There And Back Again…

(Mel of Singled Handed Knits was allowing some of her fans be guest writers for her blog. This is what I submitted to her.)

In Happy Chatter Thursday, Mel of Single Handed Knits gave this writing prompt inspired by The Hobbit and I thought I would like to give it a try.

“The prompt is : There  And Back Again….

You need not write about the book. What I love best about writing prompts is that they make the best springboard… catapulting you up and away from where you are and somewhere else! Walk closely on the path of Bilbo or wander so far away from it that it really is an Unexpected Journey that you take us on….”

I had a hard time deciding what aspect in my life that this applied to and I realized that instead of just picking one, I would share how it relates to three important parts of my life.

Hiking: When I was a child I loved to walk about outdoors. My parents were not athletic and not outdoorsy at all and did not encourage it at all. After I got married, my hubby and I joined a hiking club and we love hiking with this group. Many of the members are in their 80s and 90s and hiking faster and farther than I can. Our hiking has led us to many new and exciting places. We figure when we can’t go hiking anymore, we will have many memories to share and talk about.

Knitting: When I was a child, my mother tried to teach me knitting but I just couldn’t get the hang of it. I was intimidated by anything crafty because my mother and two sisters were able to do anything. My older sister was an artist and was fantastic at anything she tried to do. My middle sister could sew, crochet, knit or do crafty things just like my mom. I was the brainy one and therefore didn’t have an artistic or crafty bone in my body. My mother would knit my family sweaters every Christmas until the year she died. After I retired, I learned to knit and love it! I think about how proud my mother would be if she could see me now! Knitting now makes me feel closer to her especially when I am missing her.

Teaching: I loved everything about teaching ever since I was a little girl. I played school as soon as I could read and write. When my friends visited, I wanted to play the teacher. Even when I had an abusive teacher in 4th grade, I loved school. But that 4th grade year made me more determined that one day I would become a teacher that students wouldn’t fear. I would help all students who had trouble learning and never make them scared about learning. We didn’t have a lot of money and my parents really couldn’t afford to send me to college but I was again determined to do whatever was necessary to become a teacher. Some years I worked 3 jobs at the same time all summer to pay for the next year of college. It was tough at times but well worth it! I finally became a teacher and worked hard at being the best that I could be. My last year of teaching after 30 years I was chosen as Teacher of the Year and a top 10 finalist out of 5000 teachers in my district. Now I teach on the university level in order to train teachers to be the best that they could be. I hope to make a difference on this level.

So it has been a wonderful journey, there and back again.

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Fair and Consistent Wins the Race

In Focus on the Positive and For Heaven’s Sake, Stop Lecturing! from Tips For New Teachers and Student Teachers, Sam shares,

“Students need to know that there are specific consequences for their poor behavior. Don’t lecture. Don’t give out more than one warning. Don’t ignore the behavior. Don’t spend a lot of time on dealing with the disruption.”

I think the bottom line is that a teacher needs to be fair and consistent at all times, even if it is hard to do.
I have had students that I want to give “one more chance” or I want to let it go because I’m so exhausted. But then I realize if I do this, than my whole discipline plan will go out the window. I will be setting a precedent for future discipline problems because if I let it slide this time, than others will expect the same treatment when it is their “turn.”

Sam states that we shouldn’t ignore behavior but I disagree with this. Many times my students act out to get attention. They are happy with negative attention as much as positive attention. The trick is to know the fine line between ignoring the behavior and addressing the behavior. I believe it all depends on the student. Sometimes it is possible to ignore the behavior and the student stops acting out. But if I ignore the behavior I need to make sure that the other students believe that I have no idea that the behavior is going on. If it is blatant and noticeable, I have to address it so the students can see that I am fair and consistent.

Sometimes students will test to see if you are being fair and consistent. They like to test their limits. When they have had a substitute in other classes, I have heard them talk about how they acted out to see what the sub would do. This shows me that they know what they are doing and why they do it.

I have had younger students tell me that they hate me when I discipline them. As a new teacher, this hurt my feelings because I wanted them to like me but I stuck to my discipline plan. Students have enough friends and I need to be their teacher, not their friend. It is okay for them to not like me. These same students at the end of the year hugged me goodbye. They were able to see that I was being fair and consistent rather than treating different students differently according to who I liked more or less.

How are you fair and consistent in your class? What do you struggle with? Please share.

Image: 'Discipline'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10146937@N02/4780565670
Found on flickrcc.net

Field Trip to Disney

We recently returned to Disney World and while in line for It’s A Small World, we met a group of 8th graders who were there on a field trip. One boy behind us wanted to talk to a group of his friends in front of us so we offered to let them get ahead of us. But they told us that they just wanted to talk and the guy would get back to his place in line and he did. I was really impressed with how well behaved all of them were and so I started a conversation with them. I hate that I didn’t get their school name or I would email their principal because I was so impressed with them. Not once did I hear any inappropriate language or behavior.

