In memory of the late Clarence Clemons.... RIP Big Man.
Wrapping up tonight with our presentations. I've really enjoyed the journey that I went through during this eight week course. I hope the rest of your experiences were as positive as mine. Working through many of your learning modules was quite the rewarding experience. I will likely have some more thoughts about this class, what I learned and how I plan to activate these new technologies, and literacies, in the coming days and weeks of the summer.
For now I would like to thank everyone for your participation. Without all of our collective collaboration, this course would not have had as lasting an impact that I believe it will. A special note of thanks to Chris and Hannah, my partners during group work, for their knowledge, insight, dedication, and patience, as we learned and grew together during this process.
To Tiffany and Mike, I greatly appreciate your hard work, dedication and vision throughout this "experiment". I hope that the efforts of the class have proved fruitfill and will contribute positively as this course is unveiled in the Fall.
As I mentioned in class, I would appreciate any feedback, constructive or otherwise, that you would like to offer on my final presentation. Your input will help shape the future look of how I present myself digitally, so don't be surprised if I "steal" some of your great ideas and incorporate them back into my own digital resume.
Thanks again for a great class and please feel free to reach out to me if I can ever be of help to any of you.
Greg Paddock
gpaddock@umd.umich.edu
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Tenure changes
Interesting that another article in today's paper touches on the subject of tenure. This one creates a nice segway from my previous post. This commentary is actually written by state representative Margaret O'Brien. She takes a soft approach to attacking many of her fellow politicains in Lansing who, "do not want common sense solutions" and "fight on behalf of special interests that benefit the status quo".
She's a newbie to the state political scene so she is still filled with the ideal that what matters is what's right and that she can make a difference. Time will tell where he interests lie.
But so far, it's in the right place. She has introduced House Bill 4627 which will eliminate seniority as a factor in teacher layoffs. This is just a flat out no brainer, but in a state that is so union driven, I can see the fight coming. LIFO, or "Last In- First Out" is the same kind of backward thinking that for far too long protected much of the manufacturing industry in this state. How did that work out?
Tenure has to be restructured. For once you have it, what motivates you to contuinue to excel at a high level. Another problem I have with the current system is that tenure is not earned, it is received simply by working for 4 years. That's rediculous. Tenure has to be awarded based on some type of performance scale and then needs to be reviewed every 3-4 years to make sure the teachers in the classroom are the ones that are best suited to educate our children. There are far too many teachers in the schools today, regardless of district, that have given up on their students. Many of these teachers have been in their position for far too long without changing to meet the current trends or needs of students. That has to change.
Students have standards to meet. So should teachers... and they should be more stringent.
Attached is the link to House bill 4627 that Representative O'Brien introduced last month.
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(itezoyfgz1j1bnzjkypzpdrf))/mileg.aspx?page=BillStatus&objectname=2011-HB-4627
She's a newbie to the state political scene so she is still filled with the ideal that what matters is what's right and that she can make a difference. Time will tell where he interests lie.
But so far, it's in the right place. She has introduced House Bill 4627 which will eliminate seniority as a factor in teacher layoffs. This is just a flat out no brainer, but in a state that is so union driven, I can see the fight coming. LIFO, or "Last In- First Out" is the same kind of backward thinking that for far too long protected much of the manufacturing industry in this state. How did that work out?
Tenure has to be restructured. For once you have it, what motivates you to contuinue to excel at a high level. Another problem I have with the current system is that tenure is not earned, it is received simply by working for 4 years. That's rediculous. Tenure has to be awarded based on some type of performance scale and then needs to be reviewed every 3-4 years to make sure the teachers in the classroom are the ones that are best suited to educate our children. There are far too many teachers in the schools today, regardless of district, that have given up on their students. Many of these teachers have been in their position for far too long without changing to meet the current trends or needs of students. That has to change.
Students have standards to meet. So should teachers... and they should be more stringent.
Attached is the link to House bill 4627 that Representative O'Brien introduced last month.
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(itezoyfgz1j1bnzjkypzpdrf))/mileg.aspx?page=BillStatus&objectname=2011-HB-4627
Schools Out For Summer
Isn't that what Alice Cooper sang about?
