Be Positive

My 13-yr old daughter recently told me about a Facebook group called, something to the effect of, “teachers stop complaining about grading 500 things because you assigned it” and I thought that was so apt.  Really, I understand that teaching can be an incredibly complicated activity in the best of times.  But complaining about 10 things (or students) a day will in no way increase your power in the classroom.

Start Planning

Planning is just about the most powerful thing/activity any teacher can do to empower his- or herself.  When you plan your classroom instruction to include everything you want your students to learn, they have a much better chance of learning it — and you will experience a sense of power that is exhilarating and practically addictive!  Try it!  You might find that you actually enjoy it. Plan for your instruction to occur in natural “chunks” of time, to coincide with students’ natural tendencies to want to move or disengage or get distracted.  If you plan for the changes, then they are no longer unwelcome and become just another pathway to powerful teaching.

Make the Student do the Work

That’s the work involved in the learning that they should be doing. If you are the one who does all the work in the classroom, then you are not experiencing your authentic power as a teacher!  I don’t remember where I originally heard this, but it has been proven to me over and over.  The person who is doing the reading, writing & thinking is the person doing the learning. I tell students who want to be “spoon-fed” the answers that I don’t need to do the work for them because I’ve been studying for 35 years and I know what they need to learn.  Make them dig and search and read and write and think of the answers for themselves.  It keeps them out of your hair, too, so that you can actually concentrate on or focus on those few who really do need your help in order to succeed in their learning.

Teach Responsibility

It is the student’s job to bring the work to you and to make sure that it is correctly formatted and presented, according to your class procedures. The procedures are followed because no one gets to benefit from not following them.  Why should a teacher spend time & energy grading an assignment with no name on it?  Or waste even more time and energy trying to find out who it belongs to?  Have a basket that you put those assignments in – students will learn soon enough that you won’t grade the papers in that basket and will learn to follow the appropriate procedures used to identify work.

Make & Follow Class Procedures

Create unpleasant, natural, random consequences for unacceptable behaviors  and pleasant, unnatural, consistent rewards for compliance and performance according to procedures. Escalating tiers of punishment or discipline generally only serve to increase the frequency and severity of unacceptable behavior. But, if the maximum consequence could be delivered, at random, for even a minor infraction ( and that is true all the time in your class), then the instances of unsuitable behavior  will drop dramatically.  Conversely, if small achievements in acceptable behaviors are richly rewarding to the class as a whole, it is in the best interests of everyone to maintain and insist on acceptable behaviors from everyone else. Peer pressure to conform to acceptable behavior will serve as a huge leverage to keep your classroom operating smoothly and according to procedures that maximize the empowerment of everyone, especially, you the teacher.

So to recap…

Stay Positive
Start Planning
Make Students Work
Teach Responsibility
Make & Follow Procedures with Consequences

The simple procedures that you use in your classroom will provide you with a tremendous boost in your authentic power as a teacher. And the more that you work them, the more powerful you become.  It takes some time on the front end to set these up and teach yourself and your students that you mean business when it comes to acceptable standards, but I know from experience that it can be one of the best ways to empower not only yourself, but, ultimately, your students, too.

Enjoy!
Teresa

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Hello! Are you ready to bring your brilliance? Join us! Our mission is to support our nation's novice teachers in their professional lives. We want to help you connect - or reconnect - your passion with your purpose in order to increase and honor your authentic power as a teacher.

Powerful Teacher Training Call

Five Things Powerful Teachers Do…

to be Proactive and Motivated about Teaching

Join us on Thursday, April 8th at 1:00 pm CST (11:00 am PST, 12:00 MST, 2:00 EST) when we hear from Barbara Bray, an expert on Web 2.0 tools and community building in education.  Barbara is the founder and owner of My eCoach.

In our training call with Barbara, you will discover “Five Things Powerful Teachers Do to be Proactive and Motivated about Teaching.”

• Identify your Strengths and Weaknesses
• Actively participate in Web 2.0 and Social Media
• Create an Effective Digital Footprint
• Build your Personal Learning Network
• Showcase Evidence of Learning and Expertise

My eCoach is an online learning community built on a coaching platform complete with collaboration, communication, curriculum, resources, and publishing tools all in one place. Our professional development services guide organizations towards realizing their goals through relevant planning, training, and ongoing coaching support.

