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Master Teachers Chatboard

Student-Centered Teaching Survey

by Nell Kauls

Jan 28, 2010

What is your experience with student-centered teaching and how does your experience compare with educators around the world? My company, Seward Inc., is conducting a survey of educators around the world about their opinions, experience, and plans for using (or not using) student-centered methodologies in their teaching. The survey takes 5-10 minute...See More

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National 2010 Youth Contest

by Naoma Nagahawatte

Jan 29, 2010

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

Across America, young people are thinking and talking about equality. From the voting rights movement to the trial of the Jena 6 â€“ young people continue to come out in force, speaking their minds and making their voices heard on the issues they believe in. The National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights (...See MoreDear Friends and Colleagues:

Across America, young people are thinking and talking about equality. From the voting rights movement to the trial of the Jena 6 â€“ young people continue to come out in force, speaking their minds and making their voices heard on the issues they believe in. The National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights (NCRCR) is interested in hearing what todayâ€™s youth have to say about the question, â€œWhat does equality mean to you?â€ To that end, NCRCR seeks your assistance in reaching out to young people to let them know about our exciting essay and visual media contest.

In 1951, thirteen parents filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of their children, calling for their school district in Topeka, Kansas to reverse its policy of racial segregation. This landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), established that "in the field of public education the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place," making it illegal to segregate students on the basis of race. Brown v. Board was a milestone, helping to lay the groundwork for major victories in court, on the streets, and in the halls of Congress. Within a decade, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, banning discrimination in employment practices and public accommodations and soon afterward passed laws restoring and protecting voting rights and prohibiting racial discrimination in housing.

The concept of legal equality - the principle under which each person or group is subject to the same laws â€“ remains a cornerstone of American life. Through legal and legislative battles over race, gender, orientation, the environment, health, education, age, housing, immigration, and disability issues, the struggle for equality continues.

NCRCR invites young people between the ages of 14 and 18, to answer the question, â€œWhat does equality mean to you?â€ Participants can enter the contest in one of two ways â€“ by sending an essay of no more than 750 words or submitting a visual media entry, such as an original photograph, drawing, or cartoon. To receive the guidelines and information on how students can send in their entries, please contact me directly at [email removed].

The contest's official launch date is on February 12, 2010 (President Lincoln's birthday and Black History Month). Submissions for this contest are due by Monday, April 12, 2010.

We appreciate your support and assistance in distributing information about this contest to students.

Many thanks,

Naoma Nagahawatte The National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights

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The National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights (NCRCR) is a non-partisan movement working to ensure that our courts protect and preserve equal justice, fairness, and opportunity. We achieve these goals through raising awareness, outreach, and building alliances. Recognizing how little information about the status of civil rights in the courts is reaching people across the country, NCRCR is focusing on public education and outreach, finding ways to get the message out about the impact of court rulings on our neighborhoods, our schools, our opportunities and our rights.

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mixed ability classes driving me nuts...

by mike

Feb 3, 2010

I teach five 7th grade English classes of mixed ability kids. They are anywhere from 1st grade level (really!) to 10th grade level in reading and writing. I taught an autobiography excerpt today, only two pages long and it was pure torture with the behavior issues, ADHD and the brighter kids who thought I was going too slowly for them. They gave me...See More

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certifiedteach Now, you know, all the "experts" who research teaching practices would say you should be "differentiating", and that is why you are not feeling successful... I guess you could have a more difficult reading and independent assignment for the bright kids, and an easier reading choice for the slower kids (not PC choice of terms here, I know), but, I h...See More

Feb 3, 2010

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Leah I feel for you MIke and I agree with the last poster. Both of my granddaughters are in advanced classes in English and math, and I shutter to think what would have happened to their attitudes in a class you have described. Is there anyway to put in a request for an advanced class? Could you talk with some influential parents about it? Lots of scho...See More

Feb 5, 2010

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hiring 2011

by just curious

Feb 4, 2010

I wanted to know when principals begin the hiring process for the next school year? I also have a job fair coming up and wanted some tips and pointers.

Thanks

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job fair 2011

by any advice

Feb 4, 2010

I have my first education job fair coming up in a few weeks and wanted to know what are some of the do's and don'ts? I am very aware of appearance and educational factors, I would like advice on a deeper level.

