Hi

4OQ Visit Selly Manor

I always think one of the most powerful uses of the social media that has grown around twitter is for reporting and reflecting on live events on location.  Some time ago a friend and I experimented with some ideas for a club night based around social media and, although we eventually shelved it, it made me think about using social media for our school trip today to Selly Manor in Birmingham.

I have been using twitter and blogging with my class since September to reflect on learning, share their work with an audience, and get them to the different places on the web easily on their 1:1 netbooks. Some of this has been through twitterific on my iPhone , which has allowed me to tweet their reflections outside of the classroom, and get them all to links quickly without having to return to my own computer.

Today we used Twitterific to document our trip, both using text and its capability to take  photograph with my iPhone and upload it straight away to our twitter news feed. I also used the iPhone app tweetmic pro , which allows you to make audio recordings and immediatly upload them to your twitter feed. Whilst I had to mediate the text updates as I am the only one proficient with the iPhone keyboard, this allowed the children to more immediatly and personally make their observations and reflections.

So, whilst this is a very ‘cool’ thing to do, many people may be asking what the value of it is for the children. Personally I think there are a few things it adds to our trip, the first is a nice timeline of the day, and the activities we engaged in. Whilst this could easily be achieved using a class blog or just a camera, the ability to mix text, audio and images and have them arranged chronologically should be very useful when it comes to reflecting on the trip when we are back at school. Of course this could be achieved by other means, but it is so immediate using twitter. Once it has happened and been captured it is documented, and there is no need for someone to upload photographs, organise them into order and publish them.

This immediacy has another benefit- although we were short of time when we got back to school we could immediately open up the twitter feed and all the material we had collected was there to be reflected on straight away, even as the children were sat in their coats waiting for home time. No doubt some of them will have also logged on when they got home and shared their day with their parents well before I would have had time to update our class blog.

Another purpose of these tools was to encourage reflection on learning throughout the day. Undoubtedly this could have been done by teacher questioning, but the act of recording and publishing their reflections should be a huge factor in engaging the children and encouraging them to think more meaningfully about what they are experiencing. Let’s face it; you are going to try harder with your reflections when being broadcast to the world than if you are scribbling them on a piece of paper that will often be only seen by your teacher.

I was really hoping to use these tools today to encourage some solid reflection from the children, but given the lack of thinking time beforehand, and the fact this was my first school trip as an NQT I did not fully achieve what I had hoped. We certainly created a record of the day, which hopefully will help with later reflection. However, the amount and level of reflections were not quite what I had hoped for as my time and energy was largely taken up by making sure none of the children got on the wrong bus, fell down the stairs of the tudor house or got lost going to the toilets! Despite this I do think with a bit more experience these tools could be really useful in encouraging reflection and extending learning on a school trip, and I will certainly be using them in a more focused way next time.

Twitpics: http://img188.yfrog.com/i/gofk.jpg/

http://img256.yfrog.com/i/4slq.jpg/

http://img685.yfrog.com/i/v36.jpg/

Audio tweet: http://tmic.fm/ox6b1o54azd

Our class twitter news feed: http://twitter.com/4oq

Class blog on the trip: http://class40q.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/trip-to-selly-manor/

“A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.”

-Herm Albright

 Parents can work with you or against you.  Do not forget when you play at home they’re there, and when you go on the road they follow.  I’m not knocking fan support, because I adore it.  Although, I am knocking fan detriment.  I want as many parents at our games as possible.  I want them to come to our games and enjoy seeing their young man or young lady represent his school and town to the best of his or her ability.  I also want them to support the other players on the team and the program as a whole.  No one needs a college of coaches in the stands that criticize players, coaches, and officials. Talk about bush league, that’s the worst.

            At the beginning of a season I host a parent meeting.  I require players to have someone to represent them at this meeting.  A mom or dad may not be able to attend in some cases. So I tell my player to get an alternate, like a sibling or a grandparent.  I’ve never had a parent meeting last longer than a half an hour.  The discussion topics are the team rules for players, the schedule, travel procedure for road contests, and parent expectations.  That’s right, parent expectations. I expect them to be part of the team.  My rules for them are:

1)   Be positive at home.

2)   Don’t address officials.

3)   Be a booster, not a rooster.

            Be positive at home.  Parents need to cultivate the team concept at home when their son or daughter is not around me.  If his or her child comes home after striking out 3 times, he/she doesn’t need someone talking down to them.  Nobody feels worse than the player. As well, maybe someone’s child didn’t play that day.  Of course, that kid feels bad about it. I’d be disappointed in a player of mine that didn’t. A parent that tears down the coach or another player to give their son some false pride isn’t sending a very good message.  Parents at home need to encourage their boys when times are good and bad.  Encouraging their children to work harder at practice and be more involved in off-season activities is the best thing a parent can do. 

            Don’t address officials.  If something needs to be said to an umpire, I will say it.  I have only seen rude and obnoxious comments from the stands work to the advantage of the other team.  You think the strike zone was tight before, just wait.  Umpires are human. There is no instant replay.  We must live with their calls.  99% of them are trying their hardest to be impartial.  If an umpire is hustling and calling the game consistently for both teams, no one can complain.  I feel there are good and bad times for a coach to talk to the umpire about calls.  There are no good times for parents to do so. 

            Be a booster, not a rooster.  I make mistakes. We all do. Hopefully, we learn from them.   No coach needs some know-it-all former little league coach critiquing his every move. Those type of parents are like pussy cats waiting to pounce on a mouse.  They view the game with negative glasses.  And like a rooster at 5 AM, begin cackling their head off with some foolish coaching advice.  No one in the crowd is impressed.  In fact most of the other parents separate themselves from that type of fan.  These roosters always like to crow at the worst possible time. For example, during a regional game, after a lead-off double, I had a player wander too far off 2^nd base on a ball hit in front of him and get caught in rundown.  Prior to the miscue, I said all of the right things to him to remind him of the situation, and of course he acknowledged me. We all know the teenage mind is one of mystery, and he did the wrong thing.  In the rooster’s head, I’m sure he was elated.  He began to ruffle his feathers, stick out his chest, and crow sarcastically, “Nice goin’ coach, way to teach base-running.”  He was right. It was a poor base running play.  I was sure excited that he pointed it out and so was the player and his parents, I’m sure.  We went on to get 5 hits, 2 stolen bases, and score 3 runs that inning.  He shouted no compliments for our team. We went on to win the game 5-1 an advance to the regional championship.  The rooster had magically turned into a hen. Encourage your parents to disagree with you in private.  Shouting disapproval during a game helps no one.

            A parent meeting is really an attempt to preempt any miscommunications between the parents and the coach.  Your expectations for your players are made clear on an in person basis.  A coach that hosts a parent meeting will find that he has a more positive relationship with the parents than the coach that neglects to do so.  The parents will be more likely to give you help when you need it.  As well, they will support you on disciplinary issues with players, because the rules were explained clearly ahead of time.

“If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.”

 -Yogi Berra

            At some point, unfortunately, all coaches run into problems with players and/or their parents.  Some problems are major issues and some minor ones.  A well-prepared coach has a set procedure to deal with these occurrences head-on.  If problems are not dealt with quickly, assertively, and tactfully, they will boil over onto the field.  When this happens, the exact cause isn’t always apparent to the objective eye.  Although, the bush league atmosphere will be apparent.

            If a player has broken a training rule, has poor grades, has a poor attitude, or has done anything that clashes with team rules or my coaching philosophy, I feel compelled to say something.  Sweeping a problem under the rug only allows the problem to fester and become worse.  Too often, coaches try to ignore things.  I understand that as coaches of young people we must pick our battles, but you know how it goes, “give an inch, they’ll take a mile”. For example, I am a stickler about players being on time.  If I ignore the lateness of one player, the message is then sent throughout the program that it’s OK to be a couple minutes late. Pretty soon another player is late. Then, players start coming 10 or 15 minutes late.  Talk about “bush”. 

