C4T #4

Sara: 5th Grade Math Teacher

Post #1:
Sara posted a very lengthy summary of her growth as a teacher. She talked about how she struggled with herself as a teacher when she developed a year-long project that wasn't necessarily going as she planned. The phases of grief seemed to appear, because in a way, she gave birth to this idea and it was dying right in front of her. That's when she consulted "the doctors" who gave her ideas and advice. In this instance, it was her class and several seminar speakers that lead her to grow as an educator. She knew she had tweaked her plan left and right to re-introduce her project to the class. She said that by the end of all the tweaking, she found herself more open and flexible than ever, and she loved herself for that. The project set sail and fared the seas so well, she decided to keep it in the end!

I loved this post because it talks about perseverance and going with your gut even if your not sure where your gut is taking you to. Change is a hard thing to over come and even harder when you're having to do so over a lengthy period of time. As a wise professor once told me "When I'm doing research, sometime I'll go a couple of years without any progress. Do I give up? No. It's about the journey to get to the answer that's important." I know that many of us (fresh out the gates) will flop and fumble, because we're experiencing change, but I think it's important to remember: it will get better.

Post #2:
A newer post was unavailable for my viewing, so I picked the next most recent post which went over the above's project's progress. When she attended the seminar (also the same as above), she was given the below paperwork which helped her to align what she really wanted for her year-long project:

As one can see, she has this sheet that she hands out at the beginning of every class. These tiers represent the different areas of the classroom in which she has groups rotate to. This isn't necessarily always the same activities, but there is a consistency to location and what she wants them to fill out on the sheet. She's included all of the activities she rotates in and out, including: Bistrips, computerized learning, one-on-four learning etc. By the end of it, she had redone the above worksheet and organized her selection of activities.

I enjoyed reading all the technology that was incorporated. I also think this educator is one of the better kinds. I find that most teachers are very "stuck in the mud" and are unwilling to see faults in their growths. I don't think they hate change, but rather don't know where to go because they lack ideas. Sara has ideas oozing out her ears and she's unafraid to use them. Go, Sara!