LeaderTalk

Teacher needs advice from great leaders

Wow. I am at a loss. I have a friend who needs advice from educational leaders. The desperation in her experience is devastating.

Follow this link to read the feedback she received from her principal. Then scroll up to see the rest of the conversation.

http://tinyurl.com/sossos

What would you do?

Helping Classroom Teachers

[cross-posted at Leading from the Heart]
5 days late for my day...better late than never :)

This post is part of one of I posted to my own blog. I thought I'd share it here. Perhaps you or teachers you know have projects that could benefit from this organization. Or maybe you can help out some other teachers who need it.

I added a new plugin to Leading from the Heart this morning - ‘Possibly Related Classroom Projects’.

This plugin checks out the keywords of a post and matches them with keywords from classroom projects that need your help from donerschoose.org. It then includes links to those projects at the end of the post.

I initially saw this plugin at work on Clay’s blog, Beyond School, and then saw it again on Social Actions, a network I recently joined (It’s founder, Peter Deitz, is a fellow Montrealer - shout OUT!).

Not believing in coincidences, I knew it was time to check it out further. So here you go. Teachers have great ideas to help children learn and a passion for making them come alive - and can always use help with that. No doubt.

So this is my way of spreading the news about teachers who could use a helping hand. Check out the links below the posts in my blog (or Clays!).We could all use a little help now and then.

Walkthroughs and Learning Objectives

I had to post this. I laughed out loud. You may have already seen this, I think it is a couple of years old, but still some of the funniest 45 seconds I've seen.

Do you know what is going on in your school the way these guys do?

Principal Walkthroughs and Learning Objectives

(Am I allowed to double up on posts? ;) )
Tracy

How does one conceptualize education in a contemporary environment?

[This is cross-posted as a (lengthy :) ) comment to Digitality or Why ‘Literacy’ is Dead on Christopher Parson's Blog, Talking Creatively About Education 2.0]

Chris ponders:

"How does one conceptualize education in a contemporary environment?"

I'm going to answer that main question by answering some other questions...

Question 1:
"When a student is taught how to upload videos to YouTube, or how to create a ‘mash-up’, are they really being ‘educated’, or are they learning a set of useful skills?"

It depends how this is taught and why. The first step is definitely skill-based - in order to use any technology comfortably (including pen and paper) one needs to be skilled in using it, so that the technical process or methodology does not get in the way of the thought process. Once the technical skill is acquired however, it remains merely a useful skill unless we delve into why we are doing it.

For example. In my classes last year I had a number of students with difficulties concerning print - both in reading and writing. One student in particular has very little access to the printed word due to a deep case of dyslexia coupled with a lot of moving around and changing of schools as a younger boy. As a consequence, it was not 'diagnosed' and therefore not 'treated' (and there we have the medical terms for disease when all it is is a different way of learning...). This boy is 16 years old and has not learned appropriate strategies for communication as a dyslexic learner, up until this year he was being asked to struggle with pen and paper writing and asked to read text that was decidely immature for him (babyish) because it was of a lower level. I felt this to be insulting. And he did as well, apparently, since he spent most of the first 2 weeks of school skateboarding...not at school but at the park. So I taught him some useful skills, like uploading pictures and working with video, audio, and text to speech software. And then I taught him how to use those skills to enhance how he communicates and how he makes sense of the world. For example, I organized a special day for him with a skateboarder I know (see here:
http://leadingfromtheheart.org/2008/01/13/a-day-at-the-parkliterally/ )

Not all of how he processed the day is on the web. He wanted to keep his experiences, as well as his experiments with new technology, a bit private. He wrote some simple, very basic questions to Marc (the skateboarder) as part of the post-day experience. He was able to write them legibly by using an at&t natural voice reader that read his writing so he could hear any errors and fix them. Marc responded to his questions with a long letter that my student NEVER would have attempted reading had he not had had the text reader. I had taken pictures of his day with Marc and, because he had learned how to upload images, he was able to document his day using Photo Story where he narrated his day instead of writing about it. In this way he could communicate his experience to and from the world in ways he couldn't before he learned the nifty skills.

That's one example.

Question 2:
"The concern that I have is that literacy was born from an ordering philosophical position - literacy campaigns were designed around the need to order media in particular ways - whereas it seems to me that contemporary ‘literacies’ aim to provide exposure to, rather than an understanding of, new environments that students find themselves in."

You are making an assumption here. Students are already exposed to these environments, I don't need to expose them to it. I need to teach them both how to use the tools properly and appropriately and how to critically analyze the environments they are in. In fact, the edubloggers I read on a daily basis are not necessarily concerned with teaching students nifty skills (thought sometimes that can be fun and valid in itself) but how to use the skills for sense-making and how to make appropriate decisions for when the skills need to be used.

Question, er, statement 3:
"The most obvious response (which I don’t buy, but that’s another post entirely) is that students aren’t able to grasp broad epistemologies, and our teachers aren’t capable of explaining it. I think that this is blatantly false (students aren’t dumb, and teachers aren’t inept fools), but lets suppose that the position is as fair as I’m told it is."

Who told you this Chris? I'm glad you don't buy it. A major part of school reforms in Quebec and in other areas has to do with incorporating metacognition into learning, so that students need to be encouraged, nay, taught how to think about thinking, how to think about what and why they make the decisions they make about learning. Granted, it is not an easy process, and teachers are struggling with how to do this effectively and how to assess and report on it, yet it is made easier via the diverse tools available to us.

So, how does one conceptualize education today?

The focus needs to be on sense-making. Knowledge is out there. It is no longer the property of the teacher until she or he shares it with students. It would be unfair not to acknowledge the roles that digital tools play in literacy. And so, I agree with what you write "...teachers should focus on why we use particular environments for particular things." Definitely.

I am really enjoying our latest conversations on literacy, Chris. You are inspiring me to think more deeply about something I care about very much and I hope this continues. I also hope that others join in.
Thanks,
Tracy

Learning: a focus on motivation

I recently completed a course at Concordia University in Montreal with Dr. Phil Abrami - Instructional Theories. We spent a lot of time looking at all of the different instructional theories from behaviorist theories to situative. Toward the end of the course we (at least I did) came to the conclusion that we need to spend more time talking and learning about motivation - we can study human behaviour, we can study how the brain works, we can look at fMRI imaging of it even! But until we figure out how to make students want to learn, what good will it do?

Jeff Wasserman recently reflected:

But I want to focus on giving my students only meaningful work to do, only things that have a clear value to them. the trick, I suppose, is to figure out what those things are.

This is something I want to focus on as well, as I think value it is closely connected to motivation.

Is this something that you focus on? How?

Black-focused Public School in Toronto by 2009...What do you think?

[cross-posted at Leading from the Heart]

Today is not my day to post...but I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on this one...

Toronto trustees vote in favour of black-focused schools

cbc.ca -Tuesday, January 29, 2008

“A proposal to create Canada’s first black-focused public school was approved by Toronto District School Board trustees Tuesday night.

They have recommended the creation of an alternative school that features a curriculum and teaching environment oriented around black history and culture.

Some parents have said they want to try something new because the current system isn’t working. As many as 40 per cent of black students don’t graduate from Toronto high schools.

Angela Wilson is a mother of two who has been at the forefront of a push for Afrocentric or black-focused schools for years.

“Make our education system better for everybody,” she said.

“It’s not a one size fits all education system. It’s actually working its way to be one size fits few — and the few that are successful do not look like me.”

Trustees were supposed to have discussed a report delivered last week that makes four major recommendations:

• Open an Africentric alternative school in 2009.
• Start a three-year pilot program in three other high schools.
• Work with York University to improve school achievement.
• Develop a plan to help failing students.

Supporters said those options will keep black students engaged and in school, but opponents said it will lead to greater isolation.

“I just feel being with a mixed group of people is better, you know, you get to learn different cultures, different aspects of different people, the way they live,” said Grade 10 student Terrin Smith-Williams.”

hmmmm….not sure what I think about this yet.

My gut feeling is that it is a cop out. It is a way of saying we are addressing issues of student learning without looking at the whole system.

Or…perhaps it is a step toward a new system. Creating student-centred schools that focus on the different communities they are in.

Like I said…still thinking…

What about you? What do you think about this proposal…ready to go next year!

Wishes, Hopes, and Dreams

[cross-posted in a somewhat modified way at leading from the heart]

If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn - Charlie Parker
It's as good a time as any to look at wishes, hopes, and dreams. After all, how can we move towards a better future unless we define what we wish, hope, and dream for it?

I know that I can be a good leader. I've been floating for the past month or so though. I've been letting things slide in my classroom, I've been hiding from my work, I haven't been digging deep into the planning of what my students need or what I need.

Last Monday I went back to teaching after the holiday break, and last Tuesday I went back to the classroom myself as I began my PhD studies in Educational Technology. Like I said, - as good a time as any to think towards the future.

My wishes, hopes, and dreams?

Courage - to keep pushing the envelope with my kids and myself. To not let ourselves get too comfortable because I know that true learning needs discomfort. And to stand up tall in the discomfort and plug away even harder.

Strength - to keep my vision clear and to not let it be chipped away by criticism ("that'll never work")

Structure - to keep my focus I will need to build and maintain a solid structure to help balance my PhD work, my work with the kids, my personal life

Fun and Laughter - without that, all else is useless :)

I've also been thinking of a recent conversation I was in over at EdTech Journeys about coaching. I love the coaching I receive from my online community, but I also feel the need for some personal interaction - a phone call, a meeting over coffee...on some days over something a bit stronger.

One of the wonderful things about blogging is communicating with others all over the world. I realize, though, that I have not encountered anyone else from Montreal here! It'd be lovely to meet with some of my blogging friends in person, to add another dimension to the reading/writing relationship that I cherish, to add depth to the conversations, to add some soul.

