One of the biggest reasons I enjoy using Twitter is it enables me to connect with educators from all around the world. Additionally, Twitter has proven to be an efficient and effective platform to discuss pressing educational issues. Unfortunately, most…
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Added by Justin Tarte on February 6, 2011 at 6:58am —
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6 Solutions to the Most Common Teacher Problems...
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Last week we had our third professional development day at Seckman High School. As a PD representative, I had the opportunity to lead two PD sessions. The format of my sessions was to…
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Added by Justin Tarte on January 31, 2011 at 6:11am —
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I started this blog on June 14th, 2010. For the last 6 months this blog has provided me the opportunity to share and collaborate with some of the best educators in the world. I have been able to take my self-reflection to the next level, which in turn has hopefully made me a better educator. This blog has been influential as I embrace the concept of 24/7 professional development...anytime and anywhere. For the members of my PLN and the readers of my blog, I thank you for your support and…
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Added by Justin Tarte on December 19, 2010 at 9:14am —
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This post stems from the thoughts of
@gcouros' most recent post
Is Change the True Barrier? Change has been and will be for the foreseeable future the most
pressing issue in our schools, our communities, and in our society as a
whole. George's question was simple: What is holding us back...is
"change" at the heart of the problem, or is…
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Added by Justin Tarte on December 4, 2010 at 6:38pm —
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Today I had the opportunity to speak with one of the members of my high school's custodial staff. This particular team member is assigned to my
classroom. Though we are almost halfway done with the school year, I
have regrettably not spent much time talking to this person. Today was
my chance...
It was so nice to speak with the person that is responsible for making
sure my classroom is ready to go for the next school…
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Added by Justin Tarte on December 4, 2010 at 6:35pm —
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I experienced two very important things recently:
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1) - If you ask, you shall receive...
Last week I asked 5 students to answer 5 questions related to
education. The questions have nothing to do with my class content, nor
will the students receive anything for completing the 5 questions. I
simply asked 5 of my students to give me their opinion and feedback on
certain education related issues. The…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 29, 2010 at 8:12pm —
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I just finished reading
The Learning Leader, by Douglas R. Reeves, as a part of my doctoral studies. I found the book to be
extremely well written, as well as extremely valuable for anyone looking
to gain a more in-depth understanding of school improvement.
As districts and schools look to both district and building leaders, it
is difficult not to notice the "Islands of Excellence," as well as the
islands of…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 22, 2010 at 3:43pm —
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Tom Whitby has encouraged all education bloggers to write a positive blog on how we should reform the
educational setting. I have decided to revisit a previous post of
mine...
If you have ever walked into a factory that produces a finished good from raw materials, it is frankly an amazing process. Dating back to
the early 1900's, Henry Ford revolutionized…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 17, 2010 at 2:00pm —
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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…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 10, 2010 at 8:05pm —
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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…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 1, 2010 at 3:27pm —
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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…
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Added by Justin Tarte on September 22, 2010 at 5:35am —
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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…
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Added by Justin Tarte on September 11, 2010 at 9:15am —
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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…
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Added by Justin Tarte on September 3, 2010 at 6:50pm —
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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…
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Added by Justin Tarte on August 16, 2010 at 4:47pm —
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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…
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Added by Justin Tarte on August 9, 2010 at 6:34am —
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Over the last 5 years as an educator, I have learned so much about student motivation and student engagement. Recently, I started reflecting on my current practices and strategies I have used to engage
my students over the years. The program I am with has doubled in size
from roughly 140 students to over 280, so I feel confident these
strategies can, and will work.
1. Don't just care...really…
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Added by Justin Tarte on August 8, 2010 at 5:39am —
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A fabulous resource to educators is available, and the best part about it...it is free! Visit the website
http://www.ted.com/ and watch videos about "ideas worth spreading." I chose this
particular video by Sir Ken Robinson because I feel Robinson makes a
wonderful point about education. When we talk about education we need
to forget about the evolution of the school system, but rather we…
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Added by Justin Tarte on August 4, 2010 at 12:13pm —
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If you have ever walked into a factory that produces a finished good from raw materials, it is frankly an
amazing process. Dating back to the early 1900's, Henry Ford
revolutionized the world and the way it manufactures goods. How could
one argue with a process that can take different materials and
products, and in one smooth motion put them together to produce a brand
new flawless product…
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Added by Justin Tarte on August 4, 2010 at 11:48am —
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