Find The Problem

“Too often we give our children answers to remember rather than problems to solve.” Roger Lewin

It’s been about 12 years now that I’ve had that quote on my email signature. I’m sure I’ve tweeted it out more than a few times as well. Oddly, I can’t make myself change that quote to something else, because I still see that as a major issue in education today.

In my grades 3/4 classroom, I have multiple levels of competency in math. We often start our time in math with similar activities, but then move on to Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, etc. to ensure that the students understand the concepts, are able to find success in what they know and are able to do, but also are challenged to move up to something more difficult.

What I’ve been finding all year is that, regardless of their mastery or lack of mastery in specific concepts, word problems stump them all.

As their teacher, I need to help them find strategies for solving word problems, so we put on our “Math Detectives” hats and started looking at clues. They found that certain words are red flags for certain operations and then created some fun posters, sorted clue words by operations, etc.

That helped, but only a little.

I realized my kids were fixated… perhaps even obsessed with finding the answers. When they are unsure of an answer, they just start guessing and throwing out more answers.

I tell them, “Whoa! Back the truck up here. You don’t even know what the problem is. How can you be answering it already?”

So in our math sessions this week, we’re practicing finding the problem. We have discussed how some problems seem fairly simple and you can see the answer right away in your head, but if you miss one little detail, you’re not even solving the correct problem. How can you find the proper solution if you don’t even understand what the problem is?

We have this same approach to our inquiry block, our reading and writing activities — probably most of the learning activities we do every day. Many times, we learn that there aren’t really answers to some problems. Other times, we discover that some answers that “everyone knows” as specific facts aren’t actually correct. I love that my kids get into the detective role and really think through their discoveries.

This has me thinking about education in general. Everyone and their brother thinks they know how to “fix” education right now. I see all sorts of solutions thrown out there: more testing, more school days/hours, younger teachers, older teachers, Common Core Standards,  flipped classrooms, Khan Academy, passion-based learning…

There are so many answers, I can’t even post them all.

I’m wondering, though, if anyone really has spent time on the problem. What exactly is THE  problem?  Or problems? There are as many theories as there are solutions already suggested, I’m sure. And don’t get me wrong, I think there are troubling issues in the way many children are being educated right now. However, I think most of the proposed solutions aren’t really solving the right problems.

I guess I’m just worried that we’re approaching “fixing” education like my students do with their math problems. Throwing out a bunch of answers before really looking deeply at the problem rarely solves anything properly.

We all have our own agenda. We all have our pet peeves about what kids don’t know, but should. If, however, we were able to come together, free of our agenda and pet peeves, and talk about what is really important for the education of children…

… how would we define that problem?

My dad loves to say, “Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke.”

I’m going to revise that to, “Don’t fix it until you really know what’s broken.”  So let’s start there.

Thanks for thinking along with me.

 

Making the Learning Great

Learning lessons with my students is probably one of my favorite things about teaching.

We have been working on puzzle problems in math, specifically those that help us practice operational facts (something my grades 3/4 need) and challenge us to think differently about numbers.

Grant Wiggins wrote a post about The Problem of Non-Problems in Math Programs a couple of years ago that I recently re-discovered. As I plan learning opportunities for my students, I am constantly reminded of his words in this post. So many math programs have “problem-solving” listed as a high level goal for students; yet so few math programs ask students to solve anything other than equations. Equations are not problems. In fact, I find that my students are pretty good at solving equations I put in front of them, but they can’t come up with an equation when I put a problem in front of them.

My solution to helping them learn to become better problem-solvers is to give them a lot of math “puzzles” to solve. The math geek in me LOVES these puzzles. My students… not so much.

Today, I heard a lot of whining from my kids– kids who are attending a school like Anastasis because they want to learn, not just do worksheets. The whining sounded like:

Another puzzle? Auuuggghh!

Can’t you just give us a hint?

This is so hard!

So, after a bit of frustration on their part (the math puzzle) and mine (the whining), I gathered them together for a pep talk.

“Of course this is hard. It’s supposed to be challenging. If it were easy, it would show what you already know, rather than what you are about to learn.
You’ve already shown me what you know. I want you to show me what you’re LEARNING. Once you learn how to solve the puzzle, you’re going to feel pretty great about what you accomplished, right?”

They all agreed and then set off to finish their challenge.

I have to admit that I kind of borrowed that pep talk from Tom Hanks in A League Of Their Own (my favorite baseball movie):

Dottie: It just got too hard.

Jimmy: It’s supposed to be hard! If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great!

Maybe that’s how I was taught to learn… that “the hard” is what makes learning great. I’ve always loved puzzles, brain teasers, problems to solve. My favorite teachers were the ones who said “figure it out” and challenged me.

I’m guessing, though, that we (educators) don’t always provide opportunities for kids that make learning great. Giving students work that is difficult only for the sake of being difficult isn’t going to help kids learn anything. [That’s my problem with policy wonks who overuse the word “rigor.”] On the other hand, giving kids work that is mindless and “easy” does nothing to help them stretch themselves.

This is our second year in our school, where inquiry and problem-solving are foundational concepts… yet, I still find myself occasionally stepping in front of the kids and giving them questions to answer, instead of problems to solve (this is part of a Roger Lewin quote that has been a part of my email signature for many years).

I am a huge advocate of our school philosophy, but it’s so easy to fall back into those habits of how I was taught to teach.

My learning challenge as their teacher is to remember to make the learning great, to challenge them to think and wonder. It’s not always easy to find opportunities for them to learn in this style, so I have to keep working harder to make it happen.

I guess this is my plug for problem-based learning… challenges that take children to the brink of frustration, where they have to struggle just a bit, but aren’t so overwhelming that they can’t ever find solutions. In the midst of learning to solve the problems, kids are also learning perseverance, using their creativity, and analyzing what works and what doesn’t work. And as their teacher, I have to persevere, use my creativity, and analyze what works and doesn’t work FOR THEM.

That’s pretty great, isn’t it?

More Than You Know

Today, my class celebrated International Dot Day at Anastasis– that specific blog post will be up next week on our class blog. In conjunction with Dot Day, FableVision partnered with my friend Angela Maiers to include her #YouMatter message (See her TED talk here).

We had a lot of activities planned for today, and we spent a good portion of the last week discussing why it’s important to believe in yourself, try your best, and understand that you do, indeed, matter. Whether you’re five years old or 105, you matter to someone. You make a difference in someone else’s life, whether you know it or not.

Our Dot Wall

For one of our activities, we wrote anonymous dot notes, sharing why someone in the classroom matters to us. We didn’t address them to anyone, and we didn’t sign them. The kids really loved the mystery of being anonymous, but also that their messages would be read by others.

This was by far my favorite activity. The kids walked around reading the dots, wondering for whom they were written, by whom they were written. One of the kids said to me, “I think that one is for you,” and then beamed. I love being a teacher.

The #YouMatter Dot activity got me thinking about every smile, every encouraging word, every pat on the head I give to kids. It also made me think about the times when I’m not so encouraging, and how my actions matter so much to these children. They’re learning all the time, even when I’m not expecting them to do so.

Oddly enough, we had a funny little teachable moment today — have I mentioned how grateful I am to teach and learn in a school where there are no scripts, pacing guides, or state tests to follow? If there were, we probably would have missed out on this lesson today.

When we were deciding together what our #YouMatter Dots could look like, I drew some examples on the board from kids’ suggestions. In one dot example, the kids told me to write, “You sit with me at lunch. #youmatter”  In my haste to write what they dictated, I also began writing on the lower portion of the board. For most adults, even those of us who are height-challenged… handwriting suffers a bit on that part of the board.

Soon, I heard giggles from my kids. When I asked them what was so funny, they noted that my writing looked like “You sit with meat at lunch. #youmatter”  We all laughed together, and I said, “Huh. So I guess spacing matters, too, right?” They giggled some more, and then I shared the fact that punctuation matters… in fact, it can be a life or death situation. 😉

The photo shows part of our mini-lesson… one that we would not have had today if it hadn’t been for a bit of fun. To those kids, fun matters. Friends matter. Learning matters. Curiosity matters… and I matter more to them than I often realize. In less than thirty seconds, a mistake that I made in writing on a whiteboard became a joke and a lesson about writing. Our kids are learning all the time, even when we don’t always expect it… and that’s just another reason I love teaching.

