9 March 2010, 12:55 pm
With the weather warming up, parents should be making a point to get children outside every day. The fresh air and sunshine are invaluable to keeping children healthy. In fact, time spent outside has even been shown to improve ADHD symptoms!
It is important to remind parents not only of the importance of outside playtime, but of the time spent with their children as well. While working in the yard today, my daughter called me over to sit by her and we watched earth worms wiggling about in the dirt together.
Spending time with our children is even more important than spending time outside, so send your kids out to play, and dedicate some play time of your own to spend with them.
8 March 2010, 11:26 am
I recently conducted a survey of teachers to find out what they enjoyed the most about teaching. The results were not surprising, but for those who are considering becoming a teacher or trying to remember why you became a teacher in the first place, here are the top two reasons the teachers in my survey enjoy teaching!
Seeing a Child Finally Understand a New Concept:
One teacher had trouble putting it into words and yet described it so well: “The light bulb! That pride you feel when you know that your kids finally get it! Or that one child that could not get it before, when he or she finally does. That’s the best part.”
Another teacher put it like this: “The kids faces when they light up from that AHA! moment is sweet bliss. I love to hear them say, “Oh, I get it!” or “This is so easy now!” or even, “I love this math!” 
That one bright smile makes it all seem worth it.”
Making a Difference in the Life of a Child:
Another common theme among the responses I received for what was the best part of being a teacher, was the knowledge that they were making a difference. This one is interesting to me, because there is no measure by which these teachers decided whether they were making a difference in the life of a child. Instead, it was just the knowledge that they were making a difference that made teaching worth while.
Does teaching provide proof of making a difference in the life of a child? Or does the knowledge that a good teacher can touch the life of a child provide incentive enough for you?
4 March 2010, 7:06 am
Teachers, check out Lesson Pathways, a free online resource with 900 weekly lesson plans that can be used as a stand alone curriculum for grades k-5 or as a supplemental source.
Find lesson ideas for science, history, reading/phonics, math and language arts.
Lesson plans organize activities found on the internet to create a thorough look at each topic and can provide excellent resources and ideas for supplementing the school curriculum.
Additional information for homeschoolers is prolific on the site as this is a great resource for homeschool families wishing to use the lesson plans for their home school curriculum.
Find out more at Lesson Pathways.
25 February 2010, 7:28 am
Would a district desperate to improve test scores ever decide to simply fire every teacher on staff at one school and start fresh? The implications of a decision like this are huge, yet one Rhode Island school district has decided to do just that.
In Providence, Rhode Island, Central Falls district has made the striking decision to fire every teacher on staff at Central Falls High School. In all, 93 were fired, including teachers, principal, guidance counselors, reading specialists, 3 vice principals, school psychologist, and physical education teachers.
This was one option available to the school officials who were required to take drastic measures to turn around what was labeled as a chronically low-preforming school. The preferred method of extreme reform failed as the union and school officials were unable to come to an agreement. The school officials were asking teachers to take on additional tasks for no or little pay. Now, instead, all the teachers will be fired.
The school is allowed to hire back no more than 50% of those teachers fired, so all is not lost for every employee let go. Teachers from across the state, parents and students all gathered in support of the fired teachers, but Secretary Duncan said, “when schools continue to struggle we have a collective obligation to take action.”
