To help encourage conversations and dialogue about conditions for learning, articulating hopes and vision, and continuous growth for our community, our topic/question(s) of the week are: What are your hopes for the end of this school year? How do you want to grow as a learner? Conditions for Learning (Week of 4/21/19) (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 everyone enjoyed a restful and relaxing vacation, getting a chance to do whatever was ‘needed’ - rest, relaxation, exercise, sleep, time with family/friends, or simply a change in routine. We had a nice ‘staycation’ and particularly cherished the days with warmer temps, sunshine, and blossoms on the trees. It is such a wonderful feeling to get the terrace furniture out, have a seat with a good book, and simply ‘take it all in’!
Through several of the posts and books I caught up on over the past week, the words from Ted Sizer and Henry Ford shared above kept popping into my head. The ideas are both simple and clear, yet I feel they often get lost…
- We must always focus on the conditions for learning first and provide space for the learning to happen
- We must always be looking ahead with an eye towards change and adjustment of practices for progress to take place
- Mirroring and sharing responses from the most recent ‘topic/question’ of the week
- Re-sharing my resolutions/intentions for this calendar year (please keep me honest and on track)
- Sharing some posts that held meaning as of late with mindsets that I hope will carry me forward
- An annual request for all of us to not 'count the days', stay focused, and enjoy our time with the students
- Elicit some feedback and reflective thoughts from staff
- Current events and discussion / debate. The world does not model civil discourse right now and with education, that can shift.
- Freedom of expression
- I would love to see more discussion about the stereotypes surrounding masculinity.
- I would like to learn more about foreign countries and their cultures.
- Homophobia, Transphobia, etc
- Zoos
- Integrity and not lying
- the genocide against indigenous peoples, misogyny, gun reform, homophobia, transphobia, quantum physics, feminism, racism,global warming, lack of education, human rights, poverty, inequality, Health care or lack thereof, water famine, domestic violence, unemployment, food crisis, plastic pollution
- A more variety of languages to be able to take
- Pets
- How kindness can change everyone and I want everyone to learn to be kind no matter what the circumstances are. I know many people/teachers talk about being kind but clearly some students aren’t getting the message, so I wanted to embrace that topic even further so people can understand it and it could be part of their daily lives.
- Sports, arts or current events.
- Debate so students can voice their opinions
- Diversity and how the color of your skin, your religious beliefs, your body, your sexual orientation does not evaluate your personality and personal beliefs.
- Able to take more than one language and having art more than once a week
- I think the topic of discourse itself would be great
- Timing, approach toward behavior correction, expectations.
Resolutions/Intentions for the 2019 school year...
- #slowingitdown
- Defining ‘personal time’ and ‘professional time’ (an uphill climb for me)
- Embrace hope (#willfulhope)
- Explore musical interests (playing and listening)
- Listening to understand rather than listening to respond
- Embrace and model authenticity and vulnerability
- Explore ways to 'go deeper' and find more meaning
- 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
Some posts that resonate...
Your School’s Big Dream: Creating a Vision for the Future
by Donna Orem in NAIS
It is critical that we take a broad view and ‘think big’ while also ‘thinking simplistically’ for all of our practices. In thinking about our work at Blake, we talk a lot about mission and I love the idea of articulating our vision as well. Different ideas come to mind (to do right by our students...to open doors for students...to create solutionaries...to foster a culture of learning). Having shared a few with a couple colleagues at Blake the last one (fostering a culture of learning) encompasses the others - I look forward to discussions as a staff about this work.
Too often, we start with a collection of needs instead of a North Star to guide us, that is, a firm vision statement of why the school exists. The former approach almost always results in enhancing what we know while the latter can open new thinking. Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, suggests that, “All organizations start with why, but only the great ones keep their why clear year after year.”
...the vision is the North Star that reaffirms the “why” and guides the work of the organization in support of that aspirational goal. And the very aspirational nature of vision statements helps organizations to reach for tomorrow instead of focusing on the needs of today...The strategies for success are changing. If we don’t ask different questions, we will continue to end up with faster horses — not driving the future.
Unlocking the Science of Motivation
by Grace Tatter in HGSE’s Usable Knowledge
Motivation is a topic that comes up almost every day in some capacity in our work, and it is imperative that we really delve into the science of motivation rather than solely relying on ‘our gut’. Relationships are at the heart of this work and Tatter’s post provides a structure for building ‘healthy motivation’...
Elicit curiosity and encourage exploration.
Don’t rely on incentives.
Remind children that success is possible.
Prioritize social interaction.
Remember that we all have different intrinsic motivators.
Teachers can know their content backwards and forwards. They might have put hours into their lesson plans. But if their students aren't motivated, learning won't happen.
Our motivation systems are partially laid out by genetics, but they’re also shaped by experiences. High levels of stress and a dearth of positive relationships with adults can affect how children’s brains respond to different tasks. Caring adults can help students develop the motivation systems that will serve them well, long into adulthood.
Academic Integrity: Cheat or Be Cheated?
by Denise Pope in Edutopia
With the latest and highly publicized cheating scandal with college admissions and standardized testing (and more stories seemingly coming to light each day), Pope’s post reads as though it could have been written today. She wrote it in 2014 and the principles within truly underscore the importance and need to change our practices as educators and systems of and for learning.
