The holidays are upon us. Many teachers and students alike rejoice in the vacations, the seasonal changes, and the impending threat of the "s" word (I'll be careful not to jinx us, as last year we had a winter storm that laid about 45 inches of the stuff in one weekend). Although this is a season for celebration, family, gathering, and fellowship, many of our students look at the holidays with great dread.
I would be remiss if I didn't remind you that I have spent this year as the newly-appointed emotional support teacher for 6th grade in my district. In the past few months, I have seen almost every level of behavior from students, and the experiences I've had equal years in other classrooms. My students, who struggle with emotional and social disadvantages, have something in common this time of year-for many of them, the holidays (and the vacations from school that come with them) are a time of great instability in their lives. Recently, I had a very insightful chat with one of our school counselors. She and I both remarked that we are the stability for many of these kids. Think about it this way: School represents much more than learning to a kid with emotional and behavioral issues. For them, school is a place where the following things are true (and always will be):
I will always contend that any staff member in a public school needs to make relationship-building their #1 priority. As Rita Pearson points out in her TED Talk, “Kids aren’t going to learn from someone they don’t like.” There’s also this point to consider: As an adult working in a public school, you are responsible for every relationship you have built. For all you know, your interaction with a student may be the only positive interaction with an adult they’ve had all day.
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There’s a rejuvenating quality to the new school year. Students, even those who are returning to the same building, have a clean slate-a chance to start over for some, a chance to start anew for others. Move-ins, move-outs, changes of placement-these are all factors to be considered in starting a new year. For me, this is also a chance to start anew-I have been assigned emotional support students for the first time in my career, and I am now pulling “double duty” as both a learning support teacher and an emotional support teacher. My caseload is the highest in the building-but I won’t let that get in the way of providing for my kiddos.
Everything we say and do is a part of how the world perceives us. I have always prided myself on the relationships that I build with my students. That being said, I saw it as a no-brainer that I was given these kids. Already, just a few short weeks into the school year, I can tell that we are going to have a great year. It will surely be one in which I am pushed to my limits-but there’s joy in the struggle of meeting expectations and serving students. I have found that I am finding my “groove”-that is, I am getting back into the daily routine of school. Part of my routine is continuing my work on a master’s degree in educational leadership. A critical part of being a leader is sustaining control over the massive flow of decisions that come across one’s desk every day. I wanted to take this opportunity to talk a little bit about organization, and give a perspective on my “system.” I have learned a lot about organization and paperwork in these three years of teaching, and I am happy to say I have found a system that works for me. It may not work for everyone, but it works for me. The most important piece of furniture in my classroom is my desk. This is my inner sanctum-where I plan, write IEPS, process data, and communicate with stakeholders. This central hub serves many purposes, and for that it must be laid out accordingly. The top of my desk, the workspace, has three distinct areas. There is my inbox/outbox, which sits on the left hand side, my workspace in the center (which includes my computer keyboard and phone), and the paperwork side on the right (which is mostly taken up by my desktop computer). Like many desks, there are drawers. I have five drawers: two on each side and one in the middle. In the bottom left drawer, I keep all of my current paperwork. This includes the most current copy of IEPs and RRs, arranged chronologically, and paperwork for this school year (Individual Action Plans/Student Learning Objectives, etc.). Above it, I have a space for my iPad, and office supplies (tape, stapler, scissors, ruler, paperclips, etc.). The middle drawer is where I keep pencils/pens and business cards. That’s in the front portion. I also have a back portion to this middle drawer, and it is functioning as my “miscellaneous” drawer. If anything doesn’t fit into the category of any other drawer, it goes here. About once a month, I go through and clean out my miscellaneous drawer. If it’s important, it gets taken care of. If not, it goes into my “vertical filing cabinet” (aka trash bin). The lower right drawer houses my “long-term” paperwork-older copies of school paperwork from previous years, observation-related paperwork, packets from trainings, etc. I also keep empty inter-office envelopes here-just in case I need to send something out quickly. It also contains empty file folders-in case I need to file anything quickly. Above it is what I call my “emergency drawer”-although it would not help much in an actual emergency. This is for emergencies of a different nature. In it, I have assorted K-Cup pods for the Keurig coffee brewer in the office. I’m not much of a candy