A Digital Game of Tag and I'm IT!

Tag? I'm it? I was just reading Jim Gates' Tipline and was pleasantly surprised to discover that I'd been "tagged." Yikes! Now I'm supposed to tell five things about myself that others may not know and then tag five others. I agree with Jim that the hardest part comes in knowing five other bloggers who haven't already been tagged.

Well, here they are:

1. My middle name is Anthony. I was named after my grandfather on my dad's side. My grandfather was a railroad fireman. He was responsible for keeping the fire burning HOT in the steam engine by shoveling coal into the fire. My grandparents lived in a small Pennsylvania town on the side of a hill. The town had a train station and was home to the Starrucca viaduct. The Starrucca viaduct was a critical railroad link in the World War II supply chain. I remember stories my father had told about when the town would practice air raid blackouts. When the siren was sounded families would extinguish all sources of light. This was done so that potential enemy pilots could not bomb the viaduct using the town as a reference point.

2. I grew up in Great Bend, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. Great Bend is named for the bend in the Susquehanna river. It is the only point on the mighty Susquehanna where the river runs south into Pennsylvania and then makes a large bend and runs NORTH back into New York. A very unique place.

3. I was awarded the Bronze Star for service in the first Gulf War.

4. I'm not one to read much for pleasure. I've never read a novel that wasn't required for a class. In fact, if I attended a class and learned that there was a novel required or worse yet, a paper, I would drop the class.

5. I can wiggle my ears. A real party favorite. Can't tell you how well that has served me!

Ok, let's find some folks to TAG!

Chis
Steve
Sheryl - I don't see that she's been tagged yet.
Josie
Alex

Tags: meme

Time Magazine: How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century

A post from David Warlick also reminds me how encouraged I was when A Nation At Risk report was released. The buzz was everywhere. Twenty-three years later, what observable difference do we see? How did that substantially change our classrooms?

I'm going to share the Time article, How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century, with the NASD staff far and wide. I believe that it says what many people have been thinking. I know that it echos my feelings.

I had a conversation yesterday with a curriculum professional. She stated that the pressure for increased achievement is tremendous. I asked her where the pressure originated and she said that the Pennsylvania Department of Education was the primary source. She explained that it is no longer sufficient to provide excellent educational opportunities and expect that students take advantage of them. She said that THE DISTRICT was responsible to ensure that every student took advantage of the opportunities and not the student.

The pressure and focus on test scores and the "perceived achievement" that the scores suppossedly signify is exactly the problem IMHO. (Wow, that was a mouthful.) This nation is totally distracted by test scores while the rest of the world prepares their workforce for a new global economy. As Jim Gates says, "the race is on!"

It's fun to be looking at such challenges ahead. It's fun to be living in a time when change is so rapid.

KP

Tags: web2.0, collaboration, 21st Century Skills, school reform