To help encourage dialogue and reflection about our own learning and making space for this intentional reflection, our question of the week is: What have you learned about yourself over the past year? Creating and Holding Space (Week of 5/30/21) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
Blake's Guiding Lights
Our Students
Blake's Core Values: Respect, Responsibility, Resourcefulness, Reflection
Our Essential Question: How can we cultivate and curate the progression of student learning and growth?
Our Mission: Blake Middle School believes in a living mission statement, based on the concept that our community seeks and respects knowledge, integrity, character, wisdom, and the willingness to adapt to a continually evolving world.
The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning. - John Dewey
You cannot teach today the same way you did yesterday to prepare students for tomorrow. - John Dewey
The rainy weather this weekend certainly set the backdrop for a very low-key weekend in our house. We really missed the weather from last weekend and earlier in the week, but we still managed to push ourselves out for some rainy walks and gardening. I mentioned last week that I have found myself missing our excursion to D.C. with our 8th graders and am feeling pretty nostalgic about it - this Virtual Tour of D.C. does not replace the experience, but it brings forth memories and hope for a return to this experience! A highlight for Katie and me from this weekend was watching the documentary about Sesame Street, Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street - I recommend it for everyone! It is hard to believe that today is June 1 - does anyone else feel that way too?
...it really represents and embodies the importance of relationships, culture, and the impact we have as educators...Thank you for your continued care, commitment, and belief in our mission and values - it really does make a difference (even if we do not see it every day). In my e-mail exchange with the parent, she shared this...
Of course, please feel free to share with the staff. It's important that they understand their impact. Teachers can never know enough the importance of the role they play for children -- or the gratitude their parents feel for the work they do, even if it is not always expressed! :)
This note resonated and really held up the importance of making sure that we 'create and hold the space' for students and families to grow, learn, and establish their identities - ups, downs, successes, and challenges. The systems, practices, and culture we employ are critical in allowing this to happen.
This phrase ‘holding a space’ has been on my mind all week, and to be honest, I hope it stays on mind (and potentially our collective minds) as a mantra for our Blake community. It is critical that we consider an essential part of our charge as doing just that - ‘creating and holding a space’ for ourselves, our students, and our learners. The space needs to be wide, allowing for growth, mistakes, and true learning. Most importantly, in order for this space to be realized, we must take an honest, hard look at the systems we have created and examine if they are hurting or hindering the steps towards our mission. These conversations are hard and uncomfortable, but I know that our community and culture can hold the space to allow for the discomfort and ensuing growth.
The shares/reflections/ideas below are representative of my current ‘brain dump’ as to some ways that we can ‘create and hold space’ for our entire community - by no means are they the only ways, but I hope that they can help to provide a potential foundation or framework for the work that we have today, tomorrow, and in the coming weeks, months, and years.
Creating and Holding a Space for Questions...
During our period of remote learning last year I attended a webinar facilitated by Jon Saphier that shared ‘lessons learned’ with an eye towards ‘looking ahead’ to next year (referenced in this blog post - Remote Reflections). The opening slide served as a way to frame the webinar/discussion and the question was posed for all to consider...
- What have you learned thus far about teaching and learning that you hope we can 'hold on to' when we return (either remotely or face-to-face)?
- Define 'closure' - what does closure mean to you? What elements should be in place to provide 'closure'? What does that mean for our students? What would this look like?
- What do you/we hope our students will 'take with them' when they leave us June 18?
Creating and Holding a Space for Reflection...
At the end of this school year I will once again be asking everyone to reflect upon these questions with the hope that they create a space through intentional answering and actively ‘putting thoughts to paper’ to further our learning community - I think the questions create the space and the answers will ‘hold the space’...
- What was meaningful this year? What made teaching worthwhile? What mattered?
- Describe a positive interaction or experience you had with a student during this academic year.
- Describe or explain an accomplishment you attained or something you are proud of taking place during this academic year.
- Describe a particular student or situation during the school year who or that you feel you could have handled in a way that would have resulted in a more positive learning experience.
