March 2008 - Posts
Dancing with the Stars or Retired Teacher Idol? I gave this card to my sister for her birthday yesterday. We are both retired teachers and come from a family of teachers. We just love to get together and discuss our grandsons. When we get the four boys
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"Oh, no! Is there going to be a video of me on YouTube looking for my purse?" I wondered aloud as the title of a story on Newsweek jumped out at me. On second glance, I realized that I had misread the title, and it really said, " Big Belly, Bad Memory
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One of my friends (yes, I have one) was describing his Easter break to me today. All of his relatives were together, and most of them are in their fifties. He said, "None of us can remember anything, so we kept asking one of my nieces to look things up
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Is it possible that we believe some kids more than others just because they are more convincing? Do some students get by with more just because they are well behaved and turn in all of their assignments? Do teachers respond differently to a student if
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1. When my three children were young and in school, I placed all of their work together in large plastic tubs. I wish I had bought a tub for each child, written his or her name on it, and filled it with only that child's work. What a great idea! I'm sure
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Making a video in class and putting it on YouTube to embarrass a teacher isn't unusual. Seven videos are making the rounds showing teachers truly frustrated by students that seem to enjoy watching them lose control. Originally posted on Dangerously Irrelevant
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Take a few minutes and listen to Tom Chapin's video, "Not On The Test." It will surely make you think, which is not what kids are getting to do when they have to take test after test after test. I found this on Tim's Assorted Stuff blog and just love
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Teachers are people too and have feelings just like everybody else. They are also role models and need to show their students that they handle personal problems in mature ways. A post I read on The Education Wonks is a reminder that it is important to
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Students today don't face the same consequences for misbehaving or not doing their work that their parents and grandparents faced. One thing that really stands out to me is that a lot of parents are more likely to support their kids than the school. It
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Some states will get to breathe a little easier than others when it comes to the NCLB law. The Bush administration, acknowledging that the federal No Child Left Behind law is diagnosing too many public schools as failing, said Tuesday that it would relax
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Oh my! It's not easy being a mom. Share this post: Email It | Bookmark It | Digg This | Reddit | Stumble It Add to favorites: Favorite Post | Favorite Blog | Favorite Author
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Lands' End is celebrating its 45 year history by holding a contest to recognize 45 teachers. If you, your students. or their parents would like to nominate a teacher for going above and beyond, a short essay will enter that teacher in the contest. This
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Since I am part Irish, and green is my favorite color, I feel that St. Patrick's Day is special. I drive a green car and have had the nickname Grasshopper Green for a very long time. The nickname came from a poem that I memorized years ago, titled, of
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Google is sponsoring a contest for students who like to doodle. Check out the information on their website www.google.com/doodle4google . I've enclosed a little blurb from their site below as well. It looks like a great opportunity for those students
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I always love to draw my own pictures. Once an aspiring art teacher, I decided to go for elementary education instead because my art high school teacher told me I wasn't good enough. When I taught math, I kept my students' interest by drawing as I taught.
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Is teaching handwriting as big a deal as it was when I was in school? As the grandparent of two small boys, I have searched for just the right style and color pencil grips to help them get off to a good start in writing. Some people are concerned that
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About ten years ago, I listened to a wise math consultant explain that teachers were covering too much material too fast, and that the kids just weren't given enough time to soak up the knowledge. This lady really knew her stuff and advised our district
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While reading a post on Educational Origami, I found a link to the journey of a potato as it turns into several, quality chips. It's a short little video, and your students might find it interesting to watch the process. The virtual tour made me want
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Children are such innocent, pure thinkers when they are just starting to grasp the English language. They take everything so literally. When I was attempting to retrieve a game from the top of a closet, I had to ask my three year old grandson to grab
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I single handedly destroyed my mouse today while attempting to replace its batteries. Without reading instructions (which I could have never located anyway), I removed the four tiny screws from the back of the mouse. The batteries were visible but looked
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My first grade grandson introduced me to Seussville.com , and I love it. The site offers a variety of activities and great fun for beginning readers and writers. Check it out!
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My three year old grandson and I were having a great time with watercolors yesterday. When I asked him what he was painting, he replied, "Your brain, Bee." A couple of weeks ago he looked at the top of my head and told me that he saw my brain, so I guess
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Try this quiz at seeing if you can recognize a fake smile from a real one. (I did have to click on the play button twice for each photo to get it to work.) I only got 12 out of 20 correct, but it was fun to see if I could recognize a fake smile from a
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Why so some people consider private schools and charter schools notches above public schools? I have personally known teachers who moved from one setting to the other, so I don't think it's the teachers. When parents support a school and its teachers,
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My sister sent this to me in an email. It would be fun to share with your students. 1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator? Stop and think about it and decide on your answer before you scroll down. The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator,
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