Twas a Day at School

January 5, 2016

Day 190 as an Oklahoma Teacher

     In my last blog, I added in a couple of mistakes to see if my students would notice when I showed them the blog. Finally, after lunch, a girl in my 5th hour class told me that I had used the wrong there.  I'm showing ownership, so I should use their. Then, in my AP students were appalled that I began a paragraph with so. It's going to be fun in my class tomorrow when they have to revise/edit my own paper. Oh, I made a lot of mistakes; I used the ones I saw while grading their research papers. These common college mistakes include fragments, run-ons sentences, shift in verb tense, punctuation, and comma rules. Why is it that some students can identify mistakes in other papers, but have a difficult time with their own paper? This week, I will show my students some quick strategies to use when editing and revising essays. I believe that revising and editing essays are important skills for students to have. It just takes consistent practice and repetition.  Also, another student saw me at Dillards on New Year's Day. I could not walk around in the store without running into someone. I went into the store, zig zagged my way through the lines of people, and grabbed the only item that a I wanted to buy, a Santa that was a Circus Ring Master. The student wanted to know why I would go into the store and just buy a Santa. Tomorrow, I am going to show the class a picture of the Santa.  I have a Santa collection, and I like to buy one each year to add to it.
   
    Today, Josh Flores suggested that teachers should become curriculum designers rather than curriculum followers.  Over 15 years ago, I decided to ditch the textbook. The textbook for students and teachers had become too cumbersome and heavy. If I used the books as weights, I could easily have muscles like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his younger days. The textbooks also contained too much information for both teachers and students.  My decision to ditch the textbook helped me change from a curriculum follower to a curriculum designer. Before this decision, I followed the ideas in the textbook and what I learned from other teachers. I was the perfect imitator. Now, I design my curriculum using novels, short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. I feel empowered when I create a new idea, and I believe the curriculum better fits the needs of my students. Therefore, I recommend teachers to become curriculum designers rather than curriculum followers to benefit themselves and their students.

Until next time!