Welcome! What are we about, here?

Greetings and Welcome to our page.  Yes, OUR page, because a discussion is only useful if two or more participate, and that means all participants are part of it.  The goal is to share news and views about teaching, tutoring, and leading in our classrooms and our communities.  I'll be posting my viewpoints and takes on issues, sharing ideas, providing advice (when solicited), and sharing my experiences while I grow with you.  Together, we make up a community.

That's the real thing, here, isn't it?  We, as educators and administrators, are a community perhaps unique in our society today.  We have that rarest of gifts: the ability to communicate with a broad range of people, and instill not only facts, but values, ways of thinking, and plant the seeds for new ways of doing.  I remember seeing a bumper sticker that read: "If you can read this, thank a teacher!" and this is the reality of our profession.  We are in a profession that demands the analytic and deductive skills of a physician or detective, the marketing skills of the sales professional, the creativity of the most popular artist, the communication skills of the most successful author, and the leadership skills of the most respected of field commanders.  We combine these into a cohesive whole with flexibility and seamlessness every minute of every day.

Let's get the ball rolling!  For starters, let me know of the best experience you ever had in the classroom-that "ahha!" moment, or the student who, after struggling with one concept, suddenly has that breakthrough, or a fun time with a role-play.  Let me tell you of one of mine.

Some years ago I was teaching at a semirural middle school in North Carolina.  At the beginning of the year, I asked my classes to write a page on what they expected to learn about science that year, and told them I would publish and post the ones that communicated the prompt best.  One girl looked a little gloomy.  Her initial paper was less than a page long, with lousy grammar, poor spelling, and little about her hopes for the school year.  After looking it over, I gave it back and said "Stace (not her real name) why don't you try again and this time, don't try to tell me what you think I want to hear, but what you really want to say, like you were talking to one of your friends.  Make it so that anyone reading it can understand what you mean, and if you need help with spelling or anything, I'm right here.  My planning period is third, and if you need a pass to talk this over more, we'll get you one."  She didn't come back in, but the revised paper was such a vast improvement on the original that I posted it at the top of the board.  After that, she made serious efforts to improve her writing, took a stronger interest in her work, and, even though there were ups and downs in the future, she never gave up.

Now it's your turn.  My door is open....