To help encourage conversations and dialogue about resolutions, beginnings, and renewal as we welcome in 2018, our topic/question of the week is: Please complete this statement: For 2018, I am committed to these 1-2 resolutions... Time for Renewal (Week of 1/1/18) (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.
Happy New Year! I hope that this holiday vacation was restful, meaningful, rejuvenating, and fun for all. We had a relaxed week, enjoying time with family/friends, going to the Celtics-Rockets game as a family, and ringing in the New Year with my parents in Chatham - always a festive time. We also did our best to stay warm during the frigid temps - yikes! In an effort to try and decompress (always a challenge) over the week, I enjoyed reading one of my new gifts - Born to Be Wild: Why Teens Take Risks, and How We Can Help Keep Them Safe by Jess Shatkin (read about it in this post/excerpt in MindShift - Exaggerated Thoughts That Can Cause Adolescents to Misperceive Reality), and I am not quite done but can say for sure it is a 'must read' for all parents and educators. It challenged some of my own preconceived notions and beliefs and opened my eyes to new opportunities and entry points, and in this vein, I hope to be able to carry forth some of this framework (the concepts introduced in the book as well as an openness for new opportunities and entry points) into my day-to-day work and life in 2018. As has been my practice at the start of each calendar year, I am sharing some 'end-of-year' posts/lists/readings that have been of interest for me (I shared my own version before vacation within the blog post, Protective Factors) and I hope they are of interest for you too...
'The Top/Year-End Lists'
The Best Education “Year-In-Review” Round-Ups For 2017
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 2017. I recommend bookmarking this site.
2017’s Top 10 Quotes on Education Issues
Compiled by the editors at Education Week
Top Education Stories of 2017: Education Week’s Most Viewed
Compiled by the editors at Education Week
Top Education Commentaries of 2017: Education Week's Most Viewed
Compiled by the editors at Education Week
This list is one of my favorites to read through each year, and I particularly enjoyed # 4...
What the Standards-Based Movement Got Wrong by Jenny Froehle
The Teaching Profession in 2017 (in Charts)
by Madeline Will in Education Week Teacher
This is a nice listing from Will, as it provides a visual perspective on the past calendar year in education.
Top 10 Educational Leadership Articles of 2017
Chosen by ASCD In-Service staff from Educational Leadership
The Stories We Were Told about Education Technology in 2017
by Audrey Watters (@audreywatters)
This list was recommended to me by my good friend and 'human database of information' (my term for her), Beth Holland (@brholland). As Beth noted in a recent e-mail to me, these are 'not for the faint of heart' yet are incredibly thought-provoking posts about education technology - rife with ideas and implications for our work and our students.
My Top 5 Posts from 2017
by George Couros (@gcouros)
It is hard to not incorporate thoughts from Couros, as he continually models self-reflection and growth. His openness and vulnerability serve as a model for me as an educator, father, friend, and partner. His words below highlight and underscore his approach and thematic vision for learning and growth.
As I was talking to a group of educators this past week, I shared that if you do not look back at the beginning of your career with a little bit of embarrassment, you should be concerned that you haven’t grown.1 No matter how great you were when you started, you should be better now. Learning, not only teaching, is part of the job.
As I look at this list, I have seen that as I have had more of a focus on my own mental and physical health this year, my posts have focused a lot more on the social-emotional well-being of students and educators alike. I really appreciate all of the people who have taken the time to read and comment on what I have shared this year, and hope that this new year coming up is one where you continue to find your own success, whatever that may look like.
A Few 'Big Picture' Posts
Is It the End of Math Homework?
by AJ Juliani (@ajjuliani)
I shared this the math department and content specialists prior to vacation - eye-opening and inspiring at the same time. It is an important read and is one that we will touch on at our January faculty meeting as a Blake staff.
They could have balked at PBL in math class and focused on a more traditional I do, We do, You do approach. But they worked together to solve a problem with a better way of doing things. Not an easier way. A better way. Project-based learning takes a lot of work to plan and put together on the teacher end. It takes time to tweak and iterate and make better during and after the project is complete. Yet, that is what we are here for. We are here to provide students with learning opportunities that they could not get somewhere online. We are here to give kids the support and challenge they need to be successful in any type of environment. When we see challenges, do we treat them like opportunities to do things better, or hope for a solution that can get us back to an old way of doing things? I’d love to hear in the comments how you are doing new things in new ways in your classroom and school. We all need to hear each other’s stories and strategies to give kids awesome experiences that they could only have with an adult who understands how to engage and empower on a daily basis.
Are We Getting Better at the Wrong Things?
by Katie Martin (@katiemartinedu)
The focus of this post is on our current and (hopefully) evolving models of professional development, but the title of the post is one that I think we should hold onto in all of our endeavors - it is a question that prompts individual and collective reflection.
The Year of Agency
by Beth Holland (@brholland) in Edutopia
(I shared the post two years ago when she wrote it at the end of the 2015 calendar year - my hope is that the educational world, including us here at Blake and in Medfield, can make more progress in this regard than we have the last two years - maybe 2018 will indeed be the year!)...
