Category Archives: Students

lockdown drills etc.

Posted on October 2, 2015 by bakrawiec

Once again the unspeakable happened on an American college campus. As a former educator, don’t get me started on what I have seen and experienced with students’ mentally illnesses. (Pardon me if I’m rash judging the cause of yesterday’s brutal … Continue reading →

Posted in Retirement, School, Security, Students, Violence | Leave a comment

typo-finding: sequel

Posted on September 21, 2015 by bakrawiec

Within hours of publishing yesterday’s blog about finding typos, I found myself facing this sign: EXPIERNCED HELP WANTED. Thought #1:  A chance for employment! Thought #2:  I don’t believe it. I am haunted by typos! EXPIERNCED Ouch! The sign was … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammar, Proofreading, Retirement, Spelling, Students, Teaching | 4 Comments

BIG plans for the BIG day–only: which day?

Posted on August 26, 2015 by bakrawiec

One of my new “Outer Circle” Twitter PLN friends counseled me to be sure to fully, properly celebrate the first day of my retirement. Be sure to plan something very special, she counseled. Don’t let the day pass without doing … Continue reading →

Posted in Affiliation, Retirement, Students, Teachers, Teaching | Leave a comment

50 unused sick days: why I left them

Posted on August 14, 2015 by bakrawiec

Piggybacking on the last post: Yes! Despite my financial advisor’s advice to the contrary, I left fifty unused sick days on the table, in part, for all the reasons explained previously. However, if I’m honest with myself, there was yet … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Employment, Lesson plans, Retirement, Students, Substitutes, Teachers, Teaching | Leave a comment

unfortunately…forced into leaving teaching

Posted on August 9, 2015 by bakrawiec

In an earlier post, I compared “social media” constraints at the end of my teaching career with “social” (public drinking) constraints at its start. In that post, I wondered if the anti-public drinking constraint was aimed particularly at women. …Would … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Education, Employment, Retirement, School, Seniors, Students, Teaching, Transitions | Leave a comment

Part 2: Family Library–Gratifying Work in Progress

Posted on August 8, 2015 by bakrawiec

In general, here’s how our Family Library worked. Usually after school (rather than before), when there was more browsing time, parents or grandparents would come to the library with (though sometimes without) their children. I would create a family account … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Children, Education, Families, Family, Kidlit, LIbrarians, Library, Library Media Specialist, Parents, Reading, School, Students, Teachers, Teaching | 2 Comments

something old; something new…not involving weddings

Posted on August 5, 2015 by bakrawiec

Of all the additional expenses I imagined I might have in retirement, here’s one I underestimated. Fortunately, on the one hand, it’s a relatively low cost item. And totally discretionary. On the other hand, the cumulative cost of how many … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Employment, Retirement, School, Students, Teaching, Transitions, Work, Writing | 2 Comments

time out

Posted on August 4, 2015 by bakrawiec

When I started teaching, I felt sad that forty-eight minute classes were totally insufficient for students to experience my ambitious plans for exciting learning. With so much “great stuff” I wanted to facilitate on a daily basis, P.A. announcements, fire … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Employment, School, Students, Teachers, Teaching, Transitions, Work | Leave a comment

timing

Posted on August 3, 2015 by bakrawiec

July has given way to August. And I realized something about the passage of time during these countdown days. In the past, when I was counting down to the start of the school year, I did so at this half-way … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Employment, Retirement, School, Seniors, Students, Teachers, Transitions, Work | Leave a comment

not what, but who; joyfully (un)realistic!

Posted on August 2, 2015 by bakrawiec

The same undergraduate methods professor who introduced me to the Henry Adams quote, discussed in prior posts, that guided my teaching, gave the following words of wisdom, which he repeated often throughout our coursework, making them his mantra. I’m paraphrasing: … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Employment, Retirement, Seniors, Students, Teachers, Transitions, Work | Leave a comment