Welcome to Blackboarddreams.com!  During the summer of 2012, I envisioned using a blog as a meaningful extension of my classroom where there would be resources aplenty and a communication hub.  After a summer of trial and many an error, the website went live in the spring of 2013 and has been an e-home away from home for my students ever since.  Here, parents and students can access the following: homework assignments, updates on the happenings and direction of the class, complementary materials, writing and research resources, exemplars, class forums, and more!  I am most excited about using this website as an e-community built on the Blackboarddreams forums. My students and I use the forums to examine author’s craft in search of a deeper understanding of the readings and to use those readings as a catalyst for critical discussion of our world and ourselves.

So that is Blackboard Dreams! Here’s a bit about me: My name is Sean Leon. In 2002 I moved to NYC to join the NYC Teaching Fellowship. After teaching four years at a middle school in the Bronx, I was offered and accepted a high school English position at The Beacon School in Manhattan. Beacon—a prestigious college preparatory public high school known for its portfolio-based assessments, art and technological infusion across disciplines, and international travel—gave me an opportunity to give life to my vision of the English classroom. This vision is fundamentally shaped by the understanding that all instruction and assessment take place in a dynamic, human environment that must be factored into the day-to-day pedagogy of the class. So, as a priority, the English experience should be humanized in design and humanizing in effect. My classroom becomes an inclusive, democratic learning community where literacy acts as a conduit for holistic education.

Pedagogically, an inquiry-based framework shapes all literacy instruction and assessment. As a principle, I believe all instruction and assessment—formative and summative—should recognize the multiple intelligences and learning styles of the student body and should be varied accordingly. To that end, my classroom features an infusion of technology and the arts to help communicate content and to assess understanding. Additionally, I use the Socratic seminar and Socratic hybrids to facilitate discussion and catalyze the writing process. Ultimately, in satisfying the educational and civic responsibilities of a humanities classroom, I hope that quantitative and qualitative metrics show my students to be improved analytical and critical thinkers. [Read more…]