My eCoach works for everyone: organizations, schools, districts, classrooms, individuals, businesses, universities, families, etc.

For a limited time this will be offered free as a special presentation  from the Global Association for Teacher Empowerment.

Register today to be sure that you don’t miss this important training call!

This great training call will be recorded and posted for members on the GATE web site and available for download.

This is a free training call*: registration is required in order to obtain the call information.

You may register online here.

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Looking forward to connecting!

Office Help Wanted Now!

Could you be the great assistant I’m seeking to work part-time and handle many of the pesky administrative details of running my growing teacher empowerment business?

Busy business owner constantly buried with far too much to do needs very organized, detail-oriented assistant 10-15 hours per week.

It’s 10:47 on a Wednesday night and I’m still in the office working!

I own a rapidly growing professional development company for educators called the Global Association for Teacher Empowerment and I have been working like a madwoman for nearly two years.

I’m stuck working late again tonight because I’ve just got too many things to do – all the paperwork, invoices, schedules, research, writing and administrative details that go with running a business is killing me!

Can you make some of my headaches disappear by handling some of these details?

Are you somebody who is superb at handling details…a loyal, hardworking, behind-the-scenes type person who always follows through and almost never misses a deadline?  Are you so productive that your last employer considered hiring two people to replace you after you left… a strong writer with good computer skills, who knows WordPress and shopping cart technology… comfortable in a virtual relationship and who can switch gears quickly when priorities change… a super organized get-it-done type person who’s also very good at prioritizing tasks based on return on investment to the business.

Is you are this type of person, then we should talk because you just might be the great assistant that I’m looking for 10-15 hours a week.  The pay is negotiable and the dress code and  weekly schedule are up to you.  I don’t care if you haven’t worked in a while and you don’t need a resume to apply.

Think you might be the person I’m looking for?  For more details, pick up the phone now and call me now at 501-269-0559 and leave me a message, explaining how you are going to change my life!

Hopefully with your help I’ll be able to start leaving work at a decent hour!

Thanks!

Teresa

Teresa Roebuck, President
Global Association for Teacher Empowerment

501-269-0559
www.gate-connect.com
info@gate-connect.com

Hello!

The article I’ve linked to talks about a “teacher leakage” and I am not quite sure that I understand what is meant by that.  I do understand that teachers in this country are neither appreciated nor valued appropriately to the level of service that they provide.  I am always amazed at the passion and power that a dedicated individual can bring to the classroom to touch lives and engage students in learning.  Our message here at the GATE is one of encouragement to each teacher:  Honor your power, bring your brilliance and transform the teaching!

Join with us this year as we continue to offer this empowering message through our live calls for the professional development series,”Five Things Powerful Teachers Do with…” Each of our guest experts will fill in the blank in this phrase with their message of help and empowerment for teachers everywhere.

Check back next week for a Powerful Teacher guest schedule and list of our professional development training opportunity calls that are a benefit of your membership here in the Global Association for Teacher Empowerment.  Remember our Charter Membership price is only available for a few more days.  Join now and don’t miss out on a single call in the series.

Okay!  On with our Guest Blog…

Enjoy!

Teresa

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This in from Edutopia:  “Did you ever know someone who wanted to be a teacher? Chances are they didn’t go through with it or they quit within the first five years. The fundamental question must be asked, “How do we attract and retain great teachers in education?”….”

Guest Blog: Attracting and Retaining Great Teachers in Education | Edutopia.

A short blog post to summarize some of the comments and insights from the #edchat on Twitter.  You can check out the entire #edchat transcript here. If you want to participate in a future #edchat conversation, please join check it out on Twitter every Tuesday at 12 p.m. EST/6 p.m CET or at 7 p.m. EST/1 a.m CET.

I found this fascinating quote today:

According to Nielsen Mobile, in the first quarter of 2009, the average U.S teenager made and received an average of 191 phone calls and sent and received 2,899 text messages every month. By the third quarter, the number of texts jumped to a whopping 3,146 messages per month. This is equivalent to more than 10 text messages per hour.omgzam.com, Online Media Gazette, Feb 2010

Actually, my 13-year-old daughter will usually get 10 text messages in a matter of minutes!

