Getting Students to Post to Blog

I'm using this blog as a sounding board to find out if certain things are possible when it comes to getting students to post to a blog I want to create during the school year.
If they need to get a google account, how do I handle them getting an email address? Are all students supposed to have an email address through the district? If so, can I have them use that to create this google account?
Are there standard parent forms when it comes to getting parent permission for putting pictures on a blog, requiring students to post to a blog at least once a week either at school, home or library?
I think this is all for now.
Thanks!

Hail Mary Full of Grace

Athena and Gail suggested I put this vignette on the blog - thanks ladies for the encouragement
I hope it fits
In 1989, my son Patrick entered Saint Dominic's School where he had the good fortune of being placed in Mrs. Gallagher's first grade class. Mrs. Gallagher was in a class all her own when it came to organization, neatness and kindness. She was a pioneer for the term "student engagement." Early in the year, Mrs. Gallagher thought it would be fun, during religion period, to teach the children sign language as they learned the prayer - The Hail Mary. Day after day, she molded the small slender fingers and those still chubby with baby fat ( Patrick's were somewhere in the middle) into the signs that would bring life to the words. Night after night, Patrick would practice showing us the parts of the prayer he learned to sign that day until his older brother would yell, "Enough with Hail Mary" or words to that effect. After awhile, Hail Mary took a back seat to the other new and exciting things Mrs. Gallagher was teaching. Later that year, Patrick's Aunt Christine, who is actually a sign language interpreter, came to the house with a little girl who was deaf. After Christine signed some introductions and directons to the little girl, Christine and I headed to the kitchen while Patrick and the little girl hurried to the dining room to color. While they were coloring Hail Mary awoke from her dormant state and began to surface. What I can only imagine as the performance of his life Patrick signed the Hail Mary to the little girl. After the signing, Patrick rushed into the kitchen annoyed and upset followed by a very confused little girl. Patrick's eyes misty with tears said to Aunt Christine, "Are you sure she is deaf. She didn't know what I signed" Well what did you sign?" asked Aunt Christine. " I signed the Hail Mary" (of course) was Patrick's reply. As Aunt Christine wrapped her arms around Patrick a smile broke out on her face as she told him, "Oh honey she didn't know what you signed because she is Jewish!! So Mrs. Gallagher, wherever you are, thanks to you, today there is a Young Jewish Woman who will always remember her first Hail Mary and a Young Catholic Man who learned about Judaism.

Thanks Vanessa

Thank you Vanessa for you presentation and for sharing with us this morning. Your articles on Welcoming and Your beliefs about teaching and learning came through your own experiences as a student and a teacher. Both contributed to the success in your classroom practices.

Informal Reading Inventories?

Does anyone have any good informal reading inventories I can do with students to assess their reading levels early in the year so I can get to know them better? We use SRI but last year it was not working so I got really stuck.
Actually, any inventories you use to get to know your students early in the year would be really helpful to know.
Thanks!

Refelction of a Student

Vanessa Brown’s activity of speaking to a student allowed me to realize just how much journaling could allow me to become a better teacher. In our pre-institute reading Journals for Collaboration, Curriculum, and Assessment I understood the importance of the journal, but held on to the belief of when will I really find the time for this and how much can it really help me. Although the reflection on a student was not an official journal the reflection of my teaching experiences and discussion of it with Bernadette has allowed me understand the situation differently and think of how else I can make this situation become a positive experience for myself and the child. I hope that as I deal with other students with similar behaviors I go into the situation better equipped to help this student. I hope that in the future I do take the time to reflect and journal about all of the unique experiences that I encounter as a teacher.

Take a statement for a walk

In today’s class, our morning sessions required TCs agree or disagree with certain statements read by the facilitators. It was not a question of raising hands but stepping on one side of a line, the line represented the differences between belief and doubt. Since we had a limited amount of time to offer our positions, I thought I’d use this space to walk these lines.
Statement: Teachers should have the right to address homosexuality in the classroom.
I know this statement was made but it’s where my position is as well. Saying that teachers have the right to address homosexuality in the classroom is the same as saying that teachers have the right not to address the subject. We have read quite a bit of material and had numerous discussions about how not mentioning something can equate to dismissing it. Students then feel as though they are not adequately represented and that their orientation must be hidden. Do we just wait for teachable moments when it comes to this subject? If so, will it ever come up? Are there stories in Elements of Literature that contain stories about homosexual individuals? Without explicitly stating that a character is homosexual, how do we know that the segment of that population is adequately represented? We know we want multicultural literature in the classroom so that we embed the values of all of our students so perhaps this too falls within the realm.

Thanks

Dear Brenda: Thank you for your kindness. Gail

Party

Last week (which seems like a year ago) Geoff mentioned having a party at someone's house. I would love to have everyone at my home (Hey Shannon-I would go to yours!). My house is in Langhorne (about 5 mins. from Neshaminy Mall) and is easy to get to but far. I'd be glad to drive in and can fit 4 people in my car. Also, the R3 train is nearby so I can pick up and drop off from there. Please let me know so I can wash my smelly dog. Gail

Morning Read

Thank you Michelle for this mornings read. You did an excellent job and selected a book that peaked my interest. You left me with a very powerful quote which was " Racism either makes you withdraw from yourself, hate yourself, or discover yourself". I plan to hang this up in my classroom because racism is even among my own. I want to use this during the times I have group discussions to help resolve confict. Again thank you!

Today’s double journal entry activity was so powerful. I learned a lot from the article, but I learned so much more from my colleague’s personal insights and experiences. The article states “I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible system conferring dominance on my group”. WOW! I had a hard pill to swallow here. Being a compassionate white girl didn’t disqualify me from having white privilege and being part of an oppressive system. I have looked at my personal struggles. My father is an alcoholic and my mother died of cancer when I was 13. When people talked about white privilege, I didn’t feel so privledged with these struggles.

But now I realize that these struggles would have been compounded by racism and discrimination. Insult to injury. However, minorities need to avoid assuming white privilege does not guarantee a perfect life. We all struggle. We all have our stories. We all deserve respect.

What norms make good discussion?

I keep pinching myself to remind myself that creating a community of inquiry in 2nd grade is not going to be as easy as it seems to have been for us this summer in the Institute!

So, I've been keeping a little side journal where I am trying to analylize the soft skills I would need to teach in order to make each activity work.

Here's a few ideas that I started jotting down for how to have a good, respectful discussion.


* establish a respectful and safe connection between participants for being honest
* give them structured chances get to know each other by telling their individual stories.

* one person talks at a time.
* raise your hand quietly AFTER a person finishes talking
* teacher says the order of 3-4 people that will speak next
* speaker says, "I want to go off of what ____ said, ..." or "What ___ said made me think about..."
* teacher reinforces the respectful and thoughtful comment behaviors of the speakers and the 'audience' in between comments.

I am trying to listen to phrasing that softens the tone, making offenses less likely. (This is the ESL teacher in me!) If anyone else notices these details it would be great to hear them!

Christina

Thank you, Jessica!

Many of you probably didn't even notice me stumbling over my words yesterday during our jigsaw assignment. I, however, was struggling with an overwhelming degree of anxiety. I FEAR speaking in front of my peers....(yes, it is different in front of children). I felt a need to speak publically yesterday because of the comments being made to those of us who weren't participating enough in class. (That was the only reason I felt a need to conquer this fear...) Well, as I struggled, stumbled, and nearly passed out....I quietly asked Jessica to recover our summary I was trying to describe to the group. Jessica didn't hesitate to pick up where I left off, which was so smooth....you probably didn't even realize!
PhilWP is a learning experience in so many ways. My experience right now is directly from yesterday's reaction sheet....."Working outside your comfort level usually leads to growth." So, thank you for these words of wisdom and thank you again, Jessica!

Religion in school

This is such an upsetting discussion for me and always makes me want to cry. We spend a lot of time discussing how people view race, and white priviledge (not a point I'm arguing), but haven't disucssed religion and priviledge. In much the same way whites have priviledge, so do Christians. When you are a Christian, the world surrounds your beliefs. Many people don't see that others see the world differently and they don't have too because they're the majority. Again, this year, there was a Christmas tree in the lobby of my school. Why is the symbol of one religion (and yes it represents a very important holiday) in the lobby but no others? I feel that nothing should be in the lobby. Don't throw a menorah and kinara out there so then it's okay to put up the tree. What about the students who don't have a defined religion or do not believe in G-d? What do we do for them? This year there was no Halloween dance because it is a pagan holiday. Maybe we have a few pagans. Who has the right to tell someone what to believe? Of course, my religion has formed my feelings on this matter, but this issue isn't about a specific religion. It's about the school being a place where everyone belongs.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Goeff, for his guidance on our CI project, his guidance made me feel that with all the ideas in our groups none of them were wrong, but all great. And also THANKS to the whole group of facilitators (Dave & Jenn) for not giving us such confined working instructions, but for letting us find our way. Even though we may feel really really lost, but I understand.....DON'T STOMP THE CREATIVITY!!!
Shannon

CNN Article addressing tech friendships

Okay, I know we had a great SIG today from Bernadette and Shannon about using popular magazines/websites as sources for information but having seen this online, I thought it might be helpful to see what the general population, including parents, is reading about online friendships between students and teachers.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/08/12/studentsteachers.online/index.html

Reflection on practice

Thank you for all the encouraging remarks. I accept them humbly on behalf of all school librarians. Maybe some of you can be instrumental in advocating for a spot on the faculty for a school librarian. The elimination of librarians, art, music teachers from urban schools is an obvious example of inequity. Most times, I feel not smart enough for my job or inadequate addressing the technology needs of staff and students, so it's nice to be of help. I located the source on Follett Library Resources under Grants and Awards, there's a link to school librarian resources. This link would be helpful to any teacher searching for good websites for literature or research. I found a link there for an article entitled, "The Reading Cure." It gave a list of risky books, novels not picture books, primarily for book clubs but high school teachers may be able to find something appropriate (ex., Secret Life of Bees is there) or middle school teachers may be able to excerpt something.
James Baldwin's talk to Teachers is a revelation. Written in 1963, much of what he says is sadly still applicable today. Lots of implications to Poisonwood Bible, other readings, the state of our country today. He writes, ". . .the boys and girls who were born during the era of the Third Reich, when educated to the purposes of the Third Reich, became barbarians. " This quote could be framed in a query if students read Markus Zuzka's The Book Thief, a story about a girl of Communist parents who lives through WWII with an older couple in a small town in Germany. This book shows the helplessness some Germans felt toward the oppression of the Nazis and the punishment they received when they rebelled against the government. Why did some become barbarians? Are the rest of the people saved from being barbarians because they sympathesized with the Jews but did little else? Just a suggestion. Thank you all for how your insights make me think. That's what we all need, us, our students, time to think and compelling information and experiences to think about. B the Book Lady

Shout Out

I want to give a shout out to Bernadette and Shannon for a wonderful SIG. Bernadette, you have been a wonderful resource. Now that my school no longer has a librarian, this makes me wonder what other great sources of support were available that I didn't realize I had.

I HAVE TO DRAW BY MYSELF?

I was in such a frenzy today as I had to face one of my most dreaded realities; I cannot draw! I am horrible at creating a piece of art. Although we were told that the activity was not about the artwork, just the idea of creating a picture book shut me down!

