Principal's Blog

Service for Others

1/19/2021

January 19, 2021

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about Dr. King’s work and commitment to service, our question for this week is: What is one action you can/will make to ‘serve’ and help others? Service for Others (Week of 1/17/21) (This is an anonymous Google Form)

Blake's Guiding Lights
Our Students
Blake's Core Values: Respect, Responsibility, Resourcefulness, Reflection
Our Essential Question: How can we cultivate and curate the progression of student learning and growth?
Our Mission: Blake Middle School believes in a living mission statement, based on the concept that our community seeks and respects knowledge, integrity, character, wisdom, and the willingness to adapt to a continually evolving world.
The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning. - John Dewey
You cannot teach today the same way you did yesterday to prepare students for tomorrow. - John Dewey

This weekend I made a commitment to myself to practice (as best as I can!) our no homework weekend, making room to be present and ‘unplug’. This is always a challenge for me, as I look to make room for myself while also (as shared with staff via e-mail Friday afternoon) trying to honor the need to support others in the transition to synchronous learning this week. It was lovely to have the rain get ‘out of the way’ on Saturday morning, as we took time for walks and being outside as much as we could. I certainly missed waking up early on MLK, Jr. Day for our #dayofservice at Blake and look forward to the days when we can re-implement that tradition. Special thanks to Cynthia for her commitment, passion, and leadership as she worked to still facilitate a successful Blood Drive with the support and participation of our students.

These words were shared as part of the clip (thanks again to Meghan and Kara G.) we watched at our staff check-in at the end of Friday’s PD - they are relevant, pertinent, and speak directly to our core values at Blake. In the spirit of these words and reflecting on the legacy of Dr. King, I am sharing some links below to clips we viewed together along with a post by John Lewis from 2008. They each speak, in different ways, to how we can care for one another through service.

Hospital staff serenade Joanne Rogers, wife of Fred Rogers
(1:14)
This brief clip is worth watching - it shows the welcome Mrs. Rogers received when visiting a hospital that was honoring World Kindness Day - shared in a ‘small gesture’ of remembrance of Joanne’s commitment to others throughout her life.

MLK Day Legacy: Ruby Bridges
(4:09)
Civil rights leader Ruby Bridges remembers integrating the New Orleans school system in 1960 and the lessons of racial justice that her teacher and Dr. King taught. She urges Americans to honor Dr. King's legacy of service by volunteering on MLK Day.

MLK Day Legacy
(2:58)
This clip prefaces some of the same footage as the clip above, but includes excerpts from one of Dr. King’s speeches.

Reflections on a Dream Deferred
by John Lewis in Teaching Tolerance
Written in 2008, this is a reflection by the late Representative John Lewis - ‘a look at the legacy of Dr. King’s ideals’ - and includes references and quotes from a speech by Dr. King in 1967.
Violence is accepted by too many in our society today as a means to silence opposition and difference. A culture of violence has sprung up among us that is gnawing at the soul of our society, a culture which justifies brutality, torture and cruelty.

"A true revolution of values," he continued, "will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. … A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth … and say, ‘This is not just.' … A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war, ‘This way of settling differences is not just.' … True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring."

Democracy is not a state. It is not some high plateau that we struggle to reach so we can finally settle down to rest. Democracy is an act. It is an act that requires participation, organization and dedication to the highest principles. It is an act, and a series of actions that require us to continuously verify our commitment to civil rights and social justice at every challenge. Above all, Martin Luther King, Jr. led by example and demonstrated this devotion with his life and his sacrifice. "Some of us who have already begun to break the silence of night," he said, "have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak."

In the final analysis, we cannot deny that 40 years later, the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. still has not been realized. We still have not reached the Promised Land that he described the night before he was killed in Memphis, Tenn. Are we closer to building the Beloved Community? Are we closer to building a society based on simple justice that values the dignity and the worth of every human being? Yes, we are closer, but we still have a great distance we must travel before we build a Beloved Community, a nation and a world society at peace with itself.

One of my favorite parts of the week is reading the responses to our weekly question as they offer a window into the thoughts of our students, staff, and community. As with all relevant and pertinent questions, not all answers align with one another and can certainly feel like criticism at times; however, each one is important as they help us to better understand one another and listen/understand what is on our collective minds...

Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: Please complete this statement: What are some necessary changes that you hope will take place to improve our schools and learning environments for all of our learners?

Students and teachers alike have spoken positively about the smaller class sizes created by the two cohorts. Many students have said they feel more comfortable talking and get a chance to share their ideas and have conversations more.
I hope they will have less time on the screen.
Start teaching philosophy to kids in middle and high school, with open debates at the end of each session. If our society wants to get rid of religion, it needs to replace it with something else; Woke culture should not be the answer.
The addition of more variety of phys Ed games
Not a lot of homework
Better wifi especially if you want to live stream
The live-streaming our classes, it’ll definitely make online learning easier for teachers and students (once we work out all the network issues)
Everything becomes more straightforward.
No masks and for everyone to be happy
No synchronous learning; I will be so bored all day and will not work well at all.
I hope that students will be allowed to leave their lunchboxes in their Advisory classroom to take weight out of their backpack.

Dr. King’s commitment to others is one I hope we continue to instill in our students and one another. The words below are worthy of reflection as they encourage and inspire hope, promise, and action (each year I find myself drawn to certain ‘repeats’ and inspired by others - there is never a scarcity of inspiration from Dr. King - that is for sure!)...
“So even though we face difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.”
“Find a voice in a whisper.”
“There is no such thing as separate but equal. Separation, segregation, inevitably makes for inequality.”

I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
As always, let me know of any questions/concerns.
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Take care.
Nat
#willfulhope #willfulaction #longasIcanseethelight

Necessary Change

1/12/2021

January 12, 2021

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about changes we can and should make to nurture and support all learners, our question for this week is: What are some necessary changes that you hope will take place to improve our schools and learning environments for all of our learners? Necessary Change (Week of 1/10/21) (This is an anonymous Google Form)

Blake's Guiding Lights
Our Students
Blake's Core Values: Respect, Responsibility, Resourcefulness, Reflection
Our Essential Question: How can we cultivate and curate the progression of student learning and growth?
Our Mission: Blake Middle School believes in a living mission statement, based on the concept that our community seeks and respects knowledge, integrity, character, wisdom, and the willingness to adapt to a continually evolving world.
The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning. - John Dewey
You cannot teach today the same way you did yesterday to prepare students for tomorrow. - John Dewey

With a definite need for everyone to have a break and time to reflect, I hope that this update finds everyone well, healthy, and safe. We had a very quiet weekend (much needed), balancing our desire to chat and process with the need to do what is necessary to recharge with self-care strategies. We felt fortunate to have a nice physically distanced visit with cousins on Saturday afternoon/evening - always good to laugh and connect with loved ones.

I have always found the week following a vacation to have a distinct flow/rhythm in comparison to other weeks in the school year. It seems to always have a ‘sleepy start’ as we (students, staff, and families) return and acclimate to the earlier starts and reacquaint ourselves with the routines and norms of school. A rhythm returns by Thursday (again - speaking for myself here, and possibly others) and then utter exhaustion kicks in by Friday afternoon/evening. With that dynamic feeling real once again this week, it certainly was far more pronounced due to the unprecedented and tragic events that transpired on Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol. Sharing ‘from the I’ here, I found that the emotions, thoughts, and feelings struck me at different times - some internal, some external, and some both. I also found myself overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation for our Blake community - responding and listening with care, providing space for #permissiontofeel for all, willing and acting upon the willingness to adapt and support, and being present. This seemingly dichotomous range of emotions (sadness/anger/hopelessness along with gratitude/care/hope) calls for a community of care and presence - and I am so grateful for our students, staff, and families - thank you.

In all of the efforts to process what was taking place at the end of this week - in conversations, meetings, formal check-ins, passing dialogue, etc. - I found a common through-line - ‘things need to change’. There were not clear answers and I heard these sentiments on social media and in the news channels as well. It got me thinking a great deal about change and what that entails - something we talk a lot about with our students, our school, and our community. And this week pushed us to think beyond a myopic lens on the word community as well, reflecting on our mission, guiding lights, and commitment to a ‘willingness to adapt’.

Recognizing my own need to try and find time to step back a bit this weekend, I am making an effort to keep it relatively brief by sharing some responses from last week’s question along with one post that I read before vacation. Although the subject of change in the post is about schooling/education, I believe that the questions are ones that directly relate and should be brought into the conversations that are taking place right now on the micro and macro levels following the events of this week. As always, I welcome and invite dialogue, thought, and action with all...

Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: Please complete this statement: As we start the new year, I hope/intend/commit (or re-commit) to the following …

Continuing to work on ways to actively engage students in their learning.
Noticing the people that others forget about.
Taking time every day for some art making. I have temporarily lost my creative habit and I miss that.
I hope to worry less and use my energy to help my family and students finish out this school year in a positive way.
Working out.
Get better at English
Going vegetarian.
Eat healthier.
Get outside and exercise more!!
I hope that i will start to do my homework everyday again
I commit to being more actively speaking
This year, I want to workout more.
I hope to stretch more, get my splits, try to keep myself in shape and take care of my mental health.
To study harder and do well in school.
I hope we will be able to go back to school full time soon
I hope to be more creative, and draw more.
Get better grades in spanish
Read more books, go for more walks, play more soccer.
I hope to be productive and gain experiences.
Sleeping
Working hard and never giving up.
I hope zooming into your class will work really well.
I hope we can go back to school all the time, I intend to keep working hard on school and dance, and I will commit to practicing my instrument every day.

Rethinking US education: What if everything we believe about education is a lie?
by Robert Pondiscio in The Hechinger Report
I read this post over vacation and the question itself drew my attention right away. I believe that it is incumbent that we ask the difficult questions and lean into these discussions - thinking about systems, beliefs, and the ways that we are acting (pushing beyond the dialogue - truly taking action) to support and nurture all of our learners.
If there was ever a time to ask big, heretical questions about American K-12 education, it’s when schooling has been thrown into chaos by a pandemic, and Americans’ faith in institutions, including schools, is at ebb tide. Let’s consider for a moment if our egalitarian impulses, however well-intended, have prevented us from pursuing a vision of public education that could be more fruitful and satisfying for vastly more students, and healthier for civil society.

We shouldn’t avoid grappling with questions simply because they are impolitic or make us uncomfortable.

Perhaps it is better merely to value and valorize diversity as an end in itself, because a virtuous society wants its children to have a warm and trusting relationship with authority figures from the broadest range of backgrounds. It is a very different thing to ask, “What do we want every child to achieve?” and “What do we want every child to experience?”

To be clear and emphatic: Education is our most optimistic and aspirational business, so we should never abandon our fondest hopes for it. Neither should we countenance a grim, deterministic view of human ability and allow schools to be mere sorting mechanisms. But with so much in flux right now, perhaps we should take advantage of our national inflection point to question our assumptions and ask what schooling would look like if the goal of education were not to “improve outcomes” but to enhance individual flourishing.

A sincere hope I maintain (yes, it is #willfulhope) that we will maintain our steadfast and shared commitment to ask difficult questions, listen, foster the #permissiontofeel, and to be present. I shared these words last week with all of our families - know that they are sincere. And, thank you for doing the same in turn for me…
By no means do I/we have all of the answers, but I/we am/are happy to process, discuss, and share - my door is open - and I encourage everyone to do the same with one another. I believe the most important thing that we can let all of our students and each other know is that they/you are cared for and that we will continue our steadfast work to be a safe and supportive community.

Hopes, Intentions, and (Re)Commitments

1/6/2021

January 5, 2021

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about hopes, intentions, and (re)commitments for the new calendar year, our question for this week is: Please complete this statement: As we start the new year, I hope/intend/commit (or re-commit) to the following … Hopes, Intentions and (Re)Commitments (Week of 1/3/20) (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 hope that the time away from the routines of school and structure allowed for time to rest, relax, and celebrate (most likely in a different way than in years past) the holiday season. Although I share the words below from Rainer Maria Rilke twice a year (at the start of the calendar year as well as at the outset of each school year), it is certainly an understatement to say that 2020 was ‘full of things that have never been’!

