Month: May 2018

Unity Over Uniformity: Cultivating Diversity

by Laura Steinbrink, posted in Education

This post was inspired by the sermon my preacher, Jeff Wofford, gave this morning, which had me thinking of it's applications beyond the church.  Jeff's point was that we tend to want our church to be filled with members who are like ourselves, and that should not be the goal. Diversity reaches more people. When I refer to diversity in this post, I am not limiting it to mean racial or cultural diversity. Nope. I'm also referring to personalities, interests, and abilities of my students within my classes and within our schools. Our members are those who enroll in our schools and take our classes. Are we celebrating their differences in order to cultivate unity? Uniformity is not unity. We have to do better for teachers and students.

Sub Plans: Shifting The Focus to Students, Always

by Laura Steinbrink, posted in Education

I've been out of my classroom more than usual this year. Besides the round of sickness that dropped me flat in mid March, I have presented at more conferences, proctored the ACT and our state exam for English 2, doctor appointments, and you get the picture.  That being said, I do not like to be away from my classes. Ever. But it happens. So while preparing sub plans last week, I had an epiphany.

All They Do In Class Is Play: Can I Play With Madness?

by Laura Steinbrink, posted in Education

My #4OCF Voxer group recently discussed the dilemma of perception. The old adage that one bad apple spoils the bunch seemed to permeate our thoughts as we pondered, debated, and discussed. Here's the skinny that we collectively decided, for now. We might revisit the topic later, as we tend to do, and push the boundaries of our thinking, but for now, here's how we see the perception that if students are having fun, learning must not be present.