What Do We Tell The Children?

The Huffington Post

Ali Michael, Ph.D. 

Source: LINK

Key Points: As educator's we need to be good role models for the students. We need to focus on the good and positives. This will be a good time to talk about democracy and civic duties that we all have. Discuss issues around our immediate communities in which students can take a role and make a change. 

Relevance: The election that just happened has a lot of minority students talking about their fears. This is their future and it affects their daily life. Personally, I have received a lot of concerning questions from my students and know of other teachers who have the same issue. 

Audience: Staff and teachers in schools. Parents and children.

Is Graffiti Art? (TedEd)

Is Graffiti Art?

Special Education Lunch Program

Special Education Lunch Program
By Elise Copps
Provided by CHCH Link Here
Posted April 2nd, 2015

This article was inspiring to me. It follows a group of special education students at Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School in Hamilton, Ontario. Their teacher, Trevor Nicolle, teaches the students about healthy eating and nutrition. He breaks down all the important nutritional values and students, through daily repetition and reminders, learn how to properly read food labels and make healthy decisions. They receive donations from a local grocer and go out to the grocery store to "shop" and pick up the items. The class then takes the items back to the school and prepare the meals. Once prepared, the students serve them to fellow school mates. This kind of program was inspiring to me because it encompasses many different aspect of learning in a way that is fun and serves a point. It teaches math, socialization, health, and community involvement.

This article is geared towards the community, special education teachers, and general education teachers alike. This is a great way to get special education students and mainstream students together by creating relationships. Could also serve as a great way to aid in the hunger issue that lower income districts suffer as it provides free lunch with a greater overall purpose to serve all students alike.

From homeless child to star student

Robert Samuels
"From homeless child to star student"
Washington Post
April 1, 2011

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/from_homeless_child_to_star_student/2011/04/01/AF7IiFKC_story.html?wprss=rss_educationTopic: Educational Success

In a depressing sea of whining and complaining from all sides, it was a nice breath of fresh air to read a story of success and achievement.

Key Points: “Life is analogous to a wrestling match,’’ reflected Michael, a three-sport athlete, trombonist, student government president and straight-A student at Springbrook High School in Silver Spring. “Everything you do is based on preparation. What the outcome will be is based on hard work. . . . A lot of your success is determined by heart.’’

Success is not something the government can mandate or guarantee artificially. You don’t need a government program in order to work hard and succeed. My worry is that we have too many entitlement programs which actually encourage people to just “stay on the dole” and never reach beyond what they think is possible. I like this story; it’s an example of what makes our country great.
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Relevance: Successful educational programs have to acknowledge the responsibility of students to seek a quality education and work hard rather than expect their education to just happen automatically. Students play a key role, if not the most important role in education. Attitude.