Search results matching tag 'teachers'

My Day in Court

Anonymous — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:50:00 GMT

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I teach in a basement with five other teachers. During a tornado drill, my class gets to stay put because we’re in the safest place in the building. Recently I quipped with my principal that every time I poke my head above ground I feel like I’m walking into the aftermath of a tornado and want to retreat below the surface.

Three months ago I ventured above ground to make copies for class. As I walked across the courtyard of our school, some students gathered in social groups, others were moving toward their classes. I nearly made it all the way across when a young man approached a small group and punched another young man in the back of the head.

I was far enough along to keep moving and pretend I didn’t notice. I won’t lie, I considered this option. I could have ducked into the building, leaving the action behind. As the men (can you call 17 and 18 year olds boys?) began posturing and yelling at each other I looked across the courtyard for other adults.

No one.

Now I’m stuck.

A fight is breaking out and no one is here to help.

Before they started throwing punches I determined that coming between them was a no win approach for any of us. I couldn’t choose one to restrain without just holding him for the other to pummel. So as the arms started flying, I embraced them both, bringing them as close together as possible, keeping them from punching.

The three of us continued an awkward dance for what seemed like two or three minutes. Probably more like seconds. All three of us ended up on the ground before two other teachers, three administrators, a security aide, and the school resource officer finally separated the mass of people.

We haven’t had a fight in the basement in over fifteen years. It had been a while since I’ve had to intervene. I had such an adrenaline rush during the incident I felt hungover the rest of the day.

I’d never seen the two students before. I didn’t know their names. The administrators didn’t make me write a referral, but I had to write a description of what I saw. I completed it that day and sent it. Story over, right.

Wrong.

Today I get to spend the day in court.

I want to be an enlightened educator. I want to provide meaningful experiences for students. I want to give them freedom and choice in their education. I want them to collaborate and learn together. I want students to engage in discovery. And I try to make all of this happen.

But today, my students will take a multiple choice test and watch a video because their year is one day from over and I’m in court.

There is a realism to teaching that gets lost. It’s easy to talk about the ideal of intrinsically motivated students just waiting for a teacher to find the spark that drives them to creativity and a passion for learning.

But then you step in between two grown men throwing punches at each other. You sit in the back of the classroom for several minutes allowing your body to recover while students discuss “who won.” You worry that the dirt on one of the three pairs of nice pants you own will wash out. You hope the pain in your forty year old back is only temporary. You wonder how many other adults in the world are expected to use physical force in their job without any formal training. And you wonder how easy it would have been to just stay underground and keep your head down.

Then you realize you’re better than all that. The progressives can criticize us for lack of creativity, the corporate reformers can criticize us for incompetence, and nearly everyone can accuse us of thinking of ourselves instead of our students.

Even when our actions everyday say otherwise.

The Ninety Second Evaluation

Anonymous — Fri, 10 May 2013 19:50:00 GMT

So an “enlightened” student calls out a “terrible” teacher and the nation takes notice. It doesn’t bother me so much that a “terrible” teacher, teaching by packet may finally be getting his/her comeuppance so much as the belief that a minute and thirty seconds is all that we need to make a judgment.

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Does context matter?

I worry about context in my classroom regularly. When students in my class learn about Sigmund Freud and the Oedipus complex, a minute of class taken out of context could lead to serious questions about my fitness for the classroom.

Pulling situations out of context takes me back to my Fundamentalist Baptist upbringings where I learned that you would go to *** for drinking beer or growing long hair. All you’ve got to do is lift a few obscure verses from the Bible and you can support about any argument you want.

So, for the teacher haters, here’s another verse to add to your arsenal. Nevermind the hundreds of minutes in that classroom outside of the minute+ clip. Now you have proof. Teachers are lazy because most of them just sit at their desks and watch students do worksheets.

We are primed for this.

