Parenting Advice that Hits the Mark

September 13, 2012

 

I am usually quite reluctant to post advice on parenting. I find parenting advice quite preachy and just because something has worked for one child doesn’t mean it will work for another.

But having stumbled upon ‘s brilliant list of ‘don’t’ rules for parents, I thought I would make this an exception to my rule:

*Don’t Worry About the Things You Can’t Control: What’s out of your control you can’t put too much thought into. You can only keep track of your own actions or thoughts. So focus on what is possible.

*Don’t Forget to Pee: This is one of those sayings that rings true for parents. We are so focused on the kids that we completely forget about ourselves. All of a sudden, five years go by and you wonder what happened. It’s important to have balance and not forget about what you need in the wake of your children’s needs.

*Don’t Follow Anyone Else’s Lead: Everybody will have their own take on what good parenting is. Don’t follow anybody else’s lead. It’s important to hear people out and see what may work and not work for them as a parent, but listen to your own gut and follow your own path. Being a leader will take you far as a parent.

*Don’t Be Complacent: Mix things up for you and your kids as much as you can. When we get too comfortable is when things get boring. Try your best to keep things exciting on all levels for everyone.

*Don’t Miss Out On Daily Meditation: It is vital to keep a calm state of mind as a parent. One way to do this is to get re-centered on a daily basis. I suggest doing some soul-searching meditation every day. This will get you through the rest of your day.

*Don’t Underestimate the Influence of Other Kids: A bad apple has been known to spoil the bunch. As your kids get older, keep a watchful eye on who they are hanging out with. If your child is acting up all of a sudden, look to see what may be the cause. If it’s due to the influence of a buddy, try to cool that relationship off.

*Don’t Carry Guilt: It’s important not to carry guilt as a parent. Whether it’s an argument with your spouse, picking up your child late from soccer practice or sleeping in on a Saturday morning, don’t feel guilty. No parent is perfect. Let go of the guilt and make tomorrow a new day.

 

Click on the link to read Potty Training at a Restaurant Table!

Click on the link to read Mother Shaves Numbers Into Quadruplets Heads So People Can Tell Them Apart

Click on the link to read The New Form of Spanking

Click on the link to read This is What You Get for Doing Your Homework

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Parenting | 2 Comments »

Why is it Always the Teacher That Gets Punished?

September 12, 2012

 

Should a teacher put his/her hands on a student? Absolutely not. If a student is aggressive with a teacher, does the teacher have a right to retaliate? No way!

But what about the aggressive student? He gets to boast how he helped sack a teacher. We are talking about a teacher who is likely to have a family and a mortgage. A teacher who would find it almost impossible to get another teaching job.

Whenever a teacher receives a punishment for retaliation , the offending student requires an equivalent punishment.

In this case – expulsion!

A teacher was sacked for grabbing a pupil who threw a milkshake over him even though nobody made a complaint about the incident, a tribunal has heard.

After being soaked by the drink and suffering a torrent of abuse from the 16-year-old boy, Robert Cox held the teenager’s arms and pinned him to his chair.

The business studies teacher said he feared the boy was about to throw the chair at him and just seconds after he let the teenager go, the pupil picked up the furniture and threw it across a school canteen.
 
No complaint was made by the boy or his parents, but the confrontation was captured on CCTV and brought to the attention of school bosses.

Weeks later, governors sacked Mr Cox, claiming his behaviour was to blame because he had “frustrated” the teenager and escalated the incident.

The married father-of-two’s 13-year teaching career has been ended by the episode at Bemrose School in Derby.

The 59-year-old said he had been left “unemployable” and has twice attempted suicide.

He told a tribunal his treatment sent out a worrying message to teachers and pupils and launched a scathing attack on the management of the school.

“In all other public buildings you see posters saying abusive language and behaviour will not be tolerated,” he said.

“That is not the case at Bemrose. Instead, if you act within the school guidelines to protect yourself, to protect other students and to prevent an escalation of the situation, you are penalised.”

