Intermission

   There will be an intermission in the "Purple French Fries for Teachers" blog due to a change in geographical location.  In other words, I'm going out of town and not sure I'll have internet service.  I'll be back on the job the week of April 8th. Hope everyone has a good holiday and is ready to finish out the school year with gusto.  (or at least some renewed energy)  

Learning the art of negotiation

   According to Webster, to negotiate means: to try to reach an agreement or compromise by discussion with others.  In our current world, this is an extremely important skill.  Unfortunately, our politicians seem to have forgotten this definition and the importance of reaching agreements.   
   It's important to practice this skill as early as possible.  The ability to use discussions to try to get what you want in a non-violent way is  invaluable.  It can be used in social, educational and vocational situations.  Example:  students take a test and some earn grades lower than they expected.  As a teacher, I have observed students dealing with this in various ways.  Here are two scenarios I've witnessed.
   One student was visibly upset and asks to speak with me about this.  He demands that his grade be changed because he knows that his answers are correct.  When we review the test, he has difficulty explaining why his answers are accurate.   As he becomes frustrated, he accuses me of never liking him.  He tells me that I was out to "get him" from the beginning of the school year.  This is not a successful negotiation!
   Another student was also visibly upset and asks to speak with me.  He has calmed himself down and appears relaxed.  As we go over the test, he explains his answers referring to his study guide.  He has done a good job of explaining why he put down certain answers.  I agree to accept some of his answers and change his grade.  He has negotiated well, compromised and earned a higher grade.  
   The important aspect of this skill is realizing that you have to compromise.  You won't get everything that you want but you'll get more than you had before.  You both win.  Practicing these types of situations and strategies with students using role play can help them navigate life's situations successfully.  Using these strategies can help students gain a sense of confidence and accomplishment.  Maybe our politicians should go back to school and practice their role playing.  Definitely!!!

Brain exercises

   There seems to be a lot of emphasis on physical exercise and I think that's great.  Only lately have we heard about exercising our brains.  As us baby boomers advance in age, we're learning that doing things that stimulate our brains keep us mentally sharp.  As a teacher, I wanted to have my students learn strategies to be observant and aware of details. Here are a couple ways I tried to expand those mental connections.
   One of the ways we would "exercise", was by using various cards with shapes on them.  I would have 10 cards with increasingly complex shapes and difficulty.  We would have a sample to make sure everyone was aquainted with the activity.  The sample would have, maybe 2 dots and 3 wavy lines.  I would display it for 5 seconds and then take it away.  The students would have to draw the figure from memory.  After 1-2 minutes, I would disply the figure and they would judge if they copied it correctly.  Almost everyone was able to copy the sample.  
   The emphasis was on learning from your mistakes and participating in the activity.  Everyone that participated received something - stickers, extra points, a homework waiver - something.  Before that actual activity started, we would discuss various strategies to use.  Many kids tried to look at the shape, draw a little and look back.  We talked about how this wasn't the best method because you lost valuable observation time.  Looking at the whole shape and making connections with prior knowledge seemed to be a good method.  For instance, part of the shape might look like an animal or a number.  Using that connection brought better results than looking up and down.  It was very interesting which students were good at this task and was fun at the same time.
   I also used word find puzzles to get students thinking.  We discussed clues that might help find the words (double consonants, unusual letters or blends).  Again, some of the students who had academic issues, did very well with this activity.  Sometimes I would have one student give clues to another in order to find the words.  It was a great way to start  the day and get those thinking juices flowing.
   Besides helping the students to be more analytical, it also helped them with certain behaviors.  We talked a lot about dealing with frustration, how people learn differently and cooperating with each other.  If we had a few minutes at the end of a lesson, we could pull out these activities instead of losing precious learning time.
   I'm sure that all of you do certain things in your classrooms to stimulated and engage your students.  Why not share your ideas with each other?  One of these activities may be the one bright spot someone remembers from their school days.  Wouldn't that be great?

Taking lessons from Finland

   America is a great country.  There's no place I would rather live. However, when it comes to our educational system, we could use a little help.  We need to be able to learn from other countries how to improve our system.  In Finland, they seem to have it working well without testing the kids so often.  Take a look.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/

 It makes a lot of sense.  Spread it around!!  Maybe our "leaders" will rethink their opinions on our educational system and how to evaluating it. 

Creative talking

   For students that don't feel good about school,creative writing can be a frightening experience.  Those kids may have some great ideas and may be able to express them verbally.  But, the idea of putting the ideas down on paper with correct mechanics and organization, is scary!  They may think, "What if it's wrong and someone sees it?"  Kids could be teased and, on social media ..... brutal!!
   Here's an idea that might get your student's creative juices flowing.  I would cut out pictures from magazines that I thought were interesting.  The picture might be a child shoveling snow or an older man playing the piano.  I would have a variety of people and places and then laminate them.  It should be something that you could build a story around. 
   Before I handed out the pictures, I would model how I wanted them to make up the stories.  I covered the 5 W's (who,what,where,what,why) and add some interesting vocabulary - voice.  I gave some back round, what's happening in the picture and what might happen in the future.  
   I would give the students the pictures and about 5 minutes to form some ideas for their stories.  They would come up in front of the class, show the picture and tell the story.  While someone was telling their story, all other pictures had to be turned over.  
   Some students had trouble getting started.  For them, I would ask them questions about the picture and, often, this would help the story get started.  Then there were students who really got into storytelling.  I had to help them wrap up the story because they could go on for awhile.  
   It's always an interesting experience for students and teachers.  You could tape the presentation and play it back to show various styles.  This hits that public speaking goal.  And, for students who have difficulty with the written word, this could be an opportunity to shine!

D.A.K. - Daily Acts of Kindness

   I don't think that there's enough kindness in the world. The definition of kindness being: n. 1. the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate; 2. a kind, considerate or helpful act.  I guess I'm on my soap box but I don't think that we're teaching our children the importance of being kind and polite.  Example: I had lunch with someone today who was having a  nasty morning and he was in a grumpy mood.  As we came out of the restaurant, someone held the door for him.  He said that his mood immediately improved because of this act.  I told him that the kindness topic was what I had planned to write about in my blog today.  It was a timely example.  We underestimate the power of kindness.
   I was also reminded of an insurance commercial on TV that showed people being kind to others.  This spread because someone saw someone else being kind and they would be inclined to do kind acts as well.  Wouldn't that be great??? Adults and students being kind to each other and their peers??? Schools would be better places to work and learn.  Behaviors can be contagious - positive and not so positive.  How do you think that trends get started?  I think we should start a kindness trend!
   What would happen if everyone did, at least, did one kind or positive act everyday?  It doesn't sound like something that would take a lot of effort.  Holding a door for someone, saying please or thank you or picking up a piece of paper for someone can change their day.  Besides the "kind act receiver" feeling good, the "kind act doer" feels pretty good too.  Like my experience today, it deflates that rotten bubble and may help you feel not so bad.
   Let's get that trend started.  In school, I used to call this "Acts of Random Kindness" but I like it being daily instead.  We could have DAKs that could be rewarded.  At the end of everyday, the last teacher that students have, could start a DAK log.  Students and adults could write down in 1 or more kind acts in a notebook.  Another one that could be decorated (those intelligences again) and, even, drawn in.  The idea is to think about how your actions can influence others in a positive way.  It doesn't take much to help someone and this could change their outlook.  Even if a student lies about the act, it will eventually get to them and they will be thinking about kindness and that's the idea.  This kindness thing could even become a habit.  It could sink into people's thoughts and we could help each other.  May be there would be less killings and people won't feel so isolated.  I may be optimistic but.... why not?

A parent's perspective

   How many times have we thought how wonderful it would be to have our student's parent involved in their child's education in a supportive way?  This blogger is child centered and teacher friendly with an informed, sensible voice.  
   Please check her out and consider her perspective and advocacy for her child.   Happy reading!!


http://theplainsatisfactions.wordpress.com/2013/03/10/on-the-long-drive-i-thought-of-this/