A New School Day?

Changing Our Schools to Meet the Needs of Today’s Kids...

I feel that we could make some big changes to today’s schools:

1. We need to incorporate PD into the regular day/week. It NEEDS to be scheduled. Some teachers may want to read journals. Some teachers may want to blog. Some teachers may want to work on the University classes. Some teachers may want to work with math manipulatives, or plan a unit of team teaching. This PD needs to have a point or a personally created portfolio – something for accountability, as long as the teacher has input into this.

2. Teachers/administrators need to leave their work at work in order to maintain healthy lives. This could mean an 8:00-5:30 or 7:30 – 5:00 work day. Perhaps there should be one or two evenings scheduled for two hours. Weekends are for self and family. I feel that this is important for health and longevity. Change and initiatives do not usually come from overworked and tired staff.

3. Students could be at school from 7:30 to 9:00 and 3:30 – 5:30 if they or their parents need them to be. This is crucial. Kids need our support. We can schedule this into the work day. For example: The average teacher would teach 4 hours/day, prep and correct for one, lunch and breaks – one hour, PD for one hour, supervision/extra curr – 2 hours. This extra curricular might include supervising kids in the gym, lab, resource, tutoring, playing games, talking, counseling…Our day needs to support our kids. Today’s kids are on their own and this is often for hours before and after school and lunch hour. Why can’t they be at school, just like they are at home. Have a large common TV/computer/games room – multifunctional room. Provide breakfast and snacks… Let’s face it – much of the best times at school for teachers and kids are all of those informal times.. These kids with two working parents, single parents… they need us.

4. Let’s invite parents to have a cup a coffee when they get off of work when they come to pick up their kids. Kids ages 14 and up could come and go, and perhaps kids ages 11-14 could too, with parental permission and/or guidelines. We (staff and parents) could create this outline together. Maybe this is happening.... Let me know...

Any thoughts?

A Few Difficult Days

Difficult days

I’m certainly not a poet like Kelly, and if only I could sound as eloquent as several other bloggers… I guess this is part of the reason why they blog. I started to blog as an experiment – just to see if I could. Then I continued to blog for my grad studies. Now, I’m blogging to connect. I simply could not have fathomed the connections – from people in positions just like me, to gurus and experts. I have been spending time perusing elearnspace, which takes about Connectivism, and until I began this journey into rss feeds, checking my google reader each day, I really didn’t contemplate the possibility of such a journey. For the past few days, I have been pondering over my learning. As June 30th looms ahead, I have been worried about many things. I will be finished my Master’s Degree – where will I find those invaluable leads? Colleagues are moving/retiring. Technology is changing so rapidly – how will I continue to grow.. Where can I continue to study?

Now I know where I have some “connections”!