Nearly a month ago I started my newest chapter as an educator, High School Social Science Teacher at Indianola High School. The change of scenery has been a good one for me, but one that has had its own set of stressors. Entering a 4A school (largest classification in the state of Iowa - Indy has approximately 1000 9-12 graders) was a change for me, having worked in two smaller districts (Van Meter & Baxter), and one that was intimidating. But, as I've quickly surmised Kids are Kids and the students at Indianola have done nothing but reaffirm my belief that young people thirst to learn.
In addition to adapting to the students at Indianola, perhaps the bigger challenge has been adapting to the bureaucracy of a larger district. Don't get me wrong, I have come to appreciate the processes and protocols that IHS has in place, but I can already see road blocks to the change process. I found this quite evident at the District Leadership Team meeting I attended on Tuesday in which there were nearly 25 administrators and teachers present; a far cry from the same such meetings at VM and Baxter. Yet I take comfort in the depth of discussions held at the DLT meeting, and I am excited about the number of quality colleagues who are members of this team. I now appreciate Dr. Bill Wright's (Drake University) quote: "The strength of any organization is in its people, and the strength of any team is in the diversity of its members." I look forward to working with this team as we endeavor to "lead" Indianola Community Schools towards the "Unlimited Possibilities" available to students, teachers, and community members apart of our learning community.
Yet, more than anything else, I've felt that pep in my step again - indeed, a renewed passion for teaching and learning. Maybe it's the challenge of teaching that one section of AP Psych, or the opportunity to get to know new students and teachers, but one thing is for sure, 5:00 AM isn't as hard to face as it once was.
Please share your thoughts about the beginning of your school year and the challenges and renewed passions that you have noticed as the year has kicked-off.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Education: A Flattener?
Currently, my 9th grade Geography students are reading Thomas L. Friedman's The World is Flat, and their first assignment in conjunction with reading the first chapter is to blog about whether they believe "Education is a Flattener." For the past month they have been introduced to terms such as outsourcing, insourcing, offshoring, and uploading; but now they have been tasked to connect these terms to their education and determine (for themselves) whether or not their education is preparing them for their life outside of school. I'm very intrigued to learn more about their opinions and get them to think deeper about their school experience.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Isn't It Time For Year Round School
"Enjoying" my 6th SNOW DAY of the year and had some time to think. And I kept coming back to the same idea, wouldn't it be nice if we had the months of December, January & February of instead of June, July & August. Don't get me wrong, I love the summer; and would much rather have that time "off" instead of Dec-Feb; but it leads me to the bigger question of, why do students and teachers have three continuous months off anyway?
It's amazing that in the year 2010 most schools in the US are still operating in a 1910 (or maybe better yet, 1950) paradigm in regards to how they approach scheduling. Whether it is the scheduling of classes (check out my earlier blog, Let's Do What Is Best For Kids) or the scheduling of the school year. I mean, haven’t we moved beyond the agrarian calendar? Living in Iowa I appreciate the hard work farmers subject themselves and their families to, but really, how many students are required by their parents to milk cows daily, contribute to the planting and harvesting of crops, or maintenance of the farm in general. Aren’t we far past due for a revision in the school calendar?
To me it makes sense to change. Change to some sort of system in which students are in school year round. Detracters might say: you’ll burn students out . . . you’re going to have to pay teachers more . . . it costs more to cool than heat (really?!?) . . . what about family vacations . . . how will you conduct sports/extra curriculars when school’s not in session . . . and on and on and on.
I’m with Sec. of Ed. Arnie Duncan, I think it’s time we start to evaluate the school calendar. Almost a year ago he was quoted: "It doesn't matter how poor, how tough the family background, socioeconomic challenges," Duncan said. "Where students have longer days, longer weeks, longer years -- that's making a difference." Additionally, in the globalized world that we live in, students around the world are coming to school earlier and staying later, and this “extra time” has translated to better scores, better colleges, and better jobs. It’s time Americas schools do something about this.
In addition wouldn't year-round schooling change the negative perceptions some parents/community members have of teachers and the teaching profession in general. I mean, even my dad thinks that I'm robbing my community of its tax dollars because I only work 9 months out of the year. I think year round schooling would go a long way towards rebuilding the lack of professionalism wrap many teachers face nation wide.
So, whether it is transforming the 180 day/9 month school calendar into a 180 day/12 month calendar or trashing the 180/9 calendar and instituting a 210/12 to increase teaching and learning for students and teachers, the time is now.
It's amazing that in the year 2010 most schools in the US are still operating in a 1910 (or maybe better yet, 1950) paradigm in regards to how they approach scheduling. Whether it is the scheduling of classes (check out my earlier blog, Let's Do What Is Best For Kids) or the scheduling of the school year. I mean, haven’t we moved beyond the agrarian calendar? Living in Iowa I appreciate the hard work farmers subject themselves and their families to, but really, how many students are required by their parents to milk cows daily, contribute to the planting and harvesting of crops, or maintenance of the farm in general. Aren’t we far past due for a revision in the school calendar?
To me it makes sense to change. Change to some sort of system in which students are in school year round. Detracters might say: you’ll burn students out . . . you’re going to have to pay teachers more . . . it costs more to cool than heat (really?!?) . . . what about family vacations . . . how will you conduct sports/extra curriculars when school’s not in session . . . and on and on and on.
I’m with Sec. of Ed. Arnie Duncan, I think it’s time we start to evaluate the school calendar. Almost a year ago he was quoted: "It doesn't matter how poor, how tough the family background, socioeconomic challenges," Duncan said. "Where students have longer days, longer weeks, longer years -- that's making a difference." Additionally, in the globalized world that we live in, students around the world are coming to school earlier and staying later, and this “extra time” has translated to better scores, better colleges, and better jobs. It’s time Americas schools do something about this.
In addition wouldn't year-round schooling change the negative perceptions some parents/community members have of teachers and the teaching profession in general. I mean, even my dad thinks that I'm robbing my community of its tax dollars because I only work 9 months out of the year. I think year round schooling would go a long way towards rebuilding the lack of professionalism wrap many teachers face nation wide.
So, whether it is transforming the 180 day/9 month school calendar into a 180 day/12 month calendar or trashing the 180/9 calendar and instituting a 210/12 to increase teaching and learning for students and teachers, the time is now.
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