Computer Literacy in 2006
This morning I was in a professional development session with Mrs.
Healey on digital storytelling. We created a short movies the go with a poem that we read and recorded. After leaving for my law seminar I wondered:
What is computer literacy in 2006? When I was in high school, my school (
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer) bought their first classroom computer. The Tandy Model IV was slow, expensive, and of very little use in the classroom. It was still exciting to dream of what the possible uses might be. Maybe we could do complex math problems that we didn't have the time for. Maybe we could simulate a physic's problem. Oh, what might wonderment might be displayed on that monochrome screen. I certainly never envisioned a blog,
Photoshop, the Internet and all the other things we do today. So, what should we teach for today's computer literacy?
I remember teaching kids what a floppy drive is and showing them the inside (floppy part) of a 3.5" disk. That lesson was part of the curriculum. I would hope that few are still using floppy drives and now use thumb drives. So how can we as a school best teach to this quickly changing subject?
I don't have all the answers. So, let's use the technology of the blog and comment on ideas that you may have.
FERPA vs. Human Nature
Occasionally a student may get into trouble at school. If the trouble involves another student often parents want to know the fate of the other student. When that happens Mr. Leaver or I end up disappointing the parent. We let the parent know that we can't share the information on the other student because of
FERPA.
FERPA sets out requirements designed to protect the privacy of parents and students. In brief, the law requires a school district to:
- Provide a parent access to their child's educational records.
- Provide a parent an opportunity to seek correction of records he/she believes to be inaccurate or misleading.
- With some exceptions, obtain the written permission of a parent before disclosing information contained in the student's educational record.
Unfortunately for human nature the discipline of the other student is part of the educational record. Parents often find this frustrating and all can hope is that they try to understand.
The Wizard of Oz - Closing Night
My life as Uncle Henry is over. I've spent the last few weeks moonlighting as a thespian. It has been fun working with Algonac Community Theater. I've met some really nice people from the community and relived part of my past. Twenty-five years ago I was in the high school plays back at Muskegon Reeths-Puffer.
Some people may ask how my time spent with community theater will help with my job as principal. Well, that was not why I did it. Sure, it may improve my relationship with some parents and community members, but that was not the impetus. I got involved to be in the play with my daughter and see if I could still act. So, I did it for family and fun.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Last week we finished a very busy parent teacher conference. The evening sessions were
especially busy. I am very glad to report that we had 80% parent participation at the conferences. That number represents a new high for participation at the middle school.
In an effort to improve the participation rate the school gathered some information through a survey at the conferences. The results are:
The middle school will use this data to help better serve the parents and students in the future.
While I am happy with the turnout we had at conferences, most parents that came to the evening sessions spent a large time waiting. I don't have the answer for this yet, but the staff and I are looking for options to help.
Labels: Conferences
Whatever it Takes
The question in the age of
NCLB is how do you motivate the kids who have traditionally checked out of school. The drop out rate is an unacceptable fact in American education. In
today's flat world, making a good living without a high school diploma is very difficult. In fact, making a good living without some post-secondary education/training is becoming more difficult.
So why is a middle school principal talking about drop-outs? Isn't the drop-out rate a high school problem? I don't
believe that the high school owns the drop-out problem.
At Algonquin we are working on interventions that should help more students succeed. We already have two technology based rooms as interventions. (The TLC rooms) We know this can't be the only thing we do, but it is a start. We have a great staff and we will develop more interventions soon.
Stay Tuned
