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April 2009
Vol 6 No 4
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Teachers.Net Gazette Vol.6 No.4 April 2009

Cover Story by Alfie Kohn
When “21st-Century Schooling” Just Isn’t Good Enough: A Modest Proposal
Are we serious about educating students for the global competitive economy of the future?


Earth Day Special Article:
GE Project Plant-A-Bulb
Give the planet the gift of flowers for Earth Day....


Harry & Rosemary Wong: Effective Teaching
The Tools for Success


Columns
»Actively Involve Every Reader—Ten Easy Ideas! Sue Gruber
»Motivating Children Leah Davies
»Multiple Working Hypotheses Todd R. Nelson
»Eliciting vs. Punishments Marvin Marshall
»The Busy Educator's Monthly Five Marjan Glavac
»Tattle Tales and Classroom Helpers Barbara Pressman
»Tips for Travel to France or Italy with Students Josette Bonafino
»Too Much Parent Involvement? Can It Be? Dorothy Rich
»Return to Sender & The Neon Necklace Rick Morris
»Be Your Own Mentor: Reflect Hal Portner

Articles
»Getting Your Students' Work Published Alan Haskvitz
»At Risk Students: Victims of Miseducation and Failure Bill Page
»Teachers – Healing Broken Lives Graysen Walles
»Get Smart! Doodle! Tim Newlin
»A Dozen Ways to Build a Caring Classroom Community Susan Fitzell
»April 2009 Writing Prompts James Wayne
»Using Photographs To Inspire Writing VI Hank Kellner
»Quality in School Systems Panamalai R. Guruprasad
»Problems With 9th Grade Euclidian Geometry Stewart E. Brekke
»Multisensory/Kinesthetic Alphabet ActivitiesJeanine Horner

Features
»Apple Seeds: Inspiring Quotes Barb Stutesman
»Today Is... Daily Commemoration Ron Victoria
»The Lighter Side of Teaching
»Teacher Blogs Showcase
»Guided Reading in Kindergarten (printable)
»Printables - Happy Earth Day, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, We’ve Got the Whole World in Our Hands, Portable Word Wall, Earth Day Every Day Award, Bringing Choices to Light, and April - May Calendar
»Photo Tour: 3rd Grade Classroom, Red Creek, NY
»Lessons, Activities, Theme ideas: Earth Day, Mother’s Day, Paul Revere, Spring, Easter, more!
»Featured Lesson: Outdoor Activities/Nature
»Meet Bill Martin Jr. and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Creative Quotes from Shakespeare, Massive Ant Colony Uncovered! AMAZING science!, Tim Hawkins - Cletus Take the Reel, Lovefield, and Dolphin Bubbles: An Amazing Behavior
»Live on Teachers.Net: April 2009
»Newsdesk: Events & Opportunities for Teachers
»Wisdom for the pain? Why Did You Do It? Why Pursue National Board Certification?


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Cover Story by Alfie Kohn

Effective Teaching by Harry & Rosemary Wong

Contributors this month: Alfie Kohn, Graysen Walles, Hal Portner, Sue Gruber, Leah Davies, Todd R. Nelson, Marvin Marshall, Marjan Glavac, Barbara Pressman, Josette Bonafino, Rick Morris, Bill Page, Tim Newlin, Susan Fitzell, Alan Haskvitz, James Wayne, Hank Kellner, Dorothy Rich, Barb Stutesman, Ron Victoria, Stewart E. Brekke, Panamalai R. Guruprasad, Jeanine Horner, Marie Smith, Carol Goodrow, Jennifer Goldstein, and YENDOR.

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Barbara Pressman

Advice for Substitute Teachers
Archive | Biography | Resources | Discussion


Tattle Tales and Classroom Helpers
From dealing with tattlers to choosing the right student helper – wise advice from Dear Barbara
Dear Barbara - Advice for Substitute Teachers
by Barbara Pressman
The author of Substitute Teaching from A to Z (McGraw-Hill, 2008)
Continued from page 1
April 1, 2009
Is there a trick to choosing the perfect helper or assistant?

Dear Barbara,

I have found that it helps to have a “student assistant” when I’m subbing. That student helps me understand classroom routines. If anyone tries to play a trick on me, the student assistant will alert me just in time.

I had a bad experience in a 6th grade class this week. I chose the wrong student to help me. He actually embarrassed me a few times by giving me false information.

How can I avoid choosing the wrong person to help me?

Hannah in Washington Heights, NY

Dear Hannah,

I like to call these people Special Helpers in the lower grades, and Student Assistants in the upper grade levels. Without their help, your job will be nearly impossible. Why struggle learning routines by doing detective work, when the answer is right there with your helper? An added bonus is that you have an ally now, who will get his/her friends to be cooperative.

If you sense that you have chosen the wrong helper, thank that person, and tell him/her that you’d like to give someone else a chance to assist you right now. No hard feelings!

A friend of mine, who is a very popular sub, shared with me the secret to her success. She chooses two helpers each day. She asks them to move their desks right next to hers. Her trick is to choose the best student in the class, and the worst student in the class. This way, she has shown the worst student that she trusts him/her by giving that student responsibility. The good student keeps an eye on the difficult student. As a team, they are effective at their job.

How do you know who to choose? Usually the teacher’s lesson plans will tell you who to trust, and who may be trouble. If not, wait a short while, assess the group, and trust your instinct. Most of the time, your helper will volunteer. These students are usually trustworthy.

I encourage you to have as many students help as possible. You might want to have your current helpers choose other helpers for tasks such as passing out paper, leading the class in the hall, etc. Good teachers delegate.

If you play your cards right, you will have a productive day with some positive leadership from within your class!

Good luck,
Barbara



» More Gazette articles...




About Barbara Pressman...

Barbara Pressman is an adjunct professor at the College of Education, Florida Atlantic University. She has been a classroom teacher for more than 20 years, and a supervisor for student teachers for 10 years. She currently mentors Substitute Teachers as well.

Teachers.Net asked Barbara how she came to be interested in writing for substitute teachers. Her response:
I have subbed for many years during my teaching career. When my children were small, I found subbing to be a wonderful "free lance" job. At that time, I took on a 6th grade long term subbing assignment, which led me back to full time teaching. Upon retirement, I went back to subbing once again.

Barbara is the author of book
Substitute Teaching from A to Z (McGraw-Hill, 2008), available in all major bookstores and Amazon.com. To find out more, visit: www.substituteteachingatoz.com

Substitute Teachers:
Barbara invites you to submit your question by email. Your question could appear in a future column!


Barbara Pressman Articles on Teachers.Net...
Related Resources & Discussions on Teachers.Net...

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