None.
Nada.
Zippo.
Zero.
.... that's how much wisdom teachers sent me.
.....without any entries submitted there won't be a list of winners to provide.
Jack
31 December 2008
30 December 2008
Education Guiding Principles: Responsibility
Typically one might consider responsibility to be “towing the line” or doing behaviors that are expected under certain circumstances. In education responsibility is more a compilation of ownership, right action, and congeniality. I think educational experiences come in all shapes and sizes but the deeper they resound the more organized chaos is present.
Students must own the effort they make, which in the end will translate into the knowledge they acquire from the activity exercise during class: what they learned. The easiest way this I’ve accomplished this is using relevant lessons – a lesson that relates what is being taught in class as somehow enhancing student life skills or enhancing the quality of student life outside of school.
While working in a class activity there is certain action that is beneficial to obtaining learning. For example, if Johnny and Anita are chatting it up – not working on the activity tasks: working with other students to investigate, collect information, and make educated guesses, then there isn’t really much hope they are acquiring the necessary info to learn anything. But, just nudging them to focus on the tasks while they continue chatting it up will transform a wasted activity into a contribution to their acquiring necessary info in the goal of completing class work. Digital students can multi-task better than I and many other “adults.”
Every situation has some form of decorum and class decorum is set forth in classroom management polices and activity guidelines. A class without some guidelines is unorganized chaos. The line separating unorganized chaos and organized chaos is very fine, but the difference is organized chaos has the existence of assimilating learning above and beyond survival skills. For example, at the K-12 level, telling students they need to use the supplies and their notes to make a poster explaining XYZ has less learning potential then enhancing those instructions by asking students to include specific information in the poster: title, theme, illustration of cause and effect.
When students are expressing responsibility they are producing a context that naturally builds life skills. In these situations a “ teacher” moves out of the traditional role of being the classroom “expert” dispelling wisdom, instead she/he is a facilitator – a resource for students – that guides the learning taking place.
Jack
Students must own the effort they make, which in the end will translate into the knowledge they acquire from the activity exercise during class: what they learned. The easiest way this I’ve accomplished this is using relevant lessons – a lesson that relates what is being taught in class as somehow enhancing student life skills or enhancing the quality of student life outside of school.
While working in a class activity there is certain action that is beneficial to obtaining learning. For example, if Johnny and Anita are chatting it up – not working on the activity tasks: working with other students to investigate, collect information, and make educated guesses, then there isn’t really much hope they are acquiring the necessary info to learn anything. But, just nudging them to focus on the tasks while they continue chatting it up will transform a wasted activity into a contribution to their acquiring necessary info in the goal of completing class work. Digital students can multi-task better than I and many other “adults.”
Every situation has some form of decorum and class decorum is set forth in classroom management polices and activity guidelines. A class without some guidelines is unorganized chaos. The line separating unorganized chaos and organized chaos is very fine, but the difference is organized chaos has the existence of assimilating learning above and beyond survival skills. For example, at the K-12 level, telling students they need to use the supplies and their notes to make a poster explaining XYZ has less learning potential then enhancing those instructions by asking students to include specific information in the poster: title, theme, illustration of cause and effect.
When students are expressing responsibility they are producing a context that naturally builds life skills. In these situations a “ teacher” moves out of the traditional role of being the classroom “expert” dispelling wisdom, instead she/he is a facilitator – a resource for students – that guides the learning taking place.
Jack
29 December 2008
Education Guiding Principles: Curiosity
Learning is active - right?
....that would translate into I'm going to have to want/do/know "something" in order for my "education" to occur.
For example, how did I learn about the raging new social network games: Pet Society and Kidnap!?
I logged in and accepted the invite from a friend and began playing them, one game at a time. Sure, I'm pretty slow at picking them up but I'm making progress day by day and discovering the features of the games.
My "education" of social networking games expands ....not in a class or formal setting ..... instead it happens as I bang around around on my computer - driven by my own curiosity.
I'm not a big gift buyer during the holidays, but I enjoy going to the store and exploring the toys and games. How? I pick them up and read the boxes and talk it over with myself (quietly) or with my shopping buddy. Again, my own curiosity is the driving force that creates this opportunity for my "education" on holiday gifts.
In traditional schools, a classroom with out some activity that will fire up student curiosity has a degrading potential for learning. And, this is one of those teacher qualities - the ability to peak and maintain student curiosity - they don't teach you in pre-service programs that churn out thousands of new teachers a year.
One bright spot in school "education" where curiosity is harnessed by design is Sudbury Schools, http://www.sudval.org, where students learn at their own pace, imbibe responsibility and experience education. When you take a few minutes to read about how they have setup "education" you'll be amazed and surprised.
Jack
....that would translate into I'm going to have to want/do/know "something" in order for my "education" to occur.
For example, how did I learn about the raging new social network games: Pet Society and Kidnap!?
I logged in and accepted the invite from a friend and began playing them, one game at a time. Sure, I'm pretty slow at picking them up but I'm making progress day by day and discovering the features of the games.
My "education" of social networking games expands ....not in a class or formal setting ..... instead it happens as I bang around around on my computer - driven by my own curiosity.
I'm not a big gift buyer during the holidays, but I enjoy going to the store and exploring the toys and games. How? I pick them up and read the boxes and talk it over with myself (quietly) or with my shopping buddy. Again, my own curiosity is the driving force that creates this opportunity for my "education" on holiday gifts.
In traditional schools, a classroom with out some activity that will fire up student curiosity has a degrading potential for learning. And, this is one of those teacher qualities - the ability to peak and maintain student curiosity - they don't teach you in pre-service programs that churn out thousands of new teachers a year.
One bright spot in school "education" where curiosity is harnessed by design is Sudbury Schools, http://www.sudval.org, where students learn at their own pace, imbibe responsibility and experience education. When you take a few minutes to read about how they have setup "education" you'll be amazed and surprised.
