Avenues for Math Teacher Improvement

Being a teacher is hard work. If you teach junior high or high school, you probably have over a hundred students to know and to teach. If you teach elementary, then you have an entire day with the same squirrely kids, and multiple subjects to cover. None of this even mentions the countless other challenges teachers face. One of the most recent ones is the implementation of the Common Core. If you are looking for programs for math teacher improvement that can help you teach this Core, continue reading for some ideas on what to do.

Personal Study

Probably the best thing you can do before going to any training sessions or taking classes is to explore the Core Standards on your own. You can do this online. Read through everything the students have to know at the grade level you are teaching. Read through sample performance tasks, student sample work, and the suggested texts. This will help you to identify where your weakest areas are. It can also help you realize parts of the Core that may be confusing to you. Then you can adjust your learning more directly to your needs.

Use Your Resources

You have many options for information and resources. You can use the Internet, where there are countless forums of teachers and experts you can talk to. These people are willing to share their ideas and methods, and tell you what worked and what didn’t. Your colleagues can do this with you too, of course. And you can also look at classes offered through your district. This is often the easiest direction to go because you can receive stipends or credits more easily through them.

Take a Class

Another option is to take a class on implementing the Common Core Standards. Many classes are offered online, which is great so that you can go at your own pace. Some programs also allow you to self-design the experience, choosing which modules and content strands you want to focus on. If you’re a math teacher looking for math teacher improvement programs, and want to focus on specific things, this is probably the best way to go after you’ve done your own personal study and online research. 

This is a guest post provided to Me, Myself & the City for its readers.

Easily Packed Projects When You Live in Temporary Housing

Packing up your life for extended stays in temporary housing in Lubbock, TX, can be tiring. Living out of a suitcase for days or weeks out of the month means that you have to make sacrifices. You can’t always enjoy the comforts of home when you have a weight limit on your suitcase. But making room for a couple items that help you feel comfortable and relaxed is important. Projects or hobbies give you something to do in your downtime, engage your mind, and help you release stresses from work. The feeling of accomplishing something you find personally enjoyable and for which there is no pressure or deadline often comes as a relief. Here are some ideas for easily packed projects.

Stuff You Can Do on a Computer

You already have your laptop with you, so why not utilize it further? As an aspiring author, you can knock out a few thousand words every evening with your favorite word processing software. If you’re really serious about banging out the great American novel, there are different programs available that offer lots of features both amateur and professional authors find very useful in organizing research, character points, and plot items. If it’s the picture that’s worth the thousand words, you can easily indulge in your creative scrapbooking hobby by using digital methods of organizing your photos.

Computerized games are an incredibly popular way to unwind and de-stress. Social media sites give you access to numerous games you can play alone or against online buddies. Some are more mindless than others, so choose your level of intellectual involvement and have at it. Don’t forget the value of having a subscription to an online video streaming site so you can catch up on your favorite movies or television series.

Using Your Hands

If the thought of sitting in front of a computer screen for one more minute is too much to handle, it’s time to get your hands busy. Unfortunately, hobbies that require large pieces of machinery won’t fit into your suitcase, but it might be possible to bring a small portion of a project along with you. Some yarn and a crochet hook or knitting needles don’t take up too much room, especially if your project can be completed in pieces that will be connected later. Other ideas: small whittling or woodworking projects that require a few hand tools; a sketchbook and pencils; a deck of cards; crossword puzzles and Sudoku; mini sewing machine and fabric; a good digital camera or video camera (along with some editing software); books; audio books and jogging shoes; and a cookbook with interesting recipes you’ve always wanted to try (this works best in furnished temporary housing in Lubbock, TX). There’s no reason to waste your time while away on business trips. Hobbies and projects keep your mind engaged and help you relax, which is important for both your mental and your physical health.

This is a guest post provided to Me, Myself & the City for its readers.

The Difference of Adolescent Rehab

When people think of drug rehab or a treatment facility, they often picture adult treatments. Though there are many adult treatment centers, there are also quite a few out there for younger people. Adolescent rehab can be something that saves your son or daughter. If you have a child who is struggling with drug addiction, they aren’t alone. Don’t hesitate to consider placing them into treatment. You may think that you can handle it on your own or that they will grow out of this phase, but why risk it? Why not give them a chance to change their future? A short stay at a treatment facility can change their life forever. There are differences in treatment when dealing with youth. Here are a few of them.

Education

When youth are sent to treatment, they are still expected to receive their education. The majority of treatment centers include schooling. They have special classes or packets that your child can do in order to stay caught up in school while they are there. This is a common concern for parents, but it is one that is unnecessary.

Willingness

The willingness of your child may make a difference in what type of treatment facility they enter. The majority of adults admit themselves to treatment, but youth are often pushed or prodded by parents. If you talk to your child and they seem fairly willing to go to treatment and do the work, they would probably thrive in a less restrictive facility. If you know that your child is going to resist at every turn, you should probably find a place that has more staff and more training in how to deal with resistance, defiance, and run away incidents. The less willing your child is to participate in treatment, the longer it will take.

Gender Seclusion

You may want to consider whether or not it would be beneficial to have your child in a place with only their gender. Some kids would do just fine going to group therapy with both boys and girls, but many would be more comfortable in a same-sex facility. There are many different  adolescent rehab facilities that will have different programs, including different ideas on the benefits or drawbacks of gender seclusion.

This is a guest post provided to Me, Myself & the City for its readers.