We Now Have Video!!!!!

Teacher Talk has raised the bar once again, coinciding with our 10th episode is the posting of video right here on the blog!! Feel free to watch them, they are no longer than a minute, and will help you to attach  a face to the voice. Enjoy!! 

Enough is Enough- We are here to Learn!!!

Ms. Deeazha Chambers shares some advice

Dellwood Middle School student, Deeazha Chambers shares some helpful advice.

Ms. Bailey shares a few thoughts on her first year of teaching

Ms. Bailey explains the difference between text book classrooms and the "real" class.

Mrs. Bassett addresses Dr. Lou Matthew's point on empowerment

The Power of "Other"- Show # 10

We have reached a milestone- a small one, but a milestone nonetheless, our TENTH SHOW!!!!!

This was an interesting show. This show featured the Bermuda Teachers Inductee Program (BTIP), which handles new teachers through its' mentor program. We learned a bit of the history of the whole inductee program as well as what a few of our new teachers and mentors think about this program. Support is a good thing. Many times, underestimate its' power. The power of "other". "Other".... a powerful thing, it can help you to become energized, focused, can help you to hone in your skills, and basically, can help to keep your life afloat. The BTIP program reinforces the notion that no man is an island. It really utilizes the power of "other" to the fullest. It got me thinking though (as the Talking Teacher often does ;) ) of the beginning days of his career.... a looooong time ago...... :) well, not that long, but the Talking Teacher "ain't" no spring chicken. lol The Talking Teacher's mentors were hopefully not a foreshadowing of things to come. One, and the Talking Teacher remembers this rather vividly, oh horrid the day.. :) observed a class returning the next day, with charts and graphs, showing how many times certain words were used, including the percentage of the class time taken up using these words!! Well What?!?!?!? The Talking Teacher remembers saying, in a soft, controlled tone, "I know that I said these words...isn't your job to help me, to give me skills to prevent this?!?!!? " (I shudder at the thought of that meeting.) Nevertheless, this experience, and a few other not so "empowering" moments, left the Talking Teacher rather shaken and not quite a fan of the mentor program.

Wait, hold up!! Stop the presses!! There is hope!!! The new wave of mentors, however make yours truly wish that the hands of time could be turned back and makes me wish that I had one of our present mentors in my corner, pushing me along. Having seen them in action, I am truly energized, their techniques, their motivation, their energy, their EVERYTHING!!! They are truly empowering our new teachers, truly, and this, my friends is a wonderful thing.
The power of "other" let's use it to help someone along from day to day.

What a Great Show Today!!

The students that we had on this past show did a great job. What did you think of the show? They represented all five middle schools and the highschool level.

Okay, so the Talking Teacher Makes Mistakes

As many of you have noted so eloquently, the email that went out today had many major mistakes. The Talking Teacher is humble enough to apologize and admit that due to a technicality, something that was not ready to be sent out was, so I humbly apologize for that; do not despair, education has not gone to the birds.
I must say that the replies were rather interesting, and a few let me know that our children are in good hands. I'll post one to let you know what I mean: (the name has been withheld)

To Whom It May Concern:

The CORRECT spelling is EXPERIENCE not EXPERIANCE!

Please try to proofread what you write prior to sending it.

One of the deterrents to a quality education for students is the inability of too many teachers to spell well. Other deterrents include the inability of too many teachers to speak well, to read well and to be well read.

For our children to receive a quality education, our teachers must care enough (about our children’s excellence in learning) to model excellence not only in methodology but in language (spoken and written).

Quality education requires quality teachers/educators!

Sincerely,

Unknown Teacher :)

So, this response lets me know that our children are in good hands, and we can rest well.

Once again, I humbly apologize.

*one note of observation: I wondered if people actually read the email, so at least it lets us know that you are reading them. Thanks! :) I also know that many will be looking at the next email message with a fine tooth comb, and this is great, help us to stay on our toes.

Something for the Math Teachers-Happy Pi Day!!

Did you realize that Friday was Pi day? What is pi day you may ask? Check the date-3.14. ahhhhhh, now you got it, Pi, the magical number, the most infamous number.Pi is the number you get when you divide the circumference of a circle by its' diameter. (ahh the talking teacher knows a 'lil something about math ;) ) Along with that, 3.14, is also Albert Einstein's birthday, what a coincidence! Was that devine or what? ha ha So, to celebrate pi day, check out this video, no, it has nothing to do with that number, but check it out anyway. I received this in an email, it is a different way to look at things. I know that there are someone reading this may find the rationale behind this interesting. Reinforces the notion that there is more than one way to arrive at the same end. Check it out- leave a comment. tell us what you think about it. :)

Hope that you enjoyed Pi day- if not, remember it next year. Happy counting.

"Good" Teaching for Bermudian students must:

1. Produce a demonstrable record of high academic achievement and progress.

2. Engage Bermudian students in the affirmation of their "Bermudianness"

3. Equip Bermudian students as innovative, contributing citizens in the nation’s politics, economy and social life

4. Empower Bermudian students to become critically conscious citizens who seek a more moral, just, relevant nation.


What are your thoughts on this? Leave a comment.

National Board Certified Teachers and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards advance the quality of teaching and learning ......

Dr. L. Matthews sent us this and posted it to our Facebook group also. (Yes, we have a group on Facebook, if you are on Facebook, the largest social networking site around, join the group- look for it- Teacher Talk :) )

Hi all, one of the questions I have been consistently asked is: What did the report mean by "re-professionalization"?

This is where we embrace a set of standard about the nature of good teaching and our continuing development of teachers that can be respected and esteemed within the public and professional domain.

I have been advocating that the Union and its members, and the Ministry adopt a mutually agreed upon set of teaching standards upon which "continuing" certification and professional development should be based. A really great set come from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and National Board Certified Teachers. Click here to go to the site.

Rigor, Relevance, and Relationship

Dr. Simmons sent us his thoughts on this past show:

The following are the reasons why Rigor, Relevance, and Relationship are essential in today’s schools/classrooms (BERMUDA IS NO EXCEPTION!):

1. A CHANGING WORLD
2. NEED TO MOTIVATE ALL STUDENTS TO HIGH ACHIEVEMENT
3. EMPHASIZE ESSENTIAL SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE
4. SHIFT FOCUS FROM TEACHING TO LEARNING
5. REDUCED OVERLOADED CURRICULUM
6. UNIFIED PERSPECTIVE AND FOCUS
7. PREPARATION FOR NATIONAL TESTS
8. SCHOOLS NOT MEETING STUDENT NEEDS
9. IMPORTANCE OF RELATIONSHIPS
10. The need in how to understand ideas
11. The need in how to control (and not be controlled by) ideas?

What a Refreshing Show!!

This evening's show was so refreshing. I left the studio feeling empowered, energized, and ready to be the best teacher that I could be. Dr. Matthews, our guest for this show was excellent. The title of this show, our sixth episode was, "Empowering Teachers to Greatness!!", and boy do I feel empowered. Dr. Matthews explained the Hopkins report, shedding some light on the methods used to collect the data, and really cleared up a lot of misconceptions proported by my peers and I.
He then gave suggestions that teachers can use to empower themselves and this was where I began to feel excited, I was ready to run to my classroom and give my all for my students. Contrary to popular beleif, parents are not really the problem. There are some schools in low income areas, with parents who don't really contribute to an attitude of success, that are thriving, the students reading two to three grades higher than their grade and where excellence is king. Hmmmmm....., can we foster this type of attitude here in Bermuda? Dr. Matthews is going to post some suggestions on the blog that we can use that can start us on this path, a path that at the present, may be seldom travelled by the multitudes, but a path that we can everyone to start treading on. Let's do this, let's begin to share what works in our classes with othwers, let's paint mental images of what a good science teacher is, or a good math teacher, or a good ______ Teacher (you fill in the blank).
I believe that we can do it, yes, it is going to take a change of mindset, it is going to take some of us changing our paradigms, it may even cause some of us to take a step back, and regroup, and rebuild ourselves, but we can do it!! A journey of a thousand miles begins with one footstep, an ant can eat an elephant, one bite at a time, the anologies are endless, but we can do it!! Let's start now, let's strive to be the best that we can be, let's strive for greatness, not just for ourselves, but for our students, for Bermuda, and inevitably, for the world!!!
WE CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!! BE EMPOWERED AND LET'S GET READY FOR GREATNESS!!!