I hope that you realize that you matter in the life of a child. That’s a pretty serious responsibility, but I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do… can you?

Content-Specific Marketing

cc licensed Flickr photo by neptunecanada

I read this article today on CNN’s Schools of Thought Blog: “Want more kids to take calculus? Convince mom first,” by Jamie Gumbrecht. In the post, there is research stating that involving parents in talking points about math and science electives will be more likely to influence kids to choose those classes:

“These are the critical years in which mathematics and science courses are elective, and our results indicate that parents can become more influential in their children’s academic choices if given the proper support,” the study says.

How simple was that support? Just a couple of brochures, a web site and a little guidance about how to use the information.

My initial reaction after reading was one of wanting to push back.

First, as some of you know, I tire of the constant push for more STEM, more STEM, more STEM. Please don’t misunderstand. I love math and science! When I had the options in school to select electives, I chose calculus and advanced science classes. As a teacher, I get all geeked out with my students when we stumble upon interesting activities that involve math and/or science (read “geeked out” as getting extremely excited about all the amazing learning possibilities). [photo credit: Science Lab by neptunecanada]

BUT… shouldn’t we be concerned about pushing certain content areas at the expense of others? What about the kids who really don’t have an interest in pursuing careers in math, science, engineering, etc? I believe in exposing kids to many areas so they can discover what they don’t know they don’t know, as well as to start to put the pieces together to understand the world around them.

And how about the misguided information from those who form education policy stating that we don’t have enough scientists or engineers? Read:

Do We Really Have A Scientist Shortage?

US Pushes for more scientists, but the jobs aren’t there

(There are many more… I’d be glad to link them here if you add them to the comments section.)

 

We know that what is valued eventually becomes policy. And in current US education, that also means what is assessed. Again, placing too much emphasis upon certain content areas does so at the expense of other areas… and at the expense of kids.

My oldest daughter graduated high school in 2007. She liked science, and declared biology as her major at university. After almost two years of that, she called me and was rather upset. She felt she needed to change her major to English. After a long discussion reassuring her 1) that changing her major was not a horrible thing and 2) that she should do what she loves, she promptly changed her major. She adores writing and editing and is now an assistant editor for a local publication company. After the fact, I asked her why she was so upset about changing her major. She said she felt pressured to go into something “more academic,” and she was worried about availability of jobs for a BA in English. Science and math classes were heavily encouraged in her high school.

Now to argue with myself – sometimes “marketing” helps kids to see themselves in a future they didn’t realize was possible. This could be due to stereotypes based in race, gender, status. My favorite way to ‘combat’ the stereotypes is to share examples with my students of strong role models who cross those lines. Is that enough, though?

Marketing can go horribly wrong, though, as evidenced here: How not to market science to girls

(That’s fodder for another blog post.) Moving right along…

Another question I  am still wondering and have blogged about before: why do we continue to teach content areas only in isolation? I agree that there are concepts that probably should be taught separately to avoid confusion and to allow deeper exploration. However, if we want kids to be able to think about what they want to learn and how they will apply that to a career or lifestyle, they must see how those concepts apply in their world. Content areas must overlap, because that’s what they do in everyday life.

In other words, in order to specialize later, they must see how everything fits together at an early age. We are  not doing this in most schools.

So again… having mom and dad sit you down with a glossy brochure (as noted in the calculus/science article I mentioned at the beginning of the post) essentially marketing math and science classes… is that really where we want to take our kids? Aren’t they already get enough marketing thrown at them every single day?

I’m not sure exactly how to feel about this. I do know I sat with my own kids when they were filling out their choices or class schedules. We talked a lot about options and how those choices could possibly shape where they wanted to go in their learning adventures.

Help me, please… share your thoughts.

 

 

The Problem of Either-Or

I wrote this on Coronado – June 23, 2012

I waited almost a week to write my ISTE takeaway post, because I really wanted to process the discussions, the sessions, and the entire experience. I love attending the conference – seeing old friends, meeting new friends, and talking education into the late hours of the night.

The ISTE conference is so enormous, it is a wonder to me that any two people could have similar experiences (unless they stay glued to each other’s sides the entire time). Also, this may have been the first year that I have enjoyed all three keynotes (although I watched Dr. Yong Zhao on video instead of live), and I have so many ideas swirling around in my head from them. I can’t wait to talk to my colleagues and students about them and see what ideas they have!

I didn’t even once make it to the Exhibitors hall this year. I’m not a huge fan of the “in-your-face” marketing style from many of the vendors (orange morphsuits – really?), but there were a few I really wanted to find and say hello.

There were a lot of really great things I learned at ISTE… and more importantly, there were a lot of new connections made. I think, though, that those are always the benefits I take away from ISTE. For now, I want to write about a “takeaway” that has me thinking the most, and that’s the “Either OR” mentality.

At every conference, as well as in many blog posts and tweets, we often read about this great tool or that great company and how these are the saviors of education. Whether it’s the debate of iPad vs Chromebook vs laptop, Dropbox vs Google Drive, Flipped vs Non-Flipped Classrooms vs Khan Academy… I’m constantly wondering why we have to debate them in an “either this or that” fashion.

Yes, if you are in a large school district, and you want money to purchase tools, it is more cost efficient to buy, for example, 10,000 laptops or 10,000 iPads. But I rarely hear that as justification for the debates. I’m not going to even attempt to post links to all the arguments for or against iPads or any other specific tool, because there are simply too many. Do a quick search for “flipping the classroom” and you’ll find hundreds of resources, as well as pro and con arguments. These discussions  and  (most of the time) civil arguments continued face to face in sessions, the Bloggers’ Cafe, the Social Butterfly Lounge, and in hallways at ISTE: “The Flipped Classroom is the best way to teach.” “I’m a Chromebook user and would never use an iPad with students!” These are statements, among several others, that I actually heard from people during the conference.

Please pardon my slow-ish processing, but… what if we weren’t forced into “Either OR” thinking about any of this? What if, in addition to differentiating what and how our students are learning, we also differentiated the tools they used to learn? What if, in any given day, my classroom contained students working on Chromebooks, iPads, smart phones, and paper? What if they had the freedom to choose using an app or a web tool of their choice? What if some chose to watch a video at home and do “homework” during class time, and others chose the opposite? (I know this isn’t the exact definition and practice of “flipping” a classroom, but bear with me.)

Obviously, there are some web tools/apps that are not free, so this option doesn’t work if students choose to work in premium tools to which the school isn’t subscribed. There are, however, several web services and apps that ARE free, and I want my students to be able to make choices (albeit guided choices in many cases) about which tools work best for them.

There was a lot of discussion about personalizing education for kids at this conference… much more than I’ve ever heard before. If we truly want to provide personalized learning for our students, how can we live in an “Either OR” environment when it comes to how they learn and what they use to help them learn?

My takeaway is this: we shouldn’t force our students into “Either OR” learning of concepts and skills. We shouldn’t force them to use a specific tool because it’s preferred by one of the adults in the room. We shouldn’t force them into an instructional/learning style because it’s what works best for the adults or most of the students in the classroom. We need to personalize learning… and understand what that really means.

To me, personalized learning means our classrooms cannot resemble the classrooms of the 1900s or the 2012s. There cannot be 25, 30, or more students shoved into a room with one adult who tries to meet all of their needs. Students can no longer be grouped by possibly the only thing they have in common – their ages. And we can no longer give them the “Either OR” option.

There must be fluidity in learning… in the tools they use, with whom they are learning on a daily basis, how they learn and communicate what they are learning. They need school to look and feel different. They need their school days to be free of bells and strict, unchanging class schedules. Our kids need the freedom of “AND.”

