#iKnowaTeacher…

CC licensed photo shared by Flickr user Warm 'n Fuzzy

It’s Teacher Appreciation Week! While those of us who have the privilege of working with phenomenal teachers on a daily basis may have planned a little extra something extra to show our gratitude this week, it’s become apparent that many across our nation display an unfortunate, somewhat negative perception of teachers, with little regard for their tireless work and care they show our children each day.

Bill Ferriter shared this post with me, written by John Holland, #iKnowaTeacher -A Teacher Appreciation Meme, and I share it here in the hopes that we can begin to flood the Twitterverse with snippets of recognition for the teachers in our lives. As John writes,

The Gallup poll describes that 77% of Americans gave their local schools a grade of A or B while 18% of respondents assigned schools nationally a similar grade. What this poll tells me is that the American public has been swayed by a narrative. There are all kinds of reasons for statistics like this and why we shouldn’t trust them. The explanation for this graphic that I favor is that there is a mask  that the public sees when it thinks of the collective idea of teacher but when the public is asked about their child’s school or teacher, they see specific faces of specific people.

Everyday for the next week I will post on twitter about some specific teachers I know and the valuable, caring, life changing, and important work they are doing. Of course there are negative examples of teachers too but, these examples always get attention. I want to change the focus, the narrative. Tell me about the teachers you know that are working to give students the education they deserve.

I encourage you to post stories of those specific teachers who have touched your lives and the lives of others. For those of you that are not Twitter-users, please make the time to call, email, write a letter, or speak personally to a teacher who has changed your life and/or the life of a child. Let’s help change the narrative….

#iKnowaTeacher who encouraged his students to summarize their learning through artistic expressions, helping the students make connections with the content.

#iKnowaTeacher who allowed her students’ desire to change the world transform their classroom practices for the year.

#iKnowaTeacher who refused to allow his students to sit passively in class, but rather engaged them in discussion about chemistry, keeping them on their toes and setting the bar high, always expecting more.

#iKnowaTeacher who planned a day of positive thinking to celebrate the beautiful gifts and talents of every child.

#iKnowaTeacher whose love of literature shone through in every lesson, which sparked an interest in the same in his students.

#iKnowaTeacher who drove his government students to an off-site location on a tip that President Clinton would stop there after his visit at a local university; who helped them make a giant sign to attract the President’s attention, and who smiled alongside the students as the official White House photographer snapped the group’s photo with the President.

Sharing is contagious!

CC licensed photo shared by Flickr user Funchye

Last year I spent some time throughout the school year snapping photos of student work that was displayed in the hallways and classrooms, creating slideshows using PhotoPeach, and posting “I Spy” tours of our student learning displays on our school websites to share with parents.

I Spy, March 5! on PhotoPeach

I admit that I have not been posting these slideshows regularly this year, and today I made a commitment to do so, because there is so much fantastic learning going on in our school! But then I considered why I didn’t feel as compelled to do this.

It’s not because what I see in the hallways or classrooms is any less enthralling or interesting than it’s been in the past … it’s because more teachers and students are sharing student work and learning themselves! It’s like we’ve all been infected with some sort of wonderful, crazy, addictive sharing disease that is spreading like wildfire throughout our school!

My teachers have grown so much in their willingness to engage students in different types of learning experiences throughout this year. Much of our increased ability to share student work can be attributed to the use of social media and the integration of new tools to enhance student engagement with the content.

Our primary students have created Voicethreads and teamed up with intermediate grade reading buddies to create digital stories with Little Bird Tales. They’re trying Voki, Skyping with virtual pen-pals (check out their visitor map!), and have really been dedicating time to writing on their blogs. We’re sharing our school events with descriptive slideshows.

Intermediate students have been broadening conversations with Today’s Meet, working with Xtranormal, garnering input for math data projects with Google forms, and creating Voicethreads. We’ve jumped into collaborating with Google Docs and students use Glogster to summarize their learning. They’re engaging in conversations with their families and visitors around the world! One of our fifth grade classes created a video tour of our school to share with their Oregon penpals, and some students even participated in our staff Sharing Showcase last week! I’ve seen some very eager Prezi creators, and enjoyed reading these Kidblog reading reflections. Our school “newspaper” has been moved online to help easily share our students’ writing and project work. Parents and teachers can more easily comment on what’s happening!

 

The benefits of sharing are endless. Parents have a wide open window into classroom happenings. Students are connecting with other teachers and students throughout our country and world. Students are active, engaged, and motivated learners in these experiences.  Teachers’ and student excitement is spreading…

Initially, I believe the teachers that felt comfortable risk-taking and trying new ideas with students were hesitant to share their joys about the process, for fear of “bragging” or looking they were trying to out-do their grade level colleagues. Similarly, I think teachers were timid about sharing the struggles they experienced throughout the change, worried that their frustrations might dissuade other teachers from taking risks themselves. We need to overcome this mindset. We need to encourage growth in ourselves and others.

Reading Shelley Wright‘s post this morning, I knew I immediately would share her words with my teachers, because her message to Improvise, Learn, Don’t Regret is one that I want my teachers, and students, to embrace. She has taken the time to document her journey into project-based learning and share that experience with all of us. We have gained insight, perspective, and appreciation for the process because she has done so. This doesn’t happen without honest transparency.

Thank you, Justin, for the challenge to share the wonderful things happening in our schools! We all need to spread the sharing bug… it’s an ailment worth enduring!

