(not my actual class, but what they might look like
if they weren’t preschool students
if it was back in the day
and
if they were leaving an actual school building)
HAPPY LAST DAY TO ONE AND ALL, LOVE YOUR TEACHER – WE MADE IT, AND I SALUTE YOU!
—
“today is the first and last day of forever.”
-stephenie meyer
—
image credit: ann arbor district library archives
each of our faculty members
were allowed to go into their room alone for 30 minutes
during that time we could take
whatever we imagined we might need
to teach school — for the rest of the year.
walking into my building, it was silent
i saw the ‘welcome back to the sun’ and ‘happy spring’ artwork
my class had created for the hall
expecting to be back soon after our spring break
walking into my classroom
it was sad
left as it was back in mid-march
memories, things undone, things i wish i could still do with my class
cards, and art, and notes, and pictures, and colors, and books
30 minutes to decide what to take
i filled my bags with toys and books and art and puppets
anything i thought might make my kinder feel a sense of comfort
as i teach them from afar and show them familiar things
it was hard to close the door on the year
knowing i will stay connected to each of them
but also knowing
something will be lost
in not spending my school days
sharing a room with them.
—
“time flies over us,
but leaves its shadow behind. “
-nathaniel hawthorne
“learning must travel the distance from head to heart.”
-gloria steinem
LANSING, Mich. – Michigan is escalating its response to the new coronavirus (COVID-19).
On Thursday night Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the closure of all Michigan K-12 schools, including public, private and boarding, in response to the confirmed cases.
The closures start Monday and will end on April 5, according to officials. Schools are scheduled to reopen on Monday, April 6.
here’s to the educators, support staff, administrators, and families. all working so hard to continue our connection and to share in our partnership of caring for, and teaching their children. in a very short time, i have seen amazing work being done on all sides to support this initiative.
spring conferences
a time for
sharing stories
of children and family.
“behind every young child who believes in himself is a parent who believed first.”
-matthew jacobson
—
image credit: animalchannel.com
—
quote credit: john holt
back to school today
back to the kinder
who are not limited by conventions
and are open to the future.
what an honor and a pleasure
it was
to have spent two days
with intelligent caring educators from many places
coming together
to
share, discuss, question, wonder, listen,
learn from each other
about leading
respectful, compassionate, joyful, creative, curious, playful, democratic classrooms
for young children
where they begin
to discover and grow a love of learning
about the world near and far
every experience
preparing them for what is beyond
this comforting place
they call school.
—
“the limit of your present understanding
is not the limit of your possibilities.”
-guy finley
joyful young scientist
teaching and demonstrating
for even younger scientists
ends his hands-on physics and chemistry lessons
with a show-stopper
a fog-shooting cannon
crafted from a garbage can
and the crowd realizes how much they love science
and simply cannot get enough.
—
“facts are to the mind what food is to the body.”
-edmund burke
—
ann arbor public library, pittsfield branch
i went to apply for
my professional recertification
a requirement
from the state
board of education
every five years
whether it’s needed it or not
where i account for
my continuing education
my ongoing development
as a teacher
but
they had changed the system
without any notice
and
when they tried
to explain it to me
i was hopelessly confused
so
they sent me
the following emails
to clear it all up
and
my brain
could not even
begin to process
the information
and
i thought
maybe it’s a test
but
i have no answers
i wish it was multiple choice
and now
i need a translator
and
a miracle.
If you have been awarded State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECHs) since January 1, 2010, and they are not displayed on this page, you need to add your Personnel Identification Code (PIC) to your Secure Central Registry (SCR) account. You can locate your PIC number by clicking on Manage Demographics on the left navigation panel on this page. The PIC number is required to link your SCECH information in the SCR to your MOECS account. Once your PIC is in the SCR, any SCECHs earned through the SCR should appear in MOECS within 3-4 business days. To visit the Secure Central Registry (SCR) please go to http://solutionwhere.com/mi_sbceu/welcome.asp.
• The SCR started collecting SCECH data on January 1, 2010. If you were awarded State Board Continuing Education Units (SB-CEUs) prior to January 1, 2010, they are not available for viewing in MOECS, and you must add them. To add your SB-CEUs earned prior to January 1, 2010, select Add at the bottom of this screen and fill in the required information.
• For SB-CEUs awarded prior to January 1, 2010, you will need to maintain the paper record of your SB-CEUs for audit purposes. If your certificate is audited, you will be asked to send a copy of your official record of your SB-CEUs to the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Professional Preparation Services. If you feel that SCECHs awarded since January 1, 2010 are missing from the SCR, contact the sponsor of that SCECH program.
In order for the SB-CEUs (now known as SCECHs) that you have completed after January 1, 2010, and are listed in your Secure Central Registry (SCR) record, to import into your MOECS online certification record you must go into your demographics page on MOECS, copy the PIC number from your demographics page and then log into your record on the SCR and enter that same PIC number in your SCR record. Approximately 3-4 business days after you do that, all SCECHs that are listed in your SCR record will also be listed in your MOECS online certification record. This should allow you to log back into MOECS and apply for your renewal successfully.