Vacations have always been a ‘mixed blessing’ (for lack of a better term) of sorts for me. As some/many of you know I struggle with ‘down time’ - as much as I look forward to the time off and the break from routines and school, I often put pressure on myself to have an ideal vacation and ‘do it right’ (whatever that means, as these notions are made up in my head). Over the years with measured intention and practice, and of course with the help of others, I feel like I have made progress with rest - and, I would be lying if I didn’t admit that it feels strange to even acknowledge that I need to practice resting and embracing down time! I often wonder if I am the only one that wrestles with this. Once again, I can acknowledge the importance of these things and can give the advice, but have a hard time following the advice for me. I have also learned (and still need the reminders) that it is ok to ‘be me’ and do what I like to do on a vacation - although that may look different than clothes, it’s ok.

On top of all of the usual dynamics of a vacation, I have also found myself struggling with the representation of the past year as an aggregate. By no means am I underestimating or ignoring the absolute challenges that occurred in 2020 - it is more the fact that what I have been hearing (and I acknowledge that this may be just where my head has been at times) is that all of 2020 was an absolute disaster. Yes, some of this has been ‘tongue in cheek’ and posted on social media and I can see how that has come to reality, in many ways. However, it is the negative slant and deficit mindset that has bogged me down a bit. I do not want to live in the land of naivety or always see with ‘rose colored glasses’, but I believe holding on and operating with a sense of hope and optimism is critical. With this as a background, I shared this episode of The Daily Podcast (New York Times) earlier this week with everyone...
The Year in Good News
(22 minutes)
A few weeks ago, we put a callout on The Daily, asking people to send in their good news from a particularly bleak year. The response was overwhelming. Audio messages poured into our inboxes from around the world, with multiple emails arriving every minute. There was a man who said that he had met Oprah and realized he was an alcoholic, a woman who shared that she had finally found time to finish a scarf after five years and another man who said he had finished his thesis on representations of horsemanship in American cinema. Eventually, we decided to construct the entire show out of these messages. This episode is the result — a Daily holiday card of good news, from our team to you.

I have shared before that we have gained great insight - I know I have about myself - in this past year and I hope that we can carry forth the learning and incorporate it into our new routines and practices. Thinking about the learning we have gained and trying to look forward from 2020 towards 2021, a few thoughts have been bouncing around in my head...

Definitions and etymology of words, particularly ‘resolve’ and ‘resolution’
Reflection - what does that look like?
2020 vs 2021
‘It’s all Connected’...

How does this all connect (does it connect)? Well, I have always been fascinated with and by etymology - and, every day I find that language and the words we use/choose matter a great deal. I often come back to Anne Sexton’s words - ‘Words and eggs must be handled with care. Once broken they are impossible things to repair.’ This does not mean that we must always be perfect with our words, but we should be mindful of the impact and the meanings that are both implicit and explicit in our messages. Along with the perceived or real ‘pressure/struggle’ of vacation comes some pressure about resolutions at this time of year. The notion of resolutions brings forth a linear path or ‘one solution’ - at least that is how I often experience them. Rather than focusing on one solution, a hope I have is that we can help foster an approach - one that is reflective and can adapt over time - for ourselves as educators and learners. And, of course, the same hope holds true for all of our students. The words below from Rilke speak to this and are prescient - and certainly applicable for 2021...

There is so much ‘unsolved’ and the more we learn, the more we have experienced this reality. During a meeting I had prior to vacation, I shared that I see more shades of gray every day to situations that I used to believe were ‘black and white’ with one clear solution. With learning as the constant and steadfast goal, it is important that we keep asking questions with a shared (re)commitment to this path - always thinking about what we can do from a systems-wide perspective to keep learning as the compass and guiding light as a shared and collective reality.

As noted previously, while trying to embrace the vacation and down time I am learning to embrace what helps me - even if it may look/feel like work for others. One of the ways that helps me to #slowitdown is to listen and learn. I hope to find ways to share this learning in a meaningful way by engaging with others in the new year - and, this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast with Tom Vander Ark (@tvanderark) interviewing David Price (@DavidPriceOBE) did just that for me (and this is how ‘it all connects’, at least in my train of thought!)...
David Price on the Power of Us
(39 minutes)
David Price is an author, educator, consultant, and public speaker based in North Yorkshire, UK. He has written two Amazon best-selling books, the latest titled, The Power of Us: How We Connect, Act, and Innovate Together. David has led innovation in education projects around the world for the past twenty years, following leadership roles in community, adult, further, and higher education.
I listened to this at the beginning of vacation and have been coming back to it over and over again. Throughout listening I found myself scribbling down thoughts and ‘making connections’. At the end Price shares a perspective that ‘the time has found us’ and this holds true for our students as well…
“Our young people now, they could be the greatest generation. They could take these problems that have been mounting for decades and they could change the world. The time has found them.”
These words filled me with hope and provided a foundation for me to look forward with hope, intention and commitment.

With now almost a week into 2021, I am continuing a practice of sharing several ‘end-of-year’ posts/lists, a few ‘big picture posts’ to keep our vision/mission on the forefront of our minds/thoughts, a sampling of responses from our community about ‘learning in 2020’, and some ‘annual shares’ as we begin anew. I hope that these posts and responses will prompt discussion, questions, and dialogue for our community and students throughout this year (as always, I welcome and would love to engage in dialogue, thought, and action with others)...

Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: When thinking back on 2020, what have you learned about yourself and how have you grown as a learner?

2020 has provided perspective on the pace of life. While there are activities and outings that are missed, it has also allowed for a reexamination of what is essential. My hope is that when we reach the "new normal" the hamster wheel does not spin as fast as it once did.
Small class sizes provide an opportunity for more individualized feedback!
I think I have learned that I need a little extra help when it comes to focusing.
I think I have grown as a learner I am able to do both in school and remote learning.
I have learned to quickly adapt and grow.
I have learned that math is my best subject but english is my favorite one.
I am a hard worker
I think I have learned that there is a lot I can accomplish if I really try. There are also more things I want to learn about.
I’ve grown because I’ve learned how to calm myself down and to do what best works for me.
One thing I have learned about myself is not to worry. I have grown as a learner by reading and learning more latin!

Some Year-End Lists and Reflections/Predictions
DECEMBER’S “BEST” LISTS – THERE ARE NOW 2,224 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 2021. I recommend bookmarking this site.

Personal Reflections On My 2020 Professional Experiences | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day…
by Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo)

The top 10 Educational Leadership stories of 2020
by Sarah McKibben in ASCD In-Service

The 10 Best Express Articles of 2020
ASCD Express

Education Predictions for an Unpredictable 2021
by Anthony Kim in Education Elements

Education Now: 2020 Highlights | Harvard Graduate School of Education
Across topics ranging from safe school reopening to keeping students motivated, our Education Now series sought to highlight opportunities to reimagine and reshape education.

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

The Teaching Profession in 2020 (in Charts)
by Madeline Will in Education Week Teacher

The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2020
by Youki Terada in Edutopia
Calling 2020 a turbulent year would be an understatement. As the pandemic disrupted life across the entire globe, teachers scrambled to transform their physical classrooms into virtual—or even hybrid—ones, and researchers slowly began to collect insights into what works, and what doesn’t, in online learning environments around the world.
Meanwhile, neuroscientists made a convincing case for keeping handwriting in schools, and after the closure of several coal-fired power plants in Chicago, researchers reported a drop in pediatric emergency room visits and fewer absences in schools, reminding us that questions of educational equity do not begin and end at the schoolhouse door.

Top 100 Education Blogs in 2020 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
“The way we’ve always done it”
by Seth Godin (@sethgodin)
Godin’s brief post pushes us to take a step back to see whether the traditions we have in school are still relevant and reflective of our values, beliefs, and intentions we have for our students and learning community.
It’s impossible to try every option, to explore every alternative and examine how every culture or competitor does things, but…If we don’t even know we’re doing things by rote, when will we be restless enough to try to make them better?

The Tests Are Lousy, So How Could the Scores Be Meaningful?
by Alfie Kohn (@alkfiekohn)
I have always enjoyed Kohn’s work and learned from his honest and research-based perspective, and this reflection and title of his post is worthy of deep and considerable thought. It speaks to the importance of asking hard questions, holding up mirrors, and checking in to see how our actions reflect our beliefs.
Standardized tests are so poorly constructed that low scores are nothing to be ashamed of — and, just as important, high scores are nothing to be proud of. The fact that an evaluation is numerical and the scoring is done by a computer doesn’t make the result “objective” or scientific. Nor should it privilege those results over a teacher’s first-hand, up-close knowledge of which students are flourishing and which are struggling.

I understand the cognitive dissonance that might lead someone to divorce the output from the input, the impulse to treat whatever the machine spits out as if it were somehow imbued with significance regardless of the dubious process on which it’s based. But however understandable that impulse is, we have a duty to resist it, at least when it can do real harm. For example, we should think twice about citing education studies in which standardized test results are used as markers for achievement — even when a study seems to justify practices we like or to indict those we oppose.

...these tests measure what matters least about learning. Research has found a statistically significant negative correlation between deep thinking and high scores on several such tests...every time a study that relies on test scores as the primary dependent variable is published or cited, those tests gain further legitimacy.

If we’re not keen on bolstering their reputation and perpetuating their use, we would want to avoid relying on them. If we treat these scores as if they were meaningful — which, of course, is also the implication of cheering when they make our schools look good — we help to confer respectability on them and thereby contribute to dooming more students to their damaging effects.

For anyone who’s unfamiliar with what I’ve reported here about the inherent unreliability of standardized tests, allow me to suggest dipping into some additional resources on the topic — as well as the considerable literature on more informative and less destructive alternatives for evaluating teaching and learning. (Anyone who claims that standardized tests are necessary for those purposes is just revealing his or her ignorance of the whole field of authentic assessment.)

How to Be an Antiracist Educator: An Interview With Ibram X. Kendi
by Rebecca Koenig in EdSurge
There is a lot within this interview to reflect upon - Kendi’s work and leadership in the realm of anti-racist education is critical and important. His open and vulnerable approach is refreshing and encouraging.
“I think it’s a national crime year in and year out that we are not investing in our children and investing in the people who are taking care of our children,” he said.

I think we should understand, as great educators do, that every place is a classroom. And how do we prepare our students to enter into different classrooms and learn to be better people?

...I don’t consider intelligence [or] assess one’s intelligence based on how much a person knows. I assess one’s intelligence based on how much one has a desire to know. And so at the basis, we should be building learning environments that encourage students to want to know, that encourages critical thinking, that encourages students to realize when there is a problem of inequality, that it’s not because there’s something wrong or inferior about a group of people, but that there’s something wrong and inferior about our society. That there’s something bad about our policies, our conditions. And then that causes the mind to think, “Well, what are those problems?” as opposed to disparage other groups of people.

I think people are not taught to be vulnerable. We’re not taught to really reflect and challenge and admit the times in which we’re being racist so we can strive to be antiracist. We’re taught to deny it. And so I think part of the teaching, part of the education, is serving as that model of vulnerability, of self-criticism, that I think is incredibly important for educators to do.

What Covid-19 Revealed About Schools and Education - Make Schools More Human
by Jal Mehta (@jal_mehta) in The New York Times
Mehta’s perspective on education has always resonated with me, as he has a keen insight on what it is that our students need and the role that school culture plays in supporting a meaningful learning environment. Within this post, Mehta shares lessons learned from education during COVID-19 and encourages all of us to have honest and open discussions about what we truly want for our students.
In higher poverty communities, older students are working to help make ends meet or have simply disappeared from the school rolls. What parents have seen streamed into their living rooms often reflects uninspired curriculums and pedagogy. Students think much of what they are learning is irrelevant and disconnected from their identities and the world around them. These are not new problems — they are just newly visible because of the pandemic, and in some cases exacerbated by it...It’s looking as though all schools should be able to open fully in the fall. The pandemic — and the pause in institutionalized schooling — has helped us to see what should change when that happens.

The first lesson that the pandemic has revealed is the limits of one-size-fits-all schooling...When we reopen schools, could we do so in a way that creates different kinds of opportunities for all kinds of students — introverts and extroverts, fast processors and reflective thinkers?

A second lesson is the necessity of making schools more human. One of the best outcomes of the pandemic is that it forced schools to get off their treadmill and actually talk to students and parents — understand their life circumstances and how those intersected with school expectations...we don’t remember that the fundamental job is to partner with families to raise successful human beings...The pandemic is helping many of us to think about our students in a fuller and more holistic way; we should remember that when the crisis ends...Classrooms that are thriving during the pandemic are the ones where teachers have built strong relationships and warm communities, whereas those that focus on compliance are really struggling without the compulsion that physical school provides.

