It’s Not My Job? – Yes, Actually It Is! Education For ALL by All #HourOfCode

“Being a leader is not about you. It’s about the people that are on your team and how you can help them be successful.”
– Susan Vobejda

hourofcode
Last year in December I wrote about the Hour of Code; this followed up from a post the previous December as well. This Hour of Code is held during Computer Science Education Week. Here is a link to an article about White House support for Hour of Code.

Here is a video about the Hour of Code from Computer Science Education Week:

All across District 109 students and teachers and administrators are experiencing Computer Science by participating in the Hour of Code! So much energy was devoted to this endeavor that our town made the Leader Board (as of 2:50 Central time on 12/9/2015):

hour of code leaderboard 250pmCT 129

One of the main leadership tenets under which we operate in DPS109 is “MICEE” from Leadership Challenge.

Model the Way
Inspire a Shared Vision
Challenge the Process
Enable Others to Act
Encourage the Heart

To that end, today we Modeled the Way during our Leadership Team Meeting (see Periscope video) The video runs 24 minutes, so you may want to watch parts … the point is we leaders in DPS109 (superintendent, assistant superintendents, executive directors, principals, associate/assistant principals), as part of our leadership development we participated in the hour of code.

The blog post’s title: It’s Not My Job? – Yes, Actually It Is! Education For ALL by All #HourOfCode is meant to show how educating our children, supporting the growth of one another and our teachers, is the job/responsibility of each of us. Education is often referred to as a calling, leadership is a set of practices and a foundation of service, together we can best serve our students.

Kudos to the students, teachers, and leadership around the world, and in DPS109 for living the Leadership Challenge exemplary practices of leadership! It’s fun to be on the “Leaderboard” but the real fun is experiencing computer science, coding, problem solving and problem based learning. Through real life experiential learning our students will continue to be engaged, inspired, and empowered – our Vision and our Mission – each and every day!

It is incumbent upon us to “get out of the way” in terms of modern approaches to student learning. Students are bright, they have the ability to collaborate and create and think critically and communicate. Students have voice, agency and power. Schools are designed for student learning. School systems support student, staff, leadership, and community learning. It’s a time of change and energy in public education. It’s time to bring back problem based learning experiences tied to the 4C’s linked to standards and student interest. Passion projects, genius hour, excitement and energy is what school should be all about. It’s affirming and rewarding to serve in a community dialed in to what’s right about schooling!

ENGAGE, INSPIRE, EMPOWER
ENGAGE, INSPIRE, EMPOWER