Author Archives: matthewsdl

The Iron Lady

Posted on June 11, 2012 by matthewsdl | Permalink 1

Given another reflection exercise to work within a group and view a movie may sound boring but this movie was anything but that. The group decided to research some information prior to the scheduled “movie night”. In doing so, it made the task of relating and discussing the events of Baroness Thatcher’s rise to fame much more understanding. … Continue reading →
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Explore the issue of equitable technology within schools in the same division. You may be surprised with the results.

Posted on June 10, 2012 by matthewsdl | Permalink 1

While we were waiting for the remainder of group 1 to join in on the Wimba, we began to brainstorm all the various issues that we may consider for the PLE2a exercise. It was evident that the cohort had discussed this among themselves on Saturday after class and had some ideas about topics. I was … Continue reading →
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School Bullies

Posted on May 1, 2012 by matthewsdl | Permalink 0

No, this is not another article about school bullies and children losing their lunch money.  As serious as that is, teacher or staff bullying is also a real problem and unfortunately all too real in the workplace. Author Chris Borris addresses the severity of students viewing teachers bullying other teachers, administrators bullying other teachers, and … Continue reading →
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The Civil Leave Policy- an approach towards human relations in the sea of politics

Posted on March 4, 2012 by matthewsdl | Permalink 0

Recently we had a second grade teacher elected to the board of supervisors. This teacher is very dedicated to the school system and is an excellent teacher.  The teacher decided that he/she wanted to attend the afternoon school board meetings to ”represent” the supervisors as well as to gain a better understanding of the issues affecting … Continue reading →
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HB 76 and SB278 Change in dates for contract renewals

Posted on February 22, 2012 by matthewsdl | Permalink 0

This bill was presented in the House and a duplicate version was presented in the Senate. The date for  written notice of non-renewal for teachers  (non-continuing contract) has been moved from April 15 to  June 15th as approved by the House and the Senate, 22.1-304.  As a public school administrator, I was encouraged by the overall effect this amendment … Continue reading →
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Cohort 2014 Blogs

House Bill 1063

Posted on February 12, 2012 by matthewsdl | Permalink 0

For years, Virginia has mandated school start dates through the “Pre Labor Day” law (also called the “Kings Dominion” law) which was passed back in 1986. The bill originated as an attempt to save the tourism industry thousands of dollars and increase the length of their season through Labor Day.  Labor Day, being the last big … Continue reading →
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Penn State- Doing what is right….

Posted on January 24, 2012 by matthewsdl | Permalink 0

When the Penn State scandal broke and the University president was replaced, the new interim president stated that, in the future, Penn State would “not only do what is required under the law, we will do what is right.”  In light of what we have been discussing, what do you think he meant by that?  … Continue reading →
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Cohort 2014 Blogs

Nearing the end……

Posted on November 15, 2011 by matthewsdl | Permalink 0

With less than a week left for fall semester, I find myself wondering how so many of us could have become so close in such a short amount of time. Just Saturday we were all talking about the process, the evolution, the long hours, the intense writings,  and those dreaded peer reviews. The peer reviews have … Continue reading →
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Writing the Position Paper

Posted on November 1, 2011 by matthewsdl | Permalink 0

I woke up Saturday ready to tackle the world.  I had worked very hard on the upcoming position paper and was looking forward to the peer review process.  In class, we began with several activities to enhance our skills and assist in writing the position paper. The more we worked in class the clearer it … Continue reading → Read more »

Working in the Longwood Cohort

Posted on October 18, 2011 by matthewsdl | Permalink 0

Saturday was another interesting day for the Longwood Cohort. Class was exciting and exhilarating as we worked together to discuss our writing, our styles, and the purposes for writing. We all became somewhat tickled over the “fuzzy” writing and “fuzzy” thinking concept. It became apparent that we all suffered from the “fuzzy” writing concept and … Continue reading → Read more »