Back to school means back to...homework. Gulp.

Unlike some schools, we are already a few weeks into the school year, and what does that mean? Kids have had tests and projects and plenty of homework.

Homework is often discussed, seldom celebrated, emotional, visceral, and now, studied and quantified by experts around the globe. Cognitive scientists, professors in schools of education, economists and world thought leaders have complied a mountain of data on what homework does to a young person emotionally and physically, what type of homework is of value, and whether or not there is any correlation with academic achievement.

I thought I would share one perspective from author/educator Rick Wormeli, who has a great deal of experience in this area. In the video clip, Rick discussed his take on how much homework should count:

There is no shortage of opinions on the issue, and I will do my best to share with you some important studies and viewpoints, including my own. As always, let me know what you think.

Jim

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

"Are you a 21st Century Principal?"

I read a blog post recently asking "Are you a 21st Century Principal?" This is an important question to ask, so I thought I would share with you the attributes I think are essential and need to happen right now, in all schools striving to become innovative and relevant:

"You are a 21st Century Principal if...

You know that PLN stands for Personal Learning Network…and you collaborate with yours daily.

You use Twitter to find and share resources, engage in international conversation about education, connect with other educators, and make announcements to teachers, parents and students that follow you.

You've replaced the filing cabinet in your office with Dropbox… and can access all of your important documents while out and about.

Your school has started paperless initiatives to help cut down the costs of printing and copying.

You have a school website, blog, Facebook page, and Twitter account and they are each updated regularly to keep parents, teachers, and students informed with the latest news, events, activities, and general announcements.

You not only allow but fully support and encourage the use of social media inside school.

You encourage your teachers to take advantage of all of the free resources available online, especially SimpleK12 eBooks and education webinars.

You watch webinars, read blogs, and tweet to keep current on the latest education trends and topics.

You encourage your staff to be involved in the selection of new media and technology.

You collaborate with faculty members regularly via free web tools such as Google Docs.

You collect classroom walkthrough and observation data via Google Forms."

Here is a link to the original blog: http://blog.simplek12.com/education/21-signs-you%E2%80%99re-a-21st-century-principal/.

Your thoughts? Leave a comment.

Jim