Principal's Blog

Fostering Connections

1/17/2022

January 18 2022

To encourage dialogue and reflection about making connections and helping others, our question for this week is: What is one thing you can do each day to help others in our community? Fostering Connections (Week of 1/16/22) (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

With our annual ‘no homework weekend’ for Blake this weekend, I hope that everyone was able to employ some of the mantras/practices of stepping back, ‘unplugging’, and making time for whatever it is that was needed. The frigid weather certainly helped us to ‘hunker down’ inside and relax a bit. Amidst a few basketball games, watching football, and cooking, it has served as a nice break. Monday’s Blood drive on the #dayofservice is a tradition that always brings forth a spirit and sense of community - big thanks to Cynthia for her passion, leadership, and efforts in bringing this to fruition. And, many thanks to our student volunteers and staff who have continued to support and participate both ‘behind the scenes’ and ‘in the scenes’.

Every year during this long weekend, I enjoy reading and reflecting upon the ‘work’ and impact of Dr. King. Through videos, testimonials, and social media threads, I am always inspired and energized by his words - and, I am also struck by the relevance of his efforts. As noted above and in last week’s update, in addition to the reading/reflecting I have done my best to step back and create more space for myself (channeling the ‘no homework weekend’). With this in mind, the brevity of this reflection does not match the inner reflection and thoughts that are floating around in my head. However, inspired by one of Dr. King’s more well-known quotes (shared above) along with today’s #dayofservice blood drive, the post below is one that I believe is worthy and particularly relevant for our students, staff, and community. It underscores the importance of connections - and, continuing to ‘listen’ to the voices of one another (i.e. responses to our questions) will also help us to bridge the physical and emotional spaces to bring us closer together…

Happy Students Are Motivated Students
by Andrew Bauld in Harvard Ed. Magazine
Research has shown that the strongest predictor of happiness — more than even money or physical health — is the strength of your social connections. That’s true for adults and children.

Now more than ever it is crucial to discover ways to encourage happiness and connection when so many are still apart, and Hinton says it doesn’t take that much to do. “You can do really small things and they can have a big impact on happiness.” Some of her suggestions include:

Find the right balance of challenge.
Provide social connection.
Help students to flourish.
- Practice gratitude.
- Support others.
- Incorporate humor.

Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: What are the current ways that you take time for yourself for self-care?

I read books to myself.
I make sure to have some free time to myself to just relax and chill
I make sure to limit my screen time and take some time to read a book or hang out with friends.
I workout
Taking a moment to breathe
I read when I need time alone.
I go on the treadmill, go for a walk, or talk to a friend.
I make a nice hot-chocolate!
Sleeping a lot to get rest :)
I go down to the basement by myself and just hit baseballs off the tee
Exercising, eating well, and getting a good night's sleep.
Before I go to bed I have this whole routine involving the basics, as well as yoga and taking care of my hands and feet. In the morning I usually stretch right after I get up and maybe do a dance or two to get moving.
I like to do face masks at the end of the night. I do this because this is relaxing for me.
I’ve started painting with watercolors:)
I like to sit down on my bed and read
I volunteer to do the errands so that I can listen to my audiobook in the car.
I eat healthy and take care of myself mentally and physically
When I am not feeling good, like sore muscles or headaches, I don't push doing extra work or working out. Instead, I relax and hydrate. It might feel lazy at first, but everyone needs one of those days to unwind from stress.
I make sure to spend an extra fifteen minutes before bed reflecting and thinking about myself.
Go for a run
At night sometimes I do calming meditations to calm myself before going to sleep
I play hockey on my front yard rink
I like to read
Writing
Yoga with Adrienne 30 Day Yoga Challenge
The ways I take time for myself is running

Words from Dr. King
** These were shared last year as well…
“So even though we face difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.”
“Find a voice in a whisper.”
“There is no such thing as separate but equal. Separation, segregation, inevitably makes for inequality.”
"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."

I look forward to the work that lies ahead for us.
As always, let me know of any questions/concerns.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for District Community Notices.
Take care.
Nat

Embracing the Time

1/11/2022

January 11, 2022

To encourage dialogue and reflection about intentional self-care, reflection, and growth, our question for this week is: What are the current ways that you take time for yourself to practice self-care? Embracing the Time (Week of 1/9/22) (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

After an eventful and emotional start to the new year, the snow day announcement last Thursday evening felt like a gift! Everyone in the family relished in the news and it was lovely to wake up to the pretty snowfall. With Maggie’s 18th birthday on Friday (we still can’t believe it’s been 18 years!), it was really nice to have the day to be together as a family. Hopefully the extra day was enjoyed by all.

Between the reflective nature of celebrating Maggie’s 18th birthday along with the reality of the challenges we are all facing as educators at the start of 2022, I find myself needing to be more intentional about the ways I pay attention to my own self-care, learning, and growth. With this in mind, I am keeping it brief this week by sharing one post about the importance of empathy that spoke to me in terms of our interactions and work with students, colleagues, families, and ourselves…

Showing Up with Empathy
by Chase Mielke in ASCD
The emotions we feel—fear, anger, joy, sadness—are universal, and wired into us at birth. We all use these common emotions to motivate our actions to overcome challenges and survive. We all eat, we all sleep, we all want love, we all mourn loss, and we all look to belong to a group and a cause. And we all think everyone else drives worse than we do. We are more the same than we are different.

…the most critical gap we will need to bridge this year is the empathy gap—in ourselves, in our students, and in our communities. We must start by realizing that what we share is more common, more powerful, and more critical to growth than how we differ. In finding common ground, we can increase student achievement. In actively seeking connection, we reduce depersonalization, which is one of the three major components of burnout. And, in looking for relatability, we open the door for meaningful dialogue—the type that will be necessary to overcome the many challenges we face in schools.

To bridge empathy gaps, we don’t need new curriculum. We don’t need to invest in technology or fund new roles. We don’t need to stop teaching with rigor or relevance. Instead, we need to prompt ourselves to open doors of connection rather than duck behind walls of division. It starts with the most important resolution we may make this year.

My focus for 2022 is to strengthen the 4 L’s of Empathy—to build stronger connections, to de-escalate my emotions when I'm frustrated with someone, and to reduce my rumination about a conflict…
1. Listen nonjudgmentally
2. Label the emotion you think the person is feeling
3. Link to a similar moment when you’ve felt this emotion or reaction
4. Let go of any thoughts preventing you from finding common ground and productive dialogue

We’ve lost a lot this last year. But let’s not let loss prevent us from seeing what’s left. Let’s look to find common ground and to remember that human connection—human empathy—is the most powerful tool we have. And we need it now more than ever.

One way to help prevent us from ‘seeing what’s left’ and to help find common ground is to keep listening to our students and one another. The responses below provide a window into some of the hopes (#willfulhope will foster #willfulaction) we have in our community…

Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: Please complete this statement: This year (2022) I hope to…

Get in a club soccer team called Seacoast
Be a better student.
Help others dream big and meet their goals!
This year I hope to work harder in school and put more time into doing the things I love and making more friends.
This year, I hope to go to bed earlier so that I can focus better at school. I would also like to keep working on raising my hand to help participate in discussions.
Gain a solid experience on how to deal with crises.
I hope I can find it in myself to give more. Not in terms of $ but, in terms of time. Time for myself, friends, family and those who need it most.
Have a good year
work on myself and try and learn how to be less stressed and anxious
Work my hardest at all times
Write more
Read more
Workout more
Go fishing more
Grow, academically.
Be on the better team for soccer and get on a volleyball team.
This year in 2022, I hope to learn new things and help the world!
Model positive dialogue and solution oriented approaches to problems that I face.
Focus on my mental health
Discover my identity
Be a better me not a new me, improve on my participation and become a more improved on my learning skills as well. I need to work on coming out of my shell and expressing myself more
I hope to become a better student
I hope to go big or go home
Be good
Be proud of who I am.
Go to the movie theater
Spend more time with family

Hope, Belonging, and Action

1/6/2022

January 6, 2022

To encourage dialogue and reflection about hopes, resolutions, and intentions in the new calendar year, our question for this week is: Please complete this statement: This year (2022) I hope to… Hope, Belonging, and Action (Week of 1/2/22) (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

Happy New Year! I hope that the vacation week provided time for whatever it was/is that you needed - quiet time, reading, exercise, celebrations, rest, etc. We enjoyed a quiet week with a mixture of ‘all the above’, setting aside some intentional time for reading (in particular, Dave Grohl’s The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music), reflection, and exercise. I always intend to carry these practices into each new year and this year is no different. Throughout the week I kept coming back to Adam Grant’s words below and intend to carry them forward as well, along with Rilke’s prescient words to help us ring in the new…

After the initial busyness of the holidays started to subside at the beginning of vacation, I was able to settle in a bit into the ‘routine’ of down time. The end of the calendar year presents a natural time marker for reflection as we look both backwards and forwards to learn, grow, and hopefully ‘do better’. As I began to find the pattern of vacation (always a challenge for me), I found this cyle of reflection to directly relate to what it is we want for our students – regular and intentional opportunities for our students to pause, reflect, learn, and grow with the intent of ‘doing better’ at the next step in their process. Whether we agree or disagree on the path to get there, I believe we all have a shared goal for more doors to be opened for all of our learners. And, in order for this to happen, we must tie our hopes and intentions into actions. And, with this in mind, we must always be holding up mirrors - individually and collectively - at our hopes, practices, and actions…

In my own non-linear, abstract yet sequential fashion, and in the spirit of sharing, here are some of the ‘learnings’ and ‘mirror moments’ from the past week (each of them provided a lens into myself and to a ‘bigger picture’)...

** Listening to an episode below from the Hidden Brain Podcast with Shankar Vedantam, I was affirmed by the thoughts within - and, I found myself thinking about our students and the explicit and implicit messages we instill in them…

The Psychology of Self-Doubt
(50:20)
We all have times when we feel like a fraud. Psychologist Kevin Cokley studies the corrosive effects of self-doubt, and how we can turn that negative voice in our heads into an ally.
People aren't perfect and we have to sort of get beyond this idea that making mistakes is somehow indicative of you being not smart, not competent, not belonging. The most accomplished people in the world have all experienced failure at some point. And so we need to sort of help students in particular understand that when you fail a test, and I could have benefited from this when I was a student, it would've been so helpful if I would've had a professor who would've pulled me to the side and to help me sort of manage the feelings that I was having around my initial sort of early poor performance. It's okay. Just don't let it be defining of who you are and what your potentiality is, and I think we don't have enough of that taking place in schools.

I can't say enough about how in my own life the need to be humble to even have feelings of self doubt have been helpful, because if I did not have those feelings of self doubt, then I think that that would one, make me probably an unbearable person and not very pleasant to be around, but it also has kept me, I think, hungry to continue to work hard to prove myself. And I think when you get to the point where you stop wanting to prove yourself, and when you're no longer hungry and motivated, I don't think that's a very good place to be.

** Cleaning through my backpack (one of the ‘rituals’ of a vacation week), I came across my handwritten notes from a lecture I attended at Wellesley College back in 2019. It was one of the last ‘education events’ I attended prior to our period of quarantine in March, 2020 - and, in reading the notes the ‘mirror’ reflection was very clear - for me and for the practices we have in place at Blake and ‘at large’ in education. My blog post following the event is linked here (Naming the Positives, October 2019) and below is an excerpt from that post (in red font)...

Last Thursday night I had the privilege of hearing Eve L. Ewing (@eveewing) at Wellesley College. Ewing is an assistant professor in the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration and was this year’s chosen speaker for the Diane Silvers Ravitch lecture series at Wellesley College. Ravitch is a graduate of Wellesley and is a well-renowned professor and historian of education. Ewing is the author of Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings On Chicago's South Side and her lecture highlighted this work.

A few of my notes from Diane Ravitch’s words…

Education is political - it just is
We need to work towards a more nurturing society for our students
We need to fight for a system that fosters the best in all of our students

A few of my notes from Eve Ewing’s lecture…

We should always challenge the notion that academics should only speak to academics and narrow audiences
Institutional mourning - always something to be aware of...affective impact and the social and emotional impact of loss
If one does not own private property, then the institutions (schools, places of worship, neighborhoods, etc.) become one’s home
History and context always matter
What are education issues?....Everything is an education issue - it connects to everything
Think about this question - What can we all do to ‘get in to fit in’?
‘All of these kids are our kids’
Good news: If humans made these structures that are not working, then humans can undo them as well

** On one of my morning runs during the vacation, I found myself thinking about the messages from Ewing and Ravitch in the context of the podcast episode linked above - and, I keep coming back to techmonstah’s visual representation of our work at Blake - ‘It’s All Connected’. We need to keep adapting and adjusting - I think (well, I know - putting my own self-doubt aside!) that is the only way forward to actively improve our systems for ALL of our learners…

** Last year at this time I shared the words below from Rilke and they hold as much truth now as they did one year ago. It is in the willingness to ‘live the question’, and by living the questions, we are holding ourselves accountable to action. It is important to notice, wonder, and question - and, in turn, we will be experiencing the answers…

** In addition to the ‘cleaning out’ of my physical belongings, I also cleaned through (or attempted to) some of my e-mails and ‘Google Drive’ - in doing so, I came across this recent post (highlighted at our last faculty meeting) and quote from a Spark Kindness e-mail. They both speak to the importance of hope - for ourselves and for our students. I hope we can collectively lean into this ‘known fact’ and actively provide more opportunities for our students to realize their hopes while experiencing love and belonging…

Surgeon general confirms what parents know. Young people are in crisis.
by Heidi Stevens and Tribune News Service from Chicago Tribune
“We need hope like we need air. To live without hope is to risk suffocating on hopelessness and despair, risk being crushed by the belief that there is no way out of what is holding us back, no way to get to what we desperately need.”

“Hope is a function of struggle,” Brown writes. “We develop hope not during the easy or comfortable times, but through adversity and discomfort. Hope is forged when our goals, pathways and agency are tested and when change is actually possible.”

“Love and belonging are irreducible needs for all people,” she writes. “In the absence of these experiences, there is always suffering.”

The second day of 2022 is here and I am already well aware of how important these guideposts (hope, belonging, and action) will be for me and our community. As a way to realize and bring these together, I am carrying forth a tradition into this new year that I hope remains relevant…sharing several ‘end-of-year’ posts/lists, a few ‘big picture posts’ to keep our vision/mission on the forefront of our minds/thoughts, a sampling of responses from our community about ‘learning in 2021’, and some ‘annual shares’ as we begin anew. I hope that these posts and responses will prompt discussion, questions, dialogue, and (most important) action – for our community and students throughout this year (as always, I welcome and would love to engage in dialogue, thought, and action with others)...

Some Year-End Lists and Reflections, Predictions
All End-Of-Year “Best” Lists For 2021 In One Place! | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...
by Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo)
This list is always my 'first stop' for reflections upon the year. Ferlazzo is a prolific writer, reader, archivist, and blogger of 'all things education' and this link has over 15 lists, from content-specific 'best of' to recommendations to predictions for 2022. I recommend bookmarking this site.

The Best Resources On Instruction In 2021 – Part Two | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day…
by Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo)

Year in Review: Top EL Articles of 2021 - ASCD
Compiled by Esteban Bachelet in ASCD

ASCD's Top 10 Blog Posts of 2021
Compiled by Esteban Bachelet in ASCD

The 11 Most Popular Edutopia Stories of 2021
Compiled by Edutopia Staff

The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2021
By Youki Terada, Stephen Merrill, Sarah Gonser in Edutopia
It was a year of unprecedented hardship for teachers and school leaders. We pored through hundreds of studies to see if we could follow the trail of exactly what happened: The research revealed a complex portrait of a grueling year during which persistent issues of burnout and mental and physical health impacted millions of educators. Meanwhile, many of the old debates continued: Does paper beat digital? Is project-based learning as effective as direct instruction? How do you define what a “good” school is?

Other studies grabbed our attention, and in a few cases, made headlines. Researchers from the University of Chicago and Columbia University turned artificial intelligence loose on some 1,130 award-winning children’s books in search of invisible patterns of bias. (Spoiler alert: They found some.) Another study revealed why many parents are reluctant to support social and emotional learning in schools—and provided hints about how educators can flip the script.

The Year in Review: Big Education Stories of 2021
EdWeek’s 10 (or so) most popular stories of 2021
Looking back on the stories that resonated most with educators in 2021, it’s clear just how challenging this year was for America’s teachers and school leaders. COVID-19 and pandemic-related interruptions to schooling were not new in 2021. Neither was having to navigate divisive political topics in schools and classrooms. Still, disruption and tension seemed to be constant companions this year.

The Teaching Profession in 2021 (in Charts)
by Madeline Will in Education Week
Much like the findings from last year, the research published this year shows a profession in duress. Teachers say they feel stretched thin, with new expectations and little support. For many, teaching this year has been exhausting, and some say it’s not sustainable.

5 Major Predictions for 2022 - Education Elements
by Anthony Kim in Education Elements

Spotlight: 2021 | Harvard Graduate School of Education
Stories from HGSE to revisit and reconsider as we head into the new year.
As the year draws to a close, the editorial staff in the Communications and Marketing Office looked back at some of our most memorable stories and social posts. Some happen to be the stories that drew the most readers or got the most likes, while others are pieces we simply loved writing and producing. As you look through the list, you might find a few mentions that surprise you — one in particular continues to surprise us! — as well as others that get you thinking.

Most Popular EdSurge Podcast Episodes of 2021
by Jeffrey R. Young

EdSurge's 2020 Year in Review: The Top 10 K-12 Stories, as Chosen by You
by Stephen Noonoo in EdSurge

Top 100 Education Blogs in 2021 for Educators and Teachers
from Feedspot Education Blogs List
The Best Education blogs from thousands of top Education blogs in our index using search and social metrics. Data will be refreshed once a week. Also check out Educational Podcasts and Educational Videos from Top 100 Educational Youtube Channels.

Some ‘Big Picture’ Posts
An Educator’s Anthem for 2022: I’m NOT Giving Up
by Allyson Apsey (@AllysonApsey)
I hesitate to say this because it goes against the grain amongst educators right now, but here goes: I am doing okay. If everyday I can go into work and contribute to a culture of joy in our school, if I can make sure every interaction I have with students is loving and supportive and if I can support teachers in seeing their own genius, I am fulfilling my purpose. Reconnecting with my why and focusing on carrying-out my purpose has helped sustain me these past couple years.

I will continue to focus on these two questions as the adversity keeps coming:

How can you fulfill your purpose today?
How can you become a better educator because of the challenges you are facing?

We can take care of ourselves and continue in our very important work. We are stronger than we know. And, thank goodness, we are in this together.

An Open Letter to Teachers Everywhere
by Rhonda Thomason in Learning for Justice
I want a revolution of hope. I want educators to seize a golden opportunity to rethink the nature and purpose of public education.

Imagine an educational system in which educators invoke standards of compassion, empathy, action and reason as they question the deep regularities that suppress achievement. Imagine the power of educators valuing dissent and affirming what students can achieve rather than magnifying what they can’t.

As an educator, I often skated on the edge of revolution and compliance. While compliance may secure careers and livelihoods, it can leave teachers depleted, students tested rather than taught and marginalized rather than empowered. Compliance feeds mediocrity. Boldness is a catalyst for grassroots revolution—a revolution that serves our students as they enter the challenges of a wonderful and sometimes cruel world.

May we become educators who seek out students’ experiences, interests and talents as a means of engagement, and may our passion empower those who have little power. Authentic caring is a powerful force, and it always is worth the cost.

