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by Teachers.Net Gazette
Jan 9, 2013
Dr. Robert Rose, author of Abuses of Power in Education; Challenging Practically Everything (Outskirts Press, 2008), shares insight gained during his radio show dialogue with Dr.Howard Seeman, as they explored their belief in the importance of assertiveness in teachers.
by Donna music/TN
Jan 15, 2013
One of my friends just asked me to take over her preschool class for a co-op next week, since I teach preschool music and I teach high school Latin, and the theme she has picked is "Ancient Rome". The only problem is-I'm not exactly sure how to combine those two things! I was hoping some of you would have ideas. I will have about 2 hours with the k...See MoreOne of my friends just asked me to take over her preschool class for a co-op next week, since I teach preschool music and I teach high school Latin, and the theme she has picked is "Ancient Rome". The only problem is-I'm not exactly sure how to combine those two things! I was hoping some of you would have ideas. I will have about 2 hours with the kids, and have known food sensitivities to wheat (gluten) and milk. The age range is about 2 1/2-5 1/2, and it's mostly boys in the 3-4 year age group. I will have parent assistants in the room, so centers are an option, but not a lot of floor space, and since it's freezing rain here today, I'm not sure we'll be able to go outside for large motor play-the building is FULL so there's not really anywhere else we can go other than our classroom without disturbing another class.
Here's what I have so far.
Look at pictures of mosaics, and make mosaics out of construction paper with a pre-done outline.
A little bit of Latin (Salve and Vale songs, animal names)
A little about the Roman Colosseum and chariot races, with a Playmobil set to explore in a center.
Animal figures to explore in a center, with Latin montessori cards with photos and the word in Latin for matching.
Boxes and props to make pretend chariots, small blankets/sheets for togas, etc for dramatic play.
Look at sculpture and play with clay/playdough (not sure if playdough is safe for kids with gluten sensitivities, though, and clay might be too hard for little hands)
Play alongs and move-alongs to music in Italian, introduce opposite concepts (loud/soft, slow/fast) with appropriate vocabulary (later than Ancient Rome, but close enough)
Maybe a center where kids roll a die, count the dots, and then pick out the same number of Is to match?
Some sort of shared snack, eating reclined on the floor. I'm not sure what would be a good fit, though, given food sensitivities.
Maybe a group game like duck, duck, goose (gladiator, gladiator, lion?) except that I'm not sure we'll have enough room for the kids to run-but 2 hours seems like a LONG time for little ones without some form of gross motor play!
Does anyone know of any good picture books to share? I like using books with my music classes, but I'm hard pressed to come up with anything on Ancient Rome that's at all age-appropriate. Maybe the story of Romulus and Remus?
Hi All :) I won't bore you with the details, but for various reasons, I have come to hate my job. I wanted to know if you've ever left a teaching job mid-year. I feel like it might not be fair to the little ones, but I also have to think about my own mental health, right? Thank you for any insight.
by Samuel_JS
Jan 18, 2013
i've been working as a teacher & child caregiver in some capacity for 12 years.
it has not been easy. there were a lot of bumps in the road.
while i had some success as a day-to-day substitute teacher, what i always wanted was a class of my own
it took me 12 years to get one...
and to discover that i really e...See Morei've been working as a teacher & child caregiver in some capacity for 12 years.
it has not been easy. there were a lot of bumps in the road.
while i had some success as a day-to-day substitute teacher, what i always wanted was a class of my own
it took me 12 years to get one...
and to discover that i really enjoy working with the little ones...
so in aug 2012, a local school hired me as their pre-k teacher (teaching 4 and 5 year olds)
i never had much experience teaching this age, but it all began to flow rather easily...
and in no time, i was having huge success and loving my job.
those kids, being so young, put all of their trust in me...
as did their parents...
the trust, respect, faith, and support that i received from everyone was overwhelming...
what followed was 4 months of perfectly smooth sailing.
not one complaint...
not one eyebrow raised...
not one question asked.
i became friends with the parents.
everyone loved me, and i loved the kids and the job
i would spent enormous amounts of time planning all kinds of fun activities
lots of unpaid time
crossing all my t's and dotting all my i's
making sure that everything was always perfect
i would be up all nite as ideas for activities would come to me
and then i couldn't sleep because i was so excited about seeing the activities that i had planned come to life
i couldn't wait to go to work every day
and see those kids and their smiling faces
i treated them like kings and queens
and their parents thanked me for all that i did... every day
they could see it in their children's faces also
and from what their kids told them
they loved coming to school
while i was there, i completely stepped out of my shell
i sang songs with the kids
and danced with them
and played games with them
i participated in every activity that i created for them
pajama day, a halloween parade, crazy sock/hat/hair day
a field trip to a local orchard
painting, getting messy...
