Past content - The Ten Flatteners (my review of the book recommended this week).

The news is so full of negativity that a few years ago I took to creating a positive story board on Pinterest to try and remind myself that there is good in the world.

Here is this week's example of what Hemingway was talking about - Airline reunites boy with beloved shirt . . . Let this be an example to us as teachers to always go above and beyond. I mean, come on, that's what we do, right? We're teachers!!!!

This is a monster, but it will help you understand our modern world (and your place in it) better.

Week #3 (Sept. 17-21)

Teaching Thought #10

Don’t lose your creativity. Maybe this is why Teach Like a PIRATE resonates so deeply with me. Maybe this is why I love teaching so much. I don’t know, but it helps me unleash my creativity.

Every day is a challenge to find new ways to deliver old materials in fresh ways.

Here is a link to 5 Challenges to Awaken Your Creativity.

I think they’d be interesting to use in class too.

Teaching Thought #11

Be a role model. The article coming up in the next series of teaching thoughts addresses this important thought.

First and foremost, you have to model what you want from your students. This is why I write daily (most often during my prep and over lunch) with my students in mind. When my third block College Comp class comes in and I explain their upcoming rite of passage essay, I can beat their moans and groans with one line: “Let me show you the rite of passage essay I wrote over lunch for you guys.” There is something about this that proves to my students that we are all in this together and it cements us.

Now it doesn’t work perfectly for every kid in class, but they know that I’m not only willing to do the work with them but that I actually do it! That has got to be worth something to them.

Don’t model this; instead model this.

I’m always amazed how many adults let their problems define them. Or, worse yet, wait for someone else to do something about it. Do any of your friends/peers complain about the same issues every single year? Or every single class?

Yet, as in the latter example, how there are a few people out there who find ways to fix their lives and themselves. I think their like Audri. They are born problem solvers. Do any of your friends/peers solve problems in unexpected ways. Whenever I walk the halls at LHS, I love listening in to what other teachers are doing. I’m always impressed with the passion and creativity they bring to their lessons. I need to be more like them.

I need to be more like Audri.

Teaching Thought #12

Why do adults struggle so much with effectively leading young people?

This article offers an interesting perspective on the topic.

Here is the first way to start leading teens well:

· Embrace who you are and the life station you are in.

If you’re forty-eight years old, then act like it. Don’t attempt to be twenty-one. This doesn’t mean you’re irrelevant. It simply means you’re comfortable in your identity and can offer teens a picture of what a well-adjusted, mid-life adult looks like.

Here is the first way to start leading teens well:

Embrace who you are and let your freak flag fly. Kids will respect you for it. They might even look up to you as a role model. I sure did when I was a kid.

Teaching Thought #13

Why do adults struggle so much with effectively leading young people?

This article offers an interesting perspective on the topic.

Here is the second way to start leading teens well:

· Live with passion.

Don’t try to be a teenager again, but show them what an adult looks like who is happy, fulfilled and passionate about their work and family. Many kids never get a healthy role-model in their lives like this. Show them what it means to not merely grow older but to grow up…and like it.

Passion is a touch subject. Passion often gets a bad reputation in our society. Just give this a read. Or this a view.

Teaching Thought #14

Why do adults struggle so much with effectively leading young people?

This article offers an interesting perspective on the topic.

Here is the third way to start leading teens well:

Be genuine when you interact with teens

They don’t need you to be a buddy all the time. They do need you to be real and predictable. Consistency is a vital ingredient many teens are missing in life. When adults connect with them in an authentic way—it’s a gift. Remember the words of one student who said, “The only thing worse than being uncool is being unreal.”

This is one of my very favorite things to do with kids. This happened one night when several of us on the choir trip went to a restaurant called Wipe Out. As we waited for our pizzas, I took the opportunity to ask them a simple question – What is it that teachers do that you hate? I wasn’t talking to them as a teacher. I wasn’t even talking to them as a chaperone. I was trying to get on their level and talk to them as someone who is just curious to get their perspectives. And did I learn a ton. But I was being totally genuine and transparent with them. Doing this, I believe, helps build unbeatable culture.

Just listen. Trust me. You'll never be the same.

How can we leverage technology to re-invent our subject, curriculum, our classroom experience?

Twitter is the best source of PD out there. Don't miss out.

Skitch

Skitch is an application that you can download which lets you annotate pictures. I don't use it to create my memes that I use on here, but I do use it to annotate students' images. It also has an excellent app for the iPhone, which I use quite often.

I am married to the most amazing person in the world, Kristie. It was love at first sight. At least for me. And it still is.

We have four wonderful children, Casey, Koko, Kenzie, and Cash. I also happen to have the greatest job in the world: teaching English to high school students. I'm even blessed enough to teach an Intro to Education class at UND during the fall.

I am about to begin my 21st year of teaching at Lincoln High School. I graduated from Lafayette High School in 1992. I come from a family of teachers: my grandmother was a country school teacher for a number of years before finishing out her career at Knox in TRF; my uncle Jim was an English professor at Western State in Gunnison, Co. My niece, Amanda, is in her second year as a math teacher in Wayzata, MN.

So teaching was always something I was inspired to do. The deciding factors, though, came because of two amazing teachers, Mr. Mueller, my fourth and sixth grade elementary school teacher and assistant baseball coach, and Mrs. Christianson, my 9th grade English teacher, respectively.

I attended Northland Community College, and had my life changed by the amazing Dr. Diane Drake. Then I transferred to Bemidji State University in 1995. There I had amazing professors who further inspired me to teach English (Dr. Helen Bonner, Dr. Mark Christensen, Susan Hauser, and Gerry Schnabel). I graduated with my BS in English Education in 1997.

I student taught with the wonderful Lisa Semanko and then began teaching full-time at LHS in 1998.

I took a year's leave of absence in 2001-02 to return to BSU for my MA in English. There I had the privilege to teach and work closely with my greatest mentor, Dr. Mark Chirstensen. I earned my MA in English in 2006 and was honored with "Thesis of the Year" for my creative non-fiction, braided, multi-genre memoir, "Meeting Myrtle: A Biography."

In 2013, thanks to my dear friend and mentor, Dr. Jodi Holen, I was offered an adjunct teaching position fall semester at the University of North Dakota. Tuesday nights I teach Intro to Education: Teaching and Learning 250 from 5-8. Those three hours fly by in about ten minutes.

Then in 2016 I was blessed to win a WEM award - thanks to a nomination from a former student (and now an elementary school teacher) - Ciera Mooney.

In 2017 I became part of the #pineconepd podcast club along with Brian Loe, Jeff Mumm, Kelsey Johnson, Kelly Weets, Josh Watne, Tevia Strand, Megan Vigen, Mariah Hruby, and Laura Brickson. This has been one of the best forms of PD I've ever been a part of. They make me a better teacher every time we meet. Please think about joining us in the summer at the Pine Cone Pub from 6:30 - until we've solved all the world's problems. For that evening anyway.

Thanks to the inspiration of Shane Zutz (our former principal) I devised this as a way to distribute my Teaching Thoughts and add more content to, hopefully, help out and inspire others.

Email: kurt.reynolds@myprowler.org
Website: http://teacherscribe.blogspot.com
Location: 101 South Knight Aver Thief River Falls MN 56701
Phone: 218-686-7395
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kurt.reynolds.5?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: @teacherscribe