So my favorite cherry tree on campus (not my favorite tree in the world, mind you, but my favorite tree here at school… what, you don’t have lots of favorite trees? Get some!) is blooming… and that means that it is the time of year when everything changes, for better or for worse.
One of the best teachers I’ve worked with since I have been here was transferred to another school. She didn’t ask to, she wasn’t asked to, she was told, “You are moving,” and thus she had to leave. I don’t like it. The system here for teacher management is different. The Board of Education hires and controls the movement of the teachers. But, them not being on the ground here at school, they don’t actually know how that teacher works at the school, or how involved/good/amazing having them at the school is. I know that there is something to be said for moving teachers who become entrenched at schools and keeping things active and moving, but there is also something to be said for developing a dynamic team that works well together. Removing a key piece may cause the structure to fall. She was a key player here and without her things will not be the same.
Tech is changing here, too. We have a new personalized domain for the school. I will be teaching professional development courses to many of the teachers this year. It is exciting, I have wanted to do this since I came, so now, getting to actually DO it, is nice.
We’re on the blend, too. One of my classes will start out, on the first day of class, by logging into Google Classroom and learning how to navigate their shiny, new Google accounts. Its exciting for me, as, when I came, just letting the kids use Power Point once a year was a big thing. I don’t know yet how it will go over and how they will feel… but don’t worry, I’m planning on surveying them about it and then publishing how they feel about it, so, you’ll find out.
Time for new curriculum, new collaborations among new and old teachers, and change. Lots of change.
Let’s hear it for change, good change, and work hard to make it positive.
Happy 2015-16 school year beginning to everyone, and good luck.
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