So Will Richardson's not sure about sending his kids to college.

Welllll...

As I enter into my final semester of doctoral coursework, I must confess that the only thing my education has done for me is open doors that likely never would have been opened otherwise. Oh, and it's also taught me to think critically, helped me to understand the strengths and weaknesses of current empirical research practices, assisted me in developing the ability to better rationalize when necessary, and even taught me to better sympathize with those that sometimes just don't get it.

Can these skills be learned without a college education? Absolutely. But it seems to me that in most cases - in order to be highly "successful" without the degree - you've either got to be distinctly specialized (eliminating any legitimate possibility of changing fields in the future) or you've got to be extremely lucky.


No offense, but I'd rather stick with the conservative, "prepare for anything" approach to my future, thank you, and leave rolling the dice to those with less to lose.

Sources:

• Original image source: Flickr user Collin Mel.
• Quotation source: Seth Godin. Props to Jethro Jones, by the way, for nailing the guess on Google Reader for my next inspirational quote.

Dave Cormier explains perfectly the reason why I still blog:


Not for awards, not for fame, and (don't hate me for saying) sometimes not even for the "conversation," the main reason I continue to blog is because I love having a place to catalog my thoughts. To that end, I can't tell you the number of times I've googled my own blog in search of something I've written before - usually to share with others.

That you, as a reader, still feel welcome to straighten me out from time to time by commenting on what I've written - is icing on the cake.

Original image source: Flickr user mybloodyself.
Quotation source: Dave Cormier.

Ronald Anderson and Sara Dexter conducted an interesting study back in 2000, with findings that every school administrator should consider:

For technology to become an integral part of a school, it not only is necessary to help teachers use the technology but administrators must be involved in it, too. The importance of training for developing teachers in technology has long been recognized in the educational community. These findings indicate that administrative leadership and decision-making are equal, if not more important than spending on infrastructure to maintaining a successful technology program.

...Charismatic people may contribute to technology integration as well, but it is even more essential for a school to distribute leadership and become a "technology learning organization," where administrators, teachers, students, and parents together work on how best to adapt new technologies to improve learning. (p. 17)

Nine years later, how's the scene in your school?

Reference:

• Anderson, R. & Dexter, S. (December 1, 2000). School Technology Leadership: Incidence and Impact. Center for research on information technology and organizations. I.T. in education, paper 98. Retrieved December 26, 2008 from
  http://repositories.cdlib.org/crito/education/98

Original image source: Flickr user Jeremy Brooks.

Stephen's right. iJohn's right. And Doug's right.

Folks, if you're in this gig for the awards and the rank and the fame, then ours is a sad, pathetic, state, indeed.

For what it's worth.


Original image source: The Edublog Awards.

Any time I've ever been able to make any kind of personal impact on others in my life can be directly attributed to the fact that I listened more than I spoke.


Original image source: Flickr user lanuiop.
Quotation source: Darius Dunlap (here) via John Pederson.