368 Search Results for "Arlington"

• Marva_Tutt1

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• My First University Observatio My First University Observation

  • From: Trevor_Fritz
  • Description:

     

    After almost 2 weeks of observing and helping out in class, it was time for me to take over for a day for my Indiana University observation. My teacher had a substitute for the day; therefore it was all on me to come up with a lesson plan. I knew it had to be successful because not only did I have to show my University observer that I could teach, but it was my first time solely taking charge of the classroom.  The subject of the class is Civics and with Martin Luther King Day 2 days prior and also Obama's Inauguration, I felt that this would tie into our unit on voting and civil rights.  I was almost surprised how comfortable I felt walking in and commanding the students' attention. I think that they were even surprised by the confidence I showed. It started off rocky as I fumbled around with the projector setup and my laptop, but I kept my composure and continued questioning them on the bell ringer. The lesson was based around a few primary documents from Malcolm X and MLK.  I tried to make some connections between the students’ daily lives and their unwillingness to vote in elections and how hard these men fought for these rights. After recapping the lesson I thought it went awesome (for my first time), but the list of improvements was endless.  After class I spoke with my University Observer and she had some great recommendations for me in terms of classroom management and changes in the lesson.  She also had many positives for me as well. I listed both recommendations and positives I received below:

    Recommendations:

    - Make more connections to the students’ daily lives

    - Give them more time on assignments

    - SLOW DOWN and do not rush

     

    Positives:

    - Confidence and commanding in tone of voice

    - Various innovative activities (texting poll, KWL, online T Chart, etc.)

    - Use of primary sources

     

  • Blog post
  • 4 months ago
  • Views: 238
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• Jodi_Peterson

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  • Views: 67
  • Since: 4 months ago
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• Amanda_Guelzow

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• Trevor_Fritz

  • ASCD EDge Member
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  • Views: 288
  • Since: 4 months ago

• Charles_Syby

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  • Since: 6 months ago
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• Are there Perks to Tests? Are there Perks to Tests?

  • From: Kevin_Scott
  • Description:

    “Oh, man, I just realized we don’t have the Stanford tests today at school. Yesterday was the last day,” My fourth grader says out loud as he’s packing his backpack for school this morning.  As an educator and a student, I was never a fan of standardized testing. In fact, I get pretty close to a flop sweat when I start to think about the SAT experience more than 20 years ago.  So I need more info from my older son.

     

    “Wait, you like the Stanford test? Why?” I asked.

     

    “It’s easy. And I can get through it really fast. And we get a snack after it’s over.” Now it was starting to become clear why he likes the testing, but he kept going.

     

    “I like the SOLs too [in Virginia the state wide test has the unfortunate name that translates to Standards of Learning]. They’re pretty easy and we get extra recess after the test is over. But I only like the ones we do on the computer. I hate the paper tests.”

     

     

    I got it. In his mind standardized testing equals snacks, extra recess, and time on a computer. The fact that he said these are easy tests concerns me. While I had terrible test taking experiences, I’m glad he’s confident in his abilities. And yes, it concerns me that he’s soooo confident.  I asked one more question.

     

    “Do you think other kids like the tests too?”

     

    “I guess so. We had a lot of tests already this year so we’re getting used to it.”

     

    This two minute conversation really got me thinking, especially about the numbing effect the tests are having on this generation of students. Yesterday at a meeting I was in we discussed a new report that my colleagues assembled regarding the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Virginia is one of just four states that did not adopt the CCSS, so the recommendations and findings from the report will not apply to my kids, at least directly, but there are common themes with these standards. Standardized tests (in some form) are not going to go away anytime soon and my boys will be taking adaptive and technology-rich tests for their entire school career. My hope is the side-effect of those tests makes them less intimidating for students, like it has for my older son, and he’ll continue to be confident as he tackles them in the future. Of course, all of my thinking could change dramatically when I see the results of those tests, so time will tell. I wonder what you’re seeing around the country with your students and if you think American students are just becoming somewhat aloof test takers.

    Follow me on Twitter: @Edu_Kevin_ 

  • Blog post
  • 6 months ago
  • Views: 358

• My Reality Check My Reality Check

  • From: Walter_McKenzie
  • Description:

    How do you know if your worldview is based in reality…if your expectations are well-grounded? You need reliable perspective. How do you get solid perspective? You step outside of your own realm of experience and see how others live.

     

    In my fourteenth year of teaching, I was also leading a number of professional development offerings for Spotsylvania County Schools. And like so many of us in ed tech, I was being pushed more and more to train colleagues on technology. It was at this point in my career that the husband of one of my workshop attendees approached me. “I hear you’re really good. Why not do what you do well for more money?”  He worked for a consulting firm that worked with government agencies and private sector firms. They needed a technology trainer.

     

    More money caught my attention…that and the offered title of Senior Technology Trainer made it tempting. After all, there weren’t many options for upward mobility within K-12 other than building and district administration. If I accepted the offer, I would be working at the Department of Housing and Urban Development right in downtown DC. My kids were young…not even in Kindergarten yet…so I asked for an assurance that I wouldn’t be doing a lot of traveling and I got it. It was June, the end of the school year…the perfect time to make the move. And so I did.

     

    What a different world. Starting on day one I hit the ground running, meeting with HUD staff, learning every application used within the agency, and developing and delivering training. I was also on call for technology user questions, as happy clients got you “atta boy” letters of commendation that my consulting firm valued and would use to pay me bonuses and raises. What a different model from public education!

     

    I was in the fast lane and on the fast track. Everything moved quickly. I would login on any given morning at my desk and a message would pop up saying “Joe So-and-So no longer works here. Please send all requests for assistance concerning his projects to Cathy Such-and-Such.” I quickly learned that no one was indispensible and you’re only as good as your last success. I also learned that once you’re in, you’re in for whatever the client needs. So even though I had been given an assurance from my consulting firm I wouldn’t be traveling much, within a few months I was being asked by the client to travel to HUD field offices around the country: Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco. No room for hesitation. No questions asked. And so I traveled.

     

    At the same time I was taking a course in instructional design with a brilliant professor who worked for the Arlington, Virginia Public Schools. The course gave me a lot of tools for my work at HUD, but it also reminded me of everything I loved about working in education. Over the course of the semester it was a source of substance and sustenance. I needed to keep learning and growing, even as I met the rigorous demands of life as a contractor. We got through the Y2K scare, during which I spent New Years Eve into the next morning manning phones in the event any of our systems went down as a result of entering the new millennium. Then came the change of administration in the White House, which meant changes for every federal agency from the top on down.

     

    Talks of shake-ups and turn-over started in January, and my more veteran consulting colleagues talked me through everything coming into play as the change in the air was palpable. I kept my head down and my eyes on my work. Rumors circulated and the pressure ratcheted up as workers worried what the change would mean for them. We had huge meetings in packed rooms where HUD administrators spoke cryptically about what lay ahead, offering equal doses of caution and reassurance as nervousness turned to anxiety.

     

    Finally in April the announcement came down immediately and all at once. A large number of workers were being let go and the new Secretary would be looking at major reorganization within the agency. My supervisor and all my tech-training consultant colleagues were let go. Inexplicably, I was the only tech trainer left standing. I was stunned. How was this possible? Why was I spared the axe? What do I say to all these people I had been working with closely who were coming in that day to clean out their desks and be escorted out by security? It was a very tough, very real-world lesson about so many of the assumptions I brought with me from public education. Job security, seniority, loyalty…nothing is guaranteed. I was so grateful to still have a job but so shaken by the reality of life outside K-12.

     

    Later that year, after much soul-searching, my instructional design professor suggested I apply for a job as an Instructional Technology Coordinator with the Arlington, Virginia Public Schools. I missed education, and even though the job and the money as a consultant were good, when Arlington made an offer I accepted. I knew I was an educator at heart and I needed to come back where my instructional background could make a difference as technology continued to make its way into classrooms.

     

    I eventually moved on to become a technology director and ultimately an assistant superintendent for data and technology. But I never forgot the perspective I gained working outside of education for that one segment of my career. It was a reality check. It changed me. I no longer feel entitled to anything. I am grateful to have meaningful work helping teachers and students. And I understand that giving my all in that work is the true definition of being a consummate professional…even as I have moved from K-12 to working for the world’s leading professional education association. Everything else is secondary, and in some cases, a distraction. We can lose our way…our sense of what’s important…important to us personally and as professionals.

     

    As we prepare to vote next week and move forward in education, I encourage you to find an opportunity to gain new perspective. Even if it’s volunteer work, or summer work, or a sabbatical…whatever options you might have…get out there and experience the world outside of education. Get new perspective. It will change how you see your work and how you view your self as an educator.

     

    Mirror site: http://surfaquarium.blogspot.com/
    

    Walter’s blog archive: http://surfaquarium.com/blog.htm

  • Blog post
  • 7 months ago
  • Views: 1205

• Time to Vote! Time to Vote!

  • From: Kevin_Scott
  • Description:

    Every American knows it’s election season. Actually, it’s hard to remember when it’s not election season since it feels like we’ve been enduring campaign ads for so long. In the DC area, we are bombarded with mail, phone, radio, and TV spots due to Virginia being one of the “battleground” states.

    My boys, in 2^nd and 4^th grade, have been asking a lot more questions than they did four years ago, when they were emerging readers or not really paying attention to what’s going on outside of their own world of playdates and toys. I guess it began a few weeks ago with the question, “Why are there so many of those signs on the side of the road? Does the person with most signs win or something?” That’s a question I have a hard time answering. I despise those signs so all I could reply was, “I hope people don’t vote that way, but maybe some people do.” My second grader was recently voted in as the student government representative for his class, and is getting interested in how civic matters work. He told me, “When I get to vote I’m going to read about the person and figure out if I should vote for them, not just look at a bunch of signs.” Since I knew there were no roadside signs at his school, I asked him about the process of how he won the election.

    “Well, our teacher asked for a boy and a girl to be reps for the class. I raised my hand and said I wanted to do it this year.”
    “Did you have to campaign or promise anything to your classmates that you would do?”
    “No, I just told them I would go to the student council meetings and tell them what’s going on. I had to say three or four things about myself to the class and why I should be the rep. I told them that I love to write, I read 20 minutes a night, I’m a good listener, and I’ll bring your ideas to the meetings.”
    “So, what do you have to do?” I asked.
    “My responsibility is to go to the meetings and listen to the president and the principal talk about things like wacky hair day or other spirit days, and I help tell the class about that.”

    He hasn’t gone to any meetings yet, but at today’s parent conference his teacher told us how excited he was to be voted in. If this is his first picture of how government works, albeit at the elementary school level, I truly hope it’s a lot more functional than what we see in our presidential campaigns. To be honest, maybe our leaders can take a lesson from the simplicity of this second grade election process. Who among us wouldn’t love a quicker course of action?

  • Blog post
  • 7 months ago
  • Views: 392

• Top 12 Websites for Beginning Top 12 Websites for Beginning ELLs

  • From: Judie_Haynes
  • Description:

    Top 12 Websites to Scaffold Instruction for Beginning ELLs

    by Judie Haynes

    When teaching beginning level English language learners, it is essential to provide scaffolding so that students can access content area information. Scaffolding new information in English is a valuable strategy when teaching in the content areas but it is not enough for students who speak very limited English.  Beginning ELLs will have a better chance of benefiting from scaffolds if they have been introduced to key vocabulary and concepts in their native language first. There are an increasing amount of materials online in a variety of languages. Here are some of the Websites that provide information in other languages.

    1. Childtopia provides content area activities for beginning ELs in English and 5 other languages. Grades K-8/
    2. CNN en Español  or CNN in Arabic When studying current events, beginning ELs can follow the events in either Spanish or Arabic on CNN.  Grades 7-12
    3. Cuentos y Más is on the Arlington, VA Public Library website.  Storyteller Mariela Aguilar and some special guests perform bilingual stories and more for children in Grades pre-K-3.
    4. Education Place is a website that provides graphic organizers for students in English and Spanish.  Grades K-12
    5. Google supports more than 104 languages or dialects and offers a personalized version of his engine for more than 115 countries. Have students from Korea, for example, go to Google Korea and search for information in Korean.  Grades 5-12.
    6. Google Cultural Institute is an outstanding resource for students of world cultures.  The narration is in English but there are translations of the speech into a great number of languages under each image.  Grades 5-12.
    7. Google Translate provides translation from English to over 60 other languages.  Users of this site must be aware that the translations are sometimes unreliable.  However, native speakers of the language will be able to get the gist of what is being said.  Grades 5-12.
    8. New York Science Teacher New York Science Teacher provides list of key vocabulary words in different science discipline in 7 languages.  Grades 7-12.
    9. Pumerosa is a website that provides practice for students who are beginning English learners.   Instructions can be read in many different languages.  Grades 7-12.
    10. Simple English Wiktionary is an online dictionary. It provides definitions for ELs in  simple language.  It also provides a definition of vocabulary in English in a variety of languages.  Grades 5-12.
    11. Wikipedia and Simple English Wikipedia is available in a large variety of languages and provides native language access to information for ELs.  Teachers may want to check articles for accuracy of content information. Grades 5-12.
    12. Windows to the Universe Windows to the Universe is a website that provides information about science topics in three levels of English as well as in Spanish. Grades 5-12.

    The Essential Guide for Educating Beginning English Learners by Debbie Zacarian & Judie Haynes  Corwin, 2012.

    

  • Blog post
  • 7 months ago
  • Views: 801

• What are You Watching? What are You Watching?

  • From: Kevin_Scott
  • Description:

    About a week ago, I tweeted out a link to a study about children and TV viewing, focusing on social bullying. As a Generation X dad who grew up with TV characters like Alex P. Keaton, Richie Cunningham, and Theo Huxtable (as well as many others), TV was an easy escape for me. And I'm not going to lie to you, I watch TV. A lot of people pride themselves on not watching any and that's great, but I'm here to say that I enjoy watching TV. There, I said it.

     

    When my boys were younger my wife and I did a lot to limit their viewing. Being responsible parents we tried to avoid it at all costs and controlled what they saw, especially before age two. We bought the Baby Einstein videos and we don't often admit to showing those to our kids so we could get chores done around the house, but we did. As they got older and we progressed from PBS to Noggin to Nick, Jr., we felt that we needed to intercept the remote and set some ground rules. They would only be allowed to watch shows we recorded on the DVR. Commercials were to be fast-forwarded through. We set the parental codes on shows that were not rated G. We were becoming tele-totalitarians quickly. Yet I could live with it because I knew the commercials were junk and we had to set the rules early for them (true story, one morning my younger son woke us up saying, "Mom, you HAVE to get the perfect brownie pan, it makes perfect brownies EVERY TIME.").

     

    The study I referenced talks about the social, not physical, bullying that is often mimicked in children about once every four minutes on TV. Many of the behaviors noted are aimed at hurting the self-esteem of the target through verbal jabs, sarcasm, or name-calling, to point out a few. As educators, we know that this is a serious issue and bullying takes a real toll on not just the social development of children, but their academic performance as well.

     

    I asked both boys about TV the other day, just to see how they perceive TV characters and if it impacts their own behavior. When I asked, "Do you think you imitate the way people act on TV?" they both said yes immediately. I followed up with, "is that something you think about before you act or is it just automatic?" Their response was a little coy. "I don't really think about that, I just act like some of the kids I see on TV sometimes. Like I might tell my friends a joke I saw on TV or talk about a funny story from a show I watch."

     

    As we talked, I tried to probe a little deeper. I asked, "Do you roll your eyes at kids at school or use the mean words you hear on TV toward others?" They both answered “no” right away. I'd like to believe them, but they started to catch on that I was leading the witness.

     

    As we talked more, I started to ask about their friends and other kids they see at school. I wondered if they noticed other kids saying phrases or ‘jokes’ they’ve heard and know not to repeat. Both boys told me about how their friends will say things that are exactly what a character says on a show they watch. When I pressed for an example, they were only able to tell me about sportscasters’ phrases that they hear most often. Even though sports aren't included in this study, it made me wonder about the images in the commercials during a Sunday afternoon football game, but that's another topic entirely.

     

    Since that tweet (if you’re not following me, I’m @Edu_Kevin_) I sent out, I've certainly paid more attention to what my 2nd and 4th graders are watching and started raising questions when I see something that's a teachable moment about behaviors. Did my parents do this with me? Absolutely not. Did I turn out okay? I think I'm doing okay--but TV is different and there's a lot more of it to consume. As a self-admitted TV devotee, I know I'll be paying more attention from now on.

     

  • Blog post
  • 7 months ago
  • Views: 331

• BTSN BTSN

  • From: Kevin_Scott
  • Description:

    Last night was Back to School Night (BTSN) at the school where my boys spend their days. It’s the fourth back to school night we’ve attended there, and not much has changed over the years. I would imagine that if we went back in time and visited that same school over the last twenty years, not much has changed. Sure, the teachers used a Smartboard to display their PowerPoint and they discussed new technology like iPads and iPods, but I would guess that the message and presentation was virtually the same.

    The evening starts out how you might imagine. Hundreds of parents crammed into the cafeteria, a short talk from the principal, a quick game of ‘pass the microphone’ so the specialist teachers can introduce themselves. Then the PTA presidential message about volunteering and we are dismissed to grade level presentations.

    There we learn about homework expectations, grading policies, what field trips are scheduled, call for classroom volunteers, etc. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about my colleague Molly McCloskey’s post last year (eerily enough, exactly one year ago). In case you missed it or forgot her message (“the traditional back to school night is really, for me, the epitome of this dysfunction.”), it’s worth a read of the entire post here. Essentially, she says, we need to re-design these opportunities for teachers and school leaders to converse. It shouldn’t be a one way street. And it got me thinking about the number of schools around the country that do BTSN the same way, year after year, and in our world of connectivity and constant changes, the format of this time in schools has been the same since our parents were attending them when we were in elementary school.

    When I talked about what back to school night meant to my boys, they were excited to share more about their prep for the big show. “Dad, did you see how clean my desk was? I spent like half an hour cleaning it out,” my older boy told me. Of course, this made me wonder how messy it had become in just three weeks of school. He wrote us a note and we were asked to write him back. His teacher is new to the school and full of energy, which we were enthusiastic about seeing firsthand. In fact, once the grade level presentation was over, we really felt like we got a sense about who she was and her personality. My younger son asked what we did exactly, and when I tried to explain, he said, “That sounds boring.” Can I argue with that?

    Both boys wanted us to share more about their other teachers—music, art, Spanish, P.E., and technology. They asked, “Do you meet them too?” Nope—they just got introduced in front of the cafeteria. We were invited to visit with them somehow between the presentations in classrooms, and before 8:30 when we’re reminded BTSN is over via the PA system.

    I wondered, “what if these teachers and administrators taught my kids in this fashion?” I know they don’t and I know that they do great things with the students (and yes, if I needed hard data, test scores can back me up). I really try to keep all of these thoughts to myself because I value the opportunity and the exposure to the school but I know we can do better. When I was teaching, one of the principals I worked with told us to tell the parents about you. Talk about why you chose this profession, what your passions are, what you hope to teach their children. Save the homework policy and grading structure for an email.

    I have ten more years of back to school nights ahead of me—I would love it if something changed in those ten years. I may be one of the few that view the whole experience as a missed opportunity.

  • Blog post
  • 8 months ago
  • Views: 446

• Lia_Marvucic

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  • Views: 44
  • Since: 8 months ago
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• 9/12 9/12

  • From: Kevin_Scott
  • Description:

    Remember that day after the attacks? Most of us were still numb and in disbelief. The skies were quiet, the images were embedded in our minds, and many of us in the metro DC area were given a day off from work and school. As a country, we mourned, but we were united like no other time I could remember. As a certified member of Generation X, this was a new moment for Americans my age. We were too young to remember Vietnam vividly, heard stories from our grandparents about WWII, but for the most part we had never seen or experienced anything like 9/11. And then we were thrown into action, whether it was leading a classroom, a school, a battalion of firefighters, or a group of soldiers. I was born and raised on Long Island and that skyline was something I admittedly took for granted. I’ve lived in the DC area almost half my life and call it home now. In case you weren’t sure, these attacks hit me hard.

    So I asked my sons (2^nd and 4^th graders) about what they knew about 9/11. It was a bold move for me, since the day brings back such raw emotions. You see, they weren’t even close to being born yet (’03 and ’05 birth years) and until this year I haven’t felt that we could talk about it with them.

    At their elementary school, a whiteboard welcomes them daily with a message of hope, a quote, or an announcement from the office. Of course, yesterday there was a message about 9/11. So I asked them at dinner, “What do you know about September 11^th?”

    My older boy jumped in immediately and talked about an acrostic poem that they wrote as a class. He remembered talking about the military a lot. He looked cautiously at my wife and me before getting into too many details to spare our 2^nd grader from the specifics. Understandably, the combined 1^st and 2^nd grade class he’s in didn’t talk about it at all. As our older son explained how planes flew into buildings, he didn’t know that they were passenger planes. “Like the planes we fly on?” he asked. As we talked, there were many questions that I anticipated that were difficult to discuss, even after 11 years. “Why would they do that? Is that why we’re at war? Where did the buildings go?”

    We kept our answers short and factual. I read the 9/11 Memorial suggestions on how to talk to children about the event earlier in the day, and I did my best to follow those guidelines. When we talked about the fact that our country has been at war for their entire life and it all began as a result of 9/11, they were shocked. “So, is that longer than World War II?” “More than twice as long,” I answered.

    I was a 7^th grade history teacher that day and my school is on the flight path for Dulles airport, so every day I watched planes arrive and depart out of the corner of my eye, perhaps even flight 77 that eventually made its way to the Pentagon. That day was like no other, as you’d imagine, and I tried to explain to the boys what it was like to be in a school. They were curious if the kids knew about what was happening and shocked to hear that we didn’t tell the students anything for a while, since everything was so confusing that morning. With so many parents who worked in DC, there was panic around us and our principal wanted to maintain a ‘business as usual’ approach to the best of our ability. Her thought was correct, and the safest place for those students to be was in school. My boys were fascinated to hear what it was like after that day with the skies being quiet (we live on the flight path to National airport, which was closed for weeks following), how people were generally nicer to each other in the grocery store, parking lots, and in our neighborhood.

    Our conversation was the first time that I could describe a historical event and go through what it was like personally. It reminded me that so many students today have no memory of that day. The students I taught in 2001 are mostly out of college by now and the current high school seniors were just starting their school careers. I’d assume most of them were clueless about what was going on while they were in their first days of school. After posting a message last night on my Facebook status, one of my former students reminded me of what I told them on the first anniversary in 2002:

    I remember sitting in your 7th grade History classroom on the first 9/11 anniversary. Some of us were asking if we were going to watch the 9/11 broadcasts on TV during class, since it was history after all. After explaining why we weren't going to do that, you urged us all to spend time with our families and friends after school that day, and celebrate life rather than gluing ourselves to the TV and watching the devastating recaps of the year before. I think of those words of wisdom every year now!

    I had forgotten that detail, and it was a wonderful reminder to me how the comments you make on a daily basis in schools can be indelible for the students you work with. Throughout my years as a history teacher, I know that describing turning points in history is not like living through them, and my boys’ curiosity made it hard to follow the rule to keep things simple. Someday maybe I’ll get into more details—but for now we were happy to maintain their innocence from geopolitical events. 

  • Blog post
  • 8 months ago
  • Views: 594

• Through Their Eyes Through Their Eyes

  • From: Kevin_Scott
  • Description:
  • 8 months ago
  • Views: 381
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• Through Their Eyes Through Their Eyes

  • From: Kevin_Scott
  • Description:
  • 8 months ago
  • Views: 394
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• Day 1 Day 1

  • From: Kevin_Scott
  • Description:

    My first impressions of school are a little hazy—they’re comprised of a photo staged by my mom with new sneakers on while I stood on the front stoop, a new backpack (we called them knapsacks), and meeting my neighbors at the bus stop. As a middle school teacher, I had a very different impression of the first day which was often preceded by a week or two of “teacher-dreams” – that period of time in the summer when I had vivid nightmares about the first day. If you’ve ever stepped in front of a classroom maybe you’ve had similar dreams. It’s where the desks were still stacked in the corner of a room, the copies weren’t made, and I was still dressed in shorts and a t-shirt instead of proper teacher attire.

     

    Now I work in a different space (a much quieter one) where I have the privilege to work with teachers, professors, principals, superintendents, curriculum designers, and every edu-pation in-between. It’s a great place to be, and as a dad, I wanted to ask my boys (2^nd and 4^th graders) about their impressions of school as they head into a new school year. It’s a new perspective, but one that may be worth exploring.

     

    When I asked what they were excited about, the fourth grader responded with glee, “P.E.!” After I pressed him a bit on what else he was excited about, he talked a lot about his friends.

    “I’m excited I’ll know some friends in my class, but I’m glad—how do I put this in a nice way? I’m glad some kids aren’t in my class. Sometimes one kid put pressure on others to be mean to some of us last year, and I think Ms. Kotter {not her real name} split those kids up on purpose.”

    He may be right. I could tell as he was talking about a few specific events that happened and I know very well about the social pressures and the impact on how he perceived and achieved in school. I could tell he was glad to have a fresh start, which is relieving as a parent and an educator.

     

    Meanwhile, the second grader has the same teacher this year as he did last year since he’s in a multi-age class for 1^st and 2^nd grade. The apprehension of first days isn’t there quite as much this go-around, and he was excited to go back.

    “Well, we had a lot of camps and trips this summer and every week was different, so I’m glad to see my friends every day at school again. I’m also excited to see Mrs. Burbank {fictitious} since she just got married and has a new name.

     

    When asked what they may be nervous about going into the new school year, there wasn’t much to report. The fourth grader focused on his teacher who is new to our elementary school. “I hope she’s not nervous and is ready for her new school. I’m not really nervous because I know where I’m going and what the routine is, but she doesn’t yet.” Meanwhile, the second grader was more concerned with the new 1^st graders coming into ‘his’ class. “I just hope that the new first graders aren’t jerks.” Can I argue with that? I don’t think any of us want to spend a year of school (or work) with people we don’t like to be around.

     

    All reports after day one indicate a great day. According to both boys, routines were established, friendships were re-kindled, and yes, both teachers made minor flubs that were funny yet harmless. The newlywed teacher referred to herself using her maiden name by mere force of habit and the new teacher to the school called the ‘multipurpose room’ the cafeteria. If those are the worst things to report from the first day, I can live with it.

     

    I found it interesting that their experiences are wedded to the social aspect of the school. We know the tie-ins to feeling safe and happy at school and how it can impact achievement. We’ve all read the research and my wife and I do our best to put the emphasis on strong academics and hard work. But after talking to the boys in these brief conversations, I will probably take a different angle on approaching the academic side of school. It seems clear to me that the window to success at school relies heavily on an empathetic, social, and emotional angle. But maybe that's just my kids. Stay tuned.

  • Blog post
  • 8 months ago
  • Views: 660

• “You're Gonna Need a Bigger Bo “You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat!”

  • From: Walter_McKenzie
  • Description:

    

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    “You're gonna need a bigger boat!” -Police Chief Brody, Jaws

    
    Three able men are shoveling chum out into the water to attract the menace terrorizing their beaches. Suddenly an image begins to take form beneath the water, circling the small fishing vessel. They assess they are looking at a 25-foot, three ton tiger shark. Police Chief Martin Brody exclaims, “You're gonna need a bigger boat!” A patently obvious observation? Granted…remember the theater breaking out in nervous laughter when Schneider blurted it out in 1975? But as Shark Week concludes it’s also an apt allegory for capacity building...personal capacity building. 

    
    Capacity building typically refers to an organization’s ability to offer new services that add value for those it serves. You have to have the capacity before you attempt to take your services to a higher level. For example, it doesn’t make sense to increase your student body by 300% if you don’t have the staff and room to accommodate three times as many learners. Sure you’d have more revenue from increased enrollments, but you wouldn’t be able to meet everyone’s needs and expectations. You have to have the capacity to handle your goals once you realize them. 

    
    The concept of capacity building holds true for each of us individually. It makes no sense to pursue goals that you aren’t personally ready to handle…because once you arrive at your desired destination, the reality will hit hard that you can’t handle what you thought you wanted. Be careful what you wish for, but more importantly, when you know what you want to go after in life, be sure you have built your inner capacity so you can fully engage and enjoy it! When your ship comes in…do you want to meet it at the docks with a station wagon or an eighteen wheel moving van?

    
    Educators, think of it like instructional scaffolding. We don’t expect students to sink or swim as they work to master new skills and concepts. We provide support for them to build on their strengths and successes as they take risks, make mistakes and learn. The same holds true for us as adults, whether on the job or at home. To build personal capacity we need to be able to push ourselves to take risks, learn and grow. Sounds simple, but what is required?

    1. Push yourself beyond where you are - if you’re too comfortable where you currently live or work, you’re not going to grow
       
        
    2. Identify new small challenges - nothing earth-shattering; something you can attain using your current skills 
       
        
    3. Commit your personal strengths to meet your challenge - you’re making it a priority to take risks to grow
       
        
    4. Invest your time and energy to make it happen - stretch yourself to meet and surpass the challenge you’ve set
       
        
    5. Monitor your progress - be self-aware, learn as you go and make adjustments as needed 
       
        
    6. Be persistent - push yourself and refuse to give up to develop resilience and tenacity
       
        
    7. Be flexible - consider multiple ways to meet your challenge from different perspectives
       
        
    8. Hit your target - give yourself credit for progress and know when you meet your challenge
       
        
    9. Appreciate your new capacity - recognize how meeting your challenge helped you grow 
       
        
    10. Build on little victories - identify new challenges that will push you to grow and build more capacity so that you will eventually realize your goals

    If Quint’s boat had the proper capacity to deal with his nemesis, “Jaws” could have ended much differently. No one wants to find themselves sitting in a boat too small to handle the shark encircling it! 

    
    So how about you? How do you want your story to end? Now is the time…today is the day…to start purposefully developing your personal capacity.

     

    Mirror site: http://surfaquarium.blogspot.com/

    Walter’s blog archive: http://surfaquarium.com/blog.htm

  • Blog post
  • 9 months ago
  • Views: 2784

• Less Friction. More Traction. Less Friction. More Traction.

  • From: Walter_McKenzie
  • Description:

    What’s your agenda? Do you know? Do you think you know? How honest are you with yourself? Because if you aren’t honest with yourself, you’re not going to be honest with anyone else.

     

    Everyone has their agenda…the things they are looking to accomplish and get out of life. As we interact with each other, we discover where there are commonalities and differences on one another’s agendas. Most of us are aware of at least the major things we want that are important to us. We work to advance those things in our relationships, both personally and professionally. As we find contexts that foster success, we stay and work in those relationships. In the best contexts, we actually discover more about our personal agenda and learn about ourselves in the process. It’s all about our relationships.

     

    When a relationship ends, it’s because of incompatible agendas. We simply don’t agree or have enough in common anymore to support one another in what we mutually want. How many times have you left a relationship - personal or professional - and you didn’t know why you were dissatisfied and ready to move on? Rarely. Our agendas define who we are and the parameters of what we are willing to do.

     

    Knowing your agenda is to your advantage. You can navigate through life towards those things that are important to you. When faced with choices you can opt to consistently advance your dreams. You don’t feel stuck or wonder how to change your circumstances. You keep moving forward. You know who you are and where you want to be.

     

    So what’s your agenda? If you made a list right now of what you want and what’s important to you, could you do it? Would it be complete? Would you have that nagging feeling that there is more not on the list but you can’t quite put your finger on it? Fight the urge not to identify what that is. It’s too easy to settle for less and then spend your energy wondering why you are who you are, where you are. No one is stuck in life by anything but their own thinking. Only we can make ourselves settle for less.

     

    As we prepare for teachers and students to return to classrooms, I ask you, what is your agenda? Why are you in education? Take thirty minutes this week and make a list of your whys and what-fors. Then look over your agenda and ask yourself, “Are these items all compatible and pointing towards one destination?” If so, you’re deliberately and actively working your agenda. But what if  you find items on your list that conflict with one another and make you lose traction in getting where you want to go? It means you have some soul-searching to do and some choices to make. Clean up that agenda and make it work for you. No one ever got anywhere drifting through life, surprising themselves as they react to whatever pops up in front of them.

     

    Not sure how to honestly put your professional agenda down on paper? Then start with your personal life. What do you want for your personal happiness? What do you want and what are you willing to give to have the best, most important relationships in your life thrive? What are you willing to spend and what are you willing to save? What do you need more of and what do you need to remove completely?

     

    Being thoughtful and deliberate about your agenda requires an awareness of what you are doing as you operate each day…and it’s worth the effort. Because as you develop the habits of knowing and furthering your agenda, you will attract others who will support you in your efforts and you remove many of the obstacles and frustrations that you notice in your life right now. You will be true to yourself and contributing to the happiness of those with whom you share common goals. Less friction. More traction.

     

    And what if you find your agenda is not pointing towards your goals for happiness? Maybe it’s time to make some changes…choose different agenda items…end relationships and jobs that undermine your happiness. Frightening to consider? Fear is the number one reason people avoid looking at themselves and taking responsibility for their own happiness. Sadly, it’s easier to blame our circumstances and blame others and settle for less.

     

    The truth is, you can’t choose to be in education and have an agenda that is not consistent with the goals of the profession. To do so is to subject yourself to a frustrating career fraught with episodes of burnout. You’re in the human potential business…make fulfilling your own potential a mindful priority. Your potential for fulfillment. Your potential for happiness. Your potential for peace of mind and satisfaction with your work and relationships. If you don’t do it for you…who will? Things can only get better!

     

     

    Walter’s blog archive: http://surfaquarium.com/blog.htm

    Mirror site: http://surfaquarium.blogspot.com/
    

     

  • Blog post
  • 9 months ago
  • Views: 1690

• Open the Flood Gates Open the Flood Gates

  • From: Walter_McKenzie
  • Description:

    One of the legacies of the Industrial Age is the ideal of standardization: creating products of consistent quality that can be mass-produced. Coming out of the Agricultural Age, this was a huge step forward; without standardization much of what was accomplished in the twentieth century could not have been attained.

     

    Along with standardization came specialization, as specific standards of quality had to be met by specific experts. On any assembly line each worker knows expertly his or her one piece of the whole standardized assembly process. It serves its purpose well in manufacturing.

     

    An intriguing concept in specialization is the notion of compartmentalizing: to separate into distinct, discrete parts of a whole product. By compartmentalizing, we are able to isolate specific processes and problems and focus on solutions without being distracted or overwhelmed by the bigger picture. There’s a safety in compartments. When people compartmentalize, they can focus on what they want without allowing themselves to feel the impact of other parts of their lives. Likewise, building the hull of a ship by compartments makes it more seaworthy; if one set of compartments takes on water, the ship can remain afloat as long as the rest of the compartments remain intact. Barn silos. Office cubicles. Individual serving packets. Compartments are everywhere.

     

    But compartmentalizing has its limits. When we compartmentalize, we never deal with the bigger issues. We seal in quality but also seal out any further chance for improvement. Whatever we place in a compartment becomes frozen in time, unless and until we break the compartment open again. In the case of a seaworthy ship, opening up compartments isn’t desirable. For people, we all eventually have to break out of our compartments to become whole, happy, healthy, functioning people. For silos and cubicles and packets of instant oatmeal, we want to be able to break the seal and bring value out for our use.

     

    Working and living in compartments - in isolation - prevents us from realizing our full potential. It can feel safe to seal off specific parts of ourselves, but in reality each of us is one whole, complete self-contained system of wonderful potential that can make the world a better place. The same goes for organizations. Each department can have its own self-contained expertise that contributes to the whole, but to be successful in the quickly-changing Information Age, each group of experts need to connect and communicate and collaborate across departmental boundaries. To continue working in isolation is to ensure organizational extinction.

     

    This holds true for education. We have compartmentalized ourselves by subject matter expertise, grade levels, geographic boundaries, political boundaries, and local management. We identify ourselves by pedagogy, practice, textbook adoptions, proprietary technologies, budget priorities, and so much more. Education is the most splintered, compromised, compartmentalized public institution in existence. This is why, in my humble opinion, it is struggling to be successful in the Information Age.

     

    At some point standardization reached its optimal potential, and a new ideal began to come into focus: individualization. You can’t meet the needs of individuals when your expertise and resources are locked up in compartments. Society is being opened up in the info-technical explosion we now know as the Information Age, and education is unable to keep up because of its compartmentalized structure. How do you capitalize on all the benefits of individualizing for students when you are set up for one-size-fits-all standardization?

     

    If we can break down the walls and open up the free-flow of ideas and resources, education has the potential to become a game-changer in the Information Age. What would that look like? There are numerous models around us of children being educated individually to meet their needs and interests so that they are prepared for the wide-open society they are about to inherit. Technology can make that kind of unique individual education experience possible on a massive scale. Perhaps the first step is to stop trying to force technology to fit the model of standardized instruction…unleash its transformative potential and let innovative education practices show us the way. Change is not an easy thing for any public institution…but students are already using tech tools in every other aspect of their lives…and if schools do not transform to reflect how students learn and work and interact today, they will become irrelevant in the not-too-distant future.

     

    Standardization has had its day. Unfortunately, the process of becoming extinct is slow and often hard to discern…especially when it’s happening to you. In order for organizations to remain relevant in the Information Age, they must break out of their various compartments, open the flood gates, and let the resulting flow of energy and ideas wash over them and take their course.

     

    Walter’s blog archive: http://surfaquarium.com/blog.htm
    

     

    Mirror site: http://surfaquarium.blogspot.com/
    

  • Blog post
  • 9 months ago
  • Views: 1961