We Wish Class Poems

A couple of years ago I wrote a poem for my students called “My Wish for You”.  It ended up as a “guest post” for my colleague, mentor, and friend Angela Maiers.  The past couple of years I’ve asked my kids to write a “We Wish” poem in response to what I wrote. Well, THIS YEAR, after a slow start with early outs due to extreme heat, we finally got our class poems done and videos made this week.  Here they are. I think the kids did a GREAT job on them. The words truly are their words, mostly serious and honest, but some reflect their 10-11 year old silliness. What a privilege to be called “teacher” by these kiddos. I truly have the best job in the world!

Please consider leaving us a comment and let us know what you think of our poems and videos.

-Mrs. T.G.

POEMS:
5TG We Wish
5P We wish

VIDEOS:
5p We Wish Video
5TG We Wish Video

Common Sense

In preparing to present a class on using social media in education, I came across this video about a teacher who was forced to resign after parents saw some of her Facebook status updates. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU8m-4_CmtU

A little common sense: Don’t post complaints or sarcastic remarks on Facebook or any other social media sites. First of all, as you can see here, it can get you fired. Secondly, nobody really wants to hear you complain in person, let alone publicly on the Internet. Thirdly, please LEARN how to adjust your security and privacy settings.

It’s really just common sense!

Off topic: Chili Dip Recipe :)

I attempted to make this “chili dip” last week for our school staff. Whenever I make chili, I just dump in a little of this, a little of that and keep tweaking until it suits me. For this, I wanted it to be more of a “dip” and less of a “soup”, so I was going for super THICK. Unfortunately, I’m not real good at writing down things when I’m getting creative in the kitchen (which isn’t that often!). SO, here’s what I THINK I put in and pretty much how I made it, mixing and simmering one evening when I had time, letting it sit in the frig for a couple of nights, and then heating it back up when I needed it. Served it with some sour cream, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and some “Scoops” corn chips and it was a hit.

Try it and let me know what you think!

Portfolio

Here’s a link to my teaching portfolio. What do you think?

http://michelletg.shutterfly.com

Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness

This has been on my heart lately. A quote from Dr. Martin Luther King: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: Only love can do that.”  How do we teach this to children? How do we teach this to adults? How do we overcome darkness in our own lives so we can be a light?

John 8: 12 “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I AM THE LIGHT of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ ” If only I could remember and reflect that more often than I forget it…