JosephP

Hi my name is Joe. I don't work in a button factory but I do have a boss that always asks me if I am busy. Most times I do tell him no, but I should probably tell him that I am more often. Like most teachers, I am over worked and under paid. However, our current society seems to believe that educators have it all. I have been teaching for 9 years and for the most part have loved every minute of my job. I attend college at IUPl, SUNY Geneseo, and Wilkes Univ. Currently I am seeking certification in flying helicopters at the commercial level. I don't plan on leaving teaching but I want to fly. I am involved in the Army National Guard and currently a 2nd LT. I love playing sports, running, working out, being around friends and family, and traveling (no beaches though). I don't have cable tv (hate watching sports), hate cell smart phones, but am a high tech math teacher. I know I'm weird. I just think that the world has lost site of one of the most important things in life and that is human interaction. I have two class until I top out at my district's pay scale but I don't think that I will ever be done learning.

What is UDL? An framework that is built by intertwining philosophies of an existentialist, constructivist, and pragmatist. It is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs. It takes into account brain-based research which examines how we gather facts and categorize what we see, hear, and read. Furthermore it addresses how individuals identifying letters, words, or an author's style of writing. Some observable classroom activities include but are not limited to the following: planning and performing tasks, organizing and expressing ideas, writing an essay, or thoroughly explaining a problem in the context of a specified educational environment. UDL lessons have the capability to originate from a plethora of source, which range from digital media clips and pics to culminating projects. UDL is a framework for disseminating knowledge of "how to learn". The educator is a facilitator who provides several different mediums for representing material, feedback, and activities that engage students. -Joe Page