Sherry Technically Speaking

2011-06-08T22:57:00.009-06:00

After promising to get back to my blog, I see it has again been a while. I keep telling myself busy is good. It's a good thing I love what I am doing!

This week we are spending our days in Guernsey (and Torrington), Wyoming with some truly awesome teachers. They are taking some time out of their summer vacation to come in and practice a few new technology skills! Every time I walk up to this school, I am greeted by the beautiful piece of art you see above. I am not sure who the artist is, but I find these two children with their books simply enchants me. The photo just does not do it justice either!

This afternoon we decided we should do a bit of exploring after our training was done and we saw some amazing places. Our first stop was to see the Oregon Trail ruts in Guernsey. Those are the ruts in the picture above. It is hard for me to fathom that the trail was worn so deeply

in some places that it is still visible this many years later. Yet there it is - history you can touch.

To continue our exploration, we went over to Register Cliff. It seems that travelers along the

way, carved their names and, in some cases, the year they were there in the

rocks of the cliff. Over the ye

ars, many people have continued the tradition so there are many names there. Getting to see names and dates from the 1800s continued to amaze me. I had to admit, I was tempted to carve my name in there with the others, but somehow it just didn't seem to belong.

When we arrived back in Torrington, we went to the park and watched the Platte River run. Like many places in the country today, the water is running fast and high. I heard that there is a church in town that is sandbagging, just in case. There is so much flooding in places and I hope they don't see it here!

I enjoyed our little adventure this afternoon greatly, but I have enjoyed talking about Google Docs, Google searches, and iGoogle so far. Tomorrow we are going to talk a bit of Promethean boards, blogs, wikis, and a few other tools. I just don't think life can get much better than this! I am one lucky woman to get to travel and talk to great teachers about things I am passionate about!

Until next time!

Far Too Long

2011-04-07T09:14:00.005-06:00

I am saddened by how long it has been since I have posted to my blog. It isn't because I didn't want to. I have been so incredibly busy and had so many changes in my life since my last entry that I don't even know where to begin!

Let's start with the job. At the end of the last school year, I was feeling the need for a change. I had been at North Middle School for 11 years and just didn't feel like I was making much of a difference any more. That is just not a good feeling. After just a couple of prayers for guidance, lo and behold, I found a new home at TIE (Technology and Innovation in Education.) I cannot imagine a better fit for me! I get to work with teachers and school districts around the state. We help them integrate technology and think about 21st century skills. I even get to go to Wyoming and work with an incredible district that has gone 1:1 in grades 7 - 12.

I work with some of the most amazing educators at TIE. It is a positive, forward-thinking organization that has allowed me the opportunity to think about education as a whole and what we need to be doing to be agents of change. I have been incredibly busy, but for the most part, I thrive when that is the case.

We just finished the 25th Annual TIE Conference. I have attended for years and have presented at it the last several. It is a whole different thing being on this side of the conference. I figured they were a lot of work, but I truly had no idea! That being said, I still loved every minute! The keynote speakers were wonderful. The participants were awesome! The conversation was thought provoking! What more could you ask for?

On a personal note - we are pretty much empty-nesters. Chris is in Kansas doing his thing at Spirit Aerosystems. Tony is currently at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri recovering from shoulder surgery and hopes to finish his National Guard training soon. Jamie is a junior at USD in Vermillion. The boys are doing great, but as a mom, I really miss them. Mike and I are both incredibly busy, but took some time to go visit his family in California earlier this year. That was fun and time we both needed.

I plan to get back to this blog on a regular basis now. I have lots of thoughts about education and technology that I would like to share!

Much Love to My PLN

2009-07-02T17:24:00.003-06:00

It was my intention to blog every day of the NECC conference, but for me Washington DC moved fast and late into the nights. I still want to write about the things I learned, but I am still processing. The thing I do want to talk about is my social network.

I was very excited to go to Washington DC knowing I was finally going to connect with my PLN face-to-face. I have met with some of my online friends before and am constantly amazed by how powerful the experience can be. This time was no exception. Sitting in my in-depth session on Sunday, I was watching the Plurks abound from my friends in the convention center. A large concentration of them seemed to be in one room and my session ended before theirs did. They told me to come on over. I was going to hang outside the door and wait for them, but one of them ushered me through the door and right into the group. I can’t even fathom how bonding can be that instant, but it was. We all went to the Keynote together, but during it I got a text from Audra, the Rapid City teacher and great friend of mine that had come with me. Her mother was in the hospital and not doing well. She was going to have to leave. I went back to the hotel to spend the evening with her. She took off the next morning. Normally, I don’t think I would like to be in Washington DC by myself, but I never felt that way. A core group of us seem to form and I was always included in the plans. We all checked in with one another and found we enjoyed each other’s company immensely! I think my greatest learning came from this group of incredibly creative and talented people. We are from South Dakota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Texas, Kansas, Pennsylvania and New York. These people have a real love for students, education, and technology. Just being with them gave me the recharge I most certainly needed after a difficult school year. I love the timing of this conference because it is early enough in the summer to give me time to play with some new applications and plan lessons that are relevant and engaging for my students.

I got to see much history of the United States while in DC and I love that, but I think watching how people connect and network in this modern world is every bit as interesting. I have heard people complain about how the internet is ruining people’s communication skills. I find it to be absolutely the opposite. I have the privilege of communicating with people I would never have had the opportunity to before and we are exchanging ideas that I am sure would have been much slower to reach South Dakota years ago. I find that so exciting.

I know there are many people that are reluctant to connect with strangers via the Internet and with all the bad things that are out there, I understand. But sometimes if you don’t take some chances in life, you miss out on some amazing things. I think there are ways to take that risk and still be pretty safe and I am so glad I am connected!

Washington DC - Day 1

2009-06-26T21:56:00.007-06:00

Today was my first day in Washington DC. A dear teacher friend of mine, Audra, came to NECC this year with me and we flew in two days early to do some sightseeing. It has been a wonderful but exhausting day!

First we found the Metro and headed for the Ford Museum. We were disappointed to find that it was closed. But they assured us it will be open tomorrow. We went across the street to the Petersen House, the house where Abraham Lincoln was taken after he was shot and where he died. You get to see the front room where people waited and the bedroom he was in. Being in the midst of that kind of history was amazing.

Next we headed for the National Archives. Being from South Dakota, we are not used to this kind of heat with humidity. I felt like I was melting. We had a rather long wait to get in, but it was worth it. We spent a great portion of the day in the Archives. They have an 11-minute movie that started us off and then we started in the exhibits. We went to the Boeing Learning Center and it made me wish I were still going to be teaching American History this year! At the end of our visit there we made it in to the Rotunda where we saw the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, among other primary documents. I can only telling you that it took my breath away! To be in the same room with the same original documents that this country was founded on was incredible!

We then headed to the Museum of American History. We grabbed a late lunch and then started at the top and worked from there down. Unfortunately, the lines were long. We saw the American Presidents’ exhibit and much more about Lincoln. We saw the war exhibit. We saw the First Ladies’ exhibit (which was a very long line) The 2009 Inauguration pictures were wonderful. Again, being teachers, we wanted to read everything at all the exhibits. So we also spent too much time there. We really wanted to make it to the Holocaust Museum, but it closes by 5:30. There was no way to have enough time there. We have decided to put that off until tomorrow.

We finally made our way back to the hotel. Our feet were hurting and we were sweating buckets. So second showers were in order before dinner. We have eaten at the same restaurant two nights in a row. I suppose that is bad when there is so much to offer, but the host at Rumors is awesome!!! He has lived here 41 years and is a wealth of information. He has helped us plan our days and we have enjoyed talking to him. Plus the food is great. A huge storm moved in at the end of dinner and we had to duck in a drug store part the way back to the hotel while the worst of it blew over.

Tomorrow is another full day and I can hardly wait. Washington DC is an amazing city! So much to do and so little time!

Today's pictures can be found on my Flickr.

TIE Conference 2009

2009-04-19T19:01:00.004-06:00

Today we started the TIE conference! It is an event I look forward to eagerly each year. I started with a four-hour in-depth session on Thinkfinity with Lisa McNeely. We started off a bit rough. The Internet only let a few of us in and never for any great length of time. It made it very hard for Lisa to do her presentation! I was able to get mine to connect (for a while anyway) so we plugged mine in to the projector and off she went. Lisa managed amazingly well, despite the technical difficulties.
I have heard a lot about Thinkfinity (mostly from Lisa) but have not had the time to explore this resource. I am thoroughly impressed with all the resources available within this site. They address all subjects and are set up with 21st century skills. I already found a lesson using resumes that I intend to use this year. There were a lot of things I wish I would have seen earlier this year!
This site also has amazing maps! I am going to spend hours looking at all the resources available from all the content partners. I am already pretty familiar with ReadWriteThink, but I even found new things from them.
Thanks Lisa for all the great help and encouragement. I loved seeing your favorites and exposing me to so many of the things that are available.

Five Changes to Education--A new Meme

2009-02-18T22:47:00.001-07:00

A dear friend of mine started this wonderful meme and has made me really think about the future of education. You should check out Terry’s blog at http://tjonajourney.blogspot.com/. We are hoping that this will create some thoughtful discourse on the state of education. There is much finger pointing, some of it deserved, buut let's dream of a world that we get to make decisions and where the learning and the kids are FIRST and all the real world of budgets and excuses are last.

List FIVE changes you would like to see in the educational system. Your responses should represent your perspective and your passion for learning and students.

Here is my list:

1. Technology would not be something that we strive to integrate, but something that is a natural part of the classroom, just as it is a part of the world today. Our students do and will live in a different world than most of us grew up in. It is imperative that we, as teachers, do our very best to keep up and prepare them for that world. We must help them learn how to think deeply and problem solve as they will encounter problems we can’t even fathom today.

2. Teachers should never have to move up to administration to make a decent living in the education world. I believe that tiered licensure is a great idea. Teachers should have the option to be teachers or to take on more responsibilities as master teachers helping mentor other teachers. Teaching should not be done in isolation and many of us have so much to offer to our fellow teachers.

3. Merit pay has a place in education. Why should a teacher down the hall make more money than another just because they have lived longer? Teachers should be paid according to the skills they have and the success they have in the classroom. The tricky part is figuring out who decides the pay. There are far too many administrators that have their own agenda and would not be able to make fair decisions. There are ways to do this fairly and the TAP program seems to have it figured out. And, yes, I work in the state with the lowest teacher pay in the nation, so I do believe we are underpaid. My pay may not force me out of the profession, but it certainly is impeding many districts from having quality applicants for many of their positions and that concerns me!

4. Teacher training would properly prepare teachers for the classroom and there would be support in place to help new teachers through those first few difficult years. We are facing a teacher shortage and we lose many of the ones we do get in within the first five years. Many of them come out of the university with stars in their eyes and are not rooted in the reality of just how difficult the job is. Good teachers work long hours prepping lessons, grading papers, and continually learning. The school day takes far more energy than they are prepared for and there are a lot of extra duties that they have no idea about. Too many college professors have not been in a K-12 setting for a very long time, if at all. It is one thing to teach theory and another to give them the tools they will need to survive!

5. Professional Development must be teacher-driven. The best professional development I have every gotten was the National Board process, but it was something I chose and something that was about my classroom and my teaching. I have also learned much from some conference I have had the great fortune to attend, but my principal is very good about letting the staff ask to go to conferences that interest them, although she will sometimes point one out to us if she thinks it offers something of value for us.

6. I am going to add one real fantasy wish. I wish that teaching would once again become the highly respected profession it once was. In some regards, this is our own fault. I have heard far too many teachers say, “I am just a teacher.” There is no just in what we do. We should be proud of the impact we have on our students’ lives and our role in shaping the leaders of tomorrow. We need to be willing to publicly express our pride in what we do. But most teachers are humble and believe we are serving the greater good quietly on the sideline. We are not in the business to toot our own horns. We just want the respect to magically be there.

I tag the following people... All from a variety of perspectives. If you have been tagged, tag as many people as you choose, but try for a variety.

Kevin Honeycutt - http://kevinhoneycutt.org/ (Tech integration specialist)
Karen McMillan - http://notesfrommcteach.blogspot.com/ (Teacher)
Heather Burleson - http://isidoresearch.blogspot.com/ (Teacher and Tech Integrationist)
Cynthia Garrety - http://www.plurk.com/cgarrety (University Professor)
Sharon Elin - http://edutwist.com/elin/ (Instructional technology integrater)
Kymberli Mulford - http://kmulford.edublogs.org/ (Learning specialist)

National Board Certification

2008-11-23T09:18:00.002-07:00

Friday, November 21, 2008 I was sitting at my computer just before 7 AM waiting for that magical moment that I could press the button and see if I had achieved National Board Certification after my second year through the process. My husband was by my side assuring me that he felt good about it, but I was mentally preparing myself to take on a third year. I was beyond delighted to see that I had succeeded!

I must say that I am thrilled beyond words to be Nationally Board Certified, but there is a tiny part of me that is sad this phase of the process is over. Going through certification has been the best professional development I have ever had. It was personal - about me, my teaching, my students, my classroom. I have changed a number of things over the last two years and really feel like I have grown as a teacher. I have learned much from reflection and it is a practice that I will continue.

I am excited that 16 members of our staff have signed up for Take One! this year. I am going to get to assist them in the process and that is very exciting. I hope they get as much from the experience as I have.

All in all, professionally, I am having a fabulous year!

Reflections on the Past Year and Some Current Thoughts

2008-11-23T09:16:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I had to prepare remarks for the South Dakota Board of Education about my year as a Milken recipient. I love times of reflection because I truly grasp how fortunate I am. Not only did I receive the Milken and all that goes with that, I had a number of opportunities open up before me. I was asked to serve on the Governor’s TCAP Summer Study Committee and I learned more than I could have imagined from there. I am part of the first Teachers Advisory Committee to the Board of Education. I was part of the planning team for the Governor’s Teacher Leadership Conference. While there I got to be part of the opening and speak to about 400 teachers. I was also presented a plaque from the Governor for my Milken award. I was introduced to the state legislature and asked to speak to the Board of Education at the beginning of my year. I had the opportunity to submit some of my lesson plans to Corwin Press for publication. (But since I haven’t heard back, I am not hopeful!) I got to witness the South Dakota Teacher of the Year process up close. I always knew we had some amazing teachers in our state, but having those teachers in the room was inspiring!
I was also names one of Black Hills State University’s 125 Accomplished Alumni. This was quite an honor. It was their 125th anniversary and they selected their top from everyone who attended the university. They treated us to a great lunch. Introduced us all with a short bio and gave us a medal. I was also asked to ride in the Swarm Day parade the next day and be introduced at half-time of the homecoming football game.
I have also had an impact on how my district recognizes and utilizes national award winners. We have the newest Milken in our state right in our district again and I suggested that we honor the fact that we have so many in our district and perhaps pull these people together to do some good for the district, particularly in the area of good PR. In this day and age, teachers need to be recognized in the public as the professionals they are!
I enjoyed my time with the board on Monday. They are always very receptive to hearing from teachers. I also enjoyed my time to reflect. It made me think about the growth I have experienced over the last year in particular!
I realized over the past year that I have gotten over my fear of public speaking. I also realize I have some pretty definite opinions on a few things about education. I worry about how prepared new teachers are fresh from the university and what kind of support they get when they get into the trenches. I worry that we are truly going to see the effects of the teacher shortage soon and it is going to cause things we really don’t want to see happen. There are already rural schools closing and overcrowded classrooms. I don’t think most teachers are doing a very good job of integrating technology in the classroom and we are currently teaching the students that are going to have to be proficient with that when they get into the workplace. I worry about South Dakota being lowest in the nation for teacher pay. I think it is going to prevent us from being competitive attracting new teachers and we are going to lose them to neighboring states.
Perhaps most of all, I worry that our profession as a whole is not as respected as it once was. In many ways, I think teachers are our own worst enemies on this one. Most teachers are very modest about what they do. We are called to serve and we feel no need to toot our own horns. I most certainly understand that. But it has led to people saying things like, “Oh, you are just a teacher.” It has also become the fall-back career – well, you can always TEACH! Sheesh! Where did this come from? When parents drop off their children at the school each day, they are leaving us with their most precious possessions. They better hope we are up to the task of not only caring for these children, but helping them become the productive members of society that we need for them to be. I know I take this responsibility seriously – as do most teachers I know. I think we should, at the very least, be respected for our choice to teach!

