More Online Education Talk

Ever since reading Clayton Christensen's "Disrupting Class", I have become increasingly interested in the impact the online education movement will have on the future of public education. I recently came across this article which summarizes a study completed by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL). The article emphasizes some important findings, which I think supports the need for K-12 public schools to embrace, rather than resist, the online education movement.

... last year iNACOL estimates there were more than one million students enrolled in online courses. More than 30 states have state-led online programs, and more than half of the school districts in the U.S. offer online courses and services

However, even though online learning is growing at the rate of 30 percent annually, access to online schools and courses is not keeping pace with the demand from students and parents. iNACOL estimates that more than 40 percent of middle and high school students want to enroll in online courses--more than 20 million students.

"Today, every student can access a world-class education with online courses taught by talented, qualified teachers at any location," said Susan Patrick, president of iNACOL. "The barriers to entry are outdated policies restricting student registrations, funding policies that limit choice, and seat-time requirements."

Clayton Christensen argued that online education will be the "disruptive innovation" that causes public schools to fundamentally change their existing structures. He believed that as students and parents (our customers!) began to demand more access to quality online courses, public schools would either have to provide them, or their competition (private entities) would. The iNACOL study seems to reinforce that the demand for online educational opportunities is growing at a rapid rate, and as Christensen predicted, public schools are not keeping up to meet that demand. The question is why?

According to the study, the raison d'etre lies in outdated and unreasonable school policies that do not reflect the current needs of society and fail to take into account how today's students learn. Currently, most school policies focus on how to keep students from bringing their cell phones, ipods, and personal laptops to school. Instead, we should be focused on developing school policies that encourage students to utilize these learning tools in an appropriate and safe manner. We should be focused on policies that don't discourage student collaboration, but rather encourage appropriate collaboration. We should focus on altering antiquated school policies that involve required hours of seat time and limit the number of courses that can be taken outside the walls of the school building. We should focus on the development of policies that provide students with access to Web 2.0 tools that will prepare them for the rigors of today's global economy.

In short, we need to develop policies that will allow our public schools to meet the educational demands that business, parents and students are requiring in the 21st century. If we don't embrace this "disruptive technology", public schools will face serious competition from private sources who will surely react to the basic economics of supply and demand. I, for one, would like our public schools to beat them to the punch.

The Legacy of My Grandfather

At our opening day inservice on Monday, the focus of my speech to all faculty and staff was on "Building Your Legacy." I tried to reinforce the amazing power each and every teacher holds in the palm of her hand to influence her students for better or worse. I discussed how each and every student in a teacher's class will remember her forever...for better or worse. There is no other profession that has this incredible power right in the palm of their hands on a daily basis. It is an amazing responsibility that can sometimes be a little scary.

On the same day I delivered this message to my staff, I also found out that my nearly 95 year old grandfather had just passed away. He was an important part of my life from a young age, so his loss was very difficult for me. I grew up only five miles from his house, and as a child, it felt like I was at my grandparents house nearly everyday for something. He also had a camping lot on Lake Taylorville, and every holiday and summer memory with my family seems to have taken place there. He was also an avid old car collector, with anywhere between 10 and 13 vintage cars at any one time. His favorite was his 1925 Ford Model T, which is the same model he used to drive to high school. He salvaged most of them and spent years fixing them up so he could drive them. He didn't believe in having an antique car that you couldn't drive. As a result, my grandpa driving his old cars was a common site in my hometown of Assumption, IL. Now that I have survived both the wake and his funeral, I have had a chance to reflect on how the life he led is so similar to the message I shared with teachers on opening day.

At his funeral, I was asked to speak on behalf of the family. In celebrating his life, I focused on three salient characteristics that I believe accurately depicted his persona. First, he was a kind and gentle man. I don't remember him ever saying anything derogatory about anyone. In fact, I don't ever remember him raising his voice out of anger. Even as he got older and couldn't physically do the things he once could, he never once complained. He did not want to be a burden to him family, even though any of us would have done anything for him.

Secondly, he was generous. When most people think of generosity, they think of it in monetary terms. Although grandpa was generous in that way too, more importantly, he was generous with his time. He always had time for others, and especially for his family. I could call him on any summer afternoon or weekend to go water skiing at the lake, and I new he would come driving over in his Galaxy 500 to pick me up. He not only taught his grandkids to water ski, but he taught many of my high school friends as well. He understood that his time was a gift he should share with others.

Finally, he understood the importance of maintaining balance in his life. He knew when it was time to work, and he worked very hard. He also knew when it was time to play, and he played hard as well. However, no matter whether he was working or playing, he always strived to do everything with excellence. When he farmed as a young man, he wanted to be the best. Later in life when he turned the farm over to my dad, he started an insurance agency, and made it a thriving success. When he collected old cars, he worked to make his cars the envy of other collectors. When he spent time with family, he always made sure we felt loved and secure. No matter what he did, he did it with dignity, humility and excellence.

So how does all this relate to my opening day message to staff about "Building Your Legacy". My grandfather understood that it's not what you make that makes someone important. The true measure of a person is the difference he makes to others. My grandpa was able to make a difference to those he touched, which was obvious from the outpouring of support at his wake. However, although he lived until nearly 95, his chosen professions limited the number of lives he could touch. As educators, we have the ability to "Build Our Legacies" by touching the lives of hundreds and hundreds of students during our careers. If we could all remember my grandfather's lessons of kindness, generosity and excellence, think of the lives we could touch and the legacy we could build.

Rest in peace grandpa.

The Legacy of a Teacher

Monday marked the opening day of school with a teacher institute. I always use this opportunity with faculty and staff to celebrate the successes of the past year and set forth the goals and challenges for the upcoming school year.

This year, the focus of my talk was on "Building Your Legacy". I think people sometimes forget the incredible influence that educators have on each and every student in their classrooms. Each student will be profoundly influenced by their teachers, and that carries with it an awesome amount of power and responsibility.

Every day that a teacher goes to work, they are "building their legacy" in either a positive or negative way. The challenge for us is to always remember this in our daily interactions with our students. During Monday's presentation, I planned on showing a video which exemplifies the influence teachers have on their students, but I ran out of time. I hope you get a chance to watch it and think about the difference you are making with your students.

Everyday teachers are in the classroom, they are building their legacies. When your students come back for their 20 year class reunion, how will you be remembered?

High School Addition

During registration, many parents had questions regarding the progress of the addition to Coal City High School. The main concern was in regards to the completion of the student parking lot.

Although the unusually wet and cold summer has slowed us down, we are still on schedule to have half of the student parking lot completed prior to August 19th, which is the first day of student attendance. This will provide 313 parking spaces for our students, which is more than enough to handle our student traffic at the beginning of the school year. The remainder of the parking lot is scheduled to be completed prior to the first home football game on September 4.

Students driving to school should enter via the Carbon Hill Road entrance. Parents who are dropping students off should enter off Rt. 113 and drop off in the north parking lot in front of the school. Staff parking will be in the East and North lots.

Should you have questions regarding parking, please contact the high school office at 815-634-2396.

I encourage anyone to watch the progress of our high school addition project via webcam on our District website. There will be many more updates throughout the year, so keep an eye on our website and on our Business Manager's blog.