My fellow teachers, pre-service teachers, parents, students, and anyone else interested in education, November is coming upon is quickly, and as many of us know, that cold, crisp, but beautiful fall month is also a month of great insanity, for November is National Novel Writing Month. (And if anyone is wondering why that sentence is so wordy, it's because I was using it as practice for NaNo.)
National Novel Writing Month, generally shortened to NaNoWriMo or, even shorter, NaNo, can be a useful tool for teachers, despite the fact that it is a potential distraction for our students when it comes to homework. Why? Because NaNo can get our students interested in writing, something that all teachers, especially we English teachers, want desperately.
Here's the deal. There are two ways we and our students can participate. There is the usual adult program, which can be found at http://www.nanowrimo.org. The object here is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Just throw caution to the wind and write, write, write! If our students are under the age of 17, and the vast majority of them will be, or if we choose to lead our class in NaNo, they can sign up for the Young Writers Program, where our students can set their own goals. This, of course, will allow our students to take pride in reaching a goal that they feel challenges them. It will also help to unleash their creativity. http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/aboutteachers This page explains how you and your class can participate.
Now, of course, you don't have to a write a novel yourself, but think of how much extra motivation that will give your students! And why should we give them something like this if we're not doing it ourselves?
Best of all, if they reach the goall that they've set for themselves, or, if they're participating in the adult program and reach 50,000 words, here is some extra incentive for your students. Createspace.com, an associate of Amazon.com, will send them a proof of their novel for free! All they have to do is log into the website on December 2nd. If they've been declared a winner, they can go to the "I wrote a novel, now what?" page and get a special code to enter at the Create Space website. They will create an account with Create Space, upload their novel and cover art, and that's it! Create Space will recognize them as a NaNo winner, and send them a proof copy of their novel.
That's in addition, of course, to the winner certificate that you get in PDF format to download and print out. This is something that can really boost self-esteem. And that, my friends, is how you get a child interested in writing.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Zero Tolerance
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/education/12discipline.html?no_interstitial
That is the link to the latest story about Zero Tolerance policies in schools going way too far. If you're too lazy to click on the link, it's about a six-year old who got a 60 day suspension. His crime? Being excited about having just joined up with Cub Scouts, the young boy brought his scout utensil to school. It is fork, spoon, and knife all in one.
I know our schools have become more dangerous lately. I know we've had to take further precautions since Columbine and and VA-Tech and other such shootings. But a six-year-old's scouting utensil? Really? I'm all for keeping our kids safe, but the boy is six years old.
This of course is on the heals of an elementary-aged girl whose grandmother sent a birthday cake to school along with a knife to cut it, and she got expelled. Her teacher waited until after she had used the knife to cut the cake to report it to the principal, of course.
I remember, back when I was in elementary school, we used knives to help carve a pumpkin, though that came to an end when one of my classmates cut herself. (Not before I'd had a chance to cut out one of the jack-o-lantern's eyes, thank goodness.)
When I was in high school, on of our security guards remenisced about how when he was in high school, he and a lot of other guys had guns on the back of their trucks, on school property, and nobody batted an eye. It's still that way in some of the more rural school districts.
Is it just me, or has school violence gone up since the banishment of said gun racks? Then again, I've also noticed that it's gone up drastically since the banning of prayer in public schools, as well. Call me old fashioned, but if we were to get rid of all this PC stuff in schools and start actually teaching instead of catering to every single child whose parents threaten to sue the school district at the slightest sign that their child might actually recieve an F for getting all the answers wrong on a test, doing their math problems wrong, etc, or for the fact that we simply can't stop every single bullying situation before it starts, no matter how much we try.... Well, then we might actually have some discipline in our schools and violence might go down.
I mean, teaching our students to respect one another as human beings is one thing. But we can't force them to be best of friends, and it doesn't exactly prepare our students for the real world, where life just isn't fair, and never will be.
