box of chocolates

With my apologies to Forrest Gump... "My momma always said, reading a blog was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

So what is in this box? The midst of my third decade of education I find the urge to share whatever craft wisdom that I have managed to accumulate with a wider audience. I will post my reactions to the latest fads and foibles that routinely distract competent educational practice and will also weigh in on the emergent trends that could have a meaningful impact. I will also speak of heirloom topics that were educational insights from the previous century that are reappearing with new labels and new enthusiasm. The systems in education are undergoing some serious paradigm shifts (e.g. say goodbye to special education as we presently know it) and I will share my expertise (read that as a combination of wisdom, bias, ignorance, and selfishness) in a manner that will hopefully induce some reflection in those readers with a sense of humor and an open mind. If you find yourself just getting angry, then you may wish to examine your own bias, ignorance, or selfishness to see which one served as the obstacle to new learning. Ayn Rand, author of The Fountainhead, stated it this way; "if a ray of light falls into a pigsty, it is the ray that shows us the muck and it is the ray that is offensive." The public, politicians, and pundits are not satisfied with the status quo, they see the muck for what it is, and are demanding to be freed from the quagmire. That demand is fueling the rise in homeschooling, charter schools, and magnet schools. New approaches to education are being mandated whether we like it or not.

Positive, evidence-backed change initiatives will enable educators to utilize tools to maximize the educational experience of all students. One of my heroes, Buckminster Fuller, phrased it something like this: if you want to create change, devise a system that makes the current reality obsolete. In the book, R. Buckminster Fuller on Education, he states that he wanted to be remembered as being more than a reformer, he desired the accolade of being a new former.

So what new forms will emerge in education? These new forms, as well as old forms, will be spotlighted in subsequent postings. Till then, make a good day.

Tod

PS. How about them chocolates, movie trailer for Forrest Gump: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3567517977/