Teachers.Net Gazette Vol.5 No.3

March 2008

	Cover Story by LaVerne Hamlin
	Show Me The Money!!!
	If you can develop a lesson plan for your class, then you can write a grant. Here's how!
	Harry & Rosemary Wong
	Effective Teaching
	Coaching is six times more effective than class-size reduction
	Columns
»	A System Is Superior To Talent Marv Marshall
»	What Writing Isn’t Cheryl Sigmon
»	The Busy Educator's Monthly Five Marjan Glavac
»	Privacy in a Technological Age Rob Reilly
»	10 Tips for Difficult Parents Barbara & Sue Gruber
»	Problem-Based Learning Hal Portner
»	Understanding Autism Leah Davies
	Articles
»	Spaceship Toilets
»	March 2008 Writing Prompts
»	Internet Assisted Interactive Classroom
»	Our Civility Footprint
»	First Grade Family Reading Night Meets Speed Dating
»	Your Students Are Watching, Listening, and Learning
»	Teachers Lounge - To Go or Not to Go?
»	Retirement Guide for Teachers
»	Daily Lessons: Humility
	Features
»	Chatboard Poll: So What About Homework?
»	Teachers.Net Craft Favorite: Arrow to the Sun
»	Featured Lessons: March 2008
»	Video Bytes: Merit Pay; Tai Chi; Asperger's and More
»	Today Is... Daily Commemoration for March 2008
»	Live on Teachers.Net: March 2008
»	The Lighter Side of Teaching
»	Editor's Pick: Picturing America Program
»	Apple Seeds: Inspiring Quotes for Teachers
»	What Do You Want In A Co-Op Teacher?
»	Newsdesk: Events & Opportunities for Teachers

The Teachers.Net Gazette is a collaborative project published by the Teachers.Net community Kathleen Alape Carpenter Editor in Chief Cover Story by LaVerne Hamlin Effective Teaching by Harry & Rosemary Wong Contributors this month: Dr. Marvin Marshall; Cheryl Sigmon; Barbara & Sue Gruber; Marjan Glavac; Dr. Rob Reilly; Barb S. HS/MI; Ron Victoria; Brian Hill; Leah Davies; Hal Portner; Tim Newlin; Barb Gilman; James Wayne; P.R. Guruprasad; Todd Nelson; Addies Gaines; Pat Hensley; Alan Haskvitz; Joy Jones; and YENDOR. Submissions: click for Submission Guidelines Advertising: contact Bob Reap Subscribe for free home delivery Email: State: - Select State (required) - Alabama Alaska Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington DC Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming -- Canada United Kingdom Australia/NZ Other

Re: Balance!
Posted by wig on 3/12/08

I am not so sure that we are disagreeing since I am in full
agreement with everything you wrote here except that conventions
are the most important. I would put equal weight on all of them.
I cringe when a student uses an IM style of writing, ignoring
capitalization, correct spelling, etc. The misuse of pronouns
makes my skin crawl. I just don't think one trait needs to be
sacrificed for another trait. They are ALL important.
Communication is of utmost importance, but if their choice of
words do not convey the proper meaning, if it lacks enough
details and so on, miscommunication can also occur.


On 3/12/08, ap wrote:
> My gut reaction is to disagree. I stubbornly feel that
> conventions are more important.
> .
> Perhaps I'm old school, but I lean more toward the "you need
> to learn the rules before you break them" style of learning.
>
> Not that creativity is not important, but that conventions
> are more important.
> Besides, let's use the ever-popular job application
> example. It is rare that your cute, creative answers win
> you the job. Most employers scanning applications don't
> have that type of patience. First and foremost, they want
> an employee who can communicate and not embarrass the
> company.
> Just my opinion. :-)
>
>
>
>
> On 3/12/08, wig wrote:
>> As stated in other posts, conventions cannot be ignored.
>> However, as Cheryl stated, it is only 1/6th of the writing
>> traits.
>>
>> My children have had teachers that graded ONLY on
>> conventions, thereby stifling creativity. I have also had
>> my children graded only on content, ignoring the
>> conventions. (It's amazing how the lack of punctuation or
>> punctuation in the wrong places can change the meaning of
>> the piece).
>>
>> Conventions are an essential piece to the puzzle. It cannot
>> be ignored, yet it is not the entire puzzle. There needs to
>> be a proper balance of all the traits in writing. IMO, no
>> one piece is more important than the other pieces.


RESPOND TO THIS POST ADD A NEW COMMENT RETURN TO ARTICLE

Posts on this thread, including this one


• Oh boy!! I hope all teachers read this article!!!, 3/06/08, by Ollie.
• Thank you for making what I do make sense., 3/09/08, by mjg.
• Indeed!, 3/09/08, by Kathie.
• Re: Oh boy!! I hope all teachers read this article!!!, 3/09/08, by Kat.
• What Writing Isn't, 3/09/08, by Carol Gorman.
• What writing isn't, 3/09/08, by Annette.
• Re: What writing isn't, 3/09/08, by marg.
• What Writing Isn't, 3/09/08, by RWM.
• What Writing Isn't, 3/10/08, by Mary.
• what writing isn't -- Sloppy, if it's worth reading at all, 3/11/08, by Writers who respect their work take the time to revise it.
• Balance!, 3/12/08, by wig.
• Re: Balance!, 3/12/08, by ap.
• Re: Balance!, 3/12/08, by wig.
• Little Big Issue.., 3/28/08, by ALW.