A third critical issue is that we cannot set the needs of students against the needs of adults...the success of their students is intimately connected to the success of teachers. They make good on that understanding by paying for teachers’ preparation, compensating them fairly, and respecting the importance and complexity of their work...Coming up with ways to build trust and find solutions that are good for both students and adults is one of the meta-lessons of the pandemic.

Fourth, there is the question of how to catch students up on what they missed during the pandemic...The right choice here is to get very specific on what needs to be made up and what does not; teams of teachers and administrators could work together to decide what is essential to keep and what can be pared...Such an approach would responsibly prepare students for the future, without exacerbating many of the conditions that turn students off from school.

...we are realizing what we should have known all along: that you can’t widget your way to powerful learning, that relationships are critical for learning, that students’ interests need to be stimulated and their selves need to be recognized.

We need to talk about what we are trying to accomplish — not just about what knowledge we want our young people to possess, but what sorts of skills, capacities and qualities we want them to develop. And then, and only then, about what sorts of teaching, learning and policy structures would support the cultivation of those qualities.

There has been considerable attention to the health crisis, and some to the economic crisis. But there hasn’t been a serious commitment to the corresponding educational crisis. We need to rebuild and reimagine schools. We now have a chance to do both.

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

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

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

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

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

Over the next week I will sit down to articulate and ‘name’ my hopes, intentions, and (re)commitments for 2021. I look forward to engaging with others in this process so that we can help one another, including our students, to take a few steps closer to the actualization of these hopes. 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’ in the interest of ALL of our learners)...
Each and every school day will bring tens of thousands of reasons to celebrate in schools across the country. - Bill Ivey

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

Looking Back to Look Forward

12/21/2020

December 22, 2020

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the role that self-reflection plays in our growth as learners, our question for the week is: When thinking back on 2020, what have you learned about yourself and how have you grown as a learner? Looking Back to Look Forward (Week of 12/20/20) (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 often find that the weekend before a vacation has a mixed set of pressure/emotions - a rush to get it all in, coupled with the excitement about the space to hopefully rest and breathe. Even with the chilly temperatures of Saturday morning, I hope that everyone was able to maybe get outside and enjoy the sun, snow, and wintery views.

‘It’s All Connected’ has been one of the mantras at Blake for some time now (often referred to as the ‘messy slide’), and this graphic that techmonstah put together for us back in August has helped to serve as a centering mechanism for our work. I have a print-out of the image on the table in my office (I do see the irony of having the ‘messy slide’ in the middle of the messy table in the middle of my messy office!), as it helps to bring me back to ‘the meaning of our work’. As we approach the last few days of this very unique and important school year, some themes have come to mind that relate to the graphic - ‘It’s All Connected’...

Support and Care
What does that look like and how can we foster that connection with our students, one another, and ourselves? Health and care are foundational elements for any community, and one of my hopes is to stay connected and to keep dialogue open and active.

Intentional Reflection
Students will be receiving their Term 1 SBR packets in advisory this week and taking time to reflect on their learning. These end-of-term reflections hold immense value and I look forward to ‘listening’ to their thoughts. Asking questions is at the heart of listening - deeply listening - and the responses will help to hold myself accountable to our efforts. As simple as it may be, we need to continue to tap into the heads and hearts of our students - ‘Have we asked the students what they think?’

Cyclical Nature
We often talk about the ‘marriage’ of tradition and relevance (referencing the work of Tom Whitby) in schools. More so as of late, I have been witnessing and experiencing the ‘cyclical nature’ of thought, practices, and work. After Thanksgiving in a previous blog entry (Conscious Reflection), I shared a ‘discovery’ of an e-mail in the process of cleaning up my desk...
Our philosophies, beliefs, and practices of and for meaningful feedback, fostering/developing intrinsic motivation, authentic learning, and empowerment/agency are prime for this experience and time period. The impetus for engagement, choice, and support is critical. It will be critical that we build in systems of feedback and reflection for our students, staff, and families. I do not want us to miss out on what we are all learning right now (on many, many levels).
I had a similar experience this week - cleaning through some piles in my office, I came across notes from a presentation with Jamele Adams, Dean of Students at Brandeis. Jamele worked with us a couple of years ago and I hope to rekindle our connection in 2021. These are some of the notes that hold true (they held true then, hold true now, and I am sure will hold true forever)...

‘Is sacrifice hard or is it uncomfortable?’
‘We have responsibility when we gain information’
- ‘Now that I know this...what do I do with this?’
‘It’s as much about the world we want as the world that is...it’s as much about the people we are trying to be than the people we are’
‘We have to own the work that lies ahead’

Keep Learning and Moving Forward
This is what it’s all about - learning, growing, and moving forward. And I do believe that we (and I put myself in this category, for sure) as educators often make things more complicated than they need to be. As I look back at 2020 and ahead to 2021, I hope that the systems we are working to establish, and will continue to examine/establish, help to bring the complexity of learning into a honed vision for our students - one that helps provide meaningful feedback for all of our learners to reflect, learn, grow, and keep moving forward. And, yes - the same is true for all of us as educators and caring, invested learners at Blake. Throughout the spring and fall of 2020, I have enjoyed listening to HGSE’s Education Now webinars - ‘HGSE's Education Now webinars will look at the challenges of the moment, offering actionable insights that you can use today. We aim to give our audience strategies and ideas that will prompt hope, add fuel to the push for equity, and create the circumstances for transformation across education. Earlier in December the focus was on ‘curiosity and motivation’ - it felt as though it was designed for us at Blake with our theme of Curiosity for 2020-2021 and motivation being on the collective minds of our staff and families. Some notes are shared below - the webinar is worth viewing...
Curiosity and Motivation Amid the Pandemic
(28:05)
Elizabeth Bonawitz, Genevieve DeBose, Jal Mehta
This webinar aims to fortify you with some new ideas about how to refresh your approach and tap the intrinsic motivation of your students. How does curiosity work, and how can we spark it? How can we help young people develop and retain a love of learning and a connection to school — during these challenging times of distance and of unequal access to resources and support.

Curiosity is a drive, like hunger or thirst; we need to drive our resources towards opportunities for learning
Curiosity is present at birth, present in all children
You can foster curiosity - highlight ambiguity; highlight gaps in understanding; bolster curiosity in the moment
- Foster question asking; foster question behaviors
Every kid is motivated; what are different kids motivated to do and why?
Motivation is rooted in connections (to peers, teachers, to content, to tasks, to life experiences)
- If kids can’t connect to their learning and those around them, they won’t learn
- Do you feel connected to your peers and to your content?
Kids are very different; they respond in lots of different ways
School has been a one-size-fits-all proposition - that has not gone well
Lessen testing, where possible
What should we be focusing on now?
- When a child thinks the teacher does not have a good understanding of their abilities, it will limit their abilities to try out new learning
- It’s critical that we develop rapport for social-emotional and cognitive supports
- Create space and time to let students tell us what is working and what is not
- ‘Shadow a student’
Mary Helen Immordino Yang. “it is literally neurobiologically impossible to think deeply about things that you don’t care about.”
- Jal David Mehta - ‘You can't get achievement without engagement. And students can't do meaningful work that requires substantial work unless they are engaged.’
Jal Mehta - ‘There is a lot of parallelism between what we are hoping to do with adults and what we want to do for kids. Adults also need relationships, support, and agency.’
We are doing really good work right now
Pivot Points - what is feasible?
- Remember one’s own genius
- Less is more (only keep the things that spark joy)
- It’s never great to rush off to the next thing
- Let it grow and flow; if it’s really important there will be another chance; otherwise, let it go
- Check in with students and ask for feedback

In a year that has been full of change, the dialogue above is critical - we need to keep our eyes closely on curiosity, motivation, and change. And, at the heart of this, will be our ‘willingness to adapt’ and adjust - change will always be on the horizon, and our willingness to adapt will help foster reflection and growth. The intent of our graphic/mantra of ‘It’s All Connected’ is to help visualize the ways that theory/research/philosophy inform our beliefs and the ways that our beliefs inform our practices. As we have shared before, it is only through this cycle of reflection-action-reflection that we will continue to grow - and, in turn, grow our students as learners...

The sampling of responses from last week’s question (listening is at the heart of learning), coupled with three posts (one pushing us towards ways that students can control their own learning, one highlighting an inclusive design structure schools to support learning in periods of uncertainty and change, and one sharing ways that we can support the mental health of our adolescents) below can hopefully help to serve as a framework for reflection for ourselves and one another...

Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: What strategies help you to be a better listener?

Sometimes it's hard to just listen without sharing my own experiences. I'm trying hard to be a better active listener.
Putting distractions away
I’ve always been a pretty good listener. But one thing that helps me, is making sure that I don’t sit too far away from the teacher. Which has of course, gotten a lot harder with contact tracing and assigned seats.
I need to slow down to listen well. My favorite listener is my father-in-law. He really takes an interest when I speak to him.
Making eye contact with the speaker and reminding myself to listen rather than wait to speak.
As I listen, I consider how logical a statement is and keep in mind that the speaker has their own reason for an opinion.
Repeating things I hear
Some strategies that help me become a better listener is listening to instructions since I am a visual listener.
Take notes and keep repeating
Not talking while someone else is talking.
To block out any other thoughts.
I am a better listener when I can be at the place, where the person I'm listening to is in front of me, and I have something to keep me moving, like a fidget or something like that. Or else I zone out and don't end up listening.
To be quiet and calm
Something that might make me be a better listener is if we watch more videos about our topic.
Something that really helps me to be a better listener is to look at the person who is talking.
Whenever someone is talking to me, I always try to picture what they are saying so I can be more focused instead of my mind drifting off. I also always make sure to look at the speaker, so they know they have my attention. Also, whenever someone is talking I never interrupt them, only nod if they are speaking or speak if they are done talking.
For me I am a better listener when I am in a comfortable space and environment.

Why Asking the Teacher Isn’t Always the Best Course of Action
By Peter DeWitt (@PeterMDewitt) in Education Week
DeWitt, as I have shared before, is a ‘must follow’ - and this post helps us to ‘hold up a mirror’ and look at the systems and practices we have in place. We must continue to challenge ourselves to move beyond and forward so that students see themselves as the primary drivers of their own learning.
The reality is that one of the biggest concerns we should have about school during COVID has been the fact that so much of the conversation about learning is focused on what the teacher controls. There is a picture that has consistently been painted that parents and students are sitting at home waiting for the teacher to tell them what they should learn next, and that is an unhealthy dynamic to keep promoting.

Students need to learn what to do when they don’t know what to do, and they also need to realize that asking the teacher is not always the best course of action. The best course of action students can take is understanding the resources they have around them and how to use those resources to guide their own learning.

The reality is that all students are learning on their own right now. The sad part is that what they are choosing to learn on their own is not always what is valued in school, because of our continuing conversation around state and national assessments and what will be on the test. One of the biggest learning lessons I thought we would have during COVID is that what students choose to learn on their own is just as important as what they learn in school, and how both home learning and learning in school can intersect.

The best teaching we can do is to partner with students and help them maintain or create an understanding of what to do when they don’t know what to do. The cognitive conflict we go through when we are stuck creates a challenging moment that if we learn how to get through successfully can lead to growth in our own self-efficacy. We shouldn’t stop talking about COVID learning loss, but we should certainly partner that conversation with how students can better control their own learning, especially when they are stuck.

Processes and Principles for Public Schools Navigating Uncertainty and Adapting to Change
By Eric Tucker, Ashley Deal, Raelynn OLeary and Sarah Pactor in Getting Smart
This post is one that provides an overview of how one school shifted their model in a holistic manner - the process and lessons learned (shared below) are worthy of reflection and integration into our norms and practices as an educational community. As they note, it is a ‘story of inclusive design’ - We hope that by sharing our approach to inclusive design—what we did and what we learned—other education leaders will find inspiration to learn and adapt personally and professionally in a time when we are all being called to navigate uncertainty and adapt to change.
Experts from around the world are encouraging schools to prioritize safe, in-person options for families through the coming winter months. Food and housing insecurity, childcare needs, workplace instability, mental health and wellbeing concerns, the limitations of fully virtual options for some students, and the need for essential services inform these recommendations. Educators are being asked to lead through a period that lacks easy answers, where technical solutions are insufficient. How can schools better navigate this uncertainty, and come together to adapt and respond to the dark winter that has fallen?

