Tuesday, March 25, 2014

A good teacher must be able to empathize what it must be like to struggle to learn...



 


"Shouldn't we be as concerned as to what the student thinks as we are to what pat answer he puts on a test?" Robert John Meehan

"A good teacher must be able to empathize what it must be like to struggle to learn something that may have come so easily to them." Robert John Meehan

"Your career as a teacher is going to fill a large part of your life. The only way to be a truly satisfied teacher is to do it with passion and vigor." Robert John Meehan

"If your actions inspire children to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are indeed worthy of the title Teacher." Robert John Meehan

"Every child has a different learning style and pace. Each child is unique, not only capable of learning but also capable of succeeding." Robert John Meehan


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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Exemplary teachers are not gifted...

 
"Exemplary teachers are not gifted; they are just more prepared and more willing to do what it takes. They conscientiously succeed on purpose."  Robert John Meehan
"The sequester caused flight delays and Congress fixed that within a week. They slash $3 billion from education and Congress goes on recess?" Robert John Meehan

"The quality of an exemplary teacher is demonstrated by their willingness to set/maintain the highest standards for themselves/students." Robert John Meehan

We should all be asking "What did you ask at school today?" Robert John Meehan

"I seldom needed to encourage my students to follow their dreams, I simply gave my students the tools and as much freedom as they needed to chase after them." Robert John Meehan

"There are some teachers out there who will tell you that you can't reach all of them. What you've got to do is turn around and say 'watch me now'." Robert John Meehan

"The whole being of any Teacher is within our own hearts. Although an education prepares us to teach, it is the love of learning that sustains us." Robert John Meehan

"Strive to be  remembered as that teacher that constantly aimed for the exemplary, that never settled for the mediocre and that invariably taught with a limitless passion and vigor.  By having accomplished this, you will most certainly have made this world a far far better place for a great many of our young people." Robert John Meehan

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

I have learned much from my teachers, more from my peers, but most from my students...


 


"Teaching was once a noble calling. It's now becoming too much of a venture capital opportunity." Robert John Meehan

"Children are born addicted to learning. High-stakes assessments are drumming the love of learning out of kids." Robert John Meehan

"Unless we eliminate the gross inequalities between all of us in real life, we should not presume that schools ALONE can compensate for them." Robert John Meehan

"I have learned much from my teachers, more from my peers, but most from my students." Robert John Meehan

"Mediocre teachers tend to talk mostly about teaching. Successful teachers talk exclusively about learning." Robert John Meehan

"The blaming rhetoric in education these days clearly detracts from its mission to create life long learners that can adapt to change." Robert John Meehan

"Ed reformers need to involve teachers. We know exactly what will bring about authentic reform. We think about this every day." Robert John Meehan

"Neither poverty, nor the diverse nature of our population are excuses not to educate everyone." Robert John Meehan

"Repeated high stakes testing can produce anxiety and depression in students. Few students thrive in such environments." Robert John Meehan

"EVERY student has special talents. It is our duty to find these talents and to adapt our lessons to best implement them." Robert John Meehan


          Click to visit the Positive Mantras for Teachers gofundmeage.                                                 

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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Pursue confidently your dreams of being a teacher...






"Be diligent in trusting that what we do in the classroom could possibly echo for a lifetime in the heart of a student." Robert John Meehan

"Pursue confidently your dreams of being a teacher. Teach each day as you once imagined you would. Don't let today's obstacles keep you from yesterday's dreams." Robert John Meehan

"Mediocre teachers tend to talk mostly about teaching. Exemplary teachers talk almost exclusively about learning." Robert John Meehan

"Too many students don’t know what success feels like, thus repeated failure is no longer scary or painful, it’s become the norm. Help create a new norm." Robert John Meehan

"If we really want to improve our education system, we need to listen to educators not businessmen who want to sell something as a magic bullet." Robert John Meehan
"Exemplary teachers are not gifted; they are just more prepared and more willing to do what it takes. They conscientiously succeed on purpose."  Robert John Meehan
"The sequester caused flight delays and Congress fixed that within a week. They slash $3 billion from education and Congress goes on recess?" Robert John Meehan

"The quality of an exemplary teacher is demonstrated by their willingness to set and maintain the highest standards for themselves and students." Robert John Meehan

We should all be asking our children on a daily basis "What did you ask at school today?" Robert John Meehan

Johnny's Walking Down The Hallway



Johnny's Walking Down The Hallway

By Robert John Meehan
Johnny's walking down the hallway
hands neatly at his side
Johnny's walking down the hallway
all the rules he will abide

Johnny's walking down the hallway
having nothing much to hide
Johnny's walking down the hallway
teachers proudly step aside

Johnny's walking down the hallway
but his feet begin to glide
Johnny's skipping down the hallway
round the corner he'll soon slide

Johnny's running down the hallway
I quickly swallow my pride
Johnny's yelping down the hallway
a part of me just died

Johnny's staggering down the hallway
with poor Miss Vance he did collide
Johnny's crying down the hallway
thinking poor Miss Vance had died

Johnny's waiting down the hallway
till some teachers all decide
Johnny's whimpering down the hallway
his fragile ego they did chide

Again...Johnny's walking down the hallway
hands neatly at his side
Johnny's walking down the hallway
all the rules he will abide

Johnny's walking down the hallway
teachers proudly step aside

Egads...Johnnys fleeing down the hallway
I think I'll let it ride

Oh Mercy...Johnny's missing down the hallway
I think I'll go and hide

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

"Twenty years from now, your name may be forgotten...