They told me that the whole 8th grade from a NC school came to Disney in 7 buses! (All I could think of was the adults with them and “Bless their hearts!”) I did ask how many bottles of aspirin was brought by the chaperones and all of the kids laughed.

It was interesting to hear that they had “school” for 2 hours each morning and they had a list of “required attractions” that they had to go on. One boy showed me his handout that listed the items and they had to choose one from one group etc. It’s a Small World was actually a requirement. I was impressed how the school made this out to be a fun but educational trip.

As I went to the different attractions, I started thinking about how they could be used for lessons and was thrilled at how many of them could be used as an introduction or enhancement to a lesson. We went to one called the Sum of All Thrills where you can design something and then experience it. My husband and I designed a roller coaster with a loop and corkscrew turns. You had to use a ruler to determine the height and then turn a knob to change the speed. Then you test it on the screen to see if it will work and make adjustments as necessary. When it is done, you get in this simulator and actually experience it virtually. The seats you sit in are on a mechanical arm and you move up, down, around, and even upside down. The cover comes over your head down to your waste and you are watching a screen as if you are really on a roller coaster. It was wonderful!

Of course Epcot is just educational everywhere you turn. The World Showcase has exhibits from different countries so it seems like a permanent World’s Fair. Innovations shows different inventions and learning activities. One was “The Great Piggy Bank Adventure” that talks about saving and investing your money. You actually take this ceramic piggy bank around to the different stations and enter it into the exhibit. At the end the machine weighs your piggy bank to see how much you saved. I think this would be a great learning activity for students!

Animal Kingdom was like a giant zoo with lots of real animals from around the world. There were lots of information about the different animals as well as staff stationed throughout the park to help explain anything and answer questions.

There are tons of learning experiences throughout each park.

I know that in times of bad economies that it is hard to justify field trips but I truly believe they can be so educational. If I couldn’t bring students some places, there are virtual field trips online that would be the next best thing.

What field trips have you taken your students on that have been successful as learning experiences? Please share.

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Warning: Too Good to Be True

You know the saying, “If it’s too good to be true, than it probably is?” Well, I experience this in real life.

First let me tell you that sometimes when we find good deals, most of the time we are quite happy with the deal. So, when we were at Disney in December, we found a motel called Home Suite Home for $149 for the week. We drove around it and didn’t look bad at all so we thought we would make a reservation for January which I did online. I guess we should have asked to see the room before we decided to book it.

We arrived here on Wednesday around dinner time and check in. I guess when the desk clerks were behind bullet proof glass, which should have been my first clue! Our room was on the third floor and the stairs to it (we never found an elevator) was dirty and dingy with signs all around about no leaving garbage in the stairwell. We got to our room and our keys didn’t work. So we got new keys and then only one of them worked. Once in the room, it looked cheap but what do you want for $25 per night! Then we found out the deadbolt on the door didn’t work so we had to move the table and chair in front of the door. Next I put the heat on because it was getting cold outside (it would get down in the 40s that night) and about 2 minutes later the smoke alarm went off so I had to turn off the heat. When we looked around the room we saw live spiders and webs around the ceiling and corners of the room. There were dead bugs on the headboard of the bed! The bathroom was even dirty! The straw that broke the camel’s back was when we found a little deep hole in the wall beside the painting going into the room next door. It looked towards the mirror that reflected the bed! Needless to say we couldn’t get our stuff together and out of that room quick enough! They gave me our $100 deposit back but insisted on charging us for 1 night which I told them I plan to dispute with the credit card company.

So, I would like to warn everyone: Stay away from Home Suite Home on Hwy 192 (Irlo Bronson Hwy) in Kissimmee, FL!

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 1/25/13

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

Apps Gone Free - “Find great apps without spending a dime! Get high quality paid apps for free each day. Unlike other apps, we offer no paid listings - these are expert-picked top-ranked apps, for FREE!” (L:T; SA:A)

My Homework - A homework app to help students stay organized (L:G; SA:A)

Chogger - “Use our comic builder to draw your own comics, caption photos, take webcam pictures and add speech balloons. Read, rate, and comment on comics made by people from all around the world.” (L:G; SA:A)

Woven Together - weaving traditions of the Pacific North Coast by the National Museum of the American Indian (L:G; SA:A)

EQuiz Show - “Teachers and others can create educational quiz show templates for their classes for free.” (L:T; SA:A)

Original Image: Tools by Pat Hensley