Teachers Lounge – Avoid or Visit?

So many times as a young teacher I have been told not to go to the Teacher’s Lounge but I think that is wrong. I think I should have been told not to engage in gossip and negative talk but a lot can be gained from going to the Teacher’s Lounge. My last school did not have a teacher’s lounge so a few teachers would meet in my classroom to eat lunch every day. I also had a Get Together on the last Friday of every month (Let’s celebrate the last Friday of the month!) in my room for everyone who had 7th period planning with me. I asked them to bring a snack to share and just come to my room to relax. I usually had a big group of teachers from all different subjects, levels of experience, and ages who joined me and we had a great time! I think there are more positives than negatives to the Teacher’s Lounge and this collegiality should be encouraged.

1. You can be inspired by new ideas.
2. You get to know other teachers to add to your support system.
3. You can bounce new ideas off of others.
4. You can ask more experienced teachers some questions.
5. Procedural questions and confusion can be cleared up.
6. You can laugh to relieve stress.
7. You can feel like part of the “team” which relieves stress.
8. You can learn what other teachers are doing in their classrooms and adapt it to yours.
9. You can get discipline ideas for your classroom.
10. You can share your personal life with others.
11. You can share dreams and ambitions with others.
12. You can learn new crafts and hobbies from others.

Sure there are bad things about the Teacher’s Lounge but I think that is true about any profession. You just need to make sure that you don’t engage in the gossip and negative thoughts. The good reasons definitely outweigh the bad ones to me. If you can think of any other positives please let me know and if you disagree, feel free to comment too. Thanks for reading!

Useful Information for In and Out of the Classroom 12/27/07

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found interesting this week. 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!

Child Studies May Ease Fears on Misbehavior - interesting article but I'm not sure that I agree with it

10 Must-Read Books for Educators – from Homeschool 2.0’s blog. I’m going to check out some of these books

The Golden Compass Lesson – Great lesson to go with the movie. Plans and activities are included

Funbrain: educational games for students with option of many different levels

Results of a survey of teachers on NCLB - I am going to send this to my legislator

Don’t Take It Personal

I have seen too many teachers crying over how the students have treated them. I really believe that you can’t take what they say personal. This may sound bad but sometimes children are like in animals in the way that you cannot show fear. They sense it and will go for the throat and eventually it will drive you out of teaching. If they can figure out what pushes your buttons than you are in trouble. I have had many students tell me that they hated me or thought I was a terrible teacher but I replied that they didn’t have to like me in order for me to do my job. I got paid whether they liked me or not and I was going to do my job the best that I could. In fact, I told them that if they didn’t like me that I knew I was doing a good job. They have enough friends but not enough teachers and that was what I was. I have even had students act better in my class than others and when questioned, they say it is because they know I won’t cave in to their behavior. Students know who the strong teachers are and who the weak teachers are and they also talk amongst themselves so the word carries. I was proud of the reputation I had for being a tough teacher but they also knew that I was a fair teacher which is important. You cannot be so strict or tough that you are unreasonable or tyrannical because then you will have a reputation of just being mean. The main thing that I strived for was to be fair to all of the students and to do my best which usually satisfied my administrators, my student’s parents, and myself.

Holiday Stress Relief

As teachers, we tend to put ourselves under more stress than other people. We feel responsible for our own families plus our school families. At this time we are more aware of our students and their home lives because of the holidays and want to make this time a happy time for them. Yet, our families want more of our time also and we feel pressured to do certain traditions so we feel stretched to the limit. Be careful at this time not to spread yourself too thin. Remember you can’t save the whole world but if each of us saves a small bite, eventually we can all make a difference. No one expects you to be perfect and do everything so don’t try to do it. It took me many years to realize this and actually experience some health problems before I accepted that I couldn’t do all and be all for everyone. Here are my suggestions to get through the holidays.

1. Make lists and prioritize. Ask yourself if the thing listed has to be done immediately or can you do it some other time. If it can be done some other time, put it on a different list.
2. Life is too short so stop worrying about the small stuff. Ask yourself if anyone a year from now will remember the thing you are worried about. If not, don’t worry about it.
3. Enjoy today. If you are stressed out about the future then you can’t enjoy the present.
4. Cherish people and not things. Think about the people you are around and really enjoy them because they might not be with you next year.
5. Step back and take a breath. Emotionally distance yourself from whatever is stressing you and look around. Breathe the holiday scents. Experience the holiday decorations. Rejoice in the holiday feelings.

I will be offline next week so I want to wish all of you Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Scale Model of the Solar System

I did this when I was in high school and even college and I still remember it after many (and I do mean many!) years ago so I believe this lesson really made an impact on me. Exploratorium’s Build a Solar System lets you put in the numbers and calculates the distances for you. When I was in college, we made the scale model as we went but for my special ed students, I did it all before class. Then we walked the model and I explained as we went. This helped put the solar system in perspective for them. You will not only need to know how far to put each “planet” but you will need to get objects that show the planets at scale size also. I also notified the administration and janitors what I was doing so they didn’t throw these items out. Once placed, I put the label of the planet by them also which helped them recognize these things. When I begin the lesson, I give the students a fact sheet that identifies the planet, the actual distance from the sun and the scale distance from the sun. The classroom holds the object for the sun and then we walk out from there. Of course before we start walking, we go over ground rules for behavior outside the classroom. My students were so intrigued by this that they stayed close to me and was totally engaged. We didn’t spend a lot of time at each planet (because you end up walking a pretty long way from the “sun” in one class period) so that is why it is important for you to plan this ahead of time. If you don’t place the planets ahead of time, at least know where you will place them when you get there so you don’t waste a lot of time. I had students help me by “looking” for the planet after telling them where I placed it. They felt like they were on a treasure hunt. The day after doing this scale model, I would have my students research different planets and then make hanging mobiles for our classroom using Styrofoam and paint. On another day the students would present their research through a poster or a PowerPoint presentation. All of these lessons helped students with all different learning styles because it is visual, auditory, and tactile-kinesthetic. This is why I think this lesson was so successful.