What Teachers Want Parents to Know

The Ron Clark Story is a well-known movie that sheds light on the hardships teachers face, as well an inspirational story of a man who never gave up on his students. Ron Clark's story inspires many educators and gives them new ideas to use in the classroom. This recent news video came out about Ron Clark, his academy, and advice he had for educators and parents.

This video tells that teachers need parents to understand that homework should be done in different and fun environments. Some examples are in the back yard, in a bean bag, or at the park. Another thing that parents should understand is that teachers have a lot of regulations that inhibit their teaching. Standardized tests and administrators often times set limitations that teachers must face. Teachers face these limitations to the best of their ability, and parents should understand this.

Parents should also understand that they should be partners, not prosecutors. To me, this means that parents should be supportive of teachers and their teaching styles. Parents should talk about teachers in a respectful light, so their children foster a respectful idea of teachers as well. When teachers feel supported and encouraged by parents, they feel more appreciated and will therefore better educate their students.

My Classroom Rules

In my Education and Training Class, we recently watched the movie, "The Ron Clark Story." This was a very inspiring, true story of a man who faced a challenging class in an inner-city school. His patience was tested, but he overcame these challenges and serves as a role model for all educators.

Ron Clark's #1 Classroom Rule was "We are a Family." I think he placed so much importance on this rule because all the following rules were rooted in this. If you saw the classroom as a family, then you would respect others, and follow all other rules because you knew they would be for the good of the family.

I was inspired by Ron Clark's story to create my own list of rules for my Education and Training class:

1. We are a family.

2. Work first, then play.

3. Listen and focus when the teacher is talking, so we can get down to business faster.

4. Enjoy (or pretend like you enjoy) others' company.

5. Give one hundred percent of yourselves all the time.

6. Respect others.

7. Smile often! :)

Glogger for Life!

Here is a link to my glog about teaching first graders how to tell time.

The High Cost of Education

Education and the cost of college is constantly a hot topic in politics. Recently, the college students participated in "Occupy Wallstreet", where they camped out until their protests were met about forgiving student loans. This is just one event that was sparked by the high costs of college education. A main problem our country is currently facing is the fact that it is so expensive to get a college degree, yet many graduates remain jobless when they finish. Government officials have toyed with different policies on how to alleviate this problem, as well as creating standards that hold universities accountable for preparing students for the work force. I think these standards are necessary to ensure all students "get what they pay for" when it comes to a college degree.


I will be attending college in the fall, and cost is a big concern to me and my family. I have been applying for numerous scholarships and I am hopeful that I will get a sufficient amount of money to alleviate some of the financial burden of college expenses. I have also applied to FAFSA, so hopefully all this will be enough for me to pay for my college without having to take out too many student loans.


-inspired by this article

Hire Me, Please!

In an interview, I would say that my strengths are positivity and achiever. Positivity is a strength of mine because I am always looking for the best in situations. I am an achiever because I always want to go above and beyond to complete all of the my tasks in order to present my proudest work. My weaknesses are that I am a perfectionist because I always want to give my best and I can get stressed out easily when I have a lot of different tasks to do. 

I can overcome being a perfectionist by just learning when good is enough. I can overcome my stress by praying when I feel bogged down, and just reassure myself that everything will be okay. When it comes to my strengths, I can accentuate them by always having a smile on my face and being sure to always set my goals high.

I have applied for a job that I didn't get. The Children's Courtyard didn't hire me because I haven't graduated from high school yet, but they said they would have in a heart beat if I had a diploma. With this being said, I hope that means that my first impression was good!

~inspired by this article

Digital Learning Day

In my first grade class, I could use animoto to teach a lesson. This tool enables you to turn your photos, video clips, and music into awesome video masterpieces to share with the class. Animoto is very easy to use and it is also free with the shortcuts that Mrs. Stevens has! (which is in every teacher's budget). I could use this in my class to present before we conducted a science experiment. I could include pictures of the materials we are using, and then find a brief video clip of putting all the materials together to perform the experiment.

2. On Wednesday, February 1, my teachers did not really use any technology out of the ordinary. We watched a movie on the computer that displayed on the projector and watched video announcements off of youtube. Other than this, my teachers did not use anything else.

Make It Happen 2012!

The new year brings about the perfect time to reflect on the past, and decide what changes need to be made. Here are the three main things I want to change to improve for the new year!

You must list the three things you want to change, how you will make this happen and what you hope the outcome will be as a result of your efforts. 

1. Get a Job: During the fall semester I was very busy after school with volleyball, however now I get out of school at 1:30 so I would like to spend my extra time making money to save up for college. I have started applying for jobs at certain places like The Children's Courtyard and Fitness 2000. The outcome of my results will be me landing a job and the beginning of the growth of my bank account!

2. Have a Positive Outlook: I want to have a more positive outlook on every situation I am faced with during this new year, even when I am overwhelmed. I will be disciplined with myself, and when I feel my frustrations and stress rising, I will turn to God in prayer. This will result in a more peaceful and joyful me!

3. Live in the Present: I want to enjoy the present situations that are to come this year, like all of the senior activities and new college experiences. I am going to focus on not wishing the rest of my senior year away, but rather just enjoy every minute because I know I will never be able to go back. This will result in me having no regrets and lots of wonderful memories to look back on!