           I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I didn’t handle the situation on the spot.  The best way to handle most problems with players is in PRIVATE. Private can be behind closed doors or at practice 20 feet away from the rest of the team. Berating players with a loud, foul tone in front of the rest of the team may work once, but it will soon create an air of hostility.  Handling things one on one tells the player that you’re focused on his issues and his correction for the sake of the team, not embarrassment.  I have a friend that was also a high school baseball coach.  He was a great first half of the season coach. I know this because we used to play his teams twice each season, once at the very beginning of the season and once at the end.  When we saw his team the first time they looked sharp.  They were focused.  When this coach said jump they’d say, “How high?” Then during the progression of the season, his supposedly constructive criticisms became louder and more public.  When we’d play them at the end of the season, the players seemed skittish during pre-game warm-ups, as though they were walking on glass.  The moment one player would make a mistake this coach would verbally jump all over the guilty party.  This continued throughout the game.  His players lacked enthusiasm and were having no fun.  Rarely did he pull a player off to the side and “talk” to the player.  I’m not saying that he had to be a teddy bear, but people run from grizzly bears.

          The next scenario is when someone has a problem with you and your coaching.  Typically, the problems that I’m referring to are in relationship to playing time. Usually the problem is related to playing time.  Hell, I’d be disappointed in a player if he/she didn’t want to play more.  My first step is to address the players and parents at the parent meeting at the beginning of the season.  I feel that it is much easier to anticipate potential problems and not have any, than is it to not prepare for problems and then have to deal with them.  Our team’s procedure has 3 steps:

1)   I want to hear it from the player 1^st, not the parent.  I want the player to approach me one on one, before or after practice.  If something is bothering a player enough, he or she should be mentally tough enough to address it with the coach. I will not discuss an issue on the phone.  On the phone, people say things they don’t mean.  As well, words are misinterpreted via lack of visible body language.  If the parent approaches me about a pressing issue, and it is the first time that I’m being made aware of it, I politely tell the parent that their son or daughter has not brought that to my attention. I then add that I would like their son or daughter to see me in private prior to the next practice. Until then, it is not a discussion point.

2)   After the player has addressed the problem with me, if he is not satisfied, I will make an appointment to meet with the player and the parent(s).   95% of the time it will not come to this.  Most players accept what you tell them during the one to one meeting if you give them honest reasons.  But keep in mind that that not everyone shares your perspective, honest or not.  The biggest and most important rule in this situation is to not discuss other players on the team during this meeting.  If you allow this to happen, the parent will quickly compare his kid to every player in the line-up.  As opposed to being a supporter of the team, the parent will tear down the skill and ability of any given player ahead of his/her child own on the depth chart.  The proper way to conduct the meeting is to focus in on what his/her child can do to improve.

3)   If there is no resolution to the problem at this point, I advise the parent to make an appointment with the athletic director or principal of the school.  In a school situation this option exists.  It really should only be used for emergency situations.  School administrators should have more important things to do than worry about who’s playing 3^rd base and hitting 5^th for the baseball or softball team.  You want to maintain the support of the administration.  Only involve them in very difficult situations.  They will appreciate it.

            By following this procedure, the number of peripheral issues that can distract a team will be filtered.  A player will think twice before going home after practice and griping, because parents’ initial reaction will become, “Did you talk to your coach about it?” If the player answers, “No,” then reflection upon the validity of the problem goes on in the player’s head.  Upon reflection, if it is still a problem to one of my players I want to help them figure it out. That’s part of building a cohesive “non-bush league” team.

On Monday, October 26th, we’ll head downtown to the Sears Tower!

Last week was an odd one.  I blogged about what we were doing in class (PBS series “City of the Century”) with instructional plans.  Then I had to be away from the classroom for 2.5 days.  Sort of threw our plan off, but the object remains: we have collected data – more than planned, making this easier! – and will reorganize it into the following categories:

• People
• Ideas
• Inventions
• Industry
• Skyscrapers
• Environment
• Settlers/Explorers
• Food
• Immigrants
• Transportation
• Interesting Facts
• Gross/Disgusting Facts

Students are to select 4-6 of these topics, then reorganize their notes into each topic.  Ideally, they should have as many as 10 facts for each topic.  Then, we’ll move to mind mapping.

