Principal's Blog

Sharing and Learning

4/9/2018

April 10, 2018

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about sharing one's learning, our topic/question of the week is:  What is something you have learned lately that you would like to share with others? Sharing Learning (Week of 4/8/18)  (This is an anonymous Google Form)

Blake's Guiding Lights
Our Students
Blake's Core Values:  Respect, Responsibility, Resourcefulness, Reflection
Our Essential Question:  How can we cultivate and curate the progression of student learning and growth?
Our Mission: Blake Middle School believes in a living mission statement, based on the concept that our community seeks and respects knowledge, integrity, character, wisdom, and the willingness to adapt to a continually evolving world.

As the snowflakes started to fall mid-day last Friday, I felt as though we now have no choice but to embrace the comical nature of April weather in 2018! After enjoying Blake's production of Pom Pom Zombies Friday evening (an awesome production - kudos to all of the students and Tracy Allen, Maureen Doctoroff, Nancy McLaughlin, Nancy Deveno, Kim Price, Joyce Sabia, and all of the high school helpers), we spent Saturday with Katie's extended family celebrating the life of her uncle who passed away suddenly in February. Phil had lived a very full life and it truly was a remarkable day of remembrance, mourning, and celebration. On Sunday we bookended the weekend with theater by seeing Holliston Middle School's production of Willy Wonka and then having family dinner with the intention of 'collectively breathing' before the week began.

I am sure that my children are not the only ones who are counting down the days until April vacation - a big topic of conversation in our house the past few days! As I look at the week that awaits us, I am excited and energized by the opportunities for sharing and collaborating as a professional staff on several levels with faculty meeting time, Site Council, #DLDMedfield this Tuesday, and meetings and conversations that will continue Wednesday-Friday. It will be a busy week and I know the time will move quickly, but I am encouraging myself to try and 'slow it down' and embrace the learning experiences with one another. To help set this stage of collaborative learning with one another, I have highlighted some of my notes from the Surviving Adolescence talk by Dr. Rob Evans this week along with three posts that espouse and promote innovation, collaboration, and the importance of process...

Take-aways/thoughts/mindsets/notes from Dr. Rob Evans...

21st Century America - raising kids is harder and more complex due to the layers of challenges (rate of change is high, but the rate of certainty is low)
3 things to be successful (citizens, parents, spouses, workers)
- Nurture: Mr. Rogers (like you just the way you are) and Julia Child (no seconds)
- Structure: Box of behavior; clarity is important
- Latitude (freedom to learn from experience; learning from non-catastrophic experiences, minor unfairnesses)
Issue/Challenge is not the knowing - it’s the doing
Myth of ‘high quality time’ - children need an abundance of ‘low quality time’
- Need ‘just enough time’
'Preparing the path for the child' vs 'Preparing the child for the path'
Think about deep and profound lessons
- How did you learn them?
  - Through loss, frustration, failure
Don’t confuse simple with easy
Try to be the best of who you are instead of trying to be the things you are not
Make a list of strengths and do more of them with your children
Most kids are resilient - they don’t need us to be perfect
There is some stuff we all struggle with - that has made us stronger
When you think you’re teaching, you are preaching; children learn more from examples we set than from our sermons
Take-aways:
- Nurture - Need more Mr. Rogers
- Structure - Hold the line about the big stuff; ‘Let them get glad again’; How we pass culture on
- Latitude - Prepare for the path; don’t routinely do for them stuff they can do for themselves; Don’t raise to fix problems they encounter before they have had the chance
10 seconds - Think about the people who made you who you are today - who are those people?

Innovation Does Not Happen in Isolation
by George Couros (@gcouros)
In his book, The Innovator's Mindset, Couros shares the 8 characteristics of an Innovator's Mindset: Empathetic, Problem Finders, Risk-takers, Networked, Observant, Creators, Resilient, Reflective. Within this brief post Couros touches on the interconnectedness of these characteristics and the importance of finding and actively using and participating in a network to foster innovation.
What is important to understand regarding these characteristics is that none of them make you innovative in isolation. It is their combinations that lead to new and better solutions. If I am “observant” and understand the world around me, yet “create” nothing, what would be solved? Flip it though; if I am “creating” without understanding the context of where I work and who I serve (observant), you might be creating solutions to things that is helpful to no one.

...the reality is that there are still too many teachers that are not taking advantage of those “networks.” The notion that young teachers are innovative and more experienced teachers are not, is unbelievably false. I have seen some new teachers as the most “traditional”, and some veteran teachers as the most innovative. The difference is the mindset, not skill set. The craving to get better This is not to say that some traditional practices do not work with students. It is just that no traditional practice works with all students. Never has and never will.

To be “networked” does not make you innovative. It is what you apply from learning from those networks that creates the innovation. The opportunities in front of us only matter if we take advantage of them.

The Process is the Product
by George Couros (@gcouros)
The title of Couros's post jumped out at me as 'process vs product' is an ongoing discussion we have in education. I firmly agree with Couros's assertion and believe that the process of learning is the actual product that we hope for all learners - an understanding of one's own process of learning.
In education, the process is the product. Not only should we go over the process of how we make those connections happen (amongst other things that teachers do to give students incredible opportunities for students), we should provide opportunities for our students to make those connections themselves. This is leading by example and learning by example.

Real Ways WE Can Help Inspire a Generation of Innovators
by AJ Juliani (@ajjuliani)
Juliani is one of my 'must follows' and I highly recommend his work. The action-oriented perspective he offers is important - moving beyond opinion to an adaptive state of action. His 'one-word' at the end is a good mantra for all of us, students and adults alike - 'make it happen'.
It seems after all this research I’ve done on the current state of education and all the reading I’ve done on the future of learning, that one piece of information keeps coming back to get me again and again. It’s basically screaming at me when I look at past innovations, past movements and reforms, and current changes in education. My opinion on the future of education (and learning) doesn’t matter.

Opinions tend to be reactive. And reactionary education is not effective.

So, if our opinions don’t matter, and we still want to see a better education for our students and children, then what can we do about it? We can focus our attention on two areas that matter: Our attitude and our actions...Let’s stop talking about what we can do to shape the future of education. Instead, let’s build it and inspire a generation of innovators...
#1. Be Expert Learners
#2. Stay Informed or Get Left Behind
#3. Go Beyond Connection to Collaboration
#4. Forget About Labeling Learning
#5. Focus on Building Great Relationships
#6. Don’t Just Adopt Technology, Embrace It
#7. Fight Weak Data with Better Measures
#8. Empower Your Colleagues with Solutions
#9. Take Your Classroom from a Space, to a Place, to a Home
#10. Allow For, Support, Make Time For, and Praise Creative Work

I’ve seen so many educators and leaders sharing their #oneword for 2016. I don’t have one word. I have three: Make It Happen. Innovation starts with action. It starts with being intentional about how we lead, how we learn, and how we teach.

I hope we can all channel the wisdom and perspectives of Dr. Evans, Juliani, and Couros this week and in the weeks to come. I think that Juliani's #oneword or mantra of 'make it happen' is worth exploring and embracing - by collaborating and sharing in our learning, we will hopefully be taking a few more steps on our path towards coherence.

I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for Thursday Packet Information.
Take care.
Nat

Embracing Imperfection

4/3/2018

April 3, 2018

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about imperfection, our topic/question of the week is:  How can embracing imperfection help us learn and grow? Embracing Imperfection (Week of 4/1/18)  (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 more mild weather this past weekend was quite welcomed in our house as we were able to spend more time outside - shooting baskets, starting to clean up the garden, a few morning runs, and taking some walks. With it being our last 'quiet weekend' between sports seasons for the kids, we enjoyed the unscheduled days (although I do appreciate a good routine!). Katie and I also had a nice time going to a concert with my brother and his wife down in Providence (Bleachers). On Sunday we got together with family at my parents for an early afternoon Easter dinner.

Last week I blogged about Trust and Courage and I found myself coming back to these words a fair amount this week, both consciously and subconsciously. It is not lost on me that the very nature of blogging about them framed my own thoughts for the week, but even so - the connections are and were there...

