"We need to prepare them for the real world" This is a response that many of us have uttered when explaining why we do some of the things that we do in the classroom, or why some of our policies exist. There are certainly aspects of this statement that ring true. Educators do, in fact, play a role in preparing students to function effectively as they navigate through life. However, what now gives me pause, and where my thinking has changed as a result of much reflection, is this: what exactly IS our perception of the real world and are our so called "life preparing" policies really serving that purpose?
Let me first address the complexity of the "real world", because one thing I have learned in my years as an educator is that many of our students face a reality that I can not even imagine. In fact, some students live a reality every day that I am not sure I would even survive. The real world for a 4th grader who was once sent to my office for fighting at recess included a $20 bill in his back pocket wrapped around a grocery list that included well more than $20 worth of food items which he was responsible for buying after school if he had any hope of feeding his brothers and himself that night. And that sweet blonde five year old with a shy smile who gave me a hug every day, but could turn violent and out of control at any moment? Part of his real world includes a memory of men with guns coming into his trailer at night while he hid under a blanket. We must be careful about making assumptions regarding what we may think we know about what the real world looks like for our children. This may involve either shifting or abandoning some of our "life preparing" policies.
I believe our true intention is to enact policies that will prepare students to be responsible in their future jobs. For example, when we penalize students for late work by giving them a zero or reducing their grade, we are preparing them to be responsible so that they will complete work on time in their jobs. This works fantastically for the students who are ALREADY conscientious, and who are concerned about having their grade lowered because of late work. For students who are not conscientious and not concerned about their grade being lowered, the result is often an opportunity for them to avoid doing the work altogether. We definitely want to teach our students the responsibility to complete their work on time, but first we must get them to COMPLETE THE WORK. Some schools have begun to build time into their weekly schedules for students to attend required extra work sessions (with support) where they complete work that has not been turned in. In many cases, they get full credit for the work because the school is placing value on the student completing the work. The consequence is being held accountable to spend the extra time at school to complete the work rather than the consequence being the grade.
Re-dos and re-takes are another example of a "life preparing" policy we need to carefully consider. Only allowing students one opportunity to assess or to complete an assignment is not consistent with the real world. There are all kinds of opportunities for do-overs in real life...on the ACT, the MCATs, the Bar Exam, the drivers license test. It is important to note in each of these cases, it is the highest score, or the passing score that counts. It is not a combination of scores, nor is there a limitation enforced as a result of the retake. As Rick Wormeli says in his article, Redos and Retakes Done Right (Educational Leadership, November 2011), a lawyer who passes the bar exam after several attempts is not limited to practicing law one day a week.
I do not know if it falls in "life-preparing", but the concept of averaging scores to come up with one grade is a policy that also does not align with the "real world" for which we are preparing our students. A salesman who meets his goal to sell 30 cars in a month for the first time does not report the average of his last three months. A teacher who receives excellent ratings on her final evaluation after working to make improvements to her instructional practices does not want her initial and final evaluations to be averaged. All milestones achieved in jobs and life are celebrated when they are achieved, they are not averaged with all previous attempts.
I could go on, but I think I have made my point. As we think about how we structure our policies, really how we structure our schools, if we truly want to prepare students for the "real world", it is important to be honest with ourselves about what that means. In my real world, I love going to work every day, I collaborate with peers in almost everything that I do. I talk A LOT during my day, I can listen to music when I need to relax, I have a lot of choice about how I complete my work, I have flexibility in my day, I receive positive feedback from my peers, but most importantly I am supported at home and I come home to a safe place every night. Seek to know your students' current reality, but also consider the future reality you are preparing them for and question the alignment of your policies.
Monday, May 20, 2019
Monday, May 6, 2019
Don't forget why you are doing this job.
"Everyone who remembers his own education remembers teacher, not methods and techniques. The teacher is the heart of the educational system."- Sidney Hook
Each and every one of us who chose to become an educator selected this path for a very distinct reason. I can assure you that it was not the same reason for each of us, nor did this decision occur at the same moment in our growing up journey. For some it was the influence of an amazing teacher and for others, it was just the pure love of learning. There are some who started down one path and heard the call of teaching somewhere along that path. Whatever the reason and whatever the timeline, we decided we loved school enough to make it a life sentence. We made a conscious decision that we WANTED to go to a school building and spend our days in a classroom for the majority of our life.
