I don’t endorse the product, but I love the ad!
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I can’t believe that my mentor Rafe Esquith who has written some of the best books about teaching, has been suspended from doing what he loves so dearly.
A popular teacher who’s been nationally praised for his work has been removed from the classroom at a Koreatown elementary school.
Only on CBS2/KCAL9, Rafe Esquith’s attorney fired back Monday at Los Angeles Unified School District officials, saying the allegations are ruining a great man’s reputation for no reason.
Esquith, then a fifth-grade teacher at Hobart Elementary, spoke with us about his unique and inspiring teaching methods in the classroom back in 2004.
There are dozens of articles and videos about the LAUSD employee who started the Hobart Shakespeareans Foundation, which raises money for classroom materials and field trips.
That’s why Esquith’s neighbor, Steve Montgomery, was just as surprised to learn he was removed from the classroom several months ago during an investigation by the school district.
“He is a very dedicated teacher,” Montgomery said.
No one answered the door at Esquith’s home, but a woman picked up the phone when CBS2/KCAL9’s Jasmine Viel called. The woman said Esquith is OK and agreed he’s a great teacher.
A district spokesperson said Esquith is still on the payroll but would not say what led to the investigation.
Esquith has hired famed attorney Mark Geragos.
Geragos tells us it was a complaint from another teacher concerning a quote Esquith used from Mark Twain that started it all.
Geragos issued the following statement regarding the matter: “The State of California has thoroughly investigated and cleared Rafe, who is a nationally recognized and award-winning teacher. If LAUSD does not immediately reinstate Rafe and issue a public apology, we will file immediate legal action.”
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Wow! I wish I could do cool experiments like this one for my students.
A chemistry teacher wowed his class by setting the floor on fire during a lesson.
The risky stunt was captured on camera by a student and shows the teacher standing at the front of the classroom in America holding a flaming test tube.
The compound used in the demonstration is liquid methane, which as it boils releases a flammable gas.
The video of the experiment can be found here.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvQM-po5vWU
As much as I have warned teachers about what they choose to discuss on Facebook, I suppose it does a good job of bringing racist teachers to the light of day:
A teacher has been “relieved of her teaching duties” after posting a racist Facebook rant in response to recent events at a McKinney, Texas, pool party, according to a statement from Frenship Independent School District.
Karen Fitzgibbons was a fourth-grade teacher a Bennett Elementary school of Frenship ISD in Wolfforth, Texas. On Tuesday, she posted an article to her page about Eric Casebolt, a police officer who recently resigned after being involved in a racially charged incident last Friday. Casebolt, who is white, was caught on tape throwing a black, bikini-clad teenage girl to the ground when responding to reports of a disturbance at a community pool. He also pointed his gun at other youths.
“This makes me ANGRY!” reads the post from Fitzgibbons, referring to Casebolt’s resignation, according to Texas outlet the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. “This officer should not have to resign. I’m going to just go ahead and say it…the blacks are the ones causing the problems and this ‘racial tension.’ I guess that’s what happens when you flunk out of school and have no education.”
My personal tips would include requesting the classroom on the top floor and dispensing with the comfortable teacher chairs.
The following tips are courtesy of .theguardian.com:
Julia Kelly, who teaches English at a Cheshire high school, gets involved in as many active aspects of school life as possible, including becoming leader of all levels of the school’s Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme. “This means I am away with the pupils for a number of weekends over the year, but it also means that the extra-curricular activities I’m involved in require me to be active and keep fit myself,” she says.
On expeditions Kelly carries around 14 kilos of kit and burns thousands of calories a day walking and tracking or training the students. She says that the scheme also inspired an interest in hillwalking, which is now an important part of her life.
If you can’t commit to the full award experience, don’t worry. Other teachers had some rather fun suggestions. Primary teacher Jackie Milne (@milne_stoney) does laps of the playground with students and Laura Dalchow, head of science at a Surrey junior school, enjoys a little dance every now and then with her class.
Caroline Weale, who works at a secondary school in Yorkshire, suggests exercising early in the morning. She sets her alarm for 5.45am and swims or exercises in the gym for half an hour before getting ready for school.
She says her ability to rise and shine at the crack of dawn is down to pure will power – and lots of telling herself she is not tired. It was painful at first but now that her body clock is in a routine, it’s much easier. “My mind does not make as many excuses to lie-in as it used to.” After school, Weale says, exercise isn’t an option. “I have so much marking to do, so many parents to ring, so much data to input, meetings galore … so fitness training in the morning is the key.”
If you miss a session or wake up late Weale advises doing something a bit quicker like skipping for 10 minutes or doing a few sit-ups before breakfast.
