I found this article written in Ed Source last week and saved it to share with you all. I hope that you will take a little time to read it. There are a number of reasons that I share it that relate to the transformation of the secondary education system in California.
Most of you have heard me speak favorably and passionately about Small Learning Communities. You may have heard me speak as passionately about Linked Learning as well. I see Linked Learning as the natural evolution of Small Learning Communities. I see both as the needed structural change in secondary schools to give our students the best opportunity to succeed in the future by being college and career ready upon graduation from high school. Linked Learning is not about making students into job ready individuals in any particular field. It is about giving students the experiences necessary to function successfully in their post-secondary years by continuing their education; by finding valuable and meaningful work opportunities; by preparing students to understand their role as citizens living in the USA; and by giving each student life choices that will allow them to live with their family in a happy and healthy way. To meet all of these goals we just cannot continue to do business as we have been doing it for over 100 years in the United States. Our society and the world have changed, we have to make necessary changes also.
Change is not easy, but it seems to me that some of the cause of making change difficult for educators is that there is not a lot of depth of knowledge and sharing of information among those in our profession and with those in the public. We need to have a better depth of knowledge about Linked Learning and related areas of change such as the Common Core, Next Generation Science Standards, 21st Century Skills, and alternative educational delivery models as professional leaders in education so that we can speak with conviction and passion about why change in our profession is so important. We are not asking people to change just for the sake of change.
The California Legislature over the past two years has approved $500 Million dollars to be given as grants to local and regional LEAs for the purpose of sparking the change to Linked Learning in our secondary schools. This is the biggest amount of money approved by any State for this purpose. According to the CDE, our legislature and State Board of Education see Linked Learning as the transformation model for secondary schools.
This makes me happy because it takes into account the importance of instructional content, skills, and deep thinking; along with the need for student motivation and a sense of their connection to what they are being asked to learn in order to move our students forward in their preparation for college and careers. Please take a few minutes to read this article and I would love to hear comments from you.
Here is the link to the article that I am referring to:
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