It's been a tough year so far!

2008-11-15T06:13:00.001-07:00

This is shaping up to be a tough school year. Two students that were in the other 8th grade Core last year have committed suicide this year. Two of my current students have been hospitalized for suicidal thoughts this year and five students in our school were hospitalized this week. This just terrifies me! We have heard about suicide pacts and I know a lot of our kids are feeling stress.

I think the economy problems must be playing a factor. I know it hurts all of us, but those in poverty situations must find it overwhelming. It is good to see gas prices coming back down, but I know that has caused a great deal of turmoil for many of my families. Food is more expensive and when you can barely feed your family how can you deal with that?

I try to keep my classroom a safe environment so that kids can stick to the task of learning, but they come in with so many things on their minds it’s no wonder they have trouble dealing with English. And that’s if they make it there at all. I had a student missing this week whose family is dealing with a fire in their home. Grandma is currently taking care of 9 grandchildren and they had a fire in their rental home. The oldest grandson awoke and alerted all the family and three of the boys helped get blankets and such and take care of the babies and little ones in the snow while the fire was being put out. Now they are displaced and have no money to survive on. He is supposed to be back in school next week, but only time will tell.

I have another student that has been a handful for a week – picking on other kids and generally just messing around. A few conversations with administration and I have discovered that his younger brother (6th grade) is struggling with cancer. I am certain that my student is worried and also probably not getting much attention at home right now.

Another young man’s house was foreclosed on and he has missed school to help his family move. A young lady had a note intercepted that discussed her first sexual experience. There is one that is struggling because English is not his first language and is not spoken in the home. I know there are several on probation or DSS is involved. My list of IEP students is very long.

Logically, I know that I must continue to keep my classroom a stable and nurturing environment. I know it is often the only constant place in their lives. While I empathize with their problems, education is the best way out for most of them and I must continue to not only give that to them, but to make them see the value in it for their lives.

Emotionally, I am struggling a bit this weekend. I know it is the suicide thing that is bothering me the most. I don’t know how to deal with that. Our two that are back from the hospital concern me. One is acting out a bit and everyone is afraid to come down on her the way we should. One is still in contact with the boy she has the suicide pact with. How much are we supposed to be watching her? And as I look out on the sea of faces, how many others are feeling that death is the only way out right now? What more can I do for them? Our counselor is overloaded and seeing students as fast as she can.

I try very hard to not take this kind of thing home with me, but this weekend it has not given me that option. Worrying about my kids is weighing heavy. Maybe I need to take a suicide prevention class of some sort. (Like I have any more time in my schedule to fit in more stuff.) Maybe something smaller, like some sort of Thanksgiving activity where I tell each of them how thankful I am to have them in my life and why? I don’t know if that would help with the big stuff in their lives, but even though most of them know I care, it never hurts to tell them again and tell them why. Hmmm…. Something to think about!

Thanks for listening to my ramble and I am open to any suggestions for my kids you might have.

South Dakota's Governor's Teacher Leadership Conference

2008-10-13T18:26:00.007-06:00

We in South Dakota have a great working relationship with our Department of Education. They are so much more than a regulatory board. They truly are about being support for the teachers in this state. They have a good understanding of teachers’ frustration with pay, but are limited to solutions, so they try to support us in every other way they think they can. The Governor’s Teacher Leadership Conference is a good example of that.

This year’s conference was a bit different that past conferences. This year we combined the veteran teacher (the teacher leaders) with the new teachers (the teachers within their first five years of teaching.)

Sunday Afternoon

The first day was Sunday, October 5^th. First the planning team got to have brunch with our Day One Facilitators, Dr. David Henderson, Maggie Anderson, and Treopia Washington. David and Maggie were the first two Courage To Teach facilitators that came to our state and started the fabulous program. (I have written about this before as I got to be part of the second cohort.) Treopia is Vice President, Partnerships and Minority Affairs, The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in Washington D.C. I have gotten to know her through the National Board process and the fact that she has organized a program in my school where 16 teachers and principals are taking the Take One! part of National Boards this year at no cost to them.

At one o’clock the Day One Facilitators met with the teacher leaders. We had the opportunity to do some reflection – as we do whenever we do Courage work and then come together and discuss those reflections in groups of three. We talked about the poem, The Woodcarver by Chuang Tzu. The poem is about how we are called to excellence as both a teacher and a person. It also made us think about how we help others reach their levels of excellence.

Here is the poem:

The Woodcarver

Khing, the master carver, made a bell stand
Of precious wood. When it was finished,
All who saw it were astounded. They said it must be
The work of spirits.
The Prince of Lu said to the master carver:
"What is your secret?"

Khing replied: "I am only a workman:
I have no secret. There is only this:
When I began to think about the work you commanded
I guarded my spirit, did not expend it
On trifles, that were not to the point.
I fasted in order to set
My heart at rest.
After three days fasting,
I had forgotten gain and success.
After five days
I had forgotten praise or criticism.
After seven days
I had forgotten my body
With all its limbs.

"By this time all thought of your Highness
And of the court had faded away.
All that might distract me from the work
Had vanished.
I was collected in the single thought
Of the bell stand.

"Then I went to the forest
To see the trees in their own natural state.
When the right tree appeared before my eyes,
The bell stand also appeared in it, clearly, beyond doubt.
All I had to do was to put forth my hand
and begin.

"If I had not met this particular tree
There would have been
No bell stand at all.

"What happened?
My own collected thought
Encountered the hidden potential in the wood;
From this live encounter came the work
Which you ascribe to the spirits."

- Chuang Tzu
from The Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton

The part of this poem that struck me most was how Khing prepared himself before he went into the forest and before looking at the trees. I rarely take time to prepare myself to be in the right frame of mind when coming to my students. I prepare my lessons and I know what I am going to assess, but I needed reminding to just clear away all the other junk that gets in the way before seeing my students. It is the only way I will be able to see their potential. It was a very powerful reminder for me!

Sunday Evening

That evening all the teachers came together for a celebration dinner. Secretary of Education for South Dakota, Dr. Rick Melmer and Governor Michael Rounds took the time to honor a number of teachers. We have three new Nationally Certified Teachers in our state, Nicole Keegan, Rapid City School District; Angie Hejl, Yankton School District; and Doreen Schultz, Edgemont School District. I was fortunate enough to work closely with Nicole Keegan during my first year through the process. All three of these ladies are hard-working, dedicated, fabulous teachers and are much deserving of the recognition.

I was also honored as this year’s Milken Award Recipient. It has been a truly amazing year and I think this is just the beginning. While the Milken Award is amazing, it truly inspires you to go out and do your best work in the coming years. I think that is coming for me.

We got to recognize the seven regional winners for Teacher of the Year and had an unusual experience. This is the evening they name the state Teacher of the Year and our winner could not be with us that evening. Paul Kuhlman was in Washington, D.C., at the time of the announcement. He is one of five finalists competing for the Discovery Education 3M Top Science Teacher. Gov. Mike Rounds and Dr. Melmer called Kuhlman from the awards banquet to let him know he was our winner. He is a math and science teacher in the Avon School District and a truly amazing and inspiring man. I wish him all the best in the coming year.

The other highlight of the evening was our speaker: Michael Geisen, the 2008 National Teacher of the Year. After only seven years in the profession, Michael won this prestigious award and is as energetic as he is inspirational. Since he talked a lot about 21^st century tools for our 21^st century students, he was talking my language and I enjoyed him very much.

Monday Morning

Monday was our long day of the conference and started off with a bang. The planning team had the privilege of sharing some classroom and/or personal stories that we wrapped in sections of Randy Pausch’s book, The Last Lecture. I have read the book and it made me cry more than once, but I also laughed. We picked sections of five chapters and our planning team of ten divided it so that one person read a passage and one person told a story that went with that theme. I braved telling a story, but in my usual lack of self-confidence, worried that it wasn’t the right story or I wouldn’t fit in with the other four stories told by teachers that I truly look up to and admire. In the end, I think it was a fabulous rainbow of stories and they all had their place. Somewhere during the worry about WHAT I was going to say, I forgot that I was speaking to 300+ teachers. That part never bothered me. I guess my fear of speaking in public has diminished a great deal! We ended on a story (or stories) told by Reva Potter that had us laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face. What a marvelous way to send teachers off to their morning sessions.

During the morning sessions, run in five rooms by the planning team, we had the opportunity to discuss and reflect on perseverance, high productivity and effective communication, commitment to students and their learning, and being members of a learning community. In our usual fashion, we had planned less for us to talk to them about and more for the teachers to group and discuss among themselves. One of the things I always enjoy is to have them think about the phases of their teaching year and at which parts of the year they felt most and least effective. Then we show them a chart of the national averages and they are always relieved to find that even the most experienced teachers hit those low points. Our final activity was to send them on a “Walk and Talk”. They paired themselves with a teacher they didn’t know and talked about some of the challenges of their year and ways they were going to get around those.

Monday Afternoon

The afternoon session provided the Department of Education to highlight some of the groups around the state that are in place to help teachers. These groups moved around to each of the five rooms to give presentations. They were (taken directly from our agenda):

Better Than a Byte of Google: Online resources for you and your students

Never enough time or money to find all of the good “stuff” on the Internet? We have it for you! Explore the reliable online resources available to all schools from the South Dakota State Library to meet your K-12 curriculum needs.

High School 2025

Back in “the day,” schools focused on reading, writing, and arithmetic. A high school of the 21^st century focuses on three new Rs: relationships, rigor, and relevance. Without these, schools won’t ever get to the 4^th R: results. This session outlines key practies to prepare students for success in the 21^st century world.

Healthy Students, Healthy Schools

We’ve all seen the headlines about youth obesity rates, teen drinking, suicide, sexual activity, drug use and physical inactivity. Do you eve wonder how bad the problems really are? Do these issues affect school performance? This session covers South Dakota data regarding youth risk behaviors and how they relate to academic achievement. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, School Height Weight Report, and School Health Profiles will be highlighted.

Teacher 411

From e-mentoring to differential pay, this session covers big-picture initiatives designed to enhance teaching in South Dakota. Learn what some districts are doing to recruit and retain good teachers. You’ll also get a refresher on renewing your teaching certificate via the state’s online system.

Native American Education: Success Begins with Understanding

This session will look at the many ways poverty impacts the educational process. We’ll review socio-economic status indicators, achievement data, and talk about issues and possible solutions to helping all students in poverty, particularly our Native American students, reach their highest potential.

There was a lot of information packed into the afternoon. Every bit of it was wonderful information, but I think for many it got to be a bit too much sitting in their seats and just listening. I saw a number of people doing other things. We may have to rethink how we do this next year!

Monday Evening

Both before and after dinner we were entertained by Sheltered Reality Drum Group. These are some very talented young people that choose to spend their time doing something wonderful to impact the environment around them instead of making some bad choices.

We also had another amazing speaker, Shannon Pickard. He is a comedian with a message. He often speaks at schools and universities and has written, “The Choice is Yours: A Formula for Success.” He was entertaining and engaging and we picked up a brochure to see if we can bring him to our school to talk to our middle school students. I think he could have more impact than many of us teachers! I hope it works out!

Tuesday Morning

We started our morning with one of my favorite speakers, Dr. Julie Mathiesen. She is the director at TIE (Technology & Innovation in Education) and spoke to us about 21^st century learners. I was very pleased that I was “in the know” about much of what she talked about and that my thoughts parallel hers. I think it is so important that we keep talking about how we should be doing a better job integrating technology into the curriculum at every teacher gather we are at! Now I need to spend some time in Second Life so I quit flying into walls and dressing like a newbie!

Our last sessions were by grade level and again facilitated largely by the planning team. We discussed a lot of technology, as that was our theme for the day and showed them Karl Fisch’s video “Did You Know.” We also had them group up and talk about how 21^st century skills look in the classroom today, what we think will happen, and what we would really like to see happen. Nothing is ever going to change unless we start really discussing the changes and why they need to happen!

Tuesday Lunch

We had one final lunch and were delighted to have Treopia Washington speak. Her brother, Ernest Green was one of the Little Rock Nine and was the first to graduate from Little Rock Central High School. She is an amazing speaker and history really comes alive from one who knows. She has promised that the next time she is in Rapid City during the school year, she will plan of coming in and talking to my 8^th graders. What a great opportunity this will be for them! I will make certain they see The Ernest Green Story before she comes.

All in all, I think the conference was a huge success. I saw new teachers feeling a little less alone and teacher leaders really stepping up to help them. I got to visit with a lot of teachers about a variety of topics and I got to hang out with some of the best of the best in the state! It is my very hope that I will be on the planning committee again for next year. I would love to be able to be there as the newest Nationally Board Certified Teacher in the state as well. (Although I am prepared for it to take me another year.

Teaching with Fire

2008-08-21T22:53:00.003-06:00

Fire by Judy Sorum Brown

What makes a fire burn
is space between the logs,
a breathing space.
Too much of a good thing,
too many logs
packed in too tight
can douse the flames
almost as surely
as a pail of water would.

So building fires
requires attention
to the spaces in between,
as much as to the wood.

When we are able to build
open spaces
in the same way
we have learned
to pile on the logs,
then we can come to see how
it is fuel, and absence of the fuel
together, that make fire possible.

We only need to lay a log
lightly from time to time.
A fire
grows
simply because the space is there,
with openings
in which the flame
that knows just how it wants to burn
can find its way.

I start my blog this evening with this poem. I first read this poem during a Courage To Teach retreat and it had such an impact on my life that I make certain to revisit it as often as possible. When I read this for the first time, I was working on my Master's Degree and National Board Certification. I also served on several committees in my school and district. I had three sons living at home and a husband of three years. I was encouraged to do Courage to Teach by a wonderful that I have come to truly love. I wasn't sure I could put one more thing on my plate and she assured me that this was the only time in the year that I was going to take to nourish my soul. She was right. I had so many logs on my fire that I was truly going to burn out. This poem made me look at the spaces. From time to time, I need to think about those spaces and make certain my logs have room to breathe. This summer I chose to not take any classes because I knew I wouldn't have enough space. A few years ago that wouldn't have been my priority. This year I am going back to school feeling rested and recharged. I still have a lot of logs on my fire, but since I have been taking care of myself, I see that fire only getting brighter.

Courage To Teach truly changed my life. I am bonded to my cohort and have support like no other. I find peace when I reflect and get in touch with my inner teacher. It is an experience that I wish more teachers would have the opportunity to have.

The final part of the poem mentions that the fire knows how it wants to burn. I have a plan for my next five years, but I keep my mind open to how the fire wants to burn. My path has changed since I first became a teacher and it may change again. I must follow where the fire takes me. I wish for all teachers to take care when laying their logs this year!

Everything In Its Proper Order

2008-08-20T22:57:00.003-06:00

In the past few weeks I have been saddened at the thought of my youngest son going off to college. I know this is tougher for me this year after having lost both of my parents and having the oldest son graduate from college - while living at home - and moving to Kansas. Tonight I am sitting in a motel room in Marshall, MN watching my son sleep and instead of being sad, I am feeling like a very lucky woman. Jamie is 18, focused on what he wants to do in life, and very passionate about getting the education that will move him towards those goals. He is mature and ready for this phase in his life. His choice in colleges was a well thought out and logical decision on his part. We arrived here this afternoon after a six-hour journey in two cars. We explored the town and went out for dinner. He made me laugh until tears were literally streaming from my eyes. He is so excited about college and is approaching it with curiosity instead of fears. I will miss him and he may experience some feelings of home sickness, but this is the way life is supposed to work. If I shed a tear tomorrow on leaving, I will do so steadfast in the knowledge that this is right.

