Teachers' Net Uruguay: Special thanks to ...

It is often said that the most important asset of any enterprise is the talent and enthusiasm of its workforce. Education is no exception to this premise.
Being teachers such a vital element in the educational process, when designing policies aimed at getting better academic results, what policymakers must not forget is that teachers are no different from employees in the private sector. They want to succeed in their jobs and they demand the tools, the respect, and the sense of empowerment necessary to reach this goal.
As University of Washington scholar Dan Goldhaber stands, "It appears that the most important thing a school can do, is to provide its students with good teachers".
But teachers are known to improve when they analyze, evaluate, and experiment with colleagues in purposeful learning communities (Fullan, 2001). Fullan also suggests that the school level change strategy is developing professional learning community within schools and emphasize the importance of strong teacher community. Therefore, teachers need to be enabled and encouraged to establish a community of learners among themselves (Lave & Wegner, 1991). Maclaughlin and Talbert (2001) also indicated that a collaborative community of practice in which teachers share instructional resources and reflections in practice appear essential to their persistence and success in innovating classroom practices (p.22).
Building up organizations that are able to learn – according to Kofman and Senge- requires basic changes in the ways people think and interact. “The heart of the learning organizations are communities of commitment. Without communities of people genuinely committed to the organizations’ goals, there is no real change”.

viernes, 2 de octubre de 2009

Special thanks to ...

I would like to thank Rosario Correa (Bella Union) for being generous enough to share her webquest plan with all of us. It was a great pleasure to see how comfortable she seemed when doing so; it made me feel really proud of her.

I would also like to thank teachers Natalia Sena, Rosario Gómez and once more Rosario Correa, who are always present at our Salas, coming all the way from Bella Union and Gomensoro.

Having Gloria Silva with us (Paso de los Toros) was an excellent surprise. We really appreciated her coming from such a distant town.

We wish more teachers are able to join us in further meetings.