Take Time to Refocus

Refocus...Refocus...Refocus

As the New Year begins, it is time to reflect and refocus my career as a teacher. I'm not one for making resolutions because resolutions usually aren't kept. We strive day in and day out creating stimulating lesson, sometimes effective, but other times fail. Educators must take time to recharge and refocus their purpose and idea for their students. Before I left for Christmas break, I had one of "those" days. During lunch I wrote the following five questions to help me refocus and attempt to improve myself, my school, my district, and the field of education.

1) What is the biggest challenge facing our students?

2) What is the biggest challenge facing our district?

3) What challenges am I facing as a teacher?

4) What is the biggest challenge facing the educational system in the United States?

5) Knowing what I know and controlling what I can control, how can I improve my classroom, my school, and the national education system?

Each question solidifies the reason I am a teacher. Students need me. They need you. I see value in the education of young people. The challenges are many...the solutions are few. We, as educators, must take the time to refocus and go back to the question: why do you teach?

Another Brick in the Wall

As I drove south for my winter vacation, it was difficult for me to get my focus off of work and how I could become a better teacher to my students. On the 14 hour drive to Panama City Beach, FL, I heard the Pink Floyd song "The Wall". "We don't need an education...all we are is just another brick in the wall". I couldn't help but think of students within our education system today. In the data driven and standardized testing of today, our students are becoming another number, another statistic, another "brick" in the wall, another graduate, and another dropout. With NCLB and the world of standarized testing, our students are losing their individuality. If so, how can we be sure our students are not like the song says, "another brick in the wall".

Pacing

Pacing is still a challenge for me three years into teaching for me. Veteran teachers say that it comes with experience and time. The way a class is "paced" depends on a number of factors, largely out of the teacher's control. One factor to consider is student achievements of meeting the goals and objectives of the lesson. Another factor is the makeup of the class. Some classes read at a quicker pace and require less interpretation, while another class may struggle more with comprehension. This also has to be taken into consideration when planning and pacing lessons. If students are not "grasping" a concept, you cannot move on until some mastery is demonstrated. One mistake I have continued to make until this year is to take detailed notes of objectives, goals, and notes for each lesson. In the future when planning, pacing will be a lot easier because you noted key elements along the way.

Remaining Status Quo

Remaining status quo is something many people are ok with. "I seem to be doing fine, why change things?" The problem with this mentality is that the world is changing around you. The bar is continuing to be raised. Remaining status quo makes us reactive instead of proactive in many realms of life. Our education system is broke and has been broken for many years. How has it gotten so bad? My suggestion: because we have remained status quo. Some/most are comfortable where they are at. Some/most do not challenge themselves. Some/most don't set higher expectations for themselves or the people they lead. Leaders must be striving to be ahead or above the status quo. Leaders need to set the vision and communicate the vision to the followers. Often in times of change, leaders make decisions that seem "unpopular", but the decision usually is what the leader forsees as necessary to make the vision a reality. With NCLB and now the start of "Race to the Top", great visions, great goals, but realistically, not attainable, especially for NCLB. One thing is for sure, some are striving and finding innovative ways to reach students and their performance in some cases increases. Leaders in this reform of taking the educational profession above the status quo, must include teachers, administrators, communities, parents, and students. Leaving one of these elements out is setting us up for failure before we even begin. We need reform, we need it now, we need to be striving to be above the status quo.

Fostering a Globally Competent Student through the use of Technology

One of my goals as a teacher is to adequately prepare my students for the world that awaits them. This means they need to be globally competent. Students need to understand the world is larger than the area that they live. They need to be aware of the different cultures and philosophies that exist in the world. In the technological world we live in, creating a globalized classroom is easier than it has been in the past. The internet and the growth of open educational resources provide opportunities to learn for teachers and students. The growth and affordability of mobile devices provides additional opportunities. Here are three suggestions on creating the global classroom: 1) virtual field trips 2) Skype 3) Classroom Nings.

