Posts Tagged ‘Teachers’
October 21, 2012
It seems like poor spelling doesn’t stop with the students:
TEACHERS are filling lessons, report cards and letters home with errors, including SMS-style spelling, grammatical mistakes and misspelt spelling lists, parents have claimed.
A survey of 480 people about the literacy skills of the nation’s teachers found half thought the quality was poor.
More than 40 per cent had noticed spelling or grammatical errors on letters sent home from school and 35 per cent had seen mistakes in report cards and marked assignments.
Other parents claimed their child’s teachers lacked passion and skill, taught incorrect information and provided misspelt word lists for children to learn from. Some had even noticed teachers using SMS-style spellings, like l8r (later) and coz (because).
The “must do better” grading comes as the federal government reveals current teachers will be given specialist training to make sure future educators get better mentoring.Current and ex-teachers who took the survey were among those who complained about substandard quality, saying it was depressing.
One teacher from a state high school said many graduate teachers lacked a basic understanding of grammar, spelling and punctuation through their own schooling.
“It’s those 20-somethings who just missed out and I’m scared that they’re going to be teaching my kids,” she said.
Click on the link to read Who Corrects Our Spelling Mistakes?
Click on the link to read This is What Happens When You Rely on Spell Check
Click on the link to read The 15 Most Commonly Misspelled Words in the English Language
Click on the link to read Who Said Grammar Isn’t Important?
Click on the link to read Why Spelling is Important
Tags:Education, Grammar, life, Literacy, News, Parenting, Spelling, Teachers, teachers and spelling, teachers can't spell
Posted in Literacy | 4 Comments »
October 15, 2012
When I say that I am not intending to retire anytime soon, I am not quite referring to teaching until I’m 100:
It is official. St Aloysius’ College’s Father Geoffrey Schneider, who turns 100 on December 23, is the world’s oldest serving teacher.
The Australian representative for Guinness World Records Chris Sheedy ,who is a former Aloysius’ student (1980-88), presented the world record certificate at the school in Kirribilli.
Father Schneider featured on the front page of the Mosman Daily as Australia’s oldest teacher but this world record will give him global fame.
Eight hundred members of the school community including parents, past parents and students gathered at the college for a Celebration of a Century to honour Father Schneider’s life.
He grew up in Melbourne and came to live at the college in 1965. The children have nicknamed him Father Schnitzel and both a classroom and trophy are named in his honour.
He takes 15-minute religious instruction classes at the college and is chaplain of the junior school.
The Jesuit priest has no intention of retiring from his teaching career.
“I’ve been gifted with strengths,” Father Schneider said.
Of the fuss being made, Father Schneider said he “lets it all flow by” while he awaits his telegram from the queen for turning 100.
Click on the link to read Meet the Armless Math Teacher
Click on the link to read School Fires Entire Staff!
Click on the link to read The Case of a Teacher Suspended for Showing Integrity
Click on the link to read Teaching is Worth It!
Tags:age, Education, elderly, Father Geoffrey Schneider, Father Geoffrey Schneider oldest teacher, Guinness World Records oldest teacher, News, Records, St Aloysius' College, Teacher, Teachers, Teaching, world's oldest serving teacher., World's Oldest Teacher
Posted in Inspirational Teachers | Leave a Comment »
October 12, 2012
Every teacher has either been on the verge of exploding or fallen over the edge. It’s a highly stressful job where you find your patience tested every day. Without the required level of patience and self-control things can go horribly wrong.
If there is one attribute that teachers should continue to work on it’s an ability to remain calm in a crisis and not let the heat of the moment affect their judgement.
A teacher is facing the sack after being accused of assaulting two of her students by throwing a desk at them.
Kimberly Price admitted to police she ‘saw red’ during the violent confrontation with two 14-year-old girls.
One girl suffered a broken wrist after being hit by the desk after it was allegedly hurled across the classroom.
The other suffered concussion after being punched in the face and choked as Price held her down, she claims.
The 34-year-old eighth grade science teacher was arrested on Tuesday after handing herself in to police in Quincy, Florida.
School chiefs at James A Shanks Middle School have suspended Price indefinitely.
She will be recommended for termination at the next Gadsden County school board meeting, according to Shaia Beckwith-James, spokeswoman for the school district.
