Inservice, the ASCD blog, is a place for educators to gather and discuss current issues in education. This summer, Inservice readers shared these thoughts about the Summer Online issue of EL. To join in, visitwww.ascd.org/blog. Comments below have been edited for length and clarity.
In response to "Thinking Below the Surface in Summer," which asked, What insights into teaching have come to you this summer?
I am now working with one of my assistant principals to begin a process to help students take more ownership of their education. Too often students blame their teachers for registering them for the wrong courses, not getting their transfer credits, or not receiving appropriate testing modifications. I think that students should share in this responsibility with their teachers. They shouldn't be passive, waiting on things to happen to them. They need to know what they need to do, when they need to do it, and when and how to advocate for themselves. After all, in college, they will be expected to do all of these things. —Katie Saldarriaga
Writing is the best reflection for me. When I began my first teaching job in January, I began journaling several days a week, writing about events in my life both in and out of school. Since summer has arrived, I have had the time to read through my journal entries. Doing so helps me analyze my feelings and reactions to different situations and reflect on ways I could handle things differently if they happen again in the future. At the beginning of the year I look forward to beginning a new journal! —Savanna Helms
In response to "When Students Design Their Own Learning":
My school prides itself on project-based and inquiry-style learning. But I have to say, as someone who is relatively new, it takes a master teacher to mold project-based learning into something meaningful. Who will teach my 2nd graders about lighthouses (which was totally on the California state assessment this year) if they are not interested in learning about it? Every once in a while we can really get going on a certain interest that has captured the whole class and do a storyline and the whole shebang with it, but there still has to be time for skills practice, whether we like it or not. —Kimberlee
