News to the Minute?

I love this site….

 

http://www.tenbyten.org/10x10.html

 

There is some fascinating information to be found in the pictures of the day!

 

 

FINALLY A BAILOUT PLAN THAT HITS HOME

I read a column in the NY Times this morning by an author I have really enjoyed reading of late - Thomas Friedman (author of 'The World is Flat').  His plan, in short, is to stimulate both our economy now  BUT ALSO to rework the entire American economy by changing how students are prepared to enter the workforce after graduation.  Part of his plan is to cut federal income tax of teachers....that is hardly appealing......but it made me think that would hardly see society put more pressure on schools to produce different results......and could conceivably lead to the changes in the system I think need to happen....

Cheers

Now THIS is Learning!!!

I know that I have already referenced this below....but I find this talk so inspiring that I have to put it up again! This time I'll embed it....so I can easily watch it over and over...lol....

FUTURE SHAPING

I just read an interesting interview with Alvin Toffler, author of FUTURESHOCK, in which he discusses his thoughts about the future of public education.  I suppose it is not surprising that he is not a proponent of educational reform.  He's known to be a bit of a forward thinker....

 

Instead, Toffler proposes scrapping our entire system and rebuilding it from the ground up incorporating what we know we KNOW about kids, schools and society.  I'm not sure we're ready for some of what he proposes, but it was interesting and echoed some of what I keep wondering how we are going to incorporate....

 

Toffler's FUTURE SCHOOLS include:

• Open twenty-four hours a dayCustomized educational experience
• Kids arrive at different times
• Students begin their formalized schooling at different ages
• Curriculum is integrated across disciplines
• Nonteachers work with teachers
• Teachers alternate working in schools and in business world
• Local businesses have offices in the schools
• Increased number of charter schools

It is interesting....and the optimist in me gets pretty excited (as long as I don't think of the barriers to implementing changes needed to get here)!

Toffler's entire interview can be found here: http://www.edutopia.org/future-school

Cheers

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I'm not super huge on New Years Resolutions - why wait until one day of the year to make changes? - but all the talk people have regarding their resolutions can't help but to make a guy think....

After reading up a bit on the 100 THING CHALLENGE (guynameddave.com) I am leaning towards using my time in a more focussed way this year.

I wonder what that might look like? This is going to take some thought...