My Christmas Wish- "We can make it better for everyone"

George Lucas's 2012 article in @Edutopia  is very relevant to the @AR_TPN, Arkansas Teacher Practice Networks. There is no more important job than supporting our colleagues in our diverse state. Our mandate is to touch 10,000 teachers through our efforts over the course of the Gates Education Grant. Fantastic idea. Lucas said, "There is no other job more important than education. It is the foundation of our democracy. By seizing on what's working, and recreating those successes from one classroom to the next, we can make it better for everyone." My Christmas wish is that we "make it better for everyone" through the collective power of our teacher leaders. We can and should.

Touch
Our "touch" will be both high and light. We will touch our colleagues through face to face meetings and through digital platforms to reach a larger audience. I know that I use Twitter to reach my Global Professional Learning Network, PLN. I have watched as my colleagues personally felt validated through their participation in Twitter chats and could count it for professional development. We can and should reach out and touch our colleagues with our knowledge.

Foundation of Democracy
Teachers have an important mandate to educate the voices of the future. By "seizing on what's working, and recreating those successes" according to Lucas "we can make it better for everyone." Democracy is involving everyone. The Arkansas Teacher Practice Networks organization will attempt to seize on what is working and help spread this information within our networks to empower our colleagues to educate better the voices of the future. We can and should empower and educate.

Better for Everyone
The teacher leaders were able to spend two days dwelling on the possibility of their personal power. We hope to harness to power of our collective and various digital platforms. It is time for our teacher leaders to step up and share their knowledge for Arkansas teachers through +Twitter  +Instagram Google+ +Blogger  +YouTube  +Pintrest and other digital platforms like Teachers.do. 

My Christmas wish is simple "make it better for everyone."  Thank you to @GeorgeLucas and +Edutopia for this insightful and still relevant idea. We can and should do this. 

Resources
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/importance-of-education-george-lucas
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/US-Program/College-Ready-Education
http://tpn.wested.org/
http://www.apsrc.net/

Suzanne Rogers, M.Ed
https://about.me/Rogers_Suzanne

I am a parent of two college cubs, an AP English teacher, ELA Coach and PD facilitator.

I've taught 1st grade, MS, and HS in public, private, and charter schools in 3 states.

Edu-reform and the Opt-Out movement

         I viewed the July 4th proclamation purporting to reclaim public education. The organizers/administrators of the Unitedoptout movement  are suggesting that parents, teachers and students join together to stop what they perceive as the corporate takeover of public education. Please do not be swayed by the pathos of their argument. It is merely a fearful response to change.

     The administrators define opt out as 
"Def: (verb)To opt out is to take any and all actions to end corporate reform of public education.

Actions include: Refusing to participate in high stakes testing which is the life’s blood of the destruction of public education."  High Stakes testing is not new. Students in countries around the world take tests that determine their future. In the USA, students are blessed to be able to take the tests (ACT and SAT) as many times as they can pay the fee. Students in other countries are not so blessed.  The administrators of Unitedoptout see the annual state exams and next generation tests as a threat to public education. WHY? The data from these exams will now be used as part of the evaluation of teacher effectiveness.

    The education world is on its way toward a data informed model. If we want to be perceived as professionals, it is time to allow the data to inform our decisions. We need to value the data. More importantly, we need to make the changes necessary to provide a better education for all of our students. Running fearfully away from the data, encouraging parents and students to opt-out is not a professional reaction. Professional educators need to stand united facing the data and do the work of changing to meet the needs of our students.

       

http://unitedoptout.com/the-opt-out-revolution-reclaiming-public-education/