7 May 2010
April Wrap-up and Major Project
Posted by BaBa under: Daily Life .
We take a break from the normal silence here.
The month of April has been a busy month. We began the month with Spring Break. We were able to snag a last minute deal and cruised for Spring Break. We had a great time. We drove to Fort Lauderdale and then sailed away. We visited Key West, Grand Cayman, Honduras, and Mexico. I will post photos and more about the trip in the near future.
While away, I spent a little time mentally working on the big project that I would face when we returned. No we are not adopting again. The paperwork in the picture might look like a dossier spread out, but that is where the similarity ends.
National Board Certification is the highest certification available for a classroom teacher.
It was a lot of work, but not nearly as much work as the original portfolio to obtain my National Board Certification. Only about 2% of teachers in the US hold this highest level of certification. Almost every state in the US recognizes the certification so that you can bypass each state’s own requirements. The certification can be compared to an Attorney sitting for the Bar Exam or an Accountant sitting for the CPA exam or a Doctor sitting for the medical boards.
It is too bad that our local politicians in our state have decided that this accomplishment and certificate is not worth the paper it is printed on. Our state used to pay a 10% bonus each year in recognition of this achievement. However, politics has entered the picture and current party in power does not believe in public education and changed the law that required this funding. They broke the contract with the teachers and also broke any trust that teachers have in our politicians. One of our leaders brags that the we are the lowest taxed state in the country and yet we are also one of the lowest in graduation and test scores. Seems to be a direct link between these two items, but they just don’t get it. Well enough about Politics as I get madder and madder thinking about the short sighted “leaders” and their policies.
My original certification was 8 years ago and the certificate is good for 10 years. You can begin the renewal process in the 8th or 9th year. I chose to begin in the 8th year which would give me an additional opportunity if I missed passing on the first attempt. The renewal portfolio is shorter than the original, but still detailed and time consuming.
My portfolio package was 49 pages with a 10 minute video of my teaching. The 49 pages included pages of reflection from the 10 minute video, documentation of my professional growth in the last 8 years. There is also student work and reflection about the work along with more commentary on the other areas of professional growth experiences known as PGES. There are 4 separate PGES that you discuss and document.
I mentally organized my plan on the way down for spring break and the way home. When we got home, it was time to put the plan into action. I had to collect my documentation, plan the lesson and film it. Then it was time to write commentary and reflection. The project was due to be in the post by 4/30/10. My darling wife got it to the UPS office on 4/29 and the load was off both us. There will be no news as to the results of my work until September. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed.
It was hard not to have any time on the weekends and each evening as I worked away on the portfolio. Sheridan missed me having time for him, but he understood and I did take some short breaks to spend with him. One of these was to a local craft show and there we found another home school enrichment activity for him. So he will now have arts on Friday each week in the fall.
With the package in the post, I took off on Friday the 30th and we went to a home school conference. We got all of his curriculum for next year and enjoyed spending the day together with Magoo.
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