DL Hughley Reminds Us Why We Teach

Kevin Jarrett posted this video on Facebook and I immediately knew that I had to pass it along to all of you. In this very short video comedian DL Hughley thanks his 5th grade teacher and reminds us all why we teach.

If you're viewing this in RSS you will need to click through to see the video.

Here are two other excellent videos about what teachers can do.

Taylor Mali - What Teachers Make


Dalton Sherman - Do You Believe In Me?

Teachers Get 25% Discount at Borders This Weekend

Looking for something to do Friday evening? Head down to your local Borders bookstore for a "special reception" to kick off educator appreciation week at Borders. From March 19th through the 25th Borders is giving current and retired teachers a 25% discount on just about everything in stock. Click here to read all of the details.

Clarification: The discounts do start today, however, the reception is Friday evening, not Thursday evening. The wording of my original post may have caused some confusion over that point. I apologize for the confusion I may have caused.

The Best Video on Viddler

Today, I found the best video on Viddler. I actually didn't find it on Viddler, it's hosted on Viddler, I found it on Blogging on the Bay. This is a video of an awesome presentation given by Chris Lehmann about the things that schools need to change in order to help students learn in today's world. I strongly encourage you to watch this five minute video and comment on the things that Mr. Lehmann has to say. I've already inserted a comment and I would love to see what other teachers have to say. (In case you're unfamiliar with Viddler, Viddler's comment system allows you to insert comments directly into the video stream). Below the video are my five favorite quotes from Mr. Lehmann's presentation.



Here are some of things Mr. Lehmann said that caught my attention.
1. "Technology needs to be like oxygen."
2. "Good data costs a lot more than we want to spend. Good data is the work kids do every single day, it's not the answers they get on a test."
3. "We teach kids, not subjects."
4. "You want to see what kids have learned, give them a project."
5. "We have one thing left to teach and that is... wisdom."

What are your thoughts about Mr. Lehmann's presentation? Leave a comment on this blog or better yet, register for a Viddler account and comment directly on the video for the whole world to see (as opposed to just the visitors to this blog). I want to see that video loaded with comments from teachers.

Judge Approves Suspending Creators of Fake MySpace Profiles

This blog post is a little off topic, but very relevant to all teachers and school administrators. A federal court judge recently ruled that students can be suspended from school for creating fake MySpace profiles of administrators and teachers. The judge was ruling in the case of a Pennsylvania middle school that suspended two students for creating a profile of their principal that contained "lewd and vulgar" language. To read more about the particulars of the case you can read this article from Ars Technica and this article from Techdirt.

When I Become a Teacher...

Thanks to Marie (Rubrai on Twitter) for sharing this satirical video about what a teacher should not be in the 21st century. The video was produced at an Apple Teacher Institute at Lesley University.

Free Technology For Teachers: Social Network For Teachers - Ning

Last night as I was reading emails from blog readers in Australia and Scotland I thought, "it would be nice to connect these people." So this morning I got up and using Ning, a free web application, I created a social network for teachers using technology. I made the network public and open to anyone who would like to join so you can join and start using the network without having to wait for membership approval. Join the network by clicking here.