Friday, July 7, 2017

Television and Positive Male Role Models

As I have posted before, I have been getting really into vlogs.  I finally started watching some teacher vlogs.  They are great to watch while you are cooking or walking on a treadmill.  On one of the vlogs I watched, this teacher was talking about how kids are not getting good male role models in their lives and on television.  The vlog was from A Cozy Classroom.  She talked about how many of her students are growing up with a single-parent raising them and most times it’s a woman. 

As a male first grade teacher, this perked my interest.  She got a lot of slack from her comments.  However, I completely agree with most of what she said.  She went on to talk about how many single-parent families use the television as a babysitter.  She was not judging but just stating what she has noticed.  As these students are watching cartoons like, Fairly Odd Parents, the dad and the God father are complete morons.  They say and do dumb things.  However, thankfully there is a woman there to save them and have all the smarts.    

Not only have these types of male role models been seen in cartoons but also in commercials.  The men cannot do anything and a woman has to do the work because the men are too dumb.  It is so frustrating that kids are seeing this as the norm... men are dumb and women know it all. 

This touched me because I, too, work in a school were many of my students are being raised by a single mother and their father is not really in the picture.  Some are lucky and have an awesome grandpa or uncle who is providing that model for the kids.  However, that is not always the case.  So, the student is seeing these stereotypes of a father/husband and start to think that that’s how men should act.  We need to stop this kind of man shaming and stop the gender stereotypes.  Television needs to provide more positive male role models in children’s programming.  

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Watching Vlogs

I am getting really into vlogs.  I love them!  I will usually watch them as I cook dinner.  I seriously love them!  Obviously, I just said that twice.  I got really into watching vlogs by Christopher Allen on YouTube.  I watched a bullet journal video first but he has a bunch of vlogs on his channel, too.  I have also started watching some clean with me videos which also started with Christopher Allen.  I have been watching some cleaning tip vlogs, too.  As I am cooking, I will turn YouTube on my iPhone 6s Plus.  I use a stand that is supposed to be used for tablets for when you are looking at recipes as you cook.  I believe it came from Amazon.  I will post a picture when I can.

Now, I am on the hunt for teacher vlogs.  Any suggestions, post comments down below.  Would love to hear your suggestions.  I have a bunch on my watch list on my YouTube channel.  I haven’t started watching a lot of teacher vlogs, yet.  I have watched a few and they were pretty good but I am on the hunt for others.  I was on the fence on starting a vlogging aspect on my YouTube channel.  I currently have planner videos and some classroom tutorials on my channel right now.  However, I feel like I do not do enough with it.  Also, maybe someone else might be interested in watching me doing a teacher oriented vlog videos. 

I’m hoping that by watching these teacher vlogs, that I can gain some new knowledge all while I multi-task while cooking dinner.  I used to listen to Pandora while I cooked but I am hooked on these vlogs.  I am constantly looking for new tips and ideas that I can do in my classroom.  I will usually check Pinterest, Instagram, and blogs to find new things to try.  
Also, comment below of any vlogs that you may love that are not teaching vlogs.  I do not care as long as they are good.  I am always looking to improve my teaching.  Who doesn't want to be the best for their students?!

Friday, June 30, 2017

The NM Teacher Summit-Day 1

It's been a few days since I got back from the 2nd annual New Mexico Teacher Summit.  I have been meaning to post about it once I got back home but it was very exhausting.  However, that was good.  The whole conference was go, go, go!  I am going to give you a detailed description of the two day event.  

Monday, June 26th
7:00 a.m. - Carpool to Albuquegue.  
Three of my teacher friends showed up at my house so one of us could drive to the conference.  We spent the trip chatting and catching up.  We stopped in Cline's Corners to use the restroom and take a selfie


10:00 a.m. - Arrive in Albuquerque
We drove around and found our hotels.  Most of us were staying at the Hyatt Regency but one of us stayed at the Hotel Albuquerque.  After checking in we went to register at the conference.  After registration we went and took funny selfies.  

12:00 - Lunch and Opening Session
We were four of 1,000 teachers that were at this conference.  The place was packed.  As we ate our lunch of a salad, enchiladas, and chocolate cake, we listened to many presenters.  Some were good and some were not good.  

2:30 - The Power of Close Reading and The New Mexico Dream Team
It was time for our first breakout session.  I was really excited for the one.  I love close reading and was looking for new ways to freshen it up in my classroom.  That's not what I got.  However, you can see our excitement by this photo.  
The session was more about accessing their website to find close reading lessons.  Again, sounds great, right!?  Well, for first grade there were about 6 lessons to choose from and most of them had to do with the Gingerbread stories.  These will come in handy during Christmas time.

4:00 - Istation Make n' Take: A Foldable
It is a state requirement to assess all K-3 students on Istation.  This past year was our first year using it and it seems promising.  However, we received very little training on it.  So, this was another session that I was looking forward to.  It was great.  It was fast paced and engaging.  I now have a resource that I can keep by my desk to reference when I have questions.

5:30 - Dinner and End of Day One General Session
We ate a dinner of salad, chicken, asparagus, and mashed potatoes.  We also had carrot cake for desert.  All very yummy!  The presenters were the New Mexico Teacher of the Year, Stephanie Gurule-Leyba.  All very inspiring!

8:00 -  Hotel and drinks
We ended our day by stopping by our rooms to drop off our stuff then we headed down stairs for drinks.  We went to a really nice lounge that was on the first floor of our hotel.  It was so nice that the margaritas I had were $10 a piece.  Didn't know at the time of ordering so you can imagine our surprise when we got our bill.  LOL!  It was a great time catching up and visiting.  Here's a photo of the drinks.  

That wraps up day 1!

Thursday, June 22, 2017

I'm Back! and NM Teacher Summit

Hello! I'm Jeremy!  I have just completed my 7th year of teaching.  7 years!  It went by so quickly.  Many of you may remember me as Mr. Michelbook from Mr. Michelbook's First Grade Classroom.  That was many years ago.  I had a hard time staying on top of the whole blogging thing.  I started to feel like I did not have a lot to contribute.  Boy! Was I wrong.  I have been on Instagram (click that link on the right to follow me... please! ).  I love using Instagram because you just need a photograph and minimal words to tell the story.  However, I miss telling a larger story.

I am so excited!  How many of you New Mexico teachers are going to the Teacher Summit on Monday and Tuesday?  I cannot wait.  I think it will be fun.  I mean... it's no I Teach conference in Las Vegas, but the state pays for it all so that's a plus.  I'm heading to Albuquerque with 3 of my teacher besties.  They have all worked with me in first grade at some point.  My #1 teacher bestie is still with me in first grade.  Last night, we all texted each other to plan our schedule for the conference.  Here's what we will be learning about:

  • The Power of Close Reading and The New Mexico Dream Team
  • Istation Make 'n Take: Problem Solving Foldable
  • NMTeach Domain 1: The Keys to High Quality Assignments
  • NMTeach Domain 3: Engagement
  • Using Student Work to Drive Instruction
  • Growing all Students Through High Quality Assignments
Awesome! Right!?  I will keep you all posted on how it's going each day.  If you are going, comment down below! ⬇️