rob williams Male Oakland United States: Share; Share on Twitter; Share on Facebook

rob williams's Apps

Rob williams's Friends

View All

rob williams's Groups

First Amendment Schools

15 members
League of Democratic Sch…

44 members

Campaign to Promote Civi…

17 members
Modesto City Schools

20 members

View All

rob williams's Discussions

Democracy or the Curriculum-Vote Here
1 Reply

Started this discussion. Last reply by Kevin M. Talbert Jan. 7, 2009.

October 2008 Question of the Month

Replied Oct. 14, 2008

Equity & Access

Replied Oct. 5, 2008

View All

rob williams's Page

Latest Activity

M. Jamal Fields commented on rob williams's group 'Modesto City Schools'

Don't give up on the civic mission for schools in MCS! When the powers that be, at the state, federal or district level have you feeling down and set upon is the exact moment you most need to stand strong in defense of what is right. Democratic lead…

December 3, 2009

rob williams commented on rob williams's group 'Modesto City Schools'

The school year ends this week and we re-open on July 8, 2009. This school year has filled me with a hope and gratitude. There are many milestones that convince me that leading democratically works. And, that students, teachers, parents, and distric…

June 24, 2009

rob williams commented on rob williams's group 'Modesto City Schools'

We have taken a significant step forward on making Kirschen Elementary School a laboratory of democracy! Our school brochure entitled...Making a Global Impact! states clearly to parents and our community what our school community values. The front c…

March 21, 2009

rob williams replied to wendy Winchel's discussion 'naming schools' in the group League of Democratic Schools

I think Michael made sense...why a name. Our schools might, be affiliated with Essential Schools, First Amendment Schools, LODS...or the like. What defines us, is our work within our school. I am struggling with the need for a name. This idea to nam…

February 4, 2009

rob williams added a discussion to the group Modesto City Schools

Measuring Democratic Skills

Last week, at the League of Democratic Schools meeting several members discussed ideas to measure democratic skills. Rather, than wait to create and adopt civic outcomes, we talked about using report card social skills and work habits identified on…

February 3, 2009

rob williams commented on Kim Carter's group 'First Amendment Schools'

How could I not be a member!

February 3, 2009

rob williams joined Kim Carter's group

First Amendment Schools

First Amendment Schools is a national initiative designed to transform how schools model and teach the rights and responsibilities of citizenship that frame civic life in our democracy

February 3, 2009

rob williams replied to rob williams's discussion 'Name for Democratic Schools' in the group League of Democratic Schools

That is a good question...I have struggled with this for some time. Being an Essential School, a Redesign School, a First Amendment School....all prevents us from taking ideas to scale. Thanks for thinking about this.

February 2, 2009

Profile Information

First Name:

rob

Last Name:

williams

Hometown:

Valley Springs, California

School/Organization Name:

Principal

Job Title:

209 576 4693

City:

209 576 4696

State:

California

My Story:

Rob Williams has been an elementary school principal in Modesto City Schools for twenty years. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Education degree from the University of Nevada, Reno. He has taught elementary school in grades three to six for seven years.V

My Ideal School is a Place Where:

If all students find a voice and joy in their life in school than this is my ideal school. Unitl recently, I have not understood what the purpose of school. It is crystal clear. An ideal school mirrors our best intentions, aspirations, and dreams for our children. An ideal school is not the expectations of NCLB. For those brave educators who have joined the Five Freedoms community...the ideal school will be defined by us.

My Religious Views:

I'm listening and learning!

My Political Views:

Hard Core Democrat

My Favorite Freedom:

Speech...everyone needs to feel heard and respected

My Personal Heroes:

Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Royal Robbins

My Personal Motto:

Moderation and Balance.

My Favorite Journey:

BackRoads Bike trip to Central Europe...Budapest, Slovakia, and Poland

rob williams's Videos

Fairview Final Edit

Added by rob williams
Fairview First Amendment

Added by rob williams

Rob williams's Blog

DAY 5...OUT FLYING A KITE!

