Category Archives: Classes and Courses

Announcements and information about classes and courses being offered.

Classes and Courses, Mental Health, Mental Hygiene, School Programs

Upcoming Courses update

March 16, 2020 Walter Leave a comment

Updates: March 17th
PVAEC (Dover Foxcroft) has announced that they are closed at least through March 27, therefore the Substitute Teacher Workshop on March 19 is not going to be held. While the March 31 Suicide Prevention Workshop does not fall into this time frame, I would suggest it be considered “tentative.”

MSAD 53 (Pittsfield) is also closed through March 27 which suggests the Substitute Teacher Workshop on March 24/26 is postponed. The April 7 Suicide Prevention Workshop should also be considered “tentative” but not officially canceled or postponed.

Real Estate Licensing Courses–I hope to have additional information later this morning.

With the closing of area school districts, most Adult Education Workshops (Substitute Teacher and Suicide Prevention) will likely be postponed or canceled. I will be confirming that over the next several days and post the results. If you need an immediate answer, check with the sponsoring Adult Ed Program.

At this point in time, scheduled Real Estate Licensing Courses will be held but understand things can change quickly in this very fluid situation.

Be smart and be safe… we certainly don’t know all the answers–for that matter, we don’t yet know all the questions–but let’s have some confidence in ourselves!

I’ll repeat my request that we check on and talk to kids about this! I heard someone say she wasn’t going to talk to her children about COVID-19 because she “didn’t want to scare them.” I’ll bet they are already scared.

In addition to my previous post, here’s a link to a great article to a child who is anxious. While it was written specifically with special needs children in mind, it really can apply to any!

While we are busy disinfecting let’s not forget the importance of emotional hygiene!

Classes and Courses

Important Course Announcements!

February 27, 2020 Walter Leave a comment

The Substitute Teacher’s Forum scheduled for today, February 27, 2020, at Nokomis Regional High has been postponed due to school closings. It is rescheduled for Monday, March 2, 2020. Contact RSU 19 Adult Education for additional information.

The Suicide Awareness and Prevention Workshop scheduled for March 31, 2020, in Dover Foxcroft has a location change. Due to the larage number of participants registering, the course will be held at the SeDoMoCha School Library on Harrison Avenue. This means there’s still time to register and room for more–this is a free workshop.

For those also attending the Suicide Awareness Workshop as part of the Substitute Teacher Workshop, note the location for that has NOT changed–the Substitute Teacher Workshop will be held at PVAEC.

For information about both Dover Foxcroft Workshops, contact PVAEC at 564-6525 or visit their website.

If any of this is confusing you can always contact Walter! Hope to see you in a course or workshop soon!

Classes and Courses, Substitute Teaching

Substitute Teacher Hiring Process Update

January 8, 2020 Walter Leave a comment

First, note that every district has its own hiring process, minimum qualifications, pay rates, etc. for substitute teachers. The superintendent’s office for the district you are employed by or applying to will always be your best starting place for questions and information, application packets, etc.

The fingerprinting and background check process is, however, fairly standard. There has been a minor change in the way the Maine D.O.E.(Department of Education) handles this. For those who are familiar with the process, the change is actually quite simple. You will no longer be mailed a copy of the “CHRC Approval” certificate. (In the past, I suggested that a copy of this be presented to your district office.)

In checking with several districts, it appears most districts are no longer requiring a copy since the status can be easily verified online, by them and you. (You can also check your own status at any time.) This is done using what is commonly referred to as the NEO system or site.

Visit the “NEO” Page on the Maine D.O.E. Website
to check your status

If you are subbing in more than one district, each will have access once you have applied and given them your social security number. In many respects, the process is easier!

A special note for all subs: While the reasons are complicated and not exactly logical, you are required to go through the fingerprinting and background check process every five years and pay the associated fees. As a substitute, you cannot “renew” your certification. The D.O.E. does not send notices or reminders–some districts do, but ultimately it is your responsibility to keep your credentials current. Five years is a long time and it’s easy to forget this! I’d suggest you make it a habit to check your expiration date at the beginning or end of every school year. (The link is given above.)

More good news: There is now a fairly simple and straightforward description of the finger-printing process on the Maine D.O.E. website, including access to the required application.

Visit the Maine D.O.E. webpage describing the finger-printing requirements and process.

Even more good news: I will be updating this information and including it in future Substitute Teacher Workshops… there are currently three scheduled for early spring. Details will be posted here and on Mr. Boomsma’s Facebook Page later this week.

Classes and Courses, Learning, Teaching

About Learning Engagement and being cute

November 22, 2019 Walter Leave a comment

I wish I could tell you it was intentional… I recently spent some time “catching up” on some reading of blog posts and e-newsletters. I found that several of the items were very connected even though they came from widely diverse sources.

Dearborn Real Estate Education’s “Strategies for Creating Unforgettable Student Experiences in the Classroom” did a reassuringly good job of “selling” the fact that classroom education has some distinct advantages and will provide an edge over low-cost on-line only education.

Edutopia’s Students Think Lectures Are Best, But Research Suggests They’re Wrong isn’t new news, but it does raise an interesting point: “…students don’t invest in high-effort strategies they think are ineffective.” At first, that sounds like a keen grasp of the obvious until you read and realize “It can be difficult for students to gauge their own understanding of a topic.”

Last but not least (human nature likes three’s) Seth Godin’s Break the Lecture completed this package. He makes an interesting comparison of listening to music versus listening to lectures. Spoiler alert: His last sentence nails it. “If we’re going to do it (lecture) live, then let’s actually do it live.” Reminds me a bit of the Harvard Review article that suggested the point of most lectures in the college setting is to “get the material from the instructor’s notes into the student’s notebook without passing through the brains of either.”

If you are teaching (and who isn’t really?), I commend these articles to you. When the very logical Kahn University model took off, lecturing as a teaching method again came under attack. So we’re caught in a zero-sum game. Any teaching method used poorly or exclusively becomes ineffective.

I have participated in (and I’d like to think given) some very effective lectures. The discussion might just be about how to lecture effectively and, most importantly, engage the students in learning. How do we engage our learners?

I spent some time at school this week and a second-grader tugged on my sleeve because she wanted to tell me a secret. After I leaned down, she whispered the name of one of her classmates who “wants to read with you because she thinks you’re really cute.” Hey, if it makes her excited about reading, I can live with it!

Classes and Courses, Learning, Mental Health, Suicide Prevention

ANother great workshop!

October 12, 2019 Walter Leave a comment

We recently had another great Suicide Awareness and Prevention Workshop… made possible in a large part by the Corinna United Methodist Church–they hosted the workshop and even provided coffee and snacks!

Best of all everyone who attended agreed or strongly agreed after the workshop with these statements: