I was unable to get the videos to play either from the CD or from the internet, but I read the transcripts, and I really liked what I saw.  Video 1 was about schools that allow students to work collaboratively and use technology to further their own learning.  Not only do these students learn the curriculum, they also learn things like teamwork, overcoming setbacks,  and how to present their findings to an audience.  After reading this, I am more grateful than ever for the opportunity I had to take Project LINCOL'N.  These are exactly the things that Project LINCOL'N teaches.  We try to integrate our curriculum with technology and cooperative learning to better prepare our students to live in the world of the future.

    Video 5 got me excited about the possibilities for schools to become centers of the community.  I can see a million ways that opening schools to the community can benefit everyone.  In my imagination I can see parents who didn't have a good school experience or who dropped out coming back to complete their educations in an environment that is comfortable for them because they are there for so many other things.  I can see parents and children working on school work together.  I can see children playing in the gym instead of getting into trouble on the streets.  I can see adults in the community coming to learn new things simply because they are lifelong learners and want to keep up with today's world.  In the last 4 decades, society as a whole has broken down, and I see these community schools as a positive way to build it back up.

    Another benefit of opening up schools to the whole community would be that everyone would have first hand experience of the conditions in which children are expected to learn.  People read all the time about crumbling school buildings, but no one has to experience these conditions but the teachers and the children, therefore little gets changed.  For the last 4 years, I taught in a room that is infested with termites.  Every spring, when the termites swarm,  thousands of these insects fly all over the room, getting into everything, including people's hair.  Many times I had to take my class out of the room because it was completely unbearable in there.  Unfortunately, teaching in the cafeteria while the kindergartners eat lunch or outside on a cold, drizzly day is not very conducive to learning.  When I was talking to a parent about a different problem, I mentioned how bothered by the termites her daughter was.  Her response was, "I didn't know you had a bug problem!"  I can't imagine a company executive tolerating having to work in such an environment.  For that matter, I can't imagine a company executive spending an entire August day in the same room with 30 people and no air conditioning.  Even if they had to, nothing would get done at work. I suspect most of them would take their work home and do it there.  School children don't have that option.   I know that people are aware of these conditions, but unless they experience the problems first hand, they don't really think much about it.  If the entire community used school buildings for various purposes, everyone would be more aware of what children are expected to tolerate.  I'm sure conditions would then improve very quickly!