"Be the Echo" - Abraham Alarcon's Blog

Biking in New York City has become very popular today. With the increase of bike lanes, new CitiBike locations, and the safety advocacy of groups like Transportation Alternatives, biking in NYC is a wonderful experience. In case you are riding and you hear from behind, "On your left!" That means a biker is approaching and will pass you on your left side. Many are not used to this mode of communication because we are looking forward. Others respond better to bells and dings as alerts. The "on your left" signal is a considerate and safety protocol for biking. Smart and safe bikers will use it. Those who reciprocate with a "Thank you" or "Okay" understand and do appreciate the effort. Its smart biking like managing speed and other safety measures. What signals do teachers use in their classrooms to communicate what's coming next for students? How might they inform students their expectations? How can they he...

When I told my mother I was going to be a teacher she exclaimed,   "Ay Dios! Voy a quedarme pobre por el resto de mi vida!" Translation:  Oh God!  I will be poor for the rest of my life!     I was not surprised at her reaction to my news.  I have cousins in the profession in my mother's native country of Ecuador.  From her point of view teachers are not respected because they are poorly paid.  The average salary of a novice teacher in Ecuador today ranges from $300 - $500 dollars a month.  You can make more if you teach English and work in a private school.  Surely, my mother's sentiments originated from having seen family members struggle and did not want the same for me. The notion that the teaching profession must be filled with attractive money and salaries to lure the best talent won't work.  No incentive program with deep pockets can instill that innate desire for service, that passion to learn from and with ...

I read a blog by William D. Parker titled  3 Tips on Student Self Reporting Grades . Parker talks about how educators would benefit if they got students to identify what they want to accomplish. Having students reflect on where they are at and where they want to go is powerful.  It is also necessary for their own development. Many students are uninterested, unmotivated, or simply pick and choose what they want to do because their educational experience has many gaps.  Their teachers play it too safe because they are worried about being compliant and avoid parental confrontations they set the achievement bar low enough for their students to pass.   Parker gives an example of a soccer team that prepares for a game and notices that there are no goals.  The referee blows the whistle and the players ask themselves, "What do we do?" It is obvious that without goals no one can score. If I was on that team, I would tell my teammates to take off their shi...

I read somewhere on Twitter about a Summer To Do List.  It included many things like relaxing, spending time with family and friends, catching up on reading, and going on vacation.  One item on that list that struck me most was creating a blog.  The first thing that came to mind was, " I AM NOT A WRITER. "  After the initial fear and doubt wore off, I came to the realization I was wrong.  All educators are writers! Yes, all educators are writers.  We may not be published authors, although many are, and many more should be.  Educators like me (I am an elementary Vice Principal) write all the time.  I write memos to teachers, my principal, and to many central office people.  I write reports, agendas, emails, daily and monthly school announcements, and yes, even student behavior incident reports. To be more specific, I also write important documents like teacher observations and annual performance summaries.  I should also mention ...