Keep Them Laughing to Keep Them Learning

Below is my university's Center for Teaching & Learning Newsletter (pdf)

CONTENTS:

New technologies spark student-teacher symbiosis

Teaching Today’s Students - Is it harder or just different?

Keep Them Laughing to Keep Them Learning - my article, originally in Atlanta Journal Constitution

I never dreamed of being a college professor.
Does anybody?

When my third grade teacher asked us about our dream job, Molly said, “Astronaut.” Evan, “An actor.” Perry: “Obtain a terminal degree and lecture on legal morasses.”

Whether you teach third grade or nuclear physics, every student wants a
good laugh. As teacher accountability objectives collide with shorter attention
spans, laughter is the secret ingredient to keep everyone on task.

CONTINUE READING (PDF)

http://www.gsu.edu/images/CTL/_CTLnewsletterSpring10.pdf

Students found their hearts in Joe Fran’s classroom

I enjoy reading these stories and passing them on:

By Cate Murway, Correspondent, Bristol Pilot News
We all have favorite teachers. Whether they taught us how to read, write or do arithmetic, encouraged us, challenged us or gave sound advice in times of confusion, all of us have one or two educators in mind when we are asked: “What is the best thing you learned, so far?”

...

“Teaching was a wonderful career for me and I loved it. The student taught me as much as I taught them. I taught them to love and be passionate.”

Continue Reading: http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/2010/03/17/bristol_pilot/news/doc4ba126bba69a2897790441.txt

Lured Into Trade School and Debt - A Recurring Story

Many years ago, I taught at a trade school and found that the teachers were as passionate about their craft as any teachers I have met. However, I also found that the administration had pressure to recruit students in a way that public institutions do not. I have taught classes at all levels of higher education - from graduate schools, to four year universities, to community colleges. While there must be some proprietary schools with time-tested success, simply put - our two-year colleges (which face budget cuts) are the ticket for people to obtain specific job training, and avoid the massive debts discussed in this New York Times article (March 13, 2010) - In Hard Times, Lured Into Trade School and Debt.

It would be unfair to make a sweeping allegation against all trade schools. However, there are many schools which still employ the practices referenced in the article. As a way to help students and attorneys, I wrote a 50+ page book chapter on how a student can confront a trade school in court, if that student believes s/he is the victim of unscrupulous practices.

My piece, written in the mid-1990's, "Liability of Private Trade School To Student" is not available online - you need to visit a law school library or access it from a Lexis or Westlaw database (Cite: 22 Am. Jur. Proof of Facts 3d 411).

The NY Times article makes it crystal clear that fifteen-plus years after my article, abuses in the trade school sector are the same or worse in 2010. (even after legislation was passed, e.g., barring incentives for admissions representatives based on the number of students they enroll)

Here is the Introduction to Liability of Private Trade School To Student (much of which is excerpted from the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs (United States Senate, May 1991)

In the state of Texas, a truck-driving school arranged a $5,000 loan for a student who was eventually denied a state operator's license. The reason for denial of the license was that the student was unable to operate a truck's clutch because she only had one foot. Unfortunately, such tales are not unusual in the private education sector. [Footnote]

Today, as the federal government scrutinizes the default rates on loans offered to students at private trade schools, [FN] these schools have created a public perception of greed at the expense of education. Testifying before the U.S. Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, one trade school owner recently admitted: "I'm a businessman out to make a profit. Truly, I don't care about the well-being of the students." [FN]

The proprietary school sector [FN] has become a big business due, in part, to the accessibility of financial aid to trade schools and the lack of credible regulatory bodies to police such schools. As one school president stated before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in 1991, "there is no way to escape being a slave to the quarterly report. Quality education and higher earnings are two masters. You can't serve both." [FN] The Subcommittee found that such attitudes are prevalent at many proprietary schools. For example, the former financial aid administrator for one school testified that contests were held whereby sales representatives earned incentive awards for enrolling the largest number of students during a given period. Likewise, receptionists with the largest number of student phone contacts were given time off, and loan counselors received cash, color televisions, or other such awards for the largest number of applicants processed. The former financial aid administrator remarked that he "always felt a little strange that the instructors never had a contest, or that the placement office never was rewarded if they placed a high number of graduates." [FN]

