It’s the most wonderful time of the year…

This morning I couldn’t help but think about an office supply video (click here to view).  It’s the video in which the dad is excited because kids will be returning to school at the end of summer (done to the tune of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”).  He’s gleeful as he fills his shopping cart with school supplies. 

Well, I bet lots of our students are humming that song this week.  It’s the final week of school, and today is the final full day for our students.  As I’ve visited schools I see big smiles when the students tell me how much longer until the summer break. 

But summer is a great time for learning, too.  Teachers across the district have put together resources that will be shared to keep those brains and bodies active this summer. All parents will receive a copy, and the information will be posted online, too.

Here’s a link to the lists for activities and resources for the summer collected by our teachers for students:

• Elementary List
• Middle School List
• High School List

Seneca High has already posted an interactive dashboard with their specific activities.  You can access this website by clicking here and reaching the portal via the media center page. 

So, it is the most wonderful time of year for students, and I hope each student will use the summertime to focus on some fun learning activities and reading, too.

Remembering those who gave the ultimate sacrifice…

Click graphic in order to read the poems.

Click here to find out more about Memorial Day, and click here to find out about the tradition of wearing red poppies on Memorial Day introduced by an American teacher (Moina Michael).

You can go home again…

I attended Seneca Middle School’s academic recognition banquet last night.  This is the second year I have attended, and students making the honor roll or principal’s list during the year receive medals and have a dinner with their parents in order to be honored by the school.  The teachers and staff even serve the food to the guests.

The school has brought back former alumni from the community to speak to the students and parents.  Jimmy Watt from WYFF4 was the speaker, and he’s a resident of our community. 

His message to the students was to aim high (his shotgun story was the mental Velcro for this message).  He shared a few more stories and used quite a bit of humor to deliver a powerful message. 

I couldn’t help but think about the writer from Asheville, NC, Thomas Wolfe.  In his famous book, You Can’t Go Home Again, he wrote…

“You can't go back home to your family, back home to your childhood, back home to romantic love, back home to a young man's dreams of glory and of fame, back home to exile, to escape to Europe and some foreign land, back home to lyricism, to singing just for singing's sake, back home to aestheticism, to one's youthful idea of 'the artist' and the all-sufficiency of 'art' and 'beauty' and 'love,' back home to the ivory tower, back home to places in the country, to the cottage in Bermude, away from all the strife and conflict of the world, back home to the father you have lost and have been looking for, back home to someone who can help you, save you, ease the burden for you, back home to the old forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting but which are changing all the time--back home to the escapes of Time and Memory.”

― Thomas Wolfe

As Wolfe illustrates in his novel, you cannot return home in adulthood and successfully recreate and escape into your past experiences. However, as the speakers at this banquet have proved, you can go home and use your past experiences to instruct and guide others.

I appreciate the powerful message being sent by the school to its students, and I hope these students “aim high” as Mr. Watt encouraged them to do.

I have to admit it…

The news leading up to and the resulting lawsuits over the initial public offering (IPO in market lingo) of Facebook has been one story constantly covered by the media.  It seems there are now lots of investigations on the horizon, too. 

All that talk on the news prompted my blog entry this morning.  I have to admit it:  I am a Facebook holdout.

 

I do not have a membership with login privileges on the site.  I don’t communicate or use it at all.  So I guess I am missing out on being connected to this vast social network.  And I’m kind of proud of being one of the holdouts.

The strategy of the company, according to the media commentators, is to be THE vehicle for all future communication.  However, there’s been an area that hasn’t been at the forefront for the founders of Facebook:  mobile media.

Another expert on the news said that as long as folks were holdouts to membership, the company could only be as relevant as a postal system that delivered to one side of the street. 

I guess I’m glad that no one is delivering on my side of the street.  

A day filled with history...

I experienced a little history all day long yesterday. 

I started the morning by attending the 5^th grade wax museum at Keowee Elementary.  It was fantastic, and I had to send the sponsoring teacher a note for her students when I returned to the office.

