Harry Wong chapter 23- achieving happiness and success

Today we will be talking about a successful and happy teacher.
 Mr. Wong starts off this section by stating "  The two things that matter the most to a worker our time and money." Being a worker is not what you should aim for. A worker will agree to put in more hours if there's additional pay or some form of perk. If you are an educator you should not have to be bribed to put in more hours. As a matter of fact educators never truly stop working. A successful teacher is not a worker but a leader. Leaders look for enchantement without expecting a perk. "Life rewards the competent, not the clock watchers." If you are busy being a leader you will be rewarded because you are strengthening your skills making you a valuable assets. Now on to the classroom environment. A successful teacher understands that the classroom is a complex environment. Yet they are capable of making decisons and solving problems despite that. Mr. Wong seems to believe that "A person's behavior will determine what choices that person will make." I am going to go ahead and say that I totally agree. If being an educator you believe it is a miserable job then you will make poor decisions for your JOB. If you have a positive attitude about being an educator then you will make good dese ions to help you better yourself. To be a leader you must follow these simple rules.

• "Leaders CHOOSE!"
• "Leaders have control over their own lives."
• "Leaders are people who strive, reach for excellence, and seek achievement."

Leaders chose to become better at what they do. They chose to be successful teachers. Leaders don't decide they take action! Leaders also take control of their lives. They make sure to generate your own happiness. So much of that happiness comes from sharing with others. Leaders don't give up until they have what they want. If you haven't yet noticed a leaders behavior is also a big part of their success. They are always wanting to be involved in their profession and wanting to share their happiness with everyone around them. In this chapter Mr. Wong gives us a group of different people that either succeed or don't. I have read through and I believe that I am a maintenance person. Those types of people are the ones who are characterized as being tired most of the time.  They also hope to and the make it through the week always seeking sympathy. Next  we have protective people. They can usually be found sitting in the back of the role in meetings and complaining about everything they do. Sadly protective and maintenance people make up 80% of the teaching profession. We need teachers who are glad to be doing what they love and who are happy to help. Today when we give something we expect something in return. This should not be how we function but sadly that is how life works today. "This is teaching: Promoting student growth." A professional teacher seeks that the students perform above expectations. They want to see students learning everything they need to and much more.
I feel like in the future I would work hard to be a leader. I also feel like my profession will get into my personal life a lot and I am totally ok with that. I will always be striving to find the best way to make sure my kids learn. I want to be able to help all those kids who are struggling go above and beyond. My only goal in life is to be happy and although at first I didn't seem to know how to accomplish this I seem to have found my answer. Last weekend I volunteer to help raise money for charity since it's the holiday. Once I was done I realized it felt good to help those around me and share some of my happiness with them. I want to be able to help the who.e world but unfortunately that is impossible so I will settle for the next best thing. I will strive to help all those children who are struggling and need as much help as possible. I will spend as much time as I can helping and looking up ways to make learning fun and exciting. I will make sure that my students are excited for test to show off all the knowledge they have. I will keep in mind all that Mr. Wong has taught me through this book. If you are an educator I highly recommend you read this book it is seriously the best thing ever. Unfortunately I could not find the whole entire book but I was able to find this slide show summarizing the main parts of the book.
Here are some letters student wrote their teachers as a thank you for all they have done.
Please watch this heartfelt video of a teacher who believed in one student and changed his life.

Harry Wongs chapter 23- cooperative learning

We will be discussing cooperative learning and how it helps. 

 Mr. Wong says that "cooperative learning is a win-win situation." I am going to whole heartedly agree with this statement. When a teacher is up in front of the class teaching they can not possibly know which student is understand and which is not. Being in a small group those students may feel more comfortable letting their peers know they need a bit of help understanding. Cooperative learning refers to a set of instructional techniqueswhereby students work in small, mixed-ability groups. What this may look like is:  

• The teacher presents a lesson to the students.
• He student groups are given activities to master the objectives.
• The teacher teaches group and study strategies.
• The student work together to help one another master the objectives. 

Cooperative learning also help students compete only against themselves. Our society now has normalized the idea of competing against one another. Like Mr. Wong states " your mission in life is not to get ahead of other people; your mission is to get ahead of yourself." In cooperative learning no one student is responsible for themselves but for the group as a whole. Now I see my Pre K students sit in tables and are al, assigned to a buddy. This is because the teacher wants them to talk and try to come up with a solution by themselves. This is also extremely helpful because those who struggle can be partnered with those who have mastered the concept. That way they can help one another and they build up their social skills, and conflict management skills. Although this idea does seem great there are some cons to this. For example when you ask students to break up into groups you may get some groans or questions asking how long they will be in that group. Well "Effective grouping is dependent on two major factors." 

