Living and Learning in Central Oregon

Check out this story about a professor teaching her entire class on YouTube

Can we please get rid of our filter?

From South Sister

So we got this crazy notion that it would be a good idea to hike South Sister.  We read a story about it a few weeks back in the Bend Bulletin and decided we needed to do something besides go to Target on Sunday.  It was much harder than I imagined.  It wasn’t until we had started that our friend Amanda told us it was the third tallest mountain in Oregon. 

Our hike began well but about two hours into it I realized what I got myself into.  It would have been really easy to quit when the nice easy-to-follow trail transformed into sliding rock and rubble.  The damn thing was so big I could not imagine getting to the top walking on that stuff.  But I told myself that I would do 100 yards at a time.  When I broke the trek into small bite size portions it became manageable.  That is when I started thinking about perseverance.  Where is this attribute in 21st Century Skills? I know that initiative and self-direction are mentioned but what about perseverance? Do we value people who do not quit? 

There is something to be said for being able to dealing with a situation, overcoming obstacles, getting the job done and then feeling proud about it. Now hiking South Sister wasn’t a major feat.  There were lots of people doing it so getting to the top was not going to put me in the newspaper. I could have quit at any time but I didn’t.  I told myself that I was going to do it.  I was going to make it manageable.  And I was not going to quit.  Because if I did quit I knew I would have to listen to that nagging little voice in my head until I went back and did.  The only think that kept me going was me and my dumb pride.

Where is perseverance in the 21st Century skill set?  Should it be included?  Do we teach our kids this? Maybe Nike is too right afterall - “Just Do It”

I saw this video awhile ago but my wife brought it to my attention again. It was shown at her district’s first day back event. If it caught my wife’s attention then I knew I should share it with others. She is normally unimpressed with technology. But the video is more than technology. It is new way of teaching, thinking, communicating. Some teachers are not going to be comfortable with the message. It means changing old ways and modifying standard operating practices. Change can be scary. What do you think?

Download Video: Posted at TeacherTube.com.

I had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Michael Hall  (www.drmikehall.com ) this morning for breakfast.  He was here working with our Freshman Academy teachers this week and I was able to steal him for a few hours.  It was a wonderful two hours and he gave me some direction to my job.  However, he completely overwhelmed me with information and possibilities.  There is so much to do where do I start?  Where do I find the time and the money?  Thankfully today is Friday so I have the weekend to digest everything and organize my thoughts.  Once I do that maybe I can re-focus my efforts in building 21st Century classrooms and implement some of the suggestions he brought forth.  Thank you Dr. Hall.

This week I had the pleasure of passing out laptops to the high school teachers.  The freshman academy teachers were the first recipients and they were very excited.  I look forward to passing out the reset next week.  My only regret is that we could only take care of the high school this year.  Next year the middle level and elementary teachers are on my list.  We need to make all classrooms 21st Century Learning classrooms and this is a start. Below is the slideshowI used at my presentation.
[slideshare id=97042&doc=hs-laptops540&w=425]

Check out this page that maps the world based on categories such as wealth, alcohol consumption, housing prices and more. What kind of class discussion could this spark?
How the world really shapes up | the Daily Mail

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