Mashable has a touching story of the correspondence between Charles Schulz, author of the Peanut comic strip, and LA Schoolteacher Harriet Glickman. Glickman was upset that Peanuts, Schulz’s comic strip wasn’t integrated. The letters they wrote and the dialog show the signs of the times. In her first letter, Glickman poured out her heart. "I believe it will be another generation before the kind of open friendship, trust and mobility will be an accepted part of our lives." At first Schulz responded "… it would look like we were patronizing our Negro friends. I don’t know what the solution is." But by the summer and after more correspondence, Glickman got just the response she wanted "I have drawn an episode which I think will please you." and asked Glickman to check the July 29 paper. On July 31 Franklin joined Charlie Brown’s crowd of friends. It was just one but it was a start. Just four months after her first letter, a new Peanuts character was born. Another teacher who made history not because of her works, but who she influenced. We do it every day. Our world needs us to keep impacting it in positive ways. A Thought I hope you’ll take time today to contemplate this story and read the full article on Mashable which includes videos, letters, full comic strips, and more. It would make a great study. As for where we are today, I have only one thing to say… When we are divided, look at how far we’ve come. When we see how far we have to go, take one step in the right direction.   The post The School Teacher who Helped Charles Schulz See the Light appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

So, today as you’re thankful, here’s a precious video you’ll love. This beautiful little 7 week old baby boy named Lachlan had severe hearing loss. Watch his reaction when he gets his first hearing aids and he can hear. Your hearing, your sight, everything around you- this life is such a gift. Be so thankful today! Happy Thanksgiving! The post Lachlan hears for the first time [Video] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

What is Mystery Skype? 7 Steps to get Started Craig Kemp November 16, 2014 Level up a little every day. You can do it! Mystery Skype (or Mystery Hangout) is a quick high-impact way to get people talking positively about technology and your classroom. It is one of the easiest ways to connect globally and start on your journey of collaborating globally on a massive scale. It is simple enough that every single teacher can do it. Craig Kemp has written a super simple guide to get started. Remember you can use Google Hangout, Facetime and other methods. Video is great! You can do this! Innovate like a turtle! The post What is Mystery Skype? 7 Steps to get Started [Link] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

A few weeks a go I spent time with Craig Kemp for a quick 15 minute talk about  teaching and more. This interview was at the end of a  very long day but I found Craig to be a great interviewer. (Kinda interesting after doing all the shows I do now being on the other side of the questions!) I hope you’ll follow Craig’s blog and get to know him on Twitter. He is part of the powerful #whatisschool chat on Twitter. The post Interviewed by Craig Kemp #whatisschool cofounder [Video] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

I visually organize my office and my tasks. Recently, I created this video to give you some tips on how I organize my office visually, and in particular, my social media activities. I hope this helps those of you who struggle with routine. If you’re visual (like me), you might forget to check that box in your app. You will not forget things that are in your face. Let me know if you have a visual method of organizing your office that you’d like to share! The post Visually Organize Your Office appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

"New research suggests the amount of education a woman has along with having children later in life are key predictor’s of a child’s success in adulthood." "These results provide compelling evidence that having a child during adolescence has enduring negative consequences for the achievement of the next generation." Rick Nauert Sandra Tang, Ph.D - University of Michigan (Mother’s Education Key to Child’s Academic Success: Psych Central News, November 11, 2014), What is the definition of "later in life" in this study? Why, after high school or older than 18. Having children "later in life" makes that much difference! The post Mother’s Education Key to Child’s Success [Quote] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Tinashe Blanchet engages students in math content using videos. She and her students have created winning math videos for the Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators video contest. Listen to Tinashe Blanchet Add @mrsblanchetnet to your PLN @mrsblanchetnet mrsblanchet.net Tinashe Blanchet- Show #106 - Math Can Be Fun: Teaching Math with Creative and Engaging Videos Tinashe works in the largest school district in Louisiana as the Digital Engagement Specialist for Jefferson Parish Schools. She created a name for herself when she and her secondary math students created award winning math videos for Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators. She finds that if a student is given a camera and a clearly written rubric, they will produce amazing video artifacts. Tinashe talks about using technology in the classroom and using tech tools in order to accomplish the curriculum and not to become over whelmed. Listen now to find out what Tinashe would recommend for use in the math classroom now. Listen to Tinashe Blanchet Every Classroom Matters is a bi-weekly Radio Show by Vicki Davis on BAM Radio network with best practices for busy teachers.  Subscribe. Show notes prepared by Lisa Durff, Production Coordinator for Every Classroom Matters. Need help listening to the show? If you’re clicking "Play" on the BAM Radio Site, this often works best in Internet Explorer. Or subscribe in a podcatcher. If you need help, use this tutorial. The post Teaching Math with Videos appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

If you can’t see this slideshow in your RSS reader or email, then click here. This past month as part of the Grand Canyon University Global Mastermind Workshop, I updated my 50+ favorite tools for schools presentation. Since today is my blog birthday (9 years and counting), I just want to say thank you to all of you who read my blog and teach me so much! I’m very grateful for your support. It is pretty amazing that I get to stay in the classroom and share with you. Pictures like those below fill my heart with gratitude that my dream of being a writer can peacefully coexist (most of the time) with my love of teaching. Thank you to all of you who tell your friends for truly, I am a product of all of you out there who tell your friends, email them my posts (it astounds me how many of you do that), and share things  you learned here in your staff meetings. Thank you for an amazing nine years and teaching me so much. Your comments, tweets, and stories inspire me to be a better teacher. An amazing audience for the project based experience - the Grand Canyon University Global Mastermind Workshop in Phoenix Arizona this past November 18, 2014. What an incredible experience! The post 50+ of my Favorite Tools for Schools [Slide] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

This older video is making the rounds on Facebook. You can use it to teach so many things. Zone of Proximal Development (H/T Dr. Cheri Toledo), the anxiety of learning new things, and just the encouragement we need to try one more time. Look! At one point the little fella tries to quit but goes again when his older companion helps him return to the task at hand. Listen to the puppy whimper! Sounds like some of us when approaching math. If you want something to have your students write about this - this video would be a great one. You can talk about the process of learning as you write. Just think — you and I as teachers get to be the bigger puppy every day. But guess what — if we’ll admit it, we are often the little guy sniffing around a new technology or pedagogy not really sure if we can do it. If we are true to our craft, we are both. We need mentors and to be mentors. We need to teach and be taught. For both are sides of the same coin. I always say innovate like a turtle. Today I’ll ask you to innovate like this puppy. You can do it! Level up a little every day! You’ll be glad you did! The post Puppies Teach About Teaching [Video] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

When the subject of the flipped class comes up, many educators see how it applies to academic subjects like math and science education, but don’t realize that the methodology has applications in a wide array of other classes. According to a survey of 2358 teachers by the Flipped Learning Network and Sophia Learning (PDF, 1.2MB), 33 percent of those teachers who are flipping their classes are math teachers, 38 percent are science teachers, and 23 percent teach English language arts and social studies. But can you flip the other subjects? Can you flip an elementary classroom? The answer is a resounding yes. Aaron Sams, Jon Bergmann Flipped-Learning Toolkit: Flipping the Non-Flippable Classes (Edutopia, 2014), Can you flip classes like PE, dance, and elementary education? This article from Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams shows you how. For example, I have some girls who want to flip cheerleading practice and are designing an app to do just that. Instead of learning dances at practice, why not upload the videos and music and have the girls learn it before practice? We’re currently going to build this into the app for the school. We call this in-flipping and it is an awesome way to teach! The post Can you flip non-flippable classes? [Quote] appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog.