“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” -Author-T. Roosevelt
It’s the first few weeks of school and I really want to encourage you to continue with the same enthusiasm and vigor that educators have at the beginning of each school year. I also want to commend you on being willing to go forth with the cause of “doing what is best for all students” even when it’s not the easiest path to follow.
The above quote says it all. Educators are not “timid souls” because you spend yourself “in a worthy cause.” Today’s blog and podcast are designed to help the teachers who want to implement small groups but may have the challenges of an intense curriculum and/or shorter instructional time frames.
One of these teachers, LaLonnie from Texas, submitted the following to me after a Tabor Rotation session this summer:
“First, I would like to say that your presentations at CAMT in Houston captivated me. I have been searching for a way to teach in small groups and hit all the areas that you designed in Tabor Rotation. I am still concerned with time. I only have 1 hour ten minutes a day and on Thursdays only 45 minutes. Is it still possible to do Tabor Rotation? I think I can do it, I’m just not sure.”
The podcast today, “Tabor Rotation in Middle School and High School Math” will address LaLonnie’s concerns. It features questions from educators who want to know how to use Tabor Rotation in middle school and high school math and educators from all levels who deal with time constraints. The podcast also discusses how to best fit effective strategies from differentiated instruction such as note taking, partner work in Think-Pair-Share, and readiness groups into a week of Tabor Rotation. The podcast continues with how and when to fit many mathematical concepts into one week of instruction.
Be sure and become a part of the Tabor Rotation collaborative community of learners by clicking the buttons for Twitter and Facebook that are also on this page. If you have questions or comments, email me glenna@taborrotation.com or via my website email.
On Friday, September 18, I’ll be presenting at ESC Region 2’s RTI Conference. I’m really excited about sharing ideas for how to “respond to intervention” and how to eliminate most of the need for intervention through the use of Tabor Rotation. After such an enthusiastic response from the participants brought in by Molly Argo and Barbara Purcell in August, I can’t wait to meet more dedicated and eager educators from around the Corpus Christi area!
Podcast: Tabor Rotation in Middle School and High School Math