I have a problem with names… Go back to when you were in 2nd grade… What did you call your teacher? I bet it was Mr. or Mrs fill in the blank. Why did you call them that? Why not their first names? the answer probably had something to do with respect. We are taught [...]
Why do teachers feel the need to be the potty police for high schoolers? Really I don’t need to know your bathroom business. Go and come back. That’s all I ask. Let’s take this back to elementary school. Do you remember lining up at the door? Boys on the right, girls on the left and [...]
Love this cartoon. Even though it has to do with dating, I feel the same method can be applied to teaching. Everyone has their own personality and it would be useful to at least know said personalities and even maybe align similar ones. Let’s start with some basics. There are many personality tests out there. [...]
After my angry entry about censorship yesterday…I had a bit more to say on the topic. During my random research on the amazing internet, I ran across multiple pages highlighting banned books. Often times the site listed the “reasons” for the ban. Many of these reasons are absolutely absurd. Some are merely an issue [...]
Censorship…. the evil ugly word. In my mind, censorship, the absolute banning of books is one of the most dangerous weapons of the modern age. We are essentially restraining creativity, discourse, and growth. How do we evolve as a society by limiting our experiences and ideas? I will tell you, we don’t. Banning books [...]
“Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.” — Will Durant Why are we so scared of Fs? Why are we so scared to let ourselves, our students, our children fail? Should we always win? What does constant success teach us vs. an occasional failure? Unfortunately our society has evolved into this “every one’s [...]
“I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework.” — Lily Tomlin What should students ultimately get out of class? Should they know how to find the area of a circle? Or know the exact start and end dates of the Civil War? Or know that from is [...]
“Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents.” –Ludwig van Beethoven I love music! I cannot go a day without music. I really don’t think it’s possible. And I have very eclectic tastes in music. I have something for any mood or situation. A random sampling on of my iTunes [...]
Quick! Why is September 17th important? No, it’s not your hamster’s birthday or the day grandma decided to wear her housecoat to the grocery store. Actually, I would argue that this is the most important holiday (federal observance according to Congress)…. Constitution Day. The day when our current Constitution was signed in 1787, launching the longest [...]
“When someone asks me if I have any kids, I say I have thirty-two. I mean it too. Teachers are the third parent.” It doesn’t matter how old my former students get, I still think of them as my kids. I assume a parental identity when they walk into the school building. I cringe at [...]