Change.

Change.

This word can pack a punch. It can be the good, the bad, or the just plain ugly. We [in the public education profession] especially tend to be resistent to this word.

Change has been a very personal word to me over the past 9 months. My wife and I welcomed a son into the world. That has changed us. This school year I changed my job, and an no longer in the classroom. I have been busy and have not blogged in almost nine months... and that was a change for me.

While on my blogging hiatus, I have not stopped reading. I continue to read David Warlick, Shelly Blake-Plock, and my all time fav, Chris Lehmann. I have also done a lot of self-reflection and thinking about "change".

This thinking mostly stems from my new (quazi-admin) role in the public school system. I have had lots of conversations about change over the past couple of months. In some cases, small change and in others, epic change. And - as I often am - I am left with a question(s)?

As we all begin this new school year...

What are you going to change?

Why are you going to change?

What led to these changes you will make?

How will you affect change in others?

Will these changes make a difference in the lives of those you serve?

(I am bias, but...) I think that these are good questions. Good questions to start off the new school year and a new journey in the education of others. I think that we need to make change a good thing - a word that we do not shudder in fear at - but rather embrace and put to work for the good of our schools.

Have an amazing school year. I promise to write more... way more. That is one of the changes I will make in the lives of others.

Damn it feels good to be a blogga'.

More to come...

Mike Meechin, M.Ed.

mike.meechin@gmail.com

twitter.com/innovateed

How to Hire: An Open Letter to Educational Leaders

Dear Educational Leaders:

I was speaking not too long ago with a former principal of mine. He is now an area superintendent of a large urban school district. Like many school districts we discussed the issues regarding teacher hiring and retention.

He told me that his district had adopted a system where new hires must teach a lesson prior to signing a contract and setting foot in one of the districts classrooms. My thoughts - well, it's about time.

In my experience, especially in "tough to staff" schools, that we practice the "warm body phenomenon". What I mean by that is that too often the applicant pool is quite shallow. Too often we are hiring to get someone in front of those kiddies, instead of practicing a thorough interview process.

The argument that I have heard about the system that my friends district has embraced is that it is too time consuming. We just don't have the time and resources to have all of our applicants teach a lesson in front of interviewers (or better yet, real live students). I ask - why not!?

Time and resources are not a valid argument against this process. Adopting a "teach first, then hire" system will allow us to save time and resources on the back end. We will not longer have to worry about ineffective teachers (as much). We will no longer have to continue to commit time, money, and resources to educators who - well, aren't educators and never will be.

Doctors serve a residency. No licensing board would allow a doc to practice medicine on them without it. However, state education boards allow people to practice education without one. Thanks for the transcripts and your $150 application fee. And POOF... you're a teacher. We need educators coming into the profession to endure a scrutinization (not a word) that we can only dream of before we allow them to teach. (Side note: we need to also re-scrutinize some of those already in the classroom.)

Whether it be a residency, mock lessons, real lessons, or teaching for an interview panel. We all - especially the "hard to staff" schools - need to make time, make resources to ensure that this happens for every what-to-be educator. It is a must.

More to come...

Mike Meechin, M. Ed.
mike.meechin@gmail.com
twitter.com/innovateed

For more information about Mike Meechin and Innovate Education, LLC. professional development please visit: www.innovateedu.org.

Redefining Assessment, an Online Conversation

I have been working on a project over the past 8 months or so regarding grading and assessment. Over the past few months I have been working with faculty members to redefine our grading and assessment systems. It has been a tough conversation - one that we need to have. So, I have decided to bring that conversation to the Interweb.

On February 9, 2011 at 7:00PM, join me online as I discuss the results that we found as we stepped outside of the traditional grading and assessment system.

We will be going in-depth about the 50 Point Project. The 50 Point Project, is the journey that myself and 24 other educators have been on since the beginning of this school year. Basically, the 50 Point Project uses a 50-point minimum grading scale to focus on the motivation and success of all students. In addition, we have redefined what "A" work really is by eliminating 50 points from our traditional 100-point system.

The 50 Point Project also addresses major inconsistencies that we discovered between teachers of the same subject - in the same school. I believe that this is a common issue in schools around the country, especially those with ineffective educators.

To learn more about the 50 Point Project, our journey, and some of our results... mark your calendar and join us for this online conversation to attempt to discover what is best for all students that we serve.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011 7:00PM
Join Us Here: http://www.bigmarker.com/mmeechin/50point

More to come...

Mike Meechin, M. Ed.
mike.meechin@gmail.com
twitter.com/innovateed

For more information about Mike Meechin and Innovate Education, LLC. professional development please visit: www.innovateedu.org.

Hiatus.

Well it's been almost two months since my last entry. I wanted to take a moment to explain my hiatus.

On December 05, my wife and I welcomed a son into the world - and since then it has been busy to say the least. Juggling life, work, and parenting - well, blogging got moved to the back burner.

I am happy to say that things have now slowed down and gotten back to normal. I will be contributing to my blog again beginning this week. I have some things that have been on my mind over the past two months and I can not wait to share.

Happy New Year!

More to come...

Mike Meechin, M. Ed.
mike.meechin@gmail.com
twitter.com/innovateed