We started moving toward one-to-one Chromebooks several years ago. We started with carts in classrooms of 20 to 25 each. I sometimes have moments of OCD and I like everything neatly done. My interns and I set up the carts in the rooms.…
Monthly Archives: May 2023
Day 175 May 22, 2023 No PDA’s Allowed
One of the hallmarks of my business classes was bringing them real-world situations. I told a lot of stories about me and my friends and so I had a series of law stories based on Lakewood. This was not my idea.…
Week 37 Musical Interlude
The Beach Boys’ song Graduation Day is fitting for the last week of the school year.
Another good song: Graduation by Vitamin C
My wish for the kids by Lee Ann Womack
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Day 174 May 19, 2023 Self Esteem Monitor
Sometimes we need to serve as monitors for our students. I had a teacher in high school who refused to use my nickname, and his reasoning always made sense. He felt that it was important to honor the student, and using their name instead of a nickname reinforced that idea.…
Day 173 May 18, 2023 Swimming Pool Jeep
If you know my daughter, please don’t tell her I wrote this story about her in high school. All children lie to their parents a little. No matter how virtuous they are there is a fib here and there. My child is no different.…
Day 172 May 17, 2023 Clubhouse
People need refuge on occasion. I am an introvert at heart and can spend hours just in quiet or with my music. I know my facade is as an extrovert but that is what I do to teach and be in the world.…
Day 171 May 16, 2023 Unfinished Business
We are in our last week of instruction. This is a time I reflect on what went well and what needs changing for next year. This year I don’t have to plan for next year so I will take time to reflect on thirty years.…
Day 170 May 15, 2023 Shawshank Redemption
Another story about Amanda from my elementary days. It was my first week of teaching and I had the principal come into my classroom and ask if I wanted a gifted student. I don’t know of any teacher that doesn’t want to work with the best and the brightest.…
Week 36 Musical Interlude
These 2 songs were important during my years of high school. We always looked to be free and so we sang Freebird a lot. The other one for this week is the song played by every high school student sing its release in 1972.…
Day 169 May 12, 2023 Kids Say The Funniest Things
I saved some of the juicy things for last because I didn’t want to get in trouble. These are two stories that happened in this last quarter. Kids are entertaining me to the end and I appreciate it. The first story was a simple comment made by a student that caught me off-guard but was one of the greatest things I have heard related to technology.…
Day 168 May 11, 2023 Club Fifty
The is nothing more sacred to a teacher than the opportunity to use the restroom. We hold it dear and do not want anything disturbing our routines. When I got to Rangeview I was in my early 40s and was one of the younger people in our area.…
Day 167 May 10, 2023 OCD
This is a quick story but still one of my favorites. Nate was a teacher in Social Studies. He had a weird sense of humor and if you put us both in the same room we were dangerous. Standardized State Testing is a horrible waste of time and energy but even worse for the teachers who have to sit and watch kids take the test.…
Day 166 May 9, 2023 I Saw You in Albertsons
We have very short speeches during graduation. The reason is that the event is about the graduates and not the adults. In APS we have a special reason for not letting school board members speak. It is not because of all of them but one specific incident at an RHS graduation.…
Day 166 May 9, 2023 It’s Our Field
I saved this story because it is one that still embarrasses me. With our upper baseball field, we were not able to have a fence around it and so we struggled to keep people off of the field. We were lucky and had people in the neighborhood that would call us when someone was on the field.…
Week 35 Musical Interlude
When I look at my last year of high school for the second time, I get nostalgic about my life. I tend to remember the things from my first trip through high school. It was not the joyous romp that is often portrayed.…
Day 165 May 8, 2023 Catchphrase
Bantering with students is a way that teachers make connections with students. I think I have used many catchphrases over the years and some take on a life of their own. It culminated years ago in one of my students creating a poster of things I was not allowed to say anymore.…
Day 164 May 5, 2023 Brenna or Brunnen?
When learning a language people find helpful ways to remember words. Patrice who was our German teacher was very good at finding those connections. Another key factor is the repetition of words and language. Patrice understood this and was always reminding kids of words and phrases and their connections.…
Day 163 May 4, 2023 French Monkeys
I promised stories about French Monkeys all the way back on day 131 of the blog. Here goes… In Germany, we travel around the region for fun and history. One of the lesser-known attractions is a Monkey Park called La Montagne des Singes.…
Day 162 May 3, 2023 Panhandling
Panhandling seems to be a problem everywhere. While we were in Strasbourg, France we saw the in the tourist areas. Along with people walking around selling junk for exorbitant prices. You just had to pay attention. The teachers were having a cup of coffee while students explored the La Petit France area of town.…
Day 161 May 2, 2023 Problems Abroad
Our goal of the German Exchange was to explore history as well as modern life in Germany. It was to support our German language program at Rangeview. We always spent time traveling the region and extended into France. Our trips to Strasbourg were always an education of history and modern times.…
Day 160 May 1, 2023 Hike On The Beach
This is a story that I haven’t told often. It is in keeping with my goal to not appear on the six o’clock news as a teacher. The exchange that my daughter was a part of had many different adventures. You have already heard a couple but now the one that could get me fired.…
Week 34 Musical Interlude
This is Prom season so I have 3 songs from my Prom time in the 70s. First is Stairway to Heaven. Played at every dance but was impossible to dance to. Taking Care of Business by BTO was a great dancing song with a lot of energy.…