What’s in a name? In a word, everything.
When our students come to us, one of the most important things to do is to learn how to say their name and make sure that you call them by the name they wish to be called by. There are many great pieces out there on this topic, so I won’t linger. See below for several I felt were great.
With that said, again, what’s in a name? For me it is almost everything. For that reason, our consortium is called Amano, Baxter, Clarke, Dunne, Sinclair and Slakk because these are the family and so very near to being family that have encouraged me and made sacrifices so that I, Shawn, could be the first to attend college and even be doing what I am doing now. Without their support, it wouldn’t have happened. So, thanks to Koichi, Sachiyo, and grandma Yoshi (a.k.a. Obachan) for “adopting” me and my family and encouraging me to pursue my dreams. We miss you Yoshi and Koichi. Thanks to great grandpa Harry A Baxter, great-great grandpa George Washington Clarke (who allegedly had the first casino in the Pacific Northwest), great-great grandma Maggie Dunne, grandma Lois Sinclair and great grandma Irene from whom I have taken my last name of Slakk.
I founded the group with the word “consortium” in mind since I can’t do it all. My colleagues and I do have a vast cadre of talents and years of experience working with all levels and needs for teachers and learners. We cover all contents and grade levels. We work with teachers who teach and work with bilingual learners, students with disabilities, core-content, literacy, and even adult English learners and workplace literacy. We enjoy assisting educational professionals to increase their professional and pedagogical content knowledge Over the next few weeks and months, we’ll rollout introductions to those who will be working with me as a team to provide whatever professional learning services you as an educator may need to serve the learners you teach. Please feel free to reach out (shawn@abcd2sco.com) and ask if you don’t see something on our website. If you are a professional learning coordinator or a principal and are looking for PD or professional learning services, just ask. We’ll do our best to accommodate, tailor and refine our sessions so that you, the teachers, and the kids are more successful.
Thanks for all you do for the kids.
Shawn