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John Pearson's Blog (19)

Are eyeballs supposed to twitch?

OK, I have a question for all of the teachers out there. At what point should I start to get really, really scared?

I usually have a few kids at the beginning of the year who don't recall their basic mathmatic facts well or who have forgotten the need for and the skill of borrowing (or regrouping). This year, I have a few kids who are the EXCEPTIONS to these issues.

In my afternoon class today (11 kids), I asked "What is 8 minus 6?" Silence for… Continue

Added by John Pearson on September 15, 2008 at 5:10pm — No Comments

Ike outside and marching in Place

Thankfully, I do not live on the Gulf coast of Texas, or else I would probably not be able to enjoy my sick weekend at home. As it is, living near Dallas, which is pretty darn far inland, I'm STILL seeing the effects of Hurrican Ike today. It has been raining nonstop all day long, and the wind is quite audible.

Earlier this week, my class and I were going over Place Value. The kids had only learned place value through the thousands (though there was some debate over… Continue

Added by John Pearson on September 13, 2008 at 4:03pm — No Comments

No more recess

This week's Mr. Teacher column on education.com is titled "Give Me a Break," and it is the story of a school year without recess. Well, 2 weeks of a school recess with only 2 days of recess, anyway. Read the full story and weigh in if your school has done anything this drastic!

Learn Me Good

Added by John Pearson on September 9, 2008 at 5:02pm — No Comments

Taking pre-inventory

I was just looking at the Pre-inventory math test that my kids took last Wednesday. 20 questions that are supposed to be a review of 2nd grade skills that my kids (theoretically) learned last year. Realistically, there are 2 really hard questions on there, 2 others that are kind of tricky, and 16 that are practically no brainers.

I'm pleased to say that I DID have one student who scored a 90. He rocked the test. The next highest score was 60, and the average was around… Continue

Added by John Pearson on September 7, 2008 at 5:27pm — No Comments

D+ in Copying

Why is it that kids have such a hard time copying things word for word or answering questions out of a book onto a separate sheet of paper? If I ask my kids to copy a word problem from the overhead, it takes some of them 5-10 minutes to copy 3 lines -- and that's only if I'm rushing them! If I let them take their time, we would do absolutely nothing else all day long!

If it was just a matter of not being able to SEE the overhead, that would be one thing. But my kids can… Continue

Added by John Pearson on September 3, 2008 at 9:17pm — No Comments

A few odds and ends

This week's Mr. Teacher column on education.com was supposed to be my wonderings on where all of my students are, seeing as how I only have 12 kids in my homeroom and 10 in my afternoon class. I think because of the long weekend, though, there wasn't enough time to proof it and get it online, so instead, there is a rerun of Save the Crossing Guard Save the World from last October. Check it out and relive the… Continue

Added by John Pearson on September 2, 2008 at 6:29pm — No Comments

Professor Vader goes to London

Thanks to our good friend Carol over at My Bell Ringers, my "Darth Vader Explains the Pythagorean Theorem" YouTube video has been linked by a columnist at the London Times!!

Early yesterday afternoon, the video had 856 hits. . . This evening, it… Continue

Added by John Pearson on September 1, 2008 at 10:12am — No Comments

Carnival and big hair

This week's Carnival of Education is brain-based, and it's being held over at Sharp Brains right now! Go check it out to see all the great articles, including my quick hits on the first day of school.

The girl who is obsessed with my hair remains obsessed. She hasn't asked any more… Continue

Added by John Pearson on August 28, 2008 at 10:19pm — No Comments

A few bad answers

School has already started, but this week's Mr. Teacher column on education.com is titled Practice Q&A, and it is intended to be an aid to parents for getting their kids ready for going back to school. Teachers ask a lot of questions -- the kids need to have their answers prepared.

If you know me, then you know these are NOT your typical answers to typical questions...

Learn Me Good

Added by John Pearson on August 26, 2008 at 4:53pm — No Comments

First day jitters

One day of the '08/'09 school year is now under my belt, and another exciting nine months begins!

