Josh Stumpenhorst – Page 21 – Josh Stumpenhorst

Lessons from Little League

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Josh Stumpenhorst

A great deal of my free time lately has been consumed with my son’s entry into the world of Little League baseball. He is five years old and is starting in the first level which is a coach-pitch league. I believe that we can learn a few things about schools from Little League. Everyone plays […]

It’s Not You, It’s Me

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Josh Stumpenhorst

One of my favorite scenes from my long love affair with the great show Seinfeld is a conversation between George and his girlfriend. The line being used in this conversation is, “it’s not you, it’s me.” Obviously, George and his girlfriend are using this time tested line to justify a breakup. However, I think this […]

My Bin Laden Takeaways

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Josh Stumpenhorst

Osama Bin Laden has been killed by US forces in Pakistan. President Obama speech about US killing Osama Bin Laden I have two takeaways after this surely historical event. My first takeaway is the emotional mixture I am feeling right now. As I type this, I am watching crowds celebrating and cheering as […]

I Like to Compete

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Josh Stumpenhorst

I like competition and I think it can be a very healthy motivator for kids. Many people will most likely disagree with this statement as many people think competition is not a good thing and leads to cheating, bias, and overall inequalities. While I can see those potential problems I think there are many positives […]

It Takes Two to Tango

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Josh Stumpenhorst

I recently read a post by Justin Tarte that was an open letter to administrators. While I agree with all of his points, I try to see things from the “other” side as well. A few of Justin’s points struck me and I wanted to offer some additional commentary. While I don’t think his intention […]

Class Update Six – I am Done

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Josh Stumpenhorst

This is yet another update from my Language Arts classroom. For those that have yet to check this blog list out, you can read about my initial motivation for a student driven classroom, how to “give it up”, an initial class update, and updates titled “It’s About the Learning”, “Learning Should be Viral”, “One on […]

My Students Are The Goonies

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Josh Stumpenhorst

I am avid reader of The Nerdy Teacher blog and especially like his “Everything I Learned About Education” series where we writes about classic movies and compares them to education. A while back we chatted about doing a combo post about the movie Goonies. Below is my post and you can see Nick’s insights on […]

Class Update Five – Sub Plans

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Josh Stumpenhorst

If you are like me, you dread being away from school. Sure, it is nice to get out of the classroom and take a break from the madness. However, it is often more work to write detailed sub plans where you predict every possible outcome that might happen in class while you are gone. You […]

Be A Man

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Josh Stumpenhorst

Let me start this by stating I have two sons and two brothers. I grew up wrestling, punching, fighting, driving my parents crazy, and loving every minute of it. Currently, my sons are doing the exact same thing and it drives my wife nuts. My response to their behavior is often, “that’s boys for you.” […]

Class Update Four – One to One is the Best Way

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Josh Stumpenhorst

First of all, this is a picture I took this afternoon in my backyard. My sons were coloring the bricks on our patio and this is what they produced. This is veeeery loosely connected in that this was some one on one (two) time with my sons this afternoon. This is my latest update from […]