Yawn,Yawn, Go Away! Little Johnny Wants to be Engaged!
I sat with my small group today and listened to my students, and smiled. They had finished sharing their writing prompt about an imagined device that would make their lives easier. I listened to stories about a teleporter , a robot, and a pen, that can do the unimaginable. After they shared their stories, and asked each other questions, they began an animated conversation about how they could market their inventions through a partnership. I sat and listened to their imaginations…
PD Paradigm Shift
I read a blog post recently which talked about a gathering of technology product executives and politicians who came together to express their vision for learning using technology in education. The author seemed quite pleased with the ideas that were bandied about. I did not disagree that technology may play a big role in education, but I was struck by the fact that there were no classroom educators in the group. I am always offended when…
"What's Love Got to do With It?" Ask Your Students!
Once upon a time there was a little 2nd grade boy. He was new to a school, and he brought with him, all his problems and issues. Sent to live with dad after mom "couldn't take it any more", a pre-primer reading level, an evil…
What can Academics learn from Athletics?
I have been a student, athlete, teacher, coach, athletic director, administrator and parent. I have benefited from an excellent education with terrific teachers and have experienced the best times of my life in the athletic arena. But I am confused by how our society places higher prestige on athletics than it does on academics. Here are some examples I have experienced and some possible solutions. Please note that some of my solutions are tongue in cheek, but hope this post will open…
Social Media,More or Less
The genie is definitely out of the bottle when we look at Social Media. Of course there are many who fail to recognize this, and continue to believe that somehow, someone must approve the use of social Media in order for it to be acceptable in our education system. The glaring problem with that is the lack of understanding on the part of many of those education policy makers to really understand what Social Media is. Many, in their arguments against social media, talk about its limits…
To Compute or Not to Compute?
As we race to place technology in the hands of students in our schools, let’s consider an alternative view. The New York Times published an article on its front page on October 23, 2011, titled A Silicon Valley School that Doesn’t Compute (by Matt Richtel; at …
Mentoring Mondays. The Teacher Mentoring Project #edchat #ntchat
(As shared on my blog 10/24/11 at Teachingwithsoul.com) *Mentoring…*
Personal Branding for the 21st Century Educator
When Google first appeared on the Internet, I, like many folks, googled myself. I was horrified to discover that someone else with my name had committed suicide and lived to write a book about it. Hence, if someone searched for me, they’d find *the other Sandra Rogers* because she’s selling a book about her near-death experience and glimpse of the afterlife! Thank the heavens she’s still alive. However, without sounding crass, I couldn’t really do anything about my name…
"How Do You Know You're a Teacher?" By Jeff Foxworthy
I walked into the copy room and this was sitting on a table with the words: "This is a must READ :)". I agree, and I think it is also a "Must SHARE!" I Googled it and realized it has been around for years, but I got a laugh out of most of them!:) *You get a secret thrill out of laminating things.* …
En Educator's Voice
Yesterday, I participated in a wonderful public discussion on Education. The best part about this discussion was that it was with predominantly real educators, people who actually teach, volunteering their time and expertise on the subject of education. They discussed real issues of education and the real impediments to reform from a real educator’s point of view. There were representatives of: teachers, administrators, IT people, school board members, and parents. Dell sponsored the event,…
A Whole New World!
The Government cuts in public services have hit all Local Authorities (LA's) hard, although it is arguably the smaller Unitary Authorities and the schools within them who have lost the most. Being in Blackpool we have seen school support teams decimated to the point where the officers within the service are spread very thinly…
Twitter Resources and Activities
Twitter is just the best free resource for conservations and input into your classes. Students think in text today and this allows for quick and short responses. Students like it and it seems they will tweet things long after class is over. I use it to find trends in my field and to share what I am doing in my classroom. Tweet…
Supporting New Teachers: What have you done for them lately?
Visit My Blog: http://www.bburkhead.blogspot.com/ *Our Profession & New Teachers:** * …
Finance For Future Generations
"All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, nor from want of honor or virtue, so much as downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit, and circulation." - John Adams On the first day of Personal Finance class, I explain to the students that the course is designed to empower them with the financial tools they need to manage their money consistent with what they value. The students are challenged to have…
Generational Divide in Education
It is my birthday today, so please forgive me for allowing my contemplation once again lead us down a well-travelled path. I have discussed this topic in posts before, but it is a subject that will not go away as long as we have younger people working next to older people. As one of those older folks, I might better state it as the “rookies” working beside the “seasoned veterans”. Of course all of this is further confused by the introduction of the digital native theory. For these, and some…
Educational technology
What is the best?
Reading Hats: Which ones do YOU wear?
The *big question* I ask my students at the beginning of each year is… *“What hats do YOU wear when you’re reading?”* Posters …
Teaching the 50 States
The way I like to teach the 5o states is to teach and assess in regions. These are some ideas that help students learn the states in small chunks rather than all at once. - break the states up into 5 regions of 10 states - introduce 10 states per week. - assess the states at the end of the week - make the test cumulative so that each assessment reassesses the all of the past states - 1st test is 10, 2nd is 20, 3rd is 30, 4th is 40, and 5th is…
every way. But the law was so poorly written, so laden with rigid, arbitrary standards, that it had the effect of narrowing school 