EducatingMe

The following is a response to a challenge from the totally amazing Noah Geisel, after he wrote a post  about finding that authentic audience for student publishing. I shared his post via a tweet touting success in this arena... and then he blasted me and asked me to share a blog post about this success. So here we go... I have been a blogger, inconsistently, for about 3 years. In this time I have had several thousand readers take time to read my thoughts as I butcher my way through the mechanics of the writing process. I write like I speak. It's hard to follow sometimes, but alas, my readers keep coming back for more. I really started having fun watching my analytics rise each week. Two years ago, I decided to answer a bloggers challenge. The blog was to answer the 5 things we should stop pretending in education. I asked 4 of my students to write an answer and I wrote one of them as well. This post received over 1000 clicks in a month. I was elated. The students...

I am not a superstitious person. I love being a dreamer and an idealist when it comes to education, but in all other matters, I am relatively pragmatic. Maybe, my husband tips his eyebrows as I say it. I am NOT superstitious. Yesterday an owl shows up on the back porch. Wow! How lucky to see one so close up. We were extremely cautious because this bird had very long talons and it kept snapping its beak at me like he meant business if I got too close. Upon close inspection, I could tell this owl was hurt, so before doing anything else I called the Tulsa Zoo to find out proper protocol on handling and fixing up this poor thing. The Zoo's Ornithologis t warned me to be careful, but that they would take it in if we could get it to them. I threw a towel over the owl's head and body and carefully pick up the animal. We stuffed it into a box and rush to the zoo. Once inside we had to fill out some paperwork then the man rushed off with the owl. The girls got 1,000 ...

Ok, long story, but I think this is one that absolutely needs to be told. There are a couple of things we need to look at here, educationally speaking. First Issue: On Tuesday this week, I realized a student that I suggested start with Epic and specifically be in my class because i had his brother too, could actually NOT be placed under me because he had an IEP. Due to intense bullying and medical issues that kept him from attending, therefore making him truant two years in a row, he needed a break from the world of traditional schooling. Most of you, my friends in the brick and mortar world, do not understand why this would be an issue at all. A student within the special education system who are on IEPs are placed in Reg Ed classes all the time. It is considered the least restrictive environment.  However, in the virtual world, which are the laws I must abide by, this is not allowed. I was informed it was a logistics thing. That if there is "Direct Instruction" it MUST c...

Teamwork leave you thinking bad thoughts? I found a Twitter post the other day where a guy was talking about teamwork being work but worth it. I thought that his tweet was adept, but I couldn't help but have a bad taste in my mouth when I think about teams, teamwork, or group work. In college, I was always the one pushing my team through and making sure everyone pulled their weight and ultimately finishing up the slackers work and making it look consistent. People that know me, KNOW that I am a procrastinator, so it was a big deal for someone to push it out further than me.   In grade school we were placed in pods and had group work...again, I would tend to back off of my ideas for the greater good of just moving with the team and getting the job done. As I read through his first post and then the next on teamwork, I kept thinking I don't agree, but then into the thirst post, I started thinking about the only team I ever fully felt worked and worked well together. It was ...

I was texting with a friend last night and this morning. It felt like it could easily belong here on the blog as a reflection piece. So here is MY side... I always ask even without words that you unload on me. You gotta get that stuff out.   Babe, I moved schools a lot too. There are times that it sucks, but the new start was helpful many times too. None of it matters if you are trying to make a better life for your family.   I had to take a serious look at my life and job a couple years ago. I was climbing a ladder and loving it. I love being busy. I love being the most knowledgeable person in the room about something. I loved teaching adults. But my own kids were suffering. I worked at home WITH them but was completely unavailable.   I was worried about it looking like I was demoting. I was worried that I wouldn’t be a part of the “in crowd” anymore. I was worried I would be on an island. Guess what…all of those things are in a little way true and hap...

Back to writing. I really love podcasting as a medium to express what I think. I hate to write. It is time-consuming and I always find mistakes after I hit publish. I am never sure if what I have to say is worth someone's time to read it. I have become complacent. I have not written in a while, but the #oklaed chat from Sunday evening (July 9th) was all about telling your story. I thought it might be a good piece to bring me back into the medium in which I ruin regularly. I also find my vocabulary limits my ability to get across my true feelings, but what the hell. So my story...where do I start. I do not want this post to thrown shade on any person or persons from my life, but mine is not your typical teacher story. I have alluded to getting into this line of work for the summers off, folks that's the truth. Here's the short version... I hated school growing up. I was labeled LD and thrown into remedial math classes from 4th grade on. This label defined me. To my pee...

The end of the year came and passed. So I can keep myself accountable, this is my theme for next school year, I am going to post my summer to-do list here. In between these nonpaying side jobs I have this summer, (it seems once the word gets out that you are "off work for a few months, you become a hot commodity) I have made a few goals for my summer. I plan to read several books. The first was Kim Bearden's Crash Course. I started this book last year but put it away when I made myself insanely busy building a curriculum. I loved how she used her students' stories to learn some great life lessons that she then shares with the world. It is a very quick read if you are looking for inspiration as well as so great pointers for ways to teach some of your same old content. The plan from here is fiction, then non-fiction and repeat. Kurt Vonnegut's Galapagos is up next. Do you want a book review for each book? I am redesigning the inside of my van so the hubs can build it...