Musings on our District Middle School PD day

Today's schedule was quite full - opening keynote, 2 breakout sessions, lunch, afternoon keynote, followed by school team building activities.) The keynote sessions were given by Jack C. Berckemeyer of the National Middle School Association. The breakout sessions had a good mix of technology and adolescent development. The highlight of the conference for many was Jack. Berckemeyer. He understands and is animated in his enthusiastic delivery. Everyone was laughing on-stop! He reminded us that to teach at the middle school level, you must be committed to the age group, and know their fads, fashions, trends and slang. He quizzed the audience regularly - some were disappointed at not knowing about text messaging or other current technologies. He recommended visiting the Adolescent Resource Center (MTV) to understand their fads, fashions, trends and slang. While his focus was not on how to use technology in the classroom, he shared the idea that teachers should understand and be comfortable with current technology. The school team building activities were an "X game" style competition. The winning school received a check for $500.00 to be used for technology at their building. No, my school did not win:( It was a great day and gave me pause for reflection.