To help encourage conversations and dialogue about making more connections between home and school, our topic/question for the week is: How can we 'build bridges' (make connections) between home and school? Building Bridges (Week of 10/1/17) (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 Katie and Maggie continued their concert circuit (Ed Sheeran last Friday and Katy Perry this week), the boys and I had a quiet Friday evening enjoying take-out. We enjoyed catching up with some of our cousins on Saturday after soccer games, and our Sunday afternoon culminated with Tim's Trot (a walk/run to benefit the Timothy O'Connell Foundation) - a wonderful annual community event in Holliston.
Education is all a matter of building bridges. - Ralph Ellison
This past week I have been thinking a great deal about the idea or premise of 'building bridges' as a mindset for all of our work, and I fortuitously came across Ellison's quote Friday afternoon and it will be one that I hope to carry forward. So, why building bridges? We often talk about and reflect upon the importance of forming relationships with students to establish a safe and productive learning environment. As we know if the relationship is not in place, the true investment in the learning process is potentially compromised. So, what does it take form that relationship? I do not see this as a quick answer, and many books have been written on this topic, but a few things do come to mind -- time, trust, and a spirit of openness. Relationships take time and a concerted dedication/allotment of time, a sense of trust, and a willingness to be open or vulnerable with one another. I recognize that I may be oversimplifying the path towards relationships, but I do believe that these are three key elements and they are also intertwined and interdependent (we can not think about them in isolation).
The subject of school, whether it is one's own education or the education of their children, is one that is rife with opinions. In other words, there is no shortage of subject matter (pardon the pun) when it comes to the topic of education - we have all experienced our own schooling and bring our own personal lens and story to the discussion. It is one of the 'challenges' I believe educators face in terms of bringing about change or innovation. Because we all have had direct experience (by we, I mean teachers, parents, community members) with PreK-12 education, both positive and negative, I think we all feel validated in our own positions to offer feedback. This is a unique aspect of our vocation as educators, compared to other professions, and it is one that we should keep in mind.
Whether it is on the sideline of a soccer or softball game, at the grocery store, in the waiting room of a doctor's office, or getting together with friends, the topic of school inevitably comes up. Yes, it certainly has something to do with the fact that our children are ages 13, 11, and 8 and many of our social interactions are centered around, or rooted in, our children. I do my best to 'avoid the conversation', if I'm being honest, as I often feel like I am on a 'busman's holiday' - and, it unfortunately often 'turns to the negative'. Even if the conversations are not intended to be negative, the nature of the questions or sense of frustration that I hear surely feels negative (and, I recognize that I may be bringing a heightened sensitivity or defensiveness to the table as well!). My most common response, when I am drawn in or explicitly asked, is to offer a lens of inquiry - asking questions to open up new angles or thoughts that may not have been considered.
Believe me, I do understand frustrations and I would be lying if I said that Katie and I have never been frustrated or confused by a situation in our children's education. But, I do believe that a real piece of the puzzle is that we do not always have the information - and, I need to be reminded of that from time to time, too. We can not always share information with families due to confidentiality, but I think it is critical that we continually try and find ways to be proactive and break down the proverbial 'school wall' and welcome families in. We should be sharing the 'why' of our thinking and let the ideas come to the forefront of the discussions in school and in the community. Transparency is critical and will help us work together towards our collective mission. And, at the heart of this work, is the concept of building bridges - finding ways to foster connections. I also think that will help us to 'bridge' the gap that often exists between 'intent and impact' - if we have shared the why/intent, I think the impact will be better contextualized on the receiving end.
With this notion of building bridges in mind, the four posts below are ones I hope that will resonate - and, if you are inclined and called, let's talk about them...
Being Popular: Why it Consumes Teens and Continues to Affect Adults
by Deborah Farmer Kris in MindShift
One of my core beliefs is that we continue to share resources and current research - this post highlights some research about popularity (outlining a framework of likability and status) and I found it helpful to read as both a parent and an educator. Noting the vulnerability adolescents experience, it is explicitly suggested that we teach social and leadership skills, provide scaffolded support, and help teens navigate social media.
One to Grow On / One Team, One Goal
by Carol Ann Tomlinson in Educational Leadership
Tomlinson shares her own experiences (modeling vulnerability) and lessons learned in regards to communication and connections with families. This modeling of growth and vulnerability, in and of itself, is both a model and lesson for all.
When educators and parents establish shared intent, everyone benefits.
I came to see parents as my partners in teaching and learned to build trust with them. I realized that parents needed from me what their children needed: affirmation, goals we could share, and support for achieving them. When I could convey to parents my desire to serve their child effectively, my sense of gratitude for the opportunity to both teach and learn from their child, and my optimism about working with them to support their child's growth, we could listen to one another, plan together, and genuinely look forward to the next opportunity to talk together.
In the end, I understood that I had a depth of knowledge about the age group I taught that a parent is unlikely to achieve. On the other hand, parents had a depth of knowledge about their children that I couldn't piece together by myself. When we met with shared appreciation for a young person and mutual intent to help that young person build a good life, parents, teacher, and children were all beneficiaries.
Two Things That All Parents Want for Their Children
by George Couros (@gcouros)
I appreciate the two things that Couros states that we should convey to all parents/guardians: We are focused on keeping kids safe; We will provide every opportunity in the world for them to become successful. By keeping these tenets in mind, the conversation remains open and helps all of us see the perspective from another lens.
You often hear many educators say that parents want the same experience for their children that they had in school, but I disagree. I really believe that parents want kids to have the best experience in schools, and they see their experience as the best, because they don’t know any other experience. Showing parents, and more importantly, having them experience what their kids are doing in school, can shift thinking.
...when I ask the question of many educators and parents, “Have you ever heard a child say that they want to be a ‘YouTuber’?”, they laugh. Why not help create the opportunity instead of squash the aspiration? I can understand that going into some of these spaces can be scary, but ignoring them isn’t going to help. We also have to understand that our childhood is not their childhood. Just like other parents, I want my daughter to be safe AND have every opportunity in the world. I just have to understand that the time she is growing up in looks a lot different from the time that I did.
How Transparency Can Transform School Culture
by Katrina Schwartz in MindShift
This post is one that I read with a self-reflective lens - holding up a mirror to myself as an administrator, but also to our collective role as a Blake community. By letting others know 'what's going on', we are breaking down walls and building bridges while focusing on relationships, modeling thinking, and sharing. Three take-aways for me - the idea of parent-teacher-leadership meetings, getting more comfortable with pushback, and keeping the ideas of 'shared learning' in place.
To meet the challenges of teaching in an increasingly connected world, school leaders, educators and community members could benefit from building a culture of transparency and connectivity, creating a culture of sharing around the successes and struggles of teaching and learning.
I sincerely hope that the conversations about school and education keep taking place in all of the places I noted above (sidelines, grocery stores, etc.) - after all, we want education to be a priority. The more transparent and explicit in our communication we can be as educators will help increase the productivity of these conversations. It will also help us to keep our doors open to welcome questions and be open to new answers. Again, it comes down to the relationships (trust, time, and vulnerability) and a concerted effort to build these bridges. Learning is a messy process and we need to embrace that messiness - the bridges we build will help us along our shared path.
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