Cedu 527 Technology Leadership Week 5

I enjoyed the simulation last week and thought it was a good learning experience. The burrito was pretty good, too. More than anything, I think it gives us an idea of how the administrators, especially those at the very top, think. Not that every administrator is the same, but I'm sure some of the successes and obstacles that we saw in the game are also encountered in real school districts. When trying to reach a goal or implement a new system of some type, I'm sure administrators find personalities that run the gamut, form those who are very enthusiastic to those who want nothing to do with any type of newfangled change. Administrators have to decide who they are going to pick to lead certain committees and initiatives and how they will spend the district's funds. For instance, will they use a chunk of their money to train a select few and hope that their enthusiasm and expertise rub off on others, or will they try to train everyone at the same time. Should they try to encourage resistors like Irene and Will, or should they just give up on them?

There were many good points in chapter 6 of Gabriel's book. On page 129 he discusses first year teachers and how they are sometimes overwhelmed and lack a strong curriculum to teach from. He writes "imagine if you had been handed a curriculum map" when you started. This is a great idea I think. I know some teachers think this infringes on their freedom, but for many beginning teachers it is important to have some structure as to how they are going to deliver the content. I think a new teacher has so much to deal with that offering them a sort of curricular guide with accompanying activities would be very helpful.

Later in the chapter he writes about "making work meaningful." This is very important, I think. Work that students do in school needs to have relevance to the real world, when possible. Sometimes it may not be possible, but I think teachers should always try to show how students' learning is relevant to their lives.