Good Ideas I Picked Up while Subbing as a Teacher

One elementary seemed to deal with dicipline problems very well.
-- Children had to walk quitly in the hallway. They could earn a Panther point if five teachers observed their good behavior and wrote up a commendation.
-- Five points allowed the class to have a special treat like a movie or party.
-- Fifteen points allowed them to have lunch with the principal.

In elementary schools the students had to stand and wait for everyone to get a tray before the all sat down to eat at lunch.

In Title 1 elementary schools, where most were on Free Lunch, if someone did not drink his milk, he could put it in a crate during lunch for others to have as needed.

In middle school lunch: Children had to hold up a V-finger if they want to go get seconds and a crossed finger to go to the bathroom.

Elementery and Middle school: During recess, the children had to run three laps around a Basketball court before they could go play.

Elementary: The teachers stressed school family and children being "Friends". "Some of our friends are not staying quiet." "One of our friends, is still in the room and not lined up properly."

Elementary and Middle: A running program where children had to run a number of laps to build up points.

Elementary: CAMP Comp, Art, Music, P.E
Mon-Friday, half hour of a special and half hour of P.E.

In Between the Lions

I am impressed by the PBS kids show called In Between the Lions. It is intended to teach reading to first through third graders. It follows a variety show format much like Sesame Street and The Electric Company. Sesame Street is intended for preparing preschoolers by teaching letters and numbers. The Electric Company is for fourth, fifth and sixth graders to expand vocabulary, reading skills and social skills.

In Between the Lions features a family of lions who live in a library. Sesame Street and The Electric Company is set in the city. The library approach is good because it parallels the setting of elementry schools. The lions have a computer mouse friend who uses technology to illustrate the simple stories the lions read. They also have monkeys with various personalities who appear in the show.

The mother lion is nicely dressed in the African style with large necklaces. The father, son and daughter lion are dressed in a typically American style. The artistry of the library is also impressive. It is a large building in a wooded setting with human children sitting around reading quietly. I only wish my local PBS station showed it more often. It only appears once at 8 a.m.