What I Learned from Sally

This afternoon I am going to pick up Sally's ashes.  She was an amazing dog and has been a constant companion of our family for over 16 years!  Rather than recount the story of the pain and suffering of her last years, I would rather reflect on the lessons that she taught me.

First, she showed me how to be grateful for the little things.  She was a stray that my brother found at a construction site and greatly appreciated having a roof over her head, a meal in her bowl, and a soft place to lay her head.  She also taught me unconditional love. I could be disfigured by burns and she would love me still!  Finally, she taught me the fragility of life.  I witnessed the Vet. "putting her down" and was amazed at how fast the drug drew life from her body.  In two heartbeats and one breath she was gone, but she will never be gone from my memory or will I forget the lessons this noble creature taught me!

David Gallo shows underwater astonishments | Video on TED.com

David Gallo shows underwater astonishments Video on TED.com

Learning that is Familiar

I watched a PBS show this weekend about another way to learn how to play the piano.  The idea is to streamline the process by using lead sheets (not the traditional treble and base confusing sheet music) and to learn songs that you already know.  This made a lot of sense.  So, I downloaded a lead sheet for the introduction of Elton John's "Your Song" and sat at the piano and "hunt and pecked" my way through the notes.  WOW...I actually started to play the song...and three days later played it so that my wife and 9-year old piano playing son could recognize it!  I think the magic of playing a song that I know...and LOVE, is the key to picking it up so fast.  There was an immediate feedback when I hit the wrong note.  I know how it is supposed to sound!

How important is it to connect teaching and the learning experience to something that is familiar to the learner?  If it is important, then how can we enhance learning by connecting subjects (math, reading, science, etc.) to things that are familiar to the group that we are teaching?  Let me know what you think.

ARG, Recruiting (TonySmithOK) on Twitter

ARG, Recruiting (TonySmithOK) on Twitter: "During my morning walk I was thinking that life is too short to walk in uncomfortable shoes or be in an uncomfortable job!"

Do Buildings Impact Education?

I just finished reading Greg Mortenson/David Relin Book "Three Cups of Tea".  This book is about "Dr. Greg's" single-minded mission to build schools in rural areas of Pakistan and Afganistan.  So far he the organization that he founded, Central Asian Institute, has built almost 60 schools, educating 24,000 students! 

While the story is amazing and I highly recommend it, I do not want to rehash it here.  What I would like to discuss, is how does physical space impacts education.  Do buildings and their contents truely affect the quality of teaching that is delivered?  Before reading this book, I did not see a direct corrolation, but now I am certain there is one!

Let me know your thoughts...I think this subject has some relavence in this country as well as 3rd World ones.

A Case for Teaching Wisdom over Knowledge!

http://newsok.com/educators-should-aim-to-teach-for-wisdom/article/3546190

Good Article re: the importance of STEM Education

Herman Trend Alert: The Importance of US Action  November 10, 2010

We have watched as the US has fallen farther and farther behind its peer developed nations. According to The World Economic Forum's "Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010", the US now ranks 48th in the quality of its mathematics and science education.

Following on the heels of our October 27th Herman Trend Alert, according to the ACT College Readiness report, 78 percent of high school graduates did not meet the readiness benchmark levels for one or more entry-level college courses in mathematics, science, reading, and English.

This report is a follow-up to the US Council on Competitiveness' previous study "Rising Above the Gathering Storm Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5". (Its predecessor resulted in the "2007 America COMPETES Act".)

Though only four percent of the country’s workforce is made up of scientists and engineers, this group disproportionately creates jobs for the other 96 percent. Moreover, the pace of creation of new knowledge appears to be accelerating.

In point of fact, the US is only sixth in global innovation-based competitiveness, but 40th in rate of change over the last decade. It is 11th among industrialized nations in the fraction of 25- to 34-year-olds who have graduated from high school and 16th in college completion rate. The US is 22nd in the world in broadband Internet access and 24th in life expectancy at birth; and 27th among developed nations in the proportion of college students receiving degrees in science or engineering. Finally and not surprisingly, the US is 29th in the number of mobile phones per 100 people.

According to Charles Vest, former Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T), president, who worked on the study "In spite of the efforts of both those in government and the private sector, the outlook for America to compete for quality jobs has further deteriorated over the past five years".

Other countries like Brazil that have paid attention to these issues have reaped the rewards. If the US is to compete successfully on the global stage, we MUST put the education of our young people first. In addition, we must look for innovative ways to encourage our youth to take rigorous courses of study, especially guiding them into the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) professions.

Special thanks to New York Times' columnist Thomas Friedman for calling our attention to this important issue.

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