The narrative of the bad teacher has taken a foothold, so strongly that even educational leaders are willing to propagate the story even when they make little serious effort to “right the wrong” they perceive in the classroom outside of dreaming dreams about how it should be done.

I think some people want this to happen. In the nineteen-eighties, the “welfare queen” imagery changed the dialogue on public assistance. Today, even progressive educators propagate the “lazy teacher” taking advantage of the cognitive shortcut to real critical thinking as a way to promote themselves or their agenda. In a different era or culture, the immediate critique would point to the student’s lack of respect and discipline. I’m not saying that’s where we should go, but we’re creating a culture primed to find the fault in the educator.

What’s fair to judge?

Walk a mile… I teach highly motivated 11^th and 12^thgraders an AP curriculum. I have a hard time thinking I’m a better teacher than my colleagues teaching younger students who aren’t inherently engaged in the activities of school. It’s hard work, and just because my students are engaged and I don’t write discipline referrals doesn’t mean I know how everyone else should do it. I can humbly offer suggestions, but too often they get bravado from the all star educator or the professional thinkers in education that have the nerve to suggest that lack of engagement is 100% a teacher problem.

I don’t teach by packet. I’ve asked students to learn on their own from time to time with paper and pencil and technology, but I recognize as the young man in the video that not everyone learns that way. If they did, I’d be irrelevant.

If every word from the kid was true, if the teacher engages the class the majority of the time in the manner we see in the video, then yes, there is a problem. Perhaps some other questions should be asked:

Is the teacher held fully accountable for student knowledge of numerous discreet facts they will have to know for a standardized test?

Does the teacher receive adequate time to plan engaging activities for the classroom?

Does the teacher receive adequate time to evaluate student learning well enough to allow it to inform instruction?

Does the school create an appropriate schedule and provide time for the teacher to collaborate with other teachers to share ideas and keep each other informed (and accountable) of what’s working and what is not in the classroom?

Is the teacher encouraged to share success and failures, to take risks, or has she learned that as long as you lay low and don’t make waves they’ll assume you’re doing a good job and overlook you?

I know this much is true. A teacher in Texas had a bad minute and a half.

If that’s an accurate representation of her professional accomplishments I hate it for the young man in the video and every student who’s suffered under her instruction.

If we saw the culmination of a strained relationship between an obstinate young man and his exhausted teacher then shame on everyone who thinks they’d do a better job.

6 Smart and the Dumb Things They Say(and why that matters)

Anonymous — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:48:00 GMT

The setting was Education Nation 2.0 2011 at Stanford University. Yeah it has been two years, but this still very much applies today. So as we look back, think of today.

"Master interviewer and PBS host Charlie Rose and a distinguished panel of luminaries tackle the tough questions of how to improve our troubled school system and provide a better future for our nation's greatest resource, our kids."

If by "distinguished panel of luminaries" they mean people at least 2x as smart as me, own nice suits and probably read a lot more books, they they are right. But I am confident I know as much as any of them about the state of education and what will and won't work. Too bad no members of the TU have ever been described as a "luminaries". Because we are remarkably average in many ways.But that would make this post too long. :)

So let's talk participants for a moment.

Charlie Rose-"master interviewer"(Charlie is my man...but Chuck appears to have had some Kool Aid somewhere, maybe in the Green Room or on the plane out West. He all to readily accepts just about everything that is said. I give him an F for this one. Too bad no one representing the average teacher was invited. Maybe they were. But if they were I suspect they were too busy actually working to show up.

Salman Khan-from the Khan Academy. I love this guy. But he is way too smart for average people. I think he's been in the bubble near Gates too long and lost touch. We've mentioned him before and are not wary what he does, instead by how it can be misunderstood and misrepresented by politicians. Still, of the participants he seems to be the only one to have really tried to help and done some work instead of talking, telling others what to do or writing a book.

Corey A. Booker-Two time Mayor of Newark, NJ who's made plenty of news lately. He never met a camera he didn't like and is a classic politician from humble roots. Not faulting him there. Seems like a heck of a guy. But also one who's ideas trump those of everyone else. Booker is very into doing stuff. Action for the sake of action. Much of what he says either outrages me or makes me feel better. He's a wild card. Like Charlie from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

John L. Hennessy- Stanford University's 10th president and inaugural holder of the Bing Presidential Professorship-(what is that?). As President of Stanford he gets to be on all round tables automatically-really? What exactly does he know about the average public school classroom?

Kim Smith- CEO of Bellweather Education Partners and one of the original of TFA(yuck) I am ignoring what she says simply because of that. Well not all of it actually but I still am programmed for skepticism after a decade and a half of teaching. My bad.

Claude M. Steele-Despite his awesome name the Dean of Stanford’s School of Education, he is simply way too bright for me to understand fully without visual aids. I think I rarely beat up on academics for being academics. But I feel like I want to in this case.

Reed Hastings-co-founder and CEO of Netflix. OK, not sure why he is even there unless someone with actual merit regarding education canceled last minute. Maybe the CEO of Blockbuster? Netflix? I mean come on, they want 40% original programming?....even I know that's probably a dumb idea. But again, why is he there?

So some of what they said:
"Frame for us the issues"-Hmmm, so basically tell us what you think is wrong. Not everyone think r sees things the same and that is good. But when one group imposes its version as the way it is, not so good. Ask any teacher to frame the issues and odds are you'll get a somewhat different response.
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"Redefine education before it redefines us." Wow that is so catchy. Makes me want to run out and design a school on a CAD program somewhere. Then throw a bunch of kids inside and walk away.
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America's schools are in trouble. Twenty-five percent of American kids drop out of high school. Those that do graduate often are ill prepared for either college or a job. The U.S. Secretary of Education has even mandated: "we have to deal with the brutal truth."
Is the problem money? School administrators? Teachers unions? Parents? There's plenty of blame to go around, yet all agree it's a problem we must address. If we wait, the U.S. will lose its competitive edge, more young Americans will end up in dead-end jobs, and the U.S will drop to second-tier status. - There is a lot here to break down. I don't have time. Some in trouble yes. If the Secretary of Education says it, it must be true. no way politics or anything like that would affect judgment.
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Designing an education that builds the necessary skills for today's diverse student population is not easy. But there is hope: innovations and innovators that challenge the status quo; research to help us understand how to make the changes; and reformers experimenting with new ways to teach, learn, and run our public schools.
The questions that need answering are complex:

How do we attract and retain good teachers, especially in math and science?
What is the best way to hold schools accountable and promote effective instruction?
What should the role of unions be?
How do charter schools fit into the overall solution?

-All of that makes sense but ignores the fact that education and schools are full of people. Many of them innovators. To imply, overtly or tacitly that innovation has to come from outside is not only foolish but dangerous. Especially when those innovators stand to make large sums of money from gaining access, influence and and control.

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Get rid of elected schooboards.- Yes absolutely, let's remove democratic principles and put for profit or non profit entities in charge of all things...our children. One cannot be selective in the application of democracy You are either with us, or waving a red flag and playing soccer with your Che shirt on. I know the West coast tends to lean left but the fact no one called him on this is worrisome. To me this is proof that those inside the bubble not only won't get it, but can't.
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At the 9:10 mark Corey Booker discusses the "Silence and inaction of the majority of Americans." he views this as a failure to respond to current conditions. That is a great point and perhaps he is correct. He certainly would be in many districts across the nation. But is this true everywhere? Are all districts and schools the same?
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Once again I am left scratching my head at the lack of honest and open discourse and inclusion of others views which may very well be the only chance for successful and meaningful reform. I guess it makes for good TV though.

It matters because here you have some clearly intelligent and well meaning people whose proximity to the actual classroom and actual students minimizes their awareness. Yet it is they and others like them who have been entrusted to steer the boat. They are not sure how it works, how much it can take or how exactly it works.

