Day #19 - I'm Still Here!

OK. This is the post where I marvel at the fact that I've stuck with this challenge for 19 days.

Source: http://peaceloveandsandwiches.wordpress.com/

I never thought I would make it this far.

I'm writing every day after dinner. I've tried writing early in the morning or during preps at school but the inspiration, or maybe the pressure, hasn't been there so I've put it off. Even though I panic as I scour my brain for brilliant topics to write about, I still write.

So, although some posts have not been all that great, they've been ruminations capturing a moment in time or an emergent idea or thought.

The act of writing every day may produce some weak posts and then some better ones.

The writing that I do now will help elevate the quality of future posts. At least, that is my thinking and my experience as a teacher and as a writer.

By making these sometimes rambling thoughts public I expose myself and welcome other voices into the conversation. This, in and of itself, has made this challenge worthwhile.

I am hoping that blogging daily for a month will create a habit that will be hard to break.

I haven't been very consistent with posting on my blog and I want to change that trend.

So far, so good.

Cross posted to March Slice of Life Challenge, Day #19.

Comments

The Reading Strategies Book - Chapter 12, Supporting Students’ Conversations – Speaking, Listening, and Deepening Comprehension

The strategy lessons highlighted in Chapter 12, Supporting Students’ Conversations – Speaking, Listening, and Deepening Comprehension, in The Reading Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo are critical to students’ engagement and comprehension, as well as their ability to write literary essays, or even book reviews, summaries and reflective pieces about books. If students aren’t able to talk about books in a way that is invigorating and joyful, they will be less likely to develop an interest in growing ideas for writing about books. In her introduction to this chapter, Jennifer Serravallo, reminds us that when conversations go well, children are inspired by what they read and are motivated to keep reading. However, when conversations fall flat, then kids get bored and tune out. How do we avoid this situation and teach kids to have focused conversations about books? The answer is easy: teach kids strategies to help them develop effective conversa...

Partner Reading and Content, Too Routine (PRC2)

I'm a hoarder. There, I've said it. I try to deny that I'm a hoarder but it comes back to haunt me every time I move houses, or pack up my classroom at the end of the school year. I have old articles, lesson plans, handouts, folders brimming with teaching ideas, past issues of profesional journals. I hardly throw anything out though I've learned to be more selective over the years. My one rule of thumb, and I really try to stick to this, is that if I haven't used or referred to something in a year, then it's time to toss it into the recycle bin. One exception to this rule (you knew this was coming, didn't you?) is past issues of journals from professional organizations. However, with the ability to locate articles online through my professional memberships, even this exception is becoming less and less useful, which brings me to the topic of this blog post. I am currently reading a copy of The Reading Teacher from 2010. I've clipped a cou...

Rewards and Punishments

I'm always surprised and disappointed when educators I respect support the use of rewards and punishments to control student behaviour. Whenever I feel like my students are "misbehaving" or not behaving as expected or agreed, it's usually because I'm "misbehaving" or not behaving as expected or agreed. Sound odd? Perhaps, but think about this for a minute. When something goes wrong, i.e. not according to plan, it's usually because the kids have responded in unexpected ways to what I'm teaching or presenting to them. Unless I'm prepared to handle these contingencies I can lose focus of the lesson and the children. I find that the best way to deal with these "disruptions" isn't to control behaviour through carrots and sticks but rather to take a deep breath and think about what may be causing the problem. Often the cause has to do with one or more of the following: how I've presented the lesson (it's confusing, ...

A Teacher's Ruminations

Search This Blog