The renewal of a Professional Education teaching certificate requires what equates to 150 clock hours by completing 6 semester hours (1 semester hour equals 25 clock hours) OR 150 SCECHs* (State Continuing Education Clock Hours) OR 150 Michigan district-provided professional development hours** (1 PD hour equals 1 clock hour) OR a combination of the two/three. The required credit hours, SCECHs or district-provided professional development hours must be completed after the issue date on your current Professional Education certificate and within five years preceding the date of application for the renewal.
Semester hour credit must be 6 credits in a planned program completed at a regionally accredited teacher preparation university/college in the United States OR 6 credits appropriate to the grade levels and content endorsement(s) on the certificate completed at any regionally accredited community college or 4-year university/college in the United States.
In regards to SCECHs, only Michigan SCECHs are acceptable. Regular CEU’s, professional development hours, contact hours, clock hours, etc. are not acceptable towards renewal (unless you have requested, and been granted approval, that these type credits be converted to Michigan SCECH hours via a request to your district SCECH Sponsor made 45 days prior to the activity).
For non-traditional SCECH activities; i.e., Supervising a Mentor Teacher, Supervising a Student Teacher, Serving on a State Board-Appointed Advisory Board, arrangements must be made either prior to the activity or during the semester of the activity with your district SCECH Sponsor if you wish to earn SCECH for these activities.
In regards to district-provided PD hours, there is no longer a cap of 30 district-provided PD hours per school year that may be used towards certificate renewal. The cap was removed via a Waiver that was requested and approved by the Michigan Department of Education on June 20, 2014.
Semester hour credit may be taken an approved teacher preparation institution or any regionally accredited college/university in the United States. If you have an out-of-state college/university in mind, please check with our office to make sure that they are regionally accredited before committing to classes that you plan to use towards Professional Education certificate renewal credit.
Graduate or undergraduate level credit is acceptable. Semester hour credit is accepted from a community college as long as it is a regionally accredited community college in the United States.
University/college on-line courses are acceptable as long as they are education-related, the credit will be issued in semester hour credits, and the credit will be issued on a transcript from a regionally accredited university/college in the United States. Again, if you find an on-line course that you are interested in but do not know if they are regionally accredited, please contact our office.
On-line SCECH credit is acceptable as long as it is issued from a valid Michigan SCECH sponsor. For a list of valid Michigan SCECH sponsors and approved program offerings, please visit the SCECH website at: http://www.getmipd.com
Credit must be education-related and appropriate to the grade level and content endorsement(s) of your professional education certificate. Technology courses are acceptable. General education courses are also acceptable; i.e., classroom management, diversity in the classroom, bullying, etc.
Keep in mind that all coursework/SCECH credit/district-provided professional development hours must be completed and credit/hours awarded before your renewal application may be processed. Once all credit/hours have been awarded, application for renewal is made through the Michigan Department of Education online certification application website at http://www.michigan.gov/moecs You will now make application for your renewal online, pay (via a credit or debit card) online and also print off your renewed certificate from your home/office printer.
The soonest you may apply to renew a Professional Education certificate is January 1st of the year the certificate is due to expire.
Please do not submit any college/university transcripts, SCECH documentation, or district-provided professional development forms to our office at any time. You may hold on to this information for your records. Should you ever be audited by our office after renewal, we would request those documents from you at that time.
Now that application/payment/printing of your certificate is done online, there is 1 day processing time. However, again, all credit must be complete before you make application for your renewal. The renewal fee is $160.
*State Board Continuing Education Units (SB-CEU’s) are now known as State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECH’s)
**Must be completed while employed in a public/charter school district.
—
the regulatory systems in place disincentive innovation.
it’s intense to fight the red tape.
– travis kalanick
—-
image credit: google images
i went for a visit
on a day off from teaching
to teach
in my youngest daughter’s class
where she is a first year teacher
and
on my way
i was overwhelmed
when
i thought about
her class
so young
and
so many of them
who
live
amid
poverty
and
violence
and
hunger
and
chaos
and
i wanted to
stop
and
buy them
everything
for many
have nothing
but
when i got there
we shared
a meeting
a holiday lesson
paint and glitter
stickers
books
and
hugs
and
as i
sat on the floor
with them
and read stories
and told them
about the holiday
and sang songs
and played games
and helped them
one on one
and watched
the stronger ones
help the others
who were struggling
it was clear
that no matter
their circumstances
first and foremost
they were still children
who needed attention
and love
and support
and
with kind hearts
who happen to be
in
tough situations
through no fault
of their own
and
some will sink
and
some will swim
and
rise above
and
my daughter
is someone
who is helping to
make that difference
for them
just by caring
and trying
and
giving her all
and then some
even in this
very challenging environment
and one said,
‘i never had a rainbow sticker before. i really love it so much.’
and
it was so small
but meant a lot to him
and they sat near me and braided my hair
and felt it
because it was different
and asked me questions
about their teacher
my daughter
‘does she have any sisters?’
‘you her mama?’
‘can you bring in your grandkids?’
and i realized
what a hero
my daughter is
each and every day
and
i was
overwhelmed
all over again
and
i could not
be prouder.
—-
ON HEROES WITHOUT CAPES
“when I was very young, most of my childhood heroes wore capes, flew through the air, or picked up buildings with one arm. they were spectacular and got a lot of attention.but as I grew, my heroes changed, so that now I can honestly say that anyone who does anything to help a child is a hero to me.”
– mr. rogers
