Posted in Inspiration, K-12 Education, Learning, Purpose, Teachers, Transformation on February 29, 2008 | 6 Comments »
I didn’t hesitate when invited by Brian Smith to be part of this meme. The directions are simple:
Find a photo or image that represents what I am most passionate about for kids to learn…
No, I’m not passionate about children learning about mirrors. I am passionate about children learning about themselves.
The mirror symbolizes ‘Reflection’.
“What unique gifts [...]
Posted in Educational Technology, K-12 Education, Learning, Student Leadership, Transformation on February 25, 2008 | 6 Comments »
I came across this brochure in a public library during my trip to London last week.
I really like the empowering message it communicates to children:
1. You have the right to be heard.
2. You have the right to express yourself.
3. You are important and adults need to remember this.
It got me to thinking, what would a [...]
Posted in Educational Research, Educational Technology, K-12 Education, Leadership, Learning, Statistics, Teachers, Transformation on February 14, 2008 | 5 Comments »
Teachers hold 3.8 million jobs in elementary and secondary U.S. public and private schools, representing approximately 4% of the total civilian workforce. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2006).
On average, a third of the newly hired teachers leave during their first three years; almost half leave during the first five years (National Commission [...]
Posted in Aikido, Inspiration, Spirit on February 10, 2008 | 10 Comments »
I have spent a lot of my life trying to be perfect.
Or trying to have others see me as perfect.
When I was teaching a class, I really, really felt that way.
If I made a mistake I certainly didn’t want my students to know about it.
I got defensive if one of the bright ones tripped me [...]
Posted in Educational Technology, K-12 Education, Leadership, Learning, Transformation, infrastructure on February 7, 2008 | 9 Comments »
There are some sobering educational technology statistics emerging from a January 2008, E-School News survey:
Nearly three out of four school leaders say they don’t have enough IT staff to support their needs effectively, according to the survey. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they can’t maintain their network adequately, 63 percent said they can’t plan for [...]
Posted in Constructivist Learning, Educational Technology, K-12 Education, Learning, Teachers, Web 2.0 on February 3, 2008 | 6 Comments »
I’d almost forgot what the joy of teaching feels like; but this week I felt it again. One of the students in my graduate class was struggling with her course blog. In her post, “Why Do I Have to Blog” she says,
I have been struggling with that question this week as my old self [...]
