Late night Musings by JLF

I have a new dentist. His name is Dr. John. This normally would be no big deal, but I'm old,there is a pandemic. blah blah blah Our old dentist had sold his practice to some guys who went under because of the pandemic, so more blah, blah. Anyway, good news I'm scheduled for a deep cleaning of my teeth starting next Tuesday, which for me is a huge accomplishment. I hope hubby likes him. Because this is my blog,and about learning, I know I can somehow make this about loving learning, and how important it to trust fact-based, properly sourced material, but maybe I can find a picture I me, I can post so I can go to bed.

this one, I'm smiling, at least, but no teeth.

Birthdays

Birthdays by Thomas Elwood

Your birthdays dear are like a harp, whose strings Bring memories of melodies — of fond familiar things.
May future joys like golden noise resound throughout your days, And health be strong and wealth be long and happiness always.

First Year teaching in Texas in the late 70s.

Lately, I've been following a teachers' help line FB page, and it's so encouraging sometimes, and then other times so sad. Classroom management is very hard to learn through practice or student teaching, so most classroom teachers have a baptism by fire as we used to say. Live and learn or crash and burn.  Sadly most new teachers rarely last 2 years, the last time I researched the topic.

I only lasted 4 because I was older than most 1st year teachers because I'd substituted and gone to graduate school for a semester. Substituting helps you see which schools have good administrators, office staff, teachers, and other strengths. To be a substitute, you usually don't have to be certified to teach in TX (although I was). I definitely was not certified to teach every subject to every grade level 6th-12th.

I'd been an English major and loved literature. But because I was certified in secondary education, I hadn't learned how to teach reading at all.  Of course my first assignment was teaching life skills reading to 9th graders who were reading at  a remedial (anywhere from 3rd to  8th grade).  This through me for a loop.

By the third week of school, I'd learned that we would be doing a lot of reading exercises where they used reference materials like a phone book or an encyclopedia. Of course there was a leveled SRA resource curriculum that was supposed to help, but it was pretty dated. By the end of the 3rd week, I though I might survive the semester. Then on Friday, I got word that due to enrollment changes, I would be starting at middle school on the opposite side of the metroplex.

That's when the real adventure began.

The hidden meanings of yin and yang - John Bellaimey

Yoga For Hands, Fingers, Wrists | 11-Minute Yoga Quickie | Yoga With...

Principles of Adult Behavior by John Perry Barlow

These are much harder than the golden rule or the 4 agreements, but they provide more guidance. In his memoir, after John Perry showed these to Jerry Garcia, Garcia commented,"I hope your embarrassment insurance is paid up.

1. Be patient. No matter what. 2. Don’t badmouth: Assign responsibility, never blame. Say nothing behind another’s back you’d be unwilling to say, in exactly the same tone and language, to his face. 3. Never assume the motives of others are, to them, less noble than yours are to you. 4. Expand your sense of the possible. 5. Don’t trouble yourself with matters you truly cannot change. 6. Expect no more of anyone than you yourself can deliver. 7. Tolerate ambiguity. 8. Laugh at yourself frequently. 9. Concern yourself with what is right rather than who is right. 10. Never forget that, no matter how certain, you might be wrong. 11. Give up blood sports. 12. Remember that your life belongs to others as well. Do not endanger it frivolously. And never endanger the life of another. 13. Never lie to anyone for any reason. (Lies of omission are sometimes exempt.) 14. Learn the needs of those around you and respect them. 15. Avoid the pursuit of happiness. Seek to define your mission and pursue that. 16. Reduce your use of the first personal pronoun. 17. Praise at least as often as you disparage. 18. Never let your errors pass without admission. 19. Become less suspicious of joy. 20. Understand humility. 21. Forgive. 22. Foster dignity. 23. Live memorably. 24. Love yourself. 25. Endure.

UX Professionals Support Knowbility's Accessibility Training Programs (D...

Solar Eclipse 2017

Solar Eclipse 2017: NASA covers the August 21 solar eclipse live from coast to coast, from unique vantage points on the ground and from aircraft and spacecraft, including the International Space Station.

Cory Booker | Interactive Opening Speaker — SXSW 2017

Welcome to Austin, All Educators & Teachers

All Addictions All the Time Help for

Typing with your fingers, hunting and pecking with a pointer OR do you use both thumbs? Are you more highly evolved and search by voice? Or are you always trying to figure it out. All of us come to our devices and most quickly absorb them as appendages / assistants -- albeit sometimes dysfunctional ones.

Seneca Rewritten for all of Us

Hurry up and live, and consider each day as a completed life...

One who believes every day that life has been complete enjoys peace of mind.
S/he enjoys the present without depending on what does not yet exist...
S/he does not hurl toward an uncertain goal, for s/he is satisfied with what s/he has.
 
Nor is s/he satisfied with little, for what s/he possesses is in the universe...
"All this belongs to me".

-- Seneca, Roman Philosopher and Statesman via ME Middleton

Taking care of yourself and your gifts is a way of honoring the Giver. Live Now.

From Scarboro Missions
a Canadian order

More Lessons Learned

You cannot fix everyone. You have to fix yourself first. Be kind. Be compassionate as well as honest. Especially with yourself.

Compassionate Conversations

Join us + @AustinSymphony for “Compassionate Conversations" on March 29 → https://t.co/9AhE5uM6Lm pic.twitter.com/ivWf0Hn7hI

— Blanton Museum (@blantonmuseum) March 24, 2016

Kellers ARCS Model of Learning Motivation

Kellers ARCS Model of Learning Motivation: ... how to create lessons and tailor teaching to produce motivation in the ... A teacher should make steps to learning (like scaffolding) to help them succeed ...

Alas, I did not learn everything in grad school. You must keep on learning all the time, and one of my fellow instructional designer / technology geek girls shared her knowledge of ARCS with me. I love that it integrates Attention and Relevance as essential to learning. This slide show is a nice introduction to anyone who wants to teach something.

Dividing the Workload

Dividing the Workload

A manager, teacher, supervisor of any kind who does not know how to divide workload can ruin the productivity of those they employ if they cannot determine optimal levels of productivity. When it is so hard for us to self-report accurately as human, how can we hope to learn how to do it for others with trial and error.

E-Learning Journeys: Global Education Highlights (weekly)

Engaging list. Must follow!



E-Learning Journeys: Global Education Highlights (weekly)

Critical Thinking? How disappointed would Socrates Be?

Reason to live | General | Times Higher Education



In the Theaetetus, Socrates asks "What is knowledge?" And having been
told that it is geometry and shoemaking and so forth, he replies, "You
were not asked what things there is knowledge of, nor how many sorts of
knowledge there are ... for our aim in asking was not to count the sorts
of knowledge but to know what knowledge itself is."



Asking the right questions is one half of knowledge.

Patxi Pierce Blog

Patxi Pierce Blog



http://blog.patxipierce.com/#  The API

One Best Thing on the iTunes iBook Store

http://www.mrswideen.com/2014/05/learn-something-new-today-and-implement.html Ran across this today from one of Apple's Distinguished Educators. iBooks created for use in the classroom. So much good information on the use of technology in the classroom.