Many, many years ago I bought a Gary Larson mug for my father. It shows a boy raising his hand in class and asking to be excused because his brain is full. I empathize. I need to excuse myself but, wow, how?
Tech for Teachers by Shayne Train |
|
I recently saw this cartoon that equated a teacher's brain to a browser with thousands of open tabs. Both my browser and brain truly feel that way. Meme fmade with Someecards.com by http://www.someecards.com/usercards/teacher-week I like to hoard. I hoard art supplies. I hoard books. All good materials for a teacher. I also hoard information. It is filling up my brain. I don't know what to do with it all! I try to share. I try to categorize (hooray for wikis!). But I also can't sleep because my brain won't turn off. Is this the legacy of the internet world? Links that lead to more links that lead to more links? Synapses always firing? Many, many years ago I bought a Gary Larson mug for my father. It shows a boy raising his hand in class and asking to be excused because his brain is full. I empathize. I need to excuse myself but, wow, how? With apologies to Mr. Larson for posting without permission. However I did purchase the mug. And I hope this is covered under Fair Use. When teachers retire, are they able to turn this off? I will always want to keep learning but the internet is a dangerous place for people who actually want to have some down-time.
0 Comments
Goal 3. Pick a Personal Theme Song Post: http://teacherrebootcamp.com/2013/07/04/whats-your-personal-theme-song-30goalsedu/ Collaborative Tool: Spotify Playlist Personal Theme Songs Posts by Others: http://pear.ly/ccgC1 This was the one that excited me the most! I do have a personal theme song - Hachagigat Nigmeret - It's Hebrew for "The Party's Over". It was written by my favourite musician, Naomi Shemer. There is a line in this song that makes me so happy - "To wake in the morning with a new song in your heart!" Lyrics, as posted on http://www.hebrewsongs.com/?song=hachagiganigmeret
And sometimes the party is over The lights go out, the trumpet says goodbye to the violins. The last watch kisses the third, to wake up tomorrow morning and start from the beginning Chorus: To wake up tomorrow morning with a new song in our hearts to sing it with strength, to sing it with pain. To hear the flutes in the free breeze and to start - from the beginning. Goal 2. Avoid Burn-Out Post: http://teacherrebootcamp.com/2013/06/29/avoid-burn-out-30goalsedu/ Collaborative Tool: Pinterest Board of Ideas for Avoiding Burn-Out http://pinterest.com/shellyterrell/ways-to-avoid-burn-out-as-a-teacher/ Posts by Others: http://pear.ly/ccgCL I avoid burn-out by challenging myself. I find a task that needs doing, something that requires my existing skills and engages me in problem-solving. Nothing drives me crazier than boredom and monotony. Sometimes people ask me why I put so much time in to doing PD or if I sleep. I actually like creating forms and newsletters because it forces me to take all those things that interest me and put them into some sort of order. I also like sharing and if a few people notice, that keeps me going. So challenging myself and getting positive feedback help me avoid burn-out. I know that I never finished the last challenge - and I plan to one day - however I've decided to tackle a new one. This one has been created by Shelly Sanchez Terrell, super educational blogger and genius behind many of the challenges and learning that happens on the web, including #educhat, teacherrebootcamp.com and more. The theme of this summer's challenge is "This is MY moment!" The goals can be found at http://goo.gl/FQFSP on her Google Doc.
Challenge
Rubrics are by best friend. A well-designed rubric makes it easy to do assessment. Lately I've tried to do a backward design - figuring out what the end result should be, creating the rubric, then creating the assignment. I need to modify my rubrics for the different categories of assessment (Knowledge & Understanding, Inquiry & Thinking, Communication and Application) to make certain that I'm covering the different areas. Day 11: What do you think about the phrase: “Always teach like you are going to be observed?”13/6/2011 Challenge
Sometimes I am tired. Sometimes I am frustrated. Sometimes I just want to give my students work and sit back at the teacher's desk and let them do their own thing. But there's no sense of satisfaction when I do that. I spend most of my teaching time on my poor feet, working with students, checking that they are accomplishing, giving feedback. Sometimes I sit down - next to a student - and work out the kinks of a web page or brainstorm with them for their next piece of art. If I feel like I have to justify my teaching, even if it is to myself, then I need to re Challenge
I am lucky to have an excellent administration. The qualities that they share in common are caring and compasion and empathy for the students as well as a concern for the kids as a whole - their scholastic progress, but also concern with fostering self-esteem and independence and good character traits (midos). The administration constantly thanks the staff and is supportive of us. I appreciate that I am given leeway in how I teach my subjects (within ministry guidelines) and am treated with enough respect to set most of my own rules and curriculum. Blog Challenge
I want to be "in the loop" in terms of what events are happening at the school, which students are struggling and of course, having a little adult conversation. My favourite times are sharing ideas and resources with other teachers and sometimes I would rather hang out in the staff room than go home (and make supper). I would love to have some sort of "virtual staff room" where we could discuss issues and get help from each other. I wish we had:
There are different kinds of connections. This could mean a physical one, where I talk face-to-face, use social networking where applicable or email. This could mean an emotional connection where we built mutual trust, empathy and a desire to grow (yes, me too). I suspect that this question refers to the emotional connection and the way that I attempt to do this is to catch students being good, find something to praise. I also try to learn about their likes and dislikes, what makes them tick. I find that students are pleased when I remember a good assignment that they did the previous year and what their topic was. I try also to not be too judgemental so that when there is an important issue, I've built up a sense of trust and caring and I can hopefully catch them when they are receptive to advice. And of course, humour is a powerful tool!
|
AuthorI teach computer literacy and visual art at a wonderful private Jewish school in Toronto. I have a special interest in Web 2.0, edtech and differentiation. Archives
December 2013
Categories
All
|