Jack
2008 Top Three Education Innovations
Three creative and innovative education ideas in 2008 include the following:
1. Pay-To-Behave Program Debuts In D.C. Schools
2. Open Book Exam: Prepare Kids for Life or for Exams?
3. Service Learning As A Tool For Reducing High School Dropout Rates
…and then there is always the Quality Counts Report full of various measurements….
Have a happy 2009!
Jack
10 December 2008
Teachers Collect $125 - Share Your Wisdom
……that is correct, you can put a hundred and twenty-five bucks in your pocket for talking about your class ….. or your teaching.
Here is how it works…..
I am looking for K-12 teachers (any grade or content area) to write at least 1,000 words to describe their teaching. Why? I want to print your teacher wisdom in my ezine starting In January when I roll out a brand new ezine format. That is correct, I want to share your wisdom with other teachers so they can apply it with their classes.
The key points…..
A. Your entry must be sent to me by midnight on December 30th, 2008.
B. Every entry will receive a free subscription to my Education Rebel Ezine and 50 of those entries will be selected to receive $125 in cash.
C. The cash award winners will be posted on this blog by January 12, 2009 and payments will be mailed to those winners by January 9, 2009.
These are the two pieces of information your entry, a minimum of 1,000 words, must include:
1. A brief introduction about your teaching background and class (one paragraph maximum).
2. Discuss one of the following:
- what works in your teaching style to encourage students to learn?
- explain professional development work that has improved your teaching.
- describe a project based learning activity in your class and the learning
results.
- describe a service learning activity in your class and the learning results or impact on campus or community.
Entries must be sent in a Word document or a Google document.
Each entry must include your name, email address, school name, and your mailing address (where the check will be sent). Entries must be received at educationrebel@gmail.com no later than midnight on December 30th. The cash award winners will be notified by email on or before January 5, 2009 and their payments will be mailed to them by January 9, 2009. All entries will receive a free one year subscription to Education Rebel Ezine. When you submit your entry you’re giving me the rights to print it in my ezine for unlimited issues along with your name, grade, and state. I will not share any other information you provide with any other organization because I respect your privacy.
If you have any questions you can send them to me at educationrebel@gmail.com.
I know you’ll have time over the holiday break to share your teacher wisdom with me and I’m paying you to do it.
A beautiful sunny day today, Jack
09 December 2008
Effective Teachers Have WILL
…..was looking over what has helped me the most in my teaching to reach my “getting organized” goal for 2008 and thought I’d blog it.
It’s fair to say that it takes a special type of person …. a certain chemistry … to be a teacher. Not everyone has it or is willing to make the effort to obtain it. I’m all for keeping the effective teachers and helping the ineffective ones, but from what I’ve seen and heard, usually the ineffective teachers don’t know the slide they’re on or won’t agree to being supported - they’re just doing a J.O.B..
I detailed my thoughts about teacher chemistry in the TeacherHandbook (free) that you can pick up at www.educationrebel.com so I’m not going to carry on about it here.
What is WILL? Very simply, it’s Whole children Influenced by Living Learning. I have being doing lessons with a WILL focus for years and I’ve been helping other teachers do them - because they saw the positive results in my classes. WILL starts with a martixed lesson using an OPTIMUM design which is easy to put together and implement.
There are two phases of this OPTIMUM design. The first phase is that a least 40% of your students must be familiar with working in student groups …. plus ….. your students need to be familiar with doing certain critical thinking exercises that are consistently woven into your lesson activities.
A matrixed lesson is built using Objectives, Activities and Resources. Activities are a part of almost every lesson in my classes. Students working in groups have opportunities to flex their social skill learning muscles. I use different “comparing” exercises to get them comfortable with looking at similarities and differences between things - thus building their analytical skills - and building those critical thinking skills too. Once you have 40% of your students familiar with working in groups you are on your way!
One “comparing” example is having students examine completed white boards (posters, models, pictures, reports, and so forth). The goal is to have them describe similarities and differences between whatever they are comparing. I like the completed white boards since students work on them in groups after I give all the groups the same prompts for a specific set of questions or challenge or scenario. There is never a wrong answer, make sure you always use student comments and work as a contribution to the learning objective, or a contribution to their critical thinking skill, or just a plain ole “good work” comment.
Note I didn’t say that 40% of your students are “comfortable” with working in groups. I’m not a believer in comfort zones in class. On the other hand, students need to be familiar or confident with working in groups. When 40% have reached that point they’ll pull the rest of the class with ‘em.
BTW, If you trust me enough to talk with your teacher friends then I’ll instantly give you three of my highly rated classroom resources. Click here to learn more.
The critical thinking skills develop as we educators help students ask better questions. While they are comparing the boards I always do a two minute talk about the constant comparing every one does all day:
- why did you wear those clothes today (you compared them to other clothes)
- when you go to the store, why do you buy some tomatoes and not the others? (you compared them to other tomatoes)
- why do you hang out with Anita and not Sally? (you compared their characteristics and choose one over the other)
This kinda conversation qualifies this “comparing” exercise as relevant to students. When kids see the link to class work and life “outside” they will participate. Bottom line is, we all compare stuff constantly without everything thinking about doing it. As a teacher, bringing the “comparing” activity to the surface is a potent relevancy tool for your arsenal.
Traditional education got students used to memorizing: the development of thinking skills that recognize the value of patterns, self-questioning, associations, and mental pictures ….. and you can use that as a starting point during “comparing” exercises. The more of these exercises you do in class the better worn the path becomes in the direction of boosting the core-thinking processes that naturally induce metacognition.
BTW, if you’re interested in some easy reading material about critical thinking to get 2009 started in a fresh direction take a look at my handbook. (Click here for free copy)
Enjoying a winter rain and wind storm, Jack
PS: After the holidays I’ll be detailing phase two about using WILL with classes.
