Blog Post #12

We did so many blog assignments in this class over the semester. I have learned a lot and can do so many more things than I could at the beginning of the semester. One thing I would think would be very beneficial for teachers is to explore different websites for teachers and the development of a strong guide to go by for new teachers or even teachers trying to learn more or further their career. We did something like this when we started our PLN. We got to explore different networks that linked lesson plans, guides, teachers, and other helpful tools to building up ones lesson plans and activities.
My blog post assignment, I believe, would be very helpful. Students going through EDM 310 are typically close (kind of) to graduating and pursuing their first job and hopefully career. That being said, I believe students should be required to first research schools in the area in which they wish to work. Encouraging students to choose a county or city other than Mobile. They should write a description of a specific school or counties pros and cons. Such as, do the schools have newer buildings, play facilities, is it a Regional school in conjunction with an elementary school, middle, or high school.
The next thing to look at would be demographics. Who lives there? Is it a young community, family oriented, or an older community. What is the racial/nationality demographic of the area? The school, county, or city Human Resources website would be very helpful for most of these questions.
What is the job outlook in this county/city? Are there a lot of pink slipped teachers? What is the income per capita? Are the schools in this county/city Title IX schools? If so, how many are?
Having to research a school before employment is a very good thing to do. I would suggest typing out the questions you wish to use and allow the students to fill in the details. A specific school (preferably one they wish to interview at and possibly work at in the future) would be a better topic rather than a whole city or county. It is good to research tools to help teachers once they are in a school teacher, but what about the steps leading up to employment? I firmly believe students should research the schools which they wish to begin employment at. Not to mention, it looks great during an interview if you know a little about the school issues as well as some strong points.
Once the research has been complete, they can move on to looking through websites to build a sort of portfolio of helpful websites. For instance, 101 websites for elementary teachers shows many different sites than have interactive activities for students, lessons for teachers, and many other useful tools for teachers. They can build a small list of websites that they may use later in their career and studies.