Justin Tarte's Blog (77)

Sometimes we all just need a little time...

This past week at school has been particularly busy, and unfortunately this means not getting to spend a lot of time with my two favorite

girls. Coming home from meetings, training sessions, and classes late

at night are all the perfect ingredients for an exhausted and mentally

drained educator. We all have experienced work weeks like this...work

weeks that never seem to end and never seem to give you a moments… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on October 17, 2010 at 1:58pm — No Comments

Criticism hurts...but how you deal with it is all that matters!

The path to growth and development can be ugly at times. Educators are part of a world that is continually changing and evolving, and as such

we are forced to take a leap, and at times take a leap when we are not

ready. Going through all my undergraduate classes at Mizzou we were

always told how rewarding and fantastic the field of education is, and

from where I sit right now I could not agree more. So...the big

question… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on October 10, 2010 at 8:05pm — No Comments

Flip Cam, blog, cell phone and projector all in one day - OMG!

In my German 3 class we recently finished a story we have been reading for the last three weeks. We have done several different types of

activities to facilitate the understanding of this story, and each

different activity has proven to have both its advantages, and

disadvantages. The unique thing about the activities I have done is

that each activity is something brand new that I have never tried

before. As any educator… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on October 10, 2010 at 7:57am — No Comments

5 things we can learn from our four-legged friends...

My wife and I have been married for a little under three years, and about a year ago we decided that we wanted

to grow our family. As we discussed the most typical way of growing a

family (a baby), we came to the conclusion that we should start small

before taking the big leap. Last summer we purchased an 8 pound, runt

of the litter, slightly discolored, adorable, and loving yellow lab

puppy.…

Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on October 4, 2010 at 3:18pm — No Comments

The power of "hello" and "goodbye"

Every Friday morning I have the opportunity to see and greet almost every single student at my high school. The high school at which I work

has a little more than 1,800 students, and as I stand their doing my

duty I can't help but think how amazing it is that this process goes as

smoothly as it does. It is my personal goal to say "good morning" to

every student I have, have had, and potentially expect to have. The

typical… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on October 1, 2010 at 3:27pm — No Comments

Is it time for you to self-reflect? - 5 helpful strategies...

One of the beauties of education is that we get the opportunity to try and explore new ideas. In fact, we are encouraged to think outside of

the box to discover new and improved ways to engage, inspire and

motivate students. Moreover, when we have new ideas and solutions to

problems, we are forcing ourselves to evaluate and assess our current

practices. A fancy word that all educators have heard (some so much it

makes them… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on September 25, 2010 at 10:40pm — No Comments

Never underestimate the power of a child...

I watched this video on TED: Ideas worth spreading (which I highly recommend) http://www.ted.com/,

and I have to say I was really intrigued by the topic. Every day at

school I get the opportunity to see students growing and

developing...some more than others, and some not enough. However

inconsistent their growth may be, one thing is for certain...the growth

and development of children can be summed up in one word - amazing! If

we… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on September 22, 2010 at 5:35am — No Comments

I hope you realize you have the best job...

The last 4 weeks have been extremely busy for me. We recently started a brand new gradebook and website system in my school district. This has proven to be an amazing tool and

resource as we look to ways to improve education. For all the greatness

this new opportunity provides, we have been faced with the never ending

battle of growing and developing educators so they can utilize this new

resource. As exciting as it is to work with educators…

Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on September 18, 2010 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Building relationships is all that matters...10 effective strategies

1 - Listen to what others are saying...

Being able to speak is important...being able to listen is more important. If you can truly listen to what others are saying, you will

be able to establish an unlimited amount of strong and long lasting

relationships. Your ability or inability to listen, will most

definitely affect the success, and the number of relationships you will

have in life.

2 - Watch what… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on September 11, 2010 at 9:28am — 1 Comment

5 ways to share how you light the world on fire...

Last week I was speaking with a colleague of mine, and we were discussing activities we could do during one of our professional

development days. As we discussed potential ideas, we turned our focus

to activities that teachers could employ immediately. We wanted to

avoid activities that would require a lot of time and preparation in an

effort to provide our teachers with several very strong and powerful

strategies they could… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on September 11, 2010 at 9:15am — 1 Comment

It all starts with you...

