Tags for "Speaking" Bookmark and Share

Got goals?

Posted on Nov 18, 2009 - 10:57 AM by Alison Bagg Brink in ImprovEducation

This is my thirteenth fall as a teacher. This year has been wonderful so far. I have great students, colleagues that I respect, and a curriculum for the majority of my classes that I agree with philosophically.

But then ... (think the soundtrack to Jaws) it is time to set professional goals. There is nothing in the year that brings more discomfort than the goal-related meetings, and we have at least three each year. These meetings make me sweat and give me a horrible pain between my right shoulder and my neck, in fact, I am trying to stretch it out as I type.

Here is the issue: my goal needs to be in alignment with the school and district goals. In a nutshell, that means that my goal...

Read Article 0

Get ‘em Talking!

Posted on Dec 23, 2009 - 03:55 PM by Tim Curley in ImprovEducation

The newspapers today have articles stating that research shows that teaching is the happiest career one can choose. My students this year certainly place me in that category. This year has been very enjoyable, indeed. I have a group of students who have a few social leaders, as all groups do, and this year, those social leaders are also academic leaders. This has allowed me to focus less on discipline, and more on creatively approaching their learning needs. They seem to truly enjoy learning, and that has given me the freedom to really have a good time teaching them.

I teach fourth grade in a public elementary school that is about 85% Spanish speaking at home. Because of this, my...

Read Article 1

The Day I “Couldn’t Talk”

Posted on Jan 02, 2010 - 02:15 PM by Tim Curley in ImprovEducation

One recent Monday, I did what I usually do before school. I stood outside the main entry, and greeted the kids as they were dropped off at the curb. I walked through the cafeteria and said hello to the older kids, the younger kids, and the few parents who eat breakfast at school. I do this because I see my role at school as being much more than a classroom teacher. El Verano School is a community, and I feel that we all need to share in that community.

After the bell rang and I began to walk to class, I realized that I had not yet talked to any of my students. And I got an idea.

As I have mentioned in a previous blog entry, I don't do a lot of talking in the first few minutes of class....

Read Article 2

Want coffee?

Posted on Mar 10, 2010 - 11:06 PM by Alison Bagg Brink in ImprovEducation

Spring has arrived... if not in weather, in attitude.

I have had to scrape my windshield in the mornings, but the kids are wearing their summer apparel. Go figure. I am freezing, and the students seem to be in another place entirely. Not just in the shorts and shorter skirts, but in their class work as well. It is as though they are bored with me.

In order to shake things up a little I have decided that April will be the month of Guest Speakers. I would like to have real people, doing real jobs, come and talk to my juniors. My eleventh graders are in a class that helps prepare them for college. I am hoping that guest speakers will give the kids the extra energy they need to finish the...

Read Article 1