Sunday, October 28, 2007
Please share how No Child Left Behind has influenced your educational organization.
In North Carolina, every educational buzz word revolves around NCLB. I know that there are good points to the federal mandates on NCLB. In the big picture, it is great to think that by 2012, every school age student will be performing at grade level. When we are in the age to promote and advocate diversity, it is ironic that diversity of ability performance is not a choice. Unfortunately, many educators are experiencing frequent burn out because of the federal and state mandates. For example, at my middle school, the educational teachers and team celebrate making "High Growth" according to the NC ABC's model. This means that the students based on their performance exceeded the academic state performance utilizing the standardized test data in reading and math for 2006-2007 school year. This is a big deal. Each certified teacher received the state bonus of $1,500.00. Then on the next page, it reads the school did not make adequate yearly progress for 2006-2007 school year. However, the school met 18 out of 19 target goals. No recognition from NCLB. Educators find it difficult to support two models, but this is what must be done. In addition, Title I schools in our LEA are experiencing sanctions for not meeting AYP. As for the middle schools in the LEA, they are not labled Title I, so no sanctions are at stake. Personnel in my school must meet the highly qualifed (HQ) guidelines according to NCLB. I have actually seen teachers leave the profession because of these mandates. Now, finding HQ teachers is a difficult task. NCLB has made positive attributes with accountability measures. I am glad to see that accountability of students, parents, and the school are working together. In writing, that is great!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
How did you become an educator?
Hello, this blog experience is a totally new level of technology for me. However, it is shedding new light to me in just what I have missed in the world of Internet.
My definition of an Educator.
Education has been in my blood since October 18, 1961. Yes, that was the day I was born. I was fortunate to have parents and extended family members as educators. My guiding light, strongest supporter, and safety net was my Mother. My Mother inspired me that there was nothing that I could not do. Her message was demonstrated in her daily life style of truly eating, breathing, and living in the classroom. Night after night she talked on the phone to parents and teachers while grading papers or completing lesson plans. It was a common experience for my Father to remove the papers from her lap after falling asleep while working. In my world, I thought that every mother did the same thing as my Mother. Her students were her children. If someone asks me how many siblings I had, the answer was more than you can imagine. As I grew older and started thinking about my future, becoming a teacher seemed to be the natural choice. I thought, “Why not?” I loved to play school, write on the board, and was great at being bossy. That was simple; I had all the qualities of a teacher. While a freshman at NCSU, my life shattered. On November 12, 1981, I lost my guiding light from this physical earth. My safety net and number one fan left in the blink of an eye. My first thought was to move back home and forget school. Then all of sudden, two days after Mother’s death, I experience a real inner conversation with my Mother. It was the moment in my life and to this present day that I knew I had to be the person she knew I could be. The foundation had been laid and it was made of concrete.
I graciously love and enjoy my life as an educator. I have taught in many different schools and various grades ranging from kindergarten to ninth grade for over twenty years. After completing my National Boards in 2000, I could not get back in college fast enough. Next thing I knew I had completed my Masters in Administration and changed from the teaching profession to the administrative roll. With the attitude, there is no stopping, I decided to enter the doctoral program and better yet complete my Doctors in Educational Leadership with a minor in Curriculum Instruction via online. This personal determination and excitement to learn is critical in my life. I have also had the honor to become a Principal at a Middle School within my district. Continuous rewarding experiences keep happening each day for me.
I share this story because this is who I am as a person and an educator, all wrapped up into one person. I strongly feel when a person states, “I am an Educator,” that the person has had a guiding light and real inspiration to make a difference in someone else life. I dedicate who I am and what I love doing each day to my Mother. Thanks Mom!!
How did you become an educator?
My definition of an Educator.
Education has been in my blood since October 18, 1961. Yes, that was the day I was born. I was fortunate to have parents and extended family members as educators. My guiding light, strongest supporter, and safety net was my Mother. My Mother inspired me that there was nothing that I could not do. Her message was demonstrated in her daily life style of truly eating, breathing, and living in the classroom. Night after night she talked on the phone to parents and teachers while grading papers or completing lesson plans. It was a common experience for my Father to remove the papers from her lap after falling asleep while working. In my world, I thought that every mother did the same thing as my Mother. Her students were her children. If someone asks me how many siblings I had, the answer was more than you can imagine. As I grew older and started thinking about my future, becoming a teacher seemed to be the natural choice. I thought, “Why not?” I loved to play school, write on the board, and was great at being bossy. That was simple; I had all the qualities of a teacher. While a freshman at NCSU, my life shattered. On November 12, 1981, I lost my guiding light from this physical earth. My safety net and number one fan left in the blink of an eye. My first thought was to move back home and forget school. Then all of sudden, two days after Mother’s death, I experience a real inner conversation with my Mother. It was the moment in my life and to this present day that I knew I had to be the person she knew I could be. The foundation had been laid and it was made of concrete.
I graciously love and enjoy my life as an educator. I have taught in many different schools and various grades ranging from kindergarten to ninth grade for over twenty years. After completing my National Boards in 2000, I could not get back in college fast enough. Next thing I knew I had completed my Masters in Administration and changed from the teaching profession to the administrative roll. With the attitude, there is no stopping, I decided to enter the doctoral program and better yet complete my Doctors in Educational Leadership with a minor in Curriculum Instruction via online. This personal determination and excitement to learn is critical in my life. I have also had the honor to become a Principal at a Middle School within my district. Continuous rewarding experiences keep happening each day for me.
I share this story because this is who I am as a person and an educator, all wrapped up into one person. I strongly feel when a person states, “I am an Educator,” that the person has had a guiding light and real inspiration to make a difference in someone else life. I dedicate who I am and what I love doing each day to my Mother. Thanks Mom!!
How did you become an educator?
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