OK, I'll Play...

4th folder, 4th photo.

Ironically, it's the same (or similar) to the photo at the bottom of my blog's front page. See?

2005 was the Year of the Conference...sigh. I miss 2005. First, Parker (former principal) send a group of teachers to a Service Learning Conference in Long Beach, CA.

Sat in the front row (dork) to hear Erin Gruwell (Freesome Writers' Diary) as the keynote speaker, and met the women from Kids Consortium in one the breakout sessions. They were so dynamic, I began jonesing to attend their summer conference in Bethel, Maine. Lo and behold, Parker approved my request. I flew into Connecticutt and spent a few days with High Maintenence, then drove north to Bethel, which is ski area about 2 hours NE of Portland. The photo is of a water park taken from a bridge (yes, I parked and walked to it) over the Bethel River.

The Summer Consortium was great-workshops on how to plan and execute service-learning projects with students, interesting speakers, great people. I think I was the only teacher from outside the Northeast, much less from Texas!

The research shows great things about how this type of work increases kids' "assets" and empathy. Texas, however, does not have a required service component in secondary education..your best best is plan a unit in elementary when you have the kids all day. Unless you can weave the project into current cirriculuum, teacher buy-in is unlikely.

Remember the Middle School Summit last month? The kids at Pin Oak take a SL class, which as far as I can see, might be a decent reason to work for HISD. (I don't).