Home schooling. Good? Bad? Ugly?

For the past several months, I have been learning a lot about home schooling. I have been lucky enough to meet a fantastic advocate for home schooling in our territory. She recently took her child out of one of our elementary schools and has decided to home school her children.

It’s been an exciting year for her. And it’s been fun to be on the sidelines hearing about it, reading about it and learning about it.

Now, I am a commissioner in a school board. So I must think home schooling is bad, right?

Actually, no. I don’t.

A school board’s mandate is to support education in its territory. And home schoolers educate in our territory. So the question is – what are we doing to support home schoolers in our territory?

Unfortunately, from the answers I have been getting from our home schoolers, it may be that we’re not doing enough.

Something to work on…

Truly,

Steve

Free PD Coming Soon to a Computer Near You

The post found here at Free Technology for Teachers is a good one.

After attending two conferences in my first two years of my mandate, I decided to take a step back and see what could be offered in terms of online Professional Development; FREE professional development.

It’s been an amazing year in learning. And the cost? Well, I have spent a lot of time on it, so a lot has been invested from me, but in straight dollars to the school board?

Zero.

So – I am very comfortable at this stage voting against any and all conferences unless it can be shown that:

#1 – PD has been fully exploited online

#2 – The offer at X Y or Z conference cannot be equalled anywhere but said conference.

Check out the post and see if there is value in it for you.

Truly,

Steve