Occasionally my wife will remind me when it’s been awhile since I’ve cleaned out my closet. So I’ll take time to sort out clothes I don’t wear anymore. When that happens, I can easily fill a couple of trash bags with items to donate to our local Goodwill Store. Summer break is a great time […]
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Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
5 things a principal can do this summer for 17-18 …also, principal checklists! #leadership
Summer has either already begun for you, or is JUST around the corner. I am sure there are many things a principal can do in the summer, but use your time intentionally to get yourself ready! June is my “close it up month” that I spend wrapping a big red bow around our 16-17 school [...]
The post 5 things a principal can do this summer for 17-18 …also, principal checklists! #leadership appeared first on Love, Learn, Lead.
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Who wants to change?
Years ago, I was working with a small group of administrators, sharing some insights and ideas on where education could go and where it is moving. I am passionate that if you are in a leadership position that you lead by example. Do not ask others to change unless they see you are changing yourself. When I work with administrators, I often ask the question, “How many of you have learned something new in the past three months?” I then follow up by asking, “If I asked the teachers you serve what you have learned in the last three months, could they tell me?” It is important we learn, but as administrators, it is extremely important that people see we are learning. People are more willing to change when they see their leadership is actively doing the same.
This is one of my favourite cartoons on the topic:
One principal shared that he was struggling with what I was sharing and that he didn’t think that he was interested in learning in it. Some would be bothered by this, but I was so appreciative of his honesty. He was an awesome guy and he was very nice, but this wasn’t for him. This wasn’t an assumption, but something he told me.
Two weeks later, he retired.
Two weeks after that, in a ceremony that honoured the people from the district that were retiring, he had shared that he was not considering retirement until he met me. After our session, he decided he had enough. When I was first alerted to this, I felt horrible. Yet what he shared after was so powerful. He said that he knew that schools were changing and what we did as educators needed to change, and he didn’t want to learn it. When he realized that, he knew that it was time for him to leave. How could he hold others back by his lack of interest in learning new things about education? He did not want to hold a position where he wasn’t interested in learning anymore because that would hold others back, and he didn’t want to take a spot.
The amount of respect I have for him after hearing that was (is) extremely high.
Let’s just be extremely clear, because this gentleman wasn’t willing to learn now, didn’t mean he hadn’t had a significant impact on those that he served over the years. In about ten minutes of conversation with him, you could tell he had made a major difference in education. He just didn’t have the passion for it anymore and he decided that meant it was time to go.
I think about him often. I always fear staying past my due date; my knowledge is there, but my passion and willingness to grow in my field isn’t. There are teachers who are ten years past retirement age who are still doing amazing things and continuously growing in education, where I have seen teachers five into the profession thinking they have arrived.
It is all about mindset, not skill set. If the willingness to grow is there, the growth will come. Not wanting to grow ensures you won’t.
As the world continuously move forward, if you are standing still, you are falling behind.
That simple.
Source: George Couros
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Who wants to change?
Years ago, I was working with a small group of administrators, sharing some insights and ideas on where education could go and where it is moving. I am passionate that if you are in a leadership position that you lead by example. Do not ask others to change unless they see you are changing yourself. When I work with administrators, I often ask the question, “How many of you have learned something new in the past three months?” I then follow up by asking, “If I asked the teachers you serve what you have learned in the last three months, could they tell me?” It is important we learn, but as administrators, it is extremely important that people see we are learning. People are more willing to change when they see their leadership is actively doing the same.
This is one of my favourite cartoons on the topic:
One principal shared that he was struggling with what I was sharing and that he didn’t think that he was interested in learning in it. Some would be bothered by this, but I was so appreciative of his honesty. He was an awesome guy and he was very nice, but this wasn’t for him. This wasn’t an assumption, but something he told me.
Two weeks later, he retired.
Two weeks after that, in a ceremony that honoured the people from the district that were retiring, he had shared that he was not considering retirement until he met me. After our session, he decided he had enough. When I was first alerted to this, I felt horrible. Yet what he shared after was so powerful. He said that he knew that schools were changing and what we did as educators needed to change, and he didn’t want to learn it. When he realized that, he knew that it was time for him to leave. How could he hold others back by his lack of interest in learning new things about education? He did not want to hold a position where he wasn’t interested in learning anymore because that would hold others back, and he didn’t want to take a spot.
The amount of respect I have for him after hearing that was (is) extremely high.
Let’s just be extremely clear, because this gentleman wasn’t willing to learn now, didn’t mean he hadn’t had a significant impact on those that he served over the years. In about ten minutes of conversation with him, you could tell he had made a major difference in education. He just didn’t have the passion for it anymore and he decided that meant it was time to go.
I think about him often. I always fear staying past my due date; my knowledge is there, but my passion and willingness to grow in my field isn’t. There are teachers who are ten years past retirement age who are still doing amazing things and continuously growing in education, where I have seen teachers five into the profession thinking they have arrived.