Unfortunately, the prospect of regulating the trade school industry has become bleaker in recent times. For example, in Florida, the state licensing agency for trade schools recently cut its staff from five to three investigators for a total of 550 schools. [FN] As economic times get tougher, many college admissions representatives, earning commissions on each student they enroll, often do not have the student's best interests at heart. As a former school owner, convicted of defrauding a guaranteed student loan program, testified:
In the proprietary school business, what you sell is 'dreams,' and so ninety-nine percent of the sales were made in…poor, black areas…at welfare offices and unemployment lines, and in housing projects. My approach…was that 'if [a prospect] could breath, scribble his name, had a driver's license, and was over eighteen years of age,' he was qualified for [the school's] program. My tactics…, [which] were approved, and even encouraged, by the school's owners included making the down payment for the prospect (the amount of which would be reimbursed to me out of the financial aid proceeds) and…going so far as to accompany the prospect to a pawn shop in order for him to obtain enough money for it. [FN]

The purpose of this article is two-fold. First, it attempts to briefly educate the general practitioner about the "tricks of the trade" in the proprietary school business, the laws relating to financial aid for students, and the process of enrolling students in trade schools. Second, the article discusses the causes of action that can be filed against trade schools, the defenses to those causes of action, and the elements of proof that are necessary for a plaintiff student to successfully prosecute a civil claim of intentional misrepresentation against a trade school. [FN]

Thoughts on Building a Better Teacher

Follow up to March 7 posting:

I think when it comes to learning a subject like algebra, a teacher can put in 20 hours of work, and be 20 hours more prepared- however, for communicating information or motivating students --this is an intangible skill.

The best way for teachers to work on these skills --- watch other teachers or seminar presenters in action. Not to emulate other teachers, but to add to the teachers' repertoire. Most important thing to me -- never try to be anyone else but yourself, and lean on your own strengths. The great comics borrow material from each other, but they are true to their own gifts.

My measure of a great teacher -- if s/he wakes up every morning looking forward to class and believes that it is a privilege to inspire young minds -- if it's not a job, but a passion, that's the teacher I want in my k-5 class (and I had few or none!). To me, teaching is a job only when I am under the weather or in a bad mood --other than that, it's a total joy. And a class can lift me out of any mood!

When I was in 9th grade, we had an amazing social studies teacher who was the victim of the budget cuts. He went on to succeed in the private sector, but likely would've been the greatest 30-year teacher around. Think of all of the lives he could've positively impacted. State legislatures nationwide needs to be dream builders, not bottom line slashers.

Building a Better Teacher

Today's NY Times Magazine has an interesting article with a presumptuous title.

By ELIZABETH GREEN
Published: March 2, 2010

Excerpt: [w]hen it came to actual teaching, the daily task of getting students to learn, the school floundered. Students disobeyed teachers’ instructions, and class discussions veered away from the lesson plans. In one class Lemov observed, the teacher spent several minutes debating a student about why he didn’t have a pencil. Another divided her students into two groups to practice multiplication together, only to watch them turn to the more interesting work of chatting. A single quiet student soldiered on with the problems. As Lemov drove from Syracuse back to his home in Albany, he tried to figure out what he could do to help. He knew how to advise schools to adopt a better curriculum or raise standards or develop better communication channels between teachers and principals. But he realized that he had no clue how to advise schools about their main event: how to teach.

Continue reading: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.html

Michigan teacher recognized for inspiring his students

A decade ago, high school student Jeremy Warner sat in a science classroom in this school district, excited about learning. Fast forward to 2010, and Ubly science teacher Jeremy Warner is being rewarded for his efforts to excite his students about learning. Warner will receive the Science Teacher of Promise award at the Michigan Science Teacher Association (MSTA) conference this weekend in Lansing. He is the only teacher in the state receiving this award.

READ MORE: //www.michigansthumb.com/articles/2010/03/03/news/local_news/doc4b8e5463d6cb2461175147.txt

Between the Snowflakes - From the Dorm to Lake Placid

I wrote this article a long time ago for The Huffington Post and other outlets - I hope it offers a glimmer of optimism in the face of so much current doubt.

“I like your hat,” Bill offered mischievously to the middle-aged Russian gentleman.
The man kept walking with a deliberate gait.
“Trade you my Vikings football cap,” Bill tries, with the tact of a paparazzo in the Olympic Village.
The guy stopped and looked at Bill. Then at me, wrapped in a parka the size of the Hindenburg.
“Nyet,” he delivered stoic faced, as he trudged through the snow flurries.

This was the beginning of my trip to Lake Placid. At age 19, it was a safe bet that Bill and I were not destined to be goodwill ambassadors for these Games.

