Less Stress: Wake Up Earlier Stress Reduction by Joel Wagner - October 2, 2007July 5, 20100 I used to wake up every morning about an hour before I wanted to be at school. I try to get there by 7:20, so that meant waking up around 6:20. That resulted in an extremely rushed morning. Plus the traffic at my new school is way heavier than the traffic was at my old school. I literally have to leave my house at 7 to make it there by 7:20. And I live less than 3 miles away... So I have gotten into the habit of waking up around 5:30 or earlier most mornings. This lets me have some time to stretch and get my body moving some before getting in the shower and not being rushed. I am
Weekend Wrapup 07/23/07 Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - July 23, 2007July 5, 20101 As the school year looms closer and closer, I am going to establish a blogging routine. The plan is to drastically reduce my blogging from every day as I have over the summer to three times a week. Beginning today, each Monday will feature a "Weekend Wrapup" where I'll point you to a handful of blog articles that have caught my interest in one way or another throughout the course of the prior week. As I get the process more refined, it will take shape. I am playing catchup now following the Texas Bandmasters Association convention, but I thought I would go ahead and start the habit. Mister Teacher over at Learn Me Good has written Quein es muy macho?
Shut Up And Teach! General by Joel Wagner - July 19, 2007July 5, 201010 I get so tired of hearing teachers complaining about No Child Left Behind. I get so tired of hearing teachers complain about administration. I get so tired of hearing teachers complain about parents. Shut up and teach! It's a simple concept, but some teachers seem to derive greater joy from feeling victimized than they do from feeling victorious. After all, it's much simpler to complain than it is to create solutions. I am convinced that if I took the skills that I use in teaching beginning band, that my students would excel. I want to share a few things that really seem to help my students learn the material well. Keep in mind that as they enter 6th grade, many
Habit 5: Community Habits Personal by Joel Wagner - July 13, 2007July 5, 20101 This is the fifth in a series of articles entitled 5 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers. Community Procedures How do you interact with your community? I know for many teachers, this is a frightening proposition. Reading some things that other teachers post, it seems that most teachers who live in the same community wherein they teach either participate in public activities either in fear, out of seeming ignorance, or with balance. this is probably my weakest area and something I am seriously working to get better at. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Participating in fear This is probably the category I often find myself most associated with. These people avoid most public places. They do
Habit 4: Personal Habits Personal by Joel Wagner - July 12, 2007July 5, 20109 This is the fourth in a series of articles entitled 5 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers. What are some of the personal habits that are important to me? Personal Procedures What are some of the personal habits that are important to me? As I'm sitting here in the middle of the summer writing this, I realize that some of my structure has left my life. I stay up too late, and I wake up too late. I take longer than normal getting ready in the morning, and I sit and read a lot more now than I do during the school year. But disregarding that, here are some of the things that are important to me to keep my sanity
Habit 3: Relationship Habits Personal by Joel Wagner - July 11, 2007July 5, 20100 This is the third in a series of articles entitled 5 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers. Relationship Procedures In teaching, as in most any businesses -- and life in general -- relationships will either make you successful, or else make you fail. Our relationships spring ultimately from the first habit; our ability to communicate well. But good communication skills alone are not enough to establish powerful relationships. There are more important elements. Here is where again I point out the important role that reading How To Win Friends And Influence People has played in my life. Outstanding book. While on the subject of 5 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers, I felt it important to once again go over some
Habit 2: Classroom Habits Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - July 10, 2007July 5, 20103 This is the second in a series of articles entitled 5 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers. Classroom Procedures The procedures that you lay out in the classroom are the most outwardly evident procedures that you have in place. For this reason, they are key elements of your overall classroom management plan. Much of the procedures really depend on the age-group you teach. Since I teach middle school, my procedures are very middle-school oriented. These procedures can be broken up into three categories: Beginning of class Middle of class End of class Beginning of class The tone of the entire class is established before the students walk in the door. We've all heard the old adage, You never get
Habit 1: Communication Habits Stress Reduction by Joel Wagner - July 9, 2007May 29, 20163 This is the first in a series of articles entitled 5 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers. Communication Procedures Without question, one of the most essential elements of any good relationship is clear and open communication. As a teacher, practically everything that we do in the classroom is communication in one sense or another. With this in mind, it becomes evident why communication procedures are the most important skills for us to develop. I have previously written regarding some positive ways to communicate with others. This article is well worth the reading. However this time, we'll look at some procedures that can be set up that will facilitate greater communication. The first step to more effective communication is to eliminate unnecessary informational inputs from your life.
How Do I Keep My Students Quiet? Classroom Management by Joel Wagner - June 7, 2007August 4, 201614 This article is part 1 of the series Questions That Will Save Your Career. Before you can focus on engaging your students, or making sure they learn or whatever, you must learn how to keep your students quiet. The rest of the articles in the series are: 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
Sharpen The Saw Personal by Joel Wagner - May 26, 2007July 5, 20100 In his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey refers to Habit #7 as "Sharpen The Saw." As teachers, the summer vacation offers us a structured time to do just that. Here is a list of some things that I intend to do with myself this summer: Move to my new office Reread The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People Reread How To Win Friends And Influence People Read Getting Things Done (GTD) Make lists of what worked this year and what didn't work Revise my educational philosophy accordingly Revise my band handbook Set up a website for my band Add lots of cool content to the website Write an ebook Post to this blog DAILY