My article below was first published as Three “I”s Suggested for Education Reform on Blogcritics.

Public education in America is in a state of flux. In 26 states, including California, legislators are adopting the “Common Core” standards and curriculum to teach our nation’s kids. As a teacher for the past 14 years, I have taught mostly from the multiple choice assessment standpoint. It has its pros but there are certainly many aspects where it just doesn’t work. What I would like to see is a more “real world” curriculum where kids are nurtured in their individual ideas and inventions. We don’t just want kids that can pass tests, we want kids who can invent the next iPad and help save hour healthcare system. Inspiration, innovation, and invention

Most agree with the thought above. Unfortunately however, the path is not as clear. I don’t have many ideas on how to make every school successful. I do, however, think there are some universals that should be taught in the public school classroom. The first one is inspiration. The simple question teachers should ask themselves here is: “What things inspire ME to be productive.” I don’t know how everyone would answer that question but I can tell you my answer: music, movies, restaurants, travel, the beach, just to name a few. Listening to great music empowers me and makes me want to do amazing things. All the other things do as well. We need to help kids identify passions and then make the connection to inspiration so they can lead productive lives. Students that have been shown the inspiration connection will make a larger contribution in their early adulthood.

The second classroom “must” is innovation. We need to put kids in situations where they can make solutions in adversity. A great way to do this is to show them how we do it as adults. This can include bringing in successful grown-ups as guest teachers to share how they get through their day to day, not just paying the bills, though that is important, but creating inspiration for themselves and others through solving problems. Kids who learn how to innovate and solve problems in school will be more productive members of society. In the advanced cases, these are the types that will cure cancer or create pathways to peace.

The final part of classroom curriculum we should focus on in education reform is invention. Bill Nye the Science Guy has an amazing episode on this topic. He shows how important it is to every day life. When I put a piece of tape on my alarm clock button, it makes hitting snooze easier. That is a simple example of human invention. Students who have coaching and practice inventing will invent better things in their homes, communities, and worlds. If a teacher can inspire invention in her/his students, they can truly change the world.

Once again, there is much disagreement on what education reform should look like. At the same time, I think all Americans want to see higher productivity in our land. I really feel that as well look to alternative frameworks, we should consider these “three I’s” as equivalent in value to the “3 R’s:” Inspiration, Invention, and Invention. Our kids, the future citizens of America will thank us if we do.

This post is a break in discussing classroom lesson plans, one of my classic jokes in language teaching. Scott was a wild 4th grader. He was the first out the door at recess and the last one in. He was also extremely funny to a first year teacher. While other teachers had given up on the hispanic lightning bolt, I was ready for the challenge.

Scott had developed a shocking trend of “mooning” people on the playground. It was first brought to my attention by the noon-duty aides and then later by other students. Each time I gave him a detention and he missed his recess . . . but the mooning continued so I wrote a note home. Normally, this would amount to humor but to a teacher it means some creative discipline.

Being a new teacher, I was not as savvy as I am now after almost 10 years. It didn’t occur to me that his parents might not be able to read a note in English. Scott accepted the note and I told him the customary warning that if he did not bring it back the next day signed, he would have no recess and there would be a call home.

When he brought the note back, I assumed the issue was resolved . . . but then recess came. Yup, he did it again. This time I had to schedule a parent conference. I spoke timid Spanish then but I did speak with his mother over the phone and she verbosely apologized in her native tongue. We made an appointment to meet about it and I made sure I had a bilingual aide on site available to clearly translate the meeting. Even the best of professional learning communities could not have predicted what followed.

In the meeting Scott sat next to his mother and I began to explain how ashamed I was to be Scott’s teacher when he did this at recess. The mother listened to the translator and then replied in Spanish to the effect of: “I know, we hate it when we do it at home and at the store, but everybody slips sometimes you know?”

After hearing the exact translation I was astonished. I said with the clearest Spanish I knew: “le permiten removar sus pantalones en publico a veces?” If you don’t speak Spanish, I said “You allow him to take off his pants in public?” If you do speak Spanish, you can see I need some tutoring. Then she said:

“QUE?”

The woman flushed immediately and looked at her son with a furor I rarely see in moms. She babbled something quick and angry at her son, slapped him on the head and then said in broken English:

“He told us you were mad at heem ’cause he deen’t tuck hees shirt een.”

And after that, Scott behaved and I went back to focusing on writing lesson plans.

The world is so full of boring people. It’s important for leaders, teachers, writers, performers, and artists to share an influence that is NOT boring with this starved-for-passion world.

I started teaching at age 27. Though I thought I was old then, I look back now and see that I was most assuredly still a very young adult. Back then I was very much a self-starter. After subbing in a district for 3 months I managed to get hired on a year’s teaching contract with NO credential based purely on my wit and candor and my ability to speak Spanish and English. In California, this is called an “emergency credential” and it’s rarely done nowadays . . . for good reason. I had absolutely no classroom management skills, apart from being a sub which is vastly different from being the only grown-up in charge of 36 ten year olds for 185 days. Those first 3 years were very tough, but I got by on the inspiration of my twenties. It seems like my thirties have required more strategy than instinct to find success. Some days coming home in those days my head felt so hot it required misting systems to cool off.

Now, 10 years later with a full credential and a Master’s degree, I still often find myself at a loss for inspiration. I never give up though. On those days that I am discouraged and unmotivated, I try and get away from the daily routine. I put aside the lessons I had planned (as much as is possible to stay within my responsibilities) and I focus on the things that I truly enjoy: guitar, art, poetry, reading, songwriting, nature, etc. Then I tap into that wonder I have for those things and bridge it to the material I have to teach. For example: if I have to teach reading data on a graph, I make a graph about the different guitars there are.

I adapt my lessons that day to whatever is really giving me personal inspiration at that moment. All people (even small ones) are attracted to a leader or performer who is passionate about what he is doing. Kids want to emulate that energy. I remember going to see REM in concert in my 20′s and being so drawn in to what singer Michael Stipe was doing onstage. I didn’t understand the weird symbols on the screen or the strange movements he made, like hitting a metal chair with a wooden rod on the off-beats on “World Leader Pretend,” but I tapped into his passion and energy for what he was doing, and when they left the stage I screamed for an encore. It was like a moth to a lightbulb, the lightbulb was passion. The world is so full of boring people. It’s important for leaders, teachers, writers, performers, and artists to share an influence that is NOT boring with this starved-for-passion world.

Discouragement that saps inspiration is the teacher’s biggest enemy. By tapping into and bridging my passions with my students, I am able to get through those tough days when I have to methodically put one foot in front of the other and keep remembering that I got into the profession to make a difference. With a brief look inward, it works every time.

1. Enunciate new vocabulary clearly and slowly and repeat it in the lesson
2. Have them write concepts verbatim.
3. Have them respond to you verbally their own synthesized answers.
4. Have them do the same in writing.
5. Have them share verbally in pairs.
6. Have them share on white boards and hold up (an instant assessment tool)
7. Give them a short written test.
8. Pick a random non-volunteer.
9. Do the similar lessons after complete after 24 hour period pass.

Result?  Proficent kids!

This book is written by a consultant and veteran educator/administrator Harold Kwalwasser. He uses real experience to assemble data and predict where education is going. Trends in education are explained and developed with frightening believability. Most importantly, he concludes, in light of data, the way it ought to go in the 21st century.

In one section of the book, he explains what he calls the four tiers of teachers. He praises the ones who can do a good job whatever the circumstances and decries the ones on the other end of the spectrum saying they need not even be in the profession. From that he springboards into ways we can retain, recruit, and develop those in the upper tiers to give our students the best education possible. He refers to the old model and staff as teacher centered (bad) and the new one “customer” focused (good). With families and students as our focus, we can innovate a system of education that truly benefits our country. This is true on the macro level (nationwide) as well as the micro (the school). The author explains what the new 21st century school district should look like. His models are stellar illustrations of what our future system can be. Furthermore, he tells us how we will get there. There is much material here and and it isn’t just relevant to administrators. Teachers, principals, superintendents, and staff members of schools will be better at what they do for reading this book. As a teacher, it helped me gain a clearer focus on what is going to be valuable going forward.

