I found the website regarding the National Board for Professional Teaching

Standards to be very informational. The mission of the certification is to advance

the quality of teaching and learning by maintaining high and rigorous standards for
what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do; Providing a national
voluntary system certifying teachers who meet these standards; Advocating related
education reforms to integrate National Board Certification in American education
and to capitalize on the expertise of National Board Certified Teachers. This is a
lot to comprehend. The Five Core Propositions helped me to better understand
their requirements. These include: Teachers are committed to students and their
learning; Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to
students; Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning;
Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience; and
Teachers are members of learning communities. These propositions remind me of
the teaching standards that are used in our educator effectiveness evaluations.
Looking deeper into the propositions I have an understanding that a Board
Certified teacher uses all of the best practices and they are reflective and lead
others to be their best as well. I feel that by going through this process one is able
to thoroughly look at their current ways of teaching and learn how to improve them
to be the best they can possibly be. The Professional Career Continuum for
Teaching =pre-service—novice—professional—board certified—educational
leader. I feel that I am currently in the “professional” area and would like to work
toward this certification after I have completed the master’s program. I also feel
that this certification will lead to more leadership roles because I believe I will be
more confident in what I do. The path toward completion and cost of $1,900 seem
achievable. I question how long this process actually takes. This topic recently
came up at a staff meeting and another co-worker asked me if I would like to take
the journey with her beginning this summer. I know it is something I would like
to accomplish, but don’t think it would be a good idea to pursue it along with
Master’s classes. I also had the privilege of talking to another teacher that is Board
Certified and she stated that it is very worth it.
 I also enjoyed watching the video of teachers that have earned their
certification. Prior to this research I felt like it was just a way of “proving your
abilities.” Teachers who have gone through the Board certification process say that
it is the most valuable and transformative professional development they have ever
received. The opportunity to connect professional learning with classroom practice
brings to life a teacher’s experience, helping them reflect on individual student
learning needs. I am always looking for ways to improve my best practices so I
know that this is a future goal for myself. I want to demonstrate my commitment
to excellence.

The article”The Time is Ripe (Again)” By Roland Barth had some great points.
I agree that teachers do opt out of leadership roles for reasons including: “Teachers
are, in a way, their own worst enemy when it comes to unlocking leadership
because they don't welcome it, typically don't respect it, and often feel threatened
by one of their own taking it on.” Also, because their plates are already full and
they don’t want more to do. I do understand the need for greater leadership. A
great starting point is with the CCSS. The standards specify what students should
know and be able to do, but they don't specify how teachers must teach those
things. They're intentionally leaving it up to each school to put together an
effective curriculum that will lead to the accomplishment of those standards. This
is a great opportunity for collaboration and leadership within PLC’s. I hope that I
can help our PLCs become more developed in this area. In chapter 7 of
“Awakening the Sleeping Giant,” time is a focus and it is noted that PLC’s should
not be taken from the regular school day. I have noticed that many districts have
built-in half days for this purpose. We currently use our prep time once a week. I
don’t feel this is the best time because our prep time is already very limited so we
feel it is impeding on our regular planning time. I loved the idea of allowing
teachers two hours a week to teach whatever they want to teach their students.
This would be amazing! I know there would be a lot of buy-in if this were allowed
at our school. This opportunity would show teachers that you trust them, and it
would allow for students to learn/do something new and exciting. I recently found
out that we will be getting a new principal next year and I wonder what new things
he/she will bring. Another interesting thought from the article is: “Today’s
teachers can no longer afford to be pawns. We need more teachers—in particular,
more female teachers—on community boards, in state legislatures, and in
Congress. We would probably have a better and more humane social system in the
United States as a result.” That is a lot to think about!