Sacrificing Time to Help Students

Yesterday I was teaching a math class.  A majority of the class was lost, but I took the time and made the effort to have as many students as possible at least leave with a general understanding of the material.
There was a shining moment amongst the chaos.  A student who I have know since last year.  The student stopped and asked me if I could stay and help them further afterschool.  I had no problem doing this.
We worked for almost an hour, but the student left feeling confident they understood the material for the first time.  Helping the student arrive to the point that they could do the work on their own and coming up with a method to remember how to accomplish the goal of finishing the work and preparing for an upcoming exan was a great feeling.  This is what teaching is all about. Even if it means helping one student at a time.

The great experience of going to the movie "Catching Fire"

Last night I went to see the movie "Catching Fire" with my son and his friend.  It was a nice break from being at home or shopping.  Once I was in the theater lobby, some students from my school were exiting from another movie.  I initially did not see them, but I heard them calling my name.  These seventh graders were excited to see me.  I stopped and talked to them about what they did for Thanksgiving, and they all seemed happy it was over and more than willing to share what items they had purchased earlier in the day.  Of course, they wanted to know what I was there to see.  All of them said I would love the movie, even though some things were different from the book.  I jokingly mentioned it was great they paid attention in class because it did not always seem like they were.  The students laughed, gave me a high five, and I said we could talk more at school on Monday.

That moment made my day.  I was once again reminded of my importance as a role model and what I attempt to help students with is relevant.  Sometimes we forget that no matter how large or small our role is within a school, we still impact these young minds.

If you have any interesting moments or stories to share, please leave them in the comments area for others to see.  Thank you and have a great weekend!

Black Friday!!!

Thanksgiving Day is officially done!  Now we all get to take out our wallets and purses to hit the pavement with all the others who never went to sleep last night.  I, myself, have decided to go another route.  I came home after a great day with family and turned on my laptop.  I cruised all the websites of the places I had looked through the ads for just a few hours before to find I could order almost everything I would have been outside in the cold along with everyone else.
Instead, as I clicked on the items I wanted, receiving the same discounts and FREE shipping, I am up this morning sipping a cup of coffee and watching "Shrek".  The lesson I learned today was to enjoy the day sleeping in and still being able to "shop" on Black Friday just like everyone else out there.
Have a great day!  I am going to enjoy the day and sometime this week enjoy all the hard work shopping I put in today.

Just giving recognition to a school that does not get much air time hitting a game winning shot

Miracle Shot to Win Game
I saw this on the news and YouTube and thought it was worth sharing.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Coming up with different ways to teach

Today as I was reading a webpage titled "21st Century Teacher".(Educational-Origami,2013) http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/21st+Century+Teacher
There are so many more ways of reaching students today than we would have ever thought of in the past.  I think many of us are aware of the characteristics of 21st educator, but how many of us actually attempt to stray from our traditional ways to consider including the technologies that the students use everyday for use in the classroom.  The YouTube video at the end of the page titled "Learning To Change" gives us all a little insite as to why we may want to be more open in accepting non-traditional methods into today's classrooms.  Please take a look at the video with the following link,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tahTKdEUAPk

Have a great day and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Traveling

Most of us will travel at some point during the holiday.  To many of us this is a chore, waiting to board an airplane or sitting on the highway in a vehicle.  I used to use this time to educate my own children, making our trips life lessons.  We would pay attention to other vehicles on the road, looking at license plates to see what states people were from and how far they may have traveled.  In the airport, just taking the time to look at the departure and arrival boards, talking about places we may like to visit someday always drummed up some interesting conversations.  Even watching the Macy's Day Parade can bring us together to have things to talk about and remember.  Of course, we have Black Friday.  I used to take my daughter every year when she was younger, and although we rarely bought anything, the time I spent with her is time I would never give back.  So as you can see, we can take simple things and simple moments and turn them into memories that don't cost us a cent to create.  Just a creative use of the time we have.  Many of us forget when it comes to our students and our own children, we only have that moment once.  We cannot go back in time and get another shot at doing it right or differently.  We have to make the most of the moment.

Please feel free to leave comments.  Thank you.

Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, many of our students as well as teachers, will be taking the much anticipated break to spend with friends and family.  I believe it is also a great time of the year to allow students to reflect on the things that they are thankful to have happened to them this year.  Sometimes when students are tired or thinking about their family situation, it is not always a happy vision that they have.  This is why this time of year is a great time to lighten the spirits of those students as well as others, to use the festive atmosphere to at least give them that moment of joy while they are still in school.  I feel it is important for everyone to take in the moment and enjoy the week until everyone leaves for the holiday.  The work we do with students extends beyond the classroom, and sometimes simply letting students know we will be there when they come back, gives them something to look forward to.

Please feel free to leave comments about this blog.  Thanks.

Conferences at a Middle School

Conferences are always interesting to me.  The preparation by the staff and teachers.  The parents who make the time to show up in order to find out how their child is fairing early in the school year.  The one issue that tends to baffle me the most is how many parents show up for the students who are straight A students vs the students who may not be doing as well in their classes.  Does anyone have an opinion about why this trend seems to continue?

We are about to start our new quarter.  With conferences and the holidays coming up, things seem to be a little hectic.  The teachers are attempting to keep control of their classes and give students as much knowledge as possible in hopes that they retain most of it during this busy time of year.  What are some ways you are coping with keeping your classes up to date and the excitement of the holidays coming up?

Reflection of My Teaching Experiences

Welcome to my first blog!

I am excited to share my experiences as an educator and finding out about others.
I have been an educator for almost 20 years.  I have taught as a substitute teacher for a majority of my career but I also had the opportunity to help put an educational program together from the beginning till the end.  I committed myself to being a great Stay At Home Dad, raising and educating my two children to help them become straight A honors students throughout high school. I even volunteered for almost every trip or anything that involved my children throughout their education.

Substitute teaching is how I found my way into the educational system.  I tried every level of education from Pre-school through High School.  I found Middle School to be my calling.  I had the opportunity to work under the guidance of teachers I had when I was a student.  I have worked as a playground supervisor, lunchroom duty, hall supervisor, coaching various teams, after school clubs, and even traveled as a teacher with over 500 students to Washington, D.C multiple times.  I have been a Character Education teacher (I worked with non special education students who had issues dealing with everyday life in school), and have taught pretty much every subject from Spanish to Science.

I have always had an interest in technology and even had the opportunity to teach staff back in the 1990's about the latest websites to use for their student.  One of the first sites I remember teaching staff to use was "The Electronic Library".  This was during my time as a Media Center Specialist.
Today, the schools I work at use Smartboards in almost every classroom in every school in the district.

I will continue to post my experiences, but please feel free to post yours.

Pictures taken by Ali Thomas

http://www.techlearning.com/from-the-classroom/0015/ten-ways-to-get-smart-with-smartboard/43707

http://edcompassblog.smarttech.com/archives/4958

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Integrating_Technology_In_K12/SmartBoards_in_a_Classroom

I found each of these website to have good information on how to use Smartboard technology.