Summer Learning, Something’s Begun
In February, upon returning from Educon I blogged about the importance of building relationships in education-and in life. This is true in the classroom, in your school, your district, your community, your family-wherever you are in life. Maybe that is why social networking apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Ning, and a host of others have reached a critical [...]
Master Learner
During an #rscon10 session last week led by @AngelaMaiers, Angela challenged us to “stand up in front of kids not as a master teacher, but as a master learner.” What a powerful statement. I immediately tweeted that out as did others.
This statement alone is very powerful and it’s an important one for us [...]
Reflections on #140conf
Just watched the educators’ panel on #140conf. It was GREAT! Just the 30 min I was able to catch was inspiring to say the least. Lit a fire in this teacher and parent.
I started watching when a group of 8th graders were singing their own lyrics to a Lady GaGa [...]
Change from The Ground Up
Education, in some areas is changing and, if it’s not, it needs to be. I firmly believe that in order for this to happen successfully, we teachers need to be the driving force. No longer can we sit back and have change happen from the top down. Instead change needs to happen from the ground [...]
My Biggest Need – Time
My biggest need as a professional is time, and in particular, time to collaborate with other teachers.
There is just no time to do what I really want to do at the level of quality that I would like to do it. I am fortunate enough to have an hour long prep time each day. (I [...]
Needs of Today’s Teachers
In today’s educational system, teachers find themselves in need, especially if they want to integrate, collaborate and educate the WHOLE child!
Here is a list of some needs I hear about daily in schools and online.
Less stress from high stakes testing
Quality professional development in everything from new methodologies to brain research
Freedom to teach creatively
Autonomy over our [...]
How Arts are Connected to 21c. Skills
The arts are not just about expressing your emotions, they are much more than that. An education in the arts can really develop most of those skills referred to in previous blogs, those critical skills that students need to succeed. Maybe innovation and creativity is obvious, but what about some of the others?
High Stakes Testing
This is my vacation week – February vacation – and I am enjoying it greatly. The thing is, I know that when I get back to work on Monday, everything is going to hit. In fact a couple other teachers and I call it boot camp – MCAS boot camp. We will [...]
Skills Our Students Need
In the last blog, I threw out ideas about how our society is changing and how that is affecting the workforce of the future and the current trends of education. But now, let’s look at other effects this will have on our children or, more accurately, what skills they will [...]
Workforce Preparedness
At a workshop I conducted just last week, we got into a small discussion about 21st century skills and workforce preparedness. One person echoed a statement I’ve heard many times before:
We are preparing students for jobs that haven’t even been invented yet.
We do, in fact live in a global society [...]
