FIRST DAY AT THE CONFERENCE

The first day at the conference was great. The drive here was beautiful as well. It is lovely to be next to the Pacific, even on a cold blustery day.

The conference has already been very helpful. I came here with specific personal and professional goals. One was to see a model of professional interaction that works. I am really happy to see that people can come together and address issues that matter with vigor and sincerity.

One of the first activities we took part in was to speak in groups of three about our own experiences as learners and tell each other stories about how we were affected by issues of cost, access, or quality. We each were to concentrate on just one of the three. We then had to condense or distill these three stories using just one to three words.

One of the people in my group of three was Alesha Daughtrey of the Center for Teacher Quality. I had a great talk with Alesha. I am at school that is brand new, we have some growing pains and she had some smart suggestions that include becoming friends with a school that is quite like my school (trying a integrated, project based curriculum that is based on a collaborative model) but is a few years farther along.

Later I brought up that my school is about to pay some teachers for extended hours for Saturday school for those students who scored below basic last year. This is a case where the students will have access, and cost isn't an issue but how do we assure quality? She wonders if more hours at school is the answer. If you have a student who isn't engaged during regular hours, are more hours at school going to help? Can we develop an innovative and engaging curriculum for after hours and Saturday and assess the value of this program?


I thought of this when Ashley Nand, a junior in High School spoke about Road Trip Nation and about how empowering and engaging it was to learn away from the classroom. The Road Trip Nation students interview people in their community.

Then Sugata Mitra spoke to and presented evidence of the natural curiosity and capability of students. As teachers we need to ask questions, step back, and have faith in our students. He was really wonderful and inspiring.

During dinner I met Jacob Lauser and Anteneh Hailu high school students who participate Roadtrip. Talking to them has made me want to bring this program to my students.

At dinner I also met Steve Rich of WAY Program. Way stands for Widening Advancements for Youth and they have a program for kids who aren't finding success in traditional high school. They provide access to teacher/mentors 24/7 and come to the students home and install an apple computer and internet. The students and teachers work together to design a program that is individualized, meets standards and is of interest to the student. If something traumatic happens in the student's life and they disengage, they won't be allowed to fall through the cracks. The teacher will continue to work with them till they are back on track. They get a regular diploma. The program has proven to be successful for many students (they have some incredible retention rate) and it is now funded by the state (Michigan).

I am one of those people who was saved in middle school by an innovative program. I was about to drop out when instead of being punished for truancy I was put in a very small alternative school that was big on student led experiential learning. Every single student in that program with me that year went on to the university. I know from experience that one size doesn't fit all.