Is achievement and learning simply about a standardized test score? Should Educators be held responsible for these scores or use them to help students improve and achieve to the best of their ability? As Educators we struggle with the value of the test versus the value of student connections. We formulate plans to help increase [...]
I am a very lucky educator. I have the opportunity be a part of building a new school for our learning community. What an awesome task, responsibility, and opportunity. As part of this undertaking, I have been able to visit modern schools and not only see the physical spaces, but also observe the learning activities [...]
“I believe we need a national PR campaign for skilled labor.” “A big one.” The nation needs younger workers to replace the many tradespeople over 55 who are retiring because “closing the skills gap doesn’t just benefit future tradesmen and the companies desperate to hire them. It benefits people like me, and anyone else who [...]
(Full disclosure: This blog post was inspired by reading Students as Creators of Content by John Bergman and Changing Gears 2012: rejecting the “flip” by Ira David Socol.) So this whole idea of flipping the classroom seems to be all the rage in some circles. A school in Detroit is trying to “flip” most of its [...]
O.K. I am really going to date myself here, but whenever I hear ”Thanks for the Memories”, Bob Hope’s theme song, I feel a warm wave calmness come over me. It brings back strong memories of a childhood being brought up in a home where no Bob Hope special went unwatched. Those memories are blended with emotions of [...]
This is one of the toughest times of the year for our high school staff. They are trying hard to finish up the final unit of the semester, preparing final exams as well as trying to catch up on the mountains grading. There is so much to do it can be downright overwhelming! Throw on [...]
I love the bits and pieces of knowledge that are shared via my online learning network! Yesterday somebody tweeted a link to Seth Godin’s latest blog about preparing for the next great breakthrough /calamity which started me thinking about one of our ongoing agendas here a PCHS. Like any school we have a group of students that [...]
Why Can’t We Be Awesome? We Have to Know We Make a Difference! We are the Heroes! I considered so many titles as I tried to put these thoughts into a coherent message. So many things are troubling today and I am having a hard time wrapping my head around them. #Occupy protests and pepper [...]
(This post started as a comment on Will Richardson’s “My Teacher is an App”. How do we make changes in public education that will transcend the model of education that is so entrenched in many of our schools? There are no easy answers. Many people outside of the education profession believe we need to do [...]
This past summer some of the staff at PCHS had this crazy idea to do an all school thematic unit based on the building of medieval trebuchet siege weapons. As the project was constructed, staff members hashed out several different groups that students would be assigned to where they would plan and create items or ideas [...]