Recognizing the trust and courage at the ASCD #Empower18 conference last weekend of all of the presenters who were willing to share their ideas and work
Meetings with parents and teachers throughout the week - trust and courage to openly discuss challenges and productively disagree on 'the path to take'
Spending time with my job-alike - colleagues openly sharing challenges and seeking help/advice/guidance from one another
Trust and courage of one of our 7th graders who gave me the permission (and privilege) to shadow him for the full school day to help me gain the lens/experience of student's day at Blake
Sam's willingness to share his 'Why I Teach' reflection with our staff on Thursday afternoon
The trust and courage of our staff as we formally began discussions about race, inclusion, and equity with Jamele Adams (Dean of Students at Brandeis University)
Trust and courage - both visible and 'hidden' - that we all (students, staff, families, community) every day - thinking about what we each 'carry and bring with us' every day

As I think about each of these examples of trust and courage and while experiencing them, a common thread I saw and felt (and now see) is that of acknowledging room for growth and learning. This has been a real week of learning for me and I look forward to the conversations and work that will be taking place, both formally and informally. Below I have listed some of the ideas that I have been thinking about from this week of learning - as always, I welcome questions, input, ideas, push-back, and discussions...

Take-aways/thoughts/mindsets/notes from ASCD #Empower18...

Teacher efficacy is # 1 influence
Begin with passion, empiricism, action, and results
What can we do in 100 days? (25 day segments)
Stop arguing with the cynics
We all have racial biases
Whose comfort am I privileging?
When you think about education, what comes to mind?
Do we believe this enough to redesign our schools?
How do you get them from one more thing to just good teaching?
Let students accept responsibility
What are you good at? What brings you joy? What does the world need you to do? (Vocational Discernment)
Tyranny of Measurement - beware of this!
Are there differences between success in school and success in life?
Have to prepare kids for the only constant - change
Who you are is more important than what you know
Collegiality Frames the Culture
Intrapersonal development, Interpersonal development
Have students set scholastic and personal goals
‘Diversity is not just about the differences you like’

Take-aways/thoughts/mindsets/notes from our PD afternoon with Jamele Adams (@h2five)...

LIT - Love, Inclusion, and Trust...Trust is the byproduct of love and Inclusion
Provide light in darkness - any bit of light helps
Pronouns are important
How dare we leave anyone out?
A safe space is a brave space - are we brave enough to be honest to have the conversations?
SE + SL = D, Self-Esteem + Self Love = Dignity
What can I as one individual do to make a difference?
What can we do: 'Excuse me' as a useful phrase; 10 principles of Diversity (see below); Feed the energy, nurture the energy of our students; When something happens, mention it; Allow for recovery
We need to be proactive, reactive, and retroactive
Working together, we do better
Question the blame
There is nothing that violence solved that communication can not solve better
We can be perfect in recognizing our imperfection

To be honest I am still feeling a bit overwhelmed from the work last Thursday and I am processing it on many levels (and look forward to processing with others as well), but these last two notes about communication and recognizing imperfection have really stuck with me. There are many paths we can take, but I firmly believe that communication and recognizing our imperfection go hand in hand. And, more important, they are steps we can take each day as a learning and growing community - recognizing our imperfections in our work and communicating together towards improvement. Two phrases that Colby Swettberg has shared with us speak to the inherent connections that exist amongst the principles of trust, courage, imperfection, and communication and I am sharing them along with the post below from Sinek...

'That which is unspeakable is unmanageable'
'We are going to make the path by walking it'

To Be Authentic Is To Be Imperfect
by Simon Sinek (@simonsinek)
Sinek is worth following and I find inspiration from him for his honesty, vulnerability, optimist, and proponent of collaboration and deep thinking. In this brief post he encourages all of us (yes, we are all leaders) to embrace our imperfections.
There is great beauty in that which is imperfect.The grain in a piece of wood. A bristle of a paintbrush left stranded in a painting. The uneven glaze of a Japanese ceramic cup. Perfection comes out of molds or off assembly lines. Things made by nature or by hand are imperfect. It is their flaws that make these objects unlike any other of their kind. It is their imperfections that make these things unique and beautiful.

It is the blend of anxiety, fear, pain, insecurity and naïveté that makes each person special.

Authenticity is about imperfection. And authenticity is a very human quality. To be authentic is to be at peace with your imperfections. The great leaders are not the strongest, they are the ones who are honest about their weaknesses. The great leaders are not the smartest; they are the ones who admit how much they don't know. The great leaders can't do everything; they are the ones who look to others to help them. Great leaders don't see themselves as great; they see themselves as human. Great leaders don't try to be perfect, they try to be themselves. And that's what makes them great.

I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for Thursday Packet Information.
Take care.

Nat

Trust and Courage

3/27/2018

March 27, 2018

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about trust and courage, our topic/question(s) of the week are: What does courage look like? How can you be courageous this week? Trust and Courage (Week of 3/25/18) (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.

With this past weekend marking the end of Term 2 and beginning of Term 3 as we start to say goodbye to March, I hope that everyone was able to find some time to relax, unplug, and have some fun. It was nice to be able to go for a run on Friday afternoon and have a relaxed evening with the kids. For the rest of the weekend I was at the ASCD Empower18 conference in Boston with other members of our administrative team, thanks to the generosity of MCPE. It was energizing and rewarding and I look forward to sharing the learning in the future with everyone.

For all of us each week brings its own set of 'circumstances' - known routines, new challenges, successes, failures, surprises, etc. I often find myself looking back or ahead and feeling like this past one (or the one ahead) was the busiest one yet, only to realize they are all busy! Take this past week for example - incoming 8th parent night, curriculum meetings, attending a parent evening in Holliston around the documentary Beyond Measure, meetings with parents and teachers, day-to-day routines, hosting a graduate student from BU for a shadow experience, the 5-town Special Olympics at Medway Middle School, etc. Although others' schedules may look different, I know they are full, busy, satisfying, and challenging in their own ways.

Where am I going with this? As I was reflecting about the week and mapping out my sessions for the #Empower18 conference this weekend, I was struck by the varied topics that were being discussed and presented. The topics spanned the areas we are all focusing on each day with our students - social/emotional learning, curriculum advancements, global competencies, restorative justice, grading practices, differentiated instruction - the list goes on and on. As I have shared before, it is so hard to talk about any of these in isolation as they all overlap in an appropriately messy fashion...we can not talk about SEL without talking about curriculum, we can not talk about curriculum without talking about grading practices, etc.

Every student has unique areas of strength and growth, as does every teacher, school, and district. Yet, there are certain commonalities that we all share when it comes to needs and conditions that foster healthy, safe, learning environments. As you know I cherish opportunities for professional development and am very interested in growing as an educator and as a leader, specifically striving to foster a learning environment that is both nurturing and challenging. Those are the sessions I find myself drawn towards - and, I am always struck by those elements that are common for all of us no matter what phase of growth and expertise we are experiencing. The three posts below highlight attributes that have proven to be essential for effective environments - a spirit of courage, a culture of trust, and an environment that values relationships.

Courage Over Comfort: Rumbling with Shame, Accountability, and Failure at Work
by Brene Brown (@BreneBrown)
Brown's post recalls a story about a manager who 'opened up' and displayed the courage to show vulnerability to his employees. This touches on the importance of openness and trust, also connecting to her work with shame and empathy.
I think the people who wade into discomfort and vulnerability and tell the truth about their stories are the real badasses in this world. This is especially true of people who rumble with failure. These are people who choose courage over comfort, accountability over blame, and are able to embed key learnings from failures into their lives.

Here’s a person who didn’t have to own anything—a leader who could have shifted the blame to his own team or to the brand’s disrespectful team. But instead, he had the courage to feel pain, to recognize that he was feeling shame, to reach out and be vulnerable with a friend, to own his part, and to stand in front of his team and be accountable. The difference between I am a screwup and I screwed up may look small, but in fact it’s huge. Many of us will spend our entire lives trying to slog through the shame swampland to get to a place where we can give ourselves permission to both be imperfect and to believe we are enough. Failure can become our most powerful path to learning if we’re willing to choose courage over comfort.

