Cool Cat Teacher Blog is at coolcatteacher.com

Stolen Dry Erase Markers. Yesterday, all the dry erase markers in my whole room were gone. Not a big deal, you say. If you knew that I always keep about 12 and 4 in reserve and that all, even the reserves were gone. Two Staplers. How about that last week, both of my staplers with my name labeled on them were taken. Favorite Pens. Or the week before that - that all of my favorite ink pens went missing including those I buy with my own money because they are too expensive for the school to buy. Pencils. Or the week before that - it was all my pencils. My Most Useful "Gadget": My LiveScribe SmartPen . But to top it off, I have to admit something. Something I'm ashamed to tell you because a dear friend gave this as a gift to me. Someone who reads this blog. He gave me something I loved and treasured very much and as soon as I get back through this year, I will buy again. My liveScribe pen was taken and my students and I have isolated it down to a 5 minute peri...

Sometimes we have to go on autopilot. Knowing that we are too tired to trust our emotions. Emotions are like tires on a car. Too many miles and they just get out of round. Some rights reserved by TheDarkThing We can't replace our emotions but we can renew them. People who have never been in the classroom cannot understand the stress of winding up the school year. It is kind of like explaining having a baby to one who hasn't done it. But we don't have to explain. We don't have to justify. Do what it takes to get through the last weeks. Tip #1 Focus on the Most Important Thing Make a list of the three most important things you need to do. Put them in order of importance. Log out of email. Only open ONE tab in your browser if it requires your browser. Start on #1 Now. Work on that one thing and stay focused. If you need to write that one thing on an index card and keep it on your desk do it.  (I use the Next Thing app on my iPad.) Tip #2: Outline Y...

For teacher appreciation week, author Pat Conroy has released a lovely video. Most captivating to me are his words: "I didn't know if I could teach or not, but they let me know I could. And the teaching caught up, it caught inside me and I could not help it."  Most good authors are teachers at heart. They teach us with words. I'll never forget that Pat's book Beach Music was one of my first that I listened to as an audiobook. My children were small and I was a stay at home Mom. I didn't think I could make it through the days and I plugged in the book (into my walkman cd player) and listened. Transported to another world, it helped my world of diapers and Barnie. When the note came across my inbox from his publicity company, I had to jump at the chance to be the first blog to feature this video. (The ebook that is offered is through Pat's organization and has no affiliation or endorsement here.) It takes me back and also takes us forward as we reme...

Personalizing Google News : Features - Google News Help You can now personalize google news. You can add it as an app to your mobile device. Just go to http://news.google.com - this is hte help file on this.Location settings are included. tags: education news app Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here .

As Tim Stahmer so aptly says , change doesn't mean progress. As Robert Madden says , "Given that just one of those is reason enough to embrace technology in the classroom, why are some people using standardized test scores to seemingly justify its integration?  By using test scores as a justification we are giving them an importance that I don’t think many of us believe or would want others to. " The Hand The human hand . A beautiful thing. 123 bones. 29 major and minor bones. 29 major joints. 48 names nerves. 30 named arteries. One out of six disabling work injuries involves the fingers. It is important. It helps us manipulate our world. The hand has helped the sick from the gutter and fed the poor. The hand has caressed lovers and been raised in the salute. It has built homes and driven cars. It has even made cars. Lots of good has come from the hand. The hand has killed, maimed, and tortured other human beings. It has pushed buttons that have depl...

Why are we using standardized tests to justify technology? | Classroom Applications Excellent post that everyone should read! Robert Madden has done an excellent job of pointing out the obvious! When we use test scores as the reason to implement technology we jump on a bandwagon we may not want to be on. "Live by the sword, die by the sword." "Live by test scores, die by test scores." We use technology because it is the medium of the 21st century. As for what and how that medium is used - that determines the outcome. tags: education technology Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here .

Quiet moments. I am sitting in "my chair" and have been reading. My husband and oldest are watching an old Monty python ("You published an English/Hungarian phrase book with intent to disturb the peace.") I need to cook dinner. I need to work on the book deadline. I need to finish the graduation movie. Perhaps what I really need is to stop blogging and sit here and laugh at this movie with my family. Perhaps you need to stop reading and do something you really need to do. We are human beings not human doings. If we spent time being maybe we'd spend more time doing when it is time to do. - Posted using BlogPress from Vicki's iPad