One of my favorite web sites for teachers is "Outta Ray's Head."   more »

The catch phrase of the Megaconference phenomenon is “Increasing Empathy Through Video Conferencing”.  Is there some existing technology that can be used effectively by the Adventist education system to increase awareness, foster communication and make our students better aware of the global nature of our mission?  Why not plan on participating in, or at least be a passive observer, in the May 18 Megaconference Jr. (targeted toward elementary and secondary schools) 

A number of Adventist individuals and institutions participated in the Dec. 2005 Megaconfernece (targeted mainly for Advanced Education) event, including PUC, AE21, and AIIAS.  I was able to watch some of the proceedings from one of the streaming sites, which requires only an Internet connection and appropriate media player. It was really great to recognize some people who were participating, and amazing to experience the sense of connectedness that happen across the many miles with just a little beam of light connecting us.  What a great way to expose a class to both academic and cultural issues presented by peers around the world.

Another opportunity to participate in a similar event will be during the June 22 AVLN Adventist Megaconference, held during their annual on-line conference.  This will be a 3 hour session following the Megaconference format, to explore the use of videoconferencing in Adventist education, and for participants to experience new possibilities for interactive content and collaborative projects.

 In order be a participant, you must have a H.323 compliant device.  These can range from the $200 DLink DVC-1000 to the more capable and expensive Polycom systems.  If this equipment is not available, then simply viewing the proceedings in real-time is possible by pointing your browser to one of the live streaming sites.  Plan now to attend either or both of these sessions, and be prepared to gain a new perspective.

 

If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today, their famous sketch, "Who's
on first?" might have turned out something like this:   more »

Teens' Bold Blogs Alarm Area Schools
Uninhibited Online Remarks Full of Risks, Officials Warn
By Tara Bahrampour and Lori ArataniWashington ...   more »

Photoshop CS2, made by Adobe, was used to create the new NAD TDEC Blog banner.  There is Academic pricing available to educators.  However, this software is not for timid users.  I spent four days getting training and felt overwhelmed with all the shortcuts and tools.  If you want to just edit digital photos, Adobe Elements is cheaper and easier to use.  Corel also makes some very nice editing software.

Teacher Manwas written by Frank McCourt, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of "Angela's Ashes. This book is a meandering more or less chronology of Mr. McCourt's teaching experience in a number of public high schools in New York City. Although touted as a tribute to teachers I think most teachers will find this somewhat fragmented. He rambles from incident to incident sometimes showing almost total incompetence as a teacher then showing flashes of creativity and innovative techniques to get students' interest aroused. He uses stories of his miserable childhood in order to keep the students' attention. This is repeated thoughout the book again and again.

What you don't see much of is any learning process on his part. His humor is even dark when describing various events in his classroom with almost no tie-in to his student's later lives. You are constantly left wondering what happened to this student or that student.

His personal life receives extremely short thrift. His first marriage is announced as simply "At thirty I married Alberta Small..." He later has a child to whom he does not devote much impact to and then announces later in the book, that his marriage is over. This is not surprising since he describes infidelity to her while studying abroad.

The book ends as abruptly as it begins. He simply leaves his classroom and looks forward to catching up on all the books he missed in the last 30 years he spent teaching.

To me, this book was totally wasted time. I learned nothing, i could not relate to such a melancholy person in the classroom, and would trade the book for a box of Little Debbies. (Now that is really low, isn't it!)

My wife could not finish Angela's Ashes because it was so dark. Maybe I am too hard-headed to give up on this book but I wish I had quit much earlier and devoted my time to better things.

No Stars for this book.
Has anyone else read this book? If so, how did you like it?

Mistakes of Principals
(Teachers Rank Behaviors of Principals that are viewed as Mistakes)

1. Ineffective human relations
2. Poor interpersonal communications
3. Lack of educational priorities
4. Avoiding conflict
5. Failure to lead
6. Lack of knowledge about instruction/curriculum
7. Being control oriented
8. Lack of ethics/character
9. Forgetting what it is like to be a teacher
10. Inconsistency
11. Showing favoritism
12. Failure to hold staff accountable/follow through
13. Snap judgements
14. Public Address (PA) system interruptions of class


As Published in the Illinois Principals Association Newsletter p. 7, Oct 1998, Vo. 28. No. 3

Hire the right people In the frenzy to fill positions we often forget we aren’t hiring teachers, we are hiring people who are teachers. It is usually not poor teaching that causes big problems in schools. Difficulties almost always center on issues of character - manifested in style, intention, tone of voice, respect, perseverance, hard work, and dedication- that are the crux of good and bad teaching and character is the trait least likely to be revealed in the typical hiring process. You can, however, tip the odds back to your favor by shifting the focus of the hiring process to finding good people who are or will become, good teachers. You are looking for people who will add value to the lives of your students. The following list is a place to begin in considering who those people are: 1. Hire Happy people. Happy people view life as a positive experience. Their emotional cup is full enough that they can share that happiness with other people. Unhappy people can only be satisfied when every other person around them is miserable. They thrive on hurt, despair, and crises. If things are going too well, they will create problems just to meet their emotional needs. 2. Hire adults who genuinely LIKE kids - all kids - especially hard-to-like kids. It is one thing to say you like kids. It is quite another to forgive a kid who has acted out, disrupted your class, called you names, and hurt your feelings. It is very difficult to rise above personal hurt and ask what student needs are being unmet. An authentic investment in young people marks superior teachers. 3. Hire Team Players. There is plenty of room for eccentricity in schools, and you can even tolerate people who needs to be stars, providing they can place their needs in the context of the whole school. You cannot tolerate people who need to excel at the expense of others. You will never be able to trust their motives, their intentions, or their stated agenda. 4. Hire good instructors who like to teach. Good teachers have presence in a classroom. Teaching is an art. Good teachers plan interesting lessons, they manage people, time space, and resources well. They want to improve. They take joy in doing their job well. They want to polish their craft. They use a variety of teaching strategies. They invent new units and lessons even when the old ones work pretty well. 5. Hire people with strong content knowledge - This is obvious and important but it is often overrated. The average high school, for example, needs one true mathematician to teach calculus and help the other math teachers. Most of the math people must be outstanding teachers who know enough algebra, trig, and geometry to get the job done. Excessive expertise is nice but hardly essential, and it is not a guarantee that kids will learn anything. 6. Hire people who love Jesus. These people are infectious and your students will soon reflect their positive view about spiritual matters and their Saviour.