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Purposeful Reflection - Aligning Beliefs with Practices

1/21/2020

 
January 21, 2020

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about purposefully matching our beliefs with our practices, our topic/question for the dinner table is:  What commitment can/will you make to support your own learning? What commitment can/will you make to support others’ learning?   Purposeful Reflection - Aligning Beliefs with Practices (Week of 1/19/20) (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

I did my best to embrace the no homework weekend, trying to take a step back and simply be present.  This is certainly easier said than done for me - for those who may identify or struggle with the work/life balance, I highly recommend Adam Grant’s podcast, When work takes over your life - it does not have all of the answers, but it certainly is a ‘good listen’.  We enjoyed some basketball games, cooking, the fresh snow, and some time to just hang out a bit.  The #dayofservice on Monday is always meaningful and centering - thanks to Cynthia McClelland for her passion and leadership for this work, and thanks to the students and staff who supported and participated in this wonderful tradition of service!
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Our charge as an educational culture is to reflect - individually, in small groups, and as a collective staff - upon the ways we can improve, grow, and further the learning environment at Blake.  A culture of reflection, coupled with a willingness to adapt, is one that needs attention and intention. It often feels as though education is a ‘moving target’ as the landscape is continually shifting.  To help navigate this landscape on an evolving foundation means that we must be willing to look in the mirror, ask some questions, listen to the answers, and evolve. ‘Speaking from the I’, I can share that this work is not easy - seeing and hearing my own practices challenged has humbled me.  However, these challenges have allowed a forum/mechanism for my beliefs to be more solidified or to adapt and change, as necessary. This is one of the hopes I have for our community of learners at Blake (students, staff, parents/guardians, and greater community). I want all of us (myself included) to be given multiple opportunities to learn, grow, evolve, and improve.  This is at the core of our mission and it is through multiple modes of listening and reflection that our mission will be closer to actualization...
 
Listening - Open to New Ideas…
I have always enjoyed Will Richardson’s (@willrich45) work - thought-provoking, centering, challenging, and pertinent.  A selection of quotes below highlight the spirit of openness and transparency that have helped me to reflect and look at our systems in a new light...
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Listening - Individual Reflection...
Taking time - intentionally carving out time - to reflect upon one’s practice has proven to be one of the more effective ways for me to articulate, establish, and develop my own system of beliefs.  In turn, the continued practice of reflection has allowed my beliefs to evolve and adapt. Whether it is through reading, writing, sharing, yoga, and actual practice, individual reflection has been instrumental in my own evolution as an educator.  It has helped me to remain my own reality as that of being first and foremost a learner, and being an educator second. I value the spirit and culture of learning at Blake, as shown in a sampling of responses from our faculty meeting’s opening prompt this past week...
If you had time to learn about anything, what would it be? (Multiple answers are ok!)
  • Repair/Craft (painting, carpentry, automobile, plumbing, electrical)
  • Craft (sewing, knitting)
  • Interior Design
  • Intersectionality of disciplines
  • Learning languages
  • Baking/Cooking
  • Real Estate
  • Robotics
  • Gardening/landscaping/botany
  • Sports/Activities
  • Travel/Cultures
  • Music (guitar, piano, instruments)
 
Listening - Collective Reflection…
Establishing time together to reflect, discuss, and share is key as the intentional time to collectively process gets us out of our own circles of belief (or echo chambers of similar thought).  Although our model is not perfect, the structure of the middle school fosters a culture of ‘checks and balances’, and our work to ‘live our norms’ in these contexts is critical for beliefs and practices to adapt and evolve, furthering the alignment of beliefs and practices.  We watched the two talks below as a staff (having seen each of them in previous years) this past week. Richardson and Sir Ken Robinson are progressive thought leaders in education and their talks are both worthy of further discussion and reflection…
Do these messages resonate?  Are they pertinent? Have we (both 'big picture we' and 'Blake we') made progress?  What are the implications for our students and our work? How does our mission, structures, and practices align or veer from these messages?  It is critical to note that Robinson’s talk was given in 2006 and Richardson’s in 2015 - in 2020, do the messages still hold true?
 
Do Schools Kill Creativity? (19:24)
Ken Robinson (@SirKenRobinson)
  • Unpredictability of school is extraordinary
  • All kids have tremendous talent - schools can squander them
  • Creativity is as important as literacy
  • Kids will take chances - ‘if they don’t know, they will have a go’ - by the time they become adults, they lose this capacity
  • We are educating people out of their capacities
  • Education has a hierarchy of subjects
  • As children grow up, we start to educate them progressively from the waist up.
  • Our education system is predicated on the idea of academic ability to meet the needs of the industrial revolution
  • Three things about intelligence are known…
    • Intelligence is diverse
    • Intelligence is dynamic
    • Intelligence is distinct
  • Our hope for the future is to…
    • adopt a new conception of human ecology - to reconstitute our conception of the richness of human capacity. 
    • to rethink the fundamental principles on which we're educating our children. 
  • We must see our children for the hope that they are
 
The Surprising Truth About Learning in Schools | Will Richardson | TEDxWestVancouverED (16:27)
Will Richardson (@willrich45)
  • What do we believe about how kids learn best?
  • Deeper Learning - ‘Learning in a sticky way’ - learning that sticksDeeper Learning
  • Disconnect between beliefs and practices
  • It’s an amazing time to be a learner
  • Moment of abundance in education - Kids live in a time where they can learn about the things they care about
    • They need different Literacies
    • They need different Skills
  • ‘Productive Learning’ - Includes actionable feedback
  • We have a traditional system that's preparing our kids for a traditional idea of work which doesn't exist any longer 
  • ‘Schools were not built for learning’
    • Our kids’ futures are at risk
  • Narrative of traditional schools is beginning to crumble
  • We must act and build upon the conditions for powerful learning
  • The Future of Education:  Why Hawken Has to Lead by Scott Looney:  ‘In my 28 years in education, I have never been more excited or so fearful for the future of education in this world.’
  • Kids want to learn more
  • We can no longer ignore the ‘Elephants in the room’ by admitting that…
    • our kids will forget most of what they learn in school and we know this
    • we have forgotten most of what we learned in school 
    • deep and powerful learning requires a personal interest - it has to be something that we are invested in if we're going to learn it for the long term we have to now
    • deep and powerful learning isn't served by many of the structures that we have in schools
    • the only place we're learning is limited by time and age and by discipline is in school that doesn't look anything like the real world in terms of the way we learn when we're on our own
    • kids with access are learning more productively on their own outside of school then we're allowing them to learn inside of school 
    • our current grading systems and the structures that we create to evaluate kids and teachers are at best counterproductive and at worst harmful to the whole process
  • Policy Makers - are they shifting?
  • Articulate our beliefs → They lead to our Principles → We must act upon them to reach Potential - Align our beliefs with our practices
  • Do we have the courage and commitment to make it happen?
 
Listening - Student Reflection (And Action)...
Listening to our students is simple and complex at the same time, but it is a practice that we must continue.  The key is not just to listen, but to take some steps to act upon the listening. That does not necessarily mean changing things or simply ‘going with their answers’ - rather, the listening will give us information to inform our next steps.  The time spent at this week’s faculty meeting was valuable, as we were able to ‘listen’ by reading the answers that our students provided - I hope this reflection will lead to some steps to inform our practices...
  • Looking at your Term 1 report card, what are you proud of?
  • Looking at your Term 1 report card, what was not a surprise to you? Why was it not a surprise?
  • What surprised you on your Term 1 report card? Was this a positive or negative surprise? Explain.
  • Finish this sentence: I want to keep working on…
  • If you had time to learn about anything you want this year, what would it be?
The intent of our weekly topic/question is to use the format of a question to foster dialogue - hopefully prompting inner and external reflection and dialogue.  The acknowledgement and reading of the responses will, in turn, foster more dialogue. Below are a sampling of responses from the past week...
Responses from Our Last Topic/Question (Week of 1/12/20):  What adjustments are you trying to make to become a better learner/student?
  • Helping others
  • To work harder and not procrastinate
  • I’m wanting to make class more fun, and less of sitting and talking.
  • Don’t wait for the last minute for homework
  • I’m trying to ask more questions even if they seem weird or dumb
  • I am trying to see that same subject from newer and older angles.
  • I am trying to define my work times more. My hope is that by defining certain times in which I must accomplish work, work will then not spill into downtime and vice versa.
  • Reading more
  • Making sure I do my homework
  • Focusing on my study

Listening - Reading and Sharing…
Reading and sharing is one of the ways we can be sure that we are listening, engaging, and fostering dialogue.  The two posts below are ones that I have shared before (both from summer of 2019) by Alfie Kohn (@alfiekohn) - they offer a perspective that challenge the norms, understandings, and perceptions about school...

Opinion | Why Can't Everyone Get A's?
by Alfie Kohn in The New York Times
The title of this post is a sincere and thought-provoking question worthy of discussion and consideration.  It is one that we should reflect upon when thinking about the purpose of school (to learn!) and the culture of comparison that increases as students transition from elementary to middle to high school.  As Kohn shares at the end, excellence is not a ‘zero sum game’ and we need to remember and live by this understanding.
Here’s a thought experiment. Suppose that next year virtually every student passed the tests. What would the reaction be from politicians, businesspeople, the media? Would these people shake their heads in admiration and say, “Damn, those teachers must be good!”?  Of course not. Such remarkable success would be cited as evidence that the tests were too easy. In the real world, when scores have improved sharply, this has indeed been the reaction. For example, when results on New York’s math exam rose in 2009, the chancellor of the state’s Board of Regents said, “What today’s scores tell me is not that we should be celebrating,” but instead “that New York State needs to raise its standards.”

The inescapable, and deeply disturbing, implication is that “high standards” really means “standards that all students will never be able to meet.” If everyone did meet them, the standards would just be ratcheted up again — as high as necessary to ensure that some students failed.

We have been taught to respond with suspicion whenever all members of any group are successful. That’s true even when we have no reason to believe that corners have been cut. In America, excellence is regarded as a scarce commodity. Success doesn’t count unless it is attained by only a few.

The goal, in other words, isn’t to do well but to defeat other people who are also trying to do well. Grades in this view should be used to announce who’s beating whom. And if the students in question have already been sorted by the admissions process, well, they ought to be sorted again. A school’s ultimate mission, apparently, is not to help everyone learn but to rig the game so that there will always be losers.

Framing excellence in these competitive terms doesn’t lead to improvements in performance. Indeed, a consistent body of social science research shows that competition tends to hold us back from doing our best. It creates an adversarial mentality that makes productive collaboration less likely, encourages gaming of the system and leads all concerned to focus not on meaningful improvement but on trying to outdo (and perhaps undermine) everyone else.  Most of all, it encourages the false belief that excellence is a zero-sum game. It would be both more sensible and more democratic to rescue the essence of the concept: Everyone may not succeed, but at least in theory all of us could.

GENER(aliz)ATIONS
by Alfie Kohn (@alfiekohn)
We hear comments about ‘kids these days’ very frequently and it has always rubbed me the wrong way.  Kohn’s post speaks to this phenomena and the importance of stepping back, avoiding sweeping generalizations, and gaining perspective.  It is one I will be sure to reference and come back to for myself and with staff and families in the future.
Baby Boomers were originally lumped together based on the fact that there were a lot of them (the birthrate having spiked after the War) and that they were lucky enough to come of age during a relatively affluent period. The idea that all of them — or, for that matter, all Gen X’ers or all Millennials — are also distinguished by a common political or psychological profile, a set of values or tastes, is an entirely different proposition. It’s an idea that rational people should view with a generous measure of skepticism if only because each of these labels refers to something on the order of 80 million people.
 
Rarely do older folks pause and say, “Wait a second. If these snide truisms about young people that I’m confidently repeating aren’t all that different from what our elders said about us, might that be reason to question their validity?” With respect to the specific claim that “kids today” are spoiled and their parents permissive, I had fun a few years ago digging up multiple examples of how people were saying exactly the same thing about the previous generation, and the one before that, and the one before that, and the one before that. I conducted this backward journey through the decades in a book called The Myth of the Spoiled Child, which also challenged the reactionary narrative about helicopter parents and kids with inflated self-esteem that has become the conventional wisdom.
 
The specific accusations leveled at today’s teens and young adults — that they’re entitled, overcelebrated “snowflakes” — are particularly ugly, empirically unsupported, and often animated by a political agenda. But my larger point is that we should be very cautious about offering any generalizations about an entire generation.  And by “we,” I mean all of us, including Millennials, lest they eventually start to sound like their elders in slinging calumnies at Generation Z (or whatever we end up calling the next cohort).
 
