tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-340416192024-03-13T11:12:06.676-07:00Education On The EdgeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-70569403571146366852012-01-01T12:10:00.000-08:002012-01-01T12:10:06.210-08:00Teachers on the Edge ....of insanity!I don't know about other teachers out there, but I am often at my "edge" these days. I find I can't do as good a job as I want to do. I am being harrassed to do more and more paperwork (being in Special Education in a monitoring year doesn't help!). And testing duties don't help, either. It is pretty crazy and it's making me tend that way also.
I wish someone would make a movie like "To Sir with Love" or "Up the Down Staircase" about what it's like to be a teacher in today's schools. It seems like the public doesn't really know how schools really work right now. If they did, wouldn't they protest, if only to keep their children safe from it all?
Are there any careers out there that are NOT crazy? I'm guessing most people have their own tales of how bad the workplace can be. Maybe we could share some stories.
Hope all of us have a better 2012 than 2011 has been!
Shalom.
KarenUnknownnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-53890171399817618182011-04-24T18:03:00.001-07:002011-04-24T18:11:43.454-07:00Testing DilemmasI feel for people who want to measure how their kids are doing! It can seem important to see their test results, to reassure ourselves that they are learning what they should know. <br /><br />On the other hand, as a test-giver for low these many years, I recognize that many variables influence testing. The student's mood, their confidence, their skills, the relevance of test questions, the motivation, the ability to withstand pressure, and even the time of day can all affect how students do on a test. <br /><br /> I used to take reading scores as gospel, but I've found that reading, especially, is very difficult to measure productively. Someone's background in the area read is crucial. I used to do demos for teachers where I showed them a "college" level text and asked them questions. In some areas, they could read at a college level, but in unfamiliar areas (such as nuclear physics) the same reading level seemed incomprehensible. Why should our kids be any different? When people say there is a racial gap, couldn't it possibly be partly because of the subject matter and the background of the students? If so, isn't it the TEST that is partly at fault? It makes testers immensely powerful if they can determine the types of questions that are defined as "good" reading levels. Do we want to give them all that power? People used to say that tests were biased- what happened to that concept? Now they just call the teaching bad.<br /><br />I wish I could teach in a democratic school where only the STUDENTS could decide when and what they would test on. Let's try to develop more of these. It would disempower the testers and empower students instead. A much more worthwhile endeavor!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-73786140857604709442011-04-09T17:18:00.000-07:002011-04-09T17:22:41.263-07:00No More Testing!I am already tired of state testing and it hasn't really begun! The thought that THIS is the thing we should emphasize, getting EVERYONE to come and put out their best effort , is ridiculous. <br /><br />There are lots of real problems in the world, things that would behoove our adults and children to work on solving. But here we are all worrying, instead, about how to answer certain kinds of questions in the exactly correct way so as to be judged as fit to graduate from high school. <br /><br />Maybe we should be asking- graduate to what purpose? What do I REALLY want to do with my life? What if that were the whole and complete test? Nobody could graduate until they gave a complete answer to that question. And their answer would have to be somehow connected to making the world a better place to live. And they would have to demonstrate that they had ALREADY done this, to some extent!<br /><br />At Sudbury Valley school this is just the graduation requirement- they defend the thesis that they are a responsible person. <br /><br />Now THAT would be a worthy graduation test :)<br /><br />GOod luck on this wonderful testing week :(<br /><br />KarenUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-44859745445784727812010-07-29T08:09:00.000-07:002010-07-29T08:15:27.113-07:00NCLB changes!I was very excited last night when I got a request from Fair Test to contact my congress person about NCLB (No Child Left Behind) changes. I have been waiting for some organization to help me focus my frustration and make a difference in this cause.<br /><br />I feel torn. On the one hand, I want kids to have more skills than they often end up with from their schooling. On the other hand, testing doesn't seem to me to be the best way to get there. The tests being given in Minnesota are long, boring, way too difficult, and have actually increased the dropout rate. That's not the direction we should be going!<br /><br />I will be looking at the recommendations on Fair Test website- let me know what you think. The recommendations are here: http://www.fairtest.org/files/FEAreauthgoalssummary4-10.pdfUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-4289103983579077422010-07-16T11:11:00.000-07:002010-07-17T08:42:59.320-07:00Innovation is hiding all over the place!I was very impressed with stories from Summer Institute. There are lots of cool, innovative teachers out there making a difference in kids' lives! I'm glad to have met them, and I hope to continue the dialogue as years go by. Project based learning is a great addition to the world, and EdVisions has made some wonderful contributions. <br /><br />I was reminded that I really want to recognize and honor all kinds of activities, and not just things that look like "work". Just as much of the best learning happens during informal sessions at conferences, so does much of student learning happen informally, when kids are chatting or surfing web pages. In fact, one student said "this project started because I was off task" and it was a very cool learning experience.