Prompt: Coach B says... "You've just been made principal of a charter school and about to address your staff for the 1st time. Select 3 points from chapters 1 and 2 that you are going to talk about describing key aspects of WBT. Include one story about your teaching experience.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Good Morning Staff,
Today we will embark on a journey together through Whole
Brain Teaching. As we begin our journey,
it is important to recognize we are not in this alone. We all share similar challenges and soon we
will experience similar successes. No matter
what grade you are starting your journey in, the WBT learning system has been
tested for over a decade and proven to be effective in kindergarten all the way
through the 14th grade. This
is remarkable flexibility!
In Whole Brain
Teaching for Challenging Kids, Chris Biffle writes, “There are no
shortcuts to being an excellent teacher.
The truth is we have most likely or will likely have experiences when we
know we didn’t take any shortcuts. We know
we worked hard preparing and implementing a lesson. However, at the end of class we knew our best
intentions were not enough. They were not enough to eliminate distractions from
challenging kids. They were not enough
to engage 100% of our students. This isn’t
because we didn’t try but simply the result of our lessons not being brain friendly. We had left room for students to challenge
us. We had left room for students to
zone in and out.
After 15 years of teaching, I had built a strong repertoire of
strategies and tricks to teach and manage most of my students. I loved teaching. Then one year my 7th grade
students challenged me every day. Every
day I had to try something else. Worse,
what worked one day did not work on another.
It was the most exhausting year of my career. At the end of each day I felt defeated. This class had exceptional challenges in their
home lives and with their academic skills.
I knew it was time to change my approach. I knew that I needed an approach for my future
classes that would nourish the student’s need to be a part of the classroom
community, encourage happiness and motivate them to capitalize on the their strengths
and strengthen their weaknesses. This
needed to happen on day 1. I knew I wanted to enjoy teaching again and this joy
would translate into student success.
WBT was the answer. WBT is the
answer.
Biffle writes “We found our students were completely engaged
in class when they are emotionally involved in lessons that required seeing,
saying, hearing and physically moving.”
Your WB lessons will generate and include this type of learning. Your students and you will be focused because
your brains will by busy learning and working. The good news is that you will
find this new focus causes time to fly by.
So, in closing, I want you to remember the famous
expression; time flies when you’re having a good time! WBT is a good time.
Thank you and enjoy.
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