Ch 3 assignment

Ch3
Pick two of the errors described in Chapter 3, pages 9-13, of "Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids" and write yourself a letter of advice about how you're going to avoid these mistakes in the coming year.  Include one or two useful quotes from the chapter.  

Dear Self,

As you are finishing the last few weeks of the current school year and looking forward to next years class, I just wanted to give you two pieces of advice. Who better to give you advice than someone who knows you best, yourself. First, I want to remind you that your students are not your clones. You may want them to be the reading wiz, math answering, rule following, smart second grader you were, but you have to remember that not all students take things in the same way. Instead of telling students how to act, “invite students into your world; don't expect to find them already there.” Think of your students as pieces to a puzzle that have to work together to fit in a place rather than everyone being a “square peg fitting into a square hole.” Remember Whole Brain Teaching is a great way to invite students into the learning process while keeping control of your classroom at the same time.

Second, remember you are empowering students with knowledge that will last them a life time. The time you devote outside of school preparing lessons will provide your student’s with a greater chance of mastering the objective. Chris Biffle says, “Outstanding instruction involves huge, truly mountainous amounts of labor, preparing, practicing, researching, thinking through, refining instructional units.” You can continue to share lesson writing duties with your team, but just make sure you are preparing yourself for your classroom.

Continue to improve upon yourself as an educator because it will only make your student’s better in the long run.

Sincerely,
Megan Sowers