Attention, Please!

I've found that ways of getting the students attention is one of the most important tools a teacher can have.  That being said, here is the list of ways to get attention that I have compiled (remember to explicitly teach the expectations for each technique):

• Use a rain stick, music, bell, chimes, whistle (at recess) etc. (Can be especially effective if specific to the activity, unit or routine--i.e. an instrument from a particular culture)
• Clap a pattern and have students repeat the pattern or designated response
• Sing a song (establish the expectation that the students will sing with you and join you wherever you are in the room).
• Play music (Establish the routine that your will play music for a certain amount of time and this is the amount of time students have to clean up or get ready to begin workshop, when music stops students need to stop, look, and listen).
• Excuse students by telling them the “magic word” and then whispering words that start with the same letter, rhyme, or have some other common theme and finally the magic word releases them (with this transition students will get excited, be sure to establish the expectation that there is no running).
• Give students group or table names and use the sign language sign to release their group.  Wait until all groups are quiet and their eyes are up before signaling.
• Raise your hand and have students raise theirs when their mouths are quiet and their minds are ready (stop, look, listen)
• Flick the lights on and off. NOTE: This may induce seizures, be cautious of the use of this signal.
• Say: One, Two, Three, Eyes on me
• Say: Give me five (Explain what the five mean, and post a poster:

               1.    Eyes on me

          2.    Hands and feet still

          3.    Mouth quiet

          4.    Ears listening

          5.    Ready for instructions

• Above, Pause, Whisper: (Get the students attention with a sound—chime, or other sound louder than their voices, stand still and wait for “pregnant pause,” then whisper instructions.
• Choral response: Sing or chant a phrase, i.e. "Who lives in a Pineapple Under the Sea," students chorally respond, i.e. "Spongebob Square Pants!" ("Peanut, Peanut Butter," "and Jelly").
• Say: "If you can hear my voice..." i.e. "put your finger on your nose."  Add new instructions but keep saying them in an increasingly quiet voice.

Always wait until students are quiet and giving you their attention.  Never raise your voice above theirs, they will only talk louder.  Talk quietly and enthusiastically.

"It's a great time to be a teacher"

For those of us that have a rather bleak outlook on the state of education today (those of us who don't have jobs, who are forced to retire, etc.).  After all of the negative, it is a good time to be in education.  I was having a discussion with an administrator and once-teacher that has been in education for a long time.  She said to me, "Bad economy aside, it is a remarkable time to be a teacher..."  From manipulatives to mandatory reporting, she described the ways that education has slowly improved since she first became a teacher.  While she agreed that education is a pendulum that swings from one extreme to the other in many instances, she believes that with every swing the pendulum edges toward the side of improvement (maybe with the occasional edge back, i.e. NCLB).

GASP! Facebook Post

Today my husband was checking his Facebook page and suddenly I heard a loud gasp from across the room.  After reading the first sentence he was fired up and so was I.  Upon reading to the end, though I found it does bring up some good points, see for yourself.  Since Facebook only shows the first paragraph as a preview, I hope the general public reads on.

"Are you sick of highly paid teachers? Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or10 months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit!
We can get that for less than minimum wage.
That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and plan-- that equals 6 1/2 hours). Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day...maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day.
However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations. LET'S SEE.... That's $585 X 180= $105,300 per year. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).
What about those special education teachers and the ones with Master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year. Wait a minute -- there's something wrong here! There sure is!
The average teacher's salary (nation-wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77/per day/30 students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student--a very inexpensive babysitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!) WHAT A DEAL!!!! Make a teacher smile; repost this to show appreciation for all educators."

Application 135 and counting...

Since my graduation this summer I have completed at least 135 applications, handed business cards out at numerous schools, gone to job fairs, and completed three interviews (all of which came to the same verdict: "your interview was perfect, but we selected someone with more experience).  Besides this I had a researcher, both of my supervisors, and my cooperating teachers tell me they would "for sure" find me a job!  Besides the experience catch 22, I have a flawless application with over 1,200 hours of volunteer experience (not including my work experience as a teaching assistant) in 11 different schools in six different cities K-College, and a Master's and Bachelor's Degree in education.  In summary: the education field is a tough one right now to say the least.  At one of my interviews in a city with a population of 300 the principal stated:  "We had over 100 highly qualified applicants this year.  The last time we had an opening we had 7, only one of which had a Masters."  This sentence pretty much sums up the education field right now.

So... after all that here is my advice: whilst in your undergraduate or graduate degree program WORK AS A PRESCHOOL TEACHER OR INSTRUCTIONAL AIDE!  That way when the dreaded paid teaching experience question comes about, you don't have to put that big conspicuous 0.

StoryCorps: Sharing real stories in a way children can relate

Loving this new website, StoryCorps, they have started an initiative to animate the stories of survivors and their families from 9/11 as well as other stories, using their own voices.  The series is up for an Emmy, and for good reason.  The stories are touching, the animation is great, and the voices are real.  A great resource for educators K-College for a social studies curriculum, or for simply sharing quality audiovisual material in the classroom.  My favorite story so far is John and Joe, brothers who both died in the 9/11 attacks.

Waiting...

Waiting is the hardest part.  Here I am, a qualified, educated, prepared, motivated and compassionate educator sitting in my office chair at home waiting to get called.  I thought for sure today would be the day, but here I sit.  It is hard to know that there are others out there begrudgingly doing the job that I would do anything to be doing right now.  I will continue to be patient, because on that day I do get the call, it will be a joyous occasion, and another step toward that ultimate dream... getting my own classroom.

Reading Quotes

"We read to know we are not alone." -C.S. Lewis

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."- Oh! The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss