I'm Back

Just how far behind the rest of the world are US students?  
According to Yong Zhoa, a distinguished professor at Michigan State University and founding director fo the Center for Teching and Tehnology, the American public education system is well-positioned to produce students with the skills needed to compete in an era of increased technology and globlization.  He suggests that the current reform efforts, calls for increased standardization and accountability, misinterpret the strenghts of American public schools and fails to address the needs of students living in an era of globalization.
Zhoa believes that comparing U.S. test scores to those of students in other countries has created a misconception about the quality of U.S. education.  To meet the challenges of the 21st century, American schools must stop focusing on test scores and strive to:
Produce students with creative and enterpreneurial tendencies; give students opportunities to experience and learn form developing technologies; and open the curriculum to subjects other than those tested by the common core standards.
This educator believe that Mr. Zhora is correct in his thinking that American school need to be looking forward, not just at standardized tests that reflect 19th century idoms and stop compareing our students to students from other countries.  Our students need to be the thinkers, and discoverers.  Not the builders and polishers. 
Zhoa also says that to achiefe meaningful school reforms, America needs a political enviromnent that will encourage education leadrs to innovate rather than increase standardization, and that elementary school principals play a critical role in ensuring that reform efforts meet the needs of American students.

March 1,  Bandorama - supper at 5:00, Concert at 7:00/ Begin 3rd Trimester

           4, Middle School students to Young Writers @ William Penn

           5, Elementary students to Young Writers @ William Penn
                Not much else going on this week,  Looks like March is coming in like a Lamb so look out for the Lion at the end of the month.

Not Monday but Here You Go

On a recent visit to Van Meter Schools I had the pleasure to observe classrooms where every student had their own computer.  (one-to-one) They were given these at the beginning of the year and use them in every (most) of their classrooms.  They go home with the students every day and the students work on line when they have assignments.  They are connected with their teachers and other students at all times.  Not just with students in their district, but with students from all over the United States and even the world.  Several classes are working with multiple schools at the same time.  Students are able to gain insight from other students and give their thoughts to those students.  Van Meter is becoming a leader in teaching the 21st Century skills our students are going to need to be a valuable part of society in the future.
I would love to see our students gain the advantage that these students are getting. 
I have always felt that EBCSD was on the cutting edge of education.  Our students (district) have been the leaders.  After my visit, I can see that we are going to be left behind in the cyber dust, if we don't change our delivery system.  Our students deserve to have the same advantage as some of the other schools around the world.
Van Meter is a smaller district than EBCSD.  Around 600 students k-12.  But because of what they are doing, they are able to stritch their district to millions of students.

TW@BAC

You're on your own this week.  I'm headed for Naples: )

Another Snowy Monday

Jan. 25  GBBall @ Centerville; BBBall@ home vs Centerville; Calender committee meeting 3:30 @ AO; Cost Saving Committee 6:00 @ AO
      26   Sped. meeting 2:00 @ High School
      28  GBBall @ home vs Chariton; BBBall @ Chariton; ESC @ AEA; Future Problem Solvers @ Fairfield
      29  Mr. R @ AO in A.M.; W @ BGM

Broken Resolution Already

I know. It's Tuesday, and my blog is late again. 
I'm reading a book called "Curriculum 21 Essential Education for a Changing World" by Heidi Hayes Jacobs and a number of other authors.  With our Iowa Core Curriculum and the 21st Century Skill that we need to be teaching our students I thought it might be a good read. 
In one section written by Stephen Wilmarth, it talks about the confidence we as teachers have placed on the order and scope of the learning process in the past.  That we as educators were seeking the "Walled garden of learning in which we teach and guide and instruct."  That what we thought we knew about teaching and learning was "cathedral-like, elegant, top-down " and may not be a relevant model for todays students.  He suggests that we may have to develop into a world-class system at a far more rapid pace. That the "cathedral, carefully crafted by wizards and experts working in quiet isolation", may need to be changed to a "babbling bazaar that presents a coherent and stable system that meets the challenges of a transformational time in our understanding of learning and teaching."
In other words, our students my need to drag us into the 21st Century, kicking and screaming all the way.   For our students to keep up with the rest of the world, and not be left behind in the agrarian life style of their parents and grandparents, we need to change the way and things we teach.

This week at the Burg

January 18  Board meeting 6:00 @ AO
            19  W @ Colfax; GBBall @ home vs Centerville; BBBall @ Centerville; ETS in the Middle Schol;  Kick off  the Pennies for Patients in Elem.
            21  GBBall @ Osceola; BBBall @ home vs Clarke; W @ Albia; Cost Savings Committe 6:00@ AO
            Map testing will beging next week.
           
         

new year, new week, same games

January 11    GBBall @ home vs Albia; BBBall @ Albia; Cost savings Committee meeting 6:00 @ AO; SIAC meeting 7:00

             14   M/r. R to AO early; GBBall @home vs Davis County; BBBall @ Davis County

     I think that's all for the week, hope we are here for the whole week.

To loose weight, and to get this blog up on Monday mornings.  What resolutions are you not going to keep?
I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and enjoyed the cold weather.  I got to spend a lot of time with my grandchildren, which is always great.  Some wise person once told me "You love your grandchildren twice.  When you see them coming, and when you see them leaving."  How true.  Just kidding, I love them all the time.
Here is a pic to show you why.

Happy New Year

I can't believe it's 2010,  where did the years go.

Jan. 4  No School 

       5  begin 2nd semester; GBBall @ Bussey; BBBall @ home vs Twin Cedars

       6

       7  GBBall @ home vs Albia; BBBall @ Albia

       8

       9  Rocket Stars (K-2) 10-11 A.M.

This week at the Burg

Dec. 21  W @ Osky; GBBall pratice @ EEAC; BBBall pratice @ BAC
        22  Elementary Christmas parties
        23  If we have school!!!  Elementary Winter around the World; Middle school locker clean out/movie day; Early dismissal; end of 2nd quarter and 1st semester in Middle School.
        24  Christmas Eve
        25 Happy Christmas to all and to all a Good Night

This week

Everything changes this time of the year

Dec. 14  W@ home; GBBall pratice @ BAC BBBall pratice @ EEAC
        15  AEA Hearing rechecks; Staffing, Staffing, Staffings; Elem. Christmas Concert @ 7:00
        16  Santa's Workshop, Mr. R gone to Osky all day; Staff Christmas party after school
        17 Senior Christmas meal; Pre-school Christmas program @ 1:30 7/8 GBBall @ Charition; 7/8 BBBall @ home vs Chariton
        18  ETS 7th period 7; 8th period 8

How Old Do I Feel!!

Did you know that the Internet has only been around since 1990?  Not to long, but to our students it has been here forever. These fact were included in the 2009 Pew Internet and American Life Project:

• Today 93% of teens use the Internet and 9% of online teens use their browsers to cloud computing activities
• The first blogs were written in 1997; today, 30% of teens keep a blog and 54% read them
• E-mail is 22 years old and 87% of teens use it.

Even more relevant for education, Pew Internet reports that in 2009, nearly 75% of teens have created content for the Internet; 39% have shared their own creations online; 26% keep a personal Web page; approximately 25% have created or worked on Web pages or blogs for others, including those for groups or school assignments; and 20% remix content they find online to crete their own artistic creations.
 If teens are doing this in their spare time as...recreation, we need to leverage this willingness, interest and passion and direct it towards learning.

John Palfrey, a Harvard University law professor , summed this up in a quote for a 2009 Associated press article:  "From the standpoint of young people, there's no real distinction between online life and offline life....it's just life."
Makes you kind of go mmmmmmm.

NW@BAC

Dec. 7  MS music concert 7:00 @ MS
        8  Elementary music concert 7:00 @ MS
        9  Early out; Staff Development in P.M.
      10  Mr. R to admin. meeting in morning; Senior Citizen Christmas meal; 7/8 GBBall @ home vs Centerville; 7/8 BBBall @ Centerville
      11  Leadership team meeting (all day)


I told you it would get busy!!

