The future is what we'll make of it....

Being interactive is what Web 2.0 is all about.  We no longer live in the static world of reading information that may or may not be correct from a poorly put together website.  We live in an age of innovation and creativity,  if you are not using critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity on a daily basis you are already behind! There are so many Web 2.0 tools that are mutually beneficial to parties creating and viewing them.  Personally, I feel like there is a way to make many, many web 2.0 tools part of our classrooms but on a daily basis just scrolling through my twitter.com feed helps me know what colleagues and influential incorporations are up to (up to the minute). 

 

Pinterest.com is a location to find ideas, share original ideas and be a general muse to my creative side of the brain.  The blog, I am starting to enjoy because I've found that I can get my thoughts out, if I'm happy, sad, or angry and the BEST part about it is that I DON'T HAVE TO PUBLISH IT IF I SO DESIRE (after E3043 of courese)!  I've always considered myself a person, as is relates to technology as being able to 'take it or leave it.'  I do still feel that way on some levels, but I also know that to be competitive in the field I desire to flourish in, being 21st Century savvy is a must!

Do you breathe where they breathe?

Do you teach from a distance? Do you clean your hands before, during and after every interaction with your students?  I am not just referring to the germophobes either.  Have you gotten sick on a regular basis since you began teaching (mainly EC-6 people)? 

Doing everything that we can do to make sure that our students are succesful starts with being present! What is our reason for requiring all students be present (another day's topic, I will return)?  As a professional educator, I need to maintain my health.  What good are we to our students if 1. we are never there? 2. We are there but feel like crap, or 3. feeling like crap and high on cough medicine! 

Taking care of ourselves is something that teachers know to do but not something discussed at the collegiate as it deals with the classroom, in my experience.  I have colleagues that seem to get sick once or twice a month and have to miss class.  I am aware of personal emergencies and sick days but to truly be effective I need to be in position as close to one-hundren percent of the time as possible.  A serious goal I have for myself is to make conscious decisions that will directly, positively affect my health.  As educators we must drink as much water as often as we can.  We must get enough sleep, and on a regular basis (the papers will be graded!).  Eating healthy can be fun, so do that more often. 

When I have a plan, I am saving time which ultimately brings me peace, happiness and overall efficiency.  I am learning that having a plan for the foundation of all areas of my life will cut out on a lot of trouble, stress, sadness and even sickness.

Get yourself together!

As a wife, a parent, and a college student I must have different areas of organization to keep track of.  I have never been the type of person to feel so overwhelmed that I would become self destructive or sabotaging.  I have, however; been in contact with some colleagues who seem to not be able to deal.  Classmates who resort to cheating, lying, stealing, bullying, drinking or other drugs sometimes exhibit these behaviors out of fear and feelings of inadequacy. 

There are measures that everyone can and should take in order to feel they have more control over their lives.  Planning and organization skills give me a sense success on a daily basis.  There is a great feeling of accomplishment and gratification that comes along with completing many or all items on my list-of-things-to-do.’ 

Knowing what is most important in your life, the reasons why you get up every morning, the goals you are trying to accomplish and the amount of time in which you wish to complete them are all aspects that should be incorporated into one’s planning process. 

The planner I purchased from a large dollar store chain that only cost $1.00 has been a constant every-changing document for the past two semesters.  The binder of weekly meal plans, blank and already fulfilled, serves as a great place to go back and get ideas. 

 

I like hard copies simply for documentation purposes. I guess I’m old-fashioned when it comes to pulling out technological devices at inappropriate time, but having my planner out is fine.

Which leads me to another aspect for being in control and completing tasks in a timely fashion; GETOFF THE INTERNET ALL THE TIME! Yes, I am aware of great internet, smart technology resources that are available for organizing your life and staying on a schedule, I use some of them as well.  But the social media sites that you think you’re only going to spend 5 minutes on and end up spending 5 hours on may be the reason you haven’t finished what you were supposed to finish.

Plan and Enjoy!

What is a crazy person to do?

