Vision

//I have created the general proposal in the hope that I can pilot this program in my current District while obtaining my teaching license. At the present time, I am waiting on my Statement of Eligibility (SOE) from the Colorado Department of Education. I wanted to offer some additional notes on how I envision this looking like next year for me. The best way I know to do this is through this fictional letter://

June 15, 2012 Thompson Innovation Lab Loveland, CO

Dear [district people who approved this program]:

Yesterday, I found something amazing in my mailbox! My initial teacher's license was folded in a nice little envelope, tucked between the water bill and a piece of junk mail. I stopped. Really stopped. How often do we do that? The birds in the evergreen trees nearby kept chirping, the breeze still blew wisps of my hair, but I stopped. Reflected.

This year has been a whirlwind of amazing experiences. I am thankful to each one of you for taking a risk in allowing me to pilot the new TSD Teacher Intern program through the Innovation Lab. As you know, personalized, relevant teacher education is almost a myth. However, rather like a fairy tale, this myth came true for me. Although I wrote the initial proposal for this program, I received so much more than I expected. I am truly prepared to meet the needs of 21st century learners in the elementary classroom. That piece of paper does nothing but give me the legal right to continue inspiring children in a student-centered, globally connected 21st century classroom. For that reason, I am very thankful to have that piece of paper.

My mentor teacher showed me that the best thing a teacher can do is to be a learner herself. (George Couros- lead learner concept) She challenged me to share one new thing I had learned each day with my students. (David Warlick) Modeling lifelong learning creates a culture of excitement, and the difference in level of student engagement has been astounding. My students used their blogs, Skype, and online classroom to share experiences with other students in Argentina, Australia, and Canada. (Mitch, Greta, George's school, others) Every single child can confidently navigate in an online learning environment. They know how to write in order to start a conversation, to read in order to spark new ideas within, and to comment in order to continue a conversation. They are global citizens who know how to pursue learning on their own, and see the benefit of that learning. I know it sounds like a tall order for elementary students, but they exceeded my expectations this year.

By far, the largest struggle I faced with students was getting beyond their expectation that learning requires a correct answer.