A Real Teacher With Real Concerns--What Students Really Need
Jul 27 '09
The Bottom Line This generation needs us now more than any other. We fail both them and ourselves if we do not give them all that we've got.
As a teacher who teaches High School Juniors and Seniors at a big citie's alternative education campus (It's me or jail boys and girls) , I have many concerns for this upcoming school year. I love my students, and pride myself in leading them on to better grades than the district average when it comes to --"The State Test"---, as do several of the other teachers at my campus. Our kids couldn't fit into a cookie cutter if their lives depended upon it. We work hard with these kids to help them realize, in many cases, their most awesome potential. Many of us have came into this little microcosm after leaving the corporate world behind, and others have been in education since day one. It is the same with teachers as it is with students. Where we came from has much less bearing on the end product. What really matters is--the fire within.
This upcoming school year is a true landmark in my opinion. This next generation will probably go down as "The Greatest Generation." Don't get me wrong here. I'm not trying to take anything away from "The Great Depression Generations" as it is their very sense of values and wisdom which they instilled into our gene pool long ago that this next generation will so desperately need to draw from. They may very well be the ones to save our collective butt from the mess we now find ourselves mired in. At the very least they are going to be the next ones to manage "The Old Folks' Homes" of the future, so we'd better get them everything they could possible use to succeed. As a succesful teacher of many years, who has often had to think on the fly, I'd like to offer up some of the products we've used over the years that have helped our students achieve success.
If your students are elementary school level, the following items have proven themselves time and again to work wonders.
CRAYOLA BRAND CRAYONS---5 Stars
Binney and Smith are okay (3 1/2 Stars), but there's just no arguing with the big dog on the block here. If you have the few extra bucks to invest--get 'em that mega sized box with the built in sharpener. Little imaginations run wild with these things--and crayons help express ideas above and beyond the limitations of the average vocab at this age. Get them tapped into that right brain early. I mean it. I knew a kid who kept two sets of manila binders. One was for the assignments where the teacher told us what to draw. It was chock full of poorly designed houses, fronted by stick figures, and odd looking little creatures named "Fluffy" and "Fido." The other one was chock full of masterpieces that could rival the works of Michelangelo himself. Somehow the funky looking ones with titles like "My Fambly" always got pinned to his refrigerator at home. Later in life he went on to The Chicago Institute of Art after developing a strong flair for the arts that no one had ever foreseen before. Go figure.
BIG CHIEF TABLETS---5 Stars
Face it dudes and dudettes. The Chief RAAAWKS! I know very few people who grew up without encountering "The Big Chief Tablet" at some point in their educational lives. It is a phenomenal little invention that is well worth double the price tag it sports. Oh yes there are prettier and more linearly functional types of journals, spirals, notebooks etc....but there's just nothing quite like that flip top page. Tactile learners seem to glom onto these things. The paper has texture, and feel to it, unlike the rather pale and overly structured piece of loose leaf. Some kids will eventually need the structure of loose leaf, and woe unto the parent who doesn't follow the teacher's instructions on providing "wide rule", "college rule" or whtever flavour of the month certain instructors seem to demand. Left unrestricted, however, many kids develop quite a flow of artistic penmanship and expression when left to the inviting nateure of "The Big Chief."
PENTEL MAPPING PENCILS--- 5 Stars
When it came time to make a fairly accurate map in both geography and history, I often found these to be of great use. This brand sharpens as easily as a regualr pencil, and tends to hold up well under the uses and abuse of your average 4th grader. At this point in time you will note that they are really differentiating themselves with their finer motor skills. These pencils provide the accuracy necessary for such expression, without the heavy handed feel of a marker, or the child-like associations with crayons. (Don't worry. For some odd reason in high school, you'll find many of them running back to their crayons for a bit of escapism.) Let them spread their wings a bit, and keep a watchful eye as to how they differentiate themselves from earlier times. (Who knows--they may, like young Morty, have two sets of Manila Books that they are keeping. --Watch out for Fluffy and Fido.)
These are very impressionable years, so it's going to take all of your
ENCOURAGEMENT---5 Stars-- for them to go off to a strange new place for hours on end, with a whole new set of rules and authority figures. They're going to be looking for your approval--not just of their performance, but of the very learning environment itself. They're going to need a lot of
PATIENCE---5 Stars--as they search for new words, methods, and techniques to communicate to you the ideas that they are absorbing at astounding rates. These are the fundamental years---Be there for them.
When they approach the years of Junior High and High School there are going to be many advances in conceptual learning. (Provided of course that you were there for them with mega doses of Encouragement and Patience. At this age we have seen great success for those who managed to get ahold of
THE LATEST TI CALCULATOR W/GRAPHING CAPABILITITES---5 Stars
Admittedly I'm fudging a bit here, but the fact of the matter is, these models still change fairly rapidly, while functionality improvements are slower than marketing would have you believe. Still--this is one brand that I have seen recommended coast to coast. During the 70's there was a rather large Hewlett Packard contingent, but TI still remains the better buy in our book. Anyone else out there remember the kid with the pocket protector and the slide rule who went on to earn 10X more than any of us ever dreamed of. He laughs at our silly butts at every class reunion. Don't short change your kid. If they are that left brain oriented--get them the slide rule of the 21st century. Pony up for that TI Graphing Calculator.
WINDSOR NEWTON OIL PAINTS---5 Stars
On the other end of the conceptual spectrum is the kid who needs these. Windsor Newton Oils are professional grade stuff. The palette is also huge to gargantuan. I remember the first time I used Windsor Newton Oils. Man it was like night and day. Sure ther's lots of acceptable commercial grade stuff, but these do something that all professional grade oils should do, and that's mix well. If the student is fast expanding his/her tonal palette, then you'll actually save a bundle as they mix about many of the in-between shades that so many other companies sell. Just make sure to get an extra huge tube of Cadmium White.
Now musical instruments are going to come up at this age. If they are going to play an instrument for the very first time in Junior High, get them a good quality instrument. --Ask the teacher. Let the school supply the first one, because kids at this age have a tendency to switch around. Once they develop a real interest though--don't chintz out on them. Get them something that they can easily get a good sound out of. It doesn't have to be top of the line, unless of course this has been determined to be what they are going to major in in college. Around the Sophmore year in High School , natural musical talent of this calibre should be fairly obvious---especially if they took up the instrument at a younger age.
UNDERSTANDING--5 Stars
This is such a difficult time in life for everyone concerned. The actual year to year brain development at this stage in life is almost beyond comprehension. They are literally forming dendrites at a rate so quickly, that every year brings about a new person-----literally. Now lets toss that in with a sense for adventure, combined with a feeling of invincibility and drown it in a sea of hormones. ---These kids really need to know that you do understand them, and you can't take a condescending tone with them at any point or you've lost them. Conversely, if your "Sucker Sign" is in full Neon Blast Mode while fixed atop your forehead--there going to play you like a fiddle. ----Just use common sense, because they're still developing it and you need to model it for them. ------Be there for them.
When it gets to College aged kids, I actually hate the use of that term at all. I beleive our educational system has desperately failed "The Tactile Learner" and you can probably see that in the products I recommend. There are numerous examples of peole who went on to amazingly succesful careers w/out what we consider a conventional college education. Walter Cronkite in Journalism, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Steve Jobs. Anyone that considers Art Institutes or Music Conservatories to be regular campuses has no concept of how all that really works. Still--I digress. Here's a few things I know will help.
DELL LAP TOP---5 Stars
Great little lap tops. They take an absolute pounding but continue to process, and process, and process. A Dell Latitude saw me through my most recent trip to the hospital, and has been a constant companion upon my return. To recommend a particualr model number, similar to the calulators is silly. By the time I print this puppy up, that model will already be obsolescent. This leads me to that seeming diatribe about musical instruments. You have to find what is right for your form of expression. Hopefully as the have grown up they have been exposed enough to different levels of computing, that they know which style works best for them. With cloud computing creating quite a roar on the side lines--the future looks rather interesting.
SONY VAIO DESK TOP---5 Stars
We've had great luck with these over the years. Not only are they powerful, with crystal clear monitors, but they are flexible too. These were Computer/TV Hybrids long before the days of HULU. They are, similar to Japanese Autos, well made, sturdy, functional, adn a great value for the dollar. Able to compete with the best in operating, and they really are the best in overall functionality.
TRUST---5 Stars
By now if you have truly delivered with Encouragement, Patience, and Understanding, Trust is not going to be that hard for either you or them to deliver up the goods. You've been down the road with them, and stayed steadfastly by them despite all the growth spurts and hormonal rantings and ravings. You'll have a chance to send them to Med School --if that's what they really want, and be able to trust that the "Walletectomy" they are performing is for actual college expenses, and not for the keg party at Sigma Epsilon Xai's latest name saint day.
Last but not least-----
VACCINATIONS---5 Stars
I realize I'm sticking my neck out a bit on this one, but the odds of Mercury as a preservative in the vaccine screwing up your kid is miniscule--especially when one considers the connsequences of the diseases that are making a come back thanks to this line of reasoning. Polio of all damn things is on the rise. There's of course The Swine Flu, and here's a kicker for you. Two years ago I had to report to The County Health Department, along with about 800+ teachers and students,because one of our little lovelies was toting around a case of Tuberculosis. Yeah--that's right--TB. By the time the initial x-rays, test pricks, and all the rest of that happy hoo ha was over with--it had cost the district a bundle. I don't even want to get into the number of lost learning opportunities this created, equipment and/or textbooks and materieles that will never be bought, etc.....So please....protect your kid and others--get them their shots.
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