Tradition holds that the idea of the New Year’s Resolution comes from the mythical king of Rome, Janus. He had two faces and could look back to the past and ahead to the future. As a result, many Romans began reflecting on what had just taken place and making vows about the year to come.
For me as a Christian, the idea of a New Year’s Resolution is profoundly spiritual. I see it as a chance to renew my commitment to God and to deepen my faith. I knew a man once who lived his faith every day in every way. He once told a church that he would make up the difference in the collection plate if it didn’t meet its goal, no matter how much money it would cost him. His philosophy was simple: he gave and expected God to meet him.

This year, 2011, I’m making the same pledge. I’m going to give…and expect God to meet me. I hope you’ll join me in doing the same thing.

Today we continue our series on New Year’s Resolutions. And one of my biggest resolutions in 2011 is to get more technology into the classroom.

As readers of this blog know, my family funded a grant to Dallas Christian Schools in December to help provide faculty and staff with iPads. That’s a great start. But it’s only one school. In 2011, we will be exploring the possibility of funding a similar grant at a different school. This will be our way of revolutionizing how our kids learn by revolutionizing the way we teach them.

Be looking for an announcement sometime in early 2011 about another grant of iPads for classrooms.

As we approach a new year, I want to spend some time on the blog this week talking about my New Year’s Resolutions.

Only these resolutions aren’t about losing weight or eating better (though I should probably try to do both of those, too). Instead, my resolutions will be ways that I believe I can make a difference. All of us can make a difference in our own way. But we have to have a plan to get there.

My plan for 2011 includes doing my part to end this nation’s addiction to foreign oil. We can’t continue to fund tyrannies in the Middle East. We need to develop energy solutions right here in the United States. I believe we need more domestic oil and gas production. But I also believe we need more renewable energy solutions. I’m going to step up my commitment to biomass energy and it all starts with a big announcement after the first of the year. So get ready…change is on the way!

As we near Christmas, my thoughts turn to a simple manger 2000 years ago. How blessed we are that God loved us so much He gave us His only son to live among us and save us.

This Christmas, I pray that you and your family will experience the grace, joy and peace that can only come from God. That’s the true reason for the season.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Today we continue our series on the impact of technology in the classroom. Some people may wonder if computers make a difference. They do. But don’t take my word for it:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/19387.php

According to this scientific survey done a few years ago in Massachusetts, computers have a profound impact on the kids who use them. This is particularly true once they start taking standardized tests:

“Analyzing test performance and computer uses of 986 fourth grade students from 55 classrooms in nine Massachusetts school districts, the study found that the more regularly students use computers to write papers for school, the better they performed on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Systems (MCAS) English/Language Arts exam.”
Simply put, the more kids use computers the better off they are. And that will be even more true with the newest generation of computers: iPads.

Earlier this year a movie hit theaters that could change our country. It was called “Waiting for Superman.” This documentary tells the story of five school children whose dreams will likely be derailed by schools that don’t teach and won’t change. What a travesty. Here is the link to the website where you can learn more about the film and the foundation that supported it:

http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/action/

But we can also start changing schools ourselves. After you watch the trailer or read the stories on the Waiting for Superman website, think about what you can do to change your school.

A lot has been made in the news recently about China someday overtaking us economically. What’s even scarier is that they’ve already overtaken us educationally:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/07/education/07education.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&hp

Everyone should read this article. It describes a detailed survey that was done that shows Chinese students are miles ahead of their American counterparts:

“In math, the Shanghai students performed in a class by themselves, outperforming second-place Singapore, which has been seen as an educational superstar in recent years. The average math scores of American students put them below 30 other countries. In reading, Shanghai students scored 556, ahead of second-place Korea with 539. The United States scored 500 and came in 17th, putting it on par with students in the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and several other countries. In science, Shanghai students scored 575. In second place was Finland, where the average score was 554. The United States scored 502 — in 23rd place — with a performance indistinguishable from Poland, Ireland, Norway, France and several other countries.”

Incredible. We all know our schools are not good enough. But did we know it was this bad?

The time has come for a revolution in schools in America. And it starts with using technology in the classroom

How much has education changed over the years? In some ways, a lot.

In 1939, school buses colored themselves in yellow to set them apart. In 1958, science education gained a new emphasis after the Soviets launched Sputnik. In 1965, Head Start began to help low income children.

And in the 1990s, whiteboards began to replace chalkboards.

These are all nice things. But none of them change how kids are fundamentally taught. We now live in an era where a mobile device can show you movies, play you music or research any question for you.

