(This is a draft of my first blog as a guest blogger at http://www.bnetsavvy.org )
I remember, as a kid, singing that song-hearing it on the radio, singing along and looking forward to the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer-swimming, reading and playing outside. Kids today may not know the song, but school being out is still exciting, and when those last days of school happen, the excitement is palpable. Students talk about the activities they’ll be involved in-swim teams, various and sundry camps and church weeks as well. Many know their summer will be almost as busy as the school months as their parents attempt to keep them involved. Even so, most kids are anxious for the summer to begin.
Parents joke to teachers about being off for two months. As a teacher, summer still means relaxation and rejuvenation, but it also means learning. I have never been off for two months.
In Virginia, as in most states, teachers are required to renew their license every five years. To do so, we need to show that we have fulfilled state requirements and earned our necessary number of recertification points. We do that by taking classes, attending inservices and conferences, among other ways.
This summer I am attending three major conferences face to face, and I will be participating in a variety of online opportunities. From June 27-July 3 I attended the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in Washington, D.C. From July 19-23, I will be attending Edustat in Charlottesville, VA, and from July 27-30, I will be attending Building Learning Communities (BLC09) in Boston, MA. I presented twice at NECC, will present once at the BLC09 conference, and will be officially blogging and tweeting from Edustat. That’s in addition to the local opportunities I am doing with my school system as a teacher leader.
Today over Twitter, @mwacker (Michael Wacker, an educator from Colorado) tweeted a link to an online database of Educator’s Professional Development opportunities @ http://www.educatorsprofessionaldevelopment.com/ . I was amazed at just how many offerings there are, all over the world!
While many parents, community members and taxpayers perceive that teachers are “off” for the summer, this time is actually an opportunity for us to reflect and learn new skills and about new learning opportunities for our students. During the summer, we change our focus from causing the learning in our students to causing the learning in ourselves.
What does that mean for parents and students? That I will return in August with fresh ideas, new resources for my students AND teachers and that I will have much to share! Here are a couple of examples of other teacher’s learning from NECC09:
http://edtechworkshop.blogspot.com/
http://edtechvision.org/?p=730
AND a link to the presentations and workshops, many of which are recorded online-so you, too, can “attend” virtually:
http://www.isteconnects.org/resources/
http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2009/program/presenter_handouts.php
School’s out for the summer. . . . but NOT for teachers!
Great article. The teacher’s job is never over is it? We need more teachers like you who are always striving to better themselves and not see these classes and conferences as requirements but as opportunities.