Read Chapter 1 of The Excellent 11 - Discuss 3 significant concepts from the chapter. Describe how each concept will impact your classroom management. Reply to 2 other posts with comments, suggestions or connections.
22 Comments
Jeny
2/25/2015 12:05:55 pm
My copy of the book still hasn't arrived from Amazon, so I may not be able to post on time. It supposedly shipped on 2/19/2015. I apologize for holding anybody else up.
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Bobbi Ingraham
2/25/2015 12:30:01 pm
First and foremost, although the chapter was about enthusiasm, the second to last paragraph of the chapter hit me the most. I read that paragraph a couple times and still continue to think about it. I can honestly say that I love my job. I love what I do each and every day and I think I share my enthusiasm with my staff, the students, and the community. This paragraph applies to not only our profession but life in general. There are teachers on my staff that are not happy people and it shows in everything they do and, most of all, it shows in their everyday work at school. I would love for these people to read this paragraph and reflect on it but I know if they do they won't realize they are unhappy. To truly get anything out of Ron's message you have to be willing to self-reflect and look at both the good and the things that need refined.
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Holly Mc.
2/26/2015 03:06:41 am
I wonder how many times we miss a "talent show" opportunity that would have really sparked some enthusiasm with our students? It doesn't even have to be that elaborate, but just for them to see us putting ourselves out there and being willing to look silly or goofy. Who cares if we make fools of ourselves? The kids will remember that we did it because we cared about them and their learning. It will stick with them, for sure. I still have teachers that I can remember because they did something like this.
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Bobbi Ingraham
2/26/2015 11:16:43 am
I agree. I think as educators we are often stand offish to show the "fun" side to our students. If they see that side we could generate a spark. This year we have gone on the limb and did more spontaneous "talent shows" and slowly we are bringing along the "walkers." Hopefully the "riders" we see and want to at least start walking.
Kelly
2/26/2015 12:43:46 pm
So true...staff can get so down trodden with the stresses and concerns of all the children we care about. We need to come together and pump each other up and let our enthusiasm spread to those who are discouraged. All the more fun to come together and let our hair down in front of the students.
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Molly
3/12/2015 02:39:11 pm
The students LOVE it when we show our fun side. When one of the other teachers on my team do some fun or off the wall thing the students can't wait to tell me about it. Right now in out building we are doing a Baby Picture contest and the students are having a blast trying to figure out which teacher goes with which baby picture. It is sparking a ton of conversations and laughs.
Kristi Weisenstein
3/5/2015 09:02:26 am
Bobbi,
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Holly McElwee
2/26/2015 03:03:54 am
I loved this chapter. It really forced me to do some self-reflection in terms of how I come across to the students. I admit that I am not 100% enthusiastic all the time. I think it comes from the fact that sometimes I get downtrodden about circumstances that I cannot control, i.e. the PARCC test. I also have some coworkers who can be very grouchy! I have made a concerted effort this year not to let their attitudes impact mine (this was even before I started reading this book). It’s true what Ron Clark says about enthusiasm is fueled by our surroundings. That includes people. I’ve found that I need to distance myself from those negative people.
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Bobbi Ingraham
2/26/2015 11:24:55 am
Something that I took from one of Jack Berckmeyer's session on teaming hits on what Holly posted. When working with colleagues that can be grouchy or stand in our way of doing what we know is best for the students we need to think…."moveon.com." Jack said not to spend the energy on colleagues that we can't move, put our energy in what we can do and control. "Moveon.com" is a great quote to remember!
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Molly
3/12/2015 02:41:55 pm
I totally zeroed in on the "moveon.com" statement at the conference as well. He is right. I agree that there comes a point when you need to stop wasting energy on some colleagues. At some point they will have get on or get out.
Kelly Boggs
2/26/2015 12:38:59 pm
1. Enthusiasm is contagious. This is so true. I think it's great to be around enthusiastic people. For example, when we all sat in the presence of Ron Clark, didn't we feel like we could conquer the world from our classrooms? Even the smallest enthusiastic gesture can go a long way. I loved the idea of his school talent show and I could see some of the teachers in my building working together to pull something like that off. Just yesterday we took our eighth graders to the gym after a long day of PARCC testing to blow off some steam at the end of the day. I was watching the kids play basketball and grabbed a ball myself and started to shoot with them. They were so excited that I would be like a kid and play with them. I know those little experiences will help me make a connection with them in the classroom. My goal is to be more enthusiastic in my lessons and be positive with every student. I struggle with balancing the enthusiasm with discipline. I feel at times (especially with my difficult 7th grade group) it's such a downer when all I do is deal with discipline issues. I'm going to work on keeping my enthusiasm (even when I want to bang my head against the wall after my 23rd time of repeating myself!).
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Jenny
2/27/2015 03:29:10 pm
There have been a lot of references to Ron's talent show. While I am not about to coerce my colleagues into costume and song, I do think we can create a lot of little opportunities to show our kids we are proud of them and excited to work with them. In our 6th grade students earn Fun Friday by getting their Golden Ticket stamped by each core teacher if they turned all work in on time and met behavioral expectations. Today we stamped tickets as usual. We also took 2 sections of the PARCC language arts test online. As you know, the process is grueling, and that is just the logging in. When the test was over, I gathered my colleagues and suggested we include every student in Fun Friday to let them know how much we appreciated their hard work. We all had a great time in the gym together celebrating their patience and good work. So, like Kelly, I hope we made some connections and spread good vibes that will get us through Monday's test session and into next week.
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Holly
3/3/2015 06:10:38 am
I know what you mean about room environment. I'm concerned for next year because we are moving into a new building. I've already heard talk that we will not be allowed to hang anything up with adhesive. I get that it's a new building, but come on....the environment has to be inviting. This is a point that I am willing to fight for. Who wants to come to school when the room doesn't say, "Welcome!" ?
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Jenny
2/27/2015 03:19:30 pm
1. Enthusiasm without purpose is wasted. While I agree that enthusiasm is contagious and necessary, I also agree with Ron that it is "best when it serves a purpose". I have seen, and maybe even been, one of those rah-rah teachers that does not end up with data that shows success. I wasn't sure where he was going with memorizing the presidents, especially in this day and age when it is at your finger tips on the internet. Once he explained that creating the excitement of accomplishing such a task led to setting up the context of events in American History, it made sense. The bottom line is, we have a purpose that requires enthusiasm to deliver it successfully to middle level learners.
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Kelly Boggs
2/28/2015 01:42:59 am
Enthusiasm with a purpose is a good point. While trying to be creative in my lessons or projects, I find myself chasing rabbit trails at times and need to move back to the path of my purpose. It's important to be sure and meet our academic goals with whatever enthusiastic ideas we have.
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Bobbi Ingraham
3/3/2015 11:55:39 am
I agree with you Kelly. I find myself getting caught up in the district and state mandates that I can sometimes forget the purpose….educating children. We went into education because of our passion and enthusiasm and with that we can be effective. We can't loose that in all of the red tape!
Holly
3/3/2015 06:13:20 am
All or nothing...that's rough. But, how many times do we make excuses for our students? Oh, they can't do it. They're too lazy. They're on an IEP. I think teachers need to not make excuses and set the bar high and set challenging tasks before kids.
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Bobbi Ingraham
3/3/2015 11:52:10 am
Holly….
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Kristi Weisenstein
3/5/2015 08:52:08 am
Holly,
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Bobbi Ingraham
3/3/2015 12:16:16 pm
Chapter 2…
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Kristi Weisenstein
3/5/2015 08:38:19 am
This is my 30th year in education and at one point it looked like my last with all of the changes going on through the retirement system. I feel the topic of this chapter when I think of teaching...I wish that I could always show it. I do believe that "Enthusiasm is Contagious" The talent show was a neat idea with little expense. We have sponsored a kick off competition for the OAA's between homerooms. We tried to get the students excited about the "tests" instead of the boring factor.
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Molly
3/12/2015 02:34:21 pm
"Effects of Enthusiasm On Others" When Ron writes about students seeing how excited you are by the content you are conveying and seeing that it is important to you that they learn, students start working harder. I agree. Students are not without sense. They know when an adult is genuine. When they see that you really care and are invested it all becomes about more that just the lesson - it involves your relationship with the students.
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