Week 4 Free Post: My many marathons
This weekend I am embarking on a new adventure. I will be running a half marathon. That’s 13.1 miles. (My students asked, “You’ll run the whole time? Without stopping? You don’t walk AT ALL?”)
I’m excited. And a little nervous. I’ve been training, and I think I’m ready, but it’s still a little scary. What if the weather is too hot? Or too cold? What if the hills are steeper than what I trained with? What if the craziness of this week (more on that in a moment) affects my fitness?
But, you know, as I was thinking about this, I was realizing how many other kinds of marathons I’ve done. Isn’t every school year a marathon? Certainly, we must be at mile 25 or 26 by now! And, really, I feel like this week has been a marathon in itself. I attended the Wimba on Monday to present my Publishing/Leadership project. When that was done, I went back to school to set up for Tuesday morning’s rehearsal. (The auditorium was in use until then.) I got home around 10:45. Tuesday morning, I rehearsed for 2 hours with 80 middle schoolers. By myself. Then, we had a concert that night. Today was a bit of a reprieve, but I have a concert at my other school tomorrow.
I’m exhausted. But I also know that I’ll make it to the finish line. Of this week and this school year. And I will feel very good about what we have accomplished in the middle school orchestras this year.
This year at Full Sail has felt like a marathon at times, too. For all the good and the bad, and there certainly have been both, I feel like the finish line is within sight. I know that I’m going to make it, and that I will have done it “without stopping to walk” even once. And that is going to feel great!
Ali Baxendale
Therese,
First of all, good luck on your half marathon! There is no way that I could do that! I also completely agree with you about this program and this time of year being their own marathons. I am lucky that I do not have concerts to worry about at the end of the school year, but I do have mountains of grading to contend with. I think all teachers feel the stress of this time of year. All of us in this program are also feeling the stress of finishing everything up before month 12. When I started this program, I thought it would be great to start in the summer and then finish at the beginning of summer the following year. It never dawned on me at the time, that I would be finishing the school year and my master's program at the same time. We will all make it to the end, and we will feel great when we achieve those goals.
Showing posts with label response. Show all posts
Showing posts with label response. Show all posts
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Week 4- Post 3- Response to Kelly McKinley
wk 4 Getting a new principal!!!!
Sadly, due to the failure of the levy and the impending state takeover, we have been losing some very good people to other districts. Two of our principals found jobs elsewhere. We just got the news this week that our principal will be moving to the Jr. High and we will be getting a new principal next year. After much speculation, we finally found out who our new principal will be and we are all very excited. I had worked with her for several years when I taught at the elementary school and she was a great teacher. They then promoted her to the position of assistant principal and then, after two years in that position, she was promoted to principal of one of the other elementary buildings. She is a fabulous principal.
Ali Baxendale said...
Kelly,
I am so glad to hear that you are getting a new principal that you are excited about! It is about time that you and your school got some good news! My school is also getting a new principal next year. It is going to be an assistant principal from one of the other high schools in the district. I know he is very well liked, and I am interested to see what he will bring to our school. We will have to compare notes throughout this next year to see how everything goes. I know that no matter what, you will continue to be an amazing teacher!
Sadly, due to the failure of the levy and the impending state takeover, we have been losing some very good people to other districts. Two of our principals found jobs elsewhere. We just got the news this week that our principal will be moving to the Jr. High and we will be getting a new principal next year. After much speculation, we finally found out who our new principal will be and we are all very excited. I had worked with her for several years when I taught at the elementary school and she was a great teacher. They then promoted her to the position of assistant principal and then, after two years in that position, she was promoted to principal of one of the other elementary buildings. She is a fabulous principal.
Ali Baxendale said...
Kelly,
I am so glad to hear that you are getting a new principal that you are excited about! It is about time that you and your school got some good news! My school is also getting a new principal next year. It is going to be an assistant principal from one of the other high schools in the district. I know he is very well liked, and I am interested to see what he will bring to our school. We will have to compare notes throughout this next year to see how everything goes. I know that no matter what, you will continue to be an amazing teacher!
Week 4- Post 2- Response to Eric Anderson
Week 4: Project - Publishing-Leadership 3 of 3
What a relief! I’ve spoken to some contacts with the Wisconsin CMP Project (CMP = Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance) and they’re interested in possibly having me present my work at a summer workshop. I’ve attended the CMP workshop several times as a participant, and it would be an honor to be able to present my action research project there.
