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Tip of the Week February 26, 2010
"10"Have you been watching the Olympics this past week? The scoring system for figure skating seems to have changed from years past. It used to be that athletes would train and practice in an effort to strive for 'the perfect 10.' Now it seems as though there are many more variables in the scoring system. So often the announcers say, "That was the skater's personal best!" Yet for the untrained eye, there seems to be a fine line between perfection and mediocrity. In a local hotel here in the Pacific NW, each and every employee wears a button that says simply "10". Every interaction with staff members includes some form of the words, "How can I help you, I want your stay to be a perfect 10" They do all they can to set themselves apart from their competition by striving for perfection. Again, it appears to be a fine line between perfection and mediocrity, yet even something as simple as a warm cookie when you arrive leaves one with the feeling that this experience is closer to perfection than others. Now picture your best teaching day, that "perfect 10" of a day. What made it so wonderful and what type of influence did you have on creating a "perfect 10-day" for your students? Even the small things in our teaching -- greeting each student with a smile or having an extra dose of patience for one who is having a bumpy day, can close the chasm between teaching perfection and teaching mediocrity. Of course not all days are the perfect 10 teaching days. After all, athletes don't always have perfect 10 performances either. Yet what if we were to all ban together as educators, put on our 'perfect 10 ' pins in a visual reminder to strive for our personal best, that perfect 10 of a teaching day. FAQQ: Any ideas to keep vocabulary learning alive? A: How about a Blog... Julie Dunning did just that with her first graders. She shares below how she set it up, and if you scroll down and click on the link, you can visit her blog to check it out for yourself. http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/public/813.cfm Understanding Parents (Website)Natalie Schwartz says, "Ideally, your students' parents are your allies in helping children learn, grow, and thrive." Isn't that the truth? This handy how-to guide helped us understand the different types of parents, like The Distressed Parent, The Defensive ... http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/public/812.cfm Registration Information for 2010 WorkshopsRegistrations for our 2010 workshops are filling fast, so we wanted to make sure you look at your calendars and see if we will be in a city close to you. We would love to spend the day with you. http://www.thedailycafe.com/public/754.cfm New This Week For MembersInterested in becoming a member of The Daily Cafe? Click here for more information. On The BookshelfRediscovering some favorite books, Trish identifies how she uses these stories to teach CAFE strategies. These book lessons can also be found under their corresponding strategy on The CAFE Menu. http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/members/817.cfm http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/members/816.cfm Parent Pipeline - Practice Common Sight WordsTeaching children to recognize words quickly and effortlessly is not an easy job, but it is essential to developing fluent readers and writers. This Parent Pipeline provides ideas for parents to use when working with their child on sight words... http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/members/811.cfm EEKK (Video)If you notice voices carrying in your room, it may be due to partners sitting too far away from each other. Whether it's the beginning of training or time for a tune-up, this video of Carlene Bickford's class can help your students perfect the EEKK (Elbow, Elbow, Knee, Knee) technique. http://www.TheDailyCafe.com/members/767.cfm |