The Problem with Inclusion: Time to Shift to Belonging
by Dwight Vidale in NAIS
In 2018, I had the pleasure of attending a workshop led by Dena Simmons, the former assistant director of Yale’s Center for Emotional Intelligence, during which she shared that she does not like the word “inclusion.” Surprised by her comment, I wanted to learn more––all of the equity practitioners in the room either had inclusion in their title or worked at schools whose mission statement has the word inclusion in it. Similarly, I’ve been trained to include inclusion in my work and have often used it as a way to get more folks (read: white people) involved. Simmons talked about how she has been included in places and spaces and simultaneously knew that she did not belong, how her experience in such spaces did not align with the place’s intention of being more inclusive––which often meant little more than having more Black and brown people physically present.

I invite us all to consider adding a “B” to DEI and, and, more importantly, center “belonging.” As Kimberlé Crenshaw reminds us, “We all know that where there’s no name for a problem, you can’t see a problem, and when you can’t see a problem, you pretty much can’t solve it.” Let’s name this problem with inclusion and shift our thinking to promote belonging.

Will We Need To Rethink Better?
by David Culberhouse (@DCulberhouse)
As returning to status quo, especially in the midst of a crisis, such as a pandemic, promises feelings of comfort, of progress, of returning back to some semblance of “normalcy” of what existed before everything became much more complex and uncertain, both professionally and personally. But what we often fail to realize, the assumption that we continue to make, is that if we return back to how is was before (pre-pandemic), that these heightened levels of complexity and uncertainty will fade away and “normalcy” will return.

Unfortunately, complexity and uncertainty aren’t going anywhere, and what the status quo and “Building back better” instead of “Building back different” only promises leaders and organizations a future that has already been “used” up, one that is no longer relevant, viable, or in the current context, even preferable for the future that the organization is moving towards.

If we are going to be able to move from reforming to transforming, to move from “Building back better” to “Building back different,” we will have to become much more aware. Aware of how much of what we consider for the future, of the ideas that are informing that future, are often projections pushed forward from the models and maps that have been constructed from both the past and the present.

“Learning based on the past suffices when the past is a good guide for the future. But it leaves us blind to profound shifts when whole new forces shaping change arise.” -Senge, Scharmer, Jaworski, and Flowers via Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future

Top 5 Standards-Based Grading Articles (2021)
Compiled by Matt Townsley (@mctownsley)

The Resilient Educator / How Year-End Reflection Fosters Resilience
by Elena Aguilar in ASCD
We know from research that we build resilience when we go through rough times and emerge stronger than before—yet sometimes we don't recognize that growth unless we stop, look back, feel the emotions that arise, and process them.

The story we tell about anything that happens will boost or drain our resilience—be it a year of pandemic teaching and racial reckoning, or an incident with a student at school. At the end of each calendar year, we have an opportunity to craft a narrative about the year we're closing out. This must come before setting goals, resolutions, or intentions for the coming year. Through the reflection process, we'll understand ourselves better and take those learnings into our hopes for the new year.

My favorite activity for thinking ahead to the next year is this: Imagine it's the final day of that year (in this case: December 31, 2022) and write yourself a letter, as if you were writing on that day about the year that's ending. What do you want to say about 2022 when it comes to a close? That "This year was the one in which I finally started that grad school program I've always wanted to do. I also developed a new network of colleagues that I can lean on for all things professional. …" Be honest with yourself about your needs and wants.

Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles and the enduring sports message of 2021
by Kevin R. Blackstone in The Washington Post
…there were no more important people in sports this year than Osaka and Biles. At a time when so many among us are struggling with darkness, loneliness and sorrow in this public health catastrophe, Osaka and Biles — no matter how vulnerable on a world stage — showed us we shouldn’t feel ashamed if we don’t feel okay, that it is okay to take time off, if you can, and seek help from those trained to provide it.

Osaka and Biles weren’t the first star athletes to bare their mental health needs to the world. But they altered how we have come to understand the trite phrase “mental toughness.” It doesn’t have to mean playing through physical pain or sucking it up. It doesn’t have to mean coming from behind to win when losing seemed certain. It doesn’t have to mean rehabbing some terrible injury and returning to competition.

It can mean owning up to doubts or concerns that prevent you from performing and taking the time to find your balance again. It can mean erasing whatever stigma was attached to a mental struggle, no matter how long or brief.

…what is most important to recognize about Osaka — and Biles, too — is that no matter her station or success, not feeling okay is, in fact, okay. That’s a life lesson from sports in 2021.

Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: When thinking back on 2021, what have you learned about yourself and how have you grown as a learner?

I have not learned much about myself as a learner but I can tolerate small amounts of working with people in groups. I have grown by being able to work in groups more effectively.
I have learned that I truly enjoy loving, and being loved
I have learned the value of a good night's sleep. I am as productive if not more so when going to bed early and getting up early than trying to stay up all night to get work done.
I have learned that I, as a person, do good things, but also make mistakes and all that does is help me to learn from them. I have really grown as a learner by taking a step back in some things to get myself calm, and see what I can do to improve.
I grew as a learner by being more independent.
I learned that I enjoy math.
I have learned that patience is a true skill and once it is mastered your life seems to be much calmer. As a learner I now know I need to be with others in order to be able to focus and concentrate. Just having someone in the same room helps me focus.
I have learned that I have great friends and I have grown in my reading.
How I’ve grown is making sure I do my best and make sure I double check everything
I think I have been learning lots of new things
This year has been one of my best! I have made so many new friends and participated more throughout the school year. As I can grow more as a learner, and can do better, I have made a big improvement from the past and am very happy about it.
I am good at English and Social Studies
I am in a new school, and I learned to be in a new environment.
I have grown in confidence when participating in math class. I have learned that I need to give myself time to reach my goals and I am proud that I have been raising my hand more in class.
I learned I take a long time to do things but I do it with detail. I have grown in learning by studying more before quizzes
I've learned that I like having friends that are nice and personal with you.
i have no motivation for things i don't like and/or writing (Writer's block is very common for me)
I have to pay more attention to detail/attention and have recently :)
I have become more efficient when doing my work and have learned to be more flexible, regarding not just schoolwork, but also extracurricular activities as well.
I have learned that I am getting better at math
I used to think I knew how important good friends are. But now I realize that it’s even more important than I thought.
The importance of self care
As a learner, certain lessons arrive for me at unexpected times!
If I make an effort and tell myself I can do it, I eventually do it.
I am way more social and I'm more comfortable with the person I am

My Annual Shares
5 Media Resolutions Every Family Should Make in 2019
by Caroline Knorr in Common Sense Media
Written and posted two years ago, Knorr’s advice for how families can try and make sense of the benefits and challenges that we all encounter and embrace with media are worthy of reflection. Common Sense Media is a phenomenal resource and these resolutions hold meaning for educators and families alike - as we do each year, Katie and I will be reflecting upon them for our own household.
What do you remember from 2018? Did you share pics of your kid on Facebook? Did you sneak a peek at their texts with their friends? Did you yell at them to get off their devices? Did you watch a movie that made you both laugh (or cry)? Did they send you a text that filled your heart and reminded you of why you had kids in the first place? So much of our daily lives revolves around media and tech that we barely notice it anymore. But we should. Why? Because these moments are the stuff of life. And the way we use technology really matters.

The start of a new year is a perfect time to reflect on the role you want media and tech to play in your family's lives. After all, media and tech are just the enablers. Learning, connecting, growing -- even setting a positive example for your kids -- are where the real magic happens.

Help your kids become more aware of their own online time and help them take control of their use, too. You don't have to shut everything down. But really focus on what you're doing, when you're doing it, and why. The way you use media and tech has a huge influence on your kids, and you can be a great role model for using them mindfully.

To My 13-Year-Old, An iPhone Contract From Your Mom, With Love and To My 13-Year-Old, An iPhone Contract From Your Mom, With Love
by Janell Burley Hoffman in The Huffington Post
I share these posts each year and find that they resonate each time I come back to them. #18 is wonderful - 'You will mess up. I will take away your phone. We will sit down and talk about it. We will start over again. You and I, we are always learning. I am on your team. We are in this together.' As with many posts that hold meaning, we could substitute many 'gifts/possessions' for the 'iPhone' and the essence will ring true.

Each new year brings forth the promise of ‘new’ - hope, excitement, worries, challenges, successes, and many more emotions and realities. I believe it is important that we name, acknowledge, and embrace them (as hard as it is to do - speaking from the ‘I’, for sure!) with intention, commitment, and hope - with a full understanding and awareness that we may not solve them. Rather, our resolve will come forth and to fruition in the willingness to dive in collectively to grow, learn, and improve - that is at the heart of our mission and at the heart of our work...

If what you are doing is important, you will encounter resistance. If what you are doing isn't important it will be easy. - Donald Miller
Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
What if we realized the best way to ensure an effective educational system is not by standardizing our curricula and tests but by standardizing the opportunities available to all students? - Ibram X. Kendi

Learning Lessons

12/21/2021

December 21, 2021

To encourage dialogue and reflection about the ways we process our own learning and growth, our topic/question for the week is: When thinking back on 2021, what have you learned about yourself and how have you grown as a learner? Learning Lessons (Week of 12/19/21) (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

With the ‘last stretch’ of the calendar year now upon us, I hope last weekend provided a space for everyone to rest and regroup a bit. I definitely needed it as I slept in until about 8:30 on Saturday morning - very rare for me! I would be lying if I said I was not feeling guilty about it, but Katie assured me that this was what was needed (and I need to practice what I ‘preach’ - always easier said than done!).

After waking up Saturday morning and drinking my coffee, I started to think about what I was going to reflect upon in the Natworthy/blog. As I have shared many times, I put a lot of pressure on myself to ‘get things right’ or have a poignant and enlightening revelation (yes, I’m being hyperbolic - that’s where my head goes!) that will ‘make a mark’. And, at certain times throughout the year, these feelings and thoughts become more pronounced - beginning of the year, end of a calendar year, transition points, etc. I perused some of the posts from past years (Looking Back to Look Forward, Holding Up a Mirror, Making Room for Growth) to help get my thoughts together and to frame some of the ideas. Upon re-reading them, the connections started to come together for me.

