21st Century School Teacher

I just started putting together my new website for my classroom.  I haven't gotten too far, but I thought I'd add a post here to let you know where you can build a free website, too.  I use Weebly--it's very intuitive, and you can easily upgrade to a web domain that you choose.  Others?

Snap Pages

Yola

Webs

Web Node

Sauropol

Hipero

 

Common Craft's most recent videos...

• Twitter Search in Plain English
• Preparing an Emergency Kit in Plain English
• World Wide Web in Plain English

An interesting application--Glogster--like a blog, but less words and more pictures...  A teacher might organize a variety of assignments from a unit of instruction--or depending on the age of your students, you students could create their own glogs around an assignment or unit.

PikiWiki is a wiki website that is more oriented to multimedia and to drag-and-drop editing. This is a system which younger students can use, and it's free...

Couldn't resist this one... too cute...

Almost unbelievable... I'm going back to work. *big grin*  When we made this unexpected move to the desert, we thought I'd being staying home with Kate for 2 years--not so.  Kate is ready for preschool (big time), and I'm more than ready to be back in the classroom--can't wait!  I'm a little nervous because I taught in the same classroom in a great school for the first part of my career--I'm not sure what to expect in this new school in a somewhat rural community.  I'll keep you posted--school starts in early August!

A new websites to check out... Prezi.  I'm always looking for new ways to present data--this one looks interesting and new, and there is a free version (gotta love free!) 

Thank you for your consistent support!   I'm officially taking Entrecard off of this site as I am no longer keeping this site current!  Take care--Best! 

The time was coming...  I'm not currently in the classroom, and although I created this site to keep my hand in education, I'm finding that my time could be better spent other places.  I love teaching, and blogging about tips and resources has been fun, but I'm focusing more heavily on my health right now.  Feel free to join me at Juicy Alligator.  I will leave this site up till my domain name expires next year--I know that there are some great tip sheets and other resources here...  You can still contact me through the "contact us" page.  Take care! 

El Milagro, one of my favorite blogs, had included this video with a recent post.  It is a powerful video that could be used in the classroom in a variety of ways--it is also a personal reminder of the truths that we hold dear...

"Too often we excuse those who are willing to build their own lives on the shattered dreams of other human beings..."

Couldn't resist... I had to take a peek at the Eduwonkette blog today, even though she's not on my typical list to read--and she's still stirring it up with her readers. Here are the questions she's posed:

"1) Will eliminating tenure increase the quality of teachers in DCPS? Where will this fleet of new exceptional teachers come from? Do principals have incentives to keep the best teachers? Will principals nix “bad” teachers, or will teachers who are outspoken take the fall, too? Might it not be prudent to make investments in improving the teachers that we have, rather than just replacing them in large numbers?"

I like her spirit here, but let's get real for a moment.  Principals have to show success, too--they aren't going to randomly fire teachers just because they are "outspoken" or they don't like them...  And as for improving teachers that we have, Michelle Rhee's plan allows for teachers to make improvements--If a teacher can't get the swing of it in a year or two, maybe education isn't the right career--I'm all for teacher training, but charity cases is another thing altogether.  Money is tight; teacher training costs money.  If a teacher is going to suck the budget because he or she is not qualified, shouldn't a principal be allowed to make a decision that supports the learning taking place in his or her school? 

"2) What are the implications of arbitrary firing for the teaching profession overall? As John Thomspon wrote, “It does not take many arbitrary decisions to destroy a career before you poison the entire well of teaching talent. Would you commit to a career and buying a house etc. if you had a 2 or 3 or 5% chance per year to run afoul of someone who could destroy your career?”

Well, like I said, there isn't much pay off in arbitrarily firing teachers.  Look at the press Dr. Siebens has instigated--I would think that principals would make decisions about their staffs that would be well thought out--Arbitrary?  Maybe unpopular in some cases, but its doubtful that masses of teachers will be fired unjustly. 

3) What do we learn from examples like Art Siebens? Is his experience reason enough to abandon the idea of eliminating tenure? How many mistakes are too many? And what kind of appeals system should be in place?

My response is that Dr. Sieben's experience is not enough to abandon the idea of eliminating tenure.  Dr. Siebens might not be teaching at the school of his choice, but he does have a job, doesn't he?  I'm still a bit confused as to why there isn't more discussion about the students that are falling through the cracks because of poor performing teachers left in the system because of "tenure."  The greater good people!  It's about kids--it's about creating a system that works for kids--not just the adults that collect a pay check.  Teaching isn't about guarantees, it's about educating your students...  If a teacher isn't doing his or her job, he or she should be let go.  And if in the process a few, and it is my predictions that there would be very few instances similar to this one, are transferred or let go, I'm gonna side with the kids. 

Hello? The system is broken.  D.C. schools are a mess.  If they keep doing what they've always done, they'll keep getting the same result--which is evidence enough for me to vote for Plan B.