Does more classroom time equal more learning?

Today, 5 states are announcing adding over 300 hours of instructional time to their school calendars beginning in 2013-2014.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/02/students-in-5-states-to-see-increase-in-class-time/ 

Thoughts on this?  Will those extra 300 hours make a SIGNIFICANT difference in the outcomes teachers and administrators will see?  We can all agree there are not enough hours in the day to do it all...but what is the right answer?

Need a laugh?

It is the time of year where we all begin to stress...the holidays are upon us meaning family stress, but the end of the semester is near meaning stress of getting students where they need to be.  Sometimes it is nice to just stop...breathe...and LAUGH!

I have shared two videos from a You Tube channel.  This channel, Bored ShortsTV, has put together a video series called "Kid Snippets".  In these videos, kids are given a scenario and they "write" and speak the dialogue and adults act the scenario out.  They are GREAT!

The first is about the principal's office...the second about math class...ENJOY!

Is College for Everyone?

Here is a little take about a topic we have been discussing at our in-services...college.  We are told that less than 50 percentage of all students who enroll in college graduate with a degree.  So the question must be asked...should everyone go to college?  Is it the right answer for all our students?  As a school, part of our SPI will focus on college readiness...should it when the graduation rates for college are at a 50 percent?

http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/09/my-view-should-everyone-go-to-college/

From Cleaning the House to Teaching School

Did anyone ever watch "Who's the Boss?" with Tony Danza (and for you really old people...remember him on "Taxi")?  Danza played Tony Micelli, a former baseball player, who along with his daughter Samantha moved in with Angela, Jonathan and her mother Mona to serve as their housekeeper.  Great TV show...they sure don't make 'em like that anymore.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPfZVSgpclw
 

After "Who's the Boss?", Tony Danza dabbled in a few things and following an injury in a ski accident her decided to head to the classroom as an English teacher in Pennsylvania.  While I have often said teachers many times are the best actors (we have to control emotions, put on faces of happiness when things may be falling apart) but I was skeptical if an actor would be the best teacher...especially when I heard it was going to be taped for a reality show. (Reality shows...I love 'em (especially "The Amazing Race"...but these shows could be what is wrong with TV and some things in society today.).

Danza has now wrote a book about the experience and shared his thought on kids, education and society with Fox News.  Check out the link believe and tell us what you think about what the boxer, turned actor, turned talk show host, turned game show host, turned teacher has to say.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/09/20/qa-tony-danza-recounts-his-year-as-teacher-says-kids-victims-our-culture/?intcmp=features

Back in the Saddle Again

Here we are...back to it!  We all agreed while coming back is exciting, it is also scary.  We are facing many changes to what and how we are instructing our students.  Change is tough...we can face the changes head on or we can bury our heads in the sand.  Once thing is for sure...change is here...either we must embrace it and make it our own or as educators we many be facing a change in our occupation :).

We are not alone.  Teachers all over are embracing change these first weeks of school.  Whether it be the change to a new school, new students, new standards, new administrators, or new shoes (which by the way...my least favorite thing about going back to school is ditching my Nike flip flops.  My feet have not adjusted well to the change of dress shoes)...thousands of educators all over our country, like you, are stressed and worried about how to face these changes.  Again...we are not alone...

I wanted to share with you two opinions on what the change for education needs to be.  Both are from a CNN blog...the first being a short video interview, the other a written blog.  Who do you think has the "right" idea for change in our educational system?

http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/05/rhee-on-saving-americas-schools/ 

http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/09/my-view-rhee-is-wrong-and-misinformed/

Hope your first week back has been great!

Planning for next year

In education, this time of year finds us not only wrapping up a current school year, but also planning for the NEXT school year.  From classroom supplies to tweaking of curriculum to better educate our students, the next school year is as much on our mind as the current one.

Our calendar for the 2012-2013 school year has roughly two half-days each month set aside for in-service.  What would you like to see with these in-services?  What topics would you like addressed?  What do you see as some of the most beneficial information you could receive during these days?

Another "new" way to look at educating our youth

Please take the time to look at this clip from "60 Minutes" this past week and then play around with the Kahn Academy site.  I would like to talk about this more at our in-service on April 12th.

There is a lot of talk about doing new and innovate things with technology and education, but I believe we have an example here of someone who has gotten it right.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7401696n

http://www.khanacademy.org/

Pass the Kleenex, please...

It is that time of year...when we have students with runny noses, hacking coughs, and pink eyes.  When I began teaching, my husband said I surrounded myself with "festers" every day...they were "infested" with sickness and they would "infest" me with it too!  While we try to be diligent with hand washing, it never fails...we all get sick.  I am typing this post with the Kleenex close by and a mixture of lemon and honey in my hand.  I usually go right for the Ny-Quil in situations like this (Ny-Quil and Pepto...two medicines NO house should be without), but circumstances don't allow that (LOVE YOU KHLOE). The longer we teach, the more "sure fire cures" we encounter...

What is your sure fire cure for sickness?  Do you just tough it out?  Is a Diet Coke the answer?  What do you do to keep yourself on top of your game during this time of the year?

The Teacher's Lounge...

When I finally decided to be a teacher, I told people it was because of the pop in glass bottles in the teacher lounge.  Not only does pop taste GREAT from a glass bottle, it was also only 35 cents!  Much to my dismay, the summer I started in Elkton, they got rid of the glass pop machine...that old machine had seen and heard a wide variety of things during its tenure in our lounge.

The teacher's lounge...the inner sanctum of the school...the place where teachers can escape the stresses of the day for a brief time.  I think for many, it is the place where we feel we can vent or share concerns about students, our families, or events in our lives.  It is an important tool in maintaining a positive social connection for teachers and staff.

My question is this:  What is OFF limits in the teacher's lounge?  What can or cannot be discussed in the lounge?  Should the door be opened or should it be closed?  Should what is talked about in the lounge go beyond the doorway?  

Technology integration is more than computer games...

We are reaching the point in the year where planning for the 2012-2013 school year has begun.  One of the areas we have made a few decisions on is technology.  We will be setting up SMART board software and equipment in our K-6 classrooms, as well as two JH/HS classrooms.  This new technology will be a great way to make our learning interactive.  We are also approaching the fourth year of the net books being utilized in our high school.   But...technology is SO much more than giving our students the net books and interactive boards...

My questions for discussion are:

1.What do you see as the best means to integrate technology into your classroom?  What are the things you are using that other teachers may like to hear about?  Is there a website that you would like to share?

2.  What are the computer skills you see us needing to focus on for our students?  Even our youngest fries are able to log-on to the internet and play games...but can they do Word?  Can they do a PowerPoint?

3.   HS Teachers...how do you make the net book part of your classroom rather than just something our kids carry around and listen to music on?  What steps have you taken to ensure it is a TOOL and not a TOY? 

Have a great week! :)

Let's give this a try...

Blogs...I must admit I have trolled around and read people's blogs, but never thought of setting up my own.  This blog is for the teachers and staff of Elkton Public Schools.  I am hoping this is a quick and easy way for us to connect without doing staff meeting after staff meeting.  

Remember...we must be polite to each other and respect the opinions of all.  This is not a place to tear people down, but rather to build up our school.

So...let's get started...just a simple post will do...it will let me know if you are reading this!