tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59974463635485245422024-03-18T03:34:55.922-04:00Learning is MessyPersonal reflections on Education, Technology, and LearningAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-4785298718763610452016-11-02T07:47:00.002-04:002016-11-02T07:52:07.524-04:00What if we nurtured the right things and the right ideas?<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Each morning for the past few weeks I have been reading a daily meditation from “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Stoic-Meditations-Wisdom-Perseverance/dp/0735211736/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478039284&sr=8-1&keywords=the+daily+stoic">The Daily Stoic</a>” by <a href="http://ryanholiday.net/">Ryan Holiday</a> (who has also authored “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ego-Enemy-Ryan-Holiday/dp/1591847818/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478039346&sr=8-1&keywords=ego+is+the+enemy">Ego is the Enemy</a>” and “T<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Obstacle-Way-Timeless-Turning-Triumph/dp/1591846358/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1478039346&sr=8-2&keywords=ego+is+the+enemy">he Obstacle is the Way</a>” which are fantastic reads in and of themselves.) This morning’s piece resonated deeply with me.
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">“The human being is born with an inclination toward virtue.”- Musonis Rufus, Lectures 2.7.1-2</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The notion of original sin has weighed down humankind for centuries. In reality, we’re made to help each other and be good to each other. We wouldn’t have survived as a species otherwise… You were born good. “All of us have been made by nature,” Rufus said, “so that we can live free from error and nobly- not that one can and another can’t, but all.” You were <b>born with an attraction to virtue and self-mastery</b>. If you’ve gotten far from that, it’s not out of some inborn corruption but from a <b>nurturing of the wrong things and the wrong ideas.</b></span></span></blockquote>
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<b><i>As an educator, do you still believe in the virtues of our profession? </i></b>
How often do you focus on the wrong things and nurture the wrong mindsets and attitudes? How often do you remain fixated on the wrong things and the wrong idea? Do you continue to seek self-mastery through continued growth and learning?
Teaching is hard. But you were born good. And you were born to make a difference. </span></span><br />
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What if we nurtured the right things and the right ideas?
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com60tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-590912638123312392016-10-17T11:35:00.001-04:002016-10-17T16:57:58.848-04:00Are we building walls or cathedrals?<span id="docs-internal-guid-81f8e019-d33a-7dce-2b6d-9989423dbfb2"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-81f8e019-d33a-7dce-2b6d-9989423dbfb2"><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In his book “</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Start-Why-Leaders-Inspire-Everyone/dp/1591846447/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476717433&sr=8-1&keywords=start+with+why" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Start with Why</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/simonsinek?lang=es" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Simon Sinek</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> shares the following story of two stonemasons. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You walk up to the first stonemason and ask, “Do you like your job?” He looks up at you and replies “I’ve been building this wall for as long as I can remember. The work is monotonous. I work in the scorching hot sun all day. The stones are heavy and lifting them day after day can be backbreaking. I’m not even sure if this project will be completed in my lifetime. But it’s a job. It pays the bills.” You thank him for his time and walk on. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">About thirty feet away, you walk up to a second stonemason. You ask him the same question , “Do you like your job?” He looks up and replies, “I love my job. I’m building a cathedral. Sure, I’ve been working on this wall for as long as I can remember, and yes, the work is sometimes monotonous. I work in the scorching hot sun all day. The stones are heavy and lifting them day after day can be backbreaking. I’m not even sure if this project will be completed in my lifetime. But I’m building a cathedral.”</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHAT these two stonemasons are doing is exactly the same; the difference is, one has a sense of purpose. He feels he belongs. He comes to work to be a part of something bigger than the job he’s doing. Simply having a sense of WHY changes his entire view of his job. It makes him more productive and certainly more loyal. “ (p 94-95)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; white-space: pre-wrap;">In all of the rhetoric surrounding the successes and failures in public education today, a lack of true purpose or vision is the thread that ties and connects us all. Successful schools and successful school systems put the WHY first. And rarely is that WHY an external measure of success. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the state of Pennsylvania, all </span><a href="http://www.paschoolperformance.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">schools receive an SPP score</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. That score is supposed to be an indicator of the success of that school. It is used as an accountability measure. It can either be a point of shame or a point of pride. But what if it were neither? What if it were just a number?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As educators, we often rail against “business” mindsets creeping into our language and cultures because we do not create products or widgets, we help others to learn and grow. Yet a book like Sinek’s remind us that success always comes from a focus on people and vision, not on the bottom line. If the bottom line in education is test scores, focusing on them may yield short term results with long term consequences. Evidence of that is clear in the hypocrisy of principals and teachers who hold up standardized test scores as evidence of their success when they meet or exceed the goal, while minimizing and dismissing them when they fall short. This type of thinking requires no one to change or consider how to grow themselves. And it’s pervasive these days. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Test scores are a byproduct of learning. They can not and should not be the goal. This is true of accountability as well, as it is a byproduct of responsibility. When we are responsible to the people in our classrooms and schools, the accountability will take care of itself because all members of the community believe in the WHY and are then responsible for the HOW's and WHAT's being taken care of. Ask yourself this: do test scores and accountability get you out of bed in the morning? No teacher goes into teaching as a profession for these purposes and they sure don't jump out of bed ready for their days with these goals in mind either.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In order for this to change, anyone who considers themselves a leader has to take a hard look in the mirror and determine if their district, school, and/or classroom has a true “WHY”. Has the WHY been communicated well? Do members of the organization and/or classroom believe in the WHY? Do they support the WHY? Do they trust the WHY? Do we filter all of the HOW’s and WHAT’s through that WHY?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And it's at this point where most of us will make some broad assumptions. We are clear on our WHY and we will assume that others are too. Are we willing to ask our stakeholders directly? Are we willing to use data/ metrics (that aren't test scores) to verify that our WHY is driving the work we ALL do? Are we willing to be faithfully reflective by comparing the culture we hope to have with one we actually have?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whether we will admit it or not, all of us want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. We all want to have a purpose. We all want to have value. And we all want to be proud. Yet our actions often fall short of these desires. It would be easy for each member of an organization to lay blame elsewhere. In fact, many of us do. Blame is laid at the hands of colleagues, principals, parents, district offices, legislatures, and sometimes sadly, kids themselves. Whether we like it or not, being a leader means being responsible for motivating and inspiring those within the community/ organization to be passionate about the WHY. This is as true in the (school) board room as it is in the classroom. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yet if we all view ourselves as leaders in some capacity (and we should) , we have to question which stonemason we wish to be, and which one we are right now. There is little argument that teaching is more difficult and complicated than it has ever been. Yet each of us have the power to think differently about those challenges. Are we in it for the job or are we in it because it’s a vocation (our one true calling)? Are we teaching math or Matthew (Thanks <a href="https://twitter.com/principalkafele?lang=es" target="_blank">Baruti Kafele</a>)? Are we teaching stuff or designing learning experiences? Are we creating test takers or growing learners? Are we creating compliance or critical citizens? Are we creating consumers or producers? Are we creating apathy or hope? Are we creating barriers or removing them? Are we building walls or are we building cathedrals? </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-82176498328338672972016-08-28T19:41:00.000-04:002016-08-28T19:41:19.776-04:00What if we listened to Daniel Tiger?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(C) <a href="http://pbskids.org/daniel/" target="_blank">The Fred Rogers Foundation and PBS</a></td></tr>
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If you are around young children, you no doubt know <a href="http://pbskids.org/daniel/" target="_blank">Daniel Tiger and his neighborhood friends</a>. And if you grew up with <a href="http://pbskids.org/rogers/" target="_blank">Mr. Roger's Neighborhood</a>. you will certainly know this cast of characters from the Land of Make Believe. My son Justin, who is two, loves Daniel Tiger, Katerina Kittycat, O the Owl, and the rest. As parents, we love the messages the show sends and creates wonderful opportunities to talk, share, learn, and grow together as a family. In fact, there is some research that indicates that Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood can actually help our preschooler to develop <a href="http://www.simplemost.com/daniel-tiger-may-make-child-confident-empathetic/" target="_blank">stronger empathy</a> and <a href="http://www.pbs.org/parents/expert-tips-advice/2016/07/daniel-tiger-helps-teach-social-skills-preschoolers/" target="_blank">social skills through viewing</a>.<br />
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While it's certainly easy to tune out when hearing a song like "Find a Way to Play Together " when you've heard it for the umpteenth time, I have actually found myself paying attention to the lyrics. This could be because Justin has started to sing along and it helps me to make sense of what he is actually singing. It could also be because I just can't tune it out any longer.<br />
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Even though there are parents out there who may not like Daniel Tiger, I think we can all agree that he's not nearly as bad as Caillou.<br />
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When I was younger, I read a book called "A<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Really-Need-Know-Learned-Kindergarten/dp/034546639X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472403926&sr=8-1&keywords=all+i+ever+really+need+to+know+I+learned+in+kindergarten" target="_blank">ll I Really Need to Know I Learned In Kindergarten</a>" by Robert Fulghum. Essentially, it was a collection of essays reminding us that we overcomplicate our lives and that we should embrace being present with one another. I found it poignant then and still often think about how much of our adult lives would be better spent trying to embrace those social-emotional lessons that were the heart of preschool and kindergarten learning.<br />
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In many ways, I have found that same poignancy in the songs and messages of Daniel Tiger. It's easy to dismiss a cartoon and songs as "just for kids", but I will argue that the vitriol and lack of common courtesy and kindness this election cycle has produced should be proof positive we need to listen to Daniel and his friends. Being nice to one another, being able to disagree without being disagreeable, and sharing ideas with one another are just as important for adults. Check just about any message board or facebook post and it should be alarmingly obvious it may be MORE important for adults.<br />
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As educators, there are tons of great messages too. In an era of misguided and harmful policy and implementation, it can be hard to find much worth holding onto. Yet, Daniel reminds us that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdRzIgHRvJ4" target="_blank">Friends Help Each Other, Yes They Do!</a>, and that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MakiVIhKDI" target="_blank">When Something Seems Bad, Turn It Around and Find Something Good!</a>. He also explains that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pStsWGizj4" target="_blank">When We Do Something New, Let's Talk About What We'll Do </a>and that we should <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOn5cvdoZ1M" target="_blank">Stop, Think, and Choose</a>.<br />
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My intention is not to diminish the professionalism of teachers by referencing a show for pre-schoolers. Teaching has become a complicated minefield of challenges and difficulties and those who are not in schools do not necessarily understand how different the politics of teaching is today compared to 15 years ago. Statistics tell us that <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/03/03/389282733/where-have-all-the-teachers-gone" target="_blank">fewer and fewer college graduates </a>are entering the teaching profession and <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2015/04/crisis-in-american-education-as-teacher-morale-hits-an-all-time-low/" target="_blank">morale is at an all time low</a>. And any teacher who hears Daniel sing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yivu8jjQcdw" target="_blank">When you have to go Potty, Stop and Go Right Away!</a> is silently laughing to themselves because they recognize they chose a profession which hardly allows for bathroom breaks or even a lunch break that does not involve supporting students, making parent phone calls, or answering the plethora of emails mounting in their inbox.<br />
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As we begin a new school year, my hope for teachers everywhere is to be a little bit like Daniel Tiger. Remember what it felt like to learn with your friends, to play, to imagine, to wonder, and to look for the good in everything. Bring that type of joy and learning to your classroom.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-55013665759467135842016-08-15T20:42:00.003-04:002016-08-15T21:01:08.635-04:00What if we treated every day like the first day of school?Although the students in our district are not officially starting for two more weeks, today was my "first day of school" as I, along with several of my colleagues, begin to work with the new teachers to our district. And although I do not formally teach students I still found myself struggling to fall asleep last night and rising early this morning in anticipation and excitement.<br />
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A few hours ago, a group of diverse, excited, nervous, and anxious new colleagues walked through the door ready to begin their learning journey here. Most of them have taught before. Some of them are brand new to the profession. Some of them will be here next year. Some of them will be elsewhere in new opportunities. </div>
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The first day with new teachers is a whirlwind. The first week with new teachers in our "academy" can be intense. But it also creates an opportunity to forge new relationships and establish our own little culture of support that leads into a job-embedded instructional coaching model. As a teacher myself, I am grateful that we have the opportunity to lead and learn alongside these new colleagues. </div>
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I can't help but find myself wondering around the following questions. </div>
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<li>How will our community develop?</li>
<li>How will they fit into the community of their school?</li>
<li>How will they fit into the community of our district?</li>
<li>How will they grow as teachers and leaders?</li>
<li>How will they grow as learners?</li>
<li>How will they change our community and culture for the better?</li>
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In two weeks, our students will walk into their classrooms and into the communities they create. I have no doubt that these teachers will share my nervous excitement. I hope that between the significant worries over rules and procedures and routines, that they too will be wondering about community and learning. </div>
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The first days of school are always an exciting time, full of hope and promise. Students are eager to learn, teachers are eager to teach. Everyone is excited for the new opportunities and challenges ahead of them. Optimism and joy seep out of classrooms into the hallways and beyond. The best teachers are the ones who make those feelings last through the holiday season and far past the testing season. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-6244603421699892732016-03-17T16:29:00.000-04:002016-03-17T16:29:15.133-04:00What if we were passionate about passion?One of my favorite books of all time is Sir Ken Robinson's "The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything". It is my go-to book when I am in need of inspiration and a reminder of the conditions for learning we need to ensure we create. This book resonates with me as an educator but also personally because of our need as humans to be inspired, to drive towards greatness, to pursue our passions, and to hone our talents as life-long learners.<br />
