It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to write with taking some amazing training with an organization called Peak Potentials and working on several books - my own and an author of a work of fiction. But I always have education on the mind and have much to share with you over the coming weeks and months.
But this is the time that most of you are wrapping up your lessons before the holidays and I think you probably have enough on your minds right now to absorb another educational conversation.
So here is what I wish for you:
* relatively sane final days of school before the holiday vacation begins (I know how challenging these days are with assemblies, students who can't figure out why they're still in school, and attention spans that are hard to capture)
* time over vacation for you to recharge your batteries and enjoy not waking up earlier than the crack of dawn
* a happy holiday season for you and those in your life
Marianne
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Monday, November 03, 2008
Being prepared
If you teach in the United States, today is a great day to discuss the value of being prepared. Why? Because tomorrow is election day and the lines to vote may be very long.
We know as teachers, that we have to be prepared. I know I had days when I wasn't as prepared as I wanted to be - maybe I had a late night because I was working a second job or maybe life issues prevented me from getting everything done. Those days were always the tougest in the classroom.
Now that I'm a motivational speaker also working with teachers for professional development, I know even more the value of being prepared. I had a few sessions when I wasn't as comfortable with my material as I should have beeen. Very stressful to say the least! Also, by not being prepared, we're not giving our audience/students our best. And we're certainly not doing ourselves any favors.
When we're fully prepared, the work seems effortless. When we have a file of backup activities that we can use in our classes when time prevents us from being fully prepared, our classes go much better. Being prepared is truly a key to our success.
Tomorrow's election offers us a chance to practice preparedness. With the passion that this election has stirred up, the lines promise to be quite long. Be prepared to wait - bring something to do in line, bring a lightweight chair if it's difficult to stand for a long time, wear comfortable shoes, bring a snack. Plan for the time in line to be long and be pleasantly surprised if it isn't because the best way to be prepared is to bring the right attitude.
These are lessons that students need to learn and by sharing how you will handle tomorrow's vote (your strategy, not your candidate), you give them a chance to not only see democracy in action but how thinking ahead makes any situation manageable and possibly even fun!
Happy Election Day!
We know as teachers, that we have to be prepared. I know I had days when I wasn't as prepared as I wanted to be - maybe I had a late night because I was working a second job or maybe life issues prevented me from getting everything done. Those days were always the tougest in the classroom.
Now that I'm a motivational speaker also working with teachers for professional development, I know even more the value of being prepared. I had a few sessions when I wasn't as comfortable with my material as I should have beeen. Very stressful to say the least! Also, by not being prepared, we're not giving our audience/students our best. And we're certainly not doing ourselves any favors.
When we're fully prepared, the work seems effortless. When we have a file of backup activities that we can use in our classes when time prevents us from being fully prepared, our classes go much better. Being prepared is truly a key to our success.
Tomorrow's election offers us a chance to practice preparedness. With the passion that this election has stirred up, the lines promise to be quite long. Be prepared to wait - bring something to do in line, bring a lightweight chair if it's difficult to stand for a long time, wear comfortable shoes, bring a snack. Plan for the time in line to be long and be pleasantly surprised if it isn't because the best way to be prepared is to bring the right attitude.
These are lessons that students need to learn and by sharing how you will handle tomorrow's vote (your strategy, not your candidate), you give them a chance to not only see democracy in action but how thinking ahead makes any situation manageable and possibly even fun!
Happy Election Day!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Recognizing student talents
Ever wonder what happens to those students who constantly talk in class? The ones who drive you crazy with their chatter? The ones that hear from some of their teachers that they'll never make anything of themselves unless they stop talking and pay attention in class?
Well some of them become talk show hosts on the biggest talk radio station in the state! That's what happened to one of my students. Luckily he and I always got along well. He not only was in my math class, he was also in the drama club which I advised for many years. I also had his 3 siblings in class.
