This came from one of my fellow teachers...
"Just had a kid in detention who thought it was funny to shove carrots up his nose...until I made him eat them :)"
That just makes me happy!
Honk Honk
Friday, October 15, 2010
Magazines
So every year I do a writing activity where we use magazines to make a collage of different types of topic sentences. I love this activity for many different reasons. This year I asked parents to send in any old magazines that they wouldn't mind having us cut up. BUT I also strongly emphasized that I needed them to be BORING and APPROPRIATE magazines, so if they could please flip through them and remove anything inappropriate. Well either parents forgot, or we have completely different views of what is appropriate. I of course pre-screened the fronts of the magazines and quickly thumbed through the rest. Here's some of the gems I found on just the front and back covers!
OK...first of all, words like infidelity and intimacy are kind of a red flag for me...
I don't want to see a picture of people getting all up on each other, do you really want your kids seeing that?
RED FLAG - Shouldn't Howard Stern's picture plastered on the front cover make you at least think, "hmmm maybe not the best magazine for kids"?
How do you think a bunch of 6th graders are going to respond to the word SEX? Really, come on!
And the kicker of them all that I did NOT find on my own, but a student found tucked as an ad in a magazine, was a picture of topless woman just using her fingers to cover her nipples. LOVELY. That led to quite the discussion of what's appropriate and what's not.
OK...first of all, words like infidelity and intimacy are kind of a red flag for me...
I don't want to see a picture of people getting all up on each other, do you really want your kids seeing that?
RED FLAG - Shouldn't Howard Stern's picture plastered on the front cover make you at least think, "hmmm maybe not the best magazine for kids"?
How do you think a bunch of 6th graders are going to respond to the word SEX? Really, come on!
Bullies - Big and Small
Bullies make me SO mad! How dare you think you are better than someone and try to boss them around? My personality doesn't mesh well with bullies, although I doubt many people's do. But when I see a bully I want to fight back and shove them in a corner. Granted I can't literally shove them in a corner, but I'd like to!
Today I encountered 2 types of bullies. The first bully was a 3rd grader out on the playground who asked another boy to see his work. You could see a sense of pride on the young boy's face and he was eager to show off his work. As soon he showed it the bully started cackling and being rude. I gave it a second to see how the other boy was going to react, and to try and figure out if the project was something that is supposed to be funny. I quickly realized it was not and that the child was just being a bully! So I jumped in, pulled the bully aside, and scared the living tar out of him. Do I think it will prevent him from ever being a bully again? Probably not, but hopefully it at least makes him think.
The other bully I encountered today was a parent. That's right, a so called ADULT. She met with me previously this week to try and demand that I move my students out of groups and have all their desks individually placed in my classroom. After I told her I would NOT change my arrangement and gave evidence of the effectiveness of my teaching strategies, she seemed miffed that she didn't get her way. I offered moving the placement of her child within his current group and that in 2 weeks we would be getting a new seating chart, and this would provide him the opportunity to gain effective social skills with his peers. She again contacted me today telling me when SHE was going to have a meeting with ME. I'm sorry, did we prearrange a meeting? Did you call my secretary to check my schedule? Oh wait, I don't have a secretary and NO I am NOT going to meet with you when you demand it. Yes I am willing to meet to try and best help your child, but we need to BOTH agree to a time and date. She then called the office and DEMANDED that I call her at lunch. So what did I do? Ate my lunch in peace and waited until after school to call her and let her know that I'd be happy to meet and we needed to arrange a time that works for both of us.
The world encounters all types of bullies, and sadly there are many adult bullies out there. I'm sure you know at least one!
Today I encountered 2 types of bullies. The first bully was a 3rd grader out on the playground who asked another boy to see his work. You could see a sense of pride on the young boy's face and he was eager to show off his work. As soon he showed it the bully started cackling and being rude. I gave it a second to see how the other boy was going to react, and to try and figure out if the project was something that is supposed to be funny. I quickly realized it was not and that the child was just being a bully! So I jumped in, pulled the bully aside, and scared the living tar out of him. Do I think it will prevent him from ever being a bully again? Probably not, but hopefully it at least makes him think.
