Teaching in the City 4/08
Today was the first day back from spring break. I expected a low turn-out but attendance was pretty high. I should know not to try to figure out high school students.Screenwriting:This class is...
View ArticleTeaching in the City 4/09
My school works on a block schedule. Four periods with each class meeting every other day. Classes are 90 minutes long. This is new this year and I have mixed feelings about it. The population of our...
View ArticleBig Fight 4/10
Big fight today. Three kids, one with a hammer. I saw the students rushing toward the door and knew that something was going on. I was the only staff member to respond. There were two smaller boys and...
View Article4/16 Testing and Testing and Testing
It's been two days worth of MCAs. All seniors were excused from classes, freshmen were sent on field trips, and tenth and eleventh graders took math, reading, and writing tests. I proctored the reading...
View ArticleEngaging B.
One of my goals for this student teaching exercise is to try and engage more of the students in my classroom. Despite the "fun" nature of my classes, they are actually pretty difficult and I hold the...
View ArticleAWOL
I realized today that it has been over two weeks since I've seen R. Last week, I was calling the answering machines and dead phone numbers that fill the majority of our students parental contact pages...
View ArticleScreening: Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation
Where: Minneapolis Parkway TheaterPresented by: .edu Film FestWhen 5/23-5/25After seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, three 12 year old friends, Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb, began...
View ArticleRandom Thoughts
End of the Year: It is a very difficult time for teachers in my school. In many schools, students are geared up for finals and are working hard at this time of the year. In fact, several schools...
View ArticleWeek 1, Crosswinds
My dreaded stint across town has begun, and as I feared, the drive and the hours are a real bummer. It is a twenty mile drive to Woodbury, which takes only a half an hour or so in the morning, but...
View ArticleStudent Support Team Meeting
I continue to be impressed with the care that Crosswinds takes when dealing with individual students. This morning I attended a Student Support Team Meeting. These meetings are held twice a month to...
View Article27 kids!
Suddenly, everything was not going so smoothly. It was 4th hour on "B" day and I had twenty-five kids sitting in rows, copies of a pre-writing worksheet strewn around the desks, pencils flying,...
View ArticleThe Suburbs, Part 1
It was a hard week out in Woodbury. I've often heard that the only thing worse than parents who are not involved in their kids' schooling is parents who are involved. I've visited, in one way or...
View ArticleFinal Student Teaching Reflection
It's over. I've now spent five wonderful, relaxing, carefree days with my family and I guess it is time to put down some final thoughts about my experience as a student teacher.I spent my first half of...
View ArticleThoughts on Unions and Charters
Just came across a series of responses to a Joanne Jacobs blog on charter school misconceptions and unions in school districts. You can check out the whole thing here......but here's the best of what I...
View ArticleVimeo Goes Mobile
Good news for Vimeo users with iphones - Vimeo is now supporting mobile versions of your videos that can be played on your phone - as well the ipod Touch, Android phones, and the Palm Pre. This is a...
View ArticleAt-Risk Kids: What Are We Really Saying?
I constantly battle an attitude that is displayed by many of my colleagues. I call it the Our Kids syndrome. The symptoms are: a tendency to say "our kids" or "at-risk" when what you mean is poor and...
View ArticleJust Because I Bought You Donuts Doesn't Mean I'm a Serial Killer
Unhappy teachers are not effective. And it's the little things that can pull you down. Sometimes they happen sporadically, but sometimes they come at you in a rush.The other day, I listened to one...
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LiveBinders and CorkShare Rule, Toobla? Well...
A month or so ago, I found Toobla, a site that allows you to compile bookmarks online and share them with "friends." Like many other sites, Toobla gives you a bookmarklet to add to your browser's...
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"I Been Thinkin' With Keke Parker"
"I Been Thinkin' with Keke Parker is a weekly video blog produced by Keke Parker and the DMA Video Department. Keke has a great way of telling it like it is, she's sarcastic, a little cutting, and...
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