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TeachersCount.org Second-Career Teaching

heather — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:01:26 +0000

So I’ve been a little quiet as of late. After all, it’s been the last two weeks of school and I’m in crunch time on some writing deadlines. In addition, I’ve got to learn some new-fangled strategies using the Interactive Whiteboard so I can train new teachers in a couple of weeks, even though I still feel like a novice in the technology. Amongst it all, however has been a sweet pinpoint of light: I was interviewed recently by David Woolf over at TeachersCount.org. It was posted today, and you can read our exchange here.

TeachersCount is a website devoted to celebrating teachers. Their mission is to “raise the status of the teaching profession and provide resources to the education community.” You may recognize their poster campaign, ”Behind Every Famous Person is a Fabulous Teacher.” Regardless of their current level of notoriety, you should definitely take note of them…and I’m not just saying that because they made me look so good in my interview. I’m saying it because they are devoted to serving those who are devoted to education…you.

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Post tags: credential, interview, new teachers, second career teaching, teacherscount

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Teaching Secrets: Finding a Job That You Love

heather — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:33:00 +0000

Know a teacher who got a pink slip? Maybe my newest post at Teacher Magazine can help. Click here for the article.

It’s Step 1 of my Top Secret New Teacher Handbook. Hope it creates some shortcuts, a machete even, through the education jungle.

-Tweenteacher

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The Importance of The Classroom Library

heather — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:00:25 +0000

I believe a classroom library is the heartbeat of a teacher’s environment. It is the window into their own personality, and it reflects the importance of literacy in the classroom. I believe every teacher, no matter the subject taught, should have one.

Access to books should be thought about with the same differentiated approach as any other lesson, assessment, or activity. It seems to me that there are four kinds of library-learners:

1. THE BRASH BIBLIOPHILE: These are students who are well versed in the language of book choice and seek out what they want, avidly asking questions or using learned or inherent strategies to find the book that will make them sigh into their bed with a flashlight in hand. They will find their way to their local bookstore by any means necessary, and look through the stacks until their parents pull them away.

(...)
Read the rest of The Importance of The Classroom Library (923 words)

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Top 10: How to Take Control of Your Teaching

heather — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Occasionally, I repost this article so that new readers can find it more easily. Based on some very enthusiastic feedback, it has since morphed into a book proposal called The Top Secret New Teachers Handbook. I’ll share more as it evolves…

I’ve been developing this Top 10 list of ways to take control of your teaching even in the face of, well, teaching. It’s an advice list on how to encourage respect, and, if necessary, how to demand it as a means to make sure you aren’t being taken for granted.

Let’s face it, if you are feeling appreciated, you will be happier in this difficult job. Consequently, your students will be happier, and quite frankly, if they are happier, they will be more successful. After all, an unhappy teacher’s room has the smog of misery in it, and for a student, it hovers like a stench that affects their own victories. And while it benefits a school to keep its teachers happy, it is a teacher’s responsibility to demand those things that make this challenging job better than tolerable.

I think that finding those tricks or strategies to keep in your pocket is important in any career; but in education you need them even more so. Otherwise, the day-to-day duties of the job will eventually grind your enthusiasm to a halt and it won’t just be you who is affected, your students will be affected as well.

I will be expanding on each of these over time, but in a nutshell, here’s my TOP 10:

(...)
Read the rest of Top 10: How to Take Control of Your Teaching (1,396 words)

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“I Statements” in Expository Writing

heather — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 04:18:22 +0000

This weekend I’m presenting at the CATE conference in Santa Clara, CA. It’s a session on developing high level, critical-thinking commentary in expository writing. My feeling is that great commentary is the Voice in Expository, it is the Show, Not Tell in what could otherwise be a passionless genre for many students.

A couple of colleagues brought some concerns to my attention and I thought I’d put it out here for some input. (...)
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Differentiating New Teacher Support Programs

heather — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:29:21 +0000

OK, so we preach about differentiating our lessons. We preach about differentiating our students. We preach about differentiating our assessments. But what about differentiating the requirements of our new teacher programs?

