To encourage dialogue and reflection about hopes, resolutions, and intentions in the new calendar year, our question for this week is: Please complete this statement: This year (2022) I hope to… Hope, Belonging, and Action (Week of 1/2/22) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
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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.
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
Happy New Year! I hope that the vacation week provided time for whatever it was/is that you needed - quiet time, reading, exercise, celebrations, rest, etc. We enjoyed a quiet week with a mixture of ‘all the above’, setting aside some intentional time for reading (in particular, Dave Grohl’s The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music), reflection, and exercise. I always intend to carry these practices into each new year and this year is no different. Throughout the week I kept coming back to Adam Grant’s words below and intend to carry them forward as well, along with Rilke’s prescient words to help us ring in the new…
** Listening to an episode below from the Hidden Brain Podcast with Shankar Vedantam, I was affirmed by the thoughts within - and, I found myself thinking about our students and the explicit and implicit messages we instill in them…
The Psychology of Self-Doubt
(50:20)
We all have times when we feel like a fraud. Psychologist Kevin Cokley studies the corrosive effects of self-doubt, and how we can turn that negative voice in our heads into an ally.
People aren't perfect and we have to sort of get beyond this idea that making mistakes is somehow indicative of you being not smart, not competent, not belonging. The most accomplished people in the world have all experienced failure at some point. And so we need to sort of help students in particular understand that when you fail a test, and I could have benefited from this when I was a student, it would've been so helpful if I would've had a professor who would've pulled me to the side and to help me sort of manage the feelings that I was having around my initial sort of early poor performance. It's okay. Just don't let it be defining of who you are and what your potentiality is, and I think we don't have enough of that taking place in schools.
I can't say enough about how in my own life the need to be humble to even have feelings of self doubt have been helpful, because if I did not have those feelings of self doubt, then I think that that would one, make me probably an unbearable person and not very pleasant to be around, but it also has kept me, I think, hungry to continue to work hard to prove myself. And I think when you get to the point where you stop wanting to prove yourself, and when you're no longer hungry and motivated, I don't think that's a very good place to be.
** Cleaning through my backpack (one of the ‘rituals’ of a vacation week), I came across my handwritten notes from a lecture I attended at Wellesley College back in 2019. It was one of the last ‘education events’ I attended prior to our period of quarantine in March, 2020 - and, in reading the notes the ‘mirror’ reflection was very clear - for me and for the practices we have in place at Blake and ‘at large’ in education. My blog post following the event is linked here (Naming the Positives, October 2019) and below is an excerpt from that post (in red font)...
Last Thursday night I had the privilege of hearing Eve L. Ewing (@eveewing) at Wellesley College. Ewing is an assistant professor in the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration and was this year’s chosen speaker for the Diane Silvers Ravitch lecture series at Wellesley College. Ravitch is a graduate of Wellesley and is a well-renowned professor and historian of education. Ewing is the author of Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings On Chicago's South Side and her lecture highlighted this work.
A few of my notes from Diane Ravitch’s words…
- Education is political - it just is
- We need to work towards a more nurturing society for our students
- We need to fight for a system that fosters the best in all of our students
A few of my notes from Eve Ewing’s lecture…
- We should always challenge the notion that academics should only speak to academics and narrow audiences
- Institutional mourning - always something to be aware of...affective impact and the social and emotional impact of loss
- If one does not own private property, then the institutions (schools, places of worship, neighborhoods, etc.) become one’s home
- History and context always matter
- What are education issues?....Everything is an education issue - it connects to everything
- Think about this question - What can we all do to ‘get in to fit in’?
- ‘All of these kids are our kids’
- Good news: If humans made these structures that are not working, then humans can undo them as well
** On one of my morning runs during the vacation, I found myself thinking about the messages from Ewing and Ravitch in the context of the podcast episode linked above - and, I keep coming back to techmonstah’s visual representation of our work at Blake - ‘It’s All Connected’. We need to keep adapting and adjusting - I think (well, I know - putting my own self-doubt aside!) that is the only way forward to actively improve our systems for ALL of our learners…
Surgeon general confirms what parents know. Young people are in crisis.
by Heidi Stevens and Tribune News Service from Chicago Tribune
“We need hope like we need air. To live without hope is to risk suffocating on hopelessness and despair, risk being crushed by the belief that there is no way out of what is holding us back, no way to get to what we desperately need.”
“Hope is a function of struggle,” Brown writes. “We develop hope not during the easy or comfortable times, but through adversity and discomfort. Hope is forged when our goals, pathways and agency are tested and when change is actually possible.”
“Love and belonging are irreducible needs for all people,” she writes. “In the absence of these experiences, there is always suffering.”
