101 Great Teaching Tips New Teachers by Joel Wagner - November 30, 2008June 5, 20164 A comment was left recently that said, Joel, I really enjoy your blog. You have written some amazing articles that I have printed and put in my first year file. I am currently student teaching right now. I appreciate your honesty about how scary and hard it can be sometimes, but also the greatness in the experience. I am having the time of my life, and I hope the enthusiasm I have stays with me. Your blog is helping, so thank you! If you could give one single piece of advice to a beginning teacher, what would it be? Just curious! That challenged me to see if I could come up with something I hadn't written before that was better (or close
101 Reasons To Be Thankful Personal by Joel Wagner - November 27, 2008July 1, 20100 Salvation by grace alone, through faith (Ephesians 2:8) Heaven Opportunities to preach Playing music Writing music Creating music My pastor My church Having the best job in the world My students My students' parents My hearing My intellect Air conditioning Heaters Running water Health Health insurance Life insurance Paychecks Freedom from discrimination Freedom from starvation Freedom from religious persecution Freedom from torture The Declaration of Independence The Constitution The United States of America Gospel For Asia Waking up this morning Stars Mountains Flowers Sunlight Moonlight Birds singing Silence Tacos tapatios Making salsa Breakfast tacos Oatmeal raisin cookies Pineapple empanadas Singing at the top of my lungs when nobody is looking or listening Google Calendar Google Reader My readers Comments
Thanksgiving Break 2008 Personal by Joel Wagner - November 26, 2008July 1, 20102 As I've written in the past in How Not To Waste Spring Break (or Summer Vacation, or Christmas Break, or Saturday, or Tonight!), I prefer to spend my down time doing things productive. I am fortunate that my school is off for this entire week. So what have I done? Caught up on housework As a single guy, housekeeping just doesn't seem to find its way to the top of my priority list all the time. This weekend, I caught up on laundry, cleared out some space in my spare bedroom and made it a functional office, completely cleaned the living room, and just got caught up on things that fall behind. Mariachi practice Mariachi has become my
A (Partial) Timeline of Music Education Blogging Music Education by Joel Wagner - November 24, 2008July 1, 201019 In Dr. Pisano's effort to get 100 Music Education (ME) Bloggers by the end of this year, I thought it would be interesting to go through those blogs he has listed and see if I could determine when they all started. 2002 August 30 Frogstory Records' Player Journal starts out with Warming Up 2004 May 12 Educación Musical by Oscar starts out with Aquí comienza la bitácora de Educación Musical 2005 May 13 Catalysts & Connections by Evan Tobias starts out with Mamapalooza August 29 About.com: Music Education by Espie Estrella starts out with Music and Kids - How to Instill the Love of Music in Your Child September 1 Music Matters Blog by Natalie
Back To Basics Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - November 24, 2008July 1, 20103 Reader Appreciation Month didn't quite turn out the way I had envisioned it would. That is primarily my fault. As I sit here, I realize there are some things that I used to do with blogging that I don't do any longer. I have decided it's time for me to change some things. You may or may not notice the changes as I begin implementing them. If you do, great. If not, then perhaps it is simply a change to the way I approach blogging. Whatever the case, it'll be good. How can I apply this to my classroom? How many times do we get into the habit of being so familiar with the subject matter that it no longer
How Obama Got Elected [VIDEO] General by Joel Wagner - November 18, 2008July 1, 20109 If nothing else, this is a thought-provoking video. Perhaps a bit off-topic, in fact, I'm not even posting this to raise a political conversation. However, I would be interested in hearing from some of the social studies teachers out there. What kinds of things have you done to help your students overcome the ignorance of facts that these twelve interviewees demonstrate? UPDATE 11-30-08 Great comments so far. As I said, this was not presented as a political commentary, but rather a springboard for discussion on teaching critical-thinking and research skills in a social studies context. I want to be fair and provide this link to Flunking the Electoral College for further look (and perhaps a bit less biased study).
My Teaching Philosophy: The 50 Word Version General by Joel Wagner - November 16, 2008July 1, 20101 If I accomplish nothing more, students should leave my class with a deeper grasp and appreciation of music. I strive to nurture an environment of love, respect, high expectations, and high achievement, primarily by teaching and implementing basic classroom behavioral skills. Fifty word post inspired by Abraham at 22 Words.
