Mrs. E. Albuoy shares her story

Let's start a Para-Educator's goup!!

Ms. Douglas shares her vision of a group for Para-educators.

Ms. Douglas shares a touching story

Many times in teaching and working with young scholars one wonders if they are really getting through, here, Ms. Douglas shares one of her success stories. Be encouraged!

Powerful People!!!

Let me start by saying that the Talking Teacher loves 24th of May, in fact, it has to be the best holiday that Bermuda has as far as he is concerned. The floats, the bands, the schools the everything made the parade wonderful!! The race in the morning, I love it!!! Clapping the runners on, and cheering for them, gotta love it. The Talking Teacher stays until the last runner passes by as he feels that the last runner needs the encouragement more than the first ones. 

On another note, The Talking Teacher makes a motion that we ban Mondays from the work calendar. The week will go by faster and We will feel fresher by the time Wednesday comes...he he he 

But on to the matter at hand....

I must apologize that we do not have the audio to post of this afternoon's show, there was a technical glitch and we were not able to record it. This was a wonderful show though, we had Ms. Tina Duke, Ms. C. Douglas and Mrs. E. Albuoy were there to explain the roles of a para-educator and what they are trying to do to help our young scholars. These para-educators have been given the nickname- the Progressive Paras, as they are forward thinking and do things that are out of the ordinary. This view took them all the way to New Mexico where they attended a conference tailored to meet their needs. WOW!!!!! The Talking Teacher is impressed, to be really honest with you, I never even knew that these types of opportunities were available for them, but am glad to know that these professionals took advantage of what was there.

In fact, the show was so great, and these professionals are so progressively minded that a challenge was put out to them. In fact this challenge makes much sense, a lot of time, our para-educators feel that their voice is not heard and they do not have fair representation. The idea was floated that they form their own group, organization, under the B.U.T. umbrella. What a great idea!! Interested? shoot them an email at tduke@cedarbridge.doe.bm, they would love to hear your imput.

Johnny Meets the Bloom's- EXCLUSIVE!!!!!

EXCLUSIVE TEACHER TALK CONTENT!!!!!

Johnny Meets the Bloom's-A Teacher Talk Exclusive!!

Teacher Talk always has the tentacles of knowledge searching under every crack and crevice, looking for outstanding and noteworthy things. Well, we would like to thank P3 Maybury-Ming for sharing this excellent skit with us! It is called "Johnny Meets the Bloom's", and is a cute guide to Bloom's Taxonomy. What is this Bloom's Taxonomy you may ask? This is the guide that a teacher uses to ensure that all levels and styles of learning are addressed in a lesson, this is the guide that makes the difference between a successful lesson and one that may not reach all students. Isn't it great that these P3 students understand it a bit more through the use of this skit? The Talking Teacher is blown away and would like to thank P3 Maybury-Ming, the parents who rehearsed the lines with their children, and especially the stars of the clip, the reason why we get out of bed every morning....(drum roll please...) THE STUDENTS!!!!!!!! We take our hats off for you!! :)


Do you have something that you would like the talking teacher to feature, send your clips in for consideration or send us an email and let us know. teachertalkbda@gmail.com

Encouraged!!

So, after being admittedly hesitant about this reform process, the Talking Teacher can say, that after having a heart to heart conversation with our guests, confidence has been restored. Sometimes, misconceptions, fears, and rumors can damage things, and when there is a break in the bridge of communication, sometimes, these thoughts and misconceptions are given free reign. I must say, that nothing beats talking to the source, nothing beats talking, and asking questions, the real pressing, burning questions, the ones that really matter to you. So, The Talking Teacher must say- be encouraged, yes it may be scary, yes, some of the players may offend you, but overall, we must push for the best. If you pray, pray that God, leads these people in making the right decisions for our country. We can do it people, let's get to it- our country is depending on us, our children are depending on us, we can't let them down... Selah-think on these things.

Show #17 Dr. Johnson and Mr. Phil Butterfield

What an interesting day, whew, the Talking Teacher went through and survived a whirlwind, no need to worry though, the Talking Teacher came through unscathed. Despite the whirlwind day, the show surely turned out to be a hit. We were due to have the Minister of Education on, but due to some unfortunate circumstances beyond our control, could not make it. No sweat, the Teacher Talk crew is pretty versatile and can think on their feet, so new plan- HOT TOPIC TUESDAY! Let's hear what our listeners want to say. The show was to start at 5:32 and at 5:31, our two guests walked in. Not the Minister, but two people who held the answers to a lot of the questions that the public had.

Now the interesting thing about being the Talking Teacher is that you get to listen to a variety of the stakeholders or even wanna be stakeholders in education. The body language and the expressions of the guests surely tell a lot about how they feel about education, and most importantly, our students, our children, the ones we are in this thing called education for. Before the show started, the Talking Teacher had a few misconceptions about our guests, and their intent, just being honest, as I am sure many of the Teachers and even the Public may have. I must say that being in the studio showed me that we should be in good hands and that we are all pulling in the same direction.

There is more to this post, but The Talking Teacher has lost the trend of thought and will pick up on this tomorrow. In the meantime, click here if you want to hear the show. Feel free to leave a comment!

Serious Times

We live in some serious times, there are things going on on this little island of mine that tell the Talking Teacher that these are some serious times. The violence, the crime, the drug usage, the condition of the roads (there are so many hills and valleys cut into the rods, I've never seen them so raggedy!! ), most of all, education. I mean, the Talking Teacher is aware that there are many players who are trying to present a new face of education. A new and improved look to education. My hope is that the educators are not left out of the equation any more- although it may be too late...

Have you ever received a Christmas gift or even a birthday gift from someone who thought they knew you and thought that the gift that they picked for you was the "right" one? Just perfect for you, you could see their excitement, their zeal as they passed the neatly wrapped gift to you, you were expecting something great, but when you opened it........ As much as they thought they knew you, they never asked you what you needed or wanted, what your likes were or even what your dislikes were. In other words, the person thought they knew you, but didn't. Their intentions (hopefully) were great, but the outcome was a little off. So there you stood standing there holding the gift, trying to smile, trying to appear appreciative, but knowing the person could se through the fake smile that you wore on the mask that you tried to place on your face.

The Talking Teacher hopes and prays that this doesn't happen to education. That is all the Talking Teacher will say on this for now...

Mrs. S. White on education

Mrs. White tells how sometimes all a parent may need is just a basic guide on how to organize their day.

Show # 16 - Mrs. S. White

We had another wonderful show. Mrs. S. White surely imparted some of her knowledge on us. Missed it? Want to hear it again? Click here to hear it.

WE FINALLY HAVE DONE IT!!!!!!!!!!! Show # 15!!!!

You can now listen to past episodes of Teacher Talk by clicking on the player!! You can be anywhere around the world and still be able to catch the show, want to refer to a past episode? No problem, you will have access to it!! Try it out here:






We want to hear from you- leave a comment.

What a show!!

The Talking Teacher is still a bit overwhelmed from the wisdom and wit presented by our Master Teachers this past Tuesday, apparently, I was not alone, here are some of the email that we received:

"In my opinion, yesterday’s show was the best yet!!!! The wisdom, the passion, the articulation – just awesome!
Well done!!!!!"

" I listened and laughed and nodded my head a hundred times !!!!!!! A great show!!!!!!"


Yes, this was truly a great show....the bar has been raised that much more......

Mrs. James and Mr. Crichlow on Ottawa's Teacher's College

Our guests reminisce about Ottawa's Teacher's College- OTC FOREVER!!!

Mr Crichlow on parent teacher meetings

Mr. Crichlow shares his view on parent-teacher meetings.

Mr. Crichlow on having a sense of humour and being an actor

Teachers need to be funny and be able to act. Our guests paint a picture of the attributes of a teacher.

Closing Words of Wisdom

Watch as our guests leave us with some gems in their final thoughts.

What a show!!! Words of Wisdom

This past show whew, what a show. Ok, so it has been a while since the Talking Teacher has posted any thoughts, for that, my apologies. In following the tradition of using the month of May as "Heritage Month", we decided to make this one a "Take me back Tuesday". This show was entitled- Words from the Wise", and oh boy did our guests have some words for us. Those words made us laugh, made us smile and surely made the time go by quickly, but most of all those words made us do two things. They made the Talking Teacher THINK, as well and feel the PASSION!!

These two guests were not just teachers, they were/are MASTER TEACHERS!!!! It was an honour to sit in their presence and hear their wonderful words of wisdom- speak them over again to me! Wonderful words, beautiful words- words that spoke energy into the listeners. They spoke of dress, attitude, penmanship, conduct inside and outside of the classroom. Teachers, we have an awesome responsibility before us. As they both said- "Teaching is not just a profession, it is the BEST profession...".

I sat and listened, but I was mixed with my reaction to these words that were being received by my cranial membrane. Here we had only two of the best of our educators, these two made so much sense and showed that the key to improving this craft, this product is in our own hands. We are going about trying to reinvent education. We have spent, and will continue to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to "fix" education. We have flown in "experts" we have listened to others from the outside (with the only classroom experience they bring is the one that they received whilst a student), we have tried all other methods and means, but have we sought the advice of our MASTER TEACHERS???? These two teachers made the Talking Teacher leave the studio thinking of how his socks could be pulled up more, pulled up more in diction, dress, preparation.....the Talking Teacher was in thought.

So what is the Talking Teacher saying? We have, right here living and breathing in our own little island, MASTER TEACHERS, people, educators from times past that hold a piece to the puzzle. WE NEED TO USE THEM!!!!!!

Mrs. James, one of the MASTER TEACHERS, left us with a few written thoughts, these gems will be typed and posted for all to see. For now, the Talking Teacher needs to reflect, needs to do some introspection, I encourage each and everyone one of us to think at how we can improve our craft, this thing that we love called TEACHING. Here are a few points to chew on:

Teachers-
-can we prepare a bit better for our lessons?
-how we speak in class, are we modeling great diction and grammar?
-our dress? Is it professional, after all, you are in the greatest profession!
-do you make contact with your parents? For the things to celebrate as well as for the bad times?
-lesson planning, yes your principal may not be looking at them, but they are for you, not them, even if in another form, use them.
-do you realize that you are in the GREATEST PROFESSION?

Principals-
-do we support our teachers?
-do we make frequent classroom visits, not to "book", but to encourage, to uplift?
-are we prepared to demonstrate a teaching method for the teacher in the classroom?
-do we encourage proper attire for our staff?
-do we realize that we are responsible for assisting each and every child on their journey to success?

Ministry-
-do we consult those in the trenches before we make a pivotal decision?
-do we encourage success?
-do we focus on the 1/4 of the so called "poor"teachers as pointed out in the Hopkins Report, or do we celebrate the 3/4 who are doing a great job?
-are we in it for self, or for our young educators?

People, we can do this, we can improve this, it is not rocket science, the wonderful words of wisdom on this Tuesday, oh how refreshing, oh how sobering, how how inspiring. BE ENCOURAGED!!!!!!