Favourite Rochester 'easter egg'? by badskeleton in Rochester

[–]elizinthemorning 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wikipedia doesn't have any source for that, though.

Interviewing for a job: need science lesson! by corn_dawg in ScienceTeachers

[–]elizinthemorning 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I LOVE being a lower school science teacher. It is so much fun.

Rocks and minerals are a slightly hard topic (no pun intended) for a demo lesson, in my opinion - a lot of the lesson ideas either require you to have a bunch of rock kits, which are much too expensive to buy, or involve growing crystals over multiple days or weeks. I also recommend getting as much information as you can about what they've already done so you don't repeat a topic or activity exactly.

I've done both the crayon rock cycle that /u/acChordance mentions and also a clay rock cycle based on a GEMS book I have. Here is a version of that lesson.

You might also base a lesson off of The Big Rock by Bruce Hiscock (might be especially appropriate if you live in the northeast US). You could relatedly do something about glaciers and the ice age if that's relevant to your area.

Another beautiful picture book is A Rock Is Lively - you could use it as inspiration for a rock observation activity if you could scrounge up enough interesting rocks for the kids to each have one.

Let us know what you figure out!

Fixed the title. 4 black kids beat the shit out of elderly white man in Chili. News seemed to leave that part out. by 6ixsigma in Rochester

[–]elizinthemorning 10 points11 points  (0 children)

They're looking for people who have some additional knowledge of the crime, though. Knowing that the suspects are black is not at all enough information for someone to identify them without a lot more information as well.

It would be one thing the description said, "One of the suspects was an African-American male probably between 15 and 18 years old. He was around 5'8" with a slender build, clean-shaven, and had short bleached hair and a gold earring in one ear. At the time of the attack he was wearing a red windbreaker, jeans, green sneakers, and a Buffalo Bills cap." That might be enough information for someone to say, "Oh, yeah, I saw someone like that."

But just to say "the suspects were black" is no more useful than if the only information they gave was "the suspects were wearing jeans." Hundreds of people in Chili are wearing jeans; they shouldn't all be counted as suspects because of that.

I'm a new teacher and I'm really weirded out by the pledge of allegiance. by [deleted] in teaching

[–]elizinthemorning 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I honestly don't think this is fair to your students. It does feel like a guilt trip. You're using their loyalty to you as their beloved teacher to pressure them into expressing loyalty to and support for the country. Imagine if, instead, you were describing what the keeping kosher meant to you, and described how your grandparents barely escaped the Holocaust, then ended with, "If you want to eat pork, I won't respect you any less. Just so long as you know what it is you're choosing, and what it means to me." That would be emotional manipulation to try to pressure them into religious action.

I think the meaning the flag has for you is beautiful, and I'm glad you draw strength from it. But it is equally valid for that symbol to symbolize something else to someone else. I can respect the meaning the flag has for you while making a different choice myself.

Favourite Rochester 'easter egg'? by badskeleton in Rochester

[–]elizinthemorning 7 points8 points  (0 children)

From what I've read, they're an urban legend. Richard O. Reisem's very detailed books about Mount Hope Cemetery don't mention them at all, and though they're mentioned around the internet, there are no credible sources - even on the Wikipedia page for Mount Hope.

William Henry Harrison infamously died from complications due to pneumonia some 30 days into his presidency. Was his health or age (at 68) ever a significant issue during his bid for office? by an_ironic_username in AskHistorians

[–]elizinthemorning 9 points10 points  (0 children)

One of the biggest differences is that antibiotics are commonly used to treat pneumonia now, but they didn't exist in 1841. This contributes to pneumonia (and many other diseases) being much less deadly than it was then.

Changed my amazon charity to planned parenthood. by bookwench in TwoXChromosomes

[–]elizinthemorning 908 points909 points  (0 children)

You mean they helped you... plan your parenthood? Who'd've thought?!

Interview advice please! by bitch-lizard in teaching

[–]elizinthemorning 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's hardest to get the first job - in many fields, but especially in teaching. Schools prefer candidates with more experience, which isn't really unreasonable overall - you yourself will be a better teacher in a year or two, with more experience, than you are today. It may not be encouraging to hear "this is probably the hardest job hunt you'll ever face," but it may help you feel less disappointed that you aren't finding a job quickly.

My advice: don't think of not getting a job as "something was wrong" or "they didn't like me." Let's say they have one open position for your specialty, 50 people apply, and they interview 5 of them. They might like 3 of those people a LOT - but they can only hire one. It says really good things that you're GETTING interviews. You just have to keep trying, and keep showing with your enthusiasm what you have to offer aside from just a number of years.

Good luck!