One of the more profound sections of the book is where he explains the school as the central focus of a community (not the school district). The leader will become the principal instead of the superintendent. In fact, the days of the superintendent may be over in some respects. Parents, principals, teachers, and community members will become the decision makers and trendsetters for a school. Just like a corporate Restaurant System needs a system of operation, or any organization for that matter, so school need a well crafted system tailor suited to what they do. What’s more, each school is likely to have a tailor made system that is less universal as past models of curriculum and instruction have been. There is tons of value in this book for teachers, especially those seeking assurance and direction in a changing era. I am a better teacher for reading this book.

Another educator I follow on Facebook posted a link to an article on this topic. I want to thank him for posting it. Since a comment would have been too long for Facebook, this is my response:

“I think in any profession there are measures that professionals aim for. I have enjoyed the state test as a target most of my 14 year career (I say most because when I first started down in Santa Ana in 1997 it wasn’t yet such a polarized focus). Anyway, I wrote a song called “Get on Board the Standards Train” and did a countdown every year et al. It’s not such a bad thing, you can see it as a sport. When you are running your classroom with that as a corporate goal for improvement, you don’t want parents to opt out. I wouldn’t (and won’t) opt my three kids out because It’s a measurable goal we can celebrate the results of and/or use them to improve given areas. Anyway … I dig all your posts and links so keep em comin’ – just thought I’d give you a perspective where the test is kind of cool and may even be missed. Having said that, I am really looking forward to the transition into common core and the more holistic sort of assessment on a computer that will bring. I agree that the test can produce stress for some kids, that is where the teacher as coach idea comes in. The relaxation of the classroom is just as important as the rigor. A great teacher needs to work at fostering both throughout the year.”

Below is an excerpt from the article that prompted my response:

A small but growing number of local parents are deciding to have their children opt out of the state standardized tests in English and math.

Some parents say they don’t want their children subjected to the stress tied to the tests. Others say they are protesting a school climate they say has become too focused on standardized tests, at the expense of critical thinking, hands-on learning and nontested subjects — from art to social studies.

And some say they don’t believe the tests are even reliable.

“It’s all about the test scores. I’ve seen so much time and so much money spent on this. And they’re not really a valid measure of student progress,” said Chris Cerrone, a social studies teacher who kept his own third-grade daughter home from state tests last week.

via Opting out of testing gaining favor with parents – City of Buffalo – The Buffalo News.

Teaching can never be described as a simple endeavor. Planning lessons is a challenge that will always stupefy the greatest teaching minds. That doesn’t mean we give up though! Humility is a necessary ingredient in the dynamite teacher. If we ever reach a mental place where we feel we “have it wired” I think we will never reach our potential as educators. Through difficulty and yes, failure, we become great. Anyone who tells you failure isn’t a requisite for teaching greatness is not a great teacher in my opinion.

We talk about the methods of great teaching and we talk about our objectives. One thing we don’t talk about enough is the proximity and presentation of our lessons. Take this idea for example: say you have delivered guided practice to your class on a math topic for nearly 2 hours and you still do not see 80% accuracy in the kids. You might be tempted to blame them or even still yourself for not getting the lesson out in an effective manner. Quick, simple question:

“Where do you stand?”

Could it be possible the kids couldn’t see your numbers as you wrote them on the board? Could it be possible your glorious “steps” you created and taught were hidden from the students because the screen turns snow-blind at a given angle? Perhaps you should take the time to test and measure the proximity and presentation of your lesson before you begin. No time teaching kids is ever wasted.  However, you can make the most of your time by deciding the answers to some of these questions before, during, and after your lessons:

• Can every seat see me and the content I am presenting? You might go to every seat with your content on the overhead to test this. Or, you might ask a colleague to pop in and test your visibility
• Where do you stand? You should know the blind spots you create with your body and/or writing hand.
• Is the overhead or document camera a better tool than standing at the board for the content you are delivering?
• Are your visuals big enough for the back to see.

After you have addressed question like these, you are more likely to produce a dynamite lesson.  But don’t stop there. If you find yourself puzzled as to why kids aren’t getting it, you don’t have to wear yourself out asking questions like background checks for employment. Simply use proximity and presentation as a way to troubleshoot and pinpoint issues holding your teaching back. The reason you aren’t reaching all your kids may very well lay in the question: “Where do you stand?”