I have further reflected on my other two sons tonight. I suspect that is normal during a pretty life-altering event. Chris is in Kansas working in an aerospace engineering company. His actual project is secret, but when he mentions it at all, he does so with pride and enthusiasm for what he does. He is taking advantage of the tuition-paid college classes his company provides him and is working on his engineering degree while working about 60 hours a week right now. A few years ago, Chris had trouble deciding which direction he wanted his life to go in and now he is thriving. Again, he is farther away than I would prefer, but what mother could want more for her child than to hear absolute joy about what he is doing? I am proud beyond words.

Tony has also struggled at finding his path in life. He is in his third year at our local technical institute and on his third program. He is studing auto mechanics and has taken a second job working in a garage. Tony has ADHD and to be honest, I am shocked he is continuing his education. He struggled in school every year and graduation was a major accomplishment. He still struggles, but firmly believes that he has to have an education to get ahead in life. Tony often presents me with challenges, but when I take a step back and realize how far he has come, I can only be amazed.

Do I sound like a proud mother? Well, I am. Day to day life with three sons has had its moments - good and bad. My divorce from their father 8 1/2 years ago was traumatic and trying for all of us. But we all survived and have gotten to a point where I am watching my little boys turn into incredible young men. While I would like to take the credit, it isn't that easy. The one thing I do seem to have passed on to my children in my love of learning and my belief that education unlocks doors. Seeing it in action only inspires me to pass that on to my students. I know they short time I have within the classroom makes it harder than with the long-term relationships with my sons, but I still believe I have the power to influence and that makes getting up each morning exciting.

Tomorrow I leave this college freshman in his dorms and go home to prepare for my 8th graders. How sad can I really be?

Summer Reflections

2008-08-18T00:42:00.002-06:00

It is hard for me to believe that summer is ending. It seems like we just got started. It has been a busy one for me and before I start school, I feel I must take a few minutes and reflect.

This summer has seen me in my car more than any other. I have been on numerous committees. I was honored to be on the Governor’s Summer Study committee to examine our state’s Teacher Compensation Assistance Program (TCAP). I learned so much through this process. I always feel torn when we discuss teachers wages in the state of South Dakota. I know I don’t teach for the money – I love what I do. But I also believe we deserve more than being 51^st in the nation in pay. I know that we are losing teachers to surrounding states that pay more. I know that we are struggling to find good teachers to stay in our state and that it has been through creative problem-solving by superintendents, principals, and the DOE that we have avoided a full out teacher shortage so far. I don’t think that is going to be enough in the near future. I know a number of excellent teachers that have left the profession to do something else to be able to support their families. It is our students that pay the ultimate price for that. I also understand that our money in the state can only go so far. We are one of six states in the nation that does not have a state income tax. That limits us even further. I remember when limited gaming came to the state and that was supposed to be the savior for education. What happened there? It was rewarding to see that all members of the committee – teachers, superintendents, legislators, association leaders, and the Department of Education all agreed that teachers deserved more, but I think it is going to be a long time in the making before there are any real solutions coming.

I was also on the Governor’s Teacher Leadership Conference planning committee. I have taken part in the Governor’s New Teacher Academy for the last couple of years and this is being combined with the Leadership Conference this year. I think it is a good melding of two ends of the profession that can learn a lot from one another. I love being with the new teachers and witnessing their enthusiasm. It rejuvenates me in ways I just can’t explain. South Dakota has some of the finest teacher leaders around and they also give me the boost I need to try new and innovative things in my classroom. The conference is in October and I am so looking forward to it!

I had the opportunity to meet with the seven regional teachers of the year that are in the running for the state TOY. What a talented group of people! That will be announced in October at the Teacher Leadership Conference as well!

I serve on a teacher advisory council to the Department of Education. It is so wonderful to meet with our department and know that they truly care about what teachers need and work to provide that if at all possible. They care what we think and really listen when the council meets. I feel like we have had some input on what should go into the highly qualified teacher standards in the state and I know we want high quality teachers to be in classrooms.

I had the opportunity to go to the NECC conference in San Antonio this summer. This was my second year and I find it to be an amazing experience. I get tons of great ideas and feed off the energy of the thousands that attend. I am so inspired that I am looking for a topic to present at NECC next year. Okay, I want to present so I can be certain my district will send me to Washington D.C., but I still want to present!

While at NECC, I learned about Plurk. I have been a Twitter girl for a while now, but think I may have totally switched. Plurk is a micro-blogging site that I have made great connections at. I have this fabulous PLN (personal/professional learning network) that inspires me as well as shares great educational ideas. I know I spent too many hours on Plurk, but it has been worth the time!

On a personal level, there were many wonderful highlights. We moved into a new house and I made some gains in getting some things sorted, purged, and organized. (If only I were finished!)

I got to go to Kansas on the way to and from NECC and see my oldest son in his new surroundings. It is such a humbling experience to see what was your child become this amazing man. I am so very proud of him and all that he has accomplished. I am glad I got to see where he is living. I hate that he is so far away, but I have no worries that he is going to do great things!

While at NECC, I got to finally meet Heather and Glynn. After several years as online friends, it was beyond wonderful to meet these two wonderful people. Heather and I are truly Soul Sisters and kindred spirits. They were both everything I expected and more. What a blessing they are in my life.

I just got back from a vacation with my husband. Michael and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary this month and this is the first real vacation we have taken together. It was much needed and long overdue! We drove to California and, while that is ever so many hours in the car, it gave us many hours to just be together. We stopped on each end in Las Vegas and played in a couple of Texas Hold ‘Em tournaments. I do well when we play in our local home game, but I just don’t seem to have the hang on the Vegas scene. Michael finished in the money in one tournament and 12^th in another. We went to California to visit his family. His brother had a heart transplant in June and it is simply amazing at how wonderful he is doing. He is living with their mother and I needed to see for myself at how she was holding up to the stress and worry of the situation. She is a strong and resilient woman who is doing just fine. I will still be glad when things get back to normal and she has more of her own space. The vacation was wonderful in all aspects!

I have one more bit of business before I am all about school. My youngest son is heading off to college this week. We will drive over to Minnesota on Wednesday and he moves into the dorms on Thursday. I am not particularly looking forward to this, but on the other hand, he is excited and ready to move to the next phase of his life. I will only have the middle son home finishing school here locally. Not quite an empty nest, but given how little we see of Tony, just about!

I am going to start my principal internship this week and will be working on it all year. This is part of my doctorate program in Educational Administration. I hope to spend a few years as an assistant principal and then go on to prepare teachers to enter the profession.

While I have truly enjoyed my summer, I am really eager to get back to school. I miss the students and I am excited about starting my second year as an English and Social Studies teacher. That still astounds me after so many years as a computer teacher. I have a lot of ideas and I can’t wait to implement them. I get to do a Technology In-service for our teachers on the 26^th and I have been working on my presentations. I hope they enjoy what I have to offer as much as I have enjoyed preparing it. I won’t get students until September 2^nd, but I am truly looking forward to that day!

Let the school bells chime! And a special thanks to Terry Shay for encouraging my finishing this post!

Inspirational Influences

2008-07-30T23:43:00.001-06:00

I was reading TJ Shay’s blog about what or who inspires him and it got me thinking as well. I think that from time to time it is something you should reflect on and, perhaps, take the time to thank those people for that inspiration. So have much pondering, here is my top five of the moment:

(1) Mrs. Lily Brown – Mrs. Brown was my high school History and Government teacher. I don’t remember a single fact I learned in her class (although I have a great love of history and always vote like a good citizen) but I can never forget how much she cared about each of her students and how respectfully she treated us. I know we all that that one – or if we are lucky, more than one – teacher that inspired us to go into education and Mrs. Brown is that for me. I try to teach so that each of my students will remember that I cared.

(2) Will Richardson – I heard Mr. Richardson speak at a TIE conference in South Dakota and he spoke with such passion and conviction about technology and our students! Not only did it make me look at my technology practices, I have become nearly as passionate as he is. I bought his book immediately and have the new one on order. I had the opportunity to speak with him this year at the NECC convention and even though he was hanging out with the Big Dogs in the Blogger’s Café, he took a few minutes to speak to me and give me some info about his new book. He was very nice and encouraging and made me admire him even more. His blog keeps me informed and thinking. We all need to have our beliefs challenged from time to time so we take stock in where our passion is leading us!

(3) Jeanne Burckhard – Jeanne is my principal and she is easily the hardest working woman I know. We have a tough school climate – 86% free and reduced lunches, transient population, and a lot of dysfunctional home lives for our kids. Jeanne thinks outside the box to help these kids because she knows an education is their only hope out of generational poverty. Jeanne also knows that a happy staff is better for the kids and goes to great lengths to maintain a positive working climate. She works long hours and most weekends. Being a Title I school, there is endless paperwork and phone calls. She has personally pushed me into leadership roles, even when I have sometimes not wanted to go. She brings out the best teacher in me and is truly and mentor and a wonder!

(4) Dr. Rick Melmer – Dr. Melmer is South Dakota’s Secretary of Education. I am not sure that many people would add the Secretary of Education to their lists, which should automatically say something for Dr. Melmer. This man believes so strongly in education and supporting teachers. Listening to him speak you can feel the depths of his caring heart. He is so intelligent and hard-working. He is modest in all that he does and has wondered if he does anything to make a difference. Teachers are stunned that he could even think that, as we all know how committed he is to making this the best place to live and teach. We are going to lose him in this current position in November as he moves to take over a Dean position at a state college. We are glad he is staying in-state, but will feel his leaving his government position for a long time!

(5) Mike Crofut – my husband! Mike is probably as big a workaholic as I am, so he understands when I have papers to grade or lessons to prepare. He supports me in the ventures I undertake, but also warns me when he knows I am stretching myself too thin. He is my sounding board when I am struggling and my cheerleader when I need that. He is the logical voice of reason – particularly when I stack more and more on my plate and is my rock that keeps me grounded.

I suspect I could add a number of people to this list, but I think each of these are quite solid in the inspiration arena of my life. I am grateful for the influence each has had in my life!

Thanks TJ for getting me thinking tonight!

Teacher Leadership Conference

2008-07-25T01:33:00.000-06:00

Today I finished the third set of planning meetings for the South Dakota Governor’s Teacher Leadership Conference that will take place in October in our capital city of Pierre. I am so excited about the agenda and the rich conversations and reflections that I believe will occur. The conference is undergoing a bit of a change this year and is being combined with our New Teacher Academy. I think this is going to be a great combination. Putting master teachers together with new teachers will be enriching for both and will encourage some wonderful networks to be formed. More information about the conference can be found on the SD Department of Education site here.

I love getting to be part of the planning committee, not just because I find the purpose and the work we do to be fulfilling, but also because I get to spend time with some of the finest educators South Dakota has. I find that our conversations inspire me and get those creative juices flowing. Last night, I had the opportunity to introduce some of the Google tools to Lisa, a most brilliant educator. I think I have created a junkie, but she got me so excited to plan the technology in-service that is fast approaching next month. Conversation with Lisa always causes me to re-evaluate my practice to be certain that I am doing everything I can to be the best teacher I can be. We had a great conversation last night about school climate and low morale. We discussed what we as individuals can do to change that. It is a topic that I still find myself pondering today. A happy school is good for teachers and students.

I have two other committee meetings next week in Pierre. I seem to be spread out all over the state in committees, but I am enjoying it immensely. It has been a true honor to be asked to serve in so many ways. My life is full of so many blessings!

Another Day of Unpacking, Reflecting, and Purging

2008-07-18T17:51:00.005-06:00

I started my day with my three goals shining in front of me: (1) Move all the stuff from the small garage to the game room [clearing one of my storage areas completely]; (2) give the entire house a cleaning - leaving the weekend to have with my husband; and (3) organize my desk so I can get some schoolwork done. Yesterday, things went so well and my husband was so pleased that I was anxious to get started. But I think I am a little ADHD. I managed to get a little sidetracked. As I started moving boxes from one place to another. I realized that a number of the boxes contained clothes that the boys had long ago outgrown and some I wanted to get rid of. At one time I had thought to have a garage sale, but today I was being very honest with myself and realized that probably wouldn't happen. Our school - with 86% free and reduced lunch - started what we refer to as the Eagle Closet a few years ago. It is like a second hand clothing store where our families can come and "shop" for free. Now over the year I have bought my children some very nice clothes and I know they could be worn by other kids. I seem to have drifted upward in size (something I keep swearing I am going to correct) and have tons of clothes I no longer wear. So with all of this in mind, I set up the table on the deck and started sorting. I also realized I had two boxes of clothes in my closet that I had set aside for donations when I was putting things away in there, so I added them to the stacks. In the end, I decided that I cannot wait so long in the future to purge. Sheesh! Stuff stacked EVERYWHERE as you can see in the pictures. So I boxed it all up and off to the Eagle Closet it went - all six boxes and six lawn and leaf bags full!Okay, that felt good, so back to the garage I went. I decided to go back to the original plan of just moving it into the game room. I was cruising along until I hit the boxes of china and crystal. Stopped moving to sort. Again a little reflection. When my first husband and I got divorced, I split the china up - he got a couple of sets and I took a couple. (Okay, china is a weakness for me! And I did entertain a lot!) We had crystal glasses that could serve 100 because we used to have HUGE New Year's Eve parties. I split that 50/50. A few years ago he remarried and one day he called me and offered to give me all the china and crystal - as well as all of his mom's stuff. Turned out that his new bride didn't want any of that stuff in her house and he hoped that by giving it to me, it would eventually make its way to our sons. Plus, he knows how much I love the stuff and told me he couldn't stand seeing it go somewhere it wasn't appreciated. At the time I had NO room for it, so it went into storage. Which brings us to today. I went through all of it. There were some random pieces that weren't very nice and were mismatched. Those all went to a pile that I am saving. This fall our school has an annual rummage sale fundraiser. Those people buy everything and I know they are going for a good cause. I filled the china cabinet with glasswear until it can hold no more. Not sure about getting rid of that, so I put it on my list of thinking about it later. I took one very large set of my ex's mom's china and packed it for my son that now has his own place in Kansas. She wanted Chris to have this set and he said he will find a place for it if I bring it down at Thanksgiving. I also found all the dishes and pots and pans my husband had before he moved to South Dakota so I packed those nicely for the next boy that moves out. When all the dishes were dealt with, I finished off the garage. Well, unless you count the fact that I have a desk and a curio cabinet that need to have someone look at to refinish and a number of bicycles. Oh, my husband is going to be so happy with me!

Tony had to run errands this morning and Jamie had to work until 2. After they got home, I had them help me clean the kitchen and I sent them both off to clean their own bathrooms. I have cleaned my bathroom and ran a quick dustcloth, broom, and vacuum. On the whole, the house looks pretty good. I fear the desk will have to wait a bit for organization. So if you veer off your three goals and miss one, but you do tons more on another than planned, did you succeed for the day or fail. Either way, I am feeling pretty darn good about another day.

I promise, this blog will get back to reflecting on education and students and technology, but sometimes life gets in the way. Summer is a good time to clear the cobwebs literally and figuratively and I know I am getting that done. It will be so wonderful to start school this year feeling organized at home! I so needed this time. I hope my Three-A-Day Club is having as much fun as I am!

