Wordle

I love art, and I also love words, so you can imagine how excited I was when I saw this sight. Wordle allows the user to create an artwork out of any selected words they want. I just happened to use my last blog post ( how unique....I know). Anyways, you can allow your students to use any of their stories, poems or writings. You can even use this as a quick write format, and just give them a topic to explore on. Since a lot of our students are visual learners this site caters to their needs.

In case your thinking..."well this is nice, but how else can I use it for my students?" Good question...Terry Freedman gives us 5 solid reasons to that very question. I found her blog off of twitter feed from @nharm....so if you are still haven't got on twitter you need to. Or else you'll miss out on cool links and stuff like this.

A new adventure....

My principal the other day called me into her office. Well actually not really her, more like her assistant, but you get the idea. As I was walking down there, a thousand and two things were all going through my head. "What did I do this time", "Who did I offend today?". As I was going over all the different scenarios for my being summoned....the real reason was the last thing I would have ever expected. Which was....she wanted me to go to kindergarten. Yup....that's right......she wanted, me....to go to.....Kindergarten. This was a shock given the fact that I had transfered from my other school because they wanted me to do the same thing. I was taken away from this, especially since I had asked to move to a higher grade. Needless to say I was not too crazy about the whole move, and I did a lot of thinking on it the next few nights.
So a few days later I went in and spoke to her and asked her point blank.....why? Did I do something wrong? Did she think that I could not handle the upper grade levels?

And what she said next sold me on being a kindergarten teacher......

"We need strong teachers to help bring our low kids back to where they need to be at. We need to you to make sure that our kids have a great start and are ready for what's to come."

Once she put it that way, I began to warm up to the idea. Now it's been a week and I feel good about the idea. Who knows what's to be expected down the road from now. Hopefully a year from now, I won't be that much crazier than I already am......but I doubt it. Here's to good times and a bright future.

In case anyone out there was in the same boat about kindergarten or a teacher who had really has no clue about the importance of a good kinder teacher.....than you need to check this site out.

I hate boring meetings!!!!

The one thing that I value the most as a teacher is my time. That's it, simple. Don't waste it, and we'll get along fine. Time, is something that I just can't get back. I have a thousand and three things to do to get ready for the next lesson, week, assessment and not too mention all the other stuff at home too(just ask my wife).

I'm not sure what it is, but something in my brain starts to explode the minute I detect a meeting becoming a waste of time. It's probably somewhere between the speaker talking about personal boring, yack yack stuff, and stretching out a short, simple point to a 15 minute discussion. It's always around that time that I start to wonder just what exactly did I get myself into?

Don't get me wrong. I love my work, and everything that comes with it. Teaching is a very demanding occupation. From the moment I step inside, till I step back outside, I'm going full speed teaching mode. Guided reading, Stations, writing, small groups.

I have a passion for learning as well. Anything that I find interesting and even applicable, I'm all in. I can go to toe to toe with anyone on my campus for being a person who loves reaching and exceeding all of my students expectations. I'm also a first time father, a graduate student, and a night time ESL teacher, so any free time that I have is really precious now.

Which brings me back to my topic at hand. Since my time is very important to me, if I find myself having to attend one of those "mandatory meetings", the very least they can do is try to make it interesting. Reading right from the power-point, talking while sitting down, printing out the handouts, are all a few of things that all presenters need to avoid. These are killers to any presentation and instantly changes what could have been a interesting meeting to a waste of time, boredom.

Here's a blog which very nice and neatly lists out the top ten things you can do to make a great presentation.

Transfer Fair....

