A memo to my 'teacher's (sic)'

This column was recently published in Newsday. It was written by a high school freshman and explains why teachers need to write professionally. Do you think her point is valid? Are a few occasional mistakes okay, it's not a big deal, after all teachers are only human? Have standards been relaxed? Are students learning what they should in school? Are today's teachers good role models?

Newsday.com

EXPRESSWAY: A memo to my 'teacher's (sic)'
BY JANINE PERRI

Janine Perri lives in Holbrook.

May 31, 2008

As a freshman attending one of the larger school districts on Long Island, I always expected to receive an excellent education from a staff of knowledgeable teachers and administrators. Recent events, however, have prompted me to think otherwise.

In a stairwell near the library of my high school, I noticed a flier: "Future Teacher's Party! All member's must attend!" I was shocked at the misspellings - teacher's instead of teachers or teachers', and member's instead of members. The fact that the "member's" and "teacher's" involved with the flier were part of the Future Teachers of America Club was sheer irony.

I don't know if the flier was created by a teacher or by a "future teacher," but I was amazed that such mistakes could pass by unnoticed in an institution filled with instructors who are supposed to further my education.

When the flier was taken down and shown to the administrator who will be the principal of the school next year, he couldn't find the errors. His response when they were pointed out to him? A mere shrug and a claim that "everyone makes mistakes."

While this is certainly true, there's a difference between making an occasional mistake that can be overlooked and complete carelessness. Had such a mistake happened only once, it could be disregarded. But misspellings tend to be common in the district.

A flier hanging in the school hallways earlier this year advertised the upcoming comedy show auditions, asking, "Do you think your funny?" This mistake (your instead of you're), unlike the recent one, was noticed, as a piece of paper with a correction was taped over the misspelling a few days later.

Several years ago, an elementary school billboard "congradulated" the winners of a spelling bee, while "kindergarden" registrations were taking place in another elementary school in the district.

I'm sure my district isn't the only one with this problem. Misspellings and mistakes reflect poorly on a school district, showing the carelessness of educators and administrators. If misspellings are common, what does that say about the education that students are receiving?

Poor spelling and grammatical errors make people seem uneducated. What will the colleges the students apply to think? What about their future employers?

As for the "member's/teacher's" flier, I can't believe that, in a building filled with upwards of 300 educators, no one seems either to have noticed the mistake or brought it to the attention of the administration. If students are expected to uphold certain standards with grammar and spelling, shouldn't teachers do so as well? If teachers are unable to find simple mistakes that are unacceptable for an elementary student, how well are they really teaching us?

It makes you question today's teaching standards and wonder how much students actually learn in school, compared with how much know-ledge they gain on their own.

Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.

Mandating Technology Use

Read the article at this link: http://21centuryconnections.com/node/469

Are we still teaching in the 20th century? Are you as frustrated as the author of this article? Do you think we need to mandate technology use? How are you doing your part to move education into the 21st century by integrating technology into your classroom?

Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally

In the 1950's Benjamin Bloom developed his taxonomy of cognitive objectives, Bloom's Taxonomy. This categorized and ordered thinking skills and objectives. His taxonomy follows the thinking process. In the 1990's, a former student of Bloom, Lorin Anderson, revised Bloom's Taxonomy and published Bloom's Revised Taxonomy in 2001. Key to this is the use of verbs rather than nouns for each of the categories and a rearrangement of the sequence within the taxonomy.

This article address the new objectives presented by the emergence and integration of Information and Communication Technologies into the classroom and the lives of our students.

Read the Technology & Learning article at this link: http://techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196605124 to decide if you believe the digital taxonomy more acurately addresses the digital learners of today. How will you use these new categories when you design lessons, projects, assessments, and activities for your students?

4Teachers Family of Tools

Look at the educational resource links that use technology to improve instruction across all content areas and grade levels on this website: http://www.4teachers.org/tools/?PHPSESSID=0eb1361136b4e042ed2bae7a03334b0c.

Here you will find current resources that align with standards, promote higher-order thinking, and support the development of writing skills. There are tools that can monitor student research and writing, evaluate student performance, and create bilingual online lessons, classroom calendars, and quizzes in less time than traditional methods.

Choose one that you think you might use in your classroom in the future. Try it and then share a brief explanation of what the tool could be used for and how you might use it. Answer one of your classmates' posts by offering another way you might use the same tool that they evaluated.

Explore some other pages on the 4Teachers website http://www.4teachers.org/ , this is a great resource that you will want to add to your Internet Explorer "Favorites."

An Easy and Fun Way to Create Educational Content

Visit the Digital Learning Environment to read Jim Hollis' blog about An Easy and Fun Way to Create Educational Content http://www.guide2digitallearning.com/blog_jim_hollis/easy_and_fun_way_create_educational_content. Read the instructions and watch the video clips. Did you find the blog useful? Do you think you will plan a lesson differently when using a SMART Board after reading the instructions and watching the video clips? Do you have some ideas you might try using Sketchcast? Share your thoughts and ideas with your classmates and fellow students!

Two Minute Soapbox

The Two Minute Soapbox (or TMS) blog http://www.intelligenic.com/soapbox/ is a social podcasting experiment where educators post their advice, inspiration, ideas and point of view in a two minute posting that extends across the curriculum and around the world…all in small digestible two minute portions. :) Select a podcast that interests you to listen to and describe it in your posted comments on this blog. Did you or didn't you agree with the podcaster's opinion, advice or ideas?

What Are You Doing In That Computer Lab?

Read this article from Technology & Learning magazine http://techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196604984 to find out about one teacher's experience with his class' successful and not so successful computer lab usage. Which of these techniques, strategies and projects do you think you could adapt to your classroom setting? Why do you think some of his less successful lessons didn't work? Do you think a lot of teachers would benefit from sharing similar experiences? How might they exchange this information?