For Sister Geralyn Schmidt, summer is a time for rest, relaxation and deeper reflection on teaching practice. If you’ve been saying to yourself: “I’ve read a lot about 21st century learning, but how do I incorporate the latest and greatest into my teaching?” — the good Sister is here with some ideas that might encourage you to jump right in!
People are often incredulous at how many browser tabs I have open at any one time. It’s of no consequence to me; I know what’s there and why I have them open. This is how I live now, and I’m perfectly comfortable with it. I don’t think my brain is being affected in any way. In fact, if I look back over the years and reflect on my information-seeking history, it’s apparent to me that this is just part of my natural evolutionary process.
It isn’t until someone asks you to articulate why or how an event changed your life that you realize it is really hard to do. Maybe, for me, it’s because it’s been three years since my professional life changed and it’s hard to recall where I was in my thinking at that time. Or maybe it’s because life now is so much more fulfilling that I don’t reflect enough on the journey that brought me to the here and now. If that’s the case, it’s time to do so.
If we concentrate on fostering curiosity and exploration in the early grades, and guide students to find joy in learning and discovery through their passions and interests, then as those interests change (and the world changes), they will possess the tools and insight to continue to seek learning opportunities. If my 3rd graders graduate as passionate learners and innovative problem solvers, they will be an asset in the future – no matter what that future may bring.
After being a little bit mistreated by some folks who don’t understand civil dialogue, Justin Hamilton, the US Department of Education Press Secretary, asked folks to share what they’re for, education policy-wise, as they were also sharing what they were against. That seemed like a reasonable request. Here’s my list.
For me, this week is one of the most important weeks in the entire semester of English 10B. The reason? We begin to delve into a gamut of complicated, yet crucial human rights issues. To be honest, there is very little that I am more passionate about than social justice. And from what I’ve seen from this generation, for many of my students this is the “stuff” that matters… I teach to show my students that the bystander effect is lethal, often on a scale beyond our imagination.
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