June 12-19

See, I told you that you have not heard the last of me. With the last days of school behind us as well as the in-service day, it is my turn for the thoughts which has plagued my mind for the last week. There is a lot to do with this job, and I do relish the various concepts I have learned, and the teachers and students whom I have helped. I never knew what to expect or which tangent I would embark. It was a good experience I would not have traded for too much. The most important aspect I have learned is patience--both with one's self and others. Thank goodness we are all different and not an Ayn Rand society where one is placed in an occupation with no thought and no desire for something else. Working with adults and their uniqueness has allowed me to see the whole educational process in a different spectrum compared to just working with students. I get to see superior teaching prowess and a whole new respect for my colleagues, but I also get to see doubt and frustration, which are also good to have because I find that leads me to reflect upon my own complications. I try to be honest with myself and the people whom I work with. I find this to be the best policy. I am not a panacea, but I look at myself as one grain of sugar in that special pill. Will this grant work? It can if it is supported correctly. It does take money, but more importantly it takes support, willingness, success, and belief. This reflection is nothing new and applies to many functions, but in my 30 years in education, I have seen many initiatives come down the proverbial pike and fail due to a breakdown in one of the aforementioned concepts. I am anxious to be an active part in the failure or success (or somewhere in between those two absolutes) of this initiative. Does this first year give me a hint of the placement on the continuum? No, it is too early for me to speculate and there are way too many variables that are beyond my influence. I do know that I am the consummate optimist with a smattering of realist thrown in for good measure. I do sometimes wish I were the Oracle at Delphi, and I would have the answer. Alas, I reserve that function for others who exercise control over items beyond my menial grasp. I can answer that it will work for me. I will blog periodically over the break to collect my thoughts and prepare for next year (I also cannot disappoint my limitless readership[cough, gasp, spittle]). Check in; you never know what you may find.

June 11, 2008

This week's trite idiom would have to be "same old, same old." Basically it is just working on IT problems and getting ready for the end of the year. I expected this, and I am dong okay with it, but it sure does not give my blog anything scintillating for my loyal reader(s) to sink his (their) teeth into (gotta love the triteness of this blog). I am getting ready to go back to the classroom next year and begin all of this anew. I will end this brief blog entry with some other great saying, but I am at loss for one--oh, here it is....ready..."all's well that end's well." b bck tmrow.

June 10, 2008

Well, the meeting is over, and I know for sure that I am headed back to the classroom for the first half of the year. I am okay with that because I have been doing it for 30 years, and I do love being there. I do worry about CFF because I will have a full load of teaching with dean of students duties, but at the meeting I had with the teachers i told them to be patient with me next year, and I will get to them as soon as possible. There has alos beena last minute rush among faculty and students to get projects accomplished so that has kept me busy as well as no IT right now. AHHHHHHHHH, it all works out.

June 9, 2008

It is a sizzler, and no, not a steak. It is quite hot here in PA, and it is finals week. I am not working with the teachers too much except dealing with tech problems. It has given me a chance to catch up on some housekeeping duties. I am also preparing for my meeting with the powers tomorrow and finishing some teaching duties for Media II. The slowdown is really needed, but in the same light, I am doing some preparing for next year, even as I am writing this. I figure one can never have enough resources. I am also preparing for my last CFF meeting for the year. We just need to wrap up the year, and I need to hear both the good and the bad. I know the journal entries are a little short right now, but there is not too much happening. I will let you know how the meetings went and some of the discussion....flick

June 6, 2008

I guess someone today decided to celebrate the anniversary of D-Day by throwing a bomb scare into the mix. We had to shutdown the entire building and evacuate. This action took two hours out of the day and resulted in very little. I do sometimes wonder about the actions of some people, but I am not a psychologist, etc. I will leave the "why's" to someone more knowledgeable than I to answer that question. I am still having the printer problems, and it will be solved next week. I will also reflect next week on my summation of CFF--both the good and the bad--and prepare for the in-service. I know that next week will be finals in many ways. There are a lot of items for which I have no answers, and this weekend will be a great time to put it all into perspective. I know I am being somewhat specious in what I am writing, but this is how I feel at this time. I will illuminate more next week. Hey, have a great weekend, and we will wrap this up next week.

June 5, 2008

Shades of yesterday have really pervaded my day but that is how it happens. There just seem to be a lot of problems but that is all part of the grant. I have a printer that is really causing me some constipation--er, I mean consternation; I need to take it apart. It will be nice when we have a full-time IT person on board. I am getting ready for some meetings next week, and I am preparing for the final CFF meeting. Most of the teadhers are reviewing at this time so I have a lull in the classroom action. It will give me time to catch up on a lot of things. I also need to finish a class that I am partially teaching. The students know what I expect for a final project so we will see what does happen. O' what tomorrow may bring!

June 4, 2008

You have these days every once in awhile when everything just heaps (not Uriah, for you literary fans) upon you, and you constantly try to keep your head above water. The problems migrated from mundane to serious and back to mundane before the end of the day, but I kept pace and won. We also had an IT meeting to map out the summer plans from a technical standpoint. It is really neat to see the inner workings of all of this. I must admit that I did enjoy being part of the process. I already have my list for tomorrow and wonder what might exacerbate that list or mollify it. I still enjoy the spontaneity of the position even though days like this exist. I will sign in tomorrow because I am sure you are awaiting the outcome.

June 3, 2008

Solved the problem with biology class in a unique way. I do not understand why the Shockwave will not work under the student account so we had to create a new account. It should work. Also, the wireless system had an upgrade which should improve reception. I also had a meeting with the powers to discuss both CFF and nonCFF materials. Found out the in-service has changed again. I will make the adaptations necessary. The rest of the day was spent troubleshooting and working on a lot of different things. I know I have said this before, but I say it again, "I enjoy the many different problems one must face in a day. One never knows what will pop up next." Having said that, I am ready for what may happen tomorrow. I do have a meeting scheduled with the IT department to talk over the plans for next year. I do not know how I fit into those plans as of yet, but I do hope the meeting next week will shed some light on the subject.

June 2, 2008

Off to the races; oh yeah--school is winding down--two weeks from today--and I am quite busy. Did not get home until 9:30 last night because of meetings. Ya gotta love those over 14-hour days. I have to update Shockwave on a bunch of computers for a bio class tomorrow. I could not figure out why it did not work until the classes began, but now I know the answer. I have been working on the image, etc. There is a lot to get done before the break, but it will happen. I attended a meeting last night with a community group and techie group to complete a three-year technology plan for the district and the state. It was quite interesting to hear the views from the community, but most are quite viable. I am in agreement that there is a heightened interest in community communication, and we need to do a better job of promoting what happens as a district and the work their respective children are expected to accomplish. I know that in order to achieve this there has to be a logical progression in how it is handled, and I firmly believe we are headed there. I am learning a lot of patience from this job. I found a youtube video that has a little role reversal and can explain the patience one must have on either side of the fence. I love the video and puts a lot into perspective. Tomooooooooorrow!!!

May 30, 2008

The last day of the week. There was no IT person today so I had to handle most of it, and I had to do the proverbial myriad of activities from transforming film to handling formatting problems. I also was in the classrooms talking with CFF teachers about finishing their work and getting their business together for the summer. It was a very busy day, and I did survive. I also had to get items ready for the sports banquet and Oozefest. I have checked my schedule and know that I have several meetings next week. Oh well, ya gotta do what you have gotta do. I also know that the image I have been delaying needs to be done. Next week will be June, and the days are surely winding down. Well, I will be back next week. I have already decided to do a weekly journal over the summer--who knows; it might be daily--because I will have some work to do to get ready for next year.