July 2016 On SYWTT Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - August 1, 20160 July 2016 was a great month as I continue getting back into the blogging groove of things. Below are some highlights. I discovered Pinterest and began to see that many of the articles on my site don't look so great on there. As a result, I began making images to go along with my new articles. Additionally, I have begun going back through the archives to create images for some of the more popular older articles. As time progresses, I will get to more and more of them. Along with that, I continue going back and adjusting formatting of old articles, as web standards have changed quite a bit since 2007. I have also started work on curating some of the articles by creating resource
Weekend Reading 7/3/16 General by Joel Wagner - July 3, 2016July 3, 20160 Well, I hope you're having a nice productive weekend and are ready to get a new week started. I know that we have some international readers, but in the United States, we are celebrating Independence Day this weekend. While you have some time left in the weekend, here are some cool things you can fill it with. A new podcast Malcolm Gladwell has a new podcast out called Revisionist History. From the podcasts's about page: Welcome to Revisionist History, a new podcast from Malcolm Gladwell and Panoply Media. Each week for 10 weeks, Revisionist History will go back and reinterpret something from the past: an event, a person, an idea. Something overlooked. Something misunderstood. Because sometimes the past deserves a second chance. An few older podcasts I actually learned about Malcolm
60 Very Practical Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Started Teaching General by Joel Wagner - June 7, 2016June 15, 20162 While I've had my ups and downs over the years as a teacher, my first two years were extremely challenging. Many of these pitfalls were avoidable. If I were going into a middle school band class as a first year teacher today, knowing what I know now, I would approach things differently. Here is an unsorted list that I have brainstormed of things I would like to have known before the first day of school. Begin class on time, every time Even though attendance is computerized, come up with a simple written system of checking role and do it consistently Run through each class period in your mind and take notes of questions you have; address those before the first day The more procedures
From Burnout Into Ignited Passion: How Blogging, Information Overload, and Running Made Me A Better Teacher Inspiration by Joel Wagner - May 28, 2013July 6, 20161 I don't care if it's your teaching job or your personal habits or your social life or what it is, we all face burnout at one time or another. Or another or another or another. At times, I can feel like we are in a dark tunnel with no escape and we don't have the energy to escape. Ummm, not that I have ever experienced that, of course. ANYWAY, you may or may not be struggling with this now. I would guess at this point in the school year, none of us in the United States are wanting to ever teach another school year. It happens. So I present to you an autobiographical short story that addresses this concept. Once upon a
10 Lessons I Have learned In 10 Years of Teaching Inspiration by Joel Wagner - June 6, 2012July 25, 20165 At the conclusion of 10 years of teaching, I started to reminisce about what I have learned. This article summarizes 10 lessons I have learned in 10 years of teaching. After having successfully completed my tenth year as a professional educator, I have come to realize that a lot of what I used to think worked didn't really work...at least not long-term. While some things may be effective in the immediate future, they are not sustainable down the road, and sometimes even backfire if used to often and too early. 1. Love your job and your students No matter how hard you try to pretend you love your job, if you don't, the kids will see right through you. Students feed off of the energy that
Early Childhood Education: What Makes a Great Teacher General by Courtney Bishop - September 27, 2010June 25, 20164 This guest article by Courtney Bishop is a lover of all things creative. She likes to write, and has an obsession with crossword puzzles. She's recently started blogging, and you can follow her on Twitter @cbishopBG. There are many indisputable opinions from people who feel that great teachers are born, not made. Teaching is certainly something that most anyone can do; but teaching effectively and creating a thirst for knowledge in students is undoubtedly a gift that few people possess. Early childhood education is a breeding ground for sparking enthusiasm and creativity in the minds of youngsters. The teacher is likely the one who initially exposes the child to new concepts and makes ideas clearer and brighter to their young minds. This is
