It's a Contest

Posted on May 23, 2006

During today's podcast I announce a contest. I received an e-mail from Melanie from Toronto. She is graduating from the Univ. of Toronto with a Masters in Child Study and Education. Congrats to Melanie! Anyway, she is taking a course in film-making and is interested in ideas for filming a documentary about character education. For the contest, just e-mail me your ideas for a documentary and I will pass them on her. From all of the e-mails I receive, I will draw two names and send the lucky winners a copy of the Supportive Classroom manual. That's it. Help me with ideas for Melanie and you may be a winner.

The winner will be drawn on June 13, 2006. I will announce the winners on the blog and during a special podcast.

Thanks for your help
Tim

Busy, Busy Busy..What Else is New?

Posted on March 21, 2006

I am sorry that I have not posted a podcast in the past two weeks but I have just been too busy with life. There is a new opportunity to write another federal Character Education Partnership grant for the State Department of Education that I have been working on in my "spare" time. My other job as the coordinator of the Vermont State I-team has also been very busy lately with almost daily meetings to plan statewide training for the fall and to develop courses for the Intensive Special Education endorsment program. I know, excuses...excuses.... I will be doing a new podcast this week so stay tuned.

Back from Maui

Posted on March 3, 2006

My wife, son and I spent a week on the island of Maui in Hawaii. What a great place to visit in the middle of a Vermont winter. When we left here it was snowing and when we returned it was snowing! Beautiful weather in Maui. 80 degrees, mostly sunny at the beaches, rainy in the rain forests and cloudy at the top of the 10,000 foot volcano in the middle of the island. The people were very friendly, the food was expensive and the scenery was unbelievable. We saw baby whales, sea turtles and went snorkling and body surfing. All that said, it is good to be home!

What is Next for the Supportive Classroom?

Posted on January 29, 2006

The Partnership in Character Education grant that I am currently working on to support schools to learn and use the Supportive Classroom curriculum is ending this Summer. I am working with a couple of my colleagues at the University of Vermont to design a new grant proposal for next year, but so far we haven't found a funding source for this work. The Partnership in Character Education Program grants are "supposed" to be available again this year, but they are way late and with the budget cuts at the Federal level this year, who know what will happen with these grants!

Regardless of whether or not we obtain funding for next year, I am going to keep this blog going and I am going to begin to rewrite the manual. The current manual is aimed at a classroom (students and staff). I want to expand the manual to look at developing school-wide and community support for the implementation of the Supportive Classroom. I would greatly appreciate any ideas / feedback from those of you who have used the manual. What is missing? What sections need further refinement? What do you like about the manual? What do you dislike? You can add comments here or e-mail me at timothy.fox@uvm.edu.

Also, I am looking for a few schools to work with next year. If we are able to obtain a grant, there may be some money to support me to work with several schools (depending on the type of grant we are able to obtain). If your school would like training and support for implementing the Supportive Classroom and you have training money available, let me know and we can discuss the possibilities.

Thanks for listening. I hope you are enjoying the site and the podcasts.

Tim

Next Podcast

Posted on January 5, 2006

It is snowing again here in Hinesburg, Vermont. I planned to do a podcast this morning but it is too noisy in my house today! My son has been ill the past two days and is home from school. As it nears noon, he is feeling much better, has completed his homework and is playing guitar. Too loud for recording.

I had also planned to visit Swanton Elementary School this afternoon, but due to the snow I met with Mary via telephone. School just started up again on Tuesday and there wasn't much for me to do today anyway. Instead I sit in my study listening to my son's guitar, watching the snow, doing paperwork, answering e-mails, and writing my blog. Life is very good. My life is blessed. I have a wonderful wife and two children that I am so proud of I could burst when I sit and think about them. I am doing a job that I love and that gives me the opportunity to touch the lives of so many people.

I hope each of you takes a moment and considers your blessings. If you are taking the time to read this blog, you too are a person that makes a difference of the live of others.

Thank you!

P.S. I will do my best to have Episode #11 up by Monday.

Tim

Happy New Year's Picture

Posted on January 4, 2006

This is a short note to thank all of those teachers, students and families who put in time and effort to make their schools a safe, inviting and welcoming community of leaners. All one need do is walk in the front door of any school and within a few steps you will know if it is a school where students, faculty and parents work together with respect and care or not. Upon entering a school where core concepts are practiced you will see a building that is well cared for, adults and children with a purpose, with smiles on their faces and with the time to stop and say "hello" or "welcome to our school". You will see the walls covered with student work. You will see the school's core values and norms posted. You will hear the sounds of enthusiastic voices as children and adults engage in the process of teaching and learning. You will hear students sharing their ideas, their feelings and their concern for the material they are studying and for each other. You will feel welcome. You will feel safe and interested. You will be amazed at the quality of the staff and at the quality of the students. You will want to linger, to be a part of it. You will be glad that this is your school, the school where you work or the school your children attend.

I hope this is a picture of your experience.

If so, take the time to congratulate yourself and those around you. Let the teachers, administrators, cafeteria workers, office staff, custodial staff and students know that you care.

If not, get involved. You can make a difference.

Tim

When Does All Really Mean All?

Posted on October 4, 2005

This portion of the Supportive Classroom Blog is for the discussion of issues that come up from time to time or for issues that I want to share. Please feel free to comment or add your own issues to this section.

When does All mean All? refers to an issue that I have been addressing for the past 30 years as a special educator and as a parent. It is the issue of inclusion of students with disabilities within the general education classroom. When I talk about the importance of students feeling a sense of Belonging within their classroom, school and community, I am talking about all children, regardless of ability. The reality of many schools is that some children that should be assigned to a particular classroom are not. They may be assigned to a resourse room, a special classroom or ever to another school. These children may be labeled as children with multiple disabilities, deaf-blindness, autism, emotional disabilities or severe learning impairments. The bottom line is that they are "children". If you are teaching third grade and there is a child in your school of 3rd grade age who is not assigned to a 3rd grade classroom, what can you do to help this child feel a sense of belonging? How can we tell our students that we all belong, if there is a child in the school that is not included in our activities? What do your think?