Commit to a program

By Jimmi L Wright

Educational leaders hold the future and direction of education in their hands. Their focus must always be what is best for children and continued learning about how children learn best.  Continual research and learning about best practices should be used to inform decision-making, not to simply implement the latest buzz program on the market. Although keeping apprised of new and innovative programs is important to keep the learning of all students current and utilizing modern technology in order to continue to engage students, but the fidelity of continued use of implemented programs shows more progress for student growth than constantly flipping from one program to the next (In a Rapidly Changing World…, n.d.).

Researching student support programs completely and investing in thoroughly educated decision-making should support a commitment to stick with a selected program (Bandelli, n.d.). The idea of minimal success causing an immediate switch to the next new program in an effort to find a quick fix program is flawed and unsupported thinking (In a Rapidly Changing World…, n.d.). When complete and effective research is utilized, the decisions that are made based on this data should be committed to for a defined length of time in order to actually assess the effectiveness of the program (Forging Ahead With School…, n.d.).

When decision-makers are quick to jump on and implement whatever the latest demonstrated program is, there is no buy-in and support for the current programs,

      Bandelli, A. (n.d.). Education can't keep up with our fast-moving world. Here's what needs to change.

              Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/06/new-approaches-education-changing-

              society/

      Forging Ahead With School Consultation for Student Success. (n.d.). School Consultation for

               Student Success. doi: 10.1891/9780826177780.0012

      In a Rapidly Changing World, What Defines an Educational Innovation? (n.d.). Retrieved from

               https://remakelearning.org/blog/2016/06/03/in-a-rapidly-changing-world-what-defines-an-educational-innovation/

Hopes and Goals

When I initially set up this blog, the idea was to create a place where teaching ideas could accumulate and be shared. I didn't think that it would be so long between setting up the space and actually getting the blog underway. I have finally reached a place where I am ready to share some information and some ideas to help others in their education journey.

As a middle school teacher, I have found that there are not many sites dedicated to the plight of the teachers of this group of students. I hope to compile a number of teaching ideas to help make things a tad easier! Reinventing the lesson every time can be a little daunting and I will try to alleviate some of the stress here.

Talking about education

Learning how to communicate with other educators is essential to creating an environment where all students receive the best education possible. As educators we must work together to share knowledge, ideas and opportunities to improve not only our practice, but also how students learn. I have created this blog as a space to share teaching ideas and opportunities. As I continue on my journey to become a master teacher I want to share the information I acquire in an effort to bring myself out of the solo classroom and into the teaching community.

One of the most helpful pieces of advice I have received, as a teacher, was "The best teachers are the ones who learn how to 'borrow' ideas and make them their own." This is a site to forward that advice and share ideas that can be borrowed. There are a multitude of ideas that can be adapted for use in a variety of situations.