It is all about mindset, not skill set. If the willingness to grow is there, the growth will come. Not wanting to grow ensures you won’t.
As the world continuously move forward, if you are standing still, you are falling behind.
That simple.
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Essential questions that need answering when determining the professional learning that teachers should receive
Where should schools start when determining how they are going to spend their available funds on professional learning for their teachers and who makes such a decision?
This question needs to be addressed each and every year as part of a school’s planning cycle, so that it gets the best out of the resources that are allocated towards professional learning. The decision-making part is hugely important. Do decisions rest with one person, multiple individuals, or a committee? This needs to be carefully thought through. If decisions rest with one person, there are pro’s and con’s to such an approach. There is the danger that they can become isolated, as arguments can emerge about who gets what professional development. If there are a number of people making individual decisions about professional learning, there is a chance that they may not be pulling together in one direction in the best interests of the school. Teachers may also expose the fact that these individuals may not be aligned or consistent in there approach, which creates significant problems for the decision-makers to deal with when it comes to allocating the professional learning resources. I believe committees are a better way to go in terms of setting direction but bringing a committee together for every decision that is made with regard to professional learning may be an unnecessary use of time that could be spent elsewhere. A balance of committee and appointed decision-makers is the probably the better way to go.
Once the decision-makers are clearly identified, it is absolutely vital that the processes for decision-making are outlined and communicated to all stakeholders on multiple occasions throughout an academic year. It may not always be possible to have a black and white, super-clear, decision-making process but school leaders can still be transparent, especially in terms of highlighting to teachers where the grey areas lie. Transparency is essential when it comes to things that really matter to teachers such as professional learning; a high level of communication and transparency can keep a lid on the rumour mill and the development of cynicism among the teaching team.
There will, however, always be a tension in the building when it comes to professional learning. Decision-makers will wrestle with teachers in terms of what the actual professional learning needs are. Teachers complain of top-down decisions when it comes to professional learning yet school leaders complain about the areas of student need that teachers fail to address. So, where do we start?
Good professional learning decisions in schools are tied to the school’s overall planning process whether that be long-term strategic planning or more short-term annual goal setting. That said, if the school’s planning process does not focus enough on student needs, then things get more difficult when it comes to integrating planning for professional learning. The fact of the matter, however, remains in that professional learning decisions should be driven by what students need from their teacher(s). This leads to a questions that school leaders must consider within the context of their own schools:
Do teacher professional learning requests reflect the highest needs of their students?
Note that I have deliberately added the words ‘highest needs’ to this question rather than just ‘needs’. Anyone can justify that they should receive professional learning based on a need and we know that there are multiple needs within a classroom but some needs are more important than others. If the above question is not considered, then a school is in grave danger of allowing its teachers to avoid the most important work that needs to be done to support its students. For example, if a school has a high number of students for whom English is the second or additional language and teachers do not spend time developing professionally in mastering pedagogical approaches that support these students in favour of other less important professional learning, then it really is avoiding a significant need and doing its students a disservice.
Herein lies the tension. The school leaders making the decisions around professional learning may be seeing a need that their teachers are not. Conversations, therefore, need to take place between school leaders and teachers, informed by evidence, so that appropriate decisions can take place. Many teachers, on the other hand, may argue with school leaders that they know what they and their students need, and school leaders should support their request to attend professional learning. This, however, has a problematic assumption in that we then assume a teacher has the expertise to know exactly what they need, which is many instances they do not because the decision-making is not evidence based enough. School leaders must challenge teachers to show, in detail, the evidence of highest need. Exceptions to this may be training that enables teachers to be more productive and / or efficient in what they do e.g. IT skills training to perform their role.
Ultimately, for school’s to make better decisions about professional learning, there is a need for more teacher feedback; to encourage teachers to look more closely at what are the priorities in there classroom drawn from evidence of student learning. This involves taking the time to have significant conversations, which should start with a teacher’s own self-assessment of their practice against what the key goals of the school may be.
Originally posted on the Ed Leader blog
Connect with me @richard_bruford
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Monday, May 29, 2017
DNF's for May and A Big List of Summer Reads: Where I Tackle the Pile of Books in the Corner of My Living Room
Well May just flew by and I still don't have any flowers potted. Today, Memorial Day, I will rectify that; there's something to be said for planting beautiful flowers on a day of remembrance.
This post is really two posts in one. I've got a couple of DNF's from May, and I thought I'd show my followers all the random books I'm planning on reading the next few months. It's not an all-inclusive list, but it's pretty darn close.
First, my DNF's. Neither was because the books weren't appealing; rather time and media type played parts in me calling them quits.
I checked this out from the library and started it. I knew it would be a difficult read for me (I struggle with WW2; especially books that involve Germany and the Holocaust). Unfortunately, my check out time expired and since there was a waiting list for the book, I couldn't renew it. Back to the library it went. I'll try again at another time when I feel ready to tackle it and I have more time.
