Hurricane Sandy...Exciting Times

The east coast just survived a major storm. It certainly wasn't the first and won't be the last. Our schools have been closed for 2 days, so kids and many teachers are very happy. It is a wonderful feeling to not have to venture out of the house in dangerous conditions. Not everyone has that luxury; witnessed by the cars and trucks on the highways whenever the news would flash to a live picture of the interstates. But, must the closing of schools be a disruption to student learning?

As we, as a society, become more and more connected by the Internet, texting, etc., is there a way to put some sort of virtual learning in place so that our students don't really lose two days of school? My brain is coming up with many reasons why this isn't possible at this moment in time, but I'd rather think about how amazing this could be. The naysayers who read this can comment on the negative and list them, if they'd like to waste energy on that list.

Last night, even as each of my co-workers reported that they had lost power, they still had their smartphones and were able to continue to stay connected. Maybe our school systems need to begin to brainstorm ways to put some of these learning opportunities in place. This is such an exciting time. Putting virtual learning opportunities into place could be one more way that our school system could capitalize on days when the schoolhouse can't be open. Witness how quickly your own children become bored when the power goes out. But, as mentioned, my own son never lost his cellphone service. He was texting, etc throughout the storm. Could your students be Tweeting with you when school is closed? Could teachers have Facebook groups? Could you all come up with even better ideas?

Very exciting times!

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The Avengers

Watching the BluRay of the Avengers...less than 5 minutes in and Loki says, " I'm burdened with glorious purpose."

As a reflective teacher, I think this is my new mantra. In my mind, this says it all!

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