Improvements needed to meet new school vision

Here is an article wrote by Dr. Rod Rock. I think he and his community have developed a model for where we need to take our educational system to be able to compete on a global scale in to the future. Well said DR. Rock. You are truly making a difference in this world one student at a time. I think it could be a TED.org Talk Dr. Rock.

Words from Dr. Rod Rock

Improvements needed to meet new school vision

November 30, 2011 - The Clarkston Community Schools' learner profile reads"Clarkston Community Schools' students are thoughtful, contributing members of society who possess the behaviors, skills and attitudes to continue to learn and adapt to a diverse and dynamic global society. Our curious and imaginative students exhibit critical thinking and problem solving skills, are effective oral and written communicators, and can access and analyze information. Clarkston Community Schools' learners, as successful 21st Century citizens, effectively use technology. They nimbly apply these skills throughout life in academic, social, and emotional situations."

One of my goals as the superintendent of schools is to, by 2014, ensure that every building in the district is equipped to allow every student to use a 1:1 technology device to enhance his/her learning.

Further, it is my goal next school year to have one building in the district that is equipped to allow for every student in that building to use a 1:1 technology device to enhance their learning.

Why have I worked with our board of education, administrators, teachers, parents, and community members to establish this learner profile and this goal? Here are four reasons:

1. In 2006, Thomas Friedman wrote in his book, The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century, that (paraphrasing): Any job—blue or white collar—that can be broken down into a routine and transformed into bits and bytes can now be exported to other countries where there is a rapidly increasing number of highly educated 'knowledge workers' who will work for a small fraction of the salary of a comparable American worker. And it seems that this prediction is moving toward the truth in 2011.

2. Beyond school (e.g., in the workplace, college, life) much (if not most) of our working and learning involves technology (think of a job in 2011 that does not use technology), and more specifically a computer device. Think about your cell phone in 2001. What could it do then?

What does your smart phone do now? What will it be able to do in 2015? 2016? 2030? 2050? 2083 (when there are 10 billion people in the world)? And our students require access to similar learning tools in school.

3. Therefore and in order for CCS graduates to compete globally for jobs, our schools must demand that our students really think—both orally and in writing—as opposed to merely memorizing and regurgitating.

They must develop their own well-reasoned interpretations of pieces of literature and significant events in history; develop and test hypotheses in science classes and explain their thinking about how they solve complex math problems; work in groups to wrestle with and explain their thinking—every day—regarding really big issues facing our world today (paraphrased from The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner, 2008).

They must use technology to communicate, create, interact, and dig deeply into really big issues facing our world today, in 2015, 2016, 2030, 2050, and 2083 (when there are 10 billion people in the world).

4. If we believe—and I mean truly believe—that "The future of our economy, the strength of our democracy, and perhaps even the health of the planet's ecosystems depend on educating future generations in ways very different from how many of us were schooled" (Wagner, 2008, p. xxviii); and if we further believe items #1, #2, and #3 above, then it is our responsibility and obligation to ensure that every single student who attends and graduates from the Clarkston Community Schools has the skills and dispositions listed in our district's learner proflie and that he/she uses technology to communicate, create, interact, and dig deeply into really big issues facing our world today, in 2015, 2016, 2030, 2050, and 2083 (when there are 10 billion people in the world).

Hence, our learner profile is more than just words on paper, it is a commitment to every single student we serve.

I invite you to join me in future discussions of our district's vision, mission, and learner profile.

I invite you to join me in doing all that we can together to ensure that every CCS student becomes a thoughtful, contributing member of society who possess the behaviors, skills and attitudes to continue to learn and adapt to a diverse and dynamic global society.

That each student is curious and imaginative and exhibits critical thinking and problem solving skills, is an effective oral and written communicator, and can access and analyze information. And each learner, as a successful 21st Century citizen, effectively uses technology. And further that every student nimbly applies these skills throughout life in academic, social, and emotional situations. Let's make this our collective commitment to our students, our teachers and administrators, our support staff, our community, and our future.

My life is blessed many times over. I am thankful every day to work and learn in Clarkston.

Rod Rock, Ed.D., is superintendent of Clarkston Community Schools