Flip2Facilitate

This year will be my thirtieth year in teaching.  Thirty years.  When I began teaching there wasn't internet, cell phones, or Miley Cyrus.  Hard to believe, I know. I entered the professions with a preconceived set of beliefs that have been chiseled and modified by experience.  I thought I would share the BIGGEST revelations with you here.  There have been many, but these are the most moving. 1)  Content is not as significant as delivery of content. I know I will raise some eyebrows with this little gem.  No matter how well you know your content, if you don't take the learner into account, that content will remain with you.  I had a GREAT education, but my most useful experiences came from learning about student engagement techniques. I also learned to trust my gut.  I learned to know my students and what could reach them.  I think we all know people who know their content, but do not know how to share that content. That is the key t...

Did you lose a student this year? I did. It always hurts my heart to say, "I lost a student."  I  had earnest talks about "motivation" in my classroom with him.  His parents and I had an earnest talk at conferences about "potential" and "motivation."  They looked at me with concern, nodding seriously. I lost him.  More than that, I believe it's my fault. So I'm the exciting, overly dramatic, nerd teacher.  Most kids love my class, but I have a few....some challenging few....whom I don't reach.  I believe I know why.  It's me.  As radical as I am.  As challenging as my program is.  As unique as my flipped curriculum is....I need to find ways to reach those gamer kids who would rather be playing Minecraft than learning how to use social networking.  But don't they NEED to learn some things besides Minecraft or Skyrim?  Of course.  BUT IT'S HOW I REACH THEM THAT MATTERS.   It's true.  The student I lost...