I was at a conference recently and one of the presentations was “Internet Safety – Protect Your School.” I wish I could tell you more about the specifics of the session, but it was scheduled against an LYS presentation so all I can tell you is that it was lightly attended. But the topic did get me thinking. There is a lot of unsavory stuff floating around out there. Stuff that has no place in schools and should never be heard or viewed by children. Then factor in the down right malicious – viruses, malware, etc. Frankly it is enough to make the prudent educator decide that increased connectivity and access is not worth the risk, both real and perceived. If that is you, I urge to take a deep breath, take a step back and re-examine the situation. The Internet is like every other form of information transmission, just faster and cheaper. Take publications, video, audio, and public displays – all have unsavory elements that have no place in schools and should never be heard or viewed by children. And with those, as adults, we censor, filter and monitor our children to make sure they are engaged, learning and protected. In other words, we use common sense to effectively use the tools of knowledge transmission. All of this to say the following, Internet safety is like crossing a busy street with a child. Be prudent, look both ways, and the younger and less mature the child, the tighter you hold his or her hand. A number of you in the LYS Nation are now using your own bootleg technology devices to follow Twitter. If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us. To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of March 4, 2012, as tabulated by the accountants at Price Waterhouse. 1. Education Leadership Truth: What we now ask our teachers and schools to do daily, we did infrequently. 2. The Fundamental 5 has not been topped, yet. Best presentation at NASSP 2012 (By @tdilg) 3. Any accountability system that doesn’t recognize that the more at-risk the student, the more difficult the teaching, is fundamentally flawed. 4. When state accountability is flawed, districts should hold all schools accountable to adding value with internal measures. No one does this. 5. A bitter truth quote: Tell your teachers if they want a raise… 1 – Go vote. 2 – Vote for someone who funds schools. 6. When we let candidates that dismantle Public Education to get elected, we have ourselves to blame. Public Education must be our litmus test. 7. First key to campus success – focus on what you can control, not what you can’t. 8. Standing Room Only crowd for LYS presentation at NASSP. LYSers from across the country connecting and re-connecting. The LYS Nation rolls on! 9. Watching Chris Everett (Curriculum Director – WISD) lead a principal meeting with the Fundamental 5 embedded. Hits 4 out of 5. Awesome! 10. It’s official! The Fundamental 5 sold out at the NASSP Conference bookstore. 4th conference sell out in a row. Get your copy now at http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t Think. Work. Achieve. Your turn…

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
• Confirmed 2012 Presentations: NASB Conference; TASSP Conference (mutiple sessions); Region 10 ESC Fall Leadership Conference (Keynote)