Why do we imagine that our students don’t write?  They do write, extensively, based on these data.  The real question? How do we harness all that interest in communication through writing (as Computer Mediated Communication) so that it serves education, too?

This same great blog talks about “four distinct generations: Baby Boomers (born 1946-64), Generation X (1965-79), Net Generation (1980-89) and the new iGeneration (born in the 1990s and beyond). The “i” designation represents the “individualized” nature of their media.”

We have to take this generational spread into consideration when we are planning instruction!  Over 45% of teachers today are in the Baby Boomer generation and need legitimate support in addressing the needs of a younger generation.  The two generations quite frankly confuse the heck out of each other.  Neither really “gets” the other and has a regrettable tendency to dismiss the other’s notions of what is necessary for a “good” education, right out of hand.

There are similar conflicts between each generational cohort.  The gap between the Net Generation and the iGeneration is just as confusing, in many ways.  Young teachers of the Net Generation and the iGeneration students often feel a nagging sense of rejection and confusion because they don’t understand each other any better than the older generations understand them.

The students that are in the PreK-12 years of education are truly like no other generation of student.  We must be more attuned to what their lives are like and use that to educate them.  We cannot expect them to live, or learn, in the past, just because we find it difficult to bring ourselves up to the speed of their lives.

Education can no longer be about memorizing facts.  Facts are at our literal fingertips! Education can no longer be about our version of history.  History is available globally for all to read and discover from original sources. Education can no longer be just about long division and showing your work.   The process now is simply to learn which buttons to push on the calculator or computer to get to the right answer.  We are, too often, teaching skills that no longer serve.

Education today must be about teaching these flying-fingered young people how to think critically and create and problem solve. They already know how to relate and communicate on many levels.  We need to help them learn to collaborate and discern excellence and insist on it from their leaders.  After all, it is our job to help shape the future that these iGeneration learners will inherit.

We don’t need to be asking them to leave their connections with each other outside the classroom.  We need to be asking how can we connect with them in the classroom!  And then, we need to do it.

Hello!

Teachers are especially susceptible to what I call “brain drain” and it is easy to get bogged down in the details of the day before we ever get a chance to stop and take a few minutes just for ourselves.  So, when I read this great little article by performing artist, Christine Kane, it impressed me as an easy way to get each day started with a little special time and space for me.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  We don’t have to follow anything like a cookie cutter pattern, but the ideas here are well worth exploring to begin to carve out some time for creativity each day.

Enjoy!

Teresa

How to Create a Powerful Morning Ritual
by Christine Kane
It is said that your habits create your destiny.

I’d add that your habits also create your confidence, courage and even your creativity!

In other words, your daily choices, routines, and seemingly insignificant moments make all the difference in your results.

One of the best ways to generate great results is to create a morning ritual. A powerful morning ritual sets the tone for your entire day – and your entire year!

A ritual is personal. A ritual is creative. (Not reactive!) A ritual is what gets YOU on track to create your best day. (And subsequently, your best life!) It can be as simple as a 15-minute routine, or as intense as long-distance running. The important thing is that it becomes a HABIT.

My morning ritual combines a mixture of physical, mental and heart-centered activities to engage each of these human power centers!

Here are some ideas to help you create your own powerful morning ritual.

Hydrate First

Many Eastern health practitioners recommend chugging down at least a half-liter of filtered room-temperature water first thing. (Yes, before your coffee!)

Upon waking, your body has spent hours without hydration. Drinking pure water at this time triggers a series of physiological functions that keep your body super healthy. Some report that this one practice can actually heal many diseases. (I’m not a scientist – but I can attest to the amazing results!)

Get Moving

Exercise is called “The Number One Form of Preventive Medicine.”

It is also a prescription for happiness and a cure for depression! Getting exercise first thing sets your day off right. You can do a simple stretching routine, yoga or an all-out heart-pounding hour at the gym. Pick something do-able and do it.

Meditate

Many people don’t meditate because they find it intimidating. I say, start with just 5 minutes. Meditation connects you to your center, and to the deep silence that surpasses any drama that might be happening in the world of your personality. Don’t worry about doing it right. Just allow yourself the time to BE.

Set Intention

“Intention rules the earth,” says Oprah Winfrey.