Here’s the text of the email note:

Impressive! Please extend my compliments to your students for the wonderful job they did this morning with the Wax Museum. I was so impressed with their knowledge and ability to recreate and present the historical character. Also, the students’ attention to detail was truly amazing (Jackie Kennedy Onassis with her large sunglasses, Al Capone with this wads of cash, Milton Hersey with his candy, Albert Einstein with his unruly hair, etc.). I quizzed the students, and I was amazed at how well each knew the subject matter. The props (and takeaways) were a great way to make a connection with the historical figure, too. Again, the students did an impressive job. I hope they will continue to be so enthusiastic about history!

As we close out the year, it was great to see these students demonstrate skills and proficiencies in so many areas (e.g., research, script writing, and presentation skills).  I know they’re ready to transition to middle school next year.  It was impressive!

I ended the day with a little history, too. 

The district honored its retirees last evening.  The event was at the Keowee Key Clubhouse, and the setting and meal were great.

Employees retiring from the district have accumulated almost 1000 years of service.  Twenty-one of those retiring employees, with about 500 years of experience, were recognized by their principals and supervisors last night.

There was laughter and a few tears.  I learned so much during “table talk” time at dinner with several employees and their spouses.  I even learned more detailed information as principals and supervisors shared their recollections of past experiences with these valued employees.

I truly appreciate the contribution of these retiring staff members.  They helped to create history and connections that will continue to impact our school district for years to come.  

Yes, Tuesday was a day filled with history.  

Grading the US Congress on discourse…

Powered by Socrata

By clicking the "expand screen" icon (upper right corner) you can view the information full screen.  

Educators tend to be graded by politicians quite frequently.  I thought it was interesting to read where The Sunlight Foundation applied the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Scale to the discourse of the US Congress.  The result was a grade level analysis of the spoken word as recorded in The Congressional Record.

According to the report (click here), “Today’s Congress speaks at about a 10.6 grade level, down from 11.5 in 2005. By comparison, the U.S. Constitution is written at a 17.8 grade level, the Federalist Papers at a 17.1 grade level, and the Declaration of Independence at a 15.1 grade level. The Gettysburg Address comes in at an 11.2 grade level and Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech is at a 9.4 grade level. Most major newspapers are written at between an 11^th and 14^th grade level.”

I’m not sure if it means anything, but I thought it was interesting.  The analysis looks at such characteristics as political affiliation and length of service in the US Congress. 

I guess the most important thing is that you communicate effectively with the audience.  Remember that George Bernard Shaw said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”   

A quote to ponder…

I did a little research this weekend as we move toward commencement ceremonies on Saturday, June 2.  I was trying to find just the right quote for graduation.  I haven’t quite found it yet, but I came across one that I think sends a great message regarding the element of time.  I share it as a quote to ponder during this very busy week:

“The great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, 'In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!'”

~ John F. Kennedy, 35th president of US 1961-1963 (1917 - 1963) 

Put this on your calendar for next Saturday...

The Education Foundation of Oconee County will be partnering with the City of Seneca to celebrate Memorial Weekend with the "Seneca Fest" at Norton-Thompson Park in downtown Seneca. The event will kick off Friday, May 25th with a cruise-in car show and Part Time Party Time.

The EFOC barbeque cook-off will be held on Saturday, May 26th. Barbeque plates will be sold from 12:00 until 7:00. The Peoples' Choice will also begin at 12:00. Barbeque samplings will be available from each cooker until 2:00. Come help us pick the best barbeque cooker or just enjoy a barbeque plate. Tickets are $10.00 each and are available at all SDOC school sites or may be purchased at the event.

Proceeds from the cook-off will be used to fund the EFOC teacher grant program. Come out and enjoy some great barbeque while supporting the students and teachers of Oconee County!

The District Academic Banquet

I always enjoy the annual academic banquet in which we honor our top graduating students.  Last night was the 49^th year in which students in Oconee County were recognized as being “the best of the best” from our four high schools. 

