A Blue Skunk Rant: Back-to-School cartoons

https://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2018/08/21

Cartoons with themes like the one above are common in the funny pages this time of year. T-shirts, TV programs, and advertisements often display a "too bad, kids, school starts again soon" message.

I find such messages depressing, not because they are true, but because they don't reflect reality for so many of our children. I would be willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that a majority of kids look forward to the start of school - seeing friends, getting involved in activities, having fun in classes, and for many, finding a certain place of safety and of meals.

How might different kids respond to the "school is bad" message:

• For kids who already don't like school, their feelings are validated. "I am right not to like school because nobody does."
• For kids who like school, they may question their feelings. "Is something wrong with me to like school? Am I weird?"
• And for the kids who may be neutral, they may be encouraged to go negative. "I'll be watching for all the things not to like about school."

I suspect that trying to change the perception of back-to-school time as being a time for mourning is impossible. Humor tends to be associated with negativity, not the positive. (Funnier to see someone slip on a banana peel that to eat a banana and get healthier.) And this view of school has been around for a very, very long time.

But I still wish our society would communicate a little happier message about school starting back up. I know I am looking forward to it!

 

5 "soft" tech skills

Source https://www.youtern.com/thesavvyintern/index.php/2018/07/26/new-soft-skills-evolution-infographic/

Soft skills are the personal attributes, personality traits, inherent social cues, and communication abilities needed for success on the job. Soft skills characterize how a person interacts in his or her relationships with others. the balance careers

Last week our district hosted a day-long workshop on coding. And that's fine. If one looks at coding as technique of problem-solving and means of developing rational problem-solving abilities, I am all for it. If teaching coding is about creating life-long tech skills at third grade, it is a waste of time.

Computer programming and coding when seriously undertaken at high level can be valuable work place skills. Programmers and data integration specialists can make a good living and the need for their skills will only increase. Still, even computer professionals need "soft skills." I'd argue that these soft skills (especially needed by a group often stereotyped as asocial) are a better predictor of career success than programming or other hard technical skills. 

Here are five of those soft skills that come to mind:

1. Communication for understanding. People in the technical field have a reputation for being poor communicators. The specialized language of technology is not familiar to the lay user and far too often, techs delight in compounding the problem of clear understandings by flaunting acronyms to demonstrate some sort of intellectual superiority. The successful technologist of the future will be able to "translate" tech talk in ways that users, decision-makers, and even politicians might understand.
2. Programming with empathy for user needs. A program can be extraordinarily powerful, but without at least a semi-intuitive interface, most of that power will go unused. Or the training will be long and very painful resulting in the number of people able to use the product in the organization being small and resentful. What seems simple and straightforward to those of who work with technology on a daily base, can be puzzling and frustrating to the end user. Great technologists view their products from the user POV.
3. Project management. Any time a task requires more than one person having responsibility for its completion, project management will be critical to its success. I am living this in real time currently when trying to get separate large databases to share data reliably. It is no longer enough just to be competent at one's own job as a programmer - you have understand your role in the larger project and even add value by managing the project, helping with building timelines, objectives, responsibilities, etc.
4. Ethical decision-making. As AI become more powerful, ethical considerations for technologists become vital. We are already seeing reports of search engines with cultural and sexual biases in their returns. The technologist who programs thinking about right and wrong, equity, and cultural proficiency will be of more value not just to his organization, but to society as a whole.
5. Attention to creativity. Too often coding classes and programming are teaching and testing the ability to simply follow a recipe. The heart of good technology skills is creative problem-solving. This is not creativity for the sake of being creative, but in designing new ways to solve stubborn problems, increase efficiency, or add value. What problems are you asking students to solve in their programming lessons?

The technologists to whom some of these soft skills come naturally will rise to the top of the tech pool. But many will need to asked to consider and practice improving their ability to interact with people, not just with keyboards.

BFTP: School libraries - a student right

Here's a little riff on ALA President Barbara Stripling's Declaration for the Right to Libraries...

Declaration for Student Rights to School Libraries

Thomas Jefferson wrote, “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.” An educated citizenry is the product of effective schooling that is available to every child. School libraries are essential to an effective school. Therefore if all students have the right to a high quality education, all students have the right to access to well-staffed, well-stocked, and up-to-date physical and virtual school libraries.

School libraries honor the individual learner.  

By providing access to materials on a wide range of topics, with a wide range of reading levels, and in a wide range of media formats, libraries allow the personalization of education, meeting the needs of every learner. 

School libraries enable 24/7 learning.

By providing access to a curated collection of online materials, as well as Internet access in as unrestricted an environment as possible, libraries make it possible for learning to continue outside the classroom and school and into the home.

School libraries encourage the love of reading and learning.

By providing novels, non-fiction, magazines, games, videos, and other materials of high interest for practice reading and recreational use, libraries help students recognize that reading and learning can be a joyful experience, making the exploration of topics of personal interest a voluntary, lifelong enterprise.

School libraries teach valuable whole-life skills.

By providing access to professional information experts (librarians) who teach information seeking, evaluation, and communication skills, libraries develop students’ critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity abilities necessary for vocational, academic, and personal success. 

School libraries are spaces where all learners are welcome.

By providing a physical environment in which students feels welcome, comfortable, and safe, libraries insure that every student has a place where he or she is valued. 

School libraries give all students a voice.

By providing access to the tools needed to create, communicate, and share original information through a range of media, students learn to participate in online conversations with both peers and with the world.

School libraries close the digital divide.

By providing access to technology beyond the school day, libraries give students whose families cannot afford home computers or Internet connectivity access to educational technology before and after school and at home.

School libraries encourage collaboration, teamwork, and face-to-face interaction in the school.

By providing a physical space for social learning, students learn and practice how to work in groups effectively.

School libraries protect student and staff intellectual freedom.

By providing Internet access that is as free from filtering as allowed by law, libraries insure that students and staff information flow is not censored, allowing access to a diverse ideas and opinions.

School libraries honor the education of the whole child.

By supporting an educational philosophy that values higher order thinking skills, creativity, authentic assessments, attention to personal dispositions, and individualization, libraries look beyond the low-level skills measured by standardized test scores and work to create graduates who capable of full engagement with society and the world. 

AASL, I happily cede the right to this concept to you. 

Check out the very nice graphic of this done by LibraryGirl, Jennifer LaGuarde!

Original post July 4, 2013

Head for the edge column Jan/Feb 2014