Which leads me back to the situation that started this entire post. It is wrong to expect a six-year-old to understand the zero-tolerance policies of most schools to the point where he would know not to bring something as simple as the utensil that this particular little boy brought in. Most parents don't even realize how unreasonably strict these zero-tolerance policies really are. When I was in high school, we used toy lightsabers in a (admittedly low-budget, extremely amateur) recreation of a joust in my world history class. Now, if you bring in so much as a plastic sword from a pirate dress up set, something so obviously fake as that is, you can be expelled for posession of a weapon.
It's not just weapons, either. You can also be suspended or expelled for Banaca. Yes, that wonderful little breath freshener is considered posession of alcohol. And don't dare get caught with asperin, naproxen (Aleve), ibuprofin, or any other over-the-counter pain killer. Also included in the list of drugs would be cough syrup, a girl's birth control pills (though many schools are handing out condoms), other prescription medications, and asthma inhalers.
Oh yes. You read that last bit right. These days, in many school districts, if your child has asthma, they can not carry their own rescue inhaler. If they have an attack, they must somehow, amidst the painful gasping for air, ask permission from their teacher to go to the nurse, make it to the nurse, hope the nurse is actually in (especially as more and more school districts, in an effort to save money, go down to part time nurses), and ask the nurse for their inhaler.
This is not to say that it's impossible. It can be done. After all, at the Tony Awards a couple of years ago, Idina Menzel went into an asthma attack at the beginning of a performence of Defying Gravity, a song that takes an amazing amount of deep breathing because of long notes, especially at the end, and performed remarkably well, then got to her rescue inhaler after getting off stage. However, Idina, it should be noted, is a highly trained Broadway actress, and it would be highly unreasonable to expect the average student to make the trek to the nurse's office for their rescue inhaler.
So, my fellow educators and future educators, what do you think? Parents? Your opinion? Students? Your thoughts? Have today's zero-tolerance policies just g one too far?
That is the link to the latest story about Zero Tolerance policies in schools going way too far. If you're too lazy to click on the link, it's about a six-year old who got a 60 day suspension. His crime? Being excited about having just joined up with Cub Scouts, the young boy brought his scout utensil to school. It is fork, spoon, and knife all in one.
I know our schools have become more dangerous lately. I know we've had to take further precautions since Columbine and and VA-Tech and other such shootings. But a six-year-old's scouting utensil? Really? I'm all for keeping our kids safe, but the boy is six years old.
This of course is on the heals of an elementary-aged girl whose grandmother sent a birthday cake to school along with a knife to cut it, and she got expelled. Her teacher waited until after she had used the knife to cut the cake to report it to the principal, of course.
I remember, back when I was in elementary school, we used knives to help carve a pumpkin, though that came to an end when one of my classmates cut herself. (Not before I'd had a chance to cut out one of the jack-o-lantern's eyes, thank goodness.)
When I was in high school, on of our security guards remenisced about how when he was in high school, he and a lot of other guys had guns on the back of their trucks, on school property, and nobody batted an eye. It's still that way in some of the more rural school districts.
Is it just me, or has school violence gone up since the banishment of said gun racks? Then again, I've also noticed that it's gone up drastically since the banning of prayer in public schools, as well. Call me old fashioned, but if we were to get rid of all this PC stuff in schools and start actually teaching instead of catering to every single child whose parents threaten to sue the school district at the slightest sign that their child might actually recieve an F for getting all the answers wrong on a test, doing their math problems wrong, etc, or for the fact that we simply can't stop every single bullying situation before it starts, no matter how much we try.... Well, then we might actually have some discipline in our schools and violence might go down.
I mean, teaching our students to respect one another as human beings is one thing. But we can't force them to be best of friends, and it doesn't exactly prepare our students for the real world, where life just isn't fair, and never will be.