“In our school, we use laptops, and Chromebooks, and iPads. We use Google Docs and Tapose, and… ”

I’d like to approach the freedom of “AND” the same way I do a smörgåsbord. You can’t eat everything on the table and not regret it later (well, at least I can’t). Go up to the table, find the things with which you are familiar and know you like. Next time, try something new. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it. Go back and get something else. Maybe it’s another new food. Maybe it’s an old stand by. Eat the foods that work for you.

That’s a discussion I’d like to have before the next ISTE.

 

ISTE12 Recommendations

In five days, I leave for San Diego to head to ISTE 2012. This is a special ISTE for me, because the first ISTE/NECC conference I attended was in 2006 in San Diego. I can’t wait to go back to this beautiful venue!

NECC (ISTE) 2006

In 2006, I was working as a professional development coordinator for a suburban school district in Omaha, Nebraska. The only people I knew going to San Diego were other people from my school district. While on a layover in Denver, I met other Nebraskans going to the same conference. These are the people I spent time with at ISTE/NECC.

I didn’t meet anyone from any other states or countries, and there were no new connections made outside of my own state. I was okay with that at the time, because I’m a naturally shy person and don’t tend to put myself out there very easily. I didn’t know what I was missing!

The next ISTE/NECC conference was in Atlanta in 2007. Other than meeting a few new people through other Nebraskans I already knew, this conference was really a “repeat” for me in the networking area. No new contacts. No new relationships.

In 2008, I was on Twitter and I was blogging. In San Antonio, I ventured into an area called the Bloggers’ Cafe and worked up the courage to introduce myself to Darren Draper, Scott McLeod, and Lee Kolbert. They were bloggers I followed and admired. Some guy named Cory Plough introduced himself to me here also. These people were kind and welcoming… and I have to admit that San Antonio sticks out as one of the best conferences I had attended up to that point. That’s because I met new people and made new connections that I value to this day.

We often talk about how teaching can feel like an isolated profession. Social media tools can help to break that isolation… but if you don’t know how or where to make connections, the “tools” won’t help you. If you’re attending a conference, you need to take advantage of the face-to-face time.

My advice to those attending ISTE 2012 in San Diego:

1) If you are a conference regular:

  • take some time to introduce yourself to new people. I know that conferences like ISTE are the few times during the year that you get to see your friends, and you want to spend time with them. But realize that there are a lot of new people who really need you to take that first step to help THEM make new connections and create relationships that will help them grow as educators. They are doing great things in their classrooms/schools, too, and we can all learn something new and valuable from each other.
  • Encourage the people you meet to start blogging or jump on Twitter. If they need help, show them.
  • Be the one to start a connection.

2) If you are a new or new-ish conference attendee:

  • enjoy the sessions and the exhibits, but make the time to stop by the Newbie Lounge, the Social Butterfly Lounge, and the Bloggers’ Cafe. These areas are designed for networking, meeting new people, and great conversations. ISTE 12 Lounges
  • Introduce yourself to someone you don’t know.
  • If you’re on Twitter, make sure your Twitter name is on your nametag (if you’re not on Twitter, you might consider joining before the conference). Twitter is a GREAT way to stay connected to the people you meet at conferences.
The people that I have met at conferences and then stayed connected with through Social Media are some of my most valued friends. I can’t wait to see them! But I also can’t wait to meet you… whoever you might be. I look forward to sharing ideas with you and hearing about what you’re doing for kids. See you soon!

All Comes Down to Love

This blog post has been brewing for quite a while, but I wasn’t really sure how to start it. It’s been sitting in Drafts with about 20 other posts, but it’s time to put it out there.  Here goes…

The “WHAT:”

It makes me sad that the English language has so few words to describe “love.” I can tell a friend, “Hey, I love you.” That doesn’t  mean romantic love, but it’s the same term. More options: adore, captivated by, idolize, enamored of, etc. None of these really speaks equally to the love of a child, a significant other, a friend, or a sibling. I think many of us get caught up in the terminology and are actually afraid to use the word, “love,” because of that fact.

