Hello! If you are looking for Mr. Harrison's class blog for 7th grade students at Pierce Middle School in Merrillville, IN, then you have come to the right place! As your (or your student's) teacher, I am very excited to begin the school year and start to get to know all of my students and their families. As many of you might have figured out, I am new to Pierce, and I will just tell you that I am bubbling over with excitement! I'll reiterate, SO EXCITED. Of course, what I am most excited for is the reading, writing, and learning we will be doing this semester. As a student, you probably read that and groaned just a little bit, but I promise that while we are going to work really hard and make a lot of progress, we will also have a lot of fun as well.
You might be asking yourself, "What is with this new teacher and this blog?" Well, let me explain because I want this web tool to serve two major functions. My desire is that this blog will provide a line of clear, candid, honest communication as well as an opportunity of students to complete homework assignments using their technological/multimodal interests. You'll notice each one of my classes has a page dedicated to it on the right side of the homepage.
I obviously do not have a ton of my own experience teaching, but I come from a family of teachers. In my vicarious experience through my family members and my own student teaching experience, I have found that the biggest issue that limits student success and parent involvement is poor communication. Many times, announcements end up like a game of "Telephone." I make the announcement, students hear/understand/know the announcement, but then after a long day that announcement either never makes it home or is slightly distorted. When this happens, teachers are frustrated, parents are frustrated, and most importantly, students might not get everything they need to be as successful as they could be. No one is truly at fault when these things happen, but as a teacher, I believe it is my responsibility to try to take steps to maximize the success of my students.So in the spirit of American problem-solving, I am going to try this method out in the hopes that everyone in all my classes will be on the same page. Announcements will all appear on the homepage where students and parents will easily be able to find them. Typically, the types of things that will appear on this page will include: deadlines of major assignments, book rationales, class events (field trips, guest speakers, parties), and also general news about what's happening here at Pierce.
I also want my students to have the OPTION of completing homework assignments online and in a creative way. The world is changing. In many places, they have stopped teaching cursive because for the most part, students will do all their formal writing on a computer instead of with a pen and paper. For that reason, I strongly believe that students should have the chance to increase their technological prowess. I believe that these are important skills that will eventually make them more competitive in college/the job market. Any opportunity that I can provide for them to prepare them for their future, I plan to provide your students with that opportunity. There are not many academic standards dedicated to technology, but as a teacher who truly cares about the future of your children, I believe this is my obligation. HOWEVER, I know that for some folks internet access is not readily available, and therefore every assignment that can be completed online will also come with the opportunity to complete in a more traditional way. I. myself, come from such a situation when I was younger , and although I believe in the opportunity technology offers us, I also do not desire to put any family under and undue stress.
If students do wish to participate in this virtual classroom, I will need them to request permission to contribute to the blog. In the interest of internet safety, I HIGHLY SUGGEST that students create a new, free gmail account that does not indicate their name. When they ask for permission to contribute, only I will know who they are. My hope is that this promotes honesty and lets students feel free to express their opinions amongst each other. PARENTS may also request access, but I ask that if you have any questions/concerns that you would direct them to my EMAIL address: jereharr@indiana.edu, and not on the blog itself. This is just in the interest of privacy and discretion.
Well, I meant to be brief, but this post has gotten rather long. Students will receive instructions on a case by case basis as far as assignments go, but I will make effort to post those instructions on this site. Finally, I will always try my best, but I am not perfect. If there are mistakes on this page or if you do have any issues with a book we're reading, ANYTHING at all, please, I ask that you email me your concerns right away. I will do everything I can to address those concerns in timely fashion. I look forward to an amazing school-year! Let's make this work! Go Pirates!
--- 11/29/12 Please take a minute to peruse the site! You may find something interesting!
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