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I fundamentally believe the major failure of public education is that we have consistently and continually told students what to learn and how to learn it without consideration for their own personal talents and passions. For most, the fundamental purpose of schooling is to create productive members of society. And while that is an important goal, it is considerably limiting. It is limiting because the transaction of school is continuously one-sided and the focus is on what we want instead of what is best for one another. It is also limiting because if we afforded students the latitude to learn as they needed, about what they wanted, and focused on learning about the things they were most passionate about, we would be developing more productive members of society anyway. This is the same argument about achievement and learning. When we allow achievement to be the measurable goal, we are ignoring the greater potential of learning. When our students are master learners, we will see measurable growth through just about every metric.<br />
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<img src="http://intentblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/My-mission-in-life-is-not-merely-to-survive-but-to-thrive-and-to-do-so-with-some-passion-some-compassion-some-humor-and-some-style-Maya-Angelou-quote.jpg" height="200" width="200" /><img src="http://globalsuperachievers.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/passionate-3.jpg" height="199" width="200" /><img src="http://venspired.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/passion199.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></div>
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As adults, despite being successful, we often are not afforded the time and space to follow our passions. Our careers, family, and life circumstances become our primary focuses. And the resentment of not being able to do the things we love may manifest in statements to our kids and students such as "life isn't always about fun and games" or "You can't always do what you want" (Thank you Rolling Stones!) But what if we changed our message? What if our schools were built around passion? </div>
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<img src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/80/2c/17/802c17a0caa4ca7345a08747a7e73558.jpg" /><img src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/ba/fa/c6/bafac63b7307943a0d72c05cfa276274.jpg" /><img src="http://cdn.good.co/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/buffet.png?0aa484" height="200" width="200" /></div>
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What if we were passionate about passion? </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-59086250488957305152016-03-06T16:07:00.002-05:002016-03-06T16:07:46.608-05:00What if we stopped talking about change and embraced it? <div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Image result for business change quotes" 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So much of what happens in school and in classrooms revolves around the concept of change. There are those who are frustrated that change isn't happening fast enough. There are those who are upset that it seems to be happening too fast. But these conversations are often just that... conversations. They miss the point. </div>
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I love to be in the ocean. There is a place, just off the shore, where the crashing waves are just loud enough to drown out most of the screams of excitement on the beach. It is the place where the undercurrent pulls us out a little further from the shore than we might be comfortable with. Sometimes it is at this point where the water is just deep enough for us be able to touch our toes, but we are most likely treading water. It is also at this point where we realize that the waves forming beyond us will force us to make a choice. That choice is to either ride that wave in towards the beach or be completely enveloped by the impending wave. We can try and hold out, avoiding them, but they will continue to grow and they will continue to come. Change, like the wave, can't be controlled, but it can be navigated. It can also completely swallow us up. </div>
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Change is never easy. It is by its nature, a process of growth and evolution. It is inevitable and unavoidable. Frequently, we pretend that if we ignore change long enough, we can stop it. But in doing so, we often miss how drastically different the landscape has shifted around us. Many of our schools and classrooms are dangerously in peril of becoming not just ineffective at preparing the next generation for the world around them, but also becoming completely obsolete. We must decide whether we want to spend our time talking about how much pain change will cause us or whether we want to focus on how beautiful we can make our classrooms and schools for our students. </div>
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What if we stopped talking about change and embraced it?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-21120439795314433662016-02-28T15:43:00.001-05:002016-02-28T15:43:52.211-05:00What if we designed our learning spaces for learning? Recently I had the opportunity to spend some time in a showroom focused on school furniture. Along with traditional school furniture, there were many other alternatives that embraced the flexible learning spaces that our students deserve. The showroom had colors, fabrics, multi-use chairs and tables, and utilized wall space as whiteboards through the use of whiteboard paint. It was hard to not feel inspired by the use of space and design. All I wanted to do was begin to draw on the walls and the many other spaces meant for people to leave their mark.<br />
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Ultimately, the conversation led to cost and budgets. They then led to whether we were preparing students for colleges which have not necessarily embraced these types of learning spaces. Conversations also revolved around the need to have spaces for students to take the multitude of state tests and their ridiculous requirements, and lastly, the reality of the structure and limitations of the size of the classrooms that currently exist. <br />
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At one point I found myself mumbling under my breath "Why can't we ever, just once, start from the potential of the learning space?" <br />
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It would be easy to take each of these factors and toss them out the window as complaints, but they aren't. They are the current reality of many schools and educators which are still structured for the 20th-century factory model of schools. It can be challenging to envision learning spaces that are flexible, colorful, and design focused when we are stuck in schools that resemble factories both inside and out. And while it is a chicken and egg scenario, the limitations above can sometimes keep educators from taking risks.<br />
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Consistently public schools are "stuck" trying to serve higher education through outdated, highly structured, and content driven curriculum, focus on achievement on tests like the SAT and AP, and even instructional strategies such as the lecture. The domino effect implications of higher education expectations consistently shape and limit the learning potential in public schools across the United States. At the same time, public schools rarely have the courage to buck the system and build schools and design classrooms for the instruction, culture, and academics our students deserve.<br />
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The furniture discussion is just a microcosm of how preparing students for college and career readiness place ceilings on learning for our students. It is also the place where we have been attracted to the bells and whistles which lead to wasteful spending instead of thoughtful design. Every classroom with an interactive projector, class sets of laptops and tablets must be a place where learning occurs, right? It is easy to be distracted by the gigantic interactive tv's that will be obsolete in two years or the computer enabled tables that provide little to no collaborative learning experiences for our students. We set our sights on things instead or processes, devices instead of learners.<br />
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In so many ways, whiteboard walls (or just large whiteboards in general), magnetic walls (better yet, magnetic whiteboards), or lots of corkboards can transform a classroom space with very little waste in expense. The focus should always be on the design process and the learning that occurs, not on the expensive technology or furniture. New furniture is nice and can change the culture and vibe of space, but until we remember that the most important person in the room IS the room, we may never see the kind of learning we hope to see. <br />
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While school board, administrator, and teacher perspectives are incredibly important, decisions on furniture, devices, and other resources often leave out the most important stakeholders. As we were driving back from the showroom, our tech director (<a href="https://twitter.com/KuzoJoe" target="_blank">@kuzojoe</a>) asked the most important question of all: "What kinds of learning spaces do you think our students would want? What kinds of furniture would they like to have? "<br />
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What if we asked our learners how they wished to learned? What if we designed our learning spaces for learning?<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-56056617359926469502016-02-23T18:24:00.000-05:002016-02-23T21:50:10.477-05:00What if we valued curiosity?Along with many awesome things he shared today, George Couros (<a href="https://twitter.com/gcouros" target="_blank">@gcouros)</a> made the following statement in his #pete2016 keynote:<br />
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<b>"If a child leaves our schools less curious than when they started, we have failed."</b> - G. Couros<br />
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This might be the greatest condemnation of most schools or school systems. How many of us can truly claim, let alone quantify, that a majority of our students graduate more curious than when they started as a child?<br />
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The dictionary definition is pretty fantastic in that it defines curiosity as a strong desire to know or learn something. I guarantee there are a plethora of district mission statements out there that use the phrase "life-long learner" and yet do not consider how their policies, choices, and actions completely drain the curiosity out of their children. Grading practices, teacher focused instructional practices, and heavy-handed curriculum emphasizing coverage over learning are all examples of things completely in our locus of control which remove the love of learning from our students. </div>
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Sadly, the second definition of curiosity is more of the norm in our classrooms and schools. Far too few of us are embracing student driven learning through passion/project/problem based learning. We continue to complain about the disengaged and distracted learners amongst us while not acknowledging our own culpability in killing the love of learning. When<a href="http://willrichardson.com/" target="_blank"> Will Richardson </a>writes about the <a href="http://willrichardson.com/post/91047442855/schools-at-the-crossroads" target="_blank">nostalgia for school</a>, he is referring to our consistent faith and belief that our own schooling wasn't so bad. To those who think it wasn't so bad, ask yourself this question: How many times did you get to choose what you wanted to learn, in the ways you could learn best, and show what you learned in the way that was determined by you, the learner? Did any of your schooling reflect the type of learning you do as an adult? Me neither.</div>
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Many of us chuckle when we see memes like this:</div>
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Are we still laughing when it says this? </div>
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I believe that our job as educators is to empower our students to be eternally curious. They can't be curious sitting behind a desk. And they certainly can't be curious when we are constantly telling them what to think, do, or say. </div>
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Our classrooms and schools are a direct reflection of what we value.</div>
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<b>What if we valued curiosity?</b> </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-33246774969250540202016-02-22T17:11:00.000-05:002016-02-22T17:40:54.107-05:00What if we stopped complaining and started doing?I had an opportunity to meet and speak with someone whom I have long admired today. George Couros writes and reflectively shares his thoughts on leadership and learning on <a href="http://georgecouros.ca/blog/" target="_blank">his blog</a>, through social media (<a href="https://twitter.com/gcouros?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@gcouros</a>) and in his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Innovators-Mindset-Learning-Creativity-ebook/dp/B016YTBZKO" target="_blank"> "The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity"</a>. What I have often admired about George is that he writes and speaks practically, openly and honestly. He blogs often. He makes time to reflect and he makes time to lead through building relationships. <br />
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It's been awhile since I have attended an ed-tech conference for a multitude of reasons, but chief among them is what I have perceived as the increased "self-promotion" of individuals and the exploding capitalism of learning by ed tech companies. Around every corner, there is always a person or product willing to take your money and solve your problems for you. There is also no shortage of people who will showcase how amazing and transformative something is without actually being able to provide evidence of the impact on student learning. This is also one of the reasons why I have shied away from the use of social media altogether in recent months. <br />
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Meeting George face to face actually gave me a sense of guilt and shame because he is one of those people who I believe actually walks the talk. My shame stems from the fact that I often don't make the time to write and reflect. My guilt stems from the fact that I don't participate and share the way I believe we all have an obligation to do. Sadly, I spent most of the early parts of our conversation complaining about lots of things instead of engaging in meaningful conversation. As I became aware of my overt negativity, we chuckled and George even commented that I should change my twitter handle to @bitchychad. ( I looked it up and no one has used it yet. Maybe we can get it trending.) But in that moment, I also realized how much time and energy I have wasted complaining instead of doing. Even in a moment such as this, instead of focusing on potential, instead of learning about how to be the change, instead of learning from someone with expertise, I was fixated on sharing my frustrations. I can't say it was one of my prouder moments. <br />
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This realization has implications on my perceptions of social media and conferences. When we only see the negative, when we only see the problems, we miss the beauty and the opportunities all around us. I often think of a white sheet of paper with a tiny black dot in the middle of it. How often do we focus on the black dot instead of the vast, white, clean paper ready to be transformed? How often do we only see the negative in our classrooms, schools, or communities? How much time do we spend focusing on the problems instead of celebrating and working at the opportunities in front of us?<br />
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And if I am being truly open and honest, I think it's how many of us waste a lot of our time and energies. We consistently kick the can down the alley: blaming others, blaming our circumstances, and blaming the system. There is no doubt that there are hurdles to overcome. There is no doubt that there are systems in place that make it challenging. But they aren't impossible circumstances to overcome and the hurdles aren't impossibly high to get over. We have to stop admiring the problems. For some of us, it would mean we might have to admit that we aren't good enough <b><i>yet</i></b>. For others, we would have to acknowledge that it is going to take a lot of work to get to where we want to be. And for others still, it would mean looking deeply at why we are avoiding moving forward.<br />
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Tomorrow, I am excited that George will keynote <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/petec2016" target="_blank">#petec2016</a> and spend some time sharing many of his thoughts, ideas, and perspectives on leading and learning in funny, engaging, and provocative ways. And I will listen, not focused on what can't or won't happen, but by recognizing that there is potential for every student, every teacher, every administrator, every board member, and every parent and community member to do amazing things for our schools and our community. I hope to get him to sign his book for me, even if he does sign it "for @bitchychad".<br />
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<b><u>What would we gain if we stopped complaining and just started doing together? </u></b><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-30276493092056350632015-10-02T12:04:00.000-04:002015-10-02T12:04:24.489-04:00What if we remembered what it was like to be new?<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the opportunities we have been afforded in our current roles as instructional coaches is to support new teachers to our district.Our current induction process involves a week long "New Teacher Academy" and then a series of face to face meetings throughout the year. We are also using a district wide LMS to build community between meetings through discussions and sharing. The make-up of this years group is diverse in experience. We have teachers who are in their first year as a teacher and fresh out of college. We have teachers who are in their second career. We have teachers who are returning to the profession after spending time at home with their family. And we have teachers who have come from other districts in search of new opportunities. </span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-76e89a3a-2945-1adf-ac44-5c650680ca00" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The start of the year can be an extremely difficult and challenging time for a veteran teacher, let alone someone who is trying to establish their role in the culture of a school or district as a newbie. Learning new curriculum, new technology, and building new relationships is challenging. Fitting into an established culture, following through on expectations, and navigating the politics of a school or district is completely overwhelming. Even under the best circumstances it can lead to many more questions and self doubt than answers and confidence. Many new teachers find support with one another and with grade level or course alike partners and collaborators. Sometimes they are supported by district provided mentors or coaches, and if they are fortunate enough: a building principal willing to invest in them. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A recent meeting with our current crop of new teachers forced some much needed reflection and contemplation. While there were stories of small victories (I finally got logged into this system!) , celebrations of established routines (My kids actually lined up properly after two weeks of practice!!), there were also stories that brought tears and sadness. Sometimes these stories are things we can do little to control. How do we support a teacher when a parent chooses to use Back to School night and social media to openly criticize them despite trying their best. What can we do differently when students openly mention that they can't wait for the 'regular' teacher to come back? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But what about the things we have control over? Is moaning and groaning about a colleague who pushes into our classroom with a cart to teach, a proper way to treat them just because we can’t use our space for our prep work? Is it acceptable for us to tell a new teacher in our building that we don't have time to show them where the photocopier is or help them navigate curricular resources? Is it right for us to ignore a new teacher in the faculty room or not say hello in the hallway? Is it kind or compassionate to openly criticize how a new teacher is running their classroom or teaching? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We often worry about about our students and the way they treat others. My earliest recollections of school involve learning the golden rule. The truth is that we make our jobs infinitely more difficult because instead of supporting one another it’s much easier to tear each other down. Is it time for us to look in the mirror and acknowledge that sometimes we don't practice what we preach? That sometimes we forget what it is like to be new. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What if we stopped to ask a new teacher in our building to sit with us at lunch? What if we stopped into the classroom of a new teacher and asked how things were going? What if we stopped them in the hallway and asked them if they needed help with anything? What if we sent a new teacher a note or an email telling them how happy we were to have them in our building? What if we took three seconds out of our day to tell a new teacher that we were excited to learn alongside them? What if we took time each day to remember that teaching is much more enjoyable when we support one another? What if we committed to 30 minutes a week sharing and collaborating? What if we remembered what it was like to be new? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the end of our last meeting we asked each member of the group to write down something that they were proud of on a post it note. We asked them to fold it up and put it in their wallet or purse. And we asked that the next time they felt beaten down, found themselves crying or wanting to quit, that they should get out that note to remind them that there are many things to be proud of. While what I write next wouldn’t fit on a post it note, I do want to share what I am proud of. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u><b>So to our new teachers (and new teachers everywhere)</b></u>: </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am proud of you. You wake up every day and come to school with the best of intentions: to help students learn and to grow. You put up with the nonsense and the noise. You put your best foot forward. You work through the tears, the criticism, the long nights, the loneliness, and the feeling that what you do will never be good enough. You recognize that this profession is not what you expected it to be. You question whether you will make it to December, let alone to the end of the year. You wonder when it will be fun. And yet each day you treat it like it is new again. I am proud of you because you understand grit, perseverance, and problem solving because you know no other way. I am proud of you because you choose to continue to learn and grow and approach each task as a new opportunity to improve.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s ok to recognize the negative, the hurt, and the frustration: but remember this moment. Remember that this is the moment you acknowledged that despite it all, it is completely worth it. Remember what it feels like to be new. Remember that our students walk into "new" at the start of each year. Remember that next year, there will be colleagues who will be experiencing what it means to be new. Remember that you pulled yourself up by the bootstraps. Remember that it got better (not necessarily easier). Remember that you found the support you needed. Remember that you learned what you needed to because you never stopped trying. Remember that you won over parents and students because of the kindness and compassion you showed them. Remember that you will never be the same teacher you are at this moment. Remember that despite the heartache and challenge ahead of you each day, what you do is valued by many even though they may not say it or show it nearly enough. Remember that to each student who walks through your door, you can be their support and their hero. What you do each day makes you my hero. <b>Remember that we are proud of you. </b></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-64890191225580664722015-09-25T11:00:00.001-04:002015-09-25T12:25:04.058-04:00What if... we are wrong about college and career readiness?Many schools and school districts utilize metrics such as high school graduation rates and standardized test scores to determine their effectiveness. Focusing on state-wide assessments (here in PA it would be the PSSA and Keystone Graduation tests in Biology, Algebra 1, and Literature) as well as national assessments such as the ACT, SAT, and AP tests, provide insights into the strength and quality of an academic program. Some school districts will also explore the amount of students who go on to 4 year colleges, who remain in college after a year, and who actually graduate from a 4 year program. All of these elements play a role in determining a student's college and career readiness as well as district success in developing students for the worlds of college and work. It is challenging to argue that preparing students for college and careers beyond traditional K-12 schooling is not the mission of school itself. Yet there are fundamental philosophical differences between those who believe the mission of school is to produce compliant, hard working, efficient members of the American workforce and those who believe the mission of school is to develop passionate learners. What if we are wrong about the data? What if we are wrong about career and college readiness?<br />
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Many have written about the need to shift away from the traditional factory models put in place in which students became the cogs of the American labor force. And yet many school systems continue to double down on the traditional pathways to success because they are unwilling to envision or implement (or both) non-traditional measures of success. Should school culture be considered when determining the success of a school or district? It's an oversimplification, but a recent conversation about school climate during the 2015 EduSummit drove home three simple questions "Is your school a place students want to come to? Is your school a place parents want to send their children? Is your school a place your employees/teachers want to work in?". Where do these questions factor into the success of a school or district? And while we wouldn't want to solely determine the academic quality of our schools through these questions, who is willing to ask them, let alone care about them? Do stakeholders really come to school, send their children to school, or work in a school based on a Career and College Readiness Index?<br />
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This is not to say that helping students to become successful students isn't one of the most important aspects of becoming effective learners, but I am saying that we consistently limit our expectations for students and what is in store for them because we only utilize measures that are both easy to measure and to predict. The most fascinating trend in education today is how often administrations rail against state mandated testing and the disruption is creates, yet they then administer equally disruptive "diagnostic" tests to predict student success on those same assessments. Let that sink in: we are now administering more standardized tests to help us predict and support student success on standardized tests we complain about them having to take in the first place.<br />
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We develop data teams and data plans around these same measures as well. We can't continue to blame lawmakers (and rightfully so) while hypocritically utilizing other tests that measure how well they might do on the tests we loathe. While we are at it, let's stop pretending that teachers should effectively and efficiently utilize these types of tests to design instruction and interventions. Meta-analysis by <a href="http://visible-learning.org/hattie-ranking-influences-effect-sizes-learning-achievement/" target="_blank">John Hattie</a> and years of research by <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Embedded-Formative-Assessment-practical-strategies/dp/193400930X" target="_blank">Dylan Wiliam</a> et al overwhelmingly show us that formative assessment yields tremendous impact on student learning and growth, yet we keep distracting teachers by the big data of these tests. Success on those metrics may make us feel better about ourselves systemically but they do not actually translate into an ounce of meaningful student learning. Just google "does the SAT predict college success?" and you will find that there is not a strong correlation between the two. Recent trends are moving away from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/colleges-are-dropping-the-sat-2015-7" target="_blank">standardized tests as requirements for college admission</a> as well.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">“What makes the SAT bad is that it has nothing to do with what kids learn in high school. As a result, it creates a sort of shadow curriculum that furthers the goals of neither educators nor students.… The SAT has been sold as snake oil; it measured intelligence, verified high school GPA, and predicted college grades. In fact, it’s never done the first two at all, nor a particularly good job at the third.” Yet students who don’t test well or who aren’t particularly strong at the kind of reasoning the SAT assesses can find themselves making compromises on their collegiate futures—all because we’ve come to accept that intelligence comes with a number. This notion is pervasive, and it extends well beyond academia. Remember the bell‐shaped curve we discussed earlier? It presents itself every time I ask people how intelligent they think they are because we’ve come to define intelligence far too narrowly. We think we know the answer to the question, “How intelligent are you?” The real answer, though, is that the question itself is the wrong one to ask.” </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">― </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/43940.Ken_Robinson" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">Ken Robinson</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">, </span><span id="quote_book_link_12347000" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Element-Finding-Passion-Changes-Everything/dp/0143116738/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443187288&sr=8-1&keywords=the+element+ken+robinson" target="_blank">The Element - How finding your passion changes everything</a><span id="goog_831053739"></span><span id="goog_831053740"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></i></span></blockquote>
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Certainly the mission to make students "career" ready can't be bad, right? Inherently, no. However, it is arrogant for us in education to believe we know what the world outside of school actually wants or needs when so little of what we do is actually like the "real world". <br />
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Schools and classrooms too often reflect that traditional vision of career readiness. Are we as a profession prepared or capable of supporting our students for the world that lies outside our classroom? Look at this research from a poll conducted in 2007 from the Association of American Colleges and Universities (which by today's standards is ancient history) of the top ten things employers want from college graduates:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Calibri, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: normal;">
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;">The ability to work well in teams—especially with people different from yourself</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;">An understanding of science and technology and how these subjects are used in real-world settings</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;">The ability to write and speak well</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;">The ability to think clearly about complex problems</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;">The ability to analyze a problem to develop workable solutions</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;">An understanding of global context in which work is now done</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;">The ability to be creative and innovative in solving problems</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;">The ability to apply knowledge and skills in new settings</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;">The ability to understand numbers and statistics</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;">A strong sense of ethics and integrity</span></li>
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<em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: normal;">Source: "How Should Colleges Prepare Students to Succeed in Today's Global Economy?" (Results of a national poll by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, 2007).</em></blockquote>
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Do our classrooms teach and measure these? Do our schools support teachers who want to help students to be successful in these skills? Does the SAT, ACT, random state test, AP test, or any other standardized test measure more than one or two of these things? Do they even measure them well? Explain to me again why we continue to think that college and career readiness is the goal if we are unwilling to accept that our vision of what that actually means, as well as our measures of success are outdated and insufficient. If we truly believed the list above we would see classrooms that embraced Project/Problem/Passion Based Learning . We would embrace inter-disciplinary work. We would utilize the power of heterogenously grouped learning environments instead of creating caste systems of haves and have nots. We would personalize learning by supporting students in their own systems of inquiry.<br />
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No one will disagree that college will open many doors for students and that success on the SAT can provide students more options by helping them get into college, but should that really be THE goal for our students? No one will argue that one of the missions for schooling is to help them to be "career ready", but which careers? We know that there is <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704206804575468162805877990" target="_blank">varying unscientific research</a> on the amount of careers employees will have in a lifetime of work. We also know that what they will need to know is less important than how they will need to learn and apply that learning. There is also much debate about the oft repeated yet rarely substantiated "we are preparing students for jobs that have not been created yet". Ultimately, we must acknowledge that technology is rapidly changing the demands of the work force (even if not the traditional labels of jobs) vastly. We also have to realize that app developer wasn't a thing 5 years ago.<br />
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College and career readiness should be something we care about, but it's a limiting mission quantified by even more limiting tests. What if the mission of school was to develop passionate, creative, and articulate learners? What if the vision was a workforce of people performing jobs and tasks based upon things they loved doing or felt called to do?<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">“Education is the system that’s supposed to develop our natural abilities and enable us to make our way in the world. Instead, it is stifling the individual talents and abilities of too many students and killing their motivation to learn. There’s a huge irony in the middle of all of this.” </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">― </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/43940.Ken_Robinson" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">Ken Robinson</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">, </span><span id="quote_book_link_6590637" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Element-Finding-Passion-Changes-Everything/dp/0143116738/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443187288&sr=8-1&keywords=the+element+ken+robinson" target="_blank">The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything</a><span id="goog_831053731"></span><span id="goog_831053732"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></i></span></blockquote>
What if we believed the purpose of education and schooling was to develop the abilities of all students to make their own path in the world? Would they then be college and career ready too?<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-63799586019750689222015-09-09T21:12:00.001-04:002015-09-09T21:22:50.821-04:00What if? For about three years now, I have had this magnet in front of me near my desk.<br />
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Many times I have stared at that magnet when I have been frustrated with things large and small. I often reflect that if we could all just take a pause, breathe, and recollect our thoughts, things weren't as hard as they seemed. Quite often I have heard the phrase "Teaching is hard" and there is no doubt that the teaching profession is incredibly difficult, complex, and challenging. Yet those words connote so much more than "Teaching is hard". While it's semantic, I believe it's important to represent that what we do as educators is complicated and rarely "easy" or "hard".<br />
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At the heart of the quote are two key elements: the question "What if" and the spirit of the quote, which is ultimately about mindset and attitude. Too many of us allow the <a href="http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/marigolds/" target="_blank">walnut trees</a> to dictate how we approach the constant array of complications and changes. The joke in every school building is often "wait a few years and it will go away". Sometimes, things go away in one year. But WHAT IF, we took each change, each implementation plan, each curricular change, each initiative and acted like it was easy. What if we looked for the useful, the redeemable, and added it to our repertoire?<br />
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What if instead of fighting change we embraced it by looking for the good? What if we acted like it was easy?<br />
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The question "What if?" continues to resonate with me and I have decided that this school year, my reflections will be focused on that very question. At the heart of all learning are deep meaningful questions. What if... can be a powerful one. <br />
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As I began to wrap up this first blog post of 2015-2016, I became aware of the incredible story of two young girls from Washington state who designed and sent their own spacecraft into space. Take the 7 minutes to watch their story.<br />
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I am confident that their story began with a "What if?" I am confident that some educators would have told the young sisters that what they wanted to do was too "hard" for them. Luckily for the world, these sisters acted like it was easy (I'm pretty sure it wasn't).<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
"These two sisters set out to make something fun and exciting, and they certainly accomplished that. What they might not know is that they also created something beautiful that can’t quite be quantified by data. They created magic."</blockquote>
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<a href="http://nerdist.com/two-sisters-send-r2d2-and-a-cat-to-the-edge-of-space/">http://nerdist.com/two-sisters-send-r2d2-and-a-cat-to-the-edge-of-space/</a></div>
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What if we supported our students passions?<br />What if we stopped creating ceilings for our students?<br />
What if we encouraged our students dreams?<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-12876528924397521772015-03-25T12:46:00.000-04:002015-03-25T12:46:16.488-04:00Today you turn one year old. Dear Justin,<br />
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Today you turn one year old. You weren't supposed to be one today. You must have been so ready for this world that you came out 10 weeks earlier than we expected. When you were born, we were scared and worried but also full of love. The doctors and nurses who were there with you and with us were also full of care and love and support too. When you were born, they let mommy kiss you on your forehead and then they whisked you away for many hours. It was scary not to see you or be able to hold you, but we knew you were being taken good care of. When we finally got to come down and see you, you were in a special bed, full of special stuff to help you breathe and to check your heart. There were all kinds of beeping noises and screens showing us that you were doing ok. Even though you were sleeping, I wanted to touch you. I wanted you to know that we would always be there for you. So, I washed my hands with the special soap, opened the doors of your special bed, moved a few of the wires hooked up to you and reached in to touch your tiny little hand. I couldn't see your face because of the special equipment, but I think you must have been happy because as soon as you felt my touch, you opened up your hand and squeezed my finger. It was at that moment, I knew a special kind of love I had never known before.<br />
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Today you turn one year old. You weren't supposed to be one today. You must have been so excited and ready to explore this world that you came out 10 weeks earlier than expected. But the world wasn't quite safe enough for you yet. You got to stay in that special bed for a few more weeks. And each day, mommy and daddy would come down to visit you for as long as we could. Mommy would read you stories and sing to you and she would hold you close. Each day you would learn something new: how to breathe on your own, how to swallow, how to breathe and swallow together. Each day, you would smile and cry and eat and sleep. The nurses and doctors took amazing care of you and helped mommy and daddy to know what to expect. Many of your family members came to visit you. You were still so tiny. There were other babies around too. Just like you. They couldn't wait to come into this world either, so they came early. Some were there a lot longer than you and some came and went in a few days. But they all had doctors and nurses who loved them all the same.<br />
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Today you turn one year old. You weren't supposed to be one today. You must have been so excited to be a part of this world that you came out 10 weeks earlier than we expected. Finally after 40 days, you didn't need the special bed or the special stuff and we were allowed to bring you to our house. We took the hour drive home from the hospital very slowly. Daddy never drove more carefully than he did that day. Mikey was at the door ready to greet you, tail wagging, and was excited we were all home together. We got to show you your nursery and all of the gifts our family and friends had given you. Over the next few weeks and months, you did a lot of sleeping. We had many doctors visits and at each one, they told us that you were growing very slowly. They told us that someday you would catch up, but for now, you are just small. They told us that we had to do everything we could to help you grow. (Later in life, when you want to know why you have the desire to eat every hour, you can blame us...or the doctors.)<br />
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Today you turn one year old. You weren't supposed to be one today. You must have been ready to play in this world because ever since you knew how to roll around on the floor, you haven't stopped playing. You go from toy to toy, a non-stop whirlwind of movement. You are sitting up and standing on your own. You are crawling faster than we can keep up. You are walking with help. You are saying a few words: mama, dada, baba, yeah. You love to listen to music and to take baths. You love to dance. You love Mickey Mouse. You love all of your toys. You love your books. And you love to smile.<br />
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Today you turn one year old. You weren't supposed to be one today. You must have been ready to learn in this world because you have never stopped learning new things. As you continue to grow, we will read lots of books together and listen to all kinds of music. We will visit museums and historic sites. We will travel to new places and we will meet lots of people. We will see the world with wonder and amazement. We will see people as interesting and of value, both to us and to this world. We will always want to leave a place better than we found it. This is something I hope we will always have in common. I hope we can provide you with a love of learning and a love for life itself.<br />
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Today you turn one year old. You weren't supposed to be one today. But I am glad that you are. I am thankful to be able to share you with the world. You were meant to be here, right now. You have been everything I expected you to be and more. You have been the light in the darkness and brought joy where there was once heartache. You fill me with pride that is bursting at the seams. I know that you are <i>only</i> one today but there are so many amazing things to come. I know that we are so busy trying to help you grow but we selfishly want you to stay this way forever. Secretly, we want you to always need us in your life, despite knowing that our hope for you is to become a strong and loving individual. Even though we celebrate this milestone, this one moment, we are also celebrating all that you have overcome and all that you will become.<br />
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Today you turn one year old. Tonight I will hold you in my arms as you drift off to sleep. You will gradually close your eyes, your breathing will settle into a rhythm, and you will let go of the tight grip you have of my chest. I will say the same prayer I say for you every night as I lay you down in your crib and you will dream whatever it is that babies dream about. Tomorrow there won't be cake or presents or nearly as much excitement. By definition, tomorrow will be just another day. Except it's not. Tomorrow you are one year and one day old. Tomorrow will be full of hope and dreams and play and learning too. Tomorrow will not be your birthday, but it will be an opportunity to love and appreciate all that we are and all that we have. Tomorrow will be another day to enjoy life. Tomorrow we will continue to be thankful for the rich blessings of family and friends, doctors and nurses, and for the joyful life ahead of us together.<br />
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But today, today you turn one year old. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-34352172563681637802015-01-28T15:41:00.000-05:002015-01-28T15:43:56.282-05:00A growing sadness<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> My son Justin is 10 months old. He has entered into a phase where he would much rather be playing than be held. He is active and happy and wants to explore the world around him as much as possible. He is crawling, inch worming, and rolling depending on how motivated he is to get someplace fast (like chasing after the dog). He is extremely responsive to music and loves Mickey Mouse. Justin loves to play with a variety of toys and when we lay him down on the floor, he just goes off in various directions. On any given day, he moves from his toy farm animals to his multicolored rings, from the multitude of learning devices with lights and sounds and songs to his stuffed animals. He plays longer now, sometimes rolling around for over an hour. He expresses excitement with squeals and squeaks and the occasional “mama”. When he gets bored with one toy, he moves on to the next. He is constantly trying new things. He figured out how to get the little people out of the barn and put them back in. I don’t know why this amazes me, but it does. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Watching him learn and grow brings us so much joy and with each passing day, I am reminded of how “simple” learning can be. </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It is <i>questioning</i>. (Why can’t I fit this big orange ring into my mouth?) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It is <i>trial and error</i>. (Maybe I can fit this big orange ring into my mouth if I turn it this way.) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It is <i>choice</i>. (Maybe I will play with the little red ring instead of this bigger orange one for now.) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It is <i>perseverance and grit</i>. (If I keep trying to fit this orange ring in my mouth for the next 20 minutes, it will eventually fit in there.) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It is <i>fun</i>. (I am going to scream and laugh and giggle at this big orange ring as I play with it.) </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><br /> While I enjoy this time with Justin, trying to appreciate every moment of learning , there is a growing sadness developing in my heart. It is the realization that while I am busy trying to appreciate every moment of learning and growth, he probably should be doing the same. The sadness is growing inside me because I know that learning in school will most likely never be more personal and more authentic than it is right now. In 5 years he is going to walk into a kindergarten classroom that is going to be driven more by ensuring that all students can read on grade level than by focusing on play. In 8 years, he is going to walk into a classroom that is more driven by being “<a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/college_bound/2012/07/act_plans_to_roll_out_career_and_college_readiness_tests_for_3rd-10th_grades.html">college and career ready</a>” (in third grade!) than by helping him see joy in learning. In 11 years, he is going to walk into middle school classrooms built around archaic curriculum instead of lively students. In 14 years, he will walk into high school classrooms that are entirely focused on content and the person in the front of the room, instead of the students (and the multitude of questions they have) in it. <br /><br /> My growing sadness is built around the fact that our modern schools are places built around content and teaching instead of students and learning. I want him to perceive history as something to actively research and explore through his own questions. I want him to learn to think like a historian or an archaeologist. I want him to learn that mathematics is as much a language as it is a process and that the journey of arriving at a correct answer is as important as the final solution. I want him to learn to think like a mathematician or statistician. I want him to learn science through inquiry, through experimentation, by doing science, by developing his own questions and exploring them more deeply. I want him to learn to think like a chemist or an engineer. I want him to love reading and to express himself in a variety of ways. I want him to love music, art, theater, and sports. I want him to be creative and collaborative. I want him to seamlessly utilize technology to research, create, and connect with other students and experts and to amplify his learning. Most importantly, I want him to recognize that each moment is an opportunity to learn and grow.<br /><br /> Permit my cynicism, but schools like this don’t exist in many places (although there are places like <a href="http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/08/starting-from-scratch-a-public-school-built-on-dreams-of-students-and-parents/">this</a> and in the video below.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> If we were truly honest about our <a href="http://willrichardson.com/post/91047442855/schools-at-the-crossroads">nostalgia for school</a>, (also see “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Why-School-Education-Information-Everywhere-ebook/dp/B00998J5YQ">Why School”</a>) we would admit that our beliefs about our modern schools and classrooms are entrenched in a reality that was never as good as we think it was. Think deeply about your schooling experiences. How often were you given choices? How often were you afforded the opportunity to control your own learning? How often were you afforded the right to explore what you wanted, in ways that you wanted, and show what you learned in ways you designed? If you arrived at the “Look, I made it through school and I’m a successful adult.” or “School was awful for me, but it’s just a rite of passage my kids will have to deal with.” you might be part of the problem.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><u>As an educator, it is incredibly easy to point fingers at:</u> </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>elected officials</b>: for creating the<a href="http://dianeravitch.net/category/standardized-testing/"> test-focused climate</a>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>media,elected officials, and administrators</b>: who <a href="http://smartblogs.com/education/2015/01/16/the-use-of-data-getting-the-whole-picture/?utm_source=brief" target="_blank">use the testing results</a> in ways they were <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/schools/etc/guide.html">never intended to be used.</a> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>curriculum writers and coordinators</b>: who purchase or create curriculum that we as teachers had <a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/oct93/vol51/num02/Who-Creates-Curriculum%C2%A2-New-Roles-for-Teachers.aspx">no say in developing or vetting</a>. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>building principals</b>: who <a href="http://www.districtadministration.com/article/does-class-size-really-matter">place too many kids</a> in a class or place too many of “<a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/105124/chapters/Dealing-with-Challenging-Students.aspx">those kids</a>” in our classes. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nea.org/tools/17360.htm"><b>parents</b></a>: who did not prepare their student for school or do not engage with their students about their learning. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>students</b>: for not taking the opportunity to learn nearly seriously enough.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>other educators</b>: who simply are not cutting it or "did not do a good job teaching the year before."</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>What’s not so easy, is recognizing that we as educators must:</u> </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">admit that the system of schooling we all achieved in, is <a href="http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/02/three-trends-that-define-the-future-of-teaching-and-learning/">not the best model for our current students. </a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">admit that content is not king and that what will make students "<a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/20/study-finds-big-gaps-between-student-and-employer-perceptions">college and career ready</a>" is far more than collecting facts.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">have the courage to make <a href="http://inservice.ascd.org/five-steps-to-create-a-progressive-student-centered-classroom/">students and learning the focus</a> of our classrooms and schools. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">have the courage to admit that our <a href="http://www.fastcoexist.com/1679921/going-from-one-size-fits-all-education-to-one-size-fits-one">one-size-fits all</a> mentality and teaching style are a significant part of the problem. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">admit that when only 80% of the students “get it”, that is <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/blog/great-teachers-do-not-teach-ben-johnson">not nearly good enough</a>. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">admit that “those kids” are the ones who were given to us, so we could help <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/08/20/01help.h34.html">make a difference in their lives</a>. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">commit to making the kinds of changes that translate into student ownership of learning, not <a href="http://www.ted.com/conversations/4478/isn_t_it_time_to_eliminate_gra.html">accountability through grades and task completion</a>. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">acknowledge that our job is incredibly difficult, but less so when we <a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may04/vol61/num08/What-Is-a-Professional-Learning-Community%C2%A2.aspx">collaborate and support</a> one another around the right kinds of things. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /> As a parent, I promise that Justin will walk into a Kindergarten classroom with eyes wide open, full of wonder. He will be willing to play and experiment. He will be full of energy. We will work hard to make sure he knows his shapes, and numbers, and can read to the best of his ability. We will spend time helping him to learn to share and play well with others. We will do our best to help him to love and show compassion and kindness. We will spend the next 5 years preparing him to be a learner first, a student second. We hope that he will be met by a teacher with the same learning first mindset we are trying to instill.<br /><br /> Right now there are many students in each class, just like Justin, staring at us, waiting for us to make the next move. Each student is not the same. They are each unique and deserving not only of our very best, but the opportunity to be the architects of their own learning. We need to stop playing <a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787973475.html">the game of school</a>. These are students who deserve to be learners first and students second. These are students whose future “nostalgia” for school could be based on the reality that school was a place where they did purposeful work for authentic reasons. A place where they created instead of consumed. A place where it mattered less what they knew, and more what they did with that knowledge. A place that honored creativity and perseverance more than grades. A place that personalized learning while also affording opportunities for true collaborative problem solving. A place that put their own individual learning needs ahead of everything else. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(Sir Ken Robinson nails it in this Ted Talk from April 2013)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the desire to help our nation’s kids become </span><a href="http://www.achieve.org/college-and-career-readiness" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">College and Career Read</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">y</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> we must consider that our assumptions about what that means ( and how to get there) may lead us to have the opposite effect of what is intended. David Conley, a leading advocate for college and career readiness, </span><a href="http://gettingsmart.com/2012/06/qa-david-conley-college-career-readiness/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">already warns us about limiting the scope</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> or definition of college and career readiness. This also leads me to ask the question “Should the primary goal of a classroom teacher be to prepare their students for college? For a career? For the next year in their schooling?” Perhaps it’s semantic but isn’t preparedness a byproduct of learning? Isn’t achievement (by whatever metric you choose to use) the byproduct of maximizing the learning potential of our students? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we dig deeper into Conley’s definition and expectations of college and career readiness, we need to not only recognize, but </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">embrace</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the seismic shift that occurred between our own schooling experience and the world our students are going to be entering into themselves. This is not to say that we weren’t prepared for the world or that our teachers weren’t very good. It’s just that the world of college and work are completely different from the ones we experienced upon graduation.</span></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-cebe2067-7902-f365-c60f-edd370d92b3c" style="font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img height="260" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/KEDK-IMFQ-NllYQ_Q8iYP7Gy5GIbOkrbyIEmEz_nhl3Y5eQiU5ZWAn9qqjTzIAA8qU849BpTCoV2nvjPBddKJZ0556nVadY5q6TEcuHZrqJuWBP1mbywFi1vB0kp5Gg0IQ" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /><br /><br /></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we look at the diagram above, we must be willing to reflectively and honestly assess how much of our curriculum and instructional/assessment practices embrace all four quadrants. Where do you see yourself philosophically? Pedagogically? What do you value? What kind of culture is being created by the choices you are making? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maybe this is an unfair generalization, but most secondary classrooms continue to primarily focus on what students </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“know”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The most well publicized metrics by which we currently evaluate student success (and are now being used to evaluate our effectiveness as teachers), state standardized tests and national exams like the SAT’s, mostly measure what our students “know”. There have been attempts to move assessment measures into the “think” realm as well. But these are often difficult to write or take too long to assess with validity. We can tell what these classrooms look and feel like because they typically involve a teacher front and center talking at students or burying kids in content without intentional instructional practices. These teachers don’t typically formatively assess and therefore can’t let classroom data drive instruction. They don’t typically respond to student needs because they aren’t aware of them. They believe that their job is to help kids “know” stuff. And if after the test, the kids didn’t learn the stuff, it’s because the student didn’t study hard enough. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Better teachers recognize that what students “know” only matters in the context of how they </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“think” </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">about what they know. Fewer classrooms embrace the mindset that focuses more on what students do with what they know and have learned. These teachers recognize that multiple choice questions have their place, but mostly in quick checks for understanding. Teachers who aspire to have their students “show what they know” believe in performance, authenticity of assessment, and multiple and diverse measures of success (and achievement). They also recognize that the more they talk at students, the less likely that students will have the opportunity to share their learning or what they “think”. These teachers believe:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1778, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Wilhelm_von_Steuben" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Baron Von Steuben</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was given the task of whipping the ragtag Continental Army into shape. He is credited with being the father of the American military because he skillfully organized the troops through building common knowledge and instilling discipline into the men at Valley Forge. About the difference between European and American soldiers he is quoted as saying: “</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You say to your soldier, 'Do this' and he does it. But I am obliged to say to the American, 'This is why you ought to do this' and then he does it.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Great teachers recognize that students need to be aware of context and relevance.They understand that it is as important for students to connect the content knowledge and the thinking skills to their own personal lives. These teachers challenge students to ask “Why does this matter?” or “Why should this matter to me?” Teachers who do this conference with their students frequently and discuss content and skills in a greater context beyond academia. These teachers encourage students to explore personal interests and make connections to the curriculum and skills in the classroom and beyond. Teachers who do this make metacognition and student reflection a key element of their classroom design. These teachers intentionally develop a culture for students to truly be independent learners and encourage them to reflect on their goals. In these classrooms, students make connections between what they know, how they show it, and where they plan to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“go” </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> when they leave their schooling behind. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The best teachers understand that no matter what curriculum we implement, no matter what instructional and assessment practices we utilize, students can not be college and career ready if they are not the architects of their own learning. Teachers do this by providing students authentic and meaningful choices such as which learning strategies and processes they will employ, the way in which they choose to access the content, and how they wish to prove their learning. These teachers not only encourage students to develop their own questions, but they actively teach students how to do this better AND provide the necessary time and feedback to become great at it. A classroom in which the teacher and students are co-learning and collaborating together is evidence that not only is the classroom student-centered, but also student-driven. This does not mean the classroom is a free for all either. These teachers have very clear expectations of learning, are standards aligned, and provide scaffolded support too.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m not entirely sure what it means to be “college and career ready” yet, but I do know a few things it is not. It is not: </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">lecturing</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “because it’s what they do in college” </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(lecturing has its place but not as the primary method </span><span style="font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">of instruction or without frequent discussions and checks for understanding)</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">giving large final exams or midterms</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “because it’s what they do in college” </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(What do these types of assessments tell us about our teaching and student learning? )</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">giving lots of homework</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> because we need to teach kids “responsibility” </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Responsibility is about doing whatever it takes to learn, not nightly assignments that have inappropriate </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> cognitive demand for </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">most learners.). </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">forcing kids into rigid coursework</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the name of rigor and high standards </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(By all means we should afford students choice of coursework but a high level course does not guarantee high quality of learning. Rigor is about the individual students, not the course)</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">creating prescribed pathways and programs</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for all students </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(A one size fits all pathway doesn’t honor the individual needs and choices that being an independent and college and career ready learner demand)</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ultimately, if we want students to be successful and productive adults, we need to help them to become the best learners they can be, not the best students (and there is a big difference between the two). We need to embrace the challenge that college and career readiness is going to require a different pathway </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for each student</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. We need to acknowledge that this goal is an ever-evolving and moving target as our definition of college and career readiness might already be irrelevant by tomorrow, let alone 4 years from now. If we want our students to be college and career ready, we need schooling to be less like “school” and more like the real world. We need to afford our students the same autonomy (with support) that we as adult learners rightfully demand. We need to ensure that our daily classroom practices and district wide processes don’t unintentionally widen the expanding gap between preparing our students for a world we can’t envision and holding onto a past that no longer exists. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-46145281252822328262014-03-12T13:23:00.000-04:002014-03-12T13:23:04.627-04:00Seeking Connections<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the polarizing arguments about technology use today is whether technology creates human connection or replaces it. On one side of the fence sits the twitterverse, where social media creates foundational relationships built on a constant stream of 140 characters. This side of the fence is where facebook status updates and instagrammed images help weave the stories of our lives and interconnect one another in ways that were not humanly possible ten years ago. On the other side of the fence sit those who believe that all of the technology and gadgets are creating a divide between the real and digital world. Those who sit there believe that nothing can replace the human experience, lived face to face, one conversation at a time. Let’s also acknowledge that there are plenty of fence sitters as well. In education circles, the argument is one in which the idea of MOOC’s, self-paced learning management systems, and learning on demand terrifies, excites, or leaves you with the question “What’s a MOOC?” The cheers of teachers who welcome the evolving role of educator are being met by the cries of those afraid that they are being outsourced by devices and software.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a classroom teacher, what mattered most to me was relationships with kids. It’s what I miss most about my current role as an instructional coach. And although I have forged some incredible working relationship with colleagues, it’s a different animal altogether. Building relationships with kids is hard but rewarding work. It’s why teachers meet their kids at the door and greet them as they enter the classroom. It’s why they are willing to help them over lunch or before and after school. It’s also why we grin from ear to ear when we see our students stretch and grow. Building relationships with students benefit us in a million little ways that add up to major gains. Classroom management, true academic stretching, commitment to the school and greater community are all impacted positively by getting to know kids really well. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the greatest lessons I ever learned as a middle school teacher was that in order for me to build these meaningful relationships with my students, I could not teach the same way I had been taught or had been teaching for the first few years of my career. Teaching from the front of the room did not afford me the time to conference with students. Reading from a textbook and leading whole group discussions did not afford me the chance to connect often enough to make a real difference in the lives of each student. I was realizing that the opportunities that gave me the most one on one time with students were the experiential learning activities. It was in small group situations. And eventually, it was when students were personally interacting with devices to question, research, and create. It was in these small one on one interactions where I could clarify, push, support, challenge, and celebrate safely with each student. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The technology also afforded different opportunities to personalize communication. Providing feedback and comments through google docs. Clarifying questions through instant messaging. Sharing of assignments and reminders through a texting service like Remind101. Creating student portfolios of growth and learning through google sites and blackboard. Maintaining a class wiki to share exemplary work with the world. Students reflecting through personal blogging. The tools themselves did not build, strengthen, and maintain the relationships. But the use of them provided time to foster them more fully. </span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-8eca0114-b750-78f4-5099-23e0a6ce5986"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Believing in face to face relationships and supporting technology are not opposing perspectives. Just as it is ok for us to continuously use social media to connect, communicate, and learn, we must also learn (and teach our students ) to put the device aside and interact more fully and in the present with one another. This also needs to be modeled in our classrooms with our students. We need to put the devices aside whenever possible. We need to close our mouths and open our hearts and ears to our students. We need to continually let them know they matter. Seeking connection to one another is as human as it gets. Using technology to enhance human connection is not wrong. It should never be about the device or tool. It is always about the ways in which we use the tools to learn, grow, and connect. </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-33153573113399784092014-02-12T13:33:00.000-05:002014-02-12T13:33:00.682-05:00What does your reflection say about you? <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the first day of every school year, one of the class procedures and promises I made to my students was that there was nothing I would ask of them that I haven’t already done or would not be willing to do. We discussed how important my role as a learner was in the classroom and that while I (for the most part) had more content knowledge and skill as a teacher, my job was to learn about each and every one of them, as well as learn alongside them. I explained that there were times we would try out a new web based tool or use a device that I was not 100% familiar with and that we would be on an equal playing field. There were many times they taught me quite a bit about the tools too. They loved to show off and teach me. My job was to develop a worthwhile academic purpose for using the tool, even without being an expert on it. There were also times where I was asked to play a bear or a tree or any number of inanimate objects in class skits or presentations. My students hopefully understood that I believed that we were in it together and that I meant what I said about learning and trying new things together. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Before I go and pat myself on the back, it also makes me realize just how many times I did NOT practice what I preached. One of my favorite statements is that we as educators often hold our students to a higher standard than we hold ourselves. Want proof? Ask yourself about how often you emulate the following “</span><a href="http://www.angelamaiers.com/2008/10/classroom-hab-2.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">habitudes</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” in your personal life? What about in your professional life? How often do I...</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">... imagine or wonder? </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… use my imagination and creativity to solve problems?</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… allow my curiosity to drive me? </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… allow myself time to explore or question or follow my curiosity?</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… reflect?</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… make changes based upon those reflections?</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… seek out challenging or difficult situations?</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… stick to it, no matter how difficult or challenging it may be?</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… rise to a challenge presented by others, even when it goes against your current </span><span style="line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">belief </span><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">system? </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… commit to patience</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… commit to hard work without complaint?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… learn from my mistakes?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… rise when I fall? </span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… seek to understand the why before the what and the how?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… reflect on what success means?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… put myself in my students’ shoes?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… put myself in my colleagues’ shoes?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">…. in my administrator or bosses’ shoes? </span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… set goals and evaluate my success on the goals with data?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… reflect on what is my opinion and what is validated by research and </span><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">information?</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… support my beliefs and opinions with facts and citing evidence from research?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… listen to ideas and opinions that are different than your own without judgment?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… kept a positive attitude in the face of criticism or a difficult situation?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… reflect prior to reacting?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… recognize the changes that were occurring around me whether I liked it or not?</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… share my passions and interest visibly with others?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… bring energy into my experiences with others?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… exude confidence and promote confidence in others?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">… model flexibility?</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-23fa203c-275e-1316-720d-88f5e4d7097f" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we hold up the mirror to ourselves, we need to ask ourselves if we are living up to the standards we set before our students? When we ask them to do hours of homework each night, are we committing to spending our own time away from the classroom, providing them meaningful and timely feedback to promote growth and learning? When we ask our students to care about our content and our classroom and to engage with new information and try new skills despite fear of failure, we must ask ourselves how we ourselves feel about new learning and experiencing failure. What is our reaction to information shared by colleagues, at faculty meetings, by district professional development? When we ask our students to work in small groups, to engage in collaborative learning, we should be examining our own attitudes about working with others and collaborating with colleagues. How can we reject working with others, while demanding it of our students? </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If we want our students to be engaged, to be creative, to be caring, to show perseverance, to adapt, to be imaginative, to collaborate well, to ask deep and meaningful questions, to be confident, to reflect, to be honest, to be courageous, and to love learning, then we must believe these virtues and live these habitudes. As educators, we rightfully expect so much of our students and we must demand the same of ourselves.. When I look out at my students, I want them to be a reflection of all of those demands and expectations. I also acknowledge that ultimately, they, are a reflection of me. When you look out at your students, what does their reflection say about you? </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-65554035157220958022014-01-15T07:45:00.000-05:002014-01-15T07:45:21.615-05:00Unnecessary and replaceable.<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary.” - Thomas Carruthers</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4c1e6cb9-95eb-9c92-edfd-fdc2718ee18a" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Any teacher that can be replaced by a computer probably should be.”- David Thornburg</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Both of these quotes came across my twitter feed this week. At first glance, these seem to be conflicting goals. How does one make himself “progressively unnecessary” while NOT working himself out of a job (or being replaced by a machine?) However, these two statements speak to a growing tension that today’s educators are becoming more acutely aware of, even if they can’t quite describe it.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Operating under the assumption that the goal of all teachers and educational systems is to challenge students to become independent thinkers and learners and to apply necessary working and life skills without the support of another, the Carruthers quote makes a ton of sense philosophically. However, the idealism of “guide on the side” is often not realized in many classrooms. The “sage on the stage” model is comfortable, convenient, and requires compliance from the student (not the independent thinking we claim to value). It requires little daily instructional change and promotes passivity for both teacher and student. This pedagogy (and the inherent instructional and assessment practices) is what many educators experienced (persevered through?) and succeeded in throughout their own schooling. Asking ourselves to reject a system in which we found success is a daunting challenge. However, this mindset, where the teacher is disseminator of all knowledge, represents a need for control and maintaining comfortability at all costs. It also flies in the face of the established goal of helping all of our students to truly become independent learners. It is believing that our students can not learn without us.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thornburg’s quote speaks to a different fear many teachers are realizing when they look out at their students. These students are becoming increasingly disinterested in traditional schooling and prefer to engage with peers and content online. We often make the mistake of assuming that they aren’t learning when using these devices or engaging online. We then begin to believe that schools should be places where we must “slow down” the learning. They become places where we must disconnect from the outside world. Classrooms become places where students must master the most basic content and skills before ever being allowed to move into higher-level, critical, and creative thinking. The birth of cyber charters, self-paced content delivery, and good old fashioned “surfin’ the web” are scaring the heck out of teachers because it means that they no longer control the flow (or accuracy) of information. It also proves that our students CAN learn (and are) without us.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can either continue to be terrified by this, or we can rise to the challenge and realize the potential opportunity that embracing technology affords us. It doesn’t replace us, it asks us to envision a classroom much different than the one we experienced. It asks us to allow our students to take control of their learning. It asks us to provide more opportunities for students to be independent learners. It liberates us from having to know it all or be able to do it all. It asks us to rethink our roles as educators. It demands we think more about questions and less about answers. This kind of thinking is device agnostic and in many ways, doesn’t require a device at all. “Technology” is shaping the world around us in ways we can’t possibly yet comprehend and denying the impact on our students and classroom is akin to burying our heads in the sand. </span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Many of us have not accepted that much of what we value and believe about </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">teaching</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> has already been replaced by technology. Holding on to the belief that we lose value because we no longer disseminate all of the information is detrimental. Tightly gripping the mantra “Hey, I taught it therefore it’s their responsibility to know it” is downright damning. Once we accept that our roles must change, what will remain are our steadfast beliefs about </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">learning</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the unquenchable desire to see our students become successful and independent learners. Every educator (and parent) has had that moment. It’s the one where the toddler is able to take a few steps on their own. It’s the one where the child is able to write a sentence by themselves. It’s the one where the teenager says “Hey, I got this. Let me do it by myself.” In these moments, we should beam with pride knowing that we have made ourselves progressively unnecessary. It is also in these moments we should recognize that by putting their needs above our own, we have truly made ourselves irreplaceable.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-32030087725987867822013-12-17T16:23:00.000-05:002013-12-17T16:23:09.065-05:00Technology as an amplifier.When we think about the potential "technology" has to transform classrooms, there is no shortage of cliche's or 140 character "truths" that can be uttered in a moments notice. And it's not that I don't believe in many of these ideas or that our students do not deserve to learn using whatever tools help them learn best. Over the years, one of the statements that has always resonated with me is the idea that "technology is an amplifier". At face value, this may sound like a truly underwhelming vision of what "technology" can be in the hands of the right teachers and students. My initial thought about this statement years ago was that it didn't go far enough in shining a light on the potential "technology" has to offer in our classrooms and schools.<br />
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Yet here I sit several years later and upon further review, I think this statement is spot on. That's not to say that the uses of "technology" in a classroom can't be transformative. It's just that often the "technology" we use shines a light on the wrong things. In some cases, it amplifies bad practices too. Which is why I think we have to be careful that we aren't being hyperbolic when discussing the power of technology to the technophobes and cynics when heavily investing in "technology" in schools. We have to accept that no amount of new devices or access to new software or tools will ever increase learning. Period.<br />
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What does increase learning is the effort and will of the person(s) behind the design of the learning opportunities and experiences for our kids. (ie. the teacher)<br />
<br />
Five years ago when I began to heavily invest in teaching and learning about technology in my classroom (mostly through my online PLN), it became obvious to me that I was a hypocrite. The very things I was spouting to complete strangers and preaching to colleagues were not evident in my classroom. And maybe my colleagues were just patient because no one called me out on it. But it was true. And that burden weighed heavily on me. All of the technology I was using in my classroom was "amplifying" poor instructional and assessment practices. Having students re-create "digital" poster projects was not innovative. Disregarding curriculum in order to do projects that interested me and had little academic purpose other than to say we were learning "online" only benefited some of my students. I'm not too proud to admit that I had wasted kids time by giving them way too many days to "research" just so I could say we were using online resources. The truth is that I loved the idea of doing all of these amazing "projects" I kept reading about, but I just didn't want to put the time or energy into ensuring that the "technology" was being used effectively, efficiently, and maximizing the learning potential for ALL students. I did not want to collect and use evidence that might prove that I had absolutely no clue.<br />
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I didn't want to explore standards. I didn't want to determine the essential questions or enduring understandings. I didn't want to write student friendly objectives or have my kids reflect on them. I couldn't even begin to determine how to best assess my students because I hadn't even identified what was most essential to begin with. I was wandering the desert. And I suspect that many of my colleagues are stuck there right now too.<br />
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Perhaps to be fair, jumping from web based project to web based project led me to designing a project based unit which led to designing a few others. I began to study the standards and grapple with essential questions. I began to explore transfer skills and determine what content was essential. I began to map out my assessments methodically and strategically and I was rarely surprised by the results I achieved (good or bad). I stopped hiding from the data and other evidence and each assessment provided an opportunity for me to challenge myself. It became as much about my growth as my students.<br />