Google spent years studying effective teams — and one trait stood out
by Justin Bariso in Business Insider
Bariso highlights Google's in-depth study in the interest of identifying the traits that are most effective for teams, and 'psychological safety' (or trust) stood out. This has a direct connection to Amy Edmondson's work as well. The post highlights certain actions that encourage a culture of trust, fostering psychological safety: Listen first; Show empathy; Be authentic; Set the example; Be helpful; Disagree and commit; Be humble; Be transparent; Commend sincerely and specifically.
The researchers found that what really mattered was less about who is on the team, and more about how the team worked together. What mattered most: Trust. So what was the most important factor contributing to a team's effectiveness? It was psychological safety. Simply put, psychological safety refers to an individual's perception of taking a risk, and the response his or her teammates will have to taking that risk.

Relationships, Risk-Taking, and Innovation
by George Couros (@gcouros)
Couros's post references the post above and Google's study - within the post, Couros emphasizes relationships and trust as the foundation for innovation.
As you think about your role as an educational leader and the level of trust in your school or district, consider the following questions:
• Do people often ask me for permission or guidance?
• Have I created an environment where risks are not only encouraged but expected?
• How have I highlighted the great work being done by our school to others in and out of the organization?
These questions are about innovation, but they’re also the importance of relationships in creating a “culture of innovation.” In fact, relationships are crucial for innovation, which is why you’ll always hear me say that the three most important words in education are: relationships, relationships, relationships. Without them, we have nothing.

...relationships and trust are the foundation of moving forward, not only for our work with our colleagues, but for the growth of the individuals in our classrooms.

These posts have helped to center me as to what it is that matters most and what we are working towards as a school community. Having the trust and courage within - both within ourselves and within our community - are critical attributes of a healthy culture. And, it is important to remember that we can show these 'one step at a time' and, sometimes, by just showing up for one another. Let's continue to be there for our students, one another, and ourselves.

I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for Thursday Packet Information.
Take care.

Nat

Real Listening

3/20/2018

March 20, 2018

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about listening, connections, and relationships, our topic/question(s) of the week are:  What can you do to be a better listener? What will that look like? Real Listening (Week of 3/18/18) (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.

This past weekend as I was drafting my weekly memo to the staff, I enjoyed the sunlight beaming through the windows and hoped that the warmth of the sun would actively combat the temperatures to melt more snow! I hope that this was a nice weekend for all, after a busy and eventful week at school (aren't they all?!?). With only a few kid commitments this weekend (the joy of 'between seasons'), we were able to take it down a notch or two - watching some March Madness games and finding time to 'just be'.

It was wonderful to welcome the weekend this past Friday with a run after school and the #bmsed science fair. Seeing students, staff, and family interacting with one another, sharing their learning (successes, challenges, and failures), and taking pride and ownership - it's just what we want for all of us! Thanks to Orla for her leadership and to all of the science teachers for encouraging our students to participate, and big thanks as well to our high school students who helped out and were so supportive of the Blakers - a wonderful community event!

This past Tuesday during our snow day Katie and I found some time to watch our DVR'd 60 minutes episode from last Sunday evening - it was nice to find the time as we do not always find it once the busyness of the week begins. We had heard great things about the segment on trauma-informed care (Treating Childhood Trauma) and I highly recommend finding the time to watch it. We often talk at Blake about the different lenses that we are experiencing and learning (lens of the student, lens of the parent, lens of the educator, lens of the administrator, lens of a community member, etc.) and each are critical. Watching this segment was one that struck me on all of the levels and, specifically, there were two mindsets/take-aways that really struck a chord...

Dr. Bruce Perry's words: 'Really it boils down to something pretty simple. And it's relationships.'
Shifting the question from 'What's wrong with you?' to 'What happened to you?'

Relationships and shifting the focus from one of 'accusation/assumption' to one of 'openness/curiosity/support' - these are two critical mindsets that I believe will help us continue on our journey towards an inclusive, supportive, nurturing, and growing learning community. These two premises/mindsets are simple and transferable - this is not to say, however, they are simple. They take practice and encouragement, like all of our work that is worthy of our efforts. And, at the heart of both is the essence of 'listening' - a skill and habit we need to practice to foster, understand, and encourage 'diversity of thought'. The posts I am sharing this week are ones that directly and indirectly relate to relationships, listening, and openness - I'd love to hear your thoughts...

The Five Purposes of Listening
by Dan Rockwell (@LeadershipFreak)
This brief post highlights 4 reasons people 'hate to listen', along with the 5 purposes of listening: Mattering - Listen to let others know the matter; Humility - Listen to humble yourself; Clarity - Listen to help others find clarity; Effectiveness - Listen to act effectively; Curiosity - Listen to ask a question.
The most neglected work of leadership is listening. The reason? It’s hard work.

Employers Find ‘Soft Skills’ Like Critical Thinking in Short Supply
by Kate Davidson in The Wall Street Journal
Tony Wagner (@DrTonyWagner) referenced this 2016 post on Twitter and the content within directly relates to the importance of communication skills - not only valuing them, but also the importance of intentionally teaching them.
The job market’s most sought-after skills can be tough to spot on a résumé. Companies across the U.S. say it is becoming increasingly difficult to find applicants who can communicate clearly, take initiative, problem-solve and get along with co-workers. Those traits, often called soft skills, can make the difference between a standout employee and one who just gets by.

In a Wall Street Journal survey of nearly 900 executives last year, 92% said soft skills were equally important or more important than technical skills. But 89% said they have a very or somewhat difficult time finding people with the requisite attributes. Many say it’s a problem spanning age groups and experience levels.

To determine the most sought-after soft skills, LinkedIn analyzed those listed on the profiles of members who applied for two or more jobs and changed jobs between June 2014 and June 2015. The ability to communicate trumped all else, followed by organization, capacity for teamwork, punctuality, critical thinking, social savvy, creativity and adaptability.

Do Educators Really Want Parents to Be Held Accountable?
by Peter DeWitt (@PeterMDeWitt) in Education Week
DeWitt's recent post is in response to a tweet from a principal who wanted parents to be 'more accountable'. I admire DeWitt's steadfast desire to push all of us a bit deeper to get to the root of the question by holding up the mirror to our own thoughts, beliefs, and actions. We need to make sure we are willing to thoughtfully engage with one another and be willing to answer our own questions - and, to listen.
Social-emotional learning is not a political argument, nor is it the job of just one person or organization. It's actually a societal issue that we all need to take on. It's not about one side versus another. Social-emotional learning is about teaching children how to self-regulate, deal with stress, work through moments of trauma, and it's about teaching how to get along with others.

...parent accountability is often a very complicated topic, especially when it comes to schools. We often say we want parents to be accountable, but what we really mean is that we want parents to be accountable when it comes to getting their children to do their homework, showing up for parent-teacher conferences, and supporting our school efforts at home.There seem to also be times when we would like parents to be a little less accountable...Parent accountability is a double-edge sword. Leaders and teachers want parents to have it, until it actually works against the needs of the school.

Do we, as educators, want parents to be accountable only when it serves our purposes or do we want to work in partnership with them even when they want to hold us accountable as well?

As noted above, I welcome your thoughts, reactions, ideas, and questions - and, I will do my best to listen.

I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for Thursday Packet Information.
Take care.
Nat

Deeper Learning

3/13/2018

March 13, 2018

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about deeper and meaningful learning, our topic/question of the week is:  How can teachers help students connect on a deeper level with the concepts and learning that takes place in school? Deeper Learning (Week of 3/11/18) (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.

We have certainly entered March 'like a lion', and I am hoping that we start to get closer to the 'out like a lamb' sooner rather than later!  It was wonderful to see and feel the sun shining on my run last Saturday morning, and although it was hard to 'lose' an hour of sleep Saturday night I am looking forward to the extended daylight in the afternoon/evening hours. We had a nice weekend with only a few 'commitments' as we are in between seasons, and we did our best to get outside and encourage spring to come (although our encouragement did not help with today's storm)!

I have shared before that one of my weekly routines each Friday is to take some time to look back at the past week with a reflective lens and to look forward at the upcoming week with a proactive lens. This reflective/proactive dual lens approach is one that we are continually employing as educators – reflecting, responding, planning, and thinking ahead while always trying to stay present.  This past Friday’s ‘dual lens practice’ for me definitely had me feeling a bit ‘on overload’ as the calendar and events are full:  reviewing and revising our safety protocols with students, staff, and community; incoming 7th grade PIN; the storm; evening with Kwame Alexander; meeting with students and staff in response and preparation for 3/14; and, of course, our day to day work with students.

