Well, it's been a couple of weeks. Wonderful and rough! I have been out of the country. I thought that I would be able to access all of my data and work, even though I was in Canada...wrong! My Blackberry wouldn't access my data; and in every hotel, every computer, I could not access my data...along with that...I stayed in some pretty remote areas of Montana and well...you get the drift...no data! So it took a lot of ingeuity to get my work done for Week 2 and I was happy I did.
On to Week 3, as I got back into the swing of life, I became ill; my computer crashed; and then....I backed my car into my son's truck...that's the rough part of the saga.
So I called Dell and they expidited, free, a new operating system, and I decided while I was at it to get new office software and a wireless mouse. Yesterday I loaded all of this onto my computer and was able to finish my action plan and my assignment! Yeah!
So now, I will attach my action plan and then hope and pray I am able to do a great job implementing it!
Hope no one had the week I did...
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Passions!
Ok...the title is not reflective of a soap opera...wasn't there a soap titled that at one time? I don't know...I haven't watched them in over 20 years but it sounds familiar...at any rate the title refers to the part of the textbook that I have been reading now. I am into Week Two...trying to get ahead so I don't have a nervous breakdown while I am gone...thinking about this course and worrying! I want to have all my assignments turned in so that when I come back I will be ready to go again!
Any way back to passions....the textbook talks about The Passions That Drive Our Journey...what a fantastic way to put it! I indeed think that in order to be effective at whatever you choose to do you must be passionate. When you lose that, you become ineffective! So passion does drive this journey called education.
There are many passions written about in our Week Two Readings. Dr. Hopson posed some fantastic questions on our discussion board Week One. Many of these questions, that pertain to our action research ideas, are asked in the textbook.
One in particular is Leadership. The thought is that in order to be extraordinary and to get extraordinary things done in organizations, leaders must engage in effective practices of leadership. I AGREE! One such practice is to model the way. Isn't that what this course intoduced to us? Don't do as I say do as I do...should be a thing of the past. Now it's like High School Musical, We're all in this together! That's what I think, feel and believe. When we feel that way, live that way, lead that way, and act that way, what are the results? I imagine it's a lot easier and less painless to get everyone on board; to collaborate for a shared vision; to become a cohesive team; to have each others best interests at heart...then bingo! We encourage each other and enable others to become the best that they can be...
To be honest...again...Passion 6: Leadership, is inspiring; it's inspired me...hopefully that will translate to inpire others.
Any way back to passions....the textbook talks about The Passions That Drive Our Journey...what a fantastic way to put it! I indeed think that in order to be effective at whatever you choose to do you must be passionate. When you lose that, you become ineffective! So passion does drive this journey called education.
There are many passions written about in our Week Two Readings. Dr. Hopson posed some fantastic questions on our discussion board Week One. Many of these questions, that pertain to our action research ideas, are asked in the textbook.
One in particular is Leadership. The thought is that in order to be extraordinary and to get extraordinary things done in organizations, leaders must engage in effective practices of leadership. I AGREE! One such practice is to model the way. Isn't that what this course intoduced to us? Don't do as I say do as I do...should be a thing of the past. Now it's like High School Musical, We're all in this together! That's what I think, feel and believe. When we feel that way, live that way, lead that way, and act that way, what are the results? I imagine it's a lot easier and less painless to get everyone on board; to collaborate for a shared vision; to become a cohesive team; to have each others best interests at heart...then bingo! We encourage each other and enable others to become the best that they can be...
To be honest...again...Passion 6: Leadership, is inspiring; it's inspired me...hopefully that will translate to inpire others.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Action Research Part Two!
Okay! I am now knee deep into my new favorite thing, action research! I have already started wondering, questioning (not new for me!), inquiring, evaluating and researching...I haven't taken any action as of yet! (That's a joke!) Some of my inquiring and questioning is due to the FABULOUS discussions posted on our week one discussion board. This group of people are fantastic. Their insights blow me away. Because of many of the posts I have read, I have started rethinking some of my action research. Also, as I read the textbooks - my mind has been challenged and some of my ideas have been challenged as well.
I am passionate about reaching all children. I always have been. Now, I am also passionate about helping teachers and reaching them. If you can build a community of learners in a classroom and have just such a fantastic feeling of ownership....why can't you do this with your entire community of learners...your school? That's one of my wonderings. It's basis has to do with something one of my colleagues posted on our discussion board. He wonders about inspiring teachers; about helping them to reach their heights and not reach their lows...as most do now. How do we do this?
One thing that jumped out at me during Week One videos and readings, and discussions, (!), is that a mindset of process/product has to be dashed. That's what every school I have ever taught at did...every year their is a new process or product that is dumped on the teachers...a few years ago our district purchased C Scope. This was a VERY difficult transition for most teachers...extremely stressful and not enough training. I know there aren't enough hours in the day to train...but my thought at that time was maybe we should have taken this product and piloted it at an elementary campus; a middle school campus; and then a high school campus...for a couple of years...then those "experts" the teachers, could train the rest of the district. The kinks and problem areas would be addressed and then maybe it wouldn't have been so extremely difficult. Why wasn't this the way it was approached? I don't know...but I have wondered about that...and I saw tremendous burnout that year and many teachers - great ones left our district. Not good. So that's at the basis of one of my wonderings...as it is with many of my cohorts in the Partnership program.
