Peggy's blog

Self-esteem is an essential quality of a successful student. A student without confidence in their own ability to learn will not learn to their full potential. A student without self-confidence can be an easy target for bullies and will seldom take risks reaching out socially or academically. Taking these types of chances gives students opportunities to grow, so this growth is limited in kids with a lower self-esteem.

By integrating ideas of acceptance, tolerance, and personal safety into our daily teaching, we can arm students with the confidence to learn anything. Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t--you’re usually right.” This week, I am looking at resources and activities that will help students think they can.

Maybe it was the growling of my stomach as I began writing this post. Maybe it was watching the 3 reams of paper go through the copy machine: worksheets destined for student desks, and ultimately, the trash. Either way, when I started researching creative methods for teaching students about continents, I looked for engaging and meaningful activities that would leave students with a lasting curiosity about how the earth came to look the way it looks today. Many students have learned about this topic on a very basic level, so I was looking for resources that would challenge students of all ages and skill levels to make learning connections with other subjects.

The beginning of the school year is filled with high hopes. Teachers have plans to teach their students everything they need to know for the year, and students are coming out of summer vacation rested and ready to learn. Parents are counting on schools to provide their kids the appropriate education for their grade. They are hoping their kids will be ready for next grade when it’s time to move on, and, more importantly, they want them to be fully prepared for college by the end of high school.

Many of our recent discussions on the Gateway have centered on a multi-disciplinary or “whole child” approach to teaching and learning. Resources that look at one topic through the lens of many different subject areas are very useful to elementary school teachers and to secondary teachers who are working with colleagues to unite learning across different subjects. Creating a successful set of lessons that stresses these connections is a time consuming process. Using quality online resources will allow you to spend your valuable time being a teacher and a mediator.

Philanthropy: a deliberate affection for mankind, shown in contributions of money, property, or work for the benefit of others

Modern cell phones are more than just devices for making and receiving phone calls. New smartphones are tiny computers designed for communication, organization, and entertainment. These newer phones include tools for taking and editing pictures and videos, sending texts and emails, streaming video, connecting to others through social networks, and so much more. With the release of new education apps every day, cell phones are beginning to edge their way in among high tech learning tools. The fact that so many students have access to cell phones (or other mobile devices like the iPod Touch or a tablet) leads many teachers to consider their use in the classroom.

Recent events in my life and around the world have reminded me of the important role teachers play in educating the “whole child.” The main academic subjects are very important, but a well-rounded person will need more than just those basics to succeed in life. We spend a lot of time discussing what to teach and how to teach it, but all this discussion can make it easy to lose track of our ultimate goal of molding successful, well-rounded, and happy humans.

Sometimes the simplest things make the most memorable lessons. You can find rocks just about anywhere, and most kids have collected them at one time or another. Careful examination, comparison, and classification are a big part of rock collecting. Kids who enjoy finding and sorting rocks will learn a lot about geology and earth science while doing something they enjoy.

Reading Joann’s post about fractions this week made me laugh. Her struggles with fractions were all too familiar to me! In all seriousness, though, it’s really too bad when difficulty with a particular topic turns a student off to that topic. Repeating drills and worksheets to encourage skills is not always successful, and it can frustrate students who don’t understand the material in the first place. Teachers have the tough task of presenting these topics in a variety of ways to keep students interested. When one method doesn’t work, a dedicated teacher tries something new. Sometimes, finding new and different approaches can be a challenge.

If you are like me, you have a giant collection of “stuff” saved just in case it will be useful someday for one project or another. Hot summer days are the perfect time to pull out this stuff and let kids go wild. How can you be sure they will do something productive with those old cell phones, paper towel tubes, and lovely containers of various shapes and sizes, though?