First Days of School in an Inspired Classroom

I am not sure exactly how many, but there will be a significant number of teachers starting the 2006-2007 school year in an Inspired Classroom for the first time. I won’t limit it to Irving ISD either, since I have heard back from several teachers that have shared this website with their friends in neighboring school districts. As much evangelizing and motivating as I have done last spring and this summer in the name of Inspired Classrooms, I don’t want to leave teachers without support once they start the school year. It is my goal to publish on a weekly basis, ideas and themes that will help sustain teachers as they take off in uncharted territory. It is also my goal to encourage those teachers to join this community and begin sharing their thoughts and experiences (good and bad) with us all. At the first days of school, let us all be reminded that we are, and will always be, students FIRST. Let the learning and sharing begin.

I would guess that your first priorities on the first days of school in an Inspired Classroom might revolve around computer procedures and student grouping. Concerning team-building, I came across a GREAT resource for K-5 Team Building Activities. Some can be done with computers, but many don’t need technology to be very effective. Building teams and getting students to work together from the very first day would be a powerful way to start the year. When students learn to cooperate, negotiate and compromise FIRST, learning to control and take care of themselves should be much easier.

As you pass out and begin to collect the volume of field trip permission slips, student ID cards, and related paperwork, don’t forget the Disctrict’s Technology Acceptable Use Policy and FERPA Notice. (I wouldn’t print these exact forms, because they may be out of date. Check with your campus principal.) In my experiences, the most common reason parents deny their child access or permission on these forms is due to the misunderstanding these forms. They are written by lawyers and are very confusing. I recommend attaching a personal note to these forms when you send them home, explaining in everyday language what they say. I would also give specific examples of how you plan to use the technology in your classroom and the safeguards you have in place for student privacy. In a lot of cases, you might have to do a little parent education, especially when you start talking about wikis, blogs and podcasting. Here’s an example of how a 2nd grade teacher handles this. A hard copy of this will also go home in the homework during the first week of school.

I wish all of you a great start to what will be a milestone year in your teaching career. We have a tremendous opportunity to share and collaborate this year through this blog and each other’s blogs. Please stay connected and serve as an inspiration, a helping hand, and a sounding board to each other. Pleas don’t hesitate to contact me if I can be of assistance.