Journal+for+November+29-+December6

Weekly Journal for November 29-December 6, 2009 This was a very long week. Along with all of the regular school expectations, I also had a six hour negotiation session one evening, and spent 10 hours on Saturday with the OEA Representative Assembly in Columbus. Thus, I am again working on my journal on Sunday evening. One of our tasks for this week was to analyze various schools' student needs assessments, and provide feedback. I did like looking at what the other schools came up with. I think that gave my team some new ideas we may decide to include in our survey. I am not sure exactly what to provide in the way of feedback. The others who had already posted provided a lot of valuable feedback. Since we are all facing different situations in our individual schools and districts, I would expect the surveys to be varied. I think just the chance to look at the others was valuable. The video for this week was not one of my favorites. All of the satements are great, but I would also like to add, "Teachers today are overworked, under-appreciated, and exhausted." The reading for the week was much better than the video. I found the information at the beginning to be interesting, however I was unable to find the list (see list) in number 5. Much of the discussion about basic competency, core subjects, communication, collaboration, problem solving, analyzing, decision making, etc. has been said many times before in desribing the goal of any good educational program. The difficulty comes in how to actually do it. Many of us struggle with how to find the time to have 21st Century skills coexsist with the core content we are required to teach. While I do believe that students can gain valuable learning through the use of a 21st Century skills focus, and show improved test scores, the overall mindset of my district still favors traditional instruction to prepare students for test success. Although NCLB may encourage 21st Century learning skills, the tests we currently use do not test them. With our funding as well as overall public image based on success on these assessments, it is no wonder districts are reluctant to change. Until the methods of these high-stake assessments change, it will continue to be difficult to get those in charge to allow such significant change. I hope my entry this week does not seem too negative. I am gaining skills, and an appreciation for the process. I hope to be able to encorporate more of the 21st Century skills and methods in my classroom in the future. Happy Holidays everyone! Mark Smith