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Let me ask you a quick question: Rate the last ten reform initiatives that your school, district and/or state embraced on a scale from "Ridiculously Simple" to "Ridiculously Complex." Now, think about which reform initiatives made a lasting impact and which were abandoned before the end of the next school year.
Hey John,
Today, I'm annoyed, my usual MO during June where the headaches abound with little relief until 2:20pm on June 26th (Our last day).
Today, students started to get really worried about graduation. Of course, the same questions come in a flurry:
...
At the end of each year, teachers often reflect on their learning and practice to note their successes and areas of improvement. I would like to use this blog to honor my greatest source of growth this year and to encourage other teachers to think about their own sources of inspiration and growth.
In difficult budget times, I can honestly say that I don't envy state legislators who are forced every spring into the uncomfortable position of cutting valuable programs in an effort to save cash. Trying to decide between protecting programs that support teachers or firefighters or cops or senior citizens or the mentally disabled or the poor -- and by default, axing programs that support those same groups -- has got to be the worst part of being an elected official.
The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) recently completed a report about my school district in Oakland, California. In in a previous post, I’ve summarized my initial reactions to NCTQ’s report.
In this post, I dive deeper into NCTQ’s second finding, “The district evaluation system is confusing and data are not used to drive decision.”
"Can you read my story?" one of my eighth graders asked me this morning. It was an innocent enough question. I was excited about the work all the students were doing and started reading her story right there without giving it much thought. The stories are already several pages typed, so reading one takes some time...
Hey John,
Maybe we're the crazy ones to think that the school year is an actual full year of teaching. The lull between the "big tests" and the end of the school year gets students thinking that we ought not learn anything anymore. Obviously, for teachers who've been doing this for a while, we want to get as much juice as possible out of our schedules. For example, it's one thing to have extra time at the end of a period, but at the end of a school year?
There's just no way. They have learning to do.
Poking through my feed reader last Friday, I stumbled across this great Ted talk by digital pioneer and provocateur Seth Godin.
I just read this great report by many of my Collaboratory colleagues, Teaching 2030: Leveraging Teacher Preparation. Since teacher preparation is on my mind, I want to add a point to the conversation that I've been meaning to mention for a while.
In a time when technology is drastically changing the way that we work, learn, and play, it is essential that school leaders have a clear plan for driving digital change in their classrooms, districts and communities. These two tips can help:
Remember that tools don’t change learning spaces; Teachers do:
While integrating technology into learning spaces will require investments in new digital tools and services, many school leaders forget that investing in tools alone is never enough.
Blogs
The Implementing Common Core Standards (ICCS) team blogs about best practices for integrating common core standards into the classroom.
The TeacherSolutions 2030 team blogs about improving the teaching profession between now and the year 2030.
Megan M. Allen is a National Board Certified Teacher and the 2010 Florida Teacher of the Year. She is a proud fifth-grade teacher in Tampa and a 2012-13 CTQ teacherpreneur.
Barnett Berry is the Founder and President of the Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ), Inc., based in Carrboro, NC. CTQ seeks to dramatically improve student learning by advancing teaching as a 21st-century, results-oriented profession. He wrote TEACHING 2030 with 12 accomplished teachers.
Dan Brown is a teacher and the author of The Great Expectations School: A Rookie Year in the New Blackboard Jungle. His writing has also appeared in The Boston Globe, The New York Daily News, The New York Post, and Education Week. He is a co-author of TEACHING 2030.
Jessica Cuthbertson is a teacherpreneur who divides her time between teaching 6th-grade literacy in Aurora, CO, and supporting teacher leadership through the Denver New Millennium Initiative.
Bill Ferriter teaches 6th grade language arts in North Carolina, where he was named a Regional Teacher of the Year for 2005-2006.
John Holland is an artist, a teacher, a writer, and an innovator. After 12 years as a preschool teacher, John began working at Early Head Start/Head Start Program as a child development specialist. He is a co-author of TEACHING 2030.
Jessica Keigan is a secondary language arts teacher at Horizon High School in Thornton, CO, and a teacher leader for the Denver New Millennium Initiative.
Ryan Kinser is a 6th grade English teacher in Hillsborough County, Florida. After a career in television production, Ryan taught in urban Washington as a D.C. Teaching Fellow. He is a member of the Hillsborough New Millennium Initiative.
Renee Moore has taught English and journalism for 20 years in the Mississippi Delta region at both high school and community college levels. She is National Board Certified, a former state Teacher of the Year, and a co-author of TEACHING 2030.
Dave Orphal is a teacher in Oakland, CA. Dave serves as a veteran teacher leader for the Bay Area New Millennium Initiative and works with the California Teachers Association's Institute for Teaching.
Ariel Sacks teaches eighth grade English at a middle school in Brooklyn, NY. She has published articles about her work in Teacher Magazine and is a co-author of TEACHING 2030.
Mark Sass has taught public high school for 18 years and has been involved in various leadership positions and policy discussions in Colorado. Mark is a member of the inaugural Aspen Teacher Leader Fellows.
In addition to our regular transformED bloggers, we frequently feature guest posts written by teachers involved in CTQ communities. We welcome teachers to share their reflections and expertise on transformED.
Jose Vilson is a math teacher, coach, and data analyst for a middle school in the Inwood/Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. He is a co-author of TEACHING 2030.
Noah Zeichner is a National Board Certified Teacher in Seattle. He currently serves in a hybrid teaching role, dividing his time between teaching social studies and supporting CTQ's global teacher leadership initiatives.
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- Twitter friends, join us in the CTQ Collaboratory tonight for a live group chat on #teachereval! 7pm ET: http://t.co/3YB8Cpjunp — 1 week 1 day ago
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- From @TeachMoore: "Looking Differently at School, and Ourselves": http://t.co/Q2TduouFf6 #CTQCollab @samchaltain — 1 week 2 days ago
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- RT @TeachingChannel: Want to spend class time wisely? Formative assessments can help. http://t.co/aAVu1eEu6E #edchat — 1 week 2 days ago