8 Teachers Who Changed History General by Melissa Tamura - May 11, 2010August 5, 20161 Throughout history, teachers were making discoveries, taking actions, or participating in events that forever changed the world. Today we'll look briefly at 8 teachers who changed history. Pythagoras was a mathematician, philosopher, and teacher who’s theories are still taught in schools. He’s best known for the Pythagorean Theorem that relates to right triangles, however, he also determined the relationship of math to music and the movement of stars and planets. Later in his life, Pythagoras was a teacher in India and founded a Croatian institute where he taught philosophy. He also founded the Pythagorean Brotherhood, a secret society devoted to the study of mathematics. Known as the person who established the theory of gravity, Sir Isaac Newton was also a
My Crazy Summer of Aught Nine Personal by Joel Wagner - August 10, 2009June 19, 20160 This summer has been the best summer of my teaching career so far. Unfortunately for you, I haven't blogged about it a whole lot. As I get back into the routine of things a little bit more, I will have some more time and energy to begin writing about some of the things that I have experienced and why it is that this summer has been so good. It all started back at the end of May when I made the decision to miss school on Memorial Day so I could go spend the weekend with my family. My sister was in town and my cousin had a party celebrating his graduation from Med School as a neurosurgeon. I hadn't seen
Restoring Hope To Your Teaching Job Inspiration by Joel Wagner - October 7, 2008June 5, 20164 I've noticed something lately. I have gotten a handful of comments and emails from people who seem to be teaching in what appears outwardly as a hopeless situation. I contend that the problem very rarely is in their situation. The problem rests in the lost joy and the long forgotten hope they once had. The dream is not shattered, it simply is not in sight right now. Why have we lost sight of that hope? Because we lack focus. My assertion is that we have lost focus because we are too busy reacting to events and items that try to wrestle our attention away from the important things. Jonathan wrote a great article about dealing with your mailbox last week. I think
The Honeymoon Is Over: What Killed My First Teaching Job And 7 Tips For Getting Your Next Job New Teachers by Joel Wagner - April 3, 2008June 26, 201611 As I have written before, I was terrible at classroom management. My first two years were miserable. I hated teaching. Then it happened. I absolutely believe that I would be the same teacher today that I was then if it had not happened! You see, I wasn't fired but in a moment I lost my first teaching job. What happened? We had a friend of mine come in to work with the high school band and the two junior high bands. He is a retired band director and is an outstanding clinician. He came and worked with all three bands. My band (the second junior high band) was bad. I knew that. I had kids who would talk back to me and just
Why I Hated Teaching During My First Two Years Reader Appreciation by Joel Wagner - February 8, 2008June 25, 201617 Newby writes: I have noticed lately in a couple of your posts you mentioned how terrible your first couple of years of teaching were. As a new reader, I have gone back into your archived information to learn more about this blog but have not come across why you had such a hard time. What made your first years so difficult? As a teacher with more years under your belt, do you think those experiences helped make you a better teacher or would you just as well forget about them altogether? What made my first years so difficult? I think there were a few factors that made my first year difficult. I didn't know how to control the class I am a firm believer
Updating Your Resume General by Joel Wagner - November 11, 2007June 19, 20160 It never hurts to go back and polish your resume from time to time. In fact, your resume could be the reason you are not getting job interviews. Here are some great links to help get you started in that direction. Further Reading But I Don’t Want To Teach — So You Want To Teach? Help! My Resume Is Blocking Me From Interviews — Record Eagle Blogs How To Construct A Killer Resume, From Start To Finish — The Simple Dollar How To Make A Resume That Gets Results — Employment Digest How To Spiff Up Your Resume — New York Times Looking For A New Job? — So You Want To Teach? Polishing The Resume — So You Want To Teach? Ten
Anxiety Sets In As The New School Year Looms Ominously Close General by Joel Wagner - August 11, 2007June 25, 20160 The new school year is two weeks and two days away. This time last year, our week of inservices was well under way. Thanks to the Texas legislature, we will not begin staff development until August 20th and are not allowed to begin school before August 27th. That's fine with me, but I am ready to begin the school year. We started our middle school band camp this past Monday and it is so much fun there. As I've mentioned before, these are students that I taught in 6th grade. I am moving from the sixth grade campus to the 7th & 8th grade campus this year. It's so much fun for me to see all of these kids whom I