Some Year-End Lists and Reflections, Predictions
All End-Of-Year “Best” Lists For 2021 In One Place! | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...
by Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo)
This list is always my 'first stop' for reflections upon the year. Ferlazzo is a prolific writer, reader, archivist, and blogger of 'all things education' and this link has over 15 lists, from content-specific 'best of' to recommendations to predictions for 2022. I recommend bookmarking this site.
The Best Resources On Instruction In 2021 – Part Two | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day…
by Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo)
Year in Review: Top EL Articles of 2021 - ASCD
Compiled by Esteban Bachelet in ASCD
ASCD's Top 10 Blog Posts of 2021
Compiled by Esteban Bachelet in ASCD
The 11 Most Popular Edutopia Stories of 2021
Compiled by Edutopia Staff
The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2021
By Youki Terada, Stephen Merrill, Sarah Gonser in Edutopia
It was a year of unprecedented hardship for teachers and school leaders. We pored through hundreds of studies to see if we could follow the trail of exactly what happened: The research revealed a complex portrait of a grueling year during which persistent issues of burnout and mental and physical health impacted millions of educators. Meanwhile, many of the old debates continued: Does paper beat digital? Is project-based learning as effective as direct instruction? How do you define what a “good” school is?
Other studies grabbed our attention, and in a few cases, made headlines. Researchers from the University of Chicago and Columbia University turned artificial intelligence loose on some 1,130 award-winning children’s books in search of invisible patterns of bias. (Spoiler alert: They found some.) Another study revealed why many parents are reluctant to support social and emotional learning in schools—and provided hints about how educators can flip the script.
The Year in Review: Big Education Stories of 2021
EdWeek’s 10 (or so) most popular stories of 2021
Looking back on the stories that resonated most with educators in 2021, it’s clear just how challenging this year was for America’s teachers and school leaders. COVID-19 and pandemic-related interruptions to schooling were not new in 2021. Neither was having to navigate divisive political topics in schools and classrooms. Still, disruption and tension seemed to be constant companions this year.
The Teaching Profession in 2021 (in Charts)
by Madeline Will in Education Week
Much like the findings from last year, the research published this year shows a profession in duress. Teachers say they feel stretched thin, with new expectations and little support. For many, teaching this year has been exhausting, and some say it’s not sustainable.
5 Major Predictions for 2022 - Education Elements
by Anthony Kim in Education Elements
Spotlight: 2021 | Harvard Graduate School of Education
Stories from HGSE to revisit and reconsider as we head into the new year.
As the year draws to a close, the editorial staff in the Communications and Marketing Office looked back at some of our most memorable stories and social posts. Some happen to be the stories that drew the most readers or got the most likes, while others are pieces we simply loved writing and producing. As you look through the list, you might find a few mentions that surprise you — one in particular continues to surprise us! — as well as others that get you thinking.
Most Popular EdSurge Podcast Episodes of 2021
by Jeffrey R. Young
EdSurge's 2020 Year in Review: The Top 10 K-12 Stories, as Chosen by You
by Stephen Noonoo in EdSurge
Top 100 Education Blogs in 2021 for Educators and Teachers
from Feedspot Education Blogs List
The Best Education blogs from thousands of top Education blogs in our index using search and social metrics. Data will be refreshed once a week. Also check out Educational Podcasts and Educational Videos from Top 100 Educational Youtube Channels.
Some ‘Big Picture’ Posts
An Educator’s Anthem for 2022: I’m NOT Giving Up
by Allyson Apsey (@AllysonApsey)
I hesitate to say this because it goes against the grain amongst educators right now, but here goes: I am doing okay. If everyday I can go into work and contribute to a culture of joy in our school, if I can make sure every interaction I have with students is loving and supportive and if I can support teachers in seeing their own genius, I am fulfilling my purpose. Reconnecting with my why and focusing on carrying-out my purpose has helped sustain me these past couple years.
I will continue to focus on these two questions as the adversity keeps coming:
- How can you fulfill your purpose today?
- How can you become a better educator because of the challenges you are facing?
We can take care of ourselves and continue in our very important work. We are stronger than we know. And, thank goodness, we are in this together.
An Open Letter to Teachers Everywhere
by Rhonda Thomason in Learning for Justice
I want a revolution of hope. I want educators to seize a golden opportunity to rethink the nature and purpose of public education.
Imagine an educational system in which educators invoke standards of compassion, empathy, action and reason as they question the deep regularities that suppress achievement. Imagine the power of educators valuing dissent and affirming what students can achieve rather than magnifying what they can’t.
As an educator, I often skated on the edge of revolution and compliance. While compliance may secure careers and livelihoods, it can leave teachers depleted, students tested rather than taught and marginalized rather than empowered. Compliance feeds mediocrity. Boldness is a catalyst for grassroots revolution—a revolution that serves our students as they enter the challenges of a wonderful and sometimes cruel world.