The TU would like to create a Education Renovation 3.0 , 2013. It is faster, better and has more memory than the 2.0 version. The panel here consists of not luminaries but people who work with kids. We probably can't afford a nice stage or TV cameras or a webcast. But it would though generate local innovation and momentum for positive change, hopefully free of the pitfalls plaguing current reform efforts. There would be a panel with one or more educational leaders, concerned parents, building level administrators, counselors, community members, business people, and policy experts. But if there was anyone on the stage, the largest number of seats would go to experienced teachers. The people who face the realities of education firsthand. These teachers would represent a broad spectrum of communities. Rich and Poor. Urban and Rural. And not to be forgotten we would find some way to involve students.

#edcampcle and #ohedchat TweetUp: Two events that you CAN’T MISS

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 02:40:24 GMT

If you’re going to be in Ohio in June, there are two events that you cannot miss.

The first of these is #edcampcle taking place in Cleveland on Saturday, June 14. Wondering what an edcamp is? Check this out from the website:

What is an EdCamp?
When people attend professional conferences, they often remark that the best parts are the spaces between the sessions. When professionals have the opportunity to informally interact with one another, they make connections and collaborate on the things that are important to them.

EdCamp takes the best parts of the conference — the spaces between the sessions — and makes that the whole conference.

The “Unconference” Experience

Bring your own agenda. You’re going to decide the topics for the day. In the morning, we’ll have a big board with a blank schedule for the day. If you’re interested in facilitating a session, put your topic on the board. As more things are added, attendees can indicate the topics they’re most interested in. Those with the most votes will be added to the schedule.

After a brief welcome, the day consists of four breakout sessions that are chosen and facilitated by the attendees. These might include discussions about particular issues, brainstorming sessions to identify solutions to a common problem, or collaborative sessions to share resources and ideas. All of the sessions will be participatory. While the facilitator may have some resources to share, the contributions of all attendees will make this a truly valuable experience for everyone.

To get a better feel for how an EdCamp is different from a traditional conference, check out this video, produced by True Life Media for EdCamp Philly. The EdCamp movement started in Philadelphia in 2010. Since then, successful EdCamp events have been held in dozens of cities throughout the world.

To attend, all you have to do is show up. No registration is required, unless you want to help with organizing and planning.

Speaking of….I’m part of the duo helping to organize volunteers for the day. If you’re interested in any of the following, email me to be added to the list:

Here are some things you might be doing as a volunteer:
- checking people in
- handing out “swag” (like water bottles, coffee cups, pencils)
- handing out raffle tickets
- hanging posters
- directing “traffic” in the hallways
- using a flip camera to record sessions
- taking photos
- encouraging “chatter” between other educators
- helping with raffle at the end of the day
- passing out prizes
- helping with lunch

There are plenty of other ways to help. To do so, register yourself for helping to plan/organize.

The second event in June is the first EVER #ohedchat TweetUp on Saturday, June 29 in Columbus, OH.

Molly Bloom (from TweetUp sponsor State Impact NPR) describes it:

What is a tweetup?

A tweetup is a chance for people with shared interests who have been chatting online to meet in person and continue their discussions face-to-face.

Where and when is the #ohedchat tweetup?

It’s on June 29 from noon-3 p.m. at COSI in Columbus. It’s free and open to all.

What will happen at the tweetup?

The tweetup will include an “un-icebreaker,” opportunities to meet fellow #ohedchat participants, table discussions on topics discussed on #ohedchat, an “around the horn” panel for intellectual engagement and lots of tweeting, sharing, laughing, learning and food.

Why should I go?

Because you want to meet other educators passionate about their work. Because you want to meet that guy only know by Twitter username. Because you want to learn what’s working in other schools. Because it won’t be boring.

And check out this cool graphic made by Medina’s own Stacy Hawthorne:

Shout outs to all the various Ohio educators working on this endeavor–with special mentions to the fearless leader @jr_evans and archivist @mdroush.

