A new school year

We've got another group of 18 students. We're up to 36 for our second year and it's a good mix of young people. This will not be a school where we worry only about what's "covered" - we're interested in depth more than breadth. This will not be a school where our major focus is on "student achievement" - because those of us in the game know that this only means higher scores on standardized tests. Our mission is to create an elite. They will not only save themselves but they will do their best to save the world. Our motto is "To Know, To Care, To Act."

World Travel

They're here!! Our international students are arriving. Alexandre is from Brazil and Ka Ho Cheung ("call me Kenneth") is from Hong Kong. Nine months is now beginning to seem like a long time. There will definitely be no vacation and food costs get doubled. There will be a lack of privacy and I'll have to be more sociable than I'm normally used to. The payoff is that we'll be learning about two new places, picking up some foreign language, my children will have begun building their international network at a very early age, and we can have at least a couple of people out in the world with an even more positive impression of Americans and America.

Counter Terrorism

James Fallows makes the argument that the United States should declare victory in the"War on Terror." He says that this wouldn't change the new reality facing us but that it would allow us to change our focus away from paranoia and knee jerk spending on security. Without a strong liberal arts education and an emphasis on leadership, our "victory" will be short-lived. Our schools need to prepare young people to direct their own personal growth throughout their lives; they need to prepare them to be active participants in a democracy; they need to prepare them for the world of work. Even if all students do not go to college, it needs to make them college-ready. There need to be a focus on leadership - few entities outside the military do a good job of training for this. There needs to be an affirmation and desire for physical and mental toughness.

"The best education for the best is the best education for all."

Rebuilding

I do a pretty thorough review of reference materials that I hope will help me do my job better - Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Stanford Social Innovation Review, etc. I read Peter Drucker, Tom Peters, Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, and others. I didn't think I would get a great lead from a strength coach - but I did! The lead was "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lencioni. I had a tough week confronting some dysfunction in my organization and I'll be using the book as a roadmap for providing a new direction with the management people here.

Fear

My plan is to add Judo to my high school curriculum. Judo's founder, Jigoro Kano, felt that Judo's educational benefits were the most important. Like so many things at the school, if I want to get it done I'll have to do it myself. That will mean that I have to go back to Judo myself on a regular basis. The education for me will be one of dealing with my fear. I have fear of injury, fear of proof that I am aging, fear of being inept, fear that I will quit. Once I get past all this, I can only be a better teacher.

Activities and Coverage

The world of school too often determines success by the number of activities a teacher can provide or by how much breadth and coverage is accomplished. What is ignored is the ability of students to transfer knowledge, the ability to think critically, the ability to answer the question, "so what?"

The Children Are Our Future?

I hope I'm able to avoid the accountability trap that has school success solely dependent on standardized tests. We measure what is easy and relatively cheap to measure. I'm tired of arguing with people about how it's not just about cute activities or whether we've covered the material that's required for the Regents exam. Facts are important and creative activities can bring facts to life but what about understanding? What about the big ideas that allow students to answer the question "so what?"