I ran into him the other day at the local coffee shop/restaurant. It was great to see him again - a college graduate, extremely knowlegeable about every topic imaginable from local to national politics, from imigration to pop culture. He and I don't agree on many things but I am proud of all he's accomplished and how he's chosen to make a difference in the world.
He's invited me to come in and see him at work. In fact, I may even be a guest someday to provide the posiive viewpoint to balance all the negative news in the world (quite an honor to be asked and considered as a guest especially as the positive resource) and all the fired up rhetoric he uses to get callers to participate.
He's done quite well for himelf...the kid who was always talking in class...the auditory student who could quote every line of "The Little Mermaid" when he was in the 10th grade.
So the next time a student is talking out, or doodling in their notebook, or fidgeting in class - consider that they may be the next budding radio personality, the next cartoonist or architect, or the next Michael Phelps. Seeing them in that light may help us cope with their actions while giving us the tools to inspire them to be what meshes with their strengths!
And remember to be kind to your students. They may have their own radio show some day!!
PS...I'm in luck! He liked me and actually spoke about me on the radio one day when asked who his all time favorite teacher was! Whew!
Well some of them become talk show hosts on the biggest talk radio station in the state! That's what happened to one of my students. Luckily he and I always got along well. He not only was in my math class, he was also in the drama club which I advised for many years. I also had his 3 siblings in class.
I ran into him the other day at the local coffee shop/restaurant. It was great to see him again - a college graduate, extremely knowlegeable about every topic imaginable from local to national politics, from imigration to pop culture. He and I don't agree on many things but I am proud of all he's accomplished and how he's chosen to make a difference in the world.
He's invited me to come in and see him at work. In fact, I may even be a guest someday to provide the posiive viewpoint to balance all the negative news in the world (quite an honor to be asked and considered as a guest especially as the positive resource) and all the fired up rhetoric he uses to get callers to participate.
He's done quite well for himelf...the kid who was always talking in class...the auditory student who could quote every line of "The Little Mermaid" when he was in the 10th grade.
So the next time a student is talking out, or doodling in their notebook, or fidgeting in class - consider that they may be the next budding radio personality, the next cartoonist or architect, or the next Michael Phelps. Seeing them in that light may help us cope with their actions while giving us the tools to inspire them to be what meshes with their strengths!
And remember to be kind to your students. They may have their own radio show some day!!
PS...I'm in luck! He liked me and actually spoke about me on the radio one day when asked who his all time favorite teacher was! Whew!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Settling in
By about this time of the school year, things have settled in a bit. You know the names of your students and feel a bit more comfortable in each class. You're accustomned to your new routine, the way the classes rotate, the new rules that may have changed over the summer with perhaps a new administrator or just a new outlook for the school at large.
This was one of my favorite times of the school year. The year was still fresh but we were past that 'new year' feeling when students were usually too quiet because they didn't feel too comfortable in the class. In that first month, I had so much on my plate that I wasn't opened to one more new idea from anyone. I just needed to survive the day to day workload while trying to get a handle on the 150 or students who had joined that scholastic journey with me.
I know most of the people on this list because you were in one of my speaking sessions at a national convention. Most of you know that I've been working on a compilation of the strategies that worked for me in the classroom, strategies that caused my students to ask repeatedly, "Why doesn't everyone teach like you?" Those techniques also got me named Teacher of the Year and recognized as a leader in learning by Cable in the Classroom and the US Senate.
Well, that compilation is finally done and is now ready for those of who you feel you could benefit from some of the things I've learned in my 28 years in the classroom. You'll see a link for it to the left of this posting or you can just click here.
I dropped the price from $15.99 which was suggested by my publisher to $11.99 for those of you on my mailing list because of all the great comments you've left for me which has allowed me to get booked into other events.
This book will also be available in paperback form and as an audio CD later this fall.
This will be my only posting where I talk about my book although the link for it will always be on this site. Feel free to pass the link along to friends who might benefit from this book too!