Reader Appreciation 2008: Clix Reader Appreciation by Joel Wagner - November 12, 2008July 1, 20101 November is Reader Appreciation Month at So You Want To Teach? This year’s focus is First Year Teaching Tips. There’s still room if you want to participate! Contact me and let me know your answer to this question: What are some things you wish you had known before you started your first year of teaching? Today’s response is from Clix, the author of Epic Adventures Are Often Uncomfortable. Things I wish I knew when I was a first-year teacher: Backward Design - Reviewing the standards and keeping them in mind as I plan my units and my lessons helps me to clarify for the students what they need to learn. Each year will continue to get better (at least,
2008 Edublog Award Nominations Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - November 11, 2008July 1, 20104 Nominations are open for the 2008 Edublog Awards. This is an opportunity to recognize outstanding Edubloggers for all of their hard work and service to the Edublogging community. Since Thanksgiving is the time for sharing, I thought I'd nominate a few outstanding blogs here. It's hard to narrow it down, but these are the ones that came to mind now. Ask me again in an hour and they might all change... Best individual blog - Creating Lifelong Learners (Matthew Needleman) Best group blog -Teacher Magazine Blogboard Best resource sharing blog - Successful Teaching (Pat) Most influential blog post - Cell phone cameras in the K-12 classroom: Punishable offenses or student-citizen journalism? (Dangerously Irrelevant) Best teacher blog - Learn Me
Reader Appreciation 2008: Scribbler Reader Appreciation by Atticus Parker - November 10, 2008August 3, 20103 November is Reader Appreciation Month at So You Want To Teach? This year’s focus is First Year Teaching Tips. There’s still room if you want to participate! Contact me and let me know your answer to this question: What are some things you wish you had known before you started your first year of teaching? Today’s response is from Scribbler, the author of Scribbler's Den. This has been a great exercise. I have so much to write about now! A school's focus on student results and grades is not necessarily a focus on their education. You should focus on their education. The structure of the school year into units, terms and semesters mean the years will
But It’s Not Your Fault! General by Joel Wagner - November 10, 2008July 1, 20108 Have you ever caught yourself trying to blame other people for something that is entirely your fault? Do teachers ever yell at kids for the teacher's failure to prepare? Never!!! We had our Homecoming Parade this week. I was there with the seventh grade band and we were setting up. One of the parents who was there with me noticed that I had put them in lines and they were out of lines and talking. She asked me if I wanted her to get onto them about it, because they were in for a rude awakening when they get to high school. I smiled and told her it wasn't necessary. They were out of line, but I told her it
Reader Appreciation 2008: Emily Reader Appreciation by Joel Wagner - November 6, 2008July 1, 20104 November is Reader Appreciation Month at So You Want To Teach? This year’s focus is First Year Teaching Tips. There’s still room if you want to participate! Contact me and let me know your answer to this question: What are some things you wish you had known before you started your first year of teaching? Today’s response is from Emily, a regular reader of this blog. NEVER assume your kids know the basics, you might be surprised. It's not you personally, but it might have been something you overlooked. Sometimes, patience isn't enough, though it will get you through the tough times. First and foremost: love your students first, then share your knowledge. Classroom Procedures should be set up
Reader Appreciation 2008: Pat Hensley Reader Appreciation by Joel Wagner - November 5, 2008July 1, 20102 November is Reader Appreciation Month at So You Want To Teach? This year’s focus is First Year Teaching Tips. There’s still room if you want to participate! Contact me and let me know your answer to this question: What are some things you wish you had known before you started your first year of teaching? Today’s response is from Pat Hensley, the author of Successful Teaching. Knowing how to set up a grade book and weighing different assignments Have a support system Meeting with other new teachers and sharing day to day problems Technology (computers in the classroom didn’t exist back then) Constructive criticism from someone who actually taught in my subject area Real textbooks (I had to dig mine out of the textbook
Reader Appreciation 2008: Doug Johnson Reader Appreciation by Joel Wagner - November 4, 2008July 1, 20102 November is Reader Appreciation Month at So You Want To Teach? This year’s focus is First Year Teaching Tips. There’s still room if you want to participate! Contact me and let me know your answer to this question: What are some things you wish you had known before you started your first year of teaching? Today’s response is from Doug Johnson, the author of the wildly popular Blue Skunk Blog. Since he already posted his top 10 list on his own blog, I'll go ahead and send you over there so you can see his first year teaching picture. He's a brave man! This is in response to (a very flattering) request by Joel on his So You Want
Reader Appreciation 2008: David Warlick Reader Appreciation by Joel Wagner - November 3, 2008July 1, 20102 November is Reader Appreciation Month at So You Want To Teach? This year's focus is First Year Teaching Tips. There's still room if you want to participate! Contact me and let me know your answer to this question: What are some things you wish you had known before you started your first year of teaching? Today's response is from David Warlick, the author of the wildly popular 2¢ Worth. It is important to note that when I interviewed for my first teaching job and was offered the position, I didn't know that I had been interviewing for a Math vacancy, and they didn't know that they has been interviewing a Social Studies teacher. I accepted the job, however, and proceeded to have