The alleged classroom brawl took place a week ago with an arrest affidavit revealing details of the shocking fight.
Price is alleged to have thrown a pen at a student leading to an argument with the 14 year old.
But before the pair came to blows, another student in the class claimed Price said, ‘that little dirty (expletive) ain’t gonna mess up my shirt.’After the pen was thrown students say Price ‘picked up a desk and threw the desk at the victim.’
Tags:assaulting two of her students by throwing a desk at them, Education, florida, Gadsden County school, James A Shanks Middle School, Kimberly Price, Kimberly Price saw red, Kimberly Price suspended, Kimberly Price throws desk, Quincy, Shaia Beckwith-James, Students, Teacher throws desk at students, Teachers
Posted in Professional Conduct | 1 Comment »
September 14, 2012
Tags:Education, Funny, Literacy, Photos, Pictures, Public Education, Red Lion Area High School, Spelling, Spelling Mistakes, Teachers, Teaching, Typo High School Booster Club Banner, Typos
Posted in Literacy | Leave a Comment »
August 23, 2012
Classrooms are increasingly becoming a case of a battle of the fittest. The pressure to deliver individual achievement on curriculum benchmarks and standardized testing have not helped. More and more we are seeing classroom relationships fracture and a strong preference for achievement over effort.
A friend of mine discussed an issue he was having with his son’s school. He told me that his son’s teacher is rewarding some of his students for reaching a certain goal. His son, among others, are excluded from a field trip because they didn’t fully rote learn the expected material. He tried his best, but didn’t get there by the deadline. He is in Grade 4 and is already being excluded for not meeting benchmarks.
When I was doing my teaching rounds I encountered a scenario in the music room where a child had disturbed the class. The teacher was considering punishing the child by excluding him from the next activity. The teacher decided to ask the class to determine this child’s fate. The teacher gave them two options. The first was to give the boy one more chance, the second was to exclude him. I watched in amazement as the entire class voted to prevent him from taking part in the activity. The class were taught to be ruthless towards each other so that’s what they did.
When will our educators realise that a child cannot achieve their potential when they are not valued for their efforts or respected by their peers? All this talk of ‘child centered teaching’ and ‘teacher centered teaching’ is off the mark. I prefer, what I call, ‘classroom centered teaching‘ – where the needs of the group necessitate the style in which I teach. According to this method, it is my job as my first priority to ensure that each child feels valued for who they are, what skills they have and how they are treated by their peers.
This means that when there is a disagreement among students, I do not hesitate to use teaching time to work things out. The time I invest into the social environment in my class has a strong impact on academic progress. Those of you that have witnessed a rift between students or groups of students in the classroom may have noticed how hard it is to get the class to focus on classwork when the playground politics is unresolved.
Whilst standardised testing doesn’t consider a child’s effort or the qualities and interests of a child, I can think of nothing more important. When a teacher decides to treat half the class at the expense of the other half, they are anointing winners and losers.
My students are all winners.
Tags:Classroom, Classroom Dynamics, Classroom Management, Creating an environment condusive to learning, Curriculum Benchmarks, Excluding students, Excursions, Field Trips, Freindship, Parenting, Social interactions between school children, Standardised Testing, Standardized Testing, Teachers, Teaching, Teaching style
Posted in Classroom Management | Leave a Comment »
July 19, 2012
I am very frustrated by the lack of investment from many of our “best teachers” in helping mentor their less experienced and less confident colleagues.
In a post in May, I raised the question – Do experienced teachers give enough back to the profession? I argued that these experienced teachers could be a vital resource for improving teacher quality.
It seems President Obama agrees:
President Barack Obama on Wednesday proposed a $1 billion program to recruit high-performing math and science teachers to mentor and evaluate their peers and help students excel.
The so-called Master Teacher Corps program calls for recruiting 2,500 such educators at the outset and increasing that to 10,000 over four years, paying them $20,000 stipends on top of their base salaries. Each teacher would be required to serve at least four years.
To help launch the program, the Obama administration has pledged to release $100 million already available to school districts that have made plans to develop and retain effective teachers of science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the plan would raise the prestige of the profession and increase teacher retention.
I just wish experienced teachers could offer more voluntarily without having to be bribed to help with costly incentives.
Click on the link to read my post, Do experienced teachers give enough back to the profession?
