Academy 21

By -



Well, summer is finally here. I haven't had a lot of time before to think about our pilot group while school was still in session. I can't believe that teachers have so many loose ends to tie up before we leave for the summer. And who am I kidding, I spend my summers at school anyway.

So now I have been thinking about nothing but the pilot... or shall I say Academy 21. Our group met last night to talk about the parent meeting we will have tonight. It was fun being around four other people who are ready and willing to change the traditional educational model that we have.

I am so excited to be an advisor more than anything else. I can't wait to be able to build a community with my group that I haven't been successful at in my traditional classes. I think with this sense of community, the students will feel more supported by their peers and advisors. I don't want to be the teacher that gives them a grade, I want to be the advisor that helps them reach their highest potential.

Parent meeting tonight... I will keep you posted on the feedback. Hopefully, I will meet with about 30 families that have an open mind.

Comments

  1. UnknownJune 16, 2010

    Good luck Julie, What an exciting endeavor. There are many anxious people at the high school wondering what this thing is all about and how it will impact what we do. Do keep posting here. I would love to know how it's going and maybe would like to come over once things are rolling to see what you're doing. Will students in the pilot be taking electives such as art, music etc. or are things like that integrated into what you're doing? I don't know much about it so sorry if my comments are a bit uninformed.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Will You Take The Challenge?

By -
For the last 30 days, I have been answering one reflection question each day and I have learned so much about myself as an educator. Whether you are a veteran blogger or brand new to blogging, I invite you to take this challenge. Video tape or write your answers to each of the reflection questions and share it with your PLN. Here are the questions that I came up with. Are you ready to take the challenge? 30-Day Blog Challenge Day 1:  How did you decide to become a teacher? Day 2:  What do you believe is your greatest strength as a teacher? Day 3:  In which area do you think you can improve the most? Day 4:  What were you most worried about as you approached your first day as a teacher? Day 5:  How do you keep your classroom organized? Day 6:  What have you observed of other teachers that might work in your own classroom? Day 7:  How can you best promote responsibility in your students? Day 8:  How do you connect with your students? Day 9:  What do you want out of the “Staff
Read more

Standards Based Grading

By -
Okay along with my 30 day reflection videos I do want to use this blog for sharing my ideas and collaborating. I was just telling my students that we live in a "global community" and I started thinking that I could collaborate with great teachers from all over. I have been researching a lot about standards based grading and I think it is the right thing for my classes. I have been reading books on grading and my eyes have really opened. My grade book used to be filled with all homework assignments and assessments. This doesn't tell anyone what the students actually came away with. I know that I need to change how I have been doing things and I know that it is best for my students.
Read more

Confession: Why I stopped blogging

By -
Image
It has taken me a long time to write this post. In the beginning I was very excited to start blogging and share my experience with other educators. Unexpectedly and noticeably, the blog started to become something else. The focus started to be about view counts and comments. I started to feel like I wasn't this great teacher that I thought I was and I was scared to write about my ups and downs. What would people think if they knew that I found changes and improvements to the units I was teaching?  Would anyone want to read what I was saying if all I had were questions instead of knowing all of the answers? This anxiety got the best of me for a very long time. This is why I stopped blogging. I was scared to show myself, except I started to realize that I got into blogging to show myself... all of it. I am not the most amazing teacher (...yet), but I am a teacher that is constantly learning and evolving. I am a teacher that wants to be honest with my peers so that I can learn from
Read more