Mama Bracelets: (3.30.11): SIDS: Surviving Siblings...
Mama Bracelets: (3.30.11): SIDS: Surviving Siblings...: "Wednesday (3.30.11) Mama Bracelets has begun production of a new bracelet in that will serve as a donation item for The American SID..."
Mama Bracelets: (3.29.11) SIDS: Friends & Relatives
Mama Bracelets: (3.29.11) SIDS: Friends & Relatives: "The Best of Friends Carry Each Other Along...
Tuesday (3.29.11): Mama Bracelets and Maddie's Mom Made That prepare for MB to end..."
Tuesday (3.29.11): Mama Bracelets and Maddie's Mom Made That prepare for MB to end..."
Mama Bracelets: (3.28.11) SIDS: Research and us...
Mama Bracelets: (3.28.11) SIDS: Research and us...: "Monday, March 28, 2011: Mama Bracelets begins winding down its 'Maddie Angel' Bracelet sale that carries a 25% donation to the Staats Famil..."
Mama Bracelets: SIDS: "It Takes a Community to Raise a Child..."
Mama Bracelets: SIDS: "It Takes a Community to Raise a Child...": "We've all heard that it takes a community to raise a child. We all know that raising children can be the source of great pleasure. &n..."
Mama Bracelets: Absolute Satisfaction...
Mama Bracelets: Absolute Satisfaction...: "Whether it's from far away or close to home, Mama Bracelets loves to hear from satisfied customers! 'I got my multiple birthstone bracelet ..."
Mama Bracelets: Oklahoma gives Mama Bracelets a 5 Star Rating...
Mama Bracelets: Oklahoma gives Mama Bracelets a 5 Star Rating...: "Mama Bracelets received this review from Oklahoma! We're very happy to share the good news~~thanks Amy!! 'I LOVE the custom Pearl br..."
In Each Thought...
In each thought...
Fractions can be puzzling for students.
The definition of "matter" can be difficult for them to grasp.
Learning can be tiresome.
There are 25 students in my room every day. Each one learns in a way that may be quite different from the one sitting next to them. Yet they are expected to understand, at some level, the same ideas. Not only understand them, but apply them.
Listening to my students this week I realized that each thought they expressed somehow led to learning. Whether it was a thought about a topic we were discussing or a random thought. Yes, even the random thoughts expressed helped us learn. For from these thoughts lie the essence of learning, which is exploration.
I often find myself relentless in my efforts to "keep my students focused". I did, however, let their random thoughts enter our learning arena. In fact, I let some of my own take the stage. I realized that these thoughts, although seemingly random and disconnected from the topic, offered ways for others to make sense out of what was being taught.
All too often, when a random thought or expression was voiced, it somehow led to understanding. I heard, "Ohhh" and "I get it now"; things that teachers want to hear.
Our thoughts are powerful. For all we see in the world began as someone’s thought. That thought was expressed through words at some point and those words were put into actions. Actions produce.
Even when the thoughts expressed seem distant from the topic, there lies within that thought a communication that may well be explored...for it may provide insight into something greater than we know.
In each thought...we find ourselves, our learning, and our meaning.
In each thought...
Mr. Casten
March 25, 2011
Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten
Mama Bracelets: Texas Reviews Mama Bracelets...
Mama Bracelets: Texas Reviews Mama Bracelets...: "Mama Bracelets is thrilled to have received a review from a customer in Texas! We're touching the lives of people across the countr..."
Mama Bracelets: A Mother's Love 2011
Mama Bracelets: A Mother's Love 2011: "Experience the wonders of motherhood with this inspiring video produced by Mama Bracelets. Visit Mama Bracelets and when you buy t..."
Mama Bracelets: Mama Bracelets,Comfy Bummy, & From My Room Team Up...
Mama Bracelets: Mama Bracelets,Comfy Bummy, & From My Room Team Up...: "Mama Bracelets is excited to announce that we have found ourselves in two Naperville stores!! Upon securing its LLC (Limited Liability Co..."
I Walked Away...
I Walked Away...
"The object of teaching a child is to enable him to get along without his teacher" ~~Elbert Hubbard
The philosophy a teacher employs helps define the learning atmosphere the students will experience. In turn, the experiences the student brings to the learning helps define the philosophy a teacher employs. A mutual relationship that can breed growth and success for both parties.
My students were given an assignment this week. They were to read about 10 famous women from the past century. They answered questions based on their readings. The last question was, "Which woman from the list do you most admire? Explain your answer". It was impressed upon them that they must complete this assignment before the next day in order to continue the lesson. They knew not what awaited them.