It may be unusual to share our backstory, but we do this because it highlights one of the key principles of our project: To create solutions that work for all, we need to understand the real-life challenges people are experiencing, including our own as education leaders and designers. This helps us build the empathy we need to find solutions that work.

Our process involved five steps:
1. Constrain the space and focus the challenge.
2. Bring a variety of viewpoints to the table.
3. Create and share scenarios.
4. Focus on preparation over planning.
5. Prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable.

What We Learned

This was a new situation, but we still had the same core goals
Social and emotional needs form the foundation of learning
Considering collective impacts is as important as focusing on specific challenges
Balancing empathy for frustrations with hope for opportunities cultivates creativity

Listen and Connect: How Parents Can Support Teens’ Mental Health Right Now
By Deborah Farmer Kris in MindShift
The mental and emotional well-being of our students is the most important foundation for learning, and this post shares the work of adolescent psychologist Katie Hurley, author of A Year Of Positive Thinking For Teens. At the heart of her strategies are ‘listening and connecting’...“It sounds really simple, but the thing that teenagers are craving the most is connection and listening because this is hard for everyone,” she said.
Take Your Own Emotional Temperature
“Whether it is taking that daily walk or doing an online yoga class or some sort of exercise to get the endorphins going, we have to think about our own coping strategies,” says Hurley. She also strongly recommends meditation apps because mindfulness is a proven way to reduce the acute stress response. “When we use it, it works.”

Check-In Without Interviewing
What we need to do more of is just listening and asking, ‘How are you doing? How are you feeling?’"

Meet Them Where They Are
As Harvard psychologist Nancy Hill once noted, “Parenting teens is like hugging a cactus. Even as the ‘warm fuzzies’ are not often reciprocated, teens still need them, still need to know they are loved unconditionally.” According to a study she authored, parental warmth amplifies all other parenting strategies, even when teens distance themselves from parents.

Listen Your Way Through Their Problems
The best thing parents and caregivers can give teens right now is the undivided attention of listening, empathizing and compassion, says Hurley. When teens do share their worries, resist the urge to either minimize them or solve the problem for them.

Drowning Doesn’t Build Resilience
According to research, “children who do well despite serious hardship have had at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive adult.” In other words, in tough times, a parent or caregiver’s very presence can be a protective factor.

Practice Zooming Out & Finding Purpose
As humans, we tend to zoom in to hyperfocus on what we think is important. For parents of teens, that often includes grades, test scores and the college process. But what if those aren’t the right places to focus our lenses right now? Hurley says, “We have to hit pause, zoom out and say, ‘What other things can our kids learn during this time?’

Look for Small Pieces of Happiness
...we can acknowledge all the ways teens are coping and growing and giving and express our awe at how well they are doing in an unnerving time. Recently, Hurley found herself saying to her own kids, “‘I think you guys are remarkable. This has been a really difficult time. And it hasn't always been easy for you, but you're weathering the storm with us, and you're doing what you need to do. And you're coming to us when it's too hard. And you're asking to play a game or walk the dog together if you need to connect.’ Those things are important and we have to call those out.”

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. Over vacation I will intentionally set aside time to reflect on ‘influential posts’, resolutions, and implications for myself and our learning community at Blake. The images and words below are ones that I hope will center us, guide us, challenge us, and lead us on our ‘imperfect journey’ with the hopes of ‘getting it all done’...

Time to Just Listen

12/15/2020

December 15, 2020

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the impact and importance of listening to others and oneself, our question for the week is: What strategies help you to be a better listener? Time to Just Listen (Week of 12/13/20) (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

After a very full week (although they all feel full, for some reason this one felt particularly that way), it was nice to simply take a step back and have some quiet time over the weekend. This is always an uphill climb for me to #slowitdown and as hard as that can be, I know on an intellectual/metacognitive level that it is just what I need. With the exception of a few errands and plugging away at a few things, it felt good to just be. This (among many) is one of the things I hope to carry forward into the new year.

In other years this past weekend would have been very busy with activities/sports for our kids, holiday gatherings with friends, and the ‘craze’ that is December. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t longing for some of that ‘normalcy’ to return, but we are trying to lean into this ‘quiet’ and just be present as best we can. This is certainly easier said than done. And, as noted above, the past week was particularly busy - it was not necessarily because of an inordinate amount of meetings or events, but I believe that the increased accumulation of our busyness is very real. With a complete understanding and awareness of the fortune (speaking from the ‘I’) I feel for job security, health, and family, I want to name and acknowledge that the day-to-day reality is hard. There is no value judgment in this statement - rather, I have found some comfort and validation in simply saying that.

Coupled with the awareness of a need to #slowitdown, I have been reminded and cognizant of a need to listen - to students, families, teachers, staff, colleagues, family, and myself (I’m sure the list could continue). Last week I shared one of the significant takeaways from the conversation with Cornelius Minor (@MisterMinor) was his statement that ‘Listening to kids is the most important intervention we can do’. As I said last week, this seems so simple and obvious yet it is worth asking of ourselves how often we take the time to truly just do that - listen. This week two other ‘experiences’ (for lack of a better word) held up that mirror once again of the importance and true need for listening - to others and ourselves…

In a podcast (linked below) with Justin Reich (@bjfr) interviewing Barbara Means from @digitalpromise, Barbara shared that one of the critical things we need to do is to continue to talk and listen to our students - they have direct insight and it is important that they feel heard. The focus of the interview is on the research that Barbara has done on learning before and during COVID-19. From her research and listening to students it is clear that there are three ‘practices’ (no matter what the format of delivery happened to be) that ‘had the strongest relationship with satisfaction, with students' learning, and with the course in general’...
- ...the first one was using real-life examples to illustrate the course content. So having the instructor actually bring it to something that comes from the real world.
- ...the second one was getting personal messages from the instructor, so speaking to that interpersonal piece. Getting those messages, they could have been, are you okay? Are you in good health? Also about, do you have access to what you need in order to get online? And just, I noticed you're falling behind, is there anything I can do to help you?
- ...the third thing, which I thought was interesting was courses where there were assignments or activities that call for the student to reflect on her own learning. What is it you understand? What don't you understand?
During Thursday night’s Youth Suicide Prevention presentation/workshop for seventh grade framilies with Kelsey Manders from Samaritans for seventh grade families, I was struck once again by the importance of listening as a preventive measure/strategy for helping others. The ‘dos and don’ts’ of listening are ones that apply in contexts and I hope they will stay on the forefront of our thinking and actions…
- Do…
  - Let them express their feelings
  - Listen without judgment
  - Be compassionate
  - Put away distractions
  - Have open body language
  - Paraphrase what you hear
  - Validate
  - Show you’re present through social and physical affirmations
- Don’t…
  - Talk about yourself or reflect on your own experiences
  - Give advice or try to solve their problems
  - Tell them what they are feeling is unimportant, wrong, or will pass
  - Tell them it’s just a phase
  - Interrupt or change the topic
  - Minimize feelings or experiences

Each of these ‘experiences’ brought me back to Jim McCauley’s talk that he gave to our community last year on resilience. Jim is the Co-Founder and Associate Director of Riverside Trauma Center and he shared an acronym that, when practiced pushes one to remember to listen first, had an impact on me…W.A.I.T. - Why Am I talking?

Listening comes in different forms and I have found that the process of reflecting (such as via this blog) provides the space for my own practice of listening - this helps me to lean in and dive a bit deeper with the hopes of some form of resultant action. To broaden and open up some recent listening/reflections with our community, I am re-sharing my notes from the presentation from Jim McCauley’s presentation last year, along with the weekly sharing of responses and posts that I believe directly and indirectly support and validate the heart and core tenets of our work - listening, responding, and learning...

Notes from James McCauley’s Presentation on Resilience, Riverside Trauma Center (November, 2019)

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

Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: How can discomfort help you learn?

Since people like to feel comfortable as a default, feeling discomfort can motivate a person to get back to feeling comfortable. If that discomfort leads to growth and learning to get back to a new and improved center, then it is a great thing. If discomfort leads to avoidance, then there really isn't a benefit.
Discomfort forces us to grow. In discomfort, we may strive to do better or to do things differently. I think the discomfort of this pandemic has definitely shown that. We are teaching in many different ways in order to reach our students. In the long run, it will make us better teachers, but right now it feels hard at times. As Glennon Doyle says: We can do hard things! We can and we are doing the hard things!
If something discomforts you, you will learn not to do it again.
It can help me try new things and can help me step out of my comfort zone
It can help you get more comfortable
If you are out of your comfort zone you learn to try new things.
It can help you try new things, and you can make new friends you normally wouldn't make if you put yourself out there.
Discomfort can help you learn to take a step out of your comfort zone.
By showing me to new places I wouldn't have tried before.

TeachLab with Justin Reich - Barbara Means
(52 minutes)
Justin Reich is joined by Barbara Means, author and executive director of learning science research at Digital Promise to discuss her research with digital learning before and during COVID.
In this episode we’ll talk about:

Barbara Means’ edtech story
In-class vs remote learning research
Three helpful practices
The importance of a personal relationship in teaching
Balancing synchronous and asynchronous learning
Self-regulated learning
Implementation models

The Secret to Learning Anything: Albert Einstein’s Advice to His Son
by Maria Popova in BrainPickings
I have seen this referenced before and fortuitously came across it this week once again. It is a quick read and is simply wonderful - the advice is poignant.
In 1915, aged thirty-six, Einstein was living in wartorn Berlin, while his estranged wife, Mileva, and their two sons, Hans Albert Einstein and Eduard “Tete” Einstein, lived in comparatively safe Vienna. On November 4 of that year, having just completed the two-page masterpiece that would catapult him into international celebrity and historical glory, his theory of general relativity, Einstein sent 11-year-old Hans Albert the following letter, found in Posterity: Letters of Great Americans to Their Children (public library) — the same wonderful anthology that gave us some of history’s greatest motherly advice, Benjamin Rush’s wisdom on travel and life, and Sherwood Anderson’s counsel on the creative life. Einstein, who takes palpable pride in his intellectual accomplishments, speaks to the rhythms of creative absorption as the fuel for the internal engine of learning.

That is the way to learn the most, when you are doing something with such enjoyment that you don’t notice that the time passes.

Learning Uncertainty
by Pasi Sahlberg (@pasi_sahlberg) and Saku Tuominen (@sakuidealist)
The title of this post is as relevant as anything I have read this year - learning uncertainty, whether we have liked it or not, has been the reality for all of us this year. And, as Pasi and Saku share, it is ‘the norm’ and a necessary skill/mantra/reality for our students and ourselves to understand and accept - particularly, these three ‘things’...

Education is a complex ecosystem and learning as an organic process is part of it. In practice: We should move from ‘one-size-fit-all’ teaching towards individualised learning.
Making mistakes is an integral part of successful learning. In practice: We should move from assigning tasks or question that have one right answer towards working on genuine open-ended problems that require divergent thinking.
Nobody knows exactly how best to cope with uncertainty, but everybody has something to contribute to the solution. In practice: We should move from an individual ‘winner-takes-it-all’ mentality towards collaborative efforts towards new ideas.

2020 has seen the biggest ever social experiment in education, a real-life masterclass on uncertainty. And we have a lot to learn about it. How have we done so far in this experiment? Some have done better than others. Many have suffered, some flourished. We believe that the best is still to come.
School is a complex social system and one of the key features of complex systems is uncertainty.

Whether we like it or not, nothing is certain (except death and taxes as they say). Education is also risky business. We know from research as well as from our own experience that the link between teaching and learning is often uncertain.

...in an uncertain world we often look for a bullet-proof solution that would fix the problem. By now we should have learned that this is often the wrong way. The better way – in improving education and beyond – is to accept uncertainty as an ingredient of life and try to use it for positive renewal of current situations.

Let’s see this painful crisis as an unique learning opportunity. This year 2020 has been like no other year we remember. How are you doing? Are you frustrated or grateful? Do you wish we would soon go back to ‘old normal’, or are you excited about the emerging new era? We hope that you are still passionate and flourishing in the uncertainty. If you are, you can help your students to feel the same.

As I shared earlier, this is really hard - all of it. I want to lean in and listen and allow myself to lean into all of it. My continued hope is that our mission, guiding lights, and core values will serve as our compass points together as a learning community. Marc Brackett’s words below are ones that speak to me this week, along with some quotes that I believe speak to this moment, our shared feelings, and our work. If they strike a chord with you (or even if they don’t), my door (real and virtual) is always open and I welcome the opportunity to listen.

