AuburnChick's Adventures

Ever wonder how a new reading teacher spends his or her summer?

Taking classes to become a better teacher, of course!

I’m enrolled in the third of five 60-hour reading classes.  The classes are online, which is very convenient.  I’ve created screen captures of the course information…

How the program works is that the classes are divided into nine or ten “sessions.”  The classes are sort-of self-paced.  What this means is that you need to maintain regular progress, but you can work ahead.  The classes run for ten weeks, and you’re only allowed to take one class at a time.

There are assignments associated with most sessions, and, with the exception of the quizzes (there’s usually one per class), the assignments must be approved by the instructor of the course.

If an assignment isn’t approved, the person taking the class resubmits the assignment after making the required changes.

The goal is mastery…exactly what we, as teachers, strive for in our own classes.

Here’s what my course log looks like right now…

As you can see, I’ve completed all of my assignments (only two weeks into the class).  I’m waiting for approval on three of them and keeping my fingers crossed that I won’t have to fix them.

While this may seem like a lot, and it can be during the school year when one is teaching and trying to take these classes, the experience, overall, is positive because the information presented in the classes is both practical and insightful.

For all of those naysayers who claim that teachers have it easy…that they have holidays and summers off…I say HA, HA, HA!

Yes, the summer is time for us to relax, a bit, but the learning increases as teachers continue to take classes, attend inservices, and reflect deeply about what they want to accomplish during the upcoming school year.

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: Reading Endorsement, teaching |