According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, failure is defined as “omission of occurrence or performance” and the “lack of success.” Failure happens when you don’t achieve a desired outcome. Failure is associated with negative words and connotations such as defeat, unsuccessful, ineffectiveness, and set backs. Why does failure have these negative views and how can we …
Leaders exist all around us; administrators, teachers, students, parents. They are able to create sparks, challenge thinking, and support others in their passions and fears. But what makes a leader great? Is it the way in which they deal with difficulties? Their ability to persevere in challenging times? The strong bonds and relationships they form …
This week during our staff meeting, our admin had us discuss with a partner about our best and worst teacher; their name, qualities, and why we felt how we did about them. It was a moving discussion, in the fact that both memories brought very strong feelings for staff. It was very easy to remember …
Tonight, I participated in a fantastic chat on twitter, #6thchat, and was bombarded with an overflow of new tech ideas and tools that could be used in the classroom with students. Although I haven’t had too much time to experiment with them yet, I thought I’d share the sites and information that was offered through …
I grew up in a small town in Ontario, Canada, taking French from the first grade. I guess you could say that I caught on easily, and thoroughly enjoyed learning a new language, mostly because of my vibrant and wacky French teacher. Her enthusiasm for teaching French was contagious! I continued with French for the …
After seeing tweet after tweet, comment after comment, and picture after picture about the book “Falling in Love With Close Reading,” I decided I should follow the trend and purchase my own copy as well. I wanted to be included with all this twitter talk about the book! It arrived from Amazon quickly, and as …
Recently, my mind has been bombarded with ideas and thoughts around literacy. How is it defined in a modern, technology-based world? How do current changes affect the way literacy should be taught in the classroom? I was lucky enough to find a twitter chat, #ntchat, focusing on literacy this week. It was a great opportunity …
Thinking about the definition of literacy, it is easy to find the meaning in the dictionary explained as: “The ability to read and write.” You could think that this is correct, as reading and writing could define someone who is literate, but does literacy encompass more than simply reading and writing? How do you define …
There doesn’t seem to be a day that goes by where I don’t feel stressed about something: Deadlines, meetings, marking, planning units, learning new things to make my lessons exciting, family, bills, money. It seems to be endless. Sometimes I think as teachers, we create stress for ourselves. We all have that perfectionism quality or …
Being new to twitter this year, I was unfamiliar to the PLN acronym and what exactly it meant and stood for. PLN is a personal/professional learning network. A way in which you can learn from others, share your ideas and thoughts, develop a support system, have your ideas challenged, and continue to expand your growth …
Out With Erin 