The Good Part of Sad by Teachermum Stress Reduction by teachermum - July 14, 2011May 30, 20160 Teachermum is a mum, a wife and a special education teacher. She also believes in the "Crumple Effect" and loves sharing her ideas, experiences, philosophies and successful strategies on her blog. Read more of her posts at www.teachermum.com. Sad. That is what I am feeling right now. I can give you a good number of reasons why I am sad, but that is not the intention of my blog post. I can also add a whole bunch of other emotions such as frustration, disappointment, anger and exhaustion into sad, but for now, I will umbrella them all under sad.  I hope, as I start out writing this, that I can ultimately express my message clearly and use my sadness as a tool to
Benefits of Teaching English Abroad General by Sanjay Bojan - April 12, 2011July 3, 20161 Teaching is an art, a skill and a challenge that can sometimes be more difficult than aiming in archery. In this article we discuss on the various benefits of teaching English in a foreign country. A lot of teachers prefer working abroad for different reasons. Some common reasons behind teaching abroad are learning the new culture and the language, gaining professional success, earning and a lot of other opportunities as well. Many teachers who prefer to go abroad are English teachers as the language (English) commands a very high respect demand all over the world. In countries where English education is compulsory, one expects teachers to have advanced degrees and to be a native English speaker. The Political Effect on the language A lot of non-English-speaking countries that want to maintain
Top 10 Ways To Make A Living While Making Music General by Taylor Forcier - April 11, 2011June 19, 20160 Many musicians fall into the incorrect assumption that the only way to make money in music is to be a famous performing artist. There are many other lucrative careers which can be pursued in the music industry. These should not be taken for granted. Music Production Music producers are responsible for coordinating all elements in a recording session. They listen to the musicians and point out any mistakes that need correcting. Music producers also work with the recording engineers and often are in charge of mixing the final product after the recording session is finished. They occasionally have to rearrange parts of songs to make the recording smoother. Since music producers are involved in a large amount of specialized tasks, most
5 Killer Classroom Management Tips Classroom Management by Brett Freeman - April 10, 2011July 9, 20162 This article discusses some simple classroom management tips that teachers can immediately implement in their day-to-day teaching. Inspiring students to be motivated and engaged in the learning process is an essential part of managing a classroom. Teaching students while calmly and effectively managing disruptive behavior is a vital skill for every educator. Experimenting with new behavior management methods can help determine what works best for you and your students. Their unique personalities and challenges make every class different; a technique that proves effective for one student may not work well for her classmates. Here are five tips you can try in your classroom. The more tools you have in your toolbox, the more effective you’ll be at managing a variety of classroom behaviors. 1.
Should I Keep My EduBlog Anonymous? Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - April 10, 2011April 10, 20111 A reader writes: I'm currently student teaching. I'm very passionate about music and music education. A couple of years ago I felt a sudden terror when I recognized I was nowhere close to ready to be a successful teacher, and I started delving into as much material as I could and doing whatever else I could (camps, etc) to get ready. Your blog was one of the first good, free resources I found, and I've been reading ever since. So first, thank you for your contributions. This past summer I had a friend start a music blog, and I thought, "Wow, that's a great idea." I love to write, especially in reflection and with the goal of learning from my experiences. I
Watch, Practice, Learn Almost Anything — For Free [VIDEOS] General by Joel Wagner - March 12, 2011May 30, 20160 The principal at the middle school where I used to work emailed us a link to a great website. It doesn't really apply to band or music education, but there are a TON of topics covered on this site. So what is it? The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. We're a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere. All of the the site's resources are available to anyone. It doesn't matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy's materials and resources are
Bill Gates on State Budgets, Education, and Economic Hardships [VIDEO] General by Joel Wagner - March 5, 2011March 5, 20110 The good news: Texas is ranked #1 in the country as far as education spending goes. The bad news: Many school districts are on the brink of cutting numerous jobs to keep their budgets in line. * Additional bad news: Texas is #50 as far as Medicaid spending goes. The worse news: Not all of you are fortunate enough to live in Texas. I see news articles posted on Facebook every week about the impending job cuts that are in the plans for next year in the Dallas and San Antonio areas. I'm sure this is a pretty universal thing this year. I know the budget shortfalls have been a big problem in recent years, but I guess I have been more or less
