Man, oh man, have January and February just FLOWN by?! I don't know about you, but I'm ready for warmer weather and abundant sunshine. In the meantime, I've got a blogger you should really check out if you haven't already: Jennifer Gonzalez, and her site cultofpedagogy.com. I have been following her for several years, and her content is SO good. She's the type of person who doesn't mind calling us educators out when something in our instructional practice is amiss. She is constantly bringing to the forefront solid teaching practices, and she has made me a stronger instructional coach through all that I have learned from her posts. She introduced me to the single point rubric, and now I am a huge advocate for them. She's taught me more about culturally responsive teaching, restorative justice, and taking care of yourself as a teacher. If podcasts are more of your jam, all her posts are available as a podcast. She interviews experienced educators from all over, each providing their own knowledge and insights. Check her out!
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In today's post, I bring you another episode of Bloggers You Should Know, featuring Matt Miller. Not to be confused with Topeka's meteorologist, Matt Miller, this Matt Miller was, in fact, a news reporter before he came into education. He then taught high school Spanish in Indiana, and rose to fame with his first book, entitled Ditch that Textbook. Since then, he's written other books, like Ditch that Homework, and speaks at different venues around the country. He's a Google Certified Innovator and often does his blog posts around Google topics. I have had the pleasure of seeing Matt speak. He's one of those people that makes you feel like you are buds and he really wants to help you. His blog is awesome and has so many resources for incorporating tech into the classroom. He also starting doing Ditch Summit every year around Christmas, which is a FREE PD opportunity, and you can participate from home in your PJs if you so choose, as it's a series of video interviews with different innovators from the education world.
I encourage you to go to ditchthattextbook.com and check him out. If you sign up to receive his blog posts, you'll get a free copy of his 101 Practical Ways to Ditch That Textbook e-book! In today's fast-paced world, information is at our fingertips 24/7. It can be a bit overwhelming, but when you find a way to filter the information, the potential for learning is incredible. For me, subscribing to blogs is a way to get bite-sized pieces of information straight to my email inbox. Sometimes I read through each post, sometimes I save them for later, sometimes I delete them. One thing is for sure, though: I learn SO much from bloggers in the education community. One blogger you should know is Seth Perler. Perler is an Executive Function and Twice Exceptional Coach out of Colorado, and his information is WONDERFUL. If you aren't familiar with the term executive function, or even if you are, I suggest you read Perler's article here. It gives a very clear, easy-to-read explanation of executive function and what we need to do to help students who struggle with it.
In a nutshell, students who struggle with executive function are those kids who just can't do school. They can't seem get their homework done and they are disorganized. They have been groomed to think they are dumb or lazy, and their teachers think they have all this potential and they "just need to get it together." Really, these kids are as Perler calls them "out-of-the-box thinkers". It's not that they are dumb or they are wasting their God-given talents; rather, these students don't operate in a way that allows them to be successful in the traditional school setting. I have had so many kids that fit this description in my years as a classroom teacher, and I know I didn't always help them like I needed to, because sometimes I just didn't know how. Perler provides a plethora of resources for students, parents, and teachers. The videos for students are awesome, and he speaks in a way that definitely connects with kids. I highly encourage you to check Perler out. I guarantee when you start reading, students will start coming to mind, and hopefully you will be able to help them improve executive functioning, giving them a leg up in school and in their future. |
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April 2020
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