I was led to the following amazing video this morning by my professional learning network. Not only is the video aesthetically pleasing, but it has some really relevant information about the future of schools. One of the quotes that I appreciated was the following:
“Do you realize these things happen in several New Brunswick Public Schools today?
BUT
The shift needs to happen in all New Brunswick Public Schools.”
The creators of this video are honest about what is happening in our schools. A lot of these shifts are happening but not everywhere. Last night, I read an article that was inspiring and disheartening at the same time. It talked about America’s Most Amazing Schools, which had some great ideas, but all of these schools seemed to be magnet schools with their own special programs (this is what I have inferred from the website description of the schools but did not investigate any further).
If we really want to see progress in our schools, innovative ideas and practice described in the video below need to be in our public schools where we accept all students that live in our area, not on any special requirements. Magnet schools are great but they are not the norm where I live. All kids need to have these opportunities in our school. If we know that personal learning networks (PLN’s) are great opportunities for our students, how can we not participate in them ourselves? That is similar to the math teacher teaching fractions without understanding of the concept. It is important that we learn with and for our students to get them there.
This year, I am going to provide as many opportunities for my staff to learn about PLN’s as possible. Encourage them to set up a Twitter account, start using Google apps in education, ensure that they all have access to Skype on their computers, learn more about differentiated program and critical thinking, and just about anything else that I can to help them move our students forward in these changing times.
How will you do your part to move our students forward? I would love your thoughts.
(Take time to watch the interesting video below.)