Listening - Aligning Beliefs with Practices via Action
As both implied and stated in each of these elements of reflection and listening, we always need to take the listening (at least) one step further through action.  Hard conversations will ensue and questions will be asked…
  • What are our current beliefs?
  • What are our current practices?
  • Are they aligned?
  • What action steps need to be taken?
We should continue to welcome these questions by ‘holding up a mirror’, reflecting, and adapting in the service of learning for our students.  Dr. King served as a model of alignment of beliefs with practices, and the words below are worth noting, highlighting, sharing, and living... 
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Words from Dr. King
“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.”
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I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for District Community Notices.
Enjoy the week and take care.
Nat

Adapting Our Systems

1/15/2020

 
January 15, 2020

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about adapting and changing to make improvements,  our topic/question for the dinner table is: What adjustments are you trying to make to become a better learner/student?  Adapting Our Systems (Week of 1/12/20) (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 Spring-like weekend has been lovely, providing a wonderful ‘boost’ for all of us.  It was fun seeing the kids in our neighborhood playing outside in shorts, running around, and taking advantage of the weather!  The kids and I had a nice couple of days, with Katie and some friends away for the weekend. Maggie got her driver’s permit last week, so that has been the excitement in our house!
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As educators we often talk about the complexity of school, the multiple ‘things’ we must balance, and all the things that comprise an education - mandates, written and unwritten curricula, intended and unintended learning, etc.  Although at times one may try, an education is not something that can always be clearly defined. And, there are varied opinions on the benefits of formal schooling, as Mark Twain’s words are frequently referenced - ‘I never let my schooling interfere with my education.’  I always look forward to the times when we can take a step back (or up, taking the proverbial 40,000 foot view) and take a healthy look at the systems we have in place, asking a few questions:  ‘What systems do we have? Are these the systems we want? Whose systems are they serving? Are they working?’ There are many more to ask, and this past week afforded me (and others, in different cases) the opportunity to have some of these discussions…
  • Monday afternoon’s Study Group on Race met, discussing the first few chapters of Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving
  • Visiting MHS Sociology classes, discussing systems of feedback (traditional grades, standards based reporting, narratives) - positives, negatives, challenges, and ideas
  • Hosting hosting education students from Mary Immaculate College through our partnership with the Lynch School Boston College
Through each of these meetings and visits, we talked about our structures and systems that have both led and helped to define the experiences and trajectories of our students.  Through the discussions that ensued, each of these opportunities led into conversations about change and adaptation. As much as I enjoy the discussions of educational theory and research, we must take a close eye at how they relate to our students - and, it is this ‘marriage’ of theory/research and practice that will benefit our community of learners.  It is critical that we first understand our systems, for it is only then that we are able to move from the 40,000 foot view to the classroom and experiences of our students (slides below are from DESE’s Leading with Access and Equity Conference)...
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Reflecting upon a sampling of responses from last week’s question, coupled with the posts shared below, will hopefully push us to have more conversations about the systems and practices we employ - always being mindful of the adaptations that may need to be made and how they can be supported...
Responses from Our Last Topic/Question (Week of 1/5/20):  What strategies do you use to help when you are feeling stressed?
  • I exercise until I can't move anymore.
  • I like to go for a run or walk the dog. Trying to identify what is giving me stress and making a plan to address it can also be helpful. If I carry my stress with me to bed and can't fall asleep, focused breathing exercises often help.
  • Walk away from stress. Go outside and go for a walk
  • Remind myself to take one day at a time.
  • Take a break and paint and take deep breaths; I do stuff that I like to do.
  • I take deep breaths.
  • Make a list of manageable tasks and check things off.
  • When I start to feel stress, I ask myself this: Is there something I can do about this situation? If the answer is "no", then I don't worry about it/If the answer is "yes" then, I don't have to worry about it either! The stressful situation is either out of my control or within my control and I can work toward finding a solution.
  • I listen to music and read
  • Slow down, or taking deep breaths
  • Meditation and definitely reading
  • Take a walk or other exercise, listening to music, or sit quietly thinking comforting thoughts( favorite people, places, things)
  • Taking a warm shower or a relaxing bath or reading a good book in my room on my bed with some lights on.
  • I like to read, or listen to my favorite music. Sometimes I will just relax with my friends to get my mind off what is stressing me.
  • Breathe
 
2019 – Down the Rabbit Hole
By Beth Holland (@brholland)
Beth is a good friend, colleague, and my ‘go to’ for research, current practices, and educational ‘dialogue’.  I look forward to her writings - this year she took a different approach (for the past few years she has done a ‘summary’ or ‘Year of…’ post at the outset of the calendar year), highlighting the ‘web of her work’.  I appreciate the connections and layered nature of our work (one thing leads to another and you can’t talk about anything in isolation) - digital equity, pre-school media, science, Next Generation Science Standards, nature of science, learning ecosystems, inequities within the education system,  effects of race/gender/ethnicity bias on digital equity, artificial intelligence, learning analytics, and adaptive platforms.
I realized that without following me down the rabbit hole, my year could seem disjointed instead of a fairly deep, methodical, scholarly spelunking expedition.
 
Spend More Time Planting Seeds and Less Time Measuring Vines
by Jon Harper (@jonharper70)
Harper’s post acknowledges the frustration we can feel and offers a nice perspective on the importance of planting seeds and letting them grow.
It is important to measure how effective or impactful our work is—in the classroom and out. But measuring takes time. Time that could be used doing other things. Like creating and thinking and working. Getting sucked into the measuring trap is very easy. Yet, what do we gain by measuring so often? Oftentimes a false sense of pride or unwarranted dejection.

Whatever it is I’m doing, I know I am at my best and I feel best, when I am planting seeds. Here’s the cool thing that happens when you spend your time focused on planting seeds instead of measuring vines; sprouts pop up all the time. When you are not even expecting them. Of course, everything you plant doesn’t flourish or even grow for that matter.

If we plant enough seeds, we eventually begin to see the fruits of our labor. But we must not ever stop planting. Because just when you’re ready to hang your head, a bud pops up. One that you had forgotten about. One that you barely remember planting. And you smile as you plant your next seed.
 
The Dangers of Screen Time . . . in 1440 
by Douglas Reeves
This post reminds me of the oft-used phrase ‘kids these days’, as Reeves provides examples of similar concerns of ‘screen time’ going back to the 15th century.  By no means is he saying that we should not acknowledge the concerns; on the contrary, it is important to keep them in perspective.
We've all heard about the dangers of excessive screen time. Students with more than five hours a day of screen time show decreased levels of concentration and empathy. This is especially true of those screen functions that require no engagement or interaction by the student with the media, but simply allow their bodies and minds to become sedentary wastelands...MIT Professor Sherry Turkle makes a compelling case for human interactions and for, on a disciplined basis, closing down electronic devices...former Stanford Professor Nir Eyal, in the wonderful book Indistractable (BenBella Books, 2019), reminds us that this is not the first time that one generation has become alarmed about the media habits of the young. 
 
Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440, and by the late 15th century, his invention was credited with sparking literacy, along with religious and political reform movements throughout Europe. The contests of ideas that followed, along with the decades of deadly clashes they ensured, would have been unlikely without a mechanism for quickly spreading ideas. For some, this was a perfect example of technology accelerating the pace of progress. Others, including the monks who were threatened by Gutenberg's invention, railed against it, labeling the invention a "whore," as if the device, rather than the ideas, were to blame. A few centuries later, an 1883 medical journal suggested that the rising rates of murders and suicides were due to the "educational craze" which was responsible for exhausting the brains and nervous systems of children. In 1936, another new and fast-spreading technology was blamed for limiting the attention span of children who spent time listening to the devil's device – the radio – rather than attending to their studies. 
 
...what all of these have in common is our wish to blame something else – technology, diet, and dimly understood brain development – for the failures of parents and teachers to create an environment that simultaneously accepts technology and also provides appropriate challenges for meaningful work, social interaction, and personal growth. He encourages a careful reading of the claims about technology, many of which contain sweeping generalizations about the dangers of screen time without a thoughtful distinction between the many different ways students engage with technology.
 
What's the Goal of Education?
by Tom Whitby (@tomwhitby)
Whitby (a ‘must follow’ for sure) always pushes my thinking, particularly when it comes to the systems and practices we employ.  We need to keep coming back to the title of this post - adjusting or holding onto the answers (whatever the case may be), but being sure that the implementation of the answer is meaningful, relevant, and pertinent.  The emphasis on the education of our educators should not be overlooked nor underestimated.
As a long-time educator, I am no longer convinced that we are adequately preparing our children with the needed skills to live, survive and thrive in their future life of that real world environment...I also question whether we, as education professionals, have been truly prepared for our present environment...As adults, educated in an earlier time, are we prepared to learn and discern from the information delivered to us from news sources? In an age of instant access, are we skilled enough to analyze and understand what is being delivered to us second by second? Are we prepared to critically think about all that we are bombarded with daily? Are we prepared to accept that, just because things worked well in the past, they may need to be changed in this new world environment? What was once “tried and true” may now be tried, but irrelevant.
 
If we as adults have a say in what we want to learn, then why is this not what we are preparing our children to do. We assume that if we load them up with pre-selected content, that they will have enough preparation to handle anything in their adult life...The world in which our kids will live as adults does not look like the intellectually protected environment of the classroom...They should only be bound by their curiosity and love of learning, and not a lack of skills to retrieve, understand, critically analyze, and assess information.
 
Is this really the world that we are preparing them for? Are we stressing their curiosity? Are we challenging them to be critical thinkers? Are we enabling them with relevant technological skills to access, curate, communicate, collaborate, and create using information dealing with their passion? Are we allowing them to make mistakes and learn and adapt from them without consequences of punishment? Are we maintaining and advancing our own skills as professional educators to enable us to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world?
 
Our goal should and must be to make our students self-motivated learners with all the skills needed to do that in their own world with their own tools for accessing information. Maybe instead of standardizing learning, we should work on standardizing teaching to be more openly supportive of teaching kids how to continue the process of learning in their lives beyond the classroom. If we are to better educate our kids, we need first to better educate their educators.
 
The Grief of Accepting New Ideas
by Rick Wormeli (@rickwormeli2)
As a proponent of change himself, I appreciate Wormeli’s open and honest acknowledgement of the challenges and emotions that change brings forth.  Within the post he shares some concrete suggestions and offers a nice perspective - one that I know I must keep in mind at all times when working with students, parents, and staff.
The way we teach is often a statement of who we are. If someone questions our practices, it's like they're questioning our value as teachers. Our classroom instruction, including assessment and grading, technology integration, student-teacher interactions, and more, are expressions of how we see ourselves; they are our identity. Can we navigate these frequently troubled waters without invoking self-preserving egos and drowning in resentment?...Teacher leaders can cite logical, well-reasoned statistics and arguments for new building initiatives, but nothing really changes in classroom practices unless leaders also appeal to teachers' ethics and the lens through which they perceive leaders' arguments.
 
We are all fellow travelers, and we are all inconsistent with ourselves and one another. No one likes to have protective layers pulled bare, revealing old scars or sensitive places still raw. To survive the day, we tell ourselves that our truths are THE truths, and they form our version of reality. When we're confronted with their illusory nature, we're no longer on solid ground. We grieve for former students we may have wronged, the real or not perceived loss in status among respected colleagues, the time and energy that will be spent in changing who we are, and for the loss of self that was once so sure.
 
Let's help each other: Let's interact in ways that invite thoughtfulness, not invocation of self-protecting egos. Let's give colleagues time and encouragement to pushback and resist new ideas, and rather than be so self-assured ourselves, let's look for new insights we need to hear in our colleagues' arguments. And finally, let's extend the compassion to others we seek for ourselves, and honor the grief process that happens when asked to give up something we've held so tightly all these years—a truth, reality, perception, or practice—as they struggle to accept something new. Instead of leaving them to struggle alone, we can walk that path together.
 
Trying to synthesize and coalesce all of these ideas is overwhelming, for sure - so much so that the ideas of ‘giving up’ and/or ‘maintaining the status quo’ could appear to be a viable option.  (I would be lying if I said I had never felt that way.) That should not be our answer - and it may sound trite, but that simply is not fair to our students and nor does it align with our mission.  For all learners to thrive (students, educators, families), the skill of ‘adaptation’ is important to practice, model, experience, embody, and live.  
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I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for District Community Notices.
Enjoy the week and take care.
Nat

Making Progress

1/7/2020

 
January 7, 2020

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about finding, developing, and using strategies to improve and learn,  our topic/question for the dinner table is: What strategies do you use to help when you are feeling stressed? Making Progress (Week of 1/5/20) (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 certainly a ‘sleepy re-entry’ back into school last week, after the lovely and restful break over the holidays!  After a sports-filled Friday afternoon and evening (Maggie’s swim meet in Westwood and then watching the Medfield-Holliston basketball game at Holliston High), we had a very low-key Saturday with ping-pong, reading, some errands, and watching the Patriots.  Our Sunday will be a mix of basketball and hopefully a family dinner before re-entry into the 5-day schedule - an exciting week as Maggie turned 16 today (Tuesday)!

Right around New Year’s Day I came across the words below via e-mail, and I have shared them with a few groups of people, friends, and family...
Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.
-- Hal Borland (writer, journalist, naturalist)
I appreciate the sentiment and phrasing of ‘a going on’ as the new year can serve as a transition or continuation of something, rather than as a distinct point in time.  It also helps to alleviate (speaking for me) some of the pressure that can come with resolutions, intentions, and ‘fresh starts’. As one who processes with a tendency to think things through (or, overthink at times), Borland’s words reminded me that the process of making progress is one that is a reflection of everything.  It is hard to look at resolutions, the past, or the future in isolated increments - as we have often discussed, we must look at everything together (as represented via the image below about our collective work at Blake)...
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Over the next couple of weeks we will be having opportunities to reflect and work together as a learning community - faculty meeting, professional development, Site Council meeting, cluster meetings, grade level meetings, check-ins with students, etc.  The list could certainly go on and on and this is true at every point in the school year. However, the January timeframe allows us to hopefully intentionally pause and reflect - looking at the web above, sharing ideas, making concrete connections, and keeping a forward lens in mind - with the core understanding that students and learning will guide all of our practices.
 
I hope that the sharing of responses from last week’s question (resolutions for 2020), my own resolutions/intentions for this calendar year, and the highlighted posts (selected as they represent different aspects and perspectives on ‘making progress’ and reflection) below will help to foster reflection, encourage dialogue, and help plant/grow seeds for our students, ourselves, and our community…
Responses from Our Last Topic/Question (January 1, 2020):  Please complete this statement: For 2020, I am committed to these 1-2 resolutions…
  • Finishing! (Meaning: completing things rather than allowing other things to get in the way of their completion)
  • Spending more time “making” and creating images.
  • Going for runs on a more regular basis and eating better.
  • I intended to focus on clarity and value of instruction.
  • Connection - both building & strengthening. Change- embracing & being open to it
  • For 2020, I am committed to these 1-2 resolutions: Better grades, eat more
  • Eating healthy
  • - Get to bed/ sleep earlier. I hope to do this by putting my phone away earlier to tune out distractions and put in place a few other routines to simplify the nighttime activity. - It sounds odd but I would like to treat myself more often/ be a little more selfish. I’d like to do this so that I don't become resentful of others or feel burned out. 2019 was a very busy year, as they all are, so I'd like to have a better balance between 'work' and 'play'.
  • Not making a resolution
  • Have a better sleep schedule
  • 1 minute of reflective time a day
  • I want to spend more time with my family/friends, and I want to work on exercising more and helping my diet.
  • Raising my hand, and completing my homework earlier in the day.
  • Be hard working and helpful.
 
Resolutions/Intentions for the 2020 calendar year (some carry-overs from 2019)...
  • Practice intentional time for self-reflection, mindfulness, and growth - defining ‘personal time’ and ‘professional time’ (an uphill climb for me)
  • Adopt a mantra of ‘Assuming I don’t know’ in conjunction with ‘Assuming Positive Intent’
  • Articulate and practice #feedforward in the #serviceoflearning focus (for students, staff, families, community, and myself)
  • Broaden and redefine some methods of sharing and growing (networking, connecting, collaborating) within Blake, Medfield, and beyond - i.e. Podcasting, Presentations
  • Embrace hope (#willfulhope)
  • Explore musical interests (playing and listening)
  • Listening to understand rather than listening to respond
  • Explore ways to 'go deeper' and find more meaning
  • Think about ways to connect more directly with students and community (focus groups, check-ins, discussions)
 
My Annual Resolutions/Intentions
  • #slowingitdown 
  • Be open to the ideology of those who do not share my thinking and better understand those views (ask questions and be genuinely curious for feedback)
  • Be a mirror for others and ask others to do the same for me
  • Articulate and focus on the 'good problems' - building off what we/I do well
  • Embrace and model authenticity and vulnerability
  • Foster leadership at all levels (students, staff, parents, and community), balancing ownership with healthy delegation and growth for others
  • Stay the course and keep the 'big picture' in mind at all times
  • 'Lean towards yes' and maintain the mission of our mantra, 'a willingness to adapt'
 
Hindsight is 20/20: Using Personal Reflection to Shape Your Focus
by Ross Ricenbaw in NASSP blog
Ricenbaw encourages all leaders and educators to use the method and practice of reflection to shape and guide one’s focus for the coming year, offering four steps:  Carve Out Time; Hold Yourself Accountable; Make it Purposeful; Set Realistic Expectations. The one aspect of the words below I would ask more questions about (from an inquiry stance) is his use of the phrase ‘perfect vision’ - although I think I understand the intent, I often struggle with the notion of a ‘perfect’ anything as I believe in continually evolving a focus, project, or endpoint.
As you consider your school goals for the new year, don’t forget to build in time to focus on your own growth. Some of the best educators I’ve worked with not only have a passion for learning, they also take the time to use their experiences to get better. Having a perfect vision is not just about knowing where you’re going, but also acknowledging where you’ve been. Take time this year to pause, reflect, and appreciate the opportunities life gives you to get better.
 
The Worth You Hold On Your Own
by Mandy Froehlich (@froehlichm)
I have always appreciated the open and honest vulnerability offered by Mandy, and this post is a personal one - sharing the struggle she has in articulating her own self-worth.  It is a process I can certainly identify with and is worthy of time, reflection, and awareness.
You need to understand you’re worthy on your own. When you strip everything else away… mother or father, daughter or son, teacher, administrator, podcaster, blogger, author, counselor, speaker – when you’re standing there label naked, do you still feel worthy?

Being human and vulnerable can set ourselves up for so much pain, but at the same time that’s also the beauty of a journey like this. I can choose to continue to live in this space, but I can also make the choice to figure it out and heal and discover my worthiness that has nothing to do with anyone or anything else. And when I get there, I would imagine that it’s an amazing feeling.
 
A Nobel Laureate’s Mind-Blowing Perspective On The Ultimate Outcome Of An Education
by Brandon Busteed in Forbes
Busteed shares results from asking 32 leaders this question - ‘What is the ultimate outcome of an education?’  It was the response from Nobel Laurate Daniel Kahneman that had the greatest impact. The power of belief is worth exploring - for ourselves and for the implications of learning for our students.
Ironically, his answer hit me both “fast and slow,” in a fashion similar to what he describes in his best-selling book “Thinking Fast and Slow.” My immediate, emotionally-driven reaction was “wow” and my slower, more deliberate reaction in the seven years since has been the same: “wow or more accurately double wow.” Kahneman answered my question without hesitation: “Well, I think that’s quite obvious. It’s to change what you believe.” To change. What you. Believe. 
 
...a college graduate who strongly agrees they had professors who cared about them as a person or a mentor who encouraged their goals and dreams is twice as likely to be engaged in their work and thriving in their well-being later in life. These findings were irrespective of where they went to college or what they majored in while there. It wasn’t the content or knowledge they learned, it was whether an emotional attachment was created through the learning. To believe is also to be sure. It requires self-attained proof. And to be sure comes from applying what you learn. Graduates who had a job or internship where they were able to apply what they were learning in the classroom or work on a long-term project that took a semester or longer to complete were also twice as likely to be engaged in their work and thriving in their well-being.
 
To believe means you must also be open to new information, challenges to that belief, and ultimately to the potential of changing what you believe. Feeling sure of the truth is not a static position, but one that must be revisited.
 
To believe means you must also be open to new information, challenges to that belief, and ultimately to the potential of changing what you believe. Feeling sure of the truth is not a static position, but one that must be revisited.
 
To be known or to be impressive? #2020oneword
by Amber Teamann (@8Amber8)
Kelly C. shared this post with me and it resonated right away - Amber’s openness to transparency and focus on being seen is one that holds meaning for me.  I never felt as though I was a ‘flashy’ teacher and have often struggled with naming a comfort with my identity. The post encourages me to ‘be ok’ and reflect, and encourage the same in others.
It’s also why I’m so anti “cotton candy leadership”. The notion that our jobs are all about riding tricycles or how giving up our offices is the right & easy thing to do…just kills me. Our jobs are hard! (and amazing and rewarding and filled with the VERY best of lil’people!!) but also, HARD. Recognizing the multifaceted role that we are charged with…never letting any of those balls drop…being able to be SEEN in the role…means more to me than being impressive. It’s recognizing that sometimes it’s more important to let people see the struggle than just to assume the success. Otherwise its a misrepresentation of the MOST important things we do…change lives. It means being KNOWN. Sharing the good, the bad, the struggles. Sharing the flaws and the failures…always being real. And being ok with it.
 
Isaac Asimov on Optimism vs. Cynicism about the Human Spirit
By Maria Popova (@brainpicker)
Popova’s brief post highlights excerpts from a letter that Isaac Asimov sent to one of his friends, along with words shared in an interview with Bill Moyers.  The focus on positivity and optimism is one that holds meaning for me - we often are inundated with negativity, skepticism, and cynicism in school and maintaining a positive lens will not only serve others, but serve ourselves in the process.  
To me it seems to be important to believe people to be good even if they tend to be bad, because your own joy and happiness in life is increased that way, and the pleasures of the belief outweigh the occasional disappointments. To be a cynic about people works just the other way around and makes you incapable about enjoying the good things.
 
It’s insulting to imply that only a system of rewards and punishments can keep you a decent human being. Isn’t it conceivable a person wants to be a decent human being because that way he feels better?
 
When sharing my resolutions at the beginning of the last two calendar years, I wrote this -- With resolutions, goals, and new beginnings, I am still working on realizing that this is always a process.  This process is one I am still working on remembering, embracing, and living.  A future-oriented approach rooted in reflection is helping me with this...
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I look forward to our discussions and dialogue in the coming weeks, as we share and reflect upon our resolutions and intentions for our students and ourselves.  In looking back with an eye towards ‘what will be’, I have found the slides below to serve as reminders, ‘stakes in the ground’, and mantras - hoping they do the same for you...
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I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
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Enjoy the week and take care.
Nat

Stating Intentions

1/1/2020

 
January 1, 2020

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about resolutions and intentions for the new year, our topic/question for the dinner table is:  Please complete this statement: For 2020, I am committed to these 1-2 resolutions… Stating Intentions (1/1/20) (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’m writing this update with the sincere hope that everyone found time to rest and relax during the vacation and celebrate (whatever that may mean for each of you) the holiday season.  At the beginning of each school year I share the words below from Rainer Maria Rilke as a reminder that ‘our new year in the context of schools’ takes place around Labor Day each year...
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I’ve always appreciated Rilke’s words as they keep the focus on the ‘promise of things to come’ - although it is never noted, until recently I always read these words as ‘positive’ things to come.  But that is not true at all - in fact, Rilke’s writings emphasize the importance of learning through experience (positive, negative, and everything in between). One of the most treasured gifts I have received in my life was from one of my cousins when I was having a particularly hard time my first year as Assistant Principal.  As many people are aware, although I espouse and promote the value and process of change for myself, others, and institutions, I struggle with it on a personal level. This was very much true when I transitioned from teaching into administration - full of self-doubt, worries about mistakes, anxious about the decision, and generally experiencing the proverbial roller coaster of change.  Although there were many successes and positive elements worth noting and sharing at that time, I simply (well, it was not simple at all!) was not seeing them. It was during that year’s holiday vacation in 2005, that Win (my cousin) gave me a copy of Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke.  That gift, among some other supports and time, proved to be a pivotal point for me - a ‘stake in the ground’, if you will.  Rilke’s words have had a profound influence on me and the gift itself did as well - the importance of care, perspective, and supports and how we need them at all times.
 
