Welcome EO Readers!
Hi,
If this is your first visit to my site, feel free to click around. Here’s a link to my Author’s Choice page. It has my favorite entries so far.
I haven’t been writing that much on here lately because I have been spending time with family. I am starting to get things ready for the new year, so there will probably be a few posts about what I’m planning and probably a few observations about teaching as I spend more and more time thinking about the upcoming school year.
Feel free to leave comments and we can have a discussion about things I’ve written about. I’m not an official spokesperson for my employer and all of my views are my views alone.
Regards,
Paul
Book Giveaway!
Hi, I’m Paul Nolan and I’m a teacher. I love education. There are so many great things about being a teacher. The students are great (although sometimes there are challenges) but the challenge of discerning the most relevant and effective ways to teach content and skills; adjusting that for each learner; and having to stay on your toes are why I do what I do!
I am always thinking about education, both within my classroom and larger policy issues. I also am always looking for ways to make things better in the profession. Policy, plans, methods, research… all of this is interesting to me. I started this blog in 2007 because I wanted a place to share my ideas and thoughts. Nothing here are things I wouldn’t say in public anyway, so in 2011 I have decided to go public and not blog anonymously anymore.
To celebrate this blog going public, I’m giving a great book away! A copy of Diane Ravitch’s The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education will be given away to one lucky person.
The Rules:
You gain entries in the following way:
- 1 Entry for Commenting on entries.
- 1 Entry for Following my Twitter @edthoughtsblog
- 1 Entry for Liking my Facebook Page EDIT: (This earns you 2 entries)
“Like” a Second Dad
I am the father to a wonderful one year old. She is funny, smart, beautiful, a little crazy, and the love of my life. The day before yesterday she was in our backyard for the first time and I turned to her and let her know that she was the reason why we had grass back there. When we bought the house it was all weeds and leaves in the front and back, so I worked for a few months getting the yard ready for sod while also working with my mom and wife on a terracing project. It took forever, but when everything was done, we had transformed the exterior of the house.
What I didn’t tell the tow head in the backyard was that she is the reason I’ve done everything in my life. I remember being in middle school and wanting a stable source of income, in a job that I liked so I could support a family. Of course, being the President of the United States is different than being a 6th grade teacher 
but that drive pushed me through school. I also wanted to find someone who I could build a family with. I met her at college as I worked toward my degree. So everything I am has been in preparation for my little one. I truly hope that I measure up to the goal I’ve been working towards for years.
So what does this have to do with a blog about education? A few months ago I had a teacher in my building tell me that a girl in one of my classes told her during a lesson that, “Mr. ____ is like my second father.” Now I hadn’t pulled some above and beyond, Freedom Writers, Ron Clark Story, Insert-teacher-in-Hollywood-movie-where-they-save-the-kid-from-a-bad-environment, move. I had just taught her and treated her like every other student. The kid has probably forgotten she said it, but for me it’s one of those things that I will never forget.
On Father’s Day we take time to recognize those men in our lives who raised us, or had some sort of influence on our lives. We also give ourselves an attaboy if we’re doing a decent job at being a dad. Although this applies to everyone I’m also putting special emphasis on teachers here because we spend hundreds of hours a year teaching children who are not our own. Male teachers, and especially the rare breed at the 6th grade level and below, you may not receive a card but you too may be seen as “like” someone’s second dad.
You have the opportunity to be a good role model and helper for all of your students. It’s a literally awesome (from the Oxford American Dictionary which has my favorite definition of the word: extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear) responsibility and privilege. So remember that.
Happy Father’s Day to the Biological, Non-Biological, and “kinda like” dads who influence us everyday.
Like this:
Little City, Big City
I teach in a city with a population of around 17000. Although our town is much larger than the cities that surround us, we are dwarfed by the resources that are available to citizens a mere 3 hours away by car (4.5 by bus). When I was a student teachers used to take their classes on trips to”the city” but that doesn’t happen anymore. This is due to the increased emphasis on testing, larger class sizes, and the increased pressure that school budgets are under.
My building had its budget slashed by 25% for next year.
Because your children are no longer exposed to things that are outside of their communities, they are missing out on real life/hands on learning that would greatly enhance their education.
Biology, math, and other sciences benefit from zoos and museums of scheme and industry, social studies is enhanced with museums and cultural events…
So a big goal for me this year will be to take my class on 3 field trips. I need to utilize the local native american museum, the local community college, and something in “the city.”
I don’t know how we’ll pay for it, but it needs to be done.
Challenge accepted.
Should I Points Grub Next Year?
Right now I teach with skills in mind, but also work to enrich student progress. For example, we could read about hoplite shields, OR we could make a hoplite shield, color it, and place a paragraph summary of the Peloponnesian War on the back. I choose the latter. But I have always felt this way.
Perhaps I need to take my teaching in another direction. Perhaps I stick to the texts I’m given (goodbye novels and things outside of the literature book) and hello to textbook only and drill and kill in reading and language arts. I could also do this in Social Studies with short readings and short responses that are similar to what would be on a standardized test.
Perhaps we just work and work and work and instiutionalize the once quiet practice of teaching to the test so that our kids can increase their scores above previous levels of expectation. That’s what the state wants.
Perhaps I should. *Vomits in Mouth*
Racism in Local Housing Tied Into Reading Lesson, but the Big Win is the Discussion
We have been reading Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry in reading class and today we were between chapters. The local paper ran a story about discrimination in the local housing market.
Because the book we’re reading deals with discrimination and racism I thought the story would be a good tie-in to the lesson. Initially I was just going to read a little bit of the article, but we really got into it! The kids were asking lots of good questions and were contributing and every kid was really paying attention.
At the end of the lesson I had them write a reflection about the discussion. It was really neat to read what they thought and the ideas that they may not have had the opportunity to share (or weren’t comfortable sharing).
I’m sure there’s some standard about connecting literature or newspaper literacy or something (I’m on my phone and can’t look it up right now) and the standards do matter to me. However, it’s important that teachers are able to do things like this. We can’t always be freaking out about test scores or gathering data because our students aren’t going to be in school forever. As people living in this nation, or wherever they end up, they need to have the critical thinking skills necessary to stand up for what they believe in- and do so in a manner that actually gets results.
Upon graduation, no one waves a magic wand that grants wisdom or the ability to participate in our democracy. At the school level we need to be developing these ideas from day 1 and not saving it until a senior level civics class.
Like this:
Saturday Thinks: Interesting Links for the Weekend #1
Finland: from Stories from School
I am in Finland from January 31 through May 30 on a Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching grant. This grant is for k-12 teachers who are interested in doing research aboard. The program is running in 11 countries around the world this year. My research is about school libraries and information literacy instruction. I am living in Helsinki, but trying to visit schools around the country as much as I can. Inevitably, the conversations I am having with teachers lead us to the question everyone is asking…what is their secret?
Check out the observations from this teacher. Very cool things going on in that country. It’s nice to be able to read about the research.
Using social media to enhance or prepare for your next conference or event might seem like a no-brainer, but many conference goers get so excited about the “going,” they fail to make the preparations that can transform a good conference into a great one.
Basically Angela Maiers gives you tips on how to network yourself.
Parents Wage Misguided War Against Standardized Testing
Dissatisfied with standardized testing in schools, some parents are taking their kids out of the game. But this does a disservice to everybody else.
I don’t necessarily agree with this post, but it is an interesting read. You can take the overall message and apply it to some of the more tedious things you teach so you don’t feel so bad with a mundane part of a lesson.
Please Vote!