5 Steps Toward Academic Integrity…
Strive for Buy-In of Honest Academic Practices
Emphasize Mastery and Learning Over Performance and Grades
Establish a Climate of Care
Revise Assessment and Grading Policies
Reduce Workload without Reducing Rigor
Stories of cheating in schools often make national headlines and are frequently met with widespread shock. How could such actions occur on the campuses of elite colleges and high schools? What's going on with kids these days? It's easy for us to throw up our hands and say this behavior is the inevitable outcome of our students seeing questionable standards and dishonesty in sports, government and businesses.
It's easy to blame societal issues for what appears to be an increase in academic dishonesty. However, the better course of action would be helping our schools change the "cheat to compete" mentality.
The Value of Tinkering
by Aaron Schomburg in Scientific American
The title of this post caught my eye and the ‘sub-title’ (It helped develop Stephen Hawking's creativity, and we should encourage it in our children) drew me in. As we think about the experiences we want for our students and our staff, the premise of ‘tinkering’ is one we should embrace and establish. Schomburg’s post has implications for education and learning at all levels.
As an elementary school science teacher, I find this not easy to admit, but some of my students’ most rewarding and meaningful classes over the years have happened when I have taken a back seat and let my students “tinker.” Whether they want to dam up a stream during a water study, build nests with mud and sticks while investigating local bird populations, or, after completing a set of Lego models, independently design and build spinning Lego tops from which energetic battles ensue, students love having time to explore and investigate independently.
Tinkering is not a word that many educators use, and for good reason: parents and administrators have come to expect us to use certain educational buzzwords when discussing our strategies, approaches, lessons, concepts or skills that are to be taught...As an educator for over a quarter of a century, I urge parents and educators to consider giving young children the opportunity and time to help establish a foundation of creativity and imagination. Tinkering is, by definition, “to work with something in an unskilled or experimental manner.”
Our children and students are increasingly engaged in a very structured and busy world that does not allow for the development of the valuable skills and growth mindset that come with time to tinker. We should give them that time.
Why a Great Teacher is Not Enough
by Joshua Ray (@JoshRay711), NBCT
Ray’s post resonates with me on many levels as our middle school model, while not perfect, is conducive to collaboration and pushes us to move ‘beyond’ the one teacher in one classroom environment. We need to make sure we are continually taking a holistic and coherent approach with our practices or the system will not improve. We are all better and benefit when everyone gets better - this is true for students and staff alike and highlights the importance of diversity around the table as well.
If we want a great educational experience for all students, we must rethink how we define and celebrate talent and greatness within schools.
...our school has become hyper-focused on adult learning for the sake of student learning. Great teaching is no longer contained to a single teacher or classroom. Instead, it has become the daily pursuit for our entire staff. Teachers are asking to observe one another, student evidence is being utilized to make decisions about what is happening in the classroom, and our teams are collaborating on how to provide specific instruction based on the individual needs of our children. We are learning to be vulnerable and admit when we need help because of our collective commitment to refuse to let any child fail.
In my opinion, no level of choice, teacher incentive, or privatization can compete with the feeling of knowing that you are part of a collective effort greater than yourself that is changing children’s lives. Instead of seeking the answer to bring to our schools, I have learned that the answers are often in the room, lying in wait to be discovered through the right mix of passion, collaboration, and collective effort. Great teaching is not an individual accomplishment, but a collective experience that every teacher and student deserves.
A few annual pleas/requests (paraphrasing of thoughts/notes shared in past years)...
The last day of school for us this year (barring any crazy weather changes!) is June 14 and it is my annual 'ask' to do your/our best (and I include myself in this ask) to not 'count down the days'. I have seen similar posts of this nature before, but Pernille Ripp (@PernilleRipp) shared her thoughts in a very thoughtful way two years ago (On Counting Down the Days) - I appreciate her sincerity and honesty and staying centered on the important work that we do...
Because while the countdown may be fun on the surface; another way to show off student accomplishment – you made it through 7th grade -it also sends a much deeper message; we are done with the year. I am done with you. I cannot wait to be done and finally get a break. Is that really what we want to tell our students?
It is not that we don’t know how many days are left. I have 38 days left to be exact and so much still to teach. It is just that we don’t advertise it. We don’t actively remind children how much better summer will be than what we are doing. It undermines the entire mission we have had all year of instilling the importance of the work we do. It undermines every single time we have said that school is important. So now, when a child tells me that they are excited about summer, I tell them I am too, but also that I will miss them, that I will miss our learning, that I will miss our classroom. That we have so much learning still to do. That we will work to the very last day because our time is valuable. Because we need every minute we can get.
Couros's post, The Policies in Your Head, is one that I often return to when I have a hard time 'getting out of my head' and in times of reflection: Don’t hesitate to ask questions in the pursuit of doing what is best for kids. Otherwise, the thing that might be holding you back is your own thinking, and nothing else. I have shared this before (and have needed to remind myself of this and needed others as well to help me with the reminder!) - I do not always enjoy the feedback that you or others may share but I know it is important and I welcome the dialogue and conversation. I am looking to improve and rely on questions, open communication, and feedback - and please know that I thank you for it.
Continuing the practice suggested several years ago in an Educational Leadership post by a retired principal named Dave Weston, this week I am asking all Blake staff to share their thoughts in response to the following questions...
- What’s going particularly well for you this year?
- What concerns/issues do you have at this point?
- What can I do to best support you right now?
- If you could get some professional development right now, what would it be?
- Anything else?
And, my 'broken record' thought for our community of learners...
I firmly believe that a concerted focus on our mission and essential question will help us to embody our mantra of a 'willingness to adapt' and, if all goes well, learning and growth as we aim to 'get out of our own heads', establish productive conditions for learning, and foster and further a cohesive thread throughout the school…
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Take care.
Nat