I hate job fairs. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of people wanting to test out the waters of other schools. That's fine. Go at it. Knock yourself out. What I have a problem with is how shallow the conversations tend to be. There was no genuine conversations to be had, it was for lack of a better term, speed dating. You had under a minute to convince why you should be hired before moving on to the next school.
Flocks of people waited in lines at school's respective tables to speak to the principal. Each one trying to show off why they should be the candidate for the position. The whole time, I was there I realized something......I'm not as "sexy" as these other candidates. I don't have the amount of experience as some, nor the certifications as others, or even the awards as well. I felt like these principals were sizing me up, and noticed instantly all of my imperfections. I kept thinking that this was exactly like speed dating. I was waiting in line to talk to a principal and I noticed that she tried her best to look interested in hearing what others had to say. It was at that moment that I knew I wasn't going to "wow" her. I'm still a relative new teacher and I after working a year in resource, I was just looking for a campus that I can teach my own class. Something I know I can do well if given the shot. The only problem was that I was just one of 200 going after maybe 5 jobs.
I walked out after talking to a couple of schools. I did my best at the song and dance, but it's really hard when you know the odds are stacked against you. What I don't have in experience or awards, I can make up for in creativity determination and imagination. I have a master plan that might get me another shot. We'll see if it works. I'll have an update in a few months on this post.....

Facebook users have bad grades.....

At least that's what a study done by doctoral candidate Aryn Karpinski of Ohio State University and her co-author Adam Duberstein of Ohio Dominican University have concluded. College students who use this very popular social networking site have a considerable difference in G.P.A. from those who don't.

Typically, Facebook users in the study had G.P.As between 3.0 and 3.5, while non-users had G.P.As between 3.5 and 4.0.

In addition, users said they averaged one to five hours a week studying, while non-users studied 11 to 15 hours per week.

The researchers surveyed 219 students at Ohio State, including 102 undergraduate students and 117 graduate students. Of the participants, 148 said they had a Facebook account.

The study found that 85 percent of undergraduates were Facebook users, while only 52 percent of graduate students had accounts.

I can't believe that facebook is the only variable between all these students that links them to lower grades. There should other considerations, like amount of time watching t.v., studying, if they work. The most important thing is, how long are these students on the site? 20 min, 45 min, an hour...more?

Sure, it can be distractating, but how much more than anything else? Maybe we'll find out more data about users in the near future, and we'll have a better idea of the impact it's having on our culture. What do you think of this study? Do you agree or do you have another opinion? Here's an article in Time that also talks about the same thing as well.

Now I have to go and check my facebook status.

Teachers tv

I just came across this remarkable website that's geared just for teachers called teachers.tv. I think of this as your own personal staff development. There are hundreds of videos out there that you can choose to watch, to learn how to handle a given situation and after-wards you can get more detailed notes on it.

I watched a clip on anger management and I was really impressed by how effective the lesson was on her class. The narrator didn't talk too much, but rather simply explained what the teacher was doing and the viewer was able to see the results first hand. It's a 3 min clip, and had this had been a real training, it would have lasted a couple of hours. When the clip ended I knew what to do, how it would work, and more importantly..that it has worked, while still having time to take care of other things as well.

The one thing I really value is my time, and I really can't stand meetings that take hours when it could have been done in minutes. This website ensures that you'll never feel that way again. To me, it's heaven. However...if you want...we can always meet afterschool. Have fun. Let me know how you like it.

The Leader in me.....

If you're like me, than you're not crazy about all these "new" plans that come out every year to help with the behavior problems with our students. Each fall, we all gather and listen to the "new, and innovative" ideas, that were suppose to get us excited and motivated. Blah blah blah. Don't get me wrong....I love new ways of thinking, and always trying to solve a problem with new techniques and strategies....however, I'm not at all crazy about old ideas, that are just being passed on as something new.

Which brings me to my topic at hand. Stephen Covey, the best selling author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, has just rocked my world. Literally. This book speaks at the heart of why I wanted to be a teacher, and seeks to minimize the very things that I don't care for. How's that for a win-win!!!

In these documented cases, schools has actually taken the time to implement the 7 habits, into their teaching core curriculum. The big selling point, is that this is NOT one more thing to do....instead it's a methodology that many describe as "a better way of doing what we are already doing. Right now, you're probably thinking...."yeah, yeah, yeah...what's so different about this, from any other "new concept"?.

