Redskins Read discussion

Share insights and observations about our assigned summer reading!

Weellll... It's the first weekend, Gaye! Who's doing homework!?! I did put the book on my nightstand to read pile.

I started reading one of my assigned chapters. I've been itching to finish it, but KYA... :-)

Kelly wrote: "Weellll... It's the first weekend, Gaye! Who's doing homework!?! I did put the book on my nightstand to read pile."

HAHA, Kelly! I didn't start reading it yet, either.

I haven't touched it. Like Kelly, I've put it by my bed, and that is about it. I did a lot of textbook & professional reading all year for my ESOL classes. I'm really just wanting some fiction right now :)

True that! I was already reading a book on the profession before we got assigned that one! It's on my stack. :)

I actually started and I finished chapter 1. I even wrote a summary of the chapter! It was a good, quick read that focused on getting your students to participate more in class. Chapter 1 also had a focus on teaching students how and when to use proper language, which I REALLY liked and feel students need.

I started it today while at extended learning . I thought it would be good for my kids to see me annotating. & marking up a book. It's ok .

There is a typo on page 137, second line of Technique 26! OMG! I feel like a genius even though I usually make more typos myself in e-mails, comments, FB posts, etc. than anybody has a right to . . .

Now I'm pondering how far up the flagpole my students would "string" me if I asked them to sing/do the "action verb shimmy" "Vegas Technique" style (141).

An observation I'm going to throw out here, I don't think he has once given an example from a public school more or less low SES inner city public schools. Just saying. All of the teachers he references in his examples are in private or charter schools ... Often I feel like he is encouraging us to run our rooms like a police state (ch. 5), which is very counter to all the make connections stuff we've been encouraged to do as of late . . .

OMG, I just reread the rules and we're supposed to read techniques, not chapters. I feel so stupid! LOL

Mrs. T, I found a typo also! It is on page 231.

I have read through first three chapters. I agree with what Sarah said about examples, although I do think much of this is good refresher/reminders. I found the "shortest path" reminder really made me stop and think. Do I do activities or lessons because they are cool or because they are effective?....

I'm almost finished reading through my list of techniques. Reading them is making me realize that I need to "get it together!"

Need to start it...although it did go on vacation to Mexico with me it never made it out of my backpack. Ha.

M, most of the techniques can be quickly read.

I'm finally starting!

I was going to just skip to my assigned "sections" but thought I would check out the intro. I was interested to see what these schools were actually like. And yes, these schools are called academies or prep schools, but it seems that they are, in fact, high poverty.

Rochester Prep - 80% get free or reduced lunch

Brighter Choice Charter School - 100% poverty rate.

Uncommon Schools - "almost entirely minority and overwhelmingly poor... Our students are selected at random from the districts where we work, have a highly poverty rate than the districts from which we draw, and contrary to myth, are often the least, rather than the best, prepared students in those districts."

So, yes, they sound pretentious, but it seems that it's more in name than stereotype. Our kids might have more in common with them than I initially thought.

I b

Brighter Choice is a single gender elementary school with uniforms and 10 to 1 student to teacher ratio . . .

Rochester is a little closer but still requires a special application process to get in, which if anything would put it more in the league of NE Magnet. Sure the kids are poor, but there is some obvious parent involvement I think a lot of our impoverished kids at NHS lack.

I agree, Sarah, but they're not exactly what most people think of when they think "academy."

I totally agree with you that our kids have a completely different set of circumstances, but I find it motivational to see how much difference schools can make.

As far as uniforms are concerned, so do the kids at Marshall!

Not plaid jumpers. . .