10 year award

WOW...today I was honored to be presented with a Golden Apple and a letter from a School Board Member to testify of my teaching skills and impact I have made on her children. It is hard to believe and wrap my fingers around the fact that it has been a decade. The time has flown by, but there have been many changes over the past decade. Technology and parents' views/beliefs about education are the two major areas that I feel have seen tremendous changes. Technology updates, changes and possibilities seem to be endless and at times I feel like I cannot keep abreast of all the cyber world paths. Parents' roles and views about education seem to have swung to being more liberal than in the past. It seems many more parents shine through their children's sports, lives, and activities. They are more active in extracurricular activities and family time at night seems to be minimalized. Additionally, in days past many parents backed their children's teachers on discpline issues/behavior modifications, but today it seems that a wrong choice was not made or an excuse is given for a inappropriate choice. Obviously, this is not the case for all parents, in fact, I'm GRATEFUL TO HAVE THE SUPPORT OF MANY LOVING, CARING, and GIVING FAMILIES!!!! Now, I ponder, what will the next decade bring? What trends will sweep the teaching floor?