*WARNING: Text dump. youve been advised* So, Educational Technology? Thats a change from what youve been doing the past few years. why the change? Ive been getting a question similar to this a lot in the past six months since I left my position at Georgetown. And, honestly, half of the reason I left was to do with a major change in the administration in the district, but thats a completely different set of issues. The reason I chose to start my studies this fall in Ed Tech is two-fold: 1) Its a field that, from what I saw when I left Georgetown, as a field that could be hireable at the K-12 level once I got the certification degree as part of the program I was in and an area I had a bit of interest in studying and understanding more deeply. 2) The field I was currently most skilled in (K-6/Elementary Music Education) would not exist in Ohio in the next 5-10 year, so I need to prepare for some sort of a career change in anticipation of it. The first is the one that I use with most everyone but my closer friends have heard the second much more often. Ive kept it to myself a decent bit but didnt want to broadcast it too loudly. It comes as a derivative of the past ten years of experience in education, both through my schooling and in my employment. Music programs are among the first to suffer in districts, regardless of whether or not it comes to cost, control, or simple perception of the public. And where Im most gifted as an education, the K-6 range, is only really protected by state law and most administrators would rather simply focus the arts at the Jr High/HS level and let kids begin to learn their, disregarding the fact that the skills students need to succeed at the HS level are developed at the elementary age. That all being said, now my fears for the future of music and arts education ALONG with the field I had just begun to study have now been called into jeopardy by the work of the State Board of Education. As of Monday, in a 4 to 3 special panel vote, the Board has approved legislative change to section OAC 3301-35-05, A4, which does away with both the need for licensure of special area teachers and the requirement that a district provide five of eight required specialists for students which includes both technology educators and arts educators for elementary age students, among other areas. If you dont believe it, check the proposed changes in the most recent OBoE Minutes. Ill link those below so you can see all the changes and provide guides to the changes being made. These changes dont go into effect until voted on by the entire Board in December, but its still enough to make me reconsider what Im doing with my life. Ive spent the past ten years making a true, distinct, and positive impact on my students lives and now the State Board is doing away with a job I love. If anyone wants to disbelieve it or leave your interpretation up to other pundits of power, feel free. Ill be sitting over here without another teaching position for some time until I figure out who will actually hire me to do the job I love. Id rather not leave the state and get a license elsewhere to teach music to younger students, but it appears that may be my only choice in the near future... ftp://ftp.ode.state.oh.us/ODEMediaWeb/State_Board_Board_Books/November_2014/Board%20Book%20Vol%205%20Nov%202014.pdf P 97 is the start of changes, Page 99 - Educational Service Personnel definition change, 116 - Specialist requirement changes UPDATE: In the middle of typing this up, it was made aware to me that some BoE members walked out of a committee meeting on Tuesday because of a change in plan after so many members of the public showed up to discuss this atrocity. NPR linked here for neutralitys sake: stateimpact.npr.org/ohio/2014/11/12/members-walk-out-as-ohio-board-of-education-considers-change-in-standards/
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 22:56:30 +0000
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