(...)
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“Hit a Jew” Day. Um, er…

heather — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:41:05 +0000

I’m not sure what one can say about this latest story. AP reports that a number of students at a St Louis middle school are facing suspension for a spirit day gone awry. But how “Hug a Friend Day” de-evolved into “Hit a Jew Day” is beyond me. (...)
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Post tags: character, Character Education, critical thinking, diversity, Ed Tech, integration, life long learners, new teachers, reform, school accountability, student safe, technology, Title I, tolerence, writing

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When it works, it’s amazing!

heather — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:07:04 +0000

I’m referring, of course, to my new Interactive Whiteboard. I think I’m going to name my second child Promethean. (...)
Read the rest of When it works, it’s amazing! (158 words)

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Post tags: 2008, blog, Ed Tech, education, ELA, interactive whiteboards, internet literacy, k-12, k12, Language Arts, learning, new teachers, powerpoint, professional development, technology, Title I

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The Excitement Graph: Plot and Word Choice

heather — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:04:08 +0000

Every year, I do this activity when teaching Narrative Plot. I’ve used it from 3rd grade to 12th grade. I learned a version of it first in 1993 at a UCLA Extension class on “Teaching Reading to Secondary Students” and I’ve adapted it from there. It’s called:

THE EXCITEMENT GRAPH(...)
Read the rest of The Excitement Graph: Plot and Word Choice (443 words)

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The snail wins the race…with RSP

heather — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 03:11:59 +0000

Just a brief post of victory to share:

At the beginning of Sept 2007, I gave a pre-assessment to my class in order to learn their levels and begin the process of differentiation. I looked through the results and my gaze halted on one essay in particular. Thus began my fight to get help for a nice young man who was placed in my mainstream 7th Grade Language Arts class. This kid was sweet, respectful, earnest, and tried so hard with everything…until everything had its way with him. (...)
Read the rest of The snail wins the race…with RSP (376 words)

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Post tags: 100% accountability, 2008, blog, btsa, Character Education, differentiation, Ed Tech, education, k-12, k12, middle school, new teachers, rsp, special ed, tween, writing

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Find the Fib…First Day Activity (UPDATED)

heather — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:41:24 +0000

I learned a version of this activity from Erick Gordon this summer at the UCI institute. Basically, it’s a get-to-know activity where the students get to learn a little about me and then learn a little about each other. It also becomes a very easy springboard for teaching Narrative and Memoir.

First I shared a list of 11 statements about myself. Embedded in the list is one fib. The kids read the statements out loud and then I have kids volunteer guesses as to which is the fib. They also have to justify why they feel it’s the fib.

With each one they chose that is an actual fact, I do a quick one-minute oral narrative about that fact that makes them wanting more. When they hit the fib, well, then I do a little soapbox number.

Here was my list:

1. My father is the 1969 World Champion Jeopardy player.

2. I was kicked out of Brownies in 4^th grade.

3. When I was a child, I was a model on The Price is Right.

4. When I was 14 I went to Greece and dropped my coolest pair of sunglasses into a well of frogs.

5. My dad created Capt. Jack Sparrow.

6. When I studied at Oxford University in England, I ended up having an emergency appendectomy.

7. My husband and I met in 2^nd grade.

8. I am a certified OpenWater II scuba diver who goes diving with her mom.

9. When I was in school, I was a straight A student.

10. I once worked at a guest ranch, working in the stables, leading the kiddie rides across the Arizona desert.

11. One weekend, I was so bored that I went skydiving just to do something new.

Can you guess the fib? Answer: # 9. Yes, it’s true. I was NOT a straight A student. In fact, I didn’t find a joy in learning or in school until the occasional high school class or college class when I could actual point to classes I was actually interested in.

In other words, I not only didn’t have a passion in or for school, but I also remember what I didn’t like or understand. As a teacher, my recollections add to my ability to reach out to a diversity of learners. As a teacher, my willingness to share myself, my strengths, and my foibles adds to my ability to reach them as well.