At this time of transition following the December holiday vacation during the school year (coming off of a vacation, entering a new calendar year, embarking upon Term 2), I often come back to Letters to a Young Poet as the writings center me, remind me to delve deeper, value reflection, foster questions, allow space for ‘the process’, and appreciate a sensitive approach.  This is important and I believe we can and should find and make the natural connections for our students and ourselves as learners. When sharing our resolutions and intentions, it is the process itself that will foster growth...
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Looking ahead to 2020 (well, it’s not really looking ahead any more as it is here!), I am carrying forward a practice from past years of sharing several ‘end-of-year’ posts/lists/readings that resonated and held my interest, along with responses from our pre-vacation topic/question (reflections on learning in 2019).  I hope that these posts and responses will prompt discussion, questions, and dialogue for our community and students throughout this year (it has been a week of reading and reflection, for sure!)...
 
Responses from Our Last Topic/Question (Week of 12/15/19):  When thinking back on 2019, what have you learned about yourself and how have you grown as a learner?
  • Coming off a very busy couple of months, I have learned to reprioritize family time and appreciate smaller moments of life.
  • I have learned about my attitude. It has changed and I’m getting better at math (not that I wasn’t)
  • I have learned a little bit about "simplification". I do about two main things during the day...working with students and then taking long walks. I have compromised my painting as I can only get involved with those two items...so I'm storing up ideas for painting when I walk and work with students.
  • I have become more mature, and responsible, noticing and knowing what is wrong and what is right. Asking if my parents would be ok with what I was doing.
  • I have learned that confidence can be a very helpful thing.
  • I’m good at participating in class
  • I learned that I have so much more to learn and that I need to be quiet and listen and watch before I can join the conversation. 
 
Some Year-End Lists and Reflections/Predictions
DECEMBER’S “BEST” LISTS – THERE ARE NOW 2,123 OF THEM!
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 2019.  I recommend bookmarking this site.
 
12 Critical Issues Facing Education in 2020
by Peter DeWitt (@PeterMDeWitt) in Education Week

A teacher makes 10 predictions for education in 2020 — some of them rather hopeful
by Valerie Strauss in The Washington Post
 
The 10 Best Express Articles of 2019
ASCD Express
 
A Decade of Getting Smart
Selected by the Getting Smart Staff
 
50 Stories About the #FutureofLearning
Selected by the Getting Smart Staff
 
What You Read This Year - Mindfulness, Play, and Motivation — Our Top Stories of 2019 Show a Focus on Growth
from HGSE’s Usable Knowledge
 
The Teaching Profession in 2019 (in Charts)
by Madeline Will in Education Week Teacher
 
2019 Education Research Highlights
by Youki Terada in Edutopia
Every year brings new insights—and cautionary tales—about what works in education. 2019 is no different, as we learned that doodling may do more harm than good when it comes to remembering information. Attendance awards don’t work and can actually increase absences. And while we’ve known that school discipline tends to disproportionately harm students of color, a new study reveals a key reason why: Compared with their peers, black students tend to receive fewer warnings for misbehavior before being punished.
 
Most Popular Stories of the Decade
An Education Week Retrospective

Top 100 Education Blogs in 2019 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
For the New Year, Say No to Negativity
By John Tierney and Roy F. Baumeister in The Wall Street Journal
In this season of intentions and resolutions, this is an excellent reminder to focus on the positivity and do our best to ‘push aside’ the negativity.  The strategies within are ones I hope to use both personally and professionally.
Our minds and lives are skewed by a fundamental imbalance that is just now becoming clear to scientists: the negativity effect. Also known as the negativity bias, it’s the universal tendency for bad events and emotions to affect us more strongly than positive ones. We’re devastated by a word of criticism but unmoved by a shower of praise. We see the hostile face in the crowd and miss all the friendly smiles. We focus so much on bad news, especially in a digital world that magnifies its power, that we don’t realize how much better life is becoming for people around the world.  

The negativity effect sounds depressing—and it often is—but it doesn’t have to be the end of the story. By recognizing it and overriding our innate responses, we can break destructive patterns, make smarter decisions, see the world more realistically and also exploit the benefits of this bias. Bad is stronger than good, but good can prevail if we know what we’re up against.

After recognizing their own bias, psychologists began compensating for it by studying the “positivity ratio,” which is the number of good events or emotions for every bad one. Researchers saw that older people are typically more contented than younger people because they’ve learned how to improve this ratio in their lives. They’ve gone on a low-bad diet, and that general approach can work for people of all ages. Here are a few strategies:  First, do no harm...Remember the Rule of Four...Put the bad moments to good use...Capitalize on the good moments—and then relive them...See the big picture.

By rationally looking at long-term trends instead of viscerally reacting to the horror story of the day, you’ll see that there’s much more to celebrate than to mourn. No matter what disasters occur in 2020, no matter who wins the presidential election, the average person in America and the rest of the world will in all likelihood become healthier and wealthier. Those who go on a low-bad diet will also become wiser—and happier, too.
 
It’s Possible -Focus on Learning for 2029
by Missy Emler in Modern Learners Blog
This post takes the ‘long view’ by looking ahead at the possibilities for growth, improvement, and learning in our educational practices.  Emler’s focus on learning is what should be driving all of our decisions, no matter the year or decade.
It’s possible! The Modern Learners theme for the next year and likely the next decade is “It’s Possible!” December is normally a time. I spent some time looking back on the year and looking forward to the next. This year, I’m spending December reflecting on an entire decade. I’m thinking about it at a deeper level than the side by side pictures of 2009 and 2019 people are posting on social media. I’m thinking about my “defining moments” of the decade. The ones that have changed my views and more importantly MY PRACTICE in the field of education. 

In 2019, I have many conversations with many people about grades and whether or not they do more harm than good. It is my experience with Accelerated Reader being a mandated 10% of a student’s grade that serves as the basis for my belief that grades do not tell us whether or not a student has learned...I’m dreaming about schools in 2029 being gradeless. With the work of Teachers Going Gradeless and Mastery Consortium, it’s definitely possible! I’m NOT asking you to Change; I’m Asking you to LEARN!

I’m dreaming about a 2029 where Universal Design for Learning is the lens through which school experiences are shaped. Based on the work I see in my state and across the globe, it’s definitely possible. 

I’m dreaming about a 2029 where the focus of schools is on learning. We think it is now, but having asked hundreds of school leaders to define learning, I promise you we don’t have coherence around what learning actually means. Over the next decade, I dream of seeing a shift from testing and accountability to getting focused on learning and being comfortable with our inability to measure it as we currently do. Begin with the simple question, “What do you believe about learning?” Do this and find coherence at your school. Focusing on learning in schools is simple and it’s definitely possible. 

A Parent's Guide to Prioritizing Emotional Well-Being
By Richard Teneyck (@RichardTenEyck1) in Modern Learners Blog
I have read and reread this post several times this week - helping to frame my own thinking for our children - I have shared it with Katie and we hope to use it as a guide and I hope it serves the same for the Blake (and greater) community.  It offers suggestions for parents and provides a framework for prioritizing the emotional well-being of our students (and ourselves). I simply love these lines:  The goal in writing this is both to sound an alarm and to offer concrete suggestions for actions parents and educators can take to acknowledge and honor the way our children experience the world...This is an invitation for parents to re-think what schooling has become and the purpose of schooling in children’s lives… a purpose that does not rob them of their childhood and trigger depression and anxiety.

We, both as educators and as parents, cannot continue to sacrifice the mental, social and emotional health of our children. The articles above and research currently being explored are sending us signals that are both loud and clear. We’ve unintentionally allowed schooling to become something that was never intended. This is due to our unwillingness to change what we’re used to, coupled with our acceptance that the purpose of education is not learning, but primarily to serve the economy with qualified workers. While this may have been understandable in the early 1900s, given our current advances in brain research and its connection to learning, there is no excuse.

The data about the alarming growth of pre-adolescent and adolescent stress, anxiety, and depression frightens us. Although there is general agreement that school is about learning and preparation for life, there is surprisingly little agreement about what learning actually is, how it occurs and the best ways for it to happen so not to harm a child’s emotional well-being.

Kids have a limited sense of what Martin Luther King called “someoneness,” or sense of belonging.  They feel pressured by adult concerns. Beyond their circle of friends they feel isolated. They feel pressured to do well, while not having access to the conditions (safety, freedom to ask questions, choice in learning) needed to first learn then excel. The Time article cites a study which revealed that 70% of teenagers characterized anxiety/depression as a “major problem”. Is that enough for us to do something?  The Time article and many others make a clear connection between the unintended consequences and the deterioration of the mental and emotional health of our children. In spite of this growing awareness, we continue to hang our hats on stories of achievement. Achievement is what we know, but shouldn’t we know and honor learning?

By law our schools are required to act “in loco parentis,” in the place of parents. In trying to do things right, too many schools are creating environments that as parents we would never do. School systems continue to focus on test scores, orderly buildings, and traditional convenient practices while largely ignoring the emotional impact these practices are having on our children.
Successful change efforts rely on finding ways to circumvent the natural response. Research in this area reveals that reliance on fact-based speeches rarely changes deeply held beliefs. 

Successful change efforts have relied primarily on the creation of emotion-based experiences. What is more emotional than the reality that our kids are suffering and experiencing stress, anxiety and depression in record numbers? Are we helping our children express themselves to the school system they exist in? Is that school system listening? Does the school system see your child?

What Students Are Saying About How to Improve American Education
by The Learning Network in The New York Times
It is important that we continue to talk to our students and to listen, hoping to winnow the gaps (sometimes inherent) that exist between our ‘intent’ and ‘impact’ in education.  This post shares insights from students as to ‘...how they would improve the American education system.’:  Put less pressure on students...Use less technology in the classroom (…or more)...Prepare students for real life...Eliminate standardized tests...Give teachers more money and support...Make lessons more engaging...Create better learning environments...Support students’ families...De-emphasize grades...Praise for great teachers

Going 'gradeless' allows Woodland teacher to focus on skills and students
by Marissa Heffernan in The Daily News
As we continue to refine our practices with the intent of providing meaningful feedback to foster learning, this post highlights a high school English teacher’s decision to go ‘gradeless’ - encouraging to see these approaches beyond the scope of our own community and middle school.
Blackwelder said he now focuses more on building relationships with students. Instead of using grades in a “punitive” way, he said he wants students to recognize that he wants to help them succeed.  “Assessment is no longer punitive,” Blackwelder said. “I‘m not marking you wrong. I’m working to pull out what you need. Since I’ve gone gradeless, there’s been a real change in my classroom.”

“I got to the point where I thought education just felt empty and that reading a book, writing a paper and taking a test only to forget everything felt asinine,” Blackwelder said. “I thought, ‘I need to find some purpose in this.’ ”...“My philosophy of learning now is that it needs to be worthwhile and transferable beyond the classroom,” Blackwelder said. “I want it to be usable 20 years from now.”  Lynn said that’s the big advantage of Blackwelder’s approach: “I feel like we’re actually learning something that will help us in the future, not just to take a test and not use again.”

Is There a 21st Century Report Card?
By Tom Whitby (@tomwhitby)
Whitby is a ‘must follow’ as he continues to challenge the ‘status quo’ in education, pushing all of us to establish and implement relevant and meaningful practices for our students.  This post’s focus on feedback and connecting the feedback to learning is certainly relevant and timely.
The influence of technology has been slow in changing the industry of education. The idea of reassessing and reevaluating the product of education is difficult when the product is not something that is tangible. The other complication is the many facets of the education industry that need to be affected in order for the slightest change to take place in the final product that might be described as an individual’s education. There is no one silver bullet that will fix or evolve the education system. It will take many advances in many areas to improve the overall outcome of an individual’s education. The big question is: If we can’t do all the needed changes at once, where do we begin in order to start the changes?

There are two things that schools do that cause unwanted stress in a family for many. The first is homework, often a struggle to get kids to complete. The second is the report card. I have often said that report cards are only provided for some parents to have bragging rights. Of the two, reexamining the why and the how of report cards might be an easier task.

I question whether the report card in its current form using the current procedures accurately reflects a student’s learning?...Developing portfolios are far better indicators of a student’s learning than subjective assessments from teachers with limited time and prescribed assessment choices.  Portfolios also provide for self-assessment giving great insight into a student’s learning to the teacher and parents. Grades are a promise of potential, while portfolios are proof of accomplishment.

