M. Shannon Hernandez's Blog, page 8

26: 3 Subjects Schools Should Teach to Improve the World with educator Andrea Schulman

In this episode, former educator Andrea Schulman shares the three subjects she thinks schools should teach to improve the world. And, because she couldn’t teach them on a daily basis, due to the “testing culture” found in schools, Andrea shares a heartfelt account of why she made the decision to leave her teaching career.

Tips from this episode:

Find out the three subjects Andrea things should be taught in every school across the country.
Understand why positive words have the power to build a personal connection with students each day.
Learn why Andrea is passionate about getting the word out about the Law of Attraction.

Listen to this episode:

http://traffic.libsyn.com/tpeduc/ep_26_Andrea_Schulman.mp3

25: How Metal Detectors Make Students Feel with student Dennis Belen

In this episode, high school student Dennis Belen speaks candidly about what it feels like to have to walk though a metal detector everyday of his high school career. He shares powerful insights into the unfairness of the situation–especially since the school down the block has no metal detectors. Dennis also shares much wisdom about public education from a student’s perspective.

Tips from this episode:

Find out why Dennis feels like a “second class citizen” each day he must walk through a metal detector to get to class.
Explore why Dennis is passionate, at the age of 18, about critical pedagogy, and how he is trying to get other students on board with this way of learning and teaching.
Listen in as Dennis explains how students learn best, and why he is so interested in advocating for public education.

Listen to this episode:

http://traffic.libsyn.com/tpeduc/Ep_25_Dennis_Belen.mp3

24: Using Humor To Build Classroom Community with educator Don Russell

In this episode, veteran teacher and author Don Russell talks about the power–and place–for humor in the classroom. He shares how to infuse the classroom with laughter and why it is so important to build a classroom community. We share lots of blunders and laughs together–showing that it is okay to mess up and laugh at yourself every once in a while!

Tips from this episode:

Explore ways to humor to build deeper connections with students
Learn what to do if humor goes awry and is mistaken as an insult or sarcasm
Understand why humor shows students that teachers are human beings too

Listen to this episode:

http://traffic.libsyn.com/tpeduc/ep_24_Don_Russel_.mp3

23: Teachers as Self-Motivated Researchers with educator Anthony Cody

In this episode, author and educator Anthony Cody discusses the importance of teachers becoming self-motivated researchers. It is through this voluntary practice that teachers become better at their craft, and Anthony shares with you the process he has used for over 25 years.

Tips from this episode:

Learn why teachers must take personal responsibility for enhancing their teaching skills
Discover how race, class, influence, and background affect our own teaching styles
Understand why students must see you not only as a teacher, but a learner too, if you are going to build a successful learning community in your classroom

Listen to this episode:

http://traffic.libsyn.com/tpeduc/ep_23_anthony_cody.mp3

22: Teaching History Beyond the Textbook with educator Dr. Yohuru Williams

In this episode, professor and consultant Dr. Yohuru Williams shares tips for keeping students super-engaged in history classes. The “trick”? Take the lessons beyond the textbook–right out into the community!

Tips from this episode:

Learn how to create a love of history in every student in the school
Discover tips for getting students to investigate their environments and make learning personal
Explore how to bring economic and political factors surrounding an event into your classroom relate them to students’ lives

Listen to this episode:

http://traffic.libsyn.com/tpeduc/ep_22_Yohuru_Williams.mp3

6 Tips for Writing a Life Changing Memoir

Whether you curl up with memoirs on a frequent basis or pick one up every now and again, you know powerful memoirs have the capacity to take you, as a reader, for an exhilarating ride.

I’m a connoisseur of memoirs. In the past seven years, I might have read three books that weren’t part of the memoir genre. Not only do I devour memoirs, I also have written my own, and I coach memoir writers on turning their memories into manuscripts.

By dissecting memoirs from both the reader’s and writer’s perspectives, I’ve identified common elements that powerful, compelling memoirs all share. If you’re planning to write a memoir, here’s how to make sure your story takes your readers on a journey they won’t forget.

1. Narrow your focus

Your memoir should be written as if the entire book is a snapshot of one theme of your life. Or consider it a pie, where your life represents the whole pie, and you are writing a book about a teeny-tiny sliver.

Your memoir is not an autobiography. The difference is that an autobiography spans your entire life, and a memoir focuses on one particular moment or series of moments around a theme. You want your readers to walk away knowing you, and that one experience, on a much deeper level.

Perhaps you are familiar with Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. This memoir focuses on Frank’s life as a first-generation immigrant child in Brooklyn. Angela is his mother, and much of the storyline focuses on her and how Frank saw her, as well as the role she played in trying to hold the entire family together.

