C4T #2

For my second C4T, I read blogs from SpeEdChange written by Ira Socol. The first blog that I read and responded to was Seven Pathways to a New Professionalism in which Ms. Socol discussed working in Albemarle County Public Schools and the changes that were made in their 26 schools because of a project titled Design 2015. Design 2015 is a project that started out by asking the 26 schools in the district to describe a change they wanted in student learning and to tell of a project that could break the barriers that stood in the way. Some schools knocked down walls, literally, others needed more technology and some just wanted more comfortable furniture. No matter what the schools were looking for, what they wanted most was for children to interact broadly with the world using contemporary technology and to be makers most of their days. They wanted to help children become successful adults which led to the first two learning pathways out of the seven. Five other essential pathways were discovered: Project/Problem/Passion-Based Learning, Choice and Comfort, Connectivity, Universal Design for Learning and Instructional Tolerance. Ms. Socol also challenged universities to reimagine teacher professional learning because they need educators who enable opportunity and create access.

My Response: In my response to Ms. Socol, I told her about this class (EDM310) that I was taking and how we were being challenged to think outside of the box and become teachers like she is asking for. I enjoyed reading about the changes Design 2015 was making in her schools and plan on following their journey.

The second blog post that I read was All the "good people"In this blog, Ms. Socol challenged us with wondering why we put up with bad teachers. Why are we selling our children short with teachers who are unwilling to change with the times or administrators who don't want to upset their staff. She wants to know why are we treating our students like "second class citizens" and when did a school employees right to be lazy become more important that a child's right to the best education available. She is challenging current and future teachers to become active learners and if this was your child, what kind of professional or leader would you want in their school?

My Response: In my response to Ms. Socol, I let her know how much I really enjoyed reading her blog and how honest and straight forward she was. I like that she challenged the "typical" teacher and wants only the best for our children's future. I related treating our schools like a business and our students as the customer. We need to take care of our "customers" or our businesses are going to fail.