A Community Is Developing Here! Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - June 19, 2008July 1, 20104 If you haven't been keeping up with the comments on here, shame on you. Fortunately, I have been. Let me fill you in. You see, I have installed a new plugin that allows people to reply to comments that others make. The reply will include a link directly to the comment that was left. It's working out pretty well for me. I have noticed that as I reply to some of the comments, many of you have subscribed to receive other comments. And so my replies go to your inbox. And then sometimes people reply back. It's working out well. Recently, Stephanie posted a comment on my article No Child Left Behind: Doomed To Fail? In her comment, she suggested
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
Mark Your Calendars, The Blog Revolution Project Is Coming… Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - April 19, 2008July 2, 201010 They say that April showers bring May flowers South Texas doesn't experience nearly as much rain as the Dallas/Fort Worth area does. I almost miss the weekly tornado warnings and lightning shows we had up there. But I like being able to see stars at night, it's a crazy cool trade-off. Nevertheless, April is the traditional month, at least according to the old adage, for rain. There have been quite a few links to So You Want To teach? coming in recently. I want to highlight them, as well as focus on a few other things as I look ahead to May. You see, May will be a record-breaking month for So You Want To teach? and you can join
10 Tips To Stay Motivated And Love Teaching Inspiration by Jane Little - December 3, 2007June 30, 20105 This is a guest post by Jane Little of My Many Colored Crayons. Jane teaches third grade in Los Angeles, CA. I teach in a school that has more than it’s share of challenges. Low morale is just one of them. About a year ago I started blogging with this post. It was a raw and honest account of a low point in my teaching career. The problems some of my students faced were heartbreaking to say the least.I had to chuckle when Joel said, "As I read your stuff, I just imagine you being someone who wakes up each morning with a smile on your face. I'd like to see how that plays out in reality a little bit
Reader Appreciation: Pamela Reader Appreciation by Pamela - November 23, 2007May 29, 20160 November is Reader Appreciation Month at So You Want To Teach? Today's featured reader is Pamela. Name: Pamela Location: Michigan Occupation: Elementary Teacher, Reading Specialist Blog: Blog may be coming soon, but none yet ;-) Tell me some of your favorite things about your job Some of my favorite things about teaching: I enjoy sharing my love of learning and my passion for certain topics. It goes beyond just teaching the material...it's about making a personal connection with the students. Along those same lines, I love sharing the excitement of a good book. When I introduce it and starting talking about it with excitement, the students can't wait for me to start reading. When it's time to stop reading and begin our next lesson, they beg
Less Stress: Deepen Your Relationships With Family Stress Reduction by Joel Wagner - October 22, 2007July 5, 20102 We now begin our fourth week of 25 Tips For Less Stress. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing these articles as they have helped me to really focus on some of the routines that I take for granted in my life. When I have been tempted to relax on some of them, I have reread my own writings and been once again inspired to stick it out. This week, we begin focusing on relationships. Today we'll begin with the most important relationships of all: family members. Family disagreements will carry over into every aspect of what we do in life. If you fight with your spouse in the morning before work, one way or another you will take it out on
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
Where Have All The Good Teachers Gone? Why Teachers Quit by Joel Wagner - June 17, 2007July 5, 20109 There is a dearth of good teachers throughout the world. And I'm not just talking about those of us who make a living working with kids in schools, either. Teachers are everywhere. Bad teachers are almost everywhere. Great teachers are exceedingly difficult to find. That is why we, as potentially great teachers, need to seek out those teachers who have figured it out. To seek out great educators who truly aspire to inspire. John Carlton writes in his blog: I found ONE teacher who actually taught me something as a young man coming out of the public school system. I could’ve easily lumped her in with all the others who’d wasted my time… but I’m damned lucky I allowed her
6 Motivation Techniques Inspiration by Joel Wagner - March 2, 2007June 29, 20164 Embed from Getty Images "What are you doing to motivate them?" I was talking with a friend this afternoon about her class. She is a second year teacher. She taught elementary last year and is teaching seventh grade this year. What a change! In the process of our conversation, I asked her, "what are you doing to motivate them?" She had no clue. Why motivate? Without motivation, your class is just another block of time that the students have to suffer through. With motivation, you hear things like "hi, favorite teacher!"Â and "I love this class!" As a teacher, those are the kinds of things that we absolutely love to hear. They say that about half of all teachers stop teaching before their sixth year.