Letting go…letting things happen!
The Five Freedoms web site has great potential to connect all of us who desire a renewal of the role of school. On this site educators are joining from across the nation to get inspiration and learn what others are doing to transform how we do school. The site is a treasure chest of resources, great minds, and stories. I hope that each week, I can get online to be part of this community.
As a concluding activity all Fellows selected a picture to represent our “c… Continue

Posted on July 12, 2008 at 1:46pm — 4 Comments

Day 4

Did it make a difference? Did being a First Amendment School work? I think it did. As I anticipate my new school assignment I am hopeful that the Kirschen teachers will "listen and consider" examinging the purpose of school and reflect on the current state of teaching and learning within this school. I have a clear idea of what I want school to be for students. However, it is the Kirschen teachers, students and parents who must decide what is Kirschen's vision and goals. I was asked...what will… Continue

Posted on July 11, 2008 at 7:20am —

Day Three

This day of learning was meaningful. The MCS Team talked about protecting the religious rights of students most of our walk home. We are eager to have "freedom of press" on the agenda. Truly, time flew during Dr. Haynes presentation about the first sixteen words of the First Amendment. JM Fields tested his personal beliefs about affording the speech rights of all students, Jep learned more about dealing with his own schools religious issues, and I gathered more language and insight into how to s… Continue

Posted on July 9, 2008 at 2:38pm —

Day 2

Posted on July 9, 2008 at 2:21pm — 2 Comments

Day 1 Reflection

What are the practical day to day actions that define a democratic school leader? If there are five guiding principles that are principles for principals (reflect, connect, create, equip and shared vision) then what are some examples of practice?

Some examples:

1.Reflect-at a staff meeting, after reading a "article" about the purpose of schooling and we ask teachers to reflect about their own reasons for teaching. A good article that I use...is about Why School? The article talks about a broad… Continue

Posted on July 7, 2008 at 4:39pm — 1 Comment

Comment Wall (50 comments)

You need to be a member of The Five Freedoms Network to add comments!

Join The Five Freedoms Network

At 7:58pm on February 23, 2009, wendy Winchel said…: Hey Rob,
wondering what you came up with to collect data for where your staff is on understanding democracy and practicing democracy. We are working on teams to come up with some new goals for our school. did you see dick's indicators? I might tweak those and use it to help guide goals setting.

At 4:14pm on December 1, 2008, Robyn Davis said…: Sounds like fun! I am brining another Principal with me. Do you mind if she comes as well? I am trying to "indoctrinate" her!

Robyn

At 1:33pm on November 4, 2008, Liza Prendergast said…: Hi Rob,
I co-manage the Campaign to Promote Civic Education with Justin and we both want to thank you for joining the group! We are excited to use this forum to discuss issues related to civic education and start an exchange on how we can make sure young people have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to be engaged and informed citizens. Any comments, thoughts, and ideas you have are most welcome. Best wishes, Liza

At 11:38am on October 16, 2008, Molly Young said…: Hi Rob,
Sam Chaltain suggested I get in touch with you. I am considering using the Five Freedom's Project to train college aged students who work for the citizenship and leadership programs that I run. We call the college students PAs. Our PAs are people who faciliate workshops with middle school and high school students to help them better understand their role as citizens and leaders. Can you please tell me a bit about how the Five Freedom's Project has helped you with similar objectives and how effective you have found the training to be? Thanks for any feedback you might have.
Best,
Molly Young
Director, Youth Opportunities
National 4-H Council Delete Comment

At 1:12pm on October 15, 2008, Jonathan Cohen said…: Hi Rob,

Sam Chaltain suggested that I write to you....

can you kindly send me your em so I can send you an invitation (jonathancohen@csee.net)?
with best wishes
Jonathan Cohen

At 2:13am on October 8, 2008, Patrick said…: Rob-

Are you going to the Diversity Task Force meeting tomorrow? Perhaps we can fix a meeting time together. I'd like to do dinner or lunch, I think it's important for us to have a good stimulating conversation in a good environment rather than an office/meeting setting. I think the conversation will advance us both.

Best,
Patrick

At 5:01pm on October 2, 2008, Sam Chaltain said…: Hey brother,

Love the new photo!

At 9:15am on September 30, 2008, Patrick said…: I'll be making a short 10 minute presentation on Chicago. But it hardly contains the energy of what was done and what was said in Chicago. So lets definitely talk more later.

At 7:54pm on September 28, 2008, Patrick said…: Are you going to be at the civic education meeting on Tuesday?

At 12:57am on September 28, 2008, Patrick said…: Probably after school, so that we aren't under a time constraint.

Any day after school is fine for me, what's convenient for you?