We left for Lake Placid from our Binghamton University dormitory at 2:00a.m., to a mock chorus of God Bless America from the less than enlightened frat boys. About forty pioneers boarded a charter bus for the one day, 14 hour roundtrip journey from Vestal, New York. As we pulled away from campus, my thoughts wandered back to Franz Klammer’s downhill run in 1976 at Innsbruck, and to the ice-cold keg of beer in the back of bus – courtesy of those more than enlightened frat boys.

Headline - Monday, February 18, 1980 - Bus waits may last throughout Games
“For the sixth day in a row, spectators were forced to wait for more than an hour-and-a-half at some venues sites.”

Headline – Many treated for frostbite
(UPI) “A bitter wind from the Northwest … plunged the ’chill factor’ to minus 40 (F and C).”

When the bus arrived at 9:00a.m., the first thing I wanted to do was see the Olympic torch and get in touch with all the good that it represents. The silver cauldron was perched about 100 feet above the snowdrifts. The base of the structure was a very unassuming platform from which the torch was first lit. After the lighting, the cauldron traveled up to its resting place along a track supported by two thin white beams, one on each side of the track. Access to the torch was permitted, as Bill took a picture of me on the platform. I posed with both arms raised in victory celebration form.

Headline – U.S. Government pressures USOC to boycott Moscow
Headline – Counter Olympic site sought
(UPI The United States has set a deadline of Wednesday, Feb. 20, for the Soviets to withdraw their estimated 95,000 troops from Afghanistan.

The first event we saw was the 70 meter combined Ski Jump at Intervale Mountain at 12:30p.m. For $16.80US, Bill and I got to stand among a pack of people for two hours without binoculars, hot chocolate, or wool socks. No matter. While our vantage point wasn’t perfect, it was a treat to watch airborne jumpers maintain their poise. During the event, my mind wandered back to Binghamton where everyone was huddled under blankets in front of the TV for the Games, while I was here as a witness to history.

Headline – ABC didn’t seem to be with it
(AP) “Even though it showed two gold medals being decided, ABC didn’t really seem to be into the Olympics during its 2½-hour presentation Sunday. … Delaying presentation of the downhill was inexcusable after the results were announced.”

After the ski jump, we had a few hours before going to an ice hockey game at the Olympic Center. Bill and I used this time to look around the Olympic Village. I vividly remember an East German athlete limping near us. We tried to talk to him about his injury, but the language barrier proved to be daunting. I also remember people from all over the world trading pins, and wondering what the big deal was. Who knew?!

Headline – What to do in a crisis
“If your car stalls out, your fingers freeze up, or you find out the place you had planned to stay the night is all booked up, don’t panic. [The disaster operational plan] is only a phone call away.”

At 4:30p.m., Bill and I headed into the Field House for a greatly anticipated ice hockey match between the USSR and Finland ($28.00US for lower level seats). When we bought tickets several months earlier, we were more excited to see the best hockey team on the planet than to see our homegrown USA team (which was playing Romania later that evening). After all, the Soviets were going to win the gold in style, right? Though Finland jumped out to an early 2-1 lead – much to the delight of the mostly American, anti-Russian crowd which chanted “Finnish ‘em off!!!” – the Soviets were formidable, beating Finland, 4-2.

At nightfall, we saw a spectacular fireworks display over frozen Mirror Lake, as the Games ended for another day. The competition would continue through Sunday, February 24 -- ending with the Gold Medal Round of the ice hockey tournament. But for Bill and me, it was back to the ice-cold bus with the empty keg of beer. And a seven hour trip back to Binghamton and a TV Olympics.

Headline – Monday, February 25, 1980 – Lake Placid: The Deserted Village
“With the games ending, Olympic Village will now be prepared for the role it was built for – as a prison.”

Many years have passed since my journey to Lake Placid. And in that time, I don’t tolerate the cold as well, busses still don’t arrive at events, corporate logos loom larger, and people lob bombs to make a point. It’s enough to make those close to the Olympic Movement question their very involvement in the spirit of competition for the sake of a higher purpose.

In 1997, I sat in an Atlanta movie theatre for the world premiere of Bud Greenspan’s documentary, Atlanta’s Olympic Glory. Memories of the Lake Placid Games rushed back as quickly as images of the 1996 Games flashed on the screen. I’m fascinated as to how Mr. Greenspan, a self-described historian, captures poignant yet often unnoticed moments of the Games while filtering out the high profile politics of the day.

For me, such a perspective on history is a matter of one’s outlook. But ultimately, what we dwell on and how we recall important events are functions of choice. And isn’t that the heart of the Olympic Movement - - to choose an ideal to shoot for, as we live and deal with global and personal challenges. Day-by-day, as an integral part of the equation.

As I watch the current Winter Games, I will approach them with the same anticipation as that 19 year old playing in an icebox called Lake Placid. Choosing to filter out without minimizing the scandals and the other negative things we often confuse as being newsworthy.  Navigating around the headlines.  Walking between the snowflakes.

Hoping this time to meet that Russian gentleman with the hat, and believing this time he’d say - - “Da, but throw in two pins with that stupid looking cap!”

Perry Binder, J.D. is an author, professional speaker, and Legal Studies professor in Atlanta, GA. From 1992-1995, he was a sports radio talk show host on Miami Beach, with diverse shows including Love of the Game.  He served on the Inaugural Board of the Bob Beamon Foundation for Youth, which supported the Inner City Games created by Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Perry has appeared in print media and on radio and television, including ESPN Classic where he discussed the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding case and other sports controversies.

c 2000-2022 Perry Binder

Sources:
Daily Olympic Digest, Lake Placid News, February 18, 1980
Red Smith, The New York Times, February 25, 1980, page C3

Schedule of Events - Monday, February 18, 1980

8:00a.m. . Men’s Figure Skating, Compulsory Figures
9:00a.m. Women’s Cross Country Skiing - 10 kilometer
10:00a.m Men’s Alpine Skiing - Giant Slalom, 1st Run
12:30p.m. Ski Jumping – 70 meter combined * (attended this event)
* Gold medal: Anton Innauer, Austria, 266.3 points

Hockey
1:00p.m. Canada-Japan Arena
1:30p.m. Sweden-Norway Field House
4:30p.m. Holland-Poland Arena
5:00p.m. USSR-Finland Field House (attended this event)
8:00p.m. Czechoslovakia-Germany Arena
8:30p.m. USA-Romania Field House

Most Medals
Team: East Germany - 23 Medals 9 Gold 7 Silver 7 Bronze
Individual: Eric Heiden, USA, Speed Skating – 5 Gold Medals

NYC's Best Kept Secret - Locations of 13 Rubber Rooms

March 21 Update - Good article in the NY Post - the Rubber Rooms are so secretive, that I got the wrong count on the number of rooms in NYC:

8 rubber rooms citywide
675 educators in them every day
140 for misconduct
117 for corporal punishment
102 for arrests outside school
45 for incompetence
$40.5M paid to these teachers in last fiscal year
12 years one teacher had been in a rubber room
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bored_of_ed_in_fPRMkAqNVBQ4hWAs1XYICM/1#ixzz0ioIRDlLk

Update from Friday, December 11, 2009 Post

I sent the below letter to the Rubber Rooms in Staten Island (through the assistance of a teacher) and to one in Brooklyn and Manhattan (by stumbling upon addresses mentioned in news accounts). I am on a quest to find the address for the Queens Rubber Room, since that is where I grew up. Here's the letter sent to Brooklyn and Manhattan:

February 2, 2010

NYC Department of Education
Teacher Reassignment Center
333 7th Ave.

New York, NY 10001-5004

25 Chapel Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201-1952

Re: Enclosed Book - Unlocking Your Rubber Room

Dear Teachers:

I am a native New Yorker from Queens (PS 184, JHS 194, Bayside HS) and a Legal Studies professor at Georgia State University in Atlanta, who recently read about your ordeal in The New Yorker. One of the most telling quotes in Mr. Brill’s piece concerned a teacher’s situation, when the city official stated: “Our standard is tighter than ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’.”

I had never heard the term “Rubber Room” used in the school system context, until I started researching the title for my book, Unlocking Your Rubber Room. I also didn’t appreciate the depth of NYC Rubber Room issues until after the book was published. Unlocking Your Rubber Room is a humorous look at law and life (Sections I & II), with my own bent perspective on the justice system (Section III). While the book isn’t about teacher Rubber Rooms, I believe its lessons will offer you some needed levity (starting with the book title!), and possibly help maintain or regain your perspective on the teaching profession, as you await due process hearings.

Please e-mail me with any comments on my book or just to say hello. I wish you peace of mind and happiness in 2010.