Table of contents for Explicit Direct Instruction - EDI

1. Introduction to Explicit Direct Instruction
2. Learning Objective
3. Activate Prior Knowledge
4. Importance
5. Concept Development
6. Guided Practice
7. Closure
8. Why to Have a Learning Objective

When you have gone through all the steps of EDI you arrive at closure.  But wouldn’t you know it? There is still another step after closure but it doesn’t involve the teacher.  It’s called Independent practice.  This is where you release the kids independently to do a test or a worksheet.  They show they learned the concept through that assessment piece.

Closure is simply checking for understanding (cfu) one last time.  Throughout the lesson you should be using cfu to make sure the kids are there with you.  As a teacher, you adjust your pace to reflect their needs.  CFU is crucial the the dynamite lesson plan.  The other day I read some 7-dfbx reviews at the doctor’s office and it reminded me that there is no cure-all for anything in life. Results take endurance and effort. CFU takes effort. It is something every teacher should use and use often. You simply go through the standard and ask questions to check they know it.  If they don’t? RETEACH.  If they do, go to independent practice. Here are some sample lessons.

Before I start talking about a sports analogy, let me inform you I am not a big sports fan. I enjoy playing tennis and golf and even a little basketball once in a while. Having said that, I do not watch organized sports much in the year. Okay, now that I hopefully have avoiding alienating those who don’t like sports, I want to talk to you about the teacher as “coach,” and expert on student motivation.

We have a group of kids we are to “model” the lessons for and then foster their ability to do it as independent practice. I sometimes forget about my role coaching kids. For over 13 years I have set clear goals for my class and we have worked tirelessly to achieve them. Sometimes my class meets the goals, sometimes they fall short. Every year they have a goal and I coach them toward it.

One year we were shooting for a percentage of proficient kids in the class. We ended up missing the goal but scoring highest in the district for my grade level. That was extremely gratifying to me professionally. So much so that I set higher goals for the next year’s kids. That didn’t work out quite as well.

I saw my kids getting burned out when I’d say I wanted 20 students advanced on a test and we ended up with 18 for example. The “proficient only” ones sort of got ignored. I felt burned out as well because an assessment should be an exciting experience not a heavy burden of guilt. For this reason, I decided my coaching should be focused on effort and actions rather than raw scores. Will this work to create higher scores? I’m not quite sure but it is somewhat irrelevant. My goals remain in the background. I hope we achieve them. Nonetheless, my new goals are based on lower score expectations and higher measurable efforts.

Advanced is no longer the goal. Instead, it will be rewarded if it happens above and beyond our goal. Some might say this is lowering my standards for my class. I disagree. I am focused on motivating students to learn. I am still expecting proficiency from all of them. Perhaps by saying “you did a great job” as a coach for realistic and appropriate goals will yield more advanced scores. Being an effective coach involves flexibility or expectations. Every child should be coached at her/his own level to do the best they can and to simply improve. Have you ever had a coach that meant a lot to you and helped you succeed? That’s the impact I hope to have on kids.

Thanks to Olga Quinn

We visited www.giveadish.com and decided to switch to a satellite dish. Our neighbors recently got one. When we were at dinner with them the other day, they were raving about there new television service. They were explaining to us that they never really had any connection problems and I almost fell out of my chair when I heard about what they were paying for the service every month. It was literally half of what we have been paying for cable for years. They even had some of the movie channels, which I had cancelled on cable because they were getting so expensive. I was also surprised how little the dish was that was mounted on the roof. I used to think that the dishes were huge, like they were in the eighties, but they are definitely not. They are small and unobtrusive. Our appointment is set for next week. I am so excited! Saving money and getting to watch better television, it almost sounds like it is too good to be true.

I wonder if most people think about teachers as being stressed. I lose sight of it too often. As a result, I often don’t take the necessary steps to keep myself healthy thinking that I have a “mellow” job, so I shouldn’t worry about the health effects of stress? This could not be further from the truth. As teachers, we deal with big stress levels each day. These levels are proven to cause physical problems like high blood pressure and a slew of other problems touched on in the pages below. As a teacher, I owe it to my family and my students to take my health and stress levels seriously. Prioritizing that can prevent a lot of life complications. These links below are all ones I have read and recommend to you:

Identify Stress – Buffalo Counseling offers this excellent resource for teachers or any other person trying to manage stress.

Empathy and Action for Stress Management – The NEA has put together this “empathetic” and educational page with information and resources about stress management for teachers.

Top 8 Fun Stress Relievers – These stress relievers may be easier to practice – because they’re fun.

Retired Teacher Shares Stress Management Tips – You’d think a retired teacher would know a lot about this topic and you’d be right!

Using Acronyms for Stress Management – An article I wrote a couple years back on personal development but it also works for reducing my stress at work.

Pressure Management for Teachers – An interesting page that focuses on the cause of pressure that is causing stress.

An excellent 8 minute video on this topic:

Time Management for Teachers: Your 7 Minute Guide to Mastering T – The most popular videos are here

Managing Stress to Avoid High Blood Pressure Etc. – This blog page talks about all the many symptoms of stress that teachers are prone to due to the stress of the job. Then it gives tips to deal with it.

Resource Blog for Teachers Dealing with Stress – This well written, close to home, blog gives real life example of stress and offers real solutions.

Recording Dealing with Stress Management in Teaching – This is a telecourse that was recorded and is available as an archive.

Now, go be less-stressed!

Heading into another work week as a teacher brings many challenges. The more you face them, and the better you do it, will determine the success you have in educating your class. If you are like most teachers, you feel overwhelmed at all the material you have to cover in a week. Whether your schoolhouse has rustic decor or the most modern of looks, the needs are the same. If you get behind it can be harder mentally because you need to keep the kids on track with your district lesson plan. I have paper materials as well as pdf and doc curriculum I can use to teach throughout the week. Some of it I collect from the web and some I buy at various teaching curriculum stores. An important fact is that I always keep it organized in an easy to access place. This is either on my computer (which I can transfer to work via FTP or memory stick) or on a dedicated shelf in my classroom or in my home. I currently store paper materials at work and at home in dedicated spots. But enough of what you should have, I don’t mean to overwhelm you further. Not everyone can carry the weight of a classroom and the children whose families you serve. As a teacher, you owe it to them and to yourself to organize, create, and innovate lessons that will show value added growth you your students’ education. Here are three steps you can do in getting ready over the weekend:

1) Create a new folder on your desktop and give it an eponymous title showing the week. ie; “weekly plans 4-15-12.” Create a notepad file and use it to delineate the lessons and curriculum you are doing per day. Once done, you might find it useful to paste in each day’s plans in Google Calendar. I’ve written in how I use this in conjunction with my district’s Outlook.

2) Look at the pacing guide and make a note on your notepad schedule of the standards you are supposed to cover that week. Adjust professionally as fitting. Drag materials from the computer that correspond. Make notes in the notepad of paper materials you can use under your document camera and/or make copies of. NOTE: I am always looking to avoid copies, they are usually not as helpful as paperless teaching options. Create or find any materials you don’t have for certain standards. There are amazing resources out there for free lesson plans. (ppt, doc, pdf and Youtube has some excellent free youtube video teaching resources as well.)

3) Once you have your “backbone” schedule created as a notepad and all your materials dragged into the folder, zip the folder and email it to yourself at work. Note: Some districts have limitations on size and filters on from what emails they’ll accept attachment. If you cannot verify from home that the email is in your work inbox, use a zip drive or usb stick to transport.

Making plans is such a touch thing to do but if you take the time to do it thoroughly, your class will benefit measurably. Furthermore your week will be so much more gratifying. I know from personal experience. Can you offer any tips for planning a school teaching week? I’d love to hear from you in the comments. Have a great week.

If you are seeking a full or part time career in tax preparation, I have an excellent lead for you. As is true with teaching, education is required. Like I tell my kids all the time, if you have an education or a trade in something specialized, you are recession proof. Fast Forward Academy can get you licensed in tax preparation. Many are making good money at this as a sideline to teaching. Other people are getting their enrolled agent continuing education requirements. What’s more, the pay is so good you might even consider it as a primary source of income. One of the best parts about it is that you CAN do it as a side job alongside teaching because you set your own hours and the amount of clients you want to serve.

People use this educational service to become licensed with the IRS for many reasons. The first is that it is easy to use. It has a user-friendly system and it explains things in an intuitive, understandable way. They allow you to “try before you buy” and if you do decide to buy the program, they give you free PDF’s to get your business going. In addition to licensing and education newbies to the profession, hey have another area of specialty as providing ea cpe requirements. The courses are written by actual CPA’s and other professionals in the trade. I think you’ll find that your autonomous ability to check your own progress in the program will really be the selling point. If you visit their site, you will see it all laid out. It is an impeccable offer they give to their customers. In a very short time you will recoup the small expense of this training program.

The A to F letter grade system that New York City’s Education Department uses to rate each of its schools is an improvement over simply measuring schools based on standardized test scores, according to a report released on Thursday by the Independent Budget Office.But the report also validated some parents’ and principals’ long-standing concern that the letter grades often reflect the economic and racial background of students, despite efforts to neutralize the differences. The Times’ reporting supports this finding, and an article that ran two years ago revealed that among city high schools, those with the lowest scores on the annual progress reports had the highest percentages of poor, black and Hispanic students.According to the Independent Budget Office report, this trend also extends to schools with high percentages of special education students, who often post low scores on the state exams and are less likely to earn a Regents diploma — a seeming correlation that was mapped on SchoolBook in February.

via Independent Report Gives Mixed Scores to City Schools' Letter Grades – SchoolBook. Visit their link to read the full article.

I have been talking with more and more educators who either have a website or blog they are seeking to profit from. The ideas are amazing but we all know that doesn’t bring buyers to the front door. Sometimes, SEO consulting services are the best way to get them there. Personally, I believe in the open source approach aka the freebie but even that can’t help if no one gets to your site. Most people have come to see how offering something free can gain you multiple readers and one day customers. Besides, the more you have clicking around your site, the more advertising dollars you generate. Others still want to keep their product under tight wraps until people purchase it. I call this the “secret ingredient” approach. The trouble with this is that people in this internet savvy time usually figure out the secret ingredient and your product collects dust on the shelf in your garage.

Though a perfect approach to making money online may not exist yet, everyone agrees that SEO consulting services can help immensely. If you can get readers to your site, you have a chance at getting them to buy in to your brand and product. If they never see your product, no such chance exists. SEO consulting services are highly recommended in this economy. Teachers out there working to sell a product should check out the SEO consultant linked in this post. It’s an excellent resource and a good way to start learning how SEO can take your product to the next level.

For the past 15 years, the California Teaching Standards have run the show in education. I’m not complaining. For 13 of these years, my job success has relied on them. I have embraced them, made them my own, taught them, and internalized them in the 6 hours a day I am with students in the classroom. In the other daily hours, I strive to come up with ways to make them relevant and memorable. I have tried very hard to not be a robot, simply speaking out standards without any importance or buy-in. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the teachers in the country. I hear news stories about teachers who really have no interest in getting the standards across. They make a facade to the public audience that produces only the bare minimum of learning results. It is enough to get them through to the next contract but fails to raise students to the high level of performance they need to compete in the world.

Those robotic teachers use the standards to negative ends. I feel that teaching to a test can never produce the kind of student that will thrive in the modern world. I am hopeful about what’s coming. I think of it as an “organic teacher.” That means someone who gets earthy and relevant with the standards. The organic teacher is not afraid to be controversial if it meets students needs. The organic teacher paves a path followed by those who want the same measurable success. It can take many forms but it will involve technology such as the best laptop computers. It is not, however, limited by technology. I have often imagined that a simple pencil on paper can be named technology, so don’t let the term steer you off. The organic teacher will kill the robot’s facade. She/he will bring students to a higher level through making the standards real and tangible. Success for students in these classroom will be “caught” more than taught. These teachers will thrive on what they do and the success with students they make. I see these teachers coming on the horizon whether they be teachers like me already in the classrooms or new ones. The shared element is a passion for bring kids up. My hope is the “common core” standards will encourage this sort of teacher. Instead of stifling innovation, my hope is that administrations will foster and encourage it no matter how different it may appear. Youth culture has changed more in the past 15 years than I think it did in the 20 years prior. We need to speak a new language and take on a new job to save our schools and save our kids from irrelevant robot teaching.

I have discovered there is a lot of helpful lesson modeling on Youtube. While old modeled companies are guarding their teaching products and keeping them off Youtube, the smarter and younger thinkers are making their methods available through blogs and Youtube. I try to do that. I share everything I learn with others and I do it freely. Youtube is filled with teachers like me. By sharing what they have found that works, they are increasing the value of education in this country, instead of just their own pocketbooks. If you’ve been on Youtube awhile, you can put adsense ads on your teaching vids. As long as you get the releases from the students’ parents, you can just set up a tripod and film yourself doing your best lessons.

