Do You Believe?

In Paranormal Experiences: What do you believe? From Lisa Ricard Claro – Author by Lisa Ricard Claro asks,

“Do you believe in the mystical, the paranormal? Numerology, astrology, spirit guides, ghosts? Guardian angels? Do you believe in psychics and mediums? Life after death? Do you believe there is the possibility for communication beyond the grave?”

I absolutely believe in the mystical and guardian angels. I’m not sure I believe in numerology, astrology, psychics, and mediums though.

When my oldest sister died in August of 1974, I was only 14 years old. She had been dealing with lupus for about 9 years and it finally took her life. We were extremely close and this was a traumatic time for me.  I remember the day she passed away and our family and relatives were all in our house waiting for the phone call. When my parents got the call, my middle sister’s 2 ½-year-old daughter, was in the back bedroom taking a nap. She woke up and then told us all that, “Aunt Betsy came and gave her a kiss goodbye.” We were all stunned. As I walked down the hallway in our house right then, I smelled the hospital smell from my sister’s hospital room. It was like she had come to tell us all goodbye.

I smelled this smell several times in my life. I smelled it at my sister’s funeral and a couple of times during high school when I was extremely upset. I smelled it when I started my first day of college,  when I graduated college, and the last time was when I got married. I believe my sister was letting me know that she was there with me and was watching over me.

At first, I was very scared when I smelled that smell but mother told me that I had nothing to fear from my sister because she loved me. I realized that she was right. You see, my mother believed in life after death and reincarnation. I’m not sure about either one of them but every time I talk to my niece, she is so much like my oldest sister, I’m amazed.  A lot of her mannerisms and ideas are so similar to my oldest sister and I feel comforted by this even after 40 years.

I think we shouldn’t disregard what we don’t know. I feel that anything is possible and since there is no way to prove something isn’t possible, it should be a possibility.

Learning is kind of the same way in my mind. We don’t really know exactly what will work or not work with individual students. Everyone’s brains are different and react to things differently. So, with learning, anything is possible.

Do you believe? What do you believe is possible or not possible? Please share.

Being Alive

In No Zombies: Stop Going Through the Motions and Live Life from  Cool Cat Teacher Blog by coolcatteacher@gmail.com, Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher, asks,

“I wonder how many people will reach the end of their lives and wonder if they really were alive?”

I think we need to teach our students about etiquette with electronic devices. I see too many young people missing out on so much of life because they are fixated on their electronic devices. Too much of life is missed because of this!

Let me disclose that I love my mobile devices and would stay on the too long if I didn’t monitor and control my own usage of them. This is also something that should be taught to our students. I have learned that I have other interests that require me from being on my electronic devices.

One of my pet peeves are people who have loud and long conversations on their phone in public places like restaurants, stores, and even restrooms! I have answered a phone if it was an important call that I couldn’t miss and ask the person to hold on until I could go to a more private place. Otherwise, let it go to voicemail and check it later!

If you are with other people in an eating establishment, it should be a device free area unless you are sharing photos with others.

Today at McDonalds, someone was watching a video with the sound on so everyone had to hear it. No one wants to hear you laughing at a video they don’t want or care to see or hear! Either use headphones/earbuds or turn off the sound!

If you are outdoors where other people are trying to enjoy nature, do not talk on your phone, listen to music, or otherwise disrupt their quiet enjoyment of their surroundings.

It is great to take a lot of photos (I am guilty of this!) but also move the camera away from your face and look around. Appreciate where you are away from a camera! Memories are good to capture but they mean more if you remember the actual experience.

When given a choice of online interactions or real-life interactions, always, always opt for the real life ones. We should never get to where we prefer artificial or online interactions over real life ones. The real-life interactions are more meaningful in life that others. Nothing can take the place of meeting people face to face, feeling emotions, and using our senses that we don’t always use online.

What do you do to make sure that you experience life first hand? Please share!

