Previews of Coming Attractions

I have a couple more posts in the queue to publish, but in the meantime, I'm thinking ahead a bit. The week has been full of thoughts and treats to share. A few of the ideas below are only half-formed at this point. I hope to put some flesh on them and share them later in the week. Feel free to suggest accessories in the meantime.

As one of my schools begins its improvement planning for next year, we're working on some vision statements and doing some other foundation work. It is obvious from this that "not everything that can be counted counts...and not everything that counts can be counted," as Einstein suggested. In other words, what is often most important to teachers are things like healthy kids who love learning---not necessarily kids who do better on the WASL (or other measures). And yet, I can't think of a single School Improvement Plan (SIP) I've ever seen which included values other than test, attendance, or referral data. SIPs rely solely on quantitative measures. But what if we included something qualitative? Hmmm...

Buy it here.

It's Teacher Appreciation Week at Barnes and Noble (and there was an awesome sale at Macy's where I got new dishes...Squee!), so I used my 25% off treat to pick up Here Comes Everybody, the book which is creating so much buzz at the moment. I am enjoying it, but am finding that it is a book that I can read only in small bites. There are some dense ideas to digest even though the writing is very accessible. I think it's a case of having the right book at the right time for me. The book is not education-related, but there are plenty of possible connections. I want to think more about the concept of self-organization for groups might be used to revolutionize the way we solve problems within schools. Will "mass amateurization" also change schools---making teaching less of a profession? I'm only 65 pages or so into this, so I expect a lot of post fodder. Go get your own copy. We'll have a "What It's Like on the Inside" book club for May!

And here are some treats you should have make time for:

• Go visit For You and see what makes you smile and dream.
• See the 50 (Really) Stunning Pictures and Photos put together by The Best Article Every Day
• Read Chris Lehmann's post on What I Want to Talk About; Scott's concerns on Low Ability Teachers, Low Ability Students; This, I Believe at Chalkdust 101; and Becoming a Better Teacher over on Drape's Takes.

I've also been working on Ye Olde Blogroll. I've added a few edtech blogs (e.g. Look What I Found!), a new early childhood blog (Elbows, Knees, Dreams), and Motivation Matters from ASCD. Happy browsing!

P.S. If anyone cares, here are the new dishes (dinner plate, salad plate, bowl). They're the Twist Alea pattern from Villeroy and Boch.