Like building skyscrapers taught us, it is IMPOSSIBLE to draw a mind map without proper organization and planning.  Today and tomorrow we will do just that – reorganize our collected data to make it easier to understand and see.  Therefore, our mind maps will be visually beautiful, creative, easy to read, and organize Chicago’s origins.

This is what I have so far. Since my computer/open office is moving so slow, I’m unable to get it all in… I’m very, very sorry about that. (I’ve sat here for an hour now doing the exact same thing with tech. related crashes. Ahhhh!!!)

Regardless, this is the outstanding student work so far (skip the first 3 blank slides – OO decided to delete the first group of photos I put up):

Before a long post, a few succint points -

• We’re doing excellent work so far.
• Every group has problems.
• Those problems serve as teachable moments.
• I have solutions for those problems!
• No knives or cutting utensils in school.
• Room 104 is open from 3-4 after school next week.  Sign up.
• Ask me if you have any questions!

We’ve got 32 groups constructing 35 different buildings right now.  Generally speaking, progress is very good.  We do notice – both teacher and students -  problems some groups have.  Perhaps your group is one of these (read only what you need):

1. One person is doing all the work.  Some people have  a high standard and/or ambitions on this project.  While they may think they are doing the group a favor by taking it home and doing it better there, they are excluding members from the group.  An excellent student with a high expectation is a great example for his/her peers.  Get together at someone’s house and do this together so we can learn from one another.  COLLABORATION is a goal of this project as much as the actual product is.
2. One or two people aren’t doing their share.  I sit with each group everyday.  People who have not brought their materials, done their jobs, or worked are academically penalized.  Students who ARE doing their jobs should be sure they’re including everyone in the work, even those unwilling to work.  If I don’t see something, students need to communicate with me so I can address the problem.  That’s my job, and a valuable lesson of this project.  Ignoring it or hoping it goes away are foolish decisions that only lead to more problems in the future.  (please see #4 for more bout this)
3. Some people are unhappy with (what’s looking like) the finished project.  Part of group work/collaboration is compromise.  If a student insists that their idea be implemented, then others will do the same and no collaboration exists.  We won’t always get our way.  Instead, making suggestions asking “What if we did this?” or “Do you think this would look better?”  or “I think that this could look better, can we do this instead?”  One person’s idea of a bad job is another’s idea of excellence.  Be careful not to insult one another.  And I’M here, too!  Ask me – I’ll tell you what grade you will get if turned in as-is.  I could put your worries at ease with a good review, or help your peers understand your perspective with a critical one.
4. My mistake: too much time between workdays. Some groups lost touch with each other, worked out of sync with one another, and lost momentum.  For this reason, I will allow kids to now work in class on this until the 10/2 deadline.  I will also allow them work on this in my room after school until 4:00.  Students must sign up outside my classroom.  I’ll take the first 20 who do so.  Additionally, we’ll be grading the kids on their production each day.  Since we’re spending so much time on this in class now, we need to hold them accountable.  Students working hard all period receive a 10 out of 10, those not will get the appropriate grade.

Tomorrow, I’ll post some construction pictures.  As I’ve stated before, you would be impressed with how well 90% of our students are working with one another, sharing ideas, delegating work, and developing a harmonious team.  I’ll post some pictures since you can’t be here to see it for yourself.

I sit with each group/individual nearly every day.  I know what each group is doing, how they are progressing, and solve problems with all of them.  Feel free to ask me for an update, clarification on what your child (or you) perceives as a problem, or to help solve a problem.  I check my mail often, so feel free to bug me!  Some groups have big problems, some have no problems, and some groups just can’t get along!  These are parts of this project, and any group work.  I wish they didn’t happen, of course, but they provide for critical experiences to improve their collaboration skills.  As we near the deadline and anxiety increases over the project I will give them all the time I can to work on this and ease their minds.