1. The class climate
2. The explanation 

When students don't cooperate the ineffective teacher is at a loss so remember " It is the teacher who is responsible for the success of the classroom. " This means that students do play a huge role in the classroom but that does not mean they control the classroom. An effective teacher doesn't give vague directions knowing that will provoke comments like "Do I have to do this." A teacher must give directions that are easily comprehended if not students will start to act up. 

 I really enjoy this method because I know that making new friends is also kind of awkward and this method helps students get to know each other. It also helps them feel more confident when they are having trouble if they are asking someone they know and trust. It is also a great way to get different learning styles mixed in. Students all learn differently and being in a group with other different learners can help them learn new learning methods. You can also assign each student a diffrent job to accomplish in each group. Do make sure to explain that although someone is in charge of a specific job it doesn't mean they do all the work alone. It means they make sure it gets done right and everyone participates. Make sure that the jobs are changed every other week. Oh and also try calling the. Support groups not just groups or tables. Because that is what we want a support group where we all want the other to accomplish so much. 

This website gives you some cooperative strategies

Here are some cooperative learning tips and techniques.

This website has some great cooperative games that you should try!

Harry Wong chapter 23- test

This week we will be talking about test.
 Mr. Wong states "The  purpose of a test to assess a student performance against learning criteria NOT to provide the teacher with the basis for a grade." Test are used as a form of labeling students while assessments are used to see students success. We as a society need to change that perception. We should not have students that get nervous when they hear they have a test coming up. Students should feel confident and be ready to ace it. As an educator make sure you know what 2 things a test must have. First the teacher should use the results of each test to remediate and correct for student mastery. Secondly the student should be graded on a percentage system. This way they are competing only against themselves. Ineffective teachers use the test as a means of need for points on a curve, passage of time, or period to kill. Test should feel like a way of encouragement. I know many older teachers give test and when a student fails just has them do corrections. Except the corrections is just writing down the problem and the correct answer. Students are not learning at all when they are told to do that.  "The purpose of a test is to help the teacher assess with the student has or has not learned." This means that when a student does not succeed then teachers must help the student with whatever they are struggling with. Think of it this way if you break your leg you won't be able to ever heal if you don't take care of it. The same goes for students they will never learn a concept if you keep testing them over a subject they don't understand. Mr. Wong states that "If the student DOES NOT MASTER an objective, give the student remediation or corrective help."  Although ineffective teachers only care about getting something in the grade book. Like Mr. Wong says "  The role of the teacher is not to grade a student. The main role of the teacher is to help every student reach the highest possible level of achievement." Formative test are used to determine what remediation is needed for a student to master the content, skill, or objective. This is what effective teachers should do when a student does not succeeded. These test should be the same kind of test but the questions should be a bit different. These days it just doesn't seem that way it seems like all that matters are grades in school. I think this is why many students seem to cheat it's easier than asking for help from someone they believe won't help them. I know that there have been many times I have been afraid to ask for help because the teacher I had was strict and would answer questions before or after school. I would have to ask a friend to explain the concept to me since I didn't want to fail and get a bad grade. We need to change this way of thinking. We need to make sure that asking questions doesn't make you dumb it makes you responsible! You are taking action by stepping up and saying I don't seem to understand. Test are a way of saying this but sadly in today's world this doesn't seem like a big enough shout. The effective teacher uses a test as a way to see where their students are or where they need help.
This is a website containing 10 must know facts about test for parents.
Here are some test taking tips for all ages.
A great site to use when you need to study or are having trouble with any subject is this one.

