Priceless Education

today was one of those days that really makes me appreciate my college education. my GOOD college education. the one that taught me how to be an effective educator. i met with the hod -head of department aka assistant principal- today to discuss the computer curriculum that he requested my help to create. i can already tell he is going to give me a run for the money.

rewind: last week, we met so he could let me know the schedule for the school and request my help formally with the computer classes. we talked about what he envisions. i thought he has great ideas and i would be more than happy to help. thinking back to my days in class at uwec, i started to imagine the possibilities at hand and got quite excited. all in all, it started to look like a ton of work to keep me busy until september, while still working on other projects that i have going like working at the high school and running a girls club. he wants kindergarten through seventh grade classes. so that would mean a skeleton of what each grade should cover broken into units, a complete book of ready to use lesson plans for each grade, teaching materials, handouts, worksheets, activities, assessments. this i can do. i had 4.5 years of training for this. i understand it and all the effort and work that goes into it. i know how important it is to make the lessons relavent to the lives of the learners, meaningful, and engaging. as a teacher, hours upon hours are spent in the planning process. with luck and practice, the planning often becomes easier and once the work is done initially it can often be modified and reused. then, he tells me we should have it done by next friday, 1.5 weeks away.

fast forward: at our meeting today, i continued to explain why it will not be done on friday this week. i also brought up some suggestions and concerns. the teacher in me is starting to come out again and i am trying to make sure this curriculum as practical and user friendly as possible for when i am no longer here to help with its implementation. i know some things are destined for disaster, like 60 kindergarteners for 1 computer and am trying to avoid this. i have learned many things from just growing up with a well functioning educational system as well as being trained on how to make education effective. i have taken so much for granted and am seeing how many of the teachers here struggle so much with everything. i wish i could show them what an effective classroom can look and feel like, what possibilities are out there, what teaching can be like. i want to transplant them into a well functioning classroom from my reality so they can see, experience, absorb. but since i cannot, i guess i will just have to be thankful for what i have and keep sharing what i can.