and i haven't even mentioned the teaching
i taught them so much... they were retaining it all
they were so intelligent
they were learning things at a 2nd grade level (3 years past where they were supposed to be)
and they were getting it all
they could read large words
and could sound almost anything out
they knew silent letters, double letters, all the vowel sounds
y sounding like i or e
er, ar, or, ur, ir
ch, th, ph, wh, sh
ea, oa, ow, oo, wr, al, ai, au, aw, ew, ck, qu, ough.....
they knew it all
they were working on writing
and they could count past 100
and were beginning addition and subtraction
and the units we did... were all based on what THEY wanted to learn about in a list compiled at the beginning of the school year (a list that i never got to finish)...
friends and family
apples
pumpkins
fall
healthy bodies and healthy foods
communities and occupations
i had my vet come in with animals
and a dentist and a nurse
and a police officer
and the fire department brought the fire truck (this was arranged by one of the parents)
and the best thing of all..........
for the entire month of november, we got to learn about italy
we made pizza and lasagna
we made leaning towers of pisa with marshmallows and toothpicks
we painted the italian flag with our feet!!!
i taught them italian words, and displayed a picture of my deceased grandmother who taught me everything italian that i know
parental involvement in my classroom was the highest in the school
behavior and attendance was perfect!
my boss told the school board that my classroom had the best dynamic
and the highest learning success
parents even asked me for parental help
i babysat their little ones in the school after hours
i treated them as if they were my own kids
when the sandy hook shootings took place, i stated that i would've easily given my life for my students in such an event
the last 2 days before christmas break...
i dimmed the lights and we read christmas stories in front of our classroom christmas tree
and sang christmas songs
we played a game of hot candy cane (like hot potato) and the kids wanted to lose so bad, so that i would win
when my aide stopped the music for the last time, i had won and the kids were so thrilled
they treated me like a celebrity
their parents showered me with christmas gifts, cards, candy, pictures, etc.
i bought them all gold medals for that final day before christmas
everyone was so happy
i told them that i loved them and would be missing them during christmas break
and i gave them all a hug
and most importantly... i told them that i would never leave them
everything was perfect.
over the break, i planned more exciting units based on their requests (dinosaurs, dragons, fish, bears, outer space...)
one of the mothers who i was closest to asked me babysit to my student and his older brother at their home on the 28th of december
it was a perfect evening.
on january 2nd, i babysat that student for an hour and a half again at the school before school began, because he was the only student there
his mom was as thrilled to have me as his teacher on that day as on the first day that she met me
all she ever said was that she was grateful to have a man for her son's teacher
because his father (her ex-husband) was almost completely out of their lives
and he didn't have a male role model
i had another student (a girl) whose mom was severely hurt by her ex-boyfriend
he caused nerve damage to her arm
and her daughter, just 4 years old, had witnessed it all
she also was glad to have a man for her daughter's teacher
like the other parent, she wanted her kid to see that men can be good people too
and i also had a vietnamese student who barely spoke a word of english in august, but by december, i couldn't shut him up!
at 9:00 on january 2nd, our day officially began
and nothing seemed out of the ordinary
everybody was happy to be back and everything was going as usual
my kids were busy sharing some of their christmas presents
and it was the first day that they began a reading log, which if completed by the end of january, their prize would be turning me into a human ice cream sundae!
they were so excited for that!!!
the only unusual thing about the day was that 4 of my kids were missing (never happened before)
and the office door (which was always open) was closed all day, with my boss inside
toward the end of my work day, while the kids were sitting with me on the carpet for closing circle, she slipped into my room and put a sticky note on my desk...
it said to see her once all the kids had been picked up
there was never any indication that anything was wrong...
i never said goodbye to the kids... i had no idea what was coming...
after they were all gone, i went to her office and knocked on the closed door.
my boss was there, along with 3 members of the school board.
as soon as i walked in, the first thing she told me was "sorry to be a downer at the beginning of a new year, but we're going to have to let you go..."
i had been on top of the world, happier than i had ever been in my life, and i was SET FOR LIFE in that school...
they had already hired me for the summer
and for next year
and for as long as i wanted the job
i repeat... i was SET FOR LIFE
after 12 years, i had finally made it...
and in an instant, it all came crashing down...
and i lost everything...
for something i didn't even do...
and it had nothing to do with the job anyway...
those parents had me in front of them every day...
they knew who i was and what i was all about...
they gave me their unconditional trust...
