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=﻿Education Transformation Kool-Aid=

Why the title?
//"**Drinking the Kool-Aid**" is a metaphor, used in the [|United States] and [|Canada], that means to become an unquestioning believer in some ideology, or to accept an argument or philosophy wholeheartedly or blindly without critical examination.// //(from [])//

My friend Wendy, a high school teacher far hipper than I, introduced this phrase to me a couple years ago. Although, by Wikipedia's definition, there is negative implication in accepting something "blindly without critical examination," I want to believe the positive in this definition more. I have become a believer that education needs help. Serious help. I have "wholeheartedly" accepted this notion and am ready to go there, to try things that are new and seemingly radical, when in all actuality, they are not radical at all. They make sense. I wish I could have learned the way I now want to teach. I can't even imagine how rich my education would have been.

I work in a school district that performs well in state standardized testing, whose high schools make the lists of the best high schools in America, who can boast Blue Ribbon elementary campuses and whose high school students are national merit scholars, etc. We are seemingly doing well. So why fix what isn't broken?

We have not recognized how we can make changes that cause students to be better prepared for their world. Public education is in need of change. No, not even "change" or "restoration," rather a "transformation"! And that makes me scared and excited! We have the opportunity to go from good to great by meeting the needs of our 21st century learners who thrive on fast information, technology at their finger tips, and critical thinking and problem-solving experiences to boost their educational experiences.

I have barely begun to dip my toe into the waters of a 21st century classroom. I am collecting and building a library of resources that I want to share with anyone out there who is ready to transform with me.

I hope you, too, drink the Kool-Aid!
I will continue to build pages that offer resources that help you. In turn, I urge you to contact me with your best resources. The more people we reach, the better!