Over the last school year, I have thought about this word many, many times. My students have told me that they love learning… that they love our school… that they love the Space Unicorns song/video. 😉

In conversations with parents, teachers, and friends, I often say how much I love my students. Then I realize also that I love all the kids at our school. It’s like this little community that is really more like a family. And THAT… that makes me think about other schools, other teaching experiences I’ve had, and what ALL kids really need. It also makes me wonder how many times I have told my students directly that I love them. They are MY kids!

Our students need us to love them. Even those kids who are really difficult to like sometimes (or all the time) need our love.

The “SO WHAT:”

Love means understanding that today might not be the best learning day… that just getting to school in one piece was a major accomplishment… that those two sentences eked out after 30 minutes might be all she can write today… that there are other very important things he’s going through, and finding equivalent fractions is not on top of his priority list right this moment.

When you really know your students – your kids – you understand what works and what doesn’t work. You understand their motives. You know their passions. You care more about their emotional well-being. You hurt alongside them when they hurt. You love them. You learn to trust each other. When you love your students, you learn with them.

“Sure, Michelle. You have a maximum of 12 kids in your class. It’s easy to get to know them and love them.” 

Right. I get that. And while the focus of this post is NOT about class size, it is important. In the name of efficiency in time and money, we have poured kids into fact factories instead of learning environments.  In my last school, I had over 440 students. I didn’t know a lot of them well enough to know what really made them tick… or why some of them were easier to love at times. Did I love all of them enough to make a difference? I’d like to think so, but I’m doubtful.

My first few years of teaching 20 years ago… I was there to make sure the kids learned x, y, z, and I was going to shape them up and MAKE them learn. In my opinion at the time, misbehavior was about laziness, lack of discipline, or just plain rotten kids. As I sat and listened to their stories of home, their dreams, their heartbreaks, however, I became more sympathetic. For years, I struggled with how I was taught to deal with “problem children” versus what my heart wanted for them. I admit that I failed as a teacher in so many ways then. It wasn’t really until my own children started going to school that I began to understand what kids really need to learn.

In teaching, and almost any other profession, they won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. *

I would even go so far to say that they won’t care how much THEY learn until they know how much you care. Isn’t the word “care” synonymous with “love?”

And what about those kids that are very difficult to like? How can you love a child who is defiant, angry, uncooperative, etc.? My own children have been all of these things (and more) many times as they’ve grown up… that doesn’t mean I love them any less.  Isn’t this one of our greatest challenges as educators? These are the kids that need our love even more. When I lose patience with a child, I lose the opportunity to connect to something deeper about that child – that one thing that might help that child persevere. I need to be patient and persevere along with her.

I’m not great at being patient, but I know I’m getting better because it matters. It matters to kids who need me to know them well enough to move past the behavior to the child inside.

How many of you get to spend enough time with your students to really get to know them? To understand why they seem happy/angry all the time? To know what is important to them? To know their struggles? their successes?

I don’t think this is a necessarily a problem that teachers solve on their own… I think that schools should be completely redesigned from the ground up, including how they’re funded… but that’s another blog post. 🙂

So, what’s the next step? What’s the “Now What?”

If it all comes down to love,  what one thing can you do (or are already doing) to help your students know that you care about them… that you love them?

 

*I don’t know the source of that quote… would be grateful to anyone who could share that with me!

 

Connecting and Relationships

Today was Day 2 of ConnectEd Canada (#ConnectEdCA). My brain is swirling with incredible ideas, conversations, personal narratives. My takeaway from the last two days is reinforcing the idea of finding meaning through the relationships that you build.

In every session I’ve attended today, as well as the speakers from yesterday, there was some degree of discussion about connecting to other people…

  • Intentionally making everything you do personal.
  • Sharing yourself.
  • Trusting those around you enough to share what is most meaningful to you.
  • Building and nurturing relationships, both in person and virtually through social media.

Tom Fullerton talked this morning about “teaching from the inside out.” He asked those of us in his session to reflect on practitioner research, making professional development meaningful and personal for educators, and helping educators become “translucent cocoons.” When you are transparent in your own learning as a teacher, the process should be visible while it’s occurring.