In the summer of 2015, ASCD published a bonus digital version of the Educational Leadership magazine, which included a visual summarizing a survey of 20,000 teachers answering the question "Why did you become a teacher?" The top answers were: 85%- To make a difference in the lives of children, 74% to share their love of learning and teaching, 71% to help students reach their full potential, 66% to be part of those "aha" moments, 50% because a teacher inspired them when they were young. Educators do this job because they genuinely care about the success of children and because they genuinely love learning. Let me share a little secret- children learn best in classrooms were they can tell that their teachers genuinely care about them and genuinely love learning. Let me share a reality- teachers sometimes get so bogged down with compliance factors (see my blog from April 4) that they forget who they really are as an educator and why they do this job.
One year, when I was a principal at an elementary school, we had a lot of change happening all at once- we were shifting to a workshop model in literacy, we were completely changing our evaluation system, we were changing our math resources, and we were shifting our assessment practices. My very talented and dedicated school family was quite stressed and it was evident. After seeing an extremely strong, veteran teacher cut off a very rich, engaged discussion with her students because, as she told me, "I was concerned that my mini-lesson had surpassed the required maximum of 15 minutes", I realized that we needed a re-boot. It was clear that my teachers were putting themselves in a box that I never intended to build. I sent a survey to all of our parents asking them to think about a favorite memory they had from their elementary school years and something they remember learning in elementary school and how they learned it. Then I asked them to ask their child to do the same. I was pleased by the high level of response from our families. I took joy in reading their memories, then I compiled all of their comments and shared them with my staff. As you can imagine, the comments were filled with stories about fun and engaging activities, caring teachers, interactive projects, and relationships. We wrote some of the overarching themes on rocks and put them in jars that we kept in our lounge as a visual cue that we must remember why we do this job and that, first and foremost, it is important to make school fun for us and for the students. The constant change was still challenging, but I realized we needed to slow down and that I needed to remind teachers they had "permission" to be themselves and to have fun with and for their students.
I love going into classrooms where the students are engaged, where I can see the excitement of learning, where I hear laughter and see smiles, where I see students willingly engaged in productive struggle, where students groan when the bell rings because it is time to go home. Adding fun and excitement does not reduce rigor, nor does it mean that you cannot cover content. In fact, you may find that you cover more content because students are engaged and present! Why have students read pages and pages of a social studies book and answer questions on a worksheet when you can, instead, immerse them in the content by simulating what they are learning about and become the historical or governmental figures. There is no need to make copies of math worksheets for students to practice their facts when, instead, they can play games that require them to use their facts in the gameplay. Rather than giving students a test on potential energy, kinetic energy, centripetal force, centrifugal force, acceleration, deceleration, friction, etc...., you can have them build a model roller coaster and then label and describe how all of the forces and principles of physics make the coaster work. When teaching students about volume, you don't have to give them an algorithm, you can give them graph paper and scissors and challenge them to build containers to see if they can figure out on their own how to calculate volume. When reading to kids, it is okay, at times, to just read with joy and enthusiasm without stopping to talk about what they should be thinking, predicting, connecting or synthesizing. And sometimes....you can just do something because it is fun and you just want to spend time building relationships with your students.
Don't forget why you are doing this job. Love what you do and love how you are doing it. Believe in your passion- it will work for the students and they WILL learn.
Each and every one of us who chose to become an educator selected this path for a very distinct reason. I can assure you that it was not the same reason for each of us, nor did this decision occur at the same moment in our growing up journey. For some it was the influence of an amazing teacher and for others, it was just the pure love of learning. There are some who started down one path and heard the call of teaching somewhere along that path. Whatever the reason and whatever the timeline, we decided we loved school enough to make it a life sentence. We made a conscious decision that we WANTED to go to a school building and spend our days in a classroom for the majority of our life.
In the summer of 2015, ASCD published a bonus digital version of the Educational Leadership magazine, which included a visual summarizing a survey of 20,000 teachers answering the question "Why did you become a teacher?" The top answers were: 85%- To make a difference in the lives of children, 74% to share their love of learning and teaching, 71% to help students reach their full potential, 66% to be part of those "aha" moments, 50% because a teacher inspired them when they were young. Educators do this job because they genuinely care about the success of children and because they genuinely love learning. Let me share a little secret- children learn best in classrooms were they can tell that their teachers genuinely care about them and genuinely love learning. Let me share a reality- teachers sometimes get so bogged down with compliance factors (see my blog from April 4) that they forget who they really are as an educator and why they do this job.
