Fireside Learning:  Conversations about Education

Penelope Millar
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I love what you say, Bill, and how you say it!! I think educate is too often looked at is a verb. I prefer an environment when the line between learner and facilitator is often blurred. Where we look to share our knowledge and listen to the knowl...
September 10
Hi Ian and Penelope..... hope this finds you well! As we ponder the "purpose" of education.... i always worked first in my "circle of influence" vs my "cirlce of concern". My cirlce of influence first and foremost was as a classroom teacher. W...
April 1
Thanks Mike, I appreciate the 'layering' of topics you provide. We so often answer the question we're given, and it may not be the 'right' question. The 'purpose of education' is one faulty direction. What are the purposes of education? And you've...
March 31
Hey Penelope.... hope this finds you well.... it has been a while..... I will be glad to jump in...... at least with my vision of what public schools could be.... PURPOSE…… What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the ...
March 30
Penelope Millar added a blog post
No, really, I want to know. I know what I think the purpose should be, but I'm pretty sure that the current system is some sort of purposeless monster stumbling around like a headless chicken while we argue about whether to bring it back to life ...
March 30
Ummmm.... I was in elementary school in the eighties, and I clearly remember that tag was a no-no by the time I was in third grade. I remember it because we invented ways of playing tag that didn't look like playing tag. I don't remember the reaso...
March 30
As a teacher-who-was-a-gifted-kid: Yes. I've journaled extensively since I could write. I have diary entries from 5th grade (enrichment for gifted kids started in 3rd for us) complaining about how all it meant was more work not different work. (W...
March 30

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Tell about your involvement in education, and your ideals for collegial sharing
I'm currently a high school teacher of very little experience (fourth year) who thinks a lot about what I could do better and what we could do better for our students in general. I like to share, sharing is caring!

I started the IET program at George Mason University this summer and I am loving it. It's the real life version of these conversations, plus support to help me develop in my classroom. So that's why I'm quiet these days--busy busy busy.
About Me:
Oh, I'm terrible at these.
Website:
http://invisibleteacher.blogspot.com

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Penelope Millar

What's the purpose of public education? (reposted from Where's the teacher)

No, really, I want to know.

I know what I think the purpose should be, but I'm pretty sure that the current system is some sort of purposeless monster stumbling around like a headless chicken while we argue about whether to bring it back to life with electricity, clockwork or good old-fashioned black magic.

(Okay, that was a little grotesque.) It's just that I've become pretty convinced that we can't fix anything until we can agree as a society on what we want our public education system to ac… Continue

Posted on March 30, 2009 at 9:23pm — 7 Comments

Penelope Millar

The end of summer break...

It's been a while. Honestly, after school let out I just needed a break from anything and everything to do with education. I've had a great month of vacationing, visiting and being visited, et cetera, and now I'm hopefully refreshed enough for the next round.

When I was still a student, mid-July would still be early summer break. I would still feel like I had all the time in the world until I had to think about school again. Instead, my summer break is about to come to an end. On Monday, I star… Continue

Posted on July 16, 2008 at 10:01pm — 3 Comments

Penelope Millar

Brief Hiatus

Realized that it might be worth posting this here so you know why I'm all quiet...

I'm not saying I definitely won't be posting anytime soon, but... I'm in the middle of grad school applications, moving and the usual end-of-the-school-year craziness, plus going to the doctor a lot. (Don't worry, I'm fine. Just dealing with the usual issues from having a chronic problem.)

Before you know it, though, it'll be the end of May and I'll have more free time than I know what to do with. See you then!

Posted on May 6, 2008 at 2:27pm — 2 Comments

Penelope Millar

but how do I do that? (repost from Where's the Teacher?)

Sometimes I read articles/weblog entries about education and I see myself in their description of a student poorly served by the current system. Seriously, can anything be more depressing?

