Archive for the ‘Education Matters’ Category

Even a Ladybird Prank Can Get You Arrested

May 27, 2015

ladybird-prank

This is a lesson to all graduating classes that even a seemingly mild prank can lead to life changing consequences:

 

A group of teenagers accused of releasing more than 70,000 ladybirds in a US high school as a graduation prank have been taught a tough lesson.

The seven males are now facing criminal charges following their alleged stunt at Chopticon High School in Morganza, Maryland, last week, police say.

The St Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that students arrived at the high school on May 20 to find thousands of ladybirds (called ladybugs in the US) swarming through the hallways.

“I saw one ladybug just pass me, and then, all of a sudden, there was like 1000,” a student, Trinity Alexander, told Fox 5.

An investigation revealed that, about 3.40am that day, five people who had concealed their identities with masks and hooded jumpers forced open a door at the high school, while two others waited in a getaway car. 

Fox 5 reported that six of the group were students, who were were graduating this year, and one was a former student.

 

 

Click on the link to read Why Teaching May Be For You (Video)

Click on the link to read The Worst Prank Ever (Video)

Click on the link to read Students Help Their Teachers Get Engaged (Video)

Click on the link to read Teachers Can Be Such Hypocrites

Why Teaching May Be For You (Video)

May 12, 2015

 

 

I have long argued that teaching is a far more exciting and rewarding profession than is often reported. I am a big fan of efforts such as this one to promote teaching.

 

 

 

Click on the link to read The Worst Prank Ever (Video)

Click on the link to read Students Help Their Teachers Get Engaged (Video)

Click on the link to read Teachers Can Be Such Hypocrites

Click on the link to read Private School Students Perform No Better Than Public Students

The Worst Prank Ever (Video)

May 9, 2015

 

 

This isn’t even a prank, it’s just mindless vandalism!

 

 

Click on the link to read Students Help Their Teachers Get Engaged (Video)

Click on the link to read Teachers Can Be Such Hypocrites

Click on the link to read Private School Students Perform No Better Than Public Students

Click on the link to read From Maths Teacher to Masters Champion’s Caddie

Students Help Their Teachers Get Engaged (Video)

May 5, 2015

 

 

I just love this video!

 

 

Click on the link to read Teachers Can Be Such Hypocrites

Click on the link to read Private School Students Perform No Better Than Public Students

Click on the link to read From Maths Teacher to Masters Champion’s Caddie

Click on the link to read Is This What a Dysfunctional School Looks Like?

Teachers Can Be Such Hypocrites

April 28, 2015

chairless-classroom

“Do as I say not as I do.”

That seems to be the unofficial mantra for many teachers. Here are but a few examples.

 

1. The Chairless Classroom – Apparently educators are so concerned about obesity numbers they have devised a classroom trend that sees chairs make way for tall desks (as pictured above). Not only is it utterly uncomfortable for students to write and stay constantly upright, but such a rule almost always fails to extend to the teachers. I believe that since teachers aren’t always so fit themselves, all chairs should be removed from staff rooms. No chance that will ever happen.

2. Anti-Bullying Lessons – How often do you find that those in charge of formulating anti-bullying policies or teaching the anti-bullying message, are the biggest bullies among the staff? What good is it to preach against gossiping and slander when you are one of the biggest exponents of it going around?

3. “Don’t Talk, and Pay Attention” – Have you ever watched teachers during a PD conference or staff meeting? Not exactly model citizens for attentive, courteous behaviour.

4. “There is No Excuse for Not Doing Your Homework!” – Yet there seems to be an array of excuses why assignments aren’t marked promptly and lessons are often poorly thought out. Hmm ….

 

I know these are all generalisations and do not apply to most teachers, but the point is still very important – your message is meaningless unless you practice what you preach.

 

Click on the link to read Private School Students Perform No Better Than Public Students

Click on the link to read From Maths Teacher to Masters Champion’s Caddie

Click on the link to read Is This What a Dysfunctional School Looks Like?

Click on the link to read Should Students Be Involved in the Hiring of Teachers?

Private School Students Perform No Better Than Public Students

April 14, 2015

private

I don’t know why it seems like such a revelation to some that private school students have no marked edge over their public school counterparts. Thanks to ever increasing spending on public education, more is spent on a public school students’ classroom experience than the private equivalent.

 

Australian researchers have confirmed a growing body of international research that finds the high cost of private school education does not give students an academic edge over their public school counterparts.

