Rubrics for 21st Century Digital Project Learning

This site is amazing and really all about teaching for the future. Not only does it have Rubrics based on Bloom's Digital taxonomy, but it also has so many more resources! A great site to check out. Click this Link to go to the site~

Healthy Kids...you really are what you eat!

It really is what we feed our kids... making our kids sick...making our kids fat...


Antibiotics, genetically modified foods, pesticides (each person consumes 5 pounds a year because of what goes into our food supply, unbelievable!)


How can we expect our kids to have healthy bodies and brains if they are consuming all of these chemicals? What kind of life can we expect them to live if they get sick all of the time.


Nutrition education is a must starting in elementary school.


Great video from TEDx (Spanish subtitles- Subtítulos en Español)
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/es/ann_cooper_talks_school_lunches.html

Multilingual Scholars...the time has come!

Why does it seem that the US is one of the few countries where being multilingual or bilingual is not something highly encouraged starting in elementary school?

Students who start school speaking another language are often times discouraged from maintaining their native language in favor of being proficient in English.

Why does it have to be an either or situation?

There is much research showing that certain parts of the brain are more active when learning a second language and while learning another language, more brain connections are made. These multiple brain connections are shown to help multilingual students in the long run.

Furthermore, for every language a person knows, it obviously increases the number of people one is able to communicate with via a social or work setting.

It seems that the time to highly encourage foreign language starting in elementary school has finally come...

Click on the Link below:
Language Bill in Congress | Asia Society

Technology...is it really making a difference in schools?

As I write this blog I realize that it potentially may be read by anyone, anywhere in the world. This idea of being able to reach such a broad audience, in such an easy way, really solidifies the whole idea of "global communication".

There is no excuse these days not to expand our knowledge of other cultures...to go beyond the USA and perhaps even our comfort zone.

Technology, the internet and search engines such as Google have made it all possible and as simple as typing in a topic and hitting the enter key on a computer, smart phone, or tablet.

However, how many US students are taught to be culturally sensitive about the various cultures and customs of people they may come in contact with online?

How many of our students are actually taught or encouraged to collaborate with others around the world on projects?

Yet, global collaborations are becoming more common every day. Corporations gather the best and brightest around the world to work on projects. Business team partners are no longer the people housed in the same office building or even in the same country.

So it seems that while technology is readily available these days in most schools, whether or not students learn how to use this tool to access the wealth of information available is still to be seen, especially at the elementary level.

How can we expect our children to be prepared to be successful in a world without borders if they do not learn how to open the information window to the world?

Bring on the Learning Revolution! Sir Ken Robinson Speaks at TEDx.

In this TEDx Talk video, Sir Ken Robinson discusses the state of current education and some ideas in education that need to change dramatically if we expect our children to be prepared for college or career in the context of our global society.

Bring on the Learning Revolution! Link

What does it take to educate 21st century global scholars?

Welcome to our blog! 

We plan on using this forum to share our ideas, vision, links and much more. We feel that all parents should be aware of and have access to what is currently happening in education and the ideas behind the need for more than just reform.

We are also in the process of developing a charter petition for a school in Orange County, California that will incorporate our vision and ideas because schools that are really educating scholars in the "21st century way" are few and far between.

We are passionate about what we do, have many years of experience as educators and have thoroughly researched every aspect we plan on incorporating in our charter school.

So stay tuned... we will keep you updated on our progress but in the meantime, we will post relevant links to information and videos that every parent should explore.

Link to Common Core State Standards

Link to Orange County Department of Education