Isn’t it time we used that same kind of technology to change the way teach our kids in the classroom?

Yesterday I announced that I was providing funding so that Dallas Christian School can offer iPads to all its teachers. I did so because I believe in education. More important, I did so because I believe education needs to change.

From now on, teachers at Dallas Christian will have the world at their fingertips. If they need to research something, or find a lesson plan or get advice from other teachers, they can do it all on their iPads. This will make Dallas Christian the leader when it comes to using technology in education. I’m not aware of any other secondary school doing this…but I predict others will follow.

Tomorrow I’ll talk more about what the future of education will look like and what we need to do to get there.

Randy Hill Launches Initiative to Give iPads to Teachers at Dallas Christian

Charitable donation will allow 60 teachers and all high school students to receive iPads

DALLAS, TEXAS—Randy Hill, President and CEO of Advanced Trailer, today announced that he is providing money to help Dallas Christian School distribute iPads to each full-time teacher as part of its new ChargerTech initiative.  Faculty will spend the Christmas holidays familiarizing themselves with the device, after which they will begin collaborating with experts from Abilene Christian University, a recognized leader in the area of Mobile Learning.

“We can’t keep giving our kids the kind of instruction I received in the ‘80s, let alone giving it to them essentially in the way it was delivered in the 1880s,” Hill said in making the announcement. “I’m thrilled to be able to help DCS accomplish its goal of becoming a more innovative institution that can get these students ready for the jobs they will want in the future – many of which don’t even exist right now.”

Plans call for all of Dallas Christian’s high school students to receive their own iPads in August 2011, prior to the start of the school year.  iPad carts will be available across campus for use by students in the lower grades.

Dallas Christian’s partnership with Abilene Christian University will give DCS faculty access to the latest research in the ever-expanding world of mobile learning technology.

“We look forward to supporting the ChargerTech initiative,” says Dr. Billie McConnell, director of ACU’s k-12 Digital Learning Institute. “Schools need to be developing their students’ critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills. Making use of the latest digital tools is one of the most important ways they can accomplish their mission.

“At ACU, our students and faculty are immersed in the day-in-day-out process of adapting this technology to the classroom, and we’re succeeding. We look forward to sharing our experience with Dallas Christian,” says McConnell.

I know something about change.

About sixteen years ago, the peanut industry continued to harvest, transport and dry peanuts the way it had for over 40 years using little wagons pulled behind a pickup.

At Advanced Trailer, we saw an opportunity to do something different. We developed the Advanced Trailer. Essentially, we took a semi trailer, converted it into a mobile multi-use container and gave peanut farmers the ability to harvest, transport, dry and store their peanuts all in one vehicle. This revolutionized the industry.

But isn’t that really the story of progress in America? Someone finds a better way of doing something? The train gave way to the car and the car gave way to the plane. The typewriter gave way to the computer. Fire heated water, produced steam and gave way to electricity.

Technology also leads to improvements. And now it’s time for technology to change education.

Later today, I’ll be making a big announcement about how I’m going to do my part to revolutionize education and bring the classroom into the 21^st Century.  Check in tomorrow to find out more about it.

This week our blog will focus on one of the most important issues facing our country: education.

As a former student and a current parent, I know how important education is to our society. The leaders of tomorrow are being formed in the classrooms of today. Unfortunately, too many of those classrooms resemble the 19th century more than the 21st century.

One hundred and fifty years ago, classrooms looked very different. They were heated with fireplaces; they were lit with candles or gas lamps. The kids walked to school or took a horse and buggy.

That has all changed. Today, classrooms are powered by electricity. And kids get to class in cars and buses. But surprisingly, much about what goes on inside the classroom is still the same. Teachers still often use chalkboards. Kids use textbooks and pencil and paper.

Isn’t it time we updated the way we teach? Don’t our kids deserve a 21st century education?

What would a 21st century classroom look like? We’ll talk about that tomorrow.

Meet Bill Flores. He’s another newly elected Republican in Congress. And he’s an entrepreneur:

http://www.billfloresforcongress.com/about

Flores did what many political experts believed couldn’t be done: he beat a 20-year Democratic incumbent. How did he do it? I believe it was because he ran on the issue of the economy and he stressed his strong credentials as an experienced business leader. Just look at this one sentence from his campaign website bio:

“During his thirty years leading these businesses, Bill helped create more than 500 AMERICAN jobs with AMERICAN companies that helped and produce much needed AMERICAN energy resources to help fuel our economy.”

That’s great experience. And that’s the kind of business experience we need in Congress today.