Rules For Posting To This Blog and Weekly Blog Question

1. Only use your first name (no last names, addresses, IM screen names, etc.)
2. Show respect and consideration of others when posting and commenting. This includes individuals, students, organizations, political parties, colleagues, etc.
3. Check all posts for spelling and grammar errors before posting.
4. Protect the privacy of others. Gain permission from other people before you write about them. Avoid sharing someone else's last name. Use job titles or pseudonyms when writing about experiences with your co-workers or students.
5. Watch your language. Use politically correct and non-offensive language.
6. Make sure you write about things that are factual.
7. Keep your postings education-oriented. Avoid discussing plans for the weekend, etc.

FINAL BLOG POST - OUR "DAILY TRIPLE" (DUE 12/1).
This week I would like you to use your imagination. You have just won the lottery and will leave your teaching post immediately to travel around the world. As you leave your keys you meet your replacement. You are asked to give this new teacher just ONE piece of advice. What would that be, and why? Enjoy your world expedition!

Blog Post - Week 7
This past week in my own teaching I felt a little disconnected which prompts my question to you, "What was the moment (or moments) when I felt most disconnected or disengaged as a teacher - the moment(s) I said to myself, I'm just going through the motions here?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 6
For the past couple of weeks you have experienced asynchronous online learning (doing modules by yourself). Previously this semester you have experienced synchronous online learning (all together in the Collaborate room). Which do you think is more effective and why do you think that? Which do you like better, and why?

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 5
This week we have what we call "open mic." You can write a post about anything related to your teaching that you would like responses from your classmates.

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 4
Here is this week's question: "What was the event that most took me surprise this week - and event that shook me up, caught me off guard, gave me a jolt, or made me unexpectedly happy?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 3
Please write a post about the following question, "In thinking about my past week teaching what is one thing I would do differently, and why?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 2
Please write a post about the following question, " In thinking about my teaching activities this past week, of what do I feel most proud? Why?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 1
Describe something you used in your program in the first weeks of school that you learned in the summer NTI program. How did it work? Did it get you off to a stronger start than last year?

Sunday, March 28, 2010

The Role of Schools

Values are deteriorating at a pandemic rate. We see this at our schools everyday. Teachers should provide academic guidance and reinforce the foundation of positive values established by good parenting. Unfortunately, good parenting is becoming less and less a priority. Children who lack guidance will loose their way. Many of our students are already headed down the wrong path. In middle school, it’s so obvious which students are fortunate to have positive, supportive and involved parents. As I stand in the hallway everyday, I overhear student conversations. I am worried about the future of our society when I hear some of these conversations. With unsupervised use of the internet, television, and cell phones, students are creating a world for themselves which is frightening. The innocence lost between 6th and 8th grade is depressing. Even more depressing, is seeing more and more students experience this lost prior to the 6th grade. Absentee parenting has to stop. Being a part of a child’s life is not enough; equally important is leading by positive, respectful example. The domino effect will corrupt our society if things don’t change. Students who lack guidance will become parents who don’t have the skills to provide guidance. If things don’t change, the corruption of our society is going to be devastating.

Schools cannot be all things to all people, nor should it be. We live in a society with a prevailing sense of false entitlement. Normal stages of child development involve pointing a finger and saying, “She did it!” or “He made me do it!”, or even saying “I am not going to follow your rules and you can’t make me!” This is not normal adult development. Society, as a whole, is taking this to a dangerous level. When parents are doing this, what can you do except shake your head and wonder about our future. No one is entitled to this type of behavior. Parents are not entitled to use schools as their surrogate parenting partner. The role of schools is to provide opportunity for intellectual and personal enrichment. The role of teachers is to facilitate this enrichment and serve as role models of positive behavior. As teachers, we must remember we are in the trenches with those who are fighting the good fight, in our nonviolent, structured, day in and day out battle. The reward is seeing the little warriors who are in the struggle with us and knowing they have loving, supporting parents at home. Perhaps the most amazing, rare and beautiful moments are when we find the little warrior on his or her own, managing to continue the battle and somehow win along the way. That’s when we know there is something out there greater than ourselves.

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