Going through some of my personal history

2008-07-17T17:35:00.004-06:00

When I was 23, I got married. I married a very nice man, but did so on the rebound from another. Being Catholic, I threw myself into the marriage. We had three sons and a fair amount of drama in our lives. I had a miscarriage the first time I got pregnant. While I was pregnant with my oldest son, my father-in-law lost a lung, and almost his life, to cancer. Right after I had my third son, my mother-in-law had her second bout with cancer. (Her first was before I met my husband.) We nursed her for five years and she died in our arms. After her death, everything changed. My husband worked for his mother and there was a great deal of stress on him to learn more about the business to take over. As my youngest went off to school, I went back to college and got my teaching degree. My first year of teaching was awful and I quit at the end of the year. It was in a private school and I also pulled my children and put them in public school. I was a substitute the following year in public school and that proved to be fabulous because when I applied for a teaching position the following year, I knew just where I wanted to be. During these years, my husband and I grew far apart. I am not terribly certain he ever wanted me to go to work. When I was a stay-at-home wife and mother, the house was always clean and dinner was always ready. We entertained extensively (something I really loved) and traveled with some frequency. His busy schedule added to the stress. After 17 years of marriage and a bit of marriage counseling, we divorced. As in most divorces, packing was not an easy time. Things got thrown into boxes and I went from living in a 5000 sq. ft. house to a small two bedroom apartment. The three boys made it clear they wanted to live with their father – a fact that drove me to counseling and almost did me in. (They all came to live with me eventually. Thank heavens my therapist helped me with patience!) Because of my much smaller living space, I rented a storage unit and stored most of my boxes.

Three years later I married my high school sweetheart – the love of my life! He had gotten divorced a few years earlier and moved from California to marry me. Neither of us came out of our marriages financially secure, so we rented a house for almost five years. Well, this year that has changed. We have moved into a beautiful house and have tons of room. But all those boxes have come back to haunt me. They are all out of storage and lurking in our game room over the garage and our smaller garage.

I am doing a pretty good job of getting rid of junk – using the old “if you haven’t needed it in 8 ½ years, you don’t need it now” theory. But there are some things that are just not that easy. When I used to entertain, I had tons of stuff – crystal, china, silver, linens – you know STUFF. We haven’t been able to entertain in the last five years as our house was way too small. But now? So do I keep the stuff? Pare down the stuff? I also used to cake decorate. I have made a number of lovely wedding cakes as well as other kinds. I have three or four boxes of cake decorating pans, cake plates, and other paraphernalia. Will I get back to using that? These are things I don’t feel quite ready to get rid of yet. At what point are you just holding on to the past? I find myself planning a New Year’s Eve party as I write this. I found all the stuff I used to do that with! Oh, my husband is not going to be a happy guy. He isn’t quite as social as I am!

I guess I will keep going through boxes and get rid of the easy stuff. I will have to think about the rest. And see what I can convince my wonderful husband I NEED to keep! Feeling pretty good about the day : 9 boxes of books gone (a few sold and most donated) , 7 boxes sorted and put away, 2 boxes filled with more donations, and three very large trash bags full. Thanks to my Plurk friend, Karen for getting me motivated on three goals for the day. I got more done than expected!

High Paid Teachers!

2008-07-09T01:30:00.003-06:00

How cool that I got this in an email today. Seems all things like this speak to me today!

HIGH PAID TEACHERS

Are you sick of high paid teachers? Teachers’ hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! It’s time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - baby sit! We can get that for less than minimum wage.

That’s right. Let’s give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and plan — that equals 6 1/2 hours).

Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children.

Now how many do they teach in day…maybe 30? So that’s $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.

LET’S SEE…. That’s $585 X 180= $105,300 per year. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).

What about those special education teachers and the ones with Master’s degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year.

Wait a minute — there’s something wrong here! There sure is!

The average teacher’s salary (nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77/per day/30 students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student–a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!)

WHAT A DEAL!!!!

Guess I could be a babysitter for those wages! Maybe not.

Summer State Work

2008-07-08T23:24:00.005-06:00

I have had the pleasure of spending the last two days with members of our Department of Education, state legislature, superintendents, and teachers discussing some money the state has allotted for teachers and the wages of the teachers of our fair state. I have learned so much during this process. It is so easy for one group to blame another for our woes, but when you put all in one room and give them the opportunity for dialog, so rich discussion comes forth. It was so gratifying to see that all in the room believed teachers deserved more money, but we have to be creative to find it. Change comes slow and I think patience will be necessary, but at least the conversations are in progress.

I am so honored to be included in this team. The group is genuinely interested in what the teachers on the team have to offer. I invited the legislators to visit my classroom at any point in the coming year. I think it is important that they see where they are looking to spend money. I do hope some of them take me up on my request. I would love to have them see our entire school.

I will not be able to attend the next meeting, but I would like to make a presentation for the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) that I learned about at the Milken conference. I think there is so much the program has to offer and that starting a pilot in our state could be a wonderful thing. Since I am unable to attend - but so strongly believe in technology - I am going to put together a presentation and have TIE (Technology in Innovation and Education) help me video tape it. I will have to spend the coming week working on my presentation.

I have two more state meetings this month. I am working on the Governor's Teacher Leadership Conference planning committee. This year's conference is being restructured to combine it with the New Teachers' Academy. I think it will be a wonderful experience for new teachers as well as teacher leaders. I am very much looking forward to it!

My final meeting of the month is a Teacher Advisory Committee to the Department of Education. This is a fairly new committee and the department felt that since they had advisory committees of both superintendents and principals, that it made sense to have teachers involved.

All of these committees are a direct result of my Milken award and I am so pleased to have the opportunity to serve the state in these ways. I love living in South Dakota and we have some truly amazing educators here. We overcome many obstacles and our students perform very well. I am proud to count myself among these teachers.

I still need to get boxes unpacked in my new house and I have so many lessons I want to work on for the coming year. Summer seems to go so fast! I am not sure how other teacher manage to handle it all. Some of them even find time for rest. I must be doing something wrong! :-)

NECC Final Thoughts from a NYFB

2008-07-05T10:06:00.004-06:00

By Tuesday, I seemed to have stopped blogging. I think I was overwhelmed by the number of people and the whole experience. I started Tuesday morning with a headache that showed signs of a migraine. Luckily, I brought medicine for that very purpose and only missed the keynote. I showed up 35 minutes early for Stephanie Sandifer's session, Marzano and Web 2.0: Ed Tech That Works, and was disappointed to find it was already closed. (This was not my first experience with a closed session, but I really wanted to hear this one!) I made my way to the Blogger's Cafe and ended up having a fabulous conversation with Kevin Honeycutt. I learned a lot from this man! I have some great ideas I am going to use and he was very encouraging. I am glad Stephanie put up her Ning page and wiki. I am going through them this weekend.

I did get into a couple of other sessions in the afternoon and then scolded myself for not doing better research beforehand. They were not what I was expecting and I simply didn't learn anything new from them. I will try to do a better job next time.

Wednesday morning, I went to two quick sessions before I had to get into my car for a 10 1/2 hour drive to Kansas. Again, I am not sure I took away much from either session, but I did get to visit with some people I sat with and that is always great.

I was really looking forward to Washington DC next year and then a conversation online made me rethink that. Scott McLeod posted about whether FB (Famous Bloggers) had an obligation to NYFB (Not Yet Famous Bloggers) and LR (Loyal Readers). As a NYFB, I could see his point, but as I was following conversations in his blog, Christian Long's blog, and on Twitter, I started worrying that I had offended someone by introducing myself. I had to think through it long and hard. Everyone I spoke to seemed really nice. I had a number of awesome conversations. I didn't introduce myself because I was starstruck, but because I really admire what they do and hoped to learn more from them. While in the Bloggers' Cafe, there were a couple of FB that did not appear to want conversation, so I stayed away, honoring their personal space. The conversations that occurred online really took me by surprise. I could have gained much information from the conference online, but the face-to-face connections are what really matters to me. I spent much of my drive back to South Dakota wondering if I even should go next year. In the end, I am still going to try to get to DC. I may revise my thinking a bit and make appointments with people I would like to get to know in a face-to-face meeting, but I know how outgoing I am and that I would probably still introduce myself to someone next year if I think there is an opportunity to learn.

Thinking back to last year's conference, I came back very excited and wanting to try all kinds of new things. I regret much of that didn't happen this last year. Learning two new content areas was fairly overwhelming and the death of both of my parents pretty much knocked the wind out of me. I feel better about what I teach and am again excited and ready to go. I have some time to work on lessons. I like that NECC is early enough in the summer to give me that opportunity.

All in all, I had a great time. I got to meet and spend time with Heather and Glynn. I got to meet a number of other people and am thrilled to have real faces to go with their online presence. I rediscovered the enthusiasm I had for using those 21st century tools. And San Antonio is a really cool place!

My deepest appreciation to those that challenged my thinking and helped me to grow! And an even bigger thanks to those of you that were willing to talk to a NYFB.

End of a Productive NECC Day!

2008-06-30T21:22:00.003-06:00

I love being back in my blog and having a place to journal and reflect on best practices and my teaching. Today was a great day for me at NECC and that has had me excited all day. I have gotten enthusiastic about blogs and wikis. I am rejuvinated about PowerPoints. I may try some PhotoStory 3 (or something similiar if I use the Macs in my room.) With all this enthusiasm, I also have a sense of thinking about what is best for my students. I try to never use technology just for technology's sake, so I always evaluate how each assignment will benefit my kids. Konrad Glogowski was right on target concerning 8th graders taking more pride and ownership of a space they have some design of and choice in. I have been a big believer of choice in writing, but I love the thought of them speaking to one another about their writing. I have decided that composition notebooks for journaling are off my school supply list. I have 25 computers in my room and my students can journal in their blogs. I want my students to collaborate, so I have several ideas for wikis. I think the students will enjoy this methodology. I know a small part of it is that it is a novelty, but at this point, I will take whatever works.

I also need to think about what I can take back and teach our teachers. They are not all as enthusiastic about technology as I am - although a few are. What can I teach them that they will actually use this year? What can I get them excited about? A few of them started using wikis last year as a place to put up their assignments for students to access. Not collaborative, but a good use of technology. Maybe those same teachers are more willing to try it with the kids this year? I didn't get many of them to write a blog this year, but I did get some to start reading them. I haven't podcasted yet, but that doesn't mean several of us can't try it. Of course, there are no microphones in our building, but why let that stop us. I am sure I can find some that will do. I still have two days of NECC left and a lot of miles between San Antonio and Rapid City, SD. I am sure I can figure it out! In the meantime, I need rest to get through another exciting day.

Konrad and Jakes

2008-06-30T11:22:00.002-06:00

It is now just past noon and my head is already spinning. I have seen two amazing presentations and I took a short walk through the exhibit hall. I have to recharge my laptop battery - and perhaps my own as well.

This morning I started off with Konrad Glogowski and Blogging Communities in the Classroom: Creating Engaging Learning Experiences. I have followed Konrad's blog and Tweets for a while and have become a huge fan, but seeing him in person was even more than I could have expected. He is quite funny and presented blogs in an inspiring as well as informative way. I can take everything I heard today and go right to my classroom and get to work. I wanted to blog last year, but life got in the way. There just will be no stopping me this year! I just went online and pre-ordered Will Richardson's 2nd edition of Blogs, Wiki's, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. It won't be available until July 15th, but I got a nice price! (Picked up David Warlick's book while I was there, too!) I have Will's first version, but he said this one is updated with 25% new information.

I was glad to hear that it took Konrad a year to become a good teacher blog reader. I will not beat myself up if it takes me a while as well. I am not sure if I have an advantage because I have only been an English teacher for a year. I think the previous ten years as a teacher still has the teacherly voice embedded within me pretty deep. I am going home to prepare my lessons to set my kids up for forming a community and how we are going to make it a safe and comfortable environment for all. I have several thoughts as to how to get started, but I am going to have to wait until my head clears to sketch them out!

I took a brief walk through the Exhibits and was quickly overwhelmed. I really want to get in there, but think I will have to do it in short chunks. I did get to talk to the Promethean people and am signed up to take an online class. I have a board, but I know I didn't use it to its full potential last year. That is another thing I want to be better with this year. Last year I had to learn both new curriculums and between the Milken and my parents accident, I was in over my head. This year is a fresh start and I am pumped!

I then went to as session on One Hour PowerPoint: A Strategy for Better Presentations by David Jakes and Dean Shareski. This presentation was great for several reasons. I have still been using PowerPoints and feeling like they are just not as Web 2.0 as the world seems to be moving in. I was reassured that there is still a need for this. There list of ten ideas gave me loads to think about as wells as some new tools. I use Flickr, but have not used Flickr Storm or isharephotos. I will be checking these out. I have addressed color and font, but I see I still have a few more things to address. I always address too much text and bullets, but I have not added a lot of multimedia in our PowerPoints. We will have to do some of that from outside our school. Our firewall is not multimedia friendly, but there are ways around that.

As I have been in the Bloggers' Cafe, I have gotten to hear a couple of presentations, including a great one on wikis. There is rich conversation flowing around me and that is so exciting! One of the reasons I love this conference is all the face to face meetings and the ideas flowing between educators. What more could you want?

Are You Punishing or Preventing Plagiarism in Your School? Presentation

2008-06-29T15:04:00.005-06:00

Okay, I admit it...I went into today's session with a bit of worry that after following Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk blog for a while, that there was the possibility that he might not be as wonderful in person as he is in written form. I had nothing to worry about. Doug is a very engaging person. He puts great stories about his kids in the middle of his presentation and makes his thoughts very real and easy to follow.

I have only taught English for one year and have worried about plagiarism. I discovered today that I have been doing some things well and have some excellent ideas for this year! I already believe in giving students choice and having them work in groups. I love peer review. Today I heard about a wax statue project that I want to try. I have been toying with ideas of kids making videos. I am very excited to put some new ideas into play. I certainly know I need to do a better job of explaining plagiarism to 8th graders.

While in the session, I was surprised to hear there was someone else from South Dakota. It turns out it was Jackie Jessop Rising from South Dakota's own TIE. TIE is Technology and Innovation in Education and is a great organization that really puts itself out there in the support of teachers in so many ways! I understand there are a few of them in San Antonio and I can't wait to see them.

I made my way to the Keynote speaker, James Surowiecki. I found him interesting, but I don't know that I took anything usable away. I guess I will just have to settle for all the great info I have gotten from my two sessions I have been in. After the keynote, I was going to stay for the reception, but there were SO many people there! Suddenly, free food and music did not sound so appealing. I am very much looking forward to tomorrow! Have I mentioned that I love this conference? I am going to have to do some serious work to get my school to let me go to Washington D.C. next year, but I am going to figure out something!

Saturday Evening Entertainment

2008-06-28T21:41:00.005-06:00

After some time to relax and reflect about today's session and the upcoming days, Heather, Glynn, and I went out to dinner. My sister used to live in San Antonio and she directed me towards Dick's. I did get the warning that it was a rowdy place and the advertising said they were irreverent by design. That is short for extremely rude - but in a pretty fun way! We decided to eat on the patio, since their was immediate seating and it is a rather pleasant night. It was great to spend some more time with Heather and Glynn! I have considered us friends LONG before we actually met, but this has concreted that. Dinner was far from fancy, but the beer was tall and the chicken and ribs were tasty!

We had the absolute pleasure of sharing a table with a young couple from Oklahoma City who were celebrating their first anniversary. (Awwww!) Jason and Kim were funny and a blast to spend some time this evening with. They are also into the whole Dick's atmosphere. Dick's has a habit of putting funny hats on some of the diners with rather rude things written on them. If you can't read their hats, hers says, "Easier to get into than a community college" and his adds, "Look what I paid $20 for" with an arrow pointing at the lovely Kim. Luckily, they found this very funny and theirs were not nearly as bad as some of those around us. I was a little worried whether WE would get out of their unscathed, but I think the fact that I told our waiter that he was messing with ornery, middle-school teachers may have place him on his best behavior!

The River Walk was beautiful and the weather was pretty great. There were a ton of people down there, but all appeared to be having a good time. It all bodes well for a great conference!

Happy Anniversary Kim and Jason! And pre-Happy Anniversary to Heather and Glynn who are celebrating 15 wonderful years together tomorrow. How nice that I get to be surrounded by so much love!

