Tune In to What the New Generation of Teachers Can Do
May 8, 2008
Jennifer is an expert in the Tools for Schools article "Tune In to What the New Generation of Teachers Can Do".
Excerpt:
Three veteran teachers on the 7th-grade math team don’t want the responsibility of leading their weekly team meetings. But Meredith — a recent college graduate who just began teaching — volunteers for the assignment. The older teachers are mystified — and a bit put off by her eagerness. Meredith quickly steps into her new role and announces the agenda for the next meeting. “I’ll create a web page for us to use, and I’ll post the agenda there, too,” she says, as she taps the task into her phone, which is also her PDA.
Moments after assuming this leadership role, however, Meredith’s phone pings to indicate that she’s gotten a text message. She quickly shifts her attention from the meeting to her phone, laughs a little and texts back a response.
Now the older teachers glance at each other and nod knowingly. Here we go again, another new teacher to train.
About Jennifer Abrams
Jennifer has been recognized as one of "21 Women All K-12 Educators Need to Know" by Education Week's 'Finding Common Ground' blog. She considers herself a "voice coach," helping others learn how to best use their voices – be it collaborating on a team, facilitating a group, coaching a colleague, supervising an employee and being an all around better human being in all types of interactions.
Work with Jennifer
Praise for Jennifer
“Jennifer has so squarely hit the mark with our teacher-leaders that she is one of the few presenters that they are always requesting when professional development is the question. Here at the University of Chicago, this acclaim and recognition does not come easily! Jennifer has a way of presenting information that gets quickly to the heart of the matter. Her ability to read the true needs of the group, regardless of the original focus, has made her a favorite among the faculty here at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools.”