Hope you're having a great school year!
This was one of my favorite times of the school year. The year was still fresh but we were past that 'new year' feeling when students were usually too quiet because they didn't feel too comfortable in the class. In that first month, I had so much on my plate that I wasn't opened to one more new idea from anyone. I just needed to survive the day to day workload while trying to get a handle on the 150 or students who had joined that scholastic journey with me.
I know most of the people on this list because you were in one of my speaking sessions at a national convention. Most of you know that I've been working on a compilation of the strategies that worked for me in the classroom, strategies that caused my students to ask repeatedly, "Why doesn't everyone teach like you?" Those techniques also got me named Teacher of the Year and recognized as a leader in learning by Cable in the Classroom and the US Senate.
Well, that compilation is finally done and is now ready for those of who you feel you could benefit from some of the things I've learned in my 28 years in the classroom. You'll see a link for it to the left of this posting or you can just click here.
I dropped the price from $15.99 which was suggested by my publisher to $11.99 for those of you on my mailing list because of all the great comments you've left for me which has allowed me to get booked into other events.
This book will also be available in paperback form and as an audio CD later this fall.
This will be my only posting where I talk about my book although the link for it will always be on this site. Feel free to pass the link along to friends who might benefit from this book too!
Hope you're having a great school year!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Remember what's it like not to know - Part 2
This entry continues what we were talking about last week...
I had an instructor in my flight training who had difficulty remembering what it was like when he started flying. I’d ask him for an alternate explanation to whatever he was teaching me but he could only repeat what he had said originally, which I didn’t comprehend or I wouldn’t have asked for clarification. He couldn’t see that I was having trouble grasping the concept. He didn’t understand that repetition works fine when we’re tying to remember but it’s useless in restating something that doesn’t make sense the first time.
When I was learning how to land the plane, which is one the most challenging parts of flight training, I asked him where I should be looking – out the front of the plane, out the side, or at the instrument panel. When should I round out - the moment when you change the plane from pointing down toward the runway to pulling it back so that the back tires land first? He said that I should look ahead at the runway until I got the right ‘look.’ What look? He said I’d get it. Probably true but, what was the look I was going for? I needed a visual, a picture to look at back at the hangar after the lesson. Or, perhaps a video from the cockpit perspective. Or, at least a few landings where he was flying and would say to me, “See what the runway looks like right now? That’s the ‘look!’ ” That’s what someone who doesn’t know needs.
When I taught math, I, of course, always used the proper terminology – quadratic formula, Pythagorean Theorem, and so on – but I always coupled the terms with alternative descriptions and often a real world connection. What is the Pythagorean Theorem? It’s the relationship between the sides of a right triangle. Why should they care? They might want to fit something diagonally through a doorway or take a shortcut from school. They may be designers or builders. To teach this formula, to teach anything, we have to step out of our roles as authorities on the subject and remember the time when our subject was as new to us as it is now for our students.
I had an instructor in my flight training who had difficulty remembering what it was like when he started flying. I’d ask him for an alternate explanation to whatever he was teaching me but he could only repeat what he had said originally, which I didn’t comprehend or I wouldn’t have asked for clarification. He couldn’t see that I was having trouble grasping the concept. He didn’t understand that repetition works fine when we’re tying to remember but it’s useless in restating something that doesn’t make sense the first time.
When I was learning how to land the plane, which is one the most challenging parts of flight training, I asked him where I should be looking – out the front of the plane, out the side, or at the instrument panel. When should I round out - the moment when you change the plane from pointing down toward the runway to pulling it back so that the back tires land first? He said that I should look ahead at the runway until I got the right ‘look.’ What look? He said I’d get it. Probably true but, what was the look I was going for? I needed a visual, a picture to look at back at the hangar after the lesson. Or, perhaps a video from the cockpit perspective. Or, at least a few landings where he was flying and would say to me, “See what the runway looks like right now? That’s the ‘look!’ ” That’s what someone who doesn’t know needs.