Just because we have done the same thing since the 1800’s, doesn’t mean it is still the best way to do it. We have different tools today than were available in the 1800’s. We have different needs as a society than we did in the 1800’s. We live in a tech-driven world that affects our perspective and our culture. Employing nineteenth Century solutions in a Twenty-first Century world doesn’t make sense for an industry that deals with learning and relevance. Let’s reexamine quarterly grading periods, as well as the way we observe and report student learning to parents.

How to Communicate Better With Your Children in the New Year
by Lisa Damour in The New York Times
This post is a compilation of strategies (posts) for how to improve communication with our children - at the essence of each post is the practice of listening (easier said than done, for sure).  
Often, the central message in experts’ advice to parents is to find ways to pay attention to what is going on in your kids’ lives, to be present with them and to listen.

Teaching Kids Kindness Prepares Them for Success
by Adam Grant and Allison Sweet Grant in The Atlantic
Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist (another ‘must follow’) and he co-writes this post with his wife, Allison - sharing how they have evolved as parents, leaning on the science and research to emphasize the values of kindness and caring.  By showing and expressing these values to our children, it will make an important difference. The implications for our work with students and families is clear - we must focus on the skills, habits, and values - they will transcend and prove beneficial for all in the ‘long run’.
As anyone who has been called out for hypocrisy by a small child knows, kids are exquisitely attuned to gaps between what grown-ups say and what grown-ups do. If you survey American parents about what they want for their kids, more than 90 percent say one of their top priorities is that their children be caring. This makes sense: Kindness and concern for others are held as moral virtues in nearly every society and every major religion. But when you ask children what their parents want for them, 81 percent say their parents value achievement and happiness over caring.  Kids learn what’s important to adults not by listening to what we say, but by noticing what gets our attention. And in many developed societies, parents now pay more attention to individual achievement and happiness than anything else. However much we praise kindness and caring, we’re not actually showing our kids that we value these traits.

...overemphasizing individual achievement may cause a deficit of caring. But we don’t actually have to choose between the two. In fact, teaching children to care about others might be the best way to prepare them for a successful and fulfilling life.

Of course, we should encourage children to do their best and to take pride and joy in their accomplishments—but kindness doesn’t require sacrificing those things. The real test of parenting is not what your children achieve, but who they become and how they treat others. If you teach them to be kind, you’re not only setting your kids up for success. You’re setting up the kids around them, too.

My Annual Shares
5 Media Resolutions Every Family Should Make in 2019
by Caroline Knorr in Common Sense Media
Although written a year 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 I find it resonates each time I come back to it.  # 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.

The new year brings forth so much - hope, excitement, worries, challenges, and successes, to name a few emotions- and it is important that we name them with the intention and mindset of looking forward to build, knowing that we have the strength and collective capacity within ourselves and one another to grow, learn, and improve...
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In the coming days I intend to #slowitdown and set aside some ‘dedicated time’ to articulate my resolutions and intentions for 2020.  I look forward to listening to the resolutions of others as well and hope that we can help each other work towards the actualization of the resolutions.  As we look to ‘build the new’ from within, I have positive feelings and beliefs that it will be an excellent year. In the spirit of carrying forth traditions ‘into the new’, I am once again borrowing Larry Ferlazzo's sharing of Bill Ivey's words to foster optimism, gratitude, and recognition for education - a nice way to start anew each year (along with a few quotes that affirm progress, embrace resistance, and the importance of always pursuing and ‘finding flowers’)...
Each and every school day will bring tens of thousands of reasons to celebrate in schools across the country. - Bill Ivey
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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

I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for District Community Notices.
Enjoy the week and take care.
Nat

Holding Up A Mirror

12/16/2019

 
December 17, 2019

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the role that self-reflection plays in our growth as learners, our topic/question for the dinner table is:  When thinking back on 2019, what have you learned about yourself and how have you grown as a learner? Holding Up a Mirror (Week of 12/15/19) (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 rain on Friday evening and into Saturday certainly contributed to a ‘quiet feel’ for the weekend, even though the pace and our current reality right now does not feel quiet!  I know it sounds cliche, but it really seems at this time of year that there just isn't enough time to get it all done (even though I’m not sure I could name what ‘all’ means!). Our Saturday was spent with errands, practices, and ‘stuff’ before seeing our nieces in a performance of The Nutcracker at the Norwood Theater.  Our Sunday was full as well, with basketball games and Grayden hosted a yankee swap for his friends. We are doing our very best to slow things down (have you heard me say that better?!?) and enjoy ‘the season’, be present, and take it all in - I’ll be sure to let you know how that goes!
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These words by Paulo Freire resonate with me on many levels.  As an advocate of critical pedagogy and one of the more influential educators in recent times, Freire’s work and criticism against the ‘banking concept of education’ simply speaks to me.  Whenever I read his words, I find myself ‘forced’ (in a very good way) to step back and reflect via self-assessment - and by ‘self’ I mean for myself as an educator/influencer, but also I mean for ‘us’ as a school and learning community.  
 
Kelly C. and I were fortunate to attend a workshop this past Thursday morning in Newton facilitated by John D’Auria (@jdauria) and Mike Welch (@MJWelchDedham), entitled ‘Maximizing Our Influence: Connecting Social-Emotional Research to Leadership’.  John has been a long-term mentor of mine, and I initially connected with Mike about five years ago through a workshop series that we facilitated together on blended learning.  When both Kelly and I received the flyer about this workshop, we had the similar response - ‘Let’s go’. It provided a ‘vitamin’ for us, as we took the time to listen, learn, reflect, and then look to apply the learning to our current work.  There were many ideas I look forward to sharing with the staff (I have noted some of the ideas/concepts below), but the notion and practice of ‘holding up a mirror’ was what I keep thinking about. Although those words - ‘holding up a mirror’ - may not have been shared explicitly by John and Mike, the concept was conveyed and clear.  We need to continually be asking ourselves about our roles, our influence, and our own actions - namely, ‘How am I contributing to this dynamic? What does this mean for me/us? How may I be contributing to the problem?’ They are humbling questions for sure, but they are the ones we must continue to explore - for ourselves, for one another, and for our students.  
 
Notes from Workshop with John D’Auria and Michael Welch
  • We have underestimated SEL’s value in the deployment of effective leadership
    • ‘If we don’t feed the adults, they will eat the kids…’
  • Emotions are contagious
    • Resonance is contagious...So is dissonance
  • 3 Important Leadership Skills    
    • Recognizing emotions
    • Acknowledging emotions
    • Managing emotions
  • Are we aware of what we are feeling?  Are we managing our emotions or are our emotions managing us?
  • What’s the movie in your head about the word ‘strength’?
  • Context Matters…
  • Rate of Technology Change is faster than Human Adaptability Change
  • ‘Tyranny of the Urgent’
    • Horace’s Compromise - always compromising what you are trying to do…
  • Challenge of Leadership - Achieving goals through other people
    • Setting conditions so work is collectively owned
  • ‘We are preparing children for the world of the past…’
  • Amy Edmondson - Balancing Psychological Safety and Accountability
    • Two opposing Neural Networks
    • Positive Emotional Attractor (Psychological Safety)
    • Negative Emotional Attractor (Accountability)
  • Learning and Change are Stressful
    • ‘I know I can improve but critical feedback can feel like a lack of appreciation for what I am accomplishing.’ The ouch factor.
  • ‘What they did’ vs ‘What they are’ conversations
  • Create norms that build trust (Roger Schwarz)
    • I have information - so do other people
    • Each of us see things that others don’t
    • People may disagree with me and still have pure motives
    • Differences are opportunities for learning
    • How might I be contributing to the problem?
  • Develop a Culture of Mutual Learning
  • We can’t go in with solutions in mind - because we don’t understand the problem…
  • Diagnosis - What are the layers to this problem?
  • Spheres of Control vs Spheres of Influence
  • ‘I’ve made every mistake in education’; ‘I’ve taken advantages of opportunities to screw up’
  • If we fail to acknowledge the emotions, we will get bitten by them
  • SEL - Social Emotional Leadership
    • Distributed leadership - When you distribute power, you are not giving it away (you are empowering others)
    • Shared vision
    • Authenticity
    • Tapped into needs, made everyone feel needed and included
    • Strong sense of emotional intelligence
    • Overt vulnerability and accountability
  • Are you willing to convey what you heard? - Tell someone else’s story…
  • Know the role vs Know the person - They need to know me… (emotionally) 
  • Trying to take these concepts into practice…that is the challenge

This last note (‘trying to take these concepts into practice’) is indeed the challenge that is always present for us.  We often talk about the importance of connecting the dots -- reflecting upon the ways that theory/research/philosophy inform our beliefs and the ways that our beliefs inform our practices.  It is through this cycle of reflection-action-reflection that we will continue to grow - and, in turn, grow our students as learners.  
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The sampling of responses from last week’s topic/question, coupled with two posts (one with a focus on the changes needed in classrooms for our students and one focusing on the need to help all of our students see themselves as learners) below can hopefully serve as a framework for reflection for ourselves and one another...
 
Last Week’s Topic/Question (Week of 12/8/19):  What is a goal you have for yourself this year that you are willing to embrace ‘the struggle’ to try and meet?
  • Trying to improve my diet and eat better foods.
  • I hope to make sure I sent all students in the right direction.
  • To lose weight
  • To make new friends and let my fake friends go
  • Making up friendships that I’ve lost.
  • I really want to score more points in basketball this year, and I will practice to get better and reach that goal.
  • To get better grades

Changing Our Classrooms to Prepare Students for a Challenging World
by Christina Katopodis and Cathy N. Davidson
This post is aimed towards an audience of humanities teachers and professors, but the message and content within can certainly be applied to all disciplines.  The focus is on ‘taking a baseline assessment of practices’ of ‘what we do’, looking to create and sustain a student-centered classroom. Six strategies are shared, outlining both ‘How’ and ‘Why’ they work:  Share the Floor; Welcome Students into the Learning Process; Prioritize Student Goal Setting; Follow Major Lessons with Reflection Activities; Give Students a Say in the Curriculum; Provide a Public Platform.
We must prepare our students to be empowered to think and to act critically in the contingent, precarious, overwhelming world we have bequeathed to them.
 
Humanists who care about the fate of our students—and, in fact, the fate of the world—should be taking our mission seriously and delivering on our promises. We need to ask ourselves (not in a general way, but as individuals in this profession) if we are really doing what we say we do in our humanities classrooms...Most of us who were trained mainly by emulating our own professors find it difficult (at first) to reshape our lectures and discussion methods to include students in the building and leading of our classrooms—active learning situations that offer students an opportunity to master essential skills. It is often equally difficult for students to realize when and how they are mastering these skills. Rarely do we describe for students what and why they are learning. Yet reflection or metacognition (the structured, intentional consideration of what one has mastered and how one has mastered it) is one of the most important cognitive tools we can pass on to our students.
 
While we are undertaking the typically arduous, painstaking, and lengthy process of redesigning outdated departmental majors and minors, university-wide general education requirements, and interdisciplinary relations between the human and social sciences and the STEM departments on our campuses, we can walk into our humanities classrooms tomorrow and help our students understand and master skills that will change their lives. Will they learn art, classics, history, linguistics, literature, music, philosophy, and more? Will they learn how to read, to write, to perform? Of course they will. They will also learn why learning how to think and to do these things critically and creatively are constructive, essential components of their education and survival skills in a challenging world.
 
“Gaining a Reputation as a Learner.”
by Bill Ferriter (@plugusin)
Ferriter’s post dives into the beliefs that we apply to ourselves as learners, and the resulting categories that we eventually ‘embody’ (i.e. ‘enthusiastic learners’ or ‘those who give up’).  In outlining these ‘labels’, the post encourages all of us to reflect upon the ways that we currently and potentially help all students see themselves as learners.
Enthusiastic learners have experienced success time and again.  They regularly earn the best marks on tests and quizzes. They are always on the top of class rankings.  They place in the highest percentiles of standardized tests year after year. The result: They believe in their academic abilities.  That belief inspires their participation, carries them through moments when learning is hard and increases their willingness to take intellectual risks.  It is easy to be confident, after all, when you see consistent evidence of your competence. 

As Gary Wolf – cofounder of the Quantified Self blog – explains, “We don’t try things we believe we can’t do…We simply skirt the issue.  Perhaps we even convince ourselves that it is not necessary, or a waste of time. Ingrained habits of avoidance can become nearly invisible to our conscious reflection, due to how effectively they guard us from the bad consequences we believe will result from failure” (Wolf, 2007). 