Then I had the kids develop 4 truths and a fib. They partnered up and tried to guess each other’s fibs, giving little verbal narratives about each truth. Afterwards, their partners had to circle the story they would like to hear more about. We did a real quick review of sensory details and I modeled creating a bulleted list of details from one of the truths. The one I modeled was # 11. So here’s what I wrote:

*a free-fall out of a plane feels like you’re lying on a table. That’s how much pressure there is on your body.

*the plan ride up was so loud, we couldn’t hear each other yell our words across the aisle.

*When you jump, the only real idea of speed you have is the fact that the plane is getting smaller so quickly. When you level out, your hands flap, but the horizon stays the same for a long time. Otherwise, it’s almost like a loud hovering.

*when you pull the cord to let out the parachute, you get an intense wedgie.

*my feet fell asleep which drifting down to the ground

*my mouth was open during free-fall so when I landed, my teeth felt like they were wearing socks. They were that grimy.

Then the kids created their own bulleted list of sensory details. It began a potential narrative, should they chose to return to this concrete description brainstorm.

Share yourself, your experiences, and the themes of your life. You are the supplemental material. Share yourself and your students will learn more.

Hope your first day went as well as my own.

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Post tags: 2008, achievement gap, blog, computers, Curriculum, curriculum design, Ed Tech, education, education policy, ELA, Golden Lines, integration, interviewing, k-12, k12, learning, life long learners, middle school, new teachers, technology, writing

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Oh, the Wells Fargo Wagon is a’comin…

heather — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 21:12:38 +0000

So, in a move reminiscent of a 12-year old girl caught up in the riot mentality of rumors, I believed the whisper I heard about not getting my Whiteboard for 2 months. But I tell you now: it was false, dear readers! Yes, not only have I heard that the boards have shipped, but the company even came after hours this week and brought me a borrowed board to use in the meantime. Props for service and courtesy.

So I write to you today as a contrite tweenteacher. Lesson learned. Don’t listen to the gossip in the teacher’s lounge.

So, in an attempt to bring this post around to some actual advice for all you educators out there, I want to reiterate that point: do not waste one minute of your time this year in a toxic teacher environment. This is different than a Toxic Teaching Environment which can be defined as anything that gets in the way of you doing your job: under-funding, lack of school wide discipline, fractured classrooms, etc…

No, I’m talking about a specific breed of pollution that is meant to choke the enthusiasm out of you: the Toxic Teacher Environment. (...)
Read the rest of Oh, the Wells Fargo Wagon is a’comin… (419 words)

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The Carnival is in!

heather — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:17:29 +0000

Welcome to another Carnival of Education hosted this week by Joanne Jacobs. After taking a writing break for a few weeks, I am back in the party. Something I love about Le Carnival is that is represents both sides of the fence. You can see opinions about effective teaching from all over the spectrum and pick and choose your own education.

Enjoy!

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Post tags: 2008, carnival of education, ELA, k-12, k12, Language Arts, NCLB, new teachers, Title I, UCI, writing

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The Carnival #178 is in town!

heather — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:49:35 +0000

An (aspiring) Educator is hosting this week’s Carnival of Education #178. I’ve tweaked my How to Take Control of Your Teaching list and although it’s still in an evolving state, you can read it here. Enjoy the Carnival and the post.

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Post tags: 2008, achievement gap, assessments, blog, book review, btsa, budget, Careers, carnival of education, character, Character Education, classroom library, collaboration, computers, concrete, contract, CORE, credential, critical thinking, CUE, Curriculum, curriculum design, curriculum development, differentiation, Ed Tech, education policy, ELA, electives, essay, essay starters, jobs, k-12, k12, Language Arts, life long learners, merit pay, metacognition, middle school, NCLB, new teachers, online, peer teaching, performance pay, PI, podcasting, powerpoint, professional development, Proficiency, school accountability, school funding, speeches, standardized testing, technology, tenure, Title I, TLN, top 10, union, voice, websites, Writers Project, writing

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The Carnival of Education is in Town!

heather — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:48:10 +0000

Welcome to the Carnival of Education #177 hosted this week by Where’s the Sun? The theme was empowerment so my entry covers the first step in teacher empowerment, “How to Find a Job in Education that you Love.” You may not need this entry now, but you never know when a How To list like this one comes in handy. We all know teachers there who are looking for work, but are they looking smartly? Check out my article for some tips on how to search, who to contact, and tips during the interviewing process.

