Lessons learned:

1.  Practice, practice, practice- don’t just practice what you are going to say, practice using the “virtual classroom space”

2.  Make sure your speaker and mic are both ON

3.  Provide frequent pauses to read and respond to questions by participants so that it’s as interactive as possible, especially when your audience is only participating through a Q&A box

4.  If you are going to use the cursor – use it!  Otherwise, it’s a distraction

I love learning!  Sounds cliché at best, but I really do especially when it’s based on my interests and at my own pace.  Quite honestly, the idea of going back to school, especially in a traditional setting, makes me anxious.  However, I am obsessed with technology and finding new ways to be more organized and efficient and effective in my personal and professional life.  I often imagine what school would have been like for me if I had all the tools and technology that we have today.

My goal is to share resources that I stumble upon and actually use and then share with my fellow EDheads:

My current EDspiration: 

I was looking for a way to save bookmarks in an organized manner and one that was not limited to my laptop and stumbled upon Diigo.  I have many bookmarks that are organized, but when it comes to looking up a resource, I rarely refer to my bookmarks.  It somehow seems overwhelming to have to remember where to look for the information.  Additionally, having access to this information through the Internet, is invaluable.  I work from different sites and in some cases may not have my laptop with me; this allows me to be global and mobile. Check it out!

http://www.fractuslearning.com/2011/12/07/convince-your-school-diigo-rocks/

KDSL and EDspired are teaming up to host a virtual book club beginning in January 2012.  We will be reading Uncertainty by Jonathan Fields.  If you would like to join us, comment below and we will share more information with you by email.

For more information about the book check out:

http://www.theuncertaintybook.com/

I first met Alex Pettiford when he was in Kindergarten.  I remember him running up and down the halls and having a lot of energy!  Alex is a native Washingtonian, sports fanatic and a self-proclaimed comedian.  Currently, Alex is a freshman at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and plays rugby.  I’m pleased to know the running of the halls was put to good use! 

Alex inspires me as he has worked very hard to get to where he is now and acknowledges those who supported him.  Here is a snapshot of his story:

Tell us about yourself.

My grandmother raised me until I was seven years old when I moved in with my father.  When I was younger I had anger issues and it was a huge concern for my family and my teachers.   I was never really introduced to gang violence or street life for my grandmother had sheltered me from that.  As I grew older different people dug within me and helped me find something that I didn’t know was there, morals. I was taught the importance of being honest, respectful and having integrity and as I grew they grew along with me.

Who supported you through school?  Who was pushing you to succeed?

I’ve always had my family’s support, and no matter what I did I knew I could go to them, however the foundation of support that was behind me went way beyond that. I had countless people who supported me through school. During my elementary years at SAIL Public Charter School I felt as though most of the people had my best interest in mind, such as Ms. Kim, Ms. Reem, Ms. Felicia, Ms. Lisa, Ms. Harden, and Mr. Ross. It saddened me that I had to find a new school starting in 9th grade. I was surprised that just as there were people who genuinely cared at SAIL, there were the same types of people at my new school HYDE Leadership Public Charter School.

What is the plan for post-college?

Well obviously after college I want to get a good job, however I’m not sure of the details of the plan. As of now my major is Athletic Training and it requires that I get hands-on experience. Having real life experience will make finding a job much easier.

What inspires you to persevere?

What inspires me is how hard my father had to work because he didn’t receive a good education. Yes, I want to be just like him but I want to do such without putting such a heavy burden on my body. Right now he is 64 (I think) and instead of enjoying himself he still talks about getting a job.

What are you most proud of?

I’m most proud of where I am, mainly because of where I came from and what I went through.

What advice would you give to current high school students?

My advice for current high school students is simply if you work harder in high school, then college will be that much easier. Just do your best all four years and you will have so many more options in life.

Set the stage for us; share your journey of how you became a homeschooler?

When we left The School for Arts in Learning (SAIL PCS) a few years back we enrolled Zari in our neighborhood school.  The school worked for my two other children following the transition from SAIL, but not for Zari.  No efforts made to individualize instruction or make accommodations for her learning style.  After years of struggling and feeling ignored by the staff and the special education team, I decided not to allow Zari to lose the love of learning and curiosity about life.  We looked at other schools and weren’t impressed.  So, this fall, we started homeschooling.

What have been the greatest challenges you have faced?

So far, time management has been the biggest challenge.  They give you a rough schedule, but because I know the areas she needs more help in, we spend more time in those areas.

What are the successes thus far?

Zari loves school again!  She hasn’t had a meltdown since we started the online program.  She does still get frustrated, but she handles it better.  Math has always been a weak point for her and she is really excited about the online math course.  The online class is what I believe sold her on the program.  She is a techy and says she feels like she is in college.  Soon she will be conducting science experiments.  She didn’t have a lab at her former school.

How do you think this has impacted her school career?

She has choices on what she wants to tackle first.  Her attitude towards learning  and her confidence have improved.  In school, she didn’t actively participate and now she is comfortable talking and sharing what she thinks and what she knows.

Would you recommend homeschooling to others?  Why or why not? 