One year, when I was a principal at an elementary school, we had a lot of change happening all at once- we were shifting to a workshop model in literacy, we were completely changing our evaluation system, we were changing our math resources, and we were shifting our assessment practices. My very talented and dedicated school family was quite stressed and it was evident. After seeing an extremely strong, veteran teacher cut off a very rich, engaged discussion with her students because, as she told me, "I was concerned that my mini-lesson had surpassed the required maximum of 15 minutes", I realized that we needed a re-boot. It was clear that my teachers were putting themselves in a box that I never intended to build. I sent a survey to all of our parents asking them to think about a favorite memory they had from their elementary school years and something they remember learning in elementary school and how they learned it. Then I asked them to ask their child to do the same. I was pleased by the high level of response from our families. I took joy in reading their memories, then I compiled all of their comments and shared them with my staff. As you can imagine, the comments were filled with stories about fun and engaging activities, caring teachers, interactive projects, and relationships. We wrote some of the overarching themes on rocks and put them in jars that we kept in our lounge as a visual cue that we must remember why we do this job and that, first and foremost, it is important to make school fun for us and for the students. The constant change was still challenging, but I realized we needed to slow down and that I needed to remind teachers they had "permission" to be themselves and to have fun with and for their students.
I love going into classrooms where the students are engaged, where I can see the excitement of learning, where I hear laughter and see smiles, where I see students willingly engaged in productive struggle, where students groan when the bell rings because it is time to go home. Adding fun and excitement does not reduce rigor, nor does it mean that you cannot cover content. In fact, you may find that you cover more content because students are engaged and present! Why have students read pages and pages of a social studies book and answer questions on a worksheet when you can, instead, immerse them in the content by simulating what they are learning about and become the historical or governmental figures. There is no need to make copies of math worksheets for students to practice their facts when, instead, they can play games that require them to use their facts in the gameplay. Rather than giving students a test on potential energy, kinetic energy, centripetal force, centrifugal force, acceleration, deceleration, friction, etc...., you can have them build a model roller coaster and then label and describe how all of the forces and principles of physics make the coaster work. When teaching students about volume, you don't have to give them an algorithm, you can give them graph paper and scissors and challenge them to build containers to see if they can figure out on their own how to calculate volume. When reading to kids, it is okay, at times, to just read with joy and enthusiasm without stopping to talk about what they should be thinking, predicting, connecting or synthesizing. And sometimes....you can just do something because it is fun and you just want to spend time building relationships with your students.
Don't forget why you are doing this job. Love what you do and love how you are doing it. Believe in your passion- it will work for the students and they WILL learn.
Friday, April 26, 2019
The Dream Classroom- Meeting Every Learner Where They Are
I have had one of those weeks where I have been quite reflective as I have taken note of just how different each of us are and how amazing it is that we are surrounded by everyday heroes who want to help others and support them. I definitely know this to be true in education. In fact, we all do. We know that students learn in different ways, at different rates, and that they come to us with very different experiences and backgrounds. We also know that we have dedicated educators who chose to go into this field because they care about children and want them to succeed. So, here is my question- Why do we still need IEPs, 504s and other learning plans for accommodations that are really related to the differences in how students learn? Can we not just make learning the goal and then provide students what they need to reach that goal?
In order to meet children where they are in their learning, I know many teachers do use questions like these for all children:
Imagine a world where we set a learning goal and then we let each student get there in his or her own way. If a student needs to take a longer path with more twists and turns to get to the end goal, it is okay. He or she will not be penalized with a lower grade or less exciting assignments, nor will he or she be labeled or ostracized. If a student needs to approach the learning in a different way or needs resources that may be different than the other students, the teacher is able to make it happen. Students are given a voice and they advocate for their learning needs. They partner with their teachers and they have the efficacy to hold themselves accountable to do what is needed to be successful in meeting their learning goals.
So that is it. The answer to my question. Problem solved with a dream come true- BUT STOP RIGHT THERE. The classroom I described may very well exist in some places, but the fact that it is not the norm is not because our teachers do not WANT this for their students. In order for our teachers to create an environment like this, they must know that it is okay for them to take the time necessary to create this kind of environment. They must have class sizes that allow them to provide the individual attention that this kind environment would require. They must know that their students will be assessed for accountability purposes in ways that honor the students' individual needs. They must have the training and support to build and foster first their own efficacy, and then their student's efficacy. Finally, our schools must have the supports necessary to support students' social emotional needs so that they are regulated enough to benefit from an environment like this.
I really want this dream classroom for students, but I am realistic that at this point it is a leader problem and we have work to do in building support. The best way for us to support the work of our teachers in the classroom is to ensure that we have a proper alignment among what we are expecting teachers to do, how we are holding them accountable to those expectations, and the conditions in which we are asking them to meet the expectations.
In order to meet children where they are in their learning, I know many teachers do use questions like these for all children:
- Is there another way I can assess this learning goal?
- Is there a barrier I can easily remove that might help this student?
- Is there a skill not related to this learning goal that is causing the student to struggle? How can I provide a support for that skill?
- How can I use this child's strength as an advantage?
Imagine a world where we set a learning goal and then we let each student get there in his or her own way. If a student needs to take a longer path with more twists and turns to get to the end goal, it is okay. He or she will not be penalized with a lower grade or less exciting assignments, nor will he or she be labeled or ostracized. If a student needs to approach the learning in a different way or needs resources that may be different than the other students, the teacher is able to make it happen. Students are given a voice and they advocate for their learning needs. They partner with their teachers and they have the efficacy to hold themselves accountable to do what is needed to be successful in meeting their learning goals.
So that is it. The answer to my question. Problem solved with a dream come true- BUT STOP RIGHT THERE. The classroom I described may very well exist in some places, but the fact that it is not the norm is not because our teachers do not WANT this for their students. In order for our teachers to create an environment like this, they must know that it is okay for them to take the time necessary to create this kind of environment. They must have class sizes that allow them to provide the individual attention that this kind environment would require. They must know that their students will be assessed for accountability purposes in ways that honor the students' individual needs. They must have the training and support to build and foster first their own efficacy, and then their student's efficacy. Finally, our schools must have the supports necessary to support students' social emotional needs so that they are regulated enough to benefit from an environment like this.
I really want this dream classroom for students, but I am realistic that at this point it is a leader problem and we have work to do in building support. The best way for us to support the work of our teachers in the classroom is to ensure that we have a proper alignment among what we are expecting teachers to do, how we are holding them accountable to those expectations, and the conditions in which we are asking them to meet the expectations.
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Own it!
"You don't have to be somebody different to be important. You're important in your own right."- Michelle Obama.
There have been a couple of things that have happened recently that have fueled my thinking for this post. The first thing was related to reactions to my recent post about worry. I had a number of people comment to me that they were surprised to learn that I am a worrier because I do not give that "vibe" in my daily life. This was laughable to my family, who has tried to have worry added to my name. The other was actually a couple of things that happened yesterday. When I was sharing an update on my vision with our superintendents one year out from sharing my entry plan after being hired into my current position, I shared that I was enjoying some of the connections I was making with some of them and that I was working to get out and connect with all of them, but that it isn't always easy for me. Then later in the day, we had a retired teacher reception and my boss was teasing me about getting in front of the group to talk. My co-workers commented about how it surprises them that some of these situations are hard for me because I am so social, and I owned up to the fact that while I am social, I need to have "my people" and I prefer to be invited in. What is common to both of these situations is that I was willing to completely share and "own" aspects of my personality that some might see as weaknesses, especially considering my profession.
Now, I do have to admit that when I got home last night, I did worry about whether or not my tendency to struggle with "putting myself out there" is a trait that might hinder my ambitions as an administrator and educational consultant. Ultimately, though, I decided that what is important is that I have worked to overcome that struggle. Furthermore, the fact that people are surprised by it indicates that I must do an okay job at overcoming it. In fact, what I could do is just pretend that it isn't a struggle for me and just keep it inside. Maybe then no one will ever know that I have these flaws. This is the focus of my blog for today. As educators, really as people, it is important for us to own who we are. As Brené Brown says in her books and Ted Talks, vulnerability is key to success, relationships, and leadership. I love her work and her ideas always push my thinking. In fact, my professional learning team at work is doing a book study on Brown's book Dare to Lead. Okay- I need to own it- we STARTED to do a book study, then got busy with the holidays, and haven't gotten back to it. (Yes- I realize it is APRIL).
As I think about it from an education viewpoint, I realize just how important this is for teachers. When teachers own their mistakes or weaknesses in front of their students, they are sending a very important message about the imperfections of humans and the need to persevere. They are opening themselves up to their students as human beings who are real and fallible and they are teaching students important lessons about humility and grit. When a teacher can stand in front of his students and tell them that he really struggled with math and had to work extra hard just to keep up or that maybe he did not even like math but now he does, he has just removed pressure from those students who are struggling with math. When a teacher tells stories about how hard it was for her to talk to people that she does not know, she is connecting with students who feel the same way. Furthermore, in both cases, these teachers can talk about how they have, or are working to overcome these things. Or better yet, they can ask for their students to help them with ideas.
This was a little hard for me at first when I was a teacher. I felt like I needed to know everything and be the ideal for my students. It did not take me long, however, to realize that this just could not happen, nor was it good thing. When I had a 5th grade student walk in my room with a 7 pound book about Quantum Physics, saying "Mrs. Bergmann, I have a question." I had absolutely no problem saying, "Michael, if it has anything to do with what you read in that book I am NOT going to be able to help you."
