DI POD #3 "Weeds of Dauphin Island"

DI POD #2 "Light House Bakery"

I was so disappointed that I had to drive back to Mobile yesterday for a meeting. But I am now back on the Island and sitting at the Lighthouse Bakery (another free WiFi spot) enjoying a cafe au lait and banana bread muffin.

Here at the Bakery they are preparing over 150 lunches for the National Guard working on the Island. At least that is good for THIS business!

My run along the coast this morning was exciting; I saw two amazing water spouts on the Gulf. Now I want to figure out how to run with my camera. The intense heat has caused some stormy weather and spectacular lightening.

The girls are ready to head back to the house so I will wrap this up and post my "Dauphin Island Weeds" and "Island Signs" this afternoon...stay tuned.

Dauphin Island Posts/Pictures of the Day (DI POD's) #1

It is the beginning of my first full day of a week of resting, reading, writing, running, and biking on Dauphin Island, AL. Although, I've grown up visiting the Island and staying at my best friend's family house to relax and enjoy the water, I now realize there's so much more about the Island I want to discover. The BP oil disaster has brought to my attention the beauty of this Island which I really know so little about.  So I'll share my journeys this week.

First of all, the heat is unbearable so running at 8:00 am is already too late. We'll try 6:00 am tomorrow.

I found the Dauphin Island Library/Visitor's Center is a fabulous local joint for Wi Fi and am enjoying listening to the locals describe the Island to the few visitors who have walked in. I'll be a regular here this week!

Now I know why I have a basket of chocolate in my office...come see me...it's healthy!

A small bar of dark chocolate every day can help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol. Chocolate also has serotonin which acts as an antidepressant.

The Creativity Crisis (I'm not surprised)

This just validates what I thought was happening...
"For the first time, research shows that American creativity is declining."
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.print.html

"A recent IBM poll of 1,500 CEOs identified creativity as the No. 1 “leadership competency” of the future. Yet it’s not just about sustaining our nation’s economic growth. All around us are matters of national and international importance that are crying out for creative solutions, from saving the Gulf of Mexico to bringing peace to Afghanistan to delivering health care. Such solutions emerge from a healthy marketplace of ideas, sustained by a populace constantly contributing original ideas and receptive to the ideas of others."

"It’s too early to determine conclusively why U.S. creativity scores are declining. One likely culprit is the number of hours kids now spend in front of the TV and playing videogames rather than engaging in creative activities. Another is the lack of creativity development in our schools. In effect, it’s left to the luck of the draw who becomes creative: there’s no concerted effort to nurture the creativity of all children."

My Exploration with VoiceThread

Parents, I'm liking this "Summer Rant"

According to "weblogg-ed.com"

http://weblogg-ed.com/2010/a-summer-rant-whats-up-with-parents/
Bring some imaginary sets (or onesies) of parents into a room and ask them these questions. What kind of responses do you think you’d get?


Do you want your kids to be problem solvers?
Do you want them to be able to work constructively with others to create useful stuff?
Do you want the things they create to contribute to the community?
Do you want your kids to be able to distinguish between relevant, truthful information and the alternative?
Do you want your kids to be creative, imaginative and curious?
Do you want your kids to work on their own, to self-direct their own learning?
Do you want your children to use technology to learn and create?
Do you want your kids to be passionate about learning?
Do you want your kids to be engaged in school?
Do you want your students to learn from/with different cultures?
Do you want them to be independent? (Add your own here.)

"If we really believe in the value of all that problem solving, collaboration, self-direction, passion stuff, and we take an honest look at what the current system values by what it assesses, it’s hard not to see the gap."

What are you doing this Summer? Is it the Summer of "You?"

Blogging Principals!

Should principals blog?

"Innovative educators know that when a school leader has a blog the school is on the road to preparing students for the 21st century."

"What if we all tried to dream big about what we can imagine schools could be where we lived?" ~Chris Lehmann Principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, PA

Principal Larkins shares technology blogs educators should follow.

The Principal of Change
"Get to know the kids. If you build a relationship with them FIRST, then you will make your life a lot easier."

The Starfish Story: An Oldie but a Goodie