The other bully I encountered today was a parent. That's right, a so called ADULT. She met with me previously this week to try and demand that I move my students out of groups and have all their desks individually placed in my classroom. After I told her I would NOT change my arrangement and gave evidence of the effectiveness of my teaching strategies, she seemed miffed that she didn't get her way. I offered moving the placement of her child within his current group and that in 2 weeks we would be getting a new seating chart, and this would provide him the opportunity to gain effective social skills with his peers. She again contacted me today telling me when SHE was going to have a meeting with ME. I'm sorry, did we prearrange a meeting? Did you call my secretary to check my schedule? Oh wait, I don't have a secretary and NO I am NOT going to meet with you when you demand it. Yes I am willing to meet to try and best help your child, but we need to BOTH agree to a time and date. She then called the office and DEMANDED that I call her at lunch. So what did I do? Ate my lunch in peace and waited until after school to call her and let her know that I'd be happy to meet and we needed to arrange a time that works for both of us.
The world encounters all types of bullies, and sadly there are many adult bullies out there. I'm sure you know at least one!
Spies
While even I as a teacher teach students the difference between a tattle and a tell, I must admit, I love it when I have spies that rat out the other students! There is no way that my 2 eyes can watch 33 students all at the same time. I do my best and I have learned lots of tricks over the years, but I can't catch everything. So I love it when students wind up spying on others for me. I have one student this year who comes and sneaks notes to me that rat out other kids around her. I can then use that to my advantage and not only look for the behavior tattled about (like note passing), but also BUST the kids who are doing it! So to all my sneaky spies, while I would never let the rest of my class know, THANK YOU for being a tattle tale.
***ALERT*** PCS EPIDEMIC!
What is a PCS epidemic you might ask? Well, parents, you can ask your child because according to you, they are perfect and could never do any wrong. PCS stands for Perfect Child Syndrome. Now I recognize that not all parents have PCS, but there are always a small handful that do. If you do suffer from Perfect Child Syndrome, here are a couple of strategies to help you overcome your problem...
1. Get over yourself. Your child is NOT perfect and by all means YOU are probably FAR from perfect, so just accept reality.
2. Be honest with yourself and others. Lying to the teacher's face about your "perfect" child doesn't do any good but make the teacher realize they REALLY can't trust you!
3. Realize that when you are suffering from PCS, all you are really doing is teaching your child to be a spoiled brat. And guess what...when spoiled brats grow up and have kids, they too often suffer from PCS causing a never ending cycle!
4. Don't be an idiot.
'Nuff said.
1. Get over yourself. Your child is NOT perfect and by all means YOU are probably FAR from perfect, so just accept reality.
2. Be honest with yourself and others. Lying to the teacher's face about your "perfect" child doesn't do any good but make the teacher realize they REALLY can't trust you!
3. Realize that when you are suffering from PCS, all you are really doing is teaching your child to be a spoiled brat. And guess what...when spoiled brats grow up and have kids, they too often suffer from PCS causing a never ending cycle!
4. Don't be an idiot.
'Nuff said.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Power of Parents
I have taught in a wide range of schools. High performing schools, low performing schools, rich areas, middle of the road areas, and really poor areas. It doesn't matter what community I am in, when a child has a supportive parent who teaches them values and hard work while being involved in their education, without fail I have seen those students shine and be high achievers! It's amazing to me that no matter how hard I work for the 6 hours a day I have students, there is no way I can be 100% effective unless the parents are supporting their child at home. Parents must not realize the power they have to help their children because it seems that if they knew, every parent would be involved! It's remarkable to see the difference a parent can make! Here is a list of ways I have found parents to be truly effective...
1. Be educated...my highest achieving students are always the ones with the highest parent education
2. Value education and let your child know how important it is
3. Be active in the school. Know the teachers and office staff and be aware of what classroom your child in. If you've been nice and a friendly supportive face, most likely the office staff will put your child where you want them. I know a lot of parents work, but you can still be friendly and make yourself known, even if you can't be there often.
