To help encourage conversations and dialogue about changes we can and should make to nurture and support all learners, our question for this week is: What are some necessary changes that you hope will take place to improve our schools and learning environments for all of our learners? Necessary Change (Week of 1/10/21) (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
With a definite need for everyone to have a break and time to reflect, I hope that this update finds everyone well, healthy, and safe. We had a very quiet weekend (much needed), balancing our desire to chat and process with the need to do what is necessary to recharge with self-care strategies. We felt fortunate to have a nice physically distanced visit with cousins on Saturday afternoon/evening - always good to laugh and connect with loved ones.
In all of the efforts to process what was taking place at the end of this week - in conversations, meetings, formal check-ins, passing dialogue, etc. - I found a common through-line - ‘things need to change’. There were not clear answers and I heard these sentiments on social media and in the news channels as well. It got me thinking a great deal about change and what that entails - something we talk a lot about with our students, our school, and our community. And this week pushed us to think beyond a myopic lens on the word community as well, reflecting on our mission, guiding lights, and commitment to a ‘willingness to adapt’.
Recognizing my own need to try and find time to step back a bit this weekend, I am making an effort to keep it relatively brief by sharing some responses from last week’s question along with one post that I read before vacation. Although the subject of change in the post is about schooling/education, I believe that the questions are ones that directly relate and should be brought into the conversations that are taking place right now on the micro and macro levels following the events of this week. As always, I welcome and invite dialogue, thought, and action with all...
Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: Please complete this statement: As we start the new year, I hope/intend/commit (or re-commit) to the following …
- Continuing to work on ways to actively engage students in their learning.
- Noticing the people that others forget about.
- Taking time every day for some art making. I have temporarily lost my creative habit and I miss that.
- I hope to worry less and use my energy to help my family and students finish out this school year in a positive way.
- Working out.
- Get better at English
- Going vegetarian.
- Eat healthier.
- Get outside and exercise more!!
- I hope that i will start to do my homework everyday again
- I commit to being more actively speaking
- This year, I want to workout more.
- I hope to stretch more, get my splits, try to keep myself in shape and take care of my mental health.
- To study harder and do well in school.
- I hope we will be able to go back to school full time soon
- I hope to be more creative, and draw more.
- Get better grades in spanish
- Read more books, go for more walks, play more soccer.
- I hope to be productive and gain experiences.
- Sleeping
- Working hard and never giving up.
- I hope zooming into your class will work really well.
- I hope we can go back to school all the time, I intend to keep working hard on school and dance, and I will commit to practicing my instrument every day.
Rethinking US education: What if everything we believe about education is a lie?
by Robert Pondiscio in The Hechinger Report
I read this post over vacation and the question itself drew my attention right away. I believe that it is incumbent that we ask the difficult questions and lean into these discussions - thinking about systems, beliefs, and the ways that we are acting (pushing beyond the dialogue - truly taking action) to support and nurture all of our learners.
If there was ever a time to ask big, heretical questions about American K-12 education, it’s when schooling has been thrown into chaos by a pandemic, and Americans’ faith in institutions, including schools, is at ebb tide. Let’s consider for a moment if our egalitarian impulses, however well-intended, have prevented us from pursuing a vision of public education that could be more fruitful and satisfying for vastly more students, and healthier for civil society.
We shouldn’t avoid grappling with questions simply because they are impolitic or make us uncomfortable.
Perhaps it is better merely to value and valorize diversity as an end in itself, because a virtuous society wants its children to have a warm and trusting relationship with authority figures from the broadest range of backgrounds. It is a very different thing to ask, “What do we want every child to achieve?” and “What do we want every child to experience?”
To be clear and emphatic: Education is our most optimistic and aspirational business, so we should never abandon our fondest hopes for it. Neither should we countenance a grim, deterministic view of human ability and allow schools to be mere sorting mechanisms. But with so much in flux right now, perhaps we should take advantage of our national inflection point to question our assumptions and ask what schooling would look like if the goal of education were not to “improve outcomes” but to enhance individual flourishing.
A sincere hope I maintain (yes, it is #willfulhope) that we will maintain our steadfast and shared commitment to ask difficult questions, listen, foster the #permissiontofeel, and to be present. I shared these words last week with all of our families - know that they are sincere. And, thank you for doing the same in turn for me…
By no means do I/we have all of the answers, but I/we am/are happy to process, discuss, and share - my door is open - and I encourage everyone to do the same with one another. I believe the most important thing that we can let all of our students and each other know is that they/you are cared for and that we will continue our steadfast work to be a safe and supportive community.
As always, let me know of any questions/concerns.
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Take care.
Nat
#willfulhope #willfulaction #longasIcanseethelight