Thanks:)

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introduction of letters/capital, then lower case or both

by nicole

Feb 7, 2010

Hey guys, I am currently teaching in a preschool for children with special needs, and we do a letter a week, and I have been doing capital letters only, and now I am starting to think that I should have done both upper and lower case letters. I am used to DTI where we teach one step at a time, first capital letters, then lowercase letters, etc., an...See More

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Nicole S. You posted a while back, but I'm responding because I had also been confused about what and when to introduce capitol/lowercase letters. I've read many research articles on this topic and have glanced through some scientifically research based preschool reading interventions. I was doing this in order to get an idea of proper times of introduction ...See MoreYou posted a while back, but I'm responding because I had also been confused about what and when to introduce capitol/lowercase letters. I've read many research articles on this topic and have glanced through some scientifically research based preschool reading interventions. I was doing this in order to get an idea of proper times of introduction and progression of early alphabetic skills. Here is a quick rundown of what I found.

1. Introduce the sounds of the letters first. It is much more important that the student know the letter sounds so that early reading of small decodable words can be started. Special needs/at-risk students have a smaller memory capacity as compared to their higher performing peers. Introducing a letter like W and then drilling the sound, lower case identification and upper case identification is too much at once and will confuse many students. Students who are confused will begin guessing and form a negative attitude about reading and his/her ability to learn to read.

2. Once students have mastered sounds, start a simple and quick letter fluency drill. I use "Stepping Stones to Literacy" I also rely menomics to help students remember the letter names. The only reason I drill letter names is because the classroom teachers persist that I do so in order for struggling students to keep up with the pace of the regular curriculum. Otherwise, I wouldn't drill letter names. Current reading research has proven that preschoolers can learn to read or get the best start with synthetic phonics. I began a synthetic phonics progression with my preschoolers in August and 90% of them could successfully blend and read simple CVC words by December. This was outstanding considering most of them did not know more than a few letters and sounds in August. Synthetic phonics is even more ideal for special needs/at risk students because the progression of skills is taken in small steps and students don't progress to the next complex skill until mastery is achieved of the current skill.

3. I could go on and on about synthetic phonics, but your best start to implementing this more effective approach would be with the Letters and Sounds synthetic phonics program. The complete program is a free download at [link removed]

If you need any help or want some clarification, feel free to e-mail. I am working on an awesome web page that is going to give teachers access to some of the most intensive and effective reading resources and programs. The domain won't be activated for a few weeks, but here it is for future reference: [link removed]

Letter names and sounds assessment form: (definitely copy and paste)

[link removed]

On 2/07/10, nicole wrote: > Hey guys, I am currently teaching in a preschool for > children with special needs, and we do a letter a week, and > I have been doing capital letters only, and now I am > starting to think that I should have done both upper and > lower case letters. I am used to DTI where we teach one > step at a time, first capital letters, then lowercase > letters, etc., and now I am second guessing myself. I am > writing to know how you guys introduce letters, and if I > should start introducing the lowercase letters now. > Thanks,Nicole

Jun 24, 2010

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MAED Enrollment Specialist – Memphis

by Amber Johnson

Feb 9, 2010

As a result of extraordinary growth, the College of Professional Studies of Bethel University is seeking candidates for the position of Enrollment Specialist in the Memphis, Tennessee vicinity. This position will recruit students for the College of Professional Studies, Master of Arts in Education (MAED), online degree program. This includes but is...See More

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FREE POETRY CDs READ BY VINCENT PRICE, ALEX SCOURBY

by Raftery-(retired teacher passing on free teaching tools)

Feb 11, 2010

Example-Vincent Price reads The Landing Of The Pilgrim Fathers, Thanksgiving Day, Paul Revere's Ride, The Village Blacksmith, The Star-Spangled Banner, The House By The Side Of The Road,Trees, The Barefoot Boy, The New Colossus, Jesse James, Casey at The Bat, Casey Jones, Ameica For Me, In Flanders Fields, America The Beautiful plus Alexander Scour...See More

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I need teacher opinions

by Patti

Feb 11, 2010

Hi, I am in an education course where the current assignment is to get answers from teachers on the following questions. I would also need your full name and years of experience. Thanks in advance for any help on this. Questions: 1. What were some of your teaching goals as a beginning teacher? How have they changed? 2. What classroom rules/responsi...See More

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Old and experienced It's been a tough week (hence why I'm home on a Friday) so I'll try not to be too cynical. I teach high school, if that matters.

