The New Year

I start this year with a blog about teamwork and the common bonds we build at work with each other. I love William Bernback's quote, "An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it." This is so true and I'm so proud of the ideas that have sprang forth into magic because of the dedicated folks on staff.

With this new year, it's a time for us to reflect on what we want to accomplish and to keep the education of the whole child in mind. We want ideas to keep bubbling, enthusiasm constant, and to always remember our paramount duty to produce productive citizens of the world.

I've just finished a great book, Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization. In it, author Yong Zhao, discusses a host of issues plaguing American Education but also what makes American education so incredible. I'll be talking about this book in future blogs.

The first piece I'll share is the evidence sited that even a small reduction in a family's poverty significantly improves school behavior and performance of students. This is common sense for us in the education community. It's also why we need to do everything we can to stress the importance of education with our students and to actively bolster their sense of the future.