In a perfect world wouldn't you love to learn new and cool things without having to pile on a new debt? One of the cool websites that I stumbled upon the other day does just that. Palbea is a place where you can go and learn a new language with others who can help you. There are lots of cool languages and the best part of it all.....IT'S FREE!!! I know, I couldn't belive it myself. Enjoy.

Another site Revoluminary, continues with the education, only goes a step further than just languages. Want to know science, math, social sciences, arts & leisure? It's all there and more. There is a small fee for each course you would like to sign up. I think it's a cool idea and the classes are bound to only get bigger.

The last site is called verbal planet. It's another place to lean languages with others and it uses the skype. You choose the tutor, the language and then you pay that tutor's fee. It's easy to use, and fun to look around.

Hair today....gone tomorrow

I hope this story has come across your eyes by now. I can't believe that there is actually a school out there that would continue with this fight. I can understand a school for wanting some kind of order or consistency amongst the students, but is fighting this battle in public the best option? In order for the school to reconsider they will need to have proof that Native Americans practice this as their religious belief. Just allow the student to continue with the families belief. How can this disrupt classroom behavior? A good teacher should be able to control and handle students of all types, long or short hair.

Do you feel that the student should cut his hair?

What makes a good teacher?

I have been raking my brain over this for last couple of weeks. What exactly makes a great teacher? If you're an administrator the first thing you're going to look at is the test results. But how effectively does that measure a teacher's performance? Test results are important but so is classroom management, leadership, lesson planning, motivation, communication, inspiration, and ofcourse dedication. So the real question remains....How exactly do you measure all of these points?

I think the best idea would be to do a broad evaulation that would include:

a) parents

b) students

c) co-workers

d) administators

Ofcourse it's not going to be a perfect system, but I believe it's a start and given the recent news of school closures, it would be great to know exactly which teachers need more support and resources that would keep the schools open.

What happened to the good ol' days?

I'm sure that this is not a surprise to anyone but I just came across this story and I had to stop and ponder about it. Meals today at many fast food establishments have tried to include healthy food, but as you can see there are too many unhealthy choices. Students now are growing up in a culture where it's not only ok to be lazy, but with the facebook, and myspace, and everything else, why would a teenager want to leave their home this summer? As role models we also have to make smarter choices, and we can also try to incorporate some health fitness into the classroom.

I know that many of us are not P.E. teachers, but that doesn't mean we can't bring a little of that into the classroom. As teachers we can have the students discuss what makes a healthy food choice and an unhealthy food choice. Have them sort ads from a Sunday paper and discuss what they have experienced. Another way is to graph their heartbeat. Have them start cold, and find their pulse and record their rate. Then turn on some music have do some light aerobics for a few min and again record their pulse. You can increase the level of difficulty a few more times, and then do a warm down and take a pulse.

Activities such as these will not only have your students engaged in the lesson, but also aware of good healthy choices. Which is exactly what we as educators should all strive for. We need to encourage more activites just like we had when we were kids.

Big Brother is watching....at least in OH and WV

Sure we all know that there are a few teachers who just aren't up to par as everyone else. This article describes how in Toledo, teachers peer review each other behind close doors and go over in detail how effective that teacher is. Wow!!! I would love to have everyone teach at a high level of excellence, but is this corrrect way to go about it? Teaching is a very stressful job, why make it even more stressful? Hmmm....how dos this sound to everyone?