January is always a time of resolutions. Somewhere along the road, my life became rather complex. Raising two boys on my own, assisting in the care and decision making that come when parents age, adopting a rather high spirited puppy, rehabbing a house and working as an administrator in the field of educational technology, just to name a few, have kept me very busy over the past decade or two. I often take on the unrealistic challenge of getting caught up over the weekend, over winter break, before I retire, etc. This creates quite a bit of anxiety and so I stopped to wonder why. Why does my life seem so difficult to manage.
My two boys are now adults and pretty much on their own. I still has a few of the normal problems of home ownership creeping up from time to time but doesn’t everybody? My dog is almost 4 years old and I really can’t complain about his behavior. Other than an annoying big hello for anyone who enters my house and the ability to whine for what seems like hours when he is trying to tell me something, he is a very easy to care for dog. And I am in the second year of a position that seems to fit me well though the ratio of being the only Instructional Technology coordinator for a district of 8,000 students seems a bit off, I feel I am making a difference.
And so I wonder… Is this the year I can see my life settle down? The “keep it simple” mantra has already kept me from adopting a second dog, purchasing more technology equipment, spending too much on presents over the holiday and a variety of other incorrect decisions that would do anything but simplify my life. I return to work tomorrow. Can this philosophy be applied to making a difference in my district? Keep it Simple. Instead of working to bring web 2.0 technology to a handful of students, let’s make sure all students are getting their hands on the keyboards that we currently provide. Rather than teaching a few teachers how to podcast, let’s make sure all teachers are proficient in setting up LCD projectors, using the various applications of Office 2007 for productivity and file management. Let’s not look at setting up a web page for each teacher until each school and grade level have the ability to connect with students, parents and the community via the web first.
If we truly want to make a difference with all of our students, there first has to be a systematic set of expectations for all teachers. I hope to be able to write about the difference in the changes that I can make in my district with the Keep It Simple philosophy soon.
