Regurgitated Alpha Bits

I’ve Been Remiss

2008-09-05T01:07:00Z

Where have you been, Edna? I know that's what you all have been thinking, anxiously checking your email/reader for my latest prose, wondering what happened to me, hoping I was not trapped beneath something heavy. Well, I have been trapped beneath something Read More......(read more)

An Award?!? For ME?!?!

2008-08-25T01:26:00Z

Why thank you, thank you Mr. Teacher for bestowing upon me this prestigious award. I would like to thank a few others while I have the podium. First, thank you to my mother, a teacher herself, who told me early on in my pursuit of a teaching credential, Read More......(read more)

Frank Shaffer Must Die

2008-08-18T14:00:00Z

As I mentioned earlier, we started off the year with an all day in-service on our ELD curriculum du jour. This is like our fifth program in about seven years. Oddly enough, after trying each program, we still had kids who were learning English. Gee… The Read More......(read more)

Slight Raise, then Drop

2008-08-17T14:54:00Z

It was Back To Work for me last Thursday and we all know what that means… more blog posts! more staff meetings! and more teacher in-services that give me fodder for more blog posts! We started this year off with a full day in-service with a two-fold objective: Read More......(read more)

182nd Carnival of Education

2008-07-31T03:30:00Z

It's Baa--acck! The 182nd Carnival of Education is in full swing over at The Chancellor's New Clothes . I can be found in this edition of The Carnival, writing about crappy teacher gifts in a most ungrateful fashion ( again .) There are some wonderful Read More......(read more)

More Teacher Gift Ideas

2008-07-23T15:10:00Z

I've been cleaning out my closets lately and finding the stashes of gifts I have yet to lug off to Goodwill . It got me thinking about teacher gifts again. Here are a few dandies that I've found online that you might want to consider. I don't mean consider Read More......(read more)

Times Have Changed, Part 2

2008-07-11T17:00:00Z

Continuing our walk down memory lane, let's take a look at student rules and punishments in the 1800's. Student Rules, 1860 Boys and girls shall file into classroom in separate lines and be seated quietly on opposite sides of the room. This is a great Read More......(read more)

Times Have Changed

2008-07-10T18:05:00Z

I suppose we have all received that chain email outlining the rules teachers had to abide by in 1872. I recently got it again in my inbox, and thought I'd include it here with my thoughts on each rule for today's classroom. I encourage you to add your Read More......(read more)

Go Team!

2008-07-08T19:58:00Z

I can hardly wait for next school year to begin! Did I just say that? Out loud? Well, here's why: I am going to have the most kick-ass 4 th grade team ever! I have worked on strong grade level teams before, but this year will be special. Teaming has been Read More......(read more)

A Scribe-tastic Meme

2008-07-07T20:52:00Z

So I was nosing aroung on The Scholastic Scribe's blog and I saw this fun little Meme. Give it a try! All you need is Flickr and their mosaic maker . Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search. Pick an image off the first page. Read More......(read more)

Westward, Ho!

2008-07-05T16:02:00Z

I love road trips! Since I am off for the summer (for the first time in my career), and my boyfriend is off (because he works in I.T. and has been laid off like everyone else in I.T.), we decided to take a mini-vacation to the Grand Canyon since we've Read More......(read more)

Husky-Proof Toy

2008-07-03T16:04:00Z

Few things are what they claim to be… A lesson I've got to learn. What brings this to mind while I lounge around on vacation without a child in sight? A "husky-proof" dog toy that my lovely husky Mya managed to shred in under 10 minutes. As I write this, Read More......(read more)

Teachers Rule, Sixth Graders Drool

2008-06-25T00:59:00Z

Batter Up! We had our annual sixth graders vs. the teachers softball game today. We won! Not that it was too hard to do. It's not like many of our kids play on softball or baseball teams. If we had played them in soccer, they would have creamed us. To Read More......(read more)

S-T-U-P-I-D spells…

2008-06-19T14:17:00Z

"My Districts NEW, WELL-THOUGHT-OUT, GROUNDBREAKING position on standards mastery for K-6 students…" (Sound the trumpets, please.) Power Standards! Can you feel the energy already? Power standards. Not just any old standard but the best, the strongest, Read More......(read more)

It’s Never Too Late to Change

2008-06-13T01:13:00Z

Joe C. Ahhhh…. Joe C. It's time for another update. He is doing great! And that IS NOT sarcasm! That boy is a changed man. It's been three weeks of him being on-task, responsive, well-behaved, polite, and concerned about his behavior. He's even done all Read More......(read more)