IMPACT NOW!

I just tweeted out about those of you sitting in a "Back 2 School" staff meeting...sitting through canned agendas, listening to the same instructions for the tenth year in a row. All of those things are probably necessary, but what IMPACT are they really having?

What IMPACT are YOU really having?

You may be setting up your classrooms, getting all of your ducks in a row, but have you considered what is really going to change this year? How is this year going to be different than previous years?

If you are sitting in one of those staff meetings right now, stand up. Stand up and say, "Let's do something real."

Say, "Everybody think of the most successful thing you've done in education and let's share our collective power!"

or

Say, "What is ONE THING we can all agree to do right now to have a positive, specific, and academic impact on our 21st Century Learners?"

or

Say, "What do we really know about our assessment practices? Are we really teaching and learning the way we assess? Do our assessments specifically align with standards-based content and skills?"

or

Say, "What's in our Web 2.0 toolboxes that has a definite pedagogical purpose? (Rather than just being a "cool tool?")

or

Say, "Who OWNS THE LEARNING in our classroom?" (And answer honestly!)

or

Say, "Are we collectively preparing our kids for their graduation year, or are we holding on to the things WE value, and are really preparing them for 1975 or 1986?"

The point is, disrupt the normal. Upend the traditional.

Start this year with something new, something awesome, something real.

Have a real IMPACT this year!

STAND UP for your kids!



Or don't.

(But be ready to explain to your stakeholders--students, parents, etc.--why not!)