Pardon the interruption...

Feb. 12, 2010 marked Abraham Lincoln's (201) birthday. It also marked my third (maybe fourth) two-hour delay in that past few weeks.

Throw in a snow day and President's Day and you have a pile of lesson plans that haven't been used yet.

When you get behind due to weather delays or other unwanted (in some cases, wanted) time off school, you have to make a series of choices in regards to student learning.

I talked to two veteran teachers, Beth Bloom at Amelia High School in Batavia, OH and C.E. Sikkenga at Grand Haven High School in Grand Haven, MI.

Sikkenga said he recommends young teachers look at cancellations as a gift and use them as a chance to recharge. I think we can all agree that a few extra hours of sleep can go a long way.
Secondly, Sikkenga said it is important to know your content and be aware of what is most necessary to teach.

He said, "A lot of effective teaching is not as much knowing what you have to teach so much as knowing what you don't have to teach. A lot of that comes from experience."

Bloom also said she recommends student teachers enjoy snow days and cancellations and to be flexible. While it can be challenging to meet deadlines and state standards when time is lost, eventually, Bloom said, "Everything still manages to work itself out."

Overall, I think it is important to plan effectively. This is something that has been a challenge for me so far. It's hard enough to plan for things to go well, let alone plan for potential problems.

But I think if I make planning a priority, I will see results that I am not seeing now.

Using travel time effectively

My house is 52.6 mi away from school so I have about an hour in the car on the way there and back.

This week I have been researching podcast resources to listen to on the way to and from school. I admit that I usually listen to music of my choice, but my goal is to listen to at least one podcast session a week. Here is why I challenge you to do the same:

INTASC (Interstate New Teachers Assessment and Support Consortium) Principle 9 encourages teachers to seek out opportunities to grow professionally.

Podcasts are generally free and can be quickly downloaded on your Ipod. Also, you can search for specific areas of interest that meet your needs. If you are dealing with behavior issues, you can find a Podcast that talks about various methods of classroom management. If you simply need a fresh idea on how to differentiate a lesson plan, you can also find a Podcast about differentiated instruction.

There are plenty of free resources teachers can use to grow professionally. Especially as a student teacher, we can use every piece of advice that is offered to us. At the very least, we will hear how other teachers are doing things - and begin to challenge ourselves to be risk takers in the classroom.

Podcasts I recommend:

NPR Education Podcast:
http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=17350298

Save the Teacher! Podcast: (Check out the risk taking episode)
http://save-the-teacher.podomatic.com/

Teacher Created Materials Podcast:
http://www.teachercreatedmaterials.com/podcasts/