As an educator trying to adjust and make difference I sometimes get frustrated with the negative noise that surrounds the education profession. Fortunately, because of Twitter, I discovered I am not alone in the quest to make a difference. Thankfully educators like Dave Burgess, John Spencer, AJ Juliani, George Couros, Matt Miller, Kasey Bell, and Jo Boaler have inspired me to continue to improve as an educator. There are many more and I could fill my blog space with many other great educators making a difference.
Locally, I appreciate people like the PE educator I work with Yohann Goddard. The CCSD GAFE Guru Lucas Leavitt and the CUE NV crew Heidi Carr and Kyle Anderson. There are many other educators in Nevada and in the world doing wonderful things. One of my goals in 2017 is to highlight the great and interesting events and people in education instead of getting sucked into the vortex that I consider to be the Dark Side of the Force. Yes, I went there.
I want to share two articles I read lately which focus on sending a positive message to educators and learners alike.
The first blog/article is called Teaching — It’s about Inspiration, Not Information by Tina Seelig. This article was given to me by administrator and it highlights that teaching is about building relationships. Tina says, “Teaching is really about inspiration, not information.” As educators we need to look beyond delivery of content, “light the fuse” and watch what happens.
A prime example is my learners did a passion project and they were able to research and discover any topic they wanted. One of my learners who was reluctant and unmotivated academically jumped at the chance and “dove” into her topic. Here is a link to her project on Tigers, I am very proud of her for reaching high expectations and doing such a great job.
The other blog I read was given to me by my wonderful partner in life and fellow educator Debby. It’s called What Students Really Need to Hear by CHASEMIELKE. The post is about letting students understand that school is really about preparing them to never quit and to always keep trying not matter what they are faced with in life. The sheer honesty of the post is what inspires me to keep trying. The author states, “It is your resilience in conquering the main event — adversity — that truly prepares you for life after school.” The point is that as educators our job is to help prepare our learners to never quit and to always forge ahead no matter what the challenges are.
Finally, I want to highlight a few things I accomplished in 2016 there are many. I was the 2016 PBS Digital Learning Innovator for Nevada and my learners were part of a PBS commercial (Thanks Craig Cuddihy you are an amazing person and quality educator), I wrote my first article and it was published By Edsurge, my class was part of a published study by K-12 Blueprint, I married the best person in the world Debby Korder, and we have a beautiful addition to our family Raelyn Gene Korder who was born in May.
Casey's Corner 