In thinking about these posts, the two themes that kept bubbling up were these notions/ideas of uncertainty and the high pressure that can be rooted in the desire towards success/perfectionism (or perceived success/perfection). And, what are the systems and strategies that amplify these dynamics and what are those that diminish (or address) these challenges? Reflection is critical and listening will help us along the path. Knowing that the coming year will bring more of these feelings, and trying to build in time for my own growth, the ‘shares’ this week are thematic (or I hope they read that way!) – rooted in reflection and a ‘systems approach’ for our foundation, while always listening and growing together as a community…

Beyond the Classroom: Celebrating the Late Bloomer
by Elizabeth Smith in NAIS
In a society that is obsessed with early and frequent success, I keep asking myself: How can we reduce student stress? How can the college admission process change? How can we help young people find a sense of peace and confidence? How can we ensure that all students be granted the freedom, curiosity, and courage to sample and find the spark that lights them up—in ninth grade or at any point in their lifetime? Rather than solely praising high achievement and accomplishments, what might it look like if teachers celebrated all students, including the late bloomers, in the classroom?

…Rich Karlgaard states that the term late bloomer in academics “is often explored through the lens of dysfunction or as an abnormality.” I have heard people use words such as “average” and “mediocre” to describe a late bloomer. The definition that resonates with me centers on the idea of a person who eventually finds something interesting enough to pursue. A student who never had much interest in school might get the opportunity one day to take a class or have a job that captivates their attention. And that curiosity leads the student to blossom.

School and even life should be a time to explore and discover.

Rather than forcing an early bloom, when rich and fertile conditions exist in a school, every student can blossom where and when they are ready.

Reimagining Our Pandemic Problems With the Mindset of an Engineer
by Siobhan Roberts in MIT Technology Review
In a recent essay, “Accounting for uncertainty during a pandemic,” the researchers reflect on their roles during a public health emergency and on how they could be better prepared for the next crisis. The answer, they write, may lie in reimagining epidemiology with more of an engineering perspective and less of a “pure science” perspective.

One tactic against all the uncertainty is statistics. Gelman thinks of statistics as “mathematical engineering”—methods and tools that are as much about measurement as discovery. The statistical sciences attempt to illuminate what’s going on in the world, with a spotlight on variation and uncertainty. When new evidence arrives, it should generate an iterative process that gradually refines previous knowledge and hones certainty.

Good science is humble and capable of refining itself in the face of uncertainty. - Marc Lipsitch

“An engineer is always updating their picture,” she says—revising as new data and tools become available. In tackling a problem, an engineer offers a first-order approximation (blurry), then a second-order approximation (more focused), and so on.

Letting go of the desire for certainty can be liberating, he says. And this, in part, is where the engineering perspective comes in.

An engineer is always updating their picture. - Susan Holmes

“Good science is humble and capable of refining itself in the face of uncertainty,” he says. “Scientists, usually over a longer time scale—years or decades—are quite used to the idea of updating our picture of truth.”

Leading Out of the Storm: Taking Schools Forward (Not 'Back to Normal')
by Joshua Freedman in IntrepidEd News
Trust is the missing link; it’s a call for safety in an era where students, parents, faculty, board members and administrators feel overwhelmed and buffeted by volatility. While “return to normal” might sound appealing, it’s a myth that’s actually contributing to the conundrum. The only path is forward, which means that braver is safer.

In the last few years, the ground shook, and now leaders are asking: Can I fulfill my purpose here? Do I have the support to lead with purpose? Many schools were on a path of change pre-pandemic — can school leaders re-engage their communities to move forward?

In a world of distrust, anxiety, and volatility, what’s at stake is safety. So what will make school leaders and their followers feel safer? One option is stasis. All these pressures might make leaders want to retreat — don’t rock the boat. At the same time, the status quo is not going to survive. We’re in a time of upheaval, and our constituents are demanding change. Another option is bravery. We don’t need to and shouldn’t eliminate the valuable messages of fear. And, emotional intelligence doesn’t mean “obey all your feelings.” We need to listen and move forward. That’s courage.
In this quest for authenticity, rather than decisiveness that accrues points to the leader, in a relational context the goal is mutuality. To move beyond the volatility of the current storm, we need people to feel seen, heard, and valued. That means going beneath the surface. Safety, then, requires us to engage our own and one another’s emotions.

This is why, ultimately, the tool for trust-centered leadership is emotional intelligence (the learnable skills to be smarter with feelings). If we’re going to step into this arena of authentic connection, we need to know and trust ourselves and have the tools to know and trust one another. Social-emotional learning, then, is for adults at least as much as for students. It’s for all of us learning to navigate new territory, and cultivating the skills to step forward together.

Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: What strategy(ies) do you use to ‘refresh’/recharge to have more energy?

I like to write, draw or read to refresh or recharge my energy
Hang with friends
I like to close my eyes or stay in bed and take time for myself
Chill
Sleep, get outside and hang with family and friends
Being around my friends and laughing
Recently I have been going to bed about an hour earlier than I used to. We all know sleep is good for us, and an extra hour of sleep feels like it has translated into many more productive hours when awake.
Take a moment to rest on a couch.
I try to calm myself down, have some time to myself, or I spend time with my friends.
Reading, watching an exciting TV show, listening to music, and of course… napping. :)
Listen to music and relax
I just remember that tomorrow is a new day.
I eat filling food, and get 9 hours of sleep.
Take a walk with my dog or talk to my friends.
Giving myself permission to NOT do things that I think I should do, and giving that time back to myself.
I read, or meditate
I just look up at the sky and think about my day.
In order to recharge, sometimes I like to do something productive in another part of my life!
I try my best to go to bed early and make sure to drink lots of water in the morning to help wake myself up and have more energy for the day.
Deep breaths, Nice thoughts, laying down after a busy day
I read.
Fall asleep on the couch for 3 hours and then doing my homework whenever I wake up
Sleep, eat, come to school
Sleep

Over the vacation week, I will set aside time to intentionally and purposefully reflect about personal and collective learning, growth, challenges, and successes. This is an annual practice, looking and reflecting upon ‘influential posts’, resolutions, and implications for myself and our learning community at Blake. The images and words below are ones that I hope will center us, guide us, challenge us, and lead us on our ‘imperfect journey’ with the hopes of ‘getting it all done’ (they were shared last year and are worthy of carrying forward into 2022 and beyond)...

Refreshing Our Systems

12/16/2021

December 16, 2021

To encourage dialogue and reflection about self-care, making time for ourselves, and ‘refreshing’, our topic/question for the dinner table is: What strategy(ies) do you use to ‘refresh’/recharge to have more energy? Refreshing Our Systems (Week of 12/12/21) (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

The cold and rainy last Saturday provided a good ‘reason/excuse’ (and, I’m acknowledging that I should need the weather to be the ‘good reason/excuse’) to stay inside, sit by the fire, and relax. Amidst sports games for the boys and some holiday ‘prep’, we did our best to have a pretty relaxed weekend.

I may sound like a broken record, but each week feels a bit (maybe a lot) busier than the last. It could be that it is a result of a culmination of different factors, but I would be lying if I didn’t worry about the sustainability of our pace, energy, and reality that we are living these days. In an effort to balance my desire to share/process as well as take a step back for myself, I am keeping it brief this week and sharing two posts that resonate with implications for our students and our work along with a sampling of responses that reflect the ‘current wonderings’ of our students…

A Soft Place to Land
by Jane R. Shore
“My community gives me permission to dream big because they permit me to fall, which leads me to rising.” @Luvvie Ajayi

Because we all can and want to do and be and say and try scary things.

This year has flung us all up into the air. And I don’t want to land where we started. I don’t want the new normal or the old normal. But I do want us to jump into fear, with a soft place to land.
Where are we landing?

Being surrounded by people who show us that community is a verb is my soft place to land. I am endlessly inspired and heartened by people who commit to one another like this.

“In a legitimate democracy, (a soft place to land) means that your well-being is considered and your ability to help design and give meaning to its structures and institutions is realized.” John Powell, design architect at the Stanford d.school

Other People Don’t Think You’re a Mess
by Anna Bruk in Scientific American
We all have weaknesses, and all know hardship. But it’s difficult, even on a good day, to admit we are struggling, to ask for help or to apologize when we are out of line.

…the best way to break these cycles is to admit our difficulties to others. That step can be excruciating and frightening, but keeping problems to ourselves can create even more long-term complications. After all, unacknowledged feelings and frustrations rarely stay under the rug. That is why it is important to figure out how to openly articulate one’s feelings or thoughts even when that form of expression leaves us feeling exposed or uncomfortable.

Across a variety of situations, such as asking for help or admitting to a mistake, people perceived their own displays of vulnerability more negatively than others did. We refer to this pattern of conflicting perceptions as the “beautiful mess effect.”

In a safe environment and with a responsive conversation partner, a vulnerable stance in close relationships may have tremendous benefits.

…people who don’t have a lot of compassion for themselves evaluated an admission of their own mistake more negatively than when they imagined others who took the same step. Highly self-compassionate study participants, on the other hand, did not fall prey to this beautiful mess effect. In their evaluations, the difference in how they viewed displays of vulnerability in themselves versus others was significantly smaller than in people lacking self-compassion.

…being kinder to ourselves may give us a safe place to land, no matter where showing our vulnerability leads us. Then, we don’t need to have as much faith in the notion that everything will go smoothly if we share our struggles with others. Instead, we can have more trust in ourselves to handle the outcome either way.

Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: What are you currently wondering about?

High School
What falafel is
I am currently wondering about why people waste so much time, when they don't have much time at all.
Nothing
My future
Nothing
I wonder how far technology will take us. I wonder if technology is a reflection of humanity or if it mutes our humanity?
I am wondering about when we won’t have to wear masks in school and when COVID will pass
Winter break and spending time with my family.
I am wondering about how long my science test will be.
I am wondering why horrible things happen to good people.
How does light form colors? How do animal bodies work? Also - when does the mask mandate end?
If covid will get worse
What will I do this weekend?
How normal this school year is compared to others
I am wondering what it would be like to know how all my students' families are doing right now.
I am wondering about why people don't care about everyone, and why people think that they are better than anyone else.
I'm wondering if I'm going to do good on the math, english and science quiz.

Time to Wonder

12/9/2021

December 7, 2021

To encourage dialogue and reflection about the importance of making time for us to wonder, our topic/question for the dinner table is: What are you currently wondering about? Time to Wonder (Week of 12/5/21) (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

After a week that seemed to go by quicker than ever (anyone else feel that way?), it was nice to have some time to step back a bit during the weekend. The Angel Run was a great scene, as always - so nice to see so many students and families together on a beautiful day. Having not run too much recently, I I was pretty sore the next day!

Last weekend began Friday afternoon by gathering together to celebrate one of my dear friend’s upcoming 50th birthday. It was so nice to be able to connect, do something ‘social’, laugh, and walk down memory lane a bit. As I was driving home, I was thinking about how important it is for me to make time for ‘things like this’. I often do not allow myself time to break from the norm, get off of the proverbial treadmill, and make time for myself. It brought me back to this post from a few years ago that really spoke to me…
Do You Wear Your Busyness Like a Badge of Honor?

If I am being honest, as I read that post the first time, I thought the author had done a case study on me or had been asked to describe me! Down time and #slowingitdown is a real challenge for me, but I recognize and intellectually know that this is a ‘practice’ and one I really want to keep working on. With these thoughts floating around in my head (and in my continued quest to make sense and connect these thoughts), I am attempting to make space for my own ‘wondering’ with a few ‘shares’ this week that fostered reflection, learning, and growth…

Sampling of ‘positive shares’ from our Department Chairs
** We started the meeting by going around the room and simply sharing one positive ‘thing’ at Blake...

Students watching/participating in a virtual Q&A with Medfield residents and our local representative
Students involved in hands-on labs and the upcoming annual ‘STEM’ talk with alumni
Observations of teachers and students engaged in authentic learning - same ‘content’, but differentiated approaches and experiences
Planning for upcoming Hour of Code for all of our math learners
Professional development endeavors for teachers to improve skills at assessing proficiency and enhancing calibration
Engagement and excitement of our students in ‘the arts’
Upcoming concerts for our students in their ensembles - first time in a couple of years
Teachers making individual, meaningful connections with our students
Cohesive departmental conversations about programming
Collective and collaborative approaches for supporting the well-being and health of students and families

Tweets that Resonate
** These two tweets came into my feed - they really spoke (and speak) to me and I believe they are worthy of deep reflection and action...
Chris Lehmann @chrislehmann
The very hard thing about schools is this... if we aren't willing to put in the hard work to proactively create the schools we need, we will *always* have to spend the time on the reactive problems that arise, and over time, those will erode all our best ideas and efforts.

Tyler Rablin @Mr_Rablin
I'm still thinking about how @cynn1 referred to assessment as, "Deeply listening to students."
It so beautifully captures why we need to humanize the assessment as much as possible. We've too often forgotten what it's truly about.

Post that Focuses on the Value of ‘Awe’ and Wonder
Awe Might Be Our Most Undervalued Emotion. Here’s How to Help Children Find It
by Deborah Farmer Kris in The Washington Post
Awe is what we feel when we encounter something vast, wondrous or beyond our ordinary frame of reference. It evokes a sense of mystery and wonder. And, given its documented benefits, awe might be our most overlooked, undervalued emotion.

Psychologist Dacher Keltner, the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkeley, has spent years studying the beneficial effects of awe on our physical, mental and emotional well-being. “It makes us curious rather than judgmental. It makes us collaborative. It makes us humble, sharing and altruistic. It quiets the ego so that you’re not thinking about yourself as much.” It also calms the brain’s default mode network and has been shown to reduce inflammation. In other words, he says, don’t underestimate the power of goose bumps.

“How do you find awe? You allow unstructured time. How do you find awe? You wander. You drift through. You take a walk with no aim,” Keltner says. “How do you find awe? You slow things down. You allow for mystery and open questions rather than test-driven answers. You allow people to engage in the humanities of dance and visual art and music.”

If every hour is filled with activities, pressures and obligations, then children will have less time to wonder, wander or tune in to their emotions and surroundings.

Listening to Our Students
** It is always important to make space to hear the voices from our community - fostering self-reflection

Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: How can your imagination and curiosity help you learn?

Imagination and curiosity can help you learn because if you are curious about things, you will want to learn more.
By taking myself to a relaxing place
It can help you participate more in class
Help me be the best me
They can help you learn by really thinking through things better then someone that doesn’t use their imagination or curiosity. Also using both of these helps make learning more fun!
It can help you strategize new ideas and grow your mind
It can help you learn because you can but your imagination and curiosity roam in a appropriate way and be free
Discover new things
It can help because you can go to your happy place and focus :)
My imagination and curiosity can help me learn because doing those things can help me stay engaged in learning and encourage myself to learn new things.
By finding different solutions to problems. Imagination and curiosity can help fuel resourcefulness.
It can help you be creative
Imagination and curiosity can help you learn because it makes your brain think and wonder. That makes people want to learn more and more and look at things in a new perspective.
It helps you to be creative with your work.
It can help you explore more things and be open to learning new things. It can help you learn because if you are curious you will want to learn which helps and an imagination always helps!
You will have creative ideas which will aid in learning.
Doing more projects like posters and slideshows instead of basic assignments.
Your imagination and curiosity can help you learn by creating questions that help you decipher what you are learning.
It can help me want to learn more and be smart
My imagination reminds me that the world is constantly evolving and we can create newness each day!
Because it allows me to express myself
It can give me a break from trying to get the right answers all the time.
Imagination can help me learn because I can find ways that help me learn using it.
You can do stuff in your own ways
You can think outside the box and figure out problems
in many ways
Your imagination can help you learn by picturing the situation.
Help you create beautiful things
If you let it lead you then you will learn about things you are really interested about and you would learn more because you would be interested in the subjects you are learning about.
Imagination and curiosity helps me learn and make it more fun.
My imagination can help me create something in Explorations.
Curiosity deepens and widens my learning.
It can help me think outside the box and learn in a different perspective
When you are being imaginative it can help you finish in a more creative way.
If you have a good creative mind you can expand your knowledge.
It can try and make you wonder about the answers to a question, which you will ask and learn the answer.
Curiosity can help your learning by asking questions and gaining more knowledge that you might not have learned if you were curious .
It can help me become more creative in my writing and reading, and really think about things a little more.
By making me want to continue learning and have fun learning.
Imagination and curiosity are critical to learning because they naturally engage the mind and put it in a place to be receptive to learning new things.
My imagination and curiosity can help me learn by helping me think that my learning ability can always be improved.
If you imagine and use creativity you can think outside the box.

Willful Imagination

11/30/2021

November 30, 2021

To encourage dialogue and reflection about the role of curiosity and imagination in the learning process, our topic/question for the dinner table is: How can your imagination and curiosity help you learn? Willful Imagination (Week of 11/28/21) (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

It was lovely to have several days to press pause, adjust the pace, and get off of the proverbial ‘treadmill’ so that we can hopefully recharge a bit (as I write this, I wonder when was the last time that I felt ‘fully charged’?). We spent Thanksgiving with Katie’s family and have enjoyed time for walks, reading, reflection, yoga, and what we hope to be the end of leaf pick-up!

On several of my runs/walks over the weekend, I found myself thinking and reflecting upon this break from school and the purpose and intent behind our district’s ‘No Homework’ policy over the Thanksgiving weekend (among other times in the year). I believe we all know, agree, and appreciate that this is important and the shared sentiments from many, including myself, to unplug and rest are sincere and real. But, do we (and by ‘we’, I am asking myself) take enough time to truly articulate the ‘why’ that this need is here. In addition to the need to create space for all of us (students, staff, and families) to explore interests, we need the time to rest - and, the rest allows time to heal and rejuvenate. This has been a challenging period of time, and I am fully cognizant of the fact that we have not had time to heal - and, we need to make sure we name that reality - the idea/notion of ‘returning to normal’ is simply not realistic, and (speaking from the ‘I’) nor is it the direction we should be heading. I think we need a different approach - and, I believe we owe our students and ourselves that different approach - by extending the ‘why’ behind this ‘no homework weekend’ to our day-to-day practices and the systems we have in place.

The three posts below are ones that speak to the importance of taking a new lens/approach to some of our practices and rethinking our individual and collective approach. They underscore the role and importance of curiosity and imagination in this process, and I hope they help to spark ideas, foster questions, and elicit actionable steps we can take to support all of our learners as we move forward...

We Have to Prepare Students for the Next Level, Don't We?
by Rick Wormeli (@rickwormeli2)
Some universities blame the poor academic performance of their young adult students on the poor quality instruction they think students received in high schools. High schools blame the middle schools, middle schools blame elementary schools, and elementary schools blame their students’ gene pool. It is stunning how similar their commentaries are to those recorded by educators 100, even 1,000, years ago, and yet, here we are, still progressing.

In all subjects, we have students with different readiness levels, all presenting widely varying backgrounds, and all in different states of emotional, intellectual, and physical maturation. Most of us work in schools set up as factory models, however, based on the 1892 recommendations of the Committee of Ten who established a standardized curriculum and the idea of high schools and their different hour, different class, cattle call.

Building on this already dysfunctional approach is the sense that the primary purpose of each grade level is to prepare students for the next grade level: We have to get these students ready for high school! We have to get these high schoolers ready for the working world or college! Drawing from the factory metaphor, it is as if each station on the curriculum conveyor belt is built to make sure the products are ready for the next station on the conveyor belt.

Young adolescents’ internal mind space rallies around the here and now, not the later. For them, every effort is made to survive the day and navigate the week, not assure college placement in six years. A constant focus on future benefits of current learning is often frustrating for young adolescents.

Let’s stop the nonsense that we cannot differentiate or assess with nontraditional formats because teachers in levels above do not provide those experiences, and thus, students will be unprepared for the unfamiliar. Instead, let’s live up to what actually works: teaching students the course content and skills in whatever ways lead to their continual development, and helping them mature as individuals and learners so they can flourish in varied learning situations, even those devoid of effective teaching.

Middle level schools are vibrant, intense environments with unique needs that are very different than those of high schools, colleges, or the working world. Perpetuating the factory model of schooling by importing policies from high schools and colleges to our middle level schools because we think it prepares students for what is to come is uninformed and ineffective. Let’s be experts in 10- to 15-year-olds instead, and even better, let’s manifest that expertise in our classrooms daily.

Roots and Shoots
from The Character Lab
At the root of all learning is curiosity—questions you want to know the answer to, for no other immediate reason than you’re dying to know.

New research shows that it is not only curious questions, but also interesting answers, that further enhance learning and memory, particularly as children grow into adolescents. In other words, teenagers are smarter when they’re tackling topics whose questions and answers fill them with wonder.

You’re never too old, or too young, to puzzle over something you don’t understand, to figure it out for yourself, and then, with shining eyes, to share your discovery with people you love.

Let’s Not Return to School, Let’s Move Beyond It
by Tony Jackson and Jordan Shapiro in Getting Smart
What education system do we need not only to prepare for the future but also to ensure the human race has a future?...it is time to rethink the ways we center young people in their education. How can we reframe the conversations about learning, community support, and policies that will really allow our children to flourish and reach their full intellectual and human potential?

First, if students don’t understand themselves, they can’t understand others. And without empathy, there is no working together, no collective prosperity.

Second, we should embrace the notion that learning happens everywhere, all the time. Recent research on youth during the pandemic shows that given the opportunity and the right support, kids take learning into their own hands.

Third, let’s rethink where the power and responsibility for education lies...Only by sharing power and responsibility for education, in a radically cooperative fashion, can we transition our children to be the makers of a 22nd century worth living in.

Taking the comfortable path of least resistance back to normal imperils our future. We need a new, inclusive approach to education for the 22nd century. Our children’s future and the future of the human race depend on it.

One actionable step I have been thinking about is how we must continue to start by meeting students where they are - not projecting, but starting where they are. In order to do this, we must ask questions and listen - and, with this in mind, I am sharing more responses than I typically do to last week’s question...

Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: What are you thankful for?

My family
family
I am thankful to have a roof over my head.
My family and friends
School friends and family and food ,hot water and clothes
I am thankful that we get to go to in person school this year
My friends, My family, my Education, shelter, and food
My friends and family and food
My family and friends, god and earth
My family, my health, my family's health and the hard work going into our new home
I am thankful for my education, home, food, drink, friends, family, and happiness.
my family, friends, food, water, my house, and my dog.
My family
My family, my activities, my things and opportunities in life.
I'm thankful for education
Family, friends, shelter, and food.
Family and friends that love me, having food to eat.
That we are back full time in school
Modern day western medicine
I am thankful for everything I have.
I am thankful for my wonderful family! For my kind friends and lovable puppies. I am thankful for the beautiful place I live in and the delicious food I get to enjoy!
Family, friends, food,water,shelter
A family, an education, friends
Family, food and Friends
family and food
I am thankful for my amazing family (mom dad sister and dog) and Mr. Kennedy, Mr Kennedy is amazing he has taught me so much and I really appreciate everything he has done for me. (he coaches my town soccer team)
I'm grateful for my parents and my dog, Lexi.
Something I am thankful for is that I am physically healthy.I am also so thankful for my best friend because she is always there for me and me. I know I can trust her and it helps me so much to have a friend like her. Those are just so things I am thankful for.
Animals And My Family
I’m thankful for my family, my brother is supe supportive of me and I’m so happy my sister is okay after a hard year.
I am thankful for my family, friends, my dance classes, my pets, my education, and my health
Basketball and family
I am thankful for my family.
My basic needs are being met, and having a community I know I can lean on if needed.
I am thankful for air conditioning (strangely).
I am thankful for my health, and of course my family.
My family.
I am thankful for all my friends and family, my home, food, water, clothes, my friends and family are healthy.
I am thankful for my family, my friends, my house, my food and my education. ALso that i am able to do gymnastics.
I am thankful for my family, my friends, food, shelter, comfort, school, education, activities, dance, and basketball.
My family, my pets, my best friend, friends, house, food, running water
my family, friends ,food and health!
Food and me and my family’s health
My family and my new position here at Blake. When you look forward to coming to work it seeps over into every aspect of your life. I am Thankful for that!
Food, Family, Friends
My family,friends,food,dog
That I have friends and family that care about me and that I'm happy.
I am thankful for my family
I am thankful for all of the new friends I have made in the past few months.

These next few weeks will be busy (yes, I know all weeks are - but, the holiday season brings more elements each year), and I hope we can help one another to be purposeful in our pursuit to foster imagination, curiosity, and growth. At last week’s faculty meeting, I shared these take-aways that one listener had from one of Glennon Doyle’s recent podcast episodes - Kelly C. passed them along to me - and they serve (and will continue to serve) as an example for me as a ‘mirror’ for me to self-reflect, observe from a different lens, adapt, and grow...
1) "Crisis functions as an accelerator."
COVID, our crisis de jour, has nudged people to leave careers, end marriages, decide to have children.
If there was an issue, COVID may have shone a spotlight on it.
In my life, what was a crack became a chasm.
And it wasn't just me.
2) "Deserving is the wanting of the deprived."
Ever say "I deserve this nap, drink, new dress, hug"?
How is it different if you say "I *want* this nap, drink..."?
There's no deprivation in wanting. There is deprivation in deserving.
Catch yourself when you say "I deserve..."
3) "The speaker is defined by the listener."
I started to learn this when I joined #ship30for30 earlier this year. @Nicolascole77 taught me to write for an audience.
And this quick turn of phrase hit the lesson home.
How I speak should depend on who I'm speaking to.
** When moments of clarity shoot through the crowded universe, grab them.

Making Room for Gratitude

11/23/2021

November 23, 2021

To encourage dialogue and reflection about the practice of gratitude, our topic/question for the dinner table is: What are you thankful for this year? Making Room for Gratitude (Week of 11/21/21) (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

Our weekend was a busy one for sure between basketball tournaments for both boys and theater performances at both Blake and Holliston High School - lots of fun, but I am pretty sure I am not getting the rest my body and mind are asking for! The opening night performance of The Descendants at Blake was truly wonderful - it was great to have the students back in the theater as a community. Congratulations to the cast and crew and thanks to Tracy Allen, Maureen Doctoroff, Joe Knaus, Kathleen Caprio, Nancy McLaughlin, Ann Marie Tremblay, Kim Price, Alice O’Connor, Bruno Joline, Emily Alland, Susan Bycoff, Holly Williamson, and all of the parent volunteers - special kudos to Tracy for her leadership and work with all of the students!

Last week I was having a conversation with one of my colleagues about individuals/books/talks that have had a profound influence on our work. There were many that came to mind, including Randy Pausch’s last lecture (Randy Pausch's Last Lecture). I highly recommend reading the book and viewing the talk. After our conversation, I took a ‘deep dive’ into Pausch and his work, coming across the words shared above. The statement is a simple one and when I read the words, they sound so easy. As true as I know this sentiment is, I find it challenging at times to #slowitdown and make room for this practice of showing gratitude. Perhaps it is just me and others may not find the practice to be challenging, but I find that I (at least as of late) have been dwelling on deficits (what’s lacking) rather than on strengths (areas of abundance) - and, I want to work on that.

The research is very clear (not much debate) about the ‘science of gratitude’ (and, yes - I am sharing some of the annual references below as it is that ‘time of year’), and I find it is easier for me to ask others to practice gratitude than doing it myself - isn’t that always the case? I find my advice to be wise for others, but when it comes to following my own advice - well, that does not always happen. I typically take this week (the week before Thanksgiving - as much as I push and believe in change, I do love traditions as well!) to reflect and share, in a structured fashion, some ‘realms of gratitude’, for lack of a better description (i.e. Intentional Gratitude, Naming and Sharing Our Gratitude, Time for Gratitude). But, as I shared, it’s been harder than usual for me as of late. This is not to say that I do not recognize how fortunate I am with health, family, security, and care - I do see and feel a deep sense of gratitude for all of this. What I am experiencing, I believe, is reflective of our (thinking broadly) current reality. Everything feels divisive and hard - and, let’s be honest, it just doesn’t feel divisive because things are just that - divisive. It does not take too much time to find divisions these days, locally, nationally, and globally - politics, school board meetings, social justice, racial justice, medical decisions. And I know from conversation with colleagues in my job-alike, we are not alone - these divisions are pervasive and feel ‘ingrained’.

So, where does this leave me with my annual framework for gratitude? Well, I am going to put that off for now (at least for the most part) and will be delaying that formal sense of sharing - for, at least the time being. I find myself yearning for community, hope, and light - through conversations, readings, and connections - and, an acknowledgement of feelings, for myself and others. That is what I am really grateful for - a space to be vulnerable in a collective community. And that vulnerability will help to make room for the gratitude that is so necessary right now. With this in mind, below are a few ‘shares’ (some new, some from the past) that I have helped me - and, in turn, perhaps by sharing they may resonate and make some room for others as well...

Wisdom from John Dewey

Wisdom from Brene Brown

Last Year’s Sharing
These sentiments are ‘annual thoughts’ and hold true once again...