I hope that we can come to some insight about that one.
Thanks to all that have read my blog so far and gave me such wonderful comments! You guys rock! :)
I am passionate about reaching all children. I always have been. Now, I am also passionate about helping teachers and reaching them. If you can build a community of learners in a classroom and have just such a fantastic feeling of ownership....why can't you do this with your entire community of learners...your school? That's one of my wonderings. It's basis has to do with something one of my colleagues posted on our discussion board. He wonders about inspiring teachers; about helping them to reach their heights and not reach their lows...as most do now. How do we do this?
One thing that jumped out at me during Week One videos and readings, and discussions, (!), is that a mindset of process/product has to be dashed. That's what every school I have ever taught at did...every year their is a new process or product that is dumped on the teachers...a few years ago our district purchased C Scope. This was a VERY difficult transition for most teachers...extremely stressful and not enough training. I know there aren't enough hours in the day to train...but my thought at that time was maybe we should have taken this product and piloted it at an elementary campus; a middle school campus; and then a high school campus...for a couple of years...then those "experts" the teachers, could train the rest of the district. The kinks and problem areas would be addressed and then maybe it wouldn't have been so extremely difficult. Why wasn't this the way it was approached? I don't know...but I have wondered about that...and I saw tremendous burnout that year and many teachers - great ones left our district. Not good. So that's at the basis of one of my wonderings...as it is with many of my cohorts in the Partnership program.
I hope that we can come to some insight about that one.
Thanks to all that have read my blog so far and gave me such wonderful comments! You guys rock! :)
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Action Research/Inquiry My Ah Ha Moment!
To be perfectly honest, and you will find it's the only way I know how to be, after reading the course syllabus, I entered into this with trepidation. I am of an age that one could totally believe that upon hearing terms such as action research; action inquiry; blog; create a blog; fear would strike my heart and it did! However, at this point, the process has been fairly painless, enlightening and dare I say it...FUN!
Action research is my new favorite thing. For as long as I can remember, my view of an adminstrator was one of remoteness and isolation. The administrator sat in their office/ivory tower, uninvolved with the school community, where they worked on their computer. Sometimes it seemed as though they were chained in that office! They had no personal relationship with the students and most of the staff due to the confines of the position. To me this was and is a tragic and untenable situation. When I went into teaching, I wanted to change the way people viewed teachers and the teaching profession. I wanted to keep my students and MYSELF engaged at all times in the learning process. We would and still do, learn by inquiry and discovery and we would learn together. After my readings, research, etc. guess what? Action research is an inquiry based method by which the administrator learns along with everyone else in a collaborative effort! This is made for me!
I decided, about a year ago, after the reality of the empty nest slammed me full force, to get my masters and be a school administrator one day. Now, everyone that knows me well tried to dissuade me from this course of action. They believed that this would stifle my creativity and originality.
This is why I will benefit from action research. It fits me. It's who I am. I want to be the kind of administrator that changes the way people view administrators...and that includes ALL stakeholders. Just as I wanted to blaze a trail in teaching...and to some extent I feel I did...I want to do the same thing as a school administrator! I am not going to sit in my office. I am going to use the action inquiry method in everything I do. I always ask a lot of questions. It can be tiring I know. Recently I was in a training. I kept asking tons of questions...because I wanted to know! The trainer got very aggravated with me. I told the trainer, they would have not liked me as a student, probably not as a teacher, and definitely not as an administrator! What I am most excited about, is that through this model, I will be allowed to be the type of administrator I always wanted to be...and not be seen as some type of educational heretic! I knew I would have to be me...but now I can justify my actions through the action research/inquiry method!
Action research is my new favorite thing. For as long as I can remember, my view of an adminstrator was one of remoteness and isolation. The administrator sat in their office/ivory tower, uninvolved with the school community, where they worked on their computer. Sometimes it seemed as though they were chained in that office! They had no personal relationship with the students and most of the staff due to the confines of the position. To me this was and is a tragic and untenable situation. When I went into teaching, I wanted to change the way people viewed teachers and the teaching profession. I wanted to keep my students and MYSELF engaged at all times in the learning process. We would and still do, learn by inquiry and discovery and we would learn together. After my readings, research, etc. guess what? Action research is an inquiry based method by which the administrator learns along with everyone else in a collaborative effort! This is made for me!
I decided, about a year ago, after the reality of the empty nest slammed me full force, to get my masters and be a school administrator one day. Now, everyone that knows me well tried to dissuade me from this course of action. They believed that this would stifle my creativity and originality.
This is why I will benefit from action research. It fits me. It's who I am. I want to be the kind of administrator that changes the way people view administrators...and that includes ALL stakeholders. Just as I wanted to blaze a trail in teaching...and to some extent I feel I did...I want to do the same thing as a school administrator! I am not going to sit in my office. I am going to use the action inquiry method in everything I do. I always ask a lot of questions. It can be tiring I know. Recently I was in a training. I kept asking tons of questions...because I wanted to know! The trainer got very aggravated with me. I told the trainer, they would have not liked me as a student, probably not as a teacher, and definitely not as an administrator! What I am most excited about, is that through this model, I will be allowed to be the type of administrator I always wanted to be...and not be seen as some type of educational heretic! I knew I would have to be me...but now I can justify my actions through the action research/inquiry method!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)