Beth's post outlines a vision of 'agency' for our students in 2016, and I believe this empowerment of students holds great promise at Blake as we look to continue our work of answering this essential question - ‘How Can We Curate the Progression of Student Learning and Growth?’
Now that students have increased access to digital tools and devices, I think that 2016 may be the year of student agency -- the ability to act independently within a given environment and assume an amount of control and empowerment. In other words, this may be the year to truly empower students to become active learners.
Given the tools available, we have more opportunities to engage students in cognitive apprenticeships, provide them with opportunities to practice the tenets of good citizenship, and encourage them to construct their own understanding of the world. This may be the year of agency as we empower our students to assume an active role in their learning and play a critical part in the construction of their environment.
2018 - The Year of Agency, Take 2
by Beth Holland (@brholland) in Education Week
This is Beth's updated version for 2018 - an excellent read that pushes us to look at our institutions of learning...
For the past two years, agency has become synonymous with "choice." Not real choice, more like the kind where you ask a child if they prefer blueberries or strawberries even though you could care less what they choose as long as it is fruit. As Richardson wrote, in this same vein, we have started "playing at agency" through choices of technology or how to consume content. Some students might gain full freedom, for short periods, through a Genius Hour or a Maker Course. And yet, in each situation, agency is bounded by the institutional norms of traditional education.
In reflecting on the writings of both Morris and Richardson, I realize that agency can only develop when students exist in an environment of collective capacity - when they see themselves as a community of learners working towards a shared objective and understanding. Not an "objective" like demonstrating an ability to conjugate a verb, or regroup numbers, or describe the events leading up to the start of some historical calamity, but one that students themselves identify as a community. If we want students to take agency, to assume control over their own learning, then classrooms need to embrace a culture of shared intellectual growth and deep respect of the individual voices that contribute to the development of the group.
According to the Worldwide Educating for the Futures Index, the systems best prepared for the future are those that ensure students learn how to learn (Walton, 2017). Excellent systems create conditions where students engage in critical thinking, ask complex questions, seek out novel solutions, co-construct new knowledge, and ultimately develop their own sense of agency within a community of learners. For 2018, my hope is that education leaders will start to challenge the institution, to demand the development of a language of pedagogy within their districts and schools, and to model transparency and sharing in support of building learning communities. I hope that educators will collaborate, communicate, and share their practice for the betterment of these communities. Finally, I hope that the outside stakeholders - the parents, school boards, politicians, business leaders, and the rest of the civic community - will recognize that it is time to challenge the institution of school and demand that leaders, as well as educators, do so. Once again, I hope that 2018 will be the year of agency, but this time, not just for the students.
A Bigger Vision
by George Couros (@gcouros)
This post from February, 2016 serves as a wonderful centering premise for resolutions and beginnings - identifying, maintaining, and living a bigger vision at all levels of education. The relationship and correlation between actions and vision is critical - an important two-way street.
Often we get focused on going to sessions, in hopes of what we can do on “Monday”, but legacy is built not on one day, but every day. The “quick fix” is often taken over a longer term vision. Think about it, how often do we focus on the “next big thing” over going deep in what we are doing now. Three year plans, are replaced with new three year plans, without looking back on what we have accomplished and where we need to go.
Every conversation, whether it is in the classroom, on the playground, or in the hallway, can make a difference in shaping those minds and developing the leaders of today and tomorrow. Reminder…legacy is not built in one day, but every day. Vision does not become reality without our actions, but those actions and what we choose to do daily, is the only way any vision will come to fruition.
My Annual Shares
6 Media Resolutions Every Family Should Make in 2018
by Caroline Knorr in Common Sense Media
Each year Knorr shares her advice for how families can try and make sense of the benefits and challenges that we all encounter and embrace with media. 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.
From crazy YouTube videos to marathon Minecraft sessions to sexy selfies, kids are constantly testing the limits (and our patience) with new stuff they want to download, watch, and play. Even as we encourage our kids to use their devices for good (homework, making things, learning stuff), we still butt heads over safety, screen time, age-appropriate content, and the importance of making eye contact instead of staring at your screen when a human being is talking to you.
Well, 2018 can be the year you do things differently. Learning to live in harmony with media and tech -- in a way that works for your family -- is one of the most forward-thinking actions you can take as a parent raising kids in the digital age. Who knows? One of these may be the start of a new family tradition.
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 I find it resonates each time I come back to it. # 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.'
This week I will be taking some time to formally name my resolutions for 2018, and I look forward to hearing and learning about yours as well. Hold onto the spirit and energy of vacation - looking forward to reconnecting with all. The last few years I have borrowed Larry Ferlazzo's sharing of Bill Ivey's words to foster optimism, gratitude, and recognition for education - a nice way to start anew each year ...
Each and every school day will bring tens of thousands of reasons to celebrate in schools across the country. - Bill Ivey
I also want to share and highlight these quotes - affirming progress, embracing resistance, and the importance of 'finding flowers'...
Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
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Take care.
Nat