And students – don’t forget our goals and objectives with this project, too!  While learning about Chicago is important, so is learning how to work with one another.

Last night at home, I prepared an awesome lesson.  I was very excited about it.  When I got to school, the software didn’t work as I planned.  Entire lesson was ruined.  But that’s cool, because the more I thought, the more the closed door opened another.

We’re participating the the Memory Walk on 9/26, and lots of kids are interested, but many teachers (myself included) fear that they didn’t quite know what they were supposed to do.  Or what Alzheimer’s (not OLDtimers) is.  Today’s failed lesson allowed me to do another.  It’s both a lesson in civics, in our nation’s principles, and our 6 pillars of character; motivating our students to do good for others.

We began class with a newspaper article about children raising $50,000 for a cause.  Middle school kids.  $50 grand.  That’s powerful stuff.  We discussed our reactions, and discussed what kids can do to for others.  Kids have great powers of persuasion (with iPods, cell phones, clothes and such as evidence!)

We then watched a video about Alzheimer’s  (below).  We outlined 5 clear facts that we can use in our “persuasions” to possible donors.  Tons are in this video.

Next we discussed who we can raise the money from, and methods to get donations (below). These ideas are also on the “Memory Walk 2009″ portion of the page.

And finally, we watched another video about a 13 year old girl with a mother suffering with Alzheimer’s.  It’s perhaps the most emotionally compelling as aspect of the lesson, and students were moved by it.  Just a great video.

It’s a pretty simple lesson – here is an example of your potential.  Here is a cause.  Go make a difference.  It’s what responsible citizens need to do for one another.  Empowering students to be organized, have faith in themselves, and become passionate about a cause is a lesson no textbook can do.  Hopefully this is the beginning of a year (and lifetime) full of doing good for others.

I received an e-mail today regarding a student’s concern with finishing the project on time.  Is this happening with more students?  Hopefully, some of this information (as I shared with the concerned party) can help ease some anxious young minds.

1. We have 5 more work days.  5 days x 40 minutes = 200 minutes.
2. Final Project is not due until 10/2.  That includes 2 more weekends.
3. Checkpoints (9/16 & 9/23) and designed to assess progress.  Projects do not have to be done, but just have progress towards completion shown.
4. Individuals are accountable.  If students do not complete their work, they are penalized in the gradebook, their parents are notified, and placed on the “strike” schedule.  Students who strike out are removed from their group and work alone, with no penalty to their group.

As you can see, we have a good amount of work time remaining.  When we work on Wednesday, I’ll sit with each group, as I have every other work day, and monitor their progress.  I work with the students, so rest assured they’re not doing this alone!

Please e-mail or comment on this post if you have any questions!

One of our three rules this year is to “Collaborate & Cooperate.”  The reasons why are abundant:

• Cooperative Grouping leads to higher academic success.
• People are more creative and innovative when working in small groups.
• It is critical to future economic and social needs.
• Improved communication can lead to improved academic performance.
• It may even be the new “concrete” learning, as students may be expected to collaborate at a more advanced level (online!) during HS and college.
• And students learn about each other, learn to appreciate each others gifts, and learn different methods of organization, studying, and learning.

Collaborative learning works because it best simulates an authentic learning/working environment.  Few of us, as adults, work in true isolation with no other people.  Collaboration not only helps us work better, but it is an unavoidable reality for most professions and workers.

So does this involved us?  Hopefully, collaboration is obvious to the academic and social success of students.  Aside from being a stated goal of my room, this will travel home.  Students will be (and already are, in some cases) frustrated with their group.  It’s very important that we reinforce the importance of learning to work with one another.  Each class identified what the characteristics are of a good group.  We’re reviewing those today.  We do teamwork, communication, and collaborative exercises every day, with one day reserved for nothing but that.