07 December 2008
Teacher Creativity Opens Learning Potential
Checking the net for education stuff this morning I found an amazing (and true) story of a couple of teachers at Woodland Park HS in CO ……..
They came up with a redesigned lesson idea….. put it to work ….. and everyone wins! The teachers have more individualized time with students, students can learn in ways that work for them, plus the test scores are improving!
What did they do? They stopped lecturing in class for 45 minutes everyday, gave students a DVD of the lecture to take home, and then used class time to work individually with students on problems. Check out the news interview here.
Staying warm, Jack
05 December 2008
Teacher WIP UP
Today the WIP UP (unlimited potential) is all about curriculum…….
…..this global village connection was established in 1997, it’s a treasure trove with thousands and thousands of pages of covering opportunities across the curriculum and it’s all free.(the site)
…… Wiki, wiki, who has a wiki? ….. I bet you’re gonna see the need for this in your arsenal too. (watch and learn)
….. news flash here, this fella is outta the box, when the school budget was exhausted and he needed money to print his math tests for students …. he sold advertising on the exams to make ends meet. (read more)
……Generation Yes site ….. worth a read and tell your students about the global project (age 10-13) they can run with. (read more)
…….the Teacher Domain has media resources galore for any content area …. they are even have tempting professional development media too…… yes, yes they are free. (the site)
Cruising again, Jack
04 December 2008
Educators - figuring out your XYness
..... you can evaluate your class activities using my Teacher Classroom XYness.
...... all class activities migrate through four zones of 1) disruption (starter) 2) organized chaos, 3) excelling, and 4) accomplishment. The real "trim tab" is knowing the trigger points for each zone because that will allow you to manage the students appropriately. You can see the Teacher Classroom XYness here.
This is Part One, the teacher skills I covered earlier ........ today I just want to get you the XY chart so you can compare this technique to your work and chew on the points below:- all activities start in disruption since that is when students find out what they need to do ...... stuff like the roles and responsibilities ..... how they'll be graded .... and how this ties into class work.
- the organized chaos will be the shortest, hopefully, lived zone, as students get focused on larger tasks they will be more involved with peers and actions that can be readily assessed.- all the major task work is above the Curriculum Skills bar as moving above that bar is dependent on multiple teaching skills.
- the accomplishment zone isn't the "end all" for students..... when their work is completed they become tutors and start helping other student groups get the work accomplished.
......more details when I publish Part Two on this one.
Jack
Education Rebel - Teacher Handbook For Digital Age - FREE for limited time
03 December 2008
Teachers - Got Your WIP On?
.....teachers are always in a WIP [pronounced WHIP] mode
since they constantly have Work In Progress. That's not just the classroom stuff
either, they have skills to maintain and that takes a concentrated effort with
focus and attention
Basically, there are four skill sets a 21st century teacher must have, the details in the diagram illustrate the bare minimum - a baseline. Here is a brief description of each:
Curriculum SkillsUnderstands, designs, and uses instruction to make connections that induce educational
experiences that in turn create life long learners.
Ability to use and manipulate technology to advance instruction methods and engage students.
Classroom Management SkillsHas effective control of classroom environment using various approaches to eliminate disruptive student behavior.
Career Development SkillsThe time and effort to participate in activities, outside of classroom work, that promote a wider breadth of teaching practices.
It's worth noting that there are certain overall requirements that need to be met in order for teachers to have an environment where these skills can be achieved:
1. An administrative supported approach to instruction that supports project based learning and isn't a MASH schedule to produce correct multiple choice answers.
2. Class sizes are manageable and not a classrooms full of 25 or more students.
3. Teachers have the technology and tools available to them on a regular basis in their rooms, which doesn't include scheduling a computer lab across campus that has 30 computers for 1,000 students.
Jack
Education Rebel - Teacher Handbook For Digital Age - FREE for limited time
06 November 2008
I was shopping today and was surprised to see Christmas trees and decorations slung around store. Wow, time flys. Hope you are finding some time to say warm and enjoy the Fall colors!
Performance Pay News
Catching up at news for the US Dept. Ed I liked that Secretary Spellings knows, "Nothing helps a child learn as much as a great teacher." I also learned that in 2006, President Bush created the Teacher Incentive Fund, which supports districts in rewarding teachers and principals who have increased student achievement and helps to recruit and retain high quality teachers and principals in the neediest schools. Since 2006, $196 million has been awarded to 34 grantees; new performance pay models have been created and existing programs have expanded. This year, the Department is awarding 34 grants nationwide totaling approximately $97 million. Here are three links to get more news...
- Information about performance pay...
- Information on Teacher Incentive Fund
- Information on the Center for Educator Compensation Reform
NLCB - Latest News
The most current results for NCLB are available too at the US Dept. Ed Site. Click here to view 'em state by state.
Doing What Works
Gotta check this out because the Dept of Ed is promoting project based learning. You can watch the videos here and they are made from schools aoround the county. Click here to view.
Performance Pay News
Catching up at news for the US Dept. Ed I liked that Secretary Spellings knows, "Nothing helps a child learn as much as a great teacher." I also learned that in 2006, President Bush created the Teacher Incentive Fund, which supports districts in rewarding teachers and principals who have increased student achievement and helps to recruit and retain high quality teachers and principals in the neediest schools. Since 2006, $196 million has been awarded to 34 grantees; new performance pay models have been created and existing programs have expanded. This year, the Department is awarding 34 grants nationwide totaling approximately $97 million. Here are three links to get more news...
- Information about performance pay...
- Information on Teacher Incentive Fund
- Information on the Center for Educator Compensation Reform
NLCB - Latest News
The most current results for NCLB are available too at the US Dept. Ed Site. Click here to view 'em state by state.
Doing What Works
Gotta check this out because the Dept of Ed is promoting project based learning. You can watch the videos here and they are made from schools aoround the county. Click here to view.