<br /><br />I truly wish there were people in Minnesota interested in starting a democratic school with no requirements except attendance and following the school rules. These schools recognize all these different types of learning. That would add one more choice for Minnesota families.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-81696184764194133572010-07-04T11:55:00.000-07:002010-07-04T12:00:57.479-07:00Sharing our storiesI'm presenting at a summer institute next week. I'm not one of those people who is good at lecturing- especially to adults, whose needs I have trouble reading (kids are easier- you can tell in a second when they are bored or confused!). <br /><br />My goal is to find ways for us to share success (and failure) stories so we can get help from each other. I lke making solid connections with other people, where we are peers and become empathic and caring toward each other. Then we aren't as worried about impressing people or looking stupid as we are about just assisting each other to the best of our ability.<br /><br />I know this goes against the grain of an "institute", but hopefully the spirit can come through even a different format. Wish me luck!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-83186622112574095472010-06-12T10:30:00.000-07:002010-06-12T10:38:00.331-07:00End of another school yearI notice that I only post at the beginning and end of school years. I guess that's one way to see how much "progress" I have made- look at beginning goals, see if I met them.<br /><br />Our school started its own facebook fan page, so I guess that's interactive. I never figured out how to sort through twitter regularly- there's sooo much stuff out there I don't know about or use! But in some ways I realize that lots of it isn't all that wonderful. It still comes down to relationships- student/student, student/teacher, teacher/teacher. I like that our school emphasizes this. We do field trips, morning advisory meetings where we really talk about our interests, and build projects around things students love.<br /><br />I had a student graduate who never thought she would make it. She did a project around having a baby- pregnancy things, child development things, purchasing things (she said comparison shopping was one of the biggest things she learned from the project). She learned about smoking effects on her baby and quit smoking even! So- maybe high tech isn't so much necessary as interesting and novel. Maybe we are "education on the edge" because this relationship strand is the backbone of our school. <br /><br />Thanks to all who came before me in this project-based line of schooling. I'm grateful!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-73609974267856914652009-08-23T10:39:00.000-07:002009-08-23T10:44:48.740-07:00This Year I will be more interactiveI have written a few blog entries, but not consistently. I want to join the large community of interactive educators out there. What are your hopes and fears for this school year? What would you like to talk about? <br /><br />For me, I'm hoping to find ways to organize technology and websites- for myself and for my school. How can we recommend things to students? How can they recommend things to us (maybe more important!). <br /><br />How can I sort through all the things I receive on Twitter so I can choose things to meet my needs? I'm thinking about starring things daily for future reference, and then 1x per week looking them up and sending out the best ones for school and friends. How do others do it?<br /><br />Best wishes to everyone beginning another journey in schools. Let us know the highs and lows! <br /><br />MeUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-59458375542411867102009-05-24T19:09:00.000-07:002009-05-24T19:20:05.412-07:00The End of the School Year- exciting and disappointingMay is crazy in schools, and ours is maybe even extra crazy. Most of my student's projects were year-long, so they are trying to finish up almost all of their school projects in 2 weeks! Plus I need to write 3 senior Special Ed "out-take" reports, lots of progress reports, print up transcripts, do ending rubrics, etc. etc.<br /><br />I am sad that lots of my hoped-for changes didn't occur. I wanted to be more free from timelogs, more outcome-based, with students that were able to demonstrate their progress in all sorts of new ways. I had hoped they would be using Write Online for help with spelling and organizing, with hints from me in Wordbars. I had hoped the seniors would be pretty well done instead of ....hopeful but fairly far from the end of their schooling. <br /><br />However, I am happy that we tried some new things, and that many students progressed in all sorts of ways, from social, to speaking in front of groups, to improving in reading, writing and math. Just surviving the school year is an accomplishment, and our spring celebration went great! <br /><br />I hope all of you had some great things happen as well!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-49302015502956987672009-04-10T14:40:00.001-07:002009-04-10T14:42:21.731-07:00<a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://educationontheedge.blogspot.com"><img src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-27740006915469659282009-04-10T13:39:00.000-07:002009-04-10T13:46:48.910-07:00The Student-led continuumI have been on many places of the student-led continuum (where students do various amounts of leading their own education) in my teaching career.