I'm back...

Well, it feels good to take advantage of my place in cyberspace again! It's been a very long time since I've posted.

Anyway, I am writing that thesis that I spoke about in previous posts. It's very hard for me to write (like-actually, physically type). I can talk about my topic for days. The writing sucks a little. It's due in February, so many sleepless nights leading up to its deadline are sure to occur.

Part of my research was interviewing Dr. Chew (professor who I've spoken of here). We had an incredible interview and I am so honored that she wrote about it on her blog, www.autismvox.com

Here's what she said: http://www.autismvox.com/the-classroom-environment/

I hope that's the right URL. Either way, please know that Dr. Chew's support and guidance has been one of my favorite things about St. Peter's.

Blog Reflection

Though we do not have to officially post on this blog anymore, I am most likely going to continue doing so. I really have developed an appreciation for sharing educational websites, stories, and resources. This blog was a very valuable aspect of my Teaching Reading in the Secondary Schools course, and I do hope that more professors at Saint Peter's College implement this activity into their syllabi-not just in education classes, but in all departments. There is something really wonderful about putting your words and wisdom on the internet. Being able to comment on these blogs promotes interest in our field, and keeps us motivated and grounded in our own educational philosophies.

Great job, Dr. Luongo!

Gunfire in a fourth grade classroom

I just learned about this on the news: there was gunfire at a Linden, NJ elementary school. According to the report, the child with the gun displayed it in the coat room, then dropped it causing the gun to fire. Thankfully, no one was hurt. This is the report from aol.com:


10-year-old fires gun inside Linden school; no one hurt
AP
Posted: 2008-04-23 17:16:10
LINDEN, N.J. (AP) - Linden police say a fourth-grader fired a semiautomatic handgun inside an elementary school as he was showing it to a friend.Lt. Raymond Tyra says no one was injured in the incident, which occurred at School Number 2 at about 3:15 Wednesday afternoon.A 10-year-old boy was showing the .38-caliber gun to his friend in a coat closet when the weapon went off. A bullet passed through the wall and into the classroom next door, where it lodged in a wall.Tyra says most of the kindergarten to fifth-grade students who attend the school had gone home before the incident.Police officers recovered the gun and secured the school.Investigators are trying to determine how the child got the weapon.

Spelling Bees

So I'm curious (aka nosey). What type of spelling bees did you have in elementary school and/or high school?

I remember in fourth grade, my teacher would say a word, and the students would spell the word one letter at a time. Every time the next student said the next letter, he had to say to the letters which preceded it. Example:

Teacher: CAT
Johnny: C
Elizabeth: C-A
Michael: C-A-T

It was cool. That was back when I smart-I seriously think I won every spelling bee. What a dork :p

Cool Website Alert!

http://www.readingrockets.org/

High school readers had to start somewhere, right?

Adult Literacy program

At work yesterday, I was speaking to a former elementary school teacher who now supervises a program in Brooklyn, New York. The program teachers parents how to speak, read, and write English, as well as their native language (because they are illiterate in their own languages also sometimes). This program falls under NCLB, and not every state has it. I think it's a good program since I am a believer that education begins in the home.

If parents aren't able to communicate with their own children, what kind of home life do these kids have?

Flocabulary?

In class today, we looked at www.flocabulary.com
The site features educational songs set to rap beats. While that may sound like a good idea, I do not think this is something I would use in my classroom.

Click on the above link to see what this is all about.

More to follow...