If you had read the March newsletter or have been following the Julie Amero case, you may have been waiting to see what the consequences of the guilty finding would be. This could include a prison term of up to 40 years. The sentencing date has been adjusted twice already. The latest news is that it will happen on April 26.
It's hard to speculate on the case as there is information coming from many sources. Most of it has been in support of Ms. Amero while there has been a smaller amount that isn't.
One of the things that has been reported was that she didn't know what to do and hadn't received training. I try to extrapolate this into our reality in Greater Essex County.
We pride ourselves on our Professional Learning Communities. Regardless of where you are, there are always colleagues ready to help and to bounce ideas off. Then, there's the ubiquitous FirstClass system where virtually every answer is addressed in a matter of hours.
We provide all kinds of professional development opportunities. Just take a look at BookIT and the upcoming options.
All of us are constantly learning new things.
I think back to this past week and there were a couple of real aha! moments for myself.
We have a group of Early Literacy teachers who are working with technologies that attempt to immerse their students into literacy situations using this technology. Our world is changing so much and our students deal with new media all the time. Techniques that these teachers are using effectively include podcasting and blogging, all components of the Web 2.0.
Creating the content isn't terribly difficult. What blew me away was the content and the way that students are using this technology. Web 2.0 promises a "read-write" internet where everyone has their say and learns by giving back. When Grade 3 students share their thoughts about the EQAO assessment using the technology, it's a humbling and yet exciting experience.
Flash forward 10 years and the subject is Grade 12 Chemistry. I found myself in a ChemSketch workshop as a favour for a colleague. I figured that I could probably bluff my way through the first half hour as long as we were sketching things like H2O, or maybe add another Oxygen and nod knowingly about Hydrogen Peroxide.
I was over my head in 10 seconds.
But, you know, I stuck with it and, with the software and the teaching approach, it did make a bit of sense after a while. I need to confess though, I am in no danger of discovering any create scientific breakthrough in the near future!
The point?
There is a great deal about the Julie Amero case that bothers me. I hope that there comes a time when we can look at just the facts. The claim that there was no training or support is particularly disturbing.
There should be no shortage of opportunities.
From colleagues to professional collaboration to research, we need to take advantage of all that we have at our disposal. Nobody should ever feel hung out to dry for a lack of professional development opportunities.
