To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the ways we challenge our frustrations, this week's topic/question for the dinner table is: What strategies do you use when you are frustrated?
Please see link to Google Form to share your responses: Challenging Our Frustrations (Week of 2/21/16) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
Hopefully this update finds everyone rested and recharged, having enjoyed a nice winter respite from the day-to-day busyness of the school schedule. We did our best to have a mixture of activities with the kids and unscheduled time - going to a BU Hockey game, reading, a trip to Mohonk Mountain House in New York with Katie's mom for a few nights (learning to ice skate), naps, and some exercise. It's hard to believe that March is only one week away! (At times this excites me that spring is coming, but I do not want to wish time away...)
Each vacation week provides a break in the routine and offers opportunities for reflection. Reflection is at the heart of our work and is critical for growth and learning to take place, as it offers an avenue and entry point for change and evolution. That said, it takes time and can be tiring when the reflection is not practiced in a productive manner. This is not to say that reflection must always be structured and there is a correct algorithm stepping back and 'taking stock of things'; rather, I am sharing some feelings that have entered my mind from time to time as I believe sharing opens up doors for connections and resonance. As you know I strongly believe in our work/efforts as educators and have a hard time stepping away (on both a daily basis or on weekends, as well as for longer periods of time such as vacation). In conversations I have had with many of our staff and community, I have heard others say something similar. As principal I do recognize that I contribute to this pace/phenomenon, and this is something I am working on. When I'm being honest, giving myself permission to relax and step away often feels like an uphill climb. And, as strange as it might sound, as much as I value reflection I wonder if being reflective during down time may not be the best thing for me as I tend to over-think things a bit, asking broad and open-ended questions that can be a challenge to 'structure' (Are we/am I on the right path? What does 'right' mean? Are our methods working? How are we/am I processing growth?) This is where I come back to the importance of fostering productive/healthy reflection, striving to keep timing and intent in mind.
As you can tell, I have been doing my fair share of reflection this week, and one avenue that has proven helpful to frame some of my thoughts is through reading and conversations. Learning and self-reflection are two incredibly complex acts (messy, invigorating, encouraging, frustrating, etc. - the descriptors could go on and on). We see this in our students and ourselves, and I am encouraged each day at Blake by the continued commitment to weave reflection into our day-to-day work and learning. Through my own learning, down time, and reflection this past week I hope to carry forth a few 'realized lessons', and perhaps they will speak to you as well for the work with our students and one another...
- Down time is important, as it provides a forum for self-discovery
- Self-doubt is a natural and understandable part of learning
- When the doubt creeps in, lean on others for perspective (and, be willing to offer perspective, in turn, for others)
- Dive in and welcome the discovery and learning
- It is a process, and it is ok to trust the process
What Kids Need From Grown-Ups (But Aren't Getting)
by Cory Turner in NPREd
Turner's post summarizes an interview with former Yale professor Erika Christakis, author of The Importance of Being Little. The essence of the post is 'targeted' at early education, but I believe the beliefs about the importance of play and unstructured learning apply to middle level education and adults. I particularly like Christakis's 'issue' with the term 'soft skills' - as she articulates, they are highly cognitive and the label of 'soft' tends to belittle their value and importance.
We're underestimating kids in terms of their enormous capacity to be thoughtful and reflective, and, I would argue, that's because we're not giving them enough time to play and to be in relationships with others...the rich, experience-based play that we know results in learning — it's not as easy to accomplish as people think. And that's because, while the impulse to play is natural, what I call the play know-how really depends on a culture that values play, that gives kids the time and space to learn through play.
I think the No. 1 thing is that children need to feel secure in their relationships because, again, we're social animals. And children learn through others. So I think the No. 1 thing is for kids to have a chance to play, to make friends, to learn limits, to learn to take their turn.
I think boredom can be a friend to the imagination. Sometimes when kids appear to be bored, actually they haven't had enough time to engage in something. We quickly whisk it away and move them along to the next thing. And that's when you say, "How can I help the child to look at this in a new way? To try something new, to be patient."
Sometimes I Feel Inadequate
by Mark French
French's honest and open acknowledgement of his own feelings in regards to professional growth and learning is comforting, encouraging, and refreshing. I would be lying if I did not share these sentiments from time to time, and I hope to carry forward his 'antidote' for the feelings of inadequacy that surface, as well as the words he references from Teddy Roosevelt: Comparison is the thief of joy.
- First, I reach out to my PLC.
- Secondly, when I am feeling inadequate, I try new things.
- Thirdly, when I have feelings of inadequacy, I share.
- Finally, if I am feeling inadequate, I take personal inventory of the things I am doing to positively impact my school, staff members, families, and students.
I try to remember not to compare myself to others because each of us and our situations and experiences are unique. I need to have a confident mindset that what I am doing is right for me at the moment. I go through cycles during the year where my attitudes, engagement, and activities wax and wane, but when I take time to personally reflect, things become more clear and evident that I am on the right path and doing the right thing for students and colleagues.
Perspective and Defining a New Reality
by George Couros (@gcouros)
Along the same lines of French's post, Couros encourages everyone to seek and listen to better gain and offer perspectives for ourselves and one another.
It is all about perspective, and we can either let our reality define us, or define our reality. Somebody, somewhere, is doing the same things that others say they can’t do. What perspective we choose could determine the future of education.
The Padagogy Wheel – It’s Not About The Apps, It’s About The Pedagogy
by Allan Carrington in TeachThought
As we look at all of the rapid, and yes overwhelming, advances in technology that are available for our students (these can certainly evoke feelings of inadequacy), it is critical that we keep our intentions and work focused on the educational pedagogy. Our guiding compasses should not change. The wheel is structured with five 'grids' to 'filter' your aims and plans for students and the classroom: Graduate Attributes and Capabilities; Motivation; Blooms Taxonomy; Technology Enhancement; The SAMR Model...
The underlying principle of the Pedagogy Wheel is that it is the pedagogy that should determine our educational use of apps. It’s all very well to come across an exciting new app and to think to yourself, ‘That’s really cool, now how can I use it in the classroom?’, but what you need to do at the same time is to think about how that app might contribute to your set of educational aims for the program you are teaching. It was in fact this very concern, my desire to help teachers make good decisions as to how to make the pedagogy drive the technology, and not the other way around, that led to the birth of the Pedagogy Wheel.
There is indeed so much to learn and we need to allow ourselves time to do just that. Returning from the February vacation, I look forward to connecting with everyone, leaning on one another, and being open to new possibilities. A busy stretch certainly lies ahead, so keep talking, sharing, offering perspective, and welcome the 'messiness'. I will need to be reminded of this process as well, so please help me out. My door is always open.
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Take care.
Nat Vaughn