http://www.teachersatrisk.com Elona Hartjes shares the insights, resources and practical classroom strategies that have earned her A Teacher of Distinction Award. Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:39:21 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It takes a village to raise a child. We've probably all heard that said many times before. I feel that educating a child also takes the village. Teachers in their classrooms can't do it alone. There's just not enough time to give all students the one- on -one ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/07/02/the-village-is-volunteering-to-educate-the-child/ I have some concerns and questions after watching The Girl Effect Video (see below) and going to Global Giving to donate some money. How much of the money I donate will actually go to the girls and how much of that money is used for admin? I like ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/06/25/concerns-and-questions-about-the-girl-effect-and-global-giving/ For some time now I've been contributing to Kevin's Day in a Sentence-or poem, or VoiceThread. I like contributing to Day in a Sentence because it makes me stop and reflect on some aspect of the busy week I've just had. I look forward to contributing to DIAS. ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/06/19/join-us-for-day-in-a-sentence-and-photo-friday/ | View | Upload your own I'd like to thank Karen Brooks for creating this Slideshare with all these wonderful resources. I know that I will be using some of them come next September with my grade nine class and I'll be sharing this treasure with my ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/06/14/great-interactive-websites-for-math-and-science/ I've suddenly had the thought that blogging can be a pretty selfish and alienating activity. It has a dark side that I hadn't notice before because I was blinded by the light. I've been blogging for almost two years now (August 2006) and podcasting for over a year (March 2007) and ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/06/12/blogging-can-be-a-pretty-selfish-and-alienating-activity/ Math education in America is failing to prepare students for the 21st century. That's the message that comes across loud and clear in the video The State of Education- A look at the state of education in America. Although I'm Canadian and teach in a Canadian secondary school, ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/06/08/math-education-in-america-is-failing-to-prepare-students-for-the-21st-century/ Link to Make Beliefs Comix here. Create your own.  it's fun. Here we are again almost at semester's end and some students haven't submitted all the requisite assignments. What else is new! Getting those assignments in drives me crazy! It's not that students haven't started them. I know they've started them. I've ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/06/01/motivating-reluctant-or-struggling-students-at-years-end/ Finding a balance between work and play is crucial. We all know that a balance between the two is necessary for our mental and physical well being, and yet we often struggle unsuccessfully to achieve it. When I say we, I mean teachers as well as students. How ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/05/30/finding-a-balance-between-work-and-play-is-crucial/ http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/05/29/keeping-things-in-perspective/ I love using graphic organizers in the classroom to teach and evaluate students understanding of a topic or concept. I've written about them here and here before. Even my most reluctant and/or struggling students find graphic organizers engaging. I've noticed that my students who display ADHD type symptoms seem ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/05/22/more-great-graphic-organizers-for-you-ton-use-in-the-classroom/ A. Introduction It's important for teachers to know how to protect themselves from those few students who deal with the vicissitudes of life by being physically aggressive. We've all heard those stories about teachers who get hit, punched or have something thrown at them. Fortunately, there are strategies that we ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/05/19/strategies-for-dealing-with-kids-who-get-physcially-aggressive-with-teachers-part-1-establishing-the-classroom-climate/ The video "The Amazing Intelligence of Crows" aside from being highly entertaining to watch made an excellent point. Well, it actually made more than one point but I'm just going to focus on one here. The thing that really struck me after watching the video is that I ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/05/16/think-outside-the-box-turn-a-problem-into-a-soloution/ Talk about irony.! Learning to change- changing to learn will not be seen and heard in schools in many school districts even though it needs to be. My school district like so many others has blocked access to YouTube. I wish I had a transcript of "Learning ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/05/12/learning-to-change-changing-to-learn-the-irony-of-it/ Use Animoto, a Web 2.0 application, to add an edge to your presentations that your students or any other audience will find engaging. I've been wanting to create a multi media presentation for my Learning Strategies Class that would review all the different types of graphic organizers that I encourage ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/05/08/add-an-edge-to-your-presentations-use-animoto-to-create-some-hype/ Twenty percent of kids sitting in classrooms today are mentally ill. That's shocking. What's even more shocking is that only 1/5 of that twenty percent are getting treatment. I could hardly believe my ears tonight when I heard that statistic on TVO's The Agenda with ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/05/02/twenty-percent-of-kids-sitting-in-classrooms-are-mentally-ill/ http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/05/01/rss-awareness-day-on-may-day-honouring-workers-on-the-blogosphere/ Teaching math to students using real world examples may be counter productive. Wow, that goes against everything that I was taught and believe about teaching math. Dr. Jennifer Kaminski, a research scientist at the Center for Cognitive Science at Ohio State, evaluated the efficay of teaching ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/04/30/teaching-math-using-real-world-examples-may-be-counter-productive/ I love taking a strand of yarn and creating a three dimensional object. Here's a picture of my latest creation. It just dawned on me recently knitting socks involves a lot of math. I don't know why I didn't see the connection before. But, knitting socks involves rate -the ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/04/27/theres-a-lot-of-math-in-them-there-socks/ I've been teaching math on and off now for more than 20 years and I really like it, but for some reason I still don't think of myself as a math teacher but a teacher who teaches math. I don't know why that is. I mean, I have my ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/04/27/what-are-the-esssential-qualities-of-a-good-math-teacher/ It just came to me all of a sudden as I was on my way to brush my teeth before going to bed tonight. I should be adding an audio link to my classroom blog for those students who like to have assignment or instructions read ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/04/24/my-classroom-blog-needs-an-audio-link-for-auditory-learners/ I've had lots of feedback about the numerous articles I wrote about bullying. If you are interested in reading what I wrote earlier just go to the right hand side bar in my blog where the tags are located and click on any of the tags dealing with ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/04/22/what-to-do-to-stop-teachers-bullying-other-teachers/ Most of my students really like the classroom blog and all the digital technology I've put into the course, most but not all. A few students tell me they hate it. I have been struggling to find a way to engage those few. At first, I ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/04/22/not-all-students-like-using-the-digital-technology-now-what/ I don't think you can have too many graphic organizers in your teacher tool kit so I'm always on the look for new ones- at least new to me ones. I came across this one and I want to share it with you. It's an extension of the K.W.L. ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/04/15/graphic-organizer-k-w-l-q-organizer/ I think I can safely say that we know from personal experience that music affects our bodies and our minds. Listening to music relaxes us, energizes us, comfort us, keeps us company, help us celebrated and even helps marks special occasions. I think I ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/04/12/research-about-the-benefits-of-listening-to-music-in-the-classroom-leads-to-optimism/ OK, I know last week I said this week's post was going to be about the research that supports my contention that listening to music in the classroom can facilitate learning. But, I got side tracked by Twitter and Diigo.What's Twitter? What's Diigo? As some ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/04/06/twitter-and-diijo-have-the-potential-to-be-useful-tools-in-and-out-of-the-classroom/ Well I don't know what happened, but this week's post just disappeared from my WordPress files even though I know I saved it . I'm still in a state of shock as I keep trying frantically to find the post. No, my dog didn't eat it- that's ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/03/30/yes-listening-to-music-in-the-classroom-can-help-students-be-more-productive-especially-students-with-adhd-type-symptoms/ Show notes to "An Interview with author Sean Donaghey" Please click on the MP3 player button to hear the interview. For some reason, the other button isn't working. Sean Donaghey The Ten Funniest People by Sean Donaghey Ironclad by Sean Donaghey Newspaper articles by Sean Donaghey . Look for Sean's ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/03/24/interview-with-author-sean-donaghey/ I was reading Miss Profe's blog today when I noticed the blog had a virtual pet. Cool. I want a pet for my class blog, too. So I went to the Adoption Centre site and eventually a sweet little black kitten with ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/03/23/name-the-virtual-kitten-contest/ It's Tuesday the second day of The March Break , and I've been able to start catching my breath after the first five weeks of a busy, busy second semester. Little Lauryn, granddaughter #1 , is staying with us for a couple of days. I love it when she ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/03/11/what-makes-a-teacher-a-good-teacher/ I'm wanting way too much. I'm like a little kid in a candy store except my candy store is the World Wide Web, and the candy is all the exciting digital technology that's out there, never mind all those interesting websites to read and podcasts to listen to . I ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/03/02/510/ This week I had the most annoying thing happen. Someone used my email address fraudulently to send who knows how many messages and over a 1000 of these messages got bounced back to me as undeliverable and most landed in my junk folder. I had no ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/02/10/over-a-thousand-emails-in-my-junk-folder-whats-going-on/ Today, Winter sent us another snow storm and another Snow Day. That's two Snow Days in less than a week. Last Friday we had our first Snow Day and now again today.That must be a first! I can't ever remember having that happen before. ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/02/06/todays-snow-day-morphed-into-todays-professional-development-day/ For most of the last two weeks my head's been spinning. There's just too much going on. Final evaluations are marked, report cards completed, one meeting attended , two meetings attended, three meetings attended, my desk in office all cleared off, well almost, new classroom blog created using www. edublogs. ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/02/01/reflections-about-starting-my-classroom-blog/ I just had to share this brand new video Growing Up On line with you. I think it's well worth the time to watch the different segments. Who knew how involved our kids really are on-line and what it really means. I teach kids all day long and ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/01/23/new-front-line-video-growing-up-on-line/ I recently came across Annie Leonard' s video The Story of Stuff and plan to show it to my students to get them thinking about entire topic of consumerism. If you have a moment, I highly recommend you watch it. You may want to share the video and ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/01/22/recycle-reuse-rethink/ Today I was browsing through my file clippings and came across these headlines in the November 15, 2007 Toronto Star , "Parents equipping kids with bullet-proof backpacks" and "Slash-proof hoodies selling well". My first thought now, as it was back when I ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/01/20/slash-proof-vests-and-bullet-proof-back-packs-for-students-what-a-sad-state-of-affairs/ I've written here about homework before. Homework is a contentious issue. How much is the right amount? Should we be giving homework at all? ASCD's most recent issue of ASCD Express features thoughts on homework by various authors. I'm really pleased to say that the article I submitted "Differentiating Homework" ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/01/16/math-is-so-confusing-sometimes-you-have-to-add-and-sometimes-you-have-to-subtract/ If you love trivia, you'll love this site.ShareThis http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/01/15/love-trivia/ I'm soooo excited. My article on differentiated home work got published today by ASCD. Here's the link. Take a peek if you have a moment.ShareThis http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/01/10/differentiated-homework/ Someone the other day was asking me about behaviour management techniques for the classroom that really work. I have written here , here and here about classroom management before. Take a look if you have time. I think that Doug Belshaw, who is taking a ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/01/07/ten-behaviour-management-techniques-for-the-classroom-that-really-work/ Happy 2008 to all! The other day as I was preparing the scalloped potatoes for dinner it came to me: as a teacher I'm expected to make New Year resolutions twice- once in September at the beginning of the new school year and once in January at the ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2008/01/04/my-new-resolution-think-big-start-small-act-now/ Sorry if there's any confusion caused by the problems I've been having with uploading my podcast to iTunes. The podcast had to be loaded twice because it wasn't linking to iTunes.ShareThis http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/12/27/problems-with-uploading-to-itunes/ It's the Christmas holidays and I'm taking a bit of a break and indulging myself by focusing on something less serious today. Just recently, I changed the look of my website. I've had the old black and white colour scheme for about a year or ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/12/23/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new/ The other day in my senior class we were talking about what it feels like to have a learning disability. Many of the kids who are identified as having a learning disability said they felt retarded when they were told about their disability. Some of them ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/12/16/helping-students-with-learning-disabilities-change-negative-habits-of-mind/ Why don't kids with learning disabilities or kids who are taking applied level classes get to do the cool stuff that kids who are identified as gifted get to do? That was the question one of my students, let's call her Cindy, asked in class this past week. Cindy who ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/12/09/why-dont-kids-with-learning-disabilities-get-to-do-the-cool-stuff-that-gifted-kids-get-to-do/ Keeping schools safe continues to be a hot issue and rightly so. We want our schools to be a safe place where the only thing kids have to worry about is learning the curriculum. But, sadly that's not the case. It's painfully clear that schools ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/12/02/its-time-to-implement-the-restorative-justice-process-to-help-make-schools-safer/ I don't know about you, but in the last few years I've been to so many educational conferences, lunch and learn workshops and professional development sessions during and after school I've lost count. I'm not complaining. Far from it. I'm absolutely ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/11/25/common-misunderstandings-about-teaching/ Kindergarten math skills seem to be the best predictor of future academic achievement according to a recent study of School Readiness and Future Achievement in the November 2007 issue of The Journal of Developmental Psychology. I found that amazing. I'd always believed that reading ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/11/18/kindergarten-math-skills-seem-to-be-the-best-predictor-of-future-achievement/ I've come to terms with the volume of paperwork I have to do because of my job as special education teacher. I've come to terms with it, but I don't particularly like it. Usually, I just try to suck it up ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/11/11/not-getting-all-the-paperwork-back-is-driving-me-crazy/ As a special education teacher, I spend a lot of time listening to stories about kids whose behaviour disrupts the class to the point