> 1. What were some of your teaching goals as a > beginning teacher? How have they changed? I used to want to save the world and make the kids love education. Now I know better and just try to give the kid...See MoreIt's been a tough week (hence why I'm home on a Friday) so I'll try not to be too cynical. I teach high school, if that matters.

> 1. What were some of your teaching goals as a > beginning teacher? How have they changed? I used to want to save the world and make the kids love education. Now I know better and just try to give the kids what they'll need to be educated in our society.

> 2. What classroom rules/responsibilities do you feel > are the most beneficial for ensuring your students have the > best environment for success? The fewer the rules, the better. "Be respectful and follow all school rules." If you try to make a rule for everything, you will drive yourself CRAZY. Be respectful covers everything from being out of a seat, talking out of turn, and name calling...

> 3. As a teacher what role do you see that parents play > in a child's education, and has it increased or decreased > over the years ? Definitely parental involvement has decreased. It is desperately needed especially in a low income, low motivation area. If parents relay that an education is vital to a good life, the kids will want to do better.

> 4. As a teacher are you better at teaching one subject > over another? YES!!! I'm certified in both English and social studies. After many years of teaching sophomore American lit, I know I'm good at it. I can get across the info deemed important, I know how to get kids to write better papers, and I can get them to get good scores on our state tests. But this took many years of reflection and refinement. I would not be as good at teaching history now. I haven't taught it in 15 years- -I'm rusty.

> 5. How do you, in your discipline and at this point in > your career feel that the NCLB act affects you and your > students? NCLB drives our instruction. Lucky for us, our state standards are performance based not content based. I don't have to get the kids to know who Henry David Thoreau is; I just have to get them to read and understand difficult literature.

> 6. How do you approach classroom management? Good instruction is the best discipline. My cooperating teacher told me that decades ago and that still holds true. Create good assignments that interest students and keep them busy bell to bell and you won't have discipline problems.

> 7. Do you feel as a teacher that you should be held > responsible if a child is not meeting the state requirement > of testing? YESSSSSS!!!!! It's my job to teach. If I'm not meeting the students' needs one way then I need to try another way. Doctors can be held accountable if I don't get better, can't they??? My plumber will be held accountable if my plumbing still leaks. Yes, there are many variables, but if I can't get through to the kids, what am I doing in the classroom? I have to have a strong feeling of efficacy, enough to know I can help kids pass state tests.

> 8. At your level of experience, how have your > educational philosophies changed over the years? Or have > they? Yes they have, sort of. I am older and wiser. I used to think it was important to have the kids like me--now I just want some respect, and I can get that through no nonsense, good teaching. I used to think kids had to be happy in the classroom, but kids just need to feel respected, and safe enough to be okay with making mistakes. I used to try to avoid letting the kids fail, but failure is how they learn.

> 9. How have the advances in technology affected your > teaching method – pros and cons of internet, cell phones, > etc. I love technology--the smart board, chatboards, wikis, CPS units--these have done wonders. I think it is very important for kids to know how to communicate digitally--without slang and misspellings. I actually hate using pencil and paper for assignments anymore.

> 10. How have students' social distractions affected > your teaching methods since beginning your career as a > teacher? Things haven't changed in this area much. It used to be notes, now it's texts. Kids will always watch too much TV. Gamers will always be gamers. I remember the D & D crowd from the 80s. They never got enough sleep because they were playing that stupid game.

> 11. What are some critical aspects of classroom > management that you find to be absolutely necessary? RESPECT--Give it to them and demand it from them. Don't be afraid to be wrong and apologize if you need to. Listen to the troublemakers. Let them say their piece then tell them to get down to business. Thanks, I feel better now than when I started!! I may still go out tonight!

Feb 12, 2010

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Patti Thanks so much for your response. Could you send me your name, school and years of experience? I really appreciate this.

Feb 13, 2010

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Post Masters Reading Spec Cert

by Mary

Feb 16, 2010

Is getting Reading Spec Certification worth it? I hold a masters and have two years teaching experience and want to use bilingual skills to help elem age children. I would like to get MRT, but this requires 3 years of exp and thought REading Spec first made sense. Does anyone know of a POST master's program or have any advice. Thanks!

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