guy, but I do keep a roll or two of life-savers and mints on hand. This drawer also houses first-aid supplies, including the ever-crucial Peanuts (Charlie Brown) or Star-Wars Band-Aids. (I figure students can get plain old Band-Aids from the nurse. Why not make it fun for them?). This is how I organize my workstation, and it’s a system that has served me well. I am especially fond of having an inbox and outbox. This lets me go through paperwork that needs my immediate attention, and (at the end of the day) collect and distribute anything that needs to go home (or to other school buildings). As an administrator, I think that it will be important to keep my desk organized. Also, it is just nice to have a work area that is clean and free from piles of papers. If I stay late, I can work my way through the inbox pile. If I have other places to be, I simply leave it in the inbox for the next day. My ultimate goal is always to leave the inbox empty at the end of the day, but sometimes that’s just not realistic. Again, keep in mind-I am by no means the world’s most organized teacher (far from it, in fact), but I think the important point is this: find a system that works for you. Tweak it when necessary, and make sure that it is meeting your needs. Nothing looks more professional than a teacher or administrator who is able to respond to tasks promptly and in an organized way. In my earlier post on ownership, I talked about a formative moment in my life (yes, that really happened). Some thoughts I have on owning the learning include the ideas that: a) all students, regardless of age/grade are capable of owning their learning, and b) teachers have a role in showing students how to own their learning (I refer to my earlier ideas on living it).
There are many different motivations behind our actions. In learning, I had to examine two main pathways as to why I learn. Anyone who has attended a Psychology lecture in college knows that there are two main types of motivation: intrinsic (motivation from your own self) and extrinsic (motivation from outside sources). What, then, motivates me to learn? Extrinsically, I have a very shallow reason for learning: the more I learn, the more I earn (to put it bluntly). Many educators can find monetary reward for completing credits, certifications, degrees, and programs in the post-graduate world of professional education. Along the same line (still extrinsic, but maybe a little less shallow) is the following idea: that I have to learn (to some degree). In my state, like many others, teachers are required to reach a certain number of post-graduate credits (24 in PA) to keep their certification. In other words, I cannot keep my job if I don’t continue learning. Intrinsically, my drive is a little more profound. As dangerously industrial as it sounds, I will always contend that the job of public schools in America is to “make Americans.” We are tasked with bringing future generations into society, and we have to be sure that we can trust our future with them (just imagine I am saying this with an American flag fluttering in the breeze behind me). In all seriousness, it is a big task-one that I do not take lightly. Just as those teachers who came before me, I have to make sure that we are leaving the world in capable hands. I am also motivated at a personal level to be the best that I can be. Sure, I have to take classes to keep my job-but what about after that? To what degree can I develop myself, both personally and professionally? Right now, I am working on a master’s degree. After that, who knows? I could become the first person in my family to earn a doctoral degree. That internal motivation-that drive to succeed-is something that keeps me going when nothing else will. In short, ownership is a multifaceted beast that takes a lot of careful consideration. As we go into next year, I want to focus on getting my students to realize the importance of their education, and take ownership of it. I can remember one of the most poignant lessons I had on responsibility and ownership. I was in 1st grade, and the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers were quite possibly the most important thing in my life at the time (sorry, Mom & Dad). I had a friend who owned the coolest Red Ranger figure. Not only was it 11 inches of molded plastic evil-fighting glory, it actually had two heads-one without a helmet, and the other with one on. It involved a spring loaded panel, which (when activated) flipped the head around to reveal a helmeted version of the ranger’s face (so as to protect him from the putty people-seen on the right). Needless to say, this was the ultimate toy for any boy at the time. Modern science had not enjoyed such a triumph since the creation of the polio vaccine. This put the “action” in action figure. I did not just want it. For me, it was the pinnacle of desire- I downright coveted it. After showing it off at show & tell, my friend fielded questions from the eager class (me). After the most intense Q & A session of his life, he put the Red Ranger away in his backpack. Here’s where it gets crazy. I, in all my devious glory, decided to take the action figure out of his backpack and put it into mine. Per the universal laws of being 6 years old, it would then be mine. It was the easiest heist to ever befall Valley View Elementary. It was brilliant-flawless, even. All I had to do was get back there, and make the switch. I had a plan. The time to execute it had come. Making like I had left something in my backpack, I asked to go to the back of the room