The last month brought a lot of change! I left my job at Instructional Services and started on October 1st as the School Based Technology Specialist at Westfield HS. I couldn’t be happier AND the time I’ve reclaimed has allowed me to read more! Which is always a great thing!
Learning First, Technology Second by Liz Kolb was a key read for me this month as I moved back to a coaching role working directly with teachers and administrators. I tweeted my takeaways here: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1183000101024870400.html
PS - using @threadreaderapp to unroll a tweet thread is awesome!
Jackpot by Nic Stone. I'm a big fan of Nic Stone because she writes books that are accessible to teens and that are about contemporary issues they care about. I struggled with the girl-boy relationship in this one and the emphasis on it. I am too independent and have read one too many books where the good, rich, handsome boy (prince) saves the girl. AND at the same time I loved the story she wrote about poverty and the fears and choices it brings.
Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard. This is a book I didn't even know I needed to read. I'm so thankful it was recommended to me by @scholarcation (her shirt in the background of the photo). I loved the internal dialogue of Pen, a butch teen girl who is looking for her place to fit in and be happy - between the girls she likes and the boys she's friends with, all inside the struggles of high school and a VERY traditional immigrant family life.
Productive Struggle is a Learner's Sweet Spot - this short article from ASCD talks about the need to allow students to solve challenges they face, not jump in and rescue at the first sign of frustration. This also speaks to the need to let students try... not showing them exactly how and then asking them to do exactly what you did.
Great Questions for Instructional Coaches - this list from Jim Knight gives a starting place when you're coaching and practicing and building your repertoire of questions that will push the person to think of solutions they haven't yet considered.
10 Behaviors of Unsuccessful People - what can we stop doing?
Dinah, Put Down Your Horn: Blackface Minstrel Songs Don’t Belong in Music Class – I wasn’t aware that many of these “folk” songs had roots in minstrelsy. Learning the true history, rather than singing these as a representation of history is one way to acknowledge the damage done.
EduTechnicallySpeaking 