September 30

Other than the fact we so desperately need rain, I couldn’t ask for a nicer weekend.  We went to the mountains and got pumpkins and apples, ate a picnic at Lake Lure….. Life is good. 
Friday we had no students at school and I taught a class on effective assessment.  My goal was not to tell teachers what to do, but to ask thought-provoking questions that will help them make better decisions when making and using tests.  It is sometimes difficult for parents to understand all the complications teachers face when testing.  I used to think it was simply black and white – kids knew the stuff or they didn’t and I should ask LOTS of questions to make sure they knew everything.  My tests were the terror of my school and as I look back, I flush in embarassament – I guess that is part of the growing process.  Now I realize that tests should be used to find what students know – even better would be students who are thoughtful enough to self-assess.  They would be able to look at their work and know if the quality of their work is acceptable or if it needs improvement.  But I guess, even adults do not always have that metacognitive ability.  Anyway, if I accomplish nothing else this year, I hope I encourage my teachers to be thoughtful learners.  It is sometimes difficult as a teacher to admit you are not the expert – there are too many people ready to jump on your mistakes.   It takes a brave person to say, “I’m ready to grow.”

September 27

It is 50’s day at school today.  What a hoot.  I grew up in the 50’s and remember.   I had a skirt cut like a poodle skirt but it had BIG dots all over a white background – black, red, green and yellow.  I must have been very young because my mom agreed to teach me to play Rook as soon as I knew my colors!  That was obviously pre-kindergarten days   And I just discovered there are only 2 people at the school older than I – sigh.   Guess somebody has to be officially old.  
We had a good group of parents here today for out Meet with the Parents visit today.  I went over technological communication in our school.  It was so exciting to see that every single person used our web site, school notes, got the newsletter and announcements…… I feel like we are accomplishing our goal of keeping everyone informed.  We have had over 8,000 hits at our school site in less than one month.  Most businesses would kill for that kind of coverage!

Sept 19…..

I listened to an article on National Public Radio this morning about a book for children about saving our environment.  I really think it will have to be our children who lead us into energy “smartness”.   Such simple things when you think of it.   Changing our lightbulbs to energy efficient ones.  Unplugging items you are not using – did you know that appliances that are plugged in use electricity even when not turned “on”, like phone chargers!  Oh, and one that just distresses me.  The cars that sit in line at school and idle their engines from 1:00 to 3:00!   I certainly am not rich enough to waste two hours of gas each day to say nothing of the pollution caused from cars idling that long.   But asking parents to not run their engines – we would have rioting in the camp!

September 19

I have learned so much in my coaching classes.  The last class we learned about problem solving.  I think someone must have known I needed this class – I have been so amazed at how this system really works when helping people resolve problems they are facing.  And it is so simple.   Asking thought-provoking questions, listening well, and people find the answer within themselves.   This is one of the most satisfying types of coaching I have worked with so far.  I guess because you see such immediate results!

September 8

The newsletter went out this week.  I am so impressed with Teacher Ease and how well it has worked sending out announcements to nearly 800 people.  This is truly the most efficent way I have found to communicate to an entire school.  Yes, it has been a LOT of work, but well worth it.  This is truly turning into a personal journal for me since no one is reading it as far as I can tell.

Labor day – later

I guess one thing I am doing here is finding if anyone is actually reading this.  I want to encourage my teachers to keep a running log of what is happening in the classroom, but unless someone actually looks at it, a blog is just someone’s on-line diary……

Labor Day

A long weekend is a good thing.  A visit with the kids, some down time, read a book, do a little cleaning, have some friends over.  It is time to focus on the important things in life – life is very short.