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Profile: dsnellen
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User Name: dsnellen
Forum Rank: Newbie
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Location Belleview, MO
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Joined: Monday, October 25, 2010
Last Visit: Monday, May 23, 2011 1:50:50 PM
Number of Posts: 0
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Last 10 Posts
Topic: My first and last year of teaching
Posted: Monday, May 23, 2011 10:18:22 AM
In sprite of the random frustrations, I could teach another year. It may not have been overly oblivious in my original post, but I did enjoy this year. We made a lot of stuff and a lot of projects have flowed into the community. Many kids were excited about next year and being in my class! Talking about what they wanted to do, could I teach them that, could we do this, etc. HS girls were expressing an interest in taking General Shop! Next year would be much less frustrating and much easier as the standards have been set. Although teaching was not a career move for me, I had planned on being there for 3 – 5 years.

I also teach Personal Finance and one of the strong points is everyone should have near, intermediate and long term goals. The teaching point is “If you don’t know where you are going, any path will take you there.” In April after a received the contract for next year, the wife and I sat on the beach in FL, drank a lot of beer and reviewed her goals, my goals and our goals. Looked at her career, mine, options, opportunities, potentials, economies, etc. LSS, teaching another year would at best be moving at 90 degrees to our desired goals. Teaching in a public school no adds value to our life, it subtracts from it. To be in a school all day means I can’t be somewhere else.

Being back in the private sector means hard work, initiative and motivation is rewarded. It also means the Xmas bonus will be more than a $20 gift certificate at a local store. I will focus on growing my Investment Advisor business. (I am a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor [RIA] and currently manage money for clients in three states.) I have a nicely equipped wood shop, a Web site and slowly stocking my ‘shelves’ with products I make. Maybe hire a couple of local kids to assist. Teach one-on-one the capitalist approach to making a living.... A thought.
Topic: My first and last year of teaching
Posted: Friday, May 13, 2011 12:07:50 AM
There are only nine days left in my first, and last year of teaching in a public school. Had a lot of fun. Enjoyed most of the students a lot. 7th grade was my favorite. They were a blast. But the whining, laziness, lying, sub-standard performance and sense of entitlement of the high school kids gets old. Apparently there is no reason to study or do any work IF your parent works for the school. There is, after all, the expectation of success…..

My shop has put out more projects this year than in the past five years combined according to the super, principal, other teachers and seniors. That makes me feel good. But sad in that we could have done so much more if the students were not clowning around, goofing off, drawing porno on the walls, throwing chewing tobacco on the floor and trying to cause other kids or myself to screw up by changing setting on equipment or hiding tools or materials. A big joke for them. So frustrating for me.

I am returning to the private sector. I need the daily rush of business competition and challenges where thinking, problem solving and implementation are desired and non-performers are terminated. I was reviewing the 2011-2012 contract and it occurred to me that next year would be exactly like this year. Different names in the grade book but same classes doing same stuff for another nine months. Where is the thinking, the innovation, the initiative or the motivation to excel? I could do this for 20 years and have one year of experience repeated 19 times. I then submitted my resignation. My hat is off to you guys who do this year after year. And I tilt my hat to my high school shop teacher who did it for 25+ years. I learned a lot from him. But I can’t do it another year.

Anyone need a job? I will put in a good word for you.

Dave
Topic: College instructor looking for CNC recommendations
Posted: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 3:47:22 PM
It will likely be difficult to find a ready build 4 x 8 cnc in your price range. Plan on budgeting $25k+ plus software licenses. Shopbot has gotten some good write ups. Another possible vendor is Legacy Woodworking (www.legacycncwoodworking.com). They build large format machines, but again it may be out of your budget range. You could try building one from a kit. One option is http://buildyourcnc.com/default.aspx. A complete 4x8 kit runs around $2,900. Its constructed of birch plywood, but appears to be well designed. Nice thing about a kit is you can easily fix any damage done by students. Good luck.
Topic: Teaching Position In Bunker, MO
Posted: Monday, April 25, 2011 9:40:16 AM
"Bunker R-III | 'Industrial Technology' | 'Industrial Technology' -- (posted 4/21/2011)

The Bunker R-III School District is accepting applications for an industrial arts teacher for the 2011-2012 school year. Qualifications include appropriate certification, the ability to foster interpersonal relationships with staff and students, exceptional classroom management skills, and a desire to build a quality program. The Industrial technology classroom consists of classroom space, computerized workstations, and full woodworking shop. Knowledge of project-based learning and the High Schools That Work philosophy is a plus. Preference will be given to applicants possessing vocational certification. Applications are available at www.bunkerr3.k12.mo.us/District/ employment.htm and may be submitted to Jane Reeves,Superintendent, PO Box 365, Bunker, MO. 63629. The deadline for applications is May 11, 2011."

