Well Im back, in more ways than one. I have been gone for what seems like ever. First in SD for a week, then at work for a planning retreat the last 2 days, and now I finally have a chance to catch you all up.
San Diego started out with a bust. Of course when I was planning, which I'm Mister Planner so should of thought of this, I forgot that I would be leaving for SD on a Sunday morning following 4th of July week in Vegas. For those of you who haven't driven from Vegas to So. Cal on a Sunday morning, esp. following a holiday, I'm jealous, its one of the most painful experiences imaginable, you know, that and childbirth. Anyhow, I realized my error when I pulled out of my garage at 10 a.m. last Sunday and got ready to turn onto the freeway. In a split second I saw my whole day gone, engulfed in a nightmarish-traffic jammed-rage invoking-delirium of near nervous breakdown levels, and I changed my mind. I decided not to go down the 15, but to take some back desert roads down through Needles, out to Barstow, and then south from there. It was still busy, and its quite a few more miles in distance, but the stopping-starting, paranoid rush was avoided. Nevertheless, I made it to SD and was welcomed with a beautiful accommodation at the Sheraton overlooking Coronado Bridge and Island at the Harbor in SD.
The next few days were spent listening to lectures and attending workshops trying to find methods for working with failing students. I had the privilege of hearing Henry Wong speak who is a leader in Classroom Management, and while I teach in a virtual classroom, many of his platitudes apply. I highly recommend his book "How to be an Effective Teacher, the First Days of School" to anyone in the field. Douglas Reeves was another great speaker, and he is one of the country's leading researchers in academic leadership and student achievement.
After 3 days the conference ended, but I had to kill some time until the wedding at the end of the week so I hung out with a couple of friends down in the area. I saw Transformers, which is about as fun as a movie can get. The special effects were unparallelled and it was laugh out loud funny too. Also saw Die Hard 4, not bad, really intense, but not too memorable. When Saturday morning came around, I headed up to Temecula for a wedding of one of my closest friends from HS. It was a reunion of sorts. The 4 guys I moved out to Morro Bay with, the same 4 guys that I spent a majority of my time with the last 3 years of HS, were all there, plus a few others. Its amazing how well us At-Risk HS students turned out. Some got lucky and married well, others went to school, and others were just good at stuff, but we all are doing unpredictably well from where we were in 1994. The wedding was glamorous, the setting was beautiful, the camaraderie was life affirming. I owe you a few more posts, so check back soon.
c
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
I'm Back
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5 comments:
I am so jealous! I can't believe you got to hear Harry Wong! I bet he was dynamic. I re-read his book before starting each new school year. And it always surprises me, that it means more with each reading.
Donna
He was dynamic. Im going to type up some notes I took and put them on the web, I'll let you know when I do. c
I can't wait to talk to you about his seminar, and read your notes. BTW, there's a project I would like you help with when I'm down there. I'd like to have a class website. Do you think we could squeeze in a little web design while I'm there?
D
I think kids need to see the value in establishing personal connections in school. They need, at this age, to have more than just education to drive them to come to school. I found personal challange lacking in HS and graduated at age 16, not really dicovering a lot of individual talent while there.
I agree that curriculum, while important, does not address or prepare student for the madness of our day they are faced with once out of HS. So with this why not establish some kind of sociology class where students are involved in coming up with ideas and ways to address needs on a social and educational level. Maybe putting together sub groups within to put like minds together. So you have say the creative B brainers, the rebels the cyber geeks etc each working within thier strong arenas. Then as a group together on a project or community service or a film where all talent comes together to create something worth contribution that is uniquely thiers. I think kids get togther and smoke pot to have that tribal group need met, but then the pot takes away motivation and could very well contribute to drop out rate. These are new times and new ways of doing things should involve those affected the most. Who knows the minds of the young better than than those who own the young mind.
"Then as a group together on a project or community service or a film where all talent comes together to create something worth contribution that is uniquely thiers."
I definitely agree that constuctive learning, collaboration, and creativity are integral parts to any good education. Thanks for you comment and ideas.
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