I have always enjoyed reading Alison Weir's non-fiction books on the Tudors. She's one historian I can rely on to be accurate. I tried to listen to this on audio during my commute. It was 11 discs; I made it to 5 discs and called it quits. While the story of Margaret Douglas (niece of Henry the 8th) is fascinating, the book is so detailed, with so many names, machinations, and, quite frankly, real-life soap opera shenanigans, it would be better suited for me to read the book. Just too much information to stay focused enough while driving. I'll be buying this in paperback and reading through it in the future.
AND NOW....MY SUMMER READING LIST!
Books are shown in no particular order. I've got advanced reader's copies of a few; most are stacked in the corner of my living room, next to my very full bookcase. Some are on my Nook. This is not everything I hope to read; I like to leave room for those unexpected books that pop up. My plan is to read through all of these titles during the months of June, July and August.
I can't wait to read all of these! What are you looking forward to reading this summer?
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This post is really two posts in one. I've got a couple of DNF's from May, and I thought I'd show my followers all the random books I'm planning on reading the next few months. It's not an all-inclusive list, but it's pretty darn close.
First, my DNF's. Neither was because the books weren't appealing; rather time and media type played parts in me calling them quits.
I checked this out from the library and started it. I knew it would be a difficult read for me (I struggle with WW2; especially books that involve Germany and the Holocaust). Unfortunately, my check out time expired and since there was a waiting list for the book, I couldn't renew it. Back to the library it went. I'll try again at another time when I feel ready to tackle it and I have more time.
AND NOW....MY SUMMER READING LIST!
Books are shown in no particular order. I've got advanced reader's copies of a few; most are stacked in the corner of my living room, next to my very full bookcase. Some are on my Nook. This is not everything I hope to read; I like to leave room for those unexpected books that pop up. My plan is to read through all of these titles during the months of June, July and August.
 |
| My never ending fascination with the Civil War continues |
 |
| Long overdue reading this thriller. |
 |
| Another book I've had for a few months. Can't wait to read this acclaimed author. |
 |
| WW 2 novel |
 |
| Follow up to the Sparrow Sisters (magical realism) |
 |
| Food and Ancient Rome. Bingo! |
 |
| A woman returns to her home in Iran |
 |
| A favorite author. |
 |
| On my Nook. A french bistro? Check. |
 |
| I'll read Jenny Colgan anytime! Her newest on my Nook. |
 |
| The coast of Ireland and a library. Be still my heart. |
 |
| Teen novel about Alexander Hamilton and his love Eliza. |
 |
| This looks like a wonderful summer read. |
 |
| Can't wait to read this! |
 |
| I screamed out loud when I saw this prequel to Practical Magic. OMG!! |
 |
| I've been wanting to read this for a very long time. |
 |
| Any book about the Ingalls family is on my must reads list. |
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Get Up, Show Up, Never Give Up
Just last week we held commencement for the graduates of the Bolivar High School Class of 2017. I always like to provide a few words of encouragement for the graduates. But I also like to keep my remarks brief. I try to follow the public speaking advice of President Franklin Roosevelt who said, "Be sincere, be brief, and be seated." My message this year was to always Get Up, Show Up, and Never Give Up!
_________________
Something curious happens every year at Bolivar HS. There’s an outbreak of a mysterious illness. It’s symptoms include loss of energy, excessive sleep, lack of motivation, procrastination, apathy toward school work, excessive tardies, and in the worst cases truancy.
I see the affects of this peculiar illness and hear about it from students, teachers, and even parents. They say things like, “Dr. Geurin, I think maybe Garrett is suffering from a bad case of senioritis.” Yes, it's the dreaded senioritis.
Class of 2017, by a show of hands, how many of you have felt the affects of senioritis this year?
Now here’s the real question, "Parents and teachers, how many of you have felt the affects of senioritis this year?"
It’s often thought the only cure for this terrible affliction is graduation. And here we are today. Without a doubt, graduation does greatly relieve the symptoms. But I’ve found there are often times in life where symptoms arise that are a lot like ‘senioritis.’ There are times you’re tired, you’re done, you feel like you just don’t care. You don’t even want to get out of bed in the morning.
We’ve all experienced that. So if graduation doesn’t cure your ‘senioritis’ permanently, here are a few ideas for overcoming it if you have an unfortunate relapse in the future. Here are three tips to overcome senioritis - Get Up, Show Up, and Never Give Up!
1. Get up
1. Get up
Attack each day with enthusiasm. Bring great energy, excitement, and passion to whatever you do. A perfect example from the Class of 2017 is Doug. He never failed to bring a ton of energy and excitement to BHS. Okay, so a few times there was a little TOO much energy from Doug. Maybe that had something to do with that Good Morning ringtone we heard about a million times.
