Twinkl

 Are you still teaching or learning English as a second language with old-school methods? Want some fun resources to activate your mind? This group has over 12K members and I hope it continues to grow, I recommend Twinkl Resources for ESL Teachers, speakers of English, English Teachers and English learners.

Many years ago, I had the opportunity to teach an English Second Language (ESL) class to a group of students in high school. I was told before I took the assignment that the previous teacher had laid out the semester and that all I had to do was follow her plans.

That information turned out not to be correct. I started the class and found there were no lesson plans, no records, and no information about what the students needed or where they were in learning the language. All I knew was that at the end of the term, the students would be given a proficiency exam which would determine if they moved ahead or stayed where they were for another year. 

I am a good researcher, but it took me about two weeks to figure out what I needed to do and then I had to find resources to use. It was not easy and back then there were not a lot of great resources. Today English as a Second Language Teachers have many more choices than I did. I maintain a passing interest and I came across a fantastic resource on Facebook called Twinkl Resources for ESL Teachers. 

They have over 655,000 resources for teachers, they offer many of them for free. In addition, they offer help if you have a question or are looking for specific help. The videos they put up on Facebook are original, funny, and accurate. I wish I had access to this resource when I was teaching ESL. If you are an English teacher, or an English user, or an ESL teacher or a learner of English, there is something here for you. 

As I said her site is original and filled with humour, and I highly recommend this site to you. Here are three ways to contact the site, via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TwinklESL go to the site https://www.twinkl.ca/ directly or you can join the group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/TwinklTEFLGroup/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialcial

What do you do at school?

The twins have started pre-school and have been going for a while. We were visiting and so I asked full of curiosity, "What do you do at school?" My follow-up was going to be "How do you like it so far?".

The twins are two rambunctious little boys who love to tear around and they never seem to sit down. However, I was surprised by their answer, which was, " We sit." Their mom reacted very quickly and showed us all of the stuff they were doing. And she talked about how they really like school. The boys did say they liked what they were doing, and they enjoyed playing with their new friends.

I found it interesting that when asked about school, they both responded with the same idea. "We sit." Part of the reason for young children to attend pre-school is to help them socialize and learn skills that they will need in Kindergarten, through to grade 12. One of the first rules is that you cannot run around as much as you want to, you have to sit.

They have learned the first lesson, I wonder if the teachers realize that is what the twins understand about school. School is important and we there is evidence that pre-school is important for the preparation of students when entering grade 1. Socialization is important because in pre-school and kindergarten we learn the rules of life and how to get along with people outside of our immediate family. We also begin to expand our worldview as we see others behaving in ways we may not have been aware. 

A few years ago there was a book called “All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum. Here is an excerpt from the book, All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile

at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:

·       Share everything.

·       Play fair.

·       Don't hit people.

·       Put things back where you found them.

·       Clean up your own mess.

·       Don't take things that aren't yours.

·       Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.

·       Wash your hands before you eat.

·       Flush.

·       Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

·       Live a balanced life - learn some and think some

·       and draw and paint and sing and dance and play

·       and work every day some.

·       Take a nap every afternoon.

·       When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic,

·       hold hands, and stick together.

·       Be aware of wonder.

·       Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup:

o  The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

o  Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die.

o  So do we.

·       And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK. 

·       Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.

·       The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation.

·       Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

·       Take any of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or

your world and it holds true and clear and firm.

·       Think what a better world it would be if all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had a basic policy to always put thing back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

·       And it is still true, no matter how old you are - when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

What makes a great teacher?

What makes a great teacher, is it the rapport with the students, the ability to get the best from them, or is it the ability to want students to achieve on standardized tests? Is it the ability to interact with parents, administrators, colleagues, senior management? Or is it the ability to manage classroom aides, as well as manage classroom control, 

Do you want to be noticed for your drive, your integrity, honesty, your caring and your values? No matter how tough or easy you are if the students recognize that you care, it makes a big difference running the class.

