State of the School
Corbin Intermediate School
This school year has been unlike any of recent memory. It is more reminiscent of school years I had growing up many years ago. At the rate we are receiving snow, we may have a 4th of July picnic on our last day, complete with fireworks.
Our school is a very good school; not perfect, but good. In my position as President Elect of the Kentucky Association of Elementary School Principals (KAESP), I have the opportunity to travel and visit with principals from Kentucky and throughout our nation. All of these schools have their own unique challenges, just like us. My question to you is “are you satisfied”?
There is always a tendency for good schools, good teachers, good principals, etc. to let up to some extent. It becomes easier to give less than 100% and still get good results. It’s just a fact of life. It happens in every profession. My challenge to all of us is to be aware of this phenomenon and not become complacent but dare I say to take the risk of not being just another good school, but doing what is necessary to become a great school.
Indulge me just a moment as I look into the future . . . What year are we preparing our students for? 1985? 1999? 2010? 2015? 2025 ? . . . Our state is heavily involved right now in updating our curriculum standards. This is a needed upgrade, but this will not be enough to prepare our students for the future in which they will live and work. Do you realize that our students at Corbin Intermediate School today do not even know what it is like not to have cell phones, text messaging, iPods, Google, Facebook, YouTube, etc.
Are you willing to replace some of the things we are doing today to prepare them for this future? We use to say that we need to integrate technology into our curriculum. This is an outdated phrase. Integration has come to mean that we just use our computer to do things we use to do with a typewriter. It is time to replace, not integrate. Let me give you an example. What if each teacher would commit to replacing one of your assessments from a written test to something that the students would produce using 21st century technology skills? For example:
1. Students who have finished reading a book, instead of writing a book report, they could write a blog reviewing the book. Student blogs can easily be set up at www.kidblog.org. (Students can still take a Reading Counts test)
2. Students can produce a podcast summarizing whatever topic they have been studying.
3. Students who are asked to make a chart of exports / imports of some country could instead do a WebQuest on this country’s exports & imports. (check out www.webquest.org for more info) (also, TeacherWeb that we use has a process for including WebQuests on your TeacherWeb web site).
4. Instead of doing poster board presentations, students could create a short documentary film using a digital video camera.
For more great ideas, go to www.mrcoley.com to see what one 5th grade teacher in California is doing. You can also check out www.mabryonline.org, a middle school in Georgia. They have a great slogan: “Making Learning Irresistible for 25 Years.” That is a great question to ask about our school: Are we making learning irresistible?
I hope that I have not overwhelmed you. It is not my intent to give you “more” stuff to do. I really think that the key word is replace. I have the greatest respect for what each of you contribute to our school on a daily basis. I witness your dedication to our students in the way you teach and interact with them. I am extremely proud of you, our students and the accomplishments we have achieved together over the past few years. But, I would be remiss if I did not challenge you to look to the future and take the risks of becoming the best that we can be.
I am challenging myself as well. It is somewhat embarrassing when I have to ask one of our students to help me with my cell phone. However, I am taking steps to change this. I have dipped my toes into the world of Facebook and Twitter. I try to keep my appointments scheduled on Microsoft Outlook and I am in the process of learning to podcast.
Where do we go from here?
· I suggest that you begin small.
· Try something new with just one assignment and see where it leads.
· Ask yourself: “Am I making learning irresistible?”
God Bless You and God Bless Corbin Intermediate School.
Bill Jones, Principal