It is so important to reflect and convey our thanks
We need to act on our gratitude
A community must be inclusive of all
Modeling our gratitude and acknowledging our areas of growth for where we are ‘falling short’ is critical
We must practice, adjust, listen, recalibrate, and stay with our work - it will help us foster a culture of gratitude and support
Gratitude is an intentional practice
I hope we can learn and give thanks to one another
Giving thanks is something that we all can do

‘Permission to Feel’
In acknowledging these feelings and ideas, the ‘permission to feel’ (Marc Brackett - Permission to Feel) is so important, and I hope we can be attuned to the ways we do this for our students, families, one another, and ourselves. This post below connects the ways that we can give agency (#willfulaction) to these feelings…

Broken promises and disappointment from this pandemic: A chance to tell a new story?
by Robin Stern, Cecily Lipton, and Marc Brackett in The Hill
It is particularly hard for younger people, or those who haven’t had the life experience to know that sometimes things—big things—don’t go according to plan. And a lot hasn’t gone according to the narrative we had planned for ourselves these past 21 months. Many high school students will never have a prom or a “normal” graduation; others spent their first year of college living at home. Adults missed key personal events like family gatherings, weddings, and sharing the birth of their children, as well as professional milestones—arguing their first case in court, presenting at a conference, meeting new colleagues in person.

It’s easy to get stuck dwelling on how it wasn’t supposed to be like this.
The good news is that we can rewrite our narrative, something behavioral health experts call positive reappraisal. Telling a different story about an event through a positive lens can be an important pathway towards resilience and well-being.
The pandemic has provided great practice for positive reappraisal. Instead of mourning the narrative that you thought you would be a part of, why not create a new narrative? Your own. Make yourself the hero, find new themes, invent new traditions. Ask yourself, “What is the best story I can tell about myself during this time?” or “How can I look at this from a different perspective?

Maybe it’s a story of gratitude...Gratitude, in fact, nurtures our well-being. Maybe it’s a story of perspective...Maybe it’s a story of creativity...Maybe it’s a story of something new...Maybe it’s a story of learning about yourself.
The reality of our lives may not be what we want it to be right now, but we owe it to ourselves—and our health—to make the best of things. We owe it to ourselves to create that new narrative.

The bad news is that the ride is broken, and it has been for a while. The good news is that the entire world is still yours to explore, and there are endless ways that you can take control of the direction of the story of your life and decide how you will be in the world as it exists now.

Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: What is something (an idea, understanding, or practice) that you are currently rethinking and trying to better understand?

I am currently taking a reading course. There are many strategies I plan to implement and incorporate into my teaching. I am most interested in trying some new strategies for sightword and fluency development.
Covid
My mental health
COVID
Geometry
SBR
What my connection to the stars is
How I feel about church and going to support what I believe
LGBTQ+
I am trying to understand why mentally taking deep breaths can help you and calm you down.

Some Thankful Sentiments - Shared Each Year (modified a bit)...
Although they most likely read and sound familiar and repetitive each year, I promise that the sincerity of these sentiments continue to grow in their depth. As I share each year, Thanksgiving is a holiday that holds great significance for me and my family since an accident I experienced while running back in 2009. It is hard to believe 12 years have passed since that time (Grayden was 3 months old!). At that difficult time, Katie and I found ourselves filled (overwhelmed, actually) with gratitude, appreciation, and love for the care and support we received from our Holliston and Blake/Medfield communities. Those feelings, sentiments, and emotions are still very strong and present for all of us. Although I will not be sharing my gratitude at an assembly this Wednesday, my gratitude is indeed real - it may be hard to articulate it at times, but my intention remains true to keep expressing it - thank you. It is a privilege to work in a community that has both fostered and encouraged my own growth while also showing deep care for me and my family. I have shared these words from President Kennedy and the post/video below for several years and will be sure to continue bringing them to light...

The Science of Happiness - An Experiment in Gratitude
(7:13)
I encourage everyone to find seven minutes this week to watch the clip and share with others.

In Praise of Gratitude
from Harvard Mental Health Letter
I have shared this brief post the last several years - my very dear friend Mike Norton, who has done extensive work on happiness, sent it to me a few years ago. It provides a nice explanation for why gratitude is important and also offers tips to be more grateful.
In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.

Gratitude is a way for people to appreciate what they have instead of always reaching for something new in the hopes it will make them happier, or thinking they can't feel satisfied until every physical and material need is met. Gratitude helps people refocus on what they have instead of what they lack. And, although it may feel contrived at first, this mental state grows stronger with use and practice.

I would be remiss by not recognizing and naming that this time of year can be a particularly stressful and emotional one for both students and adults - and, maybe even more so this year. Personal situations, the loss of loved ones, or memories can bring forth many emotions, so please be sure to look out for one another and also rely on our community for support. Although I wish I could, I know it is unrealistic for me (particularly this year) to have the opportunity to personally wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving before Wednesday afternoon.

I am incredibly grateful to be a part of the Blake community and believe we are making a difference. Please know that I am always happy and eager to process, listen, discuss, and share - my door is always open. Let us be sure to maintain a culture and spirit of eternal vigilance for learning, listening, and gratitude. As always, thank you for walking this path with us as a community.

I look forward to the work that lies ahead for us.
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Take care.
Nat

Checking Our Beliefs, Assumptions, and Understandings

11/18/2021

November 18, 2021

To encourage dialogue and reflection about the ways that we can learn by rethinking and challenging our beliefs and assumptions, our question for the week is: What is something (an idea, understanding, or practice) that you are currently rethinking and trying to better understand? Checking Our Beliefs, Assumptions, and Understandings (Week of 11/14/21) (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

After the rainy and dark weather this past Friday, coupled with adjusting to the earlier onset of evening with Daylight Savings this week, the sunlight and November color in the sky on Saturday morning was a welcome gift. Having ‘crashed’ pretty early the night before, it was great to wake up and embrace the light with a morning run and some yoga. Sunday afternoon we gathered with some of our British friends outside for their annual Guy Fawkes party - it’s always fun to get together, especially after taking last year off!

Last Wednesday it was wonderful to be able to have some of our veterans visit with our 6th grade students and to host them for lunch in the library. I shared this with our sixth grade teachers, but this is truly one of my most favorite things we do and I feel fortunate that we were able to continue the tradition. The connections that are made for students and the veterans are special - one of our guests told Jeff and me that 'this means more to us than you know...we feel valued.' I was impressed with the respect and admiration from our students and I have been thinking (and hope you will help us think) about ways that we can engage our students and community in more activities like this.

It has been such a pleasure to get to know some of these veterans over the years (I first met Tony Centore in the spring of 2011 when we began the planning for the installation/remembrance of the Vietnam Veterans plaque at the center of the flag circle at Blake - his smile, care, and warm sense of humor are always present when he arrives), and I have so enjoyed the relationships that have been formed and maintained. It was heartening to hear that one of our teachers exchanges holiday cards with their guest veteran and they look forward to this day each year. So many connections made, so many lessons learned, and so many areas of growth of learning...I called Katie that afternoon and shared that I had just had one of the best days at school in the last couple of years that I could remember.

Whether it is during casual conversations in the library, listening to our guests catch up with each other, or during their conversations and question/answer sessions in the classroom, I always learn something new - and, in this learning, I gain a new (or renewed) perspective. In one of the classrooms, one of our guests shared that one of their deepest (or long lasting) takeaways was the learning they gained about other cultures during the time they served in the military. Having never experienced or met people outside of his own culture when growing up, the time he spent overseas challenged his own beliefs and assumptions that he made or gathered in his head. He shared that it was not until he spent time with others that he grew and ‘rethought’ his understanding/knowledge that he previously had within. In a similar, yet different way, another guest shared with students that he felt it was important to dispel myths that many people had about the military. He shared some wise advice to our students - ‘Make sure you take time to listen to others and ask questions’.

As I have been processing this visit and also catching up on some assigned reading material for the upcoming DEI Task Force meeting on Monday, I continue to think about the importance of putting systems in place for our beliefs, practices, and biases (explicit and implicit) to be checked. My own experiences inform my decisions, and this is why a culture and environment of diverse thought/experience is so important (this systemic approach and structure will inherently and naturally broaden our discussions and decision-making). And, as Adam Grant (@AdamMGrant), shares - it will point us towards an evidence-based approach to supporting our thinking, beliefs, and convictions...
“How do you know? It’s a question we need to ask more often, both of ourselves and of others.”

In a podcast (link is below) that I have referenced with our staff (and with what feels like anyone that will listen and indulge me!), Grant shares a strategy via a question to help bridge the gap that may exist with differences of opinion.
A Slight Change of Plans - Adam Grant Thinks Again
(38 min)
Psychologist and author Adam Grant talks with Maya about the science of changing peoples’ minds, including our own. Adam also takes some of his own advice and rethinks some of his ideas.

He shares (and I am paraphrasing)......
In order to recruit someone else's agency in a discussion, debate, disagreement, or challenge, ask this of others:
'What evidence would you need to hear/read/know in order to change your mind?'

This question allows one to name the evidence that is needed and takes what can feel like a ‘defensive posture’ out of a dynamic. It also pushes and begins to engage each of us in the practice of self-reflection.

So...how does this connect to our work at Blake and in schools? Well, there are many ways I believe it connects, but the overarching and underlying foundation of ‘traditions in school’ is what continues to jump out at me. We must be continually challenging our beliefs and practices to see if the ‘evidence we have’ matches our beliefs and assumptions. And, we must embrace our mission and mantra of ‘a willingness to adapt’. The two posts below are relevant and pertinent, as they challenge the notions many of us have (including myself, if I’m being honest) of ‘kids these days’. They are worthy of reflection and provide evidence - and, as a result, my own thoughts have evolved.

Both posts are ones I am sure I will circle back to in the future. I’ve noted a few take-aways and themes below from the second post (excerpts from an interview with Nancy Hill and Alexis Redding of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, authors of The End of Adolescence: The Lost Art of Delaying Adulthood).

Every generation thinks poorly of the youth of their day
Misperceptions about youth
Similar insecurities and concerns about each generation
Coming of age is similar
Young people are in the midst of a story where they don’t know their ending
More agency in defining what adulthood looks like today - notable difference
There is an inherent equity issue - we need to address this by providing all of our youth the ‘benefit of time to grow’
False narrative about generational differences creates a boundary
If we could tell every youth that it’s going to turn out OK, how much freedom would that give them to be their authentic selves?

The Bunk of Generational Talk - WSJ
by Bobby Duffy in The Wall Street Journal
Our wrongheaded thinking about generations leads us to focus on the wrong problems...Across a range of issues, manufacturing fake generational battles denies us the benefits of intergenerational connection and solidarity.

For the 19th-century French sociologist Auguste Comte, the generation was a key factor in “the basic speed of human development.” “We should not hide the fact that our social progress rests essentially upon death; which is to say that the successive steps of humanity necessarily require a continuous renovation…from one generation to the next,” Comte wrote. Generations differ from one another, and that’s a good thing, since it prevents society turning into a “stagnant pond.”

Mixing up lifecycle and generation effects creates lazy headlines based on fake differences. Our generational stereotypes are also riven with contradictions.

It is true that young people are at the leading edge of change in cultural norms around race, immigration, sexuality and gender identity. For example, eight in 10 members of Gen Z say there is nothing wrong with sexual relations between people of the same sex, compared with around three in 10 of those born before World War II. But older people have always fretted about the different cultural norms of young people. In 400 B.C., Socrates moaned about the youth of his day and their “bad manners, contempt for authority, disrespect for elders.” Young people are less set in their ways and more comfortable with change than older people; as Comte understood, that’s how societies avoid going stale.

The gaps between young and old on emergent cultural issues today are no larger than gaps in the past.

The problem with such statements isn’t the idea of generational difference itself but rather how generational labels are applied. A more accurate understanding of those differences would help to reduce conflict at home, at work and in politics. It would remind us that generations don’t have utterly distinct and unchanging characteristics. People and societies change over the long term in ways that no stereotype about age cohorts can begin to capture.

What’s the Matter With Kids Today?
by Liz Mineo in The Harvard Gazette
** Education scholars debunk myth that young people today are lazier, more immature than prior generations
It seems that every generation thinks poorly of the youth of their day. Misperceptions today include that youth are lazy and self-indulgent, that they only want to work in jobs that are prestigious and pay well, that they live with their parents, and that they are resistant to growing up. We debunked these myths when we discovered a forgotten archive of interviews with college students from the 1940s to the 1970s. Based on these interviews, our research showed that college students from prior generations sound shockingly similar to today’s youth...In debunking the myth that today’s youth are somehow more reticent to grow up than prior generations, we were able to demonstrate that coming of age is very similar from one generation to the next and that we understand them better than we imagined.

There’s always been a dismissive narrative about “kids these days,” and so much of it stems from our own forgetting about what it’s like to be in this profound period of transition and to be making decisions at a moment when we’re still uncertain about how things are going to work out. When we look back across our lives, we can connect the dots in a way that makes sense because we know the end of the story. But we forget that young people are in the midst of a story where they don’t yet know that ending.

...we see young people today crafting for themselves what it looks like to build a family of their own. As we’re looking at these markers, not everyone is going to choose to get married or raise children, and that doesn’t make them less of an adult. It’s important for current generations to be aware that there is more agency in defining what adulthood looks like today. That’s a notable difference.

There are theories out there that say that “emerging adulthood” is a new developmental stage we need to account for in our theories. It’s not a new developmental stage for two reasons: First, delaying adulthood is something that people have been doing for decades. Second, not everyone gets to experience more time by delaying adulthood. It’s an equity issue, and if we can name it and understand the costs of pressing some people into adulthood and others getting the privilege of time, then we can really deal with it and give everyone the benefits of time and then help them understand what to do with it.

We see this false narrative about generational difference that is creating such a boundary between parents and their children, and teachers and the students whom they teach. Our goal in building this connection is not only to break down that divide, but also to build a bridge that helps us to understand that our shared developmental experience means that we can offer meaningful guidance across generations. We can also have more empathy for young people today by tapping into the fact that we experienced these moments as well. I think we get so stuck in talking about generational divides that we forget not only that we understand kids today, but that we can give them advice that resonates with what they’re going through.

If we could tell every youth that it’s going to turn out OK, how much freedom would that give them to be their authentic selves?

** Although the connections with this week’s reflection are not as direct as in other weeks, these responses shared below provide more insight into the minds and thoughts within our community. I feel as though we can never do that enough.

Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: What are you looking forward to in the near future? Why?

I am looking forward to our next unit on A Christmas Carol! This will be a great opportunity for kids to read aloud, analyze, and collaborate in a fun way!
Going to the olympics for gymnastics
Having Thanksgiving with my parents, sister's family and brother's family. We haven't been all together on a holiday since 2019.
My career because I want to be successful
I am looking forward to Thanksgiving to spend time with my family.
I am looking forward to Thanksgiving. It is always a good time spent with family and a reset after the fall season.
I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving so I can give my dog turkey bits and he'll be happy.
Thanksgiving with family and friends. Also winter, I love the cold crisp blue sky winter days!
Time (Veteran's Day) - to reflect on many things and connect with a friend or two

There are many hopes that I (and I know we) have for our students, and many of these hopes are connected to the experiences that we create and establish for them in school. From my own experience and ‘speaking from the I’, for myself and listening to our three children, these tangible opportunities that we foster are authentic moments for growth and reflection. They offer and provide the windows and paths to challenge and further their own understandings of themselves and others, both concrete and abstract, and they will be better ‘served’ as a result. Asking questions, gathering evidence, listening, and being open to change - keys that I hope I am continuing to improve upon for myself, our students, and our community.

Embracing the Future

11/8/2021

November 9, 2021

To encourage dialogue and reflection about the future and the ways that we can allow ourselves to grow and learn, our question for the week is: What are you looking forward to in the near future? Why? Embracing the Future (Week of 11/7/21) (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

The chilly November weather has certainly arrived and I hope everyone enjoyed the extra hour of sleep/rest/time with Daylight Savings. Our weekend began with MCPE’s Fall Fest on Friday evening, and we then did our best to be outside in the sunlight while plugging away at the never-ending leaves in the yard!

As we finish the first week of November, I find that it is a good time for planning and reflection (well, truth be told, I feel as though I am always planning and reflecting - but, this feels like a natural ‘point in time’ for it). We are more than halfway through term 1, budget season has begun for the next fiscal year, and the flows and rhythm of the school year are in motion. I am a worrier by nature, and this process of reflection can sometimes bog me down. I can get stuck in a pattern of dwelling on past experiences, and this is something I am working on - allowing the learning/reflection to help inform my perspectives and experiences in the future.

Last week I shared some thoughts about the ways we can help to adjust our mindsets (Shifting Our Thinking) and this is definitely a work in progress for me. These two posts offer different perspectives on the importance of embracing the future and allowing learning and exploration to take place. The concept of the ‘invisible staircase’ in Pasricha’s post is one that I hope will allow me to move beyond some anticipatory angst and allow the changes and growth to simply happen. And, in a similar vein, Gopnik’s recent post speaks to the ways we can learn from our children - I am reminded of this every single day.

Why are we so bad at predicting what will happen to us in the future?
by Neil Pasricha in Ideas.TED.com
We all think that the way things are now is the way things will continue to be...When we’re at rock bottom, we are certain that there’s no way up. We think we’ll never get out of our parents’ basement. We think our divorce means we’ll never meet someone new. If we’ve lost our jobs, we think we’ll be scrolling online postings forever. The researchers called this the “end of history illusion.” We think everything will remain unchanged from here on out.

Inevitably, everything we go through in life really is a step to help us get to a better place.

You think because you can’t see up the staircase there aren’t any more steps. But there are more steps. And change will come. It always does. That’s why it’s so hard to see change as a step. To see this failure, this flop, this difficult life experience as part of a process, as part of a greater whole. It’s hard to see it as a step because you can’t see the next step. And you sure can’t see 10 steps after that.

So be kind to yourself. When you’re there, when you’re stewing in the shock of failure and loss, when you’re convinced you’re stuck, when you’re convinced there’s no way forward, just remember: There’s a staircase you’re not seeing. Trust that it’s there, right in front of you, and that it leads to exciting new places. Have the courage to believe in this one thing that you can’t see. There are so many steps ahead. So many steps. Don’t stop. Shift the spotlight, and keep moving.

Why Children Learn Better Than Adults
by Alison Gopnik (@AlisonGopnik) in The Wall Street Journal
Young children seem uniquely, insatiably, marvelously curious, even at risk of life and limb. You might think that this drive to explore helps children to learn so much so quickly. But is it really true that children explore more than grown-ups and that this helps them to learn?

Computer scientists talk about a fundamental trade-off between exploration and exploitation, and learning traps are an excellent example. We grown-ups are often so anxious to exploit that we don’t explore, so afraid of losing stars that we miss the chance to learn something new. Children, in contrast, are natural explorers, willing to sacrifice stars for the sake of information. You need both types of thinking to thrive, but we grown-ups might learn something from those insatiably curious kids.

Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: What problem(s) do you want to solve? Why?

I want to solve global warming so the future generations won't be harmed by what we do.
I want to solve the problem of crowded hallways.
A problem to solve is a return to conversation norms and a willingness to listen. There are too many examples of argumentative posturing today that erode the sharing of thought and ideas.
Homework because I need to work on that
I want to solve logistics problems. A clear way forward is beneficial for mental health and productivity.
I would like students to take ownership of their mistakes. And in my opinion, there are two kinds of mistakes - 1/ Most mistakes are perfectly understandable, 2/ The "Draw a Line" mistake. Singular - Every mistake can bring the decision "Draw the Line". Before coming to that, I have added so much evidence in class, talked to so many people, even changed some of my teaching, but I have to give up and I need to find help outside of what I can do.
Global Warming
Global warming, I like cold weather more than warm weather and plus I hate the endangerment of animals that can cause them to go extinct.

As we look at the practices and systems we put in place for our students, it will be important to hold ourselves and one another (myself included) to the science of learning, growth, and reflection. Adam Grant’s words below can serve as a compass point and mantra as we continue to adapt with purpose.

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