Being and acting in a professional manner is something that is different for each individual teacher, but acting as a professional allows your student, your colleagues and your administration and your parents to relax, as they know you will do the right thing. 

When I started teaching there were rules about what teachers could and could not wear. Over time these rules either vanished or are no longer enforced. One way to demonstrate you are serious about your craft is to dress in a manner that says to everyone, you are proud of yourself and that you are ready to teach. I don't mean wear a suit and tie or a formal dress, I mean make sure what you are wearing is clean, pressed and not too trendy.

We all plan, both short-term and long-term planning is needed by teachers. When a teacher is being trained at University, the trainers focus on the day's lesson or the week's lesson plan. I found that when I had my own class, I sat down and looked first at the year. I created the outcomes and goals that I wanted my students to have at the end of their year with me. I used the curriculum guides and outcomes to help in this long-term planning.  Once I had the long-term goals for the year set, I broke down the steps I would take to get my students to the end goals and objectives. I created goals that would be achieved by Christmas break, by Easter Break and by June 1st. Once I had the goals and subgoals set, I then created long and short-term lessons. I would, for example, have a team project that focused in on a particular area that would last a month. While the class was working on that project, I would create lesson plans that build towards the goals I was trying to get my students to reach. I would also set up tests and other evaluations that allowed me to see where my students were in their understanding of the goals we were trying to understand. I was always prepared, so when the inevitable problem or change was thrown my way, I and my class could adjust easily.

Students are not passive learners, they watch everything we do and say in the classroom and they can quickly see the difference between someone who knows what they are doing and someone who is floundering.  They perceive your fear.  

Strong and consistent classroom management allows students to feel safe and to be secure in the idea that you are fair, and will keep your classroom safe from bullying and other situations that detract from learning. There will always be interruptions and even disturbances that may be frightening to your students. The students look to you for guidance in these situations and you must stay calm and in control.   It takes time to develop a history and to get to a point where you really do know what to do in each circumstance.  Interruptions and disturbances should not upset you, because you are prepared in every other way, and once the problem is addressed you can slide back to your lesson smoothly.

If you are prepared, you remain calm, you have the confidence that allows you up to be relaxed and even funny with your students.  Your students want to know that you know what you are doing and they also take joy when they see you smile because they are on track. Your sense of confidence will allow students to take a risk and open up to you.  Being confident, relaxed your students will be at ease so they will feel confident to ask difficult questions and to interact with you and each other. Because you are a professional you are making a difference in the lives of students which is why you came into this profession in the first place.

What qualities do you remember in the great teachers you had when you were in school (High School, University, or College?)

When the student needs a teacher they are there

You know what's kind of wild? At this very crossroads of time and space, more than ever before, there are so many billions of people yearning to awaken, study, and understand the truth about themselves, their divinity, and the magic.

You know what else is kind of wild? Just as this need arose, simultaneously, all over the world, there has appeared the greatest teachers, though in far smaller numbers. Those who are actually living these truths, leading with the example of their lives, and healing those in need through simple conversation.

Want to know what's even more unbelievable? That you sometimes consider yourself more of the student. 

Talking to Students or talking AT them

Our discussion, over lunch, focused on how do we keep student's attention when we were delivering content. So here is some advice for young teachers. We all were in agreement that we should talk to our students, not at them. There is a phenomenon that all public speakers encounter when they are addressing a crowd that if you thought about it very much, it would get to you.  It is a phenomenon that any teacher who is trying to impart knowledge to a room full of students will experience as well. And if you think about it very much, it will get to you too.  That phenomenon happens when you are talking along and you look out at those blank faces staring up at you and you realize that a few, some or maybe all of those minds behind those faces are paying absolutely no attention to you at all.

