MiddleWeb’s
Future
It is difficult to imagine
a vehicle in the “physical world” that could bring together
so many knowledge-hungry teachers and make it possible for them to exchange
ideas over an extended period with such prominent education thinkers.
The sheer cost of moving individuals around in physical space would
be prohibitive. Ironically, however, many philanthropies and foundation
program officers remain highly skeptical about the value of virtual
communities in advancing education reform. Last summer, listserv members
learned that MiddleWeb’s long-time support from the Edna McConnell
Clark Foundation was coming to an end. The listserv was immediately
filled with messages of shock and dismay. MiddleWeb had become such
an important and integral part of the professional lives of those who
log on everyday that the thought of it not being around was quite impossible
to imagine.
But MiddleWebbers are a stalwart
tribe, and the depression passed quickly. Members began to brainstorm
about ways to raise the funds needed to keep both the listserv and website
alive. They also began to collect stories based on the prompt: “Why
is this list so important to you?”
Lea Molczan’s post
reflected the thoughts and feelings of many long-time members. “When
I started student teaching five years ago, the Internet became a valuable
resource to me. I could spend hours sifting through information on topics
relating to my Language Arts class. A professor of mine suggested that
each of us look for something more on the Web – a listserv. She
gave us several recommendations based on our grade levels and subject
matter.” On her first attempt, Lea says that instead of finding
a place “to call my home,” she had stumbled into “a
secret organization and I didn’t know the password.”
Lea continued her search
and came across MiddleWeb. “I decided to give the listserv a try
and I was immediately grateful that I did. This group was so accepting
and so markedly different than the previous list. I was astounded by
the conversations that were taking place and the work that was being
done by its members and by its moderator.” Three years later,
Lea has never once thought of leaving the list. “This group has
become my sounding board and my creative genius when times were rough.
We have shared the good, the bad and the ugly, and all the while we
remained the professionals that we are. That’s not to say that
we don’t cut up and enjoy a good joke or a laugh. On the contrary,
this list is quite casual and hysterical at times. We are, after all,
middle school teachers – the odd ducks! We are a unique bunch
caught, whether by choice or by assignment, in the middle. We need a
place to vent, question and share our successes and failures.”
Perhaps
the ultimate proof that the MiddleWeb listserv has evolved into a true
professional learning community is the upcoming Walk
the Talk Conference, scheduled for the summer of 2004 in Canmore,
Alberta, Canada. As is so often the case, the idea for this physical
gathering of listserv members came up in casual conversation on the
listserv. A whirlwind ensued. A special listserv was created, an online
survey conducted, and before anyone could quite believe it, hotel space
had been secured and a listserv team was putting together an agenda
that will feature presentations by a variety of MiddleWeb members. While
we only expect about 60 members of the listserv to be able to attend
what we’re describing as the “First Annual MiddleWeb F2F”
(“Face to Face”), we are hard-pressed to think of another
example of a completely voluntary, virtual group staging a physical
meeting of this magnitude.
Individualistic, independent teachers don't survive in today’s
atmosphere of high stakes teaching without a community of support. The
importance of collaboration and the willingness of teachers to try to
coach each other to new heights of professionalism is why members feel
MiddleWeb is an essential element in our professional lives. Our community
exists outside of physical space but it is as tangible as any you could
find walking into a school building. Most school reform experts would
attest that our community has the hallmark attributes of a successful
school culture. The
exciting part of our experiment is its replicability for other groups
who wish to harness the power of the Internet to build lasting professional
relationships and accelerate their own professional growth. As Bill
Ivey wrote on the listserv not long ago, “I have made connections
with some of the finest educators in the world, and it is fair to say
that my participation in an online learning community is one of the
most important reasons I am the kind of teacher I am.”
Meridian readers who
have an interest in joining the MiddleWeb listserv group are invited
to contact listserv moderator John Norton at norton@middleweb.com.
Please indicate that you learned of our virtual community through this
article.
Other listservs of interest
to middle grades educators include:
MIDDLE-L (For teachers of grades 5-8):
http://ecap.crc.uiuc.edu/listserv/middle-l.html
National Council of Teachers
of English online communities
http://www.ncte.org/member/community
The MiddleWeb Reading/Writing
Workshop Project
http://www.middleweb.com/ReadWrkshp/RWindex.html
About
the Authors
Carolyn Faulkner-Beitzel,
after eighteen years as a Registered Nurse graduated from the University
of Pennsylvania with a Master’s of Science degree in Education
and changed career paths. She has taught American History and General
Science for several years at Beverly Hills Middle School. Along with
teaching, she is active in the local teacher’s association and
regional and local chapters of the Middle School Association. Carolyn
recently completed a year-long commitment with MiddleWeb as an online
diarist and is pursuing her goal as a life long learner by returning
to school for additional certification as a Social Studies Supervisor
and Reading Specialist.
Email: mrsbeitzel@comcast.net
Marsha Ratzel,
an NBCT in Middle School Science works for the Blue Valley School District
as a Coordinating Teacher for Technology and in Pleasant Ridge Middle
School as a half-time classroom 7th grade Computer teacher. Marsha has
served in many wide-ranging capacities in her district which include
classroom teacher of science, math, social studies; school improvement
coach for six schools; creating and managing the district’s National
Board mentoring program for district candidates, and most recently teacher
coach for integrating technology into the curriculum.
Email: mratzel@bv229.k12.ks.us
John Norton
serves as editor of MiddleWeb (www.middleweb.com)
and moderator of the MiddleWeb discussion listservs. John is a former
education journalist and was the first executive director of the South
Carolina Center for Teacher Recruitment (now CERRA-SC), where he helped
create the national model Teacher Cadet program. From 1990-96, he served
as vice president for information at the Atlanta-based Southern Regional
Education Board. John is a freelance education writer and editor and
is also moderator of the Teacher Leaders Network (www.teacherleaders.org)
and editor of Working Toward Excellence, the journal of the Alabama
Best Practices Center.
Email: jcroftn1@mindspring.com
Bill Ivey,
a charter member of MiddleWeb, earned an A.B. degree in French from
Middlebury College and an M.A.T. in French from the University of Massachusetts
at Amherst. He teaches ESL and rock band at Stoneleigh-Burnham School,
independent all-girls high school in Western Massachusetts. Previously,
he taught French and rock band to middle grades students at Pine Cobble
School, an independent PK-9 day school. He is currently serving on a
team to design and implement a middle school program for girls at Stoneleigh-Burnham.
Email: bivey@k12s.phast.umass.edu
Beverly Maddox,
also a charter MiddleWeb member, holds degrees from Arkansas State University
and the University of Arkansas and teaches in a Little Rock middle school.
After spending twelve years working with community action programs fighting
the war against poverty, Beverly returned to teaching with a passion
to work in schools serving poor and low-income children. Now, like her
hero, she wages a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American
way in her language arts classroom.
Email: bmaddox@comcast.net
