Be Prepared (Total Teacher Transformation Day 8) Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - May 11, 2009June 30, 20103 This is an article in the Total Teacher Transformation series. Click here for a complete table of contents. I took the day off from blogging yesterday because it was Mother's Day and I play in a mariachi. If you don't know what that means, I started playing serenatas (Mother's Day Serenades) at 6pm Saturday afternoon, wrapped up a little after 8am Sunday morning, then played for another 4 hours Sunday afternoon. We played three songs 40 different times, and also had a one-hour gig in somewhere along the way. With a church service thrown in on Sunday morning for good measure, it probably goes without saying that I was exhausted yesterday when we finished up. But now I'm back and ready to go! Be
Heartbreaking Story Inspiration by Joel Wagner - January 31, 2009June 30, 201011 A reader wrote in with the following story. I don't even know how to begin to respond to it, but I'll add some thoughts at the end. Hopefully this reader's experience will serve some of you somehow in the future. When I interviewed at my school, it appeared to be everything I wanted in a job. I interviewed for one prep. I addressed my classroom procedures, consequences I employed, rewards I employed, my teaching style, asked about administrative involvement... and basically heard everything I wanted to hear. I fortunately came to that school with very kind references and evaluations. What I found on my first day were five preps across three grade levels. When I questioned it, I was told