The Value of A Great Teacher General by Joel Wagner - March 3, 2011March 3, 20110 Back in January, NPR's Planet Money podcast ran an episode entitled How Much Is A Good Teacher Worth? On the episode, they argue that the difference between the best teachers and the worst teachers is huge in terms of earning potential of the students over the course of their careers. While some of the findings may be questionable as far as correlating grades and test scores with future success, as a general rule, I think the concepts do hold true and definitely worth a listen. On today's podcast, we consider a plan to dramatically grow the U.S. economy. The plan has nothing to do with banks, stimulus, tax cuts or the Federal Reserve. Instead, the plan focuses entirely on — public school
Lose The Training Wheels And Embrace Failure New Teachers by Joel Wagner - February 26, 2011February 26, 20111 Remember the first time you realized you were riding a bicycle by yourself? Probably not. But what about when you first got to drive solo? Your parents trusted you enough to give you the keys and go out on your own! It was a great feeling. If you're like most people, you were so scared of messing up that you were nervous and overcautious. Do you ever see the "Student Driver" cars where they put their turn signal on two blocks before turning and check the mirror seven times before changing lanes? For many of us, teaching was once like that. For some, it still is. Fast forwardWhat happened after a few years? You began to drive like a pro! Some
Being Inspired by Great Teachers Inspiration by Bill Smoot - January 11, 2011May 30, 20163 One piece of wisdom emerging from our ongoing discussions about education is that teachers matter most. They matter more than any other single factor in determining the quality of an education. Studies show it, and students realize it. But what makes great teachers great? I was wondering that myself a few years ago, and I decided to take a direct, old-fashioned approach. I would set out to find some of the greatest teachers in America and talk to them about teaching. I scoured America and found some inspiringly great teachers in the public and private schools, in universities, but also on the athletic field, in the culinary school, in the ballet studio, at the speedway, and in the operating room. They taught
Planning for Technical Difficulties: Knowing Your Backup Options Blogging & Technology by Maria Rainier - January 10, 2011May 30, 20161 Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, where recently she’s been researching different physical therapy assistant schools and blogging about student life. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop. If your school is like a lot of institutions these days, you have to share resources and probably don’t have much in the way of educational technology. So when you get to spend time in the computer lab or use the interactive whiteboard, it’s usually well-planned and eagerly anticipated. However, if you’ve been teaching long enough to lose greenhorn status, you know about the scourge of the lab – technological failure. Even with the best
Help: Should I Become A Teacher? New Teachers by Joel Wagner - January 9, 2011January 9, 201110 Denise comments:I am in a teaching program, half way through and I just completed my first to "teaching" classes. Â Now I have this hugh feeling I've made a BIG mistake and that teaching isn't what I thought it was or that I'm not cut out for it. Not to mention the outlook for finding a job looks bleak. Seems like the writing is on the wall... Â Problem is I have been a stay at home mom for 13 years and don't know what else I could do? Â I really do not want to finish the program because I feel I am wasting my time, my money and my heart isn't in it anymore. Â I have always wanted to help people
10 Things I Wish Someone Had Explained Before My First Teaching Job New Teachers by Joel Wagner - January 8, 2011June 5, 20162 I participated in the Reform Symposium recently and hosted a session entitled 10 Things I Wish Someone Had Explained Before My First Teaching Job. Go to the link here. A lot of these things are topics I've covered before, but here is what looks to be the outline for now. Professional Sanity Get a handle on classroom management early Practice selective ignorance Don’t argue with students The phone is your friend Learn from the experience of other teachers Ask questions When someone offers you advice, try to implement the suggestions; if they don’t work, figure out why not and try again Learn to listen Have fun Kids feed off of whatever energy you transfer One of the top ways to fight burnout is to
Help A New Student Teacher Out With Resources New Teachers by Joel Wagner - January 6, 2011January 6, 20118 KMB writes:I'm starting student teaching this Spring and would really like some advice, tips, and resources to help me out. I'm sure 12th graders are very bright, and I don't want to bore them. I also want to appear knowledgable and professional. Anyway, please contact me if you have any suggestions. Websites with lesson plans, blogs, the latest technology, etc. would all be helpful.As a middle school band director with limited experience coming up with lesson plans and really has lost touch with edublogs lately, I'm throwing this one out to my readers. Leave links and answers in the comments.