Merry Christmas, everyone! Thanks for everything you do each and every day. You truly shine!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
BAK Little Hawk News...: Message from the city...
BAK Little Hawk News...: Message from the city...: The snow emergency has been extended until noon on Friday. If this changes, we will post information as we receive it.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
Quote of the day
"There are three stages of a man's life: (1)he believes in Santa Claus; (2)he doesn't believe in Santa Claus; and (3)he is Santa Claus."
--Author unknown
--Author unknown
Sunday, December 16, 2012
An Enlightening Conversation at The University of Chicago
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2012
An Enlightening Conversation at The University of Chicago
Last week I had the opportunity to visit some schools in the Chicago area while accompanying a group of students to aModel U.N. conference there. Since I had never been to The University of Chicago, I decided to drop by the Office of Admissions and ask a few questions. Anyone in the field of education knows the reputation of The University of Chicago and the level of excellence of its educational program. In order to better prepare my students not only for acceptance to but also for success in such a university, I wanted to find out exactly what the Office of Admissions looks for when culling through the mountains of applications each year.
In my meeting with the two admissions counselors, who gladly shared their time with me, I asked them directly, "What makes those students you accept different from those you do not? What, exactly, do you look for that differentiates top candidates from everyone else? What things in an applicant's background and application prove to be the biggest predictors of success in the University of Chicago program?" Interestingly, the admissions counselors gave the same answer for all three questions.
Here's what they said: "Clearly, academic success in terms of exceptional grades and test scores separate legitimate candidates from all others. From that pool, which always is much too large for our freshman class, we look for students who are exceptional independent learners with an intrinsic drive to learn. What we want to see is that a student has pursued learning independently in some way. It could be that a student has a passion for science and has persuaded his school to rearrange his schedule each year so he can take all science courses offered at his school. Additionally, this same student has found some interesting and unique way outside of school to pursue and explore that passion - perhaps through internships, summer experiential learning opportunities, family vacations centered on this passion, or maybe even through research of his own on his own time. It could be that a student has shown an interest in entrepreneurship and has started his own company. The bottom line is that we want to see that a student has developed a passion for something and has pursued that passion independently in a unique, interesting and innovative way. It goes without saying that all the student's transcripts, essays, recommendation letters and other application information should document not only the student's passion but also how he pursued it independently. These characteristics also are the common denominator for most of the students who are successful at The University of Chicago."
As the educational leader of a college prep school, I've been asking myself constantly since that meeting, "Is my school doing everything possible to promote and foster that kind of independent learning and curiosity?" I'm still working on the answer.
Blog Link: http://nextgeneduleaders.blogspot.com/2012/12/an-enlightening-conversation-at.html
Here's what they said: "Clearly, academic success in terms of exceptional grades and test scores separate legitimate candidates from all others. From that pool, which always is much too large for our freshman class, we look for students who are exceptional independent learners with an intrinsic drive to learn. What we want to see is that a student has pursued learning independently in some way. It could be that a student has a passion for science and has persuaded his school to rearrange his schedule each year so he can take all science courses offered at his school. Additionally, this same student has found some interesting and unique way outside of school to pursue and explore that passion - perhaps through internships, summer experiential learning opportunities, family vacations centered on this passion, or maybe even through research of his own on his own time. It could be that a student has shown an interest in entrepreneurship and has started his own company. The bottom line is that we want to see that a student has developed a passion for something and has pursued that passion independently in a unique, interesting and innovative way. It goes without saying that all the student's transcripts, essays, recommendation letters and other application information should document not only the student's passion but also how he pursued it independently. These characteristics also are the common denominator for most of the students who are successful at The University of Chicago."
As the educational leader of a college prep school, I've been asking myself constantly since that meeting, "Is my school doing everything possible to promote and foster that kind of independent learning and curiosity?" I'm still working on the answer.
Blog Link: http://nextgeneduleaders.blogspot.com/2012/12/an-enlightening-conversation-at.html
Friday, December 14, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Quote of the day...
"Everything that happens helps you to grow, even if it's hard to see right now. Circumstances will direct you, correct you, and perfect you over time. So whatever you do, hold on to hope. The tiniest thread will twist into an unbreakable cord."
--Author unknown
--Author unknown
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Quote of the day...
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
--Dalai Lama
--Dalai Lama
Monday, December 10, 2012
Quote of the day...
"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment, then where is it to be found?"
--J. B. Priestley
Friday, December 7, 2012
Quote of the day...
"Today may there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise, and love. It is there for each and every one of us."
--Author Unknown
--Author Unknown
Thursday, December 6, 2012
it has to be better...
"Definitions of innovation vary by guru, but they revolve around two words: change and new. Innovation implies change and doing things differently, but it has to achieve some new level of performance, or create some kind of new value. It is not enough just to be different; it has to be better.
It is about creation, not copying."
