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November 2010

The Importance of Being Earnest

Submitted by Joann on Tue, 2010-11-30 00:23


Last year, one of our local schools was named a National School of Character. This was a proud moment for the town, and especially for the teachers and the students. The school’s administration and staff consistently work diligently to help the students develop and abide by core values, such as honesty, respect, and integrity. The goal is not to simply create a caring, safe, and inclusive learning environment, but to also develop the students’ ethical and moral compasses. While there is intense pressure on educators to prep our students for the next assignment, the next grade, and the next standardized test, we need to keep in mind the overarching goal of education: to aid in the development of our students in becoming compassionate, active, and successful citizens.

Resources mentioned in this post: 
Character Education Podcasts
Responsibility and Community Service
Peace Partners

Giving Thanks

Submitted by Joann on Sat, 2010-11-20 17:57


I pretty much haven’t met a holiday that I didn’t like, but Thanksgiving is kind of special. It’s relatively low-key, and the notion of taking some time to really appreciate what we have – and to give thanks for it – is a winning notion. Each day most of us relentlessly multitask in order to wring the most benefit out of every possible millisecond. Some of us juggle work that needs to be reviewed and graded, attend to student needs, coach sports teams, and oversee a host of other activities. Many of us live from deadline to deadline (and paycheck to paycheck) and generally run on all cylinders from dawn to late night. It’s hard – modern life is hardly the days of leisure predicted by 19th century futurists.

Resources mentioned in this post: 
Become a Thanksgiving Historian
Thanksgiving: A Turkey's Point of View
Thanksgiving Mourning

Forensic Files

Submitted by Joann on Sun, 2010-11-14 22:20


Two summers ago, our local school department offered a one-week forensic science summer camp for older elementary students. Most of the kids were not there by choice, having been enrolled by their parents who thought that the course sounded “fun.” The teacher, having taught this course a few times before, was used to the student foot-dragging and wistful stares out the window at their unencumbered brethren playing outside, blissfully free from the tyranny of overly ambitious parents. The course focused on the investigation of an environmental crisis where local fish were killed by toxins in the water.

Resources mentioned in this post: 
Ink Chromatography Lab
CSI Podcasts
Crash Scene Investigation

Musical (Comfort) Chairs

Submitted by Joann on Sun, 2010-11-07 23:34


Helping out in the classroom the other day, I was surprised to hear the students clamoring to go to music class. Previously, the kids had always grumbled about music class, their complaints mainly revolving around the “babyish” songs that they had to sing, like “I’m a Little Teapot” and “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Admittedly, I had kind of felt their pain; by the third grade, nobody wants to be linked to music that is associated with the preschool set.

Resources mentioned in this post: 
"This Week in Music" Podcast
Film Scoring in the Music Classroom: Duck and Cover
Enhancing the Understanding of Singing a Round in the Early Elementary Grades