We’d love for you to register, but showing up on the day of is great as well.

Wondering who else is coming? See the list of those registered (remember, registration not required!).

Time

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:00:00 GMT

I’ve been busy. It takes a lot of time and energy to teach one-hundred and thirty teenagers in six different classes.

You can’t just walk into a room and teach. Most people don’t think about this. For anyone who doesn’t teach, think about the last time you had to prepare for a presentation or speech. How long did it take? And did you really engage an audience or just talk to them and show pictures?

Preparing to teach a lesson takes time.

Student’s don’t (and shouldn’t) work without feedback. I’ve found a few learning experiences that students enjoy just for the fun of it, or because they’re curious enough to engage, but even if minimal feedback wasn’t required for nearly every activity, we still have to assess for learning in multiple ways. For anyone who doesn’t teach, think about how much time you take to pay the monthly bills, or file your tax returns. Or maybe it’s the monthly maintenance around your house. Sometimes it’s more enjoyable than others, but sometimes you just have to do it. And the consequences of not doing it can be disastrous.

Assessing student work and giving feedback takes time.

That alone is a full-time job, enough to consume an entire workday and beyond.

If you really want to engage with your family, involve yourself in the community, and maybe enjoy an hour or two of personal leisure in the week it’s hard to do much more. It’s hard to even do your best.

That’s why we’ve been so quiet lately.

Preparing for the Future

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:06:00 GMT

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I love “survivalist” reality shows on television. The best ones focus on the need to simplify and make sure of two things in a survival situation. 1) Make sure to acquire basic needs (as opposed to wants) and supplies. 2) Value items that provide multiple uses. The main idea of these two points being that if you take care of the essentials, use a little creativity, and prepare to adapt your chances of surviving and perhaps even flourishing increase greatly.

We’re rarely confronted with the need to adopt a “survivalist” mentality because our world is relatively predictable from day-to-day. When it isn’t and disaster strikes, we face uncertainty and failing to prepare for and react to uncertainty is deadly.

My school district is beginning a process of creating a new strategic vision and plan for the future. At it’s root, that’s what education is about, preparing students for the future. That’s not an easy task when the future is an uncertain place.

All educators should be familiar with the “Shift Happens” videos and the Beloit College “Mindset Lists.” These resources describe the ways that our world has changed and is changing for current students. The lesson we should take from these resources is that predicting the future is futile. Twenty years ago, I lived in a dying analog world quickly being taken over by a digital revolution. Today I’m fully immersed in a digital world. When I consider twenty-years from now, it would be foolish to not consider that by then our world will be post-digital with a new set of challenges and opportunities that we’d never think of today.

As I sit playing a video game on my iPhone, I remember the first “Pong” system I played as a child. I carry a device in my pocket that connects me to the world, serving as my map, calendar, entertainment, reference source, a place to shop, do my banking, and communicate in ways that weren’t even possible twenty years ago. How did my education prepare me for this world?

Teaching students to adapt to an unpredictable future requires that we teach them enduring principles and ideas and give them the opportunity to apply those ideas in multiple ways.

I learned how to read and use a map in school. It doesn’t matter that I use it on my phone today, knowing how to locate yourself and others in the world is essential.

I learned personal and collective responsibility in school. Google calendar sends me text reminders every week so that I don’t forget to take out the trash, but I learned the importance of keeping up with my tasks because of the effect it has on me and others with paper and pencil.

I sometimes spend too much time watching videos and playing games on my mobile phone. I also remember wasting entire Sunday afternoons listening to the top 40 countdown on the radio waiting for the song I wanted to record on my cassette tape. Unfortunately I didn’t learn enough about not wasting time in school.

I learned that context matters in school and different levels of respect were required in different situations. I prefer texting to communicate today, but I still take the time to make sure my grammar is correct and the tone is evident to avoid miscommunication. I learned this because my teachers all had different expectations that I sometimes had to discover on my own through trial and error.