That which is unspeakable is unmanageable. - Colby Swettberg
We are going to make the path by walking it. - Colby Swettberg
We can't teach what we don't know. We can't lead where we won't go. - Malcolm X
If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. - Charlie Parker

Seeking Discomfort

12/9/2020

December 8, 2020

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the ways that discomfort is an integral part of the process of learning, our topic/question for the week is: How can discomfort help you learn? Seeking Discomfort (Week of 12/6/20) (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

With the wintry weather this weekend (such a change from the mild start to the month of December we have had with outdoor lunches!), it was a very quiet and low-key Saturday/Sunday in our house. The dichotomy between the ‘big picture slowed down impact’ of our lives and reality with COVID-19 and the day-to-day rapid pace of our lives and school has been something that has been on my mind as of late. I guess I could just add it to the list of many things on my mind! The weather on Saturday was welcomed in our house as it provided a ‘forced/encouraged’ quiet day - no yard work (except shoveling of course!) and no real desire to do errands/etc. I hope the same was true for others.

These words from Tom Whitby and Robert Kegan are ones that center me, challenge me, and provide perspective. Although different, their messages have similarities and ring true now more than ever. While they have (hopefully) become part of the core mantras we hold close at Blake for our students and community, this period of time since March, 2020 have pushed us to come back to them - whether we do that with intention or just by happenstance. Over the last few weeks I have been sharing reflections about the need to act with intention - not an easy task by any means. Whether it is reflecting, listening, speaking, teaching, learning, etc., the science has shown that doing so with intention brings a greater chance of ‘success’- however that may be defined. I have to admit that writing this notion is easier than living it. Yes, I try to live this idea, but it is easier said than done. Even though the screenshot/image above is shared at the outset of every meeting, I must remind myself that it is important to pause, reflect, and let the words sink in. Again, not an easy task.

With the ideas of discomfort and preparing students for their lives (rather than for just the next unit, grade level, or school), here are a few sharings and posts that have been bouncing around in my head. They have challenged me, forced me to reflect, and pushed me outside of my day-to-day thinking. And, they have invigorated me and kept me going - I hope the sharing does the same for others and I welcome dialogue, responses, and reactions...

Did any of this make you feel uncomfortable?
At the end of our November faculty meeting, I shared this question - it came from one of the podcasts I had heard in relation to work and learning in regards to equity. It was one of those poignant ‘mirror moments’ as the intent in sharing is for the answer to lead to next steps. In other words, if the answer is ‘yes’, then we should probably lean in and keep going.

Interest Convergence
I had not heard this term before listening to the Nice White Parents podcast this past August. I highly recommend listening to that podcast and I intend on carving some time out to do so again. Towards the end of the series, they reference Interest Convergence as a significant catalyst and influencer for change - ‘The idea that a majority will only support the interests of a minority if their interests align.’ Listening to the entire podcast was certainly uncomfortable for me (I fit that bill, for sure - a nice white parent), but it was and is important - again, it was another ‘mirror moment’. This idea that we only move things along when interests align has significant implications for our work as a school/community for the interests of all of our students.

The Ever-Changing Brain
With full disclosure, there has yet to be a podcast episode from Brene Brown’s Unlocking Us that has not made me pause, reflect, and learn. (Side Note - in simplistic terms, isn’t that what we are hoping for every day for our students?) My pattern is typically listening to that podcast, pausing at different points to jot down notes, texting friends and colleagues with ‘sound byte’ clips, and then trying to find a way to share with others. (Side Note # 2 - whether she knows it or not, Brene is inspiring me as a person and educator - again, wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of our students were inspired to share their learning in the same manner?) I’ve linked her latest episode below - I highly recommend it for all as her guest, David Eagleman, sheds light on the malleability and ever-changing nature of our brain. And, again - the implications for our school community are profound and important. And, yes, ‘the mirror moments’ of listening and challenging our practices did create discomfort - important discomfort, but discomfort nonetheless...
‎Unlocking Us with Brené Brown: Brené with David Eagleman on The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain on Apple Podcasts (1 hr, 1 min)
In this episode, I talk with David Eagleman, a neuroscientist, New York Times bestselling author, TED speaker, and Guggenheim Fellow, all about the brain and how it works. It’s mysterious, malleable, constantly changing and up for new challenges. We dig deeper into the research in his book Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain on the power of being uncomfortable and trying new things and how important new experiences are for continued brain development and health.

What resonates? What’s on your mind? Lasting impressions? Take-aways? Mantras?
Given our experiences, reflections, and what we have learned pre- and post-March, what system(s)/practice(s) should we keep to support all learners?
Given our experiences, reflections, and what we have learned pre- and post-March, what system(s)/practice(s) should we change to support all learners?
These three questions were the ones posed for reflection at the end of our faculty meeting and shared via Google Forms. The responses have been really important to read and I will be sharing them back with staff this week. Sticking with this idea of ‘mirror moments’, each of the responses have done just that - held up a mirror and opened up a window into the collective thoughts of the Blake staff. The honest reflections are not always ‘comforting’ to read - and the same is true when reading the responses from our student and family check-ins. But, leaning in and listening is important - and it is critical. The discomfort sends a sign that we should be listening. And, again - this is easier said than done.

Listening to kids is the most important intervention we can do
These words are from Cornelius Minor and were expressed during the intervention we watched this week as a staff, EL Live: Interview with Cornelius Minor (26:22). The words themselves are not uncomfortable at all - what created some discomfort (speaking from ‘the I’ and being honest with myself) is when I held up the mirror, asking how often I/we take the time to do this. And by ‘this’, I mean intentionally using ‘listening’ as an intervention. This is certainly something that is on my mind - challenging my thoughts/action while also inspiring thoughts/action.

Some Recent Reading and Posts
The series of posts shared below open up conversations, ask questions, and pushed me (hopefully us) to think and reflect. For different reasons they pushed me, made me think, and made me a little uncomfortable. In sharing I hope they may open up some more dialogue/action for all of us…

What did educators do pre-pandemic that’s helping them survive or thrive now?
by Mandy Froehlich (@froehlichm)
Froehlich’s blog is one I always enjoy as she is vulnerable, honest, and asks challenging questions. As she notes within, the intent of her reflection is not grounded in judgment - yet, again this mirror moment was a challenge for me as it pushed me to reflect a bit more on the ways that I can improve ‘moving forward’.
There are definitely some commonalities between the people that are making a successful go of this. To be clear, these people still come across challenges. They still struggle with some aspects of the job and because we are in a pandemic, are still dealing with personal challenges. But they are still liking (or in some cases even loving) their jobs. I found three pieces that educators had in place prior to the pandemic that seem to be helping them teach successfully now.

They already practiced self-care and had healthy boundaries
They had elements of personalized learning already embedded in their teaching
They had interest in (or at least openness to) technology and the cycle of risk-taking...Of course, as important as the interest in technology was their willingness to fail and grow.

If there is one thing we can all agree on when it comes to the pandemic it’s that we have discovered ways that we can improve moving forward. I believe that by taking time to notice themes and patterns we can start to qualify more specific areas in need of growth instead of just “we need to do better.” While some of the struggle can be externally located, there are also opportunities (I’d argue the three above, for example) that we can take ownership of and personally empower ourselves to move forward. This way, maybe more educators can survive and thrive versus feel like they can’t keep their heads above water both post-pandemic and for future adversities.

How to Help Students Focus on What They’re Learning, Not the Grade
by Sarah Schroeder in Edutopia
We have made a concerted effort at Blake to live this mantra - focus on the learning and not the grade. In reading this post, I felt affirmed but also some discomfort - wondering (cue the ‘truth serum and mirror moment’) within and out loud how we can continue along this path when it feels as though there is a tide swelling against this important shift in education.
Remote and blended instruction have forced an unprecedented review of teaching and learning practices. The result: an increased awareness of what works and what doesn’t and a renewed interest in what learning looks like and how we assess it.

As you consider the value of assessments, your workload, the mental health of yourself and your learners, and the need to develop expert learners, remember that less is more. Fewer, more targeted, and more flexible assignments reduce stress for everyone and give time for reflection, revision, and deeper thinking, leading to better results.

Turn & Talk / "Antiracist" Grading Starts with You
Interview between Sarah McKibben and Cornelius Minor in Educational Leadership
This post is a pre-cursor to the interview referenced above - worthy of reflection, discussion, and action. And, the discomfort certainly pushed me to ‘lean in’ and open up for learning.
If the ultimate goal is more equitable grading, where can teachers start?
If I were to give teachers a starter kit, it would be to examine the ideologies that you bring into classrooms—the bad code, to repeat the computer metaphor. Three particularly pernicious ideologies show up in grading. The first is the ideology of should know. There's this false belief that if a 2nd grader walked into my classroom, there are certain things she should know. Rather, it's our job as teachers to discern what students do know and then move them forward.

The second thing I would eliminate is the ideology of transactional gratitude. In most academic spaces, there is a silent pact that teachers make with students: I will agree to teach you well if you demonstrate to me that you are thankful for it. And if you do not demonstrate to me that you are thankful for it, I will withhold quality teaching from you. A teacher will be in the lounge and say something like, "You know, I've done everything to make sure that McKibben kid understands how to add. But all she does is yell. She's not thankful. So I'm not doing it no more." Or, "Can you believe I stayed after school for two hours to help Sarah with her essay and she still didn't turn it in? That kid can forget about it from me." We expect students to show up with gratitude because we do our jobs.

The third is the ideology of deservedness. Even though grading is about proficiency, it often gets conflated with behavior. You can have a student who is proficient at calculus, but if the teacher doesn't like the fact that they are consistently late to class, that kid gets marked down. Again, there's an unspoken pact teachers have with their children: I will agree to teach you well if you demonstrate to me that you deserve it.

If teachers start by examining—and eliminating—those three ideologies, then the grading that will come out on the other end of the system will be far better for children.

The Dangers of Standardized Testing and Why We Need to Slay the Beast
by Bruce Dixon (@bruceadixon)
The title of this post drew me in right away as it definitely speaks to many thoughts and beliefs I have about standardized testing - as highlighted below, particularly the subsets speaking to ‘what’s wrong’. That said some discomfort for me comes forward as I fully recognize the reality of standardized testing in our schools and the need for us to not simply pretend they do not exist. In addition, I do not want to lose the inner challenge we all must embrace to find and develop measures that assess learning and support ALL learners. I do not believe that standardized testing is the answer, but I want to keep the uncomfortable journey towards a more equitable and productive system moving forward.
If there’s one thing that stays on the mind of educators long after they’ve clocked out for the day, it’s testing. And not pop quizzes and end-of-unit exams. I’m talking about the beast we call standardized tests...Testing is like a heavy anvil hanging over our heads. And the results of these tests (both individual and collective) act as the rope that is holding the anvil. Will it be strong enough to keep it afloat or will the anvil come crashing down? The fear of a crash is what fuels the intensity of testing and (unfortunately) teaching to the test.

As we work and teach during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a light is being cast on the education system. We’re realizing now, more than ever, how much of a beast testing is, and how harmful it is to our learners. It’s time for us to come together and seize this unique opportunity to slay the beast… once and for all!

Everything wrong with standardized testing

It’s not proven to be necessary or beneficial
Learning is not a competitive sport
Testing penalizes diversity
Testing kills curiosity

Responses to Last Week’s Question
It may appear odd or ‘out of place’ to have ‘responses to questions’ noted as a source of discomfort for learning. The question appears and reads relatively benign and hopeful. Well, with the ‘truth serum and mirror moment’ processing in my head at this time...I would be lying if discomfort did not come to mind as I wonder and reflect upon how we can establish viable opportunities for these improvements and learning experiences to take place. ‘Speaking from the I’, it is a source of frustration when I have been asked questions like this but my answers are not provided a space for action. This does not mean we shouldn’t ask and listen - but, being open to my discomfort is allowing some space for reflection in the spirit of moving forward. They are important.

Sampling of Responses from Our Last Topic/Question (Week of 11/29/20): What are you hoping to learn or improve upon over the next three weeks?

I am hoping to adjust my fitness routines to continue to stay active as the weather changes.
How to stay focused on what really matters.
I’m hoping to improve upon my procrastination habits. Distractions have been pushing my work back, which causes stress later in the day.
My math skills and my ability to keep going.
My organization and time management
I want to learn more about the judicial branch
Math and science
My dribbling in basketball
Mesopotamia
I am hoping to learn more about heat transfer.
I am hoping to learn about our solar cookers while we test them
Over the next three weeks, I hope to improve on practicing my viola for orchestra more.
I hope that I will understand what I read more
I am hoping to improve on some parts of my Spanish grades. Having a conversation with someone else.
I’d like to improve my work efficiency and time management.
Getting my work done with more effort
I hope to improve my drawing skills
I am going to try to learn to be more positive.
My organization
I am hoping to learn more about more science so I can pursue my dream job as a scientist
I am hoping to improve my social skills.
I am hoping to improve on my ability to accept help when I need it.

When I got home this past Thursday evening, I pushed myself to hop on the exercise bike (definitely in line with the theme of discomfort - it was not the first thing I wanted to do!). After the first few difficult minutes, I began listening to Tony Wagner (@DrTonyWagner) and Ted Dinstersmith (@dintersmith) as they held ‘office hours’ for educators…
What School Could Be: Office Hours (with Tony Wagner)
(1 hour, 2 minutes)
Both Wagner and Dintersmith are sources of inspiration and I thoroughly enjoyed the hour - and not just because it took my mind off of exercise! It was thought-provoking, centering, and human. While inspiring and motivating, their dialogue and the information shared was appropriately uncomfortable - challenging our structures, practices, and protocols. I do not want to lose that feeling as hard as it is to experience. Wagner has a way that is unique - he pushes us in very simple terms (yet complex concepts). The words below speak to that discomfort that, in my opinion and I hope the opinion of our learning community, is worthwhile, productive, and important.

Conscious Reflection

12/1/2020

December 1, 2020

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the ways that that reflection can help us improve, our topic/question for the week is: What are you hoping to learn or improve upon over the next three weeks? Conscious Reflection (Week of 11/29/20) (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

Following a very reflective Thanksgiving weekend, I am keeping my sharing relatively brief this week with the intent of building more time for quiet, recharging, and space.

On Thanksgiving morning I woke up relatively early with my head racing a bit - although it was a holiday, I had a hard time stopping the worries and ‘to do’ list from overwhelming me. In an effort to keep some of the thoughts at bay, I hopped on the exercise bike, scrolled through my podcast library and tuned into Brene Brown’s latest episode - a conversation with Priya Parker (@priyaparker), author of The Art of Gathering. Given the title of her book and the timing of Thanksgiving, it seemed like the appropriate and serendipitous choice! It did the trick for me by drawing me in, setting my worries aside, and fostering some inner reflections about the ways that we come together personally and professionally. Later that morning I was cleaning through some papers (a cathartic and healthy purging, I guess) on my makeshift quarantine desk/office in our family room and came across a copy of a memo I had sent on March 27 to the staff. It was an informational e-mail outlining some of the steps we were taking to support our students and families. Although much of the e-mail consisted of logistics, I shared a few thoughts that I had hoped would frame our work and efforts...
Our philosophies, beliefs, and practices of and for meaningful feedback, fostering/developing intrinsic motivation, authentic learning, and empowerment/agency are prime for this experience and time period. The impetus for engagement, choice, and support is critical. It will be critical that we build in systems of feedback and reflection for our students, staff, and families. I do not want us to miss out on what we are all learning right now (on many, many levels).

The intent of my sharing these words is that I hope we can find and make time (like the time I was able to afford myself over the Thanksgiving weekend) to step back, shift thinking, be curious with intention, and gain perspective. The podcast, post and sampling of responses of gratitude shared below all speak to the ways that reflection, intention, and sharing can help us grow and learn…
Brené with Priya Parker on The Art of Gathering
(1 hr 1 minute)
In this episode, I talk with Priya Parker – a master facilitator, strategic advisor, and the author of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters. We dig into what it means to come together, why connection requires intention, and the often-invisible structures inside our most meaningful gatherings. Priya even helps me deconstruct my wedding and why, decades later, people still tell me how different and fun it was!

Falsehoods We Believe about Grading and Reporting | NGLC
by Gary Chapin (@GaryChapin67) in NGLC (Next Generation Learning Challenges)
This brief post is well worth the read as it challenges many of the stories, assumptions, and biases that are shared and conveyed - directly and indirectly - to students, families, and ourselves. It holds up a mirror that is necessary to view - providing an impetus for intentional conversations and learning.
What do we believe about grading? No, not what do we say we believe...We talk a good game, but If you look at our actions to discern our beliefs, then it becomes obvious that what we say we believe isn’t what we actually believe, and that what we actually believe isn’t necessarily truthful, helpful, or ethical.

Here is a list of those beliefs—I’m going to call them falsehoods—discerned from watching the system in action over the years (with appreciation to Carisa Corrow and Alec Barron for comments, conversations, and contributions). You can come at me with “not all educators,” but I’m going to push back and say, “Not relevant.” I indict all educators in this list, including myself, because we all bear the responsibility of fixing our broken grading systems, jettisoning corrupt assumptions, and devising something that actually works “for good.” The purpose of this list is to interrogate our assumptions. If you find yourself saying, “I don’t believe that!” ask yourself, “Am I acting as if I believe that?” Or is your system demanding that you act as if you believe?

Sampling of Responses from Our Last Topic/Question (Week of 11/22/20): What are you thankful for?

Food, music, a home, warmth, family, friends
I am thankful for the people in my life, and having a roof over my head. I am thankful for everything in my life as I know not everyone has what I have.
I am thankful for overcoming adversity and never giving up.
My Family and Friends
I’m thankful for food.
For making ODP (Olympic Development Program)
I am thankful for my family.
my house, food and family
I am thankful for my friends and family.
I am thankful for the opportunity to go to school
I am thankful for my family, my friends, my house, and staying healthy.
I am thankful for my family.
I am thankful for having my family and my friends.
I'm glad I'm still alive.
My family
My family, house, food and water, and being able to go to school and learn.
I am thankful for my family.
I’m thankful for food.
My family

The last few days provided a necessary pause and now find myself recharged with anticipation for gathering together (in many forms) with intention, as we collectively work to improve for ALL of our learners.

Intentional Gratitude

11/24/2020

November 24, 2020

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? Intentional Gratitude (Week of 11/23/20) (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

Katie’s aunt passed away unexpectedly earlier in the week after a very full life, and we have been taking time to reminisce and remember stories and time spent with her over the years. I have found myself thinking about the importance of relationships and the impact that we have on others and that others have on us - something that I know we come back to a great deal at school with students, families, and one another. As Katie’s mom shared about her sister, Cindy was one of those people who loved you unconditionally at all times and was always interested in you - when talking to you, she made you feel as though you were the only one in the room. I feel grateful to have known her. These past few days have been particularly full of emotional ups and downs, and the time over the weekend was nice to be able to step back and reflect in the quiet of yard work, reading, and bike rides.

Last year at this time I shared these words from John Dewey with the staff and community, as I had recently heard Linda Darling-Hammond’s keynote address at the November 2019 Learning and the Brain conference. My thoughts below hopefully will provide context for why I am returning to them - as always, the intent is grounded ‘not in preaching’ - rather, in a spirit of open reflection...

As with many, and maybe most, of our experiences since mid-March, this upcoming week feels very different and I find myself feeling some sadness (grief may be too strong a word) and a sense of loss for how things will be at Blake. This week we typically would be finalizing plans for our annual Celebration of Voice Thanksgiving assembly, taking time to gather all together as a school in a shared spirit of community, gratitude, reflection, and learning. Since my first few years as a teacher at Blake, this gathering has served as a ‘marking of time’ and tradition that has evolved yet stayed true to the tenets of our culture as we officially enter ‘the holiday season’. For a multitude of reasons we have had to put that tradition ‘on pause for this year’ and I would be lying if I didn’t express feelings of sadness and loss.

In an effort to carry forth some of the traditions from past years I have been asking our staff to share some ‘thankful thoughts’, and I have so enjoyed and appreciated the window it has provided into the thoughts, hearts, and minds of our community. My hope is to pull them together to reflect for our students and families - it may look different, but the intent and hope is the same. I noted above this week of emotional ups and downs - one reason is that I have been having a difficult time ‘practicing what I preach’ - I have been struggling to articulate sentiments of gratitude. I am sure I am not alone - or, maybe I am? Either way the frustrations, emotions, and uncertainty has proved to be challenging to always find the space for gratitude and light.

So, back to the words of Dewey...acknowledging the struggle of this dichotomy (asking others to share gratitude while feeling unable to do so myself), I returned to my notes and blog entries from past years. These words held up the proverbial mirror and the spark or window of centering became clear for me - they may not do the same for you, but I hope that they might. For whatever reason the words ‘full growth of all the individuals’ coupled with ‘true to itself’ pushed me into the practice of intentional gratitude. They allowed my curiosity to open up, acknowledge some vulnerability, and articulate some sentiments of thanks. Intention is hard, difficult, and important - a goal we have for all of our students is to learn with intention, care with intention, and act with intention. I believe (as hard as it is) that practicing gratitude with intention is equally important.

These sentiments are ‘annual thoughts’ and hold true once again...

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

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’ (they are now always easy to find and recognize, but they hold true nonetheless)…

Recent Learning - I am thankful that we are a learning community that is willing to share and listen to one another
A few examples of recent learning this week...
1) As shared via e-mail to the staff on Friday afternoon, I am thankful for the thoughtful care and facilitation of discussions in advisory this past week about the ‘danger of a single story’ and the need to find more facets to each story. These are important conversations and my (and I hope, our shared) hope is that we will build off of this work with a greater understanding of perspective and empathy - while fostering an ingrained 'practice of curiosity'. This practice of learning is not always easy, but true learning never is - the posts below are ones that have pushed me towards a wider lens on the story of Thanksgiving...
9 Ways to Decolonize & Honor Native Peoples on Thanksgiving
Why Thanksgiving can be painful for many Native Americans

2) Am I Too Easy on My Kid?
by Emily Flake in The New York Times
I have asked this question of myself many times (and more so since March) and the title grabbed me right away for this reason. Flake offers a centered perspective and I am sharing it in the spirit of ‘shared growth and learning’ with everyone as it serves as a reminder that we truly are ‘in it together’ and must listen and support each other as a community.
Instead of a good and bad angel on my shoulders, I have warring parenting philosophies. This was true even before Covid, but is particularly exacerbated by the pandemic.

This is hard on all of us. I have been more forgiving of my own inadequacies in the past few months, in ways that sometimes feel kind and sometimes just plain indulgent, as my pants and the state of my apartment can attest. But the most important thing to remember here is that whatever leeway I give my daughter is a lesson I need to learn for myself first.

There’s an art to being gentle with yourself and with others in a way that doesn’t cancel out the idea of expectations and responsibilities, of keeping yourself in some semblance of order even if it feels like the world is falling apart. I haven’t mastered this art any more than I’ve mastered Spanish, like I said I would at the beginning of the pandemic. Hopefully I’ll figure it out by the time there’s a vaccine available.

3) I listened to this podcast earlier in the week and have shared it with some colleagues, family, and friends - I have always admired Love’s open vulnerability and highly recommend listening to this episode.
Kevin Love on Trying to Achieve His Way Out of Depression
(35 minutes) from The Anxious Achiever podcast
For a long time, the NBA star hid his battle with mental health. But after a very public panic attack in 2017, he started speaking out. Love talks with host Morra Aarons-Mele about role modeling openness about mental health, how he manages his social anxiety as a celebrity, and why basketball both aggravates and relieves his depression.

4) Earlier in the week I listened to the webinar below featuring Ela Ben Ur of Olin College focusing on ‘5 Powerful Questions that help us get unstuck and make things better in any challenge’. The questions are simple, but that doesn’t mean the strategies are easy...
Navigating a Mess of Unending Challenges (56 minutes)
Will Richardson, Ela Ben-Ur, and Homa Tavangar
(@ElaBenUr)
5 Questions…
Who’s involved?
What’s happening? Why?
What matters most?
What ways are there?
What’s a step to try?

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. I would be remiss if I did not thank the students, staff, and community for the open feedback that we receive - it is not always easy to read, but it is important. The posts below (one looking at our current educational structure and two shared last year) espouse the practice of honest reflection and gratitude and help to keep our learning in a contextual framework, and the sharing of just a few responses from last week’s question of the week help us to listen and stay relevant for our learners and community…

School Wasn’t So Great Before COVID, Either
by Erika Christakis in The Atlantic
Again, the title of Christakis’s post grabbed me - as one who believes we should continually adapting our practices as a school, I am hopeful that we do not (I have shared these words of a dear colleague) ‘sleep through this wake-up call’ and that we carry forth this learning to make necessary systemic changes for our students - some that have been ‘a long time coming’!
For all its challenges, the pandemic presents an opportunity to rethink school entirely. What should we be demanding?

