A Teacher's Ruminations

I've been thinking about the term accountability. According to Wikipedia, accountability is defined as: I n the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies including the administration, governance and implementation within the scope of the role or employment position and encompassing the obligation to report, explain and be answerable for resulting consequences . These thoughts, some of them may appear random, came to me as I was reading the January 1994 issue of Language Arts. (Yes, I save my professional journals until I've read them cover to cover.). Accountability, at least the way it is sometimes used in educational circles, amounts to responsibility, or a duty, obligation or liability for which someone is held accountable. Why didn't you clean the house? That was your responsibility! (Wikipedia). So, when you are accountable, you are responsible because others are counting on you to complete a task or explain y...

Unbelievable, but true! The last time I wrote an entry in this blog, that nobody even knows about yet, was almost a year ago. So, my New Year's resolution for this year is to write an entry once a week and to let others know about this blog, especially parents. In less than two months time I will embark on an exciting adventure as I start a Doctoral Program in Education. It has been something I've been trying to do for at least five years but finding a reputable online program has been difficult. Nevertheless, I've found one at the University of South Australia in Adelaide that seems to be just right. It took almost 3 months for my application to be processed and approved. Now that it's a reality I am looking forward to this challenge. At the same time, I am committed to maintaining quality time with my family and to maintaining my level of commitment to teaching and learning. A tall order, I know, but this is a challenge that I am ready to take on. I know I...