This will not be a quick learning process for all.  There is no magic lesson or magic pill to make all students good collaborative workers.  The students need support at home when they are frustrated.  Help them understand how this is similar to a work environment, and share some of your experiences to solve the problems.  I sit with each group, everyday.  I’m in constant interaction with the students.  However, you not only know your children’s strengths and weaknesses better, but will likely motivate them better with a good parent-child discussion on what you’ve done in situations like this.  I hope this makes you feel like a part of the classroom, as more than just learning concrete facts, you’re helping me teach the students how to work with one another.

Later in the week, I’ll post what some of the groups said are the good and bad traits, what have been the successes so far, as well as the failures.  Feel free to comment or e-mail me if you have a question regarding cooperative learning groups and collaboration.

This was handed out to students on Tuesday.  I hope it clarifies any questions so far.  Please comment on the blog when you need more help!

UPDATE: this is not a clean upload to scribd.  I will add the pdf when I return to school.

Below is an example of blueprints I require for each building.  Again, all sides and the top should have a print.

Today in class, I distributed the Group Plan to periods 2,3,5,6,7.  Period 4 received their rubrics and directions for a class guide.  You will find them below.

By the end of class on Tuesday, 4th period should have completed 20 notecards that reflect their research and collection of information.  Through these facts and information, they may be able to build a successful scrapbook or skyscraper.

By the end of class on Tuesday, periods 2,3,5,6,7 should have detailed blueprints complete, or nearly complete, as well as their Group Plan which details their schedule, materials, and reasoning for building the skyscraper(s) of their choice.

Update:  Seeing that scribd tends to distort some documents, largely those modified using Open Office, I’ll continue posting the links to PDF documents, as I’ve done in the past.  You can get the rubrics here for 4th Period’s skyscrapers and for their scrapbooks.

Periods 2,3,5,6, & 7 are working beautifully right now.  Aside from a few exceptions the groups are setting daily goals, bringing in materials and research, and collaborating in an efficient manner.  Students have been patient, which they need to, seeing that the beginning of this project needs to be slow to ensure proper planning.  A few FAQ’s to make clear:

• Most building ratios will be different.  The formula we are using for formula is ratio = model/actual.  It’s simple to use cross-multiplication (what they’re doing in math right now) to solve whether you need the model measurement or the actual measurement.  Remember: the bigger the ration (i.e. 1:600), the smaller the model; the smaller the ration (i.e. 1:32), the bigger the model.
• Friday and Tuesday will be dedicated to creating a Group Plan, which will include drafting very detailed blueprints, collecting materials, and assigning individual responsibilities.
• Students are selecting 3 building, though they’ll only build 1 or 2, to serve two purposes.  One, they’re learning about more than just one or two buildings.   Second, many students have grand plans for a building, but realize through planning that it is not possible to do what their plan is.  Conversely, many students pass off a building, but become interested once they research.  By Friday, each group will have narrowed it down to 1 or 2 skyscrapers to build.
• We are spending 4 weeks+ on this project so we can thoroughly collect resources, materials, and ideas.  We also plan to take a Field Trip downtown, should funds and conflicts allow.

I’m also re-posting the resources here.  I want students to learn how to use my blog, which I think they are.  I’ll reward them by giving the shortcut here

Use these – not google!

For general historical information, photos and facts:
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/
or
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576998/Chicago_(city_Illinois).html
or
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215480/
or
http://www.chicagohistory.org
or
http://www.lib.depaul.edu/eresource/subject_search_infotype.asp?TopicID=141&SubjectID=13

For information on skyscrapers, buildings and landmarks:
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/sk/li/?id=101030&bt=2&ht=2&sro=1
or
http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?cityID=4
or
http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/faculty/erics/web/arcchicago.html

For information on the 77 different neighborhoods of Chicago:
http://neighborhoods.chicago.il.us/
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_neighborhoods

Detailed Photographs:
http://digicol.lib.depaul.edu/site-templates/client_LPNC1/index.html
or
http://www.picturingchicago.com/
or try searching here:
http://images.google.com/imghp?tab=il

A Timeline of Chicago’s History:
http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/chihist.html

Alphabetical Listing of Landmarks and Skysrapers, Past and Present:
http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/List.html

There is a reason why the US Postal Service does not employ pre-schoolers.  And yet, we teachers keep trying to use their services as a reliable way to transfer papers between home and school.  We rummage through the 12 pockets in their backpacks, trying to find the book order they thought they brought, and we go through 45 boxes of safety pins, attaching notes on their shirts so that (hopefully) one of their parents will spot it before it’s ripped off, rolled up, and used as a telescope!

I like to do a lot of communicatin via email these days, but sometimes you have to send a paper note.  Book orders, last minute reminders, and home activities often need attention.  I might even send a note to remind parents that they need to watch for the newsletter and lesson plan via email.  (Sounds crazy, but trust me, in the long run it saves paper.)  So how can we help out our little mail carriers?

One simple way to do this is to use a notes folder.  Get a two-pocket folder for each of your children.  You can find them for about 10 cents a piece during these back to school sales.  On each folder, write the child’s name on the front.  On the inside, write “To Home” on one pocket, and, you guessed it, “To School” on the other.  Whenever you have a note, you slip it in the “To Home” pocket, and Mom and Dad send their notes to you in the “To School” pocket.

You may want to have the kiddos leave the folders in their bags, and check them each yourself, or you might want to have a letter tray where they set them as they come in for the day.  You can quickly go through them all and see whether or not there is a note for you (and whether or not their parents picked up the last note you sent).  Parents can also very easily take a quick look and see whether or not there is a note that day.  Let your parents know from the get-go how important it is that they get into the habit of checking the notes folder.  Having that routine will really simplify the process of “passing notes” for both of you.  Though you might miss all those cool treasures you got to check out back when you had to rifle through the 12 pockets in their backpacks!

For more back to school ideas to consider, click here!

I’ve just started a Twitter page for our fall baseball season.  My first reason for doing it was to communicate with parents in another mode.  Secondly, we have entered a cooperative athletic agreement with a school 12 miles away. I want to be able to get info to parents and grandparents related to rainouts, re-schedule, and etc. in an alternative methods to the norm.  Lastly, it gives me an opportunity to describe the trials and tribulations of the season.  

You can view the most recent Tweets on the right side of the screen, right under the Blog Stats

St. Anthony School: 2007 IESA 1A State Champions

If you don’t have a Twitter account you can just bookmark this site. It is a quick way to update the youth group happenings and event details. Check it out!

http://twitter.com/shakedownyouth

One of the keynote speakers this year at Frog Street Splash was Dr. Patricia Edwards, President-Elect of the IRA (International Reading Association).   Not only is she a dynamic speaker, her message is one that had the audience nodding their heads and cheering from the get go- parental involvement as the missing piece of the educational puzzle. 

I have always felt that parents should be held more accountable for their children’s education, starting from pre-k and continuing all the way up.  As early childhood educators, we often find ourselves in a position to introduce parents to school culture and induct them into this unique club of which they are new members.  How we interact with and involve parents in their child’s early learning will have significant influence on how involved they are in the rest of their child’s educational journey.  

Many teachers are resistant to the idea of parents as partners, however those are the teachers who often struggle the most with parents.  Parental involvement is a crucial part of every teacher’s job, whether the teachers like it or not.  In college teachers learn how to teach children (supposedly – this is another post entirely) but they are not taught how to teach the parents.   Teaching children is entirely different from teaching adults and often scary to those who spend all day with children under the age of six.  If pre-k and kindergarten teachers were given training in how to include parents and talk to them I believe we would see a significant increase in parental involvement.  If we do not include parents in their child’s educational process from day one it is quite possible that they may never become involved.  

I have created a “recipe”  for successfully creating partnerships with parents starting before the first day of school and continuing beyond the last day.   Several of the ingredients for this recipe are parent conferences , Family Night , Homework, and B.E.A.R. Books  to name just a few, for the entire recipe you are invited to attend the Conference for Early Childhood Educators on July 15 in Plano, TX or August 4th and 5th in Katy, TX.   

How do you involve your parents?