Instructional Design Strategies Using Wikis at NECC

2008-06-28T18:30:00.004-06:00

Today was my first session at NECC. I spent the afternoon at Instructional Design Strategies Using Wikis with Lorraine Trawick and Amanda Hefner. First, I learned that I am strong in TWO of the multiple intelligences: Verbal-Linguistic and Interpersonal. That gave me something to think about. I do enjoy learning in two completely different ways. I love the social interaction that comes in the classroom, but I am equally happy in my online classes.

I have done a little with wikis, but I have had a tough time trying to figure out the logistics of using this collaborative tool with my 8^th graders. I had the opportunity to put together a real lesson plan that I plan to use this year and finally understand how great this is going to be with my kids. I always worried about the fact that only one person can be editing a wiki at a time, but by placing them in manageable groups and setting up plenty of pages for each group to work on. While I teach both English and Social Studies, I set up a wiki about the Boston Tea Party. I had a lot of help from MaryBeth – a lovely woman that teaches technology to upcoming, new teachers. She has a presentation in Houston in November and wants to show my kids and their wiki pages. Not only did I learn the how today, I also have the push to get it done. I am so excited! We start out Social Studies with the Native Americans and I can see a fabulous wiki emerging! Thanks, MaryBeth!

To find the wiki that Lorraine and Amanda used, go to: http://ecomm.nisd.net/course/view.php?id=46. They do a lot of presentations and they really do a beautiful job! Moodle is another great tool!

I managed to scoot down to the Blogger Café to meet a few of the bloggers and Tweeters I have followed. What a delight to put real faces with these people! I can hardly wait for tomorrow!

New House

2008-06-27T23:32:00.004-06:00

I have pictures of the new house on Flickr. These were before we moved in and before we filled the pool. When I get home from San Antonio, I will take some more!

You can find these at: http://flickr.com/photos/17521618@N00/sets/72157604893412081/.

They are kind of a random assortment, but enjoy!

The Road to San Antonio

2008-06-27T22:35:00.004-06:00

When I Google mapped my trip from Wichita to San Antonio, the time was right around 9 1/2 hours. That seemed right. NotW so much! The trip took me 11 1/2 hours and I was lucky at that. First there was a pile up on the Interstate in Oklahoma City. That slowed traffic down causing me to lose 25 minutes or so. Grass fire near Waco and rush hour traffic in Austin! Ugh! I was frustrated when I finally rolled into town, but a wonderful dinner with friends that I have known for 2 1/2 years, but never officially "met" until tonight cured all that. It is amazing how well you can get to know people over the Internet. When I told friends in South Dakota that I was finally going to see Heather and Glynn, they were aghast that I would meet someone I had only met over the Internet. I assured them I knew what I was doing. I guess in this age caution is normal, but I feel like I just had a marvelous meal with two dear friends (which is true!)

I am excited to attend my first NECC session tomorrow. I am attending Instructional Design Strategies Using Wikis at 12:30. I really want to use Wikis in my class, so hopefully, this will give me more ways to integrate! I will let you know.

In the meantime, I suppose I should try to sleep so I am well rested. I am just like a kid - too excited to sleep!

Long Overdue Update!

2008-06-26T22:14:00.000-06:00

I knew it had been a while since I have written in my blog, but opening it surprised me just HOW long. The reason is a sad one. First after winning the Milken award, I was pretty overwhelmed. It is an amazing and humbling experience. Then on December 10^th, the unthinkable happened. My parents were in a car accident and my mother was killed instantly. My father had a broken neck, among other injuries. December 27^th, he had surgery, which went well. Then there were problems getting him off the ventilator. That finally happened. He spent time in the hospital and then time in the rehabilitation hospital. Finally, insurance sent him off. Because he still needed medical care, we had no choice but to put him in a nursing home. That was a very difficult decision. We always promised we wouldn’t. But it turned out fine. One of our friends is a nurse and surprise – the week he went to the nursing home she had taken over as Director of Nursing. She was such a blessing.

Dad had a bout of pneumonia which sent him back to the hospital for a few days, but by Easter he was doing well enough to take him out for the day. We had a great day. He ate more food that day than I think he did in all the months leading up to that. Tuesday after Easter, I told him we would get him out more often, but that I was heading to California for the Milken conference. We had a great visit. Unfortunately, it was our last. On Saturday, March 29^th – two hours before the Milken Conference began – my Dad had a heart attack and passed away. When I got the call, I was going to come right home, but my sister’s called back and told me there was nothing I could do for Dad and he would be upset if I missed the conference. With a heavy heart, I stayed. While it was hard to focus, the conference was awesome.

Since then, I have been trying to pick up the pieces. I missed a lot of school during those four months and had to get caught up. We are working through probate to get my parents’ estate settled – something I knew VERY little about, but am still learning.

One great thing happened – my husband and I are buying a house. We actually are leasing it for a few months until I get all the financing in order, but I love the place. I kind of feel like my parents are helping me arrange some things.

Mom’s birthday would have been May 8^th. That was tough, as were Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, my birthday, and my sons’ graduations. I have heard the first year is tough, but I know we are all pulling together to get through.

Chris graduated from college on May 17^th and left for Kansas on the evening of May 18^th. He has a wonderful job at an aerospace firm and has already started taking more college classes at TWO colleges. Go Shockers!

Jamie graduated from high school and we just took a trip to Minnesota to get him registered and set up at Southwest Minnesota State University. Move-in day is going to come on me pretty quick. Not sure I am ready for my baby to be off to college, but ready or not….Go Mustangs!

Tony will be home with me this next year and complete his automotive mechanic program at Western Dakota Technical School. At least I won’t have a completely empty nest!

I am currently visiting Chris in Wichita, on my way to San Antonio for NECC! I am so excited!

Now that my blog is sort of caught up, I hope to blog about all the fabulous stuff I learn. I hope I get to meet so many of you there! Twitter me. Message me. Find me! Have fun! See you soon!

Milken Award

2007-10-31T10:59:00.001-06:00

How can one respond to being honored with a Milken Award? I am still feeling shock. Yesterday seems quite blurry at this point. I do remember that when I heard my name the only thing I could think was that I suspected I needed to stand up and walk to the stage and was not certain I had the power to do so. I could not hold back the tears. I know several people spoke after that - including me - but I have very little recollection of what was said! My Milken bio needs updating, but it is online.

I am struggling a bit with how I was the one in our state that was chosen for this award. I know teachers all across this state and there are so many amazing ones. I know how much I love what I do and how much I love working with "my" kids. This year, however, the switch from being a computer teacher to an English and Social Studies teacher has been extremely challenging. (English teachers work really HARD!) I do a number of additional duties at school, mostly because I can't help myself. When my principal asks for volunteer, my hand just shoots up. I have no control! (Okay, I admit - I enjoy the extra stuff!) I spend a lot of time as the building technology leader, too. I am so happy when my teachers start using technology. I had one teacher this morning drag me over to look at a PowerPoint he put together. He was so proud and I loved that he was using visuals in his class.

I had a room FULL of students after school today. They were making sure they were caught up and some asked to see a video I had shown today with Vincent Price doing the Tell-Tale Heart. I was surprised that they would want to see it again.

Excited teachers, engaged students - this is why I come in each day. The Milken Award - Wow! what a bonus! Does life get any better than this? I doubt it!

Media Coverage
The Rapid City Journal
Sioux Falls Argus Leader
KEVN TV - Fox
KOTA TV - ABC
KNBN TV -MSNBC

Busy, busy!

2007-10-21T22:51:00.000-06:00

I know I have thought it before, but English teachers work hard! I feel like I am always scrambling to get things done! I keep hoping that it will get better when I find my groove, but I am not sure. I know it hasn't helped that I have had pneumonia. I am feeling much better, even though I still have a bit of a cough and I am exhausted by the end of the day.

My students spent the last two weeks working on a historical person project. It culminated Friday with them dressing in character and giving speeches about their person to judges. We played games and had a movie. Since this is the first year I have done this, I was a bit apprehensive as to how the kids would respond to this. So I told all my students that the other 8th grade English teacher is bragging that she always gets 100% participation and that she doesn't think I will manage the same. Kids love that kind of competition. Several of them told me that they "had my back" and they have all been working on their projects like crazy. Jackie - the other English teacher - has gotten a chuckle about hearing about her "talking smack" as they have strolled down the hall. She is all for whatever works. I guess the competition worked. I had one that didn't dress in character, but gave her speech and just one that refused to do either. Jackie had two that didn't participate. The project was exhausting!

We are working on Edgar Allan Poe now and the kids really are excited about it. Who knew!

Truly Honored

2007-10-04T20:10:00.000-06:00

Well, my principal and fellow teachers have finally pulled one over on me. I was surprised at an assembly on Tuesday and had "my day made better" by Office Max and the Adopt-A-Classroom organization. I was awarded $1200 worth of school supplies and our entire school was adopted and will reap rewards over the coming year. Here is the article from our local paper:

Teacher surprised with giant box of supplies

By Andrea J. Cook, Journal staff

RAPID CITY -- Sherry Crofut stayed up late Monday night preparing for an assembly presentation, only to discover Tuesday that the assembly was in her honor.

With the help of North Middle School's principal Jeanne Burckhard, Office Max employees surprised Crofut with a huge box of school supplies, a new office chair and a cart useful for transporting everything from books to computers.

"This is awesome!" Crofut said, scanning a table piled with notebooks, pens and glue sticks. Her bounty also included a digital camera and color printer. "I'm a school-supply kind of girl. This is mind blowing!"

About 1,000 Office Max stores nationwide celebrated the first "A Day Made Better" at 10 a.m. Tuesday by delivering school supplies worth about $1,200 to deserving teachers.

"Office Max wanted to make an impact ... with 'A Day Made Better,'" Rapid City Office Max manager Beth Schnell said. Education is one of Office Max's priorities, Schnell said. "We also adopted the school, so the school will see rewards down the road."

Office Max officials estimate that teachers spend about $1,200 of their own money on supplies for their classroom, Schnell said.

Crofut said it was hard to pick out a favorite item from those delivered by the Office Max employees.

"The beginning of the school year just excites me, so I buy all this stuff," she said. "They laugh at me because I buy more school supplies than my children do."

However, the new desk chair immediately won Crofut's attention. After eight years as a computer teacher, Crofut now teaches eighth-grade English and social studies and has moved to a new classroom with an "awful" chair.

Crofut was nominated for the award by Burckhard, who knew that Crofut could use the materials to stock her new classroom.

And Crofut, who is waiting to hear on the results of her national board certification, is a hard worker who is always willing to help other teachers with technology, Burckhard said. Crofut also completed her master's degree in technology last May.

"She really does over achieve," Burckhard said.

Crofut said a share of the credit goes to Burckhard, who has encouraged her to continue her education and consider a career in administration.

"I truly admire this woman and am beyond touched that she would nominate me for such an award," Crofut said.

Office Max has adopted North Middle School for the year. Along with Crofut's gifts, Schnell and her staff left discount cards for all teachers.

Between now and Oct. 6, Office Max is accepting cash donations for North and other Title 1 schools in the Rapid City School District, which will be passed on to the schools.

___________________________________________________________________

I think the staff is most happy that they pulled this off without me knowing exactly what was going on. I did know something was up the night before when I called a teacher friend and told her I was calling in sick the next day. She flipped on me and told me to suck it up and be at school the next day - and dress nice.

The best part was that my husband and sons had all been notified and had taken time off to be there! How sweet!

Unfortunately, the sick thing was for real. I went to the doctor this afternoon and have the first stages of pneumonia. I have been told I must keep my rear end in bed tomorrow. I HATE missing school! I argued, but it did me no good. And I am running a bit of a fever. Spreading this would not be good. But tomorrow is my first day with my Eagle's Nest - kind of an advisory group. DRATS! They will miss me! At least the sub has an activity for them - they are decorating my door for Red Ribbon Week. Guess it will really just be me missing them! Most of my students were worried about me today when I couldn't quit coughing. They will be glad to hear I went to the doctor.

Okay, off to bed with me like a good girl. (Ha!) We have the day off on Monday and in-service on Tuesday, so I only have three days to plan for next week. Should make resting easier!

Adding link to pictures at Flicker.

Reflections about me and my kids

2007-09-29T05:59:00.001-06:00

Why is it so easy to give advice, but not to take it? I was mentoring a first year teacher the other day and I told her that the first year is about survival. She is in a learning curve and no one expects every lesson to be perfect. Somewhere along the path of reassuring her it hit me. I AM a first year teacher. Okay, not completely. This is my 11th year of teaching, but my first in English and Social Studies. The reason that I am so tired all the time is that I think I have to be perfect. (Anyone who knows me KNOWS I am an overachiever!) So on Wednesday I took a deep breath. I wrote the first free verse poem I have written in years. Poetry is not my thing and has been killing me. My students will be writing free verse next week. My poem isn't bad (I am not sure any free verse poem can be bad), but I recognize it has way too much stuff going on in it. My first reaction to it was, "I need to figure this out and get it right." Guess what? I am not going to. I am typing it and putting it up on my Promethean Board on Tuesday and I am going to share my not perfect poem with my students and let THEM help me with revisions. And do you know what I realized? They will gain more from seeing that I struggle, too, than if I had tried to be perfect. They will be less intimidated by their lack of perceived skills when I show them mine. Why did I not see that before? I figure after showing this poem to four different classes next week, I may come away with four completely different pieces of poetry. I am pretty excited about this. It's all feeling so much less stressful now!

I had another big change for me this week. I learned the word no. It has been scarce in my vocabulary and it took me hours to build up the confidence to say it. Our English department head had decided to study a new writing method as a department and got it set up as a class for credit. I was feeling enormous pressure as a new member of the department to take this class, even though not everyone in the department was going to. I finally went to her and explained that I am frantically learning the current writing method AND the Social Studies curriculum AND taking a Promethean Board class AND finishing the technology curriculum revision. I told her that another class probably would cause me to go over the edge and that I appreciated the offer, but no thank you. She completely understood. Whew!

There were other bright spots in my week. I am a teacher that keeps MySpace, Facebook, and Bebo accounts. I believe that if our kids live out there, I need to know what these are about. Over the summer, a few of my students found my Bebo account and to date 45 of them have requested me to be their "friends." I make it a point to not seek them out as friends, but I accept all of them that ask. I was looking over one of my students pages the other night and found a lot of things he has written. Wow! He is an awesome writer. There were a couple of pieces about how he feels about sports and a couple of lines about his girlfriend. This young man knows how to express himself. I sent him email telling him so. He doesn't think it is writing - just putting himself out there. I explained that is what writing is and that I am greatly looking forward to what he has to offer in class. I really am, too. This young man is an athlete and tends to play the part. It isn't going to happen in English class! He sought me out on yesterday's field trip to talk to me about his Bebo page and you could see how pleased he was that I liked it. For all the bad things that I find on my kids' Bebo pages, his was worth it all!

Yesterday our school had Natural High Day. Each core takes the kids on a field trip. The purposes are to show them that they can have fun without drugs, for us to get to know them better in a different setting, and for them to get to know us when we aren't in teaching mode. I look forward to this every year. The last 8 years at North I have gone as an Encore teacher, which is just another set of hands. The core teachers do all the planning and are in charge of the event. This year I felt more responsibility. I was in charge of things like collecting all the money and paying for things. As usual, some very cool things happened. We took our kids to a retreat setting and they have an obstacle course there. It is designed for both team building and trust building. We split the kids into four groups and were guided through the different stations on the course. I always like watching kids that don't hang out together learn to solve problems together. The biggie was when they had to get the entire team across a 10 foot wall. We had one young lady that was concerned about her weight. The kids didn't let her refuse the challenge. They took her right over the wall. Two girls were terrified of heights - whoosh over the wall they went. You have to love kids!