2. Show up!
2. Show up!
Show up each day with a great attitude in every situation. An important part of success is being fully present. It's being consistent. People can count on you. It’s showing up every day. Cal Ripken, Jr. did it in baseball. He played in 2,632 consecutive MLB games. He was nicknamed The Iron Man. But BHS has it’s own Iron Man. One member of the class of 2017 has gone from Kindergarten thru his Senior year with missing a single day of school. That is an amazing feat. I’d like for Jose Hernandez to stand so we can give him a hand for this incredible accomplishment.
3. Never Give Up
3. Never Give Up
Here you are today. You didn’t give up. Senioritis may have tried to bring you down, but you didn’t let it get the best of you. And even when you didn’t win every time, like at float building for instance, new opportunities always came along. You are Polk County grinders. You are Liberators. You know how to take on a challenge. Success is NOT about never getting knocked down. It’s about getting back up every time.
So when ‘senioritis’ strikes again in the future, know that you are well-prepared to fight it off. You know how to persevere and finish strong. And remember you’re not alone. You’re part of a very important and select group of people, the Bolivar HS Class of 2017. You’ve left a strong legacy here!
Part of that legacy is incredible achievement. The Class of 2017 has earned so far, nearly $2.9 million dollars in scholarships. That sets a new record topping the previous mark by over $600,000.
Class of 2017, I am very proud of you and your accomplishments and it’s been truly an honor to know you and be a part of your high school years. I wish you the best. I believe in you. I know you’ll do great things. You'll be world changers! God bless you all!
So when ‘senioritis’ strikes again in the future, know that you are well-prepared to fight it off. You know how to persevere and finish strong. And remember you’re not alone. You’re part of a very important and select group of people, the Bolivar HS Class of 2017. You’ve left a strong legacy here!
Part of that legacy is incredible achievement. The Class of 2017 has earned so far, nearly $2.9 million dollars in scholarships. That sets a new record topping the previous mark by over $600,000.
Related Stories
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Sunday, May 28, 2017
Get Up, Show Up, Never Give Up
Just last week we held commencement for the graduates of the Bolivar High School Class of 2017. I always like to provide a few words of encouragement for the graduates. But I also like to keep my remarks brief. I try to follow the public speaking advice of President Franklin Roosevelt who said, "Be sincere, be brief, and be seated." My message this year was to always Get Up, Show Up, and Never Give Up!
_________________
Something curious happens every year at Bolivar HS. There’s an outbreak of a mysterious illness. It’s symptoms include loss of energy, excessive sleep, lack of motivation, procrastination, apathy toward school work, excessive tardies, and in the worst cases truancy.
I see the affects of this peculiar illness and hear about it from students, teachers, and even parents. They say things like, “Dr. Geurin, I think maybe Garrett is suffering from a bad case of senioritis.” Yes, it's the dreaded senioritis.
Class of 2017, by a show of hands, how many of you have felt the affects of senioritis this year?
Now here’s the real question, "Parents and teachers, how many of you have felt the affects of senioritis this year?"
It’s often thought the only cure for this terrible affliction is graduation. And here we are today. Without a doubt, graduation does greatly relieve the symptoms. But I’ve found there are often times in life where symptoms arise that are a lot like ‘senioritis.’ There are times you’re tired, you’re done, you feel like you just don’t care. You don’t even want to get out of bed in the morning.
We’ve all experienced that. So if graduation doesn’t cure your ‘senioritis’ permanently, here are a few ideas for overcoming it if you have an unfortunate relapse in the future. Here are three tips to overcome senioritis - Get Up, Show Up, and Never Give Up!
1. Get up
1. Get up
Attack each day with enthusiasm. Bring great energy, excitement, and passion to whatever you do. A perfect example from the Class of 2017 is Doug. He never failed to bring a ton of energy and excitement to BHS. Okay, so a few times there was a little TOO much energy from Doug. Maybe that had something to do with that Good Morning ringtone we heard about a million times.
2. Show up!
2. Show up!
Show up each day with a great attitude in every situation. An important part of success is being fully present. It's being consistent. People can count on you. It’s showing up every day. Cal Ripken, Jr. did it in baseball. He played in 2,632 consecutive MLB games. He was nicknamed The Iron Man. But BHS has it’s own Iron Man. One member of the class of 2017 has gone from Kindergarten thru his Senior year with missing a single day of school. That is an amazing feat. I’d like for Jose Hernandez to stand so we can give him a hand for this incredible accomplishment.
3. Never Give Up
3. Never Give Up
Here you are today. You didn’t give up. Senioritis may have tried to bring you down, but you didn’t let it get the best of you. And even when you didn’t win every time, like at float building for instance, new opportunities always came along. You are Polk County grinders. You are Liberators. You know how to take on a challenge. Success is NOT about never getting knocked down. It’s about getting back up every time.
So when ‘senioritis’ strikes again in the future, know that you are well-prepared to fight it off. You know how to persevere and finish strong. And remember you’re not alone. You’re part of a very important and select group of people, the Bolivar HS Class of 2017. You’ve left a strong legacy here!