I was a good student. I worked hard without succumbing to the insane class-rank/GPA obsession of the overachievers I was surrounded by. I got complemented by college professors for my writing, discussions, analytical ability, etc. I've never thought of myself as slow, needing a lot of directions and so on, in… Continue

Posted on April 10, 2008 at 7:33pm — 1 Comment

Penelope Millar

Finding A Vision (repost from "Where's the Teacher?")

I'm in a strange place with teaching right now.

On the one hand, there've been several reminders lately of how much work I still need to do at classroom management. I'm back to the place I was at the end of last school year, bemoaning all the situations that happen where I don't do anything, or do the wrong thing too late, because I don't actually know what I should do in response to that student. It's frustrating because just a few weeks ago I had a series of days where I felt like I was total… Continue

Posted on March 30, 2008 at 4:58pm — 2 Comments

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At 6:49pm on April 10, 2008, Penelope Millar said…
Ed-
I understand that more information about what's really happening in our schools is a good thing. However, there's got to be a limit. You've already got state tests, and NAEP testing, and my district does quarterly benchmarks. Add an international test like that PITA on top and then what else? If we really need more data, we need to figure out what that is first before we add more tests to the regimen, not the other way around.

Also, I was reacting against what I see as a very negative trend in American education, the idea that tests alone will somehow fix our problems. Everyone seems so focused on the data-gathering and the analysis to rank and compare, and yet the conversation about what to do better is so stunted in many ways.
At 9:55pm on April 9, 2008, Ed Jones said…
Penelope, just a follow up note on a comment you left last week on the Reading First discussion.

You wrote: I don't see how we need more tests to prove that certain students/schools aren't where they should be.

The sad reality is there are plenty of political reasons why certain groups will willfully ignore the very worst situations in order to defend the status quo. For instance, it is very easy to say, "this school would be better IF we just had more money." The testing shows us that two schools in similar circumstances with very different budgets can produce the same results.

Similarly, it has long been common to blame the teachers who came before. Now the data show us areas where 4th graders are improving, while 9th graders are not. So, the tests help us narrow down the problems.

e
At 8:04pm on January 29, 2008, Penelope Millar said…
Anna-
Thanks for the nice note! It's a little weird to be told I'm sharing wisdom-I feel like the opinionated teenager in the crowd at the moment.
-Penelope
At 2:44pm on January 29, 2008, Anna Billings said…
Hi Penelope,
I'm enjoying your thoughtful, thought-provoking posts on a variety of topics. Thanks for adding your voice and your wisdom.
Anna
At 11:39pm on January 17, 2008, Penelope Millar said…
Connie-
Thanks for inviting me, this seems like a nice place so far.
I love my iPod--it's an older one, but it holds a lot of music and that's all I care about. I actually djed for the college radio station my junior & senior years and LOVED it.
At 7:09am on January 17, 2008, Connie Weber said…
Hi Penelope,
So glad to have you here! I hope you find Fireside a great place for collegial camaraderie. Glad you're bringing such an upbeat, passionate involvement in education along.
Hey, I like a lot of the same music you do. Do you have an iPod, make playlists, all that? I'm crazy about the music tools. Making a playlist is like making poetry to me; an art form. (Guess in another life I'd be a DJ.)
Anyhow, I see you've jumped right in with conversations! great!
Welcome!
At 7:36pm on January 16, 2008, Skip Zilla said…
You already have--in spades!
At 7:19pm on January 16, 2008, Penelope Millar said…
Thanks, Skip, for taking a look at my blog and linking it. I hope I live up to your expectations here!
At 5:27pm on January 16, 2008, Skip Zilla said…
Welcome, Penelope.
I'm just about to add a link to your blog "Where's the Teacher? to Fireside Learning's "can't miss links" box.
You've already shown, in your "About Me" entries, that you have the bestest of the best qualities for educating kids--an unassuming and honest nature. Don't be fooled by us, though, we're all learners here.
Thanks for joining the community.
 
 

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