Teaching With Technology in APS

I’ve known this for a while, but with my new job I realize it on a whole new level. We need more time.

Time for training,

professional development,

exposure to curriculum,

planning,

organizing data,

and plenty of other stuff that just plain needs to be taken care of before we can move on to the smaller things that are just as important as the large ones.

Last school year our district-wide in service days were cut from four to two. Not quite sure where this idea started, who thought it was a good idea, and exactly why we would do this, but we did. Now our schools and teachers are pretty much drowning because of that choice. The best way I’ve heard it explained in the past is that our professional development is best compared to a river that’s a mile wide and an inch deep. By the time things really get going and people feel comfortable with what they’re doing, it is decided that particular resource isn’t as valuable as it was once thought and now it’s time to learn a new one. That’s simply how it’s always been in education.  And to add to this, educators and the system are really, really good at adding things, and they practically never take anything away.
There will come a day when the planning time that everyone needs in order to be effective will be there, and I hope that day comes soon. Until then,  we’ll just do the best with what we’re given. I guess that’s all we can do.

Great article from The Denver Post that caught my eye a few weekends ago.  You can find it here.  I think it’s about time we change how the kids learn in our schools, especially our high schools.  What we’re doing obviously isn’t working as well as it should.

I always enjoy reading the responses and perspectives that get posted after a news story like this becomes available online.  You can always count on that old, “Well, I graduated in 1962 and I turned out fine, why are we changing things?”  You can also hear from people that “get it” as well.

Check it out…I like where this is going.  No need to change the content, but it’s definitely time to remix how it’s presented and experienced by our students.