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Teaching is the most important job in the world.
In A Celebration of Teaching, the audience, through true stories,
anecdotes, slides, and memorabilia, will be reminded of the enormous
power that teachers have to make a difference. At the same time,
they will be invigorated as they sense anew their opportunity to
affect lives. The late Ernest Boyer wrote, “That encounter
(teaching) takes on almost a spiritual dimension. The ripple of
influence never stops.”
Formal, organized instruction is and ought to
be the major component of the educational process. There is, however,
much more to education than organized instruction. In light of the
hectic pace and accompanying social problems that characterize contemporary
society, schools need to concern themselves with more than the important
but narrow academic arena. As Walker Percy has observed, “You
can make all A’s and still flunk life.”
With the changes in the social landscape, there
is an urgent need for more wayside teaching at the schoolhouse:
“. . . the teaching that is done between classes, when walking
in the halls, after school, and in dozens and dozens of one-on-one
encounters, however brief. . . . It is in the relationships developed
in wayside teaching that one is most likely to influence the lives
of others.”*
In this presentation, teachers from the past make
the content come alive as they appear on the screen to make a strong
case for the power and importance of wayside teaching in the new
millennium.
*John H. Lounsbury **John I. Goodlad
It is vitally important to make our schools centers
for renewal rather than targets for reform. A commitment to renewal
at the schoolhouse demands a careful look at teaching and learning
in the 21st Century. Theodore Sizer reminds educators, “School
isn’t about old folks donating ideas to young folks. It is
about young folks learning on their own and being provoked by old
folks.”
Teaching and learning are on the agenda in this
humorous and fast-paced presentation. The audience will experience
how a former Georgia Star Teacher became a much better teacher after
his “Damascus Road” experience in teaching and learning.
Chuckle and learn as fifth- and sixth-grade students introduce their
teacher to the concept of renewal and help him understand and embrace
the truth of Mortimer Adler’s statement, “Mere information
imparted by teachers and memorized by students is the least desirable
of all the products of teaching and learning.”
*John I. Goodlad
The focus of this presentation is on leadership
at the schoolhouse. A mixture of lore, experience, and research
wrapped with humor will provide the foundation for exploring areas
critical to the success of a school program and to emphasize the
importance of the principal as the head learner – “The
more crucial role of the principal is as head learner . . . experiencing,
displaying, modeling, and celebrating what is hoped and expected
that teachers and pupils will do.” (Thomas J. Sergiovanni)
This presentation explores and celebrates the
role of the library media specialist as a change agent. The focus
will be on the importance of the active involvement of this key
faculty member – a teacher whose subject is learning –
in helping the leadership team keep teaching, at all times, on the
agenda at the schoolhouse. The library media specialist is uniquely
prepared and positioned to facilitate the improvement of instruction
across the curriculum. “What the school of the future will
be like can be seen in the library media program that is integrated
with the classroom instructional program.” (James Thompson)
It has been written, “There are but two
lasting gifts you can give your children: one is roots, the other
– wings.” Mentors at the schoolhouse come too late into
the lives of children to influence their “roots.” However,
mentors can help children fly by giving them “wings.”
Through stories, slides, and memorabilia, see how one mentor has
helped a child from Georgia fly to the White House and beyond.
Future Teachers and Student Teachers – Top
Ten Things to Know about Teaching
Graduating Seniors and Parents – Top Ten
Things I Have Learned from “Wayside Teachers”*
Middle School/Junior High – The Middle Years:
Cultivating the Garden
Paraprofessionals, Secretaries, and Clerks –
People Who Matter: Making a Difference at the Schoolhouse
School Bus Drivers – Bus Drivers Have a
Spare Key
School Counselors – Making a Difference
in a Place Called School**
Teachers of the Year – Celebrating the Most
Important Job in the World
*John H. Lounsbury
**John I. Goodlad
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