Dear Blake Families:
With the inherent busyness of June and our 'to do' lists continuing to grow by the minute, I hope that everyone has been able to find some time to relax and breathe. This past weekend was nice, as we celebrated my father's 74th birthday Friday evening, attended sports on Saturday, and found some time to attend our 'neglected' garden. On Sunday we headed to the Paw Sox as a family - we did this for Father's Day last year and we had a great time again this year!
One of my hopes over the next eight days of school is to keep the 'big picture' or 'end game' in mind. This is not to say that there are times where we should be keeping the vision/mission at the core of our thinking; however, I do believe there are distinct times that are more opportunistic than others (beginning of year, transitional points, and end of year). I have always liked the idea of planting seeds along the way - short term discussions that will help bridge the work towards the vision of where we want students to be at the end of their middle school years. At times the discussions we have, articles we read, or topics that come up may appear or sound repetitive (i.e. the proverbial educational pendulum that swings back and forth), but I prefer to view these topics as threads that can blend or weave our work together. I firmly believe that a thematic and concerted/focused approach will help keep us on track and increase the likelihood of yielding growth and progress (for students and adults alike). Discussions, questions, and open dialogue are critical.
With these thoughts in mind, I am sharing two posts that week that I believe have a direct connection to the mission we have at Blake: 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. Although they are different in content, the messages reflect the nature of giving students an active role and ownership in the learning process, fostering an environment that is open to change, and listening to all members of our learning community. They are worth the time to read, as we end this academic year and continue to 'plant the seeds' for the year that lies ahead...
5 Important Things to Teach Students About the Brain
by Jennifer Rita in Edudemic
This post highlights the importance of engaging students in the active thinking, reflection, and engagement of learning.
"One excellent notion that has come from 21st century thinking/teaching is a desire to understand how our brains work, and to figure out what processes are driving our actions and emotions. It is now common practice for educators to graduate from their teaching programs having learned about how the development and function of the brain can affect their students' experiences in school. While this knowledge was once directed more toward the psychological fields of study, it is now considered as vital knowledge in education as well."
"What's even more impressive about this trend is that it has become common to actually teach students, including our youngest ones, about how the brain works. The goal is not to overwhelm them with information that is beyond their ability to grasp, but rather to provide them with a simplified version of the information that can help them to better understand what they are experiencing. In essence, the hope is that by understanding their brains better, our students will be able to more effectively deal with their thoughts, emotions, and capabilities."
Why You Hate Work
by Tony Schwartz and Christine Porath in The New York Times
This post highlights the efforts of The Energy Project, a company with goals to improve employee engagement and more sustainable performance. Although the article highlights the corporate realm, we often talk about school being the 'work place' for students as well. Not surprisingly, the parallels are clear and I believe similar principles apply. When reading this op-ed, I encourage you to substitute 'students/staff' for 'employees' and the connections are clear. We need to continually work to keep students, staff, and parents engaged and connected and driven towards the greater vision and mission we have for our community.
"Employees are vastly more satisfied and productive, it turns out, when four of their core needs are met: physical, through opportunities to regularly renew and recharge at work; emotional, by feeling valued and appreciated for their contributions; mental, when they have the opportunity to focus in an absorbed way on their most important tasks and define when and where they get their work done; and spiritual, by doing more of what they do best and enjoy most, and by feeling connected to a higher purpose at work."
"The more effectively leaders and organizations support employees in meeting these core needs, the more likely the employees are to experience engagement, loyalty, job satisfaction and positive energy at work, and the lower their perceived levels of stress. When employees have one need met, compared with none, all of their performance variables improve. The more needs met, the more positive the impact."
"Put simply, the way people feel at work profoundly influences how they perform.”
With all of the endeavors we currently have on our plates (wrapping up the year, turning in grades, transition to new e-mail system, mobile learning, new database, not to mention the day to day work with our students, etc.), it is very easy for the feelings of angst and stress to take over. When these feelings take over, I find it refreshing, centering, and helpful to take a step back and view our work through a wider lens with the vision and mission in mind. We have the distinct privilege of having the opportunity to help shape and influence students every day, while also furthering our own professional and personal growth in the process. As we enter the last full week of school, I am listing the questions I sent along last week, so that they can hopefully remain at the forefront of your thinking:
- What was meaningful this year? What made teaching worthwhile? What mattered?
- Describe a positive interaction or experience you had with a student during this academic year.
- Describe or explain an accomplishment you attained or something you are proud of taking place during this academic year.
- Describe a particular student or situation during the school year who or that you feel you could have handled in a way that would have resulted in a more positive learning experience.
- What is an area that you would like to grow professionally?
Finally, I am sharing a post by John Spencer that Pat Larkin (@patrickmlarkin) tweeted, 15 Ways Fatherhood Changed Me as a Teacher. I often share how fortunate I am that my personal and professional lives have influenced each other and this post resonated with me on many levels.
Please click here for Blake Updates.
Please click here for Thursday Packet Information.
Take care.
Nat Vaughn