Rodd Lucier and Zoe Branigan-Pipe shared experiences from Unplug’d 2011. Again, so much of the discussion centered around nurturing relationships and trust in those relationships. I really loved hearing the stories about the Unplug’d event and how great it was to unplug from “the world”  for an extended weekend… but then continuing those stories once they plugged back in. You can learn more about it here: http://unplugd.ca/ 

It’s so interesting to me that many people I know only in face-to-face situations hassle me about my relationships that are mostly online. I often hear, “but those people aren’t your REAL friends” or “don’t you think that social media is superficial? Aren’t we just ‘liking’ and ‘friending’ our way into not having to deal with people face-to-face? What about social skills?”  I try to explain how social media can enhance a relationship that might not happen otherwise. Some of my most treasured friendships started with people I met on Twitter. I am working in a school of my dreams because of Twitter!

So it fascinates me that the most repeated phrases of this education conference have been about creating relationships and sharing yourself with others… and continuing to cultivate those relationships through some type of social media after the conference ends. The people here get that, and I feel so grateful and lucky to be here. I flew all the way to Canada to connect with people that I had only met on Twitter. With the exception of George Couros (whom I had met on Twitter before meeting in person at EduCon in 2011), I hadn’t met anyone else in person until Thursday evening.

Most importantly, perhaps, is what this all speaks about teaching and learning. As educators, we must work diligently to create caring relationships with students, parents, community, and each other:

  • sharing our successes, as well as our failures
  • building trust
  • creating a safe environment where we can share our personal narratives
  • holding each other accountable
  • working together to celebrate our common goals AND diversity
What a great conference this has been so far… I can’t wait to meet more people tomorrow!

When Is It The Right Time

I’ve been watching and reading with great interest the number of tweets and blog posts regarding standardized testing, opting out, refusing to pander, etc. The conversations with Lee Kolbert and Will Richardson were the ones to trigger my blog post. You can read their posts here:

Will Richardson – A Pep Rally for Tests? What We Need is a ‘Prep’ Rally

Lee Kolbert – Dear Will Richardson

Will Richardson – Opting Out (with comments thread)

 

Will often advocates for more revolutionary action from public school teachers, as well as parents. Lee counters with the fact that many teachers’ hands are tied, and that it’s more difficult to be revolutionary when you’re actually IN the classroom.

My thoughts and questions:

  • When is it the right time to stop abusing kids in the classroom with testing? Yes, in its current state, it IS abuse.
  • Standardized testing is not the only “evil” in public education. Scripted teaching, mile-wide and inch-deep curricula, and standardized expectations (i.e., all kids need the exact same education) are crippling our students’ potential.
  • Corporate takeover of public education via charters or other options is a travesty and will be the demise of a free education for all. Think I’m overly dramatic? Read what’s happening in Philadelphia.
  • When it is worth sacrificing your job to stand up for what you believe?

POINT

Nothing is going to significantly change in public education unless it comes from parents, students, and educators. 

These are the greatest numbers of people, yet they are the ones whose voices are not being heard. Politicians, corporate big-wigs, and people with power (read here: money) are the ones making the decisions. The few are leading the many, and the “few” in this case are the least informed about what is best for the education of children. It’s time for the many to take a stand, make themselves heard, and put the power back where it belongs.

This cannot happen unless parents opt their students out of standardized testing and demand changes to curriculum, standards, etc. This cannot happen if students are not given opportunities to share how they learn best and voice their own needs and wants. This cannot happen if educators stand by passively (or silently) and continue to do what they’re directed to do… even when they know what they’re doing is not in the students’ best interests and can do more harm than good.

This cannot happen unless parents, students, and educators support each other in this endeavor.

For educators, what does that mean? Refuse to follow the law? Disregard the directions from the superintendent/school board? Or might it be a calling to activism at the state and federal levels to change the laws? All of these options can (and usually do) create huge risks for public school educators.

 

COUNTERPOINT

For every point I made above, I also feel torn with “yeah, buts.”

Parents’ rights are often negated by local, state, and federal legislation. Some school districts have required internal, state, and/or national standardized tests for graduation. To appeal this requirement takes time and, too often, money. Many parents don’t even realize they have rights to oppose what is being done to their children or to opt out of these requirements. There are parents who believe that regular standardized testing is good for their kids, because of the amount of misinformation they’ve been fed for so long.

