Teaching is supposed to be fun....

..... where has all the fun gone in teaching?

My classes were rigorous .... I had the students working.

....today these digital kids have so much energy ... I figured ou tthe hard way I have to use energy to my advantage or else they're a fast moving train that's 'bout to run me over.

I was talking to a teacher friend the other day and we were reminiscing ...... we had both been reading and talking to other folks .... all we were hearing ....from many different sources .....was about the pain of teaching ......

This fella and I have similar tastes in learning ... we made the kids do the work. We like to be a guide for students .....

...being the sage in class just doesn't work for us.... apparently it's not working for a lot of teachers nowadays.

I want my students leaving class exhausted ... so I use every tidbit of conversation to fire up critical thinking ... once that fire is burning ....

...all I have to do is stoke it with questions.

Students will get to the learning opportunity with the appropriate guidance.

...and when I'm giving that kinda guidance .... teaching is fun!

If you want some free scoop (research and step-by-step guide) on an effective critical thinking technique then click this link ....

http://www.educationreporting.com/edtools/free-offer.htm

Wishing you the best life has to offer,
Jack

Teachers and testing - what is all the fuss?

Most people won’t make an effective teacher. Why? Teaching is a complex job, requiring multiple skill sets. Three essentials teacher skills are being a nerd in the subject content, another is sufficient social skills to maximize organized chaos - classroom management, and one more is being a quality decision maker. Blue ribbon teachers, again and again, correctly choose among conflicting “A” priority tasks.

How do teachers really know what works? That's simple, they are in the class and can see the results, or no results, in many different aspects - all day long - including social skills, content assimilation, language skill, and so forth.

But as far as politicians, most parents, and administrators are concerned .... it all comes down to how students do on the test. Something not talked about much is what the "test" is measuring .... is it an equitable test for all students ..... is it measuring what was taught ..... does the test make any assumptions that will inadvertently discriminate against certain students? Everyone hears the word "test" and assumes that it's a fair measurement of content assimilation, but there are a host of factors to consider when building a test. As a teacher, I have heard little to nothing about how the test are being constructed..... no matter if they are a CRT, Criteria Referenced Test, or another high stake test that are more prevalent than ever.

Teachers know what works best and they are telling us in the surveys they complete on this site in the free "members only" section.

Sadly, what we are hearing from teachers is that they cannot use the testing methods they know work the best. You can read the results by clicking here.