Which leads me back to the situation that started this entire post. It is wrong to expect a six-year-old to understand the zero-tolerance policies of most schools to the point where he would know not to bring something as simple as the utensil that this particular little boy brought in. Most parents don't even realize how unreasonably strict these zero-tolerance policies really are. When I was in high school, we used toy lightsabers in a (admittedly low-budget, extremely amateur) recreation of a joust in my world history class. Now, if you bring in so much as a plastic sword from a pirate dress up set, something so obviously fake as that is, you can be expelled for posession of a weapon.
It's not just weapons, either. You can also be suspended or expelled for Banaca. Yes, that wonderful little breath freshener is considered posession of alcohol. And don't dare get caught with asperin, naproxen (Aleve), ibuprofin, or any other over-the-counter pain killer. Also included in the list of drugs would be cough syrup, a girl's birth control pills (though many schools are handing out condoms), other prescription medications, and asthma inhalers.
Oh yes. You read that last bit right. These days, in many school districts, if your child has asthma, they can not carry their own rescue inhaler. If they have an attack, they must somehow, amidst the painful gasping for air, ask permission from their teacher to go to the nurse, make it to the nurse, hope the nurse is actually in (especially as more and more school districts, in an effort to save money, go down to part time nurses), and ask the nurse for their inhaler.
This is not to say that it's impossible. It can be done. After all, at the Tony Awards a couple of years ago, Idina Menzel went into an asthma attack at the beginning of a performence of Defying Gravity, a song that takes an amazing amount of deep breathing because of long notes, especially at the end, and performed remarkably well, then got to her rescue inhaler after getting off stage. However, Idina, it should be noted, is a highly trained Broadway actress, and it would be highly unreasonable to expect the average student to make the trek to the nurse's office for their rescue inhaler.
So, my fellow educators and future educators, what do you think? Parents? Your opinion? Students? Your thoughts? Have today's zero-tolerance policies just g one too far?
Saturday, September 5, 2009
More Blogging and Other Nonsense
Well, we've already started a new semester, and boy are we off to a rocky start!
Missouri State University is on a whole new system, called Banner, which initially kicked me out of the work-study program and loaded me up on unsubsidized loans. But, I got that fixed, and then, a week before school started, I found out that funds wouldn't be applied until the second week of school. So I spent the entire second week of school checking, checking, checking. I spent the first two days checking to make sure that my student account was paid off so I could finally get the first book, Rites of Spring, for my European Literature class. Then, the last few days I spent checking my bank account for the automatic deposit of the refunds.
Now, I was counting on 3700, but then they decided to send some more than I requested back to the lender, so I'm only getting 27o0 back. That seriously cut out some of my plans. I'm having to make a smaller payment than I had wanted on my cremation, purchase fewer new clothes, and put less in savings. It also means a much reduced St. Louis trip to see Mike's parents.
It was not until yesterday that I learned that the money would not be in my bank account until at least Tuesday.
Y'know, witholding information like that from students, especially since finances are on everybody's mind in this crappy economy, is really not cool. MSU students were not informed nearly soon enough to make other financial arrangements.
Missouri State University is on a whole new system, called Banner, which initially kicked me out of the work-study program and loaded me up on unsubsidized loans. But, I got that fixed, and then, a week before school started, I found out that funds wouldn't be applied until the second week of school. So I spent the entire second week of school checking, checking, checking. I spent the first two days checking to make sure that my student account was paid off so I could finally get the first book, Rites of Spring, for my European Literature class. Then, the last few days I spent checking my bank account for the automatic deposit of the refunds.
Now, I was counting on 3700, but then they decided to send some more than I requested back to the lender, so I'm only getting 27o0 back. That seriously cut out some of my plans. I'm having to make a smaller payment than I had wanted on my cremation, purchase fewer new clothes, and put less in savings. It also means a much reduced St. Louis trip to see Mike's parents.
It was not until yesterday that I learned that the money would not be in my bank account until at least Tuesday.
Y'know, witholding information like that from students, especially since finances are on everybody's mind in this crappy economy, is really not cool. MSU students were not informed nearly soon enough to make other financial arrangements.
Monday, July 6, 2009
The NEA Convention
As most of those reading this probably know, NEA stands for the National Education Association. I am not a member. I have chosen to join up with the Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA). However, I would have given just about anything to be at the NEA convention in San Diego. Not so much to mingle with other educators and students, mind you. No, I wanted to be part of the protest.
Here's a copy of the news story from LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Teachers, Educators and Students Protest Abortion at NEA Convention
San Diego, CA (LifeNews.com) -- Dozens of teachers, educators and students participated in a protest at the national convention of the National Education Association to make it clear that the group's pro-abortion stance is wrongheaded. "A coalition of teachers, including NEA members, parents, taxpayers, students, children, and clergy staged a series of two-hour prayer-&-picket demonstration today at the National Education Association's convention in San Diego and several NEA state affiliate office across America," pro-life teacher Bob Pawson told LifeNews.com. "At least 120 pro-lifers supported the event at the NEA Convention, including 70 students from Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust." Dozens of pro-life advocates joined their colleagues in protesting state and regional conventions in cities ranging from Trenton and Denver to Columbus and Lincoln, Nebraska. Pro-Life leaders such as Rev. Walter Hoye, Marie Tasy of New Jersey Right to Life, and others participated in the events. "Our goal is to make the NEA national and state leadership render our union truly neutral on abortion," the NEA-New Jersey teacher added. NEA's leaders must totally disengage the NEA from abortion advocacy. The NEA's official position on abortion should be 'No Position' at all." Pawson concluded, "Abortion is an economic disaster for America in general and teachers in particular. It seems like the NEA leadership is using our collective names and finances to support an act which actually destroys our profession."
And see, this is one of several reasons why I won't join NEA. That, and the fact that they aren't really that strong on the negotiating front, like MSTA or AFT are, despite the fact that NEA is currently suing Springfield Public Schools for the right to do exclusive collective bargaining instead of letting us, the teachers, decide whom we want to represent us.
It's no wonder why they don't enforce their code of ethics. They don't follow it, themselves!
Here's a copy of the news story from LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Teachers, Educators and Students Protest Abortion at NEA Convention
San Diego, CA (LifeNews.com) -- Dozens of teachers, educators and students participated in a protest at the national convention of the National Education Association to make it clear that the group's pro-abortion stance is wrongheaded. "A coalition of teachers, including NEA members, parents, taxpayers, students, children, and clergy staged a series of two-hour prayer-&-picket demonstration today at the National Education Association's convention in San Diego and several NEA state affiliate office across America," pro-life teacher Bob Pawson told LifeNews.com. "At least 120 pro-lifers supported the event at the NEA Convention, including 70 students from Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust." Dozens of pro-life advocates joined their colleagues in protesting state and regional conventions in cities ranging from Trenton and Denver to Columbus and Lincoln, Nebraska. Pro-Life leaders such as Rev. Walter Hoye, Marie Tasy of New Jersey Right to Life, and others participated in the events. "Our goal is to make the NEA national and state leadership render our union truly neutral on abortion," the NEA-New Jersey teacher added. NEA's leaders must totally disengage the NEA from abortion advocacy. The NEA's official position on abortion should be 'No Position' at all." Pawson concluded, "Abortion is an economic disaster for America in general and teachers in particular. It seems like the NEA leadership is using our collective names and finances to support an act which actually destroys our profession."
And see, this is one of several reasons why I won't join NEA. That, and the fact that they aren't really that strong on the negotiating front, like MSTA or AFT are, despite the fact that NEA is currently suing Springfield Public Schools for the right to do exclusive collective bargaining instead of letting us, the teachers, decide whom we want to represent us.
It's no wonder why they don't enforce their code of ethics. They don't follow it, themselves!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
End of the Semester
Okay, so it's the end of the semester. Next week is finals week. At least, next week is finals week at Missouri State University. I cannot, of course, speak for other universities or for the secondary schools, public or private. With any luck, I'll actually pass all of my finals and not have to retake any of my courses.
