Announcements and information about classes and courses being offered.
What’s it like to be a substitute teacher?
Don’t decide until you get the facts!
We’ve got a free online forum for you that will answer your questions—even the ones you don’t know you have!
This was posted previously but note the changed url for information or to register: https://rsu73.coursestorm.com/.
You don’t have to be deeply involved in online learning (which comes in many forms and under many different labels) to have some awareness of Khan Academy and Sal Khan. Heather Kelly, a reporter for the Washington Post, recently interviewed Khan with some Q&A regarding online learning. The results are a “must-read” for anyone involved in education and online learning.: teachers, homeschoolers, educators, parents, and school administrators.
The interview is focused on public school and younger kids, so let me say that while many educators like to wax eloquent about the difference between teaching kids (the big word is pedagogy) and teaching adults (the big word is andragogy), I prefer to consider the similarities–and take advantage of them. If you’ve attended one of my adult real estate classes, you know that I use reward stickers. I do not use reward stickers with kids. I digress only to make the point that while focused on kids, many of Kahn’s insights apply to all ages.
He definitely had me at “The last thing we want to do is burn kids out and burn out their families and burn out their teachers.” If you read “,” you know that I refuse to accept online learning as a panacea. One of the things I admire about Khan the person and the University is that they are not successful because they pioneered online education. Khan is successful because he has a unique understanding of teaching and learning. Click the button, check out the interview, and see what you can learn!
In a world that seems crazy, I have a few more certainties to share with you!
For real estate sales agents, I’ve added an associate broker course to the schedule! It’ll be in Augusta, in November. You can or visit The Real Estate Learning Group Website.
For Suicide Awareness and Prevention, I continue to search for physical sites and programs interested in offering this two-hour program for free. The need is not diminishing. A study by the Mental Health Index published this month shows the risk for depression among U.S. workers has risen an alarming 102% since February of this year. I am also working on live-streaming this course as an alternative. Stay tuned! (If your organization would like to host a live workshop, please let me know!
For Substitute Teacher Training, several adult education programs are interested in hosting a course but the specifics are coming together slowly. There is, however, one exception! I am very pleased to announce that Spruce Mountain Adult Education-RSU 73, is making this a priority and has scheduled an in-person workshop on September 16, 2020, preceded by a no-cost online forum, facilitated by “Mr. Boomsma.”
Social distancing requirements mean reduced capacity in classrooms and all live courses and workshops are filling up quickly. Act quickly!
To teach how to live without certainty and yet without being paralyzed by hesitation is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy, in our age, can do for those who study it.
Betrand Russell
Netsmartzkids has some great resources for teachers and parents who want to keep their kids safe online. Among those resources are some “Into the Cloud” animated videos–each about five minutes long covering some aspect of being safe online.
I’m sharing one in the hope that it will pique your interest and you’ll explore the site. There are free ebooks, activity sheets, games… lots of things to use with kids. But I do have another purpose behind the sharing.
I hope it will get you thinking. I’ve recently noticed that many people are using social media for “research.” Some of this is relatively harmless. “What is the phone number for this local business?” This question makes it necessary for the researcher to wait for a comment that includes the answer. I’m always tempted to point out that a Google search would likely reveal the answer in seconds.
No wonder the phone company started charging for directory assistance. People were calling 411 instead of using the directory. What does that say about us?
But what might be of greater concern is the people who are posting symptoms and asking for medical advice. And, as if that’s not troubling enough, there are often plenty of folks willing to demonstrate their “expertise.” I’m always tempted to post “Call your doctor.” Or, in some cases, “Go to the E.R.”
Telemedicine is a valid concept but it’s not a product I’d contract for on Facebook or Snapchat.
And then there’s financial advice. One of the social media groups I’m part of gets multiple questions every day from people wanting to know things like “What’s the best form of business for me to adopt” and “How much should I charge for…?”
Yes, there is some value in soliciting opinions–but in addition to being able to separate fact and fake, we also could get a lot better at separating fact and opinion. I don’t teach it often but I do have a “thinking skills” program. In addition to differentiating between divergent and convergent thinking, it includes the skill of “happying” and the skill of “crap detecting.”
In that course, I used to ask students to bring in a newspaper. We’d then look at every headline closely and answer this question: “Is the headline a fact or an opinion?” One of the learning outcomes is that we tend to accept opinions as facts if those opinions support what we already believe.
So here’s something else for you to think about. When you start scrolling on Facebook, what are you looking for? Cute kitten or puppy photos are probably safe (although some are digitally altered and do not depict reality–fact or fake?). Or are you hoping to find a lot of people (it is called social media) who agree with your opinions and beliefs?
Kids aren’t the only ones who occasionally get suckered by what’s on the Internet.
And with it the requests for information about learning opportunities. Do I even need to start with the “challenging times” things? Let’s jump right into where things stand.
Real Estate Related Courses are scheduled through November. While the dates and days are a little different, I’m basically teaching both the Sales Agent and Associate Broker Courses in both Augusta and Bangor. You can view my course calendar for details or visit The Real Estate Learning Group Website.
Speaking of learning opportunities, I’ve recently added several “instructor pages” for real estate students. You can start with the general page which links to pages specific to each course. And, no, you do not have to be registered for a course to access the pages.
Substitute Teacher Workshops are currently in the works and will likely be available in Dover Foxcroft, Newport, and Pittsfield, probably in September and October. Details should be available in the next week or two. We can agree there is likely some uncertainty how subbing might work this fall in view how districts will approach opening.
If you’ve taken a course with me in the past you’ve likely heard me say there are two answers to any question that are never wrong. “I don’t know” and “It depends.” If you ask me what subbing will look like this fall, I’ll use them together. “I don’t know! It depends!” But I do know that the concepts and techniques in the Substitute Teacher Workshop will continue to be important.
Suicide Prevention Workshops will again be offered in conjunction with the Substitute Teacher Workshops. The workshop I teach is research-based and content is provided by NAMI Maine, so it meets the requirement of LD 609 that all school employees have at least 90 minutes of Suicide Awareness and Prevention Training. Note, however, these workshops are open to all.
Publications and Writing have, I’ll admit, suffered seriously since early spring. I had hoped to release a book this fall but slid it to the back burner in lieu of other priorities driven by COVID-19. I think we’ve all recently had the opportunity learn, as the saying goes, “Life is what happens while you’re making other plans!”