Change

The Beloit college Mindset List was interesting in that one does not give a lot of thought to the significance trends and history have toward making our future leaders. The Millennial generation does take a lot for granted as their world has always had the conveniences of modern technology at their finger tips. A lot of change has taken place in their short lives and they are more accustom to change than their predecessors. That is not all bad, but it is essential that we old folks realize this and make it work for the better for all in our schools.

Since our school merged 4 years ago we have seen a lot of change and it has not all been for the better. Our staff is, for the most part, older and they resist change at every turn. That has brought with it some difficult challenges. But I can't put anyone in a vacuum as the readings suggest. I find some older teachers, like myself adapt rather well to change and enjoy the challenges technology holds. It is like a mystery to discover how technology can aid learning, so I embrace it.

Change must be for the better and their must be proof that it can work. Too much of the change we have experienced has not been proven to work, in fact we have seen it fail in the schools that are now closed but the diocese is still using the same procedure to merge schools. They have no data to support the steps they have taken so we have hit many trouble spots. I am willing to work for the good of the school if we will have a school to work for.

My new picture is a change we recently received. My dear sweet mother made this beautiful hand sewn quilt for our 25th wedding anniversary. It took her 4 years to stitch the colorful floral designs together. The detail is breathtaking. It will be passed on for generations to enjoy. Now I need to get to the store and buys some pain, carpeting and window treatments so I can change my room decor to match the quilt!

Data

I enjoyed using Elluminate last evening for class. However, I was shocked when I realized it had started already and I was way behind. I could have swore we were suppose to meet at 6PM. The counter on the bottom right of the screen told me the class was in session for 1 hour when I got on. But when I went back today to listen to what I had missed, that screen said it began at 5:30 PM. There were only 5 participants, so I am not sure where the miscommunication was. I would have participated more had I not felt like an idiot getting on late. Being able to go back and listen again to the recording is a big advantage. What a great teaching tool. I wish I could record every class.

I contacted my new principal to get the data for the assignment. She is so new to not only our school but the job as principal, she is not sure where to get the information. I hope we are able to do the assignment properly.

I have had to gather our school's data for the technology plan. I have had to put together surveys for both our students and their families. So I am familiar with demographic data and technology data. But some of what was discussed last night is new to me.

As we discussed, having all that data on each student accessable to all the teachers would be a great benefit. Especially to teachers like myself who see the students for such a short amount of time each week. Over the years I do get to know them, but there have been far too many incidences where I was not informed on a student's learning disability or other factors that were affecting the student's performance and I have come down hard on that student for weak performance. Had I only known! Sharing data is an important part of the job. If they can send around a paper with the students allergies, surely they can inform us of the other pertinent data.

Leadership part II

Well, I have not taken this much time to think about leadership roles since, I am not sure if I ever have in fact! I feel a bit overwhelmed by it all, but that is just me. I hope our new leader is able to turn our school around. Maybe since Lori and I are taking this class we can be of some assistance to her. I hope she possess the many skills I have read about. Surveying my own skills on the assessment and seeing the results gave me a glimpse on what I need to work on. No surprise there though. I have been faltering lately and that is because of our lack of administration and the over all feeling of betrayal from the diocese. I am bitter from the merger and I feel their intent all along has been to shut us down like they have done to so many schools.

But if I am going succeed in this business, I need to get as much as I can out of this class and be the best possible leader I can. Who knows, maybe there is a future for me in the leadership end of education?