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VIP Kid 2 Week Update
As of today, I hit my 14th day with VIP Kid, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. So today I thought I would post an update and share some tips for those who are thinking about joining or have recently joined. 2 Week Update After my first week, I was certified at Level Continue reading
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Creative Homework Solutions
Involving parents in their children’s homework is a great way to build parent participation in both their children’s lives, but also in the school, especially when they are unable to come during scheduled events. However, there are some serious considerations you need to think about before assigning homework that involves family members. In this post Continue reading
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A New Endeavor
Recently, I accepted an online position for some extra time and money through VIP Kid. I fully intend to share updates with ups and downs. So this post will be a kind of baseline for how I am feeling, what I am seeing, and so forth. The first thing I would like to share is Continue reading
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Individual Learning Plans
Over the past few weeks we have received many new students. Some from other countries and others are from schools in MN and the greater United States. One of the hardest things to judge as an ELL teacher is how to support students when they first arrive from other schools. MN doesn’t have one reporting Continue reading
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A Teacher’s Review of The Movie Wonder
This past weekend, I decided to take my daughter to the movie Wonder. Now if you haven’t seen it, don’t worry, I’m not here to put out spoilers. But I couldn’t help but see this movie through the lens of a teacher, which is probably why many schools are taking field trips to see it as Continue reading
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To wrap up the year, I thought I would reflect on the things that have impacted my teaching the most. From the strategies learned and tested to the sociopolitical atmosphere currently stressing the foundations of what education is. These are the things that for good or bad I have taken away from the 2017 year. Continue reading
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Accommodating and Educating Somali Students in Minnesota Schools
I don’t know about your school district, but my school district is still facing many challenges in regards to behaviors and culture bumps with our EL population, especially with out Somali students. This is why when I was introduced to this book at the MELED conference, I jumped at the opportunity to purchase it. The book itself Continue reading
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Why the word Rigor irks me.
This blog wouldn’t be called The Life Argotic without me taking on some buzzwords. So this will be my inaugural buzzword debunking. I’m fairly certain it won’t be my last. Education is full of them. Every time I hear the word rigor, I cringe and brace for whatever is coming next following that word. Why? Continue reading
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Holidays & Culture
Now that Thanksgiving is over, we are well into the holiday season for the majority of teachers in the United States. One thing that I frequently hear from people year after year is that they don’t know how to talk about their values and holiday culture while in the classroom. There is a mass of Continue reading
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Tutuorial Teaching Part I
A few posts ago, I talked about how teaching procedural knowledge was important. As I was assessing my students today, I realized that I failed to scaffold the procedural knowledge part with visuals, lists, and modeling. By the end of my third time teaching that lesson, my board was covered with instructions and models to Continue reading
The Life Argotic 