High levels of self-efficacy can enhance a student’s accomplishments, feelings of personal well-being, and willingness to experiment with new ideas.   Students with high levels of self-efficacy also set higher expectations for their future performance and remain calm when approaching difficult tasks (Pajares, 1996; Ormond, 2008). And perhaps most importantly, self-efficacy has a positive impact on a student’s academic achievement.  Its .82 effect size translates to a 29-percentile point gain, making self-efficacy one of the highest leverage instructional strategies that teachers can implement in their classrooms. (Marzano, Pickering & Heflebower, 2010). Helping students to develop a stronger sense of self-efficacy – which John Hattie (2009) describes as “gaining a reputation as a learner” – may have a greater impact than addressing achievement directly.
 
At the end of each calendar year I look forward to setting aside some time for ‘end-of-the year’ reflection - thinking about both personal and collective learning, growth, challenges, and successes.  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’...
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I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for District Community Notices.
Enjoy the week and take care.
Nat

Embracing the Struggle

12/9/2019

 
December 10, 2019

​To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the role that courage and accepting challenges play in making growth towards goals, our topic/question for the dinner table is:  What is a goal you have for yourself this year that you are willing to embrace ‘the struggle’ to try and meet? Embracing the Struggle (Week of 12/8/19) (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
 
This past week went by particularly quickly, and it is hard for me to believe that we only have two weeks of school before our next vacation - as much as we try to slow things down, it feels like we are in a race against time!  Amongst errands, ‘decking the house’, and getting the kids to their activities, Katie and I felt lucky to get into the city for a concert to see the band Caamp on Saturday night. I enjoyed running in the Angel Run on Sunday, an event I always look forward to as it such a nice tradition in our community - having not run in a while, it was a slow and steady pace!
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At the outset of this year, these words from William Faulkner were shared with me by a colleague, friend, and educator for whom I have the utmost respect.  The timing of ‘the share’ was fortuitous, as we were embarking upon the new school year with our theme of courage.  The new year brings about a wide range of emotions - excitement, hesitation, anticipation, hope, worry, promise, and angst, just to name a few.  I always hope that the beginning of the year will provide ‘a spark’ for all, yet I am continually reflecting upon the importance of ‘balance’ for all of us.  I am always excited and ‘charged’ by the spirit of innovation and growth that I believe embodies our culture at Blake, and this ‘gift’ of the quotation both centered and inspired me to have one of our ‘core practices’ to be a willingness to ‘lose sight of the shore’ in the service of learning and progress.
 
So, why am I sharing these words this week?  On Friday morning began the day attempting to clean my table (cleaning being very loosely defined) in my office, prior to a meeting with some parents and came across a print-out of this quote.  After a very busy couple of days (yes - they are all busy!), I found myself with lots of thoughts running through my head as I was coming into school - reflecting on the prior night’s School Committee meeting, Term 1 ending this week, some follow-up check-ins with both students and staff, a desire to get in more classrooms, upcoming concerts, the ‘holiday craze’, and the schedule that lay ahead for the day.  I thought that cleaning would give me a sense of accomplishment and settle my head a bit (the irony is that if you stop by my office, you will see I didn’t get that far with the cleaning!).  
 
As I was sorting through some of the papers and piles in my office, I was experiencing a ‘dual feeling’, for lack of a better phrase’, of pride/excitement and struggle.  Each pile/folder/paper held ‘evidence’ of endeavors at Blake, from the micro to macro level, and I immediately thought of Robert Kegan’s words about change -- ‘If we are successful, we are all going to get a little uncomfortable.’  The pride and excitement from our work surely comes with struggles and discomfort - and, although it is hard and I need reminders, I have come to accept this as a norm and reality of a healthy, growing culture. Without a struggle, a sense of wonderment, discomfort (‘a willingness to adapt’), and the courage to welcome ‘all of this’, we can not look forward and the learning will only be on the surface.
 
Below please find a sampling of responses from last week’s question of the week, along with two posts that reflect some of my current thinking and speak to the essence of our mission and work with our students….
Topic/Question (Week of 12/1/19):  How does being a part of a community help you learn and grow?
  • Being exposed to different ideas and perspectives challenges your own personal views. The more free thinking and independent the community, the more likely diverse thought can flourish.
  • Being part of a community helps me to learn from others, challenge myself, and it provides support when I'm working through challenges.
  • It helps your social life and having people around you to help you when you need it.
  • It helps me learn one by teachers teaching us but also if you don’t understand something most people will help you out.
  • Being a community helps you learn and grow because you can learn from others’ mistakes.
  • You can learn from others in that community
  • People can leave a good impact on you.
  • Being part of a community is very crucial for growth, because you have everybody’s help in learning new things, and you don’t have to do it yourself and learn things the hard way.
  • It definitely allows for collaboration and feedback from peers. You are able to share the positives and challenges of our daily work
  • Allows for collaboration and feedback with peers. Sharing of the positives and challenges of our daily work.
  • I think of the west end in Boston that lost community because of development...causing gentrification. A community needs young, old, affluent, and poor, in order to work together. My thinking of community is related to this thought of belonging to it all..not part
 
Living On The Edge
By Mandy Froehlich (@froehlichm)
Froehlich’s reflection resonated with me, as one who does not always welcome change but knows and believes in the merits of change.  The analogy to ‘the edge’ and ‘beauty’ at the edge is one that I hope to hold on to in my thinking.
I feel like struggle is necessary for amazing things to happen. Along the edge we are toeing the line between the danger of falling and the beauty of what we can see in front of us.

There hasn’t been a single time where the edge has been comfortable. It’s not supposed to be. If you’re too far back to see the edge, you’re missing most of the beauty. You’re never expanding where you can possibly go.
 
Grit and the Greater Good: A Conversation with Angela Duckworth
By Sarah McKibben in Educational Leadership
This post is an interview with Angela Duckworth, who has done extensive research on ‘grit’ and emphasizes the importance of ‘character’ (Social Emotional Learning).  Duckworth shares three ‘families of character strengths’ - Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Intellectual - and, in so doing makes connections to Carol Dweck’s work on ‘growth mindset’ and the need to provide an environment of unconditional support for students.
I think Carol Dweck and I might both worry that our message is not being heard as we intend. Grit is not about blaming the student. I think it's an easy misinterpretation. To say that grit is important doesn't mean that when kids are not performing well, it's their fault, instead of needing more support, better instruction, and more opportunities.
 
When I talk to my own kids, I talk to them about taking responsibility. I want kids to feel like they have agency, which they do. So I'm not saying it's only the responsibility of the schools, the teachers, and society. I'm certainly not saying it's only the responsibility of the kids. I really think of it as joint work, but we have to set kids up for growth and success.
 
Grit really starts with passion. People always focus on the work ethic part of it, but I actually think that the passion comes first developmentally. Usually it starts as interest, curiosity. In a fully grown mature adult, you usually find that there's also purpose and meaning and the feeling that you're in service of something greater than yourself.
 
We're now in kind of a renaissance of understanding what we probably just forgot for a while, which is that kids are people; they're not just test scores, and they have responsibilities to themselves and to others. They need our help in developing. I would say that what we're on the cusp of is doing what schools have long been understood to do, which is to educate the whole child. What I'm really excited about is the possibility that science—which has advanced a lot since Martin Luther King Jr. and since Aristotle and Benjamin Franklin and John Dewey—will help us go farther than we have before.
 
These posts really connect with me right now as they speak to the importance of keeping everything in context - focusing on character, challenging ourselves and our students, and being sure that the environment is one that is conducive for growth and learning.  This is hard work and certainly not work that can be done overnight - it is also work that is never done. As one who ‘overthinks’ and can worry about all that we have on our individual and collective plates, I often come back to Christi Barney’s words about change, struggle, and the role that struggle plays in learning (see blurb below from a blog post back in May of 2017)...
 
Considering and Reconsidering - May 23, 2017 (excerpt below)
Christi Barney's words from both professional development and conversations have helped to frame this thinking - 'The struggle IS the treatment' - and, the treatment is the learning.  She shared that the phrase helps to remember 'that it is actually in the service of mastery for kids to struggle and make baby steps forward.'  Wise words, indeed - and ones that we should remember for ourselves and one another.  Please remind me of this often so I can consider, and reconsider, my actions, thinking, and beliefs - and, I will continue to try and do the same for all of you.
 
December is a reflective time of year and I am looking forward to bringing these ideas into conversations, day-to-day work, and long-term planning for our community.  In an effort to carry forth some of the energy and ‘magic’ from our family’s trip to Disney, Walt’s words below are ones that certainly provide a positive, guiding light...
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I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for District Community Notices.
Enjoy the week and take care.
Nat

Benefits of a Community

12/2/2019

 
December 3, 2019

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the benefits of being part of a community, our topic/question for the dinner table is:  How does being a part of a community help you learn and grow?  Benefits of a Community (Week of 12/1/19) (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.
 
I am sharing an abbreviated blog update this week, as we spent the Thanksgiving holiday at Disney World.  We thoroughly enjoyed these days together, visiting Epcot, the Magic Kingdom, and Animal Kingdom. The kids had a blast - Katie and I did too (pic below is before the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom)!
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As I shared with both students and staff at our assembly together last Wednesday, the time we gather as a Blake community before Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year.  Listening to students and staff share their thanks, make connections, laugh, celebrate, connect, and have fun - for me (and I know others), these are the foundation of a strong community of learners.  I feel so fortunate and enjoyed telling Katie all about it on our flight down to Orlando.
 
Below please find a sampling of expressions of gratitude from our community, along with the links to items of note and reminders for the week ahead (I wasn’t sure if I would be successful at taking a break, but I have enjoyed unplugging and being present a great deal - these were drafted on the plane ride down to Orlando!)...
 
Topic/Question (Week of 11/24/19):  What are you thankful for this year?
  • I am thankful to work with professionals who really care about children!
  • I am thankful for the health of my family and the blessings that we have received this year.
  • My family
  • My family
  • Everything! (Especially my family and their support)
  • I’m thankful for my house, my school, food and more.
  • I am thankful for having the opportunity to get to know our Class of 2026. I look forward to working with you for the next few school years!
  • Family
  • I am thankful for my family
  • My role as a bishop in theater
  • I am thankful for my family and the shelter and food they provide me with
  • I am thankful for my family and the shelter and food they provide me with
  • My family, friends, pets, nature, and school
  • I am thankful for a new and very good book series I am reading called keeper of the lost cities
  • All my teachers
  • Family, friends, health, dog, community
  • Books, food, walks with my dog
  • My mom and dad
  • My life
  • I am thankful for the Blake staff and their kindness, energy, and patience.
 
I remember seeing the words below from Walt Disney when we visited 5 years ago, and they resonate with me just as much today as they did at that time.  As we look ahead to the closing weeks of 2019 and a new year, I hope we can continue to embrace new ideas, try new things, and allow our collective curiosity to guide our efforts.
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I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for District Community Notices.
Enjoy the week and take care.
Nat

Naming and Sharing Our Gratitude

11/26/2019

 
November 26, 2019

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the practice of gratitude and Thanksgiving, our topic/question for the dinner table is:  What are you thankful for this year?  Naming and Sharing Our Gratitude (Week of 11/24/19) (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.
 
