The Tempered Radical: Maybe Not So Tempered, But Way Awesome

http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/the_tempered_radical/2011/06/feeling-blue-about-being-isteless.html

*Making up for the duplicate blog post I dad waaaay back at the beginning of the course, when Sunny and I inadvertently found the same blog

I was originally drawn to this blog because of its title, and was sucked in almost immediately by the quality of the rants. Yes, much of the content here could be classified as rants; Bill Ferriter, the author of the blog, is intensely passionate about what he sees as the important issues in education today. While firey, much of what he says has an undeniable base in common sense. He writes in response to educational policy-makers as an educator in the trenches, and makes a pretty passionate case for what most educators, in my experience, all seem to agree on.

There are many posts worth noting. Some of the most satisfactory are the pieces on testing and how it is destroying our schools. I found myself nodding along at each posting. He also has several pieces on integrating technology effectively, something that he doesn’t think is happening in schools these days. Read his post titled “Why are we STILL wasting money on Whiteboards?” for an eye-opening look at technology for technology’s sake (he hates Smart Boards; he sees them as an expensive waste of time that encourages teacher-centric lessons, when you could purchase a set of class Netbooks or iTouches for a comparable price). In “Rethikning Teacher Professional Development” (timely, considering the topic of chapter 8), he outlines an innovative approach to PD that capitalizes on what teachers know and are interested in. In his model, called edcamps, a group of teachers comes together, posts topics that they would feel comfortable leading a discussion on (such as teaching middle school science, or ways to integrate art into the classroom), and then everyone signs up for the sessions they are interested in. He encourages extending this model into the school itself, in PLCs that could meet weekly if not every day. This as opposed to frog-marching teachers through programmed, expert-driven lectures that don’t always have a lot to do with your day-to-day practice.

Mr. Ferriter’s philosophy is in accordance with This We Believe in the sense that he encapsulates the attribute of leaders being committed to and knowledgeable about this age group, educational research, and best practices. He is demonstrably knowledgeable, and in addition, passionate. He also demonstrates courage and collaboration (read his post on “How PLCs Changed My Practice”), and describes an incident in which he disagreed with his principal on a best-practice issue and was written up for it rather than sacrificing his principles. He clearly makes every effort to make his curriculum challenging, exploratory, integrative, and relevant by his emphasis on technology. In the whiteboard post, he demonstrates his knowledge here, describing the use of LiveScribe pens, Netbooks, iTouches, and Voice Threads (some of which I had never even heard of). Check him out if you want to get fired up about your practice. I’m planning on subscribing to his blog from here on out.