my favorite place in the world

My Thoughts For Today

Is there beauty in a classroom that we all bring with us from the outside? A waterfall, a bunch of flowers, a day in the sun, perhaps a heavy cloud of rain. Each one of our students bring these with them as they enter our rooms each day to learn science, history, life skills, or math. We are not teaching simple facts. We are adapting to the needs of our students, and showing them through our willingness to adapt to their needs that it is okay for them to adapt to our teaching style and learn from us.

In turn, students will teach us as a gruop more than we can ever learn individually.... is this a form of self-reflection through collaborative design? Shannon

Yet another fish story......

My Thoughts For Today

If a student in my class is good at something, am I going make a big deal out of it? Yes. If they aren't so good at something else, am I going to find something they are good at? Yes. In this way, a comfortable environment is created and from there, won't a student feel like, 'hey, if I am good at fishing....maybe I'm not so good at reading. But, hey, Mrs. Carrothers understands that I am good at fishing, so maybe she can help me with my reading.....maybe I'll raise my hand and ask for help even though Johnny over there has all the answers all the time and I don't....but I bet I can out-fish him in a minute or less....' Just a thought. If you can emotionally grab that kid, you've got a bond there that you can work with. What do you do with the ones that are not emotional, or that are uncomfortable expressing emotions? You find another way to reach out to them that is comfortable for them. Say, for example, through artwork or writing they produce. Some are computer whiz types.

To each his own, and you have to know. Just a thought.....I'm really just trying to fill up my blog page because I put my picture on everybody else's and I'm hoping you all follow it to my blog page and will happily read this stuff I am coming up with.....that was a joke.....I know, sometimes when I tell a joke, I have to clarify that it was a joke.... Any comments? Cyberspace EOU graduatestudents soon to be teachers, I want to know what grabs you....

More fishing stories.....

My Thoughts For Today

Here is a picture of my daughter with her biggest fish story yet....a 171/4 inch large mouth bass. I am twenty years older than she is and I have never caught one that big, and off the face of McKay Dam, no less. Now that is a big fish story!

Can we help our kids catch some big fish in the classroom? How should we go about it? When we are teaching, what can we do to provide an environment where each child in that room whats to grab in idea we share like this big fish my daughter has, and catch it for themselves. See that smile? If we see smiles like that on the faces of our students, are we doing something right?

My Thoughts For Today

This is my daughter Abby. Always on the go, go. go.

reflective teaching

Can one become a teacher? I don't think so. I don't think you are ever 'ready' to teach, or that you ever 'become' a teacher. I think teaching is the lifelong process of learning how to become a better person and also the lifelong practice of knowing how to serve others first before yourself while you are in the classroom. In time off, you need to care for yourself first to stay refreshed and enthusiastic about your career. But I really feel that teaching is the art and science of knowing yourself while simultaneously knowing your students.

insight

Today's blog is important to me. I have been thinking about being perceptive. How do we all look at the world around us? How do each of our differing backgrounds help us or hinder us in our behavior as teachers in a professional capacity?

Today's Reflection

Today I learned that self disclosure can be used at times in one on one talks with students to relate if they are having trouble learning. I also learned that if a student isn't learning, maybe getting them to learn isn't enough. Maybe finding out why they are not learning is important and may be a facilitating factor in long term skill development.