lunchbyteblog

just came across this article in my inbox this morning. this is what i've been advocating for: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/01/should_michigan_schools_replac.html what do you think?

As I write this post, most of the school districts in our area are out for a "snow day." We have already been out for three days and it looks like we probably won't have students at school tomorrow either. Both teachers and students like "snow days" at first but what we don't like is having to come on a Saturday or losing some of our break to make these days up. I'm wondering in this day and age why we even bother to reschedule classes that are canceled. With the advent of the internet and web 2.0 tools, is there even a reason to reschedule a day that has been missed because of weather? Couldn't we and shouldn't we be able to place assignments on classroom websites and let students work on these assignments at times that fit their schedules? We could post videos to youtube, have discussions on edmodo, and twitter and text our students all from the comforts of our homes and the students could respond in kind from their homes. Many schools hav...

the new year is here and with it, some brief thoughts on education. #1. we really need to rethink schools. from the ground up. the physical design, what the day looks like, what the teachers are doing and what the students are doing. the more i think about it the more i believe that what is really going to make a difference in education are the schools that innovate with regards to all of the above. it's not evolution we need, it's a complete revolution. #2. for the above to happen, public education needs more $ and a commitment from the local community to make the change happen. if we keep trying to do education on the cheap then we are going to have schools where students are barely prepared. yes, i can teach my students about our national government but taking them to washington, dc and letting them watch it happen and being able to talk to the people who are making it happen is a totally different animal than hearing me talk about it. trips cost money, speakers cost...