Favourite Rochester 'easter egg'? by badskeleton in Rochester

[–]elizinthemorning 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I was accused of secretly being a Disney princess. ;-)

Favourite Rochester 'easter egg'? by badskeleton in Rochester

[–]elizinthemorning 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Oh, also, if you bring birdseed to Mendon Ponds Park in the winter, there are places where chickadees will come eat it out of your hands!

Favourite Rochester 'easter egg'? by badskeleton in Rochester

[–]elizinthemorning 34 points35 points  (0 children)

The children's room in the downtown public library has a secret room hidden behind a bookcase. It got a mention in Daniel Pinkwater's children's novel Yobgorgle, which is the only work of fiction set in Rochester that I know of (barring perhaps some historical fiction).

Questions about shadowing a Kindergarten teacher? by insertyeezylyrics in teaching

[–]elizinthemorning 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Shadowing is great! The more you can be in classrooms before you do your student teaching, the better - it'll not only help you figure out what grade levels you're interested in, but watching teachers teach is so helpful for learning instructional and classroom management tricks.

Your questions:

  1. A dress or skirt could be okay if it's not too tight or short. You're not going to be running an obstacle course or anything - if you can sit on the floor, you're all right. Leggings under a skirt would be okay too - not leggings as pants, though (even with a tunic). You would also be fine with khakis or dress pants and a sweater, blouse, or nice-ish top (not a t-shirt, but maybe a v-neck or boat neck). I would avoid: jeans, sandals/shoes that show your toes, sneakers, shorts, low-cut tops, sleeveless tops. (Some of those are totally fine at some schools, but I'd play it safe at a new school.) I tried to find some examples but it was hard to find photos that weren't fashion-shoot-esque... here are a few, though note that you don't need to be this "styled"! 1 2 3 4

  2. I would assume you'll be mostly observing, but that may involve times where the kids are doing independent work and you can float around and help them out one-on-one. You can also let the teacher know that you'd like to help out!

  3. Leave time to get there early. You don't want to be stressed. Bring: photo ID in case they require it to let you in, a small notebook and pen to take notes of things you find interesting, maybe lunch if you're going to be there all day (ask the teacher - also ask if it needs to be nut-free). Put your cell phone away so you can be wholly present. Be enthusiastic around the kids. Think of questions you want to ask the teacher - you will probably think of more as you spend the day there! One question, of course, is "What are the pluses and minuses about teaching kindergarten?" If you were shadowing in my classroom, I'd make sure we had some time to talk during a prep or at the end of the day.

Have fun! Don't be worried - the expectations I have for people coming in to observe, especially students or other pre-teachers, are just that they are polite and nice and curious about what's going on in my room. I don't expect them to have some particular knowledge or skills.

Teach For America as an Education Major by box_of_squirrels in Teachers

[–]elizinthemorning 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another possible snag in the TFA plan is that the acceptance rate to TFA is pretty low - according to Wikipedia, it was 15% for the 2014-15 school year. I'm not sure if having teaching experience would help or hurt for applying to TFA...

I agree that looking for alternative ways to get a license is the way to go. Another option might be to work as an associate teacher/teaching assistant in a private school while completing your remaining coursework (in the evenings or online). That way you could be bringing in a paycheck while finishing your credential.

Good luck.

Haven't told my principal yet that I'm transferring schools. How do I go about this? by obviously_sabrina in teaching

[–]elizinthemorning 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I agree with NimmoG that just being direct is the way to go. I would say something like, "I've accepted another job for next year. I've really loved working at (this school) because (reasons), but the commute has been unsustainable for me and the new job will let me spend much less time commuting. I'll miss working at (this school) but I couldn't turn down this opportunity to work closer to home. I wanted to let you know as soon as possible so you can start interviewing people." Because I know my principal would be reasonable about this, I'd add: "I'm working on documenting (things I did this year) for my replacement, and I'm happy to do whatever else I can before the end of the school year to make this transition as smooth as possible."

Your principal may take it personally, but you're still doing them a favor by giving them as much time as possible to find your replacement. Hopefully after the initial shock wears off, they'll realize that. Unless your principal is very new at being a principal, they've dealt with this before, too.

Stealth edit: Even if you have many reasons for leaving, your public reason can be all about the commute. That's an understandable enough one on its own! If you think your administration would take it badly and give you a bad reference in the future, there's no need to be honest about other problems. You probably know if they'd take it badly or not depending on how they've taken critical feedback at other points.

Only 1.4 percent of San Franciscans ages 25-44 can buy a home by p4177y in sanfrancisco

[–]elizinthemorning 7 points8 points  (0 children)

What's inaccurate is that the article says 1.4% of homes can be purchased by the average person in that age range, but the title misstates that as 1.4% of the people. (The article makes it easy to make this error because it opens by talking about previous estimates about the percentage of people.)