Sincerely,

Perry Binder

Book Web Site: http://www.yourrubberroom.com/ Crazy Classroom Teacher Blog: http://yourrubberroom.blogspot.com/

Dec. 11 Post:
NYC Teachers Sue for a Pass Out of Rubber Rooms

While this blog is dedicated to inspiring teacher stories, I'd be remiss if I didn't post this story about K-12 teachers who believe they are being unjustly treated:BROOKLYN (CN) -Some 2000 schoolteachers say New York City is discriminating against them by confining them on trumped-up charges in infamous "rubber rooms" until they retire. Rubber rooms are study hall-like places where teachers are paid full wages to do nothing -- sometime for years. Continue reading - http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/12/01/Class_of_Teachers_Sues_NYC_For_a_Pass_Out_of_Rubber_Rooms.htm
I stumbled across the rubber room issue when selecting the title of my book.

In my book Intro:

Rub·ber Room (noun)A confining mind-set where thoughts and possibilities bounce aimlesslyIn my book

Epilogue:Rub·ber Room (noun)An isolated place where schools send unruly teachers awaiting disciplinary proceedings

After the fact, I dug deeper into the NYC Rubber Room problem, and discovered some reasons (justly and possibly unjustly) that teachers get sent there. One of the biggest issues is how long teachers must wait until given a due process hearing to get reinstated (they are suspended with pay until a resolution). Though my book has nothing to do with the NYC Rubber Room issue, a couple of months ago I wrote this letter to provide moments of levity for Rubber Room occupants awaiting a hearing:

September 28, 2009

Michael Mulgrew

President, United Federation of Teachers

52 BroadwayNew York, NY 10004

Re: The Rubber Room New Yorker article – Your Letter to the Editor

Dear Mr. Mulgrew:

I am a Queens, New York native (PS 184, JHS 194, Bayside HS) and a Legal Studies professor at Georgia State University, who read your Letter to the Editor in The New Yorker with great interest. One of the most telling quotes in Mr. Brill’s piece concerned the city official’s statement: “Our standard is tighter than ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’.”I had never heard the term “Rubber Room” used in the school system context, until I started researching the title of my enclosed book, Unlocking Your Rubber Room (2009).

The reason I am writing is because I am interested in supplying each borough’s “Rubber Room” with a copy of my book (at no cost). http://www.yourrubberroom.com/ Unlocking Your Rubber Room is a humorous look at law and life (Sections I & II), with my bent perspective on the justice system (Section III). I believe that the book would help Rubber Room occupants maintain or regain perspective as they await their hearings. If anything, the book’s title and content would offer some needed levity. Please let me know if you have any thoughts on how to accomplish the above task. Thank you for your time and consideration.Sincerely,Perry BinderMr. Mulgrew's Letter to the Editor of The New YorkerBrill captures the Kafkaesque quality of Rubber Rooms, in which teachers linger while the Department of Education ponders accusations against them.

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/letters/2009/09/28/090928mama_mail2Postscript:

To date, I have not heard back from Mr. Mulgrew, but a couple of people are attempting to assist me and get free copies of my book into the five NYC Rubber Rooms.

Lessons Learned from Sports

Published in the early 90's for the 25th Anniversary Event Program, honoring Bob Beamon for the Greatest Track & Field Feat in Olympic History (Mexico City, 1968)

WIND BENEATH MY WINGS
by Bob Beamon with Perry Zane Binder

Sometimes when I get home after a particularly hectic day, I'll put on some jazz and take out my African drums to strike up a beat. As I close my eyes, my body succumbs to the rhythmic vibrations of pounding drums. With the stress of the day draining off, I kick back and try to reflect on where I've been and where I'm going. Sometimes my mind wanders back to Mexico City and 1968; but mostly, I think about today and tomorrow, one day at a time.

I work up a good beat and follow the flow. This morning, I went to an elementary school to talk with a few hundred children about precious opportunities. The kids cheered when I showed a replay of the jump. That got their attention. But then one kid laughed when I confided that I couldn't read a book at his age. He didn't mean anything by it, but it's hard to know sometimes who listens closely to the lessons of the past - who we can reach and who remains lost in America's school corridors and neighborhood back alleys.

As a kid growing up in Jamaica, Queens, I could barely find a positive role model in the
neighborhood. The money and fancy clothes flashed around by local drug dealers and pimps were tempting and offered a quick way out. The message of sacrifice offered by parents, guardians and teachers who toil anonymously in the trenches was brushed aside to satisfy the appetite of the moment. When a young man today wonders if he'll live to see his twenty-fifth birthday and our babies are having babies, it's easy to identify such an overwhelming sense of resignation on our nation's street corners.

