Wordle.net

I found a cool site on a blog the other day. The blog is called Practical Theory by Chris Lehmann. Click here to get to it. It is called Wordle. It is at http://www.wordle.net/. It makes a cluster of words that you place into the site. You can change the colors and make a new layout if you want. I love the result. It is very easy to use. Here is a wordle I did recently regarding a 350 mile, 6 day bike trip that the Naperville Central Fellowship of Christian Athletes took. Click on it to see it better. If you want more information about the bike trip see http://www.redhawkfca.org/.

Let me know what you think,

Dave

Enjoy the Journey

I saw a child today taking a walk with an adult. The child would walk for a few moments and then stop to look at a something in the grass. Then, the child would walk a few moments more. And again the child would stop, and this time sit down. The child was enjoying herself so much. It was really refreshing to see a someone enjoying the journey so much. The child was not so focused on getting there. She was focused on enjoying now. We have much to learn from this little child.
I was thinking that we often do not enjoy the journey. We almost always desire to get to our destination as soon as we can. That means most of the time we are not enjoying ourselves because we are hardly ever at our destination. How about we start planning take some time to reflect and enjoy our journey. I know that I need to concentrate on this because I am far too often in a rush. I will work on thinking "Slow down and enjoy the moment".
Dave

School is a Place to Learn from your Mistakes

Our principal has recently made a mistake. He plagiarized a speech he made to the senior class during the commemoration ceremony. He openly admitted that is was a mistake. He did not acknowledge the person who wrote the speech before or during the speech. He said he had intended to ask permission, and just never got around to it. I know that this is a grievous error. However, I know the man behind the mistake. He is a man who works hard for our students. He is a person who honest and upfront when dealing with issues regarding our school and himself. I believe him when he says that he meant to ask the person who wrote the speech. It doesn't make it OK. It just means it was a mistake. To me it means a punishment (like a suspension) and then let's move on. Let's all learn from the mistake. It is a teachable moment. It means that we as human beings can grow from the things that we mess up on. School is a place to learn from your mistakes. Right now, our principal is being "reassigned". This is unfortunate in my opinion. I think that the punishment is a little too severe for the crime.

There are a few mistakes that we can't allow to continue in our schools;
1. Repeated violations of integrity.
2. Physical and emotional abuse to our students.
3. Neglect of students.

Most mistakes are just are opportunities to learn. Isn't that what we do in our class? If a student makes a mistake in my class I often take this route with them. I talk to them individually. I give them a consequence (if needed). We reflect and then we move on.

I am going to remember this when I deal with my students. I must think..."School is a Place to Learn from your Mistakes".
Dave