Courtesy of educatorstechnology.com and @s_harper3 :
Click on the link to read Apparently Cool Kids Really Do Finish Last
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I know there is a strong argument that Twitter and Facebook are potentially wonderful tools for education, where the teacher can drive education, using the social media outlet that their students are so attached to.
But like with so many different areas, the worst individuals spoil it for everyone else.
In today’s day and age teachers should steer clear from communicating with their students on social media. It is just not appropriate. The fact that some teachers use it for good, is not a convincing argument. It is the few teachers that use for the evil that makes it imperative for teachers to give such contact a wide berth.
It’s stories like this that make it impossible for fair-minded teachers to friend a student on Facebook:
A teacher has been banned from the classroom after a disciplinary body found that he swore in front of pupils and made sexually suggestive and inappropriate remarks to them.
William Richard Jones, who was head of art at Ysgol Friars, a high school at Bangor, Gwynedd, was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct following a hearing by the General Teaching Council for Wales.
Jones, who was friends with some of his pupils on Facebook, had inappropriate social contact with them and 10 of 11 allegations against him were proven.
Jones admitted that he commented on a photograph of a pupil on Facebook, writing: ‘Beautiful! I wish I was 34 years younger :-)xxxxx.’
And a second pupil said Mr Jones told her she looked ‘gorgeous’ in a photo she had on her mobile phone.
Click on the link to read Teacher Claims he Didn’t Think Sex Abuse Was a Crime
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Besides the four schools my University sent me to during my course, there wasn’t one valuable insight, skill or technique that my course imparted to me. It is a simple fact that our teacher training courses do not measure up. They result in highly motivated and passionate teachers who are ill-equipped to deal with the practical challenges of a classroom.
I know minister Pyne isn’t the most popular figure at the moment, but he is absolutely right to call for better teacher training:
Universities and colleges are failing to produce teachers who meet the needs of Victorian schools, according to the state government.
In a submission to the federal review of teacher education, Victoria says it has “higher expectations for teacher education graduates” in some areas.
Of concern was that degrees were not equipping teachers with the specialist knowledge required in literacy, maths and science.
Courses often did not devote enough attention to teaching children with special needs – this was seen as an area of specialisation rather than a core requirement for every teacher.
And classroom organisation and behaviour management skills had been consistently identified by principals as areas in which graduate teachers were often lacking.
“There are growing concerns about the capacity of providers to produce sufficient graduates with the professional skills and knowledge required to teach in contemporary classrooms.”
The submission suggests reducing the number of universities and colleges that offer teaching degrees in order to improve quality.
Click on the link to read my post Why Principals Overlook Young Teachers
Click on the link to read my post The Bizarre Call to Train Teachers Specifically for Left-Handed Students
Click on the link to read my post Why Professional Development for Teachers is Often Useless
Click on the link to read my post Finally, a Step Forward in Education
Click on the link to read my post Tips For New Teachers from Experienced Teachers
I know this is supposed to vindicate all the so-called “uncool” kids (a group to which I had a gold membership), but I don’t rejoice at any groups lack of success:
A recently-published study from the University of Virginia has confirmed what your mum told you all along – cool kids are not all that they’re cracked up to be. Much like the numerous tragedies that befell The Harbor School’s former Social Chair Marissa Cooper, popular kids are far more likely to experience difficulty with relationships and drugs than their more socially awkward peers.
By the time they hit the age of 23, many of those who were one perceived as “cool” found it difficult to form new friendships and romantic relationships, and had a 45% higher rate of issues relating to alcohol and marijuana use. The kinds of behaviors that make one popular as an early adolescent will get one shunned as a fully-grown adult.
Perhaps the most obvious one is that the unpopular kids, who spend most of high school banding together while trying to avoid getting the shit kicked out of them, develop better coping mechanisms and closer friendship bonds, equipping them to deal with the world outside of school far more effectively.
Keep in mind, however, that this study was written by academics, who are the least cool of the least cool, and somewhere in the Behavioral Sciences Department of the University of Virginia, a professor may be rubbing his or her hands together with glee at how nicely this plan to smear the popular kids is coming together.
Click on the link to read Is there Any Better Feeling than Graduating? (Video)
Click on the link to read Stunning Homeless Experiment Revealed (Video)
Click on the link to read Teachers Need to Have High Expectations for all of Their Students
Click on the link to read The Most Common Questions Teachers Are Asked at Job Interviews
Click on the link to read The School They Dub the “Worst Primary School in the World”
You want to set your children up for life?
Well, forget about fighting over homework, investing in tutors and purchasing standardised testing practice manuals.
Sing with your children. Play with them on the mat. Open up the Lego box. Talk about life. Celebrate their skills.
Work is important as is a formal education and all that comes with it.
But is there anything better than quality time?
And don’t tell me maths homework is quality time.
Click on the link to read Why the Call to Fine Parents for Not Reading to Their Children is Utter Stupidity
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Click on the link to read 9 Characteristics of a Great Teacher According to Parents
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Known as the periodic table of iPad apps, these are all extremely useful for the classroom.
Click on the link to read Using Videogames in the Classroom
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Click on the link to read Should Teachers be able to Text Students?
It is of no surprise that the 2004 Hollywood movie, Mean Girls, went on to become a major hit. It clearly struck a raw nerve with teens and adults alike. Ask any female adult whether mean girls haunted their school corridors and infiltrated their classrooms and cafeterias, the answer will invariably be, “Unfortunately, yes.”
The problem with the movie, in real terms, is that it offered stereotypical characters and no solutions. For a film that so many could relate to, it was disappointing that it had precious little of substance. Good for a laugh and perceptive at times, but not much an impressionable child could take from it. It is of no coincidence that a student in my school followed the lead of the villain rather than the heroine and compiled a “Burn Book” (a notebook filled with rumors, secrets, and gossip about the other girls and some teachers), just like the one featured in the film.
Enter Mike Feurstein!
For those of you who don’t know, I have been a huge advocate of Mike’s from his first groundbreaking anti-bullying film, How to UnMake a Bully, onwards. He has since made 5 other anti-bullying movies, making him one of, if not the most, prominent figure in this genre. His films are able to expertly get to the heart of everyday social and emotional challenges met by a great many children, and quite brilliantly assist in providing advise and sound methodology without coming across preachy or tacky.
I have since been able to work with him personally, and have seen how he bases his narrative on the experiences of his cast and involves them in all aspects of the film making process such as lighting and sound.
In this, the 6th entry into the UnMake series, he gets to the heart of the Mean Girls experience and offers a great platform for its young viewers to reflect on their attitudes and behaviours as well as motivating them to consider a positive approach to dealing with this issue. It’s comparisons of the erosion of friendships to that of the earth is a masterstroke!
I recommend this film strongly to teachers and parents:
Click on the link to read Anti-Bullying Song Goes Viral
Click on the link to read Some Schools Just Don’t Get it When it Comes to Bullying
Click on the link to read The Bystander Experiment (Video)
Click on the link to read Tips for Managing Workplace Bullying
Click on the link to read 12,000 Students a Year Change Schools Due to Bullying
Click on the link to read Sickening Video of Girl Being Bullied for Having Ginger Hair
Courtesy of boredpanda.com via @MrMattHeinrich
My Whole Family
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I love this pie graph I stumbled across from ukedchat.com. It dispels the very frustrating myth that teacher fall into teaching because of a lack of other opportunities or for the generous holidays.
I chose to teach like most of the teachers surveyed, out of a desire to make a difference in an area I felt was in need of more idealism and passion. I also obviously enjoy working with students and really appreciate how lucky I have been to work with so many gifted and caring individuals.
What is the reason you chose teaching?
Click on the link to read Is there Any Better Feeling than Graduating? (Video)
Click on the link to read Stunning Homeless Experiment Revealed (Video)
Click on the link to read Teachers Need to Have High Expectations for all of Their Students
Click on the link to read The Most Common Questions Teachers Are Asked at Job Interviews
Topical Teaching 