The future of education...does this depend on the newest President?

As I was reading Jimmy's blog on Obama's Education Plan, the question of what the future holds in terms of education came screeching to the front of my mind. Yes, I did vote in the Presidential race and yes, I did research the candidates views on education but what a candidates says in print and does in office can often times be two different things.

Obama and NCLB
He will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner. Obama and Biden will also improve NCLB's accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.

Like Jimmy mentions, this isn't too specific. It sounds like what most of us in the education field are thinking, but the question is, how will he address the issues and change the current legislation. We all know that 100% of students meeting or exceeding by 2014 is an unattainable goal. How will President Obama change NCLB?

Obama and Teacher retention
Jimmy points out more good points in this section. Why aren't more people going into the teaching field? Bottom line...Money! The starting pay for teachers can be very pathetic depending on the school district. When I decided in high school that I wanted to go into teaching, I actually had a teacher of mine ask why I would want to go into education. She said I was a smart and talented person and I could do anything I want. She talked about how the pay was low and the hours of commitment where high. Why would an educator discourage someone from teaching? Instead there should be incentives and rewards for educators. Yes, doctors and lawyers make lots of money, but where did they get their start? It came from a teacher who taught them how to seek knowledge and how to love learning. Don't we want our brightest and best teaching the future generations? Will President Obama be able to push incentives and initiatives that will encourage more to become teachers?

Ok...enough rambling. If I knew the future held, I would be a very wealthy woman. It will be very interesting to see what education will look like in 4 years...and maybe even 8 years.

Digital Story

I tried uploading my digital story earlier, but it was too large. Vanna made a suggestion for another project that I could upload the file to a server and then post a link. This made me realize that I could probably do the same thing with my digital story. I have to admit that this was probably the best assignment I done with CTER. It was a great way to tell a story using technology.

www.yorkville.k12.il.us/yms/mhafenrichter/volleyballdigitalstory.wmv

While I have coached track for the last three years, this was my first experience coaching a team sport. It was a very amazing experience and I can't wait to coach next year. Feel free to comment on my video :)

Where has time gone?

Where has the time gone? I was walking down the hallway the other day at school and someone told me that there were only 50 days until Christmas! What!!! It seems like school just started a couple of weeks ago and here we are in the beginning of November. Actually when I look back it is hard to believe that I am closer to being 30 years old than I am to having been 20. If time flies this quickly now, will I someday be sitting down with my own children or grandchildren, questioning what happened to the last 30 years? Maybe it is the busy life that I lead that results in time flying? Ok...on to the next activity for the night!