A Teacher’s Hat: June 2018 Letter
Dear fellow educators and friends,
I hope May was a good month for you and you have some relaxing time planned for June. It is the last month of K-12 school and I am sure all classroom teachers are impatiently waiting for a break while at the same time, looking back nostalgically at the time spent with their students. A couple more weeks to make the journey more memorable!
May was an eventful month for me as well as for A Teacher’s Hat.
May Articles
- We focused on language: Varun analyzed how to teach language without textbooks, reminding us of the technique of dogme. Danielle’s article on teaching effective word choice was a thoughtful reflection piece on how we learn vocabulary and use of synonyms.
- Varun and Andrew continued the conversation about student communities, picking up from Andy’s April article about student engagement and how making connections with students lead to better classroom success. While Andy recounted what he has witnessed about classroom communities in Japan, Varun thought about his own experiences in India.
- I shared what I learned from Will Richardson’s book, From Master Teacher to Master Learner. It has helped me think deeply about my teaching and learning philosophy.
- I explored the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), taking a dive into brain research and how we learn.
Lined up for June
I am very excited about June! May saw 6 articles and June is going to be no less!
- We will start off tomorrow, where I will be in conversation with a preservice teacher who just completed his first student teaching experience (5 weeks at a school).
- On the 7th, Varun will be telling us about Dave Burgess’ Teach like a Pirate.
- On the 12th, Andy will discuss Circle the Wagon — a social-emotional support strategy.
Apart from these three,
- George Couros, in his book Innovator’s Mindset, mentions how student engagement is different from student empowerment, something I will be exploring in depth.
- I also found a 1975(!) computer game which simulates the first year of a teacher and am looking forward to sharing that and maybe you will try it out and tell me how true it really was to your first year. :) You just need a Windows machine!
Articles are out 2, 7, 12, 17, 22 and 27. I am keeping the last one a surprise for now!
Kriti’s Updates
Two updates from my side: in May, I decided to build a space on the World Wide Web to call my own.
What is that one essential thing that every teacher website should have according to you?
As you think about this question, please take a look at my website (www.armedwithabook.com). I am looking for recommendations from you to make it better. I am in the process of writing my teaching and learning philosophy and hoping to complete first polished iterations this month. You get a sneak-peak. :)
I am currently taking How to teach Math, Jo Boaler’s online course for Math teachers and parents. It talks about mistakes, classroom strategies, growth mindset and so much more! I highly recommend it.
I would love to see our readership and the writing team grow! If you know someone who would benefit from reading our articles, please tell them about A Teacher’s Hat and share the link. If you are, or know someone who would be, interested in writing a guest post or become a regular contributor, contact us. You can reach me and A Teacher’s Hat team on Twitter or by email.
I appreciate your support and am thankful for your presence on this journey to become a better educator. Have a relaxing June!
Regards,
Kriti
Email: kriti.khare@gmail.com, a.teachers.hat@gmail.com
