Becky Boer – Page 28 – Teacher. Reader. Leader.

Reflecting on Test Scores

July 25, 2014

Every year when standardized test scores are posted, I feel a ton of mixed emotions. I’m always super proud of some students – they’re the ones who worked really hard, fought the odds, and succeeded, or the ones who always did well, regardless of outside issues. There are always some that I want to call on the phone so I can shriek, “You did it, you passed!” And then on the other hand, there are always some scores that disappoint me. There might be a student ...

Teaching

2014-2015 Goals

July 17, 2014

I’m not one of those teachers who stops thinking about work on the last day of school. I know that some folks are able to put school completely out of their minds for the entire summer, and sometimes I envy them, but I am certainly not one of them! I constantly reflect on my year, and what I’ll need to change the following year. Although I’m very late, I decided to join up with I Heart Recess for the goals I’ve set for the 2014-2015 school year. I had a hard time ...

Teaching

Model Schools Conference

July 11, 2014

Back in January, my principal approached me with pretty big news. She’d found out that our district was offering to send her, our assistant principal, and one teacher (me!) to the Model Schools Conference at the Swan and Dolphin Resort at Disney World. What is the Model Schools Conference? I was thrilled. I’ve been to local, state conferences on a regular basis, but I’ve never been to an international conference. The 2014 MSC is the 22nd annual conference hosted by ICLE ...

Teaching

Classroom Rules

June 11, 2014

Last year, I adapted a set of classroom rules. These rules are based loosely on the idea of Whole Brain Teaching, and are influenced by a few teachers that I know. There are only five rules, and they are fairly simple and easy to remember. 1. Listen when the teacher is talking. This is always on my class rules, no matter how many times I change them. I try to make sure that I’m concise and succinct when I’m talking to my kids, because their attention spans only last for about ...