Your Comments
I've received a number of very thoughtful comments directly to my email. I'd like to share them. They've all been edited for brevity, and names are mentioned if I've received permission. The comments tend to be encouraging and positive. Please don't assume that's those are the only kind I'll post. It's what I've gotten so far, and I'm more than happy to post critical ones. I'm doing at least two separate posts at least, for readability's sake.
From Virginia Wilkinson, a retired educator:
Your questions make this program look positively enticing...
I was in New York today touching base with a noted educator, formerly at Teachers College, now at the Carnegie Foundation for Learning in Palo Alto, CA. I sat in on 1/2 of today's four hour workshop on "Building and Sustaining a Professional Development Community." She had 25 public and private school teachers, mostly the latter, I think, from across the country. In short, the intent of this week long program was to help teacher help themselves and each other become better teachers - a lifelong challenge - and to change the ethos of schools from the traditional model of places where adult teachers 'tell students what they should know' into the more dynamic model of places where adults and children are both learning and teaching...
On the train I was reading a book by the head of a fellowship program i was once in. Her book, a collaborative effort was "The Color of Excellence: Hiring and Keeping Teachers of Color in Independent Schools." Both of these topics - building diverse communities of teachers and learners and creating school communities where professional development is considered essential for all are my two priority subjects. We are not going to get school improvement in New Haven or elsewhere without cultivating - recruiting, training, supporting and promoting - high quality teachers from all socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds.
I had a rich day!
Thank you for sending me this notice.
Virginia later wrote back:
Be sure to see the Education page in today's [ed., Wed., 7/26] NY Times (last page of Metro section) for 1) an interview with Dr. Andres Alonso, who has just become Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning in New York, and 2) the importance of play for children in kindergarten and early grades. Dr. Alonso has "a tireless belief that the system can improve, " a conviction that "Expectations for kids make an extraordinary difference," and "even with the kids who are the most challenged, there is the possibility of success." He emphatically dismisses any claims that schools cannot blame everything going on outside for their failure to motivate kids to achieve the levels of knowledge or skill proficiency they will need as productive adults and future parents.
(end of Virginia's message)
----------------------
I welcome your comments!
I've received a number of very thoughtful comments directly to my email. I'd like to share them. They've all been edited for brevity, and names are mentioned if I've received permission. The comments tend to be encouraging and positive. Please don't assume that's those are the only kind I'll post. It's what I've gotten so far, and I'm more than happy to post critical ones. I'm doing at least two separate posts at least, for readability's sake.
From Virginia Wilkinson, a retired educator:
Your questions make this program look positively enticing...
I was in New York today touching base with a noted educator, formerly at Teachers College, now at the Carnegie Foundation for Learning in Palo Alto, CA. I sat in on 1/2 of today's four hour workshop on "Building and Sustaining a Professional Development Community." She had 25 public and private school teachers, mostly the latter, I think, from across the country. In short, the intent of this week long program was to help teacher help themselves and each other become better teachers - a lifelong challenge - and to change the ethos of schools from the traditional model of places where adult teachers 'tell students what they should know' into the more dynamic model of places where adults and children are both learning and teaching...
On the train I was reading a book by the head of a fellowship program i was once in. Her book, a collaborative effort was "The Color of Excellence: Hiring and Keeping Teachers of Color in Independent Schools." Both of these topics - building diverse communities of teachers and learners and creating school communities where professional development is considered essential for all are my two priority subjects. We are not going to get school improvement in New Haven or elsewhere without cultivating - recruiting, training, supporting and promoting - high quality teachers from all socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds.
I had a rich day!
Thank you for sending me this notice.
Virginia later wrote back:
Be sure to see the Education page in today's [ed., Wed., 7/26] NY Times (last page of Metro section) for 1) an interview with Dr. Andres Alonso, who has just become Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning in New York, and 2) the importance of play for children in kindergarten and early grades. Dr. Alonso has "a tireless belief that the system can improve, " a conviction that "Expectations for kids make an extraordinary difference," and "even with the kids who are the most challenged, there is the possibility of success." He emphatically dismisses any claims that schools cannot blame everything going on outside for their failure to motivate kids to achieve the levels of knowledge or skill proficiency they will need as productive adults and future parents.
(end of Virginia's message)
----------------------
I welcome your comments!
posted by The Community Foundation @ 6:55 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home