When it comes to teaching…just enjoy it!

by | Jul 17, 2011 | Reflect

My Very First Class

Today I received a comment on my blog that said “If you could give advice to a first year teacher, what would it be?” I thought to myself, who am I to give advice? I started thinking about what I tell my own students everyday… when you share with others, you learn. So, to Vanessa, as you begin your first year of teaching, thank you for commenting, and reading, and joining us in this amazing gift of a profession we call “Teaching.” Here’s how I would answer that question…

 

1.) Collaborate:  In your school, or online, collaborate.  Build a PLN (Personal Learning Network) and join #ntchat on Twitter.  I can’t imagine what this type of support would have meant for me in my first year at an urban elementary school.   Collaboration might be the ONE thing that gets you through some days.

2.) Know Your Students.  Listen to them.  Tell them what you like to learn about it.  Share your passions with them and learn about their passions. Have high expectations for each one of them.  Enjoy the people that they are.   After all, the students are what our jobs are all about. I know, there will be a bazillion other things going on, too.  But, remember, the smile you give to a student might be the ONLY smile they receive that day.

3.) Surround yourself with positive people.  The negative ones?  Don’t listen to them. Ever.  Know that their words come from a place that is not about kids or learning.   If you love your job and your students, nobody can take that away.  Instead, have fun, laugh, and laugh some more.  Humor will get you through your first year, and every year, of teaching.

4.) Keep learning. Don’t ever go in feeling like you need to know everything.  That is unrealistic and really, is knowing everything the goal in life?  That’s what Google, libraries, and experts are for. 😉

It seems that now schools and teaching are under fire.  Testing scandals, low-teacher morale, and more that become the front page stories in the newspaper and evening news headlines.  But, just remember, your days will be filled with moments that will be in your own life story.  Getting a wilted dandelion from a kid just because she loves you.  Being there when a student creates a rocket design that soars further than even your own design did.  Watching a student help out a classmate because you’ve modeled that learning environment.  THOSE moments won’t make the front page of any newspaper, but THOSE moments are the ones that we teach for.

Best wishes, Vanessa, and to all the other teachers heading into this amazing profession.  Whether it’s going to be your first, eleventh, or thirtieth year of teaching, enjoy it, love it, and don’t let anyone take that away from you.

You’re Invited!

by | Jul 16, 2011 | Reflect

I’ve been talking with other teachers lately about how valuable Twitter is.  Each week, I participate in chats like #edchat, #gtchat, and #elemchat, to name a few.  But, this coming week, I decided to host a chat for teachers NEW to Twitter.  I remember getting started and wondering what 140 and #hashtags were all about.  I thought it might be fun to host a chat where everyone could try Twitter out.

Basics:

140 characters: The amount you are limited to in each tweet.

Hashtag: Using a word combined with the “#” symbol,  like #gtchat, or #tweet4edu, allows others to click the hashtag and instantly sort twitter! It’s like sifting through the entire Twitterverse (AKA Universe of Twitter) in 1 second!

Retweet: When somebody tweets something you like and want to share, you can “RT” or retweet it.  Then, everyone who follows you will see it as well.

Follow:  The more people you follow, the more great stuff you’ll have in your Twitter stream.

Well, that’s the basics… now you just need a Twitter account if you don’t have one already!

Question about what time the chat is in your timezone?  Check THIS out!  8pm Central — the global version. 🙂

Got Twitter Questions?Leave a comment! 🙂

Want to read more?  This post on Edudemic has some amazing tips and links with more information!

Instead of…

by | Jul 15, 2011 | Reflect

Education needs more of…

“What do you think?” instead of “Do this.”

“Try it out” instead of “Listen to this.”

“Choose your tool” instead of “Here’s what you have to use.”

“Create something” instead of “Here’s a pattern.”

“How are you going to solve the problem” instead of “Here are the steps…”

“You know this already? Skip it.” instead of “Go ahead and do it again.”

“What are you interested in?” instead of “We’re all studying this.”

“Mistakes are learning in progress.” instead of “You got an F. The end.”

“I’m going to do this today to start change…” instead of “We can’t…”

What do you think education needs more of?

Updated: This post has been turned into a poster. 🙂 Click HERE to view.

 

It’s not rocket science…

by | Jul 14, 2011 | Reflect

I took this photo at Space Camp last week and saw these funny t-shirts available in the gift shop there. It makes me laugh…because it really IS rocket science. 🙂

Click to poster to visit Flickr and download the full high-resolution version to hang in your classroom.