Learn With Beth: Bulldog Spotlight

Showing posts with label Bulldog Spotlight. Show all posts

Friday, August 28, 2015

What Can I Do?

My district has been hit with wave after wave of tragedy over the last five years. The loss of three teachers since March has caused so much heartache and created voids that just cannot be filled. Our superintendent, Bob Hastings, wrote a post where he shared some words of wisdom about what we can do in times of such sorrow. With his permission I am reposting What Can I Do ? with the hope that it will inspire you to follow his advice.

Written by Bob Hastings (@BasicBobH) on August 27, 2015

Over the past five months, Gering Public Schools has been stricken with unspeakable tragedy and loss. In March, we dealt with the unexpected death of 39 year Geil Elementary teacher Kathy Keller. In May, we once again faced tragedy with the unexpected death of 23 year Freshman Academy math teacher, coach, and assistant athletic director Gary Smith. Then, just this past Monday, we were struck by the sudden loss of 30 year GHS social studies teacher, theater and speech coach Jason deMaranville.

In each instance, as our staff and students have dealt with extreme grief, we have been touched by the love and support that our community has poured out upon us. The gifts of food, kind words, and support are made meaningful not so much by what they are, but by what they represent. These gifts show us that you are worried about us, that you are thinking of us, that you care.

Through each of these tragedies, after talking about how Mrs. Keller, Mr. Smith, or Mr. D have somehow touched their lives or the lives of their kids, the question that I have been most asked has been, “Is there something I can do?”

I want to tell you, there is something you can do. Something that doesn’t cost money or take a lot of time to do. But it is something that means everything.

What is that something? Find that teacher that made a difference for you. Find that teacher that has touched your child. Find that teacher and tell them what they mean to you. Find that teacher and send them a note of gratitude. Find that teacher and tell them about that time when they did something that made a difference for you or your child.

This week, I have been awestruck listening to the stories of grieving students as they have talked about what Mr. D meant to them. I have listened to friends and students say things like, “I wish I would have said…”

So, is there something you can do? Yes. Go tell your teacher thanks. Thanks for pouring their life into yours. And, please, don’t wait. Do it today!

Friday, March 6, 2015

Special #FF Special Request

This last year has been good to me. In three weeks I will celebrate the one year anniversary of accepting my current position. Being in a district where I can support teachers and students and help make a difference is truly more exciting than I ever imagined it could be. The other fantastic part of my year was attending the Google Teacher Academy back in December. Both of these experiences had a profound impact on me.

As part of the Google Teacher Academy I was required to develop a plan to do something great in my district. It was my 10x plan also known as my moonshot. My moonshot plan involved two distinct parts. The first part involved assembling a group of visionary teachers from across the district who were willing to reach out and connect with the other members of their group. (I call them the Moonshot cohort.) I have also asked them to dip their toes into the Twitter waters and get connected so they can get ideas about great lessons they can implement in their own classrooms. If each teacher in the Moonshot group does just one really amazing thing this year and it inspires just one other teacher to do something new and exciting eventually we will reach the tipping point and EVERYONE in my district will be inspired to try something new and exciting.

The other part of my plan involves the administrators from my district. I am a firm believer that nothing will change in education unless administrators are out from leading their teachers in the direction they want them to go. Jessica Johnson wrote a post about the importance of being the lead learner where she explains how the role of the building principal has shifted. My ultimate goal is to get all of the principals in my district connected to other educators from outside of our district and to get them to contribute to a group leadership blog as a way to share what they are learning as well as a place to reflect.

Now for my special request. Please make some room in your PLN to connect with my colleagues. Follow them. Tweet them. Encourage them. And please be patient and forgive them if they don't reply right away. A few of them are Twitter pros but others are just getting started. It takes a while to get Twitter and that the more we interact the more likely we are to realize the power of Twitter. Please help me give this fantastic group of educators a reason to stick around.

Moonshot Teachers - On a List

Moonshot Administrators - On a List

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Lisa Hadenfeldt's Reflection on the Great Plains Google Summit

A team of 8 of us from Gering Public Schools made the trek to Lincoln to attend the Great Plains Google Summit. Lisa took me up on my offer to share her reflection about her experience.

As part of the Language Arts department who plans to integrate technology this year with Chromebooks, I took the journey to Lincoln this summer to attend the Great Plains Google Summit. One of the first things I learned was how little I knew. My first session had me asking such advanced questions as “How do I scroll down?” and “How do I right click?” Chromebooks are not difficult, just new to me.

The Summit provided me with great ideas on how to let the students direct the learning with technology when I ask for projects at the end of units. If I can have enough knowledge to give them the ideas, they can run with it. I’m pretty sure that they know more than I do at this point. We can learn from each other. I was immersed in techspeak so I feel more confident now in my terminology, and I may be able to teach and/or understand the language of technology better when bringing up new ideas.

Google Chrome seems like an amazing platform for learning. One last thing that I came away with is this. There is always more to learn. I will not panic but will take baby steps in this very cool opportunity to integrate technology. Beth Still, Kelly Tofflemire, and Zak Griffith will be great mentors in this journey. I’m glad I got to know them better!

Monday, April 28, 2014

Bulldog Spotlight

Each month a different teacher will be featured.

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