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The Importance of the Circle of Safety

Simon Sinek in his book "Leaders Eat Last" uses the concept of the circle of safety to make the point as to why some companies are more effective than others.  

He writes that since Caveman times humans have worked in a circle of safety to fend off danger. Sinek provides examples in his book that show why some leaders will go out of their way to care for their employees, not hesitating to give them support. In organizations where no circle of safety exists, individuals have to constantly work selfishly to protect themselves from dangers. In this type of organization, there is no cooperation and leaders do not look out for the best interests of their employees. As a teacher, right now, depending where you work, we are swimming against the current because there is no circle of safety. Throughout the country we are facing dangers like the Common Core, the abolition of tenure, the accountability of standardized testing, the divide of technology in schools, and the list goes on and on. We need leaders that can create circles of safety for us, the teachers,  who decided to make a difference and who give our service to the nation in such trying times.

Sinek Video

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Sinek

Compare and Contrast William Stafford's " Travelling Through the Dark" and David Bottoms's "Shooting Rats"

William Stafford

David Bottoms

Both of these poems are great. Besides the compare and contrast writing assignment, students could write a narrative poem where they discuss a time when they had to make an important choice like the characters in these poems.


William Stafford's Poem

"Travelling Through the Dark"



David Bottoms's Poem
"Shooitng Rats"

Compare and Contrast Walt Whitman and Richard Blanco

These two poems could be used in a cultural unit lesson plan or in a lesson plan for " The American Dream."  

Objective:
Compare and contrast, Walt Whitman's " I Hear America Singing" and Richard Blanco's " One Today". 

Whitman's Poem
"I Hear America Singing"  









Blanco's Poem

" One Today"

Interesting Article on Research Supported by Federal Government

The problem is that the research conducted using federal funds is driven — and distorted — by the academic publishing model. The intense competition for space in top journals creates strong pressures for novel, statistically significant effects. As a result, studies that do not turn out as planned or find no evidence of effects claimed in previous research often go unpublished, even though their findings can be important and informative.

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Resources for the novel " The Giver"

The New York Times Learning Network published an article with a variety of resources for this wonderful novel. 
Enjoy!

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More Schools Encourage Students to Bring Tech Devices

The idea of allowing students to use their own technology in schools to enhance academic instruction is a significant departure from the cellphone bans of old. But it has increased in a number of school systems, including those in Fairfax and Prince William counties, as educators look for ways to embrace the digital world.

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Making Inferences

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Compare and Contrast Anthem Novel to Apple's 1984 Video

Writing Activity


For this essay assignment students will compare and contrast the novel "Anthem" to the 1984 Apple Commercial. 

Building a Better Teacher

Kindergarten Looks Very Different Today

While days spent cutting out shapes and playing dress up 
may still be a part of Kindergarten in America, many five and six year olds are required to put away toys in favor of learning more sooner. Much of what Kindergarteners learn today was once saved for first grade. 

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Lesson Plan for Untraditional Argumentative Essay

To do this activity it is already assumed that you have taught students the steps necessary to write an argumentative essay.

Objective: 
Use videos from the TV program "Dateline NBC" to write argumentative essays

Purpose: "Dateline NBC"  is a program that presents criminal cases. It offers students the opportunity to evaluate evidence presented from both the defense and the prosecution.  

Step 1 
Watch the  Video " The Mystery on Bridle Path 

Step 2 
Group Work 
Students evaluate evidence for or against

Step 3
Students write their own argumentative essays

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Lesson Plan

Step 1

Play Video of the poem to the class

Step 2
Students get together in groups and discuss the life of the free bird and caged one.

Step 3
Play video of Nelson Mandela's Speech                                                                              



Students write an essay comparing the plight of the caged bird to Nelson Mandela's Speech

Should More Men Become Teachers?

With so few men currently in teaching, other men may be 

less inclined to view it as a desirable option. “It will be less 

and less in their head that this is an occupation for males,” 

said Richard M. Ingersoll, a professor of education and 

sociology at the University of Pennsylvania who has analyzed 

education department data on the demographics of teaching. 

“There’s a snowball effect.”

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Common Core Controversy in New Jersey

In New Jersey education figures, along with a number of other 

politicians and leaders, think the Common Core is not a good 

idea. “It’s untested,” complained Seton Hall University 

education professor Christopher Tienken.  “There’s no 

evidence that it is better than what New Jersey had before.”

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Will Common Core double the high school dropout rate?

The nonprofit Carnegie Corporation of New York, which has supported the Common Core State Standards, published a report in 2013 with some startling information that was little noticed in the education world until recently: that the high school dropout rate could double as a result of the Core initiative.

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Using Ted Video to Enhance Narrative Writing

I use the TED video by Chimamanda Adichie: “ The Danger of a Single Story” to teach students how to better write narrative essays and to develop voice.

Objective: Students will enhance their narrative writing skills by learning how to develop voice.

CCSS  WRITING STANDARDS:  Applies to grades 9-10 and 11-12

W.9-10.3

W.11-12.3

CCSS  SPEAKING AND LISTENING STANDARDS: Applies to grades 9-10 and 11-12

SL.9-10.5

SL 9-10.1

SL 11-12.1

SL11-12.5

Step 1

Watch the Ted Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg

Step 2  

Students will collaborate in groups using Google Docs to discuss the video

( Here you may want to ask the students how Adichie was able to find her voice)

Step 3

Using a projector, the instructor displays the answers the groups produced

Step 4

Practice by having the students develop a brief paragraph using voice

Step 5

The instructor shows  what the students came up with and discusses their results.

Step 6

Using Google Docs students edit their classmates paragraphs. By now they should have a better idea about voice

Step 7

If students are still having difficulty with voice, I have them read and discuss  in groups the short story “ My Name” from Sandra Cisneros’s

“ The House on Mango Street.” https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-3G4XJ-lN7doAMtk8uuU2zbQLCeqsIhFPrEq3vs6DO4/pub or you can show them this brief video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F2XB0owzAQ

Step 7

Have students write a narrative essay using as key component voice

Is the Five Paragraph Essay Overrated?

Teaching the five paragraph essay is a dilemma. One one hand, it is useful because it teaches students structure and organization, but on the other, it is too formulaic and in the real world writers do not even write this way. Imagine Malcolm Gladwell trying to write one of his famous writing pieces in a five paragraph essay. It just wouldn't work. So, as teachers, we do it because the states force us to teach it for standardized tests, but really, are we preparing our students to write well or are we just creating monotonous writers?

Click the image below for an excellent article on the five paragraph essay
 

Using Ted Talks for Class Discussion

A few years back, while I was surfing the internet, I came across something called Ted Talks or to be more precise Ted.com. As many people know by now, it is a site that invites personalities from different fields to speak on different issues such as education, technology, and others. That day, I viewed a video by Benjamin Zander, a famous orchestra conductor, and I became enthralled by his presentation. (Watch his performance) I have become a loyal follower ever since, and I not only watch the Ted videos for entertainment purposes, but I have also used them in the classroom. The great thing about Ted is the way that its videos can generate classroom conversation. A student in the Ted Blog wrote, recently, about how Ted videos can be good resources for class discussion. (Read his post)

Top twenty Ted Talks: 
Click Image below

 

Cell Phones in Class

A growing number of schools have realized the potential of technology in the classroom. With that in mind, some districts across the nation are allowing their students to use their cell phones in the classrooms. Among them are New Mildford High School in New Mildford, New Jersey, and the Westerly High School in Rhode Island.  

Here is video reporting how the Westerly District will allow cell phones in class.