As an administrator, I have never really struggled to "own" the things that I know are not my strength or admitting that there are many things that I do not know how to do. Just ask any of the administrative assistants that I have, or continue to work for. Yes, I said work FOR, because as much as they have worked for me I work for them- I could not do this work without them and they have always known that. I also learned to find teacher leaders who had strengths that complimented my own. If I had any hope of supporting an entire school community, I had to be aware of the areas that were not my strength and find the people on my team who did have those strengths.
When administrators in schools or districts do not make themselves vulnerable and admit to their areas of need, their communities suffer. When a leader does not own his/her areas of weakness and does not find team members to compliment them, it will be impossible to realize a vision for the community. Words can cover for a lack of capacity for a short time, but when there is no skill to back it up, structures fail and that is when the vision for the community is lost.
Students whose teachers are not vulnerable miss out on opportunities to connect, to learn about perseverance, to learn about grit, and to overcome their own insecurities. School communities whose leaders are not vulnerable become lost.
Do not let this be you- OWN IT!!
There have been a couple of things that have happened recently that have fueled my thinking for this post. The first thing was related to reactions to my recent post about worry. I had a number of people comment to me that they were surprised to learn that I am a worrier because I do not give that "vibe" in my daily life. This was laughable to my family, who has tried to have worry added to my name. The other was actually a couple of things that happened yesterday. When I was sharing an update on my vision with our superintendents one year out from sharing my entry plan after being hired into my current position, I shared that I was enjoying some of the connections I was making with some of them and that I was working to get out and connect with all of them, but that it isn't always easy for me. Then later in the day, we had a retired teacher reception and my boss was teasing me about getting in front of the group to talk. My co-workers commented about how it surprises them that some of these situations are hard for me because I am so social, and I owned up to the fact that while I am social, I need to have "my people" and I prefer to be invited in. What is common to both of these situations is that I was willing to completely share and "own" aspects of my personality that some might see as weaknesses, especially considering my profession.
Now, I do have to admit that when I got home last night, I did worry about whether or not my tendency to struggle with "putting myself out there" is a trait that might hinder my ambitions as an administrator and educational consultant. Ultimately, though, I decided that what is important is that I have worked to overcome that struggle. Furthermore, the fact that people are surprised by it indicates that I must do an okay job at overcoming it. In fact, what I could do is just pretend that it isn't a struggle for me and just keep it inside. Maybe then no one will ever know that I have these flaws. This is the focus of my blog for today. As educators, really as people, it is important for us to own who we are. As Brené Brown says in her books and Ted Talks, vulnerability is key to success, relationships, and leadership. I love her work and her ideas always push my thinking. In fact, my professional learning team at work is doing a book study on Brown's book Dare to Lead. Okay- I need to own it- we STARTED to do a book study, then got busy with the holidays, and haven't gotten back to it. (Yes- I realize it is APRIL).
As I think about it from an education viewpoint, I realize just how important this is for teachers. When teachers own their mistakes or weaknesses in front of their students, they are sending a very important message about the imperfections of humans and the need to persevere. They are opening themselves up to their students as human beings who are real and fallible and they are teaching students important lessons about humility and grit. When a teacher can stand in front of his students and tell them that he really struggled with math and had to work extra hard just to keep up or that maybe he did not even like math but now he does, he has just removed pressure from those students who are struggling with math. When a teacher tells stories about how hard it was for her to talk to people that she does not know, she is connecting with students who feel the same way. Furthermore, in both cases, these teachers can talk about how they have, or are working to overcome these things. Or better yet, they can ask for their students to help them with ideas.
This was a little hard for me at first when I was a teacher. I felt like I needed to know everything and be the ideal for my students. It did not take me long, however, to realize that this just could not happen, nor was it good thing. When I had a 5th grade student walk in my room with a 7 pound book about Quantum Physics, saying "Mrs. Bergmann, I have a question." I had absolutely no problem saying, "Michael, if it has anything to do with what you read in that book I am NOT going to be able to help you."
As an administrator, I have never really struggled to "own" the things that I know are not my strength or admitting that there are many things that I do not know how to do. Just ask any of the administrative assistants that I have, or continue to work for. Yes, I said work FOR, because as much as they have worked for me I work for them- I could not do this work without them and they have always known that. I also learned to find teacher leaders who had strengths that complimented my own. If I had any hope of supporting an entire school community, I had to be aware of the areas that were not my strength and find the people on my team who did have those strengths.
When administrators in schools or districts do not make themselves vulnerable and admit to their areas of need, their communities suffer. When a leader does not own his/her areas of weakness and does not find team members to compliment them, it will be impossible to realize a vision for the community. Words can cover for a lack of capacity for a short time, but when there is no skill to back it up, structures fail and that is when the vision for the community is lost.
