Why We Do What We Do

It is often easy to lose sight of the real reason we are in this business. You can get distracted by the paperwork, meetings, conferences, projects and day-to-day operations. It is always a good thing to be reminded of our main purpose and focal point of the items listed above.

I had a lengthy conversation today with a vendor partner about many, many topics - ranging from planning, management, purchasing and technical pieces. At the end of the conversation he said "I always ask myself regarding decisions and discussions - how does this affect the fourth grade student?" It is refreshing to see a technical vendor understand the objective of the K-12 environment. Every decision we make - we should ask ourselves that question - how does it impact the learning of that fourth grade student?

As I sit here tonight catching up on work related items while out of the office, I pause and reflect on why I do what I do. I can easily be distracted by personnel issues, paperwork and other organizations that a reminder from time to time is nice.

I ask you - as a K-12 educational technology leader, district/school administrator, teacher, support staff and instructional aides - make sure all decisions have an impact on the fourth grade student. If you keep that at the forefront of all things - you will be successful in this world.

JDS | CIO