Search Results for: blog what makes a teacher super

Special Needs Blog Week in Review – June 24 – 30, 2012

Posted on by

Every week, the Special Needs Blog Week in Review brings you a quick summary of each of the blogs that were posted here in the past seven days. It makes it easier for you to find out about the ones that you might have missed. The Special Needs Podcast Roundup went up on June 25, 2012. This week, I’d like to point out an episode of NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday”. The episode was called “Planes, Patience, and Slightly Kid-Friendlier Security”. This is a good one to listen to for parents who will be traveling by plane with their children this … Continue reading →

When Your Child Makes Bad Grades…

Posted on by

Many parents worry about their child’s progress in school. It is a parent’s responsibility to ensure that their children are getting the education that they need to succeed in life. Part of this responsibility includes keeping track of grades. Many parents will ask teachers for grade updates through progress reports. In some cases, children may get upset about their parents intense involvement in their education. Some children even change their grades or lie to parents when they receive bad grades. In most cases, it is very ineffective to punish children for getting bad grades in school. Doing so typically only … Continue reading →

What Makes a Teacher Good?

Posted on by

I have been discussing some characteristics of different degrees of teachers. In my first article I gave my description of a super teacher. I then went on to describe an excellent teacher in my next article. In this article I will focus on good teachers. There is nothing wrong with being a good teacher. There are many students who are successful in their future and have good teachers in their educational career. Most of us only have one or two super or excellent teachers throughout school. Good teachers do their job and do it well. However they have stricter limits … Continue reading →

What Makes a Teacher Excellent?

Posted on by

Previously I discussed how in often cases teachers are labeled as being bad or great and all in between. I also gave some characteristics that are typically found in super teachers. While there are few super teachers to be found, there are many teachers that are considered to be excellent or good. Being an excellent teacher may not be super but it is considered to be an honor. Excellent teachers love to teach. They enjoy their job but it is not their life. While super teaches usually sacrifice their own personal lives for their job, excellent teachers are more balanced. … Continue reading →

What Makes a Teacher Super?

Posted on by

When describing your childhood teachers you typically use words such as bad, good, or great. We have all had teachers from each of the categories. So what characteristics is it that put a teacher into one of these categories? When thinking about teaching we all want to be or have the super teacher. But what is it that makes a teacher super? Not all teachers are or can be super. There are perfectly acceptable and sufficient teachers that do not deserve this title. Being an excellent or a good teacher is perfectly fine. However if you are ever labeled as … Continue reading →

Do You Really Think You’re a Better Teacher?

Someone, who is opposed to homeschooling recently asked me if I thought I could possibly be a better teacher than someone who was actually trained to teach would be. The implication was clear: it was arrogant, or at the very least misinformed of me to assume that I could teach better. My answer is that in some cases yes, I’m a better teacher. I wrote an article several months ago about my astonishment at walking into a public school and seeing a bulletin board riddled with spelling errors. That wouldn’t happen to me. But I am quite sure that there … Continue reading →

Dealing with a Bully in Kindergarten

I can hardly believe that I have to deal with a bully as early as kindergarten. My daughter comes home and tells me her “best friend” is mean to her just about every single day. Actually, no, not true. I just think the girl is being mean every day, she thinks she is mean only some days. Why do I think she is mean every day? Because the girl shows obvious signs of an abuser. One day, this bully will tell my daughter that her work is not good. For example, she will say, “What is wrong with your coloring? … Continue reading →

Favorite Find: KleenSlate

Recently, I was introduced to a product that I think makes a wonderful addition to my homeschool. I am so excited to tell you all about KleenSlate. Not only is it great for homeschools it can be used for school, homeschool co-ops, family game night and more. What is KleenSlate? Created by a former teacher, Julia Rhodes, KleenSlate is one of the most useful products I have come across in a long time. The combination of fun, usefulness, and multi-uses is a winner. KleenSlate offers a variety of dry erase products including a handheld response paddle. The handheld response paddle … Continue reading →

What Really Happens in the Classroom?

My 7-year-old and I play a little game on the ride home from school each day called “High Low.” After we clear the madness that is the school’s parking lot we take turns telling each other one high point and one low point of our respective days. A couple of weeks before Christmas my daughter shared a “high” of crafting Christmas cards for her teacher’s 20-something-year-old unmarried daughter who couldn’t make it home to Wisconsin for the holidays. I didn’t get all the details, but I from what I gathered, the teacher’s daughter had to remain in Texas for some … Continue reading →

Back-to-School Blues

Will someone please tell me where I can purchase a Scooby-Doo backpack that’s not pink and doesn’t feature wheels? I’ve spent the past two weeks driving to nearly a dozen stores and scouring the Internet for my daughter’s dream backpack. The stores are a dead end and the online resources say they have the bag in stock, but when I click to order, all I get is an error message. What the… Heaven forbid the kid show up for the first day of second grade without an animated Great Dane on her back. Adding to my back-to-school blues is the … Continue reading →