With all of this work it is important to try and center the work and find meaning.  There are different ways for each of us to do this and that is an evolving and ever-changing process for me.  It will most likely come of no surprise that one of my steadfast practices is that of reading, connecting, and reflecting with and through other educators.  Whether the avenue is posts, social media, or direct collaboration, I am able to find meaning and direct connections with our work as a school and my own personal growth and development as an educator.  I so enjoy the professionalism of our learning community and willingness to ‘dive in’ and learn together.

I am sharing two posts this week that resonated with me and helped me to ground my thinking with all of our work.  The first post by Jal Mehta pushes all of us to ‘go deeper with our learning for all students’ and is one that we discussed this week with content specialists, and the second post by Peter DeWitt highlights the importance and urgency of social-emotional learning.  We often talk about wanting our students to ‘go deeper with the learning’ and these posts both connect to this desire.  Blending Mehta and DeWitt’s views from these posts, it is critical that we ‘start from a deeper place, rather than go deeper’ for all students and that we continually strive to establish an emotionally safe and healthy environment for the deeper learning to be accessed and nurtured.

A Pernicious Myth: Basics Before Deeper Learning
by Jal Mehta (@jal_mehta) in Education Week
This post by Mehta is one that works to challenge a 'prevalent assumption in schools' and in society:  If there is one prevalent assumption that stands in the way of deeper learning, it is that you have to do "the basics" before you can engage in deeper learning.  Within the post Mehta references the work of David Perkins and the shift of viewing Bloom's taxonomy as a ladder to that of a web.
...while it is true that most fields have some sequential ordering of topics, it is also true that what David Perkins calls "playing the whole game at the junior level" has a lot of advantages. Perkins cites Little League as an example: we don't spend a year learning to throw, another to catch, another to bat; rather, we play the whole game of baseball from the beginning, just at the junior level. Playing the whole game gives young players a chance to see how the sport as a whole works, and, just as critically, it means that they get to see why one would want to play the sport. This engenders motivation, which is what provides the fuel to practice the parts. To return to music, even the youngest children play whole pieces of music in concerts, which is a critical part of what gives rhythm and meaning to the work.

In our contemporary research in high schools, the most compelling teachers we found had taken a different approach that mirrored Perkins' idea of the whole game in the academic disciplines. Rather than viewing Bloom's taxonomy as a ladder--recall first, analysis later--they viewed it more as a web, embedding basic skill building within larger arcs that asked students to make meaning and take on difficult questions from the beginning. They also tended to foreground students' assets over their deficits--for example, in English, they argued that students thinking and ability to discuss was often far ahead of their writing, and thus, while gradually building students' writing skills, they foregrounded topics for discussion that were commensurate with students' quite sophisticated knowledge and thinking.

What if, in language, student trips abroad were not something that happened at the end of high school, but were a springboard at the beginning of language study to show students the value or learning another language? What if, in science, we taught students the scientific method--and the associated relevant knowledge in statistics, inference-drawing, and building on existing literature--by having them write junior versions of scientific papers rather than reading from textbooks? We already do this in sports, arts, music, and virtually every other sphere of human learning. So why in school, do we think it has to be dry basics first, and the interesting stuff only later?

No Place for Social-Emotional Learning In Schools? Are You Sure?
by Peter DeWitt (@PeterMDeWitt) in Education Week
DeWitt (as I have said before, a 'must follow' for educators) shares some statistics and counters the stance that schools need to only focus on academics. I agree with DeWitt that SEL is not an option and must be seen and practiced by all - it is the foundation of a safe learning environment for all.
To the naysayers I ask, "If schools could just focus on academics, don't you think they would?" Given the fact that they have standards and curriculum that they are struggling to find the time during the day to cover, don't you think that they would prefer that all students come to school healthy and ready to learn?

We can continue to argue whether schools should be exploring SEL or we can understand the sad reality that students are suffering from trauma and mental health issues, and do something about it. We can argue about politics, or realize that our schools are not supposed to be war zones.

In order to have a stronger education system and help students meet their potential, we need to work together as a school community with families and outside organization. We need to stop blaming and starting acting. We need to stop burying our heads in the sand that all of this will go away "when we start focusing solely on academics." SEL is not a fad, nor is it less important than other things we have to teach. SEL and academic learning are equally as important and we need to find a better balance on how to do both.

This week I came across this quote from Karl Popper and love the goal for all of us of gaining a greater 'knowledge of our ignorance'.  I am hoping we can start and stay at a deeper level as our 'default foundation' with and for all of our students, helping them to understand and grow.

I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for Thursday Packet Information.
Take care.
Nat

Sharing Gratitude

3/6/2018

March 6, 2018

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about gratitude, our topic/question of the week is:  Share something or someone that you feel grateful for today or this week. Sharing Gratitude (Week of 3/4/18) (This is an anonymous Google Form)

Blake's Guiding Lights
Our Students
Blake's Core Values:  Respect, Responsibility, Resourcefulness, Reflection
Our Essential Question:  How can we cultivate and curate the progression of student learning and growth?
Our Mission: Blake Middle School believes in a living mission statement, based on the concept that our community seeks and respects knowledge, integrity, character, wisdom, and the willingness to adapt to a continually evolving world.

I hope that the past few days has been calmer than the crazy weather we experienced at the end of last week! We had a 'colonial-styled' (no power) and sports-filled weekend with the kids for their basketball playoffs and swim championships all day on Saturday. On Sunday Maggie's softball clinic served as an indication that spring is on the way - always a good thing!

This week, rather than highlight some posts or learning that I have experienced, I simply want to share my gratitude and sincere appreciation for the students, staff, and community at Blake for caring for one another this past Friday during our events with the storm and power outage. Everyone's responsiveness and efforts to help, volunteer, offer support, and contribute are a true testament to the culture - thank you. There is plenty of learning to highlight and readings to share, but I also know it is important to take a step back and simply just be and say thank you and allow gratitude to be the learning that is highlighted and shared.

I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for Thursday Packet Information.
Take care.
Nat

Important Dates
3/6 - Incoming 7th PIN (6:30 p.m.)
3/7 - Spread the Word to End the Word (see details below)
3/8 - Evening with Kwame Alexander
3/12 - Blake Site Council Mtg (3:30 p.m.)
3/13 - SEL Task Force
Band-o-Rama Concert
3/14 - String Fling Concert
3/15 - Incoming 8th PIN (6:30 p.m.)
3/16 - Blake Science Fair
3/23 - Special Olympics
Term 2 Report Cards go home
3/24 - Miss Amazing Pageant
3/29 - 1/2 Day for Students
3/30 - No School
4/3 - SEL Task Force
4/6- - Blake Spring Musical
4/10 - #DLDMedfield
No school for students

Topic/Question for the Dinner Table
To help encourage conversations and dialogue about gratitude, our topic/question of the week is:  Share something or someone that you feel grateful for today or this week. Sharing Gratitude (Week of 3/4/18) (This is an anonymous Google Form)

Term 2 Interim Reports and Reflection
All outstanding interim report 'sign-off' sheets need to be handed into advisors asap.

BMS Science Fair - 3/16/18The third annual BMS Science Fair has been rescheduled for Friday, March 16, 2018, at 4:00 pm. Participating BMS students should confirm their participation in this rescheduled event with their science teachers. Students should arrive at 3:15 pm that afternoon to set up their projects. Parents and friends are invited to attend at 4:00 pm.

For Incoming 6th Grade Parents/Guardians
For your reference, I have copied the link to the presentation and handout along with the Program of Studies from last night...
Blake Incoming 6th PIN 2018 Presentation
Blake Parent Resources Handout 2018-2019
Blake Program of Studies 2018-2019
Below please find links to the Course Selection Google Forms that all incoming 6th grade parents/guardians must complete...
2018-2019 Blake Middle School Music Selection
2018-2019 Blake Middle School World Language Selection

Parent Information Nights - Mark Your Calendars!
3/6 - Incoming 7th Grade Parent Night at 6:30 p.m.
This night is for all parents/guardians of incoming seventh grade (current sixth grade) students. We will be sharing information about the 7th grade program of studies and curriculum, previewing the students' experience that they will have next year. We will also be presenting information about the 7th grade's field trip to Nature's Classroom.