I recently read a book written by one of the stars of the above mentioned “survival” shows. It included an old cartoon of a couple in a fallout shelter, surrounded by stocks of canned food. The wife berated the husband for forgetting the can opener.

What a tragedy to starve to death in the midst of food for lack of a tool. The author followed up with a tedious but effective way of safely opening a canned good with nothing more than an abrasive surface.

That’s how you prepare for uncertainty. You don’t just learn to use the tool, you learn why, and how the tool is useful. Tools are extensions of humanity that facilitate our ability to accomplish a task. The knowledge of why and how gives us the ability to use it effectively, improve it if needed, discern if something new really is better, and to adapt when it is.

The idea of preparing students for an uncertain future can be scary. It’s tempting to buy into the next best thing in fear of being left behind. It’s easy to dismiss the value of technology in enhancing the experience of education.

Ultimately, the best we can do is to teach the lessons that endure to the adults of tomorrow using the most effective tools of today.

What Does it Mean to Put Students First?

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 20:45:00 GMT

Last night, a student communicated with me her dilemma over taking the AP Psychology exam in May. This student is one of my best students and would more than likely score a five on the exam.

The college she will attend next year does not accept a score lower than a five, and she has a second AP exam scheduled the same day as the AP Psychology exam. She doesn’t want to risk taking two exams on the same day and not doing her best on both, and the other exam is more relevant to her future plans.

What I’m really thinking: Please, take my exam. Even if you don’t prepare for it I’m sure you’ll get at least a four. When students like you choose to not take the exam it makes me look worse.

What I know is right: The AP program and exams should provide a benefit to students. (actually, maybe all aspects of education should). Students and parents, with the informed advice of teachers and school support can make appropriate educational decisions.

What I could do: I could insist that every student take the AP exam for my class. If I want a true measure of how well this class prepares students then it would make sense that all students take the test—high achievers, low achievers, and everyone in between.

What I’m happy about: My end-of-course test isn’t as high stakes as many “core” classes. I can look at my students test scores to inform instruction without having to worry so much about how the numbers look.

So what do I say: As I suggest to all of my students, if you were successful in this course you should expect success on the test. If you haven’t earned at least a C, your chances aren’t so good. If you haven’t earned at least a B and don’t plan to make time to prepare for the exam, your chances aren’t so good. Check the colleges you plan to attend and determine their policy on AP exams, compare it with your expectations, and if needed, talk to me and make an informed decision.

In the end, I’m driven by the value that responsibility for educational outcomes are shared by myself, the instructor, and the students taking my course. The test provides a significant tool to evaluate the extent to which each of us live up to our part of the responsibility. I am able to compare class grades to test scores. When discrepancies arise between a student’s class performance and assessment score I can look at all of the variables that might have contributed.

From year-to-year, I am able to modify instruction in response to information gleaned from previous year’s data.

This test has become a tool to inform and improve instruction. Students are not forced to take it for the primary purpose of providing evaluation of their teacher. Students are given the choice of determining whether the test will ultimately be in their best interest. The teacher is freed from the burden of teaching to the test and able to cover the curriculum in a meaningful context.

Current education reform debate too often pits teacher vs. student and falls back to the argument of “students first.” Is the practice of forcing every student to test for hours every year for the primary purpose of creating a system to evaluate teachers and schools a system that is focused on the best interest of the child, or on the teachers and schools that teach them.

MS Language Arts: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:56:13 GMT

Probably a subtitle more like: “Bravely going where no language arts teacher has gone before” might’ve been more appropriate.

Our middle school language arts teachers have been on quite a journey this year, and we’re capping it off with our second joint meeting tomorrow (ALL 14 teachers from grades 6-8 at both MS buildings, plus an intervention specialist, plus a media specialist). We’ve tackled BOTH text complexity and curriculum mapping simultaneously this year, and to say that it’s been chaotic is an understatement. But, it is with absolute appreciation for the hard work of these teachers that I can say we have accomplished something awesome.