Whether or not that drives you crazy depends on whether you consider the act of teaching complete when you speak or when the student grasps and understands what you are saying.   Very often young teachers, when speaking are more concerned about getting the information out and have lost sight of whether the students are getting it or not.  They have not yet learned that it is their job to make sure the students understand or interact with the material.  They are a delivery vehicle and if they enunciate the lecture successfully, they have successfully "taught".

But just saying words into the air whether or not they are heard or understood really isn't teaching, is it?  Put it in the context of a chef.  If you cook a wonderful meal that is delicious, prepare it with the finest of materials and present it with perfect ambiance, is it still a delightful meal if there is nobody at the table to appreciate it and nobody eats the meal?  No, you are only a chef when the patron dines on your food and appreciates every nuance of the flavour and the experience of enjoying what you have done.

That distinction is what drives teachers crazy when they feel students are not listening.  To a teacher who has a passion for the real act of teaching, their job is not done until the students grasp the material and interact with it, question it and finally grasp it and make that knowledge their own.  A lecture not heard, not understood, not "taught" is not teaching at all, its just talking.

Preparing to become a teacher is about more than just knowing how to design a lesson plan and how to organize a classroom and make a bulletin board.  Becoming a teacher means you become one of those amazing people who can take students from uninformed to informed and from unenlightened to truly "taught".  When it is your calling you want to become that kind of teacher who talks to students to ensure they have learned the material, you do not want to be the teacher who stands and delivers material with no knowledge of whether your students know what you are saying at all.

This means that you will have to change your teaching style. It means that you won't be satisfied with just working on a lecture.  In fact, it might spell the end of the lecture as a teaching device for you entirely.  To really find out if those children are listening and interacting with the material, you will have to change your approach to an interactive teaching style.  You will have to start talking to students or with students and not AT them.  But once you do that, the feedback you will get and the quality of your teaching will improve so dramatically, you will never want to go back.

Should we lower teachers wages?

I read an interesting report on Teachers salary and the impact on student learning. The report was written by David R. Johnson for the CD Howe Institute. As a BC Teacher, I was not surprised to see that we were the lowest paid. I am proud of the fact we in BC are students have consistently received high academic results. 

After reading the commentary I am drawn to the conclusion that the CD Howe Institute is laying the groundwork which will allow provincial governments to slow the growth of teachers salary and benefits as stated here:

Across these six provinces, the reality is that paying teachers relatively more is not associated with better results.

This Commentary comes to two clear conclusions. Public teacher compensation, when measured using relative earnings, shows significant variation across the six largest Canadian provinces. However, comparable student achievement assessment results are not lower in provinces where teachers are paid relatively less. Factors other than teacher compensation that are unexplored here may better explain the interprovincial variation in student achievement results.

The policy implications are fairly clear. There appears to be room to reduce the growth of teacher compensation relative to other occupations so that teachers in other provinces end up in similar salary percentiles to teachers in BC. It would also seem that other provinces could implement much less generous pension rules, emulating those in British Columbia. The BC PISA results suggest that, despite considerably lower levels of overall relative compensation, BC attracts persons to be teachers who produce high-quality outcomes.

It is unrealistic to expect that such a compensation change could occur quickly in provinces where teacher salaries fall into higher percentiles. Still, relative salaries could be reduced gradually by having a series of wage settlements where increases are less than the rate of inflation. Pension factors could also be adjusted very gradually so that the 85 (or 80 in the case of Manitoba) factor could rise by six months each year for a decade. This would allow an orderly change in retirement plans by teachers.

In the report Mr. Johnson also makes some other interesting points, which are summarized below:

In this Commentary, I look at teacher compensation in elementary and secondary publicly funded schools across Canada’s six most populous provinces and ask, “Do provinces that pay their teachers more achieve better results?”

There is significant variation in teacher salaries in these provinces – Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Manitoba and Ontario pay the most relative to other employees in their own province, while BC teacher wages are usually the lowest in relative terms.