It’s true! Your intention is a powerful force to engage.

Remembering your intention puts you back on track. You become focused again.

Reflect for a moment on your Word of the Year. Read a goal you’ve written down for yourself. Remind yourself of a financial dream. (If you’re one of my new students in Uplevel Your Business, read the intention you wrote down on the first day of the program!)

You don’t have to know the HOW. You just need to set the intention so your inner GPS can stay on target!

Be Grateful

Before I get out of bed, I silently create a morning gratitude list. When I begin my day remembering my “gratitudes,” (instead of my “anxieties”) my heart fills with extreme joy and deep awareness. I then bring that energy into everything I do – and to everyone with whom I connect.

Use a Netty Pot

(This one’s a little weird!)

For years, my acupuncturist told my husband and I to use a Netty Pot. We laughed at him. Then, in the face of acute sinus problems, my husband tried it and became a convert. He converted me.

A Netty Pot uses warm water and a special salt to cleanse your sinuses and clear your breathing. Google it, and let the idea sit with you for a while. (You might be a convert too!)

Eat Creative

Your choice of breakfast foods can set up your success with other meals as well. Start your day off in the healthiest way possible for you – and make it a ritual, not a chore.

Be Prepared: Create a Not-to-Do List

Everyone needs a “Not To Do” morning list.

Suggestions here include anything that brings up a “reactive” state: Turning on the local news. Checking email. Answering texts. Answering the phone.

Let these things wait until AFTER your ritual has been completed!

Your Assignment:

After reading this article, don’t just think, “Wow. Those are some good ideas. I should try one or two.”

Instead, deliberately create your morning ritual now. Take about 20 minutes to think about and write down what your ritual will be each morning. Start simple at first. Choose one or two items from this menu. Or come up with your own. Write out your Ritual in detail.

Begin first thing tomorrow morning, and let your habits create YOUR destiny starting now!
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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?
Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:
Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 11,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.

What does understanding look like?

Define understanding.  Is it emotion? Is it to share and to apply?  Is it transfer into a new context? Is it being able to articulate? Does it involve stretching yourself? Is there a range of degrees involved? Is it performance, added together with flexibility, to serve the purposes as needed?  Does it involve risk-taking?

For example,  I struggled with the math in Advanced Statistics, but I could perform an analysis of what the statistics meant in any given situation and explain that meaning in non-mathematical terms.  Did I understand?

Understanding is sometimes considered as the ability to perform a range of needed activities. There is knowledge, which has to do with facts or figures, concrete data. There are skills that show what we can do or perform or bring to bear on a problem. And there is understanding. Understanding has been described as “what sticks after everything else fades away.”

Understanding can be viewed through various filters, such as, will it make someone a better human being? Or will it still be important to the learner beyond 10 years or more. There is a difference between understanding and knowledge and skills.

Examples of knowledge:  knowledge would be to know the plot of the book 1984 or details of the book.  Knowledge would be to know about the events or characters in the book.

Examples of skills:  To be able to quote from the book.  Or to write well and construct good sentences. To be able to compare and contrast the characters’ motives.

Examples of understanding:  To make connections between the events in the book and today’s world.  Or to make connections between the ideas of losing freedoms and paranoia and fear.  Understanding brings a sense of the personal to the learning.

The most important thing for all of us to remember, whether teaching young people or adults, is this:  the person doing the reading, writing or thinking, the doing, is the person learning.  I’ve tried to keep this uppermost in my mind whenever I teach. But even more importantly, I try to keep it in mind when I am planning.  How can we bring that sense of the personal to the learning? How can we best foster understanding?

If you know what you want them to learn (knowledge) and what they will be doing (skill) to foster that learning, it is easier, not harder, to figure out ways to accomplish the goal of understanding, and to adapt to changing circumstances or needs.

Remember to allow learners to use a variety of strategies and styles to accomplish the learning. Not everyone learns the same way or with the same set of tools.  Not everyone views the process through the same filters or will arrive at the same answers.  And not everyone will come to the same understanding.

So, what does understanding look like?  I don’t know exactly.  That’s one of those Big Questions.

The Big Questions really have no predetermined answers when personal learning –understanding– is taking place.   If they did, there would be no advancement possible.

Enjoy!
Teresa Roebuck

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