At the beginning of this year, I gave myself a goal: post 52 posts. So far this year I have done no more than 5 and it’s April people! This is bad. So for the next 30 days I will post something everyday. Something small most days but hopefully it will lead to good reflection.
Today is just this:
If I were to teach a professional development course it would be called, “Why I do everything wrong” and it would focus on my lack of belief in bell ringers and seating charts and my strong belief that 5 minutes about favorite books is often more valuable than 10 about the quadratic equation.
1/30
a brand new line. 
I’m with you on seating charts and (short) off-topic conversation. I think “bell-ringers” could be ok, but I never have my act together enough to get them going, plus that time allows for more chatting with the kids about what’s happening in their lives.
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“my lack of belief in bell ringers and seating charts”
Expand on this! Papapapapleaaaase?
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I am TOTALLY with you on the bellringers. Most are a COMPLETE AND UTTER WASTE OF TIME. And @delta_dc agrees with us, at least about the pointless and time-wasting warm-ups: http://deltascape.blogspot.com/2013/03/am-i-getting-warm.html
I say, ROCK ON!
– Elizabeth (@cheesemonkeysf)
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One of the powers of a five minute chat about a book is that this conversation humanizes us in a way – while it is obvious to us that we ALSO graduated from high school and went through many of the same struggles, I think it’s sometimes easy for that fact to slip by our kids. I also think that when their math teacher talks about a love for something other than math we are sending a powerful message that learning and skills are not to be pigeon-holed. Few things are sadder to me than a teen who has already decided ‘Oh, I’m terrible at _____’
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