In examining comparable academic assessments of teacher salaries and student achievement in these six Canadian provinces, I have come to this conclusion: there is no clear relationship between province-wide student results and relative teacher pay. For example, BC students, whose public school teachers have among the lowest relative salaries, generally achieve the same or better academic results as students in other provinces.

These findings suggest that factors other than high salaries and attracting stronger candidates into teaching play an important role in achieving better results. Indeed, the slightly better student achievement results (they are only slightly better and often not statistically different) in British Columbia and Alberta might lead policymakers to ask what other factors play a role in those provinces.

The menu of possibilities is quite large. Richards et al. (2008) and Richards (2014) show that British Columbia handles its Aboriginal students differently than other provinces and gets more positive outcomes. Friesen et al. (2015) make the argument that open enrolments at schools and the ensuing competition for students in British Columbia could be an important factor in attaining these better results.

Among the many policies and unique characteristics that may explain the differences in student assessment results across the provinces, this Commentary eliminates only the argument that paying teachers more is associated with better student performance.

One substantial difference among the six (provincial) plans is the time to qualify for a full pension without a reduction in benefits. BC teachers have the least generous formula to qualify – age plus years of service must total 90. Manitoba teachers have the most generous formula – age plus years of service must add up only to 80. Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario all use 85 as the qualifying factor. Quebec applies a more complicated formula in which the eligibility rule seems to fall between the 85 and 90 factors. 

Ten Characteristics of Extraordinary Teachers

The International Center for Leadership in Education completed a study of what makes a teacher extraordinary. The study was built on three earlier studies that explored  This post is for my young teacher friends who are just starting out in this wonderful profession.

1. the reasons some schools had high-achieving students in spite of high poverty and other markers that seem to preclude success
2. the ways these schools were able to close the achievement gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students
3. the observations of students in these studies who were interviewed about their learning and their teachers’ teaching. 

From these explorations, the new study identifies 10 characteristics of extraordinary teachers: 

1. Student-Teacher Relationships. The teacher creates an atmosphere of mutual respect in which students and teachers are involved together in the learning process.

2. Commitment to Student Success. The teacher believes and acknowledges that all students will succeed and works to accomplish this success.

3. Passion, Enthusiasm, and Competence. The teacher demonstrates an infectious interest and passion in the subject matter and relays that attitude to students, staff, and other adults.

4. Awareness of Time. The teacher provides bell-to-bell instruction in the classroom and plans time to ensure that the curriculum is covered within the semester or school year.

5. Exceptional Organization. The teacher has systems (often self-designed) for maximizing instructional time.

6. Seamless Use of Tools and Opportunities. The teacher has at hand a full complement of instructional strategies and is able to take advantage of classroom opportunities to extend discussion and understanding.

7. High Verbal Skills, Clear Voice. The teacher has a widely developed vocabulary, a clear voice, and the ability to explain concepts well.

8. Sense of Theatre. The teacher holds the students’ attention through a style that includes a sense of theater, an awareness of audience, and an atmosphere of liveliness.

9. Experience. The teacher demonstrates maturity gained though several years of teaching.

10. Pleasantly Neurotic. The teacher is likely on occasion to bend rules or change procedures in order to benefit students, but is, at the same time, a team player and not a rabble-rouser.

Thats what success looks like

As my friends in teaching in BC wait to start back to another year of teaching and growth with their students, I thought they would find the following funny.  

The fight  over public education in BC is not funny, and the battle will be a long one. Teacher's have made many concessions but the government is not moving.  The government wants to break the union , if they do  
students lose. In the meantime enjoy

1. “We've all been to elementary school, so aren't we all kind of experts on it?”
Um, no. You've been sick before — does that make you a doctor?

2. “When I retire, I still want to do something, so I think I might take up teaching.”
Teaching is not a hobby, like gardening or sailing. Teaching will likely make your old job feel like a vacation.

3. “Have you ever thought about making your class more fun?”
No, I do my best to make it as boring as I can.

4. “If you really cared about kids, you wouldn't worry about the salary.”
I love my students. I love teaching. I also love being able to support my family and feed my kids.

5. “If you managed your time at school, I bet you wouldn't need to plan lessons and grade on the weekends.”
OK, I’m a little busy at school. I teach and work with students almost every moment of the day. Spending 20 hours a week outside of school on prep and grading is normal for me.

6. “You’ll never be a truly great teacher until you have your own kids.”
Actually, yes I will. The relationship between teacher and student is quite different from that of parent and child.

7. “Why do you make them read so much and write so many essays? Why do you give such hard grades?”
Because it’s my job. Because my students are here to learn. Because they’ll need these skills to survive in the world. How many reasons do you need?

8. “I pay taxes in this district, so technically you work for me.”
Sorry, we’re not your minions. That’s not how it works. Taxes support public goods and services — such as the fire department, police, parks, and yes, public schools — for the community as a whole. And by the way, teachers pay taxes too.

9. “Oh, you teach kindergarten. That must be fun — playing and singing all day.”
Yes, my life is just like Disney movie. I sing and the children and the little animals of the forest come running. Actually, in kindergarten, we teach our students the foundational literacy and math skills — as well as the social and emotional skills — that set them up for success in every grade to follow.

10. “Why are you so strict? They’re just kids.”
We make plenty of time for laughter and fun in my classroom. But rules and routine are not only necessary, they help children to feel safe, secure, and valued in the classroom community.

11. “How hard can it be? You have all summer off.”
A longer summer break is one of the benefits of choosing teaching as a career. But keep in mind, it’s not all summer. I spend weeks every July and August on professional development and curriculum planning. And during the school year, I work 12 hours a day all week long and at least one day every weekend. Add it up and our vacation days are about the same.

12. “Teaching is nice, but don’t you want to be more successful and make more money?”
I teach because I want to make a difference. I teach because what I do every day matters for kids. That’s what success looks like.

The above appeared originally on the We Are Teachers Tumblr

Teachers are important

I was  a teacher for 40 years and loved every minute of it, but I learned some important lessons early in my career that helped me. For many young teachers once the following lessons (in bold) are learned they will be come better at their craft and more useful to the students they serve. "While we teach, we learn," said the Roman philosopher Seneca. 

From ancient history through to today, humans have realized that when you teach lessons to others, you end up learning more than the student. That's why the best way to develop a greater understanding of any material is to play the role of the teacher and explain it to a student. 

It's even better when your students challenge you. The more questions they ask you, and the greater their skepticism, the more you have to properly articulate your answers and justify your beliefs. It's much better to teach actively engaged minds than passive people. 

Nothing is better than working one-on-one with a cynical student. It demands that you become a better teacher, and better understand the material, when you are challenged to simplify your message. You also learn by repeating your message to student after student and adapting your delivery based on their non-verbal responses

It's helpful to become a mentor to someone else that seeks the same goals. By explaining your new habits, you will better understand their importance, and furthermore, you will become more committed to these new behaviors. When you act as a teacher you want to maintain integrity and act in a way that is consistent with what you just taught. After all, a hypocrite is a lousy teacher

As a teacher you should always remember that you will learn as much, if not more, than the student. 

And the more you learn, the more you can help others, and the positive cycle continues and expands, making you better and better at what you do, and allowing you to help more and more people. 

When you teach others what you know, when you share your knowledge, when you add value,teaching will give you a natural high. You'll do something good for others, and better yet, you'll do something great for yourself. All the while you'll improve your understanding of the material at the same time. 

That's why you actually benefit more from teaching than the student does. 

Trust me, every single time I've opened my expertise and shared it with others, I've left with new ideas, a better understanding, a clearer vision of the problem (and the solution that can be implemented), a feeling of gratitude for the knowledge that I have, and thankfulness for the ability to shine a little light into someone's life. 

