Schoolwide Blog

What kind of teaching do you do out of the classroom? On Obama's Race To The Top. By Yetta Goodman

 

I used to be a day camp counselor many many years ago. In fact my husband and I met as day camp counselors at the Jewish centers association in Los Angeles and we saw kids doing all kinds of learning when they were hiking, when they were doing all kinds of projects in outdoor situations More...

On Obama’s Longer School Days: Quality Vs Quantity By Yetta Goodman

 

 

 

All the research that I’m aware of that relates to improvements in classrooms and better education for kids is supported by the notion that the most important element in that equation is the classroom teacher and the specific relationship between the teacher and the kids. Teachers who are committed, who are passionate, who are excited about teaching, who understand and are knowledgeable: these teachers do pretty well with kids, and they do well with ALL kids. The more knowledgeable the teacher, the more committed they are to kids—the more they care about kids and values the kids’ language and backgrounds: those teachers generally do much better with the kids than other teachers.

To me the big factor is teacher development, professional development, and teachers having opportunities and options to select materials that they think will fit their kids. So, to me this whole notion that you’re going to change test scores by lengthening school days or lengthening school days or years is off point . . .

First of all, there are lots of people who say (an I don’t know all the research in that area) that research doesn’t bear that out. It all depends on what you do during that time.  We tell parents that it’s not the quantity of time you spend with your kids but the quality of time that matters and the same thing is true as teachers; it’s not the amount of time they spend it’s what they do with the time that they have.

How do they engage the kids in learning?  How do they help their kids become excited about learning? An that’s the main focus of Saturday’s discussion here is what roles of teachers help support learners to develop their own motivation to engage in learning to get excited about it. That’s what we need in classrooms—we don’t just need more time.


Transcribed 10/18/09

How will you address President Obama's speech on education?

 

 

With President Obama’s upcoming address to students across America causing quite a stir with both parents and teachers, we thought we might open up our forum to feelings, comments, and questions as we approach this event on Tuesday, September 8.

The U.S. Department of Education has recently released some useful activities for discussing this tremendous event.  We've listed the PreK- 6th grade questions here, but we're interested to know how you plan on addressing this important speech and how you might use it to further your in class goals. More...

How do you teach history through literature?

 

I’m a writer because my seventh and eighth grade students made a writer out of me.  They were the people I new the best and liked the best, and from our first mornings together, I knew things about them their parents dared never know. Never. And after all, all fiction is about secrets anyway.  One of the things I noticed from the young, one of the things they taught me, was they wanted a story. I loved history. I loved non-fiction. I loved biography. That’s what I read, but they wanted a story. More...

Parents – More than Classroom Volunteers

In previous years I have invited parents to observe the children and me during writing workshop time.  After each observation period I would lead parents in a brown bag lunch discussion.  This was always received with great success.  I made sure all parents - mom, dad or both - could attend and made accommodations in my schedule so that this could happen.  Occasionally, I would get a grandparent, as well.  More...

Working with Parents – Weekly Letters

  

In my previous entry I wrote about initiating a dialogue with parents in the fall by asking them to write me a letter about their child.  I give parents about a week to do this so that when we meet for “parent interviews” during the third week of September (this is required by my school board), we have some talking points to focus our conversation.  This parent conference is for teachers and families to meet each other and to discuss expectations and hopes for the school year.  I use the letters parents have written me to delve deeper into these topics. More...