Starting Trip #39 around the Sun

So instead of writing a post about some cool tech or educational tool I have grown fond of I have decided to take a little trip. You see I am beginning my 39th trip around the Sun soon and have a few things to ponder. Now before anyone says oh that is still young or just wait! I want to clear a few things up. GULP

1. Someday I would understand how actions have consequences and that you have to live with        them------ My parents were right

2. When my Dad use to tell me that when I got older the things I hold close will be very different than     when I was a teenager----- He was right

3. I laughed when I was told high school and college would be the easiest part of my life------They were right

4. When I was young and saw adults who would say "nah you can't teach an old dog a new trick, I am too old to learn that"------- they were Wrong

5.  Some day if you have kids you will cry the first time your eyes meet yours------- Thanks Dad you were right.... one of my best memories :)

6.  I use to say I will just do it tomorrow. My parents would say time fly's by don't wait too long -----they were right

7. My Mom would tell me to make sure to stop and see your Grandparents they won't be around forever----- She was right I should have stopped more, I miss them

8. The only person you have to convince is yourself------ Thanks for the confidence Mom

9. Always treat people well everyone is going through something------- Thanks Dad

10. Always hold the door for people it shows you have have manners------ Thanks Grandma

the list could go on and on.........

Now I understand 39 is not old but when I talk to my children and ask them when is a person old they say I don't know 40? I came to the conclusion last year there will come a day sooner than later that I will not be able to do the things I still want to do.

So I will take extra time to celebrate with my family. Make a special trip with my kids. Continue with my dreams I still have for myself. Never stop learning something new. I will believe I can do anything. I will dance with my kids and act silly for as long as they will let me. I will show them it is a sign of strength to pick yourself up and try again.

Enjoy the little things........ pass on the importance of life lesson...... because even when I think they are not listening they are....


Steve

Finally a Rubric I Enjoy

In the 17 years that I have spent grading students I have always searched for what I feel makes sense for both the student and for my grading. Since I am huge on PBL and SBL this is something that I have struggled with. Whenever I have created or used a rubric I struggled with what is the next step. I found students seemed to only want to know what they had to do to get a certain number. There are students that felt a 2 was fine for them and others that aimed for a 4. I also talked with students about what it means to just go a little further. Through the years I have begun to see my world as can you or  you can't quite yet. I wanted students to show me what they knew and a lot of the time they just did not want to put the work into a paper rubric after they had finished a project.

I had a good conversation with my Principal about this throughout the years and he always offered me great advice. One of the important things we always talked about was what was really important and what students would really remember. This is when I started my search for a yes or no approach on grading. I also would let student redo assignments until they mastered that skill. When I was asked why would I do this by other teachers I told them the truth. In real life we have to work everyday on our skills and everyday we would get a little closer and a little closer and a little closer then finally one day the skill is mastered. This is the same for students they are all over the map as to when they will master a skill. I could not punish them for being at different skill levels but if they can show they have mastered a skill sometime during that classes of course it should reflect in their grade.

The past few years I have struggled with rubrics. They seemed like busy work to me since a student should either be able to show they have met the basic standard or they have gone above and beyond. I wanted the students to show me they have gone above and beyond. This shows that they are using reflection which is a skill not measured in school but one that life demands we have if we are to grow as an individual. The good news is I have finally found the rubric I will now use. It is a single point rubric that has areas for students to show why they feel they have exceeded and what they still need to develop. Take a look at Cult of Pedagogy what a great resource.

Remember even though we are currently bombarded each day with new tasks there are ways to improve our craft and our classroom.




http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/holistic-analytic-single-point-rubrics/

PBL

Hey Digital World! My name is Steve Thomaschefsky, I am a veteran teacher of 16 years. For the first 15 years I taught Technology Engineering in the same district. This past fall I decided to try my hand as a Technology Integrator while still teaching a few hours in a new district.

The title what is my why is a very important phrase to me. I have 2 very important reasons I am stepping out of the shadows to voice what I know. They are my children I do not want to see them "play school" I want them to be active learners in their environment. Everyday I ask them the same questions when I pick them up. What is one thing you learned today? How often were you up moving around? What did you do well today? and What do you want to learn?

Since I have a Technology Engineering background PBL is easy for me. That is how I learn by seeing, touching and examining the real world. The age old question of when will I ever use this....... show them when and how! I promise they will remember the material, learn with them.

Project Based Learning has been around since man first stepped out of the cave. The problem we now have in education is that there are a lot in education that still view "Teaching" the same as it was years ago. Our role is changing into more of a "Coach". This is a difficult topic and one that is not all that popular in many circle. If we are going to truly embrace different learning styles we have to incorporate PBL for those students.

I have always tried to find a way to effectively explain PBL.....checkout the link below. Heather Wolpert-Gawron does a great job. Let me know what you think.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-heck-project-based-learning-heather-wolpert-gawron

Thanks,

Steve