Don't tell me you don't have anything to teach the world. In most areas of life, you don't need to be a certified instructor or a genius in order to impart a little wisdom to a friend, a colleague, or a mentor or a mentee. You just need to pass along what you know. Everyone wins when you do that. 

It doesn't matter if you are teaching a physical skill or a mental attribute, you cannot be a good teacher without making yourself better. When you instruct by example, it leads you to live by example. The lessons become more deeply ingrained in your mind. Keep on pushing and teaching. And that will make all the difference in your life. 

"Show your character and commitment through your actions." - Epictetus

Its the little things

Recently one of my ex students made a comment on Facebook, which I found interesting and heart warming.  I had made a comment on her page about her new glasses and she responded with the following comment directed, I think, at one of her friends who had asked her a question.

She said: "I called him Mr. Shookie, was the best teacher I ever had. He went beyond teaching me math. First I was ADHD at the time we didn't know. Then Canada became metric and he tried with all his might to teach me it. He told me just remember the jingles. ( I still do Mr. Shook.)"

I taught math many many years ago at an inner city Junior High school and one year I had a very strange but wonderful group of students. They were given to me because they did not fit into the regular math classroom, for a variety of reasons and no other teacher wanted the headaches associated with this group of students. This was before students were tested for behaviour issues and the idea of students having learning disabilities was not considered. Teaching of  students with special needs has come  a long way over the years. 

I remember that I had fun with the class but many of the days that year I felt I was flying by the seat of my pants in trying to make a connection between what I was teaching and the students but I never knew if I was making a difference. It seems I did.

The little things made an impact on at least one person and as a teacher, it is a wonderful feeling to be recognized for doing my job by my students.  In life it is the little things that make life worthwhile and I am grateful for the above comment that shows what I did over 35 years ago still has impact today.

Actions and words we do today, have impact over the long term on other people. Make each day, word and action count. Life is too short to not have a positive impact on those around us.

Thoughts for new teachers

The value of cooperation is important when you are teaching or working with someone who is a beginning learner or an expert in learning.  

A research study shows the power of cooperation and uses a party game to re-enforce the concept. The game is called the "tapper-listener" name-that-tune game. You may have played it or a variation of this game at a party.

The original research took a roomful of people and gave them all a list of the names of simple and widely-known songs, such as the birthday song, a national anthem, and children's songs. 

The group was then divided in half and organized into pairs. One of the pair was designated the "tapper" and the partner was designated as the "listener."

The tappers job was to secretly select a song from the list and then tap out the song without telling (or singing) the song to the listener. The listener's role was to determine the name of the song being tapped out. 

The research showed, remarkably, that only two percent of the listeners could correctly identify the song being tapped out. The tappers found this to be very frustrating, and had extreme difficulty accepting the fact that the listener didn't "get it."

The reason there was such incredulity on the part of the tappers was that part of their process of tapping included humming (or singing) the song to themselves while they were tapping. In other words, the tapper heard the song very clearly (and loudly in his or her head) and the tapping (according to the tapper) was an easy give-away clue as to the song.

But from the listener's viewpoint, he or she heard no melody or song, but only rhythmical tapping. The tapping could have been virtually any of the songs on the list.

I'm equating the "humming along" to the tapping as what often takes place in an interaction between a teacher and the students, with which he or she is working. 

That is, the teacher knows exactly what the melody, phrasing, spacing, tone, and notes (intention, method, and purpose) might be, but the only thing being communicated to the other students are questions, listening type responses, and occasional supportive statements.

The learner does not really have a way of knowing the intention and purpose of the behavioural responses of the teacher. This type of communication limits the opportunities for the learner to be cooperatively involved in the engagement with the teacher. 

By sharing intention and rationale for methods with the learner, the teacher has an even greater likelihood of achieving the progress that they both desire.

Not every behavioural action taken by a teacher needs to be or should be preceded by an explanation of its purpose or the rationale for the method choices.

