Mission Statements: More than Words

I absolutely agree that schools should be more reflective of and relevant to real life. In my observations, it seems that students are easier to engage when the content or context of a lesson connects to real life for them in some way. I’ve often pondered the enormous gaps between knowledge and application required for some of the jobs I’ve had, which ranged from catering to retail management before teaching, and the experiences we offer to kids in the K-12 system. In the real world, my jobs required collaborating, spontaneity, and synthesis to meet goals set by the companies I worked for. Sometimes, creative problem solving and experimentation came into play. These are things that don’t happen enough in a typical student’s environment. One article which changed how I think about learning was http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/24/teacher-spends-two-days-as-a-student-and-is-shocked-at-what-she-learned/. If our mission is to enable individual students to reach their full potential, the old ways aren’t going to do it.  After reading the article, I’ve been working harder to include more kinesthetic and collaborative activities into my instruction. I don’t want to be a top-down teacher. I want to be a facilitator. Currently my students are collaborating online to develop discussions based on the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy in relation the novel we are studying, and they are also creating interactive game-based vocabulary quizzes that we play together as a class. Sometimes, they write their group results on the dry erase boards all over the classroom if we don’t have tech access. They love moving around and working with different colors, and seeing each other’s ideas.

Reading about Clark Hall was like reading a dream or fairy tale. Stakeholders worked together to make meaningful community connections and overcome obstacles, so that a learning space designed to meet the needs of modern students could be built without burdening taxpayers. They decided to actually do what was needed to achieve the mission of the school. Everything about Clark Hall intrigues me. I love the idea of excellent wi-fi and flexible spaces with comfortable furniture to promote engagement. It’s hard to learn when the chair you are in hurts your backside, and physical comfort is overlooked in most public schools. I showed one of my classes some new types of furniture, such as the Node classroom, and they were in awe. Currently many of our classrooms are equipped with desks that are probably 20-30 years old, and are too small for most of our students. They also are not designed for laptop use, as they tip very easily. Although we do have class sets of laptops on the way, we are currently sharing a 24 unit mobile cart among 6 teachers who serve 100 students. There is also a stationary lab in the next wing over, but it is often being used by the upper grades. If our classroom laptops aren't ready to go before the end of the year, we will be blocked out of using tech for nearly a month due to testing.

As for my Grant Proposal, I’d like to tie it into my desire to incorporate Interactive Learning using a wireless short throw LCD projection system such as the Epson 595Wi. Currently we have 3 teachers trying to share one old Viewsonic projector, as ours have died, and we’d love to have a means for students to interact with information and visuals. Students would be able to work collaboratively and even use the technology to present artifacts of learning that they themselves created for others to interact with. It has been suggested by several people that I go with Donors Choose. The few teachers I know who have went with them did have their needs met in a timely fashion, and they recommended it without hesitation. I’m also considering grants from local corporate sources, such as Halliburton or WalMart. An upcoming meeting on implementation of our new laptops will give me the opportunity to speak with district and school level stakeholders, and tomorrow is Parent night, so I can talk to families then. And of course, I am always asking the students how we can serve them better. It’s a hectic time of year with testing around the bend, but it’s important to lay the groundwork so we can keep moving forward.

svonog - http://flickr.com/photos/svonog/432774995/