AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination.
wha????
Actually, it’s a really cool theory or process. This was the training I was at in Dallas all last week. (By the way, let me start out by saying Jared survived my absence remarkably well…. the dogs kept him busy enough not to have time to even miss me!)
Basically, there’s the “School Game”. This is where some of us figure out when a teacher says, “This is important,” or, “This may be on the test,” we who know THE GAME take out a sheet of paper and start to write furiously. Most students don’t pick up on that. Or the fact that a textbook has subheadings, bold, italicized, underlined print, and/or pictures and figures for a reason–emphasizing (ideally) the important information.
Many students just don’t get it. They think they are just dumb–especially kids from low socioeconomic backgrounds, kids that potentially are going to be the first generation to go to college, kids that are in the foster care system, etc. NOT TRUE! AVID is preparing them to:
1) Understand how to make it through high school through difficult classes (like AP classes);
2) Find out ways to apply for colleges and find ways to fund it; and
3) Once in college, successfully stay there and graduate and be successful in their own careers.
It’s all about enabling these students. Letting them know that we know they CAN do these classes, can make it to college, that it’s OKAY to be successful in school…. And lets face it- those of us who made it to college on our own still made lots of little mistakes that we wished we hadn’t, right? Did poorly in some classes- couldn’t figure out exactly what professors were after, etc. AVID gives them strategies to become successful (And really, everyone could really benefit from these strategies- I wish I had them when I was a young student…).
Anyways, I had a lot of fun. We got to stay in the very nice Hyatt Regency hotel.
when we got to break down into smaller groups for individual subject matter and levels of AVID knowledge, I got to go to the beautiful Adolphus hotel. It had a great, inspiring theme, perfect for the English teacher in me. It’s the kind of hotel you could write a ghost story about with it’s great antebellum south feel.
And, while riding the DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transportation system/subway) I noticed a lot of the trains had these awesome “Poetry in Motion” plaques on the inside, where you could read a variety of poems as you waited to get to your location.
How awesome is that?! Okay, yes, I am a nerd, but you all knew that anyways because I chose to be a teacher (of literature/language arts/english) of all the other awesome professional options out there!
I made some really great friends on the trip, and hopefully I can get some of their much nicer pictures (ones NOT taken with my grainy little cell phone quality). I had a fabulous time and learned some great strategies and ways I can be a better teacher for my kids!
I’d write more, but the baby Bonnie lass has awoken and is using one of my hands as a chew toy… so I better pay attention to here before i lose a finger to those sharp little teeth! Lets end with a pic of the puppies in a better, non-chewing moment:
