RANDAL'S SANCTUARY




Randal A. Burd, Jr., M.Ed.
Alternative Educator, Horizons Laker Educational Center
Teacher Consultant, National Writing Project

Professional Certifications and Memberships

Initial PC, English 9-12, Missouri Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education, Exp. 2012

Member, Alumni Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta

Member, National Council of Teachers of English

Education

M.Ed. Curriculum and Instruction, English Education,
University of Missouri, 2007

B.A. English, Cum Laude
Missouri University of Science & Technology, 2002

Experience

Alternative Educator, Horizons Laker Educational Center, 2006-Present
Praise for Randal's Teaching

"What a neat idea to bring the Odyssey to life for young people. Great activity for compare & contrast. Good stuff!"

— Tim Hadfield, Assistant Superintendent, Camdenton R-III School District

"You do so well at pushing Higher Order Thinking Skills. Great to see the objectives up."

— Tim Hadfield, Assistant Superintendent, Camdenton R-III School District

"Great scaffolding of info to lead to higher-level critical thinking."

— Roma France, Assistant Superintendent, Camdenton R-III School District

"I always enjoy seeing the projects your students put together. You do a great job taking kids to higher levels."

— Roma France, Assistant Superintendent, Camdenton R-III School District

"Randal expands the knowledge of our students by teaching mythology, Shakespeare, and other classical pieces of literature. He incorporates projects and activities into all his units of learning. Randal continues to analyze his techniques/interventions if student learning is not occurring as it should... Randal is a very flexible and supportive team player, which is greatly appreciated."

— Anne Wall, Assistant Principal/Director, Horizons Laker Educational Center, Camdenton R-III School District

NWP: Praise for Randal's Curriculum

"Thank you for an excellent presentation on the overlap of our historical and personal lives. Discussions with older generations are informative and necessary to teach us about our heritage and prepare us for the future. You did a great job making your presentation inclusive, making it applicable to everyone.

We enjoyed asking each other questions and sharing our own stories. We believe people we interview would feel equally if not even more honored to talk about their lives.

The questions provided a framework for a future biography project. The historical timeline is a great idea. The animated discussion we had would probably work in a classroom as well.

Your presentation style is outstanding. You did a great job supporting your thinking and pulling us back on track when we took a wrong turn."


— Katie, Jessi, Stephanie, and Ricky, Teacher Consultants, National Writing Project

"Thank you for bringing in such a usable idea for our classrooms. The classic biography assignment will benefit from adding the context of the history component. Also, your assignment forces students to do research prior to conducting and interview (of a grandparent or older citizen). We like that our students will have to think of better ways to ask classic questions, as you made us do.

Andy pointed out, "This makes writing relevant," and we couldn't agree more. History makes the interview project universal because, as you said, everyone remembers those key moments in history in their own personal way.

It brought up to us a beautiful passage in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried (Andy had the book on hand). O'Brien writes, "the remembering makes it [the war] now. And sometimes remembering will lead to a story, which makes it forever" (38). Hopefully, our students will be able to illicit stories from their subjects, stories that will last forever.

This project forces students to focus on communication skills, and those non-verbal communication skills for example, of know when NOT to push forward with questioning. So much of communication is about body language and intuition."


— Lesley, Mindy, and Andrew, Teacher Consultants, National Writing Project


Randal's Papers

My Philosophy on Education, 2007

Insights from my Educational Experience, 2007


Conferences/
Workshops


Changing Student Behaviors
March 27, 2009
Ms. Vicki Phillips
Kansas City, MO

Photoshop CS4 for Photographers Tour, 2008
Mr. Ben Willmore
Saint Louis, MO

Pathways, 2008
Osage Beach, MO

Kagan Teachers' Academy, 2007-2008
Mr. Ned Miller
Camdenton, MO

Advanced National Writing Project, 2007
Columbia, MO

Pathways, 2007
Osage Beach, MO

Teaching Shakespeare, 2006
Columbia, MO

National Writing Project, 2005
Columbia, MO

Enter Your Students' Writing in a Creative Communication Contest!
I like to enter my students in both the poetry and essay contests sponsored by Creative Communication because they seem to be an ethical contest geared towards inspiring school-age kids to write. They don't pressure kids to buy an anthology (many of my students could not afford one), but provide a free anthology to the teacher if five or more students are selected to be published. Publication isn't based on making a purchase, but is a merit-based selection process.

Get Involved in the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest!
Sign up your English classes for Poetry Out Loud, a National Poetry Recitation Contest. I had my students choose one poem to memorize, then at the end of first quarter, the one who was most prepared gets to go on to regional competition. At regional competition, the chosen student from your school is required to recite three poems from memory.

Apply for your NEHS honor society chapter!
I haven't had the opportunity to apply for a chapter of the National English Honor Society where I work, but as a former President and officer of two different college chapters, I believe recognizing excellence in the field of English Literature and Writing is important. Communication and understanding still plays a vital role in society today, and Language Arts cannot be overlooked as an important discipline necessary for future success.

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