I actually woke up at 4:30 this morning and took a walk around my neighborhood before getting ready to go to school. I also had a dream last night where I had gotten out of bed, looked out my window, washed my hands, and headed back to the bed -- only it turns out I had never gotten out of bed in the first place! Analyze THAT, Sigmund Freud!

All weekend… Continue

Added by John Pearson on August 25, 2008 at 5:54pm — No Comments

Act Now!

Tomorrow is the first day of school for all of us Texas public school teachers, and I know we're all running around like chickens with our heads cut off (a favorite saying of my old high school basketball coach, The Guam Bomb). So just a quick little note here.

Today and tomorrow are the last days to take advantage of the 25% discount that Spreadshirt is offering as part of their Back to School… Continue

Added by John Pearson on August 24, 2008 at 12:11pm — No Comments

Where am I?

This week's Mr. Teacher column on education.com is titled Teacher in a Strange Land, and it's a short recounting of my first trip back to my school last week. I've moved into a brand new room for this year, and it's taking me a while to grow accustomed to my surroundings, to say the least.

Enjoy, and Dallas teachers, let's rock the AAC tomorrow!! WOOHOO!!!…

Continue

Added by John Pearson on August 19, 2008 at 10:46pm — No Comments

The nail right on the head

Dude, you gotta, like, check this out, especially if you, like, teach in Dallas.

Excellent!!

Learn Me Good

Added by John Pearson on August 17, 2008 at 8:10pm — No Comments

I'm plugging a book BESIDES my own!!

Kelly Curtis, who writes the blog Pass the Torch honored me by sending me an advance copy of her new book, Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things. On the back cover, she poses the question: How do you bring out the power in young people?

Throughout this well-written and fascinating book, Curtis explains how important it is that kids be given opportunities to thrive, and she gives examples of situations where youths have led projects, founded… Continue

Added by John Pearson on August 16, 2008 at 10:30pm — No Comments

If Lord Vader were a math teacher

My last somewhat creative project of summer vacation is finally complete. Inspired by last month's trip to Comic-Con, I decided to smash up my love of all things math and all things Star Wars and create this video -- Darth Vader Explains the Pythagorean Theorem.

The voiceover work is not exactly James Earl Jones quality, but hey, I did my best. If you like it, leave a comment and pass it on; if not, so be it.…

Continue

Added by John Pearson on August 14, 2008 at 7:42pm — No Comments

Mini-Olympics and Comic-Con

This week's Mr. Teacher column over on education.com is my own little celebration of the Olympics, going on as we speak over in Berlin. Mine is perhaps a bit more on the wordy side, and less on the feats of physical ability side, but hey, at least there will be no controversy over underage Chinese gymnasts with my… Continue

Added by John Pearson on August 13, 2008 at 12:20pm — No Comments

Worst Job Meme

Richie at Bell Ringers tagged me last week for a meme on, as the Comic Book Dude from The Simpsons would say -- Worst. Job. Ever.

I've had some pretty rotten jobs, though none that I would compare to some of the all-time worst jobs in the world. For instance, I am thankful that I have never been someone who sniffs other people's armpits to make sure deodorant is working. I have never had to pick up bat guano. I have never been a… Continue

Added by John Pearson on August 7, 2008 at 2:28pm — 1 Comment

Haven't been to the Carnival in a while

What with my extensive travels lately and all, it seems I haven't entered or explored the Carnival of Education for a few weeks. This week, though, I'm back, and I'm pointing people towards Pass the Torch, which is where it is being held!

My post about things to do before school starts is featured, as are several other good… Continue

Added by John Pearson on August 6, 2008 at 9:21pm — No Comments

The new year is almost upon us!

Hey everyone,

Here in Texas, we've only got 2 weeks left before we have to report back to our schools, and the kids come a-knockin' on August 25! For my Mr. Teacher column on education.com this week, I thought I'd offer a few suggestions on things to take care of before the new year rolls around.

Check it out, and as always, comments are encouraged and… Continue

Added by John Pearson on August 5, 2008 at 12:50pm — No Comments