As many of you know, I'm a teacher in a US high school. I work with at-risk high school students in an alternative education center. What that means to those out of the education field is that I work in a public high school that accepts students who are failing in large, traditional high schools. I make learning fun for the students who would normally be high school drop-outs or just barely make it through. Our students are bored at the big schools, so they come to us. We do everything we can to make learning fun and engaging.
We teach these students the same district curriculum, but we do it in different ways. Each student is supposed to have a laptop and technology and creativity is encouraged. You'll rarely find me lecturing on anything or passing out worksheets. The kids work - they get their hands on the materials and use their own brains. My students are not dumb. In fact, these kids are a lot like many webmasters I know - especially those who have dropped out of high school or college because they were bored or could use their time in better ways.
My kids don't like to sit in class and listen to someone drone on about Beowulf or Great Expectations. In fact, many of them can't sit still - roughly half the school has at ADHD and a fair portion has other conditions including bipolar, depression and oppositional-defiant disorders. They are a rough bunch at times, but they are great fun. I love my job.
What I'm asking for today is help. We have applied for a big grant to help replenish some of the technology our students need. Being online yourselves, you're fully aware of how much can be done with a computer in education and how much more realistic we can make learning if students can just jump online when they need to to get work done or learn something new.
I need votes. The more the better, and I know there are a lot to be had here.
If you have a moment, please vote for my school. :bowdown:
The link to vote is here.
Also, ignore the html in the write-up. It was working beautifully in the preview box, but didn't translate to the final copy and there is no way to modify it now.
Thanks for your votes and you can vote every day for the next few weeks if you think about it!
Rebecca
We teach these students the same district curriculum, but we do it in different ways. Each student is supposed to have a laptop and technology and creativity is encouraged. You'll rarely find me lecturing on anything or passing out worksheets. The kids work - they get their hands on the materials and use their own brains. My students are not dumb. In fact, these kids are a lot like many webmasters I know - especially those who have dropped out of high school or college because they were bored or could use their time in better ways.
My kids don't like to sit in class and listen to someone drone on about Beowulf or Great Expectations. In fact, many of them can't sit still - roughly half the school has at ADHD and a fair portion has other conditions including bipolar, depression and oppositional-defiant disorders. They are a rough bunch at times, but they are great fun. I love my job.
What I'm asking for today is help. We have applied for a big grant to help replenish some of the technology our students need. Being online yourselves, you're fully aware of how much can be done with a computer in education and how much more realistic we can make learning if students can just jump online when they need to to get work done or learn something new.
I need votes. The more the better, and I know there are a lot to be had here.
If you have a moment, please vote for my school. :bowdown:
The link to vote is here.
Also, ignore the html in the write-up. It was working beautifully in the preview box, but didn't translate to the final copy and there is no way to modify it now.
Thanks for your votes and you can vote every day for the next few weeks if you think about it!
Rebecca
