CED0565 -Final Post

• How has your definition of leadership altered or been reinforced? Your definition of teacher leadership?

In the wake of taking the classes for my Masters, I have found myself saying certain things more and more to my classes.

Things like:

1) You can be part of the problem or part of the solution. No other choice exists.

2) Who would you rather listen to, someone who complains about everything or someone who offers a solution?

3) The simplest, yet most complex math problem to figure out is: You were born with how many ears? With how many mouths? Figure it out. (This one, I use when some student won't stop talking)

4) There was an old owl, who lived in an Oak...

the more s/he saw, the less s/he spoke...

the less s/he spoke, the more s/he heard...

why can't we be like that wise old bird...

A new one that I will be trying out. A quote from Rosanne Barr on CBS Sunday Morning...

Nobody can stop you from getting better at something, except you.

Nobody can stop you from making something right, except you.

I added the "except you's"

I had forgotten for a while, how much influence I could and should have on students. In this sense, I have had a rebirth in my opinion of teacher leadership

• Has your opinion of your leadership potential changed?

No doubt, it has changed. How can you realize your potential unless you try new things and feel you make a difference. We accomplish in proportion to what we attempt. We may fail at many things many times, but, if we never try, we will never succeed at anything.

• Do you agree with our textbook's assertion about "improving education from within"? If so, what will you do to help?

I have brought more work upon myself. Just what I needed. This past Friday in an "early release" of students / staff development, we, teachers, were asked to come up with some solutions to improving WKCE scores.

Being a math teacher, I came up with the idea and volunteered to make screencasts that I will send to other teachers to offer students example problems and their explained solutions. This will be the first of the changes I will choose to spearhead.

565 5th Blog Chrome homepage fee

Did anyone else loose their Google Chrome homepage?

I don't know if I did something to change it or not, but I lost the homepage that I had set up just how I wanted it. Now, it seems, Chrome is asking for a one time $5 charge for apps under the guise that it is for verification of usage and working against fraudulent behavior.

Perhaps it is so some hacker doesn't set up a macro to create an extraordinary amount of "free" accounts. This would bog down the system. I can afford the $5. I just don't like the idea of paying for something that was previously free. Also, I have 3 Google accounts, my personal one, my district one and my Stritch one. That makes it $15 if I want to set them all up the way I want.

Any thoughts or similar experiences?

565 4th Blog What I've learned or maybe relearned?

I must admit I haven't had time or made the time to look at my Stritch account in a while. Logging into Angel was fun (trying a number of different passwords 'til I remembered it!).

To the subject of what I've learned.

#1 Write down your passwords to all of the different applications in a safe place immediately after installation.

#2 Taking on an "overload / extra class" during the last few weeks of trying to finish your Masters is not recommended.

#3 Simulations covering the topic of school and district improvement ("the game we played in class") can be very frustrating.

#4 Assume your students know nothing unless they demonstrate to the contrary.