Taking the Plunge!

So I'm taking the plunge and making a commitment to write. Blogging was never on my radar until I jumped head-on into the world of Twitter, Ning, & Facebook. I owe this phase of my professional career to my PLN! Thank-you for suggesting that I give myself permission to blog.

Let me introduce myself. I'm Ron King. I am a former Army Brat that would love to eventually teach in a system (DoDDS) I spent so much time growing up in. I think I have a lot to offer students that have to repeatedly move from base to base or be without a parent for extended periods of time. The Army life is unforgiving and can be rough on the family. This fall I will enter my 13th year of teaching. I started out at Mann Middle School in Lakewood, Washington teaching PE and pre-algebra. After two more years teaching a math/science block, which I absolutely loved, I accepted a job teaching eighth grade math at Chinook Middle School in Lacey, Washington. While I enjoyed my time, nothing can replace what I've learned over the last 24 months. In this time I shifted my focus away from teaching math to kids to teaching middle school students. I traded my NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) membership for one in the NMSA (National Middle School Association) and aside from having dual membership, I would recommend it to anyone. As a matter of fact, I think I have. I push my colleagues every year to attend the local affiliate conference, WAMLE, and pester the district until they send me to the national conference. Once they do, I suspect I'll set my sights on them sending me to ISTE! I know, fat chance...

As for this blog, I plan to focus on the math we learn in class, Standards Based Grading (SBG), student leadership, and the ever changing educational landscape. I have a great deal to learn in the SBG vein despite a book study and three years of SBG practice. I like what I've read from some of the SBG trailblazers (see blogroll) and I'll have fun this year tweaking my skills list, assessment practices, and deciding if I'd like to help push our district off it's grade-happy foundation. My inspiration, however, comes from a group of student leaders. They have no real job description. Aside from leading our Veteran's Day & Martin Luther King Jr. observances, they lead me. They inspire me because they understand the idea of service to others and live it...they have to, they nominated themselves for the challenge. They have big plans this year and I happy just be along for the ride!

I hope you find value in the topics I write about and I look forward to learning from your feedback.