Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy Old Year--Happy New Year!

Yes, it's December 31, 2010. 

The end of a year which saw the launching of the Northwood-Kensett Athletic Complex Committee to raise $500,000 for our new all-weather track.  (You're 2/3 on the way to making your goal, guys!)

The year that saw the beginning of N-K's 1:1 laptop environment. 

The year which saw the election of a new Governor and the appointment of a new state director of education, Dr. Jason Glass.

The year that saw me start a Twitter account (@principalfritz) and this blog.

It certainly has been a year of changes; good changes, too, by the way.

And if there are two things I've learned in my nine years as a secondary school principal, it's that change is constant, and nothing should surprise me anymore (but it still does).

Change is constant, as demonstrated by my memory of discussing with one of my students my frustration with the turtle-slow internet speeds we grappled with as a district just 15 years ago.  Today, with an astounding 20 mb of bandwidth channeling video streaming, live content, and other data, I still sometimes get frustrated with how "slow" the internet can be! 

And in a conversation with a couple of teachers the other week, I was reminded that human nature is the same everywhere you turn.  These two fine gentlemen were convinced--convinced--that Facebook, MySpace, and text messaging have destroyed our young people's ability to communicate with one another.  "My son has over 800 friends on Facebook, talks to them every night, and never sees any of them face-to-face!" exclaimed the frustrated parent and educator.

My reply, "Do any of the three of us adults in this conversation communicate with hundreds of people a day?  And does he have any fewer 'real' friends at school since he began using Facebook?"  The answer to both questions is, of course, no.

I'd say that his son--according to the constantly changing definition of 'social interaction'--is far more adept at communicating and maintaining social connections than any of us old fogies.  As I stated earlier, this reaction from adults shouldn't surprise me, but it did.

So when I hear complaints from educators and others who view our new 1:1 environment with distrust, concern, and a lack of confidence that it will produce any real benefit for students, I take a deep breath and remind myself that the results will speak for themselves.  No one should be surprised (myself included) when we see student engagement increase substantially, when we see creativity and innovation grow among our students in their class projects, when we see some educators getting excited again about teaching just like when they first began years ago, and when writing-to-learn using the new technology produces gains in reading achievement.

I am more excited than ever to begin another new year with our students, staff, and community.  I can't wait to see what changes will surprise me next.