I love poetry. I love all forms of poetry.

Short.  

T
A
L
L

Classic. Concrete.

LOUD!
BIG!
VIBRANT!

in your FACE poetry.

I love poems about nature, love poems, free verse, laugh-out-loud and silly poems, whimsical poetry, serious soul-stirring poetry, even scary and creepy poems.

April is National Poetry Month. Visit Poetry.org for resources. Sign up to receive a Poem-a-Day by e-mail.

Or…tune into HBO’s Brave New Voices and rethink how you teach Poetry this spring.

It’s the latest buzz: 21st Century Skills.

It’s the newest catchphrase: 21st Century Preparedness.

It’s the hottest topic that nobody seems to really know anything about, especially when it comes to puting what Tony Wagner, author of The Global Achievement Gap calls ”survival skills” into practice in our retrofitted 19th century education system.

Well, that’s not entirely true. Educators all over Ohio have been working with Librarians at Kent State University and INFOhio (The Information Network for Ohio Schools) to provide us with resources and tools to help equip our students with the necessary skills needed to survive and thrive in the 21st century. Take a look at their information literacy road map here Preparing 21st century Ohio learners for success.

According to the ETS, college-bound high school students and freshmen are pathetic when it comes to information literacy. This means that they do not know how to effectively retrieve, analyze and communicate information online. How will your 6th and 9th grade students score on an assessment of information literacy skills? Take a look at the TRAILS project here: TRAILS (Tool for Real-time Assessment for Information Literacy). 

When was the last time you asked your school librarian what she thought about teaching and learning in the 21st century? You might be surprised.

Read an article and watch a video from the New York Times about Librarians in the Web Age.

Tom Hermensky, a local teacher was recognized by the Ohio Lottery for his excellence as a 5th grade science teacher. Listen to this podcast and learn how Tom brings his science classroom alive through hands-on projects, experiments and active learning.

Listen and Learn: [audio: http://www.centerforleadership.org/podcasts/Teacher-Feature3-TomH.mp3]

Nominate a great teacher in your school is district at the Ohio State Lottery Website.

Even President Barack Obama writes “I Can” statements. What’s the difference between his and ours? Barack’s messages are more participatory and collaborative statements such as, ”Yes, We Can.” 

 The “We” in education must heed the words of our new president quickly if we are to ever thrive as a truly productive social institution.

 In a late January memo, President Obama called for government to be more transparent, participatory, and collaborative. 

 Perhaps we should take these words and apply them to educational settings. I’m thinking “we can” apply transparent, participatory and collaborative in numerous, perhaps limitless ways in our schools. All we need is a little vision and hope for change.  

 Let’s try a few:

The use of educational technology will be transparent, participatory and collaborative.

Student projects will be participatory and collaborative.

Educational Leadership should be more transparent, participatory, and collaborative. 

Student writing will be collaborative.

Teachers and administrators will solicit feedback from students and community members.

Teachers have collective knowledge and expertise that benefit policy making.  

School district will use innovative tools to collaborate within their organizations and throughout the region.

School district will identify new opportunities for student collaboration; for collaboration with outside organizations; for teacher collaboration; for community involvement and participation.

Now, it’s your turn.

Visit the CAST Website and read the NEW UDL Guidelines.

Directions for this Hand-On Activity:

Download the Tool Analysis here.

Select a Technology Tool from the list provided. Complete the Tool Analysis using the CAST guidelines to help facilitate your analysis. Be sure to provide examples of how your tool addresses the principles of Universal Design for Learning. 

As I walked out of the public library last evening, a reserved and eagerly awaited for book in hand, gratitude filled my heart as I thought to myself, “I am proud to be a librarian.”

Driving toward the mall, I described to my husband why I enjoy being a school librarian: If the work I do each day in my school helps others derive joy in the simple pleasures of reading and learning, getting the materials they need and want, delivered in the spirit of helpfulness - then my work is meaningful and worthwhile for me. And being involved in meaningful and worthwhile work brings me joy.   Continue Reading »

Tags: classroom, education, joy, Leadership, professional learning community, reading, students, teaching, Whole Child