Although it's not for me, it is for my soon to be 8 year old son starting 3rd grade in the fall. He's looking forward to a fun summer but he is equally excited about started school again in the fall because he gets moved to the other side of the building with the "big kids" (4th & 5th graders). The hubris of his youth is infectious.
But my thoughts turn to an commentary in this morning's newspaper entitled, Summer break makes kids dummer. The author, Nolan Finley, talks about the amount of knowlege that kids will lose during the next three months. It's exacerbated for those students living in poor and urban areas.
Finley goes on to point out that because Michigan is so tourest driven in the summer, there is a strong contingent of politicians and lobbyists that are resistent to increasing the length of the school year, despite the success that it has proven to have on test scores of students attending "year round" schools in places like Holt, Grand Rapids and even Detroit (University Prep Math & Science Middle School).
Gov. Rick Snyder is in favor of this legislation but he can expect a tough fight from the lobbyists, teacher's union and parents. But not from me.
I think it makes all the sense in the world. In the short term, there is going to be anxiousness, frustration and anger. However, changing the system to help improve the future of a state that is so desperately in need of change is one of the most logical choices we can make. I have yet to hear a compelling arguement against extending the school year. Lobbyists are just looking out for themselves, the teacher's union is looking out for the teacher's and parents are looking out for themselves. Who is looking out for the kids? It should be everybody.
As a soon to be teacher, I didn't choose this profession to have the summer's off. Anybody that does is going into it with the wrong mindset and thinking more about themselves than their students. What if doctors took the summer off, or lawyers... or anybody else for that matter that does not have a seasonal occupation? Teachers are far to valuable to only be required to work 180 days a year, especially if they are only working 6.5 hours a day, and that includes thair lunch and usually a prep period for most all of them. I am not lumping all teacher's in to the same category because there are some amazing educators out there who truly want to teach and inspire our youth to be our future leaders. But they are not the majority, unfortunately.
Weed out the underperforming teachers, who should be held to a higher standard than the students. Extend the year... extend the day. Maybe both. Do something so when my kid gets to third grade, he doesn't need two weeks, or more to review what he knows. That's a wast of time, energy and money.
Although it's not for me, it is for my soon to be 8 year old son starting 3rd grade in the fall. He's looking forward to a fun summer but he is equally excited about started school again in the fall because he gets moved to the other side of the building with the "big kids" (4th & 5th graders). The hubris of his youth is infectious.
But my thoughts turn to an commentary in this morning's newspaper entitled, Summer break makes kids dummer. The author, Nolan Finley, talks about the amount of knowlege that kids will lose during the next three months. It's exacerbated for those students living in poor and urban areas.
Finley goes on to point out that because Michigan is so tourest driven in the summer, there is a strong contingent of politicians and lobbyists that are resistent to increasing the length of the school year, despite the success that it has proven to have on test scores of students attending "year round" schools in places like Holt, Grand Rapids and even Detroit (University Prep Math & Science Middle School).
Gov. Rick Snyder is in favor of this legislation but he can expect a tough fight from the lobbyists, teacher's union and parents. But not from me.
I think it makes all the sense in the world. In the short term, there is going to be anxiousness, frustration and anger. However, changing the system to help improve the future of a state that is so desperately in need of change is one of the most logical choices we can make. I have yet to hear a compelling arguement against extending the school year. Lobbyists are just looking out for themselves, the teacher's union is looking out for the teacher's and parents are looking out for themselves. Who is looking out for the kids? It should be everybody.
As a soon to be teacher, I didn't choose this profession to have the summer's off. Anybody that does is going into it with the wrong mindset and thinking more about themselves than their students. What if doctors took the summer off, or lawyers... or anybody else for that matter that does not have a seasonal occupation? Teachers are far to valuable to only be required to work 180 days a year, especially if they are only working 6.5 hours a day, and that includes thair lunch and usually a prep period for most all of them. I am not lumping all teacher's in to the same category because there are some amazing educators out there who truly want to teach and inspire our youth to be our future leaders. But they are not the majority, unfortunately.
Weed out the underperforming teachers, who should be held to a higher standard than the students. Extend the year... extend the day. Maybe both. Do something so when my kid gets to third grade, he doesn't need two weeks, or more to review what he knows. That's a wast of time, energy and money.