Well....there's several:

• How about improved test scores
• Reduced discipline problems
• Greater parent satisfaction
• Soaring student self-confidence
• Improved school cultures
• Increased teacher pride
• and a Refined focus on twenty-first century skill

It's not just happening at one campus. It's a movement that's happening all over the world. In Raleigh, North Carolina (A.B. Combs Elementary), Alberta, Canada (Joseph Welsh Elementary), Decatur, Alabama (Grove Elementary), Adams County, Illinois (Dewey Elementary), Inner-city Chicago, Illinois (7 high schools) as well as Japan and Guatemala.

I strongly recommend you checking out this website and finding out more info.

Imagine teaching at a school, where students have acquired the skills to be leaders of tomorrow. Where they understand how to work together, and share ideas as well as thinking and expressing new ways of solving problems. That sounds like a school where I would love to teach at. If are interested, go to amazon or barnes and nobel and buy this book.....You won't regret it.

HISD offers $20,000 to recruit effective teachers

So now the Houston Independent School District is at again with another controversial program. Enticing effective teachers to work at low performing schools for 2 years for a extra stipend of $10,000 per year. Which brings us to our topic at hand. How much emphasis does a teacher have on a student's performance? How much emphasis is placed on a student who has a supportive family? In a few years we are all about to find out.
I, for one, can't help but think about the teachers who are effective at those low income schools? How do they feel about this new venture? What are their feelings about this? If I was working at one of those schools, I would be extremely upset. I would take this effort as a personal insult and if I wasn't already feeling discouraged, you better believe that would be exactly how I would feel then. The message that I would be getting is "You are not good enough, so we're going to spend more money to get someone better". Hmmmmmmm.....nice.
Ok...now here's my two cents on this matter. I strongly believe and support every school to want to strive to become better, however NOT at the expense of morale of the entire staff. Two scenarios that I think are being overlooked: (1) New teacher coming in is not full accepted by the staff and (2) Staff morale has now dropped causing an even more lack of production.
You want a better school.....than you build it from the ground up. Start with what you have and grow from there. Have the stronger teachers lead and model what they have been doing well, and emphasize those skills. Bring in the parents and hold them accountable for what goes on at home. You can't expect a student who does no reading at home, but plays video games, to excel on his exams.
Doing this will show the faculty that YOU believe in them, and that as a team YOU ALL can raise the scores TOGETHER. Higher morale will inturn lead to student statisification....which in turn will lead to less office refferals....which will lead to more time learning. Now...where's my $20,000?

Share, until you can't share anymore.....

I heard this quote pretty much sums up my first year teaching experience...."We are all in this....ALONE". Meaning, that as teachers we all might have the same problems and struggles but we all tend to deal with it, with our doors closed. Which is exactly what we should never do.

Vicki Davis, has made a great post about how we as bloggers should continue with our posts. It's very easy to get overworked, with normal (and un-normal) paperwork as well as with our own personal lives. Sometimes we might even push aside our blog postings to the back burner and without even knowing it we have inadvertently effected the lives of other on-line teachers.

I realize that I have become a much more effective teacher because of all the great bloggers who have shared their experiences. Teachers who took the time to share what worked well for them, and even what frustrated them to pieces. I love hearing all the different tools and new techniques that are used to solve similar problems that I go through. It's through blogging that I am able to help others who I normally wouldn't see or talk to. By blogging I am able to open up my door and allow the world to see how I am able to solve and handle my problems.

So take a moment and think about how your contributions have been going. Do you think you can contribute either as a blogger or a commenter on a somewhat more consistent basis? I know I'm going to step up my postings and comments and do my part to help share ideas across this online world.

Tweet, Tweet.....You're Fired!!!!

We all have to be very careful at what we now post on our social sites. Future employers are now able to view and verify your sites and determine just how viable a candidate you really are. This article from MSNBC tells how an employee weighed his options at working for a company, only to discover that his future employees were very tech savvy and were aware of his decision and even went so forth as to comment on his tweeter about it.

The world is small, and with all the social sites out there it's getting a lot smaller. Take the time to be extra cautious as what, and when you post items out there. You never know who is watching and taking notes on you.