2. Include more than just your story

I know I just instructed you to narrow down your focus, but we need to think bigger in our writing pursuits.

For example, if Hillary Clinton wrote a memoir about raising a child in the White House, she would be pulling in tidbits about how she handled the media, who she let visit her daughter during sleepovers, and how she navigated the politics of parenting during her time in the White House.

Likewise, if Madonna was writing a memoir about reinventing herself after 20 years away from the public spotlight, she most likely would include what it felt like to return to the music scene and how she continued to travel and perform while raising her children.

How does this apply to you? Imagine you are writing a memoir about your three-week trek through the Himalayan Mountains. While the focus is on your trip, as well as what you learned about yourself along the way, it would be wise to include other details as well.

You could describe the geography and history of the area, share interesting snippets about the people and donkeys you interacted with, and discuss your exploration of life-and-death questions as you progressed along your arduous journey.

Your readers want to know about you, but it’s the backstory and vivid details that make for a powerful memoir.

3. Tell the truth

One of the best ways to write a powerful memoir is to be honest and genuine. This is often tricky, because we don’t want to hurt or upset the people (our family and friends!) we’ve written into our books. But it’s important that you tell the truth — even if it makes your journey as an author more difficult.

When I wrote my memoir, Breaking the Silence: My Final Forty Days as a Public School Teacher, I knew I had a major dilemma: If I opted to tell the whole truth, I would pretty much ensure I would never get a job with New York City Public Schools again.

But I also knew teachers, parents and administrators needed to hear why great teachers are leaving education in droves and why the current educational system is not doing what’s right for our nation’s kids. I wrote my book with brutal honesty, and it has paid off with my readers — and is bringing national attention to what is happening behind closed school doors.

One more note on honesty: Memoirs explore the concept of truth as seen through your eyes. Don’t write in a snarky manner or with a bitter tone. The motivation for writing a memoir shouldn’t be to exact revenge or whine or seek forgiveness; it should simply be to share your experience.

Don’t exaggerate or bend the truth in your memoir. Your story, the unique one that you hold and cherish, is enough. There is no need to fabricate or embellish.

4. Put your readers in your shoes

Powerful writers show, not tell. And for a memoir writer, this is essential to your success, because you must invite your reader into your perspective so she can draw her own conclusions.

The best way to do this is to unfold the story before your reader’s eyes by using vivid language that helps him visualize each scene.

Perhaps you want to explain that your aunt was a “raging alcoholic.” If you say this directly, your description will likely come across as judgmental and critical. Instead, paint a picture for your audience so they come to this conclusion on their own. You might write something like this:

“Vodka bottles littered her bedroom, and I had learned, the hard way, not to knock on her door until well after noon. Most days she didn’t emerge into our living quarters until closer to sunset, and I would read her facial expression to gauge whether or not I should inquire about money — just so I could eat one meal before bedtime.”

5. Employ elements of fiction to bring your story to life

I like to think of the people in memoirs as characters. A great memoir pulls you into their lives: what they struggle with, what they are successful at and what they wonder about.

Many of the best memoir writers focus on a few key characteristics of their characters, allowing the reader to get to know each one in depth. Your readers must be able to love your characters or hate them, and you can’t do that by providing too much detail.

Introduce intriguing setting details and develop a captivating plot from your story. Show your readers the locations you describe and evoke emotions within them. They need to experience your story, almost as if is was their own.

6. Create an emotional journey

Don’t aim to knock your readers’ socks off. Knock off their pants, shirt, shoes and underwear too! Leave your readers with their mouths open in awe, or laughing hysterically, or crying tears of sympathy and sadness — or all three.

Take them on an emotional journey which will provoke them to read the next chapter, wonder about you well after they finish the last page, and tell their friends and colleagues about your book. The best way to evoke these feelings in your readers is to connect your emotions, as the protagonist, with pivotal events happening throughout your narrative arc.

Most of us are familiar with the narrative arc. In school, our teachers used to draw a “mountain” and once we reached the precipice, we were to fill in the climatic point of the book or story. Your memoir is no different: You need to create enough tension to shape your overall story, as well as each individual chapter, with that narrative arc.

That moment when you realized your husband had an affair? Don’t just say you were sad, angry or devastated. Instead, you might say something like:

“I learned of my husband’s affair when the February bank statements arrived and I realized that in one month’s time, he had purchased a ring and two massages at a high-end spa. Those gifts weren’t mine. He was using our money to woo another lady and build a new life. I curled up in a ball and wept for three hours — I had been demoted to the other woman.”

Will you write a memoir?

When you follow these guidelines while writing your memoir, you will captivate your audience and leave them begging for more. But more importantly, you will share your own authentic story with the world.

