English Teacher's Companion Ning

If one of your new year's resolutions is to be a more reflective and FABULOUS English teacher, then join the English Companion ning right now. This ning (social website with a specific focus) was started by Jim Burke, prolific author (English Teacher's Companion, The Teacher's Daybook, Reading Reminders, Writing Reminders, Tools for Thought: Graphic Organizers in the Classroom, etc.) webmaster, and guru for secondary English teachers. English teachers can join groups, start discussions, participate in discussions, blog and meet other English teachers from around the country and around the world. Within less than one month of starting this ning, there are already 600+ educators learning from each other.
I think I joined two weeks ago, and everyday that I go on and read the discussions, join in, and hear mana'o from other educators, I learn and am inspired again. The passion for teaching is contagious. People have great forum topics and it is as beneficial for the newbies as for the veteran teachers. Take advantage of this free opportunity to get high quality professional development.

Comments

Anonymous said…

cool blog

January 5, 2009 at 3:24 AM

Professional Practice Dissertation Pre-Proposal, Part 1 of 4

My dissertation proposal as a culture-based education (CBE) version of Chopped All-Stars Please indulge my need for metaphors and analogies to make sense of my world. This is Part 1 of 4 blog posts to clarify my thinking on my proposed dissertation topic. How will this study work? Gather strong chefs, leaders and innovators in their own right and challenge them to create synergistic culinary masterpieces in the CBE Project, a professional development program. change chef to teacher; change culinary masterpieces to culture-based education-infused practices and curriculum ) The parameters: time (Kamehameha Hawaiʻi 4-week course with deadlines for teachers' own action research and learning portfolio to follow) key ingredients ( CBE practices , moenahā framework, makawalu , and the National Writing Project program model) the course (teachers' own content area and current curriculum) The question: How doe...

Battle of the Sexes

Ok, it's not a battle, but after being married for 20 years, I realize that there are some things that fall into the "mom's job" category, and there are some things that are strictly dad's domain. Mom's job is to find things. For 20 years I have lived in a male dominant household. The fact that the majority of the toilet seats in my house remain in the down position is a testament of the power of the one and only alpha female. However, what I can't do is teach my children (and my husband) how to do what I call "mom looking" versus "man looking." I don't need to explain this for the moms. They know exactly what I'm talking about. The guys are slower to catch on. I'll type s-l-o-w-l-y. Here's a typical "man looking" conversation: "mom! (or Cat!), where's the ______ (insert anything from socks to the car)?" "It's in the _________ (insert my instructions like refrigerator, garage, o...

Dissertation Proposal 4 of 4: Timeline

Timeline Summer 12 - pre-proposal, lit reviews, submission for B-credit, negotiations for a course (place, time) Fall 12 - build the course using the village, build in indigenous, developmental evaluation and sustainability Spring 13 - submit IRB approvals, pa ʻa the logic model, recruit teacher leaders Summer 13 - Alana Summer Institute Fall 13 - teacher action research and gathering of data Spring 14 - analyze data, write Summer 14 - write, collaborate, present This is a "in an ideal world" timeline that does not take into account the village, the permissions from higher ups, the ability to exist on a non-budget, the recruitment of teachers willing to participate in this work with me, the full time job duties that I already have AND the fact that Iʻm supposed to be in 6 or 9 credits worth of my own courses in the Summer of 13 on Oahu when I want to serve my Big Island teachers. Any suggestions?

Pure Manaʻo

Search This Blog