They also were given large blocks of free time. There was an outdoor basketball court, volleyball net, and field for frisbee. Inside were a number of games and there was also a hike down to a fishing hole. The kids were awesome, but the highlight of my day was when one of our boys was sitting off to the side. He tends to be a loner by choice. He has long, blonde hair and wears more makeup than I do. He considers himself to be very goth. He is quite the artist - if you like the skulls and dark art he does. Anyway, he is sitting off to the side and a couple of the boys yelled for him to come even up the basketball teams. That alone stunned me, because they usually leave this young man alone. But he went! He played basketball with them for about 1/2 an hour! I took pictures just because I was so excited. After a while there were other kids that wanted in the game and he gave up his spot and headed back off to draw. I went and chatted with him about his experience. He was laughing because he wasn't very good at basketball, but I think that short experience changed something in him. He was a different kid all day. I am anxious for Monday!

There are times when I let the details of my job overwhelm me. The technology aspect can make me crazy. The learning curve I am on leaves me feeling behind. The English papers that must be graded are insane. But I love what I do. Lucky for me teaching isn't just about technology or English or Social Studies. It is about these kids and the amazing resilience they have. My kids don't have a lot of money. Many are from very poor home situations. They come into my classroom with a lot of baggage, but they are really all about being kids. I am so blessed to be able to share a brief part of their lives!

Okay - off to Saturday School to assist those that are struggling academically! I love my job!

What a week!

2007-09-22T09:10:00.000-06:00

Monday started off well. After school, a fellow teacher and I had the privilege of co-facilitating our district's new teacher induction. It is a series of four meetings that are two hours in length and include large group discussions and break-out sessions. There are 130 new teachers in our district. We were told that 30 - 40 usually attend these, so we made copies for 60. 76 showed up! Sure, we ran out of cold, bottled water and had to scurry to the copy machine, but we were thrilled to have so many attend. We know the numbers will drop a bit for the second one, but we are off and running on the plans.

Tuesday went just as well. I am taking a class for the Promethean Board the district is putting into a number of classes. I have not been overly happy about giving up three hours every Tuesday night for 10 weeks AND having to pay for the class. I felt like the district should train me for free since they want me to use the board. But, since it is such a cool board, I was going to do it. Word came to us this Tuesday that through some grant money, we are all getting paid an hourly wage to attend. Woohoo! Huge kudos to our Staff Development Director!

Then came Thursday. I am finishing the heart maps with my English students and have loved the conferencing that goes with the Writer's Workshop format we are using. On Thursday, one of my young ladies shared her story with me and told me how there is very little good in her heart and she just didn't want to be around any more. My heart broke for her. Not something I could ignore. Long story short - I ended up taking her to our liaison officer (she held my hand tightly on the walk to the offices) who did an evaluation, determined that she wasn't a threat to herself, but brought mom in and set some things straight. After school, I think I sat in my room and cried for an hour. I felt this young girl's pain so intensely. I thought being an English teacher was hard because I was learning new curriculum and had tons of papers to grade. This is more than I bargained for. Our liaison came and talked to me and assured me that this student opened up to me because she trusts me and that was a good thing. I know that in my head, but I am not sure my heart is strong enough. I am going to have to get tougher if I am going to continue in this role. I am not sure I can handle becoming an administrator if I am going to fall apart like that either. Loads to think about! (On Friday, I did get a big hug from the young lady and a thank you. Now I am praying her weekend goes well.)

Last night I went to our high school homecoming football game. Our team got killed, but I had a good time. A number of teachers have ramp passes so we can park our cars on the opposite side from the bleachers and watch the game from there. We bring chairs and sit outside chatting. I can't believe the number of students that seek us out instead of hanging out with the kids in the bleachers. I ended up driving three boys home because one had promised his mom would take them home, only to remember his mom is on the other side of the state with his brother at their football game. His dad is not big on driving them around, so I made them call home and get permission for me to take them. You learn a lot outside the classroom! I have a feeling that Monday, two of these boys are going to work a bit harder in my English class.

I am glad the week ended well, but I am exhausted. You would think that in my 11th year of teaching, I would be used to the roller coaster. I guess every year throws a learning curve, especially when you put yourself in challenging positions.

English, Social Studies, Social Networking, and Technology

2007-09-15T23:38:00.000-06:00

My blog entry that expressed my frustration about technology at the beginning of my school year mushroomed faster than I ever thought possible. It also gave me great insight and ideas. It catapulted my learning about blogs! The power of the blog is amazing!

This week has been an interesting week. I am truly enjoying learning to teach Social Studies and English. We are currently working on the geography of America and I am planning a couple of lessons in Google Earth. Because I am an English teacher that teaches one Social Studies class a day, I have not asked for maps or a globe. I am not sure I need those things when I have 25 computers in the room. I really think the kids are going to like these lessons.

I am not asking my students to do any assignments that I am not doing as well. I am enjoying doing journal entries and we are working on heart maps to prepare us for the upcoming poetry unit. These are so much fun. I feel certain I will do a new one every year I teach this! I got to explain my heart map to my students this week and I was completely amazed as I told stories about the things in my heart and every one of my 8^th graders sat and listened. 8^th graders listening? Who would have thought! They are all working intently on their own. I will be taking many pictures this week and will post a few. I am working hard to learn to teach English, but I can promise this is a change I needed. I need a challenge!

Now to the technology: First of all, I have been given the green light to offer a monthly social networking class. I plan to have parents and students come in and discuss sites like Bebo, MySpace, and Facebook. I will have the students log into their accounts and show them to to the parents. The parents will be the ones helping their kids make good decisions. I will then encourage parents to open their own accounts to monitor their kids. Now I hope this is well received. This is another one of those things I am passionate about, but I don't know if I can get our parents to participate. It is a great idea, but who knows?

Secondly, we had a meeting this week about the new Information and Communication Technology Curriculum (formerly the Computer Curriculum.) I started on this committee last year when I was a computer teacher. We have had a number of very loud conversations about the topic, but were told in the spring that we were simply to align the new state standards with the curriculum. We weren’t happy, but did as we were told. When it got to our Instructional Counsel for what should have been its second reading, there were others that weren’t happy. They wanted to see it go further. That elates me. We have a new curriculum director and on Thursday night I actually heard him utter the words that now is a good time for us to become more cutting edge. We have another meeting this coming Wednesday to discuss what that could look like. We are to come with ideas. I am overwhelmed. I am still not getting my hopes up too high (easier to avoid being crushed), but I have some hope. Now all of the sudden I need to figure out what cutting edge is!

So, for all of you in the blogosphere that have been so helpful, I really need help. What do you do in your schools to make you be cutting edge? Do you teach some cool stand-alone classes at the high school level? How do you integrate technology into the regular classroom? What districts are shining examples that I can hold up in this meeting? I figure I won’t get everything I ask for, but now is the time to ask for the sky!

Thanks in advance for your help. The connections I have made via my blog and Twitter have moved me forward in amazing ways and the support has been phenomenal!

Reflections AFTER the first week of school

2007-09-08T09:49:00.001-06:00

After a rough start to the school year from a technology point of view, I need to take a few minutes to reflect on the rest of the week.

Tuesday was the first day back for students and I am always excited for the first day of school. This year I was also nervous. All week I felt like a first year teacher. Two new subjects to teach.. Wow! I tried not to let it overwhelm be, but there were moments of panic in the week. I have taught computers for 10 years. Could I really teach English and Social Studies and could I do it well? As the kids came in Tuesday morning, I was more overwhelmed by how much I had missed them over the summer. They are 8^th graders, so very few of them were anxious about being back. They are the top dogs in the school and you could see that knowledge on their faces. Many of them knew I was making the move upstairs and my classroom is the first one as you make the turn down the 8^th grade wing. So as I am standing in the hall to direct them to orientation, I was greeted with hugs and high fives. What an amazing way to start the year. I think a few of the 8^th grade teachers were jealous. They don’t know many of these kids yet, but I have the advantage after having them in classes for the last two years. Knowing I was a leg up in forming the relationships necessary to teach students was a confidence boost to me. I was able to let them choose their own seats and make suggestions about a few not choosing wisely. We did ice breakers on the first day and rules and procedures on the second. My social studies students (I am thrilled to have them twice a day) did current events and wrote their personal history. My English students wrote two bio poems. The second one will not be due until Monday, but I have been grading the first cinquain poems and learning much more about my kids. Reading their personal histories has also been helpful. Even though I have had these students before and know a lot about them, put a pen in their hands and information flows. I was worried about teaching writing, but I can tell that they are going to need this class. Sure, they need to learn more about spelling and grammar, but they really NEED to be able to channel their feelings onto paper.

My students are from the poor side of our city. My middle school has 87% free and reduced lunches. We are 60% Native American and a large number of those students seem to float between Rapid City and the Pine Ridge Reservation. The poverty on the reservation is mind numbing. We have students that run in gangs. We have a problem with alcoholism both with parents and students. Drugs are not uncommon. We seem to draw in more special education students. We also range up to average middle-class. We certainly aren’t up to what is seen in large, inner-city schools, but it is the toughest part of Rapid City, SD. Most of my kids come to school with a great deal of baggage. I think our teachers are the hardest working middle school teachers in the city. We try to take care of students needs before we can even think about curriculum. Our school serves breakfast for the early drop-offs and has an after-school program that runs until 5:30 for those that have no where to go after our 3:02 bell. We have an Eagle Closet, which would be like a thrift store except it is free for our families. We have a parole officer that comes to our school several times a week to meet with her kids. We have a liaison officer that is kept far too busy. We have a food backpack program that sends students home on Friday with a backpack full of groceries to get students through the weekend. We have just set up a new fundraising committee that teachers are volunteering on to raise money for so many of the other items our students need. And with all of this said, let me assure you, there is NO other school I would rather work at. Even with all the issues they have, my kids are just kids. They need an education and they need someone to care about them. I never leave the school on any day when I don’t know with absolute certainty that I touched the life of a child. There is nothing that can give more purpose to my life.

My previous post expressed my frustration with technology. Yes, I am passionate about teaching 21^st century students with 21^st century tools, but even more so when it comes to MY kids. These students that come to me each day have not had the advantage of computers in their homes since birth. Some of them are starting to get them now, but their parents certainly know very little about technology and aren’t teaching them how to behave in an appropriate manner on the Internet. I have accounts on MySpace, Facebook, and Bebo and have found many of my students on Bebo. This summer, many of them found my account and made me their friend. (I don’t remember ever wanting to communicate with any of my middle school teachers in the summer, but maybe that was because I grew up in a different kind of household.) Because they reached out to me, I never missed an opportunity to chat with any of them. I counseled a few on what they were putting on their pages from a safety standpoint and tried to turn a blind eye to the language they were speaking to one another with. I did pull one young lady aside on the first day and express my concern at how vulgar her sign in name was and why, perhaps, that wasn’t the impression she wanted to leave with someone who might be her future employer. She hadn’t thought of it that way.

I talked to my principal about Bebo and we are going to try to get the district to open up the Internet one night a month. We are going to invite parents with their children to come in and I am going to discuss safety on sites like these and why putting the wrong image out there for the world to see might not be a great idea. Then we will have the students log into their accounts and show the parents. I will encourage parents to make the call on what is and isn’t proper and guide their own children. I am also go to encourage parents to set up their own accounts and have their children make them their friends so they can check in. I know some kids would feel this would be an invasion of privacy, but most of my kids would welcome this kind of attention from their parents. And parents just need to learn how to guide their children in an unknown territory for them. My son and I have had numerous conversations about what I have seen on his pages and it gives me a window into his friends. I hope we can work this out. I think it could be fun and good for all involved.

Back to the first week, – I get sidetracked once in a while – even with all the frustration, I love what I do. It is a calling. I don’t get up and go to work every day, I have the pleasure of spending my day with some amazing, young individuals who make my life richer. They keep me grounded. They make a bigger difference in my life than I probably do in theirs, but they make me want to work my tail off to be the best teacher I can for them. I’m glad they’re back. I needed to be grounded!

The Start of the School Year

2007-09-05T20:31:00.000-06:00

I have had a blog post idling on my computer for a week, but I could not post it as it was just too angry. I am passionate about what I do and I do not apologize for getting worked up when my school district sets us back 5-10 years in the technology arena. But I also recognize that just going off on an angry rant about it will get me no where.

I walked into my building to find that a great number of computers have been removed from my school building, not because they were not working, just because they are 5 years old. I would have no problem with this, but there will be no more replacements for two years. I just don't understand taking perfectly good computers out of the hands of students.

Our state has added a new web filter. Right now it blocks an awful lot of sites, but they have a very simple Click here feature that allows you to justify a site. They are very fast about re-rating it, but then it still seems we are blocked at a district level. I can't get to a number of blogs. I can't Twitter. I can't download anything. I can't get to ANY multimedia site: YouTube, TeacherTube, streaming audio, even clipart! Web 2.0? I would be happy with just a few of these open! How am I supposed to teach my multimedia learners like this?

If that wasn't enough, I have received two notes letting me know I am exceeding my server quota by almost 13,000%. Since when do we have a limit? And that limit is 250 MB. Are you kidding? So, frustration getting the best of me, I decided to just take EVERYTHING off the server only to find out that when they re-imaged my teacher computer over the summer, I no longer can burn CDs. So I shot off a message to the help desk. I also made it clear that I don't think it is right that they are recommending teachers purchase their own thumb drives to store data. We work for the district, shouldn't they provide a place for us to store our files? Is 250 MB reasonable? Luckily, I had burned all my files in the spring and I just dropped the new files right onto my computer today. I have dumped everything else. I am no longer a bother to the server.

By this week I was ready to throw in the towel. I switched teaching positions so that I could lead by example and show teachers how to integrate technology into the curriculum. Fat chance! My hands are tied. Yes, I have classblogmeister set up, but now they are getting ready to dictate to me what blog I can use. They are not sure they want me using my wiki. Maybe I should just ask what may I use, please?

Thankfully, yesterday was the first day of students. Many of my 8th graders were surprised to see me as an 8th grade English and Social Studies teacher. I was a computer teacher for 10 years. I was greeted with hugs. Many of those that are in my core were cheering and many who didn't get me expressed disappointment. It doesn't take long to remember WHY we do this job. I need these kids probably more than they could ever need me. By today I was already starting curriculum. And they got right to work. We wrote a short poem today and not one of them complained. I love being a teacher!

So where does that leave me? Do I believe I can teach 21st century learners with 21st century tools? Not really. I have a lot of new curriculum to learn. Do I have the energy to fight this fight? Do I have a choice? Next week my kids are going to be using the computers. They are going to be as frustrated as I am. What am I to tell them?

Fighting this in my district is going to be tough. We have a lot of new administrators this year. They have a learning curve of their own. I understand that. Are they going to be willing to take on a tough fight? Do I dare take it to my school board? Man, can't that get you fired? How about taking it to the media and ultimately to the public. Pretty risky. I remember when I went in my classroom and just taught my kids. Life was simpler then. I can't go back to that now, but need to figure out how to go forward. One thing is certain though, I am not in this alone. Many, many other teachers are feeling the same way I am. When I put my neck out, I am confident there are others behind me. Teachers uniting for a cause should be a force to be reckoned with.

Will it work or will I be looking for a new district to teach in???

UPDATE: I greatly appreciate all the feedback I have received and it has been most helpful.

Doug Johnson made a reference to Mars and Venus and has helped me see that part of the problem is communication. We speak different languages. For example, the fact that I received a notice telling my I was almost 13,000% over my 250 MB limit on the server caused me to panic. Yesterday, I had a reasonable conversation with a young lady in the IT department that said that we were nearly filling our servers and that there was a lot of data that could be put on discs freeing up the space. They are making the quotas bigger for teachers that request and justify why they need more space. It was practical for them to set one limit and send that to all. For most of our staff, it was taken wrong (myself included) and we felt like we were being told that our materials were not to be given a place to be stored. I reacted strongly and pulled ALL of my stuff off the server. I had a genuine reason for most of what was there, but there was also a number of files that could have been archived to discs, freeing some of the space they needed. I think it is in the language in which the requests are presented.

