After all of the talk, we have come to the point where the honeymoon is over in our classroom. The teacher was funny, and the procedures make sense, but it's time to get busy with the learning. We had a taste of this, last week, with our fast and furious efforts to learn the 44 presidents of the United States in just a couple of days, with less than a half-hour devoted on each day. That may seem ambitious, but I wanted to see how quickly we could learn them. We had a little crunch time, Friday, where I knew I had been too zealous in my goals, but some students really worked on it and can probably name the presidents at least as well as I can (Of course, not many of us have ever learned the presidents in order, and certainly not this quickly.).
Parents, I did discover that some kids tend to give up too quickly (Since tomorrow is Labor Day, that hardly seems right.). They must develop stamina for completing a task even when it seems unsavory to them; they must not quit. If you are reading this (and your are), please discuss this with your child: it is absolutely imperative that everyone puts forth a better effort this year than last. I have already found some holes in their prior learning, and we really need to make progress from the beginning and catch up. Now that we have settled in, let's not stay too comfortable with what we already know. As the song said, "We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there..." Let's get these Eagles flyin'!
Parents, I did discover that some kids tend to give up too quickly (Since tomorrow is Labor Day, that hardly seems right.). They must develop stamina for completing a task even when it seems unsavory to them; they must not quit. If you are reading this (and your are), please discuss this with your child: it is absolutely imperative that everyone puts forth a better effort this year than last. I have already found some holes in their prior learning, and we really need to make progress from the beginning and catch up. Now that we have settled in, let's not stay too comfortable with what we already know. As the song said, "We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there..." Let's get these Eagles flyin'!
One thing that will help with this is our class having serious, in-a-circle discussions about good citizenry. A catalyst for such conversation resides right here within our website: a little things I've dubbed Positive Behavior Conversations. Positive Behavior Conversations begin with a short video, in which a touching story is told in a very short time period. The story may be about the importance of paying attention to each other, or it could be about good sportsmanship. It may be an encouraging song to remind us to never give up, or it might be a simple thought presented through a series of profound images. Along with the video, I provide questions to lead us through a discussion and bring everything together to make it more personal for my class. How can we encourage each other? How can we exhibit better sportsmanship? What can we do to make the world more awesome?
With this, I hope to influence everyone to be more positive and supportive of one another. All of this has a direct influence on the academics, as well, and that's a good thing.
With this, I hope to influence everyone to be more positive and supportive of one another. All of this has a direct influence on the academics, as well, and that's a good thing.
