so...the idiocy of peeps continues to amaze me

at lunch today, i was reading over a few pages i printed from my national boards stuff. I was just making some notes and revising a wee and a comment was made about nb's being a total waste of time, that only arrogant teachers do it for prestige. SIGH. wtf. are you serious? now granted, this comes from a fairly new teacher who really has no concept of much in the way of teaching- except for making her kids take notes from the overhead. wanna talk about waste of time? wanna talk about tedious? monotonous? dull? lifeless? dreary? jeez. how appropriate is that for middle schoolers? hell, how appropriate is that for anyone? so anyway- this narrowminded perspective of hers was tossed out willynilly onto the table and everyone there stuck a fork in it and went off, depriving me of the honor. i wonder if she just didn't realize that everyone sitting at that particular table is either nb certified OR is currently in the process. many things were said- let's just say she was ripped a new boodyhole (ugh) and i said nothing. i just sat and sorta absorbed. and here's what i thought...

whose fault is it that she is misinformed about the nb's process? why is she misinformed? and who else is misinformed? and better yet- what's my role here-- as an advocate for nb's and an advocate for best practices in instruction and assessment, just exactly what is it that i should do?

no, i didn't slay her with my machete mouth although i sooooooooo wanted to. i'm thinkin peeps- peeps in general- need to know what national boards is all about. what it means.

the first time through the process, nb's is your biggest challenge. you're required to scrutinize your practice-- how you plan, deliver, and assess material. you have to analyze boocoodles of student work and discuss how that analysis impacts decision-making for your practice. Once you scrutinize and analyze your practice (including two different video submissions), your next step is to reflect- what can you change to improve your effectiveness and increase student achievement? in addition to all this, you have to describe and provide evidence for your professional learning experiences- what are you doing to learn more? to stay abreast cutting edge technology and research? and lastly, you have to show how your relationship with stakeholders (especially parents) impacts student growth and performance. when i went through the process in 1999, we had 6 entries in the portfolio plus a six hour assessment at the computer center. SIGH...that has been revised to 4 portfolio entries and a shorter assessment. it's very content driven and it's very student centered and it's very arduous-- but then, anything worth something should be, eh?

the certification is good for 10 years at which point you go through a renewal process if you dare :) this is what i'm doing and it's quite different from the first go round (as it should be). this one is all about your professional growth experiences SINCE achieving nb's...four components (well, really three and a reflection) to write and provide evidence for your professional growth. and yeah, you still have to submit at least one video.

so a waste of time? hell naw-- even without the monetary incentive, this process is worthwhile. it forces you to be on top of your game; it forces you to think outside the box and do what's best for kids, not what's easiest for you. i could go on and on, but i'll spare you. suffice it to say that i have the utmost respect for any educator who ventures down this path. and please, if you think it's a waste of time, spare yourself and don't do it. you prolly don't have what it takes anyway.