“The Power of ICU” book by Educator Danny Hill; Middle School Computer Lessons

“The Power of ICU” book by Educator Danny Hill; Middle School Computer Lessons

Today I had the pleasure to hear the ideas and experiences of educator Danny Hill author of “The Power of ICU”. This is a dynamic idea where the end result is students taking responsibility for their learning. In a nut shell, teachers no longer accept students taking a zero for a grade. Instead all students complete all the assignments. I must admit that I had read his book before attending the presentation and already wanted to be a part of bringing this to my building. However, after sitting in on Mr. Hills talk, I am ready to dive in and do what ever I have to do to in order to make this work in my middle school. The question that I keep asking myself is “Don’t I want to be part of a great school?”. Well, I really do and I feel that this is the concept that can take us there.

Why not? Does our current zero based grading system really reflect learning…nope. So, why not attack it from a different angle. Lets hold those apathetic kids accountable for the work that they refuse to do. After all, what are we really teaching our kids in our classroom? If you dont pay your taxes, do you get a zero? No, you are forced to pay them one way or another. How is giving a zero or taking points away teaching responsibility?

I suggest that anyone (Even tech teachers) take a look at the book “The Power of ICU by Danny Hill”. As a tech teacher and tech support person in my district I will be a leader in implementing this in my school by helping to set up, maintain and sharpen a Google Docs spreadsheet with a list of every student in my building and any missing assignment they may have. This is just the beginning, I am hoping this will lead my building onto a path where we are proud of the students we produce.

I hope I have many future posts about my experiences with this philosophy. My biggest fear is that the rest of the staff not fully committing to it.

I would love to hear your comments!

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