Tags:$1 billion program to recruit high-performing math and science teachers, Arne Duncan, Duncan Hunter, Education, Master Teacher Corps program, maths, Obama's 2013 budget proposal, President Barack Obama, Science, Teacher Training, Teachers, Teaching
Posted in Teacher Training | 4 Comments »
July 16, 2012
Beth Morrow has provided 5 useful tips for stressed teachers. I particularly agree with number 4:
Take a walk.
Sounds too easy and too good to be true, right? But give walking a try and you may find that with fresh air often comes a fresh perspective. Walking releases endorphins, the body’s natural stress-relieving hormones, which have been proven to increase energy, focus and positive mental processes. In the long run, research shows walking lowers the risk of heart disease and other health-related issues. Best of all, it’s free!
Get Up 15 Minutes Earlier
Or, if you’re a night owl, stay up 15 minutes later. Use this time to plan tomorrow’s activities, read a book, have a cup of tea, meditate, treat yourself to a piece of chocolate and just enjoy the peace that comes with a quiet household. Do NOT use this time to clean house, pay bills, grade assignments or anything which already causes stress during the regular day. You’ll have plenty of time for that once the day kicks into gear.
Seek Out Positive People
Often this is easier said than done. We all have colleagues, family, friends and parents who drag us down, regardless of the issue. You know who they are–they leave you feeling empty, alone, bitter, angry and defeated the instant you see them. Managing stress requires that you limit or eliminate the sources of negative energy around you and focus on the positive. It can be difficult if you discover a longtime friend or teacher next door drags you down, but by limiting your interaction with that person you’ll open up opportunities for interacting with people who inspire, excite and share your enthusiasm for teaching and life.
Just Say No
As teachers, we’re innately programmed to volunteer when others do not. Our guiding mantra–do it for the kids–at times puts more on our plate than we can realistically handle. But being overwhelmed and overscheduled can be detrimental to both you and your students. Make a list of the two or three programs or volunteer opportunities you truly enjoy or believe your students benefit most from and limit your participation to those. Resist the urge to raise your hand when something pops up at staff meetings, even if others claim dire consequences if you don’t help. Be flattered, be pleased your involvement was noticed, then say you’d like someone else to enjoy organizing or participating. If you feel pressured, ask for time to think about it (knowing you’ll just turn them down in private the next day!).
Create Your Own Oasis
The key to making this a successful stress reliever is choose something you love and allow nothing to intrude on that time you’ve created. Maybe Wednesday evenings you can plan dinner at your favorite restaurant. Or go to the newest movie every Saturday afternoon. Money isn’t necessary, however. Lock the bathroom door on Friday nights and treat yourself to a hot bubble bath. Do thirty minutes of yoga every day after school. Lose yourself in your favorite mindless television show. Plan in advance and honor that time no matter what threatens to intrude. After all, if you don’t treat yourself as if you’re worth the time, you can’t expect others to, either.
Click here to read my post, ‘Ten Useful Tips for Improving Classroom Management’.
Tags:Assertiveness in teaching, Destressing, Education, heart disease and other health-related issues, Improving Classroom Management, Pressure amongst teachers, Teacher Stress, Teachers, Teachers must be assertive, Teaching and relaxation, Walking as a way to manage stress
Posted in Teachers Stress | 2 Comments »
July 12, 2012
There is a theory among educational circles that a struggling teacher can’t improve. This is probably true in today’s climate, but it isn’t a reflection on under-performing teachers, but rather a reflection on the total lack of support given to teachers.
A teacher’s journey begins with a pressurised, yet basically completely useless, teacher training course. This course not only fails to provide teachers with the requisite practical skills but is often taught and run by former teachers who are overjoyed at the prospect of finally being out of the classroom.
Then, if that teacher is lucky enough to score a job at a school with resources, a track record of half-decent behaviour and academic standards (because let’s face it – graduate teachers often go to the toughest schools to teach in), they are left on their own. No mentor, no support system. They are put in an environment where every teacher is in charge of their own classroom and teamwork is often non-existent.
That teacher can always break the unwritten rule and ask for help, but that would be a mistake. A graduate teacher’s first contract is usually a 12-month trial run. That teacher cannot afford to advertise their uncertainty and lack of experience. Teachers are overburdened as it is and many resent having to help an amateur when they have an ever-increasing workload to deal with. Therefore, a graduate teacher that asks for help risks not having their contract extended, thereby risking future employment.