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I have hope that many of my colleagues who are engaging in web based collaborative learning are moving towards the panacea of authentic, student led personalized learning too. The potential to learn together, collaboratively and beyond our physical location is too great to pass up. But so is the potential of designing truly meaningful, authentic, standards driven (there, I said it) learning experiences that don't ignore the classic literature or seminal moments of mankind's history. We can't forsake exploring essential content or grappling with integral skills just so we can have our students use the latest web based tools. We can't simply trade the textbook for a laptop and expect our kids to become expert learners. At the end of the day, technology is an amplifier. The question we must all ask ourselves is "What exactly is it amplifying?"Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-63566625653250527402013-11-20T08:15:00.004-05:002013-11-20T08:24:24.539-05:00Technology is not a magic bullet.<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few days ago, I had the opportunity to check out the newest exhibit </span><a href="http://www.fi.edu/pompeii/?gclid=CMyNsYuq87oCFRQaOgodnDYAIQ" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“One Day at Pompeii”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Aside from how well the Franklin treats educators on these “educator’s night out”, it was easy to be blown away by the technological advances the Romans had developed. Perhaps it’s just my lens, but I’ve always appreciated just how inventive the Romans were. From using terra cotta pots under floor boards to amplify sound in theaters to developing </span><a href="http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/romansurgical/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">medical devices</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that are eerily similar in shape and function today. From utilizing radiant heat to heat floors and walls to designing hydraulic metal gauges to alter water pressure through city pipes, the Romans were adept at evolving and changing technologically, to make their lives better and easier. These advances also led to economic collapse and caste systems, and an ever expanding empire that could not sustain itself. When the Roman Empire disappeared, so did many of these advances (at least for a few hundred years). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I also spent part of this past week reading an article in the </span><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/11/25/131125fa_fact_bilger" style="line-height: 1.15; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">New Yorker about the elusive self driving car</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I found myself reflecting on the role that technology plays in our lives today. The idea of the self-driving car has essentially existed since the dawn of cars themselves. And in the age of technology driven distracted driving, it’s an idea whose time may have come. The irony is that the more that cell phone technology and mobile computing penetrates our lives, the more likely it is that we as humanity, will use it inappropriately. Our vehicles are becoming so technology rich that the basic function of driving has at times, taken a back seat (pun intended) to the navigation, entertainment, and communication options that are present. I don’t mean to sound like an old fuddy-duddy, because if I’m being honest, the technology options are what draws me to certain vehicles. The point I am trying to make is that the technology itself is not bad or evil, it’s how we use the technology that determines its effectiveness.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So what does this have to do with teaching and learning? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Technology in classrooms is not a </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGmyiAcKD2mH67Ezt8Mc1rlRV9tqdeGr24m3A8KUgIKakGwJlBByUpEsbBN6o46Vm8Z9TDT3jFHve5pqgq-1fo8uViUaQUZRlPOrol7Qhhj-eLOMufa8oWgC3HI4OzRlAl5Rg3zE_Wrg/s1600/magic+bullet.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">magic bullet</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are beginning to see </span><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2013/nov/12/local/la-me-1113-lausd-20131113" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">entire city</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> school districts jump on the iPad and tablet craze. We are seeing more and more schools go 1:1 with laptop initiatives. We are seeing a proliferation of BYOD policies pop up. And unto themselves, these are hugely popular for students and are steps in the right direction. But as Lee Corso would say, “</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdoOaDmFuO0" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not so fast my friend</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Professional development for administrators and educators often focuses on the “how does it work” as opposed to how should we use this to help students make meaning, communicate, collaborate, and create? Many unfairly assume that educators are chomping at the bit to design instructional learning experiences using technology. This is true in some cases. In other cases, laptops are used as paperweights at worst, and for word processing at best. Tablets are used for games and low level practice skill and drill. A teacher who focuses on memorization and low level thinking skills will not all of a sudden change their stripes when handed a new device. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At its core, those who see the transformative potential of technology rich environments understand that it is not the technology itself we need to begin with. It is the hearts and minds of our colleagues whom we need to help envision what their classrooms and schools could be like. It’s about having many deep and personal conversations with colleagues around the kinds of learning experiences they wish for their students to be engaging in. It is about us nudging them and their students towards an even greater potential. It’s about coming alongside those educators and modeling and teaching and re-teaching and revising and reworking. It’s about designing units backwards together. It’s about debating the essential questions and enduring understandings. It’s about unpacking the standards and the skills. It’s about designing assessments that matter and making it all relevant to each individual student. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will admit that I am as much at fault here as anyone. When I speak about technology to my peers, it is often through the lens of efficiency (If you use this tool, it will grade all 500 of your essays FOR you!!!) . It is also often through the lens of a “cool factor” (Check out this amazing new tool that allows you to share this youtube video in 100 million different ways and solve world peace at the same time). And it’s not that those things don’t matter or shouldn’t be shared. They are entry points. But the truth is, like all things in life worth doing, there is no secret to making technology transform a classroom or school. Nothing will replace conversation after conversation. Connection after Connection. Nothing will replace the relationships built over time. And ultimately, building a technology rich learning environment takes </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sustained effort</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is not a magic bullet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(</span><a href="http://www.thequotefactory.com/irep/en/6/6DKCM6IR3P6IS_18BVUEN_IL_L_LS.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Albert Einstein</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="http://www.thequotefactory.com/irep/en/6/6TVCE6BLIJT70_1A82TER_IL_L_LS.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thomas Edison</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> knew it too) </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-11874893070099721432013-10-23T08:05:00.000-04:002013-10-23T11:18:48.063-04:00A cycle of hypocrisy<div dir="ltr" style="color: #494949; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0px; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-2671f5c8-e52b-88f3-b227-99e42966f0a4"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As part of a job embedded community of practice with the </span><a data-cke-saved-href="http://piic.pacoaching.org/index.php/piic-home" href="http://piic.pacoaching.org/index.php/piic-home" style="color: #027ac6; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pennsylvania Institute of Coaching (PIIC)</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, I am currently engaged in a book study of </span><a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.elenaaguilar.com/" href="http://www.elenaaguilar.com/" style="color: #027ac6; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elena Aguilar's</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: “</span><a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Coaching-Strategies-Transformation/dp/1118206533/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361064801&sr=8-1&keywords=the+art+of+coaching" href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Coaching-Strategies-Transformation/dp/1118206533/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361064801&sr=8-1&keywords=the+art+of+coaching" style="color: #027ac6; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Art of Coaching</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”. Although I am only 4 chapters in, there is much to appreciate and utilize as both a coach and a teacher. In the fourth chapter, Aguilar asks us to consider applying a series of lenses to our work as coaches. These lenses include: </span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">the lens of inquiry</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">the lens of change management</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">the lens of systems thinking</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">the lens of adult learning</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">the lens of systemic (structural) oppression</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">the lens of emotional intelligence. </span></li>
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<div dir="ltr" style="color: #494949; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0px; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-2671f5c8-e52b-88f3-b227-99e42966f0a4"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although all of these lenses are essential to utilize and look at our work through, the lens of adult learning is the one that is most fascinating to me. </span><a data-cke-saved-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andragogy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andragogy" style="color: #027ac6; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Andragogy</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a an adult learning theory/ practices that asserts that adult learners and learning are fundamentally different than child learners and learning. Let me state that I am far from experienced, nor would I consider myself even remotely expert on the subject. To further understand andragogy and the lens of adult learning, Aguilar states: </span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adults want to be the origin of our learning and want control over the what, who, how, why, and where of our learning. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adults will commit to learning when we believe the objectives are realistic and important for our personal and professional needs. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adults need to see that what we are learning is applicable to our day to day activities and problems.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adults need to see very clearly the relevance of what they’re being asked to learn. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adults need to have some say in what they’re doing.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adults need direct, concrete ways to apply what we have learned to our work.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adults (like children) need to feel emotionally safe in order to be able to learn. </span></li>
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<div dir="ltr" style="color: #494949; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0px; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-2671f5c8-e52b-88f3-b227-99e42966f0a4"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are an adult and if you are an educator reading this right now (and I’m assuming you are) , you are most likely nodding your head up and down vigorously in agreement with the statements above. And no one would blame you if you took these statements and anonymously dropped them into a well-intentioned staff developer, district administrator, or building principal’s mailbox. We have all struggled with mandates and initiatives that have faltered because the above conditions were not met. </span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-2671f5c8-e52b-88f3-b227-99e42966f0a4"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But that’s the low hanging fruit here. </span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-2671f5c8-e52b-88f3-b227-99e42966f0a4"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read these statements again with a little twist.</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Students</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> want to be the origin of their learning and want control over the what, who, how, why, and where of their learning. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Students</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> will commit to learning when they believe the objectives are realistic and important for their personal and professional needs. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Students</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> need to see that what they are learning is applicable to their day to day activities and problems.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Students </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> need to see very clearly the relevance of what they’re being asked to learn. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Students</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> need to have some say in what they’re doing.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Students</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> need direct, concrete ways to apply what they have learned to their work.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Students </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(like adults) need to feel emotionally safe in order to be able to learn. </span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-2671f5c8-e52b-88f3-b227-99e42966f0a4"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">See what I did there?</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #494949; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0px; text-indent: 36pt;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="color: #494949; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0px; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-2671f5c8-e52b-88f3-b227-99e42966f0a4"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's not that I think andragogy is bunk or that there aren't some major differences between adult and child learning. It's just that when I look at this list, it seems like what is good and right for us as adults is certainly good for our students. Especially when we consider our task is now to prepare students to be career and college ready. In Aguilar’s defense (and I love this book, so please don’t misconstrue my issue with andragogy as an issue with Aguilar or her book), she states the following: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“One of the most obvious differences between adults and children is that adults have simply lived longer and had more life experiences...as adults, we have more starting points and perhaps, more things to undo” </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #494949; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0px; text-indent: 36pt;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="color: #494949; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0px; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-2671f5c8-e52b-88f3-b227-99e42966f0a4"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are two truths in this statement. The first is that I believe our role as educators is to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">provide our students with these learning experiences</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. To allow them to take risks, try something new, to fail many times, and to persevere, overcome, and achieve. Our job is to provide opportunities that challenge and cause them to stretch and grow. This is what causes character and resilience.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #494949; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0px; text-indent: 36pt;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="color: #494949; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0px; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-2671f5c8-e52b-88f3-b227-99e42966f0a4"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second truth is that as adults, our great disadvantage is “that which must be undone.” As educators we are constantly fighting old habits and ways of doing things. We have convinced ourselves that because we achieved and succeeded 25 years ago in school, it’s ok for our classrooms to look and feel the same way today. That it’s ok for our students to suffer through the same style of instruction and activities we suffered through because it built character or resilience. Our experiences in school have also convinced us that to teach is to be the conduit for all learning and knowledge. Yet when you look at the statements above, it’s obvious that this is counter-intuitive to the needs of all learners. It’s not about what we teach, it’s about what they learn. Time has a funny way of blurring the edges, forgetting the negatives, and distorting the reality of what it was really like for us as students. As educators, we have a lot of unlearning to do. </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #494949; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0px; text-indent: 36pt;">
