2014 another school year

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year, one that began shortly after seeing my first bald eagle. Why would that be significant? I go into the year teaching history for the first time directly in twenty years. Though I am teaching world history, and pre-history, the bald eagle, espied near Mt. Lassen, is a symbol that rings strongly in my soul, for our country, our children and our future.

Now, post sixtieth birthday, I've become more reflective on my practice as an educator, something that I want to model for my students and my own children. I want to take risks as a classroom teacher, while maintaining an environment conducive to learning; a safe place for students to be creative while they learn.

The first big risk will be to create an ongoing opportunity for my students to role-play characters of their own creation, immersed in the time frame of our study. This role-play will encompass both history and language arts as part of not only the Common Core standards, but also the vision and mission of our school district, the NETS (National Educational Technology Society) standards, and the NAEA (National Arts Education Association) standards.

The role-playing will be designed to answer essential questions: "How do humans change?" and "How does language captivate?"