May we become educators who seek out students’ experiences, interests and talents as a means of engagement, and may our passion empower those who have little power. Authentic caring is a powerful force, and it always is worth the cost.
The Problem with Inclusion: Time to Shift to Belonging
by Dwight Vidale in NAIS
In 2018, I had the pleasure of attending a workshop led by Dena Simmons, the former assistant director of Yale’s Center for Emotional Intelligence, during which she shared that she does not like the word “inclusion.” Surprised by her comment, I wanted to learn more––all of the equity practitioners in the room either had inclusion in their title or worked at schools whose mission statement has the word inclusion in it. Similarly, I’ve been trained to include inclusion in my work and have often used it as a way to get more folks (read: white people) involved. Simmons talked about how she has been included in places and spaces and simultaneously knew that she did not belong, how her experience in such spaces did not align with the place’s intention of being more inclusive––which often meant little more than having more Black and brown people physically present.
I invite us all to consider adding a “B” to DEI and, and, more importantly, center “belonging.” As Kimberlé Crenshaw reminds us, “We all know that where there’s no name for a problem, you can’t see a problem, and when you can’t see a problem, you pretty much can’t solve it.” Let’s name this problem with inclusion and shift our thinking to promote belonging.
Will We Need To Rethink Better?
by David Culberhouse (@DCulberhouse)
As returning to status quo, especially in the midst of a crisis, such as a pandemic, promises feelings of comfort, of progress, of returning back to some semblance of “normalcy” of what existed before everything became much more complex and uncertain, both professionally and personally. But what we often fail to realize, the assumption that we continue to make, is that if we return back to how is was before (pre-pandemic), that these heightened levels of complexity and uncertainty will fade away and “normalcy” will return.
Unfortunately, complexity and uncertainty aren’t going anywhere, and what the status quo and “Building back better” instead of “Building back different” only promises leaders and organizations a future that has already been “used” up, one that is no longer relevant, viable, or in the current context, even preferable for the future that the organization is moving towards.
If we are going to be able to move from reforming to transforming, to move from “Building back better” to “Building back different,” we will have to become much more aware. Aware of how much of what we consider for the future, of the ideas that are informing that future, are often projections pushed forward from the models and maps that have been constructed from both the past and the present.
“Learning based on the past suffices when the past is a good guide for the future. But it leaves us blind to profound shifts when whole new forces shaping change arise.” -Senge, Scharmer, Jaworski, and Flowers via Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future
Top 5 Standards-Based Grading Articles (2021)
Compiled by Matt Townsley (@mctownsley)
The Resilient Educator / How Year-End Reflection Fosters Resilience
by Elena Aguilar in ASCD
We know from research that we build resilience when we go through rough times and emerge stronger than before—yet sometimes we don't recognize that growth unless we stop, look back, feel the emotions that arise, and process them.
The story we tell about anything that happens will boost or drain our resilience—be it a year of pandemic teaching and racial reckoning, or an incident with a student at school. At the end of each calendar year, we have an opportunity to craft a narrative about the year we're closing out. This must come before setting goals, resolutions, or intentions for the coming year. Through the reflection process, we'll understand ourselves better and take those learnings into our hopes for the new year.
My favorite activity for thinking ahead to the next year is this: Imagine it's the final day of that year (in this case: December 31, 2022) and write yourself a letter, as if you were writing on that day about the year that's ending. What do you want to say about 2022 when it comes to a close? That "This year was the one in which I finally started that grad school program I've always wanted to do. I also developed a new network of colleagues that I can lean on for all things professional. …" Be honest with yourself about your needs and wants.
Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles and the enduring sports message of 2021
by Kevin R. Blackstone in The Washington Post
…there were no more important people in sports this year than Osaka and Biles. At a time when so many among us are struggling with darkness, loneliness and sorrow in this public health catastrophe, Osaka and Biles — no matter how vulnerable on a world stage — showed us we shouldn’t feel ashamed if we don’t feel okay, that it is okay to take time off, if you can, and seek help from those trained to provide it.
Osaka and Biles weren’t the first star athletes to bare their mental health needs to the world. But they altered how we have come to understand the trite phrase “mental toughness.” It doesn’t have to mean playing through physical pain or sucking it up. It doesn’t have to mean coming from behind to win when losing seemed certain. It doesn’t have to mean rehabbing some terrible injury and returning to competition.
It can mean owning up to doubts or concerns that prevent you from performing and taking the time to find your balance again. It can mean erasing whatever stigma was attached to a mental struggle, no matter how long or brief.