The 2010 summer workshop is the last week of Month 12 of the EMDT program, so it’s not the best timing as far as this year is concerned. However, the 2011 workshop would give me enough time to continue working on a Cycle 3 for my project to include in my presentation. I think this would be a valuable addition to my project, since my Cycle 2 involved using Ning as a central component to a blended mode of content delivery in my AP Music Theory class. Since Ning will no longer be available in its current form after this July, I would like to look into and experiment with alternatives to Ning that would provide similar functionality, including, discussions, events, and chat.
On a somewhat related note, my department will be presenting a session this October at the WMEA State Music Convention on the topic of general music courses at the high school level. Since my AR project was conducted in two of these classes, I hope to be able to incorporate some components of my project into this presentation.
Ali Baxendale
Eric,
I am so excited that you are going to be presenting your project! I know it will be an excellent presentation from everything I have seen you do in this program! I think it is great that you are going to wait to do another cycle to make your research and project more useful and relevant to the teachers you present to. It would be frustrating to see a wonderful presentation and be unable to use the ideas because the sites used were no longer available. I know you will find a great new site to use! I can't wait to hear how it all turns out!
What a relief! I’ve spoken to some contacts with the Wisconsin CMP Project (CMP = Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance) and they’re interested in possibly having me present my work at a summer workshop. I’ve attended the CMP workshop several times as a participant, and it would be an honor to be able to present my action research project there.
The 2010 summer workshop is the last week of Month 12 of the EMDT program, so it’s not the best timing as far as this year is concerned. However, the 2011 workshop would give me enough time to continue working on a Cycle 3 for my project to include in my presentation. I think this would be a valuable addition to my project, since my Cycle 2 involved using Ning as a central component to a blended mode of content delivery in my AP Music Theory class. Since Ning will no longer be available in its current form after this July, I would like to look into and experiment with alternatives to Ning that would provide similar functionality, including, discussions, events, and chat.
On a somewhat related note, my department will be presenting a session this October at the WMEA State Music Convention on the topic of general music courses at the high school level. Since my AR project was conducted in two of these classes, I hope to be able to incorporate some components of my project into this presentation.
Ali Baxendale
Eric,
I am so excited that you are going to be presenting your project! I know it will be an excellent presentation from everything I have seen you do in this program! I think it is great that you are going to wait to do another cycle to make your research and project more useful and relevant to the teachers you present to. It would be frustrating to see a wonderful presentation and be unable to use the ideas because the sites used were no longer available. I know you will find a great new site to use! I can't wait to hear how it all turns out!
Week 3- Post 5- Response to Alicia Kalb
I’m a firm believer in using pop culture in education. I know many teachers frown upon it, but I think that it helps to be able to relate to students. This week I found a correlation between the reading and the newest episode of Glee. This week’s Glee episode was entitled “Dream On” and it was all about making dreams come true. For those of you who don’t watch Glee, you really should check it out by the way, the show revolves around a teacher who brings back the Glee Club and tries to make it great again. He works with the kids who don’t fit in and tries to get them to realize their true potential. He is the kind of teacher who goes outside the box and is working for the kids. Of course there is the cheerleading coach who is everything education shouldn’t be, but is hysterically funny. This week’s episode really spoke to me. When you look at your students they all have a dream, something that they want to achieve and we as teachers need to help them succeed. Especially since there are so many people who try to bring them down. Without dreams, we’re lost. You can check out full episodes of Glee at Fox or Hulu.shapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1
Ali Baxendale
Alicia,
First of all, I also LOVE Glee! I feel a connection to the show because I grew up in choirs all throughout high school, and I am now a high school Spanish teacher (just like Will). I really like the point you make here. I saw the "Dream On" episode. I think it is very important for teachers to help support their students' dreams. I think it is also equally important to make sure students have the facts about their dreams. I have seen many students graduate from high school ready to pursue a degree or career in a very competitive field without realizing the competition. I do not think we should discourage our students' dreams; I just think we should make sure our students pursue those dreams while being educated about them.
