To encourage dialogue and reflection about how habits, goals, and systems are connected with each other, our question for this week is: What daily habits have you found help you to reach your goals? Habits-Goals-Systems (Week of 3/27/22) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
Blake's Guiding Lights
Our Students
Blake's Core Values: Respect, Responsibility, Resourcefulness, Reflection
Our Essential Question: How can we cultivate and curate the progression of student learning and growth?
Our Mission: Blake Middle School believes in a living mission statement, based on the concept that our community seeks and respects knowledge, integrity, character, wisdom, and the willingness to adapt to a continually evolving world.
The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning. - John Dewey
You cannot teach today the same way you did yesterday to prepare students for tomorrow. - John Dewey
After our professional day last Friday, it was lovely to be greeted by a beautiful afternoon to start the weekend! We enjoyed a fun and busy weekend - seeing Bleachers, one of our favorite bands, on Friday night with Maggie and one of her friends and then lots of basketball (for our kids and enjoying March Madness). We love going to concerts, but I have to admit it is hard to do something social on a Friday night!
- Reflection & Follow Up Discussion - ‘Who We Are’ documentary
- A Year of Learning #Onward #WillfulAction (with Justin Reich)
- Celebrate & Meditate
- Developing Reflective Learners - Examination of Grading Practices
- Neurodiversity: Our Superpower!
I remember last year reflecting after #DLDMedfield about the idea/notion of having students design their own learning experiences, in the similar way that we did throughout the day. We often talk about ‘preparing students for the real world’, and I recognize that this can not always be the case, but it does beg the question… If we want students to be independent and have some of these skills (incorporating choice, personalizing learning, applying our learning), are we creating intentional spaces and opportunities for them to do just that? Again, I recognize this is not always easy to do, but I think we need to keep asking questions like this and finding entry points in our systems that move the proverbial needle in that direction.
As I was trying to synthesize these ideas (and continue to do so - and I imagine I will continue this reflective process in the coming days/weeks), I kept coming back to the messages shared by Brian McLaughlin with our community as part of Neurodiversity week. Brian’s experiences and wisdom were inspiring, relevant, and necessary - Building bridges with adults, Be comfortable in your own skin, Advocating for yourself, Surround yourself with the believers/supporters and not the doubters, Redefining the idea of chores. The questions from our students were insightful, and I kept hearing Brian share the actions he has taken and systems he puts in place to connect the goals (short and long term) to his daily habits. A hope I have for myself and others is that we can do the same from the professional development opportunities (both formal and informal) we have and work with one another. Systems drive everything and it can be overwhelming to think about changing large structures overnight (it can’t happen and will not happen). But, we can take steps along the path. By utilizing and realizing Tom Daccord’s ‘Someday/Monday’ practice after a day of learning (Someday I will…, Monday I will…), we can move in this direction - and, the ‘Monday approach’ will hopefully connect to ‘Sunday’ through the habits we practice.
With the hope of engaging with others and in the spirit of open and transparent reflection, I’m sharing the compilation of notes, questions, and ideas from #DLDMedfield - I hope that they foster and spark hope, reflection, and action…
Notes, Thoughts, and Questions
- This year has been hard - it’s ok to acknowledge that
- Schools are totally overwhelmed (this is real)
- Schools are totally overwhelmed (this is real)
- How do we build off what we have collectively learned?
- Jal Mehta
- What could we stop doing?
- If there’s no room to do new things, what can we stop doing?
- What did we think is important that is no longer important?
- What could we stop doing?
- Subtraction in Action (what do we no longer need to do any more?)
- What can we subtract?
- What should we consciously stop doing?
- What’s the best unplanned subtraction?
- What can we subtract?
- Small gains are still big wins
- Where is the opportunity to do something different?
- What’s needed…
- To be who you are?
- For mastery?
- For self-determination?
- To be who you are?
- How can our structures support…
- More space?
- Productive struggle?
- More agency?
- More space?
- Time and Performance are structures in schools
- Should these structures be fixed or variable?
- Should these structures be fixed or variable?
- What strategies do we have? Let’s be deliberate
- Mission as a strain (is this aligned with advancing our mission)?
- Why is everything different but the same at the same time?
- How did remote schooling work?
- We changed everything while keeping things the same (for the most part, they were traditional systems - videoconferencing and learning management systems)
- Why is that?
- We changed everything while keeping things the same (for the most part, they were traditional systems - videoconferencing and learning management systems)
- Amplify/Hospice/Create
- What would it look like to amplify?
- What should we get rid of?
- What should we create?
- What would it look like to amplify?
- We often swoop in when it gets to the hard part for our students
- Why is that?
- Why is that?
- High internal locus of control as a teacher; recognize and have a low internal locus of control as a citizen
- We can’t keep asking schools to do everything
- We need to engage other institutions
- We need to engage other institutions
- Are the systems that we have pushing us and guaranteeing that we are talking about each and every kid?
- Connectedness… can every teacher identify a kid?
- Build on supports/strengths?
- Connectedness… can every teacher identify a kid?
- Internal accountability vs External accountability systems
- Schools will face more interruption (long arc of the century)
- Schools need to think about…
- How can we be more resilient?
- Outdoor learning, space-based learning
- How can we be more resilient?
- ‘Depth of learning is not relational to the depth of the cushion of your seat’
- What are rules we have about learning vs what are the rules we have about control?
- Windows of opportunity; self-determination; strengths-based approach
- Parents and families are overwhelmingly satisfied with schools (75-80% of schools)
- Let’s not lose sight of this!
- Let’s not lose sight of this!
- I find it in written expression!
- I find success in math class
- I find success in English because that is where I am most interested.
- Math
- I find more success in English than in 5th grade.
- Science
- All of them
- Being social and being prepared and organized
- I find success in math.
- The library
- Working with groups
- I find success in Art, English, Social Studies and Science
- English and Math
- Areas of school that I find success is the ones that I work my hardest in
- I find success in areas that I am willing to work hard for and achieve
- Focus on the whole child
With only a few days left in Women's History Month, I found it appropriate to share some words of wisdom from Maria Montessori - they speak to and resonate with me as a parent and educator…
As always, let me know of any questions/concerns.
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Take care.
Nat