This is a typical picture in the computer lab at my school. Shelves and Shelves of junk. Old Computer Junk.

I understand the want of holding onto the past or keeping it as a record or historical museum. That is not what we are doing. We have stuff that does not work and is just plain ugly.

Some teachers are the same way, not that they are ugly, but use methods that do not work anymore, they are old and out-of-date. There are teachers who have been teaching for 40 years, when in reality they have been teaching for 1 year, 40 times. Maybe it is me, and maybe it is my so called ADHD mind, I make teaching hard on myself. I rewrite my lesson plans every year. I do use some of the same thoughts or techniques if I believe it went well, but I change things up, I add, I adapt.

My next goal is trying to clear out the old junk in the computer lab and in our teachers closet of lessons. I am working on helping them integrate project based activities to engage the students in their learning opportunities. I have started a wiki http://gracelutheranchristianschool.wikispaces.com/ which I am putting project directions, rubrics, and notes together. My goal is to have the teachers to use these projects, but then start thinking about creating their own to post on the wiki.

I got the idea from a fellow colleague Dave Black and his school. His school is further down the road when it comes to implementing 21st century skills. I only pray that my school will catch up.