Commentors - Twp Types of Travellers - BTSA Conference

Commentors: I just want to thank the handful of people who read my blog. I can't say I'm the most interesting writer all the time. Heck! I can't even say my grammar skills are superb. Hopefully, whatever it is that keeps you peeking in is of value on some level. I mean, how horrified I'd be if I were to find out you come to my page in mere boredom! Oh the travesty! Again...thank you. I wish I only knew what it was that keeps you coming back. Soon, you will want to read about my upcoming vacation and view pics. I can't wait to have a vacation to report about :)

Two Types of Travellers: There are two types of travellers. There is the person who decides on a location, books a flight, books hotels, and goes. This is not me. The second type of traveller, on the surface, is the same as the first. In other words, we pick a place, book flights and hotels. But, before we simply hop on our flight, we research, read, post to message boards, ask friends, ask strangers, hold signs on street corners requesting information, we write to embassies and tourist boards, we drive our friends and family crazy with myriads of scattered and random travel information that nobody wants to hear about because they aren't going on the trip and get bitter about your constant obsession :), we read fiction and non-fiction about or set in the locations we are going, and we create 10 page Excel files with our itineraries, schedules, points of interest, museum times, addresses, hours, AND if that's not enough, we also own at least 8 travel books that we consistently thumb through until we arrive. Yup, that's me! And so, in my neverending quest to read stuff (by the way, I read tons of info, I remember very little!)I came across a great Anne Frank website with very interesting details, historic information, pictoral documentation and facts about not just Anne Frank, but about the people and places in her life.

BTSA Mid-Year Conference: This morning I was up at 6:00am. OUCH! It was 59 degrees in my apartment when I awoke. It was in the mid 40's and raining outside. It hailed in the afternoon. In other words, it was cold for L.A. Today was yet another (I haven't mentioned these in a while) mandatory, all day conference, unpaid, for the new teacher induction program. This is mandatory for all new California teachers. I wouldn't mind these things so much if the presenters were good, and if I could remember half of what I hear. Today we went to 3 sessions. Two of which we got to choose. The third was a keynote speaker.

Session 1: Keynote Speaker - Carolyn Chapman - Author of: "Differentiated Instructional Strategies" (we did get a free copy of this). She was a vivacious speaker, who spoke about TOO MUCH random, disconnected, out of alignment topics. For 90 minutes we sat there, most of us perplexed as to what the heck she was getting at. I learned not a thing about the topic, Differentiated Instruction. What did I learn? I learned all about her daughter, her daughter's school history, her daughter's 4 black belts, her daughter's basketball achievements, her daughter's boyfriend, her daughter's luck in becoming a model, her daughter making 2.1 million before she was 18, her daughter and how her daughter couldn't learn, and she made it in life anyway. Was this what she wanted us to learn: Even if students have learning disabilities, if they are pretty, they can become models and make millions of dollars? If so, then she succeeded. If there was some other meaning in her presentation, it went way over my head, and the heads of everyone else.

Session 2 - Presenter: Gail Thompson -Author of: "Ebony Voices" Title of workshop: "Move that Mountain: Eliminating Stumbling Blocks to Reading Achievement" This session wasn't horrible. I liked her. I liked what she had to say. She got a little sidetracked with stories and putting people in the audience in check for talking when she was speaking. A bit rude, but point made clear. I did learn some stuff with her. 4 things teachers do that aide in lack of success:

1. Deficit mindsets about students
2. A boring curriculum
3. Not using diverse teaching strategies
4. Limited knowledge about how to assist struggling readers

Struggling readers need teachers who believe:
1. all students can learn
2. most students WANT to learn
3. stumbling blocks CAN be eliminated
4. every student is giften or talented in at least one area
5. there are resources available to assist low readers

Session 3 - Presenter: Dave Belinsky - Title of session: "Boys and Girls Learn Differently" I loved this session and the presenter. He came phenomenally prepared. We all received a folder with diagrams, facts, statistics, scientific evidence of how boys and girls learn differently. We did interactive Venn Diagrams discussing the differences we find in our male and female students. He spoke great, was hilarious, had video clips, powerpoint supplements. He was a phenomenal presenter. Not to mention, he gave me the only free copy he had left of, "The Boys and Girls Learn Differently Action Guide for Teachers" by: Michael Gurian.

All in all, that last workshop made the day worthwhile. Free books are great, even if I never get around to reading the multitudes of professional development books I have now acquired. I did receive two other free books today (4 in total).

"Becoming a Successful Urban Teacher" by: Dave F. Brown.
"The Boys and Girls Learn Differently Action Guide for Teachers" by: Michael Gurian.
"Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size Doesn't Fit All" by: Carolyn Chapman
"The Organized Teacher" (really for elementary teachers)