This isn’t like gym membership, where you’re locked into a pricey contract for a year. The flexibility attracted teacher Charlotte Pearson. She says that if she has a last-minute lesson observation and can no longer make the club she doesn’t need to stress as she pays per session.
She joined a running group, mainly attended by women with busy lifestyles, three months ago and now goes twice a week. The group runs anything from five to 10 miles in each session.
“If I have a deadline to meet, then I just go to the next session. I’ve also made a lot of new friends, lost weight, toned up, dropped a dress size and I’m putting myself forwards for things that I never thought I’d do – like a half-marathon next month and also the Yorkshire marathon in October,” she says.
Not a fan of clubs and don’t have the time after work? Squeeze a running session into your lunch break, advises Leah Cunnah, who does a casual 5k between lessons.
Grammar school headteacher Chris Pyle fits exercise into his busy schedule by running to school. He jokes that you only need to run to work once a week for students to be convinced you’re at it every day. “They tend to find it amusing, obviously, but I like to think it sets a good example.”
Pyle says if you’re thinking of doing something similar you need to get organised: bring suits and shirts to work the night before or carry them in a running bag (which can lead to a lot of creasing). He also says showering on-site afterwards is essential, as is a plan for how you can bring in or take home marking.
Pyle says the logistics of running home are a bit easier, and it’s best to alternate running with cycling or other forms of exercise to make sure you don’t tire your legs out. For motivation he keeps a diary of the miles he has run.
“I think my most memorable run to school was being dive-bombed by a nesting buzzard as I took a short-cut past some woodland a few years ago. It was terrifying. I arrived at school feeling that I had already been through a life and death battle – ready to take on my challenging year 9s.”
He adds: “Teaching is very seasonal, and will always have some really busy periods, with reports deadlines or parents evenings. The important thing is just to keep putting on the running shoes on a regular basis, even if only for a very few minutes. You’re worth it.”
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It was meant to be a simple rose as a symbol of appreciation. It ended up being slightly less innocent.
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Sometimes you go home from work wondering if you’ve made any difference with certain students. Sometimes, when you least expect it, they surprise you with candid confessions like the one above.
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So they are banning students from putting their hands up. Hmm….
I don’t have a major problem with it but I suspect that in some classes the ability for the more proficient learners to answer the teacher’s questions in remains one the only things keeping them awake:
Let’s call it the Hermione Granger Effect.
Every classroom has at least one Hermione, the pupil who always raises their hand to prove they have the right answer. At the back of the class, kids are quickly switching off.
But some Victorian schools are banning students from putting their hands up in classrooms, as part of a progressive global experiment in changing how classes are run.
The Hermione Grainger effect: teachers are discouraging children from raising their hands Photo: Warners
Toorak College and Frankston High School are among Victorian schools taking up the no hands-up policy, along with other schools in Europe. Derinya Primary School is also considering the approach – the brainchild of renowned British education expert Professor Dylan William.
The theory is that the same minority of top students are raising their hands to answer teachers’ questions, and are getting smarter with each response, widening the gaps between the high and low performing students.
Having the smart kids answer every question can fool teachers into believing that the whole classroom – as opposed to those more vocal – are learning.
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I am not a big fan of sex ed taught in schools but I understand the arguments for it and realise that I am in the minority.
I think that a field trip to a sex shop, a place that sells material which degrades women, is highly inappropriate, but if the school and parents allow it, who am I to argue against it.
What I wont concede on however, is the incompetence involved in arranging for such a trip without consulting the parents of the students beforehand:
A sex education teacher has drawn the ire of parents after taking middle – and high-school students on a field trip to an adult novelty store in Minneapolis.
Gaia Democratic School director Starri Hedges took about a dozen students to the Smitten Kitten last week. Hedges told the Star Tribune that she wanted to provide a safe environment for students to learn about human sexual behavior.
Besides offering adult books, videos, toys and other products, the store also has educational workshops, which the students attended.
“What I saw happening on our trip, I thought it was beautiful because kids could talk to these sex educators without any shame, without any fear,” Hedges said. Some of her students bought condoms, she said.
The small K-12 school has a motto that promises academic freedom, youth empowerment and democratic education. Parents say it has about 25 students. Tax records show the school, housed in a Unitarian church, has an annual budget of about $100,000.
Parent Lynn Floyd’s 11- and 13-year-old daughters were on the field trip. Floyd says the trip was “a major breach of trust” and has withdrawn his children from the school. Floyd said he is most troubled that parents were never notified before the trip.
“I just struggled to think that I wasn’t involved in that,” he said.
Hedges said that she “unfortunately didn’t communicate well enough with parents ahead of time” about the trip. Pornographic items were off limits to the children, Hedges said, but sex toys and other products were visible.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xde2qQ6qO-I
A bit preachy for me but I agree with his point all the same.
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