The study, which has been published in the Australian Journal of Labour Economics, found that once the more privileged backgrounds of private school students are taken into account, they fare no better in the education system than other children.

The research from the University of Queensland, the University of Southern Queensland and Curtin University examined the vexed issue facing many parents when choosing between a public or private education for their children.

Co-author of the study, Professor Luke Connelly, said primary students do just as well academically in either system.

 

Click on the link to read From Maths Teacher to Masters Champion’s Caddie

Click on the link to read Is This What a Dysfunctional School Looks Like?

Click on the link to read Should Students Be Involved in the Hiring of Teachers?

Click on the link to read School Freaks Out Its Parents for No Logical Reason

From Maths Teacher to Masters Champion’s Caddie

April 13, 2015

michael-greller-teacher

The public perception of elementary teachers isn’t that they are “a calming influence”. But we certainly can be, as evidenced by Masters champion Jordan Speith’s choice of caddie:

 

The man who celebrated with Jordan Spieth on the 18th green at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday made his first trip here only three years ago. Michael Greller wasn’t even a professional caddie at the time. He was a sixth-grade math teacher who won a lottery for Masters tickets and spent the day following Rory McIlroy. “I had a few beers and enjoyed the walk,” he said.

Greller’s path from standing outside the ropes to carrying the bag of the Masters champion is far more improbable than Spieth’s impressive victory. And it reveals both the randomness of the caddying business and the way Spieth has approached the game.

… But the reason he has latched on with golf’s biggest rising star has little to do with measuring yardages or memorizing breaks on a green. It is because of moments like this: When Spieth double-bogeyed the 17th hole Saturday, Greller didn’t say much as they walked to the 18th tee box. He mostly just listened.

“You don’t want to overanalyze or make it harder than it is,” Greller said. “I just try to be a calming influence on him. He’s very intense.”

 

Click on the link to read Is This What a Dysfunctional School Looks Like?

Click on the link to read Should Students Be Involved in the Hiring of Teachers?

Click on the link to read School Freaks Out Its Parents for No Logical Reason

Click on the link to read Nine-Year-Old Writes a Stunning Letter to Teacher After He Reveals He is Gay

 

 

Is This What a Dysfunctional School Looks Like?

March 17, 2015

teacher-upskirt

The following article seems to highlight a school system that has lost the plot.

A student takes an “upskirt” photo via smartphone of his teacher. Then he shares it with his friends on Facebook.

The following happened as a result.

1. The Principal decided not to address the issue with either teachers or students.

2. The mother of the student involved defended her son on the basis that the “teacher was dressed inappropriately”.

3. Some within the school community seem to think the problem isn’t perverted students but the lifting of a cell phone ban.

What hope does this school have of getting talented teachers? At least the boy’s fellow classmates were brave enough to dob him in:

 

A Brooklyn high-school freshman took advantage of the newly lifted cellphone ban by snapping an up-skirt shot of a teacher — and the photo was shared by his classmates on Facebook, The Post has learned.

The 15-year-old student secretly took the picture with his iPhone as the newly hired teacher stood at a chalkboard at John Dewey HS in Gravesend last week, school sources said.

The freshman’s fellow students ratted out the teen to school officials on Thursday after the image made the rounds on social media.

The next day, the teen was sent to the principal’s office, sources said.

Police and officials from the city Department of Education were called to the school to investigate.

“It’s outrageous to have a kid take an inappropriate cellphone picture of a teacher,” a Dewey teacher said on Monday. “This is something that should never happen.”

A citywide ban of cellphones on school grounds was lifted on March 2, less than two months after Mayor de Blasio announced a plan to overturn the rule.

The rules now vary by school. Students at Dewey are permitted to bring their cellphones to school as long as the devices are turned off and stowed in their backpacks or lockers throughout the day.

“A lot of teachers are concerned about the lifting of the ban,” a staffer said. “It has really traumatized the teacher.”

The teacher, hired recently to replace a Spanish instructor who died, was in school on Monday but felt violated and was worried that the photo would explode on social media.

Her peeved parents even showed up at the school, threatening to sue the city.

Dewey’s principal, Kathleen Elvin, has not addressed the issue with either teachers or students, staff sources said.

But the boy’s mother stood by her son on Monday, blaming his behavior on the teacher’s choice of attire.

“The teacher was dressed inappropriately,” she told The Post.

