More proof that sex with students is OK!!!

I was watching Leno tonight, and he made a joke that went something like this:

A law in Georgia has been passed where it is ok for teachers to have sex with students if the student is age 16 or older and the sex is consentual. But whats even worse is most students in Georgia are homeschooled. ah ohhh thats gross hahaha clap clap clap.

Good joke, but I found it interesting since we have been talking a lot about this kind of stuff lately in Tatiana's class, for those of you who are in her class with me. I was intrigued and I found this article about the law being passed.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/lawmaker-worry-teachers-sex-students/story?id=9157141&page=2

From what I see in cases we have discussed and other ones in the news, there are a lot of "loopholes" where sex with students goes unpunished, either if it is a female teacher with a male student, a female teacher having a relationship with a female student, and now if the student is 16, it is ok in Georgia. I read some of the comments on this news story, it was pretty split between people who thought that 16 year olds are adults and can make their own decisions and people who thought it should be illegal. Noone really brought up the difference in power between the two, except for one comment who compared it to a psychiatrist having a relationship with a patient. Its kind of crazy that so many people in the general public don't seem to have a huge problem with this.

Poker Chips

I hope you all took the time to watch the rest of the Lavoie show, it really helped me to get a little perspective on the students that will be sitting in our classroom everyday.

His poker chip analogy is so helpful. Self-esteem is such a touchy issues these days, and often when it is addressed it is addressed in such a fluffy manner that it doesn't really get us anywhere. I think its important that we think of our students (particularly our LD students) as having a certain number of poker chips and that it is our job to give them enough to ensure that they can do the tasks that they need to do.

"Join me on my bandwagon of uncertainty..."

I know many of you have probably already seen these clips along the way... but if you haven't, Taylor Mali's dialogues are probably some of the most truthful and hilarious bits of work out there... have a look :)

the problem with teachers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU

a few words on 'the most aggressively inarticulate generation to come along'...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmLE2bliXCI&feature=related

Classroom Gem/Concerns with Lavoie

The closest thing I have to a "classroom gem" that works well is what I've seen called the "chorus effect." I tried this over my 2 week practicum and it was fantastic, and I used it in my lesson in John Fawcett's class, and while it's a little pedantic for university students, it was very effective in high school. Basically, you just get the students to all say the answer/phrase/whatever all together, like a chorus. Depending on how much they need to know it, you have them repeat it a couple times. When I tried this with grade 12 students I thought they would just laugh at me, but because I prefaced it with "I know this is a little dorky but..." they were totally fine with it. I found it was an excellent way to get them to all memorize a short, but very important, piece of information really quickly.......and they'll never forget it! I wouldn't recommend using it all the time, but once in a while it can be really effective.

As for the Lavoie video, there was one example he gave that didn't have me totally hooked. When he told the story of having to talk to the teacher who was always late for recess duty, he used the "oreo" or "sandwich" format. Start with something good, mention the stuff that needs to be fixed, then end with something good. He then said that this was a good technique to use with students. Now, I DO agree it's a good technique for using with students when you're working with them in some progressive, longer-term type thing. "Johnny, you're so good at sitting quietly at your desk now! You still need to work on not punching suzie in the face, but I've also noticed you're consistently coming to class on time now. good work" That sort of thing, I'm totally fine with, but I'm not so hot on his idea of using it with an employee.

I know we're not all going to be administrator's and bosses, but I think it's important to note. The teacher was just duffing it with recess, and all he needed to do was tell the teacher he was duffing it. By prefacing it with something good, you're going to set the teacher up to always expect a reprimand when you start with a compliment. I think it's important to compliment and affirm employees, and if you're reporting on someone's progress in an area (as with Johnny's behaviour) then the sandwich/oreo is just fine, but if someone does something wrong that's an isolated behaviour, just reprimand that. Don't degrade a compliment by sandwiching it around a reprimand. Compliments with Compliments. Reprimands with Reprimands. Oreos for progress-based things.

Just a thought. (ps that was something I'd heard from another speaker, it's not my idea but I thought it was a good idea).

Special-Ed Institue

I just wanted to remind everyone: if you're (even mildly) interested in taking some special education courses this summer... CAN YOU SEND PHIL AN EMAIL? I know many of you are interested in pursuing this field in the future, so give the courses some thought. A friend of mine is trying to compile a list of students interested in this "summer institute," before she speaks with the Dean next week. The more interest, the better.

What's in a Word or Two

This situation reminds me a lot of a situation I saw during my observation. In the case I saw, the student seemed like a normal everyday student until the teacher gave out a written assignment. As soon as she did this, the student who was normally really compliant just shut right down and refused to the work. Unlike the case study, the student didn’t swear at the teacher, but even still he got very confrontational. Like the case study, my sponsor teacher later found out from another teacher that this student has significant issues. Comparing these two situations, I think in both cases the teachers were very much surprised by the actions of the students. From a management point-of-view, it is really difficult for a teacher to deal with a problem student who spontaneously acts out, with little or no warning. As difficult as it is though, I think the teacher still need be the one in charge and call the student on any of their inappropriate behaviour. As tough as these situations are, I think it just goes to show how important effective communications between teachers in a school really is. In both this mock scenario, and my observation scenario, other teachers in the school knew about behaviour issues relating to both students. In these cases, I think being proactive in finding out knowledge of student issues is very important, as tough and time consuming as it may be

The Rad Rockies

The Rad Rockies

(My report on my two-week practicum, I realize it is slightly late, but here it is.)

The teachers on staff, the students and I made hydrogen gas, lit many fires in the forest, played flag football, went climbing, dressed up in crazy costumes, researched rare careers, took photos of modern architecture in downtown Calgary, played dodge ball (oops) and got chased around Holt Renfrew and followed into the washroom (a couple of girls REALLY needed to go before the long drive from Calgary to Golden) by suspicious sales ladies. We also made plans for the New Year to run an ice climbing camp and to go on an overnight ski trip to Lake O’Hara in Yoho National Park.

For the less positive aspects, see my posts on wild horses and physical space.