February 6th 2012
Today, as I was reading this goal, I thought about a question I was asked recently … “If you were to walk away from this job, what is the greatest experience you would take with you?” (Of course, I am now paraphrasing … Even though Shelly is talking about teaching – and I have so [...]
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July 15th 2011
A few years ago, I discovered word clouds in a training that discussed Wordle. I have enjoyed this website for years and have a gallery of pictures to prove it. (In fact, I have several since my students could never remember what exactly my gallery title was. This past year, as I met some [...]
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July 8th 2011
Today, I had an awesome opportunity to co-train other mentors in the value of technology. My co-trainer, Christie, and I gathered 100 sites to provide others with a survey of the Internet. As our director checked on our progress, we admitted that she was “enabling our addiction.” (We weren’t very productive simply because we “played” [...]
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June 29th 2011
As we finish the final week of this school year, my own reflection is as valuable as the one I ask my mentees to complete — what trends did I see? what did I do well? what changes will I make for next year? I must admit that I love this new evaluation system we [...]
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May 25th 2011
After spending over 2 weeks on an evaluation cycle of new teachers (not my mentees), it is so good to be back as a mentor. As I reflect on my year with both responsibilities, I can see (1) why having both is important, and (2) why I was chosen to be a mentor. To be [...]
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March 28th 2011
3 Experiences and What I Learned 1. Mentoring new teachers provides amazing opportunities for self-reflection. As a full-release mentor in my district, I wear two distinct hats – mentor and evaluator … yet n’er the two shall meet. When I mentor, I observe and conference to provide data that can guide our conferences toward growth [...]
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March 19th 2011
Goal 22: Be a Mentor or Find a Mentor “The power we have through networking is humbling, frightening, and exciting. Use it well.” ~ Ruth Cohenson, @tearoof Andy Stanley once described mentoring as “duplicating yourself.” As a mentor, I don’t wish to create “mini-Me’s,” but I do wish to share everything I know in an [...]
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March 1st 2011
Goal #15 … Be a Guide Recommended Reading … Drive by Daniel H. Pink Quote “I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” — Albert Einstein Most of us start each school year with the typical interest surveys and learning profile inventories. Why? (For those of [...]
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February 13th 2011
Goal #1 … Be a Beam! To be honest, I may use some of the wording, images, and challenges provided by Sherry Terrell and Lisa Dabbs. So please indulge me as I work with you to be an inspiration to those around me. When I thought about the concept of “being a beam,” I thought [...]
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February 9th 2011
When I first watched the movie, Sixth Sense with Bruce Willis, I didn’t get it. When the ending revealed that Bruce Willis’s character had been dead the entire movie, I was shocked. I immediately started the movie again to see if I could find all the clues that others seemed to see so easily. How [...]
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