Bring Up or Water Down

In my Pre AP Biology courses, I have a dilemma.  Do I teach the curriculum on a college prep basis, or do I make sure that all of my students are doing well?  I have several students that are not doing well right now.  I look at their grade and it is apparent that they are not doing homework or taking any extra time for Pre AP Biology.  For a lot of my students, this is the first year that they have had homework.  One of our feeder schools does not allow homework.  This is making my job increasingly tough.  I do not give much homework, only about one night per week, but expect them to read the material outside of class.  Too many of my students feel as though they can get the material just by showing up to my class.  They are not wanting to do anything outside of my class.  I do have several A's because it is class that students can be successful.  So my dilemma is, do I quit giving outside work so that the everyone will be successful, or do I keep going at a college prep level and leave the others behind?  In the famous words of Monday Night Football...You make the call!!!

Out with the Old

So what do you need to do with old technology?  First of all, look around to see if someone is less fortunate than you are.  Is your old technology better than someone else's current technology.  If it is, then give it to them.  A lot of old technology can be updated.  If it can be updated, then use it as part of a backup system or for use with students.  I would love to have a few old computers in my classroom just to allow students to type and surf the web on.  An old computer that we no longer find useful because it is too slow or does not have the newest version of some working system, can still bue used by students in the classroom.  Internet and a word do not take a lot space but can create an environment in the classroom that is useful.

A Great Website

Most of use facebook and most or students use.  I found a website that is called fakebook.  We used the fakebook to create fake facebooks of the cell.  The organelles were the friends and each student had to make a post from the organelle to the cell using conversation that would be appropriate.  All of the students enjoyed and then made very good grades on their cell function tests.  It was a day where they were all engaged and actually looked up information and pictures. With the free page, there are adds that will stay on it.  They can still save it and print it off however.  They can access this page from the link below.
http://www.classtools.net/fb/home/page

RTI, Does it really work?

I have been spending a lot of time as part of the RTI team at school.  I have to question if this time is spent wisely.  Not that we are not doing our job, because we are.  But looking at the comments from teachers and how the kids are doing in school, I have to wonder if any of this will help.  I see a couple of the students and I think that public education is not going anything for them.  However, when it comes time of testing, we all look bad.  I do not have answers, but I wish everyone would realize, they do not have answers either.  Having students in the ninth grade that read on a third grade level is not easy for anyone involved.  It is not easy for the student, but having to deal with them in a core class in high school is not the answer either.  Until we all realize that none of have the answer, will we ever find one.

Battling resistance

As an Administrator it is important to know and realize that no matter what you do, there will be some unhappy people.  How do you keep resistance to a minimum with technology?  By providing enough professional development to allow the teacher to learn how to use the technology.  It is also wise to ease into a situation to allow that teacher time to adjust.  At no point, should an administrator just send out an e-mail or memo and say start using this tomorrow.  Bringing technology in to the school should be a slow but goal oriented adventure. 

Sustaining Technology

As an Administrator it is important to set the tone early in the year with technology.  Our in service days are normally spent listening to some speaker talk about a new fad in education.  Ho about using the professional development money to have a couple of courses taught on how to use technology.  Most Principals are willing to buy smart boards, but how many of us have actually had training on how to use one.  Here is an idea, have your faculty divide into four groups, have four technology themes and rotate the collaboration and ideas throughout the year.  Allow teachers to collaborate and teach each other.  If a school could become competent in four kinds or types of technology per year, that school would lead the way in technology use.

Unmotivated to work...

I have been reading a book to my regular biology students.  It is called "Unwind."  It is a very good book but I still do not see the participation in class that I was hoping.  My third block class has several students that are repeating the ninth grade.  I see a lot of unmotivated students that no matter what I do, I can not get through to them.  We do small group work, fun activities, labs, and other things.  I am hoping that next week when report cards come out that maybe we will see some improvement because of unhappy students.  In this class, I have two A's, three B's, three C's, and the rest are D's and F's.  I very seldom receive an e-mail from parents.  I am constantly getting e-mails from my Pre AP students wanting to know how to turn the B into an A.  It is hard to keep my motivation when going into this classroom everyday.  Just today, as we were supposed to be getting our books out to do a mitosis foldable, there were five students who did not even bring books to class.  It is a tough group, and unfortunately society has decided to blame me.  Oh well, tomorrow will be a new day.  Maybe one, just one will be better because of me.

Nine yards, but not 10?

I do not know where the saying "the whole nine yards" comes from.  Being a football person, I have always assumed it came from football, but shouldn't it be 10.  It probably comes from somewhere else, but this quote came to me while doing some reading about middle schools.  We can all agree that the middle school years are vital, in fact they are probably more important than high school years.  Then why do we not support our middle schools more?  We do not cheer in football for nine yards, we want ten.  So why do we think that we should put a ton of money and energy into elementary schools and high schools and leave our middle schools to fend for themselves.  Middle schools do not have an identity.  When is the last time you have seen a future teacher in college say, "I want to be a middle school teacher."  I'm sure there are some out there, but they are few and far between.  We have to give our middle schools an identity.  We have to quit modeling them after elementary and high school and create a learning environment for hormonal, crazy kids.  I am not writing this to demean kids in middle school, but that is what they are.  We have to think outside the box and put time, money, and energy into the most important developmental years.  After all, without good middle schools, we will not have good high schools.

Ef8ctive Learning

How can technology be used to create an effective learning environment?  Easy.... it allows students to be creative or matter of fact.  By using technology, students can be themselves.  If they are creative, then it helps, if they are more to the point, then it still helps.  Technology allows differentiated instruction just by its normal course.  We have been creating fake facebooks for the cell using iPads.  Each student has to have comments from the organelles.  They are learning the job of the organelle while being as creative as possible.  Students are engaged and they truly enjoy the learning.