Post by Mark Pisel: This is Mark's 4th year in teaching HS Business courses, the last three years at Bettendorf. Before going into teaching, Mark worked as an account executive. You can follow Mark @mpise12
It took nearly $20 in cab fare and twenty minutes in the
driving snow to arrive at Pat’s King of Steaks in Philadelphia. Nine of us had made the trek from the Science
Leadership Academy, host to Educon 2.6, to this famous cheesesteak
restaurant. From what we heard, Pat’s is
a staple in the city, a place we simply couldn't pass up. We had spent the morning learning about SLA’s
mission, sitting in on classes, and conversing with students, teachers and
other educators. We were excited and
hungry. But, our excitement upon our
arrival quickly turned to laughter (or concern for some) when we realized Pat’s
is an outdoor restaurant and it was roughly -147 degrees outside (or so it
seemed). By the time we noticed, we saw
only taillights from our taxis. There
was no turning back now. So we did what
any group would do – we ordered our cheesesteaks with wiz, unwrapped the foil
packaging, huddled in a circle, and began devouring our new favorite food in
the single digit, winter cold!
Frozen Bulldogs, but the cheesesteak with wiz was
obviously worth the frostbite
Since being hired in 2011, I feel lucky to be a Bettendorf
Bulldog. Looking back on this trip
solidified that view in more ways than one.
First, I work with great people. It had been the first time that I had spent
time with some of the teachers that I traveled with. Working with students, lesson planning,
extra-curricular activities, etc. fill our days with little time left over for
conversations with teachers in the departments that sometimes seem miles away
from my classroom. I hear about great
things other teachers are doing with their students at BHS and it continues to
push me to be better each day. But this
trip allowed me to see their greatness in action. I felt a lot of pride observing our staff
members spark new ideas and ignite innovation within their breakout sessions at
the Educon conference. I enjoyed
watching my colleagues communicating with students and other educators, asking
questions and seeking ways to improve their craft. And, it was awesome getting to know many
people that I have worked with for nearly three years on a more personal
level. It was great knowing that there
are people that I work with that, like me, have an unhealthy obsession with
sports, think that pizza AND cheesesteak with fries and ranch is a perfectly
fine option for lunch, felt the number one tour attraction in historic
Philadelphia was the Rocky Statue, and who are willing to hop aboard a random
tour trolley without asking any clarifying questions about where exactly we
were headed. The more time I spent with
my colleagues, the more I recognized how great they are at their jobs and what
a talented, diverse, and fun group of people I work with.
The Rocky Statue and our impromptu trolley ride to see the
other, less important historic landmarks of Philadelphia.
In many ways, this trip also reaffirmed what a great school
Bettendorf High School already is. The
Science Leadership Academy is very progressive.
The school and class sizes are very small, the administration that
started the school has hand selected each of the excellent teachers there, and
the vision has been a shared vision among all faculty and staff from the
beginning. The culture and passion for
learning that has been built at SLA is one that every educator should see. Yet, I was proud that many of the things they
were doing at SLA are also being done in our school. The idea of open student choice, the use of
technology to transform a classroom, and an emphasis on a love of learning are
all happening at BHS right now. Our
teachers are thinking outside the box.
We are putting ourselves out there and are willing to fail in order to
get better. We are finding new,
innovative ways break out of our content silos and learn with the students. These are all staples of SLA and are things I
have witnessed at BHS.
Finally, I recognized the opportunity that we have at Bettendorf
High School. Every day, we have nearly
1500 students that walk through our doors.
Our responsibility to each and every one of those students is immense. Thinking about every kid with his or her own
wants and needs keeps us up at night, makes us miss that right turn we were
supposed to take when driving, and makes our own kids say “DAD!!!!” a few extra
times before getting our attention because we are so mentally wrapped up in how
to help our students. There is truly no
mental time off from that responsibility.
But that responsibility is why we come to school each day. It’s why we need to continue take the
opportunity to attend conferences like these, make connections with other
educators, and revise and edit our teaching practices on a daily basis. It’s also why we need to continue to share
our story and the innovative things were are doing in our attempts to help all
kids stay connected.
Mark,
ReplyDeleteYes, Bettendorf is a great school but it is great because of teachers like YOU! Glad you made the trip and looking forward to what new ideas you'll implement for our Bulldogs as a result!
Very good blog. I was in one of your first classes back in 2011, business math. Later on I took 2 more classes that year and I have to admit, your teaching style impacted me to strive for better grades and have a good work ethic. You're by far the best teacher I know that I have ever been taught by. Thank you for teaching at Bettendorf High School. -Devin Perkins
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