Tackling Text Complexity

We started the year by making a decision 6-12 to look at the books we are currently using and figure out if they still fit in the context of the Common Core. In October’s department meetings (voluntary, after school), MS and HS teachers inventoried their book rooms and text purchases to create one list of all books currently used at each grade level. They also looked up the Lexiles for each of the texts.

I was operating under the assumption that if it fit the Lexile, there was no need to discuss whether or not the text fit in the grade level, but if it didn’t, then we needed to use a qualitative rubric to debate its appropriateness. We tried this, and quickly realized we could spend all of our precious department time debating the merits of a book until we talked ourselves into making it fit. So, using a qualitative rubric to assess books with lower Lexiles did not work for us.

Going back to the drawing board, as a group the MS teachers decided that no book whose Lexile was lower than the suggested grade band (925 on low end) could be used as a whole-class novel. We had a LOT of books on our list that weren’t up to the Lexile level, and we moved those to our “differentiating for struggling readers” list (more about this in a minute). With permission of our department heads, here is the list we finally settled on at the middle schools: ELA Text List*

We are now working to choose 1-2 texts (1 fiction and 1 informational) that will be the basis for common units at each grade level across the two buildings. So ALL 6th grade teachers would use the same whole-class novel and the same whole-class informational text, for example.

(*Side note: This list is our list of texts that work for our school district. Other districts may read the same texts at different grades)

The Parallel Conversation: Mapping Units

About a year ago on this blog I started talking about Sarah Wessling’s “fulcrum/context/texture” text idea (p. 22-28), which I love. I wanted to combine this idea with the PARCC Model Content Frameworks whereby a “fulcrum” text (Wessling) becomes the “extended” text (PARCC) and “Context/Texture” texts (Wessling) become the “short texts” (PARCC).

I then wanted to use this combined idea to reconcile the argument between “grade level” texts (those that meet the complexity expectations) and “instructional level” texts (those at student’s reading levels. (Again, something I discussed here and here). This Prezi describes how we will be pulling the three efforts together tomorrow to create two shared units at both buildings:

Going back to the ELA List above, books in the right column can only be used as context/texture for students reading below grade level, whereas books in the left column are the choices for whole-class, “extended text” usage. Planning for writing/research, language, and speaking and listening standards can be done within the context of planning thematic/topical units.

I’ll be spending much of this afternoon creating a visual representation that teachers can use tomorrow as a graphic organizer. As soon as its available, I’ll share.

My Takeaways:

Teachers shared that tackling both text complexity and mapping at the same time was a challenge.
On using the qualitative rubric–it was very easy for us to talk ourselves into defending any book at a grade level. As we all know, any book can be made infinitely more challenging depending on the level of the task, but we had to set a bar of expectation based on something concrete (like a Lexile score).
MS teachers (at least in our case) are coming from an instructional structure of constant differentiation. Our teachers have, rightfully so, taught reading at levels as defined by each students reading level (determined by an assessment). Asking them to require all students to read a high-Lexiled text is a complete mind shift for them. We are proceeding cautiously with the understanding that we are experimenting; we are going to scaffold the heck out of grade-level texts, and we are going to pre-plan close readings for struggling students over essential excerpts from the book. We are going to plan units that will provide appropriate amounts of context through differentiated pieces in preparation for the grade-level text. This is going to be a huge challenge, but we are moving forward with an expectation of revising.
Teachers see value in this kind of unit planning and like the idea of text sets.
I see little value in the textbook anthology–if the texts don’t fit our unit sets, why would we need 500+ pages of random stories? We design our units, not the textbook publishers. We could venture into iBooks and creating our own unit “text books.”
We have to keep a focus on the language strand. Grammar always tends to be moved to the back burner, but we need to ensure it as a priority.