The same, I believe is going to hold true for a number of the sites that are blocked. Many of us are putting together a list of the tools we would like to use, a reason why we would like to use them, and a rationale for what they will add to our curriculum. While I struggle with having to defend my every move, I also recognize that our IT department IS trying to ensure the safety of our students. Hopefully, we can meet in the middle.

Thanks for all your suggestions and help. I will be searching through the many blogs I read to take guidance in the tools you are using and how they are working in your classes.

16 Days Until Students and Counting

2007-08-19T23:38:00.000-06:00

I hate internal struggle. I can be my own worst enemy. I have – once again – spent the last two days filled with self-doubt. I have engaged in conversation regarding blogs. I really listened to those participating and then sat back wondering if I have ANY clue as to what I am doing.

Starting two new curriculums is pretty nerve-wracking. I have taught English in summer school before and have been doing a lot of reading. The other 8^th grade teacher uses Writer’s Workshop and I am learning as fast as I can. I am meeting with her tomorrow to go over a number of things I am still learning. I am also teaching Social Studies – US History. I have NEVER taught that before and had to take the Praxis in June to be certified. So, in my spare time, have been reading the textbook (which is SO boring!), as well as fun stuff like “Gone With The Wind.”

I passionately believe that I need to teach my students in the world they live in and the world they are heading to. For me, that means I need to integrate technology. I have truly listened to the conversation on blogs, but I really believe my students need to post some of their writing on class blogs. The writing process will take a while with each piece, so I don’t see us posting daily or even weekly, but I do want them to be thinking of a wider audience. I also want my students to read other students blogs. I am finding some that I am going to have them read and comment on. I want them to learn how to appropriately respond to others and how to engage in a conversation with the writer. They will also have the opportunity to respond to each other and all the students in our CORE. This will give me the opportunity to talk to my students about how they represent themselves on the Internet. I really can tie this all together and work to make them understand how they need to be responsible with what they put out there.

I have started setting up a wiki and will use that for English and Social Studies. I am adding resources that students can use and will continue to add as we find more sites to use. I want my Social Studies students to also work in groups and put together their own wiki pages for some research they will be doing. I am looking for interactive web sites to add to their learning experience. I have been told there is no way I can cover all my curriculum without using the textbook, but I just know if I put that boring book in my students’ hands, they will resort to HATING US History. I HAVE to make this interesting. I know this is 8^th grade, but these kids will be adults in a few years – voting and some will be leading this city, county, state, or even country. Hating history does not bode well for that. I think we can do better.

Am I idealistic? Probably. Will I re-evaluate as we go? Absolutely. I see a lot of research and work in my future, but at least that part doesn’t bother me. I teach in what is considered one of the toughest middle schools in Rapid City. (Okay, it isn’t inner city Chicago, but we do have our own problems!) I love my kids. I never leave for the day without believing I have made a difference. Because of that, I take this very seriously and never mind what I have to put into it. I have nine days until we are officially at in-service and 16 days until we have students. I am nervous about the whole curriculum thing, but really excited to have my students back.

While the conversation about blogs caused me to re-think what I am doing, I don’t mind that. I am going to re-think everything I am doing anyway – that’s the kind of person I am. I still believe in myself and in what I am doing with my students. We’ll see where I am in a month or two!

Blog Skeptics

2007-08-17T08:57:00.000-06:00

After having read and commented on David Warlick's new blog post, Some Good Conversations...,
I find myself thinking about the skeptics I know concerning blogging. My husband is one of them. He is a computer programmer and honestly is brilliant concerning many things. He just doesn't believe that people want to read other people's opinions. He said that not everyone is an expert. I tell him the value of having this kind of communication with other professionals and you can just about see his eyes roll to the back of his head. To be fair, he doesn't "get" teachers anyway. He constantly teases me about how "touchy feely" many of us are. He opts out of most teacher gatherings because he says we always talk shop. He loves what he does, but he leaves it at the end of the day and finds passion in riding his bike or lifting weights or spending time with me. He doesn't understand that teaching can be my passion.

I have given up trying to explain teaching or blogging to my husband. He is proud of me for getting in there everyday and making a difference. He supports me in my continuing education. He knows that passion is one of the reasons he married me. So I consider that enough.

But if I can't make him understand the benefits of blogging, how can I make other skeptics understand? I was sort of amused by David's skeptic. By voicing his opinions on David's blog, he was part of the very conversation that makes blogging so great.

Personally, I know I am new at it. I know I used to be intimidated to write in my blog because I never feel like I have anything of real importance to say. But having gotten over that and started, I have connected with people all over the place. I am no longer afraid to leave comments on others blogs. I am feeling enriched by the many conversations around me. I am grateful for being part of this community.

I've Been Tagged - Eight Random Facts

2007-08-15T21:28:00.000-06:00

David Robb tagged me for “Eight Random Facts” meme. I have seen these on a number of other blogs and wanted to play. Thanks, David!

Rules:
1. Post these rules before you give your facts.
2. List 8 random facts about yourself.
3. At the end of your post, choose (tag) 8 people and list their names, linking to them.
4. Leave a comment on their blog, letting them know they’ve been tagged.

My 8 Random Things:
1. I was first runner up for Miss Douglas High School my senior year.
2. I am the most insecure person I know.
3. I am married to my high school sweetheart - after we married and divorced other people.
4. I love Texas Hold 'Em.
5. I should have been born at a time when dinner parties were stylish.
6. I love to bake.
7. I would love to own a Ford Mustang.
8. Even though my husband would like to move to warmer climates, I would like to always live in South Dakota.

My Tags
If I tagged you, please don't feel obligated to participate.
1. Heather - http://tiggyanne.wordpress.com
2. Geoff - http://ateacherswrites.wordpress.com

Okay, I guess I'm only tagging two. How bad is that? Seems everyone I know is tagged and I am still so new at this blogging business.

Maybe I Need to Relax ... A Little

2007-08-15T09:10:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I spent the day really quite in a funk. I felt frustrated with the way some of my ideas were rained on by one of our technology coordinators. It made me start doubting myself. As usual, things in our district are in flux and that just wasn't sitting well either. I have spent much of the summer working on new curriculum and ways to integrate technology, only to find that I may have to switch those methods. And then there was that lovely Scholastic article that set me off. It was just too much.

I got an email from a friend who made it clear that I needed to relax about some things. He pointed out that it didn't seem that I had taken any time off this summer to just relax. Hmmm, I did take a week off to clean out some closets that I had been ignoring and I am sure there was a day or two when I spent just with the family. I guess he is right. I have been so worried about school that I haven't relaxed. I used to be more flexible and take changes in the district well.

Then today I got to read a blog entry by Clarence Fisher titled Getting Over Ourselves. For the most part, I do believe that I show my students I am a lifelong learner and I do learn with them. I think it is important to show them how to access information when needed. So why have I been freaking out about becoming an expert with the tools I want to use in my classroom this year? I am going to have my students blog this year and I have now blogged enough to be able to lead the way, but I don't have to know every little thing. We can learn it together. The same is true of the wikis I want to use. Do they really have to be complete before school starts? Isn't that the purpose of a wiki - collaboration? Wow! I really do need to get over myself. Thanks Clarence!

I have just under two weeks before we are back at inservice and three until I see students. I do have some work to do. My new classroom needs things put away and I do have a technology inservice to plan. But I bet there is time to take a day with some girlfriends and just laugh about life. I am sure my teenage sons need a little more "Mom time". (They might not admit to that though.)

Do I feel completely confident about teaching English and Social Studies this year? No. I want to know more. But I am fully prepared for the first few weeks. I know what and how we are going about it. And the rest I can learn as we go along. Ultimately, I am a good teacher. I know how to teach middle school students. I LOVE spending time with 8th graders! I really miss them. What more do I need to prepare? Taking a deep breath and getting over myself!

Waging war? Are you kidding?

2007-08-13T22:06:00.000-06:00

Twitter just alerted me that ijohnpederson had a new blog post. Thought I would give it a read and now I am sitting here alternating between stunned and just plain angry. John read the cover of Scholastic Administrator Magazine and the cover story was "When Tech Attacks." The article can be found at: http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3746915.

Okay, the gist of the article is that technology is causing so many problems in school that some schools are banning faster than they know what they have. They talked about a teacher who was attacked and it was recorded on a cell phone. I am still trying to figure out how the cell phone is at fault. Even though I understand that we don't want students to think it is cool to beat up a teacher and that recording it is not some trophy, didn't the police have concrete evidence of the crime?

Another teacher is in trouble because of what come up in pop-ups, but that district didn't change anything significant. Excuse me?

We are living in a world where you can access just about everything on the Internet. Isn't it our jobs as educators to teach our students how to function appropriately in this environment? This article goes on to talk about teachers that don't have enough knowledge and therefore are bad role models. Well then, why aren't we doing something about that? (By the way, I know an awful lot of teachers that work long, hard hours of their own precious time teaching themselves the technology!)

We are dealing with NCLB and doing everything in our power to raise those test scores. We are encouraged to integrate technology, but at least in my district, there is limited training and support given to teachers to accomplish that. As a matter of fact, many of us are struggling with a five-year technology plan that pulls computers out that are five-years old, but are not replacing them until we reach the proper five year date. Every time I go online, I find more and more sites blocked. We have so much information right at our fingertips and those above us who panic at letting our kids have access to that.

I resent the attitude that is prevailing. And this article just makes it worse. I am already dealing with parents that are asking how they block their kids from the social networking sites like MySpace and Bebo. I jump on my soapbox and tell these parents that banning sites is not the answer. It makes it more appealing to their kids and they just go to someone else's house to gain access. I encourage parents to get their own MySpace or Bebo accounts and to learn to live in their kids' environment. I ask them if the are aware that the presidential candidates have MySpace accounts. I assure them that there is a lot of good stuff there, but it is just as important that they teach their children the safety of the Internet as it is to teach them to look both ways before they cross the street.

My son just got home from a summer internship and told me that all the drafters and engineers had FaceBook accounts. When I first talked to him about these sites, he thought they were pretty silly. Now he has used them in a workplace atmosphere and is networking with other professionals across the country. He is amazed by the usefulness of this application.

Articles like this cause panic and doesn't deal with the issues at hand. The Internet is a part of all of our lives. Our students are going to be in a workplace where these are the tools they will utilize. The last time I checked, it was our job to prepare them for becoming productive members of society. This brings me back to the quote from John Dewey I discussed in my last entry: "The world is moving at a tremendous rate. Going no one knows where. We must prepare our children, not for the world of the past. Not for our world. But for their world. The world of the future." We MUST prepare our children for THEIR world.

Let's find a way to train more of our teachers to be good role models. Let's teach our students how to use the Internet in a safe, appropriate, and effective way. Let' not panic. Let's take these tools - computers, iPods, cell phones, whatever - and find a way to use them to the fullest. Stop giving us the negatives and give us more time and access to the Will Richardsons and so many others we have leading the way. We are teachers and lifelong learners. We are capable of mastering technology and leading our students to their future.

Theorists and Teachers

2007-08-12T15:44:00.000-06:00

"The world is moving at a tremendous rate. Going no one knows where. We must prepare our children, not for the world of the past. Not for our world. But for their world. The world of the future." This quote by John Dewey was brought to my attention this week by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach first at Twitter and more at her blog at 21st Century Collaborative. She made me think about all the theorists I learned during both of my degrees. I am a strong supporter of the constructivist theory of teaching. I believe that students need to take ownership in what they are learning in order to engage fully. I believe that teachers must be a "guide on the side" instead of a "sage on the stage." I believe we must prepare students for the world they are going to live and work in. I believe that particularly middle school students (because that is what I know the most about) are social creatures that learn best in cooperative learning situation. I believe it is my job to excite students about a topic and then turn them loose to discover whatever there is to know about it. I need to observe their process, nudging them back on track if they should stray, and, ideally, give them a wide variety of methods to gather and give back the information they retrieve.

My first thought is that all teachers SHOULD teach this way. And I do believe that. But then I remember some of my favorite teachers from high school. Back then (that was another life ago) teachers still routinely taught with the "suck and puke" method. They would lecture and assign textbook pages and we were expected to suck in the information and puke it out on worksheets and tests. Amazingly, I managed to learn a few things along the way. My government teacher was a pro with this method. I think she had been using the same overhead note sheets for years.
Even more, I had an English teacher that did what most of us would consider unthinkable now. She would assign a composition that would be due on a Friday. Monday we would come in and above someone's desk would be the "Golden Gong Award" for the student that had the most spelling errors in their paper. Both of these teachers use methods that are no longer acceptable, but they were a couple of my favorite teachers. I learned a great deal from these ladies. Why? Because these teachers exhibited a love of learning that I still remember. They cared about their students. We knew that they would go above and beyond for everyone of us.

My point? While I believe that we need to use the best methods for our students, being a concerned and caring teacher is every bit, if not more, important. We need teachers with the whole package. Our students deserve it.

Am I Tech Savvy Yet?

2007-08-10T16:27:00.000-06:00

I have been a computer teacher for 10 years and thought I was doing a pretty good job of keeping up. (I really wasn't.) Then I have spent the last two years working on my Master's in Technology as well as National Boards. I learned a lot during my Master's, but there was no time to really explore the things I was learning. I had the opportunity to go to NECC this year and get really charged up about the things I wanted to learn. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and applied for a different teaching position within my school. By teaching English and Social Studies, it is my goal to show the staff in my school that technology integration doesn't have to be hard and can enrich learning of our students. With that in mind, I set up classblogmeister so that my 8th grade can publish some of their writing. I feel that they need to learn how to write for that audience. I have planned my first assignment and I am going to have them write about the summer break using all the IM/text language. I think they will find that to be fun. That will give me the opportunity to talk to them about casual and formal language and we will re-write the same story in formal language. I am setting up a classroom wiki and we will add resources we find on the web that can help them in their writing. For my one Social Studies class, my mind is flying. The first unit is over geography. Google Earth is begging for this assignment. They will have to set up a tour showing me certain things like mountains and major waterways. Then for the next unit, I am planning to give them an outline and break them into groups. They will have an outline and a wiki and they will research their little hearts crazy. I will monitor their progress and make certain they are finding the things they need to learn. Our state has access to Colonial Williamsburg, so I see that going into the plan somewhere, too. I would like to use Tapped In and set up at least one of my classes to collaborate with a great teacher and her class in Texas. I think US History would work well with that. South Dakota could learn much about Texas through talking to other kids. Trying to be in the right frame of mind, I have been exploring many online tools. I am set in Technorati, Flickr, Bloglines, Delicious, and Twitter. I am trying to get Furl unblocked at school, but will work with it at home. I am working my way through blogging and setting up my classroom wiki. (Certainly can't have students doing what I don't!) But in my whirlwind of preparation, am I ready? Panic starts to set in and I feel like I just have scratched the surface. I don't mind learning with my students, but I also know I have a number of staff watching (some, I think, secretly hoping my technology integration will fail.) I can't let my fears win. I KNOW my students are going to enjoy this. It will be something knew. Whoever thought you could learn history without listening to lecture and watching movies. (Umm, I do have a couple of cool movies!) Students will be here in 25 days, so I need to push forward. I do have to teach a technology inservice to the staff before that, so I have some prep work to do there as well. My new classroom is starting to feel more like mine and less like the old teacher's. While still a bit nervous, I just can't wait to get students back in class. Several of them have found me online and messaged me. It makes me think summer is just a bit too long!

Technology

2007-08-10T00:32:00.000-06:00

I find that the more I read and learn, the less I feel like I know. I spent the evening setting up my Technorati account and now it doesn't know me. Frustrating. Then it took me several tries to log into my new classroom wiki. Finally got that working and my new Yahoo mail was giving me trouble. Some nights I think cyberspace goes on strike!

