Are you stuck in 1987?

It amazes me the new content that is created every day through teacher blogs. Moreover, the connections made through Twitter is equally outstanding. Blogging and Twitter means growth to me. I wonder what teachers were doing in 1987 when these things did not exist? Are some still stuck in 1987?

Four things I would include when interviewing potential teachers and principals.

1. How do you use your Person Learning Network (PLN) to learn?

2. What are your views on rewards to control classroom behaviour?

3. Share your thoughts on using “punishment” (like detention) in a classroom.

4. Share your views on homework.

No more original ideas?

I’ve heard people quip that there are no more original ideas. On the surface it might seem so. However, when I saw the movie Flash of Genius starring Greg Kinear I began to think a little differently about the topic. The following clip demonstrates what I mean:

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What’s all this Blogging and Twitter business?

It’s almost been a year since I started my blog, Against the Wind. I’ve been tweeting for longer than that, about 2 and a half years. Blogs and Twitter were born ready for one another. I use one, Twitter, to “advertise” my blog. Why would I want to “advertise?” Reaching as many

followers as I can is not my goal. Making connections is the point of this. The count does not matter. Those connections not only include people that agree with me, which is great, but also those who do not. The disagreements can lead to changing the way I think about a topic or cement my feelings about my beliefs. Indeed, this business is about connecting which leads to learning.

I prefer reading shorter blog posts; That's just the way it is with me.

Most of my favourite blog posts are short. Seth Godin and Joe Bower write excellent short posts. I love short posts; Much more so than long posts. Why? I like brevity; I like things to the point; Just tell me what you think. Write it short and I will read it; Write a long post and, unless you are an amazing writer, my mind wanders off. In the end I only skim. I know you don’t want me to skim your post so just give me the juice. That’s just the way it is with me.

Give Me Respect

I always thought that I would automatically get respect from students when I walked the coridoors of a school because I was a teacher. That was not the case. You have to work hard to get respect. You have to say "hi" and get to know names of kids. You have to pay attention. You have to stop and talk to students during recess or any chance you get. Don't be an authoritarian. Respect will come. Things become easier.

My shortest post on motivation.

Rewarding students and punishing students can be exhausting and counterproductive. Focus on the intrinsic, not the extrinsic motivators. Building relationships and discovering what motivates students is the best “classroom management” I can think of. Just imagine the growth.