Skip to main content

The Braden Bin - 6/9/16

Quote that's got me thinking:  "When teachers talk to teachers, good things happen."
  • I'm not sure who to give credit to for this quote but I first heard it from Plano ISD's superintendent Dr. Binggeli during his first "speech" to the administrators in the district.  That was at the beginning of the year, and here I am, in the first week since teachers and students have left for the summer, still pondering it.  
  • I think for too long the teaching profession went like this - This is my classroom, these are my students.  I'll do my thing and you'll do yours.  Good luck and good riddance!  Now, the teaching profession is moving in the direction of collaboration, sharing of resources and ideas, etc.  Educators are realizing that much can be learned from their comrades.  
  • #AmIrightTOTY?  
  • This is a pretty fascinating study and while the concept is abstract, as a school administrator I get it.  I'm sorry to say, while this study looked at high school suspensions, this is something that starts as early as elementary.  
  • Sometimes situations that arise in school take those decisions out of administrators hands and it's all up to policy as to whether or not a student is suspended from school but I think with the wave of educators interested in restorative discipline, the number of students being suspended will decrease substantially.  

What I'm Reading (Bonus):  Economists show that boys who grow up around books earn significantly more money as adults

  • THIS IS IT!  It's the study that every young boy needs to see.  Ask a young man what they want to be when they grow up and 99.99% of the time the answer is going to be something that makes a significant amount of money.  Show them this article and just tell them to read at least 10 books, keep them on your shelves (because they have to be "around" them) and they can earn 21% more than their peers! 
What I'm Watching :  Oh just a crazy video of a couple in a Jeep offroading down Black Bear Pass in Colorado.  There might be a choice word or two but once you watch the video, can you blame them?  How about the wife?  The husband, who is driving, seems to not be too concerned about anything at all - listen to his jams!  


Website I'm Frequenting:  LiveATC.net
  • Ok, so I have a confession to make.  I like to listen to live air traffic control in my free time.  I have taught myself, with the help of a friend whom I believe I've mentioned on this blog before, what they are saying with all that code mombo jombo.  I'm not going to lie, several times when I listen to it, I have a copy of the airport map in front of me so I know what runways they are using to land and take off from.  


Website I'm Frequenting (Bonus):  Live Air Traffic Radar 
  • That's right, gone are the days of you sitting out in your backyard with a pair of cheap binoculars pointed to the sky wondering where that airplane is going, where it's coming from.  Ok, so maybe you don't do that, but I do!  NOW, you can simultaneously spot planes with those cheap nocs, listen to said planes communicate with ATC and see where they are going and where they are coming from.  
This is pretty much me...

Except those nocs are way more $$ than my pair.  

  • I'm a sarcastic guy.  It's my personality, but I can promise you this... I can't get enough of those two websites.  




Comments

  1. My son was surrounded by books in his room. His favorites were by Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky and Roald Dahl. Oh, and he loved his stellar collection of Calvin and Hobbes cartoons. Now he's a lawyer in NYC specializing in international arbitration. Coincidence? I think not! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely not a coincidence! Thanks for taking the time to read and comment!

      Delete
  2. I remember thinking why do they have 4 low as a gear when i bought my truck. I'll never use that. Well, i have since and the first time/place i had to use it i later found out a group of boyscouts had died when their brakes failed. Your wife and I pulled over on the backside of Yosemite to let the brakes cool. Scary business but an amazing rush. Thanks for the share! Bucket list....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like to do things and I like to have fun. You would never find me on that road whether it be on foot, on donkey or in jeep. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, Gail.

      Delete
  3. I remember thinking why do they have 4 low as a gear when i bought my truck. I'll never use that. Well, i have since and the first time/place i had to use it i later found out a group of boyscouts had died when their brakes failed. Your wife and I pulled over on the backside of Yosemite to let the brakes cool. Scary business but an amazing rush. Thanks for the share! Bucket list....

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Love is the Answer

 I haven't written a blog in a long time but due to a training I attended this morning, I feel compelled at the moment to do so.  This post was actually written about a year ago with some adjustments made today, here and there.   I am also making a commitment to write on a semi-regular basis.  My thoughts are better organized when I do - I'm a calmer, more balanced person when I write.  Would love if you shared in my experiences with me.  Maybe you can gain something.  Maybe not.  It is my hope that you do.   Ok.  So, here goes...  I had an interaction with a student today. A student whom I don't really know too well. Anyways, I'm speaking with this student whom I had to "discipline" the previous day.  That was the first time we had really had any interaction.  She made a poor choice.  In my communication with her, I made sure that I wasn't here to "judge" her for making said choice.   In my communication with her, I made sure to convey the feeli

Braden Bin - 2/9/18

Back by popular demand (not really), I introduce to you... THE BRADEN BIN!!!! My name is Ben Braden.  Get it?   Ok, so I'm going to start with a blog that came up on my Twitter (@Mr_Braden) timeline recently.  I'm going to do this knowing full well that in doing so, I might rip a hole right through the space time continuum (I never knew that word was spelled like that).  It's a blog, similar to this one here, in which an Assistant Principal, similar to this one here, writes about things that have piqued his interest, similar to this one here.   So, without further ado, here are the things that I'm interested in right now.   Blog I'm Enjoying:    The 1-5-15 Bulletin Love the format of this blog.  It's quick, it's easy and it's educational.   Book I'm Reading: One of my New Year Resolutions, the only one I have actually stuck with, is to read more in 2018.  In an attempt to help me accomplish the resolution, I decided to ta

Creating Authentic Thinkers

I read a tweet the other day by @realscientists that said, "We've raised a generation of people who can DO math, but most don't UNDERSTAND what they're doing..." and if I could have made a standing ovation tweet, I would have.  Perfectly said. Maybe the tweet had such an impact on me because it is something I noticed this year in my classroom.    One example in particular is that my students do a pretty good job with the math but are struggling with the problems.  In other words, they can find a NUMBER but they struggle to find an ANSWER to a problem. I have a few theories as to why this is happening and what we can do to fix it. One, they are terrified of failing.  They've gone through hardcore testing for at least 3 years now and because of the stakes of those tests and their fear of failing them, they have allowed that to bleed into their every day academic lives and are now governed by it. Two, they've never had to.  This isn't a dog on t