Nov 14 2008
The aftermath of our visit to St. Bonaventure University, 11/12/08
What a priviledge it was to spend Wednesday evening with @ 41 undergraduate and graduate students of Education at St. Bonaventure University in Olean, NY. Ann Aversa, former BOCES special education supervisor/teacher, Brad Nunn - Jamestown Public Schools, Rochester City Schools and BOCES teacher/ administrator together with myself, Professors Paula Kenneson, Ann Claire Fisher and >>>>>>>>>>>>> were delighted in the company of future educators in whose faces we re-discovered ourselves. The passion, questions and thoughtful repose of the students in the class reflected our own journey of questioning and discovery so many years ago, when we ourselves were students just round the corner from entering a profession we could not wait to impact and change.
I think that it is imperative that schools and universities collaborate in the educational training of future teachers and educational leaders. We all recognize that professional growth goes both ways ( with students and bringing practitioners into colleges) and that informing students of current trends and the daily pulse of schools is critical to preparing them for the work they will be engaged in - work that is grounded in theory but is so much dictated by the human service needs of students, families and school employees. When I was in college I thought that the lesson plans and curriculum were my foundations of instructional/professional success. Today I know this to be a crucial piece but I do not discount the importance of my contacts with every manner of personal interaction I have with every member of the educational team. I focus on this everyday when I enter the school building and immediately greet the maintenance and grounds staff, the secretaries, my peer superivisor, the teachers, the professional staff, the aides and the list goes on until 8:30 am when the students arrrive, and the parent calls come in, probation officers, mental health counselors, come into the building. All these contacts and facets of a school make for the professional success of each and every school day. These contacts spell passion and energy.
It is my hope that the visit and experiences that we as collective educators shared with the students of St. Bonaventure University, will inspire you to be the change leaders in schools. In addition to talking about IEPs, IDEA, FERPA, student PLEP statements, student accomodations, classroom sizes, least restrictive environments, IEP direct etc. it is our hope that you will enter this endeared teaching profession prepared to passionately save students one at a time and make this nation once again a leader in education, creativity, discovery and excitement.
Student References:
Thomas Friedman, AUTHOR OF The World Is Flat and The World is Crowded
SOCIAL NETWORKS: NING, TAPPED IN, CLASSROOM 2.0, TWITTER
We look forward to hearing from all of you at St. Bona’s via this blog. Please share with us, your insights, thoughts and ideas as to how we can better prepare you for the world of work you have chosen. Our thanks to your professors, especially Dr. Kenneson for inviting us to your classroom and introducing us to Bona hospitality, Cafe La Verna and Plassman Hall.
My night was gloriously blessed when I ran into one of my former students, C. Lombardo ( Bona’s 2011) - one day I hope he will be a businessman who will generate work for others and help pay the public taxes which we hope will continue to fund our programs.
PS: K. Blake, I met Ms. Tina Currie, CSE chair today at the Jamestown Ad. building. She told me that you are a gifted teacher just waiting to be picked up by some lucky school!
5 responses so far
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Thank you for coming out to chat with us. Yes our students are passionate, I believe passion is what is vital to keep on doing this job. I love my job, and I love the opportunity to add parts to my teaching that will make the job better suited to the reality of teaching today.
I also believe it is imperative to stay grounded in the reality of things… which is my ultimate goal, otherwise I just become another “talking head” with many ideas and no follow through. Of course this will fully occur, once my dissertation is finished
System change is about thinking and analysing and details… that need to be put into place before implementation can occur. Michael Fullan writes much on leadership for change, he’s close, at the university of Toronto… very intersting guy. Another great writer that made me think a lot is Margaret Wheatley in her book “leadership and the new science”. Fullan is much inspired by her. One of the key parts of his theory is bullding and maintaining personal relationships, that comes right after having a moral vision, and developing knowledge about change itself… so you’re right on about cultivating those human contacts.
Finally it’s wonderful to see thinking and learning communities so active and alive in your educational community. I believe schools often forget the importance of thought, learning from others, and keeping up with research (because of all of the fires that need to be put out); as much as universities forget how hard the job really is, and how important it is to retain humility about one’s actual lack of practice… by being in schools, or talking to practitioners as much as possible.
Good on you as they say in Australia, and keep on going… I look forward to keep on blogging.
Anne-Claire
Sounds like a wonderful experience. I am a Bona alum so this brings a BIG smile to my face!!
It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to listen to our guest speakers. They were extremely enlightening and gave us a heavy amount of extremely important information. I have to be honest. At first I was not excited about guest speakers. They tend to have a typical trend of being drawn out, confusing, and hold little importance. This was not the case of this presentation. The three professionals were captivate and fascinating.
I can write on and on about the information that I learned from these speakers. However, I will only talk about a few of the most compelling information. Firstly, it was surprising to hear about the number of parent/guardians who try to “play” the system to provide assistance for their child, even when the child does not have a special need. It was also shocking to hear about how little it cost to educate an individual compared to the price it cost to incarcerate an individual. Thirdly, the biggest thing I took away from the speakers was about IEPs. Throughout my education career, I have become familiar with IEPs. However, I never truly realized and understood how much time, effort, and support it takes to not only create and IEP but to implement it onto a student. The three professionals have truly taught me the commitment it takes to make sure an IEP is executed properly.
The last thing I want to mention is about social networks. I never realized how important it is to contribute to blogging. I always thought blogging was a waste of time because they were made up of nonsense and people blabbering. However, as I type this blog, I realize the usefulness that Blogs can have on individuals. Plus, I discovered how much news and interesting information one can learn from others through Blogs. Thank you for bringing the importance of Blogs to my attention.
I want to thank the three professionals for taking there Wednesday night to come speak to the class. I also want to thank Professor Fisher for allowing her class time to be given to this presentation. It was extremely fascinating and it taught me even more about the teaching profession. Thank you and God Bless.
I was re-energized by our visitors’ advice and anecdotes. As a result, I’ve been developing the ability to see the school as a horizontally functioning entity as opposed to a top-down system. This shift in perspective has given me a renewed relationship with students, faculty, and administrators.
I was also thankful to Una for her insistence that we join a professional networking community and maintain a connection with technology. I’ve been trying to use available technology-based resources whenever possible in the classroom. I can see the difference in my students’ motivaton when we’re “playing with” technology. Even the smallest adjustments make a difference.
Thank you again to Una, Ann, and Brad!
Una, I am heartened to see that my students have received your presentation as useful and motivating. I want to share some comments that students have included in their evaluations regarding the usefulness of the course and visiting lecturers.
“I think you should bring Una Raimondo in every year because she was awesome!!! I think a lot of my peers would agree that having someone come in and talk to us about how to be a successful teacher would be optimum. Una was one of the most engaging speakers I have ever listened to and she was also very insightful and motivating.”
“Having special guests come in and talk to us about their experiences was also great. Dr. Una Raimondo was absolutely awesome. I wish everybody in the School of Education got to meet her.”
Your sincerity, Una, knowledge and experience has served to motivate and inspire these young teacher candidates. I am humbled to call you colleague and friend and I do hope you will return to St. Bonaventure again to help our young colleagues on their journeys to excellence.