Dear Blake Families:
I hope that this update finds you well and that you have been able to enjoy this beautiful autumn weather. Our family enjoyed a nice balance of events and down-time this past weekend -- dinner out with relatives on Friday evening, soccer games, apple picking, and 'pumpkining'. It is hard to believe that our first month of school came to a close yesterday and that October is here!
In our work as educators we are often presented with situations/challenges/problems that we hope have a straightforward or direct solution. The traditional model of school has been structured around the notion that teachers are the 'sage on the stage' and that we have all of the answers. As I have said many times before, however, with each day that passes I find myself seeing and discovering more and more shades of gray. This is not to say that lessons we teach students do not have correct and incorrect answers. There are certainly answers that are right and answers that are wrong. Mistakes are made, wrong answers are given, and these do need to be corrected. However, when thinking on a broader scale in our roles, it is important to remember that many challenges or problems do not always have one path of resolution. And, in reality, the path is not always clear to us. After many of my interactions (with students, parents, and colleagues in a variety of contexts), I find myself reflecting on this phenomena and paradox - educators being sought out for solutions, but struggling to find what solution actually may be. I believe the 'solution' or 'path towards a solution' does not reside in one method or algorithm, per se, but rests in the approach towards the 'answer'.
This line of thinking was supported and emphasized at last Thursday evening's presentation by Dr. Englander for our cybersafety series for parents. I was quite pleased with the presentation, as I found her message to be direct, simple, and tangible and I left with some real 'take-aways'. I felt encouraged that we, as both a school and community, are on the right track, but that we also have much to learn. Two simple principles resonated most with me. First, I appreciated her message that there is no way that we can 'keep up' with everything and the ever-changing nature of technology. Rather, we need to 'umbrella' these tools and truly focus on the areas of concern - 'digital issues' (photo sharing, photo tagging, posts about others or to others, jokes that do not come off as funny, gossip and rumors, and taking on someone else's or no identity). Yes, these issues are daunting and overwhelming, but categorizing our concerns into discussion points with our children and one another is more realistic, practical, and manageable. Second, it was refreshing and centering to hear Dr. Englander, an expert in this field, share that we still have much to learn and there is a critical need for us, as invested adults, to teach our children and lay the groundwork for 'cyber success'. Teachers and parents talking to our children and students is the most important step - talk, talk, and talk some more. And, in talking, we must listen, listen, and listen some more.
We all have much to learn and we need to learn from one another, both students and educators alike. This principle and spirit of learning does not just relate to the field of technology, digital responsibility, and cybersafety. It is at the heart of our profession. At the start of each year at our opening faculty meeting, I ask the staff to share their 'areas of expertise' with this prompt: 'It is often said that every student and teacher can be an expert in something. What is an area of expertise that you feel you could bring to the BMS community?' The responses made it abundantly clear regarding the resources and skills, both professionally and personally, that exist in our community, and this week I shared the listing with the Blake staff. As we continue our work with goals, in teams and independently, and creating/tweaking our educator plans, my hope is that the document helps to highlight our strengths and also serve as a resource for areas of growth. It is important for all of us to identify, recognize, and embrace our weaknesses so that we can then take the appropriate steps for improvement. The modeling of this cycle of growth for our students is critical. With this spirit of collaboration and learning in mind, I want to highlight this week that October 2013 has been established as Connected Educators Month. This resource/website highlights a multitude of resources for educators to connect and learn from one another. I believe that you, as parents, will find this resource of interest as well.
As we are looking for ways to connect and enhance the learning experience for our students and ourselves, I am sharing two articles this week. The first, The Balance of Screen Time, is written by Beth Holland and underlines the importance of being mindful when we integrate technology into the classroom, always coming back to three guiding questions: 'Is it appropriate? Is it meaningful? Is it empowering?' These are important questions to draw on and keep in mind with all of lessons. I also appreciate and applaud Beth for reminding us that unplugging is equally important and that face-to-face learning and interactions are tantamount to the educational process: “Regardless of the amazing affordances of technology, we do have to be mindful of when it's a good thing to unplug…perhaps, even more important, is the need to balance screen time with the learning experiences that students gain from the peers and adults around them…the challenge for teachers is to maintain a balance between the physical and virtual worlds as well as to ensure that screens are being used in appropriate, meaningful and empowering ways.” Similarly, the second article is written by Caroline Tell in The New York Times, Step Away From the Phone!, is geared more towards adults but has some nice implications and connections as we all work to try and find an appropriate and meaningful balance, both professionally and personally, in our lives. We will continue to work, as a community of learners, to have our students 'step away' in an effort to find 'balance' - through discussions, recess, day-to-day classroom activities, and concerted efforts such as the 'mobile phone and tablet-free' trip for our 7th grade to Nature's Classroom.
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Take care.
Nat Vaughn