Part of that legacy is incredible achievement. The Class of 2017 has earned so far, nearly $2.9 million dollars in scholarships. That sets a new record topping the previous mark by over $600,000.
Class of 2017, I am very proud of you and your accomplishments and it’s been truly an honor to know you and be a part of your high school years. I wish you the best. I believe in you. I know you’ll do great things. You'll be world changers! God bless you all!
So when ‘senioritis’ strikes again in the future, know that you are well-prepared to fight it off. You know how to persevere and finish strong. And remember you’re not alone. You’re part of a very important and select group of people, the Bolivar HS Class of 2017. You’ve left a strong legacy here!
Part of that legacy is incredible achievement. The Class of 2017 has earned so far, nearly $2.9 million dollars in scholarships. That sets a new record topping the previous mark by over $600,000.
Related Stories
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3 Ways Schools Condition Students
Several times a year, I will receive emails from parents about a post I wrote in 2010 titled, “The Impact of Awards”. Often, they are reaching out because they are struggling to watch their own children have issues at school because of the culture of “school awards”. I encourage you to take a look at the original post, but here is one of the major themes:
To this day, people still challenge me that this post is about being soft on kids, but to me, it is about understanding what we are focusing on. Are we trying to develop students as deep and thoughtful learners, or do we inadvertently do things that have students focus more on awards or grades than learning? If anything, once I stopped focusing on awards and grades as being a driver, my expectations for my students became higher, as it did for myself. Helping students reach their fullest potential and help them achieve their dreams is a lot harder to do long-term, and will take a significant amount of dedication from both student and educator.
This doesn’t stop at adulthood. I have seen educators focus incessantly on winning recognition, not for the content of their work, but how many RT’s or votes they can receive from others. Does this short-term recognition do anything long term for individuals other than providing a nice recognition in their twitter bio? I am not against awards, but I struggle when we lose focus on doing the hard work.
Here is the thing…Kindergarten students don’t walk into schools wondering what their grade is or why they didn’t get an award. We condition them to that. What seems innocent early on in school, can do damage later. Many teachers at higher levels struggle with having students do something that requires deep thought in the process, and you might even hear, “Just give me the test so I can move on.” This is learned behaviour through schools. Give me the assignment, I give it back, mark it, let’s move on.
As kids go through the process of school, here are three things that inadvertently condition them (and sometimes parents) within the process of school.
1. Grades as a driver
As many schools are moving towards comprehensive reporting, sharing with students through thorough comments and assessments what they have learned, many students still ask, “What’s my grade?”, not worried about the comments. Many parents do the same thing.
Understand this…Grades, no matter how scientific we believe them to be, they are subjective. Yes, if a spelling test is given, I can tell exactly how many words are spelled wrong and spelled right. But, how much do you weight that spelling test on a final grade? If later in the year, a student can spell all of those same words correct, are you using an average or are you disregarding previous tests and giving what they know at the time. If the job of teaching is to help students learn things they don’t know, why do we punish students later on in the year for learning the things they didn’t know through averages?
What about languages? What does an “A” look or sound like in teaching French? One student could have the same ability in two different classes and get two different marks, yet if you want to really hear how a student has improved in French, why not use podcasts or videos to hear them speak French throughout the year? This is so much more powerful than what any grade could provide to show growth. Do you teach students to get an ‘A’, or do you focus on teaching them to be fluent? Many kids can get an ‘A’ in French yet walk out of the classroom and not keep any of the language.
Kids do not walk into school asking for grades, but they do crave learning. We need to do whatever we can to keep their focus on that instead of a number and a letter. I know that if people wanted to wreck blogging for me, grade my posts. That would do the trick for me and I am afraid it doesn’t help students either.
2. Receiving Awards
Way too early, we teach students that our “best learners” need to be recognized for their achievements. Yet, sometimes our best learners are not the ones winning the awards. Sometimes it is our most compliant students, who have learned to play the game of school, as you can read in this speech from a valedictorian, Erica Goldson, that I shared in my book, “The Innovator’s Mindset“:
I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contest that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer—not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition, a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and becomea great test taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I’m scared.
We are more than robotic bookshelves, conditioned to blurt out facts we were taught in school. We are all very special. Every human on this planet is so special, so aren’t we all deserving of something better, of using our minds for innovation rather than memorization, for creativity rather than futile activity, for rumination rather than stagnation? We are not here to get a degree, to then get a job, so we can consume industry-approved placation after placation. There is more, and more still.
Many of our brightest students are not academically gifted. Do we look for that brilliance? Do we recognize it when we see it? Think about this…how often do we go to a conference or have a PD day that is solely focused on getting better grades, as opposed to professional learning that is focused on finding genius in each one of our students. There is not one program or procedure that can guarantee that all students will do well academically, but I guarantee you that if you looked for strengths in each one of the children you serve, you could find it.
Yet that genius is diminished based on how well a child does at school. One parent shared with me that an awards ceremony at their school, only students with a certain GPA were allowed to even attend. I know there is always two sides to the story, but some of your hardest working students could miss these types of events because of factors outside of their control.
Let’s just get something clear here…I do not believe that you should give every student an award, and I am not into participation ribbons. We tried to solve a problem that we seemed to create in education by moving from one side of the pendulum to the other. But letting students know they are valued and appreciated for their gifts is something that I believe in deeply (as I do for adults…don’t you want your boss to see the same thing whether you win an award or not?).
Just a question to think about…if you were to start a school from scratch, would awards for “top student” be a part of this plan? If not, then why do we continue with it in our current schools? If so, why?
(For more reading on this, I highly recommend the book “Drive” by Dan Pink. It changed my thinking significantly on the topic.)
3. Compliance good. Challenge bad.
I am guilty of saying this earlier in my career to the question, “Why do we have to learn this?”
“Because I said so.”
That’s it. No discussion. Do as I say because I am the adult.
But “challenge” is a good thing, and it should be encouraged. Think of something as simple as providing a rubric for students. Do we ask, “What do you like about it and what would you change?”, or do we not bother because we are the “expert”?
Do we encourage kids to share different worldviews of their own, or do we hope to convince them of what we believe? Do we understand that a student’s experience is not the same as our own, and does that encourage us to try to empathize and learn about them, or condition them to us?
Iron sharpens iron. We should not encourage students to only challenge their peers, but ourselves as educators. This does not mean that they are disrespectful, but teaching students to challenge ideas and thoughts in powerful yet respectful ways is a great skill to be developed that makes us all better.
I have asked students to stay in my presentations to adults and give me feedback on what they liked and what they don’t. They almost seem in shock that I would want them to challenge me, but if I am truly speaking to serve them, the only way I know I am on the right track for them is if I get their feedback.
When we remember that we serve the students and not the other way around, we see that challenge from our students is not only beneficial but crucial to growth to serve them.
Kids are curious when they walk into schools. If we aren’t careful, they will lose that along the way becoming slowly lost in the process of “school”. There are so many things that are going on in schools that are currently amazing. I have seen more of a significant change in education in the past five years than in my previous 15 as an educator. That being said, this doesn’t mean we can’t challenge our traditions and norms and continuously ask, “Is there a better way?”
This question should never be off limits for anything we do in education.
Source: George Couros
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3 Ways Schools Condition Students
Several times a year, I will receive emails from parents about a post I wrote in 2010 titled, “The Impact of Awards”. Often, they are reaching out because they are struggling to watch their own children have issues at school because of the culture of “school awards”. I encourage you to take a look at the original post, but here is one of the major themes:
To this day, people still challenge me that this post is about being soft on kids, but to me, it is about understanding what we are focusing on. Are we trying to develop students as deep and thoughtful learners, or do we inadvertently do things that have students focus more on awards or grades than learning? If anything, once I stopped focusing on awards and grades as being a driver, my expectations for my students became higher, as it did for myself. Helping students reach their fullest potential and help them achieve their dreams is a lot harder to do long-term, and will take a significant amount of dedication from both student and educator.
This doesn’t stop at adulthood. I have seen educators focus incessantly on winning recognition, not for the content of their work, but how many RT’s or votes they can receive from others. Does this short-term recognition do anything long term for individuals other than providing a nice recognition in their twitter bio? I am not against awards, but I struggle when we lose focus on doing the hard work.
Here is the thing…Kindergarten students don’t walk into schools wondering what their grade is or why they didn’t get an award. We condition them to that. What seems innocent early on in school, can do damage later. Many teachers at higher levels struggle with having students do something that requires deep thought in the process, and you might even hear, “Just give me the test so I can move on.” This is learned behaviour through schools. Give me the assignment, I give it back, mark it, let’s move on.
As kids go through the process of school, here are three things that inadvertently condition them (and sometimes parents) within the process of school.
1. Grades as a driver
As many schools are moving towards comprehensive reporting, sharing with students through thorough comments and assessments what they have learned, many students still ask, “What’s my grade?”, not worried about the comments. Many parents do the same thing.
Understand this…Grades, no matter how scientific we believe them to be, they are subjective. Yes, if a spelling test is given, I can tell exactly how many words are spelled wrong and spelled right. But, how much do you weight that spelling test on a final grade? If later in the year, a student can spell all of those same words correct, are you using an average or are you disregarding previous tests and giving what they know at the time. If the job of teaching is to help students learn things they don’t know, why do we punish students later on in the year for learning the things they didn’t know through averages?
What about languages? What does an “A” look or sound like in teaching French? One student could have the same ability in two different classes and get two different marks, yet if you want to really hear how a student has improved in French, why not use podcasts or videos to hear them speak French throughout the year? This is so much more powerful than what any grade could provide to show growth. Do you teach students to get an ‘A’, or do you focus on teaching them to be fluent? Many kids can get an ‘A’ in French yet walk out of the classroom and not keep any of the language.
