I created my first website for teachers in April of 2004. In the almost 11 years since, technology has changed. Quite a bit.
The website has changed several times over the years as well. Originally www.foridahoteachers.org, the site expanded with the Common Core to beyond the state of Idaho, to www.fortheteachers.org. A blog was later added as well as the world of social media made it so much easier for educators to connect far beyond the classroom.
Last summer I started work on some significant behind-the-scenes changes that include combining the blog and Idaho sites all into one. The changes will make things run faster and will make it easier for me to add new things, which I’m very excited to get busy working on. It’s taken far longer to have ready than I expected, with some glitches along the way, including a mistake that resulted in losing three years worth of comments on the blog.
The most important things haven’t changed. Kids (and adults) still learn best when we meet them where they are, when we connect the learning to their real lives, and when we create a learning environment where they feel welcome and feel safe to take risks and where they can make choices about their own learning. And where we can learn right along side them.
I cannot tell you how thankful I am to have found this website. I have been struggling with planning for the new common core, using our new Benchmark reading series and trying to prepare my students for the MAP test. I understood them all separately but was having a hard time combining everything I knew into a coherent way I could work. Your website, particularly the MAP info has been so helpful. The light bulb went on many times as I was looking over many areas. The Des Cartes is much harder to follow than your set up. So thank you for helping me to feel a little, no alot more knowledgeable, before I begin another school year. This will be my 32nd year teaching and I feel like it gets better every year. Thanks again.
Thank you!