27 October 2008
Got Time for Serendipity?
Synchronicity is the only decent planning tool sometimes for me.
During my work with students in the Blue Planet Society, an after school club of volunteering students, I was lucky enough to meet some very well meaning people in the community who believed in young people and sincerely want to help the environment.
Sue Sylvester at Adolfson & Peterson Construction was incredibly helpful and supportive in many ways to the club. She was also instrumental in organizing events to help teachers in getting green information for their students. The volunteer work in the community she gives tirelessly to support the environment is exceptional.
Mary Holden is another amazing person. Her work in Raising Arizona Kids Magazine includes calling attention to green efforts and projects in schools. She was incredibly kind to send me a copy of Last Child in the Woods by Robert Louv. Reading that book opened my eyes to a world I thought I knew but then realized I had a whole lot more to understand - a wonderful gift for me indeed.
There are many amazing individuals, I think, who are spreading some useful and educational nuggets that everyone can use. Here is another one ….
Shaping Youth
Amy has an awesome blog that has an eco thread and other great information about how media and marketing influence kids today.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Teachers for Green Schools
Green School News
Education Gaming News
Facebook: Collaborate With K-12 Educators
During my work with students in the Blue Planet Society, an after school club of volunteering students, I was lucky enough to meet some very well meaning people in the community who believed in young people and sincerely want to help the environment.
Sue Sylvester at Adolfson & Peterson Construction was incredibly helpful and supportive in many ways to the club. She was also instrumental in organizing events to help teachers in getting green information for their students. The volunteer work in the community she gives tirelessly to support the environment is exceptional.
Mary Holden is another amazing person. Her work in Raising Arizona Kids Magazine includes calling attention to green efforts and projects in schools. She was incredibly kind to send me a copy of Last Child in the Woods by Robert Louv. Reading that book opened my eyes to a world I thought I knew but then realized I had a whole lot more to understand - a wonderful gift for me indeed.
There are many amazing individuals, I think, who are spreading some useful and educational nuggets that everyone can use. Here is another one ….
Shaping Youth
Amy has an awesome blog that has an eco thread and other great information about how media and marketing influence kids today.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Teachers for Green Schools
Green School News
Education Gaming News
Facebook: Collaborate With K-12 Educators
18 October 2008
Unruly Classes – Ordinary People Being Leaders
Teachers have a job like no one else. No kidding.
Get unruly with a cop you can get arrested or detained.
Get unruly at a restaurant and you’ll be refused service.
Get unruly with your partner and they will tell you to get out.
But, get unruly in a K-12 class and the responsibility of a teacher is to run through their discipline system with the priority to keep you in class and have you be educated. My discipline system worked like this:
- first incident of disrupting class was a verbal warning.
- second incident of the same behavior was calling home, which sometimes meant stopping class – thereby disrupting 25+ students learning the content.
- third incident of same disruptive behavior was a “Responsible Thinking Form” and trip to the Dean.
- fourth incident was writing a Referral, which goes in student permanent file, and a trip back to see the Dean.
What I saw as a teacher was that there is a very small minority of students who are disruptive but then they can disrupt the entire class.
I think there are two ways to reduce disruptive behaviors and thereby support students who want to learn in excelling. First, remove disruptive students. Public K-12 classes are not experiments in behavior modification. Students that continually disrupt more than one class need to be set free. Put them in an alternative learning environment or put them to work at a job skill or a job. The worse action to take, for teachers and students who want to learn, is putting them back in a classroom.
Second, teachers need to be better leaders, which definitely requires a certain chemistry; a mix of content knowledge, people skills, presentation skills, some degree of being technology savvy, and compassion. I do agree that it’s tough to train leaders. Think about it, we can take an ordinary person and spend thousands and thousands of dollars to make one Navy Seal. But has anyone built or even researched the effective program that turns and ordinary person into a K-12 teacher?
Students nowadays are more prone to be technology savvy, able to multi-task, and obviously looking to understand more about life and their role in it. The television shows and movies they watch cover serious stuff and that comes with them to class, along with everything else that is happening or not happening at home. Today, young people are inundated with sex, violence, speedy advertisements, and dysfunctional behaviors at all levels of life. K-12 students today are not a docile blank slate waiting to be filled. They have an undying thirst to understand.
When you look around at the majority of new teachers, what do you see?. They are 20 something and fresh out of college. Kudos to them for making a decision to support education, but they have little life experience to offer students. My concern is that we are filling K-12 teacher slots with young teachers who lack the life skills to be able to teach because they are unable to match or exceed student thirst. They haven’ been out in life enough - yet. Sure they know the content, but can they deal with what else is happening in a K-12 class?
The chemistry of teaching isn’t easy. We all had at least one teacher that knew everything but couldn’t control the class. Or, the teacher that was everyone’s friend and no one learned a darn anything. Remember the teacher who filled every class period with worksheets and s/he just sat at their desk? And then the nightmare teacher, where you did exactly the same thing every day in class.
Life experience is priceless – no matter what profession you are in. It means volumes to the students when you can pull life into a lesson and talk to the lesson content. That is called engaging students with life outside of class. The other point, students are always taking everything to the limit – don’t all young people do this? I did. Young people need to test the limits to see what they can get away with. The challenge of new teachers is that s/he hasn’t built up a repertoire of meaningful social experiences to deal with “behavior incident” situations because they have been learning the subject content.
K-12 teachers must be a solid leader in the land of young people thirsty to comprehend our complex world. We owe it to new teachers to train them, not in being book smart, but in the comprehensive chemistry of effective K-12 teaching. If you know of a “pre-service” teaching program that you think offers the right chemistry for training teachers please let me know.
What helped me the most as a new teacher?
Harry Wong – a must read and then DO IT.
Multiple Intelligences – Harry Gardner
Even though he has little research his ideas are compelling and helped me understand individual students.
