Mr. Teacher
Can you hear me now?
by John Pearson
February 26, 2009
One of the advantages to teaching at an elementary school and not a high school is that I don't have to deal with certain issues with my kids, at least not as much. Topping the list is the issue of cell phones in the classroom.
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John Pearson is a third-grade math and science teacher in Dallas, Texas. He has degrees in mechanical engineering from Duke University and Texas A&M, so most consider his math abilities adequate enough to teach nine-year olds. He is also the author of Learn Me Good (Lulu, 2006), a funny, fictionalized account of his first year in education. Read more at www.learnmegood.com
Column Archive
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Those Pesky, Irritating, Obtrusive Adjectives
by John Pearson
February 19, 2009, 12:00 amLast week, I did a lesson on adjectives with my ESL (English as a Second Language) kids. This was Part 3 in the popular series: Math Guy Attempts to Explain English Language Parts of Speech. Read More
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V-Reaky Friday
by John Pearson
February 12, 2009, 12:00 amThis Friday is a very special day for most elementary school children. I'm speaking of course about Friday the 13th! No, I'm just kidding. I am actually referring to Valentine's Day. A day which is second only to Halloween in terms of expected sugar highs. My teaching partner and I have decided that we will have a low-key, subdued party in the afternoon. The kids will have a chance to pass out their valentines and a little bit of candy, but there will be no giant food fest or day-long movie marathon. Read More
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Ad Nauseum
by John Pearson
February 5, 2009, 12:00 amThis past Sunday, millions of television viewers tuned in to see the most highly anticipated event of the National Football League's season. I understand there was some sort of game going on, but what got everyone's attention was the commercials! Read More
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The Ice Day Cometh
by John Pearson
January 29, 2009, 12:00 amThe forecast for this week called for some pretty horrendous weather, involving ice, freezing rain, and low temperatures. Naturally, all anyone could talk about was whether or not there would be school closings. Read More
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Those Short Weeks are Killer
by John Pearson
January 22, 2009, 12:00 amI propose a ONE-day school week, where students arrive at noon on Monday and go straight through to noon on Tuesday. Twenty-four hours of continuous, unadulterated instructional time, and then SIX DAYS OFF!!! Read More
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A Few of My Favorite Things
by John Pearson
January 15, 2009, 12:00 amDespite all of the stress and frustration that comes with being a teacher, there are certainly a lot of things that make it all worthwhile. Things that keep me in the profession. Besides laziness and a lack of motivation to update my resume, that is. Read More
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Two Weeks Off??
by John Pearson
January 8, 2009, 12:00 amTeachers and students across the nation returned to class earlier this week, and most, if not all, of them had something in common: tiredhead. This was of course to be expected, though, since most of us played Twister with our sleep schedule, staying up past midnight and sleeping past noon for most of the holiday break. No? That was just me? Well, then, I stand corrected. (But I doubt it.) At any rate, when my students returned to class, I grilled them on what they had done to occupy themselves during the two week lay over. Here are a few observations about what they wrote. Read More
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Time to Make Some Resolutions
by John Pearson
January 1, 2009, 12:00 amHello, and welcome to 2009! When you were a little kid, did you ever dream that you would live to see 2009 -- the age of flying cars, personal jetpacks, and robot servants? Well, hey, maybe you can dream of 2030, when I'm SURE all of those futuristic things will be reality. Read More
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New Holiday Classics
by John Pearson
December 25, 2008, 12:00 amMerry Christmas everyone! Once again, I have the honor of having a column run on Christmas Day. That means one of two things. Either I am very special and worthy of this honor, OR this column will never be read because people are too busy opening presents and eating turkey today. Regardless, I figured that since today is Christmas Day, it might be a good idea to think of some new holiday songs that kids could sing with their parents and teachers around this time of year. I donât want to reinvent the wheel here, so Iâm keeping old familiar tunes and melodies and just updating the lyrics. Read More
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Happy Holidays! Keep Studying!
by John Pearson
December 18, 2008, 12:00 amWith Christmas, excuse me, HOLIDAY break soon upon us, there is no doubt that students' minds are already turning to things like how late can they stay up, how long can they sleep in, and how many consecutive hours of Grand Theft Auto can they play without inducing a coma. Read More