Crossing the finish line.

CC licensed photo shared by Flickr user iman Khalili

It’s not whether you win or lose… it’s how you run the race.

Jonathan Martin provided us with a detailed summary of his reflections after viewing Race to Nowhere, a documentary film that highlights the lives of high school students, parents and families, and teachers and administrators, all in the context of a system that is broken and failing our children. As Jonathan stated, it is “emotionally manipulative,” and the first sentence of the About the Film description on its website indicates that it indeed features “the heartbreaking stories of young people across the country who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren’t developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what’s best for their kids.”

I didn’t know what to expect from the film, and I actually wasn’t prepared to take notes, but about 20 minutes in, I knew that I needed to write a reflection on the film’s contents. I covered the fronts and backs of scrap pieces of paper I had in my purse with seemingly incoherent scribblings. (I had owned my iPhone for about 1 hour prior to attending the screening, so, unlike Jonathan, was not yet skilled at taking notes on my phone in the dark. 🙂 The quotes below are my reflections as I remember them and may be paraphrased.

These are my take-aways:

On happiness:

  • Children are trying to balance lives that few adults would be comfortable balancing. Something that resounded with me was a student explaining how people always want to know from her, Aaand… “I’m a member of the student council.” And? “I have straight A’s.” And? “I play sports.” And? Why aren’t you doing any community service??!
  • We are basing students’ successes not on how happy they are, but rather on a systemic assumption that they need to get into a good college and make a lot of money, which will lead to happiness.
  • Why cant happiness be a metric used to determine the success of our schools? Why just reading and math scores? Focusing on academics alone does not respect the child.

On accountability:

  • We have a “tremendous preoccupation with performance.”
  • Our educational system is an inch deep and a mile wide. What is important is NOT “knowing a whole bunch of things.”
  • We’re always preparing kids for “what’s next.” Think about it: “In middle school, you will have to do X, so in sixth grade, we’re going to make you do X to prepare you.” “In fourth grade, your teachers will expect you to write in cursive, so in third grade, we’re going to learn cursive.”
  • Due to the pressures of No Child Left Behind, we teach students formulaically so they can pass a test, but if they encounter something unlike that which is on the test, they fall apart. The tremendous pressure to produce leaves out time for critical processing. Cheating has become “like another course.”
  • Kids want to know exactly what’s on the test and not go beyond it. We give them study guides! We base our teachings off of those guides!
  • Teachers feel like “yes men” doing what the district, state, or government wants, even if it’s not best for kids. One teacher cited the example, “like teaching them what a semicolon does.” She went on to explain the need for us to teach students critical thinking, problem solving, and how to work in groups. This passionate teacher explained that she wants for her students to be learners. She stressed that if you’re not teaching what you love, you can’t do this job. “I’m a mother to my students. I see them more than they see their families.” This teacher’s frustrations with the system and feelings of helplessness eventually caused her to resign.
  • The tutoring industry has exploded because we are treating all kids like they need to be in the top 2 percent academically. Children are nervous about upsetting and disappointing their teachers if they don’t perform. And that they may “lose recess” for incomplete work.

On homework:

  • “At what point did it become okay for school to dictate how a child will spend time outside of school?” It’s not about learning anymore.
  • There is no correlation between homework completion and academic achievement in elementary school. (This was my absolute favorite line of the movie.) In middle school, there is a slight correlation, but past 1 hour of homework, it lessens. Past 2 hrs of homework time in high school, the effect lessens. Reference made to Sara Bennett’s and Nancy Kalish’s work, The Case Against Homework.
  • We all need to educate ourselves about the effects of homework. Why do we insist upon assigning it? Teachers think it’s necessary to cover content. Parents expect it.

On passion-based learning:

  • Our kids have grown up in a “world of training wheels” and have been coached from a very young age. They don’t realize they can fall off the bike and pick themselves up.
  • Instead of taking 5 classes, think, here are 3 classes I’m really interested in taking. One student expressed his belief that college is going to be a place where I “start to learn.” What does that say for his high school experience?
  • “Smart” has so many different meanings. The system is ignoring a great group of kids that is talented artistically, visually-spatially, etc. “Absolutely no appreciation for that kind of talent, or thinking.”
  • What creates the opportunity to be innovative? What does it take to create a creative human being? Children need time, so we must provide that downtime. Play is children’s work. It’s a tool to figure out how the world works. They’re not able to figure out what they love to do or find their passions without that freedom.

I was surrounded by a very emotional audience at the screening I attended. The movie was shown in the high school auditorium of a neighboring school district, one whose name is synonymous with wealth and high academic achievement. We have often looked to this district for ideas about how to implement programs and structure schedules due to their documented successes. The parents in the audience were likely those of high school students, and it was clear, from only 30 minutes into the film, that they would start to reconsider the types of discussions they would have with their children about learning and achievement. I wonder how this movie’s message made them view their roles differently?

There was a member of the audience with whom I’ve interacted on several occasions in her role as consultant. She has spent hours with our administrative team, reviewing the RtII framework, discussing data at great lengths, and yet, her best intentions noted, not once did we mention a child by name, or discuss actual, meaningful learning. I wonder how this movie’s message made her view her role differently?

The president of my parent-teacher organization approached me about the film and asked if I thought it would be beneficial for her to view. I agreed it would be, and she is taking a group of our parents to see the film in a few weeks. I wonder how this movie’s message will cause them to view their roles differently?
 
One of my colleague principals had a chance to view the film, and I feel it’s important for us to share our thoughts with the rest of our administrative team. I wonder how this movie’s message will cause them to view their roles differently?

I’m actually overwhelmed composing this post, as I decipher my notes to try to articulate just exactly what I’m feeling about this film’s message. I agree with the conclusions shared at the end of the movie that we need to rethink how we “do schooling.” What do we want to invest in? What matters most? The quality of teaching is what matters most.

We have to start asking ourselves how films like this, articles we read, success stories we hear, problems we encounter, and convictions we hold cause us to think differently. And then we have to do something about it.

There is no easy fix to the flaws in the system, because the inherent problems are so complex. But there is so much that we are doing right in schools across the nation and beyond. What I’d love to do is create a Race to Nowhere-esque documentary that captures and celebrates the extraordinary learning that’s going on within and outside of our classrooms each day. (Many of us do this with our blogs. But is it enough?) We need to share our successes with a wider audience. We need to inspire each other and start to build a collective body of knowledge that can help lead us in the direction of a finish line worth crossing.

Be an artist.

In Linchpin, Seth Godin asks us to consider the task of emotional labor: doing important work, even when it isn’t easy. It’s the type of labor we often avoid, due to its difficulty and the fact that to some people, emotional labor is a gift given without reward. In reality, emotional labor perhaps yields the greatest benefits, to both the giver and the recipient of those efforts.

The act of giving someone a smile, of connecting to a human, of taking initiative, of being surprising, of being creative, of putting on a show- these are things that we do for free all our lives. And then we get to work and we expect to merely do what we’re told and get paid for it.

Godin’s message is to bring your gifts to work. Your initial reaction to this idea may be, “Why should I? I just want to leave work each day and go home and do things I enjoy and be around people I actually like.”

What gifts do you bring to your school? Clearly you seek to display your strongest leadership qualities on a daily basis, in the hopes of modeling and shaping learning for your staff and students. What art do you create on a daily basis, at work, that allows your organization to flourish?

If you believe that your role as administrator or teacher or parent does not fit the definition of “artist,” I ask you to consider the following:

  • Art isn’t only a painting. Art is anything that’s creative, passionate, and personal. And great art resonates with the viewer, not only with the creator.
  • Art is about intent and communication, not substances.
  • Art is a personal gift that changes the recipient. The medium doesn’t matter. The intent does.
  • Art is a personal act of courage, something one human does that creates change in another.
  • Art is the product of emotional labor. If it’s easy and risk-free, it’s unlikely that it’s art.

I didn’t want this to post to be filled with feel-good fluff and void of actual instances of how I know emotional labor is being expended each day in schools, and how this work benefits our kids. In our elementary school, there are artists creating at every turn.

  • My guidance counselor recently designed a “break the mid-winter-blahs” picnic lunch day for the entire school using her gifts of compassion and her awareness of our school climate.
  • For a few weeks of the year physical education teacher transforms our gymnasium into an amazing obstacle course, complete with hanging “vines,” hula-hoops, clever contraptions made of PVC-pipe, and opportunities for rolling, tumbling, running, laughing, and learning.
  • One of my kindergarten teacher who works for STEM at Our Early Childhood Education Franchise had many gifts and one such is her unrivaled ability to break into song, dance, skit, funny character voice… basically whatever theatrics is necessary…to excite and energize her students and engage them in learning.
  • My 3/4 hallway has this amazing chemistry. You can feel it when you walk through the hall. It hits you in the face. I love their contagious energy!
  • An incredible group of teachers and staff imagined and implemented a now-annual Day of Service for our entire school community in honor of a teacher who lost her battle with breast cancer last year.
  • Grade 2 teachers designed a Parent Blogging Night, where they will introduce parents to the learning opportunities their children will be involved in using blogs and where parents will help their child write their first post!
  • Students offer to stay in from recess to assist a teacher. They offer to make posters and visit you at lunch time and give you their ice cream and deliver cupcakes to you when it’s their birthday.
  • Dedicated parents in our parent-teacher organization write grants for technology and run science exploration clubs for our young scientists. Another parent blogged with a third grade class on his recent business trip to Shanghai and visited us upon his return to share this experience with our students.

None of these given gifts are written as requisite activities in teachers’ job descriptions, nor in any of those instances do you see the words standardized testing, curriculum map, or homework. They clearly all involve love, care, and learning.

How will you be an artist today? How will your emotional labor and efforts change your organization? Take a risk. Your passion-driven efforts will not go unnoticed, and you will find that when you expend emotional labor, although sometimes exhausting, it will be deeply gratifying. What we often forget, as Godin reminds us, is “The act of the gift is in itself a reward.”

We consume. Do we produce?

CC licensed photo shared by Flickr user John*Ell

The relationships between consumers and producers in life cycles and food webs is introduced in the elementary years. Children genuinely enjoy exploring the relationships among animals and other organisms in our world.

As I navigated through the websites Stumble Upon recommended for me this morning, I got to thinking: We’re really good at consuming. How are we doing with producing? Sharing?

We’re in the midst of planning an upcoming professional development day for elementary teachers, and they were surveyed to find out what tech integration topics they’d like to explore. One of the responses indicated “websites for use in the primary classroom.” I guess I understand where that response is coming from, but a few keyword searches in a short amount of time could result in a list of such websites. Consuming.

