"When one door closes, another one opens."
Yes, we've all heard these platitudes but when something is working so well, you really don't want that door to close. My teaching partner, Melissa, and I have been working together for nine years. Together we make up a half-team at Hixson Middle School. She teaches math and science while I teach English and social studies. We are of the same mind educationally. We both believe strongly in problem-based learning, student-centered classrooms, 20% Time, and building relationships with the students in order to create a wonderful culture of learning.
Melissa and I probably have one year left together, next year. After that, she will probably move on to an assistant principal position somewhere and I am due to retire from our current school district and begin a new phase of my teaching career in a school in South Florida. So, our daily work together will come to an end.
Because we wanted to continue working together and because we both feel so strongly about 20% Time, problem-based learning, integrating technology into the classroom and building a student-centered culture of learning based on relationships, we formed a consulting firm, Harmonized Learning, LLC. It is through this vehicle that we can help other teachers discover and implement so many of the things that have been so successful for us. We feel like we have been on an amazing run and we want to share those "secrets" with other teachers and administrators.
For the last two years, we have been presenting at conferences and have always received very enthusiastic responses to our presentations. Harmonized Learning, LLC will allow us to build on those presentations and get into districts to train teachers. This summer, we have a few dates lined up. Our summer dates include training sessions through RCET in southwest Missouri and another date in a local school district. In addition, we will be training teachers in our own district in the fall of the coming school year. To learn more about Harmonized Learning, LLC, please visit harmonizedlearning.com.
Melissa and I are happy to be able to continue our work together even if we are not in the same building. We have so much to share with others and hope to do so for a long time.