<br /><br />I started in a traditional school , making lesson plans that were supposedly tailored to my students (I teach special ed- I get to do that, or at least try to). <br /><br />Then I "unschooled" my own children, trying NOT to make plans but following their lead.<br /><br />Now I work in a "project-based" school, where I try to help students come up with projects that are part their interest and part the State Standards.<br /><br />It has been a very confusing journey, and I can see good and bad things about each point on the continuum. Sometimes teacher-led lessons seemed very effective and helpful, but sometimes they brought about rebellion or fear. Following student's interests sometimes had them bored and restless, wanting more input and/or friends and activities. But sometimes they were happy as clams, busily play/working all day on their current interests and passions. The current effort to design projects around state standards (or vice versa) can bring kids to new heights, but also lead to dissatisfaction and boredom.<br /><br />I guess it's all exploration. And whatever the results, I hope it benefits the students I work with. So far, so good :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-80925774052499130132008-08-01T13:15:00.000-07:002008-08-01T13:24:23.401-07:00What if summer learning happened all year?I don't know about you, but summer for me has been a time to do many different types of things. I took 2 online classes (very cool!), taught some music lessons, swam, worked on a book, played computer Scrabble, wrote some e-mails about improving our school, connected with some school families, took a trip, and generally spaced out my obligations so they weren't making me crazy. <br /><br />Of course, I'm a teacher, so I get to do that. I apologize to the people with year-round jobs- imagine your years as a student , perhaps.<br /><br />I recently read a book about Results Only Work Environment (Why Work Sucks and and How To Fix It). It is about people at Best Buy and their efforts to do work differently- to use results rather than time, to delete nonproductive meetings, and to "make every day seem like Saturday". <br /><br />I am going to aim at doing this at my school this year. I would like to be emphasizing work and not time, and I'm hoping for a "learning explosion" (or at least wishing for it! :) In order to do this I think I will work on helping students design better and better projects- things they really want to learn about. I will use Google Docs so I can "look in" on their work. And I will try to free myself somewhat from the thought that my presence is necessary for them to do work. If I look at outcomes more, I'm hoping that they will pay more attention to them also. <br /><br />Wish me luck! If you want to discuss these ideas, please write back!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-76720739048285556882007-12-27T14:59:00.000-08:002007-12-27T15:10:16.855-08:00What we learn at vacation timeI am sad that most kids, even in my "alternative" school, were eagerly looking forward to vacation from school. They cited things like sleeping in, hanging out, and getting presents, as reasons for this phenomenon.<br /><br /><br /><br />I would like to be working in a school where kids were comfortable, where the schedule would fit around their needs. When I was homeschooling and bringing my kids to "Twin Cities Unschool" (now extinct), they eagerly looked forward to going there and seeing their friends. I know most kids in truly democratic schools like Sudbury Valley School actually don't like vacations, because they view it as deprivation from seeing their friends and having fun!<br /><br /><br /><br />I have toyed with starting a democratic school in Minnesota. Maybe I would like to do that someday. I once tried to start a charter school like that here, but, being publicly funded, the potential sponsors were all for testing and measuring "growth" as if all kids "grow" at the same rates (or should do that, at any rate). I refused to set our school up for failure by trying to attain some measurement like that, so the school didn't happen. I wonder if I made the right decision?<br /><br /><br /><br />I know there are schools that have since found ways around the testing-as-God ideals they were asking of us. But I also know of schools that closed or changed significantly after they agreed to "measure growth" this way.<br /><br /><br /><br />I hope someday to see what I can do in this arena. For now, I'm enjoying my own vacation, writing my book and my blog, taking time to breathe that I don't have on normal school days. I'll see what I can do about scheduling breathing time then too! :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-63096444575450807742007-10-15T13:23:00.000-07:002007-10-15T13:30:36.247-07:00Environmental Blogging dayToday is blog action day, to talk about environment. I feel pretty sad about the environmental spiral we are in as a globe. Here are my contributions, plus and minus:<br />+<br />I work online, so I don't commute<br />I turn off things when not using them<br />I am considering moving someplace so nobody in the house would need to commute<br />I use conserving lightbulbs (at least I've started)<br />I contribute to Sierra Club monthly<br />I help students who are interested in environment to do projects on the topic and learn more<br />I recycle<br />I drive a Civic<br />I write e-mails in support of environmental causes<br />-<br />I own a pool and use chemicals!<br />House insulation needs work, as do windows<br />Our house is too big for the number of people who live here, so I should downsize<br />I'm not very active in environmental causes, and I don't concentrate on this field very well<br /><br />What are your contributions? Maybe you could give me some ideas!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-78586789957871944222007-07-30T06:16:00.000-07:002007-07-30T06:25:34.015-07:00Learning What's ImportantThis summer I'm learning lots of things- how to write a book (get up and write first thing, for me- that's when I'm freshest), how to lift weights (girls didn't do this when I was young), and how to pace myself and mix fun things with "must do" things. Kids learn lots in the summer too, about friendship, and relaxation, and work relationships, and Harry Potter/magic/growing up and seeing adults as fallable (all involved in the last Harry Potter book).<br /><br />Now compare those lessons with the ones we'll learn this year in school- about the capital of Bosnia, or the formula for the surface area of a sphere, and how to write a research paper with the right kind of footnotes.<br /><br />Which ones are lifelong lessons? Which ones get our attention and keep it? Why are schools not about real learning?<br /><br />Just imagine unleashing the creativity and knowhow of our teachers and students on real problems around them. Making their city safer, helping poor people to earn more money, dealing with the drug problem. <br /><br />This year I will help students (and myself) find and help solve real problems. I think this is a worthy goal, and one that will help to improve the world around me.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-26520716612827421882006-11-25T09:29:00.000-08:002006-11-25T09:34:52.121-08:00<p></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Education in the Old and New World</strong></span></p><p></p><p>The pre-computer world and the post-computer world obviously need very different skills. This has meant that education itself has been split wide open, leading to much confusion and difficulty in setting and achieving goals. If the very definition of knowledge has changed, then how can we best educate someone? Do we decide what facts students should learn, teach those facts, and then test to see how we've done? Or should we help students to set their own learning goals, train them to find the information they need, and then help them demonstrate their learning? These are very, very different objectives. And yet, if you look carefully into school districts, school buildings, and even within individual classrooms you'll find a kind of schizophrenic attempt at doing bits of both of these things, with very disheartening results. When one sets off on a trip and then changes direction every 100 feet, one isn't likely to arrive at a desirable destination, or indeed travel very far at all.</p><p></p><p>Pre-computer education was built on several fallacies. First, there was an assembly-line mentality that all students are alike, that all can do the same things, that all SHOULD do the same things. This makes little sense as the world gets more and more specialized, but it is now being enforced as never before through all the standardized tests included in the No Child Left Behind laws. Another fallacy is that there is an orderly and predictable route that learning happens in. Thus "pre-reading" skills are religiously taught, regardless of the fact that millions of children (including my own) learn to read without ever having been taught them. A third fallacy is that if one simply memorizes enough things they'll succeed in the world. In reality, more people are fired from jobs for not being able to work with other people (something left out the NCLB altogether) than for not having some kind of knowledge of facts. Last but not least, there is a belief that somewhere, some collection of people knows exactly what everyone in the country should know, so there is a way to design a test that will measure if one is an "educated person". When Minnesota held hearings on the Social Studies curriculum this assumption was thoroughly tested, as the extremely long list of competencies that had been designed by the "experts" was shown to be extremely biased- and also, it had nothing in it about knowing about current political issues, how to choose candidates, or even the basic skills about how to vote! Each curriculum area is like this- there is much controversy, even among experts in different fields, about what comprise the basic knowledge in each area. </p><p></p><p>Post- computer education would be entirely different, and as such it is difficult to even imagine how it would look. For one thing, emphasizing the skills of finding information rather than memorizing it presents the possibility that students get to decide what to research. Also, since students often know more about the Internet than their teachers, there would be more of a collegial atmosphere than a dictatorial one, where teachers help pose questions or problems and then all parties do some investigation, sharing their findings equally. This goes for hardware and software too- those of us who've worked in schools already know that the techie kids are a necessary component of our school's computer department, and they often know more than the people hired to supervise them. Demonstrating learning won't be done through testing, since everyone will be learning about different topics. So instead there will be student presentations, powerpoints, essays, even books or movies that show the meaningful things (to them and hopefully to others) that they have investigated. These can be shared with others inside the school, but also to the outside community via websites or real-time presentations in person or online. Rather than going on to more generalized training such as college, more students will choose to specialize from the start, and they may either launch their own business or go to specialized schools or online classes to learn just what they need to know to take the next step in their chosen field, whether it be hair design, international negotiations, or quantum physics. </p><p></p><p>In schools today there are trends toward both worlds. The pre-computer direction is yielding standardized curricula (most textbook companies are now advertising that they are "standards based", meaning that they'll teach to the tests), and teachers, schools and districts are being let go or taken over if their students' test scores aren't high enough. This is actually leading to more "throw-away kids", because the districts don't mind if low-achieving kids drop out, since those are the very ones who lower the district's test scores. Even community colleges for hands-on training such as carpentry or cooking are requiring students to pass tests in order to get in. At the same time, some schools or teachers are asking for creativity and original research projects, assuming that this new world will require all the adaptability their students can come up with. Service learning is also a hot topic right now, requiring that students go out in the community and exhibit people skills which the schools have totally ignored up to that point. And alternatives such as charter schools are showing that parents and students really crave the more humane, individualized education that we've lost through all the years of standardization.</p><p></p><p>We need to begin discussing these conflicting aims, trying to come up with some understanding about how the 2 worlds can cooperate with each other, both for the sake of the children, but also for the sake of the world we're launching them into. Instead of retreating into our separate corners, let's talk about how we can create forums and find some common goals. I'll work on this in coming months. </p><p></p><p>What are symptoms you see of these splits? Have you seen these cross-era forums happening? If so, where and how?</p><p></p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-17856418168941411112006-11-23T06:16:00.000-08:002006-11-25T07:17:49.406-08:00Clash of 2 WorldsIt seems to me we’re seeing a clash of 2 worlds:<br />the pre-computer world, where we must know everything, and<br />the post-computer world, where we must know where to find everything.<br /><br />In the pre- world things were orderly. Some students/people were smart; they could memorize lots of things and spit them back on cue. There was an orderly path to the good life- students went to a school (good school= the most memorization available), aced college tests and got into good colleges (ditto good college), and thenthey found a job in some field that honored the knowledge they had, even if it didn’t actually USE it (how many people use their learning in their day-to-day life?). Kids who weren’t so smart, or weren’t in an environment that honored those smarts or could get them into “good” schools, went down different roads, either into not-so-good schools and jobs, or into the trade or business worlds, feeling inferior even if they made lots of money.<br /><br />In the post-world students/people are honored for their individual interests and skills. If you can design a website/software/product, and if people want your skills, then you’re paid accordingly. Discovery and innovation matter more than memorization. Knowing how and where to find answers matters more than knowing the answers themselves. And actually, you might be helping the world to adjust what it “knows”. You might be one of the hundreds of thousands of people who have now become authors themselves, helping to educate and keep the world informed on sites like Wikipedia, Wiktionary, or even personal blogs which are visited by thousands of people<br /><br />Unfortunately, these worlds often don’t coexist very happily. People who’ve been successful in the pre- world sometimes feel left-behind and powerless in the new world. It’s even possible that they’re trying to fight back, though unconsciously. Have you ever wondered why our country is ordering more and more testing just when we have less and less need to memorize facts? Why there’s such fanaticism for math and science just when we desperately need people who know how to negotiate, understand our “enemies”, and solve so many social and environmental problems? Could it be attempts by “pre-“ elite to maintain their hold on students/people? Students won’t have time to innovate and explore new technologies if we keep making them memorize more and more ……stuff! Unfortunately, they also won’t have time to help us solve problems of poverty, environmental woes, or other challenges either.<br /><br />The post- people have their own ways to fight back. The most obvious ways are creating viruses and worms. How many people who make these things are just angry at how the pre- world has treated them? Their skills were often not honored or rewarded; their contributions were ignored until they invaded our own small computer worlds. Another retributive act is music and document/book sharing (or stealing, depending on how you look at it) . Post- people sometimes don't honor the intellectual property rights that have been taken for granted for centuries, partly because they've grown up in such a free atmosphere that gates around certain information seem ridiculous. They also may look down on Pre- people simply because they don't understand newer terms and procedures.<br /><br />These 2 different ways of looking at the world are affecting education in a big way. In the next entry I’ll be looking at how education fits into this war, how teachers and students are being pulled more and more toward both of these poles at the same time.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-1157919838999770962006-09-10T13:13:00.000-07:002006-09-10T13:23:59.010-07:00What did you learn today?Parents often ask this of their children, and children are expected to (but rarely can or want to) list some facts or topics that they were "taught". Things like the capitol of Ethiopia, or the year the Civil War started, or the square root of 144.<br /><br />I spent part of Friday morning reassuring a student that he was, indeed, learning even thought he didn't list any "facts" he had studied that day. In fact, it was a momentous day for him, as he was preparing for a performance with a band and by himself that night, and then he was training in for a new facet of his job at work.<br /><br />Who in their right mind would say he wasn't learning anything doing those things? Just a short list includes: practicing fingerings/songs on guitar, calling others to make sure everything was prepared, planning what to wear, figuring out how to not be too nervous but to be "pumped up", feeling the experience of playing solo on a stage, keeping one's mind on songs and not on audience distractions, learning how to decompress after a performance, finding ways to go to sleep with adrenaline rushing to be rested for work the next day....and on and on. (As you may have guessed, I've done some performing too:)<br /><br />And yet, this person was worried about not learning enough! Our system, it seems, has brainwashed us into believing that only sitting in a classroom is educational, only things on tests are important lessons, and all of it has to be incredibly boring.<br /><br />Hopefully he'll relax and realize how educational his life really is.<br />Hopefully we all will!<br /><br />ShalomUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-1157680326835175402006-09-07T18:43:00.000-07:002006-09-07T19:02:05.506-07:00Pictures<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4609/3745/1600/TheGang_thb.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4609/3745/320/TheGang_thb.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is me- let me know where I can see a picture of you too :) <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4609/3745/1600/Karen.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 113px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 116px" height="116" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4609/3745/320/Karen.jpg" width="100" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4609/3745/1600/Karen.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4609/3745/1600/Karen.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Field trip at Camp St. CroixUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34041619.post-1157679130889288232006-09-07T18:07:00.000-07:002006-09-07T18:32:10.903-07:00Welcome to Education On The Edge!Job: advisor (i.e. teacher) at an online, project-based school.<br /><br />My School: EdVisions Off-Campus High School, in Minnesota<br /><br />School Website: <a href="http://www.eochs.k12.mn.us">www.eochs.k12.mn.us</a><br /><br />Welcome to my blog. I'm very new at this, so I'll probably make lots of mistakes- but hey, we're all new at something! Since I work at an online school I'm trying to learn about this new way to communicate. I've had a personal computer since 1982 (not the same one, obviously!).....but don't tell the tech person at my school- you certainly wouldn't know it by my ...er..computer skills.<br /><br />About 15 years ago I made a very unusual decision for a teacher: I decided to never teach anyone anything they didn't want to know. I was sick of fighting to "get information in" to students who- didn't want it, wouldn't remember it, and would never need to remember it. It just didn't make sense anymore. I wanted to help create "win win" situations where the kids and I were on the same side, where we didn't struggle against each other and I didn't feel like a policewoman.<br /><br />Since then it's been interesting. Some of the things I've done:<br />-homeschooled- helping my kids learn things they were interested in<br />-taught music lessons-teaching little 5th graders how to play the trumpet or drums is a kick :)<br />-taught classes at the local park- from preschool music to piano lessons to summer daycare<br />-done a little tutoring to help raise kids' basic skills (I quit this when it became apparent that most of the time they weren't interested in MORE work on reading, math...)<br />-taught summer community ed classes such as: Bubbles and Goo for little kids, Harry Potter classes, music classes, etc.<br /><br />5 years ago I started working in charter schools here. I worked at Minnesota New Country School, a project-based school where students designed projects, carried them out, and then got credit for their learning. Then last year our online school started. It's a blast!<br /><br /><br /><em>Topics to expect here: alternative education, democratic education, project-based education, online learning, personally tailored education, homeschooling, psychosynthesis, subpersonalities, nonviolent communcation, body-centered psychology.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Invitation to join the conversations: I'm excited about "meeting" you all- learning what else is out there!</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Kids and adults are all invited to join in the conversation! </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Karen Locke</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0