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Welcome! This is a free newsletter on becoming a Response-Able teacher and developing Response-Able students.

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MISSION STATEMENT

My mission is to inspire, encourage and uplift the spirits of educators so they can in turn inspire, encourage, and uplift the spirits of their students.

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IN THIS ISSUE

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1. Quotes  

2. Idea Exchange

3. Award

4. Subscription Information

5. Teacher Talk

6. Spirit Whisperer Stories

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1. Quotes [back to top]

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“Life is under no obligation to give us what we want.”

--------------Margaret Mitchell-----------------

“Sometimes the grass looks greener over there because they take care of it.”

---------------anonymous---------------

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2. Idea Exchange [back to top]

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Positive Information Telephoning

Teachers in a Southwestern Michigan junior high school have been making what they call “P.I.T. Calls” this school year. Positive Information Telephoning was instituted to increase the amount of positive contact between school and parents. Developed and defined at a staff meeting, the project encourages teachers to call parents when positive things are happening concerning a student’s behavior or academic performance.

There is no quota. Teachers are encouraged to call only when and if something positive happens. So far, the teachers as a group are averaging 20-25 calls per week.

Calls have been placed for a variety of reasons. Scholastic accomplishment, effort on a project, improved attendance, and demonstrations of interpersonal skills have all triggered phone calls.

Parent reaction has been predictably appreciative. One parent commented, “This is the first time I have ever been called without something being wrong.” Another parent drove immediately to school, thanked the teacher personally, stopped in the office to express appreciation, and then drove to the administration building to do more of the same.

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3. Award [back to top]

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Spirit Whisperers: Teachers Who Nourish A Child’s Spirit has been nominated as a finalist for the annual Nautilus Awards presented by NAPRA ReView.  The Nautilus Awards recognize outstanding titles from the previous year that contribute significantly to conscious living and positive social change.  Winners will be announced and awards presented in a ceremony held on the eve of BookExpoAmerica in New York City on May 2nd, 2002.  Also, NAPRA ReView will feature Spirit Whisperers in their July/August issue.

Spirit Whisperers: Teachers Who Nourish A Child’s Spirit, is available from Personal Power Press at $24.95 (hard cover), toll free, 877/ 360-1477.

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4. Subscription Information [back to top]

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Please recommend this E-newsletter to any educator who is interested in improving their professional practice by forwarding it to them.

If you are receiving this E-newsletter as a forward, and would like to insure that you get your personal free subscription, email IPP57@aol.com and type in the words, ”Add me to the Response-Able educator newsletter.”

To remove yourself from the list, email IPP57@aol.com and ask to be deleted form the Response-Able educator newsletter list.

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5. Teacher Talk [back to top]

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When I began teaching in 1965, I went on my first field trip as an educator. The fifth graders and I actually went out in a field to look for insects. A year later we went to the bird sanctuary and spent more time in a field. That was the last field trip I organized that had anything to do with a field.

The term field trip is a misnomer. Most field trips have nothing to do with a field. Many of them occur indoors. It is time to come up with a new term for field trip.

Change your teacher talk to reflect the flavor of what will happen on the trip. How about a study trip, a fact-finding trip, a learning search, a discovery day, or an outside exploration?

By calling the trip an outside exploration or learning search you plant in student's minds the real purpose of the trip. With your teacher talk you create new images and pictures in their minds of what to expect and what will occur.

Teach your students “fact-finding” etiquette such as appropriate listening skills and question asking procedures. Practice the “learning search” skills of note taking, sketching, and memory hooks beforehand. Write appreciation letters following the “day of discovery,” detailing what was discovered and why those discoveries were important.

So unless you are taking students to Wrigley Field, Marshall Fields, Meigs Field, a cotton field, a corn field, or Soldier’s field, consider renaming the trip using accurate and flavorful teacher talk.

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Subscriber comments, ideas, and concerns are valued. Email your

comment to IPP57@aol.com

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Privacy Statement: Under no circumstances do we sell, trade, or exchange your email address, ever. It is safe with us. Always!

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6. Spirit Whisperer Stories [back to top]

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Thirty Spirit Whisperer stories appear on my Website. All are new and have been added since the publication of the Spirit Whisperer book. Access it at http://www.chickmoorman.com/swIdeas.html.

I would welcome additional stories. Do you have a Spirit Whisperer teaching across the hall from you? Is there a Spirit Whisperer who had a significant impact on your life? Send me the story or the story idea. Perhaps we can write it together.

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To find out more about workshops, seminars, and keynote addresses presented by Chick Moorman contact him at toll free, 877/360-1477 or email IPP57@aol.com

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Copyright 2002 Chick Moorman Seminars, all rights reserved. Share this with your circle.