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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'm hoping that the three day weekend served everyone well - taking time for apple picking, leaf peeping, some dedicated time with the family, maybe taking a nap (sounds good to me), or simply doing something that that you have been putting aside and the 'found time' allowed you to do just that. Our weekend began with the Medfield-Holliston football game at Holliston High (the 'conflict' of who to root for is starting to become real as our own children get older!), and it was wonderful to see some Medfield alumni - so great to see them introduce themselves to Katie and share how they were doing. The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxed - some yard work, reading, and dinner with my parents to celebrate my mother's 76th birthday on Sunday evening.
As I sat down to write the Natworthy this week, I found myself feeling very positive and optimistic about the work that is taking place at Blake for our students, staff, and community. By no means do I believe we have everything 'figured out', but some of my experiences over the past week certainly give me hope and faith that we are moving forward in a positive direction. Here is a sampling of the experiences (you will see that a couple of them are not directly connected to Blake/Medfield but the connection is real - a reminder of the importance of looking beyond our insular realms)...
- Attending a partial screening and discussion of the book and documentary, Beyond Measure (film)/Beyond Measure: Rescuing an Overscheduled, Overtested, Underestimated Generation (book) at the Walpole Public Library - many of the ideas that were being discussed (feedback, grades, homework, stress, and honor roll to name a few) are ones that we have been discussing and/or are in the midst of examining as a Blake community - the openness to productive dialogue and potential change is real - does not mean that it is easy, but the potential and openness is in place
- Helping to facilitate a focus group discussion in Holliston as a follow-up to a screening and reading of Most Likely to Succeed (film), Most Likely to Succeed (book) - similar to the experience in Walpole, I was encouraged to hear the dialogue a a sense of true investment in the public schools from parents and community members, something I am encouraged by daily at Blake
- Attending the 8th grade canoe field trip with half of the Eagles last Thursday - experiential learning at its best and having an authentic sense of pride as our students once again met the high expectations we have for them in our community
- Witnessing and observing the dedication of our staff as they prepared for our 7th grade excursion to Nature's Classroom - keeping a concerted focus on the safety and well-being of every individual (student and staff), maintaining the integrity of the experience at all times
- Visiting advisories as they discussed Chimamanda Adichie's TED Talk, Danger of a Single Story, and hearing the follow up and impact from students, staff, and families - I'm certainly looking forward to building upon this foundation as we delve into our theme of Diversity
- Going for a run on Thursday with a couple members of the Medfield High X-Country team - on the way back from the run, I felt fortunate to catch up with a few current high school students as they shared their current 'stories' while also reminiscing about their middle school years (sharing fond memories with me of experiences and classes that will be 'hard to top' - yes, I was indeed smiling on the run!)
- Hearing Ann Marie Fratolillo share her 'Why I Teach' reflection at the beginning of our professional afternoon - I was once again reminded of the importance of hearing the 'stories' we each bring to help foster a community and learn from vulnerability (a few lessons/reminders - try things out, be willing to change, listen to mentors, embrace the creative process, and continuous learning)
- Discussing and reading updates from our content specialists after our professional afternoon on Friday - healthy dialogue and discussions centered on professional growth
As you know I love to read and share educational articles and research (non-educational ones as well). This week, in an effort to carry forth this 'theme' of positive experiences, I have highlighted three posts that were either shared by or discussed with Blake staff - another sign of a shared commitment to learning, collaboration, and continuous growth...
4 Ways To Not Let Others Dim Your Light
by George Couros (@gcouros)
It is often a challenge to pick and choose which post to share from Couros, as I often feel as though he is writing directly to me! Here Couros encourages and shares his advice for how to let our own lights shine and not others bring in their 'dimming impact': Be kind, always; Ask questions; Move on and ignore; Give back...the more greatness you strive for, the more people will come out of nowhere to hate on you...The reality of our world is that people get threatened when other people shine their light on the world. This bothers me even more so when it is educators doing it to educators, as our jobs are to empower those we serve, not try to bring them down. If you are doing this to a colleague or peer, would you do it to a student? Would you do it to my daughter if she was in your classroom? In education, this is unacceptable.
Success does not happen by accident, but by habit. We have to be intentional in our interactions not only with others but ourselves.6 It is okay to be hard on yourself and have high expectations, but that is much different from beating yourself up. It is normal to let the criticisms of others get to us, but do not let it stop you from doing something great. The world needs your light to shine.
The Gradeless Classroom: The Progress Report Conundrum
by Cristi Julsrud (@Mrs_J_of_EAMS)
As we continue to explore the benefits and challenges of grade-less classrooms at Blake, this post shares the perspective of a teacher's internal struggle (and Eureka! moment) in regards to reporting progress. Julsrud's reflection is admirable - speaking to an honest struggle, encouraging open lines of communication, trying something new, offering solutions, and staying with 'the struggle'.
Old habits sure do die hard. It's so easy to get caught up in the assignment trap, especially when the kids are stuck in the finished=grade=done mindset and you can't figure out a great way to communicate progress to parents without putting a number on anything. I've been fiddling around and tweaking my grading/ gradeless system for two years now, and the progress report conundrum has been an unsolvable riddle for me.
Five Things My Mentors Taught Me
by Mandy Froehlich (@froehlichm)
Relationships are at the heart of learning and the role we play as/with mentors (both as learners from our own mentors and with mentors we learn from) is critical to acknowledge and remember. Froehlich shares five lessons from her 'collective mentoring': Ask for what you want; Leaving a legacy is not about getting the credit; People make time for what they think is important; Never forget your teacher’s heart; Being a leader was never about you. It makes me think how great it would be for our staff to practice this exercise of self-reflection at some point in the near future.
I continue to learn from the people around me every day, but the people who believe in me and mentor me on a daily basis have made a profound impact on my personal and professional life. It’s the reason that I believe choosing mentors that support the different areas of your different facets of your career is one of the most important professional decisions you can make.
I know that the coming days will bring plenty of challenges, and a week from now I may be in a different place in my own thinking/reflections. But for now I am choosing to stay with the positive and optimistic lens. I do not want to pretend or push the challenges aside - I simply want to maintain the optimistic approach for our students. I explicitly share this sentiment from time to time, but know that it is implicit each and every day - I hope you will join me in this approach/challenge - holding me accountable as I intend to do the same for all of you.
I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
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Take care.
Nat