Ups and Downs

It has been weeks since my last blog post. Let's be real, it has been months since the last post :P We are now at the end of June and I want to reflect on this spring.
For a time I was in the midst of proctoring MAP tests and was caught up in the assessment wheel of education. This would have been a mixed topic to blog about. On the one hand the students did well so this is good news, on the other hand, the testing is stressful. So much rides on the scores and the assessment is really not matched yet to our curriculum. Hence valuable instruction time is spent on getting students ready for the skills tested.
On a professional note, I volunteered and then was voted into a 2 year executive board member position of the Uniserve Council that my school district is served by. I had been serving as the representative from the district and now I have increased accountability. I have an interest in serving on the political action committee so we will see how things progress.
This spring I decided to get into better physical health with changing my eating and exercise habits. It has been a really good journey thus far. I went online and found a community of like minded people to inspire and share with. If you have any interest at all in doing this I would recommend Sparkpeople It is similar to Weight Watchers but free and has so much information and cool things to help you keep track of your health. I have learned a lot and have stayed motivated and lost 18 pounds so far. I eat better and exercise daily. I feel good!
I hope that your summer is off to a good start and I promise to post again much sooner.

Judging others- Who me?

I was skyping with my son about what I think are important topics. Marriage, divorce, relationships, work, job satisfaction, money, belief systems, education, good choices...In the conversation I had a small aha moment- a little revelation about myself that I will share. I feel a bit embarrassed about this because prejudice and judgments have a negative connotation to them.
I judge people based on how they treat others. I am not proud or feeling good or bad about this - it is what it is. I think that there are things about how we treat others that say something about the person on the inside that we would never know about them in a casual sort of way.

If you are a true friend- you are honest and have regard for that person. You can agree to disagree with someone and still have respect for them as a human being. Because this individual has integrity and speaks with their deeds in a way that is supportive and not out of spite, it is easier to listen to the truth. We are lucky indeed if we have found a mate that is our true friend. This does not mean that we will always get along or have peace and harmony. Not sweating the small stuff that really does not matter in the big scheme of things is a good relationship lesson :)

When I see patience, understanding, kindness, and a general regard and respect for others I think very highly of that individual even though we might not agree on very many other things that are integral in life.
The opposite is also true for me. I am annoyed, put off and at times downright angry when people are disrespectful, impatient with others, mean or self important- even if we might agree on some very important aspects of life.

So yes, I do judge others- as prejudice as that might sound :P

It is obvious

How can we continue to integrate technology into education with the economic challenges that we are facing- because we have to. In a perfect world educators and students would not have to deal with this. We could teach, our students could learn and testing would be a mute point because of course our students would be learning everything they need to learn. The reality is that we need to pull up our boot straps and become more fiscally responsible and creative. With teachers and staff being let go due to lack of funds, schools under increased scrutiny to test students to prove that they are "learning" and an economy that has many in this country questioning spending anything extra on education - is technology in education a necessity and can the technology be integrated for less cost and as effectively?

The answer is "that depends". Many schools are set up very well to pull back financially in their expenditures because in less leaner times they invested in computers and other technology. Other schools that have had harder times or have not made the jump to the 21st century will find it difficult to find money in their budgets for technology. On a more positive note, technology costs have come down significantly in the past years. The technology resources that are available for free or for a small cost are out there if you are willing to search. Does it take some time to find these resources? Yes it does. Do I feel that this is part of my job? I do. Of course I would love to use the latest, greatest and easiest technology. It is however not prudent in these economic times. If in my own household and in the community, the state, and beyond we are being asked to budget better, it is fair that we in our schools have to do the same.

Where do we go from here?

Gloom and doom! Entire staff are being fired from schools. Layoffs of teachers and support staff for economic reasons in the United States are being realized every day. The economic divide is increasing with more children living in poverty than ever before which effects their learning and their future. Throwing money at schools is not the answer and neither is major education reform. We have to think about education in a more broad way. Education is a part of our society and culture. There has got to be a bright side to all of the negatives.
I would like to see real critical thinking about how to change fundamentally our society. It is true that the powers that be (government but also school administration and boards) affect positively or negatively the lives of our children. Ultimately our society needs to decide how we can do right by all members of this country, rich and poor and those in between.
It should not be ok that people that want to work cannot find a job, families are homeless, without health care and cannot take care of their kids. Once these things in society are addressed than education reform can move forward and the youth in this country will be better off. Our society will be better for it as well.
The question remains, where do we go from here? Will society become more divided testing our humanity or will it pull together for the common good of all? I wish I had the answers but I do remain hopeful.

Late to the form! 2nd grade quiz

There are so many excellent applications to do with students that can be integrated into the curriculum. I stumbled upon one that has been around for a few months (a year?) or longer and tried it this week.

I have made a google form for the 2nd grade classes I teach. It is very easy to make and an excellent tool that I will use on other occasions. I had taken surveys that other professionals had done using google forms but this was my first attempt at trying it myself. You need a gmail account to do this. I simply made a link to the form and put it on the website that I use for teaching every day. I accessed the results back in my google documents immediately and print them out for the classroom teacher to review with their classes if they would like. There are so many uses for a form that really your imagination is the limit!