4. Communicate with your child's teacher and do so effectively. Let them know you are there to support them and help your child at home.
5. Accept that your child isn't a prince or princess and that they should NOT be exempt from all the rules.
6. Make sure you have an active role in a homework routine, but please don't do homework for them, give them answers, or complain to them about their homework. And if you don't know how to do it, do some research so you can help your child.
7. Attend the school functions and show excitement about it so your child can know that their education is important to you.
8. If your child gets suspended at school please do NOT let them go home and watch TV and play video games. A day on suspension should be far worse than a day at school! I will never forget my brother being suspended for 2 days and how he became a slave around our house! Just seeing him miserable inspired me to never get myself in trouble!
9. Love your child.
I am sure there are million more things I could add to this list, but that's all for now! What do you feel is the best thing a parent can do to support education?
1. Be educated...my highest achieving students are always the ones with the highest parent education
2. Value education and let your child know how important it is
3. Be active in the school. Know the teachers and office staff and be aware of what classroom your child in. If you've been nice and a friendly supportive face, most likely the office staff will put your child where you want them. I know a lot of parents work, but you can still be friendly and make yourself known, even if you can't be there often.
4. Communicate with your child's teacher and do so effectively. Let them know you are there to support them and help your child at home.
5. Accept that your child isn't a prince or princess and that they should NOT be exempt from all the rules.
6. Make sure you have an active role in a homework routine, but please don't do homework for them, give them answers, or complain to them about their homework. And if you don't know how to do it, do some research so you can help your child.
7. Attend the school functions and show excitement about it so your child can know that their education is important to you.
8. If your child gets suspended at school please do NOT let them go home and watch TV and play video games. A day on suspension should be far worse than a day at school! I will never forget my brother being suspended for 2 days and how he became a slave around our house! Just seeing him miserable inspired me to never get myself in trouble!
9. Love your child.
I am sure there are million more things I could add to this list, but that's all for now! What do you feel is the best thing a parent can do to support education?
Change
I moved schools this year and it's be a complete change! I am now with a different principal and it's very refreshing to have someone who doesn't tell the whole staff about how much they suck on a daily basis! My new principal is supportive, tells me what a great job I'm doing, and helps out where ever possible. It really makes a big difference having effective administration. Last year none of the teachers were ever able to really do what they know best, teach. We were constantly being micromanaged, told to do things a certain way, and then 2 weeks later told to do them differently. We all spent the whole year trying to make the principal happy and as a result we weren't able to truly teach the way we know how to! The poor students were all effected and given a disservice simply because of the principal. Yet all of the teachers needed good evaluations so we could keep our jobs in a tough economy, so we did what we had to do to get by and accommodate to the system. Last year was a classic example of how the school system is failing our students.
Now this year I am in a community where there is a supportive principal who knows how to run a school effectively. The teachers are given the academic freedom to teach how we know best and our students very clearly benefit from that! Would you really want to tell Michael Jordan he wasn't playing basketball right and make him do all sorts of nonsense things to effect his style? He knew what he was doing, so people let him do it! Good teachers know what they are doing and we each have our own style. As a good teacher we know how to make sure the kids not only learn the required curriculum, but know how to push them above and beyond their abilities! So when you have a school with good teachers, you are going to have great progress, as long as we are given the trust and support we need and deserve! Yet sadly, our system often allows poor leadership to stay in their positions and continue to effect hundreds of students and teachers.
Now this year I am in a community where there is a supportive principal who knows how to run a school effectively. The teachers are given the academic freedom to teach how we know best and our students very clearly benefit from that! Would you really want to tell Michael Jordan he wasn't playing basketball right and make him do all sorts of nonsense things to effect his style? He knew what he was doing, so people let him do it! Good teachers know what they are doing and we each have our own style. As a good teacher we know how to make sure the kids not only learn the required curriculum, but know how to push them above and beyond their abilities! So when you have a school with good teachers, you are going to have great progress, as long as we are given the trust and support we need and deserve! Yet sadly, our system often allows poor leadership to stay in their positions and continue to effect hundreds of students and teachers.
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