What Education is REALLY About!

So I said blogging just wasn't my thing...but I find it's a great way to share stories and experiences as I'm about to do below:

It's late February and my roommate still hasn't paid his rent for this month.  He plops down on the couch and announces that he'll pay February and March together at the end of the month...then he plans on moving out before April.  "Where are you going?" I say "and what are you going to do?"

His response..."anywhere but here...and join the 'Teach for America' program."  "But," he says, "the only problem with 'Teach for America' is that you end up in poor performing schools and I would rather be in an affluent school.

For those of you who have heard me talk about my roommate, you probably already have an idea of how this is going to turn out.  I think it was actually an interesting conversation.  I've paraphrased some things and omitted some offensive language, but the rest of the conversation basically went something like this:

Me: Why? 

Him: Kids are better. 

Me: Maybe, but you need to worry more about the parents. 

Him: I can handle the parents.  If Johnny has a "D" then I just show the parents his grade, and show them everyone elses grade and explain that if I'm a [crappy] teacher 'why are most students doing well?' and they (the parents) should have a conversation with their student instead of me.  

Me: What if they question your instructional objectives, the assignment itself, your grading methods, etc?  What about SPED students and those with 504 accomodations?   

Him: It's not that complicated.  Numbers don't lie, the grades speak for themselves.  Plus, it's science.  Science and Math are black and white.  You read the text, learn the vocabulary and take the test.  You either know the material or you don't.  At the end of the year, you either pass the SOL or you don't.   

Me: Things are changing, many schools don't teach like that anymore.  What if you end up in a school that's adopted a problem-based learning model or a STEM school?   

Him: That's stupid.  You can do that with subjects like english and social studies because they're not real subjects.  You wouldn't teach a science and math class like that.  Students read, come to class, listen to the lecture, pay attention to the PowerPoints and do the homework.  Newtonian physics hasn't changed in the last several hundred years and neither has most math.  Its been taught the same way for the last hundred years.  It's not that hard.   

Me: Things are changing.

Him: No they're not.  All you've ever taught is technology.  I've been a substitute teacher, I know what I'm talking about.   

Me: Actually I've never been a K12 teacher.   

Him: Well then you definitely don't know what you're talking about.  Teaching at the college level is different than K12.   

Me: I've never taught at the collegiate level either.  I'm in a Masters of Education program (meaning I'm taking classes, not teaching them), and I'm pretty sure that my classmates (many of whom have 10+ years of K12 classroom experience) believe that science and math can (and should) be taught in new innovative ways.   

Him: You don't have a clue about the real world.  I feel like you're arguing just for the sake of arguing.  You're just trying to make me feel like I would be an awful teacher.  That's rude and inconsiderate...

His tirade went on for a while.  Needless to say I was actually angry for days after this conversation, though I find it laughable now (I'm pretty sure he is still angry).  I could not believe his ignorance.  He went on to say that he wanted to teach because the money is good, science is black and white, he thought it would be easy and he was sure he was good at it (after all he was a substitute teacher).

I love working in poorly performing schools - I attended one and have worked in several after that.  I have seen the amazing things teachers do in their classrooms to reach their students.  Teaching is anything but easy, it takes drive and passion, especially since compensation leaves something to be desired.  All of the fantastic teachers that I've had or have worked with are not in it for the money - they're teaching because they feel a commitment towards the students and a passion for shaping the next generations.  This is what being an educator is all about.

I wish him well in his endeavors and hope that when he realizes he has a very naive view on the world, he reflects on how much he has learned.  I hope that IF he gets a job teaching, he has a fantastic mentor in a STEM school or a school that has adopted problem-based learning models and he is open-minded enough to LEARN from them.  :-)

But, all this started me thinking, how does a school handle a teacher like him?  Will they even hire someone with a "philosophy" like his?  What can he do to make students more engaged in an earth-space course?  What do science and math teachers do in their classrooms?  What are the possibilities?  What are the benefits of teaching in a low socio-economic school?  What are the benefits of teaching in an affluent school?  How do parents challenge teachers?  What justifications do they ask for?  How do you handle parents in these situations?

Is this blog part rant, absolutely.  However, I also am curious to see what others thoughts are...especially in relation to the questions I've asked...especially since I'm not a K12 classroom teacher.

Notes about Wikis

All through my undergrad I heard all about Wikipedia and how it was a horrible source of information for research projects and papers.  I wasn't told that it was a good place to start, I was told to avoid it altogether because it was an unreliable source.  I can see now that while Wikipedia may not be the best source of information, it IS a great starting point for research, especially if you don't know a whole lot about what you are researching.  That was the extent of my knowledge of "wikis," period.

I frequently have heard ITRTs mention to teachers that a Wiki is a fabulous collaboration tool.  The teachers thought it was great, but me, not wanting to sound dumb, didn't ask.  I wish I had.

The fact that it allows multiple people to contribute to a wiki page is fantastic for the classroom.  I can see uses for it in almost any subject (yes, even physical science and math - I'll talk about this later).  I can even see a use for it with the rollout of our new Student Information System (SIS).  I think it would be awesome for us to put up a series of Wiki pages that allowed teachers to share instructions, or tips and tricks, to using the system.  The TSS could post resources (both print and video) and teachers and staff could contribute to those instructions.  We could use it to keep staff up to date on upgrades, new features...possibly even a forum to suggest new enhancements.

