Relationship First.
Relationship First. As humans we rarely ask a stranger to lend us their lawn mower or to help us move. Yet as educators, we often ask students to ‘do’ all sorts of things (like math, essays, speeches, etc.) without building a relationship first. Human Being Preceded...
Keep telling your students “you are more than a score.”
Keep telling your students "you are more than a score." Standardized test scores do not define students. Each child has unique identity, worth, and purpose, and each one has vastly different skills and talents. We have to deal with young people as human beings first,...
Feedback: Checking In
Feedback: Checking In Educators: It's late October and it's time to check in with your students to see how things are going. Feedback is the “Breakfast of Champions,” it's how we effectively adjust what we are doing in the classroom. You are the pilot, flying the...
CREATING A TOP 20 CULTURE
CREATING A TOP 20 CULTURE Our Current Work Culture What exists in our current culture that empowers our potential to explode? What exists in our current culture that limits our potential from exploding? ...
Remembering Your Mission & Purpose: Why are we doing what we are doing?
Remembering Your Mission & Purpose Why are we doing what we are doing? Name three core values you carry as a teacher. You are a member of this profession because you believe: A. B. C. Star Qualities...
Roadblock to Success: I AM STUPID!
Roadblock to Success: I AM STUPID! Equal Sign lets ‘Stupid’ out of the box Reactions to Feeling Stupid: Withdraw: quit + quiet Pretend Emotional: embarrassed, angry, upset, sad, worry, nervous, stress Judgments: I’m not good enough; I don’t know...
A Top 20 Teacher Shares his Weekly Letter to Parents/Guardians! Entry #16
When I was cleaning sticks off my sidewalk this weekend, a car pulled up, rolled down the window, and the driver asked me which direction he needed to go to get to Cleveland Avenue. I told him, he thanked me, and went on his way. At no point in our brief conversation...
A Top 20 Teacher Shares his Weekly Letter to Parents/Guardians! Entry #15
This week’s communication (sent home to the parents/guardians of Mr. Bowlin’s 4th graders) ignites the barrage of brainpower combating the evil enemy that has been limiting potential since the beginning of time: STUPID! The assault on STUPID reminds us that Stupid...
A Top 20 Teacher Shares his Weekly Letter to Parents/Guardians! Entry #14
This week’s communication (sent home to the parents/guardians of Mr. Bowlin’s 4th graders) takes a serious look at the many ways they’re SMART. Do your students or children know how they’re smart? Have a read and let them know! Top 20: Know How We’re Smart Growth...
Mistakes (BLOG 57)
Perhaps more than anything else throughout all of history, the experiences that have resulted in human beings learning the most are times when mistakes have been made. Imagine the countless mistakes made by Thomas Edison and the Wright brothers that brought us the...