where effective teaching and learning can't take place. I hear stories all the time about kids who are difficult, who are willful, who are ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/11/04/help-kids-with-extreme-behaviour-problems-using-the-collaborative-problem-solving-approach/ I don't know what it is about my Advanced Learning Strategies Class. Many students in that class constantly whine about things like being tired, being hungry, having a stomach headache, having a headache, having a sore arm, leg, shoulder etc. It drives me crazy because all that ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/10/28/thanks-to-the-classroom-facilitator-i-dont-have-listen-to-my-students-whine-any-more/ I'd like to pass along the link to a conference, Class Disrupted: Disorder and It's Effects on Learning and School Culture ,that Alison Kleigman of The Common Good Organization sent me today. Here's the link http://cgood.org/schools-events-76.html. Now I don't have any affiliation with The Common Good Organization whatsoever, ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/10/11/class-disrupted-disorder-and-its-effects-on-learning-and-school-culture/ I have written here and here before about the topic of bullying. Bullying is an on going problem in and out of school. So, I was especially encouraged to read there is a new computer game called Fear Not that is being piloted in Europe. ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/10/11/fear-not-a-new-role-playing-game-to-help-stop-bullying/ How much homework is enough? Well, like so many other things in life, the answer depends on who you ask. For some of my students any amount of homework is too much. For others, no amount of homework is too much. Ask teachers ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/10/09/how-much-homework-is-enough/ When I think of a metaphor to explain my teaching style, I think of gardening or training horses. In my earlier posts Don't blame the lettuce and Training Horses and Teaching Students I discussed why an effective teacher is like an ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/09/30/what-is-a-teacher/ I've been really fortunate to have worked with some wonderful paraprofessions at different times in my teaching career. These men and women made a huge a difference to the lives of the students in my class. For that matter, they've made ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/09/23/paraprofessionals-and-teachers-work-together-as-a-team-for-the-benefit-of-students/ I'm always asking my students to reflect upon different aspects of their lives by writing a journal. I ask them to reflect on things like the goals they have set for themselves, their assigments they do for me or other teachers, their report card marks, the ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/09/19/the-unexpected-consequences-of-writing-a-blog/ At-risk students- from time to time I've wonder who coined the term at-risk students to identify kids who are in danger of academic failure. Where did that term come from? Well, I don't have to wonder any longer because just last week as I ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/09/17/so-what-about-these-at-risk-students/ Those of you who have read my post about Nine things my students have taught me about classroom management and teaching will know that when I talk about classroom rules on the first day of class,I tell my students since they are in high school they are experts at knowing ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/09/12/emotions-affect-a-students-learning/ Ms. Whatsit tagged me for a Bookmark Meme. How intriguing-a bookmark meme. It would be interesting to see what people are bookmarking. Although my blog and podcasts are mostly about education the way I see it, I'm interested in a lot of other things that I don't ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/09/03/bookmark-meme/ You've probably heard that expression that goes something like "you only get one chance to make a good first impression". The first impression, that's what concerns me about the first day of school. I want, no make that I need my students' first impression of ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/08/30/nine-questions-i-ask-my-students-on-the-first-day-of-school/ School is about to start again and of course I'm wondering what challenges I'll be facing teaching the kids I do. I'm sure lots of other teachers are wondering what's in store for them, too. I've been thinking about all that I have learned over the years ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/08/21/nine-things-my-students-have-taught-me-about-classroom-management-and-teaching/ Dear Readers, I'm asking for help here regarding securing a laptop computer for a needy student who lives in El Passo, Texas. I'd like to help her, but I don't know the area at all because I don't live in the area. Does anyone know of an ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/08/14/can-anyone-help-this-student/ I bet you're like me in that from time to time you come across a word or term that you haven't heard before that intrigues you or tickles your fancy. Recently, well actually yesterday, I came across just such a term- couch surfing ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/08/14/lets-give-homeless-students-a-hands-up/ Script for my podcast Dustin Swanson hit the nail right on the head in his blog when he wrote "Teaching is an art; it involves emotions ." This fact is especially important to realize and appreciate now that the new school year is fast approaching. ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/08/10/respect-in-the-classroom-is-a-two-way-street/ Whoa, this week is Teachers At Risk's first anniversary. Imagine that! A whole year has gone by. I've written 164 posts and created 19 podcasts on a variety of topics. What a learning curve it's been- exciting and energizing for sure. I've had ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/08/08/the-unexpected-consequences-of-blogging-for-one-year/ It takes a whole village to raise a child . How many times have I heard that? How many times have I said that? So recently when I learned that my village, the City of Mississauga, and its corporate citizens like Wal-Mart Canada, ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/07/24/hurray-the-village-is-expanding-its-support-of-at-risk-kids/ Should I have to pay to plug in the fan I use to cool my classroom? Thankfully, I haven't been asked to do so, but amazingly some teachers are being asked to do just this. Read on Got a desk clock ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/07/09/should-teachers-have-to-pay-to-plug-in-the-fan-in-their-classrooms/ School's out! Hurray! I'm on Summer Break. I'm also taking a break from Teachers At Risk. See you in three weeks. ShareThis http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/06/30/schools-out/ Do I want a Second Life? I've been listening to people at work talk about their Second Life experiences, and I must confess that I'm a bit envious. They are having so much fun. It sure is tempting. I like being on the ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/06/20/do-i-want-a-second-life/ It's just cruelly ironic. Me, an avid gardener who loves nature to the nth degree and gardens indoors and out all year long should be struck down these last two weeks by allergies. I mean really stuck down. My doctor advised me to stay indoors with the windows closed . ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/06/11/911-for-kids-who-bully/ It's happened again- a kid killing a kid. On Wednesday, May 23 2007 , a 15 year old kid was shot to death in a hallway in the middle of the afternoon in a Toronto school. That's scary for kids, for parents, and for teachers. Parents send kids to the ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/05/27/whats-to-be-done-about-kids-killing-kids/ I've been working on a unit for my grade 12 students that helps them prepare for the world of work. Many of them have learning disabilities and/or attention deficits and frankly have a harder time at school because of it. I just want stop here for a moment to comment ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/05/24/be-successful-on-the-job-despite-having-learning-disabilities/ If you've been following my posts you know that I've been doing a series on the issue of bullying. The series includes the following posts: Cyber-Bullying: Relational Aggression Students with learning difficulties or AD/HD are more at risk of being bullied Cyber-Bullying- Educating Kids is Better than Incarcerating Them Bullying is ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/05/14/how-effective-are-anti-bully-programs/ Last time, I discussed the issue of teachers bullying students in my post Some teachers are bullies too . There, I suggested some reasons why teachers resort to bullying, how bullying affects the teachers who bully, how bullying affects the students who get bullied and how bullying affects the entire ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/05/07/some-students-bully-teachers-too/ First cell phones and now laptop computers. Experts warn us against the possible dangers of using wi-fi enbedded laptops. "CHILDREN should be discouraged from putting their laptops on their lap when using wireless internet connections because of potential health risks from emissions, a technology ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/04/29/wi-fi-enabled-laps-tops-could-be-a-health-hazard-for-children/ Welcome to today's podcast- Some teachers are bullies. Theme music- 3 feet up- Podsafe Music Network Introduction Date of Podcast- April 2007 Shoutouts- Laurie, Frank, Geri, Jason Show note etiquette- Podcasting for Dummies Lisa Hartjes Chris Hartjes Reasons ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/04/29/some-teachers-are-bullies-too/ In my previous post I talked about the government's newly revised Safe School Act and the fact that it's better to educate kids than to incarcerate them. Today, I'm going to focus on the bullies who do the bullying and argue that bullying behaviour is ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/04/21/bullying-is-a-cry-for-help-wed-better-listen/ In my last post, I talked about the fact that kids with learning disabilities or attentional difficulties are at greater risk of being bullied. I outlined some of the signs of being bullied since some kids don't want to report bullying since they see it as tattling, and I talked ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/04/20/cyber-bullying-the-governments-response/ In an earlier post, I talked here about relational aggression and cyber-bullying. Today I'm going to focus on the issue of bullying and kids with learning difficulties and attentional problems. I teach these kids and see what a problem bullying is. I spend a lot of my time teaching kids, ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/04/15/students-with-learning-difficulties-or-adhd-are-more-at-risk-of-being-bullied/ I'm always amazed by the power of graphic organizers and puzzles to motivate students to stay on task, and of course a student who is on task is a student who is not a discipline problem. I've come to think of graphic organizers and ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/04/09/crowd-control-in-the-classroom-part-1/ During the last week Ive been reading about the cyber-abuse that Kathy Sierra has experienced and listened to her talk about it in an interview. It was very disturbing. I've had many conversations about Kathy's cyber-abuse and cyber-abuse in general with other bloggers. I ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/04/07/382/ I've been thinking a lot about how to make classrooms safer for teachers and kids. I think it would help if teachers got more training about managing kids in ways that didn't bring the worst out of kids. Teachers don't get get much training