When I taught math, I, of course, always used the proper terminology – quadratic formula, Pythagorean Theorem, and so on – but I always coupled the terms with alternative descriptions and often a real world connection. What is the Pythagorean Theorem? It’s the relationship between the sides of a right triangle. Why should they care? They might want to fit something diagonally through a doorway or take a shortcut from school. They may be designers or builders. To teach this formula, to teach anything, we have to step out of our roles as authorities on the subject and remember the time when our subject was as new to us as it is now for our students.
Remember what it’s like not to know the material we’re teaching.
No one else in my immediate family is a teacher. They are huge football fans and in their quest to explain the game to me, they forgot that I have no references to football. They forgot what it’s like not to know.
As teachers we must remember back to the time when the information we now have at our fingertips was brand new to us. We must put ourselves into the mindset of the students who sit in front of us and create explanations that make sense to the newbie. Our explanations should contain the proper vocabulary, but each of these new words must be paraphrased so that our students can understand what we’re talking about.
More on this topic next week...
Have a great week (despite all the negative news...)
As teachers we must remember back to the time when the information we now have at our fingertips was brand new to us. We must put ourselves into the mindset of the students who sit in front of us and create explanations that make sense to the newbie. Our explanations should contain the proper vocabulary, but each of these new words must be paraphrased so that our students can understand what we’re talking about.
More on this topic next week...
Have a great week (despite all the negative news...)
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Connecting with what they know...part 2
I experienced what it felt like to have someone explain something new to me last year when I was watching the Super Bowl. I have a limited knowledge of football but I’m willing to learn more. My Dad and brother told me I could ask questions as long as I asked during commercials. Fair enough.
I did fine for the first few minutes of the game but as the game progressed, the commercials were not nearly enough time to answer my questions which were becoming more detailed. Their answers became quicker and more technical. My level of understanding began to drop dramatically as they used more and more words that were familiar and comfortable for them but confusing and unfamiliar to me.
I remember actually beginning to feel sick to my stomach. Is this how our students feel when we inundate them with material they don’t understand? Do they feel overwhelmed? Frustrated? I did and I was in the safe environment of my brother’s home where there was no potential for embarrassment for not knowing, no worry about how knowing would affect my future.
When we teach our subject matter to our students we need to connect to what they currently know. Whether it’s material previously learned in our class or information from the world outside the school environment, our teaching and their learning must not occur in a vacuum.
I did fine for the first few minutes of the game but as the game progressed, the commercials were not nearly enough time to answer my questions which were becoming more detailed. Their answers became quicker and more technical. My level of understanding began to drop dramatically as they used more and more words that were familiar and comfortable for them but confusing and unfamiliar to me.
I remember actually beginning to feel sick to my stomach. Is this how our students feel when we inundate them with material they don’t understand? Do they feel overwhelmed? Frustrated? I did and I was in the safe environment of my brother’s home where there was no potential for embarrassment for not knowing, no worry about how knowing would affect my future.
When we teach our subject matter to our students we need to connect to what they currently know. Whether it’s material previously learned in our class or information from the world outside the school environment, our teaching and their learning must not occur in a vacuum.
Connect with the known.
We learn by connecting to what we already know.
“When landing an airplane, combine pitch and power as you enter the downwind leg adding in a notch of flaps while turning from downwind to base and base to final. Make final adjustments once the runway is in sight and crab the plane in if needed to adjust for wind direction and speed."
Unless you’re at least a student pilot, many of the terms used in the preceding paragraph don’t mean anything to you. You’d probably be hard pressed after reading or hearing that paragraph once to state or explain the content. And yet we often put our students in just such a situation.
The topics we teach are near and dear to us and we often recite the content unaware that to our students, the information exists in a vacuum. What we need to do is connect the new information we’re teaching to something our students have learned previously with us or already know.
As you teach your lessons this week, take a moment to think of how the information you're sharing is being processed by the teens sitting in front of you. Are you connecting to what they already know or are using words that leave them lost and confused?
More on this topic next time...have a great week!
“When landing an airplane, combine pitch and power as you enter the downwind leg adding in a notch of flaps while turning from downwind to base and base to final. Make final adjustments once the runway is in sight and crab the plane in if needed to adjust for wind direction and speed."
Unless you’re at least a student pilot, many of the terms used in the preceding paragraph don’t mean anything to you. You’d probably be hard pressed after reading or hearing that paragraph once to state or explain the content. And yet we often put our students in just such a situation.
The topics we teach are near and dear to us and we often recite the content unaware that to our students, the information exists in a vacuum. What we need to do is connect the new information we’re teaching to something our students have learned previously with us or already know.
As you teach your lessons this week, take a moment to think of how the information you're sharing is being processed by the teens sitting in front of you. Are you connecting to what they already know or are using words that leave them lost and confused?
More on this topic next time...have a great week!
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Ignore the "Don't smile until Christmas' rule
When I first began teaching, I often heard people who had been in the classroom for quite a long time say, “Don’t smile until Christmas!” I heard that comment and I had to admit that I wondered if I was in the right career! Not smile? How could I do that? Was this really true? Would I be a bad teacher if I smiled? Did my favorite teachers smile? So many questions. What to do?
My decision was a no brainer for me on many levels. First of all, I couldn’t avoid smiling. It was in my personality to smile for a lot of reasons and certainly there would be enough funny experiences in class to warrant a smirk or two. Second of all, how could not smiling create an atmosphere that students would want to be in – not to mention one that I’d want to be in? I may have tried not smiling that first year, but I know it didn’t last long and I certainly smiled on a pretty regular basis for the rest of my teaching years.
Why wouldn’t we smile? Remember how difficult high school was? It’s even tougher now on many levels and a smile is the simplest thing we can do to welcome our students to class and to let them know that they’re in a safe, comfortable environment. We don’t have to become friends with our students but there’s no reason to become their enemy. Life is very difficult for many kids these days and I believe part of our job as teachers is to create a happy environment that makes learning fun.
Research shows that when we smile, even when we’re not in the best mood, we begin to feel better. Our bodies equate certain expressions with certain feelings. We can feel good and smile or we can smile and feel good. It works both ways. That’s why people who are feeling sad are asked to “smile” to feel better. We actually do. So here we are as the teacher smiling and feeling better. Our smile is reflected back at us by the students who in turn feel better. A great way to start a class! Your students will have a better chance of enjoying their time in your class too!
So smile! We picked this career. Enjoy the ride!
My decision was a no brainer for me on many levels. First of all, I couldn’t avoid smiling. It was in my personality to smile for a lot of reasons and certainly there would be enough funny experiences in class to warrant a smirk or two. Second of all, how could not smiling create an atmosphere that students would want to be in – not to mention one that I’d want to be in? I may have tried not smiling that first year, but I know it didn’t last long and I certainly smiled on a pretty regular basis for the rest of my teaching years.
Why wouldn’t we smile? Remember how difficult high school was? It’s even tougher now on many levels and a smile is the simplest thing we can do to welcome our students to class and to let them know that they’re in a safe, comfortable environment. We don’t have to become friends with our students but there’s no reason to become their enemy. Life is very difficult for many kids these days and I believe part of our job as teachers is to create a happy environment that makes learning fun.
Research shows that when we smile, even when we’re not in the best mood, we begin to feel better. Our bodies equate certain expressions with certain feelings. We can feel good and smile or we can smile and feel good. It works both ways. That’s why people who are feeling sad are asked to “smile” to feel better. We actually do. So here we are as the teacher smiling and feeling better. Our smile is reflected back at us by the students who in turn feel better. A great way to start a class! Your students will have a better chance of enjoying their time in your class too!
So smile! We picked this career. Enjoy the ride!
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