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.