When you put it on Youtube it can help catch up students who’ve been absent or who may just need a review. I personally do not have any videos of my lessons up yet but I hope to. A tripod and a decent camera is all one needs to start their own archive of lesson examples. The flat screen video media should never replace the traditional teacher, in my opinion, but it is a good thing for education in America I think. The possibilities are worth considering. I have heard educated people say this may be the future of education in fact so why not start thinking about it and getting some ideas. If you are curious about it, try doing a Youtube search on the standards of your next lesson. You may find yourself greatly helped.

Check out the "Strategies for Writing" website!

I’ve just been through 7 days of personal training/coaching in my classroom by educator and author Shelle A. It was a delight. Our district is using her program Strategies for Writing. I find it highly engaging through its visual templates and musical chants and there is a lot more to it still. As my friends know I am passionate about writing and teaching writing. I am an “edu blogger,” I have my Master’s Degree in English with an emphasis in Language, Writing, and Rhetoric from California State University, Fullerton, I have taught community College Writing, worked in a college writing center and have taught public school K-12 for nearly 14 years. I have seen quite a few writing programs come down the pike and I can tell you this one is worth its salt.

In my class this year (4th Grade), there are a few GATE learners, EL kids, and a handful of more intensive learners who often need things repeated and modeled. Strategies for Writing met all their needs. Shelle walked me through the program by teaching my class as I observed and took copious notes. I watched my students produce Introductory paragraphs and create outlines and focused essays with great big smiles on their faces.

There was so much good I could share about the training but I don’t want to get too wordy (I can hear my high school writing teacher’s voice). The high point for me was watching my kids do the chants and then transfer them onto writing templates which would later become well-crafted essays on lined paper. She took my kids from the concrete to the abstract. From there I saw very quiet kids come out of their shells and more vocal kids challenged. Shelle’s program drew them out and they produced impressive essays. It was a great start. I look forward to getting back from Spring break and fostering yet higher levels of writing from my kids through using this book. There is virtually an endless amount of teaching material in there. But don’t just take my word for it, you can read and view video testimonials of teachers and administrators on the Strategies for Writing website.

To close: Strategies for Writing is an explicit and direct writing program developed by Shelle A. that is fostering growth in all students who are exposed to it, most impressively English Learners who all teachers know sometimes struggle with writing in a second language. If you as an individual teacher, school lead, or district representative would like to know more about this highly innovative and effective program, check out the website and contact Shelle personally about getting her at your school to train teachers in Strategies for Writing. Having her in my classroom for 7 days I found her to be a fountain of endless energy. She cares about kids writing and has worked tirelessly to create the tools they need to excel at it. If you have any questions about the coaching and training I experienced, the book, or teaching writing in general, feel free to email me or leave a comment.

Many of my students just got their reports cards and they included large growth in grades. A few on the other hand, had to see what they have been seeing for years up to now: flat growth or decline in scores. There is only one way to take this: they need to improve. I don’t tell parents of my kids that their children have to be the highest in the class. I just want them to improve. If there was a 2 in one area last trimester, we are looking for a 3 and so on.

The challenge to the high kids is to maintain their high grades. Having said that, the children with lower grades have nowhere to go but up. Small, incremental growth is still growth. When I ran in high school we called it “running your own race” and making a “personal best.”

I had a rough day recently where I realized paper was not a good foundation for a week of lessons. Our copy machine is hit and miss. Some days it will work perfectly, other day it will be the primary discourager of teachers on campus, myself included. I am always looking to make my teaching “foolproof” so I sat down with a huge chart tablet and started creating what I called “Less Paper Lesson Planning.” The embarrassing truth it that I only used it one day. However, the concept is still with me and I think about it as I plan the lessons for my classroom. I was told once that a goal will always put you in a good direction, whether you achieve it or not. The greatest ideas seem to come only after many failed ones are attempted. I guess that day I set a very deep-set goal that hasn’t gone away. We have a lot of materials at our disposal every day that can be used in place of copies. Projectors, ELMOs, PPT, white boards, smart boards, pair sharing and verbal response, computers, tablets, ipads … more are coming our way all the time. I am finding that when I put my emphasis on “less paper” more innovative ideas come.