So what does this mean for students who are in finals this week, next week, or the week after? It means that it is time to crack down and really study! But, as we all know, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. And maybe, someday, I'll actually look up who this Jack was and why he worked so hard that he refused to kick back in relax a little.
But let's face it, folks. Studying nonstop is rather dull. I mean, who wants to just read those boring old text books that we will hopefully sell for enough money to buy us a tank of gas? So, in that vein, here are some free online games that just happen to double as educational.
http://games.yahoo.com/word-games
http://www.theproblemsite.com/games.asp
http://www.freeonlinegames.com/tag/Educational_Games
So what does this mean for students who are in finals this week, next week, or the week after? It means that it is time to crack down and really study! But, as we all know, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. And maybe, someday, I'll actually look up who this Jack was and why he worked so hard that he refused to kick back in relax a little.
But let's face it, folks. Studying nonstop is rather dull. I mean, who wants to just read those boring old text books that we will hopefully sell for enough money to buy us a tank of gas? So, in that vein, here are some free online games that just happen to double as educational.
http://games.yahoo.com/word-games
http://www.theproblemsite.com/games.asp
http://www.freeonlinegames.com/tag/Educational_Games
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
And For Those Who Attend a Catholic School...
The benifits of the Catholic school education, or any parochial or other private school for that matter, have long been known. It's a simple math formula. Smaller classes + higher discipline + more parental involvement = better schools for both students and teachers.
The number of Catholic schools closing their doors permanently has been alarmingly high. However, there is evidence that Catholic schools are making a comeback. Though the number of wealthy investors have been shrinking, more and more dioceses are focusing on stewardship, and more families in total are investing and making donations.
Between this, the idea of free tuition at community colleges for laid off workers, and the idea that more college students and "second-career" teachers will enter the workforce for the job security, the future of the education world is looking to be a bright spot in dark times.
The number of Catholic schools closing their doors permanently has been alarmingly high. However, there is evidence that Catholic schools are making a comeback. Though the number of wealthy investors have been shrinking, more and more dioceses are focusing on stewardship, and more families in total are investing and making donations.
Between this, the idea of free tuition at community colleges for laid off workers, and the idea that more college students and "second-career" teachers will enter the workforce for the job security, the future of the education world is looking to be a bright spot in dark times.
Free Tuition for Laid Off Workers?
The Post-Gazette in Pittsburg published a nice article, today, that gives some hope to displaced workers. Pennsylvania senator Bob Casey has proposed a piece of legislation that would affect higher education by pushing for free community college location for workers who have been laid off. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09097/961019-53.stm
I don't know about anybody else, but I would like to see a piece of legislation like this pass. A better education can really make it easier to find a job, especially in an economy like we're experiencing right now. Perhaps this could also lead to more "second-career" teachers, since starting at a community college can lead to transferring to a four-year school. This, of course, would help the teaching shortage.
I don't know about anybody else, but I would like to see a piece of legislation like this pass. A better education can really make it easier to find a job, especially in an economy like we're experiencing right now. Perhaps this could also lead to more "second-career" teachers, since starting at a community college can lead to transferring to a four-year school. This, of course, would help the teaching shortage.
Meanwhile, In the UK....
Ed Balls, the Children's Secretary in the UK, has made the announcement that history will remain part of the curriculum. The made the announcement at the Associate of Teachers and Lecturers Conference, saying that information technology classes, centering around communications devices such as Twitter, will not replace history, but simply be added onto the curriculum.
The BBC story (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7986292.stm) does not, however, tell how this even got started, other to say that it was all a large misunderstanding.
The BBC story (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7986292.stm) does not, however, tell how this even got started, other to say that it was all a large misunderstanding.
Teacher Shortage
The education section of the NY Times reported on a teacher shortage, today. The article says that over a third of the nations teachers will retire over the next four years, because many school systems are encouraging teachers to retire while still in their mid-fifties. Now, my mother-in-law is an English teacher at a community college in the St. Louis area, and I don't have to ask her how she feels about this. She dreads retirement, and probably won't retire until she absolutely has to.
The article also says something most of us already know. Many new teachers are leaving the field within the first few years, mostly due to low pay and frustrating working conditions.
On the other hand, the Times also seems pretty confident that the teacher shortage will be reversed by the bad economy, since the teaching field offers high job security.
They also have a nice little graphic entitled "When A Million Teachers Retire." It shows a map of the US and the percentage of teachers over the age of 50 in each state. Here in Missouri, we seem to be on the low end. Our percentage of teachers over 50 is between 40 and 45%. West Virginia looks the worst. Their rate is between 60 and 65%. I question the accuracy of the map and percentage rates, however, because it doesn't say whether they included only teachers in the public schools, grades K-12, public and private schools, or public schools, private schools, daycares, and universities.
The entire article can be found here.
The article also says something most of us already know. Many new teachers are leaving the field within the first few years, mostly due to low pay and frustrating working conditions.
On the other hand, the Times also seems pretty confident that the teacher shortage will be reversed by the bad economy, since the teaching field offers high job security.
They also have a nice little graphic entitled "When A Million Teachers Retire." It shows a map of the US and the percentage of teachers over the age of 50 in each state. Here in Missouri, we seem to be on the low end. Our percentage of teachers over 50 is between 40 and 45%. West Virginia looks the worst. Their rate is between 60 and 65%. I question the accuracy of the map and percentage rates, however, because it doesn't say whether they included only teachers in the public schools, grades K-12, public and private schools, or public schools, private schools, daycares, and universities.
The entire article can be found here.
Ground Rules
While this blog is mainly intended for my students and their parents, I realize that anyone can view it, and I have also set it so that anyone can post a comment. As such, here are the rules for posting a comment.
1) No swear words! This blog is based in education, and is meant for the high school level.
2) No "flaming." A flame is a personal attack against someone. It is rude and childish. Please do not do this!
3) If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Our mothers taught this to us as children, and it still holds true! If you must criticize, please do so in a kind way. Critiques are meant to be helpful suggestions, not to bring anybody down.
4) Remember that there is a live person who is reading the post. If you wouldn't say something to a person's face, please do not post it in the comments.
5) If there is a miscommunication, please do not let things get out of hand. Keep in mind that sometimes, text can be difficult to interpret, especially the tone. If you mean something to be a joke, please make sure others know it! Smiley faces, such as :), :D, :P, and ;), take just a few extra characters and an extra couple of seconds to type, and they can really help to alleviate a situation if text might be misread.
6) Please do not post any links to a site that has swear words, pornography, violence, or anything illegal!
7) Copyright laws still apply in cyberspace. Please, either get permission to post something from another website or at least give credit.
1) No swear words! This blog is based in education, and is meant for the high school level.
2) No "flaming." A flame is a personal attack against someone. It is rude and childish. Please do not do this!
3) If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Our mothers taught this to us as children, and it still holds true! If you must criticize, please do so in a kind way. Critiques are meant to be helpful suggestions, not to bring anybody down.
4) Remember that there is a live person who is reading the post. If you wouldn't say something to a person's face, please do not post it in the comments.
5) If there is a miscommunication, please do not let things get out of hand. Keep in mind that sometimes, text can be difficult to interpret, especially the tone. If you mean something to be a joke, please make sure others know it! Smiley faces, such as :), :D, :P, and ;), take just a few extra characters and an extra couple of seconds to type, and they can really help to alleviate a situation if text might be misread.
6) Please do not post any links to a site that has swear words, pornography, violence, or anything illegal!
7) Copyright laws still apply in cyberspace. Please, either get permission to post something from another website or at least give credit.
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