Kids do not walk into school asking for grades, but they do crave learning. We need to do whatever we can to keep their focus on that instead of a number and a letter. I know that if people wanted to wreck blogging for me, grade my posts. That would do the trick for me and I am afraid it doesn’t help students either.
2. Receiving Awards
Way too early, we teach students that our “best learners” need to be recognized for their achievements. Yet, sometimes our best learners are not the ones winning the awards. Sometimes it is our most compliant students, who have learned to play the game of school, as you can read in this speech from a valedictorian, Erica Goldson, that I shared in my book, “The Innovator’s Mindset“:
I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contest that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer—not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition, a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and becomea great test taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I’m scared.
We are more than robotic bookshelves, conditioned to blurt out facts we were taught in school. We are all very special. Every human on this planet is so special, so aren’t we all deserving of something better, of using our minds for innovation rather than memorization, for creativity rather than futile activity, for rumination rather than stagnation? We are not here to get a degree, to then get a job, so we can consume industry-approved placation after placation. There is more, and more still.
Many of our brightest students are not academically gifted. Do we look for that brilliance? Do we recognize it when we see it? Think about this…how often do we go to a conference or have a PD day that is solely focused on getting better grades, as opposed to professional learning that is focused on finding genius in each one of our students. There is not one program or procedure that can guarantee that all students will do well academically, but I guarantee you that if you looked for strengths in each one of the children you serve, you could find it.
Yet that genius is diminished based on how well a child does at school. One parent shared with me that an awards ceremony at their school, only students with a certain GPA were allowed to even attend. I know there is always two sides to the story, but some of your hardest working students could miss these types of events because of factors outside of their control.
Let’s just get something clear here…I do not believe that you should give every student an award, and I am not into participation ribbons. We tried to solve a problem that we seemed to create in education by moving from one side of the pendulum to the other. But letting students know they are valued and appreciated for their gifts is something that I believe in deeply (as I do for adults…don’t you want your boss to see the same thing whether you win an award or not?).
Just a question to think about…if you were to start a school from scratch, would awards for “top student” be a part of this plan? If not, then why do we continue with it in our current schools? If so, why?
(For more reading on this, I highly recommend the book “Drive” by Dan Pink. It changed my thinking significantly on the topic.)
3. Compliance good. Challenge bad.
I am guilty of saying this earlier in my career to the question, “Why do we have to learn this?”
“Because I said so.”
That’s it. No discussion. Do as I say because I am the adult.
But “challenge” is a good thing, and it should be encouraged. Think of something as simple as providing a rubric for students. Do we ask, “What do you like about it and what would you change?”, or do we not bother because we are the “expert”?
Do we encourage kids to share different worldviews their on our own, or do we hope to convince them of what we believe? Do we understand that a student’s experience is not the same as our own, and does that encourage us to try to empathize and learn about them, or condition them to us?
Iron sharpens iron. We should not encourage students to only challenge their peers, but ourselves as educators. This does not mean that they are disrespectful, but teaching students to challenge ideas and thoughts in powerful yet respectful ways is a great skill to be developed that makes us all better.
I have asked students to stay in my presentations to adults and give me feedback on what they liked and what they don’t. They almost seem in shock that I would want them to challenge me, but if I am truly speaking to serve them, the only way I know I am on the right track for them is if I get their feedback.
When we remember that we serve the students and not the other way around, we see that challenge from our students is not only beneficial but crucial to growth to serve them.
Kids are curious when they walk into schools. If we aren’t careful, they will lose that along the way becoming slowly lost in the process of “school”. There are so many things that are going on in schools that are currently amazing. I have seen more of a significant change in education in the past five years than in my previous 15 as an educator. That being said, this doesn’t mean we can’t challenge our traditions and norms and continuously ask, “Is there a better way?”
This question should never be off limits for anything we do in education.
from Connected Principals http://ift.tt/2s3JXUY
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Quick and Easy
Heard often from educators…
“We need our students to be deep thinkers, have resiliency, and learn the importance of hard work!”
Also heard from educators…
“Why do you use that app?”
“Because it is quick and easy!”
If we want our students to have depth within their learning, we have to figure out when “quick and easy” overrides depth in our own.
Yes, there are some things that take a lot of work and resiliency to make happen for our own learning, but that process is part of the journey. In education, the process is the product. Remember that.
Quick and easy is not always best, and sometimes, does the exact opposite of what we hope for our students.
Source: George Couros
from Connected Principals http://ift.tt/2rt71Q0
Quick and Easy
Heard often from educators…
“We need our students to be deep thinkers, have resiliency, and learn the importance of hard work!”
Also heard from educators…
“Why do you use that app?”
“Because it is quick and easy!”
If we want our students to have depth within their learning, we have to figure out when “quick and easy” overrides depth in our own.
Yes, there are some things that take a lot of work and resiliency to make happen for our own learning, but that process is part of the journey. In education, the process is the product. Remember that.
