Learning to Teach

How can I best promote responsiblitiy to my students?  What a great question for today.  I lived this question today... I think I probably should be living this question EVERYDAY! Thanks for watching!

I am starting to realize how much I say "um" and look up and to the right. It is weird to see yourself talk on video so much. Today I got to talk about collaboration.  Check it out!

Today I got to talk about organization. I am a pretty organized person... I just like to have things in their correct spots. Doesn't everyone feel this way?

Here is the list I came up with of questions that all deal with education to kick start my blog in 30 days.  I think that blogging regularly will get easier if I make the commitment to do it everyday for the first 30 days.  1. How did you decide to become a teacher? 2. What do you believe is your greatest strength as a teacher? 3. In which area do you think you can improve the most? 4. What were you most worried about as you approached your first day as a teacher? 5. How do you keep your classroom organized? 6. What have you observed of other teachers that might work in your own classroom? 7. How can you best promote responsibility in your students? 8. How do you connect with your students? 9. What do you want out of the “Staff Room”? 10. Describe your ideal administrator. 11. What do you think about the phrase: “Always teach like you are going to be observed?” 12. What strategies do you use to keep up with grading? 13. What helpful advice have you heard about

Today's question had me think about my first day as a teacher.  Isn't it crazy how you can remember certain days so clearly, but you forget what you had for lunch yesterday?

Day 3 asks for areas that I can improve on... if you have any suggestions or if you feel the same way please don't hesistate to comment.  Thanks for watching!

Sticking to my 30 day plan, here is the video for day two.  Again, feel free to respond with your own answers.  Reflection is a powerful tool for growth!

I have been singing the praises of twitter for some time now. Please go to this site and watch the video by @justintarte. He shows you some really great educators to follow. If your new to twitter, not on twitter, or an old pro, watch the video and make sure you are following these great educators. I truly believe that you can grow so much professionally through collaborating. Why Educators should be using Twitter: Video - http://justintarte.blogspot.com/p/my-videos.html?m=1

Okay along with my 30 day reflection videos I do want to use this blog for sharing my ideas and collaborating. I was just telling my students that we live in a "global community" and I started thinking that I could collaborate with great teachers from all over. I have been researching a lot about standards based grading and I think it is the right thing for my classes. I have been reading books on grading and my eyes have really opened. My grade book used to be filled with all homework assignments and assessments. This doesn't tell anyone what the students actually came away with. I know that I need to change how I have been doing things and I know that it is best for my students.

I have always wanted to keep a regular blog for me to reflect on teaching and education. I have tried twice to post regularly and I have failed both times. Some people would just let go of this idea and move on, but not me. I made this my goal and just because I have encountered obstacles doesn't mean that I should give up. I have recently come across these 30-day-kick-start-your-blog ideas. I thought this would be a great way for me to get back into the swing of things. Each day I will be reflecting on a question that deals with education. Thank you in advance for watching and reading! Feel free to add your own answers to the questions in the comment section.