Some schools rethink snowdays

    The Baltimore Sun had an article yesterday about a school that is attempting to have some school lessons available online for snow days.  Not surprisingly this is happening at private schools more than public schools.  I guess it is easier to innovate at private schools than public schools.  Private school students might also have more access to computers at home than some public school students but I don't think that is the case in Howard County.  Public school systems seem to be slow to innovate on a system wide basis.  We still have a school calendar that was created for our past agrarian country when students were needed in the fields.  Try to talk about changing the school calendar to reduce the Summer break or even the Spring break and you will hear a great deal of hollering from teachers and student families.  This is even with the research that points out the benefits of year around school.  This benefit is even more pronounced with students from underprivileged families.
     I know that there is a great deal of grumbling that our digital world has pushed out other more personal forms of communication and I am sure that many teachers feel that something is lost without the face to face teaching as it presently exists.  Unfortunately for those in our world today who have not embraced the changes that the digital revolution has created they will be left behind quickly.  I don't hear many people under 35 complain about the use of digital technology.  Do you know anyone under 35 that still has a landline phone or subscribes to a newspaper?  They can't image a world that is "unplugged" and whether those of us of a different generation like it or not that generation will soon lead our businesses, organizations and schools.

P.S.
Once again the Howard County trash and recycling collection will slide this week.

P.S.1
   For all of you who feel the need for a break from our digital world this Friday and Saturday is the
National Day of Unplugging March 7-8