Category: humour

#10PercentLess

Written by David Truss 8 Comments

What does it mean to be ‘Locked Out’ and to be paid 10% less? “Effective May 26, 2014, and continuing until further notice, your members will be locked out as described in this letter,” Michael Marchbank, public administrator for the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association, said in a letter to teachers’ federation president Jim Iker. […]

Classroom Management Cartoon

Behaviour Modification

Written by David Truss 2 Comments

Last year I wrote Classes of Donkeys, about a tool called ‘Class Dojo’. Just recently Karen Langdon wrote Thinking About Classroom Dojo – Why Not Just Tase Your Kids Instead? It basically approaches the same concerns I have, but from a different angle… and it adds further value by suggesting alternative approaches to dealing with […]

The Role of a Principal

Written by David Truss 7 Comments

(You probably won’t find these in a job description, though you should!) – Hand-holder – Zipper-fixer – Tear-wiper – Peace-maker – Pants-buttoner – Ball-retriever – Nose-wiper – First-aider – Firm-talker – Cheer-leader – Toy-mender – Toy-confiscator – Mouth-wiper – Rule-implementer – Ice-provider – Argument-settler – Wrapper-opener – Photo-taker – Hallway-monitor – Coat-zipper – Skip-rope-holder – […]

Teachers as Lead Learners

Written by David Truss 5 Comments

One of my favourite sayings these days is: ‘Teachers should be the lead learners in the classroom.’ I think that if a teacher goes into a class believing first and foremost that they are ‘model learners’ and that they will learn with their students, then that teacher will create a meaningful and engaging learning environment […]

Google Buzz and George Costanza – Worlds Collide

Written by David Truss 3 Comments

In his weekly email newsletter, George Siemens wrote/quoted: This is one of the more insightful statements I’ve come across recently – What Google Could Learning From Goffman: “When we merge social groups together, we are challenged to manage our disclosures across these groups, which have different norms of propriety.” The social software I use regularly […]