Tuesday

Today I introduced the students to a collaborative google doc and had them write down all of their ideas for simple acts of kindnesses they might perform in order to make the school a more welcoming place.  I found that 8th graders had to have a bit more time than me to play around and see how it works, and that I struggled a bit with not being abe to track what each student wrote. I'm not sure it was a huge success but I am thinking it might be a door into the digital citizenship conversation I need to have with them.  I also realized that I thought showing them one video that presented the idea of paying it forward was enough to get them thinking, but man they are literal creatures at this age. I think for my afternoon class, I will direct them to a few online random acts of kindness pages and have them explore a bit before they share their own ideas--I need for them to be more creative.  It comes down to time ALWAYS!
I also realized that as adults in the role of teacher we often want to swoop in and save, and while it is difficult, I have to make my classroom a  space where they can be left alone to figure it out.  I am going to consistently implement "ask three before me" (or any other teacher in the classroom!).

I would really like to get moving on this maker space downstairs. I see it as a place where I could go during my 3rd period prep and learn from others or just use the time to explore the thousand interesting tech ideas I hear about but never do.

My kids are excited about the upcoming project for community ties and that's encouraging!