Quick and easy is not always best, and sometimes, does the exact opposite of what we hope for our students.
from Connected Principals http://ift.tt/2s1buGA
Thursday, May 25, 2017
The Right Thing at the Wrong Time
Listening to the audio version of Tony Robbins’ book, “Unshakeable”, which talks about planning your financial future and investing (side note…do we have students reading and discussing these books in K-12? I sure could have benefitted from this a long time ago instead of racking up credit card debt! For another blog post…), he made the following statement (paraphrased):
The example he gave to accentuate his point was based on farming. You can know all of the best techniques as a farmer, but if you plant seeds during the wrong season, nothing will grow.
Both the statement and analogy make a lot of sense when talking about school culture and moving forward. Although we want schools to continuously get better, there are things that need to be done before seeds are planted. If you are an administrator to a new school, do you come in and try to change everything, or make sure that you create a climate where new crop will grow? Getting to know people, what their strengths are, understanding the norms and traditions of the culture, asking “why” a lot, and other things need to happen before you change anything. If the “culture” is not there, no book or program will be successful with a staff.
If you are moving forward, what is the shared vision, and is your organization ready for it? If not, don’t ignore it, ask how you get people to that point?
Simple idea and analogy, that makes a lot of sense.
Source: George Couros
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5 Myths of Digital Leadership
The use of technology in schools continues to rise each year. By 2019, spending for education technology is expected to be more than $55 billion. More and more schools are utilizing devices as part of routine, daily learning.
And this shift is happening for good reason. The world is becoming increasingly digital, and students will need skills that involve using technology to create, connect, and learn. A recent article claimed that just having the word 'digital' listed on your resume improved your chances of landing the job.
As technology becomes even more pervasive in schools, the need for effective digital leadership will increase as well. Even now, I believe it's impossible to be an effective leader unless you are also an effective digital leader. All educators need skills for using digital tools to support and transform learning.
But there are also a number of myths about digital leadership I want to dispel. There are often misunderstandings about what it means to be a digital leader.
1. Digital leaders are tech geeks.
You don't have to be a technology geek to be an effective digital leader. It's great if you have strong digital skills or love technology, but it's more important to be an expert about learning. The most important thing is the willingness to learn more about technology. It's great if you're a tech geek, but it's essential to be a learning geek. And, it's critical to recognize the importance of technology to help you and your students leverage skills.
Every digital leader should strive to learn more about using tech and strive to make that learning visible. I'm often considered a tech-forward principal, but I learn something new every day. It's not as important to have all the technical knowledge as it is to model the mindset of a constant learner.
2. Digital leaders are always administrators.
It's very important for administrators to be digital leaders, but they aren't the only ones in the school who can do the job. We need leadership from every corner of the school. It takes collective leadership to really support the culture of digital learning that is needed in schools. Change is hard, and there are often leaders in the school besides the administrator who can help champion the cause of using technology for learning.
3. Digital leaders force everyone in their schools to use technology.
Effective digital leaders don't look for technology to be used at every turn. They don't force technology on people. Instead, they constantly model, teach, and inspire. They start with why it's important to for students to use technology, and then they challenge people to grow. They don't want technology being used just for the sake of technology. They want to see digital tools being used when it makes sense to use them and when it supports learning. They encourage teachers to use digital tools in ways that transform learning.
Every educator is at a different place with their skills and their mindset about technology. Digital leaders honor teachers as learners and support them wherever they are in their learning journey. Even when growth is slow, if the educator is growing, that is success.
4. Digital leaders love everything about technology.
Not true. Digital leaders can fully see the importance and relevance of technology and still not love everything about technology. Sometimes technology is a pain. It hovers somewhere between being a blessing and a burden. And there are some parts of technology we don't have to embrace. No one likes it when technology doesn't work. Devices can be a huge distraction. There are all sorts of dangers online. People get addicted to the internet. And the list goes on. Some of these challenges work directly against learning.
But clearly there are incredible benefits to technology too. Digital leaders work tirelessly to overcome the pitfalls of technology use to help make sure teachers and students have what they need to leverage these tools for productive use. There isn't a single challenge I've seen that can't be overcome with inspired leadership and careful planning.
5. Digital leaders spend the whole day tweeting.
Completely false. There's no question that digital leaders tend to be connected leaders and one of the best ways to connect is through Twitter. In fact, Twitter has been one of the best tools for professional learning I've ever encountered, and it has been an invaluable resource in my own digital leadership, and in my leadership overall.
But effective digital leaders are busy each day supporting learning in their schools in hundreds of face to face interactions. Not everything that happens in a school is digital, nor should it be. Our goal in our school as we transitioned to a device for every learner was to improve the quality of our conversations at the same time. We want better learning with digital tools, while at the same time increasing the quantity and quality of discussions happening in classrooms.
Question: What other myths or misunderstandings do you see about digital leadership? What are the biggest challenges digital leaders face? I want to hear your feedback. Leave a comment below or respond on Facebook or Twitter.
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