Tag Archives: teacher

Last-Minute Teacher Gifts

It’s nearly Christmas. Are you looking for a homemade teacher gift for your child’s teacher? Teachers work very hard all year, and Christmas is a good time to show them how much they are appreciated. Whether you’re making something for a soccer coach, Girl Scout leader, or your child’s classroom teacher,here are some ideas for last-minute Christmas gifts. 1. A homemade card I volunteer in a number of ways in the community. I always appreciate the thought behind a homemade card. I don’t need a lot of things, but a message of love in a card is always appreciated. 2. … Continue reading →

Are You a Teacher’s Worst Nightmare?

In Japan, they’re called “monster parents,” and now teachers there have a new way of dealing with them. You might know a few monster parents yourself. They’re hard not to notice. Typically, they are the moms and dads who are constantly complaining and making unreasonable demands on schools and teachers. Most of them are overbearing, pushy, and some of them go as far as threatening educators. But, instead of fighting back with their fists, teachers in Japan are taking a new training course to learn how to deal with these pushy parents without resorting to physical violence. Japan’s Ministry of … Continue reading →

Schools Using Obama Inauguration as Teaching Tool

At noon tomorrow hundreds of thousands of children living on the East Coast will put down their books and lunch trays and gather in front of massive television screens to watch history unfold. Florida Governor Charlie Crist wrote a letter last week to state Education Commissioner Eric Smith asking him to encourage schools to take a break from studies on Tuesday, when Barack Obama takes the oath of office. The Republican governor’s letter read in part: “While the inauguration of any American President and the peaceful transition of our national leadership are admired around the globe, next week’s event symbolizes … Continue reading →

Our Traveling Art Teacher

Every school in my county does not have an art teacher. Some schools leave teaching art and art activities up to the classroom teacher. Other schools have part time art teachers. By part time, I mean that the teacher travels from school to school on alternating weeks. My school is one that shares an art teacher with another school. Every other week, the art teacher is at my school. On her off week she is at another elementary school teaching art. Due to the addition of more teachers and classrooms, the art room at my school this year was needed … Continue reading →

Substitute Teacher’s Corner: Discipline in the Classroom

Good morning and welcome to Monday, by the time you are reading this, I will actually be substituting today. Our local school is doing their TPRI testing to judge the reading level of the Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade students. Generally, this gives the teacher a sound idea of where the student is at with their reading, reading comprehension, sight words and phonics. ?The testing is pretty individualized and since the instructor has to judge each student individually that means they need a substitute teaching their lesson plan for the day. Which brings me to the topic at hand, discipline … Continue reading →

Serving as a Teacher: Classroom Management

Teaching is one of the most common callings in the church. In fact, even if you are not called to be a teacher, you will likely teach at some point in your calling. There are several aspects that go into being an effective teacher. This blog will focus on classroom management. Classroom management is really important because poor classroom management leads to disruptive behavior and can stop the spirit from entering the setting. Here are three main areas that can make a big difference in how you manage your classroom. 1) It is important that you set the mood or … Continue reading →

Serving as a Teacher: Preparation

One of the most common callings in the church is teacher. Nearly every organization calls someone to teach. Many members of the church view teachings as something that is easy to do or something that everyone can do. As someone who actually studied teaching in school, I realize that there is a lot that goes into teaching, and it is important to take the calling seriously. Over the next few weeks, I am going to write about several aspects that can help you to become a more effective teacher in whatever organization you are serving. The first key to being … Continue reading →

My Special Note

Posted on by

Often teachers, like mothers, go overlooked. It is not necessarily that the students and parents do not appreciate teachers. Many times, our lives are so busy that we forget to take the time to tell others how much they mean to us. Today was different. I began checking BEAR books as I do every morning. I look for money, homework, and notes from parents. This morning I received a special note. I causally opened up and flipped through the folders of one of my boy’s BEAR book. There it was – a note from a parent. I briefly scanned the … Continue reading →

Now That’s a Lot of Money! Teachers and Non-Reimbursed Spending

Posted on by

Teaching isn’t a profession that you can just walk into and expect to make the big bucks, and most teachers know this. A lot of new teachers most likely won’t find out until they step into their classroom for the first time that besides making pretty low amounts of dough, they will also be using cash out of their own pockets for school supplies throughout the year. I don’t know a lot of other professions that spend the amount that teachers do on supplies. I think you may be amazed at just how much a teacher spends per year for … Continue reading →

A Charitable Teacher’s Last Lesson

When I first heard about the Canadian teacher who lived a frugal life but gave large, anonymous donations to people in need, I wondered if she realized what an incredible legacy she would be leaving behind. I’m sure she didn’t (hence the anonymity of her gift giving). I’m sure it was never her intention to have the spotlight shine on her generosity (posthumously). But since it is, I figured we could all take notes on how Roberta Langtry lived her life. The 89-year-old Toronto woman had worked as an elementary school teacher and speech therapist for more than 50 years. … Continue reading →