Task #12: Relections and Promises

First, I want to comment briefly on the Alan November quotation. For once, you have no objections from me. When I was teaching in Macon, I met a long time educator who had done a tremendous amount of research about why teachers left the profession, or what teachers found most frustrating. One might expect that the answer would be the relatively low salaries or problems with parent and students. Although these made the list, the number biggest factor in teachers leaving the profession was a feeling of isolation. Teaching is lonely. Many teachers might go an entire day without any interaction with other adults. I think whether through technology or other avenues, it is important for teachers to talk, discuss, and collaborate. In addition to academic collaboration, I think less formal social gatherings can really help with teacher morale. Paideia does a much better job with this than my where I worked in Macon, but I still think that it is important to keep this in mind. As one of the least experienced teachers working at Paideia, I certainly could learn an immense amount from my colleagues.

Now, to the task at hand. As Paul H. mentioned in his blog, the summer makes teaching the tech tools difficult. So, I will state what I will do, rather than what I have done already. When the school year starts, I will be living in the basement of the JH, so I will probably first share with my neighbors. I am looking to show my new weebly website, and maybe RSS feeds to Olivia and Jim Veal. Also, I would be happy to share my thoughts at faculty or department meeting, but this would really be contingent on time and interest by the respective groups.

I think the easiest, and perhaps most practical tech tool I could pass on to my department members is the creation of a website. The First Class website is very easy to use, and although not very collaborative, allows you to easily post homework assignments. I have found that many parents are EXTREMELY appreciative of a class website. Then, there is never a question in their house about whether or not Johnny Student has homework.