3/15 - Incoming 8th Grade Parent Night at 6:30 p.m.
This night is for all parents/guardians of incoming eighth grade (current seventh grade) students. We will be presenting information about the 8th grade program of studies and curriculum, previewing the students' experience that they will have next year.

8th Grade Yearbook Photos
During the next couple of weeks, we will be collecting childhood/baby pictures from all our 8th grade students for a photo collage in the Yearbook. Students should write their names on the pictures and turn them into their advisors. Please note that photos will Not be returned. Thank you!
DEADLINE: Friday, March 16

8th Grade Trip Forms
A packet of medical forms was sent home with your 8th grader last week for the Washington, D.C. trip Please take time to review and complete the forms which are due back to your child’s advisory teacher by March 29, 2018. Forms should be completed in pen, dated and signed. If your child will need to take any medication on the trip (prescription and/or non-prescription), then his/her physician needs to review and sign the medication form. Please plan ahead and submit the medication form to your child’s physician within the next two weeks in order to get the signed form back to school by the March 29th deadline. Please contact our school nurse, Tricia Williams, at 508-242-8554 or twillliams@email.medfield.netif you have any questions after reviewing the packet. Your assistance is appreciated in returning the forms on time as we finalize preparations for the trip.

Student Council - Acceptance
Over the next month and a half, Student Council will be focused on raising awareness about, engaging their community in, and inspiring others to be ACCEPTING. Within each week, various efforts have been planned to bring awareness, activities, and demonstrations surrounding the theme of Acceptance to the Blake Community. The theme of week 1 is The Power of Words. Wednesday, March 7th, is the Spread the Word to End the Word Day of National Awareness. The R-word is the word 'retard(ed)'. The R-word hurts because it is exclusive. It's offensive. It's derogatory.This campaign asks people to pledge to stop saying the R-word as a starting point toward creating more accepting attitudes and communities for all people. Language affects attitudes and attitudes affect actions. Blake students will see a video in advisory, create a message to represent their advisory's support of the efforts, and sign a banner at lunch (Wednesday & Thursday) to pledge to use respectful, people-first language during our acceptance activities in the month ahead.

Parent/Guardian Input Information for 2018-2019
Parental/guardian input is an important part of our planning purposes for the 2017-2018 academic year. Please refer to the Blake Parent/Guardian Input Letter Spring 2018 regarding our process and the guidelines for input. If you are interested in sharing information, please submit your thoughts in writing not later than Friday, March 16. As stated in the letter, written requests for specific teachers and will not be entertained or accepted. Your letter should be addressed to your child's guidance counselor and Assistant Principal, Kelly Campbell. Guidance counselors for next year will be Tracy Allen (Grade 6), Jen Dondero (Grade 7), and Matt Marenghi (Grade 8).

Digital Learning Day for Blake and Medfield Staff - 4/10/18
This Wednesday is Digital Learning Day for the staff of the Medfield Public Schools. I encourage you to begin checking out the hashtag #DLDMedfield and to look for more information to stay current with the Blake and Medfield tweeters.  Some of our Blake students will be helping out throughout the day as well. We are excited about this opportunity to learn from one another and expand our understandings of technology integration as we continue to work towards our mission for our students and school.

Mathematics Placement Process
Math teachers at Blake will soon start the process of course placement for the 2018-2019 school year. The goal of the process is to see that every student is placed in a class that allows for them to learn math well while feeling good about their efforts. For current 6th and 7th grade students, decisions on student placement are made by considering current class grades, placement test grades, MCAS scores and teacher recommendations. For current 8th grade students, placement is determined by success in their current class level and teacher recommendation. We are very mindful during this time to consider the whole child while making these decisions. Additionally, it is important to us that parents feel they have a voice in this process. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your child's teacher. If your questions involve long-term planning for math, do not hesitate to email Susan Bycoff, Math Content Specialist at sbycoff@email.medfield.net. Thank you!

Career Day for 8th Grade
Planning for the 8th grade Career Day is underway. Career Day will be held on Friday, May 11, 2018, which is also a half day for students. On this day we will have a morning of presentations given by a variety of professionals from many different occupations. Year after year people return to share their careers with our students but we need additional volunteers to help make this event successful. We invite you to volunteer to participate in this exciting program to enlighten our students about your occupation and career opportunities.

Please consider sharing your experiences regarding your present occupation, stories of interest and personal insights with eighth graders in three informal sessions of approximately 35 minutes each. The sessions run between 8:45 am and 10:35 am. If you are interested in participating, please contact Debbie Avery in the Blake Middle School Guidance Office at 508-359-2445 or email davery@email.medfield.net. Thank you in advance for helping make our Career Day a continued success. We count on the community to make our program a rewarding and enriching experience for our students.

Spring Athletics Meeting - 3/8 at 6:30 p.m.
On Thursday, March 8th, at 6:30pm, there will be a meeting held in the gymnasium at the Medfield High School for all athletes and their parents interested in playing high school (and middle school) athletics this coming spring season at Medfield. This meeting will hopefully address any questions and concerns you may have. Blake parents are encouraged to attend. If you have any specific questions, feel free to email coaches directly (emails below).

Registration is currently open on FamilyID.com. There is a direct link off the Athletics page (under Activities) on Blake Middle School site. To complete registration, I will also need a current (last 13 months) copy of physical exam and a check for $225 (Made out to “Town of Medfield”) or pay online with UniBank (Direct link off FamilyID site. The physical can be dropped off at Blake or the High School main office.
*Blake Middle School Sports offered for the spring season are:

Track & Field (Boy’s and Girl’s – Grades 6-8)
Coach Haycock (Head Boy’s Coach – jhaycock@email.medfield.net
Coach Graham (Head Girl’s Coach – pgraham@email.medfield.net
Softball (8th grade Girls). *
* 7th Graders open to sign up and play if not enough 8th graders to field team).
Coach McClelland - cmcclelland@email.medfield.net
Baseball (8th grade Boys)
Coach Becker – rbecker@email.medfield.net

PJ Drive - Cradles to Crayons
The 10th Annual Boston Bruins PJ Drive is here! Cradles to Crayons is working with the Boston Bruins to collect new PJs for local children living in low income and homeless situations. All Medfield Schools will be provided a box to collect PJs in. The drive kicks off on February 7th and runs through March 15th.

Blake Site Council Survey Executive Summary
The Blake Site Council has taken time to review the data collected from last year's survey. Focus areas on the survey centered on the topics of school culture, academic workloads, stress, and habits.  I am sharing the Blake Middle School Executive Summary 16-17 of the compiled data for your reference, and I hope you are able to find some time to read the highlights. This year's survey will be sent out in the near future - stay tuned!

Maker Mondays with Mrs. Horvath (@techmonstah)!
ALL STUDENTS ARE INVITED TO MAKER MONDAYS WORKSHOPS! Maker Mondays are for teachers and students to learn and create together! No sign up is needed. Just show up after school (2:10-3:00ish) to join in!
March 19th-- TBA Possibly Sew Electronics.. or a yarn/fiber community project
Let's get Making! And please help spread the word to students too!

Blake is Social - Submit Work!
BLAKE IS SOCIAL is our take on the literary magazines of the past! Using Instagram and the blakeissocial.weebly.com website, our hope is to digitally publish all of the creative endeavors that make our community of learners so special. Please encourage students to submit art; photography; poetry, fiction or nonfiction writing; sports photos and/or articles; videos; projects across content areas; musical compositions or performance videos etc. We would love to PUBLISH YOUR WORK.

Substitute Applications
Blake is always looking for substitute teacher applicants. Applicants need not have teaching licensure but should be energetic, flexible and enjoy working with children. For more information or to apply, please visit medfield.net and find applications under the tab "employment opportunities", the. Professional Staff Openings. Please contact Kelly Campbell at kcampbell@email.medfield.net with any questions.

Blake is on Facebook!
Blake is adding Facebook to our social media repertoire! You can now follow our page for the latest announcements, sharing of our school life, glimpses into special events and learning with FB Live and more...
Click this Link: www.facebook.com/BlakeMiddleSchool/ or search for @BlakeMiddleSchool

Registration is Open for New Life's 5K Fundraising Run/Walk
New Life Furniture Bank is excited to announce its 1st Annual New Life 5K Trail Run. This fundraising event will be held at 9 AM on Saturday, May 5th at the scenic Medfield State Hospital grounds in Medfield, MA. The New Life 5K Trail Run is open to the public, and all ages are encouraged to run, jog or walk in what promises to be an annual family event not to be missed! Registration is open now! The first 200 registrants will receive a free t-shirt. To register or for additional information, go to newlifefb.org/5ktrailrun.