- How have you 'lived' our mission statement in your work and growth this year?
- What is an area that you would like to grow professionally?
- What have you learned this year from a student?
- What messages do you want to leave for our students? What do you want them to remember? (A humbling but important and centering question)
- What are you looking forward to doing this summer?
Creating and Holding a Space for Growth…
Along similar lines, the questions below will serve as a way that questions can help us to move beyond reflection and into tangible growth. Last week (Planning With Intention) I shared the post below - the questions within are ones I hope to incorporate into our June faculty meeting. The intentional, purposeful repetition of the word ‘learn’ is clear and important - that is our shared goal and the creation of space for this learning should be non-negotiable.
The Resilient Educator / Emerging Stronger
by Elena Aguilar in Educational Leadership
- What did you learn about yourself as a person this year?
- What did you learn about yourself as a teacher, coach, principal, leader, etc.?
- What did you learn about learning?
- What did you learn about how to create the conditions for learning?
- What did you learn about students?
- What did you learn about our team or staff?
- What did you learn about your emotions?
- What did you learn about your resilience?
- What did you learn about what you need in order to thrive?
Creating and Holding a Space for Learning and Sharing...
As a community of learners, we must actively seek out learning and share with one another - students, colleagues, families, and community - to bridge the gap between the ‘inside of school’ and ‘outside of school’. A challenge that all schools and communities encounter is the right ‘space’ for this sharing, and I hope we can collectively work to create, find, and hold these spaces together. These three shares (a recent post and two resources I shared with staff via e-mail on Friday afternoon) are ones that I hope will prompt reflection, dialogue, and action...
To Emerge Stronger After the Pandemic, We Must Learn from the “During” - Education Reimagined
by Homa Tavangar in Education Reimagined
As much as we fixate on the before and after in the butterfly story, since the start of the pandemic, we have been living in a collective story of “during.” Many of us have been struggling inside our shells, whether that has meant adjusting to online schooling, losing childcare, feeling stir-crazy, or finally seeing the gaping inequalities at the foundations of every social institution. And, as much as we’d like to go back to the comforts of the normal we knew pre-pandemic, that might be as foolish as the caterpillar pining to return to its wandering “before” times. Stepping into the unknown is hard and scary. But, it’s necessary.
A recent Harvard Business Review article explored liminality as it applies to organizations. During the pandemic, every organization has experienced disruption, and it has offered “potent opportunities for reflection, discovery and even reinvention.” In this context, liminality describes our collective experience during the pandemic, as well as unique, individual journeys that have included coping, grieving, discovering, and adapting.
Societal liminality is marked by asking radical questions, by widespread and deep uncertainty, and by a loss in faith in previously reliable institutions. Unlike a rite of passage, there is no clear ending. In other words, going “back to normal” isn’t an option, but neither is knowing “when will this be over?” Might we be experiencing another liminal point as a civilization? A debate rages over whether we are right now experiencing the most influential time ever, with some concluding that we are at “the hinge of history.” Like an axial pivot, we may be living through an existential turning point. Since history is being written as we navigate it, we can’t know who’s right, yet. But, what if we acted as if we were on the hinge of history? What would change?
While education systems have been profoundly impacted by the pandemic, the status quo is just around the corner, ready to pull us back in. To return to pre-pandemic schooling would be to sweep aside the lessons from our collective global time-out. As adrienne marie brown expressed: “Things are not getting worse, they are getting uncovered. We must hold each other tight and continue to pull back the veil.”
...we can jump into the work that demands relentlessly asking big questions that invite us to detach ourselves from the certainty of before and after, and stay focused on the during. But, embracing the uncomfortable, messy, uncharted territory of this liminal space has many benefits.
...we must consider ourselves futurists. As educators, we are the ultimate futurists. We stake our success on the ability of our students—the leaders of tomorrow—to solve difficult, meaningful problems that will advance and heal the world. Futurists are inherently optimistic. They confront the unknowns of the future, however uncomfortable that might be. They sustain hope with deliberate effort. As Mariame Kaba wisely counseled, “hope is a discipline.” This means that hope is anchored in science, iteration, effort, and justice.