I gathered the completed assignments and found websites for the women that they had chosen. The next day, we went to our computer lab and I explained that they were to visit the bookmarked websites for the woman they chose and write a biography for that woman (they were given a template to help them along). They were given specific instructions and told that these instructions would not be repeated. Each student listened attentively and when the time came, they dispersed to their computers and began their research.
I walked away.
It felt strange to walk away from the students (our computer lab is connected to the library and separated by a half-wall). It almost felt unnatural not to hover over them, directing them, answering questions, reading things to them, and helping them with words. It's what a teacher is supposed to do. Instead, I found myself in the library, still able to see them and hear them, but just out of their reach.
They worked. They began pointing out what they were learning from their research to the one sitting next to them. Discussions about these women’s accomplishments ensued. Kids helping kids with technical issues on the computer was witnessed.
Every so often I would saunter through the Computer Lab to allow them to know that I was indeed still there. I went unnoticed much of the time.
Again--I walked away.
They worked for the good part of an hour. They gathered information without me. They navigated through technical problems without me. They answered questions without me. They learned without me. They "got along without their teacher" as Hubbard says in the quote above.
My classroom sits quiet now as I write this. Echoes of learning ring through my head; the conversations, the movement, the moments of epiphany experienced when one learns a new concept and understands it.
I know they will return and continue to learn from me. At times, I will walk away again...allowing them to get along without me. There will come a time when they too--will walk away.
Mr. Casten
March 18, 2011
Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten
Mama Bracelets: "Maddie Angel" Bracelet Video
Mama Bracelets: "Maddie Angel" Bracelet Video:
This tender and emotion-filled video produced by Mama Bracelets carries with it the bracelets created for a young family who lost their 4-month old daughter quite unexpectedly. Mama Bracelets was honored and touched to design bracelets for this family in memory of their daughter. This tender and emotion-filled video produced by Mama Bracelets carries with it the bracelets created for a young family who lost their 4-month old daughter quite unexpectedly. Mama Bracelets was honored and touched to design bracelets for this family in memory of their daughter.
The original "Maddie" Angel bracelet is available for purchase through the month of March at:
http://www.mamabracelets.com/Maddie-Angel-Bracelet_p_85.html
Once there, you can choose your size, style, birthstone and personalization.
25% of proceeds go directly to the Staats Family.
This tender and emotion-filled video produced by Mama Bracelets carries with it the bracelets created for a young family who lost their 4-month old daughter quite unexpectedly. Mama Bracelets was honored and touched to design bracelets for this family in memory of their daughter. This tender and emotion-filled video produced by Mama Bracelets carries with it the bracelets created for a young family who lost their 4-month old daughter quite unexpectedly. Mama Bracelets was honored and touched to design bracelets for this family in memory of their daughter.
The original "Maddie" Angel bracelet is available for purchase through the month of March at:
http://www.mamabracelets.com/Maddie-Angel-Bracelet_p_85.html
Once there, you can choose your size, style, birthstone and personalization.
25% of proceeds go directly to the Staats Family.
Mama Bracelets: Green MB...
Mama Bracelets: Green MB...: "Besides being March and all the green that goes with it, MB would like to share what it does 'green' to help with the efforts of many to m..."
Her Heart Melted...
Her Heart Melted...
The purity and innocence of children is what draws us close to them. They look to us. They learn from us. They teach us.
While sitting at the dinner table, my wife and our middle child, Henry (2 years old) were having a fun conversation about members of the family. Henry is silly and likes to think the couch, the TV and other inanimate objects are considered family (in his mind this may very well be true!).
Every so often, my wife would throw out the "possibility" that people are part of the family as well...he obliged. As a matter of course, my wife had not gotten to herself as one of those people when our oldest (3-year old Ava) chimed in and said, "Mommy, you are part of the family, too. Do you know why?"
We all stopped and waited for the mind of a three-year old to reveal itself.
"Because we love you" flowed from the child.
I turned to my wife and I saw, from the expression on her face, that her heart was melting with love for her daughter.
Kids understand that love is all there really is. They strive for that love each day.
Being a teacher of 10 years and working directly with children for 18 years has afforded me a unique opportunity to experience the impact a child can have on a life. They draw you in and capture your soul with their curiosity, eagerness to please, forgiving nature and unconditional acceptance. Each year I work with them I find that helping them grow as students, as people and as citizens is a unique experience with each child.
Their sense of humor and their purity in heart, when coupled together, often makes for those moments of "melting hearts". Good feelings follow laughter and from that, love can spring forth. Kids know this.