This is my position. I am going back to the private sector. Bunker, MO is in Southeast MO about 30 miles SSE of Salem. A small school, about 240 +/- with small class sizes. Great opportunity for someone.
Topic: Woods 1 Power Tool Project Plans
Posted: Monday, April 25, 2011 9:24:21 AM
Thanks Steve,
I was able to download them. Your Google Doc mojo still works.
Dave
Topic: Looking to become a woodworking teacher
Posted: Tuesday, March 8, 2011 11:35:42 AM
For Missouri teaching jobs, www.successlink.org/ is the site. You can register for free and review the jobs available for the state or in a specific region. Every year a number of shop jobs pop up. Its a matter of your willingness to relocate.
Good luck - Dave
Topic: On-Line Testing
Posted: Monday, March 7, 2011 11:35:33 PM
Wanted to let everyone know about a great site that allows for on-line student testing and it is FREE! The site is www.ClassMarker.com.

This site allows you to create tests and the students to take the tests on-line. You can put your safety tests on-line, with multiple-guess, T-F, essay and graphic oriented questions. The only downside is the student needs to have access to the Internet.

I also teach personal finance. PF covering six major units. For each Unit, I have 120+ questions. And add more as I think of them. Each Unit test contains 40 questions that are randomly selected when the student logs on. So two kids sitting side-by-side will have different test questions covering the same information. The system records the score which can be reviewed later. For each Unit, I have created a practice test that randomly selects 15 questions from the same database. The student can take these practice tests as often as they want from anywhere. These are learning exercises, they don't count against the student.

This site has a lot of forward looking potential. Test questions can be shared with multiple teachers. New teachers would not have to reinvent the same wheel. New topics can be quickly implemented by tapping into lesson plans and test questions from others.

Also lookup "google cloud office" and read how Google can integrate Office Suite products into the Google's Docs Cloud. Download the add-in and you can easily backup your Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents to Google Docs. They can also be shared easily. This is a giant leap forward in on-line collaboration.

If anyone would like to try the personal finance practice tests let me know and I will provide a username and password. I can also help with the learning curve associated with how to best implement on-line testing.

Dave
Topic: Yet another snow day
Posted: Monday, March 7, 2011 10:29:46 PM
klandin wrote:
I've got to admit that I really don't understand dsnellen's gripe. <snip>


It wasn't so much of a gripe as it was an observation. When I worked in the corporate world, I was never docked if the company was unexpectedly closed. Hurricane Wilma shutdown corporate headquaters for nine work days. Our instructions were to take care of families and homes first. No one was docked. Even the hourly workers were paid. Same at other companies where I have worked.

I believe we should be paid for 182(+/-) of school calendar days with a fixed start and end date. If school calendar is extended for any reason (snow, sickness, flooding, etc), then teacher's get paid at their day rate for those extra days. For me, this year that would be 194 paid days. It won't happen of course, teachers as a whole are a docile group, but it is a nice thought.

Keith, I am sure you are well paid at the the Woodstock Academy. However, please avoid characterizing all teachers as being the same. In this area, a high school dropout driving a truck and the logger cutting down trees WILL earn more on a weekly basis than the highest paid teacher. It will take eight years of experience before a teacher in this district will break the $30k barrier. A Master's degree and three years will also do it.

Before anyone rips me a new one, just know that if I wasn't already retired, I couldn't afford to teach! I teach because I want too, not because I have too. Teaching is not a career path for me, it is something I enjoy doing.

Dave
Topic: Yet another snow day
Posted: Thursday, February 24, 2011 8:50:01 PM
rathertm wrote:
<snip> Dave, I'm not sure what you meant by not getting paid for missed days. We don't get docked for those days, our paychecks are still the same. We just work a few more days at the end of the year or lose some breaks. Don't need a union to deal with that!


My point. If school is closed for any reason, teachers do not get credit for that day and are not paid for that day. We get the same amount of money each month (for 12 months) which gives the illusion of being paid for Xmas break, Spring Break, snow days etc., but we are not. We are contracted for 182(+/-) SCHOOL days, not CALENDAR days. Big difference. School starts in August and ends sometime between Mid-May to early June. Long story short, teachers bear the expense of a school closing, not the district. Our only paid time off is 2 days(+/-) of personal time and 3 days (+/-) for medical reasons.

Dave
Topic: Yet another snow day
Posted: Tuesday, February 8, 2011 11:06:12 PM
We were out yesterday for 5 in a row. Back today, but with about 18% of the kids absence. Under a winter storm watch for tonight and tomorrow. The bet is we will be out tomorrow. Apparently (in MO), if a school district misses 10 or more days, they only have to make up 1/2 of them. Our count is now 9 days. So it would be to our distinct advantage to miss another day!

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