…what is most important to recognize about Osaka — and Biles, too — is that no matter her station or success, not feeling okay is, in fact, okay. That’s a life lesson from sports in 2021.
Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: When thinking back on 2021, what have you learned about yourself and how have you grown as a learner?
- I have not learned much about myself as a learner but I can tolerate small amounts of working with people in groups. I have grown by being able to work in groups more effectively.
- I have learned that I truly enjoy loving, and being loved
- I have learned the value of a good night's sleep. I am as productive if not more so when going to bed early and getting up early than trying to stay up all night to get work done.
- I have learned that I, as a person, do good things, but also make mistakes and all that does is help me to learn from them. I have really grown as a learner by taking a step back in some things to get myself calm, and see what I can do to improve.
- I grew as a learner by being more independent.
- I learned that I enjoy math.
- I have learned that patience is a true skill and once it is mastered your life seems to be much calmer. As a learner I now know I need to be with others in order to be able to focus and concentrate. Just having someone in the same room helps me focus.
- I have learned that I have great friends and I have grown in my reading.
- How I’ve grown is making sure I do my best and make sure I double check everything
- I think I have been learning lots of new things
- This year has been one of my best! I have made so many new friends and participated more throughout the school year. As I can grow more as a learner, and can do better, I have made a big improvement from the past and am very happy about it.
- I am good at English and Social Studies
- I am in a new school, and I learned to be in a new environment.
- I have grown in confidence when participating in math class. I have learned that I need to give myself time to reach my goals and I am proud that I have been raising my hand more in class.
- I learned I take a long time to do things but I do it with detail. I have grown in learning by studying more before quizzes
- I've learned that I like having friends that are nice and personal with you.
- i have no motivation for things i don't like and/or writing (Writer's block is very common for me)
- I have to pay more attention to detail/attention and have recently :)
- I have become more efficient when doing my work and have learned to be more flexible, regarding not just schoolwork, but also extracurricular activities as well.
- I have learned that I am getting better at math
- I used to think I knew how important good friends are. But now I realize that it’s even more important than I thought.
- The importance of self care
- As a learner, certain lessons arrive for me at unexpected times!
- If I make an effort and tell myself I can do it, I eventually do it.
- I am way more social and I'm more comfortable with the person I am
My Annual Shares
5 Media Resolutions Every Family Should Make in 2019
by Caroline Knorr in Common Sense Media
Written and posted two years ago, Knorr’s advice for how families can try and make sense of the benefits and challenges that we all encounter and embrace with media are worthy of reflection. Common Sense Media is a phenomenal resource and these resolutions hold meaning for educators and families alike - as we do each year, Katie and I will be reflecting upon them for our own household.
What do you remember from 2018? Did you share pics of your kid on Facebook? Did you sneak a peek at their texts with their friends? Did you yell at them to get off their devices? Did you watch a movie that made you both laugh (or cry)? Did they send you a text that filled your heart and reminded you of why you had kids in the first place? So much of our daily lives revolves around media and tech that we barely notice it anymore. But we should. Why? Because these moments are the stuff of life. And the way we use technology really matters.
The start of a new year is a perfect time to reflect on the role you want media and tech to play in your family's lives. After all, media and tech are just the enablers. Learning, connecting, growing -- even setting a positive example for your kids -- are where the real magic happens.
Help your kids become more aware of their own online time and help them take control of their use, too. You don't have to shut everything down. But really focus on what you're doing, when you're doing it, and why. The way you use media and tech has a huge influence on your kids, and you can be a great role model for using them mindfully.
To My 13-Year-Old, An iPhone Contract From Your Mom, With Love and To My 13-Year-Old, An iPhone Contract From Your Mom, With Love
by Janell Burley Hoffman in The Huffington Post
I share these posts each year and find that they resonate each time I come back to them. #18 is wonderful - 'You will mess up. I will take away your phone. We will sit down and talk about it. We will start over again. You and I, we are always learning. I am on your team. We are in this together.' As with many posts that hold meaning, we could substitute many 'gifts/possessions' for the 'iPhone' and the essence will ring true.
Each new year brings forth the promise of ‘new’ - hope, excitement, worries, challenges, successes, and many more emotions and realities. I believe it is important that we name, acknowledge, and embrace them (as hard as it is to do - speaking from the ‘I’, for sure!) with intention, commitment, and hope - with a full understanding and awareness that we may not solve them. Rather, our resolve will come forth and to fruition in the willingness to dive in collectively to grow, learn, and improve - that is at the heart of our mission and at the heart of our work...
Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
What if we realized the best way to ensure an effective educational system is not by standardizing our curricula and tests but by standardizing the opportunities available to all students? - Ibram X. Kendi
As always, let me know of any questions/concerns.
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Take care.
Nat