Call me naive, but I am very sympathetic to this teacher. Whilst I am very much opposed to his reaction, I too would have been rattled if a student acted like that towards me.

That same student shouldn’t get the satisfaction of staying on at the school. His aggression and unacceptable behaviour is symptomatic of a system which is soft on unruly students and brutal on unsupported teachers.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Schools Putting Spy Cameras in Toilets and Change Rooms

September 12, 2012

Under no circumstances should a school be able to spy on students in change rooms and toilets:

School pupils are being watched by an astonishing 100,000 spy cameras, a report revealed yesterday.

CCTV surveillance has been set up in playgrounds, classrooms and even toilets and changing rooms.

Some schools have a camera for every five children in the name of controlling violence, vandalism and theft. In fact, the average secondary now has 24 cameras and an academy 30.

In a development that has already provoked outrage among some parents, more than 200 schools have CCTV operating in changing rooms or toilets.

Top of the list for camera/pupil ratio is the Christ the King Catholic and Church of England Centre for Learning in Knowsley, Merseyside.

Cameras have been placed in changing rooms and toilets by 207 schools, which have 825 cameras in all trained on areas where pupils might expect to have a degree of privacy. Radcliffe Riverside School in Bury has the highest number of changing room cameras, with 20.

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Child Welfare | 4 Comments »

Tips for Engaging the Struggling Learner

September 12, 2012

Courtesy of Andrew Marcinek comes this fabulous list:

1. Have fun

I hope that this project will make writing a paper a more engaging process. Many times, students go through the motions in pursuit of the grade while missing out on the learning. This is where I hope this project will take us in a different direction. Too many times in higher education grades are obtained and learning is left behind. This is where that routine changes. I want you to become an expert on the issue you are covering and enjoy the process of research and writing.

2. Learn beyond the walls

Every week we enter our classroom and shut the door. There are no windows, one computer, and eight outlets. However, most of you possess devices that connect you to the outside world and to numerous contacts. Some of you are probably reading this on a mobile device. What is wrong with this picture? It is a skewed vision of what learning should be. Therefore, this project will take our class beyond the walls and windowless concrete and carry us into a world that is constantly connected and moving.

3. Expand your audience

I read your paper. I edit your paper. I grade your paper. Yawn. While I am an objective, worthy audience, I am simply one person. Today’s student has the ability to reach out to millions on a daily basis and simply ask, “Is this good?” This project will present many windows to your work and engage you in a learning community beyond the walls of the Science Center. Learning should be transparent and open. Please allow others to collaborate with you as we engage in a new learning community.

4. Collaborate

One of our best resources as learners is our ability to connect. We can connect like never before and have the opportunity to engage with others from around the world on a daily basis. If we can learn anything from the web 2.0 generation it is that the ability to share and learn from each other is limitless.

5. Deconstruct an issue transparently

This project will open up your research and allow others to see how you are progressing. This project will model an environment of constructive criticism and intellectual discourse. There is no room for bullying or inappropriate criticism. This environment will employ transparency so that we can share and learn from each other.

6. Make many mistakes along the way

Unlike traditional assignments where mistakes are marked wrong, this project will mark your mistakes as learning steps. I encourage you to take risks and seek out information beyond what you think may or may not be right. In this forum, being right is hardly the end goal. Rather, the pursuit of greater understanding while exercising all of your options within a moral and ethical framework.

7. Share

What happens when you take notes within a notebook? You eventually close that notebook and put it into a bag, or drawer. Only you possess that information. This is hardly the way our world works today and hardly the way we will conduct our research for this project. By conducting research that is transparent, it will allow us to use a variety of sources and learn from each other.

8. Provide Constructive Criticism

One of the benefits of transparent learning is the ability to not only receive feedback from the instructor but to seek feedback from a much larger audience. This community we are creating will allow us to bounce ideas and critique work as we progress. While I will also take part in this critique, I urge you to consult your classmates for feedback and suggestions.

9. Eat a sandwich

A sandwich is like a well-constructed argumentative essay. It contains many layers but is constructed in a central…Ok, I can’t continue with this nonsense. Just make a sandwich and enjoy it.

10. Engage Others

This type of work will require you to engage an audience and be a participatory learner. It is hard to sit back and coast in this format and will require each student to be an active participant in the learning process. I look forward to learning from each of you and creating a community of resources.

Click on the link to read The Ultimate Classroom Resource for Teaching About Comics

Click on the link to read Why Spelling is Important

Click on the link to read Captain Phonics to the Rescue!

Click on the link to read the Phonics debate.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Engaging Students | Leave a Comment »

School Builds Prison Block for Troublemaking Students

September 11, 2012

 

At least this school doesn’t pretend it’s not a prison:

Furious parents and local councillors today blasted a school after it unveiled plans to build a ‘prison-style’ block for 12 of its most notorious troublemakers.

Tudor Grange Academy in Worcester, West Midlands – which has the second highest expulsion rate in England – has applied to convert a disused office block into an ‘alternative education’ facility.

Anyone else think we have all but given up?

Click on the link to read Being a Teacher Makes Me Regret the Way I Treated My Teachers

Click on the link to read Problem Kids, Suspensions and Revolving Doors

Click on the link to read Useful Resources to Assist in Behavioural Management

Click on the link to read When Something Doesn’t Work – Try Again Until it Does

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Schools that Get Rid of Recess Should be Struck from Funding

September 11, 2012

There are programs and activities that I would classify as expendable – recess is not one of them! How a school could justify putting a stop to recess is beyond me. Even in prison there is circle work and yard time. Why on earth would a school want to deprive its students from the social and physical outlet that recess presents? Kids are forced to sit at their desks for hours without socialising with their peers. They long for the chance to get out into the fresh air with their friends. What school would deprive them of that right?

There’s not a minute to waste in the school day for Syracuse elementary students. There’s not even a minute reserved for recess.

The city’s elementary schools have master schedules for the new year and they include zero time blocked out for recess. The schedule requires every minute of a student’s day, except a half-hour lunch, to be spent on instruction.

At least one city school and more than a few teachers took the schedule to mean there could be no more recess, although district Chief Academic Officer Laura Kelley said teachers can offer recess if they want.

It is not clear how teachers could squeeze in recess and still spend the required number of minutes on instruction.

“If they are going to opt to do recess, they are going to be taking time from ELA (English language arts) and math, and that’s a choice I hope every teacher considers very carefully,” Kelley said.

This is absolutely disgraceful! I wouldn’t consider this very carefully at all. If the wellbeing of your students is your first priority, then recess is FAR more important than an extra lesson of math or English.

In fact, I would take my students outside for the day in protest. I would integrate my curriculum for the day around recess. I would have math related recess activities, language based recess activities etc.

To ban recess is tantamount to banning teachers from going home to have dinners with their families, with the reasoning that this time could be used for planning lessons.

I hate some of the trends being flagged in educational circles. They put achievement before child welfare, process before outcomes, political correctness before common sense and regulations before freedoms.

One of my non-negotiable as a teacher is – my students have the right to enjoy their school day!

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in School Rules | Leave a Comment »

Classrooms the Swedish Way

September 11, 2012

Sweden has  new school system that is  eliminating all of its classrooms in favor of an environment that fosters children’s “curiosity and creativity.”

Vittra, which runs 30 schools in Sweden, wanted learning to take place everywhere in its schools — so it threw out the “old-school” thinking of straight desks in a line in a four-walled classroom.

Check out the pics below:

 

 

Click on the link to read Tips For Supersizing a Cramped Classroom

Click on the link to read Stricken With Self-Doubt

Click on the link to read Do You Suffer From Classroom Envy?

Click on the link to read The Classroom of the Future

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Classroom Presentation | 3 Comments »

Is There No Better Way to Teach Fitness to Kids than Pole Dancing?

September 10, 2012

Surely this is not the best way to help children get fit:

A dance and fitness studio in Duncan, B.C. has sparked controversy after introducing a pole dancing class for young children.

Twisted Grip Dance and Fitness is offering the weekend class, Little Spinners, to boys and girls of all ages, owner Kristy Craig said.