Students whose teachers are not vulnerable miss out on opportunities to connect, to learn about perseverance, to learn about grit, and to overcome their own insecurities. School communities whose leaders are not vulnerable become lost.
Do not let this be you- OWN IT!!
Thursday, April 4, 2019
Compliance or Learning?
I was talking to a friend the other day about my frustrations with the amount of governmental interference there seems to be in education. I feel like there is way too much time and focus on the things that we are "required" to do that often have little to do with the actual teaching and learning that we as educators are most passionate about. All of the mandates and policies that require teachers to jump through hoops are causing fatigue and frustration for our educators. They have great skill and I, for one, want them to be set free to put all of their time and effort into applying that skill to what they do best and that is teach students, or ignite learning in students. As an administrator, I am dedicated to protecting the teachers from the onslaught of compliance driven tasks.
As I continue to grapple with this problem and think about how best to tackle it, I do have to wonder whether our students have a similar plight. Are they also frustrated and fatigued by a system that is more focused on compliance than learning? Certainly, the traditional schooling model that was built on the behaviorist theory of learning had a very heavy compliance component. However, we now know so much more about how students learn and about the social emotional needs of students. We know the importance of a healthy balance.
Think about your own classroom. Is your focus more on learning or compliance? Both are important, but it is important that compliance does not become a barrier to learning. Ask yourself these two questions:
Are there students who struggle academically simply because they are non compliant?
Are there students who succeed academically simply because they are compliant?
In the first case, you may have a student who is interested in learning, but will quickly lose interest because of a perceived lack of success. In the second case, you may have a student who appears to succeed but has learned nothing. By this, I mean the student who came into class with high skills and simply played the game by being compliant but did not grow in his/her learning at all. In both cases, it is possible the student will get frustrated by their lack of learning and give up on school and learning.
You may have said no to both questions and that is great. I know that we have come a long way and that is exciting. You may have said yes to one or both questions. Decide if it is something you want to address and then evaluate your practice to find a small adjustment that you can make as a first step.
I am, by no means, saying that compliance is not important. It definitely is. I am just encouraging balance. Recently I was interviewing a friend who teaches 7th grade Social Studies in a school with a challenging population. I asked her to describe the kind of student who gets the highest marks in her class and she started out by saying "Well, that is most of them..." I asked her why she thought it was most of them and she said that they are just always busy and engaged in a variety of tasks and she just doesn't let anyone off the hook. She tells them exactly what the target is and helps them get there. I think that if you focus on learning and your students know that, you don't have to worry so much about compliance.
As I continue to grapple with this problem and think about how best to tackle it, I do have to wonder whether our students have a similar plight. Are they also frustrated and fatigued by a system that is more focused on compliance than learning? Certainly, the traditional schooling model that was built on the behaviorist theory of learning had a very heavy compliance component. However, we now know so much more about how students learn and about the social emotional needs of students. We know the importance of a healthy balance.
Think about your own classroom. Is your focus more on learning or compliance? Both are important, but it is important that compliance does not become a barrier to learning. Ask yourself these two questions:
Are there students who struggle academically simply because they are non compliant?
Are there students who succeed academically simply because they are compliant?
In the first case, you may have a student who is interested in learning, but will quickly lose interest because of a perceived lack of success. In the second case, you may have a student who appears to succeed but has learned nothing. By this, I mean the student who came into class with high skills and simply played the game by being compliant but did not grow in his/her learning at all. In both cases, it is possible the student will get frustrated by their lack of learning and give up on school and learning.
You may have said no to both questions and that is great. I know that we have come a long way and that is exciting. You may have said yes to one or both questions. Decide if it is something you want to address and then evaluate your practice to find a small adjustment that you can make as a first step.
I am, by no means, saying that compliance is not important. It definitely is. I am just encouraging balance. Recently I was interviewing a friend who teaches 7th grade Social Studies in a school with a challenging population. I asked her to describe the kind of student who gets the highest marks in her class and she started out by saying "Well, that is most of them..." I asked her why she thought it was most of them and she said that they are just always busy and engaged in a variety of tasks and she just doesn't let anyone off the hook. She tells them exactly what the target is and helps them get there. I think that if you focus on learning and your students know that, you don't have to worry so much about compliance.
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Reduce worry by giving the power back to the teachers
I am a worrier. I am really good at it. In fact, I believe I have actually perfected it. So, when I found out that that the sermon this week was titled "How do I stop worrying?" I was pretty sure it was going to be a time of intense reflection for me. I was not surprised to find myself connecting to much of what I heard about worrying and how it impacts our lives; however I was not expecting to begin connecting some of the educational leadership concepts that I have recently been grappling with.
I love teachers, but I am worried about them (see? I am really good at it). I hear from too many teachers who are feeling stressed and under appreciated. I hear stories about teachers leaving the field and young people who are being counseled to consider non teaching careers. I know that we need a substantial disruption in education that results in significant changes, so I have been exploring change theories and trying to synthesize them with my own thoughts about what I know and believe about educators. During this sermon, I found myself putting some of these pieces together.
As I was thinking about worry, and especially the concept of worrying about things that we cannot possibly control I thought about teachers and how often teachers have the added stress of worry. They worry about whether their students are learning, whether they are have their basic needs met before they come to school and whether they will be successful in the future. Teachers also worry about teaching all of the content they are supposed to teach. They worry about having enough grades in the grade book, having the right grades in the grade book and whether parents will agree with the grades in the grade book. They worry about their evaluations and whether or not their best teacher selves will be clear to their evaluator. As I thought about this, I realized that NONE of this worry actually helps teachers do what they got into this profession to do, which is to teach children and have a positive impact on their future.
It occurred to me that I worry the most when I feel that factors are out of my control. This made me realize that much of what is adding to teacher stress and anxiety, and ultimately WORRY is the many changes that are occurring that are completely out of their control. A few months ago, when discussing my research with Cale Birk, he shared the idea of the Learner Centered Design Model when implementing change as a way to include the learners in the change process. Around the same time I had conversations with Jenni Donohoo about the power of collective teacher efficacy and collaborative inquiry when attempting to engage in the change process. These discussions left me questioning the structures we have been using to implement change in education. One thing I now know is that the solution must have the teachers at the center.
I don't have answers yet, but I am basing much of my thinking on Ronald Heifetz's work around technical v. adaptive challenges because I think that one problem is that we are trying to address many educational changes as technical problems by simply applying protocols or bringing in the work of the "experts" to dictate what we need to do. The reality is that most issues we are facing in education are adaptive and they require changes in beliefs and thinking, which will only happen if the educators making the changes are actually engaged in the work. The Professional Capital Theory from Fullan and Hargreaves seems to provide the perfect framework to guide this adaptive work. I really like the fact that professional capital values the difficult and complex nature of teaching as well as the power of collaboration. The decisional capital component of professional capital is the piece that I see missing from education and the key to building the collective teacher efficacy which will promote greater teacher satisfaction and student achievement.
Clearly this is a work in progress in my head, and needs much refinement and development, but what I do know is that teachers must be the ones driving the change. We, as administrators, are not doing them any favors by making the decisions for them.
I love teachers, but I am worried about them (see? I am really good at it). I hear from too many teachers who are feeling stressed and under appreciated. I hear stories about teachers leaving the field and young people who are being counseled to consider non teaching careers. I know that we need a substantial disruption in education that results in significant changes, so I have been exploring change theories and trying to synthesize them with my own thoughts about what I know and believe about educators. During this sermon, I found myself putting some of these pieces together.
As I was thinking about worry, and especially the concept of worrying about things that we cannot possibly control I thought about teachers and how often teachers have the added stress of worry. They worry about whether their students are learning, whether they are have their basic needs met before they come to school and whether they will be successful in the future. Teachers also worry about teaching all of the content they are supposed to teach. They worry about having enough grades in the grade book, having the right grades in the grade book and whether parents will agree with the grades in the grade book. They worry about their evaluations and whether or not their best teacher selves will be clear to their evaluator. As I thought about this, I realized that NONE of this worry actually helps teachers do what they got into this profession to do, which is to teach children and have a positive impact on their future.
It occurred to me that I worry the most when I feel that factors are out of my control. This made me realize that much of what is adding to teacher stress and anxiety, and ultimately WORRY is the many changes that are occurring that are completely out of their control. A few months ago, when discussing my research with Cale Birk, he shared the idea of the Learner Centered Design Model when implementing change as a way to include the learners in the change process. Around the same time I had conversations with Jenni Donohoo about the power of collective teacher efficacy and collaborative inquiry when attempting to engage in the change process. These discussions left me questioning the structures we have been using to implement change in education. One thing I now know is that the solution must have the teachers at the center.
I don't have answers yet, but I am basing much of my thinking on Ronald Heifetz's work around technical v. adaptive challenges because I think that one problem is that we are trying to address many educational changes as technical problems by simply applying protocols or bringing in the work of the "experts" to dictate what we need to do. The reality is that most issues we are facing in education are adaptive and they require changes in beliefs and thinking, which will only happen if the educators making the changes are actually engaged in the work. The Professional Capital Theory from Fullan and Hargreaves seems to provide the perfect framework to guide this adaptive work. I really like the fact that professional capital values the difficult and complex nature of teaching as well as the power of collaboration. The decisional capital component of professional capital is the piece that I see missing from education and the key to building the collective teacher efficacy which will promote greater teacher satisfaction and student achievement.
Clearly this is a work in progress in my head, and needs much refinement and development, but what I do know is that teachers must be the ones driving the change. We, as administrators, are not doing them any favors by making the decisions for them.
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Learn from your mistakes Part 2
As I reflected on my blog from yesterday, I realized I should have kept going. This idea of being willing to learn from our mistakes is a concern for adults, too. I often interact with people who are not comfortable with the idea that they might mess something up. Even adults learn from mistakes, though! Just ask my family about the time when I tried to substitute Frosted Flakes for Corn Flakes when making baked chicken. Big Mistake! Lesson Learned!
It is heartbreaking for me when I hear teachers say that they are afraid to try something new or innovative because they don't want to mess it up. These are the same people that we desperately need to send the message to students that mistakes are good, that we need to take risks, and that we can only learn when we try something new and especially when we try something new that doesn't work the first time! It makes me think of the time when I had a teacher who took a risk and tried something new when I was observing her. The lesson did not go as she intended. The students were confused, she had to stop the lesson and pivot. She admitted to the students that her lesson did not go as she had hoped and that the next day they would need to re-visit the lesson. She was absolutely shocked when we had our post conference and I had marked her as excellent. I pointed out to her that she challenged herself to try something new, she recognized that she needed to make a change, she communicated with her students and made herself vulnerable, and she reflected on the lesson in order to make plans for the next day. Then, I said, "That is excellent teaching and your students are fortunate to have a teacher who is continuing to learn."
As leaders in the schools, it is our job to not only encourage our teachers to take risks and make mistakes, but insist on it. I was fortunate to have a principal many years ago who let my co-worker and I try something new with our students in their writing. We were not happy with the form writing that we were teaching in order to prepare students for the state assessment. Instead, we focused on getting thoughts on paper in any form, emphasizing creativity and descriptive writing with no emphasis on structured five paragraph essays. By the end of the year, our kids were producing beautiful writing and they loved to write. Unfortunately our test scores did not reflect the improvement at all, in fact the scores dropped. We took a risk and we learned that we needed to find a healthy balance in our writing instruction. Our principal responded with nothing but encouragement and praise for challenging ourselves to do what we felt was best for our kids. From that moment forward, I was never afraid to make a mistake in my classroom because I knew I had support and I knew that my students would benefit in the end.
Let's work together to encourage risk taking and celebrate the learning that occurs from making mistakes. Of course, it is okay to emphasize the fact that while mistakes is encouraged, it is a mistake to keep making the same mistake!
It is heartbreaking for me when I hear teachers say that they are afraid to try something new or innovative because they don't want to mess it up. These are the same people that we desperately need to send the message to students that mistakes are good, that we need to take risks, and that we can only learn when we try something new and especially when we try something new that doesn't work the first time! It makes me think of the time when I had a teacher who took a risk and tried something new when I was observing her. The lesson did not go as she intended. The students were confused, she had to stop the lesson and pivot. She admitted to the students that her lesson did not go as she had hoped and that the next day they would need to re-visit the lesson. She was absolutely shocked when we had our post conference and I had marked her as excellent. I pointed out to her that she challenged herself to try something new, she recognized that she needed to make a change, she communicated with her students and made herself vulnerable, and she reflected on the lesson in order to make plans for the next day. Then, I said, "That is excellent teaching and your students are fortunate to have a teacher who is continuing to learn."
As leaders in the schools, it is our job to not only encourage our teachers to take risks and make mistakes, but insist on it. I was fortunate to have a principal many years ago who let my co-worker and I try something new with our students in their writing. We were not happy with the form writing that we were teaching in order to prepare students for the state assessment. Instead, we focused on getting thoughts on paper in any form, emphasizing creativity and descriptive writing with no emphasis on structured five paragraph essays. By the end of the year, our kids were producing beautiful writing and they loved to write. Unfortunately our test scores did not reflect the improvement at all, in fact the scores dropped. We took a risk and we learned that we needed to find a healthy balance in our writing instruction. Our principal responded with nothing but encouragement and praise for challenging ourselves to do what we felt was best for our kids. From that moment forward, I was never afraid to make a mistake in my classroom because I knew I had support and I knew that my students would benefit in the end.
Let's work together to encourage risk taking and celebrate the learning that occurs from making mistakes. Of course, it is okay to emphasize the fact that while mistakes is encouraged, it is a mistake to keep making the same mistake!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)