 |
| Colorful Websites |
Another one I stumbled upon is: http://successfulteaching.blogspot.com/
Pat Hensley, offers different links to useful blogs, museum websites and strategies. There is also information about the Council for Exceptional Children, great for educators entering Special Education.
I liked Teacher Leaders Network ( http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/) because they bring up valid issues that are so relevant in our schools today. Directly from their blog: They are about:
" Engaging in daily discussions around practice and policy,
• Collaborating on action research and other projects for improved student learning,
• Sharing their content and pedagogical expertise with pre-service and in-service teachers, and
• Refining their policy insights and contributing their voices to the decisions that affect the students and communities they serve."
I like the sense of community these websites offer. As educators we are stung with negative factors each day. I feel like if we are able to discuss and release some of these issues, we can build positive environments in our own lives.
I really enjoyed the Teacher Leaders Network. I found myself reading an article in The Future of Education Category. The article was entitled, “Pop Quiz: Who is the American Teacher?” I found this article particularly interesting because the author discussed teaching quality verses quality teachers. From the article, “He describes the multitude of “easy button” alternative teacher certification that put inexperienced/under-supported teachers in classrooms to fail and leave teaching within five years.” We are currently in an ATL Program, and I begin to wonder if we should consider our own teaching qualities to make us better educators. So that we do not find ourselves leaving our teaching professions because we assumed we were quality teachers, and did not reflect on our teaching qualities.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great resource! I found a 2 part series of posts called "Common Creativity: 21st Century Teaching and Learning". The posts were inspired by a book called "The Element" by Sir Ken Robinson. In the foreword of his 2009 book, Robinson states: "I use the term the Element to describe the place where the things we love to do and the things we are good at come together. I believe it is essential that each of us find his or her Element, not simply because it will make us more fulfilled but because, as the world evolves, the very future of our communities and institutions will depend on it".
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a great book, and I just put it in my personal reading list. (I can see that looking at blogs is dangerous, though! I keep finding new books I want to buy. Time to get a library card!)
I found one segment of this thread from "Common Creativity" particularly interesting- Bill posted: "I never feel like I'm in my Element anymore. Instead, I trudge through massive curricula trying to prepare my students for the end-of-grade tests. My work lacks both creativity and imagination because creativity and imagination take time – and I ain't got time if I'm going to cover the entire curriculum before the end of the school year..... do I burn my professional bra and take a stand against a system that beats creativity and imagination out of every student and teacher? Or do I continue to find new ways to prepare my kids for the tests that everyone seems to continue to worship as evidence of effectiveness?"
This is a challenge that we will all face with today's educational system. Unfortunately, we may have to try to do both until something changes. For now, we are stuck with a certain amount of conforming to the standard. We need to find a way to make that standard interesting and creative. But that does not mean we should roll over and give up on our independent and creative ideas. We need to take a stand and do things differently. As Bill pointed out, one of the obstacles to creative teaching is Time. In another Article from TLN, "Why Teacher's Quit", a recent post touched on this idea. A third-year teacher said that teachers get bogged down by administrators, who seem to think that paperwork is more important than the students...
Creative inspiration. Time management. Identifying our true Priorities and sticking to them. These are some of the challenge we will face as teachers.