Craig said she introduced the class due to demand from existing clients, and so far three girls and one boy have registered for classes, which start on Sept. 22. Her youngest student is just five years old and the oldest is about 12 years old.

Little Spinners will teach similar moves to those offered in adult sessions at the studio, including classes called Sexy Flexy, Pole Fit, Babes on Bikes and Bunny Bootcamp, Craig said.

“[The kids’ class has] some of the same moves, some of them are different, but yeah it’s very similar,” she said. “There’s definitely movements in [the adult classes] that are sexual, but there’s nothing geared toward stripping.”

Craig said pole dancing is a great way to get kids active and interested in exercise and wants to separate pole fitness from its stripping routes.

I find the complicit sexualisation of kids extremely concerning.

Click on the link to read Baby Bikini: Clever or Innapropriate?

Click on the link to read The Courts are Pathetic in Punishing Paedophiles

Click on the link to read Shops Should Stop Selling “Sexy” Clothes for Children

Click on the link to read The Toy that Stopped a Child Porn Ring

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Child Welfare | 1 Comment »

Being a Teacher Makes Me Regret the Way I Treated My Teachers

September 10, 2012

I was not an unruly child by any means, but teaching has made me aware of certain instances when I should have been kinder and more thoughtful to my teachers. I have even since apologised to one of my former teachers because of the guilt I had upon this revelation.

I am looking forward to reading Tony Danza’s book “I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had”, whose teaching experience led him to the same realization:

When we heard Tony Danza wrote a book about his experiences as a school teacher, we figured that was before his days on Who’s the Boss? But it’s wasn’t and that’s what makes this book so great.

In this brutally honest memoir, Tony Danza gives readers a backstage pass to his year teaching high school English in inner-city Philadelphia, a gig he took after being inspired by a documentary made by Teach for America and decided he wanted to give back.

So, three years ago, he did just that: he became a teacher.

Entering Philadelphia’s Northeast High School’s crowded halls in September 2009, Tony found his way to a tenth-grade classroom filled with 26 students who were determined not to cut him any slack.

They cared nothing about his showbiz credentials, and they immediately put him on the hot seat, asking questions like, “Does anyone else think it’s weird that you’re teaching English?” and “Are you nervous—because, your shirt is totally soaked?”

In this book,Tony shares experiences that ranged from the infuriating to the deeply rewarding as he relives his days at the head of the class.

Click on the link to read The Dog Eat Dog Style of Education

Click on the link to read Problem Kids, Suspensions and Revolving Doors

Click on the link to read Useful Resources to Assist in Behavioural Management

Click on the link to read When Something Doesn’t Work – Try Again Until it Does

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Classroom Management | Leave a Comment »

Even Prisoners Get to Use the Toilet

September 9, 2012

A ‘tinkle pass‘? Are you kidding? Is this a ploy to bury the final glimmer of hope in connecting with your student population?

If you feel that students are wasting too much time taking trips to the toilet you should start by reassessing your teaching methodologies. If teachers were able to engage students, the toilet break count would drastically decrease:

A secondary school has outraged parents after introducing a ‘tinkle pass’ which allows students out of lessons to use the toilet just once a week.

The cards are issued to students at Castle Vale Performing Arts College in Birmingham every Monday morning.

If students don’t use them, they must hand them in on a Friday afternoon to ensure they aren’t carried forward to the next week.

The specially designed ‘tinkle card’ reads: ‘I am missing a super learning opportunity because I need a tinkle.’

New headmistress at the school, Charlotte Blencowe, is responsible for the introduction of the cards after introducing a series of new strict policies after taking over during the summer.

Students have also been told they can only communicate in class via a series of hand-signals.

 These include ‘Fingers to eyes and then to the board = I can’t see’, ‘To hands clasped in the air = I need a new book or paper’ and ‘3 fingers in the air = I need the toilet.’

Pupils have also been told that their bags would be searched to ensure their mobile phones are switched off and to check that they have the required number of pens and pencils.

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in School Rules | 1 Comment »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »