Tag / start of year

You've heard the buzz. Sr. Wooly is where it is at. But then you log yourself on to www.senorwooly.com and are immediately fill with a sense of overwhelm. You've seen the Baño video on YouTube and have heard of the famous Billy la Bufanda. Your crazy colleague down the hall actually BOUGHT...

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Recently, a teacher asked in an online forum how the Danielson assessment system can be "worked" within a Comprehensible Input-focused classroom.  So I've included my rubric interpretation here. My disclaimer also should be that I rate myself high, but with rationale, and then ask my administrator to prove I'm wrong. But I want my administrator to give me specific things I should improve if they don't feel I'm doing the best possible job.  (Obviously, I totally know I can improve in many areas. But I'm not going to make it easy on them.) Please also remember that just because these can be connected...

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Today I was reading some notes from a conference I attended a year or two ago, and realized something that hit me like a ton of bricks:  I need a system.  Truth be told, I need several systems.  And they need to work together. I work out at a great gym with franchises throughout the middle of the US called Farrell's eXtreme Bodyshaping.  I've been a member for 5 years.  (Please withhold the comments about how not so extremely my body seems shaped...I like cake.)  Anyhow, every day that I've gone there for five years, I walk...

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At the start of every school year, I find myself faced with a dilemma.  No, not what to teach.  See my post on How I started the year to see why that isn't a stressor for me.  My dilemma surrounds my syllabus.  Syllabi. I know there is important information I want students to know.  I know that students don't want to read a long document.  These are 21st century kids.  Snapchat kids.  Twitter kids.  They want fast, brief information.  How can my grading practices possibly be described in 140 characters.  Well, okay,...

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