“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Martin Luther King, Jr.Welcome to the Kiamichi Technology Center Poteau-Spiro Campus blog. My name is Michael Culwell, and I am the Assistant Campus Director. When I decided to start writing a blog, I wasn’t completely sure what I wanted to say, but as the quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. states, I’m taking a step of Faith and giving it a shot. I am happy you’ve chosen to visit my blog. I am excited to have this opportunity to share not only information about our campus, but also share with you my thoughts on career and technology education, instruction and learning.
Those of us in the field of education today seem to be experiencing a great sense of uncertainty and anticipation at the same time. Uncertainty, as we attempt to keep our head above water in an ever-changing climate of public education and a tidal wave of reform efforts. Anticipation, as we strive to meet the needs of a 21st century learner and prepare them for post-secondary education or the workforce. I am hopeful that this blog will provide support for both.
Last week I had the opportunity to attend the National Leaders Forum for Tech Centers that Work held in Oklahoma City. It was a breath of fresh air to learn about the best practices going on around the country in Career and Technology Education. In fact, this conference was the determining push to get me off the fence about writing this blog. I was motivated and energized to return and begin sharing best practices in CTE instruction to our staff.
My goals for this blog are to share best practices of instruction, as well as the good things going on at our technology center that relate to student learning. I will attempt to blog at least on a weekly basis and hopefully more often. I hope to share with the readers something new that will make them better educators or as equally important, provide opportunities for instructors to begin dialogues that lead to collaboration efforts that boost student learning and ultimately a robust professional learning community.
I look forward to communicating with you through this blog. Please take the time and subscribe to this blog or share with your friends and colleagues. But most importantly, please leave comments and feedback that lead to meaningful discussions about Career and Technology Education and learning.
On to the next step!
Great idea, I think I will like this a lot. We can share ideas for TCTW, etc; Thanks for inviting me to your blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marj!
ReplyDeleteNow this is what Technology is all about. An outstanding idea that is long overdue. I love your quote. Another favorite quote of mine from King states "A man can't ride your back if it's bent". We as educators are required to stand-up to the challenges ahead of us and face them head-on. I know this will be accomplished despite the bumpy road ahead if we work together. We have an obligation.
ReplyDeleteWay to go Mr. Culwell!
Excellent Idea! Thanks for taking the time to take this step of faith. It will be beneficial to everyone on our campus; I look forward to reading your future blogs.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great way to share comments and express ones cares and concerns of the things happening in the world around us and how they affect our schools, students, instructors and administration.
ReplyDelete" A bad attitude is like a flat tire you can't go anywhere until you change it"
This is a great platform to share ideas, and stay in the know as things evolve for improvement to higher standards. I love the quote gentleman and I look forward to the great things this team will put together to elevate us all.
ReplyDeleteThanks for undertaking this outlet Mr. Culwell!
I'm so excited! This will be my very first blog post ever! Since we're sharing quotes here's mine. "The grass is always greener where you water it."
ReplyDeleteI also attended the National Leaders Forum for Tech Centers that Work and came away excited about the information presented. I think this blog is a very good idea but to be honest this will by first time to blog and I don't feel completely comfortable publicly sharing my thoughts. One of the breakout sessions that I attended was presented by a technology center director who embraced the creation of a portfolio by each student. I have my students develop a portfolio each year but have never truly embraced the value of these documents. The portfolios developed on her campus are used to obtain jobs, college scholarships and college admission. Her students start the year by being creative in designing the cover which gets some students excited to start the process. As the year progresses the student collect evidence of their accomplishment: i.e. certificates, photos with descriptions, etc. I came away with a new excitement about my students creating their portfolios and I hope I can share that excitement with my students. Dr. Sommers also spoke about the characteristics of a successful careertech teacher. These include: being tech savvy; being personalized with our students and being the best at building relationships with our students; teaching lessons that are content rich and collaborating with our fellow teachers. I feel that we excel in most of these areas but may need to work on being more collaborative on our campus. I think this blog and developing a professional learning community are great ways to start that collaboration.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for your comments. I agree Lorraine, collaboration is a very powerful tool and I look forward to seeing our campus transformed through a PLC!
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