Welcome
to Mr. Mayer's class web
page!
We have had 
visitors to our site since September
2002.
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Painstakingly updated last on November 14,
2008.
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think it is worth the wait !!
Forget your spelling workbook at
school? No
problem!
(See this week's spelling
list)
Look at our "Cell
Art"
05-06
04-05
03-04
View some spooky
pictures
See Superman
posing with our class from May 2005...
Make a puzzle
at Discovery School.com!
Learn interesting things about
physics
See a neat site all about
mazes!
Make your own maze with the
"Maze
Generator"
View an archive
of interesting websites
Learn about
Mr.
Mayer
QuickTime Movies
Watch movies
from:
2005-2006
2004-2005
2003-2004
2002-2003
Don't have
QuickTime?
View album pages of
still
photos
... or download
free
QuickTime 6 Player
2004-2005
World
of Work
(Feb. 2005)
Size = 3.9 MB
Viewing Time = 2:04
Pioneer
Day (March 2005)
Size = 6.2 MB
Viewing Time = 3:01
2005-2006
Pioneer
Day (March 2006)
Size = 6.9 MB
Viewing Time = 3:00
2003-2004
Our trip to The
Grove
(Feb. 2004)
Click
here to view any of the following titles:
|
"Churning Butter"
SIZE
= 1.3 MB
|
"Tinsmiths & Ropebraiding"
SIZE = 2.6 MB
|
"Weaving & Candles"
SIZE = 1.6 MB
|
|
"Kitchen Chores"
SIZE = 2.8MB
|
"After Lunch"
SIZE = 4.5 MB
|
"It's In the Details"
SIZE = 3.6 MB
|
From 2002-2003
...our cable TV show
"Explorers
2002" (Oct.
2002)
MOVIE SIZE
= 2.4 MB
...our Colonial
Village re-enactment
(Dec. 2002)
MOVIE
SIZE = 2.4 MB
...our tessellation
design creations
(Dec. 2002)
MOVIE
SIZE = 3.6 MB
...more samples
of tessellation
designs (Dec.
2002)
MOVIE
SIZE = 7.0 MB
...working
with cubes
in math
(Feb. 2003)
SIZE = 3.1 MB
...more
working with cubes
in math
(Feb. 2003)
SIZE = 1.6 MB
...our
trip to The
Grove
(Feb. 2003)
VARIOUS SIZES
...sketching
with our "Buddies"
(Feb. 2003)
SIZE = 3.7 MB
...still
photos
of some finished sketches (Feb. 2003)
...our
"World
of Work" economic
simulation
(Feb. 2003)
SIZE = 4.3 MB
View photos from
Pioneer
Day
(March 2003)
Lots of pictures!
Click
here
if you were looking for the GLOBE web page.
Read past GLOBE
newsletters
Read "The Gernsback
Gazette"
(a Sci-Fi magazine written by GLOBE
students)
Learn about
gifted
education
Other gifted
resources
Meet Mr. Mayer
Click here to see an older
picture of Mr. Mayer.
Click here to see an spooky picture of Mr.
Mayer.
Facts
Born in Indiana
Raised in Illinois
Bachelor of Sciences degree in
Elementary Education: University of Illinois, 1979
Master of Arts degree in Gifted
Education: Northeastern Illinois University, 1995
Likes
pizza, chocolate chip cookies,
bicycling, riding jet skis,
math, U.S. history, science
fiction,
&
watching Jordan-era Chicago
Bulls on ESPN Classic
Dislikes
green peas, selfish behavior,
humidity, doing things twice
My most vivid memories of
fifth grade:
Being the last boy left in our
class spelling bee.
Getting the wind knocked out of
me at recess playing "Red Rover."
Staying up all night finishing
my report on Switzerland. (Mom never knew.)
Here are some questions posed to
Mr. Mayer by students...
Q. Do you think that students are getting
less alert in class as the years go by, due to events like TV and
video games?
A. Many students may need to concentrate
more on certain tasks. There are many things that have to be done,
but not all of them are as interesting and exciting as a video game
or MTV.
Q. What do you see happening to teaching 5
and 10 years down the road?
A. There will be a much greater reliance on
computers and especially the internet. Computers will be the most
useful writing and calculating tool and the internet will become a
huge, global, sharing classroom.
Q. What do you use as strategies to
teach?
A. Lots of common sense! We could all
benefit from that. I also emphasize logic. You need to support what
you think, believe, and say.
Q. What do you think about the value of
homework?
A. It is good practice for subsequent school
years when the homework responsibility becomes greater. It is one way
to teach responsibility. Homework also allows the school to
accomplish more within a shorter schoolday.
Q. What kind of learning should students do
during summer vacation?
A. They should explore all sides of
themselves. Practice what you already know. Do more of what you
really like. Do something totally different. You may make a discovery
about yourself.
Q. What is your greatest
accomplishment?
A. I bicycled from Seattle to Los Angeles in
3 weeks - with my father. We saw spectacular scenery and learned how
some things are very possible to achieve if you just devote enough
time to the task. I also learned that a skunk can chew through heavy
duty nylon saddlebags if he's hungry!
Q. If you think you might want to do a
certain profession in life, what is the best way to see it in action
to find out what it is like?
A. I would talk to someone you know whose
opinion you value. They may have some additional insight into the
profession. They may be able to steer you toward an experience in the
profession.
Q. How long have you worked here?
A. I started teaching here in 1979. First I
taught second grade for 2 years and then I taught fifth grade for 8
years. Next I was the teacher for gifted students for 12 years. Now I
am teaching fifth grade again.
Q. What were the best experiences you had as
a teacher?
A. The best experiences are when you realize
you have changed the way people think and act. It is rewarding to
hear a student say "Social Studies is my favorite subject" or "I
really liked school this year." It is especially rewarding when the
student is one who really felt differently when the year
began.
Q. Why do you like teaching?
A. I like to help people (regardless of
their age) and teaching is a fun way to do that. I am able to work
with students sometimes for 3 years in a row and that allows me the
opportunity to see quite a bit of growth over time.
Q. Do you like teaching more or less as the
years go on?
A. Different days bring different rewards
and challenges. I don't think I am as patient as I used to be - but
that could be a good thing!
Q. What do you think are the 5 best
professions or jobs to do in life? Why?
A. In no particular order... these FOUR:
medicine, law enforcement, scientific research, and education. Why?
Because they are all needed professions which enhance or insure our
future quality of life.
Q. When you were little, what did you want
to be?
A. I was going to be a jockey and win the
Kentucky Derby, but then I grew too much.
Q. Who was your role model?
A. My father was probably the most
influential role model in my childhood.
Q. How long do you plan to be a
teacher?
A. As long as they'll have me!
Q. What advice would you give to people who
want to become teachers?
A. You had better be pretty good at
simplifying and explaining things. Don't ever think that you know
more than everyone else, because you can LEARN from ANYONE at ANY
time.
1991
Way "back in the old days" he used to wear a tie.
: )
Halloween 2003
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