School starting times have long been a peeve of mine, even though I don't have kids. When parents work typical office hours, getting kids up and ready for classes that start before 8 am and end around 3 pm has got to be a frustrating ordeal. Of course not all parents work at white collar jobs, but 9-to-5 is probably more common than the agrarian schedule that our school day used to be planned around. Not to mention the impact of dawn classes on the students!
The Hillsborough Police Department has started issuing crime reports by
e-mail, giving a snapshot of the significant reports made in the past
24 or 48 hours.
When I lived in Northside, the police sometimes brought a print our of the crimes reported in the area for the last month to our Community Watch meetings. I think more immediate information could be very helpful, especially if we need to be on guard for specific people or recurring problems. On the other hand, some people are already too paranoid as it is...
As part of their annual planning retreat this weekend, the Chapel Hill Town Council will be holding a special planning session with UINC officials to discuss Carolina North. The meeting is open to the public, although no public comment will be allowed. I haven't been able to find an agenda or list of attendees, all I know is that it's from 1 to 5pm Sunday at the Southern Orange Human Services Center on Homestead Road.
From the Town eNews (which isn't archived online, grr):
Stated goals for the Sunday meeting are to engage Town and University representatives in a shared discussion about Carolina North. They will identify common interests and decide how to address those interests.
I just found out via the Chapel hill eNews that we have a new business management director. His name is Ken Pennoyer and was previously the finance director for the City of Durham. Welcome to Chapel Hill Ken! (See full press release bellow)
My personal concern upon reading this was about his position as manager over the Town of Chapel Hill Information Technology Department. I see the connection with IT and the budget. But what is Mr. Pennoyer's experience with Technology and communications?
I bet y'all have other concerns. What do you think the priorities for our new business management director should be?
I found this amazing video called Did you know?. It started as a powerpoint presentation given in a High School faculty meeting in 2006. Since then its estimated that its been seen by over 5 million online viewers. You can learn more about it at the Shift Happens wiki.
This video is extremely powerful and speaks well to the challenges of education, work, and information in the 21st century.
So much so I felt my elected officials must see it. So I emailed it to the Chapel Hill Town Coucil, Mayor, and Manager and asked for their feedback. I really want to know what they think about this. I also want to know what you think. To get this conversation going and our minds moving I ask that you watch this video. (Its about 9 minutes)
When you're done please leave your comments bellow. Here are a few questions that i'd like to read your answers to.
What are your initial reactions to what you saw in the presentation?
What kind of training will we need to move forward?
What do we think it means to prepare students for the 21st century? What skills do students need to survive and thrive in this new era?
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