11 things i don’t understand about schools
I have a lot questions, 11 things that i don’t understand about the schools? 1. why do we care so much about capital letters, i don’t like typing them, they require me to hit another key 2. why do we require students to write a certain number of pages on a given topic, […]
Conversations with students
Some conversations need no story, they speak for themselves. Ashley shares some of his most recent conversations with students. Kindergarten – Me: so how did you guys like the new stations today Student: I didn’t get to do them Me: why not? St: I wasn’t here last week, I had mucus. Diff St: What’s mucus? […]
We need to stop punishing kids for daydreaming
I spend a lot of time daydreaming, in fact I often go to bed early in order to get some solid daydreaming time in, and hit my alarm a good 3-5 times in the morning, as during this time my mind goes on wonderful adventures, but with the snooze going off every 10 minutes I’m […]
10 steps to help your child stay creative
In this TED talk by Ken Robinson you’ll learn: – ” All kids have tremendous talents and we squander them.” – Creativity is as important as literacy – Be sure to at least listen to 4:15 mins so that you can find out what God looks like. – Kids will take a chance, they’re not […]
Bowling with foxes
Upon entering the gym, the transformation is apparent; at least I thought it was. Bowling lanes are spread out, pins are standing in place, and bowling balls are resting peacefully on each lane. “Mr. Sollenberger, are we bowling?” Student after student asks. “Bowling, what would make you think that?” is my standard reply. Confused glances […]
5 myths about teaching 1 truth
When it comes to teaching, there can be many things that distract or take away from our most important objective, which is to facilitate student learning. It’s important to stand up for your beliefs and fight to make changes to improve the educational process; however, problems arise when we as educators allow these distractions to […]
Dangle Contest: Exploring why kids like to be off the ground
Up to a certain age maybe 9 or 10 almost all kids are mountaineers and rock climbers. They desire height, elevation, and a clear view. In a crowd they are lost, blinded to the events taking place. They live in a world where everything is too big. The counter is too high, their feet dangle […]
multitasking doesn’t work
multitasking seemed like a good idea i learned that it wasn’t i was talking on the phone, and mailing packages, which caused me to mail the wrong thing to the wrong person. luckily i realized this, just after dropping the packages into the mail slot. the truly lucky part in the story, was the extremely […]
Olympics: part 2
Unlike the events of the first week, which weren’t nearly as good as my description leads you to believe; the events of week two will be placed in my permanent file to be used again in four years. We participated in ski jumping, curling, and biathlon. These events brought the Olympic Winter Games to life […]
The Olympics
The Olympic ideals of fair play, good sportsmanship, and friendly competition were on display in the gym and for a few moments the students had Olympic dreams. Today we will be participating in the Olympic Winter Games, I announced to student cheering, applause, and general merriment. I never get tired of announcing the day’s activities […]