Tomorrow is my first day of the new school year and I am petrified.
It’s nothing new. This day torments me every year.
Whilst you can lose your students any day during the year, if you lose them on the very first day you are in a world of trouble.
I’ve done it all. Nailed my first day and botched it.
And there’s no script that one can follow to guarantee success. Every class is different, just as every individual is different. This uniqueness gives us great variety in our job but also challenges us to make a quick determination of what their needs are and how they want to be taught. Some are looking for more room to grow creatively whilst others want a more uniform approach.
And this determination has to be worked out on the first day.
A good Primary school invests in more than just the academic progress of the child. It also fosters an ability for each student to gain thinking skills, coping strategies and proficiency in life skills.
That’s why I’m stunned that a college would have to open a course on basic life skills. Seems 12 years late:
U.C. Berkeley is offering a class in “adulting,” basic life skills young people may have missed until college provided a wake-up call.
The class is so popular it’s turning students away.
“I want to feel prepared like I know what I’m doing and I know how to be an adult,” said Allegra Estrada, 21, who is a pre-med junior at Cal.
“You can know as much as you want about physics or biology or English but that doesn’t help you when you need to do taxes or figure out what to eat.” Monday night, a new eight-week session in “adulting” began.
“We’re going to have guest speakers,” said instructor Belle Lau, laying out the topics: managing time and money, and improving relationships
“That can be a relationship with yourself or others, like family, friends,” said Lau.
Other areas include fitness, nutrition and mental health.
“Self-care, self-love and sleep,” Lau continued.
Many students admit they struggle making the transition to self-reliance in college.
Special Announcement:
I am donating 100% of the royalties of my hilarious new children’s book, My Favourite Comedian, during the month of January to those affected by the devastating bushfires in my country, Australia. This book is perfect for children aged 9 to 14 and the ideal class novel for Upper Primary students. Please leave a comment to indicate your purchase. You can buy a copy by clicking on this link.
It’s the first day of the year and we have already found our winner:
An Oregon grandfather of 10 came up with a brilliant way to spend more time with his grandchildren — he surprised them with a school bus that he had decorated and named the “Grandfather Express,” which he will use to drive them to school each day.
Doug Hayes was out to dinner with his wife Amy celebrating his 59th birthday this past June when Amy, just for fun, asked, “Well, you’re officially going to be old next year, anything you need to check off your bucket list? Anything you need to do in your last year before 60?“
In a Facebook post recounting how the Grandfather Express came to be, Amy explained that Doug was “totally bamfoozled” by the request because he’s always looking out for everyone else and is very outwardly focused.
“What did HE want? What was on HIS bucket list?” Amy wrote. “He was floored. Actually a little disturbed. He couldn’t even comprehend the question.”
Amy went on to explain that Doug didn’t give her an answer that night, but one day he finally came up with the perfect answer.
“I want a bus,” he told Amy.
When she asked him to clarify, he said that he wanted the bus to be able to pick up all his grandchildren each morning and drive them to school before he went to work.
Michael Grossman is the author of the hilarious new children’s book, My Favourite Comedian. You can buy a copy by clicking on this link.
Yes there are heartless ogres in some classrooms, but the underlying reason most of us choose to become teachers and educators is the urge to protect and nurture the next generation.
An Indianapolis elementary school principal was seen pushing several students out of the way of an oncoming bus before the vehicle fatally struck her, authorities said Tuesday.
Susan Jordan, the principal of Amy Beverland Elementary School on the city’s far northeast side, was killed and two 10-year-old children were hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries when the bus suddenly lurched forward, authorities said.
Buses were lined up outside the school when the accident happened around 2:45 p.m., Indianapolis Fire Department Capt. Rita Reith said.
“At some point, the stationary bus lurched forward and jumped the curb. The bus was not moving at the time directly before it jumped the curb,” Reith said.
The female bus driver told firefighters she was not sure what caused the bus to accelerate, Reith said in a statement Tuesday evening. The driver also said “in the instant that the accident occurred” she saw Jordan push several students out of the way, according to the statement.
The driver and 25 students on the bus were examined by emergency responders but did not require treatment, Reith said.
Jordan, who had been principal of the school for 22 years, was loved by her staff and the school community, Lawrence Township Schools Superintendent Shawn Smith said at a news conference.
“This is a great example of an educational leader in our state and our city. … Just a phenomenal individual that truly cared about children. This is a tragic situation that we have. This loss is going to ripple across our district of 15,000 students,” Smith said.
The district canceled classes at all of its schools Wednesday and said in a statement that four locations, including a transportation center, would be “open for emotional support to our staff and families.”
Indianapolis Police Commander Chris Bailey said the bus driver, whose name was not immediately released, would be given a blood test, a standard procedure in collisions involving fatalities.
I know there is a great deal of sensitivity about guys and schools but have US school administrators completely lost their minds? How does a 5-year-old with a mild, natural interest in guns constitute a suicide risk?
One mother is furious after her 5-year-old daughter was reportedly forced to sign a “suicide contract” at school.
Rebecca said that while she was in the lobby waiting to pick up her child, “they had my 5-year-old sign a contract about suicide and homicide … There should be a different way to handle this situation. If this is protocol it needs to be looked at again.” Rebecca added that she did not think her daughter knew what the words in the contract even meant.
Mobile County school system superintendent Martha Peek told the Alabama Media Group that staff at the elementary school used the district wide procedure for when “a student indicates they may be considering any actions such as hurting themselves or hurting someone else.” However, she noted that the incident will be evaluated and that the policy “will be reworked.”