in this area. I ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/04/05/how-to-make-you-classroom-safer-for-yourself/ I'm a strong visual learner, and I prefer to "see" what I'm being told and not hear it- if you see what I mean. After listening to my podcast on relational aggression before I posted it , I found I was getting frustrated. I was fine ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/04/02/podcasts-or-blogs-which-is-better/ You know it's amazing how sometimes things just all come together. Recently, I've been thinking and talking a lot about the cyber-bullying that goes on all the time amongst some kids. Last Thursday when I was supervising students while they were writing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, I happen ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/04/01/cyber-bullying-part-1/ Hardly a week goes by that I don't read or hear about the problems school officials must deal with now that students are on the digital highway and can access sites like Facebook, MSN-Messenger, MySpace, and YouTube from anywhere. Students use these sites to vent their rage about adult ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/03/28/schools-need-to-do-more-to-protect-students-from-road-rage-on-the-digital-highway/ If you would prefer to listen to my post rather than to read it, please click on the audio link above. :) I never used to be a conspiracy theorist. Actually when I realized I'd become one, I was rather shocked at first, ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/03/22/its-all-a-conspiracy/ "the overpowering stimulation and excitement that virtual reality produces can lull the imagination and numb sympathetic feelings for pain and suffering (Daisaku Ikeda, Soko Education (Santa Monica: Middleway Press, 2001), 53 This quote could help explain a lot of things that I see and hear in my classroom of at-risk ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/03/20/the-dangers-of-virtual-reality/ If you would prefer to listen to my post rather than to read it, just click on the audio link above. :) Change in secondary education is definitely in the air, and it's about time. Last October 15, Premier Dalton McGuinty acknowledged that "In the knowledge-based economy of the 21st ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/03/18/but-will-it-work/ The carrot or the stick? That's an argument I have with myself all the time. Is it more effective to bribe people to get them to do what you want or is it more effective to threaten people to get them to do what you want? ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/03/17/the-carrot-or-the-stick/ If you would prefer listening to this post rather than reading it, please click on the audio link above. :) Well hello. Welcome to Teachers At Risk. This is my first podcast and I'm pleased to share it with you. I'll be talking about the process I ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/03/13/my-first-podcast-the-challenge-the-joy/ It's the first day of March Break.  No school.  :) I can sleep in, have a cup of tea and read the paper at leisure. Great. I don't have to think about school , about teachers and about kids for a while.  I picked up  the paper and what did ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/03/12/please-give-me-a-break/ Usually when I come across a edublog I like and respect, I simply put it on my blog roll so that people who visit my blog can check out my new find. I was just about to add Bright Minds to my blog roll, when it hit me: ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/03/11/let-me-introduce-you-to-bright-minds/ In my last post, I asked why would students act in such a way. A group of male students mostly under 18 have been accused of sexually assaulting a 16 year old female student and video taping the assault using their cell phones. Today, I ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/03/10/look-how-far-we-havent-come/ I live in Mississauga. I teach in a Mississauga. I heard about it at school. I was shocked to read about it in the paper: TheStar.com - News - Bail hearings put off in gang sex attack case Sex attack rumours raced through school I was even ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/03/09/a-gang-sexual-attack-on-unconscious-teen-recorded-using-video-cell-phones/ Although, I've never really thought too much about my personal safety at work, maybe I should. Just recently, I had two fights in my classroom that I had to deal with. I was so worried about the kids getting hurt, I didn't really ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/03/07/teacher-safety-cant-be-taken-for-granted/ You know how some days you wonder why you bother doing what you are doing. That's how I felt today. I'm coming down with some sort of bug, and I'm really tired. I could hardly wait to get home, get a cup of tea and lie down ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/03/07/a-prescription-for-bad-attitude/ I don't know. It seemed like a regular Monday morning. But, there 'd been that total eclipse of the moon last night. I forgot about , so I wasn't really prepared . My grade nine class, my special class of eight a ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/03/05/id-forgotten-thered-been-a-total-eclipse-of-the-moon-last-night/ It's really tough  when you are a digital immigrant. I wasn't born into this digital world. I didn't grow up with the new technology. There were no computers, videogames, digital music players, cell phones, CD or DVD when I was a kid. I ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/03/03/a-digital-immigrants-reflections/ It seems almost everyday at school I hear students using words in ways that confuse me. To my adult ears, it sounds as if the kids are being disrespectful, but they're not. I've learned to check what my students mean to say before ... http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2007/03/02/help-wanted-translator-for-teen-talk-to-start-asap/