leadership in high schools

This year, 2008-2009, two English teachers at the high school level, one Special Education, the other General Education have been elected to teach their English Literature students the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

This reading initiative is an extension of the Read Across America Project.  This is one of the premier novels in American Literature.  While the High School students are discovering this great work, I believe the rest of the faculty might want to get a glimpse into what students might be discovering about life through the novel,  in particular how adults react to stimuli in their lives.  Perhaps connections can be made in other subject areas example Social Studies, Theatre or Journalism.  How about Math and Science.  Science teachers who teach Criminal Science Investigation as an elective might want to read this book simultaneously and draw conclusions and debate the novel in this classroom setting. 

Access the link below to get a synopsis of the novel. 

http://www.slideshare.net/tranceking/to-kill-a-mockingbird-theme-motifs-symbols 

http://www.slideshare.net/nashworld/protecting-ocean-resources-from-missouri-

Our teacher Mr. Kim Minnier teaches classes on Marine Biology to grades 9-12 students as an elective.  He developed this class after receiving a grant worth U.S $5,000 in 2006, from the National Education Association in Washington, D.C.   The above slide is one I accessed from slideshare a wonderful resource for teachers and presenters which focusses on a variey of topics.  This slide explores all the interesting facts about fish from hatching, fish on our tables and the implications for this industry in the future.  I like the tie in this slide shows,  between what happens in Missouri, USA.,  how this impacts food choices in Japan and the cost of fish world wide.  

Mr. Minnier’s class began working on a wall mural last year which showed the progression of ocean life from bottom feeders to the big blue whale.  We hope to have this class grow with an incoming group of freshmen this year.  Thank you Kim for taking a love that you have for fish and aquariums and parlaying this into an area of study and interest for students. 

Can you begin to think of all the leisure time fun our students have when they learn how to cultivate an interest and learn skills associated with maintaining aquariums?   

This is a class project I read about  which currently involves three countries Australia, China and Turkey.  The object of this exercise using a power point presentation is to have students select their favorite foods.  I thought of the universal appeal to all students for this kind of input which is both gratifying and immediate.  Food and and the development of epicurean tastes!  In addtion the ability to bridge a global area of interest.  I see the value of this exercise across several subject areas and an experiment that can be introduced to students of all age groups.   On coming across the blog post I was surprised that America is not yet a part of this experiment, so in an effort to join our teaching colleagues in Australia and share our  students passion for food with their global counterparts please check out this slideshare presentation.   

This is a power point presentation contained in the blog http://hawkesdale.globalstudent.org.au. However it is not always accessible.  You may also go to the actual slideshare presentation at http://lunchboxproject.wikispaces.com and add your own uniques features to this classroom project.  Whereas it is listed Kindergarten through 3rd grade you can easily adapt this project to any grade level with your own teacher input and creativity. 

If we could all collaborate on this expeiment I believe we shall expand the horizons of our web 2.0 reach as well as teach our students a variety of skills. 

What uses do wiki’s have in our classrooms?  I see the possiblities for middle and high school students where the emphasis on team work and collaboration are huge socialization pieces that need to be taught and modelled. 

I have surfed through Classroom 2.0 and find this web site very useful in answering all types of questions regarding interactive planning units in science and writing projects that are incremental in nature and  encourage group authorship.  I became a member of this site and have really expanded my learning this way. 

I just read a Superintendent’s in British Columbia’s blog in which he celebrated his faculty and staff for their “appetite for changing practice”.   In his power point presentation to the school community it was his intention to tie student achievement across all data strains to the changing dynamic occurring in the school district and the show the response of teachers and staff to the needs of students.  I am impressed. 

Entering the new school year this September, as a participant in High Schools New Face (HSNF) and as team and member of the the Erie 2 CC Boces Wiki devoted to promulgating intra-departmetal use of web 2.0 technologies, I know that I will have to be the best culinary artist and epicurean, if I am going to develop an insatiable appetite amongst the teachers I work with for the embrace and appreciation of web technologies.  I am slowly developing and forming a team of teachers who will assist our Center in bringing more teachers on board.  The start of a blog in Social Studies that 3 content teachers can help support and build is a great foot mark. 

Are there any other idea out there for me in the virtual school community, as I go down this path where some will be skeptical, others will reject and still others will be totally resistant to and shut down?