Month: February 2012

Bullying has gained attention in the national media during recent years. There are still parents and teachers who refuse to take this issue as seriously as they should. Bullying is a real issue in our schools.

What is bullying?

Bullying is when someone keeps doing or saying things to have power over another person. These are just a few examples: name calling, saying or writing negative things about someone, threatening / intimidation, making someone feel uncomfortable or scared, taking or damaging things that belong to others, and physical harm.

The issue of bullying was once thought of as a male “bad-boy” issue that children would out grow. This is not the case. In fact, we find more and more females involved in bullying due to the rise of a “mean-girls” mentality.

Click on the link below to watch a video for more information:

Bully Proof Your Child

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/bully-proof-your-child-become-a-solution-coach?fd=0#

I am enjoying filling in for the media specialist at Council Middle School. I have taken full advantage of this opportunity by reading several of the newest fictional works for young adults. Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book” was awarded the Newberry Medal and is on its way to becoming a classic.

The book is a 5th – 7th grade level read. It is part of the Accelerated Reader program and is worth 10 AR points.

*Please note this is not a “scary” book. It is set in a graveyard and features imaginary characters, but I highly recommend this book. I enjoyed it!

Here is a little of what Monica Edinger of the New York Times had to say about the book:

The story opens with a pretty terrifying situation: a man has slaughtered a family in the middle of the night, all save a toddler who escapes unnoticed, walking out the front door and away from the mayhem. (Parents may worry about the violence, but they shouldn’t. The action isn’t described, and the fourth-grade class I read the book to had no problem whatsoever.)

Up the hill trots the toddler, to a graveyard full of ghosts who take him in. The tone shifts elegantly from horror to suspense to domesticity, and by the end of the first chapter Gaiman has established the graveyard as the story’s center. Within its reassuringly locked gates, the boy finds a safe and cozy place to grow up. Among the dead are teachers, workers, wealthy prigs, romantics, pragmatists and even a few children — a village ready to raise a living child.

Read More: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/books/review/Edinger-t.html

I have spent many hours working as a substitute in the public school system. I worked as a sub while completing my degree in Elementary Education. I have subbed for every grade level K-12. I am working now as a long-term substitute while a media specialist is on maternity leave with a sweet new baby boy. I stated all of that to validate my expertise on this subject (LOL). Here is my expert opinion:

Substitute teachers have a tough job!

Let me clarify that my current substitute position is amazing (thank you CMS), but I have had my share of not-so-amazing experiences. Webster’s defines substitute as, “A person or thing acting or serving in a place of another.” I would like to focus on the “serving” in place of another.

Substitute teachers are important. Teachers have real emergencies and need reliable people to serve in their absence. Serve? I know some of you are thinking serve what. . .serve who? We serve the future. Effective teachers serve a banquet of yummy knowledge to students each day. The substitute has to step in and try to serve up something that might be appetizing to the students. . .not an easy task.

If you are a teacher. . .be thankful for those wonderful substitutes who serve with gladness!

If you are a substitute. . .realize that you are serving the future. . .do your best to serve them something yummy!