20 Reasons for Students

While I was visiting Charleston, South Carolina this past week, I ate at a restaurant called Hyman's Seafood. Now if you haven't eaten there, I encourage you to try it on your next visit to Charleston. The seafood was fantastic and their Carolina Shrimp and Grits were to die for. On the tables were small gold and black plaque with famous names of people who ate on the very same table you were setting. For me, that was hard to grasp. I was eating dinner on the same table as Michael Phelps. There for a moment I let my imagination run away from me. I was imagining having lunch with Michael Phelps and talking to him about his Olympic Adventure, but back to realty. I noticed in the middle of the table some different colored business cards that represented Hyman’s Seafood. On the back of the cards, were different quotes from different people. The one that caught my eye was 40 Promises for Marriage by: Steve Stephens. In my mind, this meant 40 ways to keep a marriage successful. When getting back to our hotel, I googled Steve Stephens to learn more and noticed it had changed to 50 ways. I guess over time he has added more to his list on marriage success. I began to make a connection between marriage success and student success so I started a list of ways to help my students be successful in and out of the classroom. Maybe in the future I can add more to my list. Here it goes.........

20 Reasons for students
1. To create a positive and safe learning environment 2. To understand the expectations 3. Take pride in their work 4. To be willing to improve their work
5. Teach them to be kind to others 6. Teach them to accept others differences
7. To be creative thinkers 8. To be motivators 9. To be evaluators 10. To be critical thinkers 11. To accept others opinions 12. To be global learners 13. To be digital learners 14. Be a collaborators 15. To communicate effectively 16. To be a Good Citizen 17. Learn to analyze their work 18. To be problem solvers 19. To take responsibility for themselves and their actions 20. To ENGAGE them!!!!

Warning!!! Brain Overload....

It is SUMMER for goodness sake, and why can't my brain rest!!! Do all teachers feel the same way over the summer or is it just me??? Between the summer workshops and getting ready for a new year who can rest. Let's start with the summer workshops... I have attended some fabulous workshops this summer and my mind can't stop thinking about them. I am researching, reading resources, blogging, and even connecting through social networks. I am actually putting myself out there. What!!!! Did I just say that??? I am now connecting with others around the world through Twitter, Ning, Blogs, and Educators PLN. I don't even know if I am saying this right. I guess you can call me a newbie. I am actually a 21st Century Leader in my district, and I wrote, "you can call me a newbie". What I mean is new to social networking. Thanks to a fellow colleague who showed me how to reach outside our district walls and connect with other teachers that could help me push beyond what I am doing in B10. This is just what I needed!!! I needed to talk to other teachers like me that could give me a new perspective on instruction especially implementing 21st Century skills and project-based learning.
Last but not least this brings me to (getting ready for a new school year!!!). Not only am I thinking about my classroom decor', meet the teacher night, and new instruction that will be implemented this year, but also having my very own personal blog. Here I am blogging about my thoughts and still something is trying to hold me back. It is those big words SELF CONFIDENCE. Why would anyone outside of my school district even care about what a little Alabama Southern girl had to say? These words run through my head over and over like an old western movie. They are hard to get rid of!!! I keep telling myself this is a start to something great. I am willing to share if someone is willing to listen, and I am willing to learn if someone is willing to share.