After 12 years online, Writing.com has nearly 975,000 members and is still going strong. If you are looking for a community of writers, tools, advice and inspiration then you’ll want to take a look at Writing.com.
If you need help with grammar we have the resource for you. The Guide to Grammar and Writing is sponsored by the Capital Community College Foundation, a nonprofit 501 c-3 organization that supports scholarships, faculty development, and curriculum innovation. There are dozens of guides that you would normally get when you go to college.
Color Your Life Published wants to know if writers are using Pinterest to market their work. We’re all familiar with and a bit burned out by all the information about LinkedIn, Facebook and other older social networks but what do we really know about Pinterest. If you’re asking yourself the same question read the article Writers, Is Pinterest in Your Marketing Bag? At Color Your Life Published.
Writer’s Block. Every writer suffers from this affliction more often than we’d like to admit. We have a neat trick for non-fiction writers. If you need a topic for a chapter or a rule (as in the 42Rules books) then the first place you should visit is the place where your audience congregates. Often this will be industry forums but it might be topical newsgroups. Drop in frequently to see what your readers are talking about. You’ll learn about the newest trends, the questions your readers have and what they value. All that information is free for the taking!
The book conference of the year, BookExpo America, is being held June 4-7, 2012 at the Javits Center in New York City. Just about anyone who is anyone in publishing attends this event. If you want to join this crowd visit http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/
It doesn’t matter if you are an author, a manager or small business owner you need to establish relationships with customers, with vendors and coworkers. Our author, Susan Guerrero, shares Rule 7 “Establish Relationships” below from her book 42 Rules For Elementary School Teachers.
Establish Relationships
Relationships are central to teaching and learning. Establishing a real relationship with every student, their parents, your colleagues and supervisor is the foundation for a successful learning partnership that will make teaching a joy.
Do you remember a teacher who connected with you as an individual? Maybe they took the time to listen, fi nd out about your interests and give you opportunities to incorporate your passions into your learning. I bet those teachers were your favorite people and that because of it you worked harder to succeed in school.
To establish yourself as an important learning leader to your students take the time to get to know them. Since you’re the adult be a “roll” model and get the ball rolling by sending out introductory letters or postcards to students before the year begins.
Tell them who you are, what your interests are and how exciting it is that you will be working together. Gear your communications appropriately for your grade level. Do a quick welcome to school postcard for Kindergarten, adding information as you move up in grades and even moving to cards or a letter for upper grades. Be prepared to get mail back and when you do, answer it!
Writing back and forth is a great way to have a private dialogue that lets students know they are valued. This can be carried on throughout the year in different forms such as continued correspondence, e-mail, student learning refl ections and teacher validation or two-way journals
Although you may feel like you have a lot of students remember each of them is the most important person in your classroom to their parents. As you are getting to know students and their parents make sure you are sharing who you are with them. Be visible and available before and after school and use every opportunity to share your commitment and vision for learning. Unless you are in a job share situation, each of your students only has one teacher and they want to know who you are, what you stand for and what to expect from you. If you start out letting everyone get to know you, you can’t fail to succeed with students and get their parents to support you.
I experienced a master at work one year when I went to my son Chase’s Back to School Night. The teacher, Anita Sanchez met each parent at the door with a gracious handshake and welcome. Her beautiful classroom was set up for each of us to sign in and fi nd our child’s desk which had the 1st grade standards, class policies and procedures and a note from each child on it.
Mrs. Sanchez got up in front of the class, smiled at everyone and began a power point presentation by saying:
“I’d like to share the twenty reasons I love getting up and coming in to teach each day.”
The slides showing every child in the class experiencing their fi rst week of fi rst grade made every parent sigh and fall in love with Mrs. Sanchez. With one graceful action she conveyed how she felt about our kids, shared what their activities and learning looked like in action and she showed us that she valued each and every one of them.
As you’re connecting with students and parents make sure you also spend quality time with your teaching partners and talk with your supervisor regularly. Ask for feedback and be prepared to actually listen to it and use it. Offer your opinion when asked and practice diplomacy.
It’s easy to get super involved in your classroom and forget that you are part of a larger learning community. Tend to each part of your learning community by making sure you know and understand your students, parents, colleagues and supervisor. Your work to create relationships will result in positive relationships that sustain and enrich you and your teaching.
