Tuesday's Times
Bay Shore MS's Practitioner's Guide on What Matters Most!
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September 20, 2016
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September 20, 2016
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Message
Recently, I read a editorial written by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, the author of one of my favorite books, Fish In A Tree. Her words resonated with me, and I can't stop thinking about how every word we speak and every action we take as educators lives beyond the moment it occurs. I've shared the beginning of the editorial below and provided a link to the full article. It's really worth the read.
When I think about the teachers that I have had, and the teachers that have made a difference in MiKai and Ma'Kaila's lives, these words ring true...
"And the thing is, many of the children we help won't even realize the ramifications until years later..."
But the words that I want to share with you are these...
"You matter. You are impacting lives every day in both the small things you do and the big ones. By the end of your career, just imagine how you will change the world."
What difference will you make in the life of a child today?
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Branch to Branch
Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Voices from the Middle Volume 24 Number 1 September 2016 pgs. 17-18
I remember an especially bad day as a third grader. While the class lined up to go to music class, I counted the lines on the floor, jumping a bit when I sensed movement out of the corner of my eye. At first, I didn't understand why my third-grade teacher held out her hand to me. My gaze crawled to her face.
"You ready?" she asked, with a tilt of her head and a half-smile. I took her hand and held it all the way to music. As the last student into the music room, I still remember having to tell my hand to let go.
That teacher didn't change my life that day, but it was a branch. I have said for years that my teachers were like trees; all my life, I have swung from branch to branch, teacher to teacher, and many gave me something to hold on to. I am who I am today because of those kindnesses.
Please keep in mind that teaching is a profession that requires an intelligent and creative mind, a caring heart, and at least a four-year college degree. However, it doesn't pay like it. It's time-consuming, emotionally draining, and isn't appreciated enough by those outside of education. However, it is also incredibly rewarding and exhilarating. It's soul building.
Teachers can change a day for a kid, as my third-grade teacher did for me, and that's great. But when teachers make an impact on many different days strung together...well, then they change lives.
What a teacher says sticks. That's why the good ones are vigilant in spending their words carefully. That old saying that begins, "Sticks and stones" isn't true. Words have enormous power and the best teachers know how to use them. Words can change a kid's perception of the world - or of himself.
That's powerful stuff, life-altering, world-changing stuff...And the thing is, many of the children we help won't even realize the ramifications until years later...
To read more, visit http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/VM/0241-sept2016/VM02401YAVOICES.pdf
"3" Images to Ponder
"2" Tech Tips to Try
"1" Must See Video
Did You Know?
One of the conclusions arising out of a recent study on student disengagement (Horner et al., 2015) is that students all too often perceived their teachers as not caring about them as people, not having empathy for the emotions they may be bringing into the classroom, and not showing interest in their lives outside school...
The following tips for creating an emotionally supportive classroom may make you the teacher your students remember with appreciation for the rest of their lives:
* Greet students by name as they come into class and offer a handshake (sound familiar to some sixth grade teachers :-) or an empathetic comment: "Are you feeling better today, Zeke?"
* Celebrate your students' daily successes and accomplishments - for example, by making positive comments and displaying student work.
* Give encouragement rather than criticism to students whose work falls short of expectations by providing targeted, constructive feedback: "I think I see what you're trying to do with that character in your short story. Maybe giving him more dialogue would help readers get to know him better."
*Adapted from: The Power of the Adolescent Brain: Strategies for Teaching Middle and High School Students by Thomas Armstrong
Happy Birthday
This week, we celebrate with...
September 20, 2016
Tara Capolongo
Evan Slutsky
September 23, 2016
Lori Squillacioti
September 24, 2016
Chris Cowan
September 25, 2016
Marylouise Senatore
Upcoming Events - Looking Ahead
September 26, 2016
MS Supply Drive
September 27, 2016
MS PFA Meeting - 7:00 pm