Teacher education

mrschili
March 15, 2007 at 6:03 am

Welcome, Saintseester! I love my readers, and new ones make me happy!

Just to update you all on this little situation; I’ve not heard a peep from our boy Dave. My suspicion is that I called his bluff; he wanted me to cave to his (oh so eloquent) argument without calling anyone else in on the party. I’m pretty sure he’s smart enough to know that his “excelent” and “factual” research paper would probably get a LOWER grade from another teacher, and he’s not willing to risk that.

What I didn’t point out to him when he complained about how little the extra credit changed his grade was that, while I was taking four zeroes off his average, he was adding two ON by not doing his homework. I’m a drooling moron when it comes to math, but even *I* can figure out the effects of that!

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9 Comments.
Organic Mama
March 7, 2007 at 2:56 pm

DEEEEEP Breath.

Hey, there HAS to be a starting point. You are their teacher and you must continue to show them examples of good writing regularly so they see (god I hope so) how it can be done. Why not ask them if they think THEY can write as well as one of your fave pieces of short writing and when they say no, insist that they produce a list of the issues they see standing in their way. Who knows what you’ll get?

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Today Sean toured the RESPOND shelter in Somerville, MA. RESPOND is a domestic violence agency that reaches out to women who are in desperate need of a helping hand. These women have been through some of the most difficult situations imaginable. This is something that Sean feels strongly about and will continue to support and stand up for in the future. He believes that these are the programs that cannot be cut from the budget, they provide a vital service that gives unparalleled support.

For more information on RESPOND, Inc. please visit www.respondinc.org .

Zoos Budget may be Restored.

Amidst a great amount of commotion, lawmakers and government officials have been pushing to repeal the budget cuts for Franklin Park and the Stone Zoos. Much debate will most likely continue because of cuts being made to other services across the commonwealth.

Thanks everyone for their calls, emails, and letters on this issue. As always, constituents should feel free to email, call, or respond to me on my blog. I can be reached at the office or on my cell phone 781-859-7781. My email address is Sean.Garballey@state.ma.us .

Summer’s Finally Here!.

It looks like we are FINALLY going to get some bright and sunny weather this weekend. Considering it’s been so long we thought we would give some tips for enjoying the weather safely. Here are a few tips to “stay cool” now that the weather has changed;

-Stay hydrated to avoid heat stroke

-Stay away from prolonged sun exposure

-Always wear sunscreen, even in the water where light is reflected and intensified The higher the SPF the more protection you get

-Arlingtonians should look into visiting the Reservoir beach (on Lowell Street and Westmoreland Ave)

Have a great weekend everyone!

mrschili
April 10, 2008 at 5:24 am

These are GREAT, Everyone! See how these little tricks stick in our heads?

Lanie, I like yours – Sweet Stuff (which is what we call dessert around Chez Chili) and Sand. That seems easier to remember than my trick of wanting two desserts. I may steal this – thanks, Mrs. Maybee!

Tense, I learned how to spell together as three words – to get her. I don’t remember who taught me that – I think it was a friend’s father – but I never misspelled that word ever again.

Jules, got any other fun tricks?

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1 Comment.
CaliforniaTeacherGuy
April 9, 2008 at 9:45 am

I’m holding…breathlessly!

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4 Comments.
Darci
March 17, 2008 at 11:05 am

I love this idea for a final. Is it possible that you can email me the format? I would use it for the Narrative final that I am giving at the end of the semester. My students missed this section due to me not taking over the class until mid-November so I will not be using the state periodic assesment. I love the idea of the paragraph edit option. I also include grammar as the warm-up so your opening is helpful. I would of course give credit in the footer.

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10 Comments.
Seth
April 5, 2008 at 9:09 am

So I’m a few weeks late on replying…. .but that’s the way things have been for me lately.

It’s amazing to me how we all forget to look at the basic natures of life. At the primary levels, we all want the same things, need the same things, desire the same things… but somewhere along the lines, we’ve gotten confused and caught up in everything else. We’ve made choices to lead us away from these basic elements and we’ve “put on glasses” that keep us from recognizing each other and all of those qualities that make us so similar.

Beautiful post.

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