Perhaps as the department culture shifts with this next re-organization, we can shift how we exchange information with teachers and staff.

Notes about Blogs

A "blog" or Weblog is a tool that gives your average user a place to voice their musings, opinions, ideas, and analyses of just about anything.  Some bloggers will allow others to comment on blogs so as to create an asynchronous conversation about the blog post.

I lump blogs into two categories - personal and education-related, though they are not mutually exclusive.

I see personal blogs as being about one's personal life, hobbies, interests, etc.  For example, I have a cousin who blogs about living in a small house, a friend who blogs about WWOOFing.  My boss is blogging about her adventures in her RV.  I have a co-worker who blogs about everything from politics, human rights, genealogy, and philosophy.  Often these blogs are used to keep friends and distant family up-to-date with their thoughts and actions.  Is this something I see myself doing?  Absolutely not.  Although, when I retire, do something blog-worthy and have the time to write about it, perhaps.

Education-related blogs can mean several things.  A teacher might be blogging about her classroom experiences in an effort to share her ideas, lessons, and student outcomes with others.  A teacher might have a classroom blog for his students to develop their thinking.  Students might create blogs as part of a class so they can synthesize, reflect and publish thoughts as they move through a unit, or the year.  I can think of so many more ways to use blogs in a classroom than in my own personal life - the possibilities are limited only by time, budget and available technology.  I believe that before you can use it effectively in your classroom, you have to experience it in some form or fashion.  When learning about design, you have to learn good design from bad - the same applies to blogs.  You have to learn good blogging from bad.  You have to learn to use the software before you can teach it and you have to figure out your expectations before you can set them.

A Little Slice of Me

My name is Robert Weaver, affectionately known as "Bob" - yes, that little red and white thing that's attached to your fishing line.

I started working in education while still in high school.  I worked under the supervision of the SBTS (School-Based Technology Specialist) and T-Spec (Technology Specialist) at my high school for 3 years.  I got to see a good mix of technical and instructional strategies.  I even got the chance at a leadership role as the student member of the Technology Committee.  In the summer of 2001, we received our first mobile lab, which I cloned, and configured.  Then the technology committee met and we developed guidelines for use, reporting problems, security and training for staff (most of whom had never used a laptop extensively).  As a student, I actually assisted with the professional development with teachers and was able to teach portions of some of the sessions.

Upon graduating, I pursued my BSBA in Accounting and Information Systems at Appalachian State University.  My very first semester I took two classes that immediately changed my life.  One was Introduction to Leadership, the other was Social Issues and Social Change.  These classes were taught by a group of 3 professors who planned their entire curriculum together so that they could provide authentic problems and authentic assessments all while immersing us in the Boone, NC community I still refer to as "home."

While at Appalachian, I spent my time volunteering at a local women's shelter as part of the Maintenance Team.  We planned yard maintenance, semi-annual cleanups, gardens, interior projects - one year, I even provided the christmas tree and wreaths since the shelter was full and most of the women had kids.  I also worked as a Construction Manager for the local Habitat for Humanity office and completed 5 homes with them and was involved in the opening of Watauga County's first Habitat ReStore (and yes, I shopped there frequently too).  I wired the ReStore for internet, installed servers and managed their software.  When the restore moved to a new location, I spent many hours helping to prepare the space, painting, building, demolishing as needed.  Then I had the pleasure of wiring the space for data and phones - it was messy work, but well worth it.  While in school, I worked part time with the ACT office.  ACT is an acronym for "Appalachian and the Community Together."  I managed the community partner listservs, events, and our database of volunteer opportunities.  I worked with our Service Learning Coordinator to prepare the documents with SL opportunities for professors to choose from.  I even got to see these Service Learning Projects from start to finish.  I participated in and helped plan activities such as the MLK Challenge, Don't Throw it Away, and The BIG Sale.  The people who ran the ACT Office were actually the professors I had in the Introduction to Leadership and Social Issues and Social Change classes

During summer and winter breaks, I always returned to the DC area to work.  I spent three years interning for different law firms in DC and one year interning for a government contractor.  At the first law firm, was exposed to the different aspects of their IT department: training, networking, word processing, help desk, phone/voicemail infrastructure, and equipment repair.  I was a part of a very successful Windows XP roll-out in 2005 and several equipment replacement programs.  At the second law firm, I wasn't much more than a temporary legal secretary, but it exposed me to the software that lawyers and their staff used.  I got to see how to do research and manage document versioning.  I learned just how much Microsoft Word could do.  At the government contractor, I got into systems management and licensing compliance, as well as a fair amount of training.

I am currently a Technology Support Specialist (TSS) for a smaller school district outside of Washington DC.  I support all 8 comprehensive secondary schools plus about 8 additional alternative programs and the central offices.  I am also finding myself supporting our county's roughly 25 elementary schools more and more often.  The ITS program through George Mason has given me a feel for what a teacher can do in their classroom.  However, I see that much of it can apply outside the K12 classroom as well.  As I develop training for teachers and staff, I often think about how best to teach a particular topic.  Usually that results in some kind of Authentic Learning Experience.  It's new and different and I don't think my co-workers have caught on yet, but I feel that if I model it enough and provide encouragement and support, they'll jump on the bandwagon.