Monday Must-Reads - April 17, 2017

As a means to try to get myself writing in this space a bit more, I am starting each week by sharing three posts that I came across during the previous week that struck a chord with me. While my intentions are mainly self-serving, I am also hoping that a few folks might catch a post that they missed. 

Let's see how many weeks I can keep this up...Three weeks and counting...

1. Climb Aboard: School Buses Reimagined - Emelina Minero

In this post from Edutopia, Emelina Minero looks at some school districts that have found a creative way to solve their space problems. By repurposing old school buses, the districts have created mobile learning spaces that can be moved around within a district so that all students have access. 

"By repurposing available space and capitalizing on mobility, these traveling art studios, cafeterias, and science labs are reducing barriers to access and meeting students where they are."

2. On Assigned Summer Reading - Pernille Ripp

As we hit the homestretch in the school year, Pernille Ripp gives her perspective on mandatory summer reading. 

"...we forget that not all children have time to read over the summer?  That not all children will be able to read the book assigned?  That not all children have access to a safe place where they can work on homework during their time away from us."

Ripp goes on with some practical ways that we can deal with this dilemma and still encourage students to read over the summer.  


3. The one question school leaders and parents aren’t talking about… -  Randy Ziegenfuss

This post from Randy Ziegenfuss looks at the elephant in the room for educational leaders. Are we really doing things in our schools and classrooms that will prepare our students for the rapidly changing world that they will be entering? In the post Ziegenfuss references background reading on this topic ( Nancy Duarte's Illuminate and Alec Ross's The Industries of the Future).  I agree with Ziegenfuss's on the fact that we should be continually asking the following:

"What other resources can school leaders and parents access to learn more about tomorrow’s economy? What do our learners need now to compete, succeed and thrive in the future?"