Enjoy Le Carnival!

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The Carnival #174 has Arrived!

heather — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:38:24 +0000

Check out this week’s Carnival of Education hosted by Eduwonk.

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Post tags: carnival of education, credential, education policy, new teachers, performance pay, PI, school funding, technology, tenure

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Teacher Observations: Principals vs. the Union

heather — Sat, 24 May 2008 22:40:03 +0000

Teacher Magazine has an article today about Idaho’s progress in developing a standardized teacher evaluation that could be a stepping stone for developing an acceptable pay-for-performance legislature. The article didn’t get me thinking so must about the concept of a standardized teacher evaluation that might be more effective then our current process. I mean, let’s face it, what’s the controversy? We all know it should be a better process.

But it did get me thinking about an incident that happened last year at my school where the union was brought in to protect a teacher from being observed beyond the allowed contracted hours after complaints had been waged against the teacher. (...)
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Post tags: credential, cta, data, education, employment, firing, k-12, k12, merit pay, new teachers, performance pay, reform, tenure, union

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Don’t Knock the Less Experienced Teacher

heather — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:41:59 +0000

Look, we all know the statistics. Many of the hardest-to-teach classes are being taught by the least experienced teachers. According to Education Week, a study was recently conducted in Philadeliphia evaluating 9th graders, “the make-or-break year for many students on the path to dropping out of school” which found that “students are more likely than their upper-grade peers to be taught by inexperienced, uncertified teachers.”

While I understand the argument, I also know that these young teachers have an advantage that I will not have years down the line: energy.

When I was in my early years of teaching in my mid-twenties, I was hired to teach at an inner city school. It was, in fact, the under-funded alternative school for those students kicked out of the other schools. We had broken glass in the halls, police tape from the weekend still strewn over the kindergarten yard come Monday, and no textbooks. A classic Michelle Pfieffer/Hilary Swank/Morgan Freeman movie in the making.

I actually jumped into the deep end of the pool, and there wasn’t any filter, so there was moss on the top and calcium deposits coming from the cracks in the bottom, but it was there that I learned to swim. (...)
Read the rest of Don’t Knock the Less Experienced Teacher (952 words)

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Post tags: 100% accountability, 2008, achievement gap, ASCD Brief, ascd community, btsa, budget, Careers, character, collaboration, credential, curriculum development, education, employment, failing, firing, free, induction, integration, jobs, k-12, k12, Language Arts, learning, life long learners, merit pay, middle school, NCLB, new teachers, peer teaching, performance pay, PI, Proficiency, reform, school accountability, school funding, student safe, Title I

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New teacher programs: their plate is already full

heather — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:31:13 +0000

The article, “Build Schools, Not Prisons,” from the ASCD Community blog reports that the Brookings Institute has compiled a Top 5 list of interventions that impact “additional graduates,” those strategies that seem to prove the most effective in lowering the drop-out rates in school. They mention such steps as early childhood education, teacher salary increases, and, the ever-vague “less teacher turnover.”

It kinda got me grumbling about that last one, because I see new teacher turnover as an issue that it not yet being dealt with effectively. I believe that the veteran teachers and school sites have a bound duty to help those newbies adjust successfully. And rather than help these new teachers, the sites hand over the responsibilities to New Teacher Induction Programs. (...)
Read the rest of New teacher programs: their plate is already full (769 words)

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Post tags: ascd community, blog, brookings, btsa, cffast, education, induction, k12, new teachers, ryan, teaching

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