21st Century Students Need "21st Century Leaders running 21st Century Schools"

I would like to see our educational system go to K through 16 based on the following diagram:

The new structure must be done selectively by identifying schools based on known performance (Method of Excellence) for producing college and career ready students.

Colleges would now be for Vocational (Partner with K-12) and Graduate Studies.

This would reduce the strangle hold colleges have over students and parents (their so-called customers) in terms of value added service and costs that are driving our college grads to be in debt that will eventually be the next huge debt crisis that alters our country economies of scale from top to bottom.

I'm willing to bet around early 1900s there was a bold forward thinking leader who challenged the status quo when he/she challenged the current system of education by saying our children must go beyond elementary school and go to high school. The out-cry by traditionailst self absord thinkers must have cried out in range stating "It will destroy the make-up of our society" if kids are in school for 12 years. Wake-up it is time to move forward again and we all must be part of the movement.

CDMP = Campbell Dream Mentor Program - http://www.dreammentorprogram.com/Default.aspx

We are losing the skill to interact with each other

There is a very serious disease spreading across the United States and it is the loss of open communication between people. No longer do people ask each other how things are going in a face to face situation. People no longer talk in the grocery line and know the cashier because now most go through the self-checkout.

Do you miss talking to people? Swiping cards through machines, talking to computers and phones rather than faces and shopping online has removed the personal touches of communication.

I have not gone in the gas station store in months because I just sweep the card at the pump. 90% of my communications using my cell phone are text messages.

I first saw this phenomenon start in the 1980s when Email became the favorite mode of communicating information. It amazed me how many people would not leave their offices or cubes and walk 20 feet to talk to their co-workers. It was safer and easier to push a button. Many hid (still going on today) under the disguise that it was more productive and faster to use Email than to talk on the phone or get up and go talk to a person.

I'm thinking this all is evolutionary. Pictures of Aliens for years that we assume are beings of greater intelligence use Telepathy.

I once read in the future we will no longer have a little (pinky) toe because there has been no use for it for a thousand years. I think the vocal cords will be next.

Common Core Standards - By What Method?

I have attended three conferences on the new educational Common Core Standards to be implemented in at the last count 44 states.

 The CCSS Mission Statement is:

The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.

As far as Mission Statement's go this is very good. Very concise and to the point as to "WHAT" we can expect from the standards. However, as usual the standards do not explain the "HOW" or what I refer to as "By What Method" will they be accomplished.

The presenter in both conferences made it very clear the method will be left up to the school/teacher to decide what is the best method. Just like in business world the education systems Do Not Know HOW to develop methods and processes from an end-to-end perspective.

What bothered me the most was the proclamation made by both presenters that most of the teachers were already complying to the new standards. HOW can that be? Most of them don't have any idea of what the new standards are and don't plan to conform to the standards when someone already tells them they are doing just fine.

I will tell you now that Teachers (who need to make this happen) will not be given the support or training to make this initiative happen. Why? Simple, because the leadership does not have a method or aim to make it happen. They have not done for past initiatives and they still don't know how to do it now.

The CCSS are what we need to move the educational learning's to a new level in the United States. I am encouraged that 44 states have signed on to conform to the standards. I am not pleased there are TWO assessment companies. The two comprehensive Consortia Companies are – Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC).

Proponents of having two assessment companies will say "It is good for competition." Again, we have missed the point that in order to compete you must first have cooperation. So we get 46 states to cooperate and in the same breadth we want competition to tear it apart.

This is not good and will defeat the purpose of standardization, alignment and overall process improvement - what a shame we continue to take the easy road and develop plans with no long lasting merit to the original thought process. CCSS is at its core trying to set consistent standards. What I like is the fact the standards do not attempt to change curriculum's which always meets resistance from teachers.

I fear politics between parties and well as state versus federal power struggles will derail this effort on the short-run.

The best way for continual improvement to take hold is through standardization. You must have standardization at the beginning and end of each process/system improvement efforts. The problem is I do not believe standardization is being done. For example; The CCS only covers English Language and Mathematics. The the Common Core State Standards do not cover science and social studies content standards, the Next Generation Science Standards are in the process of being developed. They are not directly related to the Common Core, but their content can be cross-connected to the mathematical and English Language Arts standards within the Common Core. So another governing group and perhaps another testing agency - RIDICULOUS!!

Think of the Educational System (as well as the Common Core Standard effort) as a manufacturing line to build a car. K-12 is the car and in order to build a Quality product at the end of the line that can be delivered ready to go to the dealership must have Quality designed in from the start with process and efficiency measures through-out the process to ensure the car will be delivered as ordered and expected from the customer perspective.

Likewise, The Common Core process must bring the teachers, administrators and other stakeholders together to ensure the student is College and Career Ready at the end of 12th grade. The Standards will help with the Standardization as long as the Process Owners (Leaders) drive the effort and make sure all involved have the methodologies, tools and techniques required to do their jobs correctly.

Methodology -http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=11874839#editor/target=post;postID=2360867080598912945;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=16;src=postname

I wonder where AdvanceEd will fit in all this STUFF?  Their site says  "AdvancED is the premier accreditation organization in the world, our passion is school improvement and knowledge leadership in education."

http://www.advanc-ed.org/what-we-do

Perhaps I should say "By WHICH Method"

Olympic Boxing is a DISGRACE!

I have been involved  with the sport of boxing since 1960. I have watched Olympic Boxing every time except in 1972 when I was in the Army.

I have seen some bad and some very bad  (Seoul) judging but NEVER have I seen the on-going disgrace of what is happening in London during this past week. The Olympics should use the 10 point scoring system. Why are Olympic fighters still amateurs? We send the best basketball players why not send professionals boxers. Tennis are pros and just about all other sports are too. Go to five rounds and let the action begin! Make sure pro referees are there too!!

The Sport I love is being ruined at the hands of judges and referees who have no idea how to score a fight.

The Marquess of Queensberry ought to rise out of his grave and kick their asses back to wherever they come from and let the fighters fight and at least give them a chance.

Somebody better dig up the rules quick because I will no longer watch this debacle any longer. 

Smoking Chucka Lives