Have the days of November gone by faster than other months this year?  It truly seems like yesterday that we were getting ready for Halloween - and, with Thanksgiving being so late this year, I am having a hard time believing it is this week!  I felt quite fortunate to be able to attend the Learning and the Brain Conference (see some notes below) in Boston, and the highlight of the weekend was the performance of Frozen Jr. at Blake on Saturday night!  Congratulations to the cast and crew and thanks to Tracy Allen, Maureen D., Joe, Nancy M., Ann Marie Tremblay, Ashley Rimbey, Jean Plonski, Christi Barney, Melissa Landis, and all of the parent volunteers - special kudos to Tracy for her leadership and work with all of the students!
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Linda Darling-Hammond ended her keynote address at Learning and the Brain with these words from John Dewey.  As a strong proponent and believer in Dewey’s philosophy and tenets of education, they resonate with me on many levels.  As we begin to enter the holiday season with Thanksgiving, they have helped me to reflect upon our work with students, the practice of gratitude, and the implications for our community.  These are certainly ‘seasonal thoughts’ as they come to the forefront of my thinking each year...
  • 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 

As we enter this week of Thanksgiving, my traditional sharing is one that is grounded in gratitude - gratitude for tangible ‘artifacts’ of recent learning, reflective/active learning, and learning as a community - along with some ‘annual sentiments of thanks’ (Fair warning - it has been a reflective week and weekend for sure!)…
 
Recent Learning - I am thankful that we are a learning community that is willing to share and listen to one another
Thanks to MCPE (Medfield Coalition for Public Education), I was able to attend the Learning and the Brain conference this past weekend (#latb54) - a wonderful conference that ‘connects educators with the latest research on the brain and learning and its learning implications for education’.  The focus this year was: ‘Applying Learning Sciences for Deeper Reasoning, Retention, and Reflection.  I will be sharing more in the coming weeks and months, but here are a few ‘mindsets/notes/take-aways’ from a few keynotes, along with some notes from #MedfieldTalks and a keynote from the #ETTInnovate conference earlier in the week (it has been an impactful week of learning!)…

Why Mind, Brain, and Education? Why Now?
by Kurt W. Fischer, David B. Daniel, Mary Helen Immordina-Yang, Elsbeth Stern, Antonio Battro, and Hideaki Koizumi in Mind, Brain, and Education
This article, published in March 2007, outlines the origins of Mind, Brain, and Education from the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society - the goal and purpose is to join the collective efforts and work from education, biology, and cognitive science.
Human beings are unique in their ability to learn through schooling and diverse kinds of cultural instruction. Education plays a key role in cultural transformations: It allows members of a society, the young in particular, to efficiently acquire an ever-evolving body of knowledge and skills that took thou-sands of years to invent. It is time for education, biology, and cognitive science to join together to create a new science and practice of learning and development.

Answering key questions about mind, brain, and education requires reciprocal interaction between scientific research and practical knowledge of educators and caregivers. There must be a dynamic interaction between scientific research and practical knowledge, with practice shaping scientific questions as much as research shapes practice.

Scientists sometimes argue that relating biology to education is premature: They say that science first needs to answer the deep questions about how the mind/brain works. To the contrary, we affirm that research in educational settings will shape the great discoveries to come concerning basic biological and cognitive processes in learning and development.  Research in practice settings is essential for the field of mind, brain, and education, in the same way that research in medical settings is essential for knowledge about medical practice.

Barbara A. Oakley - Learning How to Learn: Helping Students Succeed in School
(@barbaraoakley) 
  • People are starved for information about how we learn effectively 
  • It can be good to follow your passions, but it is really important to broaden your passions
  • Retrieval practice (‘recall’) is the most powerful technique to help you learn
  • Sleep is critical - retrieval practice happens during sleep

Linda Darling-Hammond - Teaching for Deeper Learning: Implications of Science of Learning and Development
(@LDH_ED)
  • Shift from Genetics to Epigenetics (malleability and plasticity)
  • Development is catalyzed and shaped by human relationships - fostered by experience
  • Key elements of Adult-Child Relationships - secure attachment, positive regard, buffering stress, supporting sense-making
  • Development of Neural Networks is enhanced by…
    • Social interaction
    • Rich environments 
    • Green space
    • Physical activity
    • Mental activity
    • Mindfulness
    • Emotional and cultural well-being
  • Development of Neural Networks is impaired by…
    • Stress
    • Anxiety
    • Loneliness 
    • Sleep disruption
    • Dietary deficiencies
    • Toxins
    • Identity threats
  • Cognitive flexibility is enhanced by…
    • Art
    • World Languages 
    • Music
  • As human beings, we are born to be inquirers
  • The ways in which we can teach can induce a growth mindset
  • Assessment for Learning: How Feedback Can Be Leveraged…
    • Errors are welcomed
    • Peers support learning
    • Assessment is for learning, not for ranking
    • Psychological elements have huge impacts from the practices we choose
  • Performance assessments are critical
  • Everything students need for their learning, teachers need

David H. Rose - Deeper Learning for EVERY Student:  Neuroscience, Technology, and UDL
(@DavidRose_CAST)
  • ‘It’s going to take a lot of work on both of our parts’
  • ‘You are important to me’
  • We need to think about control vs learning
  • Who has a ‘disability’?
    • It depends
    • Depends on context
  • What determines where each of us are on the spectrum?
    • Biology and Environment
  • Both biology and environment determine the cut-off for disability, ‘abnormality’
    • Culture determines the cut-off
    • Cultural determination
  • Brilliant after school, but not during school (many of our students)
  • Where am I on the spectrum?
    • It depends…
    • Context is important…
  • Need to consider the emotional components of the brain
  • We need to reduce the barriers and increase the access/pathways to learning

David B. Daniel - The State of the Onion:  Peeling Back 20 Years of the Science of Learning and Instruction
  • Schisms between practitioners and research
  • Mind, Brain, and Education - Goal is Usable Knowledge
  • How can I model complexity without bringing in the real world? (We must bring it in)
  • Goal is to be evidence-generative! Not just evidence-based
  • Mind-Brain Education - ‘Education by any things necessary’
  • Evidence-Based vs Evidence-Demonstrated
    • Picture of baby goats (kids) - ‘these are kids’
  • What is ‘evidence’ for teaching?
    • It is the interpretation of the evidence that makes a difference
    • Is it credible or just persuasive?
      • Skepticism has to be in place
  • Situating science is very difficult
    • When you try and put it all together, it becomes complex
  • We have a ‘Science of Learning’ - We do not have a ‘Science of Teaching’ 
  • Goal of science of teaching is to crete an arsenal of tools
    • Goal is not to create best practices
    • It is to create an arsenal of tools
    • Goal is not a silver bullet 
  • Good teaching is the culmination of the small impacts of everything you do…

Notes from Dr. Colin Rose’s Keynote at #ETTInnovate…
Assistant Superintendent of Opportunity and Achievement Gaps for the Boston Public Schools
Ecology of Equity:  Focus on CLSP
  • CLSP - Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Practices
  • Need to Shift from Achievement Gaps (Onus is on the student to adjust) to Opportunity Gaps (Onus is on the system to adjust)
  • Targeted Universalism - High Standards; Targeted Approaches
  • Where do we start?
    • Capacity building is the key…
  • We need to define things first
  • Three Competencies of CLSP…
    • Awareness:  Comprehend your cultural frame of reference/bias
    • Cultural learning/relationship-building
    • Construction of a repertoire of culturally and linguistically sustaining practices
  • Why’s for CLSP…
    • Positive working and learning environments
    • US Economic and Political Health
    • More Effective Pedagogy
    • Morality
  • More Effective Pedagogy
    • CLSP/CRT - It is a framework, lens, and mindset, not a set of best practices or simply multicultural content
  • There are consequences to not knowing and not adapting
  • All learning is contextual
  • We need equity by design, not happenstance

Notes from James McCauley’s Presentation on Resilience, Riverside Trauma Center 
  • You don’t bounce back after a traumatic event - you are changed
  • This is hopeful work
  • You need to start with yourself…
  • Ask your child…
    • ‘In what situations do you already feel strong or effective?’
    • ‘In what situations would you like to feel stronger or more effective?’
  • Three Kinds of Responses to Stress
    • Positive, Tolerable, Toxic
  • ACES Score (Adverse Childhood Experiences)
  • Most positive impact against ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) is having one caring adult - keeps them from developing toxic stress
  • Need to teach flexibility in thinking
  • Gritty people give help and get help
  • 4 Techniques of Mental Toughness (‘Borrowed’ from the Navy SEALS)
    • Goal Setting
    • Visualization
    • Positive Self-Talk
    • Breathing/Arousal Control
  • The Central Governor Theory:  Our brains give out before our body
    • Celebrate small wins (not miles - yards; not months - hours)
    • Small achievable objectives
    • Continually reset objectives
  • Talk about challenges, not barriers
  • Mental Rehearsal…
    • Practice, imagine, rehearse
  • What is your positive ‘speech’ in support of your goals?
  • Slow breathing is a great focusing strategy
  • Practice Gratitude - gratitude journals
  • Biggest protective factor is strong social connections
  • Social connection is the greatest predictor of happiness
  • Find 5 Happy Friends
  • Importance of play - if it isn’t fun, it isn’t play
  • Look for cues in your children for when it’s time to talk
    • Strike when the iron is cold - address it later…
    • W.A.I.T. - Why Am I Talking? (Listen first)
  • Sleep is so important

Reflective/Active Learning - I am thankful that our community seeks out learning and reflects upon our experiences
Reflection is at the heart of active learning, and I appreciate the interactive nature of engagement that we aim to promote and practice at Blake.  The two posts below espouse the practice of gratitude and keep our learning in a contextual framework, and the weekly sampling of responses from last week’s question of the week help us to listen and stay relevant for our learners and community…
 
How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain
by Joel Wong and Joshua Brown in Greater Good Magazine
This brief post offers insight into the psychological benefits that exist when one practices gratitude.  The intentional practice of gratitude is an important take-away from this post.  
  1. Gratitude unshackles us from toxic emotions
  2. Gratitude helps even if you don’t share it
  3. Gratitude’s benefits take time
  4. Gratitude has lasting effects on the brain
...gratitude writing can be beneficial not just for healthy, well-adjusted individuals, but also for those who struggle with mental health concerns. In fact, it seems, practicing gratitude on top of receiving psychological counseling carries greater benefits than counseling alone, even when that gratitude practice is brief.

Regardless of whether you’re facing serious psychological challenges, if you have never written a gratitude letter before, we encourage you to try it. Much of our time and energy is spent pursuing things we currently don’t have. Gratitude reverses our priorities to help us appreciate the people and things we do.
 
The science behind why you shouldn’t stop giving thanks after Thanksgiving
by Colby Itkowitz in The Washington Post
This post highlights the importance of gratitude, including an interview with gratitude expert, Robert Emmons.  I came across this two years ago and it clearly had an impact on many readers, as at that time it was being ‘republished’ - Editor’s note: This post is being republished. The advice is timeless.
On most days, gratitude manifests as an emotional reaction to a favorable event or outcome. But it also can be a way of life. People who consciously choose daily to seek out things in their lives to be thankful for are, research has shown, happier and healthier.

The best way I practice gratitude is to continually think about those people who have done things for me that I could never do for myself. Who is looking out for me, who has my back, who has made my life easier because of their sacrifices? Who and what do I take for granted?  Then gratitude becomes, real, concrete, personal. We all have people like that in our lives. I make a mental list of these, and try to think about ways in which I can give back some of the goodness I have received. Basically, I try to practice being non-self-absorbed. Non-grateful people are self-absorbed. Grateful people are absorbed by the good that others are doing for them. Focus on the other — this is the best gratitude message we can give people.

Indeed, gratitude rescues us from negativity. Left to their own devices, our minds tend to hijack each and every opportunity for happiness. Negativity, entitlement, resentfulness, forgetfulness, ungratefulness all clamor for our attention.  Whether stemming from our own internal thoughts or to the daily news headlines, we are exposed to a constant drip of negativity. Doom and gloom is on the horizon, as financial fears, relational turmoil and health challenges threaten us. Weighed down by negativity, we are worn down, worn out, emotionally and physically exhausted.  To offset this chronic negativity, we need to continually and perpetually hear good news. We need to constantly and regularly create and take in positive experiences. Gratitude is our best weapon, an ally to counter these internal and external threats that rob us of sustainable joy. In gratitude, we focus on the giftedness of life. We affirm that goodness exists, even among the rancor of daily life. This realization itself is freeing, liberating, redeeming. Gratitude works!
 
Topic/Question (Week of 11/17/19):  What adjustments have you made to help improve your own learning and/or the learning environment for others?
  • One adjustment I have made is by removing myself from the people who are a distraction
  • I try to make sure I understand the information as best as possible, and when presenting information, to be as clear and concise as possible.
  • I have tried to balance a "magnifying glass" and "bird's eye" approach to my own learning and the learning of others.
  • I like to work more independently and not in groups/partners. I find that it helps me work better.
  • Speak softly
  • Keeping up with the work

Learning as a Community - I am thankful that our community cares for one another as learners, students and adults alike
This year I feel fortunate to once again be helping, along with Christine Power and Susan Bycoff, to facilitate our New Teacher Induction/Mentor Program.  I find this work critical as we work to bridge our schools, bring educators together, and provide a forum for educators to examine and share practices. We took time this month (becoming an annual theme in Year 2) to discuss the critical role that ‘vulnerability’ plays for all learners (students and teachers) in our community.  I firmly believe that both vulnerability and gratitude are practices that must be practiced.

