NO SUGARCOATING ALLOWED!

Dear Teachers,

Sugarcoating the truth doesn’t do anyone any good, least of all our students. Our students trust us.  They deserve to be told the truth.

A student once asked me, upon receiving a poor test score, "How did that happen?" Didn't he know? He rarely came to school and when he did, he wore a superior attitude on his shoulder. Kids don't realize that the choices they make affect their lives every single day. At some point in time, someone has to sit them down and explain it.

Personally, I have no trouble telling my students when they are being rude or lazy. If I want my students to think about how their actions affect themselves and others, then I have to be willing to go there and show them.

It isn't fun, it might cause tears, and you might get a couple of angry parent phone calls. But it's important. I always warn my parents and students at the beginning of the year. I'm strict and I call a spade a spade. I have frequent, honest conversations with my kiddos. Call it tough love but it works. My kids know their boundaries, know my expectations, and they know when they’ve disappointed me, or made me proud. With any luck, my students will someday, ten years from now, thank me for being honest with them.

Speak Honestly

Too often teachers barricade themselves in their classrooms. They shut themselves off from their peers, avoid their administrators, and try to teach their students the best way they can. Understandable, but are we really doing ourselves any favors?

Teachers need to communicate, need to learn from others. I value the experience and education of my peers but there never seems to be enough time to discuss all the ins and outs of effective teaching. If only there was some easy, magical way for teachers to keep in touch.

Rules to Live By

Think globally and reason critically to seek wisdom.

Listen thoughtfully and speak honestly to seek truth.

Create genuinely and laugh loudly to appreciate life.

Breathe deeply and live passionately to love unconditionally.

Change Starts With You

A few months ago, a trio of teachers walked into a principal’s office. They had a three page list of ideas that could revolutionize their school . . . as long as their principal was willing to play along. The list covered topics such as staff morale, parent involvement, and student involvement. Flash forward a few months and everything about the school seems different . . . better somehow. The teachers smile more. Goodies appear in the staff room for no reason at all. Students flock to join new clubs. There’s joy again in the hallways. So how did they do it? All it took was a simple attitude adjustment. So here are the ten steps to creating an education revolution.

Note to Self

Minimum day + last day before Winter Break + Math test = REALLY BAD IDEA

I guess the excitement of the impending holidays has wiped fractions right out of my student's brains. Won't make that mistake next year!

Cel-e-brate Good Times, Come On!

Tomorrow my class will have a celebration. But not because of the impending holidays. They earned it by kicking A** on their benchmark tests.

Deciding how to handle the holidays has always been a struggle for me. Do you throw a Christmas party or Winter party? What about students who don't celebrate Christmas or holidays?  Why throw a party at all? Should I assist the students with a craft/gift for their parents? Ug, too many choices and any choice I make seems likely to offend or upset someone. And just who do you think is going to clean up the mess and the spills after the party is over? The frazzled teacher.

Some of the more creative teachers are planning non-food, non-holiday parties. One teacher is allowing her students to bring in and play board games. Another is planning a science experiment party. What am I going to do?

Bringing Joy Back to Teaching

As Common Core Standards roll into our classrooms next year, a lot will change. That’s a good thing, trust me.

For the past few years, our California education system has been focused on trying to cram a ton of information into kids. Much of the information has been presented long before the child is capable of understanding the complex concepts being taught. To make matters worse, the state standards have forced teachers to move much too quickly through concepts, resulting in frustration for everyone. But that’s all about to change!

Goal of Education – A Holistic Approach in a Non-Holistic Society

knowledge gained through exploration and discovery + relevant societal application = love of learning?

As a teacher, I often wonder why I teach. I spend several hours each day teaching lessons in reading, grammar, writing, math, social studies, and science, but are my students truly learning? What is the goal of education?

I subscribe to the Holistic Education approach to learning. In short, it’s all about teaching to the whole child. Teachers are there to assist students as they develop emotionally, socially, intellectually, physically, artistically, and spiritually. Students move at their own pace and enjoy flexible, multi-age class groupings. Subject matters are integrated together in a thematic way and students follow their interests as they explore their world. Oh, yeah, and grades are non-existent and unnecessary.

Why I Assign Book Reports

We all know kids need to read more.  Frequent reading and analysis is how we improve our reading comprehension. But what do you do when your students have finished reading their books? Do you require them to write a summary? Take a quiz? What about assigning a book report?