I’m meeting monthly with a group of elementary teachers who volunteer their time after school to explore ideas and tools that will help them become more adept learners, and hopefully bring that knowledge into their classrooms for use with students. We discuss the “shifts” in education- the importance of connected learning- the tools and applications that can be used for students to authentically demonstrate their learning- there’s honestly too much to explore in the short time we have together, but I do appreciate the time these teachers are spending stepping outside of their comfort zones and working to produce. Not only are they creating projects as we explore certain tools, but they’re producing new ways of thinking and transforming their mentalities about teaching and learning.

I often hear, “Well, they have to start somewhere,” in reference to teachers taking on new roles and trying new things in the classroom, but at what point do we apply a little more pressure? How long do we allow teachers to either a) ignore technology and the “shift” or b) use it in superficial ways that don’t necessarily add to student learning before we push them to step outside of their comfort zones? Do we have time to allow them to continue to consume without at least attempting to produce?

Administrators need to provide opportunities for their teachers to become producers of content and ideas. Why? Because our students are natural producers. They act, they sing, they dance, they draw, they make up jokes, they journal, they create websites, they problem solve through social interactions, they establish their own YouTube channels and comment on peers’ work… they produce. If we don’t foster that love of creation in our schools, it will diminish.

Dean Shareski says, “If you generally think of the Internet as a ‘place to look up stuff’ you’re missing the best part.” Agreed. How will you help your teachers become producers and share their ideas? How will you help design learning opportunities for your students to do the same?

Without producers, the consumers will eventually dwindle away, won’t they?

Good teaching is everywhere.

CC licensed photo shared by Flickr user Julie K in Taiwan

I recently had a date with the dentist (you can see this here to know more about them), thanks, in no small part, to the daily office deliveries of student birthday cupcakes and cookies and cake. (We have yet to become one of those schools that bans birthday treats. And I’m perfectly okay with that.)

As I reclined in the not-at-all-comfortable chair and tried to think of anything other than my cavity being filled, I realized my dental hygienist was working with a student hygienist. I learned she was only in her fifth day of working with the practice.

I know some people get turned off when a student/junior/in-training practitioner is tasked with serving them, be it at the doctor’s office, a law firm, a restaurant, an insurance agency, or the mechanic. They are paying good money for the service. Why should they have to do business with someone who is not as highly qualified as the professional they normally deal with?

Not me. I think it’s fascinating. At the dentist’s office, I listened carefully to the interactions between the hygienist, Lynn (weird coincidence, I know) and her student. It was amazing. What I realized, in a very short amount of time, is that Lynn is a fantastic teacher.

She possessed all of the qualities I would want my teachers to have. Her care and concern for the patient was evident. She asked me repeatedly if I was okay, comfortable, and she did so in a soothing voice. I knew she wanted me to have a good experience. In these interactions with me, Lynn was modeling for her student what good “chairside” manner looks like.

The conversations between the two professionals was an even greater testament to her skill as a teacher. She asked her student questions. She showed her how she used certain tools and techniques she used to prepare medications, ready things for the doctor, etc. At one point, Lynn elaborated as to why she performed a certain way, why she preferred one technique over another. She provided a rationale and a purpose for learning. The student asked questions freely. She described what new things she was learning in her coursework and Lynn reflected upon those insights, comparing them to how she was taught. And, like all great teachers do, she relinquished control. The student performed a variety of tasks at my visit, all of which were met with specific, constructive feedback and praise. “I like the way you…” “You really do a fine job with…” I heard the words “thank you” from both parties no fewer than 20 times.

I know this post is lacking in its technical description of what exactly the two hygienists were discussing because, let’s face it, I had no idea what they were talking about, but that didn’t matter. They could have been speaking a foreign language and I would still have been able to recognize that the relationship between these two professionals was vital for the professional development of both the student and the teacher. The pain in my jaw seemed to diminish with each passing second, as I focused instead on what an amazing act of teaching I had the chance to witness. Shouldn’t all of our student teachers have this type of practical experience as they’re entering the field? How can we as administrators help to facilitate this? I am very eager to invite student teachers into our building. I encourage my staff to serve as their hosts and mentors and to make the most of their experiences together, and in 99% of cases, both parties involved learn an extraordinary amount from one another- all to the benefit of our students!

The people who design teacher evaluation systems, the educators I encounter in my daily work as a principal and those in my virtual network all want to know, “What is good teaching?” It’s definitely difficult to put into words. To make the definition of what it means to be a good teacher fit into some kind of mold with rubrics and exemplars and dollar amounts attached. I do know this: you know it when you see it. It’s magical and inspiring, and our job as administrators is to find it, hone it, and help everyone strive to attain it. Do you agree?

For more thoughts on what makes a teacher great, check out these posts from my colleagues.

Cross-posted on Connected Principals

Expected freedoms.

CC licensed photo shared by Flickr user turbojoe

The title of Pernille Ripp’s recent blog post, Are we forcing students to be noncompliant?, peaked my interest. She asked us to consider the expectations we set forth in our classrooms and contemplate those times when students fail to meet our expectations, thus rendering their behaviors noncompliant. Through the recognition that every student has individual needs and requires specific supports in order to be successful, she posed the question, “Does every rule need to apply to every student?”

After sharing Pernille’s post on Twitter, I received this thoughtful tidbit from Alan Feirer:

I’ve written previously about my experiences in trying to provide my teachers with increased autonomy in their professional development and how they plan for student learning experiences. The results have been quite encouraging thus far. I am witnessing teachers taking risks, collaborating on new initiatives, reflecting upon their practices, and creating improved, more individualized learning opportunities for our children.