==================================================
K-12 Grants for project learning and service learning
Make Your voice Heard – Report cards
==================================================
Get unruly with a cop you can get arrested or detained.
Get unruly at a restaurant and you’ll be refused service.
Get unruly with your partner and they will tell you to get out.
But, get unruly in a K-12 class and the responsibility of a teacher is to run through their discipline system with the priority to keep you in class and have you be educated. My discipline system worked like this:
- first incident of disrupting class was a verbal warning.
- second incident of the same behavior was calling home, which sometimes meant stopping class – thereby disrupting 25+ students learning the content.
- third incident of same disruptive behavior was a “Responsible Thinking Form” and trip to the Dean.
- fourth incident was writing a Referral, which goes in student permanent file, and a trip back to see the Dean.
What I saw as a teacher was that there is a very small minority of students who are disruptive but then they can disrupt the entire class.
I think there are two ways to reduce disruptive behaviors and thereby support students who want to learn in excelling. First, remove disruptive students. Public K-12 classes are not experiments in behavior modification. Students that continually disrupt more than one class need to be set free. Put them in an alternative learning environment or put them to work at a job skill or a job. The worse action to take, for teachers and students who want to learn, is putting them back in a classroom.
Second, teachers need to be better leaders, which definitely requires a certain chemistry; a mix of content knowledge, people skills, presentation skills, some degree of being technology savvy, and compassion. I do agree that it’s tough to train leaders. Think about it, we can take an ordinary person and spend thousands and thousands of dollars to make one Navy Seal. But has anyone built or even researched the effective program that turns and ordinary person into a K-12 teacher?
Students nowadays are more prone to be technology savvy, able to multi-task, and obviously looking to understand more about life and their role in it. The television shows and movies they watch cover serious stuff and that comes with them to class, along with everything else that is happening or not happening at home. Today, young people are inundated with sex, violence, speedy advertisements, and dysfunctional behaviors at all levels of life. K-12 students today are not a docile blank slate waiting to be filled. They have an undying thirst to understand.
When you look around at the majority of new teachers, what do you see?. They are 20 something and fresh out of college. Kudos to them for making a decision to support education, but they have little life experience to offer students. My concern is that we are filling K-12 teacher slots with young teachers who lack the life skills to be able to teach because they are unable to match or exceed student thirst. They haven’ been out in life enough - yet. Sure they know the content, but can they deal with what else is happening in a K-12 class?
The chemistry of teaching isn’t easy. We all had at least one teacher that knew everything but couldn’t control the class. Or, the teacher that was everyone’s friend and no one learned a darn anything. Remember the teacher who filled every class period with worksheets and s/he just sat at their desk? And then the nightmare teacher, where you did exactly the same thing every day in class.
Life experience is priceless – no matter what profession you are in. It means volumes to the students when you can pull life into a lesson and talk to the lesson content. That is called engaging students with life outside of class. The other point, students are always taking everything to the limit – don’t all young people do this? I did. Young people need to test the limits to see what they can get away with. The challenge of new teachers is that s/he hasn’t built up a repertoire of meaningful social experiences to deal with “behavior incident” situations because they have been learning the subject content.
K-12 teachers must be a solid leader in the land of young people thirsty to comprehend our complex world. We owe it to new teachers to train them, not in being book smart, but in the comprehensive chemistry of effective K-12 teaching. If you know of a “pre-service” teaching program that you think offers the right chemistry for training teachers please let me know.
What helped me the most as a new teacher?
Harry Wong – a must read and then DO IT.
Multiple Intelligences – Harry Gardner
Even though he has little research his ideas are compelling and helped me understand individual students.
==================================================
K-12 Grants for project learning and service learning
Make Your voice Heard – Report cards
==================================================
16 October 2008
Equity: Teen Video Gaming or Science and Math
A recently released Pew study on the internet, teens and gaming explains what we expected: 97% of ‘em play video games or console games. What else? That 99% of boys and 94% of girls are “enthusiastic” players.
When I was a kid a social experience was interacting with people that usually occurred outdoors. Not today, according to that report, for most teens, gaming is a social activity and a major component of their overall social experience.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education in the United States is at an all time low. Everyone agrees on this – even McCain and Obama. The US job segment requiring science and math skills had only 8% of the total number of degrees awarded in 2001. Since 2003 there has been a reduction of 50% in undergraduate enrollments of computer science degrees. This is no guessing game – at this pace in 2010 the vast majority of the world's scientists will anywhere but USA grown.
My take is education must be reformed: 1) curriculum needs to take advantage of what teens like to do, 2) teachers need to put technology in as much of the school day as possible, and 3) education stakeholders must take some bold steps – NOW – to curb these trends. How?
National curriculum standards that mandate technology use.
Incorporate technology training for teachers to bolster their skill level to and support using technology methods in K-12 classes. For example, we know students play and enjoy video games so move that forward by requiring a portion of the daily lesson include using a video game. Using what students like to do already as a teaching tool. Video games are essentially a problem solving garden. Every scenario the player is given requires critical thinking to find the solution.
Obligate sufficient assets to supplement existing curriculum resources.
The BBC recently reported that using computer games daily helped boost math scores in Scottish schools. K-12 teachers must provide students with meaningful and frequent learning opportunities using technology. I have read all the studies that say teachers have the computers they need and that just ain’t so. As a former high school teacher, I can tell you that there are not enough computers to go around in the schools. Many times the computers don’t work. Students interested in learning are being cheated because they don’t have the technology tools necessary to challenge them – that’s a crying shame to the USA.
Weave every subject into video games.
The Pew report also state that little evidence exists of concerns that gaming promotes behaviors or attitudes that undermine civic behaviors. With that objection out of the way, gaming can be used for all the core content subjects. Other studies have shown that student collaboration, working together on a project, is a positive influence on learning. That, as an educator, I know to be true.
