In-Service

When the school district first moved the in-service days to August, most teachers I talked to didn't like it. I always felt, however, that it made a lot sense. We were refreshed and planning for a new year anyway--I find that trying to rewrite curriculum and plan mid-year are disconcerting--there is too much to do on the plate. So, I typically look forward to those days (as much as I look forward to going back).

This past week was disheartening. Outside of the mention of critical thinking in the CEWs session, not much really moved us forward in any of the ways suggested in this book. And the morale is so low at this point, I highly doubt anyone is gearing up to assign more challenging reading and writing--the most important pieces of critical thinking skills we are losing. Instead, we will continue to devote more time to passing state assessments, and making sure we toe the line of the new state evaluation system.