It’s remarkable how little schools have changed over time; most public elementary schools are stuck with a model that hasn’t evolved to reflect advances in cognitive science and our understanding of human development.

As distance learning has (literally) brought home these realities about how we educate young children, an opportunity to do things better presents itself—not just for the duration of the pandemic but afterward as well.

Researchers have found that elementary-school students’ levels of the stress hormone cortisol become elevated during the school year. Peter Gray, a psychology professor at Boston College who studies these issues, says that if school were a drug, it would not receive FDA approval.

Experts across the educational and ideological spectrums agree that a curriculum rich in literature, civics, history, and the arts is essential for strong reading, critical-thinking, and writing skills. But schools have—quite irrationally—abandoned this breadth in favor of stripped-down programs focused on narrow testing metrics.

Schools should also be in the business of fostering curiosity and a love of learning in all children, or at a minimum not impeding the development of those traits...As we muddle through the COVID-19 era yearning for a return to something close to normal, we shouldn’t squander this occasion to imagine how much better “normal” could be.

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.

Gratitude unshackles us from toxic emotions
Gratitude helps even if you don’t share it
Gratitude’s benefits take time
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!

Sampling of Responses from Our Last Topic/Question (Week of 11/16/20): What are some ways that we can learn more about other people, cultures, and their 'stories'? Be specific.

We can ask them to "tell us more" when they bring up a topic that is important to them!
It is helpful just to be curious about what other versions exist of any story. Just like any disagreement features multiple perspectives, it is helpful to try to consider multiple points of view. "Walking a mile in another's shoes" is timeless and timely advice.
Number one: By listening to listen and not listening to respond. Also by truly being interested in the information. Reading! books written by authors that are different than you, about stories that are different than yours, and cultures that are different. Engaging in other types of media such as newspaper, social media, radio, podcasts, tv/movies etc...that tell stories of cultures and people that are not like you. It's way more interesting too and opens us up to different worlds and makes us more inclusive.

Learning as a Community - I am thankful that our community cares for one another as learners, students and adults alike
As one of the co-facilitators with Susan Bycoff for our New Teacher Induction/Mentor Program, I have the fortune of being inspired and challenged by our work as educators. We certainly do not make all of the right decisions or steps, but the culture of our district is one of care, commitment, and growth. 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. This past Wednesday our new teachers had the opportunity to join a meeting co-hosted by MCAP (Medfield Cares About Prevention) and MCSP (Medfield Coalition for Suicide Prevention) with Melissa Clark, founder of GSA Link. It was excellent and spoke to the importance of vulnerability, care, and openness for all of our learners and families. The questions/prompts below are ones that I had asked the group to think about during the meeting...

What are you thinking about during this talk/workshop/presentation?
What does a safe and supportive learning environment look like?
Are 'labels' important? Why? Why not?
(Thinking about 'Someday/Monday')...What is one thing you will start doing with your students tomorrow? In the future?
What is one thing you are going to stop doing with your students (or be mindful of) tomorrow?

I look forward to hearing the reflections from the group and have found myself circling back to them as well since Wednesday. The intentionality of listening and engagement, vulnerability as educators, and gratitude are all practices that we must actively practice.

Some Thankful Sentiments - Shared Each Year (modified a bit)...
Although they most likely read and sound familiar and repetitive each year, I promise that the sincerity of these sentiments continue to grow in their depth. As I share each year, Thanksgiving is a holiday that holds great significance for me and my family since an accident I experienced while running back in 2009. It is hard to believe 11 years have passed since that time (Grayden was 3 months old!). At that difficult time, Katie and I found ourselves filled (overwhelmed, actually) with gratitude, appreciation, and love for the care and support we received from our Holliston and Blake/Medfield communities. Those feelings, sentiments, and emotions are still very strong and present for all of us. Although I will not be sharing my gratitude at an assembly this Wednesday, my gratitude is indeed real - it may be hard to articulate it at times, but my intention remains true to keep expressing it - thank you. It is a privilege to work in a community that has both fostered and encouraged my own growth while also showing deep care for me and my family. I have shared these words from President Kennedy and the post below the last few years and will be sure to continue bringing them to light...

The Science of Happiness - An Experiment in Gratitude
(6:25)
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.

We must also make sure 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 (particularly this year) to have the opportunity to personally wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving before Wednesday afternoon.

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

I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
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Take care.
Nat
#willfulhope #willfulaction #longasIcanseethelight

Intentional Curiosity

11/17/2020

November 17, 2020

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the role curiosity plays in gaining perspective, understanding, and empathy for others, our topic/question for the dinner table is: What are some ways that we can learn more about other people, cultures, and their 'stories'? Be specific. Intentional Curiosity (Week of 11/16/20)

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

As I am sitting down to jot down my thoughts and reflections for the week, I am enjoying a cup of coffee and taking in the sunlight. I often find myself racing (both physically and emotionally) to ‘get it all done’ and this quiet pause feels like a much needed ‘vitamin boost’. We have had a very low-key weekend as a family, spending some time with yard clean-up, enjoying some fires at night, and trying to make time to just be.

Webster’s defines curiosity as an ‘inquisitive interest in others' concerns; interest leading to inquiry’, and I continue to be encouraged by the connections that have been made for our students and community with our theme. As we look at our mission and the short-term and long-term goals we have for our students and one another, a steady culture and practice of inquiry is certainly at the top of our list. With this aspiration in mind, I am sharing three ‘reflections/thoughts’ that are on my mind at this point in time (they may appear to be random and disconnected - they each are seeds of curiosity and learning that impacted me and, in turn, affirm our efforts and work this year)...

Sharing # 1…
I am looking forward to witnessing and hearing how the discussions and work play out this week in advisory as we rekindle some of the work we did with students three years ago with our theme of diversity. Utilizing Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Danger of a Single Story (19:16) as a foundation for this work, our hope is to help foster an understanding about the importance of perspective-taking and the role that curiosity plays in helping all of us, individually and collectively, move beyond the ‘single stories’ we tell ourselves and absorb into our thoughts and actions.

Sharing # 2...
On Friday morning I found myself ‘stuck’ in a pattern of thoughts that did not feel productive. It was hard for me to put my finger on the root source, but I knew it was impacting me and my communication. Without going into the details what helped me move forward was opening up and simply talking through ‘the space in my head’ with a trusted colleague. It was an inward curiosity and vulnerability that helped me to take a step forward. Please know this sharing is not intended as advice for others - rather, I was struck once again by the importance of establishing trusted relationships so that we can be curious and vulnerable with one another. This is at the heart of our efforts with our students, families, and one another - allowing our feelings and thoughts to lead our work so that we can gain a greater understanding and appreciation of others.

Sharing # 3...
Maggie had her wisdom teeth earlier this week and after going out for a Dairy Queen run for a blizzard (one of the benefits she experienced after the procedure!) on Wednesday night, she and I turned on the TV to simply ‘tune out’ for a bit and relax. After some surfing of the channel, we came upon a special highlighting the work of presidential historian and biographer, Jon Meacham (@jmeacham). As much as I enjoy diving in and learning, I felt like watching something ‘a bit lighter’. It was Maggie that pushed me to keep it on and watch it with her - and, I can’t thank her enough for pushing me to ‘slow down’, listen, and learn. I have shared a link below to one of Meacham’s speeches below - as much as I enjoyed the messages within, it was the curiosity from Maggie that inspired me and stayed with me. My take-away was that we never know the spark that may lead to greater inquiry - and, an openness to the various ‘sparks’ (in other words, an allowance and space for intentional curiosity) for ourselves and our students is important.

The sampling of responses from last week’s question help to provide a window into the curiosity of our students and community, and the three posts below stem from a place of inquiry (this place of questioning is an important entry point for innovation, relationships, and empathy) - a hope I have is that they will also spark some inquiry and curiosity for others...

Sampling of Responses from Our Last Topic/Question (Week of 11/9/20): What is a long-term goal you have that you are working towards? What is one step can you take to help meet that goal?

I have been trying to improve my physical wellness. I will limit the candies I eat per day that I got from Halloween.
Learn more about writing. Pay attention to English and complete my assignments.
My long term goal is to learn Morse code. To do this I think I need to practice it 3 days a week.
Getting through remote learning without distractions and breaks.
I would like to focus on practicing my instrument more often. I can work towards this by setting certain times each week for practicing.
I’m trying to gain flexibility in my legs and back. I can stretch every day to meet this goal.
My long term goal is to do better in school. That way I will meet that goal is doing all my homework every day and not slacking
Getting 3s
One goal that I have is to be done with my remote work earlier. A step that I can do is be more efficient and organized.
Getting really good at hockey
I am working towards doing things faster. To do that, I can focus on smaller things to get done, and not the bigger things.
One of my goals would be to eliminate racism and become a fencer or help people who are in need.
Trying to complete all of my work on time, keep using my whiteboard for organizing my assignments
Being better at hockey - I can shoot more
Get better grades. I will work harder.
A long term goal I have is to be able to do a behind the back layup in basketball. I can meet that goal by practicing everyday.
One long term goal I am working towards is getting some of my grades up.
My goal is to be a better person
Get a 3 in all classes. By paying more attention and working at home
I will turn all my remote work on time, and not have to turn them in late.
My goal is to read for 30 minutes everyday.
A long-term goal I am working towards is getting my 2nd degree black belt in karate. (It is basically the rank after black belt.) A step I can take is to start training soon!
To show decency toward all and take an active role healing the nation. One step is to consciously strive to commit an act of kindness each day.
My goal is to make the USWNT. I will stay in shape/have a healthy diet.
My long term goal that I’m working on is learning Spanish well and I can maybe do an extra class.
I guess one thing I am working towards is just being more social. I talk to others, but I hate standing up and presenting, so that’s something that I am going to be working on.
My hope would be to ensure that there are absolutely no "gaps" during Hybrid or Remote Learning. Targeted lessons and regular check-in assessments that are small can help.
I want to start reading again. i can read my dystopian novel.

Does a Single Story Define You?
by Samantha Boardman in Psychology Today
Boardman’s post aligns the Adichie’s talk and highlights the work of others in a similar vein - pushing us to move beyond the ‘single story’, gain greater perspectives, and liberate our thinking, beliefs, and biases.
...people get too attached to the stories they tell about their past—their mother was cold, their father abandoned them, high school was the best (or worst) years of their life, and so on. These are just stories. They are single stories that tell part of a story, but not the whole story. By definition, they leave out a lot of information and leapfrog over nuance and detail. What the good doctor was trying to explain was how recognizing and letting go of the narrow narratives we tell others and we tell ourselves is liberating.

We are drawn to stories. They are in our nature and we are biologically programmed to respond to them. That said, just because stories help us make sense of senseless things doesn’t mean we should get too attached to them or allow them to govern our lives. In fact, the more powerful the story we tell ourselves, the more suspicious we should be.

Question the stories you tell about yourself and others. Let go of the narrative and embrace the nuance, uncertainty, and glorious mess that life can be.

Westmont Magazine Jon Meacham on Three Key Characteristics of the American Revolution
Adaptation of speech by Jon Meacham at Westmont College in 2019
Within this brief post, Meacham defines key characteristics of the American Revolution - they are ones that are certainly worthy of reflection and action - curiosity, humility, and empathy. At the end he adds a ‘fourth’ - candor.
“If we’re not curious about the great forces shaping the world, we fall apart,” Meacham said.

“If we are curious about how previous eras got it right and got it wrong, I think we raise the chances of getting it right.

Humility requires us to admit our mistakes and attempt to learn from them.

The greatest leaders have changed their minds: Lincoln about emancipation, FDR about intervention, JFK about nuclear war, and Reagan about the Soviet Union. “The presidents we remember warmly surprised us. Truman and Johnson ended up being much more broadminded than we expected. Johnson said something immensely important: What is the presidency for if not to do the big things that other people might not? Partisanship is fine, that’s the price of a free government. We are going to disagree. But is that partisanship reflexive or can it be reflective? We have to listen and admit occasionally that the other side has a point—that is America at its best.”

The third quality is empathy, which includes both acts of mercy and of self-interest.