Hey, I’m not a technology freak. No, I completely enjoy the outdoors and nature. People, we have to get real about the future of our leaders. To have scientists, engineers, and world leaders for tomorrow we need to start NOW.
Here are three of my top learning from playing resources:
1. Games in Multimedia
Many of these are online and some can be downloaded. The majority of online entries are free and cover multiple subjects.
2 Whyville
A Web-based virtual world that provides inquiry-based education for middle school students. Created by University of Texas professor Jim Bower -- a former professor at the California Institute of Technology and founder of CalTech's Pre-College Science Initiative.
3 WISE – Web Based Science Inquiry Environment
Funded by NSF this site offers a host of case studies where students perform sequenced tasks to research, analyze, and arrive at conclusions.
========================================================
Say it - report cards: teachers, students, and parents
Remember nature? Southwest glory is here.
Teachers for Green Schools
Green School News
Education Gaming News
Facebook: Collaborate With K-12 Educators
Secret Of Engaging Students
====================================================
When I was a kid a social experience was interacting with people that usually occurred outdoors. Not today, according to that report, for most teens, gaming is a social activity and a major component of their overall social experience.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education in the United States is at an all time low. Everyone agrees on this – even McCain and Obama. The US job segment requiring science and math skills had only 8% of the total number of degrees awarded in 2001. Since 2003 there has been a reduction of 50% in undergraduate enrollments of computer science degrees. This is no guessing game – at this pace in 2010 the vast majority of the world's scientists will anywhere but USA grown.
My take is education must be reformed: 1) curriculum needs to take advantage of what teens like to do, 2) teachers need to put technology in as much of the school day as possible, and 3) education stakeholders must take some bold steps – NOW – to curb these trends. How?
National curriculum standards that mandate technology use.
Incorporate technology training for teachers to bolster their skill level to and support using technology methods in K-12 classes. For example, we know students play and enjoy video games so move that forward by requiring a portion of the daily lesson include using a video game. Using what students like to do already as a teaching tool. Video games are essentially a problem solving garden. Every scenario the player is given requires critical thinking to find the solution.
Obligate sufficient assets to supplement existing curriculum resources.
The BBC recently reported that using computer games daily helped boost math scores in Scottish schools. K-12 teachers must provide students with meaningful and frequent learning opportunities using technology. I have read all the studies that say teachers have the computers they need and that just ain’t so. As a former high school teacher, I can tell you that there are not enough computers to go around in the schools. Many times the computers don’t work. Students interested in learning are being cheated because they don’t have the technology tools necessary to challenge them – that’s a crying shame to the USA.
Weave every subject into video games.
The Pew report also state that little evidence exists of concerns that gaming promotes behaviors or attitudes that undermine civic behaviors. With that objection out of the way, gaming can be used for all the core content subjects. Other studies have shown that student collaboration, working together on a project, is a positive influence on learning. That, as an educator, I know to be true.
Hey, I’m not a technology freak. No, I completely enjoy the outdoors and nature. People, we have to get real about the future of our leaders. To have scientists, engineers, and world leaders for tomorrow we need to start NOW.
Here are three of my top learning from playing resources:
1. Games in Multimedia
Many of these are online and some can be downloaded. The majority of online entries are free and cover multiple subjects.
2 Whyville
A Web-based virtual world that provides inquiry-based education for middle school students. Created by University of Texas professor Jim Bower -- a former professor at the California Institute of Technology and founder of CalTech's Pre-College Science Initiative.
3 WISE – Web Based Science Inquiry Environment
Funded by NSF this site offers a host of case studies where students perform sequenced tasks to research, analyze, and arrive at conclusions.
========================================================
Say it - report cards: teachers, students, and parents
Remember nature? Southwest glory is here.
Teachers for Green Schools
Green School News
Education Gaming News
Facebook: Collaborate With K-12 Educators
Secret Of Engaging Students
====================================================
24 September 2008
Ingenuity in K-12 Classes
Wondering how to get your math, social studies, reading, or science students to sit up and get engaged?
Students are full of ideas. So wrap your content around this question …..Got an idea that could change the world, or at least help a lot of people?
Why? Google wants to hear from you -- and they'll pay as much as $10 million to make your idea a reality.
Yup, critical thinking exists in every school content area. And, this question shows students the power of using thinking skills to help yourself and others. I am a big fan of improving thinking skills – being better analyzers of data and using creative solutions to solve issues – because that is a basic life skill.
Thinking, isn’t it a shame that more teachers don’t emphasize it during lessons? Here is a real world opportunity. Learn more by clicking here and read the Google notice.
Students are full of ideas. So wrap your content around this question …..Got an idea that could change the world, or at least help a lot of people?
Why? Google wants to hear from you -- and they'll pay as much as $10 million to make your idea a reality.
Yup, critical thinking exists in every school content area. And, this question shows students the power of using thinking skills to help yourself and others. I am a big fan of improving thinking skills – being better analyzers of data and using creative solutions to solve issues – because that is a basic life skill.
Thinking, isn’t it a shame that more teachers don’t emphasize it during lessons? Here is a real world opportunity. Learn more by clicking here and read the Google notice.
22 September 2008
The United States of France?
I know this is an education blob but when I read this article in Time it made so much sense. Read it for yourself by clicking here. One paragraph that caught my attention...
"We've always dismissed the French as exquisitely fed wards of their welfare state. They work, what, 27 hours in a good week, have 19 holidays a month, go on strike for two days and enjoy a glass of wine every day with lunch — except for the 25% of the population that works for the government, who have an even sweeter deal. They retire before their kids finish high school, and they don't have to save for a $45,000-a-year college tuition because college is free. For this, they pay a tax rate of about 103%, and their labor laws are so restrictive that they haven't had a net gain in jobs since Napoleon. There is no way that the French government can pay for this lifestyle forever, except that it somehow does."
