Take time this holiday season to enjoy the family and friends that surround you. This season more than ever, it has come to the attention of high school staff just how needy many HDHS students really are in these tough economic times. Knowing this, Family and Consumer Science teacher, Jane Hoegh, and Counselor Tricia Christiansen have led an effort to find out which students are most in need of goods and materials this holiday season and ensure their needs are met. HIgh school students have graciously let teachers know about friends and relatives who are without food, a coat, or Christmas gifts this year. Then, staff have graciously brought in needed materials for these high school students. Furthermore, some generous families in the community have donated roughly 12 coats for high school students who are without coats this cold winter season. The holiday season is truly about giving and at HDHS this holiday season giving has been modeled and performed in classic fashion.
I personally want to wish the high school staff, district employees, parents, students, and community members a joyous holiday season and happy new year!
As the close of the 2009 year happens and we look forward to 2010 I especially think about preparing students for what is left of the 21st Century. Whether for better or worse we may not agree or know. None-the-less, our world is changing. Jobs are different, people are more mobile than ever, technology continues to get cheaper and faster, the economy is questionable, terrorism has caused wars, and the world is indeed flatter than it has ever been. We are striving to prepare H-D students for a world that we know will be different than what we grew up in and have lived. But, we truly don't know exactly how it will look and what it will entail. What is more scary is to realize that as we prepare students for the 21st century a decade has truly almost passed and our time to define the students of the 21st century is more demanding than ever before.
It has been said that it takes the pubic education system 30 years or more to actually change. And even then, one could argue that the changes that come still mimic 1900's school houses with traditional boards for teachers to write on and desks lined up in rows. As we consider defining HDHS graduates for the 21st century we must first consider how to best educate them. This may be the toughest part since educators are the ones who usually enjoyed and had success in the traditional education system. But do bubble tests, lectures, and note taking truly prepare students to compete for jobs against students from India, China, and Europe. Hard to tell. But what we do know is that traditional teaching may not engage as many students as it has in years past. How can teachers today compete with video games, cell phones, and computers. They may not be able to. So, perhaps we should consider using these devices that students use so transparently outside of school inside of school. Perhaps that is how educational will evolve. Perhaps that is teaching in and for the 21st century?
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