What is an A worth?

As the first half of the school year winds down, I have a some students that are anxious to bring their grade up in my class. They have come to me asking for extra credit assignments to comp,eye over the weekend. When I asked them why the have this sudden urge to bring their B up to an A, all of them (8 students) said their parents promised some type of monetary reward. 

Growing up, I had friends that were rewarded for good grades. Some received $20 per A. When I asked my parents about this sweet deal, they laughed and said getting good grades is an expectation. They do not pay me to do something I'm expected to do. 

At the time, I was annoyed by their answer. I worked hard in school and thought I should be rewarded for that hard work. In sitcom like writing, my reward was a solid work ethic that payed off in college and in my career. Some of my friends that were paid for their graded had a hard time finding motivation once the cash flowed stopped. 

Education needs to be a priority for students. Students should want to learn because it important. Giving money to children for good grades is sending the wrong message. Cash incentives will only get kids to work hard enough. They will not learn, they try to get A's. 

Fight the urge to reward students with money. If a child is doing well, reward them with more responsibility. Reward them with the positive attention it deserves. When I create an awesome lesson for school, I do not get cash. I get a "job well done" from the boss. The results of hard work are the best reward. That is what kids need to learn. 

What Has Justin Bieber Taught Me About Education?

Nothing. Nothing at all.

Super Secret Project is ready!

My 5th Hour Freshmen English students wanted to create a special project for the students of Van Meter High School. My other classes were working on various projects to introduce the students of Van Meter to Michigan, Detroit and our city of Grosse Pointe. They thought it would be cool if they gave a tour of the school but did it with a Lip Dub. I supported the kids in their project, but told them this project would be on them to organize and execute. For two weeks, the kids broke into groups and worked on various parts of the project. Some students were in charge of props and others were in charge of getting permission from the administration to film at school in the morning. A couple of students had their math class figure out the distance that could be covered during the length of the songs that were chosen! It was so exciting to see the students work on something they were passionate about. My only rules were that everyone participate and that they write a short reflective piece (That can be found here). Please feel free to comment on the Kidblog; the kids would love to receive feedback from other people. The kids worked hard and what you are going to see is the completed video. The students are still editing to come up with a directors cut with bloopers, credits, etc. More than anything, this truly shows what students can accomplish when they are give the chance to be creative. I hope you enjoy the video.






The songs in this video are Happy Together by The Turtles (Covered by Simple Plan), Our Time Now by the Plain White Tees and Here It Goes Again by OK GO.

Why I blog...

I received this email today,

I am a brand new, first year teacher over at Mason.  I just wanted to let you know that I always read your blog and navigate around to find new things for my second graders to do on the computers during center times, computer lab times, and free choice times.  I really appreciate the time you put into developing and updating your blog.  At just 23 years old I am a technology advocate in my classroom and am not afraid to use it!  Anyways, I'm sure you wonder sometimes if anyone is even looking at it for all the work you put in.  Just wanted to let you know I am!

I was late with my Tech Tuesday update this week. I sent it out at 7pm on Tuesday. I was just having a busy day and it slipped my mind. I thought about not sending it out this week. I didn't receive a single email from anyone in the district wondering where the update was, so I assumed nobody missed it. According to my analytics, around 60 people read my school tech blog. That's less than 10% of the staff in my district. This email reminded me why I do what I do. I didn't start the blog to change all of the teachers, just to help the ones that want to learn. I will be keeping this email with the collection of nice parent/student emails and letter to remind me of why I blog and teach.

If you are a teacher and you enjoy the blogs and tech pieces you read, please let the authors know through the comment portions of their blog, by sending them a tweet or send them an email. As you know, compliments go a long way for teachers.

Have a great day everyone!

@TheNerdyTeacher