I have spent limited time reading posts in this forum. I plan to spend time reading because this is an impressive place and I am very much interested in what goes on here. I consider this to be quite a discovery and I am appreciative of the efforts made by so many…staff and posters, to make this an intellectual community of sorts. Being a novice is no excuse for my errors so I will cautiously contribute and seek not to exploit the board or its members. Again, I appreciate the replies and I think that I now have a deeper understanding of this process.
Manda Jo - your response was especially helpful and sorry you had to spell it out…now I get it. The possibilities you noted were interesting. In response - I really underestimated the board. I never guessed anyone would be interested in my take regarding an ideal high school. In addition, I was reluctant to make such a post because I was a bit intimidated. One thing that you can quickly discern about the board is that there are large numbers of posters that are both knowledgeable, witty, and arrogant. This mix of attributes is discomforting but I will deal with it. You seem to have a healthy disposition and I see you have a number of posts.
Kaylasdad99 - yes, i am a teacher but we do have a couple of students that will be involved with the drafting of this statement. I am quite proud of them because they have contributed much and they will be giving up part of their holiday tomorrow in order to help us with this. The fact that I am a teacher,imo, makes this worse. I should have anticipated all of the disapproval. I am bothered by the ethical question involved with this issue. We recently discussed cheating in one of my classes and here I am, engaging in at the worst…copyright infringement, and at the least improper behavior. I should say…about to engage because after all of this, I plan to walk in to my meeting tomorrow and not discuss any of this.
Arnold - Your points are all understandable and heeded. I appreciate your candor and diligence. BTW - is there anything you recomend that I do to become more aware of the “unwritten rules”? Besides the obvious hanging out and checking it out. Thanks again. This is great.
Thanks for the “inservice” and I apologize for my self-interest. Thanks for the welcome. I think the staff of SDMB should be commended for their efforts. Also, the members seem to have taken ownership of the forum and are willing to share their valuable insights.
Thanks, jacksen9, I’m such an inquisitive soul (to say nothing of nosy). And echoing others, welcome aboard. I hope you enjoy yourself here. I think you will.
I say we tar and feather him, then run him out on a rail!
Tar costs how much a barrel?
The pillows are filled with foam rubber, not goose feathers?
The tracks haven’t been repaired yet?
Damn.
Oh, wotthehell, welcome aboard!
Would that all newbies had but half the laudable attitude that you display, jacksen9. I, for one, eagerly anticipate the contributions you will make to this intellectual community.
Getting the feel of the board is a good idea. Some other suggestions:[ul]
[li]Read the FAQ “sticky” threads in the “About This Message Board” forum;[/li][li]If you’re using vB Code in your post, use preview;[/li][li]If you’re not sure whether or not to post something, ask a staff member first. Send an e-mail to all the moderators of a particular forum, asking them “should I post this?” Expect a one or two-day delay before the answer (we’re all unpaid volunteers here.)[/li][/ul]
But from what I’ve seen you should fit in just fine.
Well, I have just returned from my meeting where we were engaging in the process of drafting a vision statement. The process is a long way from being complete. What we accomplished today involved identifying and articulating emerging themes from the data we have collected from participating faculty. Everyone on the faculty was invited and encouraged to participate in this process however, less than half did so. There were three parts and three questions we asked:
What are you wondering about this high school? What questions about present or future conditions would you like to ask?
Description of vision - a desired future that is attainable.
Focusing on teaching and learning, what does an ideal high school look like?
All of the responses were placed in either future or present categories. Many of the responses will require us to address some very tough issues. We talked about the need to identify our core values (we are a new school) and begin to prioritze. We discussed at length, how to come out of this meeting with a plan to a) involve more faculty b) get student input c) include parents and community.
This has been an interesting process that has me feeling uncomfortable. I want to be idealistic but I look at what we see as the ideal and I look at the constraints and I wonder how we will get this done.
IMHO, the ideal high school looks like this: There would be a true sense of community. The culture of the school would be based on respect and service. Students would have a true understanding of the enormous challenges that face our society and they would prepare themselves to meet these challenges with patience, diligence, and enthusiasm. Teachers would practice innovative and effective methods of instruction. Teachers would teach the student first and the content second. Teachers and students would approach each day with assumptions based on possibilities not limitations. We would all make good use of time and not feel compelled to fill each minute with busy ness. We would have time for reflection and collaboration. We would consider the importance of family, fun, and real life experience. These are considerations we would be especially mindful of when assigning homework. All teachers would be great role models. We would never miss an opportunity to teach kids not only the importance of doing good, but also being good.
Students would have opportunities to watch teachers engaged in learning. Students and teachers would have opportunities to learn together. Everyone would appreciate the importance of being a life-long learner.
