Sir Ken Robinson Gets it Right... Now It's Our Turn

Sir Ken Robinson from England is a visionary educator from a working class background who understands what is needed in the way of a liberating 21st century education that takes on the issues of the world. Here he gives a talk to a group of folks committed to "learning without borders". The world of web television that communicates wisdom and important idea sharing from people like Sir Ken...and from people like us... makes this kind of  wonderful knowledge-sharing possible.

What an exciting time that we live in. With all these tools and resources right at our disposal, we have no excuse, for not helping make this world an even better place to live in...for all the world's people.

Getting inspired by Sir Ken has already made my day. Call me and let's connect around how you too can help change education to make it better right in your own neck of the words. 425-780-6872.

Waiting for Superman: Thoughts, Feelings and Next to Dos

I am blogging this morning, full of thoughts, feelings and next dos,  after watching and experiencing the film Waiting for Superman last night...with thousands of other people across the U.S. and across the world. Retrospectively, the film is a powerful statement about across-the-board failure of the nation's public education system and how most schools and school systems, urban, and suburban doom the majority of their students to academic failure and lack of opportunity. I and the entire audience were brought to tears, especially, when we had to experience parents and their children's hopes and dreams crushed by school lottery systems with only a few "lucky" winners able to get into better educational programs.

Before that however, the film did a good job of providing an excellent overview and insight on the difference a good teacher versus a bad teacher can make.  The teacher unions "brand" also did not fare too well because the film showed how teacher's unions and tenure system policy and contracts have tended to guarantee job security and a paycheck, even though some teachers aren't even doing their job. Some amazing "undercover" footage is included in the film that I am sure makes teacher's union officials cringe. Charter schools  presented in such a glowing, contrasting way, by focusing on some of the nation's best, will get public school systems and teacher's unions thinking about how to re-position themselves policy-wise and contract-wise.

So after all is said and felt about the film, what is there to be done about the situation? What I am walking away with is how powerful and effective good media can be used to facilitate broad-based social change starting with what's going on...right here in our own communities and state....and we can produce some of this media ourselves. I do media.. so I intend to outreach to the organization who paid for the screening, Stand for Children about doing some post-viewing grassroots television for them that can facilitate even more positive social movement.

What made me really feel good, is that I had already been to a grassroots community meeting earlier this week where powerful regional leadership was already in place and where action agendas were already being laid out. One stakeholder even had handout sheets on what each stakeholder: parent, teacher, student, principal, superintendent, concerned citizen could do to fix education... after the film Waiting for Superman.. has come and gone.

Wow, how hopeful I am, even after being brought to tears by this excellent film that most likely will be too overwhelming for many. Others may only just get angry, just putting out more negative energy. The point, however, was that we all need to come together to fix education for all of us.

Call me and let's connect about facilitating positive educational change.. and not "waiting for superman" in order to have that happen. What's really new is that we can now create our own grassroots, community-based learning channel to further educate learning stakeholders and we don't need a huge film budget to do it... See my New World Television Channel page and What is GoogleTV? for more info.  425-780-6872

Let's Lift Every Voice and Sing... and Celebrate Where The New Learning Will Have to Come From

See Lift Every Voice and Sing on YouTube

This morning I am writing in deep reverence and awe after thinking more about the upcoming film "Waiting for Superman" and about where the new learning will have to come from.... from us... from progressive educators ourselves... willing to fight for social change.. and rising to the occasion ...because that's what's needed... I have been thinking.

With that thought and feeling resonating through me, that's when stuff miraculously started to happen...like me just happening to see a post in my Facebook stream about James Weldon Johnson's Lift Every Voice and Sing...written in 1899. Wow!. Even then, in James Weldon Johnson's life and in his song, he already celebrates where the new learning has to come from... from a proud people ...capable of raising the bar educationally, socially, and morally... liberating all. See more about James Weldon Johnson on Wikipedia

Wow, is it great and reassuring to know that "super people" have historically been and continue to be among us. So let's just leverage that, standing on the shoulders of those who came before us, and rising to greatness ourselves in service to humanity... and we don't have to "wait" for them... we just need to be them. Call me and let's continue to connect about delivering the mission-critical learning.. a new world needs. 425-780-6872.