I'll leave this post now, thinking about how to turn that last dream into something real...and welcoming any other suggestions...feeling reflective at the beginning of this new year
Tracy

Metamorphosis, no better metaphor for this.
~Invincible

Download No-Compromises.mp3

mp3 No Compromises originally downloaded from: FREE THE P! Palestine Takes NYC's East Village by Storm, article by Remi Kanazi, The Electronic Intifada, 17 October 2005 is from www.freethep.com compilation which is a fundraiser for the film Slingshot Hiphop ! Many thanks to Invincible for allowing its use here.

Should school boards be abolished?

[cross posted at Leading from the Heart ]

Over the past few years I’ve been hearing people talk about the idea of abolishing school boards in Quebec.

This past week it was in the news again:

Dumont ready to bring down Quebec gov’t over school boards

ADQ Leader Mario Dumont said Tuesday he’s willing to force a confidence vote over the future of Quebec school boards.

The Action Démocratique du Québec is tabling a motion for a confidence vote in the national assembly over the Liberal government’s refusal to abolish school boards.

If the Parti Québécois supports the motion it would be enough to topple Premier Jean Charest’s Liberal minority government, which would force elections in December. ..

…Dumont said the continued existence of school boards is a fundamental issue in Quebec.

School board elections held last weekend failed to draw more than 20 per cent of registered voters — proof it’s time to review their mandate, the ADQ leader said.

The Parti Quebecois did not end up supporting the motion (no one wanted early elections) but I am sure this is not the last we hear of this.

I’m wondering what you think about the idea of getting rid of school boards. The idea behind it is so that money can go directly to schools instead of being spent on the boards’ bureaucratic machines. (Uh oh…did I just give away my bias? )

Some things I imagine…

Imagine if money that was used on school board consultant salaries, for example, was used to support teachers as they consult with each other within their own school communities and across different school communities?

Imagine if some of that money could be used to hire external consultants that a school community could choose based on the specific needs of each school.

Imagine if external consultants had to compete for the privilege of working in a school community - imagine the quality of consulting that would result.

Imagine if teachers were forced to create things like policy about their own practice.

Oh…the places we could go!

Gaining focus in reform

I really think that we are focusing on the wrong things in education reform.

Recent education reform in Quebec - and I am sure it is similar in other areas - has focused on creating new curriculum for students.

Technology reforms focus on how we can best use technology in the classroom to improve student learning and to make it more authentic.

Today I responded to John Brandt’s discussion thread in the TeachingFutures wiki about his passion for  making all teachers good teachers. What he wrote got me to thinking about how to do that. Is it really through curricular or technological reform? In both cases I hear proponents of the reforms saying that teachers need to change what they are doing, that they need to become more in tune with ‘the reform’.

What if we were to become more in tune with teachers? Instead of focusing on curriculum and tools with which to teach it, what if we were to focus on the teachers who will be working with the children?

In a recent post of mine I quote Senator Barack Obama when he spoke in his 2005 speech, Teaching Our Kids in a 21st Century Economy, about the influence a teacher has on a child’s success. He said:

        From the moment our children step into a classroom, new evidence shows that the single most important factor in determining their achievement today is not the color of their skin or where they come from; it’s not who their parents are or how much money they have.

        It’s who their teacher is. It’s the person who will brave some of the most difficult
schools, the most challenging children, and accept the most meager compensation simply to give someone else the chance to succeed.

Each time I read or hear that I repeat to myself

It is who their teacher is

There is a lot of ‘after the fact’ professional development for teachers. I call it ‘after the fact’ because it seems to come after curricular reform in answer to panicked teacher response to having to deal with change in how they teach.

It seems to me we are going about it backwards. I think that the reform that will finally take place that will actually stick will be when we reform the way we support and nurture teachers.

[cross-posted at Leading From the Heart]

Remaining curious

(cross-posted at leadingfromtheheart)

About a week and a half ago, the night before beginning at a new school, I wrote a post called Allowing Curriculum Planning to Remain Curious. I wrote about how I needed to remain curious about my students and their contexts in order to create meaningful curriculum for them.

Today I am struck with how important it is to remain curious. One of the reasons I reminded myself to remain curious, to not fall back on old assumptions about learning, is because I am in a new school. With a new school comes a whole new culture and different sets of needs and expectations. Christian Long helped me towards this reminder when he wrote, in his note to self on the eve of his own first day at a new school, "You have plenty of time to share new ideas, but listening, watching, and respecting is the first rule of business. Listening and watching is your best trait going forward in this first year."

My mind keeps returning to that notion of remaining curious. How easy it is to be curious now that I am in a new school, but I am already noticing that I have created opinions about my students and the school that I take for granted after only one week! So, how much easier it is to create assumptions and rely on them rather than question and try to understand!

I'm coming to the realization that remaining curious about what I do as a teacher, a program planner, a member of a school community is precious. By keeping myself open to possibilities, by trying to understand the hows and whys of things, I keep education alive for me and it remains my passion.

So my task going forward is remembering to remain curious.