To encourage dialogue and reflection about the things that motivate us to improve, our questions for this week are: What helps you when you face challenges? What inspires you to keep moving forward? Moving Forward (Week of 2/13/22) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
Blake's Guiding Lights
Our Students
Blake's Core Values: Respect, Responsibility, Resourcefulness, Reflection
Our Essential Question: How can we cultivate and curate the progression of student learning and growth?
Our Mission: Blake Middle School believes in a living mission statement, based on the concept that our community seeks and respects knowledge, integrity, character, wisdom, and the willingness to adapt to a continually evolving world.
The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning. - John Dewey
You cannot teach today the same way you did yesterday to prepare students for tomorrow. - John Dewey
Waking up last Saturday morning to the ‘spring-like’ temperatures and light was a wonderful way to welcome the weekend day. As Katie and I walked to our yoga class, we felt like it was late March - hearing some birds, rushing water by the brook, and the muddy lawn. It sure was a change on Sunday to feel the cold air once again with the reminder that we are not there yet! We had a quieter weekend than usual as Grayden has been away skiing with family friends (no basketball games for us to attend!), and it was nice to watch the Super Bowl together as a family before the busyness of the week before vacation began!
Last Monday Katie and I took Maggie for a college visit to a prospective school for her, and this brought forth a wide range of emotions and feelings…excitement, worry, disbelief (how are we here already?), memories of our own experiences, projections, questions, etc. All of these are real and valid and I have found that it can be hard to find a ‘grounding place’ amidst all of these changes. I have also found that it is when I am finally able to #slowitdown that the feelings emerge - and that can feel like both a blessing and a curse. But, I am trying and want to get better at embracing this process. A key aspect that has been helping with this process is the ‘naming’ of the things that ‘ground me’ - and then making sure to act upon them. And, in so doing, I find myself in a better place and more energized and able to move forward.
I am once again pushing off my year-end (2021) reflection, including posts of influence from the year, with the intention (and hopefully actual follow-through) of taking time over February vacation for that. Reflecting upon the etymology of ‘inspire’, the roots mean ‘to breathe into’, and that is necessary at this time of year - finding the ways that we can find inspiration (breath that will sustain us), and I hope that vacation will serve that purpose. I hope that the post below does not feel like too much of a ‘stretch’, but I found a connection with some of the feelings I shared above (i.e. self-reflection, identifying and practicing what works on an individual level, investment in one’s growth and the growth of others). As we continue navigating both the day-to-day changes as a learning community (micro and macro, internal and external), listening to and acting upon the science and principles of learning and motivation will inspire (breathe into) authentic and meaningful experiences for all of our learners…
Fostering Authentic Student Motivation
by Noble Ingram in ASCD
** Info/Summary of webinar with Mike Anderson and his book, Tackling the Motivation Crisis: How to Activate Student Learning Without Behavior Charts, Pizza Parties, or Other Hard-to-Quit Incentive Systems.
…he outlined three major concepts that can help educators orient their efforts to get kids invested in their learning: 1) boosting intrinsic motivation, 2) reducing extrinsic motivation, and 3) cultivating self-management skills.
Intrinsic motivation, he explained in the webinar, is the internal desire each student has to complete their work and participate actively in class. Educators shouldn’t try to teach intrinsic motivation to their students, but instead cultivate it naturally. “There’s a difference there between thinking that it’s our job to motivate kids and instead thinking it’s our job to help create conditions where motivation can flourish,” Anderson said.
Drawing upon concepts he also discussed in the December/January issue of Educational Leadership, Anderson outlined six essential components of intrinsic motivation:
1. Autonomy
2. Purpose
3. Belonging
4. Competence
5. Curiosity
6. Fun
In contrast with intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation relies on outside incentives and rewards to keep students engaged. Although there are moments when extrinsic motivators can be helpful, Anderson acknowledged, they can do long-term damage to student motivation.
…any kind of celebration should be spontaneous and not linked to whether or not kids meet a certain threshold for learning.
Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: What is something that you have known or believed to be true that you are willing to rethink?
- Everything, the more of life you experience, the more it becomes evident that there is often no one 'correct' way to do something. Opening your mind to different perspectives and interpretations allows for a fuller understanding of the problem.
- I am willing to rethink the relationship between time and productivity.
- I am rethinking the amount of work I need to do to master something.
- I am willing to rethink the phrase “everything happens for a reason.”
- My work
- I have believed that colors are actually made from our eyes, but they are just reflections of light rays.
Throughout the month I am continuing to share words to honor #BlackHistoryMonth - the two quotes below speak to the importance of ‘pushing in’ and embracing ‘the struggle’..
As always, let me know of any questions/concerns.
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Take care.
Nat