Philosophy Without A Home

I find it interesting that last week this site listed the job openings for almost every school in Lake County Illinois. Image by Getty Images via Daylife This week as you can see it only lists 9 schools in Lake County. I believe it listed openings for every school on this list . How did I notice the change? I spent all of last year looking for work, then last week my school district sent out RIF letters to every non-tenured teacher in the district. So yeah I noticed the change. View Larger Map Related articles by Zemanta Schools In Trouble: Layoffs Could Top 20,000 In State School Districts (huffingtonpost.com)

Image by ZEDZAP>Nick via Flickr Allegedly a superintendent said something to the effect of, "I'm not doing missionary work. It's part of my contract" when asked about his 4% raise and leased car. What would you do if he said this at the same board meeting that they decided to RIF all non-tenured teachers? I'd love to get the minutes of that meeting, but I can't seem to find them anywhere. Image by Giorgio____is_Off_Auguri via Flickr

It seems everywhere in the state schools are talking about money or the lack thereof. With Governor Quinn claiming we need to raise taxes and cut education funding. Schools are getting worried. Home prices have been down for years, so this Illinois model of funding schools through property taxes is really taking a big hit. The last few weeks it seems all the headlines I see are talking about the number of teachers that are getting laid off. Here in our district the teachers have been fretting for weeks, only to find that their worst fears are coming true. Not only are all non-tenured teachers expecting pink slips in the next few days, but a few dozen tenured teachers are also staring down the axe-head. Each school and each teacher takes the news differently. Some teachers expecting to lose jobs are busy cornering union stewards and asking for advice. Others are fighting the depression or trying to come to grips with the harsh realities. All are or should be refining their resumes a

They say you need 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill. I guess the idea is we need enough time to make our mistakes and learn from them. Today I’m thinking about conversations with teachers at school . Most teachers these days are worried about their future, especially new teachers. So why is the district wasting money on raises for everyone else? Why are they leasing luxury cars for high-level administrators? Why are they buying new computers? Wait a second hold the phone. Why are they buying new computers? Image via Wikipedia Getting past all that what is the justification for me to have a computer. Can I not do my job without a computer? I can keep record on a notepad, I can teach without the computer. I’d love to use a projector and Smartboard and stuff, but I don’t have those. I don’t teach the entire class anyway. No what I need a computer for is to deliver some of the interactive intervention programs we are buying. What you ca

I've read this story twice now. At first I thought oh it sounds pretty good. Let's examine quality teachers and see if we can spot some common characteristics. Unfortunately we have two problems. The common characteristics are opinions based on anecdotal evidence. They are teaching techniques not teaching methods or strategies. Yes, yes I know there is no one right teaching method and classroom management is very important, but I hate to burst your bubble but there is no one right method of classroom management either. Some very effective teachers would take the 49 techniques and throw them out the window. On the other hand I do know some teachers who could use a good lesson or two on how to manage a classroom. With that thought in mind here are some selected quotes from the article and some comments by me. The classes were small. The school had rigorous academic standards and state-of-the-art curriculum and used a software program to analyze test results for each student, pin

@chrislehmann : #tedxnyed How do you create a centralized outcome from a decentralized process? @gsiemens I'm not sure of the best answer, but here's my first thought. Napoleon on Project Management Jerry Manas Page 144 – 145 “First, he made sure his troops were adaptable. … They were also ready for change at a moment's notice and were well trained in the ability to swiftly regroup to meet any given situation. Second, he made sure they were empowered. By arming them with knowledge of the mission's concept and structuring them so they could operate independently, he was able to give brief, simple instruction to his commanders and know that the mission would be followed through. And by receiving regular communications from his commanders as to any variations, he made his army contributors to the plan, not just followers of a rigid process that didn't take reality into account. Finally, he made sure they were unified. His armies operated

For thirty minutes I have been listening to a teacher try to set up a field trip to a mall. Called Math in the Mall. She wants permission for the students to come to the mall and take some pictures of the floor and find the parrallell lines. The malls won't let her because they don't allow photographs. huh? The sad part is she has done this in the past, but the person on the mall end who usually helped he organize decided to retire. I guess allowing 7th grade students to wander the mall isn't acceptable in polite society anymore. So much for trying to engage students in education.