Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Binder on TV News - Facebook Privacy


A five minute interview with 10 seconds on camera. Oh the cutting room floor!
Enjoy!

Facebook/Social Media Privacy Settings

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Math, Science Teachers take weightless flight


LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Five Utah educators experienced moments of lunar, Martian and zero gravity during a Weightless Flights of Discovery program geared toward inspiring teachers to inspire students. During the flight, participants experienced lunar, Martian and zero gravity. They floated, flipped and pirouetted mid-air, did push-ups on one finger and tossed each other through the air.

The program is geared toward middle school math and science teachers with an interest in the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Continue reading: Utah math, science teachers take weightless flight

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Community College Prof: Every rock tells a story


"He makes learning fun,” said Josh Lee, a Wilmington resident who was a student in one of Phil Garwood’s classes nearly 10 years ago. Lee said he took the class because he heard from friends that Garwood’s class would be different, involving field trips and more interactive lessons.

“I just think there’s certain people out there who have a gift, and Garwood’s gift is the gift of teaching and spreading the word about geology,” Lee said.


Continue reading Teacher shares ‘gift of teaching, spreading word about geology’

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Oprah and Bill Gates Discuss Their Favorite Teachers

The White House's new TEACH Campaign features videos of prominent Americans sharing the teacher or teachers that inspired them most.

Who made the difference for you?
Bill Gates says, "There wouldn't be a Microsoft without what they did." The software pioneer shares the teachers who mattered most.

Oprah and Bill Gates Discuss Their Favorite Teachers

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Don't Jail Me Bro! Bail Me Out Mr. Prof Man


Just posted at Huffington Post College:

Don't Jail Me Bro! Bail Me Out Mr. Prof Man
My classroom syllabus says: No legal advice questions! Yet, I still get telephone calls from students, usually when it's too late -- after they have a court date.

You know how you get one call before you are hauled off to prison? Well, I got this call from "Steve": Perry, I'm in the DeKalb County Detention Center. Get me out of here!

Continue reading at:

Sunday, September 26, 2010

The Inspiring Teacher Series: Interview with Brendan Halpin

Welcome to The Inspiring Teacher Series - a tribute to inspirational K-12 teachers and college professors, and what we can learn from them and each other about the craft of teaching. Now let's meet...

BRENDAN HALPIN
Author & Teacher
Boston, MA

Bio: Brendan Halpin is the author of the memoir Losing My Faculties as well as several novels for adults and young adults. He's in his thirteenth year of teaching, and he lives in Boston with his wife Suzanne, their children, and their dog.

What inspired you to teach?
I just kind of fell into it. I had to teach English in order to participate in this program that took me to Taiwan after I graduated from college. I was kind of dreading it, but when I got there, I actually enjoyed it. The idea that work was something you could enjoy rather than just endure was pretty revolutionary to me, so I decided that was probably a job I should pursue.


Losing My Faculties is one of my favorite teacher-written books, especially because of your humor and unabashed honesty. How how the book helped or hindered your connection with current students and teachers?
Thanks! Honestly, it hasn't affected it that much at all. It wasn't enough of a runaway bestseller to have really penetrated the consciousness of most people I meet. I think it's had a pretty corrosive effect on my relationship with some of the teachers I used to work with, but I don't really talk to those people anyway.

What teaching methods are most helpful in guiding students towards their goals?
I would say whatever methods allow the teacher to teach with passion will help students. I've had and seen great teachers that lectured nonstop and great teachers that have students work in groups. I don't think one method is necessarily better for all students, but if the teacher is really engaged and having fun, the students will be learning more.

What would you like to improve about your teaching?
I'm still just so disorganized. I really admire and envy people who just naturally know how to keep everything where it's supposed to be.

What is the one thing you wish you'd known when you started your teaching career?
A few things, actually:
1.) You can successfully ignore whatever the administrators tell you in those meetings on the first couple days of school.
2.) Almost every workshop you're forced to attend will be dull, insulting, or both. Try not to take it personally.
3.) A lot of people who've been teaching for decades are very wounded. Try not to judge them too harshly. You'll get wounds of your own.
4.) The wins you'll get along the way will be better than any other reward and will make it all worth it.
5.) There are a lot of different settings in which you can teach. Keep moving till you find the right one for you.

Any words of wisdom for teachers who want to be entrepreneurial - such as balancing a teaching career with a writing career?
I would say don't expect to do anything else that requires a lot of energy or creativity in your first three years of teaching. You need time to establish your bag of tricks before you can spare any creative energy for other projects.

Teacher Reflects Back on 31-Year Career


His first year salary was approximately $10,000, and he said he did the math to figure out how much he was making per hour. "I averaged four cents an hour," he said. "I sat down the last day of school with (retired Dixon Elementary teacher) Rick Stinson - who was also a first-year teacher that year - and we said to each other, 'Why are we doing this?'" The two of them finally decided their love for working with children was the motivation, and more important to them than the amount of money they were making per hour. "I really enjoyed the kids in the classroom," he said.

His advice to new teachers: learn about human behavior.
"The big piece of advice would be if you haven't had a human psychology course, take one," Willoughby said. "Getting kids motivated to do the work, and understanding why they're not doing their work is the real challenge of teaching. I would also tell them (new teachers) they need to have a sense of humor, and not to come into it like they're the enemy or you're their drill sergeant. They are people, too. "The other takes care of itself," he added. "The highlight won't be the 'straight-A' kid or the athlete that won the state championship. It'll be the ones that changed for the better."

Continue reading Making A Difference - Dixon Teacher Reflects Back on 31-Year Career:

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Supporting Our Community Colleges


I am a huge supporter of community colleges. I was an adjunct professor for several semesters at Miami Dade Community College and Broward Community College before moving to Georgia to teach full-time at the university level.

Simply put, community colleges offer excellent job training skills at an affordable price. They remain the best value for re-training, though their message gets lost in the noise of slick for-profit college commercials offering similar choices at drastically higher tuition cost.

Supporting Our Community Colleges, by Dr. Jill Biden
I am writing today with some exciting news and a great video that I want to share with all of you. I was delighted last spring when President Obama asked me to convene the first-ever White House Summit on Community Colleges to highlight the importance of community colleges to our students and our economy. I am pleased to announce today that this summit will take place on Tuesday, October 5th.
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Teacher living her dream to teach


My inspiration to continue teaching every day is my students.

When I enter the classroom I have an opportunity to light a fire in them and my greatest reward is seeing that light come on and the ‘ah-ha' moment.

I have the privilege of affecting these children's lifelong learning.

Sound like someone you know? It's likely you. Continuing reading Moura teacher living her dream

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Teachers share what they've learned from students


If you want to teach young children to write, you must “cultivate your sense of astonishment.” I heard professor Donald Graves say that many years ago. He explained to us that if a 5-year-old comes bursting in with the news that he saw a firetruck on the way to school, you don't say, “Yeah, there's a station down the road. I saw that truck, too.” What you do say is, “You saw a firetruck! Wow! Did you hear the siren? Was it going really fast?” We need to share in the excitement a child feels about a world in which everything seems new. It's the way we help them learn to love language and to use it well. “Cultivate your sense of astonishment.” So I did. I cheered and exclaimed over the firetrucks, the baby teeth that fall out and the new ones that come in, the tadpoles that become frogs, the dandelions that turn into clouds of tiny parachutes, and learning to tie your own shoes. I said that it was all amazing, wonderful and, yes, astonishing. Then, one day, I realized that all of it is.
— Mary Mello teaches at Union Elementary School in Montpelier.

Continue reading Vermont teachers share what they've learned from students: