In my travels this week and this morning around the building and into classrooms, it made me think about how we are "doing school" a whole lot differently than we have in the past.
Let me take you back a little ...
This month has been filled with presentations, questions, and committees, where parents, students, and community members are trying to get to know me and figure out my philosophy of education.
I am first and foremost open to always answering any and all questions about what we are trying to achieve here at the Nichols Middle School.
It is actually pretty simple: We are trying to make the Nichols the best middle school in the country. We want to see all of our students succeed in anything they put their minds to. We know and believe as Nelson Mandela said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." We want to raise achievement as we raise our students' ability to be successful in today's world.
So, as I was walking through classrooms, I could see our teachers utilizing the 21st Century skills we know our students will need in their futures, and when I say 21st Century skills, I don't just mean using technology. Technology is a tool our teachers utilize to help our students, but it is not all of what we mean when we say, 21st Century. When I say we see 21st Century skills in our classrooms, we see students collaborating with one another. We see them communicating not only with each other but with their teachers and the world. We see them having to critically think and engage with their own learning. And we see them having to create and use their own creativity to solve problems.
This is 21st Century learning ... and as anyone who has listened to me has heard that we are 14 years into the 21st Century, so we should be doing it.
Just some thoughts I had this week as I see some of the great things going on here at NMS. See some of the pictures and see for yourself. School looks a little different, but there is a reason for that difference. We have to change in order for our students to succeed.
Have a great weekend.