to get my much needed item. I sauntered back to the cubbies, my palms sweating like a sinner in church. Each footstep was an audible ‘thud’ in my head. I was about to betray my friend-to take something of his and call it my own-but I couldn’t think about that now. I arrived at the back, our cubbies settled right up next to each other. I nonchalantly opened my friend’s MMPR backpack (that’s Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, to you philistines), opened mine, and made the switch. The Red Ranger was home-free. He would enjoy all the luxuries of living with me. He would even get his own shoebox-an honor bestowed only to my favorite toy. I planned out the rest of my life with our crimson hero, and began to head back to my table-only to realize that my teacher had been watching the whole time. They say you’ll have these moments where your life flashes before your eyes, and many would think that this would be one of those moments. I, however, did not experience that. I froze. I gulped. I began a nervous sweat, glistening from my palms to my forehead-my goose was cooked. It was over. They were probably going to lock me away and throw out the key. I would have to call my mom with my one and only phone call-my dad was at work. At a very young age, I learned that taking responsibility for one’s actions is not always easy. At first, I tried digging myself out of the hole. I said that he was letting me borrow it, and this all was just a misunderstanding. When digging oneself out of a hole, you have to be careful-sometimes, you’re just making the hole deeper. My teacher wasn’t buying what I was selling, so I fessed up. Through a veil of tears and snot, I laid out every detail of my insidious plan. The worst part? My friend was right there, listening to it all. In fact, the whole class was now very much interested in my story at this point. My teacher assured me that my parents would be called, and I had to go visit the vice principal’s office and tell her what I did. I lost the privilege recess that day, but I lost something more significant-the respect of my friends. It took me a long time to live that one down, and it still makes me cringe with agony that I had even tried it. The thing about good friends, however, is that they forgive-eventually. To be perfectly honest, I don’t remember much about my actual punishment once I got home. To me, the most salient part of the entire experience was the knowledge I had-that what I was doing was wrong, and that it would hurt my friends. Even at 6 years old, I was able to know that I had to own up to my actions, or face the possibility of losing all my friends’ respect. The lasting consequences of taking my friend’s action figure would far outweigh the joy of having him in my life. There were other Red Ranger action figures, but there was only one of him. In my next post, I’ll be talking about the last component of Learning Without Limits: Owning the Learning. Owning the learning is about taking responsibility, and it’s also about having the moral health to recognize the consequence of that ownership. Much like I realized in my daring caper, ownership takes more than realizing, “you’ve got me.” It takes the realization of that lasting effect to truly appreciate what it is you have just taken responsibility for. In the news, there have been some schools coming under fire for using “too much” technology in the eyes of some parents and community members. In fact, it has seemingly become a trend to question the use of technology-before even trying it. I’ve been thinking more and more about learning in today’s day and age, and I've come across a few articles that talk about 1:1 computing and using devices in the classroom. They are:
Here are the most salient points from each article:
This research tells us two things: That 1:1 technology use, especially in recent years, has massively improved students’ access to information and the ability to obtain it. This research also shows us that the efficacy of using 1:1 technology is greatly affected by the teacher’s experience and comfort level with it. Teachers who do not condone the use of 1:1 tech do not have students who use it effectively (or sometimes properly). Like any other practice in education, this requires a lot of thought and training behind it for successful implementation. There are those out there who are still asking: “Why?” Why change what we’ve got going on? Why try something new? If your resistance to new ideas is due to the fact that you feel it's inherently "wrong" to implement change (or that you’d somehow be doing bad by your learners), you’ve got nothing to worry about. Our kids learn ubiquitously, and are coasting through the age of information-with or without us. So, I have to ask: Why not? The change we are faced with in this day and age is not one that causes us to inherently reverse course and “un-do” the ethos of education. It’s to reform the way we approach teaching and learning. It’s to adapt to the “here & now” before we become the “there & then,” a passed-over option for public schooling in the 21st century. Why change? Simply put, because we must. There are two forces of change behind the latest push for technology use in the classroom, according to Schwann & McGarvey (2011). Force #1 is the strong desire that caring educators have always had to “individualize and personalize” learning. We all know that effective learning requires a focus on the needs of the individual, and this is how we have felt for a long time-this is just good teaching. As a special education