Some Thankful Sentiments - Shared and modified a bit from years past...
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.  We will be coming together as a Blake community for our annual Celebration of Voice assembly on Wednesday to share our gratitude and have fun! 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 ten years ago.  It is hard to believe that a decade has passed since that time (Grayden was 3 months old!). At that difficult time, Katie and I found ourselves filled (overwhelmed, actually) with 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. I will be sharing my gratitude Wednesday at the assembly, but I also know that I can not share it enough - 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 my family.  I have shared these words from President Kennedy and the post below the last few years and will be sure to continue bringing them to light each year...
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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.

It is incumbent on us as a community to recognize and remember that this time of year can be a particularly stressful and emotional one for both students and adults.  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 to have the opportunity to personally wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving before Wednesday afternoon. So...Happy Thanksgiving!  I am incredibly grateful to be a part of the Blake community and believe we are making a difference. Let us be sure to maintain a culture and spirit of eternal vigilance for learning, listening, and gratitude.
 
I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for District Community Notices.
Enjoy the week and take care.
Nat

Making Adjustments for Learning

11/19/2019

 
November 18, 2019

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about adjustments we make as we learn, our topic/question for the dinner table is:  What adjustments have you made to help improve your own learning and/or the learning environment for others? Making Adjustments for Learning (Week of 11/17/19) (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.
 
As much as I do not want to admit it, it seems as though the cold weather is here to stay!  As Katie was finishing up her yoga teacher training this weekend (proud of her for doing this!), the kids and I had a relatively quiet weekend - doing some errands, a little bit of yard work, and time to just ‘hang out’.  It never feels as though we have enough time to do just that!
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I always find this time of year to be particularly challenging, and I think it is for a number of reasons or factors - the change in light in the afternoon, the ‘proverbial honeymoon’ of the start of year being over, the holiday season beginning, planning and budgeting for the next school year, just to name a few.  As one who self-admittedly feels deeply I have learned to recognize that this is a pattern for me and is one that is ok to acknowledge. Re-reading Marc Brackett’s book, Permission to Feel, has also helped me to name these feelings and embrace them.  That has been an adjustment and one that I am continuing to practice.  As I think about this dynamic and the internal adjustments I have tried to make in regards to my mindset when it comes to situations or times that challenge me, it has really helped to apply that thinking for my day-to-day ‘work’ at school.  Whether it is trying to #slowitdown, ask more questions, or simply take an inquiry stance, these adjustments have proved to be quite helpful and provided space and structure for me to grow and learn.
 
There are a number of influences and considerations that contribute to our learning and the experiences we want for our students (and ourselves, for that matter), and I appreciate and admire the collective willingness to try and ‘do it all’.  I also recognize that I can contribute to a feeling and sentiment of being overwhelmed by all of the possibilities and ideas that are out there. I firmly believe that we need to be open to change and have a willingness to consider everything (as I often reference one of my favorite quotes from Ted Sizer)…
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That said, I need to make sure that I keep in mind all of the feelings, dynamics, and considerations that come into play.  And that is an adjustment, or collection of adjustments, that I am working on making. Change does not need to be significant, but the willingness and openness to adapt is where the sustainable impact will be felt.  A goal I have for when I experience these feelings of challenge, for lack of a better phrase, is to simply name it (the feeling) and also name the learning that I am experiencing at that time (tangible and intangible experiences).  

The two posts below, along with the responses from last week’s topic/question, serve as reminders for the ways that we can make adjustments to help continue our collective growth as a learning community.  I welcome and embrace questions, resonance, dissonance, and dialogue they may provoke (my door is always open)...​

Topic/Question (Week of 11/10/19):  How does ‘taking a break’ help with the process of learning?
  • Sometimes a pause in one's work allows for fresh and different perspectives when the work is returned to.
  • Yes. In fact, I think clearing one's head helps in a wide variety of situations.
  • Being with family and friends can help renew the idea that we are all here for each other no matter what.
  • It helps you cool down and take a break from what you’re doing.
  • When I come back, it makes me feel better. It also gives me a new perspective.
  • Because it’s your choice
  • It helps you think.
  • Taking a break helps you unwind for a bit, and refocus on the topic your working on. It lifts your spirits and is something to look forward to when your doing a boring task.
  • The break let’s your body and mind catch up to each other. It allows your brain the time to make connections while it relaxes a bit with your body.
  • So then you get a chance to restart your mind
  • It helps when you’re learning when your stressed because you have a lot to do or when you just need a short break to put yourself together.
  • It helps our minds calm down and let’s us take a sigh of relief, which will allow for better concentration and productivity in the classroom.
  • It gives my brain a chance to process things without me:-)
  • Taking a break just lets you forget everything that was cluttering your brain, and make it easier to try again. Sometimes you can work yourself into a frenzy, and you just need a little time to reset.
  • It helps me from being overwhelmed by learning

Trauma-Informed Teaching Strategies
by Jessica Minahan (@jessica_minahan) in Educational Leadership
The title of the post may lead one to believe that these strategies only apply to ‘a distinct cohort’, but these strategies hold true for all students and adults.  The foundational element of a safe and supportive learning environment is true for everyone, and the strategies and information within are pertinent and critical.
Neurobiologically, students can't learn if they don't feel safe, known, and cared for within their schools (Aupperle et al., 2012). When teachers are proactive and responsive to the needs of students suffering from traumatic stress and make small changes in the classroom that foster a feeling of safety, it makes a huge difference in their ability to learn. 
  1. Expect Unexpected Responses
  2. Employ Thoughtful Interactions
  3. Be Specific About Relationship Building
  4. Promote Predictability and Consistency
  5. Teach Strategies to ‘Change the Channel’
  6. Give Supportive Feedback to Reduce Negative Thinking
  7. Create Islands of Competence
  8. Limit Exclusionary Practices

Students can't learn unless they feel safe. When it comes to student trauma, there is much that is beyond educators' power, but there is also a great deal they can do to build a supportive and sensitive environment where students feel safe, comfortable, take risks, learn, and even heal.

Assessment Works Best When Students Are in the Driver's Seat
By Anne Vilen in ASCD Express
Vilen’s post affirms the belief that we need to make sure that students are understanding feedback and also play an active role in their own learning.  This means we must make adjustments to our practice, and this post espouses the principles that foster self-assessment: Teach Students to Say Where They're Going; Teach Students to Reflect and Identify Missteps; Teach Students to Set a New Course.  These shifts in assessment practices will help to keep the learning relevant, transferable, and sustainable.
As teachers we want to teach our students the important things—the fundamental concepts of disciplines, academic work habits (perseverance, critical thinking) and skills, as well as how to be a good person, with the confidence and competence to contribute to a better world. But if standardized tests don't measure these things, how do we know if our students have learned the important things?

We need student-engaged assessment, a system of interrelated practices that position students as leaders of their own learning. Often it takes place in students' own heads while they are learning. It's the kid in the back row wondering, "Do I understand this? What questions do I have?" It's the student who pulls a draft of her paper from her backpack and thinks, I need to rewrite this conclusion. What did my workshop group tell me again?" 

Think of "student-engaged" assessment like driving a car. Students who are engaged step into the driver's seat, tentatively at first and often with the teacher coaching from the passenger seat. What are the coaching moves that enable students to become confident drivers of their own learning?

In American life, one of the most important tests a person takes outside of school is a driving test. For many good reasons, you have to perform—demonstrate your skills, not just fill in bubbles on a paper. Student-engaged assessment invites us to create opportunities for students at all grade levels and in all subject matters to metaphorically read the driving manual, take the written test, practice on the road with lots of feedback from an expert instructor, and finally demonstrate the skill for a real audience. 

At the end of the day, as the driving examiner writes "passed" on the form, the student knows that she drove smoothly, followed all the signs, and brought the examiner back safe and sound. She also knows that she could have gotten a teensy bit closer to the curb in that parallel parking spot. That assessment, inside her head, is the one that counts most because it motivates her to continue learning well after the test—in fact, for the rest of her life.

Having read these two posts several times over the last couple of weeks, I found them to be affirming in the sense that our mission we have embraced for all learners in our community is one that encourages all of us to learn, adapt, grow, and reflect.  By continuing to assess ourselves, we will increase the ‘knowledge base’ of our own learning and the learning of others. ​
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I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for District Community Notices.
Enjoy the week and take care.
Nat

Taking a Break

11/11/2019

 
November 12, 2019

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the benefits of ‘taking a break’, our topic/question for the dinner table is:  How does ‘taking a break’ help with the process of learning?  Taking a Break (Week of 11/10/19) (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.
 
Hopefully our ‘No Homework Weekend’ was one that was ‘lived’ by all, allowing for some quiet, reflection, and time to recharge - whatever that may look like!  We took some time to do just that - after an ‘over and back’ to the Berkshires on Saturday, we did some gardening, leaf pick up, and enjoyed the break. I want to once again express my sincere thanks to our entire staff for embracing and supporting these efforts - thank you! 
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As conveyed heading into the weekend, my intention was to ‘live our mission’ and stretch myself by unplugging, taking a step back, and slowing it down.  It has definitely been a challenge with a fair share of reminders and nudges from my family, but I am pleased to share it has been pretty successful. Taking a break always provokes deep reflection and new perspectives for me, and in that spirit I am sharing a sampling of responses from last week’s question, a post that offers a different perspective, and some words from Ryan Hall that provides a healthy lens on the confidence needed to allow rest to take place...


Topic/Question (Week of 11/3/19):  What process do you use to make decisions?
  • I am guided by this question: How will this impact the children?
  • I review what is going on in the past, ask students what is working for them in the art environment, continually try out their interests, my own interests, and pray that I can make better decisions.
  • I try to think of a few different variables and perspectives to help ensure the decision is a good one. Sometimes time does not permit, but putting myself in the shoes of those affected by the decision is helpful.
  • I consult my wife. She's a lot smarter than me.
  • What do I truly want to do and if my parents were making the decision what would they say
  • I do a lot of stop and thinking and brainstorming
  • Sometimes I think before I act. Other times I think does this fit into the conversation. I also think if this will hurt anybody.
  • Weigh the pros and cons and then, inevitably follow my heart/gut.
  • I think it out and do what makes sense
  • I have learned to slow myself down. I ask people who are very different from me what they would choose to do.
  • Depending on the decision I will ask my peers for more than one opinion on the topic.
  • Process of elimination

Yes, it’s good to stick with an activity. But there is also value in walking away.
by Kirsten Clodfelter in The Washington Post
Clodfelter’s post aligns with the idea of taking different perspectives, as she provides a healthy alternative to some of the mantras we inherit, embrace, and pass along to our children (all with good intentions).  As one who believes in staying with commitments and ‘working things through’, I appreciate the message that it is important to step back, ask some more questions, listen to the answers, and focus on developing healthy paths.
My entire life, I’ve heard “Finish what you start” touted as a critical maxim for kids. After all, sticking with something when it’s difficult or uncomfortable can teach perseverance, discipline and confidence — all important skills to carry with us into adulthood.  But watching through the observation window as my first-grader seemed to drag herself into each ballet position, I started to question how much sense that blanket advice made. Is it really in our kids’ best interest, or even practical, to see every commitment through to its bitter end? What if there are different but equally valuable qualities to be gained by learning to let go of the things that aren’t right for us?

Quitting carries plenty of stigma, even for adults, and figuring out when it’s the best choice for our kids is often nuanced and complex. Outside of extreme circumstances such as bullying or abuse, Eric Bean, a sports psychology consultant, says “quitting is never really a black-and-white issue.” The decision can feel especially fraught when a child wants to leave a sport or activity they’ve shown a talent for or that they’ve previously enjoyed.

As an adult, I’m inundated with messaging about the energizing, door-opening power of saying yes, but what about saying no? The ability to recognize when an activity isn’t an appropriate investment of our time or energy is a fundamental skill, and it’s one that extends beyond youth sports or extracurriculars. As my daughters get older, I want them to feel confident that they can exit a degree path or a job or a relationship that’s no longer meeting their needs. They shouldn’t feel beholden by the fact that simply because they’ve started something, they’re obligated to finish it at any cost.

...we should make room for our kids’ interests and passions to evolve, even if the result is they end up walking away from an activity they — or we — thought would be a big part of their lives. After all, if what we want is for our children to be happy and fulfilled, we have to give them space to decide what that looks like. Quitting means they’re clearing a path to love something else — and that’s a good thing.

As I look to the busyness that inevitably awaits us in the holiday season, I hope to lean on these perspectives and remember the value of taking a step back and resting.  It’s not easy for me and I hope others can help me along the way.
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I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for District Community Notices.
Enjoy the week and take care.
Nat
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