Update from Blake PTO
BLAKE APPEAL - We need your help so we can continuing funding enrichment programs and future initiatives for the next school year. We are requesting a contribution of $50/child this year. This is a suggested amount but we will gratefully accept any amount you can contribute. Making a donation is easy. You can bring a check to PIN night, or click on the link http://www.medfieldk8pto.com/blake.html and scroll down to the end of the page. Or you can send a check made payable to Blake Middle School PTO to Blake at 24 Pound St. Medfield, MA 02052. Thank you in advance for your support of the Blake PTO. Please feel free to contact Claudia Rosen claudianrosen@gmail.com or Keven Gallagher kevengallagher@yahoo.com with any questions.

GET YOUR MEDFIELD WARRIOR SIGNS, COASTERS, TRAYS, ETC! Rustic Marlin Designs has designed a line of wood-based Medfield Warrior products (signs, coasters, flags, trays, blocks, etc.) that will be carried exclusively at Be Charmed, a new store in town! Be Charmed is located at 70 North Street. 75% of the profits from the sale of the Warrior line will go to both the PTO and MCPE! It’s a great way to get Warrior merchandise while supporting a new local shop and raising money for our schools!

GET YOURS TODAY! STAY IN TOUCH Please like us on Facebook Medfield K-8 PTO and follow us on Twitter @MedfieldK8PTO. And for more information and calendar of events, please check out our website medfieldk8pto.com

New Experiences

2/27/2018

February 27, 2018

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the learning that takes place and the wisdom that is gained through experiences, our topic/question(s) of the week are:  What did you learn over vacation? What wisdom did you gain? New Experiences (Week of 2/25/18) (This is an anonymous Google Form)

Blake's Guiding Lights
Our Students
Blake's Core Values:  Respect, Responsibility, Resourcefulness, Reflection
Our Essential Question:  How can we cultivate and curate the progression of student learning and growth?
Our Mission: Blake Middle School believes in a living mission statement, based on the concept that our community seeks and respects knowledge, integrity, character, wisdom, and the willingness to adapt to a continually evolving world.

Hopefully everyone is feeling rested and relaxed as we come back to school this week - as March is almost upon us, I am filled with hope that the days of spring are not too far away! We enjoyed a great week as we visited relatives in Los Angeles, enjoying our time with them while also visiting some sights - La Brea tar pits, Peterson Automotive Museum, lunch at Philippe's, a tour through LA and Hollywood, a night in Visalia after touring the Sequoia Orange Company and groves, hikes in the Hollywood hills, and seeing the stars on the sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard.  It is not easy for me to unplug and take a week off from work, but it was really just what I, and we as a family, needed.  We had a great time and have some good stories to tell - a sign of a good break, for sure.

In my last blog post, Questions for Listening, I shared that I often have a hard time settling into weekends/vacations as the looming 'to do' lists often build up in my head. A 'learned habit' (that I was able to break for a brief time a couple of weeks ago) is to read a bit at the start and write down the tasks/questions/worries that are in my head. As we headed out to Los Angeles on our early flight last Saturday morning, I grabbed my laptop and started my routine - making my to do lists, checking e-mail, and reading a few posts that I had bookmarked. Two of the posts I read that morning are noted below and they really spoke to me on many levels. Each day we strive to improve the learning experiences for our students and it struck me as I was on this plane for vacation that it is the experience itself that the real learning takes place. It is how we approach the learning and how we define learning that will cultivate true learning. Vacations and down time are another means for the learning to take place - and, that is why I know we are on the right path towards our mission by providing a multitude of experiences (in class, out of class, field trips, hallway interactions, connections in and out of the community) for our students. The importance of experiential learning (and how we define and discuss these experiences) will foster growth, reflection, and relevant opportunities for students to internalize and allow the humanity of wisdom to shine through.

Revolutionizing education
by Melissa Greenwood in SmartBrief
Greenwood's post highlights Sir Ken Robinson's (@SirKenRobinson) keynote at FETC 2018, encouraging all of us that it is time to revolutionize education, encouraging a system that promotes 'diversity, creativity, and collaboration'. This is a brief post and is worth the read.
“A lot of people make an assumption that the real way to get things done is to lobby politicians and get them to change their mind about something, or to wait for the government to do something, and I don’t think we should do that,” Robinson said. “Cultural change is a complicated mixture of groundswell from the bottom combined with pressure on the top to change how things are done,” he added, noting that the groundswell already has begun.

“Kids have boundless resources, boundless energy, boundless creativity, and not just in elementary school,” he noted. “And so do teachers. The problem is that the system has been created to keep these things separate and discrete.”

“All of us live in two worlds, not one.” he explained. “There’s a world that exists whether or not you exist. It’s the world that was there before you were born, the world you came into, the world of other people, the history of events and circumstances. Part of the role of education is help[ing] people adjust, understand and relate to that world.” “There’s another world that exists only because you exist,” Robinson continued. “It’s the world that came into being when you did, and it’s the world that will be gone when you are gone. It’s the world of your private consciousness.” It is here Robinson sees new opportunities for education.

How To Value Wisdom Over Knowledge In Your Classroom
by Terry Heick in TeachThought
This brief post by Heick offers a definition for wisdom and 10 statements of affirmation in support of wisdom as one of four characteristics of a 'human' classroom: wisdom, inclusion, community, and innovation.
Wisdom is knowing what’s worth understanding, understanding the value of ideas, and always placing knowing in the context of not knowing– seeing the limits of knowledge and our own understanding.

Classrooms are–perhaps increasingly?–seen as academic places of data, points, and performance. As learning spaces and places, they are as characterized by numbers, levels, and alphanumeric characters as they are curiosity, dreams, innovation, or authentic understanding. In short, it just might be that we’ve put the processes, policies, and procedures before the human beings. And that includes both teachers (as anonymous managers of “learning cycles”) and students (as the evidence for our collective failures or success).

A challenge I find is taking the thoughts that come from reading posts, attending conferences, professional development, or reflection and generalizing them into day-to-day practice. Each formal break in routine (whether it be a vacation, a weekend, a snow day, or simply a scheduled change in schedule) has allowed me the opportunity to reflect, find some renewed energy, and rethink some premises towards change, wisdom as outlined in Heick's post, and the revolution espoused by Robinson. An ongoing aspect of my 'slowing it down' mantra/goal for this year will hopefully incorporate some natural breaks so that these thoughts can 'creep in' and hopefully internalize more naturally. As I have done before, I truly hope that everyone (staff, parents, students, my own family) can help me with this goal and hold me accountable by joining me as well. One way we can do this is to take some time early this week to acknowledge the learning that did take place over vacation and engaging our students and one another in that conversation.
I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for Thursday Packet Information.
Take care.

Nat

Questions for Listening

2/12/2018

February 13, 2018

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about questions and listening, our topic/question(s) of the week is:  What question(s) can you ask to help you be a better listener? Questions for Listening (Week of 2/11/18) (This is an anonymous Google Form)

Blake's Guiding Lights
Our Students
Blake's Core Values:  Respect, Responsibility, Resourcefulness, Reflection
Our Essential Question:  How can we cultivate and curate the progression of student learning and growth?
Our Mission: Blake Middle School believes in a living mission statement, based on the concept that our community seeks and respects knowledge, integrity, character, wisdom, and the willingness to adapt to a continually evolving world.

I hope that the weekend was a nice one for all.  Maybe it was the 'unexpected' 1/2 day mid-week, but this past week went by very quickly for me - driving home on Friday it felt as though the week had just begun (Don't get me wrong - I was still exhausted and ready for bed at an early hour...). We had a low-key Friday evening, a sports-filled Saturday, and our Sunday afternoon plans consisted of getting ready for our family trip to visit cousins in California for the vacation - looking forward to it!

It probably comes as no surprise that I often have a hard time unwinding from work and am tempted to get a jump start on my to do list to settle my worries before the weekend begins. A strategy I have employed (not saying it is the best one) is to do a few things on Friday to feel 'accomplished' and then 'allow' the weekend to begin. Work-home balance has always been a struggle for me and I have shared that I am trying to be more intentional about balance by listening and simply being present in the moment. It is hard for me, but I want to be better at this balance, and I know it takes practice.

