Thing #5

OK - I must admit that the google reader is awesome. I only had trouble with one thing this time. I must be getting better at this tech. stuff! As I scrolled through the reader, what stood out for me came from three lessons from high school. It was posted from a student discussing his high school career. He talked about how "he lost his will succeed" as a freshman. He found himself in trouble and therefore, skipping school and on his way to becoming a dropout. However, he changes his story and graduates from high school as a successful student. One of the things he talked about was how he learned to value relationships not only with his peers, but with his teachers as well. He talked about the importance of respect and if you show your teachers respect, they will help you in all of your endeavors. It was inspiring to see him change his story. I would like to show it in my classroom to show that even when we make poor choices, we can still turn it around.

Thing #4

I could go on and on reading these blogs and linking to others. As I read them, it struck me that some are like a conversation. You can express your thoughts and opinions in an informal way. In addition, you can link with those who have similar interests. I love the idea of connecting with my students. At our school, we have a book club that meets every week. We are in the process of setting up our blogs. We can then discuss our readings outside the meetings. I love the idea of interacting with our students this way.

As I read the different blogs, I connected to "Why I Don't Assign Homework". I struggle with the concept of homework for our students. I know there are parents who request it but I agree with Dan Meyer. Students who are motivated will return their work while those who are not as motivated, will not. Unfortunately, those are the students that need it the most. They are also the ones who have the least amount of parental support. It is my job to figure out how to motivate the students to want to return their homework.

I also liked the blog, SSR, 2.0. He discusses the change of what we are reading. He even admitted to reading everything but books. By reading blogs and searching the internet, reading the news from the internet allows you to cover so much more. I even find myself listening to books on my IPod to save time. My concern though, is that we might not return to reading books for the rich language that we find in them.

I liked his idea of reading blogs during the SSR time. They could comment on what they read during computer lab or at home.

I love the countless links that can take us anywhere. I agree with Pithy Thoughts, I want to become a professional reader as well.