As uncomfortable as this long hallway of collective liminality feels, it can also be exciting. As one world implodes on itself, a new one is being born. Patience and courage mark the experience of the chrysalis. To have even a minuscule hand in shaping what emerges seems like the most worthwhile endeavor we could dedicate ourselves to.
Tyler Rablin (@Mr_Rablin)
I came across Tyler through a podcast interview - he is a 'must follow' - shares excellent resources for educators. Here is one of his recent tweets...
Your assessment practices are the manifestation of your beliefs, experiences, and values around education. That's why assessment reform can't start with a change in practices and why it often fails. The conversation should start with this: Why does our education system exist?
A common phrase I've heard in my current context is, "If you're trying to row a different direction, take your oar out of the water," and holy hell, I just realized how much I hate that. We don't need more conformity in education. In fact, I think it's the last thing we need.
What no one tells you about changing your grading system is that it's frustrating to start, feels ineffective at first, and students initially will prioritize work for classes with strict grading penalties because they're scared. It gets better, but go in with that awareness.
The Continuing Educator Podcast- NWEA
** Episodes feature Tom Guskey, Myron Dueck, Matt Townsley, Ken O'Connor
The Continuing Educator is a professional development podcast for educators that recognizes the growth journey we’re all on to empower students. We want to make growth, mastery, and achievement for every kid a replicable and reliable outcome, not a random one. This podcast is produced by the Professional Learning team at NWEA, dedicated to supporting educators in their work to help kids learn, grow, and achieve in ways that will be meaningful throughout their lives. As educators we must also continue to better ourselves, improve our craft, and master new tools. Each week you’ll learn from new guests, including thought leaders, authors, researchers, practitioners, parents, and students. We hope our conversations will help you in your journey to instill in kids a love of learning, while building critical skills of self assessment, goal setting, action planning, and agency in their own lives.We can’t wait to grow with you on this journey.
These are some 'quotes' that I noted from episode 2 that stood out...
'Assessment is the bridge between teaching and learning'
'I owe my students a refund for their free education'
'Formative assessment should be called responsive teaching'
'Grades can signal to students that the learning has ended; withhold the grade when you want the learning to continue'
Creating and Holding a Space for Listening...
Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: With about a month left in school, what goal do you have to end the year on a strong note? What is one action step you can take to accomplish this goal?
- Students will be working on their final essays of the year. I want to help them end the year on a strong note by helping them to incorporate their reflections from earlier writing assignments this year. Ending the year with the knowledge that their writing has improved over the course of the year is always a good note to end on.
- I am going to try my best at everything in school.
- Nothing really, I am just excited for summer vaca
- Read more.
As a symbolic nod to longing/missing our 8th grade trip, I am ‘holding a space’ by continuing my annual tradition of sharing some quotes from our trip two years ago - they are important, relevant, and hold meaning for our learners and our learning community...
If it makes you laugh, if it makes you cry, if it rips out your heart, that's a good picture. - Eddie Adams
Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world, you are no wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar. - Edward R. Murrow
The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth on them. - Ida B. Wells
Let us gear ourselves to the great task of mapping out a pathway that will truly lead to a better world for us all. - Mary McLeod Bethune
I cherish my own freedom dearly, but I care even more for your freedom. - Nelson Mandela
We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. - MLK, Jr.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. - MLK, Jr.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. - MLK, Jr.
I never forget that I live in a house owned by all the American people and that I have been given their trust. - FDR
The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. - FDR
Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans. - JFK, Jr.
For the dead and the living we must bear witness. - Elie Wiesel
As we look to bring some closure to this 2020-2021 school year over the next 3 weeks, I hope that we intentionally create and hold the space for questions, reflection, learning, and listening. This space will carry us forward and sustain our mission to support all learners in a meaningful way.
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Take care.
Nat