Every administrator and teacher recognizes the importance of establishing classroom expectations and guidelines to help streamline the effectiveness of learning operations within the classroom. Consider the outcomes if students, particularly those in elementary school, were given complete freedom to act throughout the school day….no procedures for movements within the class and around the building, for organizing materials and work spaces, for interacting with peers and adults…it might get a little nuts.

Similarly, think about if the only expectation we put in place for our teachers was to show up each day and “teach.” Teachers choose the content. They choose the delivery. They choose how (or if ) to assess. They choose which students to teach. Teachers decide how (or if) they prefer to be supervised and how their effectiveness is evaluated. It might get a little nuts.

So, we have guiding principles in place to help our teachers plan meaningful learning experiences for our children. Standards, curriculum guides, common materials and assessments… for many of us, “too much of a good thing” comes to mind knowing the extent to which some school boards and government organizations have put policies and procedures in place to dictate teaching and learning practices, but as administrators we have the opportunity to work within these structures and provide our teachers with as much freedom as possible in designing learning experiences for kids. (We could also just declare, “Our hands are tied, nothing we can do,” in our best disgruntled-administrator voice, but I don’t really recommend that.)

George Couros’s post “You don’t need to be brilliant to be wise” referenced Barry Schwartz’s TED Talk, The real crisis? We stopped being wise.” which George related to the importance of recognizing the human element of our work with teachers and placing our trust in them to do the right thing rather than conform to a multitude of rigid guidelines. Another of Schwartz’s talks is very relevant to my thoughts on teacher autonomy.

Schwartz says, “The way to maximize freedom is to maximize choice. The more choice people have, the more freedom they have, and the more freedom they have, the more welfare they have.”  Schwartz goes on to warn, however, that too many choices can ultimately lead to increased anxiety due to heightened expectations, yielding dissatisfaction with results, even when the results are good. He concludes that some choice is better than none, but “more choice is not always better” and relating our life to that of a fish: “You need a fishbowl. If you shatter the fishbowl so everything is possible, you don’t have freedom- you have paralysis.”

We need to provide our teachers and students with a fishbowl – a place where it’s safe to take creative risks and where guidelines and supports are in place to help aid learning. Within this fishbowl we need to infuse freedoms. Could you provide teachers (students) with the freedom over how to spend their time? With curriculum and planning? Over their own learning? Could you recognize that every teacher (student) deserves differentiated, passion-driven professional development (learning) opportunities?

Working with teachers to identify and strengthen their areas of need is one of my integral roles as principal, but these improvement areas rarely come to light due to a matter of compliance, or lack thereof. Teachers generally want to do their very best for students. On the occasion we do meet teacher resistance when we ask them to become involved in improvement efforts or to cooperate with new initiatives, it is often because a) we didn’t do an adequate job of explaining the need for improvement b) we didn’t do an adequate job helping the teacher see the relevance of the initiative and its impact on student learning c) we didn’t provide enough supports for teachers in this area and/or d) we are expecting all teachers to abide by the same guidelines, just because, when in reality they deserve to be treated as the individual professionals that they are.

So, yes, there is a certain level of compliance that is expected from a teacher (and principal), in that we have agreed to serve in this amazingly rewarding educational capacity, and with this profession in particular comes great responsibility. Legally, to protect us all, there are guidelines that must be followed. But if a teacher is truly noncompliant in terms of failing to work with administrators and colleagues in order to improve practice, we need to get to the root cause of the issue. (Is it them? Or is it us?) Student learning will be impacted when teacher effectiveness and collegial relations are strained, and there is rarely a barrier insurmountable in order to make ourselves the best we can be for our students.

Be there.

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Three years ago when I first started as principal in my building, I told my teachers they should expect to see me on a daily basis, even if it was just to pop my head in the classroom and say a quick hello. As every administrator knows, this is easier said than done, especially on days when central office demands have you running across town to three meetings at two different buildings. I think my first year I did a fairly good job of “showing my face” around the building. Teachers no longer stopped instruction when I walked in the room to find out if I needed something. Students stopped being curious as to why I was there. They knew it was because I wanted to see my little learners in action and get to know everyone in my new school.

Last year we embraced the ideals of the Fish! philosophy in our school, one of which is Be There. The premise behind “be there” is fairly broad in that not only do you need to be physically available for your staff and your colleagues, but you have to be emotionally available for them as well. Being present means you make yourself available to your constituents, listen actively, and continuously work to strengthen relationships.

The teacher supervision model with which we engage consists of electronic walk-through formats as well as a formal observation protocol. I was finding that I was falling short of completing my desired number of documented walk-throughs each week, falling victim to the perils of management and not allowing the joys of leadership to drive my actions each day.

A few weeks ago I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be amazing to experience an entire school day in the life of a first grader?” I glanced at my calendar, noticed, despite being few and far between, there were some days without any scheduled meetings or commitments. Right then and there, I blocked off days for every grade level and specialist class in my building.

I drafted a document called It’s a Date! and emailed my staff:

Question:
What’s the best part about being a principal?

Answer:
Watching all of our children learn!