So what do these teachers do? They learn on the job. And that’s where mistakes are made and bad habits are formed.
These bad habits sometimes make them look like “poor” teachers. Many of them are just well intentioned teachers who have never been given the support they needed.
The public are probably very supportive of new regulations that makes it harder for teachers branded “incompetent” from finding a new teaching job. I bid them to see beyond the labels and call on the system to support our teachers rather than replacing them for a newer version of the same thing:
For the first time, schools will be given legal powers to find out whether staff applying for new jobs have previously been subjected to official warnings.
Former employers will be required to disclose any disciplinary action taken against teachers over the last two years to give new schools a more comprehensive picture of their ability.
The regulations – being introduced from this September – come amid fears that too many schools allow weak teachers to leave and find new jobs rather than draw attention to their performance.
In the last decade, just 17 staff in England have been officially struck off for incompetence.
But teachers’ leaders insisted that the regulations would treat teachers “worse than criminals” and force some out of the profession altogether.
Click here to read about how I would solve the problem of the unsupported teacher.
Tags:Alison Ryan, Education, Education Secretary, Former employers will be required to disclose any disciplinary action taken against teachers, just 17 staff in England have been officially struck off for incompetence, life, Michael Gove, News, Schools will be able to find out if teachers had been disciplined, Teacher Training, Teachers, Teachers Stress, Teaching, too many schools allow weak teachers to leave and find new jobs
Posted in Teacher Training, Teachers Stress | 5 Comments »
July 3, 2012
I love this research. I am a proud daydreamer – always has been, always will be.
Daydreaming has the capacity to drive teachers insane. In my day it lead to bad reports and vicious lectures. Nowadays it often leads to recommendations for an ADHD diagnosis and the resultant daily dosages of Ritalin.
Well, throw those blasted tablets in the rubbish bin. Daydreaming is here to stay:
Daydreaming could help children concentrate – and even perform better in tests, researchers claim.
The children also feel less anxious and more motivated to perform, according to a review of studies on the value of time to reflect.
Education should focus more on giving children time to think, claim researchers at the University of Southern California.
Research indicates that when children are given the time and skills necessary for reflecting, they often become more motivated, less anxious, perform better on tests, and plan more effectively for the future.
It is also important in helping us make sense of the world at large … and contributes to moral thinking and well being.
Tags:ADHD, Child Development, Concentration, Daydreaming is good for you, Dayfreaming helps you concentrate, Dr Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Education, News, ournal Perspectives on Psychological Science, Research into daydreaming, Ritalin, Schools, Teachers, University of Southern California
Posted in ADHD, Child Development | Leave a Comment »
June 22, 2012
People don’t have patience any more. Everything needs to be immediate and instantaneous. I heard someone on the radio last night complain about the 5 seconds of advertising they had to sit through before they could access their YouTube clip.
It is no wonder that children no longer have the attention span for reading:
More than four-in-10 teachers said children failed to read for pleasure at the age of 11, it emerged.
The study – by the publisher Pearson – found that many schools fear children have short attention spans and prefer to spend time online rather than reading a novel.
Teachers also said that books were not seen as “cool” by pupils and raised fears that parents are failing to do enough to promote a love of reading in the home.
Frank Cottrell Boyce, the author, said: “It’s worrying to think that so many young children are not being inspired to pick up a good book and get lost in a story.
“According to Unesco, the biggest single indicator of whether a child is going to thrive at school and in work is whether or not they read for pleasure.”
The poll questioned around 400 secondary school English teachers.
Two-thirds of those questioned said that reading was not seen as “cool” by pupils, according to the study.
Three-quarters said that children’s attention spans were shorter than ever before, while 94 per cent claimed that pupils preferred to be using the internet rather than reading.
It is my belief that a crucial part of my job is to promote the joys of reading. I take pride in selecting books for my class that will appeal and entertain. I also have a Book Club. This allows my students to see that reading is not necessarily a personal experience but it can be a shared experienced too.
Tags:Attention, Attention Spans, Book Club, Books, Children, Education, English, Literacy, Pearson, pupils, Reading, Study, Teachers, The Hunger Games, Twilight, Unesco, Writing, YouTube
Posted in Literacy | 1 Comment »
Topical Teaching 