In the meantime, I have started creating some new lesson plans for the coming year. I am feeling better about the new classes and about integrating technology into the curriculum. I have two weeks left to learn a lot of things, but I am up to the task. I really want my students to enjoy English and Social Studies and be interested enough to engage in learning. This may be my first year teaching English and Social Studies, but it is not my first time teaching 8th graders.

Technorati

2007-08-09T21:46:00.000-06:00

I am finally getting Technorati savvy. There are so many web tools that I need to be current on before school starts! Time seems to be moving too fast.

NECC 2007

2007-06-27T11:31:00.001-06:00

I had intended to blog about every session I attended, but I got pushed out of one session on Monday because it was full. Someone there said to plan on only going to every other session and going and getting in line for the next session. Wow! You can tell this little South Dakota girl doesn't get out enough!

I did get to go see Process Writing for the MySpace Generation. I already knew that we need to change the way we are teaching, but this takes it to that level! It was put on by the folks at Teaching Matters and I know I am going to be spending some time checking out their website when I get home. They are very reality-based and that is what matters to my kids!

Then I wandered into the Exhibit Hall! Talk about sensory overload. I spent 1 1/2 hours in there and didn't make it half way across the room. Yahoo is getting ready to pilot some new stuff for teachers. I signed up, but who knows if they are taking everyone. I met a wonderful lady who designed her own writing program, but I was surprised that she knew nothing about blogs, wikis, or other online tools. I know I am far from being an expert, but I did realize that I know more than the average teacher as to the Web 2.0 and the environment our kids need to be learning in. Towards the end of my visit to the Exhibit Hall I found Google. Since I am convinced that Google is taking over the world, I popped in. Fun for me...I found I do everything they were showcasing (and many things they weren't) except for the custom search engine. (I popped back in there today to do the Scavenger Hunt and found that it is fun and easy.)

Yesterday was a bad day. I woke up with a terrible headache, went back to bed for a while, then got up and got ready for the afternoon. I made it as far as waiting for the bus, only to have to run back and get sick. I missed the whole day. I can't tell you how bummed I am about that! Thank heavens there are so many people that have blogged about NECC. I have my reading cut out for me for the next week!

Today I feel better and started my day with Digital Game-based Learning in American History. I stopped at their booth on Monday. The are the Colonial Williamsburg group. I can't wait to dig deeper into this. I know our state pays for us to see all the broadcasts, but I really need to sign up for the teacher materials. There are many games and sites for students to interact at. I just need to remember there will be a lot more in my curriculum than just the Revolutionary War!

The second session of the day I went back in to see Will Richardson. I know, I know...a case of hero worship, but I get really inspired listening to him. His wiki for today was at

http://handitinnecc.wikispaces.com/

I know I now need to add Wikinomics to my summer reading list. I don't know that I learned any more than I have from seeing him two other times and from reading his book, but I am more prepared to go back to the classroom and fight the fight to have my kids using these tools and really preparing them for the world THEY are going to live in verses the one we grew up in. I know that blogging isn't where all teachers agree we need to be, but I am going to have my kids there doing their thing and showing teachers it not only CAN but SHOULD be done. While I agree with Will that we shouldn't be keeping our kids TOO protected, I do know I am going to have to take little steps. I am very confident that I can get the district to not squawk if I start with Class Blogmeister. Sometimes baby steps are better than no steps at all. I am going to set up my own wiki and put all the assignments and resources for my kids there. I have more to learn before I am up to podcasting, but would like to find a way to use that before the end of the school year. Perhaps my US History class could do their own podcast about the Revolutionary War? Hmm, something to think about!

I wanted to go to the Hands-On Wikis in the Classroom session, but again it was full. (Guess I would have had to skip Will!) I did go see Creating to Learn: Integrating Technology into your Classroom, Grades 5-12. I was almost on overload by then. Jacqueline Keane has put a lot of work into this and, thankfully, she sent me out with a book and folder packed with information. (More summer reading!)

Since I didn't think I could handle any more sessions, I went back to the Exhibit hall. (As if that wouldn't push me over the edge!) I finally saw the back half. I don't feel like I did it justice though! I have a backpack full of information. I found a great deal on thumb drives. I hope I can convince my wonderful principal that she needs to purchase one for every teacher. Maybe if I keep putting technology into teachers' hands, they will get excited! I saw things that make me want to drool and also realized how lucky we are in South Dakota. Most teachers aren't given web space around here. We all have it available. WebCT available to every teacher? They laughed at me. Promethian Boards starting to come into all the classrooms. I had teachers asking where was it I was from. Okay, we may be on the low end of the pay scale, but it is no wonder South Dakota scored an A- on the technology report card. (Only behind Georgia's A.)

There is only one keynote left for me today and the conference is over. It was a fluke that I got to come this year. I guess I am going to have to really start the campaign so I can be in San Antonio next year!

NECC Session 1 ~ Will Richardson

2007-06-25T06:32:00.000-06:00

The first NECC session I attended was Will Richardson's

Learning with Blogs: Bringing the Read/Write Web into the Classroom
I have heard Will speak at the TIE conference in Rapid City. Now that I have started my own blog and am planning to use them in my English class, it seems to be a whole new conversation. I will record some of what I heard:

Will's Wiki
Will's Blog

Will had been a 21 year educator. Quit to become a full-time blogger and speaker. Will has been blogging for six years.

Google Blog Search
Technorati

To start blogging you need to read blogs. The links above are great places to start to find blogs that interest you. You then need to start commenting on other blogs. Engaging is a very important piece. At that point you may feel comfortable to start your own blog. There are many places you can start your own blogs. I have a couple started, but I am not sure where I want to "live."

Blogs are reflective. You can use it as a journal, but the real power is to put your thinking and opinions in there and see what people think. You put in intellectual sweat.There is a lot of synthesis in blogs. There is a lot of hypertext. Kids will be working in linked environments.

The question was posed to Will asking the difference between a blog and a wiki: A blog is a conversation. A wiki is a collection. What is the difference between blogs and forums? Blogs are deeply personal. They are your space. Forums are not. They are a group of people.

Reading blogs is an important part of being a blogger and a few that Will talked about were:
Clarence Fisher's blog
Konrad Glogowski
Karl Fisch

Teacher modeling works best when teaching blogging. Here are a couple more:

Vickie Davis - Cool Cat Teacher
Bud Hunt

IM is a very effective language and we should be teaching students that as well as formal language. We need to tell them when it is appropriate.

There are many places you can set up blogs. Here are a few:
learnblogs.org
wordpress

I have a blog. I read blogs and occasionally comment in other's blogs. I am not yet to a point that I consider myself a blogger. I am getting there though. I really want my 8th graders to publish their writing to a blog this year and comment on one another's blogs. I HAVE to be a good role model, so my summer is cut out for me. I am so excited!

I always enjoy Will's presentations and hope to catch a few more!

Courage to Teach

2007-06-15T09:57:00.000-06:00

I have just spent the last three days in the most amazing retreat imaginable. Courage to Teach has been truly a gift to me. When you are a teacher, there are conferences and workshops you can go to amongst the lesson planning, grading, curriculum mapping, and tons of reading we do. What of that nourishes your soul? Everything we do is for improving the work we do and it's important work. But how often do we really take the time to reflect on who we are and what our purpose is? Where do we celebrate that? Where are we given the opportunity to spend time with the most amazing teachers and just share in their joy?

This week was our Summer Retreat and we were celebrating abundance. And that we did. Every teacher was to make a personal statement. We were given 1/2 an hour. The recommendation was that you speak for 15 minutes, then everyone else would take a few minutes to write an affirmation for you on a little card, and finally the chance was given for verbal affirmation. I have gotten to know many of these teachers pretty well over the retreat series, but what came out of these statements took me on a roller coaster of emotions. And I am left feeling: "I want to be like you....and you....and you...." Wow! I am truly blessed to be able to share the same space with these teachers.

My statement was last (a place I was regretting after listening to so many amazing teachers) and I stood before the group and told them I felt like a fraud among them, yet blessed to be able to learn from each of them. In usual fashion, I got wound up in my statement and storytelling and talked for over 30 minutes! And this gracious, wonderful group of people let me have every minute I needed and celebrated my journey with me.

Courage to Teach is Parker Palmer's gift to the world. I highly recommend his books and can never put the right words to to wonder of the retreats. I am feeling totally overwhelmed and energized and renewed. Good for us for being teachers! I can't wait for summer to be over so I can get back in the classroom to see my kids!

What a great day!

2007-05-09T18:20:00.000-06:00

I love days like today. I woke up eager to start my day. I didn't drag because I was feeling overwhemed. I just wanted to go to school. I have 8th graders that started their final project for my class - a culminating activity that involves 25 projects that ties all they have learned from me this semester into a pretty little package. I can't believe we are down to 12 instructional days left! It feels like the year has flown by. I taught my 7th graders how to do some cool Word Art and my 6th graders are learning where the symbols are on the keyboard and it was a good day. I got to talk to some students. I asked my 2nd period 7th graders what they like and don't like about English and Social Studies. They had tons to say and nothing that was a surprise. They asked why I wanted to know and I told them I was thinking about teaching those things next year. I almost cried at the response I got! If there were kids against it, they were wonderfully quiet. The ones that were vocal were most encouraging. The best compliment of all was, "You HAVE to do it, Mrs. Crofut. You could make it so English isn't BORING!" I hate that they think English is boring. I didn't have it in me to ask the 6th period class of 7th graders. I liked getting the positive strokes and those kids are not always so positive.

Driving home tonight, I took stock in my life. First and foremost, I am coming up on my fourth wedding anniversary. I was blessed to have the opportunity to marry my high school sweetheart many years later. He is the love of my life and the best supporter I could ever have. I have three wonderful sons and all are doing well. Tony is struggling a bit with what he wants to do and that causes me some concern, but all in all they are great kids. My divorce from their dad was terrible for all of us and I never thought I would again see the day that all of them would be living under my roof and all was well with the world. I have the best job in the world. I get to go and interact with incredible young minds every day. Are my students the smartest in the world? I guess that depends on how you describe smart. Many of them struggle with grades and acedemia in general, but they know things I don't know. Some of these kids have challenges I have barely imagined and they manage to show up every day. I admire them and just want to be there for them in any way I can. I love what I teach and would love the new job, if I get the opportunity. Either way, my career is wonderful.

What more could a girl want? Don't you love the days that the good so far outweighs any bad? Maybe I am feeling good enough to try my hand at poetry. It is not a strong skill of mine, but one I need to practice! Maybe a short, fiction story? I have spent so much time with technical writing, I will love spreading my wings a bit!

Need to Relax!

2007-05-08T21:57:00.000-06:00

I have everything turned in for my Master's and I walk the stage on Saturday. I now have to finish prepping lessons for the last couple of weeks of school, get everything ready for May Madness, study for my National Board Certification test, and study for the history Praxis exam. I always feel like I have so much going on. And I do that to myself. I would like to slow the pace a bit, but I think I probably do my best when my hair is on fire!

I have been reading the 8th grade history book, studying for the Praxis and I keep getting excited and thinking of how I want to teach it. The first chapter is about maps and geography and my brain is all over Google Earth. I put in my application for this job today. It closes on the 18th. I don't even have an interview yet, much less the job, and yet I sit here planning lessons. So how crushed will I be if I don't get the job? That worries me a bit. Worst case scenario, I keep the job I have now, which I also love. But I love the idea of a new challenge. I can see history being done in groups with a wiki in use. I would HAVE to use blogs in my English class. (Wonder how much I can steal from Geoff?) I want to find ways to incorporate technology as fully as possible in English and History.

Then there is my National Boards. I still have the written exam to take. I need to study some standards and write the practice questions. I feel pretty good about my technical writing skills, but this counts for 40% of the score. If I don't pass this year, I will have to do parts of it again next year. I am sure I can pull that off in an English class. If I pass, I will be Nationally Board Certified in Career and Technical Education. Possibly teaching English and history. Does that make sense? I can still justify that with the fact that I will still be using technology, but is that good enough?

Confusion...I seem to be fully immersed! Oh, and to top it off I made the decision to change from doing my doctorate in Adult and Higher Education and instead go for my Ed. D. in Educational Adminstration. I think this is more applicable with what I want to do, but there is one catch. I do NOT want to be a principal. I don't think I have what it takes! What if I lose my mind and decide to try THAT in a couple of years. It makes my brain spin!

Okay....I need to relax. I need to focus on graduation and enjoy the moment! This has been a long and difficult road. I am feeling pretty proud of myself. Oh, there are things I wish I would have done better, but I managed to get through my Master's while teaching six classes a day - three different preps - teaching adults one night a week, being a small group leader for Confirmation at church, having a husband and three sons at home requiring my attention, not to mention at school I am on BLT, am the building technology leader, on BIC, in charge of the Junior Achievement program and May Madness, etc. Yes, I am proud of all of that, too. Do I have too much on my plate? Yes. Do I sometimes not do everything 100% because of that? Again, yes. But very little really suffered. I did okay. And I think it is okay that I am so pleased with being on this side of the year!

Okay, now I am justifying being proud of myself. I really do need to relax! And study history and study standards and do May Madness and.... You wouldn't think I have time to over-analyze my life! Chapter Two ~ The First Americans.

Lost my mind???

2007-05-05T09:55:00.000-06:00

Oh my! It seems we are going to have an opening in 8th grade for someone to teach four periods of English and one of US History. And I am applying! Ten years I have been a computer teacher - eight of them in my middle school and I am going to jump off the cliff and switch subjects. Why, you may ask? Well, if the truth were to be told - besides, the fact that I love both English and history - I have been banging my head against a wall trying to get more teachers to integrate technology in thier classrooms. What better way than to lead by example? The classroom I would move into IF I get the job, has 25 computers and a Promethian board. The technology is readily available and I could still teach that. I am completely excited about teaching my students about blogging and Geoff S. has shown me just how awesome that is for an English class. And I can already see my students working on a class wiki about history. I get all bubbly inside just thinking about it. But then there are the fears. Can I really teach writing to 8th graders? I have become a better writer in the last few years, but am I good enough to teach them. I never want to shortchange my students. I believe I am a good teacher. I know I care about my students and want to make them lifelong learners. I believe English and writing are important, lifelong skills. I know the mechanics. But is all of that enough? And history? I have never taught history before. I am not certified for it and will be taking the Praxis for it in June. Somehow I have less fear about this one. I have seen too many bad and boring history teachers. I love history! And I think it is critical for students to know how government works! And I think there are so many ways to teach it and make it exciting.

Then there is the fear that I am going to get all excited and not get the job. There are obviously going to be more qualified teachers of these subject matters than I am. But there is no one more qualified to integrate technology into this curriculum. And no one more excited for this change. Worst case scenario...I don't get the job and I stay in my class that I still love. I guess it isn't a complete risk to put myself out there. Sure, I could lose a month studying history for the exam and then not get the job, but I love history, so that really isn't much of an inconvenience.

The posting will go up next week and I will put my name in. I am pretty sure I will be granted an interview, so I have a good week or two to get myself ready for that. Guess I will have to do some talking to bring myself up to speed. Hey, I am always up to a challenge!

One last thought....I will have my Master's degree in a week in Technology for Education and Training. I have worked all year towards National Certification in Career and Technology. Do I really want to leave the department I am in or will all of these things just make me better in another curriculum?

Blogs in General

2007-04-30T16:57:00.000-06:00

Having gone to the TIE Conference last week, I am completely jazzed about blogs. I had the opportunity to write blogs about the conference and enjoyed the experience. My issue with blogging has always been a question of whether I had anything to say that someone might wish to read. Blogging at the conference gave me a purpose. Since then, I have read other blogs and enjoyed them even when there has been no reporting or "purpose" other than getting to know the writer. I am going to use this one to find purpose for me. It is solely for my learning and enjoyment. You are most welcome to come along for my ramblings.