Children have little to no say in their own education: how they learn best, what they WANT to learn, etc. Throughout their K-12 education, they will be told what to learn, when to learn, how to learn, and how to demonstrate what they have learned. For most students, the idea of revolting is not even a glimmer in their eyes. The definition of school has become something that is DONE to kids. You suffer through it, so that you can move on and begin your real life. For those who would consider speaking up for themselves, it is not worth their efforts to demand better. Fear of reprisal is too great. They may be threatened with punishment or that they won’t be allowed to graduate. Why rock the boat when so much is at stake?

Educators are really stuck between a rock and a hard place. Those who have not invested many years in a school district usually leave. They head for private schools with fewer mandates or to areas outside education. They leave mostly unscathed. The majority of educators, however, have their hands tied. How many people can afford to quit their jobs on principle? And what about the educators who have decades invested in a state retirement system? They are truly stuck. Their retirement is based on years of employment in that state. Moving away or, for some, even out of a specific school district would result in a considerable loss of income after retirement. How can these people be boat rockers when the public education system essentially holds them hostage?

 

My reflection:

I feel the pain on both sides of the arguments. Many of my friends in public education all around the US are stuck where they are because they can’t afford to leave their jobs or move elsewhere.  They feel helpless, so they do their best to help their students in spite of the requirements. They hold testing pep rallies. They dedicate hundreds of hours finding ways to make the best of situations out of their control. They need our support, not our criticism.

However

When has it gone too far? When it is a moral/ethical obligation to speak up and say, “no more!”

Because I was in a place in my life where I could pick up and move, I was able to find a school I felt valued the needs and wants of children in their education. I left the public school system last year to teach in a private school where the rights of students and families are not only considered, but valued. Everyday, I go to school knowing that I have the opportunity to help my students learn in an environment that encourages them to grow as individuals. (Shouldn’t kids in public schools have the same opportunities?)

I know that there are many who are not exactly in a place to do what I did…or who have the guts to start their own school,  BUT…

As an educator, it should be our role to advocate for the rights of students. If we don’t do what’s right for kids, we’re no better than the ones making the poor decisions. My friend, Jackie Gerstein, posted a photo of a Desmond Tutu quote tonight: If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. What is happening today in public education is nothing less than injustice for the children of this country.

When is it the right time for us to do something about that?

 

 

 

 

 

It Is About The Students

Student-centered learning. Do you know what that really looks like?

 

Sometimes I feel like a lazy teacher in this student-centered world at Anastasis Academy… but that’s only because the majority of my teacher training in undergraduate (and most of my graduate) classes prepared me for a TEACHER-centered classroom.

You are the teacher. You are the deliverer of information, knowledge, skills.

As a music teacher, some of the workshops I attended helped me realize that the kids have to experience learning to gain knowledge and skills. Very few undergrad or grad classes did this.

So what does this student-centered classroom REALLY look like?

Some days, it looks pretty chaotic from an outsider’s point-of-view (actual statement from a visitor to our school).

Some days, it looks like kids working together on a project they have designed themselves.

Some days, it looks like a child excitedly running up to me, saying, “Mrs. Baldwin! Look at this! I found this really cool information about…” x,y, z.

But most of the time, it looks like kids satisfying their own curiosity without much interference from me.

I’m on the sidelines, and I love that.

Honest disclosure: it took us a while to get to this point, because even at 8-10 years of age (those are the ages of the kids I have), these kids have been programmed to look to an adult for answers. And questions. And direction. And time management. And so on. Some days are better than others. Recently, I feel like they have regressed a little bit in independence, and I have to force myself NOT to step in.

What I know in my heart, though, is these kids are developing skills that will serve them well throughout their entire lives. They are not memorizing facts provided through notes or worksheets from me. They discover… they experiment… they reflect… and they are learning to hold themselves accountable for their own learning.

The student-centered classroom is about the STUDENTS. It’s my job as their teacher to help provide an environment in which they can learn, experience, problem-solve… and then get out of their way.