TED TALKS ON MAKING SCHOOLS GREAT
Recently
I have been watching a number of educational videos sponsored by TED, a
non-profit devoted to the ideas worth spreading. TED started in 1984 as a conference in which
they brought together individuals from three walks of life: technology, entertainment and design (hence
the word TED). Since that time its scope
has become broader. Each year the group
sponsors two conferences. TED includes
award-winning talks, video sites, open translation projects and TED
conversations.
One
of the important topics of conversation around the nation is how to improve
public schools. This was a big part of
the recent presidential election and continues to be discussed at all levels of
government. To get you thinking about
these topics, I would like to invite you to view “10 Talks for Making School
Great and How We Can Reshape our School Environments”. These can be found at http://blog.ted.com/2012/10/09/10-talks-on-making-schools-great/
One
of the talks that I found particularly interesting is by Sir Ken Robinson,
“Bring on the Learning Revolution!”.
This was a follow-up to a talk that Ken did 4 years earlier about how
schools kill creativity. Robinson shared
how schools should approach the education process with personalized
learning. Students should be encouraged
to explore their own interests and talents.
After listening to this and many other of these videos, I realized how
grateful I am to work in a progressive school district that is doing more than
just talking about issues, but is taking real action toward creating viable
pathways for student’s future to success.
We are doing this through our “Pathways to Success” program. This is still a work in progress, and we are
working hard each day to use the technology and the talents of our teachers to
produce relevant 21st century learning opportunities.
FACILITY PROJECT BLOG
We are excited to
offer an opportunity for staff and community members to stay
informed about the progress of our facility project. A blog has been created that will allow you
to view drawings and materials we are considering as we continue with
the planning phase of the project.
Currently we have posted some preliminary drawings with explanations
that I am offering through embedded audio.
I will be making visits to building staff meetings to give an overview
of our planning thus far and get more input from our staff. Some thought-provoking articles about
creating classrooms for the future are also available. These articles will give you some insight
into ideas that are being considered for our project. To view the blog,
please click on this link: http://vermilionfacilities.blogspot.com We welcome your input on this project and invite you to comment on
the various postings.
FACILITY FINANCING
We
have been working with Baird Financial on the facility project financing and we
are very pleased to announce that we were able to obtain interest rates that
are very favorable to the district.
Treasurer Amy Hendricks has worked very hard the various financial
groups to secure the best financial options available. More details are available in the press
release located elsewhere in this week’s Photojournal.
No comments:
Post a Comment