Ali Baxendale
Alicia,
First of all, I also LOVE Glee! I feel a connection to the show because I grew up in choirs all throughout high school, and I am now a high school Spanish teacher (just like Will). I really like the point you make here. I saw the "Dream On" episode. I think it is very important for teachers to help support their students' dreams. I think it is also equally important to make sure students have the facts about their dreams. I have seen many students graduate from high school ready to pursue a degree or career in a very competitive field without realizing the competition. I do not think we should discourage our students' dreams; I just think we should make sure our students pursue those dreams while being educated about them.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Week 2- Post 3- Response to Therese Josephson
Week 2 Reading: "White Sheets"
I read The Art of Possibility several years ago, and now that I am re-reading it, I realize that I need to revisit it more often. There are so many wise strategies for being happy and successful, and as I read, I find myself thinking, “Oh yeah! I forgot about that!”
One part of the book that has always stuck with me is the idea of the white sheets. I have always aimed to have ensembles where the students feel that they have ownership. And while I don’t always use the “white sheet” strategy, I have used it on occasion--especially when I feel like things just “aren’t working” in rehearsal.
My first year teaching in the school district that I am currently in was not easy. I was coming from a program where students and parents adored me and I could do no wrong. I was expecting some resistance from students in my new job at first, but nothing like what I actually received. The kids were mad. Mad that their previous teacher had left, mad that I had “replaced” her, and mad that I did not do things the way (they claimed) that she had.
I decided to bring out the white sheets. It wasn’t easy for me to read what they wrote. I still remember the note with pictures of tear drops on it that said, “These are the tears that I cry because you came here and changed everything.” And, in their anger, a lot of the suggestions were not realistic or do-able (or even suggestions, really). But, I gave them an opportunity to vent in a safe environment, and on the occasions that they did provide a reasonable suggestion, I made sure to make a point of trying it.
By the end of the year, we had made some pretty great strides in that class. Things were in no way perfect, probably from my perspective or theirs, but we reached an understanding and were able to make some great music. Students presented me with thank you notes, and even an apology or two. I do believe that the white sheets played a role in this. The students were able to feel like they were being heard. I gave them all the opportunity to have a voice.
Ali Baxendale
Therese,
This is my first time reading The Art of Possibility, but I was also very inspired by the white sheets. I am sure that your willingness to listen to your students that first year, meant more to them than they could express to you. I know that this is one area that I need to reemphasize in my classroom. When I started teaching I worked at an inner city school teaching k-6 Spanish. I was treated as a "special" and say the kids once every three or four days. While there, I developed a Profe's box for my students to put any kind of note in. They could tell me about a problem they were having in class, a topic they were struggling with or something that was going on in their personal lives. Many of my students took advantage of the Profe box, even if it was just to say hi. They liked being able to tell me things. Four years ago, I moved to a suburban high school. I still have the Profe box, but it is not used by my students. I think some of them would really benefit from a place to voice their opinions or concerns. As I am planning for next year, I want to make sure to incorporate the Profe box into my first day of school information, so that all of my students know that there is a safe place to be heard.
I read The Art of Possibility several years ago, and now that I am re-reading it, I realize that I need to revisit it more often. There are so many wise strategies for being happy and successful, and as I read, I find myself thinking, “Oh yeah! I forgot about that!”
One part of the book that has always stuck with me is the idea of the white sheets. I have always aimed to have ensembles where the students feel that they have ownership. And while I don’t always use the “white sheet” strategy, I have used it on occasion--especially when I feel like things just “aren’t working” in rehearsal.
My first year teaching in the school district that I am currently in was not easy. I was coming from a program where students and parents adored me and I could do no wrong. I was expecting some resistance from students in my new job at first, but nothing like what I actually received. The kids were mad. Mad that their previous teacher had left, mad that I had “replaced” her, and mad that I did not do things the way (they claimed) that she had.
I decided to bring out the white sheets. It wasn’t easy for me to read what they wrote. I still remember the note with pictures of tear drops on it that said, “These are the tears that I cry because you came here and changed everything.” And, in their anger, a lot of the suggestions were not realistic or do-able (or even suggestions, really). But, I gave them an opportunity to vent in a safe environment, and on the occasions that they did provide a reasonable suggestion, I made sure to make a point of trying it.
By the end of the year, we had made some pretty great strides in that class. Things were in no way perfect, probably from my perspective or theirs, but we reached an understanding and were able to make some great music. Students presented me with thank you notes, and even an apology or two. I do believe that the white sheets played a role in this. The students were able to feel like they were being heard. I gave them all the opportunity to have a voice.
