Its Time to Start Rethinking... EVERYTHING

We all know education is changing.  We can see it.  From classroom pedagogy to national policy, education reform is in the air.  So why are we trying to hang on to the past at the same time?  How can we admit education needs to change and then expect to keep doing things the way we have in the past.   "We've always done this before," is not a good reason to continue doing something.

I think education is in a revolutionary time.  At no time since its inception has public education been in such a state of flux.  There are some positive changes taking place in the midst of the misguided "reforms" of late, but in order for positive changes to happen, we have to allow for some of our traditional components to die a natural death.  To make room for positive changes, I really think everything has to be on the table. Desks, passing period, schedules, textbooks, exams, tests, homework, grades, faculty meetings, etc.  They don't all have to go away, or even change, but they need to be on the table.  Its time to start rethinking... EVERYTHING

In 2007, a F5 tornado destroyed 95% of Greensburg Kansas.  Everything was on the table.  They decided to put the 'green' in Greensburg by powering the city with wind and redesigning every city building to meet platinum standards of LEED.  Greensburg will be the only city in our nation to meet those standards.  No one told them they had to do this, they didn't ask the state or federal government for permission.  We need to take the same mentality in our individual buildings.  Maybe we need a tornado to hit education?  Maybe it did and we didn't notice.