So how does the education system in France rate? The OECD, currently ranks France's education as the 25th best in the world.
USA education is primarily a State and local responsibility. It is States and communities, as well as public and private organizations of all kinds, that establish schools and colleges, develop curricula, and determine requirements for enrollment and graduation. The structure of education finance in America reflects this predominant State and local role. Of an estimated $1 trillion being spent nationwide on education at all levels for school year 2007-2008, a substantial majority will come from State, local, and private sources. This is especially true at the elementary and secondary level, where just over 91 percent of the funds will come from non-Federal sources.
In 1999, France's GDP was close to FF 9,000 billion (EUR 1,330 billion) per resident. Of this total, just over FF 600 billion (EUR 95 billion) were devoted to initial or continuing education: 7.2% of GDP.
In 2005 the USA GDP was $12.4 trillion. The federal funds attributed to K-12 education was almost 3%.
The US spends more per student on average per year but both US and France fall in the range of $8,000 - $8,800 per K-12 student (USD).
Read about education in France here .
Keep the faith and don't forget to vote.
"We've always dismissed the French as exquisitely fed wards of their welfare state. They work, what, 27 hours in a good week, have 19 holidays a month, go on strike for two days and enjoy a glass of wine every day with lunch — except for the 25% of the population that works for the government, who have an even sweeter deal. They retire before their kids finish high school, and they don't have to save for a $45,000-a-year college tuition because college is free. For this, they pay a tax rate of about 103%, and their labor laws are so restrictive that they haven't had a net gain in jobs since Napoleon. There is no way that the French government can pay for this lifestyle forever, except that it somehow does."
So how does the education system in France rate? The OECD, currently ranks France's education as the 25th best in the world.
USA education is primarily a State and local responsibility. It is States and communities, as well as public and private organizations of all kinds, that establish schools and colleges, develop curricula, and determine requirements for enrollment and graduation. The structure of education finance in America reflects this predominant State and local role. Of an estimated $1 trillion being spent nationwide on education at all levels for school year 2007-2008, a substantial majority will come from State, local, and private sources. This is especially true at the elementary and secondary level, where just over 91 percent of the funds will come from non-Federal sources.
In 1999, France's GDP was close to FF 9,000 billion (EUR 1,330 billion) per resident. Of this total, just over FF 600 billion (EUR 95 billion) were devoted to initial or continuing education: 7.2% of GDP.
In 2005 the USA GDP was $12.4 trillion. The federal funds attributed to K-12 education was almost 3%.
The US spends more per student on average per year but both US and France fall in the range of $8,000 - $8,800 per K-12 student (USD).
Read about education in France here .
Keep the faith and don't forget to vote.
21 September 2008
Got STEM in Your Lesson
A Global Challenge
A global project-based competition for high school students with a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics of the complexities of global warming and the future of energy. Come learn from and interact with the Executive Director, David Gibson, and find out how students gain 21st Century skills through a self-guided project.
Innovative Programs Foster Education
During the course of the program, students will have the opportunity to work with the Global Institute of Sustainability to research and develop designs to mitigate the urban heat island, participate in “cognitive apprenticeships” with companies like Boeing, Intel, SRP, Motorola, and Microchip, and team up with the Mars Education Program to design autonomous rovers capable of navigating Mars-like terrain.
========================================================
Say it - report cards: teachers, students, and parents
Remember nature? Southwest glory is here.
Teachers for Green Schools
Green School News
Education Gaming News
Facebook: Collaborate With K-12 Educators
Secret Of Engaging Students
========================================================
A global project-based competition for high school students with a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics of the complexities of global warming and the future of energy. Come learn from and interact with the Executive Director, David Gibson, and find out how students gain 21st Century skills through a self-guided project.
Innovative Programs Foster Education
During the course of the program, students will have the opportunity to work with the Global Institute of Sustainability to research and develop designs to mitigate the urban heat island, participate in “cognitive apprenticeships” with companies like Boeing, Intel, SRP, Motorola, and Microchip, and team up with the Mars Education Program to design autonomous rovers capable of navigating Mars-like terrain.
========================================================
Say it - report cards: teachers, students, and parents
Remember nature? Southwest glory is here.
Teachers for Green Schools
Green School News
Education Gaming News
Facebook: Collaborate With K-12 Educators
Secret Of Engaging Students
========================================================
19 September 2008
Okay to Bailout Wall Street but not K-12 Education - huh?
The news about covering the gushing wounds of greed on Wall Street is common news around the globe. Just how much are the taxpayers – you and me – going to pay in the name of stabilizing the financial markets?
"We're talking hundreds of billions of dollars - this needs to be big enough to make a real difference and get at the heart of the problem. "This is the way we stabilize the system." Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
I understand why the Bush leadership is doing this move but I’m not saying I agree with the approach or the tactics. In case you missed the video I made, here are some key expenditures that put funding education in perspective……
--> $8,246: annual average spending per K-12 student in USA.
National Education Association – Ranking and Estimates 2005
--> $22,632: annual average spending per incarcerated person, excluding federal facilities. Department of Justice – State Prison Expenditures 2001
--> $49,026: average USA K-12 teacher salary in 2005-06.
National Education Association – Ranking and Estimates 2005
--> $361,000: annually to put a soldier, Marine, airman or sailor in Iraq or at bases and on ships in the region according to the Congressional Research Service. Houston Chronicle, April 29, 2006
So here is my question, why are we going to spend “hundreds of billions of dollars” on Wall Street - a number produce by greed and mismanagement - and we are unwilling to spend some serious cash to better educate our K-12 students – the future leaders of this world … cleaning up the messes of the people in power now? Go figure. Better yet, send the President and Speakers an email to tell them your thoughts at ……
President George W. Bush
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Speaker Harry Reid
_______________________________________________
Remember nature? Southwest glory is here.
