So Much Things to Say

I had the great fortune of attending a Rick Wormeli (@rickwormeli2) workshop on Standards Based Grading. It was an inspiring and motivating two days that left me with very mixed feelings. My two takeaways are:

1. Define your beliefs, and
2. Don't be a hypocrite

Great message, but it's so hard to hear since later tonight, my plans are to be a hypocrite. I have a big stack of Algebra II tests to get through, especially since I told my students that I would definitely have the tests graded to give back tomorrow. Rick Wormeli is a fantastic presenter. He is incredibly knowledgeable and thoroughly engaging. Go see him if you ever have the opportunity, and if you don't have the opportunity, create it.

Rick is passionate about grading. (Understatement). He believes that a fair and accurate grading scheme is not just nice to have, but rather a moral imperative. That's very hard to hear at this point in the year. I mean, who has time to be moral. I have so much material to cover and tests that I need to get through.

I attended CMC North at Asilomar this past weekend. I got to see several excellent presentations, including Steve Leinwand, Dan Meyer, Jo Boaler, and Phil Daro. I also got to have some great discussions with my colleague @StrangeKathleen, who gave an excellent presentation as well, though I didn't attend.

On top of all that, we hosted two sessions of Hour of Code at my school yesterday. Next year, I will be teaching PLTW  Computer Science. We had a pretty good turnout and I think there's a lot of interest in the course for next year. My wife even brought our daughter along to learn to code. I don't think anything stuck, so I'll probably have to try again when she's a bit older. She is currently 12 weeks old and does not appear to be a prodigy, though she does produce prodigious amounts of drool.

I am overstimulated this week. It's got me so pumped up, it feels like Christmas! I decided that I would really like to give a talk at Asilomar next year. The only problem is, I have no idea what I should talk about. I have felt like that for a while. It reminds me of the movie Airheads with Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, and Adam Sandler. The three guys are in a rock band and they hold a radio station hostage to try to get there demo on the air. Hijinks ensue. At one point, the DJ does an on air interview with Brendan Fraser and he asks him what his message is. Brendan Fraser replies on air "We just want our message to be heard." This is kinda how I feel right now. I have so many thoughts, feelings, and emotions percolating inside of me. I feel like I want to shout but the only thing I can think of to say is "I have something to say!"

*Musical Interlude*

I think this is where I will start.

It is far too much to take on tonight, but this is the guiding document suggested by Rick Wormeli to define your beliefs. It's gonna be tough and it's going to take me a while, but I believe it'll help me find my message.