I have set aside days in my calendar to spend immersed in a grade level/class for the day. I am really excited about this! I will be in the classrooms from students’ arrival through the end of the day, planning to spend time in the rooms during academic times and will visit specials with your classes. I am happy to sit and observe, but reeeeally what I would love to do is join in the fun. Please put me to work! During your PLC meeting closer to your visit date, discuss how you will include me in your class activities. Need someone to facilitate a small group? Want to team up to teach a topic? Would you like to have someone work 1:1 with a student? Should I bring in some tech? These are all ways I’d be happy to help. Decide whose classrooms I will visit at what times of the day. If there is work/planning I need to complete before that day, kindly let me know a day or two in advance. 🙂

I began with first grade. What a wonderful day! In the morning I spent time working with small groups of students with reading concepts and making words activities using the Smartboard, and in the afternoon, three of the teachers enlisted my help teaching a lesson about extinction, where we read Dinosaurs! and the students interacted with classification and vocabulary on a Smartboard activity. I went to art class and music class and, although I often dine with students, joined them in the cafeteria. It was an exhilarating and exhausting day!

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This past Friday was Third Grade Day. I didn’t have as many teaching responsibilities this time, so I was really able to sit back and observe the children and all of the wonderful things they were learning. (And take a lot of photos and shoot some video!) Highlights: collaborating on critiquing persuasive writing blog posts with a class in another district using Flockdraw… experimenting with solids, liquids, and gases (using root beer floats! and hot chocolate with whipped cream and peppermint sticks and marshmallows!)… reading poetry with small groups of students….getting a class set up on Kidblog for the first time and helping them compose their first entries…glazing the clay bowls I threw on the potting wheel last spring while the third graders glazed their autumn leaf pottery….eating scrumptious 🙂 macaroni and cheese with the children and cracking up at their absurd jokes…observing “challenge day” in math class, where students are free to choose which activities and challenge problems they’d like to complete, either individually or in teams… working 1:1 with a young man who reeeally wanted to learn algebra, so, we worked together on some simple equations, and then I watched him teach another student 🙂 …. observing students use the Activotes to interact with graphing problems on the Promethean board… loving the feeling of walking past my office door, closed, while the sign outside that indicates where I am the building reads, “Visiting Classrooms.”

3rd Grade Day on PhotoPeach

My colleague David Truss has coined these days in the life of an administrator “No Office Days.” As I recently drafted this post and planned to share about my grade level days, I was so excited to see David’s inspiring post and read about his day of learning with students. Be sure to read about his experiences in his latest post!

We have to be there for our students and staff. We can’t do that from behind a closed office door, or even an open office door. I will freely admit what doesn’t get scheduled, doesn’t get done. Be sure to block out times on your calendar for walk-throughs or more time-intensive observation experiences. The perspective you will gain as a learner and administrator is invaluable. Watching your students’ faces light up as they experience an “aha” moment, seeing your teachers work so hard to make classroom experiences meaningful for students, and knowing your presence is positively impacting the lives of your students and teachers awakens the realization that being a school principal is the greatest!

Cross posted on Connected Principals

An #edcamp experience

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Photo by SpecialKRB via Flickr

Yesterday I attended my first “unconference,” Edcamp NYC, held at The School at Columbia in fabulous New York City, which was definitely a day of learning that warrants reflection.

The session board filled up quickly upon arrival, and I’m thankful that everyone took the time to share their expertise and talents with others. That’s what this day of learning is all about.

I had the pleasure of meeting and learning from Lauren Goldberg, whose involvement with the Peers Forum for Excellence in Teaching has shaped her experiences with best practices in teaching and learning. Along with Kevin Jarrett and David Ginsburg, we discussed the current emphasis on covering curriculum and how we can shift to a curriculum design that focuses on “the big ideas,” spanning content areas and centering on student learning. I enjoyed hearing from an elementary math instructor at The School at Columbia who detailed their assessment practices: 1:1 interviews with students, portfolios with authentic student work samples, and plenty of anecdotal notes on student progress. There are two teachers in each classroom, so while one teacher leads instruction, the other transcribes the lesson, which is saved to Google docs. When it comes time to report on student progress, the transcripts of learning can be accessed by any teacher, who can draw upon students’ actual learning experiences to shape their report. Amazing!  I absolutely loved hearing about Lauren’s experience with a school-wide topic of study, and would love to bring this practice to our school. She described a school whose study topic was “India,” and every grade level, across all content areas, sought to plan experiences that helped students engage with that topic in some way. My other take-away from Lauren’s session is the list of ideals shared in their learning organization: Caring, Responsibility, Respect, Honesty, Excellence, and Joy.  The two most important ideals? In Lauren’s words, “You just can’t learn without excellence and joy.”

Next I had the pleasure of stepping way outside of my comfort zone and learning from Dr. David Timony, who declared, “Your brain is not your friend and may actually be out to get you.” Frightening, eh? Our group discussed the fallacy in learning styles, the differences between traits (characteristics of a person that are generally not going to change; the ways you look, act, things you do) and states (temporary; affected by an interaction with education). We pretty much debunked the ideas of learning styles, multitasking, and differentiated instruction (the importance of what most consider differentiated instruction “is that you’re teaching the same thing four or five different ways!”) and how some of the things we think we know, but really don’t know, about our brains are severely impacting our educational organizations and student learning. Recommended reads: Self-Efficacy, the Exercise of Control (Bandura), Polanyi’s work on tacit knowledge, and What Kids Can Do. Recommended viewing: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

I caught the end of the Skyping session led by Mary Beth Hertz and Dan Callahan, demonstrating the power of this tool in the classroom. At the start of their session they actually Skyped with an #edcampcitrus crew, and when I arrived, teams of teachers were discussing the use of Skype with students. Great resource from the session found here.

Following lunch (“Are you really going to eat that, Nick?”), it was time for Things that Suck, hosted by Dan Callahan. A popular session whose format is borrowed from Barcamp Philly, Things that Suck asks participants to consider a topic, then physically move to sides of the room indicating their stance on the topic as either “Sucks” or “Rocks.” Indifferent folks stand in the back middle. (I have to admit I spent a lot of time in the middle on most of the issues.) And then the debate ensues. Topics we discussed: the federal department of education, differentiated instruction, the current structure of schools, homework (by far the most heated, opinionated conversation- secondary English teachers represented loud and clear their ideas about homework), and your school’s discipline policy (the topic where I found myself on the “Rocks” side. Hey– I’m the principal.) A most spirited, thought-provoking session. Think of how meaningful this type of session could be in your classroom with students!

It was a pleasure meeting one of my Connected Principals colleagues, Larry Fliegelman, who agreed to moderate an end-of-the-day session with me entitled (hat tip to Deven Black), “Talk back to administrators.” How many teachers would love to candidly speak to administrators about what’s on their mind, yet don’t often have the opportunity? We wanted to give them the chance to do so by leading a discussion about the qualities of administrators that teachers most need and appreciate. We ended up hearing from Deven, David, another instructional consultant for New York City public schools, and two teachers, one of whom has served children for over 40 years. We discussed best practices in teacher supervision, the importance of administrators defining and developing vision in their schools, the absolute necessity for administrators to be visible in their schools and develop relationships with students, the struggle for administrators to put their leadership responsibilities well above managerial tasks, and the use of peer evaluations and “critical friend” reflections in professional development.

Each of the four sessions I attended were filled with insights that made me reflect upon my own practice and how our school operates. Something George Couros has taught me is that it wouldn’t be enough for me to passively soak in the wealth of information being shared; the real learning would occur when I’d take that next step and consider how I’d put into practice those ideas to positively impact my school. I’m excited to start uncovering our curriculum, designing learning experiences that focus on the big picture, trying alternative forms of assessment, helping my teachers understand the science (or lack thereof) behind “learning styles,” evaluating our differentiated instruction and homework practices, and strengthening my supervisory role and increasing teacher ownership in lesson observations and teacher professional development.

As someone who engages in frequent discussions with colleagues via Twitter, it was truly meaningful to have the chance to meet these fine educators in real life. You quickly realize, within seconds of meeting them, that they are exactly as genuine, intelligent, humorous, and engaging as their online personas make them out to be. Getting the chance to meet so many great people in my network was certainly the high point of my day. (Well, that and finding myself in such close proximity to a plate of oxtail.) I’m really looking forward to catching up with everyone (including, but not limited to, Nicholas Provenzano, Mary Beth Hertz, Kevin Jarrett, Rob Griffith, Mike Ritzius, Hadley Ferguson, Joyce Valenza, Dan Callahan, Larry Fliegelman, Deven Black, David Timony, Lauren Goldberg, and David Ginsburg) again at Educon, TeachMeet NJ, ISTE, and any other opportunities that arise! Thank you so much to the organizers of Edcamp NYC for their efforts in planning a fantastic learning experience for all.

Inspiration delivers.

Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Minneapolis Institute of Arts

My vision for how staff development should look in my school has undergone a transformation over the past year. In my first year as a principal I recall the dread of conducting the marathon faculty meeting on opening day, droning on and on about everything from recess line-up procedures to my expectations for lesson plan submissions. In Year 2, most of our professional development days were dictated by district initiatives, and the few “building days” planned by principals were spent on data analysis. We looked at a lot of data. No shortage of graphs in those meetings.

We covered a lot of topics, but there certainly wasn’t a lot of learning going on.

In October, Chris Wejr described his plan for covering his teachers’ classes to allow for them to engage in collaborative opportunities, the focus of which would be self-directed and hopefully involve an elements of creative thinking and innovation:

This would benefit me as I would get to spend more time with students, it would benefit the teachers who take me up on the offer as they would be motivated to take a risk and try something innovative, and most importantly, it would benefit the students as the teacher would deliver something to our school that would impact student learning.  The extra prep period would be their “FedEx Prep.”

Chris was inspired by Daniel Pink’s Drive, a book that delves into the fascinating world of human motivation and how the ways businesses and schools currently motivate their employees (and students) is a far cry from the way science says they should.

I finally finished reading Drive a few weeks ago and knew I wanted to explore the idea of helping my teachers be more autonomous in their learning. I wanted to ensure our organization was striving to reach mastery (but never attaining, of course, since mastery is an asymptote) and develop a strong sense of purpose for our actions.

I knew I could accomplish this without having my teachers read Drive, but I certainly brought the book to school and shared it with those who were interested. To start, I asked my teachers to view three short videos: the RSA Animate version of Pink’s Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us talk; Two questions that can change your life; and What’s your sentence? By taking just 10-15 minutes to view these videos, I feel most of my teachers came prepared to start the day understanding the fundamental ideas behind why we were taking our professional development in this direction. Teachers were asked to consider a “sentence” that exemplifies their role in our school/their life, and when they were comfortable doing so, post on the Wallwisher I created.