Yes.  If you have a child that is struggling socially or academically, homeschooling is a good option.  I am a believer in the public school system as I was in public schools my entire school career.  I think the social aspect of school is important, unless your child is floundering or withdrawn.

What are the top 3 things to consider before homeschooling?

1. How would your child react to not physically being around other students?
2. Do you have the time to dedicate to being your child’s teacher?  You have to teach a minimum of five hours a day.  It’s not something you can take lightly.
3. Do you have patience?

How can we find out more about you and all the other projects you are working on?

Check out:

Urban Offspring on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/urbanMama74

Classroom 5612:  http://www.classroom5612.blogspot.com/ 

This week I have been left to Facebook stalk a former student of mine.  We met when he was five, in the Kindergarten class next door to my First grade classroom.  He spent a lot of time in my classroom that year and was enrolled in my class the following year.  We had already establish a strong rapport and I knew his aunt and father by name and had their phone numbers on speed dial.  This child had a lot of energy, was extremely creative and artistic, had a terrible time following directions, very charming and had a huge heart.  When he was in Kindergarten I remember getting down on eye level with him and saying to him, “I will be there when you graduate from high school and college, you can’t get rid of me.”.

Over the next five years I was his Principal and was able to keep a very close eye on him.  Middle school rolled around and adolescence forced him to want more autonomy and we communicated less and less over the past few years.  I knew he was in a strong middle school program and I helped him get into a high school that I knew was a small enough setting that he would be able to get the support he needed.  Fast forward, August 30, 2011, after multiple messages back and forth and me promising I would not yell at him, he tells me he has been out of school for quite some time and wants to go back.  All the details about why he has been out of school can be left up to the imagination.

Today, he is 17, has enough credits to maybe be a freshman, continues to live with a learning disability and will soon age out of the system completely.  My charge is to get him into school by Friday.  I have a few that I have selected and told him that we will go together and he needs to decide what is best for him because this is going to be tough…really tough.

My biggest fear now, is that we go, register, he attends for a short time, and becomes frustrated and drops out for good.

How many more kids do we need to see in this situation before we start making big changes?  It is not a one size fits all. If the kid doesn’t fit the school, find a school that fits the kid.

What would you do?

“A third culture kid is an individual who, having spent a significant part of their developmental years in a culture other than their parents’ home culture, develops a sense of relationship to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Elements from each culture are incorporated into the life experience, but the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar experience.”¹

If you are a Third Culture Kid or know someone who is, please fill out the following survey.  Results will be shared when the poll is closed.  Thanks for your help! 

Reference: ¹Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds by David C. Pollock and Ruth Van Reken. (Boston, MA. Nicholas Brealey, 2001, p. 19).

- noun

1. a term of endearment for my fellow educators who are life long learners and change agents

I contacted some of my EDheads and asked, “What inspires you to do the work that you do?”

“I am inspired by the amalgam of children that we interact with on a daily basis.  Each school year we have an opportunity to make a difference and to potentially serve as a life-long advocate to the generations of individuals that succeed us.  I am inspired to be creative in the ways that we address children’s needs and to maximize the potentials of the adults (teachers, etc.) that directly serve students  to ensure that the whole child is being considered in the solutions that are generated in collaborative discussions.”

~ Kareem Bond, Middle School Assistant Principal, Maryland

“Eliminating obesity in children is what inspires me.  I want all children to be healthy mentally and physically.”

~ Corey Totress, PE/Health Teacher and Personal Trainer, Maryland

“The opportunity to take learning experiences, strategies, and resources gained globally and collaborate with schools, teachers, and students locally.”

~ Kevin Simpson, KDSL- Know Do Serve Learn, USA-Dubai-Thailand
www.knowdoservelearn.org

“Kids are suffering everywhere in this world and policy makers do not understand their role in the healing process.  The incurable hurt that most young people feel is what inspires me.”

~ Tony Messina, Education Consultant, New York

“I continue to do educational work because that is what attracted me to teaching in the first place, i.e., to serve the needs of children and to provide those nurturing care, meaningful learning experiences, and education that will serve them throughout their lives.   This coming school year, I will once again be serving as a co-principal of an elementary (Grades 3 – 5) school. This will be my fifth interim assignment since retiring and in addition to consultant work in Sri Lanka, Dubai, and accrediting teams in the US, Saipan, Hawaii, Hong Kong, and Bangkok.”

~ Henry Morita, Co-Principal and Education Consultant, California

“I am totally inspired by my calling to educational leadership and by my upbringing as a poor child in the Memphis City Schools.  I wanted to become a schools superintendent at the age of 9, but didn’t have a clue what it took to become one. The image that I first saw of Dr. Willie W. Herenton, the first Black superintendent in Memphis, was in 1979 and is still embedded in my mind as what I need to do to help children with backgrounds just like mine.  I was the first person in my entire family to go college, and since my B.A. graduation, 3 of my little cousins have actually become teachers!  I’m inspired.”

I had the privilege of working as part of a team implementing the transformation model for school improvement for a struggling school in NE Washington, DC.  In the year and a half that we worked with the staff, we supported building a foundation to transform beliefs and practices.  The teachers reflected upon their personal and professional goals during their one on one conferences in June.

Check out the brief video highlighting some of their powerful work: