This year in addition to my consulting work, I will be a visiting art teacher at a local private school. This school has phenomenal technology resources and every student with whom I will be working has a laptop they are assigned for educational use. They are taught to use this resource ethically, effectively and responsibly.
Archive for September, 2009
Building A Blog for Your Classroom
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
On the President’s Message
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009Yesterday, President Obama addressed our nation’s students. Regardless of personal political beliefs and controversy aside, the address had many essential messages that I felt were timely and important for students. Many educators were clearly thinking about what this address meant for students. As an educator, I have spent countless hours evaluating my methods of teaching, considering pedagogical theories, assessing student’s learning modalities and inventory of knowledge and skills. As a parent, I have acted as an advocate for my children and made certain that our home fosters the support, nutrition, rest and stimulation needed to attend to learning. While educators and parents talk about building accountability in students, how often are students implored to be accountable? I was pleased to hear President Obama do just this in his address. Learning is a partnership between teachers, parents and students. If students are not acting responsibly and with accountability, how can learning take place?
Time to Differentiate
Sunday, September 6th, 2009Over the last few weeks, I have had the privilege of observing several schools as they prepare for a new crop of students and the 2009-2010 year. Each of these schools has its own educational philosophy, running the gamut from extremely traditional to highly progressive. However, regardless the philosophy, teachers from all of these schools find themselves grappling with the age-old question of “How do I teach each student when each student is so very different.” In response, I have found myself thinking a lot about differentiation and the work of Carol Ann Tomlinson.