On any given day, educators experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. How an educator reacts and responds to these highs and

lows can often dictate the overall mood of the day. In my short 6 years

as an educator, I have learned several things as it pertains to

remaining positive, as well as keeping things in perspective when it

comes to my professional and personal life. Educators have an extremely

difficult and… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on September 3, 2010 at 6:57pm — No Comments

Changing the culture of professional development...

Most students from across the country have returned to schools refreshed, recharged, and rejuvenated to continue their journey through

the educational process. As students use their summer break to relax

and simply be kids, teachers and administrators utilize their time to

both improve and develop their skills as educators. The summer provides

an excellent opportunity for all educators to refine and enhance their

abilities as… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on September 3, 2010 at 6:50pm — No Comments

Taking risks and experiencing failure...the two perfect ingredients

Educators across the country are returning to their schools with fewer resources, larger class sizes, increased work loads, and the fastest

changing student population ever...these challenges and setbacks do not

excuse us from taking risks and doing whatever it takes to meet the

needs of our students.

This school year several colleagues and I have chosen to

implement some major changes in our classrooms. These… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on August 29, 2010 at 6:20pm — No Comments

Finding...and taking the road less traveled

I was inspired to write this post after

speaking with a friend and colleague. Over the course of a lifetime and

career we all experience the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows.

So much of what we do in our lives comes back to our goals,

expectations, hopes and dreams. The biggest difference between those

who accomplish their goals and those who do not...are the paths they

choose while developing their vision.…

Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on August 22, 2010 at 10:01am — No Comments

Reinventing yourself = survival...

My first official working day at school was today...I witnessed ups and downs, heard screams of joy, and whirlpools of pessimism and

discontent. As I thought more about the "happy" people, and the not so

happy people, I decided to concentrate on why the "happy" people were

happy. I soon realized there seemed to be a couple underlying factors

that lead to their happiness / enthusiasm toward the new school year.

I have to… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on August 16, 2010 at 4:47pm — No Comments

Why YOU matter much more than you think...

Educators are constantly using their energy and resources on others. Their students are their number one priority, and consequently educators

are always filling the buckets of others. Educators dedicate

their lives to the development and growth of others...but wait, who

fills the buckets of educators? Who is there to tell the educators they

are doing a great job, and if they need anything somebody will always

be there… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on August 9, 2010 at 5:58pm — No Comments

What's my job?

Do you ever wake up in the morning before work and think to yourself, "I

need to find a new job." If you are human the most likely answer is

"yes." Should you feel guilty about this feeling? Should you focus on

the negative parts of your job, and totally ignore any of the positive

parts? I would answer "no" to both of these questions.

As educators we have the luxury

of facing a litany of setbacks and struggles. Yes, I… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on August 9, 2010 at 6:37am — No Comments

Would anybody like some change?

As I often do, I speak with my wife about issues and theories related to

education. Though my wife is not a full time teacher, she does teach

as an adjunct professor at a local community college. Thus, I feel she

is knowledgeable and a worthy audience when discussing educationally

related topics.

Our most recent discussion revolved around how education needs to be

more effective and applicable to the ever changing needs of the student

population. There… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on August 9, 2010 at 6:34am — No Comments

How high can you JUMP?

Last year I volunteered to lead a program called JUMP. JUMP is aimed at helping freshman students who are struggling academically and/or

socially. At first I was somewhat hesitant because I have never lead a

program quite like this. In short, we were able to accomplish some

great things, but looking toward the future we also have a lot of room

for improvement for a more effective and efficient implementation of

this… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on August 9, 2010 at 6:31am — No Comments

Where is the value added?

I am 26 years old. I like to play video games. I like to play computer games. I think I am somewhat computer savvy. I am a member of

generation Y. So, naturally I use Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Google,

Youtube and blogging on a daily basis, right?. "Jain," which in German

means yes and no.

I will give most of the credit to a friend, fellow cohort member in my

doctoral program, mentor and educational inspiration, Chris… Continue

Added by Justin Tarte on August 9, 2010 at 6:29am — No Comments