Virtual Field Trips
Virtual field trips allow you to take your class on a field trip that typically would cost thousands of dollars. Of course it isn't the same, but the photos and in some cases videos of "tour guides" take you to the Brazilian Rainforest, the Egyptian pyramids, or a safari in Kenya.

Skype
Skype can be used in a multitude of ways. It could be used within the school building to co-teach. It could also be used to collaborate with another classroom in another school. Collaboration with another school would be ideal to "expose" your students with other students with another view of life. One powerful use of Skype would be to partner with people in the business world so students could ask questions and learn about possible future jobs they may pursue.
Nings
Nings are powerful collaboration tools that have forums, blogs, chats, and other widgets. They can be marked "private" for student protection, but would allow students the opportunity to interact online with others for an educational purpose. This takes some organization on the teachers' part, but I see value in collaboration and bringing students of different backgrounds and lifestyles together and share their thoughts and ideas with one another. These are just a few tools to begin the process of creating and fostering a globally competent student.

More than an "Overhaul"

I’ve been thinking a lot about next school year lately. What approach to take with my Freshman English class? What new lessons to implement with my 10th graders? Which new technologies I want to bring into my classroom? Thinking about that leads me into thinking about our education system nationwide. It almost depresses me. It reminds me of my van as I drove to see the Sequoia trees a couple of weeks ago. I began to lose my radiator just out of L.A., but was reassured all was ok for the climb into the mountains. To make a long story short, I lost my transmission due to my radiator not cooling it properly. I’m not a mechanic, but that is what my mechanic back home told me. Anyway, I was given a choice…do I put in a brand new transmission and radiator and get a guarantee OR do I authorize them to “overhaul” the transmission and just have them “flush” the radiator? There are benefits and negatives to both. Obviously, the first one would cost a lot more money, but pretty much assure me a safe and happy ride back home. The first option would give me a three-year warranty. The second option could be the “quick fix” and get me on the road quicker, but will it hold up as I travel through the mountains on the way home? Back to our education system here in America, do we want a quick fix? Do we want to “band aid” the problems? Do we want to do it right? Do we “overhaul” or totally change the way we educate our children? We know that our system is broke, but I’m not sure the “overhaul” will do it. Thousands of teachers are losing jobs due to finances and our leaders are not seeing the impact that it will have on our kids. Some teachers are “stuck in the stone-age” when it comes to methodologies. What will it take for leaders/politicians/administrators to see that education needs to change from the old traditional methods?

Cellphones in the Classroom...A Nuisance or a tool?

3.3 billion....approximately 1/2 the population of the earth...have cell phones. The last two years I have been on the totally opposite side of the spectrum of the argument I am about to "endorse". Through research and my love of technology, I have began to try and find a way to use cell phones as a tool within the classroom instead a banning or penalizing students for using them. In the past, I have saw them as a complete nuisance. On several occasions, I would take them from students if I saw them, since school policy required students to keep cell phones in their lockers. Our policy was that the phone would be locked up for 24 hours for the 1st offense, 48 hours for the 2nd. In fact, last year I collected nearly 40 cell phones from students texting when they shouldn't be. You are probably thinking, why embrace cell phones now? I'm asking how am I going to sell the idea to my administrator after being 100% anti-cell phone in the classroom? Cell phones are not going away. The texting and other applications available on phones today is relatively affordable. Information is literally at students finger tips. Cell phones now can be used to shoot video as well. Last year, I saw Vicki Davis present at a conference. Her blog contains daily updates on technology and its use in the classroom. This link focuses on "the case for cell phones in schools". Hall Davidson from Discovery Education strongly advocates the use of cell phones in the classroom. I honestly feel we as educators are "missing the boat", if we are not using the cell phone as a tool. What rules or policies need to be in place when using the cell phone as a tool within the classroom? What happens when a student "crosses the line"? What are your thoughts?