I was asked to be on a local show on FACT-TV, a local community TV station in Windham County, Vermont, this week. Mary Barber, host of the On the Rockingham Board Walk, interviewed me about my experiences over the past year as Teacher of the Year and about my views on education. It was a great experience to speak to the local community and I really was honored being asked to be a guest on the show.
Check out the show online on their website here: http://www.fact8.com/e107_plugins/autogallery/autogallery.php?show=On_The_Rockingham_Boardwalk
Cheers!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Back-to-School article
The Commons, an independent newspaper in Windham County in southern Vermont, asked me to write a Back-to-School article, and so I gladly jumped at the chance to express my excitement and anticipation of the new school year and the opportunities it gives to teachers and students. It was an exciting article to write.
Check it out on their website here: http://www.commonsnews.org/site/site02/story.php?articleno=2095&page=1
I hope everyone has a great start to the new school year!
Cheers!
Check it out on their website here: http://www.commonsnews.org/site/site02/story.php?articleno=2095&page=1
I hope everyone has a great start to the new school year!
Cheers!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
National Forum on Education Policy - Aug. 18-20
I hope you all had an enriching summer full of new experiences.
My summer ended with an invitation to the 2010 National Forum on Education Policy in Portland, Oregon. The forum was put on by the Education Commission of the States (ECS), and it was because of the NEA that the Teachers of the Year were invited to take part in these discussions.
I just returned from this forum, and I came away with many new interesting ideas. Just to be able to have a teacher's voice at a policy forum like this, where governors, state congressional members, and other key state and national policy makers were present, was a step in the right direction. Teachers need to be part of these discussions so that policy makers know if their ideas will actually work in the schools and what teachers think about these ideas. So for us to be at this forum was a success.
There was a lot of discussion on the Common Core standards and how they are progressing with implementation, what 21st Century learning is and why it's important, what "college and career readiness" actually means, expanded-time schools, improving teacher preparation and teacher effectiveness, and overall, how to improve the education system in the U.S.
One of the most interesting speakers was Dr. John Medina, author of Brain Rules, about the importance of being active in getting the most retention out of the brain. He is a very respected molecular biologist and really presented some excellent research on the brain and how it works.
The success of the forum was the teacher's voice that these policy makers got to hear. Hopefully it will stay with them as they go back to their organizations, states, and universities and push forward education policy.
My summer ended with an invitation to the 2010 National Forum on Education Policy in Portland, Oregon. The forum was put on by the Education Commission of the States (ECS), and it was because of the NEA that the Teachers of the Year were invited to take part in these discussions.
I just returned from this forum, and I came away with many new interesting ideas. Just to be able to have a teacher's voice at a policy forum like this, where governors, state congressional members, and other key state and national policy makers were present, was a step in the right direction. Teachers need to be part of these discussions so that policy makers know if their ideas will actually work in the schools and what teachers think about these ideas. So for us to be at this forum was a success.
There was a lot of discussion on the Common Core standards and how they are progressing with implementation, what 21st Century learning is and why it's important, what "college and career readiness" actually means, expanded-time schools, improving teacher preparation and teacher effectiveness, and overall, how to improve the education system in the U.S.
One of the most interesting speakers was Dr. John Medina, author of Brain Rules, about the importance of being active in getting the most retention out of the brain. He is a very respected molecular biologist and really presented some excellent research on the brain and how it works.
The success of the forum was the teacher's voice that these policy makers got to hear. Hopefully it will stay with them as they go back to their organizations, states, and universities and push forward education policy.
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