4 Key Ideas

1.  Rita Pierson - this talk reminded me of Bruce's favorite saying, "Kids don't care what you know until they know you care."  This is why teachers spend so much time building community at the beginning of the year and why, even when a kid drives you crazy, you develop a positive relationship with them.

2. Think for Yourself - this video reminded me of the movie "Race to Nowhere."  The teen talks about kids worrying about test scores and grades, but not the learning.  We have lost sight of the joy of learning and learning for learning's sake.  I think the political belief that we are creating workers as opposed to an informed citizenry plays a part in this.

This does worry me and my husband and we have worked hard to keep our own kids out of  "the race."  We want them to lead balanced lives.  In my classroom, with standardized testing taking such a prominent role, I sometimes find it hard to remember that my main job is to teach kids to love learning and to help them figure out how to learn.  I am hopeful that as Smarter Balance and the CCSS come in that I will be able to focus less on the testing aspect and more on the learning aspect. I hope we will ditch the NWEA and use the whole range available within Smarter Balance for our kids who need RTI help.  Let's stop overtesting kids who we know are not in danger.   In math, as the CCSS come in,  I will be able to have a strong focus on the practices - the process of learning math and hopefully rekindle kids curiosity.  I am not sure how "learning with technology" will happen with my math class.  Something to definitely think about. 

3.  User Generated Learning - this talked about the needs of adult learners and how the curation, reflection, and contribution cycle is a valid way for adults to learn. 

4.  User Generated Learning - professional development should be end-user driven.