Notter and Grant
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Five Myths About the Common Core ELA Standards
Five Myths About the Common Core ELA Standards
(Originally titled “The Common Core Ate My Baby and Other Urban Legends”)
In this important Educational Leadership article, literacy expert Timothy Shanahan (University of Illinois/Chicago) debunks five myths about the common core literacy standards:
• Myth #1: The new standards prohibit teachers from setting purposes for reading or discussing prior knowledge. True, the original publishers’ criteria written by lead authors David Coleman and Susan Pimentel in 2011 suggested deemphasizing the common practice of spending time building up students’ background knowledge, establishing the purpose for reading a passage, and asking for students’ predictions. Facing a storm of protest, Coleman and Pimentel retreated and issued an April 2012 revision that eliminated admonitions against pre-teaching.
“So to clarify, there simply is no ban on pre-reading in the Common Core State Standards,” says Shanahan. But there are significant changes – close reading and re-reading – which suggest that it’s a good idea to get students to plunge into texts without a lot of prior teaching. “The benefit of the pre-reading controversy,” says Shanahan, “is that it’s getting educators to take a hard look at how best to send students into a book – and this rethinking can help us clear up our pre-reading act… Preparing students to read a text… should be brief and should focus on providing students with the tools they need to make sense of the text on their own.”
• Myth #2: Teachers are no longer required to teach phonological awareness, phonics, or fluency. Not true, says Shanahan. The common-core standards are strong on phonological awareness K-1, phonics K-3, and fluency K-5. So how did this myth get started? Perhaps because the new literacy standards began with comprehension, which is the reverse of the sequence in many previous standards documents.
• Myth #3: English teachers can no longer teach literature in literature classes. Nonsense, says Shanahan. What the new standards do is give informational texts equal billing with novels, stories, poems, and plays in the elementary grades and 30 percent of classroom time in the upper grades – but that includes science and social studies. English teachers can continue to teach literature, as they have always done.
• Myth #4: Teachers must teach students at frustration levels. It’s true that the common-core standards call for students to work with more-challenging material at each grade level than has been typical in basal readers in recent years. This is based on research showing that students make less progress when they read easier texts – and the urgent need to prepare students for the literacy demands of college and the workplace. But the higher reading levels in the new standards should not lead primary-grade teachers to push students beyond what is required by the common-core (which is similar to previous expectations) in order to prepare them for more-demanding grade 2 standards. And all teachers should give their students a mix of reading material – more-demanding material for close reading and direct instruction, easier material for fun reading.
• Myth #5: Most schools are already teaching to the new standards. Baloney, says Shanahan: “We are going to have to make some real changes in our practices.” These include (a) less emphasis on pre-reading and more on close reading, re-reading, and follow-up;
(b) building students’ skills and motivation to tackle difficult texts without telling them what the texts say; (c) an increase in critical analysis and synthesis of information from multiple texts; (d) a greater emphasis on informational texts in upper-grade social studies and science classes; and (e) more student writing about the ideas from texts than personal thoughts.
“Each one of these changes is considerable and will require better and more appropriate professional development, instructional materials, and supervision,” says Shanahan. “Educators who shrug off these changes will face a harsh reality.” The fact is that 40 percent of students who currently meet state standards need remediation when they get to college and many fail to graduate. The new standards are in line with what students need to know and be able to do to succeed in college and careers. Shanahan believes they will give teachers, students, and parents a much more accurate picture of where students stand, and what they need to succeed.
Drew Johnson Blog: CCSS are quasi national standards
Drew Johnson Blog: CCSS are quasi national standards: The picture below is lifted from an Education Week newsletter. It graphically shows, that although the Common Core Standards are not offici...
Drew Johnson Blog: Open Enrollment for FLEX
Drew Johnson Blog: Open Enrollment for FLEX: The FLEX program is only a voluntary option for PdC Public School Employees. If employees do not desire to enroll, they do not have to do an...
Quote of the day...
"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."
--Henry Ford
--Henry Ford
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Quick Read...
A woman having lunch at a small café was seated next to a family celebrating their son’s basketball game. Their conversation was so lively that the woman joined in. “You must have been on the winning team,” she said.
The kid grinned from ear to ear, “No, we lost by 20 points. The other team had a killer defense. We were only able to make one basket.”
“Did you make the basket?” she asked.
With his mouth filled with cake and ice cream, the boy shook his head, “No.”
His father reached across the table to give him a high five. His mother hugged him and said, “You were awesome.”
The woman at the next table rubbed her chin.
The boy looked at the confused woman and said, “At last week’s game, I took nine shots but they all fell short of the basket. This week I took eight shots and three of them hit the rim! Dad says I’m making progress.”
Quote of the day...
"I was angry that I had no shoes, but then I met a man who had no feet."
--Author Unknown
Monday, December 3, 2012
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