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-2671f5c8-e52b-88f3-b227-99e42966f0a4"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Universally we were taught some form of the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. When I look at the lists above I wonder why there is such a disconnect between the world we wish to have for ourselves and the classrooms we create for our students? I wonder why we haven’t admitted that the conditions in which we learn best are unique and independent to us as individuals and then treat each child with a similar point of view? I wonder when we will have the courage to stop the cycle of hypocrisy that says “this is what I deserve as an (adult) learner” yet continue to deny those same conditions to our students? </span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-9734746178530440122013-09-24T19:04:00.000-04:002013-09-24T19:04:26.595-04:00Move fast and break thingsThis post on <a href="http://mashable.com/2013/09/11/zuckerberg-moving-fast-trouble/" target="_blank">Mark Zuckerberg's vision at Facebook</a> came through my twitter feed last week and it really resonated with me. One of Facebook's core beliefs is that "moving fast" inspires innovation and empowers employees to try new things to better the product for the consumer. Zuckerberg admits though, that moving fast also creates a lot of headaches and a constant need to go back and "fix" things that were broken as a result. Along with "Move Fast and Break Things" the post also highlights some other key motivational posters and core beliefs such as "Fail Harder", "People over pixels" and "Done is better than perfect".<br />
<br />
I wonder if we are preparing our students to work at a place like Facebook?<br />
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I would imagine that moving fast and breaking things can be a lot of fun and also incredibly scary. Every time Facebook changes even a minor privacy setting or enhances the view, one just needs to go to social media to see the hailstorm of criticism. Yet it remains the most popular social media tool on the planet. The most recent numbers indicate there are over <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/number-active-users-facebook-over-230449748.html" target="_blank">1.1 BILLION users and over 650 million active users a DAY</a>! So if one of the most successful companies on earth with mind-blowingly active daily "consumers" are willing to move fast and break things, to endure criticism in the face of creating a better product, why are we often so unwilling to allow our STUDENTS to move fast and break things?<br />
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There are a ton of things we struggle and grapple with when our classroom is not living up to our own expectations. They run the gamut from peer pressures ( I can't do something different because colleague x will be upset with me), administrative pressures (I need to make sure I am on pace or I will get in trouble.) , standardized testing pressures (If it's not on the state test, I don't have time to teach it) , parental pressures (As soon as I try something new, I might need to explain it to parents) , student pressures (Some of my students can't handle this kind of work), and personal pressures ( I just don't have time to try something different today/this week/this month/this year) . But those perceptions or worries, whether real or imagined, are not at the root of why our classrooms don't provide more room to move fast and break things.<br />
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Control is.<br />
<br />
Our students are naturally inclined to work fast and break things, yet because we are uncomfortable with this, we slow them down and often praise them for doing things right the first time. As teachers, we are incredibly reluctant to work fast and break things, especially when it comes to technology. Innovation and inspiration often go hand in hand with failure and how we learn from those failures. As educators, we sometimes struggle with new mediums, new pedagogy, and new ways of learning that are different than our own. Disruptions such as cyber learning, 1:1 initiatives, learning on demand through Khan Academy and MOOC's (for example), and the proliferation of web based social platforms (that can also be used to collaborate and communicate) such as Twitter and Facebook create a greater divide between students who are chomping at the bit to move fast and break things, and teachers who often want to move slowly and keep things in order.<br />
<br />
In the end,we must PLAY. When handed new devices, and/or access to new software or web-platforms, we must change our paradigm and see it an opportunity to learn from and alongside our students. Their willingness to work fast and break things is an asset, not a liability. Giving up some control and permitting ourselves to be a learner with our students can be scary, but also invigorating. It's what makes us human to them. It empowers students to be seen as young adults who have value not just in their world, but in life itself. It creates a bond and a connection through learning together. It creates an opportunity to fail safely together and to learn from our mistakes too.<br />
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Work fast and break things. Together. <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-51979726198053089732013-08-28T17:20:00.000-04:002013-08-28T17:20:00.169-04:00Differentiation is not enough. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of my favorite posts of 2013 (and </span><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/bbray/personalizedlearninchart" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the chart that accompanies it </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) was written by Barbara Bray entitled “</span><a href="http://barbarabray.net/2012/01/15/personalized-learning-is-not-differentiating-instruction/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Personalized Learning is Not Differentiating Instruction”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. While I didn’t write about it at the time, I had a copy of the chart on my desk for several months. Several times a week I would see it out of the corner of my eye and I would reflect on what it meant to me as a teacher. Spending just a few minutes with the chart and the post itself would seemingly present a vision of what classrooms </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">should</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> look like presently as well as some clear cut goals for educators. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-774b2fff-c6cb-7016-fbc4-3fb45349bddf" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many years ago, differentiation became an educational buzzword that myself and many in education loathed to hear. When something wasn’t working in your classroom, the rallying cry became “Just differentiate!” None of us knew what differentiation looked like or how we would even do it for our students. I often “taught” from a textbook, with desks in straight rows, and any learning that occurred was by luck and sheer happenstance. I began experimenting with offering different types of assessments as well as offering different ways for students to access content. It was as if offering kids...gasp...CHOICES for how they wanted to learn and how they wanted to show what they knew and could do became a gateway to a different type of classroom. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Along the way I picked up a lot of tricks from colleagues in my physical location as well as in the communities I was learning alongside online. For example, differentiating homework, taking time in class to involve students in decision making, co-creating rubrics, brainstorming and creative problem solving, individual conferencing as often as possible. But all of these ideas required massive shifts in how I thought about teaching and learning. Mostly, it forced me to accept that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">teaching is NOT learning</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I had spent a bulk of my career so consumed with the role that I needed to play, I had completely disregarded the learners themselves. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As teachers begin to play with many of these ideas, they realize how much effort and energy it takes to create a classroom environment that places trust and responsibility on the learners. They also realize how little our current systems are set up to truly support these kinds of classrooms. Educators realize they are limited by bell schedules, pre-conceived notions of what teaching should look like from parents and administrators, and a game of chicken with students who are used to just sitting in their seat and collecting A’s for being awake. I have long been a proponent and believer in computers and technology as a great equalizer. When used well, it can provide opportunities for differentiation, individualization, and/or personalization. It can open up lines of communication and create transparency. It can provide more choices and learning paths than ever before. But none of this matters without the vision or commitment to putting the learners first. It’s easy to say we are kid-centered. It’s much more difficult to live it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" />When I reflect on this chart, it both humbles and angers me. On one hand, it reminds me that I failed countless learners because I made my classroom about me the teacher, instead of them: the learners. When we as educators are unable to check our ego’s at the door, we are about teaching, not learning. When we fail to fully integrate students in their individual learning processes, we are about teaching, not learning. When we claim the attitude “My job is to teach, their job is to learn.” we are about teaching, not learning. When we verbalize to our colleagues “ Hey, I taught it, they should have learned it”, we are about teaching, not learning. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the other hand, it provides me a solid vision of the kind of learning experience I want to create for my students each and every day. Phrases like “career and college ready” get thrown around often without enough discussion or agreement on what that truly means for our students. Is it my job to prepare kids for the current world? Or is it my job to prepare them to be mature learners for a world that hasn’t yet materialized. Statistics abound that support the fact that we are indeed preparing our students for jobs that do not currently exist and a world we as adults can hardly envision. It’s not enough to differentiate or even individualize. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is one universal truth, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">all learning is personal</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anything less is just teaching. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-70437067178166066082013-07-31T10:36:00.000-04:002013-07-31T10:36:02.564-04:00Make your classroom more like Wawa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.archer-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/maindetail_wawadotcom.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="http://www.archer-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/maindetail_wawadotcom.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those of us who live in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey love our </span><a href="http://www.wawa.com/WawaWeb/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wawa.</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> For those of you who have never been to a Wawa, it’s like a 7-eleven, Sheetz or any convenience store/gas station... only better (in my opinion). For more about Wawa’s business model, </span><a href="http://www.phillymag.com/articles/it-s-a-wawa-world/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">read here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Although you can get just about anything you want to eat at a Wawa, they are especially known for their hoagies. If you don’t know what a hoagie is, check out this </span><a href="http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_64.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">map</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, as you probably call it something else. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After returning from a recent trip to Florida where they only have a handful of Wawa’s, we stopped and got a hoagie for lunch. The process for ordering a hoagie at Wawa (or just about anything else made fresh) involves walking up to a touch screen and selecting a multitude of options. Do you want your whole hoagie toasted or just the roll? How big of a hoagie do you want? What kind of meat? What kind of cheese(s) do you want to add? Do you want to add bacon? (ummm, yeah) What kind of condiments do you want on your hoagie (there are about 50)? Do you want vegetables (there are about 30)? You get the point. Each hoagie is customizable and individualized as the customer wants it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Wawa first started using the touch screen technology years ago, no one taught me how to use the touch-screen. I walked right up and started to hit buttons. Occasionally, I would make a mistake and have to go back and make a change to my order. I learned how to use the technology to get exactly what I wanted in a hoagie. For those who are uncomfortable using the touch screen, there are pre-made hoagies and sandwiches that are not as fresh and created based on the desire of the sandwich maker, not the customer. The hoagie makers probably do their best to guess what customers might want to buy, but when you walk into most Wawa’s, few customers buy these pre-made hoagies. They would rather order a hoagie their way and wait a few extra minutes to get it exactly they way they want it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So why does a customer at a convenience store get more customization, choice, and individualization than the students in our classrooms and schools? Why are many of our students left with the “choice” of a pre-made, one-size-fits-all education in which we, the sandwich makers, determine the best type of hoagie for our students to eat. One doesn’t need touch screen technology, laptops, or other “technologies” (although it helps to give more choices and options) to individualize learning. The truth is, learning should ALWAYS be about the learner, not the teacher. Learning by nature, is an individual act. Our classrooms need to provide more choices, options, and decisions so that our students can make the best decisions for THEIR learning. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5997446363548524542.post-72935296480254659892013-07-03T06:00:00.000-04:002013-07-03T06:00:09.329-04:00The yin and yang of connecting and dis-connecting. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been thinking a lot recently about how we communicate. Since the dawn of man, the role of the story and storytelling has been a key ingredient in communicating ideas, purposes, and events. And as man evolved from cave paintings to hand-written symbols to written language, technology has always amplified the ability of man to communicate. Whether it was the printing press, email, and now social media, mankind has always been driven by a will to tell their story.<br />
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So in this age of youtube, vine, twitter, facebook, and blogging, (along with a multitude of other social networks and web based platforms for storytelling) are we considering whether the stories we tell have value? Are we considering the purpose of the stories we are unintentionally telling on a minute to minute basis? Whenever we hit "post" or "tweet", we are creating new threads in our own personal story quilt. Whenever we send that video to youtube or respond to a blog post, we are adding to a socially constructed story as well. And I'm certainly not advocating that we stop doing any of this. I'm just wondering whether we are as morally and consciously aware that with each keystroke, we are not only adding content, we are adding new chapters to a book that has no end in sight.<br />
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As a connected adult who is constantly checking social media,email, and reading posts online, I am wondering whether this hyper-connectivity comes at a cost. Recent studies like <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mental-mishaps/201303/are-you-addicted-your-cell-phone" target="_blank">this</a> and <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2276752/Mobile-users-leave-phone-minutes-check-150-times-day.html" target="_blank">this</a> have forced me to acknowledge my addictions. (They say the first step is admitting you have a problem). Have we forsaken relationships in our physical location for relationships in the "cloud"? If the answer to the ills of public education and learning comes down to relationships, we need to ensure that we are watering and fertilizing both kinds simultaneously. And obviously, this has tremendous impact on our students personal and academic lives. Not only do we need to model connectivity and dis-connectivity, we need to have conversations about it as well.<br />
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I guess my internal struggle right now is about finding balance. It's about living and breathing in a world that increasingly demands us to be connected to learn and grow, while seeking moderation and bringing that learning back to deepen the relationships in our physical location. It's about picking up a good old fashioned book while also flipping through twitter and an rss feed to read the opinions of those I respect and admire (even when I disagree). It's about putting the phone, tablet, and laptop away during a meeting. Not because the notes one can take from the meeting aren't important, but because the eye contact and deep conversation creates a connection that is essential to change in our schools and classrooms.<br />
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Ironically, this blog post is being published while I lay on a beach in Maui. I'm not telling you that to make you jealous (ok, maybe a little bit), but I didn't write it while in Maui. I wrote it two weeks ago and set it to publish on its due date. I turned off my work email, left twitter (for the most part) behind, and disconnected my digital life to spend my honeymoon connecting with my wife. Just as much as using technology to connect can reap great relationship rewards, disconnecting every once in awhile affords many amazing ones as well.<br />
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Aloha.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02009188159053251691noreply@blogger.com0