How Educators Can use this site

This website is a collection of alternative teaching ideas that try to cover most grade levels and subject areas. The purpose of this site is to provide educators with a collection of ideas related to teaching, testing, motivation, grading and their classroom atmosphere. Teachers will hopefully take something from Teachersbagoftricks.com that will help them to think about their own ideas and how to increase their personal Bag of Tricks. The idea behind these columns is that there is not only one way to teach, there are many good ideas available, and teachers need a collection of these ideas.

Teaching at Six Flags

1. Personal Information- We all need some ideas to get us through the emotional roller coaster of education. I tend to feel that teachers should take two hours a day and one weekend a month for themselves and their loved ones. Ideas will be presented that will hopefully help you think about and plan for your own sanity and wellness.

2. Classroom Tips- In over 30 years of teaching I have collected, acquired and stolen a large collection of teaching ideas. I will share my ideas in a conversational way- I’m not strong on research speak- and hope they help some of you. Even better, I hope to get others to share their ideas, i.e. the NASA column that was written by another educator and shared to pass on to others.

3. Workshop Ideas- In addition to the “Teacher’s Bag of Tricks” workshops I do at conferences, I also offer to conduct a few workshops during the school year and summer for any school system that ask for ideas. Beyond those workshops teachers can use any of my columns to start conversations, share ideas with other educators, or even to set the tone for an in-service training session. Try printing out a column and share it with your department, friends, or lunch group and see what develops when educators talk about education.

4. Sharing Information- Anybody that knows me or has ever worked with me will tell you I do not hold back voicing my opinion. The standard comment from principals is “Every school needs one Larry but I would not like a whole school full of them!” What I want this to become is a site where educators can feel free to voice an opinion and, for once, be heard by a larger audience. So in addition to reading the ideas from this site contribute!

5. Mentoring Material- In a time when more and more teachers are coming from other professions or even other cultures, we need to discuss our profession. For teachers that are interns or in their first few years, we need to offer ideas and methods for them to try in their classroom. I have taught in the inner city, for a university, and for an affluent community, and what I need in the classroom everyday has never stopped changing. My hope is that teachers start sharing ideas that work in that particular setting and talk about our profession!