We've just finished a week of inservice. Most of it was outstanding. It has lead to many interesting and challenging conversations throughout the week. Here are a few highlights:
Kim Ellis spoke on Monday about students in poverty. I had heard some of this stuff before, but it always hits home. It reminds me that the students I serve (even though they are very smart) have issues related to growing up in poverty or from being surrounded by people who are in poverty. They think differently about things than I do, and I need to be aware of their perspective. It was also interesting to hear from teachers who came out of poverty to be the first person in their family to graduate high school, then college. It reminded me of the impact teachers have on lives.
Tuesday we had Mark McCloud who gave a great presentation about classroom management, procedures, and building appropriate meaningful relationships with students. He was so dynamic and all his material was very practical. He engaged every teacher in the room from the first year beginners to the veterans like me. He made us all proud of our profession and eager to greet our students when the first day comes along.
Thursday we had a couple of fairly typical inservice sessions and then had the community celebration in the evening. Steven James performed several stories for the crowd and a free meal was served. It was an enjoyable evening.
Today we heard from all the central office staff and I have to say they are a top-notch group of people. They work so hard and care so much about excellence. Phil gave a brief talk, and I was so proud of him. We wrapped it all up with Steven James once again. He did a great job instructing us on stories and how important they are in engaging our students. I love storytelling, so everything he did today was right down my alley.
All in all it has been a really interesting and stimulating week. It's not often you can say that about inservice. Special thanks to all who made it happen.
Now let's get to work!
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