Ali Baxendale
Therese,
This is my first time reading The Art of Possibility, but I was also very inspired by the white sheets. I am sure that your willingness to listen to your students that first year, meant more to them than they could express to you. I know that this is one area that I need to reemphasize in my classroom. When I started teaching I worked at an inner city school teaching k-6 Spanish. I was treated as a "special" and say the kids once every three or four days. While there, I developed a Profe's box for my students to put any kind of note in. They could tell me about a problem they were having in class, a topic they were struggling with or something that was going on in their personal lives. Many of my students took advantage of the Profe box, even if it was just to say hi. They liked being able to tell me things. Four years ago, I moved to a suburban high school. I still have the Profe box, but it is not used by my students. I think some of them would really benefit from a place to voice their opinions or concerns. As I am planning for next year, I want to make sure to incorporate the Profe box into my first day of school information, so that all of my students know that there is a safe place to be heard.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Week 1- Post 5- Response to Kelly McKinley
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Wk1 Failed Levy
Tuesday, May 4th, my district had two levies on the ballot. One was an earned income tax and the other was a 6.75 millage. This was the sixth time our district went to the voters to get funding for the schools. Without it, our school district faces state takeover. Neither levy passed. The state will take over in July. There will be another levy on the ballot in August and every election thereafter until one passes.
Unfortunately, I have a very divided school district. There are three very different areas that were grouped to make one district. Butlerville is a very rural area. Most students do not have access to the internet and many don't have a computer. Most of the families make their living from their farm. Morrow is working class. Many of the adults do not possess a higher educational degree. Finally, there is Maineville. Most of the growth that had happened in the past ten years has taken place here. Most of the adults are college educated. By my description of these three areas, you can probably guess how voting went.
It is a shame that school districts are forced to beg for money to run a school. Frankly, I am not sure what the state is going to do when they take over. There have been people from the state that have spoken with our district. They are stumped as to how this could happen to our district. We have been working at the minimum allowed by the state. Our district has been rated an "Excellent" district. Our treasurer has earned awards for running the district so frugally. I am just not sure why this has happened. I would blame the economy but I know that isn't the sole reason. Our district has a history of failing levies. There has been talk of dissolving the district and having a neighboring district take responsibility for educating the children. In a way, I hope this happens. Every neighboring district has higher taxes--by almost double.
Ali Baxendale said...
Kelly,
Levies are tough as teachers. I can imagine in a district as diverse as yours, it would be even more difficult. The district that I teach in is the fastest growing in the state. Each year we are building additional buildings to house all of our students. We have three high schools and are looking to build a fourth in a few years. Levies come up on the ballot fairly frequently. Lately our levies have passed, but much of this is due to a parent group that works hard to make sure that the community is educated on the levy and its importance. This group has really helped our district. I hope everything works out for your district!
Wk1 Failed Levy
Tuesday, May 4th, my district had two levies on the ballot. One was an earned income tax and the other was a 6.75 millage. This was the sixth time our district went to the voters to get funding for the schools. Without it, our school district faces state takeover. Neither levy passed. The state will take over in July. There will be another levy on the ballot in August and every election thereafter until one passes.
Unfortunately, I have a very divided school district. There are three very different areas that were grouped to make one district. Butlerville is a very rural area. Most students do not have access to the internet and many don't have a computer. Most of the families make their living from their farm. Morrow is working class. Many of the adults do not possess a higher educational degree. Finally, there is Maineville. Most of the growth that had happened in the past ten years has taken place here. Most of the adults are college educated. By my description of these three areas, you can probably guess how voting went.
It is a shame that school districts are forced to beg for money to run a school. Frankly, I am not sure what the state is going to do when they take over. There have been people from the state that have spoken with our district. They are stumped as to how this could happen to our district. We have been working at the minimum allowed by the state. Our district has been rated an "Excellent" district. Our treasurer has earned awards for running the district so frugally. I am just not sure why this has happened. I would blame the economy but I know that isn't the sole reason. Our district has a history of failing levies. There has been talk of dissolving the district and having a neighboring district take responsibility for educating the children. In a way, I hope this happens. Every neighboring district has higher taxes--by almost double.
Ali Baxendale said...
Kelly,
Levies are tough as teachers. I can imagine in a district as diverse as yours, it would be even more difficult. The district that I teach in is the fastest growing in the state. Each year we are building additional buildings to house all of our students. We have three high schools and are looking to build a fourth in a few years. Levies come up on the ballot fairly frequently. Lately our levies have passed, but much of this is due to a parent group that works hard to make sure that the community is educated on the levy and its importance. This group has really helped our district. I hope everything works out for your district!
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