In my teaching journey the standards have drastically changed more than three times, the latest is Common Core. Now, I fought, complained, fussed, kicked dirt and so forth each time. Because, each time our education system and rating has gotten worse. California was number one thirty years ago when I was in my first credential... Continue Reading →
10 Tips for Helping Kids with Special Needs or Social Anxiety Handle the Christmas Season
Most people love the Christmas season, me, not so much. As a parent with a special needs child, I dread the holidays. From family members who just critique and criticize and refuse to understand, to the sounds and lights that will set my son off. Thus, each family event is like tiptoeing around a minefield... Continue Reading →
Continues Improvement Cycle
building-the-steps-of-continuous-improvementDownload This is perhaps one of my favorite resources, extremely practical and with just a few pages and you can dramatically transform your classroom, even your school and District! This PDF is loaded with tips and ideas to be more engaging with students too. Steps in the PDSA Cycle Step 1: Plan. Plan the test... Continue Reading →
The Critical Learning Point
Achieving Good Student Performance by Understand the Critical Learning Point. Students depend on teachers helping them not hurting or discouraging them. Students need us to help and guide them in their educational journey. To be great teachers, we must be guiding, facilitating and teaching, not just targets, but the whole person. Thus, ask yourself this,... Continue Reading →
Supporting Student Emotions
Research shows students need 3 positives to every negative feedback to be positively engaged. Thus, if we know when, where and how students’ emotions occur during the instructional process, we then can be proactive and place them in winning situations. We need to think through how our students are thinking and reacting emotionally through the... Continue Reading →
ALWAYS Actions
Key teaching tip: Students learn when they know what is expected of them. I have poached these from my teacher training at "Teacher Ready" in Florida, and seen this for years from others “always actions” that I believe are for all times for effective teaching and student engagements with procedures. Procedures. More effective teachers have... Continue Reading →
Engaging Student Ownership
Engaging Student Ownership A quality teacher with the command of their classroom with the engagement of the students' learning through caring, effective learning goals, feedback and assessment will set a positive “ownership” tone. This tone will help facilitate a student to reach beyond their self-placed boundaries to create an “ownership” of their own education. This... Continue Reading →
Why Won’t our Public School Help my Child? Part II
Why do school not help? Why such a reaction? From their perspective, there are some good reasons. As it can cost $20,000 to over $60,000 a year in educational expenses, such as in specialists, assessments and speech therapy and so much more, even covering medical expenses for any specialized services. And they can accommodate some,... Continue Reading →