Technically Yours Teamann — Page 82 — my version of transparent, collaborative leadership…with a Teamann twist

Bully BooN

March 7, 2013 by Amber Leave a Comment

I came across this article today from a “friend” on Facebook who was venting about the hows’ and whys’ his children wouldn’t attend a public school what with all this bullying going on…

I challenge you to read this article and see if you can view it through two separate lenses.

First, look through the lens of a seasoned educator. Your day is filled with, “he touched me, she looked at me, they’re picking on me.” Your classroom is made up of students who come from a variety of homes, with a variety of personality’s and a HUGE variety of quirky behaviors. You learn very quickly that a nine year old’s version of what happened isn’t ALWAYS the most clear…and requires you to also become an investigator. You can already tell by September which students have a ton of friends to play with…and which need some direction from you. You add personality match maker to your already impressive plate of underpaid teacher, tutor, social worker, nurse, momma stand in, test giver, curriculum creator , and human. How easy would it be to dismiss a playground claim of bullying?

Now look through the lens of a parent who gets the call from school that your child hung himself in the bathroom. Is any excuse good enough? Is any attempt to rationalize what wasn’t communicated good enough?

As a momma and a loveR of our Lions…I don’t think so.

It’s a thin thin line between being completely whipped by the extreme amount of effort it takes to completely discern whether or not a student is being bullied. I know this. I know that your days are long and your lists of “one more thing” never gets any shorter. I know that the new “b” word is thrown around DAILY.

I also know the most important thing in my life is my children.

Maybe looking through the lens of the bullied, vs the bully, will help us to identify behaviors and help create an environment that doesn’t tolerate ANY incidents that could be perceived as bullying. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Bully BanN,

Amber

Dum da dum dum…

March 7, 2013 by Amber Leave a Comment

That’s not a lolly pop offer, 🙂

I’m talking mysteries! Came across a great scholastic site this morning, that has entranced my Lion Leaders. It combines problem solving with their natural mystery loving tendencies.

It’s a great site for teachers. It offers audio support for those who have difficultly reading and has the option to print each mystery out. Differentiation is offered in the form of different levels of mysteries.

These would be great centers, a homework alternative for problem solving practice, or a great way to close out a classroom lesson.

Enjoy!

Sherlock Amberolmes

LO’s, SE’s, and all that implies

March 7, 2013 by Amber Leave a Comment

We’ve been talking about writing LO’s and I walked around and saw some REALLY good examples on campus yesterday! I know that many of you are still unsure of what you’re actually writing so I did some research. I found many sites that supported the use of LO’s in the classroom, and even some tips on how to most effectively write them for your classroom. I also found these great sample pics from Pinterest, 🙂

There is an argument on the “twitterverse” (@8Amber8) that the more a teacher “instructs” a student to become curious, the less likely that student is to become authentically curious. While I can see this for a high school student, I think the clarity provided with the LO for our elementary students is unarguable.

However, the same as with ANY tool, if the written objective is nothing more than something that looks good in the classroom but is not actually used to enhance learning, like a word wall that is never touched by teachers or students, then it defeats the purpose. INVOLVE your students in understanding the LO. This would be the L in the more traditional KWL chart.

Anywho, off rant.

Here are tips for writing effective LO’s…make them as grade level as possible, without losing the intent…

1. Create a stem. Stem Examples:After completing the lesson, the Lion will be able to . . .
After this unit, the Lion will have . . .
By completing the activities, the Lion will . . .
At the conclusion of the course/unit/study the Lion will . . .

2. After you create the stem, add a verb:analyze, recognize, compare, provide, list, etc.

3. One you have a stem and a verb, determine the actual product, process, or outcome:After completing these lesson, the Lion will be able to recognize foreshadowing in different stories.

ELA examples:

re-tell in his/her own words _____.
summarize the plot of _____.
make inferences from the text . . .
demonstrate understanding by writing three facts about . . .

Math examples:

use collected data to answer the question(s): _____
construct _____ (picture graphs, bar graphs, etc.)
create a series of mathematical steps to be used to . . .

Science examples:

demonstrate an understand of _____ in terms of _____
create a visual representation of _____ (the water cycle, etc.)
understand the basic structure of _____ (an atom)
identify states of matter . . .

objectively,

Amber

The 2012

March 7, 2013 by Amber Leave a Comment

We’re back, it’s calm & quiet, and its like we haven’t ever left!

🙂

I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions, mainly b/c I never seem to follow them, 🙂

What I do believe in is making positive changes that will impact my life. That being said, my list of 8 (duh!) goals does involve some professional statements. One is to maintain and continue BEING POSITIVE. We started our year with bucket filling, and somehow, over the past semester I think I lost my focus. Be it the stress, the sickness, or the fast pacedness of the fall, I ‘m not sure. I do know that I like me more when I’m chipper and happy. 🙂 Being positive isn’t just an attitutude, it an be a life uplifting direction. Check out these tidbits I came across from Twitter:

( I love Twitter. @8amber8)

1. Positive People Live Longer – In a study of nuns, those that regularly expressed positive emotions lived on average 10 years longer. (The Nun Study)
2. Positive work environments outperform negative work environments. (Daniel Goleman)
3. Positive, optimistic sales people sell more than pessimistic sales people. (Martin Seligman)
4. Positive leaders are able to make better decisions under pressure. (Heartmath.org)
5. Marriages are much more likely to succeed when the couple experiences a 5 to 1 ratio of positive to negative interactions whereas when the ratio approaches 1 to 1, marriages are more likely to end in divorce. (John Gottman)
6. Positive people who regularly express positive emotions are more resilient when facing stress, challenges and adversity. (Several Studies)
7. Positive people are able to maintain a broader perspective and see the big picture which helps them identify solutions where as negative people maintain a narrower perspective and tend to focus on problems. (Barbara Fredrickson)
8. Positive thoughts and emotions counter the negative effects of stress. For example, you can’t be thankful and stressed at the same time. (Several Studies)
9. Positive emotions such as gratitude and appreciation help athletes perform at a higher level. (Heartmath.org)
10. Positive people have more friends which is a key factor of happiness and longevity. (Robert D. Putnam)
11. Positive and popular leaders are more likely to garner the support of others and receive pay raises and promotions and achieve greater success in the workplace. (Tim Sanders)

I’m ok with ALL of these things!!

(I’m pretty sure Troy Aikman agrees with #9. IJS.)

Add being positive to your 2012 list…let’s see if our buckets can all over flow!

Positively,

Amber