Student Guide Corner

My first class of the new semester will begin this Monday morning at 9 a.m.   It is a junior level class and I have sent those students about 12 emails throughout the summer to get them ready.   I imagine they are either intrigued by all the emails or terrified.   Nevertheless, I do suspect that they will be ready to go to work. One of the first things I will do on Monday morning is provide the students with seven pieces of advice that I think can be helpful.   I want to help them understand how to do well in my class, and I believe these seven pieces of advice can be very instructive.  Every teacher is unique and students need to know what works for you and your style of teaching.  Students certainly learn during the semester how to adapt to a teacher and do well.   However, I would prefer to get them headed in the right direction on the first day.  Plus, if they do better, my life is easier.  Definitely a win-win si...

Before I get started today, I want to send out a big Thank You to all the readers of this blog.    Several days ago, we went over 90,000 total pageviews.    When I first started writing these essays, I would have bet a gazillion dollars that I�d never get 5,000 pageviews.    And, I would not have gotten to even that lower mark without folks like you passing along good words about this site.    Thanks � I would have probably stopped writing years ago except that the traffic remains strong and actually seems to grow over time.    You provide the energy.   I continue to be convinced that people really do like to think and talk about teaching because it is both extremely important to our lives and our future and a whole lot of fun. ** A new school year is starting.    For me, it will be my 43 rd year in the classroom.    I have written before that I believe every teacher should consider the �teaching perso...