My classroom does not have any computers for my students to use so when they need to Google an image or draw from one of their own photos I allow them free access to all my  personal computers and mobile devices. My iPad and phone is passed around the room constantly. 

You know that you live a really 'clean' life with nothing bad to hide when your students have open access to your cell phone, iPad, personal computer and teacher computer!

But, of course, there is a price to pay for this generosity on my part. Every night before I go to sleep, I routinely delete all the selfies that they take during the day. I have to admit, there is usually a smile on my face the whole time that I am deleting. Some nights I delete up to 30-40 selfies off my iPhone 6...I kid you not! 

So...since all of you love to fill my iCloud to overflowing and put your beloved teacher through this nightly ritual, I decided to save my favorites for a weekly 'selfie exhibit'! Yes, I will weekly make a slide show of my favorite selfies of the week. Kind'a like...Letterman's Top Ten. So, here you have it..Ms. B.'s favorite selfies and usies of the week. Enjoy! All my love, Ms. B. 
P.S. I have no idea why this site does not allow me to rotate the photos...sorry! 

I completed my first graduate class! I am earning my degree of "Master's of Education in Applied Technology". All of you are aware that I was given a full scholarship to get this degree. My personal goal is to graduate with a 4.0. So far, so good...but look how close I got to perfection...99.21%...ugh! So close, but I did not make the mark.

I worked so hard in this course. It was a technology class and I had little to no background knowledge of what was taught in the course. I invested an average of 20-30 hours a week studing and creating projects for the class so when I opened my grades and saw that I did not make 100% I was 'slightly' disappointed. 

But then after I gave it some thought, I was happy not to get the 100. Once you get a 100...then there is no where to improve from there. 

So, with room to improve, I set out in my second grad. course (that I am currently enrolled in) for a perfect score! I believe that I can do it but I will have to set my priorities, set aside the time to invest in hard work and keep my eye on the goal.

Goal setting is crucial with regards to achieving personal growth. I must reflect...evaluate...then make a plan. As I review my scores, I realize that I was marked lower only in my 'discussion board' posts not my assignments. So my plan is to give more attention to my writing in the weekly discussion board postings. I am telling all of you this so that I can be a living example of how to be successful academically. It takes commitment, time and organization! Wish me luck and let's see what happens! Love you guys! Ms. B.,

I completed my Advanced Placement Educator Training today! I have so much new knowledge to bring back to the classroom on Monday. I am very confident that many of you will pass the College Boards with flying colors! I can't wait to discuss it all with you on Monday. Have a great weekend! Love, Ms. B.

I am so excited! Our Principal, Mr. Johnson, invited the Superintendent of Broward County Public Schools into our art room tomorrow at 10 am! I look forward to showing off all of your artwork to Superintendent Runcie. Let's be on our best behavior tomorrow and show him what great artists we all are!

Broward County Public Schools consists of 340 schools, so for the Superintendent to take time to visit our classroom is certainly a wonderful opportunity for all of us. I'm excited about tomorrow I can't wait to see all of you in the morning. Love, Ms. B.

We had a blast today decorating for Homecoming! We splattered the halls with orange, green and tigers. This years' theme is "Arabian Nights" so of course we needed a tiger flying on a magic carpet! We have more to do tomorrow. Every day is fun and exciting teaching high school. You guys are a blast! Love, Ms. B.

Ms. McGirt challenged us to make the hallways look like it 
'threw up' orange and green! We took the challenge...and so it begins!

   I want to take tonight to continue our discussion about honesty. This post is written in light of what transpired in my classroom. 
    Honesty...what is honesty? Many people understand a definition of honesty to be “don’t lie”. But a complete definition of honesty also means that an honest person doesn’t do things that are morally wrong.  Let me explain…
   When I Googled the word, “honesty” I got adjectives that describe the attributes of an honest person:
Honesty
1.   The quality of being honest.
Synonyms: integrity, uprightness, honor, morality, ethics, principles, high principles, righteousness, and right-mindedness.
   These are all the words that I speak to you guys about constantly! As your art teacher, I might not be able to make artists of all of you, but I have one year to influence you in other ways. 
   Living an honest life and always being honest (even if it means that you have to suffer the consequence of a mistake at times) is crucial to living a good and moral life. 
   I believe that being honest is far more than just ‘telling the truth’. To be an honest person, you must be a person of high integrity, high principles….living a life absent of lying, cheating and theft. Benjamin Franklin once wrote that “Honesty is the best policy” and Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom”.
   Honesty means that you don’t say things about people that are not true (don’t spread rumors). Being honest means that if you do something wrong, you admit your mistake and take the consequence of your bad decision. It also means that you don’t hide the truth (deceiving), not breaking rules to gain the advantage (cheating), and not taking something that does not belong to you (stealing).
   It is hard to find an honest person…trust me on this! I daily practice the ‘art of honesty” in my life. It is very freeing to be honest. No one can black-mail you, no one can condemn you, and no one can hold it against you if you are just honest.
   So I am challenging all my students to try being honest about everything for just ONE week. See how good it feels so that you may desired to add this attribute to your character for life.
     Below are some of my most favorite quotes about honesty. I love you guys...honestly! Ms. B.

“You can lie to everyone else, but you can never lie to yourself”.

“The greatest advantage of speaking the truth is that you don’t have to remember what you said”.

“I don’t want perfect, I want honest”.