with their precious little ones...
and after everything that i had done...
during christmastime, when they were supposed to be focused on their kids, and happy things, and peace on earth, and religion, and all that stuff...
and the birth of jesus...
somebody (one of them) got up one morning... out of the blue...
and decided they had nothing better to do than to dig up all the dirt they could find on me...
and here is where i tell you what happened.
and i swear on my life, my dead grandmother's life, and on all of those kids... that I am telling you the truth
by Samuel_JS
Jan 18, 2013
years ago, i spent a lot of time online (mostly on wrestling forums because i've always been a huge wrestling fan)
and i "met" a lot of immature people from all over the world
i made a lot of enemies from people who didn't like the same wrestlers as me
at some point, i vaguely remember that somebody discovered my real nam...See Moreyears ago, i spent a lot of time online (mostly on wrestling forums because i've always been a huge wrestling fan)
and i "met" a lot of immature people from all over the world
i made a lot of enemies from people who didn't like the same wrestlers as me
at some point, i vaguely remember that somebody discovered my real name and identity
i have now discovered that since about 2009, somebody was having fun with me...
they took my name, photo (from fb or google), and location information...
they stole my identity and proceeded to make a whole bunch of twitter accounts by impersonating me
these twitter accounts were endless...
they used different versions of my full name (with all kinds of hyphens and dashes)...
and then proceeded to engage in profanities and vulgarities
i had no idea what was out there, nobody ever brought it to my attention, even the school board wouldn't tell me (they told me to go home and research it)
well i researched almost 2000 hits
most of them are not the actual twitter accounts, but time stamps (historical archives of tweets made) which show up on google and various other sites
and they're pretty bad...
harassing pro-wrestlers and other celebrities
calling them all kinds of names, wife-beaters, child molestors
tweets that support jerry sandusky
tweets that say certain people should die
the board told me that this information was turned over to them by someone in the school, and it had all happened very quickly, and they had to move forward quickly, and they had already contacted several lawyers to ask them their opinion...
and the lawyers all concurred that i was a liability...
by their own admission, parents were threatening to remove their kids from the school
that's why so many students were missing that day...
suddenly, these parents had turned on me, had chosen to believe the worst (even though they had me there every day taking care of their precious little ones), and were actually afraid enough of me to not send their kids to school...
the board told me that if they kept me and these turned out to be my twitter accounts, it could shut the school down
their decision had already been made, and there was nothing i could do to change it
it wasn't based on any proof, it was based (by their own admission) on what if's
and to this moment, i have no idea which parent started all of this, and i have no idea how everyone could believe that i was capable of tweeting such awful things
for the record, i never even used twitter. i tried it once, and didn't like it.
all i know is that word spreads, and by now, almost everyone probably knows, and i have lost the respect and trust from so many people
but there's more...
the board told me that if i could provide proof to them that the twitter accounts weren't mine, then they would reconsider
and they even advised me to see a lawyer
but that lawyer wants $200 an hour JUST TO START...
and it would take a great amount of time and effort...
and most of all, money... which i just don't have
i have already contacted twitter and those accounts are slowly getting removed
but the historical time stamps of those accounts that show up on google and other sites (without the help of an attorney) will likely be there forever
and the damage is already done...
and i forgot to mention that they rushed me out of the building on the 2nd, forcing me to pack my things in a hurry, even cramming and ruining certain things in the boxes...
and a few kids were across the hall in after-school care...
and they wouldn't even let me see them (much less say anything to them)
they created a human wall to prevent me from going past
and they told me that if i didn't hurry up, they would have to use more forceful measures to get me out of there
when i tried to call them back about the lawyer, they hung up on me (even though they had said they would talk to me)
and when my mom returned some things to the school 2 days later, my boss said HAPPY NEW YEAR to her like nothing had even happened
in short, they treated me like garbage...
and i felt so hurt and so betrayed
and so dead-ended
over the course of the next week, i communicated with one of my former co-workers from there...
and besides telling me that the kids were holding their heads down, not smiling, not talking, and looking very upset...
she also told me other things...
they had hired a new teacher right away, almost as if they had her planned all along
they were instructed that if they saw me on the premises, not to let me in for any reason
my picture was immediately taken down and all traces of my existence were removed from the school and the classroom
and a locksmith came in and changed all the locks, and the teachers were given new keys
even though they had already taken my key
and a note was sent home to parents telling them that i was fired (even though it wasn't job-related)
i didn't eat for a week...
until my body was actually tingly and i knew that i had to eat
after a week, i began walking around my neighborhood late at nite
analyzing everything, reflecting on everything...
