The Time is Now!

This week is a big week for teachers in South Dakota.  After the delay tactic last week by House Republicans, HB 1182 will be voted on (hopefully) by SD representatives.  Yesterday both the Rapid City Journal and the Sioux Falls Argus Leader had editorials supporting this bill.  

The Rapid City (RC) editorial is really gung ho about the bill, especially because much of the funding will come “from tourists, rallygoers and other visitors.” Really, that makes it better?  Doesn’t that mean that SD is relying on non-residents to pay for our children’s education?  How cheap are we? 

The RC editorial also states, “Companies and small businesses have the same recruitment and retention concerns and wonder why they should continue investing in a state that isn't willing to invest in public education at the level other states do.” SD often touts its great climate for businesses because of a lack of corporate income tax. So the businesses like the tax breaks but are concerned about education funding? What is wrong with this picture?

At least the SF Argus Leader pointed out flaws in HB 1182 including “Sales taxes affect the poor and working families to a greater degree.”  This is my biggest concern with using a sales tax to fund education.  This is why I prefer SB 151, which would increase the sales tax by 1 cent but exempt certain food items from the tax increase.  This Senate bill is brought forward by several Democrats, which makes it unlikely to be passed by our partisan legislature. I hope it comes out of committee at least.

All I know is that SD has a lot of hard working teachers who deserve a raise. They spend countless hours in the evening and on weekends grading and planning lessons.  They spend money out of their own pocket to purchase supplies and seek professional development.  And they spend more time each day with our children than many of us do.  Our children’s education is worth this investment in our great teachers!

South Dakota’s Greatest Asset: Our Teachers

Every year after the state science and math teachers’ conference in Huron, I am always so proud of the great teachers we have in South Dakota.  I love going to the conference because I get to talk with these dedicated professionals who are always seeking opportunities to learn more and improve their teaching.  Many of them pay for the entire cost or partial cost of their attendance with their own money, despite the fact that they don’t get paid well.  They do this because they believe in the importance of investing in education.

I had the privilege and opportunity of receiving a great public education in South Dakota from Kindergarten through my Master’s degree.  Throughout that time, I had some amazing teachers and I remember ALL of them having some impact on my life.  I am certain that their influence was a factor in my career decision, and their support was essential to my success as an educator.

Now is the time for South Dakotans to invest in their greatest asset—our teachers.  While I am not a huge fan of a regressive tax, I will support this measure if it is the only way that the legislature will fund a significant raise for teachers.  I would hope that they will consider alternatives to a sales tax, but I want you to contact your legislators about HB 1182 because there is an important vote on Wednesday! To find your legislators and contact them, go to the SD Legislative Site.

Here are some other education funding and taxation bills that I would encourage you to read, HB 1130,  SB 131, and SB 151. Talk to your legislators about these as well.

We MUST invest in education in South Dakota for the future of our state.  NOW is the time to act!

Review of The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros

When I began reading The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros, I immediately felt at home. G. Couros and I have similar viewpoints on education, which I will illustrate throughout this review.

Part I of the book is focused on Innovation in Education.  I often tell my pre-service teachers that if I think that I am done improving my teaching, then I need to retire.  I felt like Part I had this same sentiment.  This is best expressed at the end of chapter 2 with “…we have to move past “the way we have always done it,” and create better learning experiences for our students than we had ourselves. This does not mean replacing everything we do, but we must be willing to look with fresh eyes at what we do and ask, “Is there a better way?”

In Part II, Couros focuses on “Laying the Groundwork” for innovation in a school setting.  In all of my courses, I make an effort to build relationships with my students.  This is particularly important in the courses for pre-service math teachers because a huge part of having success as a teacher is building relationships.  Again, Couros and I seem to agree on the importance of relationships. It is summed up well when he says, “In fact, relationships are crucial for innovation, which is why you’ll always hear me say that the three most important words in education are: relationships, relationships, relationships.”

Unleashing Talent is the focus of Part III of the book.  Chapter 11 jumped out at me as it seemed to mirror what I am consistently modeling for my pre-service teachers with regard to building a professional learning network through Twitter.  I have met so many awesome educators through Twitter and have learned so much from each of them.  I consistently mention this to my students who think that I am on Twitter too much.  So, I asked Couros permission to share chapter 11 with my technology course this semester as I felt that if they heard the importance of Twitter from someone else then they might actually listen.  We shall see what happens.

Couros concludes his thoughts in Part IV of his book.  The title of chapter 13 is “Are We There Yet?”  Again, this goes along with my philosophy that as educators we should never stop growing or improving or changing because we need to become better for our students.  As a teacher educator, I feel my job has extra importance because I am preparing the math teachers who will be teaching the next generation. I love my job and I love my students and when I can see that I have influenced their viewpoint in a positive manner, then I have accomplished something.  I felt this sense of accomplishment on the first day of class this semester. I had them read the article The 10 Skills Modern Teachers Must Have before the first Math Technology class. I then asked each of them to decide which of the 10 skills was the most important, and the majority selected “remain a life-long learner”.  I was so proud of them and felt a huge sense of accomplishment because I truly try to model that skill every day in class. 

The Innovator’s Mindset is a great book and it made me feel like I am on the right track in my role as a teacher educator.  Thank you, George Couros!

The Lost Art of Listening

“Most people listen with the intent to respond instead of listening with the intent to understand.”  Stephen R. Covey

In our fast-paced technology-infused society, we tend to lose focus easily (at least I do) and we don’t listen as carefully as we should. And I love Stephen Covey’s quote, we also don’t listen for the right reasons.

Having just finished a great semester with awesome students, I like to reflect back on things that went well or need improvement. One aspect of teaching that I need to change is to “listen more and talk less.” Some of you may ask why I feel this needs to change. Here are two reasons:

• learning happens when students are talking and I am not talking; and
• listening to their talking means I can witness their learning.

In my role as a parent, I often get frustrated when my kids want to talk to me (my kids tend to talk a lot and I have no idea where they get that). How awful is that?  They are approaching the ages of 10 and 13, and I don’t listen to them enough. Soon they aren’t going to want to talk to me at all so I need to cherish these moments and listen carefully. 

As you prepare for this holiday season, I challenge you to focus more on listening. And to listen to people for the right reason. 

A list of joyous holiday sounds