EducatingMe

One of my great passions in education is making GIANT connections to learning. Once a year I try to go big in some way, shape or form. Going big (in my opinion) shows students that learning can be fun, but also that you care enough to make a grand gesture. Over the past 4 years, I have organized a "Court of Dreams" Thunder basketball day of math experience for my school. This includes all grade levels (PreK through 12th) separated into grade bands working on math on the Thunder basketball court. This is a fun-filled day and the Thunder Broadcast Team usually make a point to interview one or two students and make a huge deal out of it. The Thunder has grown accustomed to fulfilling Court of Dreams requests so that HS basketball teams can get the experience of playing on the court of their heros, but our school was the first to use the basketball court to do math lessons. All of the lessons are centered around basketball and every kid got to shoot baskets as well. ...

Teaching is messy. I love trying new things. I want to work in new ways to present or receive (from students) the same old content. In order to do this, things do not always turn out the way I hoped. I also do my very best to personalize the education process. THIS TAKES A CRAP-TON OF WORK!!! I make mistakes every single day. I am constantly revising, editing and polishing my craft. Every single year I think, "Ok, this year is going to be better." Every year I decide that I can do better and start from nearly scratch. I am overwhelmed with this mess at times. Is it that I teach every subject and every grade level? Is it that I want every one of my students to be rounded and educated AND happy? I get to keep my students from year to year. As a matter of fact, a portion of my bonus depends on whether or not my students come back next year. The pressure of this is insane and it's sloppy and always has me on my toes to improve and keep it fun and relevant. Add to th...