RSS Feed
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Computers donated for Thomasville students
A ribbon cutting was held Sept. 14 for the new third grade computer lab at Thomasville Elementary School. Approximately 100 used computers were donated to the city by Aetos Systems and the Chickasaw Nation Industries through a "Project TREE (Technology Recycling for Excellence in Education)" program. Thirty computers were installed at the elementary school. The remaining computers will be split between the local middle school, and another lab, which will be established at the old city hall site. "This is a real opportunity to prepare students for using a computer in everyday life," Donna C. Coleman, Aetos founder and president, said at the ribbon cutting. "…I'm really excited to kick off this pilot program and work with the school to capture some results so we can move it forward and hopefully implement it across the state. The news of the donation of computers fit in with remarks made by Adkison at the third annual "Rural" National Supplier Conference. "I come to you with great pride of being part of a community that loves children," he said. There has been a change in the Thomasville system, "a change from good to great. We know that our rigor has been there in Thomasville, but we want to turn it up a notch." The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the modern student will have 10 to 14 jobs by the age of 38, Adkison said. "Half of the workers have been working at their current job for less than a year. When you're an educator…how do we prepare our students for 14 different jobs and several different careers? "…We must prepare students to become life-long learners….By providing the best possible education, we are empowering students to become caring, competent, responsible citizens who value education as a life-long process." It is the kind of workforce that companies represented at the Suppliers Conference are demanding, he said. "Information technology is going to be a vital tool that helps educate our students by providing access to video and other dynamic content, and more should be done to incorporate technology into the learning process." In addition to the customary three R's (once reading, writing and arithmetic) will be "rigor, relevance and relationship," Adkison said. "…If we are concentrating solely on academic coursework, only short-term success will be achieved - because students are not engaged (or motivated). "…Students must have meaningful connection to learning….It's not enough to strengthen curriculum offering and test preparation.
"…(Students) must believe in themselves (and) be excited about learning," the superintendent said. "They've got to see the link between what they learn today and who they want to become tomorrow. Our challenge is to take the talents, the goals and the interests of the students and match them with
|
for larger version       |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
)
