Tag Archives: education

Classes and Courses

Substitute Teacher Class scheduled in Dexter and Dover

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This fun one-day program is designed in collaboration with PVAEC to prepare people interested in serving as a substitute teacher or ed tech.  There will be plenty of “hands on learning” that will include important classroom management techniques and teaching strategies. We’ll also cover some legal aspects and help you develop your own “sub pack” of resources and an action plan that will get you started on the right foot! If you’ve been subbing, this is a great opportunity for a “refresher” and some new ideas. The workshop is based on Utah State University’s STEDI Program and attendees will earn a certificate recognized by PVAEC member districts. One student comments, “…very engaging with a lot of real life scenarios. I came away with new information even after subbing for a year.” The program is taught by Walter Boomsma, an experienced substitute teacher and adult educator. An optional recommended text containing educational strategies and classroom activities will be available for $25.

The fee for this one day class is $10 and the class is being offered twice:

  1. Tuesday, January 28th at Dexter Regional High School Dexter starting at 9 AM and ending at 4 PM.
  2. Tuesday, February 11th at Penquis Higher Education Center (Dover Foxcroft) starting at 9 AM and ending at 4 PM

For additional information or to register, contact PVAEC at 564-6525 or visit their website to sign up online. For questions about course content, email “Mr. Boomsma.”

Help spread the word! Download this flyer/poster:  Flyer – Sub Course 2014

Causes and Friends, School Programs, Teaching

Avast ye, Matey!

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teacher_colaberation_pc_400_clr_3388Okay, so I’m not especially good at “pirate talk.” (“Avast” means “get a load of this!”)

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a new page on the site called “.” The page is designed to give you a cursory glance at what is truly an awesome program. If you’re ready to just jump right into some specifics, read on!

The program is actually underway and the second series starts Oct. 15th. One of the sessions is Career Exploration for sophomores. There are currently 19 students enrolled.

What’s needed right now are “guest speakers.” I put that in quotes because you don’t have to be a polished presenter. You just have to be willing to talk with these kids. (You are paired with teacher.)

The program is designed to get these kids thinking about their future careers/aspirations so they can plan more appropriately when they sign up for classes in high school. You get to talk with the kids for about a half hour on topics like what you studied in high school that helped prepare you, the kinds of summer work you looked for, what you wish you had done differently in high school to get better prepared,  and the kinds of decisions you had to make about schooling after high school.

As long as it’s legal, any career or job is fair game. What’s it like to be a carpenter? Is there a future in banking? Have you started your own business? Do you work in the woods?

I’m sure you can talk about it for thirty minutes. I’m even more sure the kids will have some questions for you and I can guarantee you’ll enjoy it and feel good after! Teaching skills aren’t required. A little sense of adventure would perhaps help, but mostly you just need to be willing to share your experience with some kids. When you’re ready to invest a half hour in some kids call or email MSAD 4 Curriculum Director Elaine Bartley at ebartley@sad4.org or call 876-4378 to see what times are available. Most of the slots are around lunch time so you can do it during your break! I can certainly nag, encourage, and beg. Just let me know what it takes to get you involved!

“We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.”

– Stacia Tauscher

Learning, Teaching

Five Minutes — Can you focus?

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Well, actually it’s a little under five minutes. Most regular followers of my brain leaks and musings know that I’m a pretty big fan of Sir Kenneth Robinson. I’m going to ask you to spend five minutes with him–particularly if you’re an educator or involved in some way with the development of children.

Of late we’ve been hearing lots of discussion about things like “Core Curriculum” in public schools. Our governor recently issued an executive order “affirming Maine’s commitment to protecting local education control and student privacy rights.” It just may be healthy that we’re giving some thought to who “controls” what students learn.

At the other end of the spectrum, I encountered a man with what he thinks is a wonderful concept he calls “unschooling.” His solution to what he thinks are the fundamental problems with public education is to homeschool. Homeschooling is not a bad concept of itself, but in his home school there are no standards and kids (starting as young as preschool) only learn with they feel like learning. At a minimum, I think that he and his followers are at a doing a terrible disservice to their children. (Don’t get me started on this one… How rational is it to tell a five year old “just learn whatever you like, dear!” A “teacher” using that approach is only demonstrating what a poor teacher he or she is!)

My point is supposed to be that before we join the fray with firm opinions and too often a “don’t confuse me with the facts” approach to how and what we teach, we might spend five minutes trying to focus on this Ken Robinson video. In the interest of full disclosure and proper credit, I first received this from the blog http://classroomsandstaffrooms.com.

(Due to some technical challenges, I’ve removed the embedded video… you can find on site given above.)

Causes and Friends, Personal Growth

Financial Literacy Starts With You!

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stick_figure_wheel_barrow_gold_150_clr_8612And maybe Jack Falvey. Jack’s a friend and colleague–you might recognize his name from the back cover of my book, . An official version of who Jack is reads like this:

Jack Falvey is a widely published freelance business writer, contributing to Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News in the areas of sales, sales management and marketing. He teaches professional sales and sales management at both University of Massachusetts Boston and at his alma mater, Boston College.

Falvey is currently a fellow at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics & Political Library at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire where he offers daily Investor Education Briefs as part of the Ethics in Governance: Stewardship and Investor Education Initiative.

Jack’s recently embarked on this daily series of Investor Education Briefs (or tips) and I’ve had the good fortune to be part of a “test group.” That means I’ve been enjoying these daily briefs for a few weeks now, so I can tell you that they are truly brief, educational, and enjoyable. One of my personal favorites was his message to people who say “I don’t believe in life insurance.” Jack notes that life insurance isn’t a religion. It’s a product with a purpose. In some circumstances it works. In others it doesn’t.

He’ll make you think.

It might seem ironic, but these nuggets that will increase your financial fluency are free! You can sign up at

 http://www.anselm.edu/investor-education-brief

Personal Growth, Teaching

Don’t Pass The Chocolate!

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As I prepare the Substitute Teacher Course, I’ve struggled a bit with the traditional recommendation that subs include in their “sub pack” rewards for well-mannered students. There are suggestions for stickers, extra recess time, and candy. I occasionally use stickers, but avoid recess time (today’s curriculum doesn’t allow much flexibility) and candy (not healthy and who wants to deal with 20 kids on a sugar high).

Then I stumbled on to Ron Gutman and a very simple solution–smile! This is definitely worth seven and a half minutes of watching… don’t miss the part about why most people like being around kids!