01.22.09
Off to EduCon 2.1
I’ve been quiet here for a while, letting Diigo fill up the space. But now I’m headed to EduCon 2.1 tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to recharging my educational batteries.
I’ve had a tough time at school this year – everything I thought was working really well was thrown away for me, and in its place a less-energizing initiative has been thrust. I say “less energizing” because many of my peers had tried and true methods for teaching – and while those methods are still really good ones, there has been SUCH an emphasis on integrating this reading and writing curriculum into every classroom (remember, I teach at a vocational school – so we’re talking about integrating reading and writing into the carpentry, automotive technology, criminal justice, etc. curricula). What this emphasis has done is change the spirit of what we feel that we do. Once we were craftsmen and women in our respective fields – now we are asked to integrate more and more “other” things besides what we’re good at.
That is probably the crux: that almost all of us feel that we do what we do because we want to see our students excel in their chosen field – to do better than we did if possible. And when we are asked to include something else (no matter how noble the reason), we feel like we must set aside what we know best and stumble through something we do not. And the kids catch on. “Organizers” quickly become worksheets (remember dittos?) that the kids detest. New methods quickly become distractions from the “meat” of the lesson.
So… as I leave a week of real frustration over funding for my students, a really unfortunate timing of an observation (where I received near-reprimand feedback), and a hostile work environment, I look towards EduCon 2.1 to pick me back up and get me on the right track.
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