Rounding 3rd and Heading Home
With just a couple more classes before the end of the summer term, I find myself with some mixed emotions. The class is coming to an end which means I am that much closer to completing my course work and earning my Master's degree. This is very exciting for me. However, I will be sorry when this class ends. I have learned so much: googledocs, wiki, type with me, prezi, weebly- all platforms that I can, and hopefully will apply to my craft moving forward. I've also learned alot about myself. I was quite anxious about my abilities when the class started. I was not a technologically savvy person, and I still don't consider myself to be. But the structure of the course allowed a person like myself to learn through others. Chris and Hannah, specifically, were a big part of my individual learning process and for that I say THANKS!. That's not to diminish the contributions of the rest of the class. All of our group discussions brought about so much knowledge, and new ways of looking at things, that I may not have uncovered myself.
I have started to review the learning modules and am really impressed with most of them so far. The time, energy and creativity that was put into these is evident and I am looking forward to exploring myself through these modules. Although we have just a short window to complete our assignment for this week, I will likely continue to explore the additional learning modules throughout the summer, and beyond.
I have started to review the learning modules and am really impressed with most of them so far. The time, energy and creativity that was put into these is evident and I am looking forward to exploring myself through these modules. Although we have just a short window to complete our assignment for this week, I will likely continue to explore the additional learning modules throughout the summer, and beyond.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Great Ideas
I just spent about an hour taking a look at some of the activities that many of you suggested and I am really impressed by the thoroughness and creativity that I have come across in many of the posts. I know there is alot of rumblings about the class but where else are we exposed to our classmates thoughts and ideas like we are here. If this was a traditional class, we all would have turned in our own 2 activities.... 12 point font and double spaced... had them returned, and we would keep moving, with no real idea about the intelligence that exists in the entirety of the class. Through this collaborative process we are expanding our own knowlege thru each other. Especially in the field of teaching, which I assume we are all moving towards, this kind of learning will only make us stronger teaching candidates in the future.
There may not be application to use use all of the ideas that are submitted but we can take the best parts of individual ideas and meld them together to create something that is unique to us. I know that I have already outlined 2 of the ideas, with some tweaks, that I will put to use in my own job search, whether they are incorporated into this class or not.
So thanks for all of your knowledge.... keep it coming, I can use it!
There may not be application to use use all of the ideas that are submitted but we can take the best parts of individual ideas and meld them together to create something that is unique to us. I know that I have already outlined 2 of the ideas, with some tweaks, that I will put to use in my own job search, whether they are incorporated into this class or not.
So thanks for all of your knowledge.... keep it coming, I can use it!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Beef Jerkey and Bacon
Anca posted a cute picture of birds taking a bath on a hot summer day, so I thought I would share a picture of me and my new friend taken while I was traveling in Cambodia earlier this year. If your interested in knowing what a fried tarantula tastes like, please refer back to this pictures caption.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
A little help please!
Gotta get something off my chest. I was subbing in a Downriver Middle school last week (8th grade Art). The students were working on a powerpoint presentation about a sculptor they had to select from a list the primary teacher provided. They had to provide some basic background information and include somephotos of their work. I was quite impressed by the ease with which every student navigated the web to find their research information to import it into their powerpoint. Most of the layouts were exemplary and honestly, many had less trouble with formatting than I would have had. I thought back to my introduction to computers in high school. It happened to be in 8th grade (1980). All we did for the trimester was learn how to run programs in BASIC language. I know that most of you who are reading this (thanks by the way) probably have no idea what BASIC is. It would be like comparing Pong to the Xbox. Now that i'm thinking about it, you probably don't know what Pong is either. The point I'm trying to make is that we have come such a long way in how we teach our students, the technology we are able to expose them to and the learning methods we now employ.
But my question is... are we still missing something? In putting together these projects, no less than 10 students asked me what "Country of Origin" meant? I went from astonished, to confused, to pissed. How could an 8th grader not know the meaning of that phrase? And who's to blame for that? Their elementary teachers?, their current grade level teachers?, parents?, peers?, themselves?, WHO!?
I've got my own ideas about the state of education in our society, why most teachers are failing their students and why parents don't take a more active roll in the lives of their kids.
But I want to know what you guys think? If someone can help me off the ledge on this, please do.