Miles to go Before we Sleep

One my favorite poems always comes to mind at this time of  the year.

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though:
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.


My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farm house near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.


He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.


The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And mile to go before I sleep,
And mile to go before I sleep.


Thank you Robert Frost.

We are almost half way through the school year, but we too have promises to keep and miles to go before we sleep.  But take the time to stop and see what your students have accomplished already this year.

This Week @ BAC

Nov. 30
Dec. 1  ESC team meeting @ 3:15; MS W @ Pella; 7/8 GBBall @ home vs Sigourney
         3 7/8 GBBall @ home vs Clark; 7/8 BBBall @ Osceola

This is a slow week, but watch out for the rest of the month.

Being Part of a Team

Next fall, when you see geese heading south for the winter, flying along in "V" formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way.  As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following.  By flying in "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.
People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily, because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.  When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.  If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those people who are headed the same way we are.
When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.  It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs, whether with people or with geese flying south.  Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.  What message do we give when we honk from behind?
Finally, and this is important, when a goose gets sick or in wounded by gun shot, and falls out of formation, two geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection.  They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies; and only then do the launch out on their own or with another formation to catch up with their group.  If we only had the sense of a goose.
Thank all of you for being part of the same team and flying together.

NW@BAC

Nov. 23  Begin 2nd Trimester for Elementary; 7/8 W @ Tri Co. ; 7/8GBBAll @ DC; 7/8BBBall @ home vs DC
         24   Sped meeting 2:00 @ BAC; 7/8 W @ BGM; GBBall pratice @ EEAC picture day; BBBall pratice @ BAC
         25 Early Out
         26  Happy Thanksgiving
         27 No School; see you Monday
   
Nov. 30  Report cards need to be going home from the Elementary

Why "Pretty Good" isn't Good Enough

I've sat in on a lot of meetings, wheather it's an IEP, Staff Development, Parent Teacher Conferences, Teachers meeting, or even Administrative meetings, I hear a lot of the same things.  Our students are doing pretty good.  And I've always thought everyone must be happy with the way our students are doing.  I alway was.  Then I read something that made me think we could be doing better.  Here it is.  It was written by Charles Osgood.

There once was a pretty good student
Who sat in a pretty good class,
And was taught by a pretty good teacher
Who always let pretty good pass.
He wasn't terrific at reading,
He wasn't a whiz bang at math,
But for him education was leading,
Straight down a pretty good path.
He didn't find school too exciting,
But he wanted to do pretty well,
And he did have some trouble with writing,
And nobody taught him to spell.
When doing arithmetic problems,
Pretty good was regarded as fine,
Five plus five needn't always add up to be ten,
A pretty good answer was nine.
The pretty good school that he went to,
Was there in a pretty good town,
And nobody there seemed to notice,
He couldn't tell a verb from a noun.
The pretty good student in fact was,
Part of a pretty good mob,
And the first time he knew what he lacked was,
When he looked for a pretty good job.
It was then, when he sought a position,
He discovered that life could be tough,
And he soon had a sneaking suspicion,
Pretty good might not be good enough.
The pretty good town in our story,
Was part of a pretty good state,
Which had pretty good aspirations,
and prayed for a pretty good fate.
There once was a pretty good nation,
Pretty proud of the greatest it had,
Which learned much too late,
If you want to be great,
Pretty good is, in fact pretty bad.

Next Week @BAC

Nov. 16  MS GBBall @ BAC ; BBBall @ EEAC; School Board meeting 6:00@BAC Library

         17   MS BBBall Pictures @ 3:30; MS WR Pictures 4:15 @ HS; BAC PTO rescheduled meeting @ 7:00

         18 Mr. R to Mahaska Tech meeting: Early out; PD @ EEAC 1:30

         19 First BBall games; 7/8 GBBall @ Albia; BBBall @ home vs. Albia

         20  End of 1st Trimester in Elementary; Elegigility due; MS ETS 8th grade 7th perios; 7th grade 8th period