First day of school assembly: something new

Thought I would share here a really successful assembly idea I tried yesterday to kick off the school year. No long speech about rules, no talking at kids telling them what to do and when to do it, no monotony, canned program, or trite rituals. I wanted to start fresh, start new, use a medium they would understand, and show the students I understand their world and value what they think.

So I used a short video to help spark a conversation about what it means to dream and what it takes to reach those dreams. Here is the clip:

It's called "TC Bank Dream Rangers," and it is from Taiwan. The clip has resonated with millions around the world for many different reasons - it's inspiring, beautiful, funny, foreign, curious, unusual, yet common to us all. I particularly liked the fact that characters were old - we are so used to seeing the young and the beautiful in the media. I asked the kids to look for themes and ways to relate the ad's message to their lives as they watched, and they came up with some great comments which they shared at the assembly. I sent the clip home to parents too, and got some wonderful feedback.

Warmly,

Jim