Photo: Live by Anton Sim

Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 3/9/18

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels:  E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

Teenage Life in Ancient Rome – A TED-Ed lesson, “Welcome to the world of Lucius Popidius Secundus, a 17-year old living in Rome in 73 AD. His life is a typical one of arranged marriages, coming-of-age festivals, and communal baths. Take a look at this exquisitely detailed lesson on life of a typical Roman teenager two thousand years ago.” (L:H; SA:SS)

Ptable – an interactive periodic table (L:H; SA:S)

Unsplash – “Beautiful, free photos. Gifted by the world’s most generous community of photographers” (L:G; SA:A)

Metaverse – free app for iOS devices; “Metaverse is the easiest way to create Augmented Reality experiences. Create experiences using the Metaverse Studio, and watch them come to life in the Metaverse app browser.” (L:T; SA:A)

Bingo Board – YouTube video on “How to Create a Bingo Board Through Google Sheets” (L:T; SA:A)

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Bibs and Aprons

In What Do You Wear? A Bib or Apron from Cool Cat Teacher Blog by coolcatteacher@gmail.com, Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher, shares,

“Once I heard a person talk about relationships like a gas tank. You’re either filling the tank (wearing an apron) or causing the person to expend energy on you (bib.) If you use too much of their energy without putting anything back, people will eventually no longer want to be around you.”

This really resounded with me. I think most people wear both at different times in their lives. I don’t it is possible to be one or the other.

I think most people would like to think they are wearing an apron and helping others. By doing this you feel more in charge. You are the one taking action.

When you are wearing the bib, or you are having other people put energy on you, then you are the passive person. It is hard to always be the one taking. I think this hurts people's self-concept.

That is why I think it is important to wear the apron and the bib at different times when you need to. You shouldn’t be embarrassed about wearing either one of them. The only time we should worry if we do one exclusively because I don’t think that is healthy.

As parents, we like our children to learn to give. We teach them it is better to give than to take. I think that is why it is hard for some children to learn because they are embarrassed about being on the other side. They see that being helped is a weakness and they don’t want to appear to be weak.

We should teach our children that it is good to give and take. The important thing is the balance of give-and-take. We shouldn't constantly be giving so much that we lose ourselves in the giving. Sometimes we forget to watch out for ourselves and our health when we keep giving. When we keep taking from others, we tend to be spoiled and we forget how to put in hard work to make things happen.

People don't mind helping others but when they feel they are giving all the time and the other person is taking all the time, they feel unappreciated or being taken for granted. In the same respect those people who are always being helped, may experience learned helplessness or feel like they are not capable of doing something. This may cause them to be afraid to try new things.

How do you feel about aprons and bibs? Which one do you wear? Please share.

Photo: 123 Bib for Marlysa by Amy White

Solving Conflict Between Teachers

Recently I spoke at an autism conference and a question was asked about what to do if the general education teacher and special education teacher are at odds on what to do with a student who has autism.

Here are my suggestions:

1.     First, make sure there is an IEP meeting that discusses accommodations and modifications that the student may need.

2.     Make sure that all the participants on the team understand these things and how they will be implemented.

3.     The special education teacher should offer the general education teacher assistance with techniques to implement them.

4.     The special education teacher should monitor regularly that these accommodations and/or modifications are being implemented.

5.     If the parent feels that these are not being implemented, the parent should contact the special education teacher or an administrator.
If they are not, the special education teacher should meet with the general education teacher and discuss what obstacles are in the way of implementing these requirements. Also, politely explain that by not implementing them would make the teacher in non-compliance with federal law and could lead to legal ramifications.

6.     If the general education teacher continues to ignore the IEP, it is time to set up a meeting with administration to discuss the problem.  

It is important for all members of the IEP team be on the same page in order for the student to be successful. Any disagreements should be discussed and worked out during the IEP meeting. Once the IEP document is signed, it is a legal document and must be adhered to until another meeting is scheduled, and changes are officially made.

Do you have any suggestions when there is conflict between the special education and general education teachers?  Please share.

Photo: Headbutting Goats by Rachel Zack

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