But my question is... are we still missing something? In putting together these projects, no less than 10 students asked me what "Country of Origin" meant? I went from astonished, to confused, to pissed. How could an 8th grader not know the meaning of that phrase? And who's to blame for that? Their elementary teachers?, their current grade level teachers?, parents?, peers?, themselves?, WHO!?
I've got my own ideas about the state of education in our society, why most teachers are failing their students and why parents don't take a more active roll in the lives of their kids.
But I want to know what you guys think? If someone can help me off the ledge on this, please do.
A rare day off
My kid's home with double pink eye today, and maybe tomorrow. But I have a sub assignment so I may send him off to school and roll the dice. We'll see how he looks in the morning. Having a "day off" gave me some time to catch up on some much needed housework, and homework. Juggling a family, classes and sub work can be demanding and stressful. Good thing I don't have any serious vices... except maybe chocolate. I did find some time today to start to working on outlines for our summaries. Hannah and I are working together this go round and I am looking forward it. I did have a class with her previously and was always impressed with the work she does and the way she carries herself. I am hoping to learn a thing or two from her.
I also spent some time working on another of my classes today ED D 569- Reading in the Content Area. It's another class I am really enjoying. What I really find cool is thinking about the ways that I can take what I learn in each class and meld them in my own way. I've already applied some of what i've learned in 511 to assignments that I am creating in 569. Good stuff.
I'm kinda bummed the Tigers aren't on tonight, but its one less distraction I guess. For those of you that don't know me well yet, I used to work for the Tigers. I spent four seasons in their corporate sales department. I've also worked for other professional sports teams, and associations, around the country. That's what I did for the last 12 years before I turned to teaching. There's alot more to that story. Perhaps I'll share some more tidbits down the road.
I also spent some time working on another of my classes today ED D 569- Reading in the Content Area. It's another class I am really enjoying. What I really find cool is thinking about the ways that I can take what I learn in each class and meld them in my own way. I've already applied some of what i've learned in 511 to assignments that I am creating in 569. Good stuff.
I'm kinda bummed the Tigers aren't on tonight, but its one less distraction I guess. For those of you that don't know me well yet, I used to work for the Tigers. I spent four seasons in their corporate sales department. I've also worked for other professional sports teams, and associations, around the country. That's what I did for the last 12 years before I turned to teaching. There's alot more to that story. Perhaps I'll share some more tidbits down the road.
Back in the Saddle
Back after a short hiatus. Not by design so much, but Im just trying to get use to putting my thoughts and words down on paper. I would consider myself faily self reflective but it has been mostly internal to this point. "Putting myself out there" is not something that is completely natural to me. Remember, I just got on facebook. Quite frankly, my nerves are still a little frayed still but i am working through it.
Anyway, Let me share some of my thoughts about class on Wednesday night. I think I've turned the corner because my level of anxiousness about the coursework which I described a couple weeks ago is turning to anticipation. I'm totally getting into this class. I can see the big picture that Tiffany, and Mike, have envisioned for us. I'm all over absorbing as much of what they can dish out. I may not be the most adept at all of the assigned work but I realize that what ever my final grade is, that's not what is important. And it shouldn't be for any of us. There were a handful of people trying to make the point about grades and how everyone deserves an A. I hope you guys will come to see the big picture soon because if your worry about grades your missing the boat. Ive learned more in four weeks than I have with some of my ED classes that cover 15 weeks.
Noone should feel like I am addressing them individually becase I am not. This is a general statement based on some comments I heard in class.
Anyway, Let me share some of my thoughts about class on Wednesday night. I think I've turned the corner because my level of anxiousness about the coursework which I described a couple weeks ago is turning to anticipation. I'm totally getting into this class. I can see the big picture that Tiffany, and Mike, have envisioned for us. I'm all over absorbing as much of what they can dish out. I may not be the most adept at all of the assigned work but I realize that what ever my final grade is, that's not what is important. And it shouldn't be for any of us. There were a handful of people trying to make the point about grades and how everyone deserves an A. I hope you guys will come to see the big picture soon because if your worry about grades your missing the boat. Ive learned more in four weeks than I have with some of my ED classes that cover 15 weeks.
Noone should feel like I am addressing them individually becase I am not. This is a general statement based on some comments I heard in class.
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