Medicine with the Experts

The first presentation in the Casady School “Medicine with the Experts” Science Lecture Series began at 7 p.m. on Tues., Oct. 4, in the Middle Division Community Room on the Casady campus. Dr. David Lee Gordon expounded on neurological diseases.  I found every aspect interesting and his presentation style engaging.  His explanation of what is a migrane was fascinating.  Dr. Gordon joined the Department of Neurology at the OUHSC as professor and chairman in January 2007. He founded and directed the Acute Stroke Unit at the University of Mississippi Medical Center from 1991-1999. He has also received the American Heart Association’s Award of Meritorious Achievement in 2000. 
Other medical professionals a part of the lecture series include Physical Therapist Rene’ Daman, who will speak on autism on Dec. 5; Dr. Robert Mannel will share a presentation on cancer on Feb. 6, 2012; Dr. Joseph Waner will talk about viruses and viral diseases on April 10, 2012; and Dr. Mark Anderson will close the series on May 1, 2012, with a discussion on keeping athletes injury free.

OFLTA Conference, Stillwater, Oct 1, 2011

“Motivating and Organizing the Unmotivated and Unorganized” – Ellen B. Shrager http://home.comcast.net/~mrsshrager/site/?/home/: Students from chaotic households frequently perform academically below their ability and need help with motivation and organization. Poor habits prevent them from completing school work.  Guide students to a future vision of themselves with these habits, and help form one new positive habit at a time.  Where are you know, where do you want to be...good habits and discipline.  What is the problem?  Parents do not equate sucess with skills and discipline, but with admission to a university.  ...Although you can use that dream to get them to help parents and their child pointing out how good habits will help the college common application and will provide them life skills of the 21st century. 

Service-Learning bought her books for 6th and 9th grade and how to deal with the unmotivated and unorganized. I have some of her cards and her learning balls which I already started to use for reviewing purposes with bodily-kinesthetic children. They do work.  I will read the books I have purchased and place them at the library.

I also learned that by being more proactive at organizing children, I have discovered problems with writing sequence which I had not seen before.  To be very honest, it is also helping me personally to be more focused and organized in my daily life.

Elle states in her website, "focus on the changing roles of children, parents, and neighborhoods in society and the profound impact of entertainment, advertisement, and individual rights on a student's sense of self. ...From my observations, I learned that students’ unacceptable classroom behavior is a logical, albeit unintentional, consequence of the society that we have created!

This understanding has relieved me of the burden of judging and inspired me to confront these differences so that my classroom once again reflects my beliefs.  I focus on five differences in students’ upbringing that create disruptions to learning in my classroom. I use to respond to these disruptions in the moment with ‘pop-up’ lessons on manners. Now, in an impersonal and loving way, I pro-actively introduce the differences between the way students are accustomed to behaving and the way students will behave in class. Thus, when impulsive students act out, I remind them that we have already discussed this, and the consequence is not perceived as a personal attack. Surprisingly, even rebellious students respond to this impersonal authority. I suspect that many are secretly relieved that there is a true adult in charge who affirms that their actions have consequences; otherwise we are reinforcing the students’ most inner fear that they and their actions are meaningless. Most days, my students respond to this classroom behavior code and the moments of sarcasm, drama, and tension are minimal. In “Successful Dialogues with Enabling Parents”, I help teachers to interact better with today’s parents, by discussing:
Five recent changes in parenting.
Five crucial steps to protect teachers’ authority.
Six common parental illusions.

Teachers will practice T R I A L – the process for responding compassionately and appropriately with difficult parents, without teacher burn-out! Additional discussion will include managing electronic grades, e-mail contact with parents, and student cheating.   Teachers will practice discussing these sensitive issues with parents via role playing in groups of two. Teachers will be able to discuss sensitive issues with parents leaving both sides intact with their dignity. This will ultimately lead to more parental support for teachers and programs.

In “Successful Dialogues to Motivate and Organize the Unorganized and Unmotivated," I share my experiences with my successful “Seven Club.” Without specific help, children from poverty struggle to negotiate schools’ middle class value system. I started an after-school ‘club’ to help students whose actual grades were significantly lower than their intellectual ability. I use an assortment of products to foster the dialogue that will help the student to bridge the gap between home values and school values. What surprised me is the number of referrals from middle class families operating with poverty values. My conclusion is that between more parents working outside the home and the intense pressure to be well-rounded for school applications, many middle class families are running chaotic homes and their children need the same support as students from poverty.

Together we can inspire our students to believe that learning is inherently much more interesting than acting out.
MEDIA: Consumerism and socialization lessons
- Only comment on the effort and how they treat others not on the clothing they are wearing (Spend, spend spend)

- When something is said that they are just repeating from TV, etc. find the source

_ Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse...Unmotivated child by Natalie Ratchvon .Get them

PERSONALIZATION of impersonal corrections
- Structure without being perceived as criticism
4years old.......future car..... Teachers are the bridge of the future we are never going to see
postpone responsibility for education... Have pencils, do not let them disturbe others learning

Increase non-diagnosed Asper...High Functional Autism
What you look at, but do you see?

Emphasis on IQ instead of self-discipline and skills

Lack of adult in charge
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“How to use Internet Sources in the World Language Classroom” – Audrey Nelson:  She focused on demonstration of videos, seemed unprepared, and had technical difficulties.  She did not provide exercises, assessments or strategies as advertised.  The weakest presentation of my day, but I want to get the video of I love Lucy to promote language learning. I think we need to be very careful about our choices of videos and the intention with which we pick them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Time Management and Classroom Activities to Achieve Observable Performance vs. Assumed Knowledge” – Lilli Lyon   Ms. Lyon explained that attention span, according to research = age with maximum of 28 minutes.  She manages classroom with a systematic set of activities that keeps the kids engaged by movement, songs, games.  All vocabulary is present and surrounds them to the point that they start to create with the language.  To be acquired, a word needs to be repeated 75 times for children without learning challenges, 150 times for learning disable people.  The more they repeated the greater the acquisition.  She motivated to use more songs, have 2 minute reviews, like play with numbers, write as many things in the classroom you have in your head in one minute, etc. “focus on what the students can DO with the language: OBSERVABLE PERFORMANCE VS. ASSUMED KNOWLEDGE.” Inspiring!  She uses 80's music and creates her own.

Repetition
70 times in context in your brain
150 times if learning disable

Allow errors

Are you teaching bell to bell:  12 minute increments, 5 minute units

Rubric of performance  Excellent:  Hamburger with all the fixings,  Needs Improvement: Hot Dog,  Good: Hamburger
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Edmodo.com: Safe Social Media for Students” – Caleb Allison Social media is widely used by most of our students. http://www.edmodo.com/%20is  a user-friendly network that is made by educators for educators and that is safe and secure.  After this session, I placed my 5th graders in Edmodo.  I was surprised to see kids who are challenge by homework, actually going to the site and having a small conversation.  Here is a guide to every question you may have in Edmodo http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1rhw8/EdmodoAguidetoeveryt/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http://www.edmodo.com/community/professional-dev