Another school year is coming to an end. WOW. It starts out slowly and then finishes fast. This has been a big year of new for me. I changed schools, I had my Kenan project to implement, I had a new network of educators, and of course, new students. Now, looking back, that is how every school year starts, new… Read more »
Well, it has been a while since I posted. I wrote a post in December, but it was not posted. I’ll blame the internet. It keeps going out at home. Soon we will upgrade to ATT Uverse and have top speed. That will be sweet. So, December 2015 I received a grant from the Washington ES PTA. I was excited… Read more »
As I take a moment to stop and look back to the time in June in Cullowee when we were together for the first time, I am amazed at how long ago that seems! Not in the days/months, but in the changes that have shaped my teaching this year. I enjoyed the Cullowee experience. I tried (and survived) white water… Read more »
Change is good. A fresh start. Begin again. All those cliches went through my mind as I was setting up my new classroom in a new school. I arranged and rearranged furniture so students would be successful collaborators. I only brought in items I needed, so I was able to purge a lot of materials. But it was not just… Read more »
Where did August go? I have been challenged for time lately as I move into my new classroom in a new school with a new team. The biggest challenge is to learn the culture and procedures at Washington. The easiest part was working with my amazing team and colleagues and welcoming my students. I am excited to bring my Kenan… Read more »
So what did I do on my summer vacation? I learned a lot about home construction, materials, and the markets. I learned that Challenging the Status Quo is how I think. I like to try new things in order to have my students experience the real world. I learned that there are companies that see the value of partnering with… Read more »
What I did on my summer vacation This is a typical writing assignment at the beginning of the school year for my students. Now it is my turn to write about my Kenan Fellowship experience at PlyGem. This summer, I spent 5 weeks as part of an internship/professional development fellowship. I did not have any specific expectations as to how… Read more »
As I read my colleagues posts about their internship, I realize that my experience is vastly different. I am learning about the application and product development of science and technology. Lee is an innovator. She sees things differently and thinks “what if…” all the time. I have been learning so much about business and product development. I have read about… Read more »
Here are some different ways PlyGem is using their synthetic slate shingle material. Furniture and jewelry! You could have your outfit and patio set match your roof! But seriously, this is the cool stuff that they are thinking about… different ways to use the materials they make. It’s all about innovation — finding a connection between two things. Sometimes you… Read more »
In business and education you need to see measurable results. In education, it is a bit more challenging to identify successes in learning. There are many variables that make up the equation. In the construction business you can look at economic trends and building starts. Both industries look at large amounts of data and try to find the important pieces… Read more »