Harry Wongs: The role of a teacher is to uncover

                       Today we will be covering Harry Wongs unit D Lesson Mastery.
  As Mr. Wong states in this section "There is only one way for a student to learn anything. The student must put in effort; The student must work to learn." This is the most common reason why students do not complete their assignments. Students don't learn because teachers are the ones who do the hard work. Mr. Wong has made it clear from the beginning of his boom that to have a successful class we must teach procedures early on in the year. This is because this lessens the interruptions and and maximizes uninterrupted learning time. According to Wong "increase the amount of time the student is working, and you increase learning." Let's face it we only have a short limited time to teach a room full of different style learners the same lesson. We need as much time as we can get without any interruptions. A teacher who does not set up their procedures early on will be working extra hard now to try and teach students a new procedure in the middle of the year.
  Now on to the next topic, An effective teacher never asks "what am I going to cover tomorrow?" But instead should be asking "what are my students to learn, achieve, and accomplish tomorrow?" This is because as a teacher you should not be asking what you are going to do. This implies that the teacher is the one doing all the work and we do not one that! According to Wong if this happens then students will come to class wondering what the teacher is going to do next. At the beginning of a lesson make sure to let students know what they are responsible for learning. "The role of the teacher is not to cover. The role of the teacher is to UNCOVER."
  Now ineffective teachers will grab a textbook and tell the students to read a chapter and then test them over it. Although textbooks are a great tool for learning that is not the appropriate way to use them. The effective teacher stands before the class and address what the students are to accomplish. This way they can use the textbook knowing what it is they are suppose to be learning and not just diving in blindly. This is not only helpful for students but also for those parents who help students with their homework that way they also understand what it is their child is to accomplish.
  Objectives are another helpful resource not only to teachers but also to students. Wong explains that " objectives or criteria do two things : assign and assess." See when teachers use objectives it helps them teach more directly from it. And the objective helps the student by giving them directions to comprehend an assignment. An objective should consist of  a verb and a sentences explaining what is to be mastered. It should also be a precise objective not over the top complex. All that will do is end up confusing your students.
  The goal of a test is to determine wheather the students understood the concept. Wheather there should be additional study needed in the particular section. Test it's the teacher know if students are struggling to understand the lesson or if the teacher needs to change their teaching approach to one that appeals to everyone.
  Mastery is the knowledge of a skill or the accomplishment of something that was unacheiveable before. This could be like passing that spelling test that they struggled with for so long.
  Grades are important for student learning and achievement because it could help to motivate students to study hard to get a desired grade. This helps the student want to achieve goals and pay more attention in class. Grades are important because they reflect the students mastery of what they are learning.
  An objective for my Pre-K class would be something like: Write the numbers from 1-10
A test question for my class might be something like: what sound does the o in open make?
  My thoughts on testing within the classroom is that it is a good thing to do. This way you can see where your students are and if they are where they should be or if you need to work harder. Although I don't like standardize test I feel like they are a good tool to use. This helps determine wheather the curriculum should be kept the same or changed. This is all for the cause of a great education.

This link is for some fun educational videos to watch with young children

I found this cool website that has a bunch of Christmas ideas to do with young kids go check it out!

What constitutes an effective discipline plan

Reading Harry Wongs book has given me a great idea of an effective teacher. In his earlier chapter Wong states that you must establish your rules the first days of school. This way they learn it early on what is expected of them. To have an effective discipline plan you must establish your expectations whether they be written or verbal. As a teacher it is best you have your rules or expectations written and posted around the room here's why. Let's say you don't post your rules so when a student breaks a rule how will they know that they broke it? With that being said an effective discipline plan has 3 main components (Rules, Consequences, and Rewards). You must show students that you do abide by the rules so if someone breaks them then there must be a consequence. If not then students will misbehave since they see you don't enforce the rules or anything you said. The children will eventually not be afraid to break the rules as they will catch on to you not being consistent. This can also damage any trust or relationship with students as they will feel like their teacher doesn't stick to her promises. This is not what we want, we want the students to be successful and to come to you if they are struggling or need help. If students think you are not a person who sticks to what they say they may not have enough trust to tell you anything.  Now for the rewards part we don't just want to punish children we want to encourage them to be the best they can be. This is when you would reward children for excellent behavior. This also may encourage other students to abide by the rules if they know they will be rewarded. As much as this sucks it's true! Students are more likely to be involved and  do what they are suppose to if they know they will be rewarded. This all may seem like you are completely in charge and students have no say. That is not tru don't we want students to be involved a great suggestion would be to have some rules already made up and as a class you could make a set of rules.  Another important thing to remember is when making up your rules keep in mind the age and grade of your students. You can't have the same rules for kindergarten that you do for fifth graders. The biggest factor to having an effective discipline plan would be to actually use your discipline plan. Be committed don't just say you have a plan and then make up a new one as you go along. To have a successful year you must have some consistency throughout the year!

If I were in charge of the world poem

If I were in charge of the world
There would be no crime or violence
There would be nothing but peace
No more war or higher power

If I were in charge of the world
Summers would be longer
Everyday would be a holiday
There would be no Monday's

If I were in charge of the world
Pasta would be the only food acceptable
You could have dessert for breakfast

If I were in charge of the world
School would be a fun place
There would be naps for high schoolers
Recess would continue well into college

If I were in charge of the world
Teaching would be recognized as fascinating profession
Being a teacher would be the coolest thing ever!
A teacher would be paid a lot more
Teachers would get much more respect



This is the original poem that mine is based off of