I spent the better part of my summer preparing for engaging PBL projects for the junior Interactive Media/English class I was going to be co-teaching at OD. A week before the start of school I accepted a new position at PHS and I have been looking at the preparations I made and figuring out how I can work pieces of those PBL projects into my new courses.
This Daniel Pink video is so simple, yet thought provoking. As an entry document in a PBL environment, I am hoping it will inspire students to be reflective not just today, but every day. As an educator who is passionate about reaching every student, it reinforces my daily belief that we can always be a better teacher through self-reflection. Tomorrow I will ask my CA2-Desktop Publishing students to think about their sentence and create a logo. I am hoping they will be curious and introspective. I hope authenticating the logo design process through personal meaning for each student will make learning those Indiana standards more relevant. But for now I need to think about what my sentence is. I am sure the students will be asking me.
This post will be short as I am busy preparing for a new school year in a new school in a new job that I have had for barely a week. I know there are teachers everywhere preparing to the start of school for their students. Every year I ask myself how can I reach more students, how can I make a bigger impact, how can I change what I have been doing to what I should be doing to engage and educate my students. A few simple words from Angela Maiers offers much inspiration for those of us returning to school this week. Have a great school year and remember every student MATTERS!
The most appropriate title for this post would probably be Change...part 2. When I wrote about change last week I did not know how meaningful those words would become. Opportunities appear sometimes when you least expect it and your responsiveness to change will dictate how you manage what is presented to you.
Next week I will trade my 20 minute commute to Bobcat Trail and Oregon-Davis Jr/Sr High School for a 5 minute commute to Big Red Drive and Plymouth High School. This change is very bittersweet for me. Bitter because I am leaving a school who undertook a massive transformation over the last 2 years becoming the smallest school in the nation to transform into a New Tech school. I am proud to have been part of that amazing transformation. Bitter because I am leaving a close knit group of faculty who I have grown and learned from as we all transitioned our instructional strategies into a project based learning model. Bitter because I was supported by a Principal who not only encouraged but expected innovation and creativity in the classroom in order to prepare OD students for the 21st century. Bitter because those kids became my kids. I will miss them all.
This change is sweet because I have the opportunity to give back to a school community who has given so much to my own sons. Sweet because I now have 2 sons in high school and I will get to share in the PHS experience with them. Sweet because my youngest son will have the opportunity to be a part of the PHS School of Inquiry's class of 2017. Sweet because I get to be part of the New Tech implementation at Plymouth High School. Sweet because Plymouth is my home.
The new school year is upon us. Do great things and remember to be open to change.
I feel extremely lucky, extremely grateful, and a little bittersweet, too. Wentworth Miller
Yesterday I took my oldest and youngest sons school shopping. Unfortunately, due to two a day tennis practices, my middle son was not able to join us. It's amazing how much they change and grow over the very short summer and outgrow shoes that fit them just weeks ago.
My sons commented that even though it was a hot and muggy day, typical for Indiana in August, they said it just felt like fall. I think August rolls around and we know autumn is imminent which also means I must be ready soon for my students. With less than two weeks away from classes starting I've been brainstorming ideas on how I can start the year off right with all my students. Each year I like to plan different activities so if I have had a student previously, they are not repeating the same activity. I always like to do something fun on the first day, an ice breaker of sorts. Distributing books, passwords, and rules or expectations the moment you meet your class DOES NOT send a good message to these kids. Engage them, ease them from the transition of summer into the early days of school. I don't give homework the first week (and in my class homework is relevant, not just busy work for a grade). Converse with them, try to get to know and understand each of them individually. Connect with your students. These efforts will go a long way towards building a mutually respectful and trusting relationship with your students. What do you do on the first day of school? Please share ideas in the comment section.
Procrastination. This word could be the theme for my inaugural blog post. I began constructing my blog at the beginning of summer with the intent of creating a resource site for the teachers in my building. I was not happy just going with a stock template from Blogger, though they are visually appealing. No, as an instructor of Digital Media, I wanted custom fonts, graphics and I wanted to create a logo. I wanted the design to have meaning and be relevant to the purpose of my blog. Everything I tell my students when they are constructing or branding an element in Web Design. While I focused on the aesthetic elements of my blog, I put off the reason why you start a blog in the first place, to write. Every day was going to be THE DAY of my first blog post. I reasoned I could discuss an awesome new iPad app, Web 2.0 resource, reflect on the New Tech Annual Conference or TAP System training. Chunks of information for the teachers to investigate and hopefully integrate into their curriculum.
Friday is typically the day of the week I try to finish my weekly to-do list. Today is the day of my inaugural blog post. Today is the day I want to address a concept that, in my opinion, is at the heart of why I am in education. Today is the day I hope to become a better writer through blogging, and set that example for my students. Today is the day I hope to continue to embrace change.
Change. Most people either embrace or resist change. Do individuals have a natural proclivity for or against change? Do circumstances in their life influence their reaction to change? I welcome change. I was raised by parents who taught me to embrace change, encouraged me to take risks, and allowed me to learn from my mistakes. I want to be able to provide the same opportunities for my teenage sons. As a teacher, I hope to instill these lessons in my students. As I teacher-leader in my building, I hope to instill these beliefs in our teachers. As I embark on a new school year in a small rural school that has undertaken a massive amount of change in the last two years, I am reminded of why we are engaged in these changes. For our students. If it weren’t for our students, then we would not be here. I hope this video will encourage you to accept change, embrace change, and to be a change agent.
