Baby steps

I appreciated the time to think, reflect, and discuss at yesterday's meeting. As we listened to Kristen's activity and Rob's Russian issue, I found myself making some additions-subractions-changes to my US course. I especially loved hearing of the creative efforts - something many of her students did with me as freshmen with the Holocaust project. Their talents are humbling. Crosby's work this semester has set me up with about half of next semester's students to be able to jump right in with some ideas. I hope I'll be able to utilize her students to teach the "newbies". I'm excited to begin the new group with these new methods and ideas in place from the beginning. As Sean Kenney said in an essay he did for me, the hardest part of change is always the first step. Few risk taking them. But, the rest get easier and better.

In the words of Bill Clinton...

I did not say that I would blog with that woman... OK. I said I would be better and I lied. I have enjoyed reading the student blogs as they have made me think about how to structure questions to get the most out of blogging. As we get ready for the last week, and then the first week, the number of things I want to add next semester starts to overwhelm. How do I need to change my course expectations sheet so that I have the "instructions" I need to make it all work? How do I structure a fishbowl? What do I want to include on my RSS list? What do I keep from the old curriculum in US and what do I add that gets to take advantage of our new tools? I think that the best way to figure it all out is to take a break, snowboard, eat good food, play with my kids, and hope for the constructivist bug to bite me in my sleep so that when I wake, my 3 courses are planned and perfect. And then...