I summarized Pink’s key points regarding autonomy, mastery, and purpose and outlined the expectations for the day on our wiki. An excerpt:

So today, your task is to be self-directed in your learning. Be productive. Live your sentence. Ask, am I better today than yesterday?  Seek mastery in your role. Remember our ultimate purpose. The only rule? You must deliver. A product…a project…ideas…action.

Pink calls providing this autonomous time for innovation a Fed Ex Day- employees choose what to work on, with whom, and however they’d like. The expectation is that “they must deliver something: a new idea, a better internal process, a refined lesson plan – the next day.”

As you work today, consider the following:

  • Task – Choose tasks that will benefit and impact student learning. Think differently!
  • Technique – Design your activities and project work in your own way, so long as the end result is a benefit to students.
  • Team – Work with anyone you want to work with today- you do not need to work with your grade level teams. Consult with the many knowledgeable people in our school! Individuals that choose not to collaborate will still be responsible for “delivering.” Consider the importance of the collaborative efforts!
  • Time – Use your time as you see fit. You’re free to head home at 11 AM. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Our day began at 8 AM. We met briefly in the library for a 5-minute, “go and have fun today!” speech from me. That was it. I saw a lot of smiles. I saw an almost-equal amount of incredulous looks. (She’s lost her mind, does she think we’re actually going to work today?!) I told the team I’d be camped out in the library if anyone needed me or wanted to collaborate with me.

So… what resulted? First, I have to share our sentences. They are really beautiful. What I wonder when I read them is how I can urge more of my teachers to be transparent- to not choose to post a sticky under “Anonymous” when they have such meaningful work to contribute?

Watching my teachers work together on our “Fed-Ex” Day actually made me a little giddy. I seriously may have had a smile plastered on my face all morning long. I did a lot of listening. The conversations were encouraging. I relished in the fact that many of my teachers were leaving the “comfort” of their grade level hallways and teaming up with other teachers, including our specialists. To say I was impressed with how my teachers embraced this first foray into autonomous PD would not be fair. They blew me away. And it’s not that they were creating such innovative projects that were going to revolutionize the face of education as we know it… it’s that they were opening their minds to new ideas, they were enjoying their work, they were considering alternatives to current practices, and they were definitely stepping outside of their comfort zones.

Our ESL and special needs teachers teamed up and located a fantastic resource and planned for our students to engage with e-Books in their learning. A team of intermediate teachers considered how to develop students’ skills for error analysis in their work. Primary teachers gathered around the Smartboard, some of whom do not ever use the tool, to consider its use with their students. They created a team Diigo group to share resources. Two second grade teachers planned for how they would involve students in reader’s theater, and came to me to discuss their options for recording and posting their performances. Third grade teachers wanted to explore how to better immerse students in literature and enlisted the support of our media specialist. Our music and art teachers seriously debated why in the world we give grades in the specialty areas. Both teachers planned on bringing Fed-Ex type days to their classrooms. The Mid-Winter-Pick-Me-Up-Picnic was born. Primary teachers designed a way to incorporate more student-choice into their project work. One of my tech-savvy teachers bounced from group to group, leading the way with various initiatives. A revelation from a teacher who was working on a document to share with third grade colleagues: “Wait. Why am I using Word for this? I should be using Google docs!” Me: “Uh, yeah!”

Thoughts from the teachers? The day was not without a limited number of grumblings, however, on the delivery form they were asked to submit to me following their work day, I was so pleased to read positive feedback. One of the questions asked, Did they enjoy the format of the day?

  • Yes, because it gave me a chance to be creative in my own way.  If I have had any success in my teaching career, it is because of a format or structure like today, being able to create on my own, curriculum, selecting activities that best meets the every changing needs of our students, with administrative support but without administrative restrictions.
  • I was extremely annoyed at first when I heard the plan, because I had a lot of s$*t that needed to get done, but I have found the day to be extremely exhilarating and rewarding. 🙂
  • Yes we did! We got a lot accomplished and feel that what we did will have an immediate benefit to our students! Thanks for the opportunity.
  • LOVED IT! More please 🙂

And allow me to share the reflections of my most-excellent of guidance counselors, who will not at all be alarmed that I am posting her thoughts on my blog… I think her words perfectly depict her personal journey to planning a new community-building activity for our school, an idea she’d been thinking a lot about but, until Wednesday, had not brought to fruition. I introduced our Fed Ex day on Monday, which is when her wheels started spinning…

“Monday/Tuesday:  Hated it  (too open-ended.  daunting.  outside of my comfort zone.  getting in the way of getting my “real” [boring & mundane] work done.  scary.)

then

Tuesday/Wednesday:  Loved it (went crazy.  found and discarded ideas. refined them.  enjoyed bouncing them off a bunch of people.  liked having people show me what might not work and what would work better.  especially enjoyed watching people go from “What a ridiculous idea” to “Hey … that might actually be fun.”)

You and Daniel are very wise.”

I know that I will be mandated by my central admin to include specific activities on future professional development days, but I also know that a) I will try to transform the day so that I meet district initiatives while granting autonomy to my teachers and b) every chance I get, we’re going to have another day like we did on Wednesday. I enjoyed the feedback on Chris’s post and would love the same about our day’s structure and how I can improve this idea in the future.

I am very appreciative of Chris and all of the innovative principals who’ve inspired me in this area over the past year, and of course to Dan Pink for sharing his thoughts with us all, and making me want to be better and do things differently tomorrow than I did today.