Author Archives: Travis Wittwer

Collaboration, not Isolation

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Some days I feel like Sisyphus, carrying the same basket of
laundry upstairs just to have it end up downstairs to be washed, or picking up
toys just to have them appear on the floor as if a godly punishment for
hubris. Again and again, day in and day out. Some days are better than others.
However, this week, it was especially Sisyphistic.

Yep, that’s right. I just used that adjective. Check it out
on Google in a month and see if it has caught on with the teenagers, “Hey
Jennifer, you are looking totally Sisyphistic with your physics textbook.”

Anyway, I do have a point. And an education
point at that. It goes like this . . . 

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WASHINGTONIOUSLY Awesome: NBCTs fill the classrooms!

Picture 2 I remember when I signed up for NBPTS. I was filled with the excitement of the challenge, the excellence. I remember when I received my NBPTS box. I was filled with sheesh, what have I gotten myself into. Now that I have gone through the certification process, I am a stronger teacher which, ultimately, benefits my students.

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THURSDAY

Thursday is library day for my sons at MLC. I remember the trips I would take with my class to the library. There was a shelf of science books that I checked out; I started with the first book on the shelf and worked my way through the stack. My sons enjoy the library and I am glad of how it is integrated into the classroom curriculum.

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TUESDAY


The parking lot at MLC amazes me; my sons attend this school. In many ways the parking lot inspires me to believe again in the desire of people to do good for the greater good. The parking lot at MLC is not much larger than a typical gym (two basket ball courts), but somehow, every day, the cars come in, park, and go out without any hassle. What gets me is that there are no painted parking spots.

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MONDAY

It was a rainy Monday morning, not too unlike other mornings in the northwest, as I took my sons to school. Today was Monday and so with it came the "All School Gathering". My sons attend Metropolitan Learning Center. This is a K-12 school with about 425 students. MLC is unique and has shown that it can be successful by being unique and placing first what matters most–students. For this week, I will briefly describe one salient point from the day. Hopefully we can take some of these successes and use them in our own schools.

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