Both boil down to a similar takeaway - that it's incredibly hard for people to afford a home in San Francisco - but they're coming at that fact from different angles.

Minecraft club? by solusaum in Teachers

[–]elizinthemorning 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Minecraft is popular during recess at my school. Our server has kids from 1st to 4th grade, so it's set on Creative mode. There have sometimes been problems with kids messing with other kids' creations - sometimes in a mean-spirited way, but most of the time non-maliciously, just "I wonder what happens if I light this on fire?", etc. So it helps to go over ground rules. For a club, I'd have the students come up with a list of rules you can post in the room where the club will meet, and have all the kids sign it at the bottom to show they agree to follow those rules.

If possible, I think it's vastly preferable to have a server that the kids can only log onto during club time, in the club location. This is especially true if you work with middle or high school kids who might be a) smart enough to log on from home if it's possible and b) more prone to malicious acts.

We also have a rule that everyone's avatar has to have their real name. If you have a small enough club that everyone could know each other by nicknames like "UnicornRider" or "LaserBoy" then that should be fine, too - just not anonymity.

Sick days: How do you get over feeling like you're letting everyone down? by hashtagfoxfacts in Teachers

[–]elizinthemorning 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Three thoughts:

  1. I know that it's better for me to take a sick day and come back when I'm healthy than for me to spend the next 4 days operating in a fog because I'm still sick and exhausted. And even more so when I'm sick with something contagious - getting other people sick doesn't help anyone!

  2. You didn't choose to have a migraine. You should feel guilty if you miss work for something predictable and avoidable - like if you drank much too much and were hungover - but not for things you can't help.

  3. Do what you can to prepare for the inevitable day that you're sick again to make it easier on the people who are there. (Do this when you're healthy!) Maybe that means leaving an emergency sub plan in your desk drawer, maybe it just means always being diligent about sending an email to people you were supposed to meet with saying, "Hey, I'm not going to be in today," so they know not to expect you.

[Recommendation] W. Irondequoit or E. Rochester for young families by ewokvillager in Rochester

[–]elizinthemorning 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Agreed about the drive. I have no idea how many times I've done that drive, at all hours of night or day, and I never saw anything that made me feel even a little unsafe. I also took the RTS buses down both St. Paul and Clinton extensively and they were also fine. The worst I experienced there was the occasional too-chatty fellow passenger when I just wanted to zone out. ;-)

I guess I probably wouldn't walk down St. Paul to downtown alone at midnight or anything... but I wouldn't worry about driving it at all.


[–]elizinthemorning 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That I definitely agree with. I'm a K-4 science teacher and thus get to focus JUST on science. I don't have to also juggle reading and math and writing and social studies. I also have a degree in biology and took classes in physics, chemistry and astronomy in college. And I still go out looking at what other people have done when I am planning a new unit! Even if I myself have a good understanding of, say, why clouds form, that doesn't mean I inherently know an engaging way to teach that to first graders. And if I don't have a good understanding of why clouds form, I study up on that, too - even beyond the level I want the kids to get to.

Like I said, I think this is a problem with our whole system. Elementary teacher training often doesn't focus on science, either in terms of requiring teachers to have taken certain science classes or in education classes about how to teach science. And because science isn't part of high-stakes testing in most areas (for which I am glad!) it also gets shorter shrift when it comes to planning out how instructional minutes are divided between subjects. Additionally, it's much easier to teach real inquiry-based science when you have lower student-teacher ratios and an adequate budget for supplies, both of which many schools lack. :-(


[–]elizinthemorning 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oof. I definitely agree with you that sharing ideas is good, but I disagree with the statement that elementary teachers don't need to be versed in science. They don't have to already be experts in all science topics, but I think it's vital that they research the topics they're going to teach and learn about the big ideas to get a moderately deep understanding. To just teach by following the book means students may wind up able to parrot vocabulary without any real understanding - or that they may come away with misconceptions reinforced. It'd be like teaching division with only a rote knowledge of the algorithm you use to divide but no real understanding of what division is or why that algorithm works.

I think it's a tragedy that most teacher training programs give so little attention to science in the US. I have friends who are in a local program that is generally regarded as excellent. They spend a semester of evening classes on literacy and another semester on math... they spend a day on teaching science.


[–]elizinthemorning 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Even if you watched my next class and took copious notes, then taught exactly the same lesson to a different group, you would inevitably put your own mark on it. You'd phrase things differently, the way you'd interact with the kids would be different, there would probably be things you didn't like about my worksheet that you'd change. All the more so if all you had was a vague description of what I'd done, as people are giving here. The OP will still have to do plenty of work to develop his/her lesson, and then will have to teach it well to impress the school.