10 Years of Teaching: A Reflection Inspiration by Joel Wagner - June 4, 2012July 1, 20163 I started this blog more than five years ago. I have now come to the conclusion of my 10th year of teaching. In this article and the upcoming series, I reflect on some of what I have learned in my 10 years of teaching. A reflection It strikes me that much of what I have written on this blog, especially in the older articles is simply wrong. Some of the information can be misleading or easily misunderstood. In the upcoming weeks and months, I aim to readdress some of those same issues from my new, far more patient and friendly mindset. At the same time, there are some core beliefs I held to in those early days that are ever strong in me and I
52 Teachers, 52 Lessons Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - January 19, 2009June 30, 20100 My buddy Mr. D who writes I Want To Teach Forever has started up a little project this year that I hope lasts all year. He is asking teachers to email him and write a guest post for him about "What is the most important advice you can give to other teachers?" The project is 52 Teachers, 52 Lessons. I will obviously be submitting an article to the project (I had intended to do so before the end of December, but it didn't work out). I wanted to provide him with a larger audience of people who might potentially write an article for him and get featured in this project that is sure to be a valuable addition to the
Calling All Storytellers Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - December 29, 2008July 1, 20102 Mr. Teacher has one of the most entertaining blogs I've seen. In fact, I recommend his blog Learn Me Good to most of my friends who are looking for restroom reading material! I have recently written a guest post for him that will be appearing over there sometime in the next week or so. While I normally write useful tips and hints for educators, his blog is often filled with humorous anecdotes gleaned from the life of a third grade teacher. I figured I would cater my guest article to his audience and made sure to remove all potentially useful information from it. It's an amazing story about one of the most unique Christmas gifts I have ever received from
Bloggers Gone Wild!!! General by Joel Wagner - July 20, 2008July 1, 20102 I am on vacation from July 21st through July 30th! I'll be going to visit my parents, some friends, cruising Texas, and end up at the Texas Bandmasters Association convention. I'm conducting an experiment while I am out. I'm calling it Bloggers Gone Wild. I will not write a comment or post on the blog for the duration of my trip. I will read comments and posts on the blog from time to time. I will check my email periodically. I don't get it Of course you don't get it. There is more. I will create user accounts if you email me and ask for one. Once your account has been created, you will receive an email
07-08: What To Change Next Year General by Joel Wagner - June 17, 2008June 25, 20162 As we begin the summer vacation, I am looking back on what went really well this year, what didn't work so well, and what needs to change for next year. Below are some of the changes that I intend to implement next year: Change the focus - Winning is not the only thing that matters. In fact, winning is absolutely fun, but so is doing something well. One of my college professors was a big proponent of the concept that you teach music for the sake of teaching music. He said that when you do it right, the results will follow. I never earned a sweepstakes trophy in all my years of band, even though I was in a really
The Blog Revolution: Day 4 – Develop Your Writing Voice Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - May 8, 2008July 2, 20101 As we continue the Blog Revolution Project, we come to day four of our focus on writing. Today's article will focus on crafting your own personal style, develop your writing voice. Newer bloggers may have a struggle with figuring out exactly what approach they want to take with their blog. Think of your writing voice as your brand name. Lea Schizas has written some on this topic at Writing with Passion and Developing Your Voice and Brand Some common questions may include: How do I want to attack each post? What kind of a tone should I assume? What kind of audience should I expect? These are all normal. Let's look at these three questions a little bit
How Do I Keep My Students Interested? General by Joel Wagner - June 9, 2007June 13, 20120 This article is part 3 of the series Questions That Will Save Your Career. Please read the other articles in the series.How Do I Keep My Students Quiet?How Do I Keep My Students Engaged?How Do I Keep My Students Interested?How Do I Keep My Students Learning?How Do I Keep My Students Away From Me?How Do I Keep My School Administration Happy?How Do I Keep My Sanity?10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Quiet?10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Engaged?10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Interested?10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Learning?10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Students Away From Me?10 Years of