Now I worry about how to deal with my students' insecurities about an activity I may present to them. How am I to respond to them when they shut down from fear of exposing a major fault. I need serious help!

differentiated instruction in the classroom

Good Day,

Today we received a presentation/workshop on the above topic by S. (Dot) Carter. She gave a discussion of the basics of the topic and then we broke up into groups. All that to say I was elated to see everyone working on activities that were solely hands on. Beyond the directions, the majority of the student Teachers found the pictures were more beneficial to the end all goal of the activity. Yes, I was able to find the road to the completed task. However I held back to see what was going to happen. It was de-li-ci-o-so. I was happy to see the results:) .
In our readings, # 10, a quoted author,Kathleen O'Shaughnessy says" ...the feeling of power and freedom that comes with finding one's own way." This is how I feel when I tackle a task. Today this is how you all looked to me when my group of #4's produced five boxes by their own hands. I don't want to wine about any other part of the day, but that one portion was soothing to the pallet.

Differentiated Instruction

Wow! What a great experience today with Sharon Carter. After reflecting on my own learning, I realized that I am not the visual learner I thought I was before. This also made me think about how I teach my students. Some points that really stuck out to me were how educators assess at the end of a unit, and in reality....assessment should be how to understand your students to better educate them next. Also, how assessment should be how we can help our students grow. This experience was a great big wake-up call for me and how I can use data in my classroom to help my students to grow and not just label where they are in the system.

Once Again

I've made it on to the blog space. Let's see if I can post either later today again or tomorrow. The last time it shut me down from posting. All I could do was respond to Fellows' post. Thanks Chelsea for talking me around the problem! A solution is always in the midst -- you just have to be open for the new knowledge to come in your surroundings. I aksed, I waited and new knowledge came...

Here I am. Peace all!

Whose Core Is It?

After reading this article I found myself thinking Christina is not alone. Every workshop or professional development I've been in all the teachers express the same sentiments. This makes me wonder, who are the teachers who agreed with the writing of this. Are they still in the classroom or have they opt to be coaches who visit first year teachers only? Along with the Core there should be a core writer assigned to every school. First to teach in the various classrooms instead of using the check list during walk-through(s).

The article was written by a Philadelphia School teacher ( one of our own). The fact that she found a support group is encouraging.

I Can't Wait!

I am so excited about all of the great ideas I have gained from the facilitators and other teachers here at PhilWP. There are so many activities I want to complete with my students, that I can't wait until September. I know that sounds crazy, but I also know that many of you are feeling the same way. I think I'm going to be sad when the three weeks is over because I've created special bonds with many people, especially my Journal Group!

Bonnee is very thoughtful.

I just wanted to post to say what a thoughtful person Bonnee is. I don't know her very well but she listened to my group's "I am from.." presentation and went and picked up a movie for me because she thought I would enjoy and relate to the movie. That was very nice of you Bonnee and I wanted everyone to know.

Poisonwood bible

The discussion on yesterday gave deep insight to thoughts on gender. It was good to hear the views on Nathan Price. This activity helped me to see the things I concluded about Nathan, some others felt the same. I thought of Orleanna as a weak person until my colleagues pointed out her strengths. This caused me to delve deeper into my thinking about who she was. I also liked the activity on body biography. It was interesting seeing which characters were chosen.

In class we read a narrative by Jamiaca Kincade “Girl” and this was my verse after her fashion.

BOY
Did you brush your teeth and wash your face? Go, go back and brush your teeth and wash your face. You are very able to maintain the basic hygiene. Shower, bathe daily which means EVERYDAY and don’t forget your deodorant. Nobody wants to smell your B.O. Young men should take pride in them selves. Now don’t forget to put things back because you don’t have a maid and oh yes you can clean that bathroom especially behind that toilet seat; when you get your own who do you think is going to do that for you, remember you don’t have a maid. Bring your clothes down to the laundry room, remember dark clothes here, medium color there and white put them here; dark cold water, medium warm water (or sometimes cold) and white hot water (or sometimes warm); who do you think is going to do this, you don’t have a maid.
Shannon

Growing in technology

It took a week but I'm finally able to Blog. Watch out I'm dangerous now.

If Brenda isn't an extravert, what is?!?

As we all know, Brenda is the "life of the party" type of person: very expressive, ready with something to funny, interesting or dramatic for any given conversation. So, some people were surprised to learn that she doesn't think of herself as a "people person" or an extravert. Why not?

