Additional Technology Goal

Another technology goal of mine? Figuring out how to manage fonts on my blog...

PDP 1.0

OK, it's time for another new thing. The first year is over tomorrow (!) so it's time to develop the PDP in preparation for next year.

The main focus of my PDP is going to be classroom management (both indicators: time management and student behavior). I realize that if I want next year to be better, I need to come up with a different way of doing things. How does the cliche go? Something about not expecting different results from doing things the same way...

Anyway, I've got the meeting with my evaluator coming up on Thursday. Here are the goals and activities I've devloped so far. I expect that my meeting will give birth to version 2.0 without any major revisions to 1.0. I'm good with that--this is my first time!

PD goal number 1

Develop and implement a classroom/behavior management plan that maximizes instructional time and minimizes behavior and procedural disruptions

Activities

- Complete the Alabama Professional Development module entitled Classroom and Behavior Management

- Attend (Conference Name) during the summer break

- Work with a mentor teacher to develop and implement a written classroom management plan

- Observe different teachers to develop an understanding of their classroom management plan

- Complete a book study on Classroom Management for Elementary Teachers

PD goal number 2

Further develop the technology aspect of my teaching effort to include lesson presentation/ reinforcement, student usage of technology, and communication with parents

Activities

- incorporate UnitedStreaming video material into my lessons

- develop opportunities for students to produce technology-based products

- develop an interactive weblog parent interaction

- develop and implement plans for student produced material utilizing programs such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Movie Maker, Excel, and Photo Story

Another Nemerov Poem

I don't know what it is about Howard Nemerov education poems...maybe it's his honesty. Do all poets speak the unspeakable for the mute? See for the unseeing?

To David, About His Education

Howard Nemerov

The world is full of mostly invisible things,

And there is no way but putting the mind's eye,

Or its nose, in a book, to find them out,

Things like the square root of Everest

Or how many times Byron goes into Texas,

Or whether the law of the excluded middle

Applies west of the Rockies. For these

And the like reasons, you have to go to school

And study books and listen to what you are told,

And sometimes try to remember. Though I don't know

What you will do with the mean annual rainfall

On Plato's Republic, or the calorie content

Of the Diet of Worms, such things are said to be

Good for you, and you will have to learn them

In order to become one of the grown-ups

Who sees invisible things neither steadily nor whole,

But keeps gravely the grand confusion of the world

Under his hat, which is where it belongs,

And teaches small children to do this in their turn.

Good Bye, Molly

May 3, 2007

Throughout the year, my newsletter would often have this cliche (which, I suppose, is why it's a cliche): it's hard to believe...

As this year draws to an end, I'm going to have to dust it off one more time...it's hard to believe that there's only ten days of school left!

Can cliches actually gather dust?