The next step in the Movement

I found this on the ASCD blog

Students in S. Bronx Refuse to Take Test

Almost all of the eighth-graders at South Bronx's Intermediate School 318 chose to hand in blank exams at the end of a three-hour social studies practice test. Refusing to take the test, even a practice test, may mean dismissal for the student's teacher, whom some authorities blame for inciting the boycott, though the students claim otherwise.

Writer and former teacher Dan Brown says the reason we haven't seen more protests like this one is be cause "students have been intellectually and spiritually bludgeoned into submission."

Do you think this sort of civil disobedience is effective? Are kids better served to take the test or walk out in protest?

This is the next step in the movement. See my post from April 25. Steve Dembo took my original post a little farther and even wrote some words. Check his post out here. I am for students organizing themselves and taking a stand on an issue that directly effects them and their right to a quality education. Way to go guys!

30 Things Good Teachers do

Okay I read a post on LifeHack "50 things that successful people do". The post took all the self-help books and boiled them down to the 50 things you need to do to be successful. Well I read them over and took a look at them from and educational perspective. Some just did not fit and many needed to be tweaked. So here is my list of 30 things good teachers do.

Habits of good teachers….

1. They look for and find opportunities where others see nothing.
2. They find a lesson while others only see a problem and they focus on solutions.
3. They consciously and methodically create success for their students, while others hope students will find success.
4. They ask the right questions - the ones which put them in a productive, creative, positive mindset and emotional state.
5. They rarely complain (waste of energy). All complaining does is put the complainer in a negative and unproductive state.
6. They don’t blame (parents, students?). They take complete responsibility for their actions and outcomes (or lack thereof) of their students.
7. They are busy, productive and proactive. While most are laying on the couch, or in the teacher's lounge, they are out there getting the job done.
8. They align themselves with like-minded people. They understand the importance of being part of a team. They create win-win relationships.
9. They are ambitious; they want amazing for themselves and their students- and why shouldn’t they?
10. They have clarity and certainty about what they want (and don’t want) for their students .
11. They innovate rather than imitate.
12. They are life-long learners. They constantly work at educating themselves, either formally (academically), informally (watching, listening, asking, reading, student of life) or experientially (doing, trying)… or all three.
13. They are glass half full people - while still being practical and down-to-earth. They have an ability to find the good.
14. They consistently do what they need to do for their students, irrespective of how they are feeling on a given day. They don’t spend their life stopping and starting.
15. They deal with problems and challenges quickly and effectively, they don’t put their head in the sand. They face their challenges and use them to improve themselves.
16. While many people are reactive, they are proactive. They take action before they have to.
17. They are good communicators and they consciously work at it, with student, parents, administrators and peers.
18. Their desire to be exceptional means that they typically do things that most won’t. They are willing to take risk and realize that you learn as much if not more from failure.
19. They do what is best for their students and that is the first question they ask.
20. They understand the importance of discipline and self-control. They are strong. They are happy to take the road less travelled.
21. They are generous and kind. They take pleasure in helping all students achieve.
22. They are humble and they are happy to admit mistakes and to apologise. They are confident in their ability, but not arrogant. They are happy to learn from others. They are happy to make others look good rather than seek their own personal glory.
23. They are adaptable and embrace change, while the majority are creatures of comfort and habit. They are comfortable with, and embrace, the new and the unfamiliar.
24. They are resilient. When most would throw in the towel, they’re just warming up.
25. They are open to, and more likely to act upon, feedback, from administrators, peers and students.
26. They don’t invest time or emotional energy into things which they have no control of.
27. They are happy to swim against the tide, to do what most won’t. They are not people pleasers and they don’t need constant approval.
28. They don’t rationalise failure. While many are talking about the troubles of their students, they are finding a way to help them succeed despite all their challenges.
29. They are more interested in effective than they are in easy. While the majority look for the quickest, easiest way (the shortcut), they look for the course of action which will produce the best results for their students over the long term.
30. They practice what they preach. They don’t talk about the theory, they live the reality.

I am sure that many teachers will read this list and say, hey that is me. Others will say that I must be nuts, no teacher can be like that (I not sure many of those will find this post). Do I care or even want to know? What do you think?

Another Voice Joins the Chorus

Well it seems like the flood gates have opened on the cell phone topic. I just came across this article in Technology News jumping on the "why are we banning cell phones" bandwagon. This one has some really good points and ideas. Hey maybe if we all just start forwarding all of this "data" to IT directors, principals, superintendents and school board members they will just give up and see the light.

Cell Phones Again

I just had to share this post from David Pogue's blog, he is the technology editor for the New York Times

Return of the Cellphones-in-Class Question

Today’s mailbag brings a question that was on every teacher’s lips a few years ago. I haven’t heard much talk about it recently. Is that because teachers have solved this problem on their own? If so, I’d like to hear your suggestions…

Dear David: I’m a high school teacher. Like all high schools, we are dealing with a problem that sucks time, energy, and resources like a black hole: cellphones. We waged a similar battle a few years back with iPods, and although stakes seem much higher now, the fundamental argument is the same. The argument is:

1] cellphones are a distraction
2] cellphones present a potential liability in terms of cheating on tests
3] cellphones are a distraction

My position is that we’re fighting the wrong fight, and fighting a fight no one will win. Telling teenagers that they cannot have a cellphone on their person, or worse, telling them that they can carry it but they cannot use it, is like banning cloudy days. It’s an admirable suggestion, but totally ludicrous. If I’m gauging the pace of progress correctly, by the time my current students exit college, the iPhone will be one of five devices that offer voice, text, e-mail, video chat, and Web access. Banning them is, in my opinion, ill considered at best.

I truly feel we should be incorporating their capabilities into the curriculum when possible, and teaching etiquette and personal responsibility in their use—because if the college class I teach is any example, they don’t got none. It’s so disheartening to look around during a lecture and see the soft glow of the screens while my students text away. I want to say it’s insulting, but it’s not personal — not in the least. It’s just the way it is.

So I’m asking for some insight on how to sell this to an administration that is overwhelmed with a hundred more important things, and to a school board that feels that two $500 computers are twice as good as one $1,000 machine. What’s the answer?

So my answer is, let them eat cake, oh I mean I have to agree teach the student responsible use of technology. There is no way to stop them from using and having them so teach them how to use them properly. With so much to teach students and so little time why should we as educators waste some of that time on this issue.

It seems like Steve Dembo had the same idea as I did and posted Dave's letter on his blog as well. What makes this even more ironic is that Steve, Dave and I were all together at PETE&C this year. Steve and Dave as keynote speakers and little old me just there to hear them. But we all had the same idea of venting on the time wasted on this issue.