As a teacher candidate at Prairie View A&M University I am juggling being a student while preparing myself to lead a classroom.  I recognize the stress that myself and my peers are under and  find myself often pondering how a lack of motivation and excitement, in some people, will ever turn into characteristics of an effective teacher.  After learning about B.F. Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning I sometimes wonder if these individuals are a product of ineffective motivation.  I have found that an overwhelmingly large amount of teachers, educators and school officials in general complain TOO much about how their students behave.  WHAT are the educators doing to obtain the desired outcomes? As the adults, we are responsible for directing our class in the manner that we see fit in order to get the results that we are requiring.

The conclusion I settled on is that the stress levels of everyone involved are sky high!!! Many students are dealing with an abundant amount of issues that no child should be dealing with, it does not help the situation when the adult involved does not know how or care to educate themselves on ways to help the student and eventually help themselves in the process.  If the educators would get their lives together they could begin to help the people whom they are in charge of.

It's 11 O'Clock A.M. Do you know what your kid is doing?

In elementary school the majority of parents frequent their child or children's school often.  By middle school, when children are perhaps trusted more or involved in lots of activities, parental involvement decreases.  By high school, however, many students have cars or friends with cars.  High school aged students express less need or want for parent involvement and so many parents drift outside of their children's loop.  This is a major factor, I believe, in student/ teacher sexual relationships getting started, or lasting as long as they sometimes do without anyone's knowledge. 

The adult in the inappropriate relationship is utterly WRONG! As an adult, one especially who has been called into the field of education, we know that it is our moral duty to protect all of our children from any misguided, perverse acts that should attempt to disturb or influence them. 

I am aware of many, many nontraditional situations in which children are not cared for properly the way that a child should be in their out-of-school setting.  However; for those who are being cared for by a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, brother, sister, guardian or otherwise IT IS OUR UNCONDITIONAL, FUNCTION TO TALK TO OUR CHILDREN AND SEE TO IT, THAT THE ONES WE CARE FOR ARE IN THE HANDS OF HONORABLE, UPRIGHT, EDUCATORS.

I can account, from personal experience, how deceptive teenagers can be. Even when they have the best of parents.  In the most perfect of situations, when you think you've raised your child to be an honest, hard working, serving member of society things still happen, they get caught up in the moment, in the hype, in whatever it is to get caught up into.

All of the recent news coverage of sexual teacher/ student relationships has only fueled my protective gene a little more. 

Whatever we call ourselves

I remember having a whole class discussion with a professor last semester about whether we, as future classroom teachers, preferred the term teacher to educator. I, of course, had my opinion and voiced it for why the term educator was superior and is what I envisioned for my life. I now have a new opinion and it is deeply parallel to the saying, "a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet."

I know how I define the word teacher and the word educator but I also know that my mind is not the only one defining these words and that I am not the only person identifying myself using these terms. No matter how you say it, if the adult in the room, in charge of training and instructing young minds, doesn't want to be there, isn't prepared or has a bad attitude everyone looses.

Some have an extreme passion for extending knowledge to willing and sometimes not-so-willing participants.  Others who just want to jump into a career because their first five choices didn't play out should just walk away.  It would be better for all parties involved if the persons not going to do what needs to be done to be honest with themselves and everyone else.

So, whatever we choose to call ourselves making sure things are being done the proper way is what is important.

Read Across America Day!

So, my baby daughter's day car is wonderful! For the past two days they have been advertising for students to where their pajamas because they would be eating 'green eggs and ham' to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday. This morning we dressed in our cutes p.j.'s and headed to school with much excitement. This, of course, made me curious. After a very brief internet search I found that the National Education Agency has selected today as their 'Read Across America Day!' There was a big kick off in the New York Public Library to spread awareness of their year long program. While I am familiar with the National Education Agency I was unaware that this is the programs 16th year in existence. On the  NEA website  I read about many methods and resources I could take advantage of in my classroom and in my home in helps to raise and grow a nation of readers. the resources are relevant and the extensively, categorized book lists are very helpful for year round participants.

Now my school aged children spread the word at their school; and so the process continues. Their school will now be participating in the Read Across America program as early as next week! I am so glad that Dr. Seuss and this event have positively affected our lives. Though my children posses many Dr. Seuss books and they are read to the point of falling apart, I am glad to know that other children will be able to experience his magnificent writing.