Henry loved playing the silly family game with mommy and Ava felt overwhelmed with love for her mother in that play.
Look to your children to find the place where your heart melts.
Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten
The purity and innocence of children is what draws us close to them. They look to us. They learn from us. They teach us.
While sitting at the dinner table, my wife and our middle child, Henry (2 years old) were having a fun conversation about members of the family. Henry is silly and likes to think the couch, the TV and other inanimate objects are considered family (in his mind this may very well be true!).
Every so often, my wife would throw out the "possibility" that people are part of the family as well...he obliged. As a matter of course, my wife had not gotten to herself as one of those people when our oldest (3-year old Ava) chimed in and said, "Mommy, you are part of the family, too. Do you know why?"
We all stopped and waited for the mind of a three-year old to reveal itself.
"Because we love you" flowed from the child.
I turned to my wife and I saw, from the expression on her face, that her heart was melting with love for her daughter.
Kids understand that love is all there really is. They strive for that love each day.
Being a teacher of 10 years and working directly with children for 18 years has afforded me a unique opportunity to experience the impact a child can have on a life. They draw you in and capture your soul with their curiosity, eagerness to please, forgiving nature and unconditional acceptance. Each year I work with them I find that helping them grow as students, as people and as citizens is a unique experience with each child.
Their sense of humor and their purity in heart, when coupled together, often makes for those moments of "melting hearts". Good feelings follow laughter and from that, love can spring forth. Kids know this.
Henry loved playing the silly family game with mommy and Ava felt overwhelmed with love for her mother in that play.
Look to your children to find the place where your heart melts.
Mr. Casten
March 11, 2011
Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten
Mama Bracelets: No Foolin' in April...
Mama Bracelets: No Foolin' in April...: "April brings many enjoyments our way; April Fool's Day, Spring, & Easter~~along with our beautiful Mama Bracelet designed w..."
Different from us...
The world changes so quickly, they say. The minute you get one device, a new one has been invented to replace it. In class this week we talked extensively about "necessity being the mother of inventions" and my students created (on papar) their own inventions based on a real-life problem either in the school, community, state, country, world or universe.
Their ideas were wondrous. Their enthusiasm contagious. Their hope and expectations for a better world~~admirable.
So it goes. The inventions of the world have brought us to where we are today. They touch us in so many ways. They protect us, they engage us, and they offer a chance for us to unite in ways unheard of when my life started. The far-reaching implications of the many inventions of the world often baffle our minds and for some produce anxiety.
Kids today are used to the ever-changing world. They thrive on the change that lies before them. They thrill at the prospect of something new each day. Many people say education has taken a bad turn and kids are not doing as well as they should. Maybe, just maybe we are not speaking to them in way that they hear us. Maybe, just maybe we can find the spark that ignites their passions by looking at the world in which they live. Their world is unlike ours in so many ways even though they walk the same ground. It's their perception that guides them, as does ours. We are more experienced and we have brought them the world in which they find themselves. It is through our ingenuity and curiosity that they have the technology of today. They know nothing else.
The inventions they came up with ranged from curing world hunger and pollution to having a wall act as a screen-saver to save on paint to an anti-bullying backpack.
Real problems.
Real thoughts.
Real kids.
They want a beautiful, stress-free world too.
Maybe they aren't so different from us after all.
Their ideas were wondrous. Their enthusiasm contagious. Their hope and expectations for a better world~~admirable.
So it goes. The inventions of the world have brought us to where we are today. They touch us in so many ways. They protect us, they engage us, and they offer a chance for us to unite in ways unheard of when my life started. The far-reaching implications of the many inventions of the world often baffle our minds and for some produce anxiety.
Kids today are used to the ever-changing world. They thrive on the change that lies before them. They thrill at the prospect of something new each day. Many people say education has taken a bad turn and kids are not doing as well as they should. Maybe, just maybe we are not speaking to them in way that they hear us. Maybe, just maybe we can find the spark that ignites their passions by looking at the world in which they live. Their world is unlike ours in so many ways even though they walk the same ground. It's their perception that guides them, as does ours. We are more experienced and we have brought them the world in which they find themselves. It is through our ingenuity and curiosity that they have the technology of today. They know nothing else.
The inventions they came up with ranged from curing world hunger and pollution to having a wall act as a screen-saver to save on paint to an anti-bullying backpack.
Real problems.
Real thoughts.
Real kids.
They want a beautiful, stress-free world too.
Maybe they aren't so different from us after all.
Mr. Casten
March 4, 2011
Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten
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