During the 2011-2012 school year, I am going to be teaching algebra 1 and English 10 in a blended classroom format. One of the things I want my students to do is create and maintain a personal blog. Since my students will be blogging, I thought I should start blogging myself. I intend to use this blog as my reflection space for this endeavor.
I heard 2010 National Teacher of the Year Sarah Brown-Wessling speak at the Iowa Mentoring and Induction Institute last night. I took a couple things from her speech. First, teachers must make deliberate choices in terms of what is taught and how it is taught. Brown-Wessling also talked about having a growth versus fixed mind set. Teachers, as well as students, continue to grow. Teachers, as well as students, need to feel free to make mistakes. I thought these words were good ones on which to start my journey. Deliberate practice. Focus on growth. Failure is never final.
