A principal that is making some really great moves:
This post is brilliant. You are providing so much in the way of student ownership for learning and I really respect the way in which you have laid out the priorities for schools. The one thing that resonated with me most, however, was this statement:
“As a principal, I had to non-reelect several teachers over the years. None of them were released because of lack of proficiency in technology, standards, assessment, or curriculum, but rather because they ultimately could not connect with students.”
I believe that it is this connection that we are striving for each day, and without which, students will not learn. It is the re-imagined role of the student that is somehow elusive in the conversations about standards or technology integration. And yet, it cannot be written off. It is the whole of what we are trying to build.
So, let’s connect with our kids and let’s make those connections authentic enough to support them through some really difficult and important learning tasks. If you are doing these things at your school, you are doing right by your students. I thank you for it.