The statistics are mind blowing. Nationwide, an estimated 270,000 firearms are brought to our
kids' schools every day. While a recent United Way survey identified that non-profit groups reach out to an estimated 15,000 "at-risk" youth in Dade County, Florida, another 120,000 needy kids aren't getting proper attention. Let's get one thing straight - in some way, all of our youth are at risk. Before we can isolate what makes children tick, their parents must first discover what makes themselves function effectively. Before parents can instill a sense of pride and dignity in a child, before we can talk about molding model citizens, mothers and fathers must feel good about who they are. A stable home life is the first priority our country must address before we can consider the active role that athletes can play in developing healthy minds and bodies.

Obviously, each kid is not going to cross the finish line first, but as Baron Pierre de Courbertin of
France (the inspiration behind holding the modern Olympic Games) stated: "The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part; the important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. "

Ultimately, the lesson for our youth to gather is that it is not imperative to take home the gold
medal. Champions are not made on the field or track; champions are made according to your
accomplishments and abilities in every day life situations. The same tools that I used to succeed
athletically can be applied to succeeding personally. Just as practice in long jumping made me
successful, practice in whatever your profession or hobby may be will make you equally as
successful. A sound work ethic will offer a framework for a youth's self-worth and the impetus to
stand up and scream: "I am a Champion!"

One key to my athletic accomplishments, however, is that someone was eventually there to give
me an opportunity. Whether it was Larry Ellis, my high school track and field coach, or Ralph
Boston, Mr. Long Jump, a helping hand guided me to focus out distractions and concentrate on
honing my skills.

While an Olympic jump gave me notoriety and stature, that success does not define who I am.
But sports did give me a backdrop of discipline to apply each day. This stable force helps me to face the realities of keeping up with today's rigors. Our children must be taught such lessons from sports - how to set realistic goals, stick to them, work through them and redefine them to stretch their talents to new heights.

Because as the image of an eternal Olympic torch burns an indelible message of hope and respect in our hearts and minds, the flame is beginning to flicker. The fire in our neighborhood streets is
simply suffocating the spirit and dreams of every kid who is taken for granted and not given an
opportunity to flourish.

The great news is that high profile athletes are anxious to offer their time to find solutions. From
Nate Archibald in Harlem to James Worthy in Compton and everyone in between the two coasts, athletes are coming to the rescue of young people in vast numbers. The simple point is that we have the ability to attract a kid's attention. Let's use our gifts constructively.

The boys and girls growing up in America are the wind beneath my wings. They are my
motivation for rising each morning with an inspired outlook. So tonight, my eyes are open as I allow the drum beat to guide my thoughts about yesterday and today. About Mexico City. About some anonymous kids marking time by hanging out on the corner. About tomorrow's journey.

My beat is strong and fluid now, yet it seeks interpretation and clarity. It reaches out for your
understanding and support.

The beat goes on. It simply has to.

1994 Bio: Perry Zane Binder is a sports radio talk show host on WSBH in Miami Beach (Love of the Game).

c 1994-2016 Perry Binder

Lessons to Transform Your Classroom, Part II

I just got back from Savannah, where I met 150 great teachers, K-12, at the Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) annual conference. At the beginning of my session (Lessons to Transform Your Classroom), I passed out index cards and asked participants to write:
- One word which describes your typical classroom environment (108 responses)
- Your favorite TV show or movie about teachers

The movie, Lean on Me, was the overwhelming favorite. As to the "one word" question, I promised the teachers that I'd post the responses on my blog:

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: musical, warm, intense, light-hearted, busy, discombobulated, spirited, small group, exciting (2), structured (3), unique, supportive, organized, crazy, happy (2), hyper, survival, variety (2), colorful (2), active (2), fun! (5), funny, organized chaos, organized mess, learning, compassionate, busy (2), parents!, packed, interactive, unbalanced, supercalifragelistic, spontaneous, interesting, talkative, hectic, diverse, inviting, non-traditional, light, investigative, cooperative, entertaining, engaged, spontaneous, jumping beans, autism

MIDDLE SCHOOL: challenging, exciting (2), engaging, ssshhh!, talk show, electric, accepting, greedy, real, pleasant, fun (3), busy, peaceful, serious, interesting, funny, interactive, active (2), talkative, me, teamwork

HIGH SCHOOL: organized, popping, literary, engaged, happy, unpredictable, structured, homey, exploring, interesting, indescribable, everyone wanting one-on-one help, productive, high energy, support, innovative

TEACH AT ALL LEVELS (or grade level not identified): challenging, alert, happy, maintaining order, homey, structure