“I think if we had stepped back and looked at the situation and that others could have been involved — if the principal had known about it — we could have probably had some additional guidance,” Peek told the outlet.
Peek told The Huffington Post that she has not been in touch with the mother since hearing about the incident, but she intends to meet with her and “reassure mom that everything is fine and her child is going to be well taken care of.”
There is only one way under high heaven to get anybody to do anything … Yes, just one way. And that is by making the other person want to do it.
It’s a shame that policy makers and school administrators don’t seem to have read any of Carnegie’s work because had they absorbed the quote above, perhaps they may have come up with something better to offer students.
People think that school represents the perfect place to undo parenting errors. They think that by bringing in a new school rule or program, that children will be set for life. Some of the rules and regulations in a school near you include:
– Anti-bullying programs
– Sex Ed programs
– Junk Food policies
– Playground no hugging rules
– Toilet rules
– Drug programs
– Anti-gambling programs.
And it goes on and on ….
Is this really a bad thing? What’s wrong with scrapping junk food from school?
Of course nothing is wrong with instilling healthy eating habits, teaching children about what constitutes bullying and how important it is to avoid drugs. But to be successful you’re going to need more than a worthy cause.
The problem with schools taking on these issues is that schools already have a stigma for most children. Whether we like to admit it or not, most kids hate school and they hate what they are taught at school. So whether it’s a math or science lesson or its a discussion about the dangers or excess sugar consumption, the chances of breaking through are difficult. It requires a positive and creative approach.
And let’s face it, the programs eluded to above often look and feel like schoolwork. They often consist of worksheets and paired activities and feature mini-quizzes. Why do the people who put together these programs think that if they put an animal mascot on the front of the pack and crossword on page five that kids will warm to the content? No child has ever been fooled by such a gimmick.
And inflexible rules are worse. Sure, it’s not ideal for kids to be eating chips or popcorn at school, but taking away their treats is yet another way of reinforcing the stigma that schools are overbearing, ruthless and prison like. I just read that Brussels want to ban yogurts and cheese from school lunches. If I was a school kid in Brussels I would want to go home and douse myself in cheese just out of spite!
It is such a breath of fresh air when a great anti-bullying initiative or healthy eating idea surfaces. One that captures the students’ imagination and encourages rather than bans, nurtures rather than smothers.
If you want children to listen they must want to listen. Don’t shove draconian rules and anti-bullying packs down their throats. Give them something that doesn’t look or feel like school work.
Step 1Brainstorm topic ideas. Your child will feel more confident making a speech if he is passionate about, or at least familiar with, the subject matter. Topics might include a favorite hobby, memories of a family vacation or a persuasive speech on why your child thinks he needs a bigger allowance.
Step 2Create a preliminary outline. Instruct your child to write down everything he knows about his chosen topic. For instance, your child might write down instructional details or tips and personal feelings about his favorite hobby.
Step 3Research online or at the local library. Fill in what your child knows with facts. For instance, if he is giving a speech about soccer, he might research the history of the sport. If he is describing a family vacation, he might look for information about the geography and culture of the vacation site.
Step 4Help your child organize the material into an introduction, body and conclusion. The introduction should be short, but catchy. Include a joke or anecdote to catch the audience’s attention. The body of the speech should include two to five main points accompanied by supporting facts. Your child may wish to include short stories in the body to weave a narrative. The conclusion is a brief summary of the speech. Help your child find an applicable quote or anecdote to wrap up the subject matter.
Step 5Encourage your child to write short notes on cards to help him if he gets lost during his speech. Don’t allow him to write the entire speech on cards, though, or he’ll be tempted to read and avoid eye contact.
Step 6Assemble an audience of friends and family so that your child can practice his speech in a non-threatening environment. Encourage your child to speak slowly and engage his audience with eye contact. If he is fidgety, it may help him to hold onto a podium or table.
Step 7Address your child’s concerns before he gives his speech to a formal audience. Remind him that it is okay to feel nervous or scared. He doesn’t have to give the speech perfectly. Encourage him to relax and simply tell his story.
While I am against the idea of making teachers wear a school uniform, it is important that teachers abide by a sensible dress code. I think that teachers should ostensibly be able to wear what they feel comfortable in, but at the same time, teachers can do without their spandex leggings:
It used to be the students that needed a dress code, but now a school district in Arkansas has drafted a formal set of guidelines for it’s teachers.
Listed in the four page document is the new requirement that staff must wear underwear.
Little Rock School District’s new superintendent Dr Dexter Suggs refers to underwear as ‘foundation garments’ in the document.
The guidelines don’t stop there. Some of the other rules include the banishment of spandex leggings and hip-hugging jeans.
Teachers are required to find the happy medium between ‘excessively tight’ pants and those that are ‘sagging’.
Some of the rules seem perfectly reasonable in a school setting – like the banning of clothing which advertises alcohol, drugs or cigarettes.
But others seem over-the-top and obvious.
In addition to underwear requirement, teachers’ hair ‘must be clean, neat and well-groomed’ and shoes ‘must be worn at all times’.
In the letter dressed to the school district’s teachers, Dr Suggs doesn’t cite any particular incident that lead him to believe an official dress code needed to be made.
He only wrote that ‘the district’ believes an ‘appropriately dressed employee is seen as a more suitable role model’.
Dr Suggs and union president Cathy Koehler released the rules at the end of August, but the rules won’t officially be district policy until the 2014-2015 school year to give time for teachers to transition to the new system
Ms Koehler admits that many union members voiced their distaste for the new regulations.
I love spending time with my children and have taken a year off to look after my baby son, but there are times when the school holidays seems to go on for a bit too long.
Topical Teaching 