How Do You Know When Society Is About to Fall Apart?
by Ben Ehrenreich in The New York Times
Nancy Deveno shared this post with me earlier in the week and it is a great read, offering a historical lens about the ‘fall’ of societies. It is a lengthier read than ones I typically share, but the last paragraph (copied below) really resonated. The persistent focus on adaptability as an essential human trait speaks to our mission, our desire to learn, and our desire to grow and move forward.
If you close your eyes and open them again, the periodic disintegrations that punctuate our history — all those crumbling ruins — begin to fade, and something else comes into focus: wiliness, stubbornness and, perhaps the strongest and most essential human trait, adaptability. Perhaps our ability to band together, to respond creatively to new and difficult circumstances is not some tragic secret snare, as Tainter has it, a story that always ends in sclerotic complexity and collapse. Perhaps it is what we do best. When one way doesn’t work, we try another. When one system fails, we build another. We struggle to do things differently, and we push on. As always, we have no other choice.

At the end of Marc Brackett’s keynote for the Learning and the Brain conference last week, he shared the quote below by Victor Frankl. It speaks to the ‘power’ we possess to make choices for response to stimuli - that powerful choice can lead to growth, understanding, and learning. As we continue our intentional work this week, formally via advisory and formally/informally in our moment-to-moment, day-to-day, and week-to-week interactions and lessons with our students, I hope we will help foster a ‘choice of curiosity (intentional curiosity), coupled with action’ in the pursuit of a wider perspective of stories and continued learning.

Ideals, Goals, and Attainability

11/10/2020

November 10, 2020

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about keeping goals towards our ideals in our learning and work, our topic/question for the dinner table is: What is a long-term goal you have that you are working towards? What is one step can you take to help meet that goal? Ideals, Goals, and Attainability (Week of 11/9/20)

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 hope that this update finds everyone well and that the weekend days provided a sense of calm and ‘steadiness’, for lack of a better term. The weather this fall, and particularly as of late, has felt like such a gift - I feel as though I am appreciating the light more than ever! It has been so lovely to go outside for bike rides and walks, and the warm temperatures have certainly made leaf pick-up feel less like a chore! This past weekend was the virtual Learning and the Brain conference focused on Social and Emotional Brains in Schools - and, I am still processing the wonderful learning from the sessions and speakers (spoiler alert - sharing will be coming in the near future!).

It was great to be able to attend one of the weekend outdoor theater performances (physically distanced, of course!) on Saturday - I continue to be impressed by and proud of our students as they adapt to our reality in a positive and productive fashion. Congratulations to the entire cast and crew and thanks to Tracy Allen, Maureen Doctoroff, Joe Knaus, Nancy McLaughlin, as well as MHS students Peter Travis and Adam Price for their videography - and special thanks to Tracy for her leadership and dedication to provide a meaningful experience for our students!

Every Child, Every Day…
These four words (Every Child, Every Day) have stayed with me and have been in my head, thoughts, and thinking since our faculty meeting last week. They are at the core of Elena Aguilar’s definition of educational equity, highlighted from the shared podcast clip below…
Equity in Education - Part 1 (The Mindful Educators Podcast)
(18:00-19:25)
Aguilar’s definition of Educational Equity…
Educational equity means that every child receives whatever she/he/they need to develop to her/his/their full academic and social potential and to thrive, every day. By “thrive,” I mean academically as well as social-emotionally. Every child has a right to feel loved and cared for and to feel that they belong to a community. Emotional well-being is as important as academic success in this definition of educational equity.

Educational equity means there is no predictability of success or failure that correlates with any social or cultural factor—a child’s educational experience or outcomes is not predictable because of their race, ethnicity, linguistic background, economic class, religion, gender, sexual orientation, physical and cognitive ability, or any other socio-political identity marker.

In processing the conversations, readings, and archived chat from our meeting, different threads of thoughts came through. One thread or shared sentiment was the inherent challenge of the feelings of ‘unattainability’ or ‘stretched goal’ of educational equity. I would certainly be lying if I did not share that sentiment as well - Is this realistic? Is it possible? Can we really do that in our school? How? Do we have the means to do this? Do we have the time and resources? How do we make this happen? Although I do not have the answers to all of these questions, I am encouraged by the engagement and acknowledgement of these feelings and responses - both for myself and others. I believe that these questions in concert with the noble and poignant definition from Aguilar help to hold up the proverbial mirror to my beliefs, my work, and the action steps that are taken each day. And I am sure that is true for others as well. It is this interplay and continued practice of reflection that grounds the work and will push us, and in turn our students, towards realized growth. That, I hope, is a shared ideal we can embrace.

In an active and intentional effort to step back from the day-to-day work and mixed emotions of inspiration and challenges inherent with the focus on educational equity, the sessions from the conference this weekend helped to center me on the lens of this work through social-emotional learning. This term of SEL is relatively new in the context of educational circles (and we know how slow schools are to change), yet the science is abundantly clear that this work is at the foundation of all learning. And it is that compass point that we must hold on to and shine a light on in all of our work with students, ourselves, families, and one another. As hard as that light can be to find in the midst of all of the internal and external influences that are layered into our work, it is the one that is most important.

Although the connections may not read as direct, the mixture of resources, posts, and responses below help to shine a light on emotions and learning through hope, equity, wellness, and balance - all ideals that are worthy of our action steps, and ones that we need to lean on one another in a collective manner to hopefully attain...

Notes and Take-Aways from…
How Principals Can Manage Stress and Anxiety Right Now with Peter DeWitt, Sharif El-Mekki, Marc Brackett, and Mark Greenberg

Common words shared by educators and leaders: anxious, overwhelmed, stressed
- # 1 word is Anxiety
How do I best serve the community during these times?
Many children leave home whole and leave school broken
It’s all about close relationships (do we feel we belong and are cared for?)
It takes no money to ask ‘How are you doing?’ (That’s free)
- Offer strategies, listen, check in
Best learning comes with risk taking
Vulnerability is necessary
Emotions are experiences
- Become an emotion scientist vs emotion judge
Do I have permission to be my true self?
Relationships, relationships, relationships
All principals need daily quiet time
‘Misery doesn’t just love company - it loves other miserable company’ - Marc Brackett
Know thyself: includes physiological aspects of thyself
Find joy every day

Defining “Equity”: Every Child, Every Day
by Elena Aguilar (@brightmorningtm)
As noted above, Aguilar’s definition of educational equity and examples within the post are important for all educators and families to read. The ‘Every Child, Every Day’ mantra is one that we must actively pursue at all times.
Beyond the predictability of success and failure, educational equity means that every child is seen for who they truly are and their unique interests and gifts are surfaced and cultivated. For every child to cultivate their unique gifts, children need access to an extensive range of learning opportunities, activities, and material.

Principals Are Stressed and Anxious, Especially Now. Here's 10 Things They Can Do
by Denisa R. Superville in Education Week
This post was written as a follow-up to a webinar (notes shared below) focused on the social-emotional well-being of educational leaders. Although the title has ‘principals’, the messages within are true for all. The 10 things noted as strategies are certainly ideals worthy of our efforts.
"My suggestion is that people just pause before they say anything to themselves and others, and evaluate it," Brackett said. "Is what's coming out going to help me achieve well-being, help me build and maintain positive relationships. help me make decisions that are going to be helpful for me and the people around me, or is it going to be more destructive?"

In 2020, Hope Is Not A Given — You Have To Work For It
by Elamin Abdelmahmoud in BuzzFeed News
This post helped provide a focused lens on hope as a ‘sense of an ideal’ - something to practice and work towards. Within, Abdelmahmoud details the practice of adding sign-offs to give hope for himself and others. I particularly appreciate the distinction made between hope and optimism.
2020, then, has been a year of living with bracing. Wincing, waiting for the next blow. You get the sense that people are one more tragedy, one more untimely death away from falling apart. Under these circumstances, it’s not immediately clear to me that the memes are serving anybody or alleviating the mental burden of the year. Gallows humor might help one process the grimness, but memes do something fundamentally different: They distract from registering the weight of all 2020 has wrought. What “Mentally, I’m here” meme can possibly capture this boundless hell? Do you feel better looking at Reese Witherspoon’s face getting progressively more horrified as the months wear on?

Against this theater of tumult, hope can feel like a demoralizing pursuit. What well can you draw from to imagine that the disarray might stop? You are, after all, but one victim of a ceaseless year. 2020 is bad in an utterly immovable, irreducible, unspinnable way.

Two and a half years into wishing readers a hopeful thought every morning, the signoffs are still the newsletter’s most popular feature. One reader wrote in to say that she sends each signoff to her daughters every day. Another shared that he puts it on the small kitchen chalkboard before his day begins.
Among the kindest feedback we get for the newsletter is that the tone and the signoff make readers feel like they are cared for. I’ve had to, by necessity of evidence, adjust my job description in my head to include creating a small space for hope.

The act of reaching for hope — of grasping at a specific action or instruction, and directing it toward others — has been the only way I’ve managed to steel myself to absorb and synthesize the news in a year of nonstop dread. Shrugging off 2020 hasn’t worked. You can’t meme your way out of all of this. Facing it with intention has been the only way to persist and be present. Hope is a practice. Notice. Breathe. Repeat.

First, I’ve learned that hope is best understood not as an emotion, but an orientation. It’s a disposition toward the unknown — a state of intentionally turning toward what’s undefined and allowing the possibility that it holds good things to grow and occupy as much as space as the possibility that it does not...Second, hope is hard to grab onto if you think about it too abstractly, so you need to be more specific and grounded...The last thing is that hope is not cultivated alone.

To Engage Students, Focus on Connection Over Content
by Katie Martin (@katiemartinedu)
I highly recommend following Katie Martin as she has a consistent and strong focus on the well-being of students as the foundation of all learning. The post is worth the read and offers these strategies as overall strategies: Connect with Students One on One; Prioritize Relationships and Conversations; Ensure the work is meaningful. Although we are often focused on what students need during the pandemic, I firmly believe that these principles were true pre-pandemic and will certainly hold true post-pandemic as well.
Despite the awareness of students’ diminished sense of belonging and lack of engagement in distance learning and hybrid environments, many feel compelled to push forward to ensure they are covering content. Many have shared fears about covering content because students will be tested this year. Yet, if we are really focused on students learning and performing, we can’t neglect their wellbeing. First and foremost because people matter more than their test scores. But if that is not enough, we also have to recognize that if students aren’t connected to their teachers.

Most educators know in their hearts and have seen in practice that there is far more to teaching than success on a test. To ensure meaningful learning, we have to know the learners, help them understand and leverage their strengths, identify and work towards goals that matter to them and ensure they persist through challenges and setbacks. You can’t do this without building relationships first and maintaining them throughout the learning process.

Reading through a small sampling of responses from last week’s question about learning along with the posts below help to bring forth for me (and hopefully others) a sense of hope, centering, and curiosity...

Sampling of Responses from Our Last Topic/Question (Week of 11/2/20): What strategies do you use to stay hopeful when you face challenges?

I know that things can only get better.
I review past assignments to remind myself what to do.
Gratitude
Taking small steps and slowly working my way up
I try to tell myself that I'll get over the obstacle, and I try to stay positive, knowing that nothing is impossible.
In general, I seek out inspiring quotes and stories, and these help set a resilient mindset that keeps me from lingering too long on the negatives of a challenge.
I try not to give up easily, and to keep trying.
I just think you can do it. Push and show that "yah I did that". If it doesn't go your way it's meant to be like that for a reason.
I slow down. I remind myself to take a larger perspective.
I always try to think of something to look forward to, or something that makes me happy. For example, spending some time with my friends or even sleeping in on the weekend.
I tell myself that yes, I can do it if I try hard enough
Don’t stop believing!
I stay calm and not get mad when I face a challenge.
Share with students great works of art that challenged artists but also brought us forward in communicating new and traditional ways in which artists are there for us in creativity.
When I’m facing a challenge I try to stay positive and keep a good mindset.

In an effort to make connections between and amongst our theme of curiosity, last week’s blog post focusing on the practice of hope (Practicing Hope and Curiosity), and this notion/practice of keeping our sight and actions on our ideals (even the ones that feel or seem unattainable), I firmly believe that we will stay ‘on track’ as long as we keep coming back to our mission and the words from Elena Aguilar below (they are the words expressed at the end of her post) - Every Child, Every Day...

Education is a vehicle to self-realization and freedom.
Educational equity means every child, every day. Period.
And yes, this is a high bar: Every child.
And it is an attainable goal.

-- Elena Aguilar

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