When I arrived home Friday evening, I was greeted at the door by our dog, Lila, and the smell of a fire in the fireplace - it was a wonderful way to begin the weekend. I sat down by the fire, grabbed my laptop, and started to do some e-mail - then it just hit me - I should simply enjoy the fire and just be.  As one who has a hard time following my own advice, it struck me that I needed to ask myself a few questions about 'balance' and 'time', and then be open to listening to myself. This applies to a lot of situations and is an area of growth for me - trying to solve and rectify challenges, before simply listening and gathering more information - in essence, slowing it down. So, in that spirit on Friday evening, I 'slowed it down' and put the laptop away - enjoying the fire and the opening ceremonies for the winter olympics with the family. It was just what I needed. I can't say that I was able to carry the 'unplugging' forward throughout the weekend, but it was a start, and it is something to build upon.

The two posts below speak to the importance of listening and asking questions - areas that will help us to be present, foster connections, and establish a healthy learning environment...

The Lost Art of Listening
by Eric Sheninger (@E_Sheninger)
Sheninger is an educational leader who pushes the proverbial envelope and is always sharing ideas. One of the attributes I admire most is his willingness to share what he is struggling with or trying to improve - in this post he shares how he can listen more by actively engaging others in digital spaces. This is an area I can certainly learn and grow and is also one that I would like us to intentionally talk about with our students.
You would be hard-pressed to find an effective leader who is not an effective communicator. Communication is vital in accomplishing tasks and getting things done, passing on important information, acquiring information, developing a shared vision, reaching decisions through consensus, building relationships, and moving people to embrace change. For many people, communication is viewed through a lens that focuses on why and how information or targeted messages are delivered. However, the most effective communicators are those people who listen intently.

The best way to illustrate that you have really listened is to take action in some way so that the other person, or people, know that they were actually heard. The action could be moving an idea forward or explaining your decision to go in another direction. There are always the times when people just want to vent and be listened to. In these cases, the most important thing you can do is show you care.

The art of listening can be extended to the social media space. This applies to all of us and I know personally it is an area that I can improve upon. Consider engaging others in conversations about their ideas and questions by commenting on blog posts or responding to updates on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook. This means more to people than you will ever know, especially if that person doesn't have a large social media following. It shows that you care and are actually listening in digital spaces. If someone reaches out to you in this space with a question or comment, take the time to reply back.

5 Questions Every Kid Is Trying to Answer
by David Guerin (@DavidGuerin)
Guerin is an educator worth following, and this post focuses in on the importance of relationships in fostering a healthy, supportive school culture. As he notes in the post, understanding these 5 questions as ones we all have in mind (students, teachers, parents/guardians, community members) is critical and needs to be openly addressed and considered...
1. Am I important to someone here?
2. Do I belong here?
3. Am I good at something here?
4. Who will listen to me here?
5. Is my presence here making a difference?
When we think about creating a stronger school culture, we know how important it is to focus on relationships. But why are relationships such an important part of an outstanding learning environment? It seems clear when you think about it. Everyone needs to feel connected. Everyone needs to feel like he or she matters. Everyone needs to matter! All. Of. Us....It's through relationships we create the supportive, inclusive, positive, and caring place we want to see. A place where people can thrive. A place to be great. A place to reach higher and do more.

This week every chance you get, look for ways to help others find the answers to these questions. You can show another person they matter to you. You can lift them up and make them feel like they are valued for who they are. You can show them they are heard. You can notice the unique talents and gifts they have to offer the world. You can show them how they are making a difference.

As February vacation is only a few school days away, I am going to try and channel Sheninger and Guerin's posts by asking questions, listening, and being present for our students and community this week by asking a few more questions and taking the time to not respond, but rather to listen.
I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for Thursday Packet Information.
Take care.
Nat

Deliberate Change

2/6/2018

February 6, 2018

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about deliberate practice, adjusting a process, and directing your learning, our topic/question(s) of the week is:  What can you change in your current 'practice of learning' to improve? What will that look like? Deliberate Change (Week of 2/4/18) (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.

With another chilly Friday evening, Katie and I welcomed the weekend with the boys watching The Jungle Book. We never saw it in the theater and it was awesome - such a visual thrill! The rest of the weekend was busy with sports, driving to birthday parties, and taking care of chores that were pushed aside during the week. On Sunday we had the winter piano recital for the boys before the big game - although the outcome was not what we wanted, we had fun with the kids and their friends!

It has been a particularly reflective week for me...
I think I have shared that last year I began a practice of putting a 'resolution/intention' reminder in my calendar every Friday afternoon to prompt attention and accountability to my New Year's resolutions. If I'm being honest, some weeks I welcome the reminder and others I dread it (in fact, there are some Fridays I have entertained deleting the 'event' from future weeks!). That said, overall it has proved to be a real positive - helping to keep me 'on track' and providing a sense of focus going into the weekend. Down time can be a challenge, so this focused intention entering 'days off' has proved to be a helpful strategy - pushing me to click on the event and read what I outlined for myself...

Resolutions/Intentions for the 2018 calendar year...

Slow it down (with an eye towards simplicity)
Embrace and model authenticity and vulnerability
Explore ways to 'go deeper' and find more meaning
Find time for music and fun
Focus on ways to better listen and understand change
Practice intentional time for self-reflection, mindfulness, and growth
Think about ways to connect more directly with students (focus groups, check-ins, discussions)
Broaden and redefine some methods of sharing and growing (networking, connecting, collaborating) within Blake, Medfield, and beyond

This past week, both with the turning of the calendar to February and simply with events on the calendar, felt like an appropriate time to check in as well with resolutions/intentions...interim reports for Term 2 (marking the halfway point of 17-18), our midyear professional development afternoon as a staff, the annual budgetary presentation to school committee Monday evening, meeting with Jamele Adams (Dean of Students at Brandeis) to begin conversations around a potential partnership with our students and staff for a better understanding and action with our theme of diversity, job-alike meeting with principals at Wayland Middle School discussing strategies to support social-emotional learning for students, beginning to map out transition and listening to the keynotes at the #LearnLaunch2018 conference in Boston on Friday.

These check-in points all helped me to 'slow it down' (one of my key intentions for this year) and go a bit deeper (another intention) with my own learning. I realized in doing just that (felt like an aha moment of simplicity!) that my own learning was enhanced by just making time for the actual intentions that I had outlined for myself - a cyclical process, if you will. In reality, that process in many ways touched on all of the intentions - simply noticing and finding meaning in the activities at hand. And, that is authentic learning for me, and hopefully, for others.

I am an optimist at heart and want to believe that from now on I will always welcome the 'resolutions/intentions' Friday afternoon reminder on my calendar, based on the positive experience this week. However, my practical side tells me that may not always happen...but, I do believe in the process of learning and want to stay with it. Simply the act of naming the event on the calendar (being deliberate), trying out a new strategy (adjusting to a new way of doing things), and sharing with others can only help enhance my learning - it certainly will keep the learning moving forward.

To help manifest the reflections of this past week, I am sharing some of my notes from Friday's keynotes/sessions at LearnLaunch, as well as two posts that I believe speak to critical elements (deliberate practice and a willingness to change and act on that change) that we must continue to embrace towards our mission at Blake for our students, ourselves, and our community, and a couple of quotes (can't help myself!)...

#LearnLaunch2018 - A few notes...

Ask two questions - Who cares? What's possible?
Lots of failure along the way - lots of successes in the end
Amazon - intent to create the ideal reading experience
iTunes - intent to create the ideal music experience
Starbucks - intent to create the ideal coffee experience
Schools - intent should be to create the ideal learning experience
Students should leave school wanting to return tomorrow
We are never done with our work
Traditional models work for some students, but it does not work for so many more
Our learning experiences must be measurable, meaningful, and malleable
UDL is a shift in mindset and places the 'problem on the curriculum rather than on the student'
Put down the adult structures and create learner structures

The Science of Deliberate Practice: What it Means for Education
by Getting Smart Staff in Getting Smart
This brief blurb outlines/previews the book Unlocking Student Talent: The New Science of Developing Expertise. The book explores the roles that motivation, deliberate practice, and coaching play in developing talent and abilities in students. The blurb outlines the three sections of the book: student engagement, deliberate practice, and the development of independent learners. As I think about where we are at this time of year (just past the mid-year point) with both student learning and professional learning, it is this aspect of deliberate practice that intrigues me most.
The second section recommends how deliberate practices can be incorporated into general education. Kerns and his co-authors describe how students, after actively engaging in classroom activities, can perform repeated tasks with immediate feedback to build skill and change behavior. Guided instruction and designed practice can help struggling students improve their performance and achieve at high levels.