"Twenty years from now, your name may be forgotten...but the world will be a better place because you made a difference as a teacher." Robert John Meehan

"A quality education requires hard work, A student may need to "crack the books" at night instead to hanging out at the mall or watching TV." Robert John Meehan

"It's tragic that we are mandated to turn so many eager young learners into frustrated test performers." Robert John Meehan

"Children are accustomed to a world that often moves faster and is often more exciting than anything a teacher in front of a classroom can do." Robert John Meehan

"The teacher who exhibits exemplary practices in an affluent suburban community may be a miserable failure in a poor urban community." Robert John Meehan

"Culturally relevant teaching content is essential to engaging today's young people in the urban classroom." Robert John Meehan

"Take away art, music and sports and you take away the one hook for many students that keeps them motivated and involved." Robert John Meehan

"All teachers who have had consistent success in the classroom understand that it is not enough merely to dispense information." Robert John Meehan



Although most would just see them as an ocean of small faces...




" An exemplary teacher will not just Enlighten the student, but will also Empower the student." Robert John Meehan

"Although most would
just see them  as an ocean of small faces, we as teachers see them as the waves that propel us." Robert John Meehan

"If real learning is to take place, our classrooms must be dependent on the collaboration of its learners, not solely on the knowledge of its teachers." Robert John Meehan 

"Due to recent budget cuts, the 'light at the end of the tunnel' has been turned off for far too many of our students currently needing the most assistance." Robert John Meehan

"An exemplary teacher will make learning likely, not just possible." Robert John Meehan

"Schools for the well-off are about inquiry and choices; too many schools for the poor are about drills and compliance. Demand equity." Robert John Meehan

"Every time I hear another hedge fund manager talk about school reform, I worry even more about the direction education reform is taking." Robert John Meehan

"
Don't struggle to be a better teacher than everybody else. Simply be a better teacher than you ever thought you could be." Robert John Meehan


Monday, March 3, 2014

FROST (THE TEACHER'S JOURNEY) By Robert John Meehan


 FROST (THE TEACHER'S JOURNEY)
By Robert John Meehan

Sometimes a moment
Stands out in time
A new life discovered
By a moment in rhyme

Everything changed by
A single selection
A turning point made
In a moment's alliteration

A new life to continue
Discovered in rhyme
One moment that changed
My life for all time

In that moment of time
A difference was made
My turning point reached
A life's validity laid

My life's road discovered
By a lesson in rhyme
That road less traveled
Was that selection of mine

And that too has made
All the difference



Sunday, March 2, 2014

We must shift the focus of our classrooms from obedience to understanding...



"Republicans fear caps on CEO pay and bonuses will drain talent from those jobs. Shouldn't they have the same fears about slashing teacher comp and pay?" Robert John Meehan

"If we want to counter the effects of poverty on the achievement of children, we need to start a whole lot earlier and do a whole lot more." Robert John Meehan 


"Are our politicians ready to consider that it is our culture that is failing and that that failure is now showing up in our schools?" Robert John Meehan

"I don't know about getting rid of older more experienced teachers, but the policy should definitely be applied to elected officials." Robert John Meehan

"We must shift the focus of our classrooms from obedience to understanding." Robert John Meehan

"Inventive teachers can create life long learners but a love for learning can not be tested." Robert John Meehan

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Saturday, March 1, 2014

Effective teaching involves a highly distinctive set of human interactions and skills...





"Teaching often requires risk, acceptance of novelty, rejection of any form of discrimination and always requires a critical reflection of its current practices." Robert John Meehan

"Every time I see another hedge fund manager talk about school reform, I worry even more about the direction education reform is taking." Robert John Meehan

"Our children need strong figures in their lives; do not allow the corporate media to provide these figures for your children." Robert John Meehan

"Effective teaching involves a highly distinctive set of human interactions and skills that are not measurable by multiple choice tests." Robert John Meehan

"Teachers must be that Trusted Beacon in the often times tumultuous sea of life in which our youth are so often set adrift." Robert John Meehan

"Children think learning is filling in answer bubbles. The experience of learning has been replaced by multiple choice tests." Robert John Meehan

"What keeps teachers going has largely to do with their inner lives. It is their inner spirit that makes and sustains good teachers." Robert John Meehan

"Being a teacher has never been so much about the income: its always been mostly about the outcome." Robert John Meehan

"As teachers we spend little time focusing on what has been accomplished; we focus mainly on what remains to be done." Robert John Meehan

"Corporate education reformers haven't a clue as to how the lives of the children in urban schools differ from their own. More bubble tests, really?" Robert John Meehan

"Everything we do as parents and teachers must ensure that the child's inherent desire to learn is kept alive." Robert John Meehan