teacher, this is my bread and butter-every reason for my existence. Force #2 is the powerful new technologies that are customizing nearly every industry and profession. The reality of today’s learners is that they have unprecedented access to information-we are at a nexus of availability and depth of information, unlike anything we’ve seen before. Today is much different than the “tomorrow” of yesterday-flying cars, etc…Today, we have much more access and customization available to us than was ever imagined possible. Take the soda machine down at your local burger joint. Not all that long ago, we had a choice between 8 different soft drinks (with one inevitably having a horribly misspelled note over it saying it was out). Now, because of mass customization in the food and beverage industry, we have over 156 options just to wash down our “burger-y goodness” with (thanks to the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines). To borrow a phrase from the 2004 Red Sox (and the 2015 Red Land Little League team), “Why not us?” If we have so much choice in soda, why not in something that has much more importance than quenching thirst? Today’s active learners know how to find information. If we can’t keep up with them, what’s stopping them from making a choice that isn’t us? Positivism is crucial to how we operate on a day-to-day basis. If we want our students to go on and do great things-to really shape and mold our future-then we have to lead by example- we have to live it. Finally, let the most salient point be this: change is coming whether we like it or not, and it is our job to keep up with our students-at home and at school-not the other way around. References:
Rigor. It is a word that both drives and terrifies modern educators. We often hear the word, “rigor,” and we immediately think of difficulty. I would argue that rigor is more a measurement of grit. Grit is the ability to stay tenacious-the resiliency of a student. As one philosophy in education puts it, our job as American educators is to make "gritty kids." I like that idea-that our learners aren’t going to be able to coast through life and get a medal for showing up. They will indeed face adversity. It’s their reaction to that adversity that defines them as a person, not their avoidance of it. The best way to show this is through modeling. A teacher who lives it can preach it. If you can’t live it, then you have some difficult choices to make about your place in public education. In addition to presenting oneself to students, it is the all-important job of an educator to consider the rigor of their learning. Say it with me: Increased rigor does not always mean increased difficulty. Rigor is simply the idea that students must struggle with their work at an appropriate level. Take the two-stage exam: this assessment method involves giving students an individual exam, then re-distributing the same set of questions for groups to work on and submit. All members of the small group must agree on the process and final answer before submitting. Naturally, this leads to (healthy) debate and the students’ defense of their procedures. Is the work inherently more difficult? Not at all, because the content has not changed. What has changed, however, is the tenacity with which a student must defend or explain his or her point. The rigor has increased, without raising the difficulty one little bit. This has been proven with research. In one example, professors at Harvard decided to approach their course from a different perspective and modify their assessments. Using the two-stage exam, they were able to increase student affect towards the subject matter (physics, in this case) and the process of learning about it. The full video can be found below. It can boil down to a much simpler concept: Students who are more engaged tend to learn at a higher rate and degree than those who are not as engaged. While some of you are undoubtedly rolling your eyes and saying, “I already know that,” consider this: Have you examined the rigor of your class(es) lately? How are you measuring student success? Do you afford your students opportunities to collaboratively assess (and evaluate their own engagement)? If not, then now might be the perfect time to consider upping your rigor and how you engage your students in rigorous learning. Of course, I’m not talking about just increasing the difficulty-‘harder’ work is not ‘better’ work. How tenacious must a student be in your class? Engaging students in rigorous learning means allowing them to see adversity and react appropriately. Be sure to let your students struggle with their work. You may just be surprised at the results. If idle hands are the devil’s workshop, I’d hate to see what would happen to an idle mind… Here's a link to the video I referenced earlier: Assessment to Improve Student Learning: Transforming a Large Physics Course at Harvard Connecting with others involves a lot of effort on the part of the individual. It requires more than just one person to have a connection, and effort must be had on both sides of the relationship by each individual. When thought of in the scope and sequence of a school, the connection and collaboration that a teacher has with others can make or break their year. In my opinion, connecting with others begins with self-realization, a point that is only achieved through honest reflection on one's own strengths and needs. Any approach to solving problems will tell you that the first step is identifying the problem, in order to best determine the correct course of action.
In her book Fierce Conversations, author Susan Scott mentions that they key to building relationships is to "...come out from behind ourselves, into the conversation and make it real.” When connecting with others, a collaborative environment is necessary. In order to build an environment that is truly collaborative, we need to focus on the connection that we have with others- with other teachers, with administrators, with parents, and-most importantly-with students. How, then, do we start? An introduction can be difficult at times, because that is the first glimpse that someone will get of you. First impressions, after all, are important. A learning facilitator will have to be sure that everything is in order before those first meetings: the plan of what to say, how to act, and how to present oneself: what image does he or she want to project? In short, the ability to connect with others starts with realizing your own strengths and weaknesses, and is summed up by how you initiate the conversation and present yourself as a professional. The way you work with a student will surely be different than the way you work with a faculty member, but the connection and relationship should be just as strong-people who like working together will inevitably be more productive than those who do not. Honesty also comes in to play when connecting with others. False pretenses may look good on the outside, but a person's true nature comes out when they have to work with others. Are they open and receptive to change, or do they muddle the process by insisting that their way is always best? Honest collaboration is vital, because dishonest collaboration simply widens the rift between strangers and newly met people. As part of my series of posts on Learning Without Limits (my new district's mantra this year), I am starting with the first of four main concepts: solving complex problems. We often hear of 21st century teaching and learning in many different ways: we think of things like the framework for 21st century learning, which gives us a look into what our students will need to do in their future to be successful. That framework, like many others, centers around problem-solving. In order to solve complex problems, today's youth will need access to a variety of resources, including their own ability to think creatively and approach the problem from many angles. "Thinking outside the box" is no longer enough to challenge the status quo.
Our students needs these 21st century skills to solve problems we never had to- in ways we never could have imagined. When thinking of the future, visions of both terror and grandeur occupy the same space. What impact will we have on it? Is our civilization headed towards greatness, or are we going to collapse under the burden of all this new "stuff?" Our reaction to that very question will determine how our students are shaped. Like any other animals, humans learn best by observing others. Behaviors are taught, not innate- this means we have to teach students how to use all this new "stuff" (even though they know more about it than we do). John F. Kennedy said it best: "Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." This year has brought a lot of change with it. New house, new school, and many new faces, friendships, and professional endeavors. The move from 7th & 8th grade to 5th grade has been good for me. I have always felt a draw to younger grades, and the middle level elementary setting is truly where I belong. I, like many other educators, am now in the mid-September period of trying to settle down into a "normal" schedule. Part of being in a new district involves having new expectations. Some are different, most are good, and a few are surprising (in a good way). One initiative that has been undertaken in my new district is called "learning without limits." This approach to mission and goal setting has four tenants, each of which I will be blogging about in detail. Those tenants are:
Think of this as a reflection tool, and as an opportunity to improve my professional writing. I plan to stay in this district, for as long as possible. As such, I want to develop an intimate understanding of what it means to be here- to be a "Rocket." More will come on each topic, and by the end I will have laid out my interpretation of what it means to learn without limits. Being a special educator, I often find myself "in between," when it comes to instruction. Other blogs will talk about the "road less travelled," but the current state of special education is more like foraging through brush. Off road, if you will. We are blazing a third trail, even less travelled by most educators. That trail is the one of tailored, individualized learning. In an earlier post, I discussed the future of customized instruction. In it, I talked about the characteristics of a 21st century learner. The reality is, in special education, that a lot of these marks are being met by special educators. I remember a staff development from earlier this year. In it, we discussed SLOs, or Student Learning Objectives. It seems funny to me how "new" of a concept this was to many teachers-that we are going to come up with annual goals, measure them throughout the year, then write new ones for the next year based on the previous year's data. This was a concept as foreign as giving less homework and more free time to students to some teachers. In essence, this is what special education is mandated to do already. Since the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act-IDEA for short, special education teachers have been writing goals, monitoring progress, and evaluating students based on results. It isn't perfect, however- As mentioned earlier, the last time IDEA was reauthorized was 2004. It is long overdue for politicians to take a second look at, and the changes that come may not be welcome. In fact, I am sure that we may see a mass exodus of special educators when (or maybe if) IDEA is reauthorized. As the focus on education shifts from teacher to student, we will see a customization of the learning process. What that means for educators is that we will be faced with a whole range of new challenges. On top of all this, we must also consider the needs of our students. Can we meet those needs in the paperwork-laden environment of 21st century teaching and learning? |