These explanations or method descriptions are best placed at the beginning of the relationship and restated in some form at the beginning of each subsequent session.

In addition, when a student appears puzzled or reluctant to move forward, the teacher should be prepared to understand this hesitation and rekindle the students cooperation by sharing his or her own thoughts about what he or she as the teacher is hoping to do.

The word is Only

Professor Ernest Brennecke of Columbia is credited with inventing a sentence that can be made to have eight different meanings by placing ONE WORD in all possible positions in the sentence:

"I hit him in the eye yesterday."

The word is "ONLY".

The Message:

1.ONLY I hit him in the eye yesterday. (No one else did.)

2.I ONLY hit him in the eye yesterday. (Did not slap him.)

3.I hit ONLY him in the eye yesterday. (I did not hit others.)

4.I hit him ONLY in the eye yesterday. (I did not hit outside the eye.)

5.I hit him in ONLY the eye yesterday. (Not other organs.)

6.I hit him in the ONLY eye yesterday. (He doesn't have another eye..)

7.I hit him in the eye ONLY yesterday. (Not today.)

8.I hit him in the eye yesterday ONLY. (Did not wait for today.)

9.  I hit him in the eye ONLY yesterday (I hit him in the eye whenever I see him, and I saw him as recently as yesterday.)

Could be a cool activity for Middle School students to come up with anything close to this!

American Idol and Teaching

My daughter loves watching American Idol and so when we were in Australia I started to watch it with her. I found I enjoyed watching American Idol. (My thanks to -ehanson for this post)

Being a participant on American Idol does seem to have a lot of similarities with being a teacher which I have been for almost four decads, an EA, or a teacher candidate on a 13 week Practicum 

Being on a Practicum (or in a Classroom) is Almost Like Being on American Idol

There are challenges which can really stress you out and you start to doubt yourself.

Some days you feel like a 'Rock Star', other days you think it is 'The End of the Road'.  

There are always critics that you have to face.  

Sometimes you feel it is a popularity contest.

Those that think they are 'The Greatest' are usually mediocre at best, and those that are the most Humble, turn out to be 'The Greatest'.

The judges and the audience don't want the singers/teacher candidates to mimic someone else.  The singers /teacher candidates have to find their unique voice and be themselves.  

Sometimes the participants/teacher candidates aren't ready for the day's challenge but they are encouraged to come back tomorrow or even next year and try again.

They both teach you human nature, with lots of opportunity for comedy and tragedy.

Its not just one audition, it is a series of months (or years or decades)  of dress rehearsals and job interviews.

There is much more planning and practising than being on stage.

Sometimes you feel that you are only as good as your last performance or class.

You can never rest on your laurels.

You don't know who, how, or where your influence will end up.

You have to really want to do it and really enjoy doing it to be successful.

As the song goes: "When you find yourself in time of trouble...", take the advice from another tune: "You pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again!

You are there to educate and to entertain.

Timing is Everything!

You are the messenger.  You deliver the message in an engaging way.

When you succeed, you know all the time, work, stress, and frustrations were worth it.

And you are amazed when, down the road,  you finally get paid, that someone actually pays you to do this labour of love.

What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895....

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education?  Well, check this out.  Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895? 

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kansas, USA. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

 8th Grade Final Exam:  Salina, KS - 1895 

Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications. 
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of "lie,” play," and "run." 
5. Define case; illustrate each case..
6. What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation. \
7. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar. 

Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic. 
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. for tare? 
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals? 
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent. 
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank C heck, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt. 

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States. 
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas. 
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865. 

Orthography (Time, one hour) 

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals 
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?) 
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup. 
8. Mark diacriticall y and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays. 
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication. 

Geography (Time, one hour)

1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ? 
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America. 
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco. 
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each. 
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers. 
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth. 

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete. 

Gives the saying "he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?

There is more to life than increasing its speed. - Mahatma Gandhi