Teachers for Green Schools
Green School News
Education Gaming News
Facebook Here's A Quick Way To Collaborate With K-12 Educators Worldwide
_______________________________________________
"We're talking hundreds of billions of dollars - this needs to be big enough to make a real difference and get at the heart of the problem. "This is the way we stabilize the system." Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
I understand why the Bush leadership is doing this move but I’m not saying I agree with the approach or the tactics. In case you missed the video I made, here are some key expenditures that put funding education in perspective……
--> $8,246: annual average spending per K-12 student in USA.
National Education Association – Ranking and Estimates 2005
--> $22,632: annual average spending per incarcerated person, excluding federal facilities. Department of Justice – State Prison Expenditures 2001
--> $49,026: average USA K-12 teacher salary in 2005-06.
National Education Association – Ranking and Estimates 2005
--> $361,000: annually to put a soldier, Marine, airman or sailor in Iraq or at bases and on ships in the region according to the Congressional Research Service. Houston Chronicle, April 29, 2006
So here is my question, why are we going to spend “hundreds of billions of dollars” on Wall Street - a number produce by greed and mismanagement - and we are unwilling to spend some serious cash to better educate our K-12 students – the future leaders of this world … cleaning up the messes of the people in power now? Go figure. Better yet, send the President and Speakers an email to tell them your thoughts at ……
President George W. Bush
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Speaker Harry Reid
_______________________________________________
Remember nature? Southwest glory is here.
Teachers for Green Schools
Green School News
Education Gaming News
Facebook Here's A Quick Way To Collaborate With K-12 Educators Worldwide
_______________________________________________
18 September 2008
Keep that Money Rolling' - K-12 Teacher Grant Resources
Youth Service America is offering the annual State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning: grants for youth-led community improvement projects across the United States and Canada. The program offers one hundred grants of up to $1,000 each to teachers and service-learning coordinators who engage youth (ages 5 to 25) in implementing service-learning projects on Global Youth Service Day, April 24-26, 2009. Click here for more info.
Toyota Tapestry Grants for Science Teachers
A partnership between Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. , Inc. and the National Science Teachers Association, the Toyota Tapestry Grants for Science Teachers program offers grants to K-12 science teachers for innovative projects that enhance science education in the school and/or school district. The program will award fifty large grants and a minimum of twenty mini-grants, totaling $550,000 in all, for projects implemented during the 2009-10 school year. Project categories are Physical Science Application, Environmental Science Education, and Integrating Literacy and Science.
The Target Field Trip Grants program will award U.S. educators grants of up to $800 each to fund a field trip for their students. Target Field Trip Grants may be used to fund trips to art museums, cultural events, civic experiences, and environmental sites. Up to five thousand grants will be awarded across the United States.
NEA Foundation
The NEA Foundation supports a variety of efforts by teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty and staff to improve student learning in America's public schools, colleges, and universities. Learning & Leadership Grants provide opportunities for teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty and staff to engage in high-quality professional development and lead their colleagues in professional growth. The grant amount is $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for groups engaged in collegial study.
Remember nature? Check out the Southwest here.
Green School News
Education Gaming News
Toyota Tapestry Grants for Science Teachers
A partnership between Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. , Inc. and the National Science Teachers Association, the Toyota Tapestry Grants for Science Teachers program offers grants to K-12 science teachers for innovative projects that enhance science education in the school and/or school district. The program will award fifty large grants and a minimum of twenty mini-grants, totaling $550,000 in all, for projects implemented during the 2009-10 school year. Project categories are Physical Science Application, Environmental Science Education, and Integrating Literacy and Science.
The Target Field Trip Grants program will award U.S. educators grants of up to $800 each to fund a field trip for their students. Target Field Trip Grants may be used to fund trips to art museums, cultural events, civic experiences, and environmental sites. Up to five thousand grants will be awarded across the United States.
NEA Foundation
The NEA Foundation supports a variety of efforts by teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty and staff to improve student learning in America's public schools, colleges, and universities. Learning & Leadership Grants provide opportunities for teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty and staff to engage in high-quality professional development and lead their colleagues in professional growth. The grant amount is $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for groups engaged in collegial study.
Remember nature? Check out the Southwest here.
Green School News
Education Gaming News
08 September 2008
K-12 Grant Resources
Teacher as Researcher Grant This grant supports classroom teachers who undertake action research inquiries about literacy and instruction. Grants will be awarded up to US$5,000, although priority will be given to smaller grants (e.g., $1,000 to $2,000) in order to provide support for as many teacher researchers as possible.
Improving Students’ Understanding of Geometry Grants for Grades K–8 Teachers
The purpose of this grant is to develop activities that will enable students to better appreciate and understand some aspect of geometry that is consistent with the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics of NCTM. For 2009–2010, grants with a maximum of $3,000 each will be awarded to persons currently teaching at the grades K–8 level.
George Lucas Foundation List of Grants
The George Lucas Educational Foundation is a nonprofit operating foundation and is not a grant-making organization. The comprehensive list at this web site includes grant information for all subjects and grade levels.
===============================================
Teachers for Green Schools: you can support social responsibility and build character education skills in students.
Education Gaming News
The Secret Of Engaging Students
Green School News
Improving Students’ Understanding of Geometry Grants for Grades K–8 Teachers
The purpose of this grant is to develop activities that will enable students to better appreciate and understand some aspect of geometry that is consistent with the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics of NCTM. For 2009–2010, grants with a maximum of $3,000 each will be awarded to persons currently teaching at the grades K–8 level.
George Lucas Foundation List of Grants
The George Lucas Educational Foundation is a nonprofit operating foundation and is not a grant-making organization. The comprehensive list at this web site includes grant information for all subjects and grade levels.
===============================================
Teachers for Green Schools: you can support social responsibility and build character education skills in students.
Education Gaming News
The Secret Of Engaging Students
Green School News
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