I’m not sure that you and I would see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, but I’m constantly challenged and inspired by the passion you bring to your teaching and the writing you do about it.

I think that’s the key – your passion. I have met some really spectacular teachers who use tons of textbooks and worksheets and some who use none at all. I’ve seen committed, driven teachers who are parts of teams and ones who are alone in the wilderness. The one common factor in really good teachers is their passion. If you care enough and are driven enough, that will get through to your students and real learning will happen.

If you are still alone at your school doing what you do long enough, you will become an institution. Word will trickle out. Burned-out teachers will retire and new ones will see what you do. Sometimes, news of what you’re doing has to filter its way back into the school from outside.

Change happens slowly, which is bad news for individual kids, but comforting in the larger scheme of things.

Keep your chin up.

- John

This post was a little discouraging but I have relied on online communities for other aspects of my life and will do so in this area too.

Thanks for the blog. You are inspiration to many!

I’m still thinking of the “summer camp for teachers” idea. The idea of getting teachers together to discuss ideas that work where it’s ok to express the emotion & passion in what we are doing for a week during the off season. It really should happen.

Because they refer me to worksheets, or books full of worksheets, or ideas they got from books of worksheets.

When I ask for help I want something that when you think about it you say, “You can’t do that in a classroom, can you?”

My students and I were discussing WWII paratroupers, they asked if we could build models of parachutes, trying to balance speed and safety…that day I asked a building level administrator if I could take students on the roof, she replied, “I don’t think so, well…no one has ever asked, let me check.”

And that was the kids.

I have enjoyed the websites, jokes, etc. that you have posted on twitter. I enjoyed this and your fellow teacher’s co-blog, (could only think of that for now).

Many fellow teachers generally ignore anything and everything, not just technology, but most everything that goes on in school. Apathy is our biggest problem. After trying for 17 years, this is the first year I have had some success getting teachers to use technology in their class.

Unfortunately, their process trainer had to mandate it, but they were very happy when they found out how easy it was to manage their classes by blending them with Moodle.

The most important thing to realize is that change will happen, there is nothing that they, the other teachers, can do to stop it. “Change is the only constant in life.” Heraclitus

Also, see if you can find others near you that you can f2f with that feel the way you do about school and connect with them. I did, and we continue our conversations online in between f2f meetings. Keep pushing, if you don’t nothing will budge and the school will be left behind.

Carl, aka weemooseus on twitter

I agree with you about making my classroom so engaging that kids want to pay attention. I want it to be about shared power and choice rather than me trying to control everything. Guidance and support win over railroading and punishment every single time. Alas, I have a long way to go before I reach my ideals.

Regarding the technology use and PBL, I was “alone” in my school and district for several years so I, too, made my community online. I’m not as active as you are and I still fear looking stupid, but I try to contribute when I can. Nowadays there are about 10 folks in my District trying to do what I’m trying to do and maybe 2 in my building. Thanks again, for articulating how isolated we feel sometimes. How many of us feel/felt we were the only ones? I stepped into this online community to slake the thirst for growth, change, innovation, and hope that wasn’t getting filled anywhere offline at the time.

I still consider my online edgeeks the most important, up-to-date, research-based, helpful, and professional PLN a teacher could hope for. And it only gets better when I stick my head out of my shell and participate more.

I’m betting that at the very least, your passion makes you a better teacher than many. I believe it probably makes you better than most. Your students and (virtual) colleagues are lucky!

Problem based learning is hard for me to understand- how do they know how to solve the problem without me teaching them? How does this work for the lower skilled students?

What could a school become if it was full of teachers who did feel the same as you do?