i lost my co-worker too... she refused to talk to me anymore
i guess they got to her too...
my mom still tells me that there could always be 1 or 2 people who might still not know about it... or they might refuse to believe it...
that you have to believe in the good-heartedness of some people
i care so much about the respect and trust that i have earned from others
and i'm devastated knowing that it's definitely gone from some...
and wondering to what extent it's gone from others...
and i miss those kids more than i could possibly describe in words...
i wonder what they think of me now, and what they will think of me as they get older, and if they will completely forget me
and i miss all of my daily interactions with them...
and i never got to assess them on the material that i taught them....
so i will never know how well i really taught them...
the fruits of my labor, so to speak...
report cards are going out by a totally different teacher
who is just getting to know them now...
and they're demonstrating to her what they know...
that i taught them...
and she'll know it...
but i'll never know it...
and she probably has them doing things in totally different ways now
the last thing my co-worker told me was that the students were telling her that i was "way better" than the new teacher
but now the school has tried so hard to completely wipe out my existence...
so who knows what everyone knows, or where everyone stands, or if the kids have been coerced into forgetting me
they even sent a private investigator to my house to tell me to leave them alone, after i sent my boss a final goodbye email
and they even accused me of setting up a twitter account in my boss's name in retaliation!
there's just one more thing that i want to tell you...
after i was thrown out of the building on jan 2nd, i was going around all over the city, hunting down the proper lawyer
i was coming back home, and i still had all the stuff in my car...
and i was passing by the area where my one student lived...
the one i had just babysat that morning at the school...
and at his house 5 days earlier...
his mom had loaned me a movie, and i decided to swing by the house and return it...
i didn't even know if they were home, i didn't plan on seeing them
i just opened up their screen door and placed the movie inside, along with a stuffed santa claus that this child had loved to play with in the classroom
i decided to give it to him...
but as i was pulling away in my car, his mom was arriving home
with her younger son (my student) in the car
and she had stopped at the corner to wait for her older son to come home on the school bus
i slammed on my brakes and went over to her
it was an awkward moment, because i wasn't prepared for it, and i didn't know what she knew
she seemed very surprised to see me there, and even more surprised to find out that i was gone from the school
she said nobody had said anything to her when she picked up her son
i explained that it was not job-related, and that my boss herself had admitted that my 4 months there had been perfect
i told her that i felt so bad that she wanted her son to have a male teacher, and she didn't know what to say
both of us were pretty much speechless, and all she could say was "good luck to you"
i know in my heart that she had nothing to do with this.
i could tell on that day.
it wasn't her.
i know it.
her 5-year-old son heard all of our conversation
and he didn't know what to make of it
but he did say two things that i will never forget...
first, he asked for my phone number because he wanted me to be "reachable"
and i told him the truth, that his mom had it and she could call me anytime
and second...
when i told him about the santa claus that he would find in his door...
he said "now i have something to remember you by."
his mom was tearing up...
then the bus came...
and while she got his older brother...
i looked at him, gave him a big high-five, and said "i love you, buddy."
and then i waved at him goodbye, while he waved back...
then i walked to my car, got in, drove off, and never looked back...
i have no idea if they got to her too...
i have no idea if she has since turned on me...
my mom keeps telling me to believe the best in people like her...
and the mother of the girl who i talked about earlier (the one whose ex-boyfriend had abused her)...
the last thing i heard from my co-worker before she stopped talking to me...
she said her daughter didn't want to come to school anymore...
and she was considering pulling her from the school...
and i was also told that my vietnamese student has resorted back to being a mute again...
my co-worker told me that someone had taken away all of my blessings...
and then she went away too...
that was it...
i have never been so overcome with grief...
i have a local news reporter who is interested in publishing a news story about this...
this news story might make some people from the school second-guess themselves.
i actually was so distraught back in december over the sandy hook shootings that i posted individual rip messages for all of the dead kids on my fb page...
THAT is the real me.
of course, the parents didn't find the good stuff, only the bad stuff, and they automatically assumed the worst...
that those twitter accounts HAD to be mine...
and now you know exactly what happened to me.
thank you for your time in reading this.
samuel
by Sara NY/K
Jan 19, 2013
Hi folks! Any ideas for teaching number recognition? These would actually be for first graders who can count accurately and perform one-to-one counting but they cannot read or recognize the numbers in written form. Thanks for your ideas, Sara.
by Teachers.Net Gazette
Jan 26, 2013
A terrific collection of MANY Foot Theme lessons, activities, interdisciplinary for prek-3 planned around Animal Tracks and other foot related topics. Even some scat!
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