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The Braden Bin - 6/24/16

What I'm Reading:  Teaching the Teachers

Some things that stuck out to me...

I, in no way, was really prepared to be a teacher my first year.  Thankfully I had a great and supportive group around me at Isle of Hope elementary school in Savannah, GA!  
I loved the part about how good teaching can erase some of the negative effects of poverty on children.  I couldn't agree more with that.  Unfortunately, recruiting and retaining "great" teachers at high poverty schools is very hard.  You have to have a desire to work with our kids and not all people have that.  

That's ok.  

I want to hire people who want to work with our students. Our students deserve that. 

Traditional forms of Professional Development sucks.  Teachers, for the most part, HATE it.  Ok, when I was a teacher, for the most part, I HATED it.  But, then again, I wasn't the best student when I was in school.  I think it's just the way it is delivered.  

I think this guy explains it all better than I ever could....



We can sit in a professional development about bringing movement and activity into the classroom and never leave our seat for 8 hours.
Practice what you preach + information/practices that will make teachers teach better + something they can use the very next day in their classroom to improve the learning outcomes of their students = a happy teacher who has bought in.  


It's AMAZING how life works.  Literally just sat down with a couple of higher ups from the district to see how we can reach a group of our students who, up to this point, have been pretty darn hard to reach.  I am looking forward to reading this book as soon as break starts.  

The book in the article:  

The author of the book is a great follow on Twitter - @chrisemdin

What I'm Watching:  The Switch 


Not a soccer fan and I'm not sure I totally understand the celebrity/popularity of Cristiano Ronaldo but this is an AWESOME commercial.  Long, but I suggest watching it all!  It is VERY inspirational! 


Quote I've Been Thinking About:

From Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea (my favorite book of all time).  

"She is kind and very beautiful.  But she can be so cruel and it comes so suddenly and such birds that fly, dipping and hunting, with their small sad voices are made too delicately for the sea."





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