I tried to make a point last night by using a selection from Daniel Pink’s “Drive.”  Pink details the story of two encyclopedias in his book on human motivation.  One encyclopedia was backed by a large company with many (almost unlimited) resources.  The other was a voluntary encyclopedia in which individuals, for no pay, would contribute to its creation.

The encyclopedia with all of the resources and backing eventually failed.  The other became known as Wikipedia and has thrived via the Internet. 

The reason for my selection of this passage was to help these students understand, at this point in life, they are kind of like the encyclopedia that had all the resources.  They’ve had support of parents, they’ve prepared their minds, and they are now ready to move on to adulthood.  But the resources of the past do not guarantee their future success. 

The next step is completely up to the individual.  Pink refers to three things related to individual success:  autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

I tried to share these concepts with the students.  They must work in an autonomous and independent fashion (we laughed a little about not returning home to live after college graduation).  These students alone are responsible for mastering new skills and abilities, and the most successful in life will have a purpose or vision for the direction they go. 

I extend my best to these students.  They’ve had resources and support from so many.  Now they must make their own way in life through self-determination and hard work. 

You can hear Dan Pink tell the story of the two encyclopedias by using this link (click here) to his TED Talk.  He tells the story around 16:01 on the video.  

An interesting read with a cup of coffee this morning…

I started the morning as I usually do.  I switched on the computer, hit the “brew” button on my single cup coffee maker, and walked outside to retrieve one of my two local papers (the other one arrives a little later each morning).

I finished the login process on the computer.  I fixed my coffee with creamer and sugar substitute.  I perused the front page of the paper.  I sat down, with reading glasses in position, and I started reading. 

I am thankful when I see positive stories about our schools, and the local paper had two excellent stories on the front page today.  One story was about our success on standardized tests despite some challenges.  The other story detailed our annual recognition program for teachers, support staff, and volunteers.  There was even a great picture of the three folks representing the three categories on page 1.

Then I got to page A4.  The editorial was a bit perplexing.  The “Our View” op-ed piece states, “Transparency is needed in the $3.7 million school request.” 

I noted and agreed with one statement in the body of the text, “The lack of state funding was costly.”  That’s been so true, and I’ve written extensively about the “budget dance” I’ve done each year as superintendent (excluding my first year since the budget was already approved). 

Then a line hit me, “We take issue that the school board was not open enough with the public and the council members with those figures.”

I can’t think of any additional ways to communicate it.  I’ve shared this information constantly.  It’s been part of our Board meetings.  We’ve talked about the “funding cliff.”  We’ve given the figures in exhibits, and I’ve shared my concerns with every partnership meeting in which I participate. 

It seems I’m always writing, talking, and e-mailing folks about the budget.  I’ve presented extensively at community meetings about school finance (e.g., Republican meetings, Democratic meetings, League of Women Voters meetings, Rotaries, men’s groups…).  I have bombarded our staff with e-mails to update them on the status of our budget (this year I’ve tried to hold off on so many until more facts were known). 

Every Board meeting is videoed and posted the next day on our website.  There are loads of exhibits, too.

I think that’s being “transparent.”

But here’s the clincher.  The editorial writer states, “We also take exception to the threats that a failure to approve the $3.7 million – and the tax increase it brings would result in teacher layoffs.”

Hey, we’ve been cutting everywhere to avoid that reality.  We’ve made extensive cuts so as not to balance the budget on the backs of teachers.  The goal must be to protect the classroom and the person critically important for our students’ success:  The Teacher. 

So, I appreciate County Council taking the time to receive this information from the Board of Trustees during the special joint meeting.  I also appreciate the 3-2 vote on our budget request that Council made later that evening. 

I feel we’ve been very transparent in this process.  I think I might need a second cup of coffee this morning.

An Update:  Dr. Michael Thorsland, Assistant Superintendent for Operational Services, felt an obligation to respond to the editor since he was quoted in the editorial.  He responded by sharing information from the Board’s April 16 meeting.  You can see the budget exhibit by clicking here (note the very top of Page 1 where it states the total deficit is over $7 million) or by watching the meeting (click here) at about 27:35 mark.