 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

21: Why I Decided to “Unschool” My Child and Homeschool with Dr. Janelle Alex

In this episode, Dr. Janelle Alex explains why she decided to homeschool her youngest son, despite sending her older two children through the public school system. Janelle offers important insights into her decision, and gives teachers a few things to think about in regards as to how they might be mis-categorizing students in their classrooms.

Tips from this episode:

Learn why Dr. Janelle Alex made the decision to homeschool her youngest child
Discover why this parent is now “unschooling” her son–and the impact it is having on his social and academic skills
Explore ways in which you might be misinterpreting extremely shy students and referring them for unnecessary educational services

Listen to this episode:

http://traffic.libsyn.com/tpeduc/_ep_21Janelle_Interview.mp3

Holistic, Student-Centered School in Bali Inspires U.S. Teacher Once Again

I had pretty much given up on the idea of ever entering a school classroom again as a K-12 teacher. Maybe it was the accusation of professional misconduct for giving a group of students a hug that left me soured? Or could it have been the struggle of being a visionary, passionate teacher, full of innovative ideas, who was shut down most times I presented them to the administration? Perhaps what ruined me in the end was the way I had to teach to a test, pretty much the entire school year.

All of these feelings changed when I visited The Green School in Bali, Indonesia, last week.  As I trekked through the rainforest to find the starting point of my tour, I was immediately taken aback by the massive bamboo structures which served as outdoor classrooms and the students swimming in the natural spring during their physical education class. I then came to a sign that read, “We the undersigned students and staff of Green School, Bali, shall collaborate to support our planet positively for future generations.”

Welcome to the sustainable community known as The Green School. The school’s vision is to provide a natural, holistic, student-centered learning environment which empowers and inspires students to be creative, innovative, green leaders. While the focus of the school is rooted in  environmental education and sustainable living, it doesn’t neglect academics at all. The Green school is committed to providing students with a world-class education in preparing for the competitive marketplace they will encounter upon graduation.

My tour started in the hydroponic garden, where water from the river was being pooled to create tanks. Fish swim in the tanks, eat and excrete waste, and that waste is then pumped into gravel planters, where a variety of plants are grown for research, eating, and other uses by the students. Adjacent to the hydroponic garden were several food plots where students learn to cultivate their own fruits and vegetables for school meals.

From composting, to solar panels, to a future hydroelectric station, students are immersed in a variety of subjects every single day and learn to solve problems in a hands-on way. These principles should be a core component of every student’s educational experience—because, as educators will tell you—we know that students learn best when they “do”. We also know that when students are interested and invested in the content and delivery, real learning takes place.

The tour ended in the public common area, where students gather to socialize and eat their meals—raw, organic, vegan meals prepared in the Living Food Lab. This concept was proposed by parents of the school, who wanted to offer students a healthy alternative to traditional school lunches. The administration and parents know that what we feed our students has a huge effect on the quality of work and thoughts they produce day in and day out.

As a former public school teacher of the U.S. education system, I left The Green School feeling inspired about the innovative approach many are taking to educate future generations. I was invigorated by the learning environments that can be created when school leaders, communities, and teachers work together to propose quality education rooted in experiential learning and authentic experiences. But above all, I left this wonderful environment situated amidst the Indonesian rainforest with a spark—perhaps there is a place for me again in a (non-traditional) classroom.

 

Images courtesy of Piotr Chruscielewski.

20: 5 Reasons School Uniforms Should Be Banned

In this episode, you will learn why I am not a fan of school uniforms–and why I think they do more harm than good. You might also be surprised to what research studies continue to prove, over and over again, about school uniforms in relation to academics and discipline referrals.

Tips from this episode:

Learn the history of school uniforms–where they originated, how they have transformed, and why the are not effective.
Discover 5 reasons I think school uniforms should be banned from schools
Understand why uniform policies are contributing to more discipline referrals and absenteeism in schools

Listen to this episode: 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/tpeduc/ep_20_school_uniforms.mp3

19: How to Teach Habits of Happiness and Creativity with educator Mike Ferry

In this episode, author and educator Mike Ferry shares stories of success from his own classroom and parenting. He encourages teachers to teach habits of happiness and creativity in the classroom, and Mike explains why this must become a priority in schools. In short, success doesn’t lead to happiness, happiness leads to success. So, if we are teaching students how to happy, success will follow.

Tips from this episode:

Learn how to teach habits of happiness, creativity, and innovation in your classroom
Discover how to authentically talk about gratitude in the classroom and how to get students to begin living a gratuitous life
Explore why we must be willing to teach students to think differently than the status quo

Listen to this episode: 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/tpeduc/ep_19_Mike_Ferry_Interview.mp3