But students who have seen teacher around campus said she wore appropriate clothes.

“She dresses normally,” one student said. “I mean, to me, she doesn’t stand out too much. She just looks young.”

The city Department of Education confirmed the up-skirt incident, saying that it was taking the matter seriously and that appropriate actions have been taken.

One teacher walking out of the high school Monday afternoon said it was not the cellphone policy educators need to be worried about.

“The rules are fine — some kids have bad manners,” the staffer said.

 

Click on the link to read Should Students Be Involved in the Hiring of Teachers?

Click on the link to read School Freaks Out Its Parents for No Logical Reason

Click on the link to read Nine-Year-Old Writes a Stunning Letter to Teacher After He Reveals He is Gay

Click on the link to read What’s in a Name?

Should Students Be Involved in the Hiring of Teachers?

February 16, 2015

student-interview-teacher

I am all for innovation in education, but I am not quite sure what would be achieved by allowing students to interview perspective teachers. One might say that children have a very strong grasp of the type of teacher they work best with. But just wait a minute. Isn’t it the responsibility of management to understand the needs of their students? Surely putting children on the selection panel is an admission that the people in charge are too out of touch to properly understand the needs and preferences of their students:

 

Panels of students are being used to interview and hire teachers at Victorian schools.

The move has been applauded by the Victorian Student Representative Council but the Australian Education Union said students did not have the “depth of knowledge” to decide who was employed at schools.

VSRC young media spokeswoman Tess Shacklock, who sits on a student selection panel at Templestowe College, said students provided an important and different perspective.

“It’s the students who are being taught by the teachers so it’s important that students have a say in whether they are employed. You get a good idea of a person when you look at their resume, but when you see them in a room you really see how they interact.”

The Year 12 student said some prospective teachers were visibly nervous when they sat in front of the young panel.  

Melton West Primary School, Eltham High School and St Helena Secondary College are among a handful of Victorian schools that also use student selection panels.

Teachers vying for a job at St Helena Secondary College are interviewed by a panel of teachers and then another made up of three students who are in years 9 to 12. The students share their notes with the other panel at the end of the day.

 

 

Click on the link to read School Freaks Out Its Parents for No Logical Reason

Click on the link to read Nine-Year-Old Writes a Stunning Letter to Teacher After He Reveals He is Gay

Click on the link to read What’s in a Name?

Click on the link to read 10 Ways to Move Forward in Teaching as Well as Life in General

Click on the link to read 5 Ways the System Could Better Recognise Teachers

School Freaks Out Its Parents for No Logical Reason

January 14, 2015

w.f. burns

What on earth was the Principal thinking? Firstly, this dumb idea encourages children to fight gunmen with baked beans cans instead of running for cover, and secondly, it encourages parents to panic about a scenario that is both remote and strictly hypothetical.

 

A US high school has asked parents to arm their children with cans of food as part of its response plan against gun-armed intruders.

School officials from W.F. Burns Middle School in Valley, Alabama, wrote a letter to students’ parents, asking them to buy their children “an 8 oz canned food item (corn, beans, peas etc.) to use in case an intruder enters the classroom”.

“We hope the canned food items will never be used or needed, but it is best to be prepared.”

The strategy was inspired by the ALICE Training Institute, a company founded by a former police officer and a former primary school principal.

The institute follows the mantra of: Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate, and the cans of food are only a small — but still important — part of the whole procedure, school officials wrote.

“We realise at first this may seem odd; however, it is a practice that would catch an intruder off-guard,” the letter read.

“The canned food item could stun the intruder or even knock him out until the police arrive. The canned food item will give the students a sense of empowerment to protect themselves and will make them feel secure in case an intruder enters the classroom.”

Since the letter was sent out, it has been shared thousands of times, with some questioning its effectiveness.

But Chambers County School Superintendent Kelli Moore Hodge told CNN via email that the point of the training “is to be able to get kids evacuated and not be sitting ducks hiding under desks”.

Since the year 2000, the US has suffered through more than 100 school shootings, including the horrific 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, which claimed the lives of 27 people, 18 of them children.

 

Click on the link to read Nine-Year-Old Writes a Stunning Letter to Teacher After He Reveals He is Gay

Click on the link to read What’s in a Name?

Click on the link to read 10 Ways to Move Forward in Teaching as Well as Life in General

Click on the link to read 5 Ways the System Could Better Recognise Teachers

Click on the link to read Teachers, Lay Down Your Guns