I had a definition for extravert and introvert that she said "described her." So I thought that I'd write it on the blog because a few other people were interested too.

Definitions:
INTROVERT- a person who gains energy from solitude

EXTROVERT- a person who gains energy from being around people.

Brenda, and many other people I've known and loved and discussed personality traits with, spend their energy when they are with people - all that wittiness and the outgoing behaviors
actually drain them of energy. These "life of the party" people all need large pockets of their day alone. This solitude is really what gives them the energy to interact with people in the way that we all love.

I, on the other hand, am and extrovert. I am not a "life of the party" person, but I really enjoy being around people. In fact, if I'm by myself for several hours, I start to think I'm going crazy; it's actually something I've trained myself to be somewhat comfortable. I, and other extroverts, gain energy from just the company of others, even if we're not the ones doing the talking or "entertaining."

Hope someone else will find these definitions as interesting and useful in understanding others as I have!

Greatest Silence

On HBO documentaries there is a special entitled Greatest Silence. It is about the continuous rape and agonies of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I am ashamed to admit that I know so little of what happens elsewhere and if it wasn't because I had to read Poisonwood Bible, I doubt this would have been of interest to me. It is a remarkable documentary and I urge you to watch it (on 77 minutes long). In fact, I welcome any Philwp friends to watch it at my home.

1st Week at PhilWP: First Impressions

The first week at the Philadelphia Writing Institute was all that I thought it would be and more. I have come to collaborate with others about life, teaching, and learning. We have completed many reading assignments, activities, and thoughtful discussions which were authentic, emotional, and valuable experiences which have made deep and lasting impressions in my mind.

One of the biggest correlations or epiphanies that I made this week was one that came from my reading of the "Poisonwood Bible" while there were many messages. The message that I could best analogize was Natan's relationship to his village being as important to a teacher's relationship to her classroom. Meaning that Nathan did not take the time to get to know his village and spend real time with his neighbors, causing many miscommunications and catastrophies that may have been avoided. As a teacher you don't want to make the same mistakes. To me this first week has been spent on learning how to make deeper connections within ourselves and our students. Instead of just coming in and making assumptions about where your students academic capabilities are and "preaching" to them about what they need to learn. A good teacher will communicate with and understand her students needs and strengths. She will incorporate several types of learning strategies and encourage her students to dig deep within themselves, so that they will value their writing and be motivated to write more. Unlike, Nathan if we take the time to invest in our students, and our classroom communities our classrooms will flurish.

Seeking direction on short reading passages?

As we go through this Summer Institute, I'm making notes about what I want to implement in my classroom. I'm thinking about the homework I want to assign and I'm looking for short, interesting reading passages so that students will read and write about them on their own. Does anyone have anything that's worked successfully for them?
I have a ton of books that are test prep reads but I'm hoping to find stuff that's more engaging for students, something that makes them want to write. I know the scholastic magazines work a bit but sometimes they are a bit immature, too tongue- in-cheek. Any suggestions on resources would be great. Thanks again!

A very gracious thank you!

On Friday, I left PhilWP overwhelmed with emotion. We spent the day laughing and crying with each other. I want to thank everyone for those stories that needed to be told; I'm grateful that you trusted us enough to share such very personal stories.
I met up with a few friends on Friday night for drinks and tried to explain what was happening. It's so hard to tell others not in this community how we went from total strangers to knowing very intimate facts about one another.
Next week is going to challenge all of us, I know. As we embark on discussions of racism and social justice, let us remember and refer to the autobiographies. We are all people who have stories, very profound, some deeply sad. We are our students who bring alot to the table. We are going through next week's process so that our discomfort will be eased.
From our beginning conversations about The Poisonwood Bible, we know there will be discomfort. There will be tension. Brenda, I do believe this is what your friend meant when she said arguments occur. It's intended so that we can go through the emotions now so that we can handle what arises in our class surrounding these issues.
Anyway, this is what I THINK I KNOW about that which we are embarking.