I used to hate Weebly with a passion. Now, I simply hate Weebly. I am less passionate about my hatred!
To me, this is growth. I am now more able to navigate this web-builder, and almost able to produce digestible content. And you know what? The quirks are REALLY growing on me! Lost a page? No worries! I would like to redo that page anyway. So take THAT Weebly, you cheeky devil. You can’t beat me if I am smiling. And maybe in a way, TPACK has some level of parallel. I find myself leaning on tech more heavily to reach my classroom goals. If it weren’t for my ability to use Padlet, for example, I think that semester two would be a failure so far for me in the classroom. When people starting checking out— Padlet has become a way for students to ALL engage, draw, respond, create links, comment, and become a virtual workspace. It’s a small example, but a powerful reality for me. And even though it’s not always perfect, I am finding a home with new tech to deliver opportunity for new content. Google Forms is God-like. Adobe Spark is great. I am using Piktochart with my AP Lit-ters. And as an explore the curriculum with a new set of eyes, I have moments where the trifecta of TPACK is working. And I see it.
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Real talk: does ANYONE actually read these (mission statements. I know for a fact that maybe two people read my blog) ? I know I don’t. I was never directed to these as an employee of NVUSD. Do parents check this out? I would probably say this is a “box to check” that some small group worked diligently on but in reality, it serves mostly as a symbol of a system that is united than a doc that in fact has meaning. A former principal of mine said that, “a mission statement is only worth it’s significance to teachers and staff.” Using that as a barometer— I would have to say it’s not worth much, currently. I did check it out. It’s not bad. If I were moving into Napa and I were curious, it would suggest that we are a great place to go for learning. But as a teacher, and dept chair, there are things on there that just don’t really hold as much weight as they once did. Like PBL. That is not across the board any more. But if the purpose is to look good on paper— it does a passing job. But until I am given a survey by the district that asks how realistic all of this is, or how much buyin my dept has, or if we have feedback to improve it (and to be followed by actual discussion) I think just seeing it as a placeholder on a website is mostly my take. And the ubiquitous “box to check” has become such a synonym with teaching in this day. The problem though is that type of system is a house of cards (a good series by the way, until Kevin Spacey revealed himself as a really, really not cool dude. And at that point, I have a really difficult time separating the art from the artist. Like R Kelly. How can anyone support artists like that????) because once you ask teachers what their day to day practice is, or what their planning looks like, it’s not as if we are using the mission statement. Which ideally we probably should be. Maybe simpler is better: ”Hey, we are going to work really, REALLY hard to make sure your child matters to us. We are going to take their growth personal and make it our professional mission that they learn, become better people, and play an active role in that process. And we expect that at home, too, your child works on these things. That part’s on you. It takes a village, right? Together, we can help prepare your child for life in 13th grade— whatever path that might be.” If I have a school district, this might be my first draft of a mission statement. But more than likely, this statement probably ended my bid for superintendent in year 2035. |
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April 2021
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