The Power of Encouragement

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 04:21:00 GMT

I was recently sorting through a box of stuff my mom kept from my school days. How fun to look back over old Young Authors books, Book It Awards, and writing journals. I decided to open up my old report cards that were in the box too and I found myself reading through the teacher comments from each grading quarter.

Writing was definitely something I enjoyed when I was younger (especially in my fifth grade year for some reason), but I don't remember feeling like I was necessarily gifted in writing, and I don't recall so many of my teachers noticing my writing and encouraging that talent. In fact, I remember my sister being a Young Authors winner one year and I think I decided that she was the gifted writer in the family (If only I had known about the wonderful Bronte sisters at a younger age!). I wonder if maybe I gave up a little on writing somewhere along the way, despite the fact that my teachers seemed to all notice a talent and interest in that area. I wonder if back in my school days I assumed that the encouraging things my teachers told me were just the typical teacher-y things they say to students, instead of recognizing it as genuine praise.

It made me a little sad to read through their notes and realize that I kind of let the writing passion go somewhere along the way. I didn't keep with it like maybe I should have. But perhaps their encouragement was what kept my writing interest alive and kicking during so many of my school years?

I am grateful to have these notes to look back on and see that my teachers saw something special in me. I am grateful that I had teachers that noticed and valued my interest in writing enough to record it in ink! And maybe it's all the encouragement I need to take up an old hobby and get to some writing again!

Teachers, keep on encouraging those little ones! You never know the power your words will have. Even if your students don't appreciate or recognize your praise of their talents now, I bet they will someday!

Moving Past Shallow Accountability

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 13:30:00 GMT

accountable (əˈkaʊntəb ^əl)

-adj.

1.	responsible to someone or for some action; answerable
2.	able to be explained

Since the early 1990's (perhaps before, but I wasn't particularly concerned before then) both state and federal politicians have been calling for measures to "hold teachers more accountable." Most of their ideas have lacked creativity and instead of searching for true measures of accountability, have searched for efficient and scaleable ways to sort the good from the bad. Instead of rich, multi-dimensional measures of accountability, we get mechanized testing.

Students corralled into auditoriums, gymnasiums, any available classroom in front of computer screens for several hours a day over a two to three week period taking mostly multiple choice tests. Schools and teachers are then judged on the results. Schools must go through great efforts to make sure that every child sits for a test. If they don't for any reason, it counts against the school. Testing coordinators must track down transfer students who've moved from out of state or who've failed tests in other Virginia districts to take the tests. If they do poorly, the school is accountable even if they haven't provided the instruction. Students only need to pass a set number of tests to graduate. If they've met this requirement, they still must take the additional tests. Their performance doesn't affect them, but again, it will count for the school.

Schools have had informal methods of accountability for decades. Whenever I give a grade to a student, or make a decision about their instruction I am accountable to a student, parents, and administrators at all levels. From A-F, my class policies are clearly defined and in print year after year. From time to time, a student or parent will ask for an explanation while a term is in progress or after a grade is received. I am answerable to them, and on more than one occasion in my career, that answer has not been acceptable.

Then it moves up a level. Those conversations are difficult and uncomfortable, but usually lead to growth. Sometimes a parent is left dissatisfied and angry. Sometimes the teacher is left unsupported and frustrated at having to make a change. Usually a compromise is reached, both sides having a chance to dialogue with each other, and future actions informed by the outcome.

Teachers live with accountability.

I can understand that what I described above doesn't always work so well. Some parents are not empowered to advocate so well for their child and some schools are not so inclined to responsiveness. But accountability should belong to the very individuals most influenced and invested in a given action. We're moving in the direction of making teachers accountable to the influence of corporate standard setters, test makers, and data gatherers.

We can create a better system of accountability. It's not as easy as giving a test and applying a score, but the informal systems of accountability like what is outlined above could become more formal through policy. It would also place accountability into the hands of the ones who deserve it the most.