But We Must Do It A New Way
by Dominic Rollins in Medium (HGSE)
Rollins is the inaugural Senior Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Harvard Graduate School of Education, and this post shares his perspective and connection between the work he is doing and the 'world of education'. I like the imperative nature of the title of his post as the response we often encounter is 'We've always done it that way'.
Currently, making the education sector more diverse, equitable, and inclusive is a stated goal for many leaders, yet few organizations have deeply changed how they do business to achieve more diversity, equity, and inclusion...In our organizations, despite having new goals, our attachment to old and original ways of being surface regularly. Often, it sounds like: “But we’ve always done it that way.”

...our reluctance to change — in our personal and our professional lives — not only limits progress, it also prizes old ways of doing and being that, by design, were exclusive. When we rely on the ways we have always done it, likely we are also relying on our past efforts, and history on many fronts tells us that our past efforts weren’t the most inclusive or equitable.

When applied to education, striving to make the experience, learning, and environment more inclusive and equitable requires that we change and do the enterprise differently. It is not enough to have a more enhanced goal. Collectively, we have never had nor known systematically inclusive and equitable schools, colleges, or nonprofits. Building these kinds of places requires that we think outside of the box, imagine beyond what we have experienced, dream big, and create past what we presently know. Resting on our current models and understanding will only yield the same thing that we already have: inequality and inequity.

Strategy is a style of thinking, a conscious and deliberate process, an intensive implementation system, the science of insuring future success. - Pete Johnson

The students watch us all the time. We must honestly ponder what they see, and what we want them to learn from it. - Ted and Nancy Sizer
I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for Thursday Packet Information.
Take care.
Nat

Fostering and Furthering Learning

1/30/2018

January 30, 2018

To help encourage conversations and dialogue about the ways that we can help ourselves and others learn and grow, our topic/question of the week is:  How are you fostering and furthering learning for yourself and others? Fostering and Furthering Learning (Week of 1/28/18) (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.

After a very full 5-day week with a few nights out, it was wonderful to come home on Friday and enjoy some take-out by a fire with the family. It was also nice to have a relatively non-scheduled Saturday, as we have a pretty full Sunday morning and afternoon. We enjoyed a nice family dinner and watched the Grammys before we 'got back at it' for the week. I hope that others have been able to find some ways to relax, rejuvenate and recharge as well!

I came across these words and this image this week, as it/they was/were in the middle of a post (highlighted below) written by George Couros (@gcouros). I have always found Couros's posts to be inspirational, centering, and real - in fact, I am hard pressed to think of a time that a blog post, interview, or tweet from him did not strike a chord within me. I am not saying I wholeheartedly agree with all perspectives - rather, it is his honest and inquisitive approach that helps to center my thinking. I appreciate the challenges he sets forth, specifically the challenges that are made to my own mindsets and ways of doing things - it is really the process that he 'puts me through' or encourages me to traverse that helps me to grow, rather than simply the 'product' of what he is conveying. This distinction between 'engagement' and 'empowerment' is important as I believe it speaks to what he has done for me as an educator and a learner. His writing has laid the foundation for me to find, discover, challenge, and pursue my own voice as an educator and learner. In so doing, he has moved beyond engaging me - I find myself empowered in my own learning process.

So, what does that mean and what are the implications for ourselves and for our students? Well, I take it to mean that we should work to find ways to truly live our mission and to strive to seek new learning and foster growth. How can we do that? I think we need to lead with our own learning, in essence by empowering ourselves - allowing ourselves to be empowered - to learn. Ask ourselves some questions...How can I grow? How can I make my own learning tangible? What works for me? What works for others? What do I need to do learn a little more? What resources can I use? What help do I need? And, then...dive in. It may sound simple, but I know it is not - it's a simple outline, but learning is hard and takes intentional practice.

I shared at the outset of this post that it was a full week with a few nights out - including the informational night for incoming freshmen at Holliston High (I can't believe that Maggie will be in high school in the fall) on Monday and Owen's concert Tuesday evening (so fun to see him dressed up and on stage). Amidst the busyness of both work and personal lives - they intertwine often, as I have shared before - I was so glad I made the decision for a 'third night out' on Thursday, attending an event at Natick High with my mom. Julie Lythcott-Haims discussed her latest book, Real American: A Memoir - her own memoir about growing up as a biracial black woman in America. The evening was wonderful on many levels and I look forward to sharing some of my learning in the future. I was thrilled that Heather G. had passed this event along to me - an authentic learning experience that furthered my own learning. And, that is what I hope we are doing for our students - fostering the conditions for students to further their own learning. The posts below are ones that also furthered my own learning and have encouraged me to continue along this path of self-accountability and reflection...

“Passive Learner” to “Active Creator”
by George Couros (@gcouros)
As noted above, Couros's post encourages educators to shift the goal from engagement to empowerment - this is true for our own learning and the learning of our students. I've always appreciated his honest self-reflections and acknowledgement of growth. The semantics of language are critical and 'subtle shifts', as noted by Couros, are enlightening and empowering as well.
...now I cringe at the fact that I set my students up to count on me to “engage” or even “entertain” them than to empower them to learn on their own. If the students needed me to be interested in learning by the end of the year, I did more harm than good.

This is important to state…engagement and empowerment are not mutually exclusive from one another, but you can be engaged without being empowered, but if you are empowered, you are definitely engaged...My point is that if the learning in the classroom is all about what the teacher does, and less about what the students create, then what is the long-term impact that this will have on our students?

As you read any new book or attend a new workshop, continuously ask the question, “Is this more about what the teacher can do for the student, or about empowering and finding ways so that the student can eventually do things for themselves?” This subtle shift will be needed for our students to create their futures, instead of hoping someone else will do it for them.

We’re in the Learning Business, Yet...
by Michael Bostwick (@M_Bostwick)
I came across this post last Thursday evening and it spoke to me - urging all of us to balance and stretch our own learning, with an underlying emphasis that it is learning that leads to innovation. I could not agree more and hope that we can actively foster that culture of learning and growth as a community.
There is a deeply rooted paradigm strangling our students with a knotted mess of siloed learning, knowledge acquisition, and regurgitation of facts and memorization in a process we call testing. Education in the year 2018 should be so much more than that, and the great news is that so many of us get it. We truly understand what, how, and why we need classrooms with progressive and flexible approaches. The bad news is that I think we are outnumbered. Not by those who don’t agree, but by those who are not taking the steps necessary to make those big leaps of change for students.

We must balance our learning with a steady and consistent diet containing variation. Remember that when we are in our best health professionally, it’s our students who reap the fruits of our labor. I’m not concerned with the educator who is constantly eating from one or two food groups, but rather the ones who are not eating at all. Starved educators have no means to feed our students, who ultimately pay the price of our lack of motivation to be better.

I don’t believe in a business model for education, but I do think we could learn a thing or two from the private sector about the urgency for innovation...We need to lead this student-centered discussion with inspiration so learning is desired not a chore.

Learning is not a chore - yes!!! Let's make that part of our practice for ourselves, and I am thinking about how we can do that for staff, students, and the community. By opening up, discussing with one another, asking questions, and continually trying to improve I believe that we will move from engagement to empowerment and a culture/spirit of innovation. As I left my office on Friday evening, before popping into the gym to watch some of our students play in the basketball game against Ashland, I took a minute to read (reread) the quotes I have posted on my door. Although I see them every day, I don't always read them. These were the ones that stood out and I thought I would share as they speak to this idea of empowering learning through questions, mistakes, and a willingness to grow...

Always make new mistakes. - Esther Dyson
If you haven't made any mistakes lately, you must be doing something wrong. - Susan Jeffers
It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers. - James Thurber

I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for Thursday Packet Information.
Take care.
Nat

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