The art of the method

Ben Slavic recently said this when talking about stories.
The art of the method, and the best stories, have their roots in loose soil, soil that is not compacted with hundreds of words and prescribed details.
Before he mentioned that teachers in the training wheels phase stick to the stories closely because they are still learning the [...]

Fluent in Karate

I have made a new TPRS friend, Dirk Frewing. It is really great to be able to collaborate ideas and to learn from others. I don’t think I could do this without it, to be honest. Dirk made a comment in an email the other day that really got me thinking. He said:
So much of [...]

Asking questions in Storytelling

I read this post on Ben Slavic’s blog and it really communicates the importance of asking questions in storytelling. I have to remember that this is more important than the actual story. I must learn how to ask the right questions when and where and let the kids dictate the story. This is what will [...]

Staying in touch

I must confess that sometimes I feel alone in this whole endeavor. What I mean is that I have chosen to go outside of the norm and with that comes a sense of being the only one that is doing what you are doing. Whether it is TPRS, circling with props, personalization, even just my [...]

Not Wasting the Years Away

As soon as I decided to be a teacher I told myself that I wanted to do it for real. I didn’t want to be like so many of the teachers that I had over the years that were just doing it for the paycheck. I knew that there had to be a way to [...]

No pens or pencils

While in Laramie at Ben Slavic’s workshop he mentioned that he does not allow the students to have anything at their desk. No pens, pencils, papers, bags, nothing. At first I realized that this really cuts down on doodling and getting off task. I just realized that there is more to it.
When I learned English, [...]

Enjoying life

I was sitting in my living room chair yesterday enjoying a piece of toast and honey. As I was taking my time eating it I realized how important it is that we enjoy life. Lately, I have been stressed and worried about being ready for next fall. There is so much that I have to [...]

The textbook experiment

Here is a journal I wrote for one of my education classes at UNL. On my way out of Bellevue West I decided to do some experiments and one of them was with the student desire to use textbooks. I was surprised at what the students had to say. I have changed a lot in [...]

The personalization edge

I have to remind myself that as a Spanish teacher, I have the personalization edge. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to personalize a math formula or a science equation. Personalization is easier for us because we can talk about fun stuff like movies, sports, songs, funny situations, serious situations, etc. So why [...]

Personalization in large schools

I have spent most of my time working and attending large schools. The high school class that I graduated from had 540 students, not enormous, but larger than the Nebraska average. In these large institutions I have observed how common it is for students to feel like another cog in the wheel or another student [...]