A new idea...

We are trying to write something that is worth publishing, to polish a piece we have already written for class or write something completely new.  I am feeling stumped and frustrated.  I don't feel that any of the writing I have done this year is lengthy enough or thought-provoking enough to try to publish.  We have been given many options from posting a book review on Amazon. com to writing an op-ed for the Washington Post.  I feel depleted because things at my school are so up-in-the-air and I have so much going on in my own life that I just don't have energy/enthusiasm left over to craft a piece of writing.

I felt bad going to class with nothing to workshop.  My critical friends, Dan and Cassie, were counting on me to come prepared with something to share and get feedback on and instead I have nothing.  What I really need is help thinking of a topic that I feel strongly about.  For example, Dan has been doing this amazing work with student voice; his initial idea has exploded into a fantastic x-block class called Make a Difference where the students are running the show and truly making a difference in their lives and the larger world.  He is so genuinely excited about this class!  Although he comes to class with a piece of writing from a past homework, it is easy to see his eyes light up as Cassie and I make suggestions to tweak his writing into something that captures what he is doing.  Cassie, too, is passionate about her topic: she wrote thoughtfully about the challenge of coming to terms with the environment at High Tech High in contrast to the highly-structured, score-driven school she comes from in D.C.  She wrote a whole new piece as a way to explore and reflect upon the conflicts she's feeling about what is the "right" way to educate (and whether there is a "right" and "wrong" way).

Luckily, my critical friends are supportive of my needs and help me pin-point a topic I do feel strongly about:  the benefits and frustrations of grad school!  Beyond just the work and collaboration of the GSE, being a non-High Tech High teacher, as Cassie is finding, adds a whole extra layer of stresses and effort to the GSE.  Dan and Cassie encourage me to explore this dynamic and to share my experiences to help others understand what life can be like as a member of the GSE.

So here it is, a chronicle of experience, triumphs, and tribulations as I work my way through the unit "Fostering Adult Learning Communities."

3. Explorer Elementary: Social + Academic Learning

This excerpt from Explorer's website is timely:  my 3 1/2 year old niece is visiting and she is a bundle of energy and, in my opinion, frustration.  On the one hand she is sweet, creative, and enthusiastic.  On the other, aggressive, bossy, and, frankly, violent.  I wonder how much of this is her genuine personality and how much is derived from the adults in her life who follow the "because-I-said-so" and "you'll get a spanking if" parenting style and, despite best intentions, can be inconsistent role models.  One moment her bossiness is entertaining the adults, the next she's getting punished for having attitude.  Now her play fighting is funny, now she's in trouble for being mean. I look at the chart about "Why Punishment Fails"and can agree with Alfie Kohn's points:  I see my niece get angry; I see her mimic the power play; I see her feel hurt that her allies turn against her; I see her focus on avoiding getting caught rather than understanding the effects of her behaviors; I see her care deeply for others' well being but then do something self-serving anyway; and, I most definitely wonder about how this power dynamic is going to work as she continues to get older.  What punishments will motivate her if she is not learning to be self-monitoring?

I was particularly struck by the Second Step program, because I think both my in-laws and my neice could benefit from a structured system of problem solving:

Second Step Problem Solving Strategy (as used at Explorer):

• Calm yourself-take 5 deep breaths
• Identify the problem
• Develop solutions to the problem
• Questions about the solutions include:
• Is it safe?
• Is it fair?
• Will it work?
• Choose a solution
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the solution
• Choose another if necessary

My niece is 3 1/2, not kindergarden age.  Surely, however, the principles of Explorer would benefit her already.  I wish I knew a way to pause her childhood long enough for her family to immerse themselves in the kind of environment that Explorer strives to create.  This level of care and intentionalism is not quickly developed by adults or children, but built over time.

Beyond my family life, as a teacher I think of the many other children being raised similarly.     As a middle school teacher, I wonder how different our students would be if they (and their families) had experienced an Explorer-inspired elementary.  While I strive to develop many of these strategies and principles into my own classroom, how different might my school be if we continued to support the emotional and communication intelligence of our students?  As part of my efforts to include student voice, I am involving students in self-grading their academic work: we co-authored descriptors for good note-taking and looked at several samples.  Now that we have done our first day of notes, my take-away from the Explorer article is to allow room for them to reflect upon what went well, why it worked, and how they would like to do better as we continue.  As for my niece, I'm off to the Second Step website to see how I can offer support to my family....

2. Fires In The Mind

This is one of those texts that makes me want to start the school year all over again so I can create the AMAZING, BRILLIANT and INSIGHTFUL environment I imagine as I read.  Then, reality sinks in:  the year has already started, structures (of my own and others) are already in place, and I have a life to live.  The good news:  this book is grounded in reality.  I love that the conversations with students cover everything from little ideas like: "Don't take off points for wrong answers on homework.  It's practice!"(p 134) to bigger ideas: "[have students] gather evidence from several primary and secondary sources, including at least one interview with an expert in the field" (p 144).  It made me feel better to see that many simple, do-immediately steps mattered to students.  I can be taking those baby steps while working towards those bigger and more brilliant ideals.

I want to focus on homework, in particular.  I've been thinking about ways to incorporate student voice to create more personalized, meaningful home practice.  I hate spending so much of my time preparing and grading homework that many kids don't do and many more do with minimal effort.  It just becomes a waste of everyone's time.  So, how can I create better homework with my students without creating more work for myself?  How to I offer 120 individuals voice and choice and still maintain sanity (and quality of work)?  I want to start working on this now so that I have something ready to launch for my next unit (in 4.5 weeks).  What can I realistically achieve in that time?

1. Choices for Children

Choices for Children: Why and How to Let Students Decide
by Alfie Kohn

Wow.  What a great piece to read before the year starts on Tuesday.  With one foot in the classroom and one in formal leadership, this article hit home on several levels.  I have been starting to focus on the culture of my school which I can only describe as a place with no anchor, no soul.  Kohn's article made me think about how much of this soullessness stems from feelings of powerlessness.  The teachers are expected to fill in detailed weekly curriculum maps outlining standards taught and assessed.  At the same time, little guidance is given about how to teach so we are left wondering if the administration thinks we are doing a "good job."  Students spend their day going to the classes we have assigned them, doing the work in ways we've decided for them and behaving the way we want... or else.  We are all going "through the motions of learning [and teaching], handing in uninspired work and counting the minutes or days until freedom" (Kohn 1).

So, what to do?  In my own classroom, I want to start by addressing homework with students.  How can we practice what we are learning in ways that make it worth doing and turning in?  As a leader, I want to support the staff members in using the ABCD-levels classroom management system this year (inspired by Marvin Marshall's Discipline Without Stress, Punishments, or Rewards).  This program strives to help students identify and internalize their own behaviors and solutions and responds to the ideas behind this paragraph on p. 4:

One is repeatedly struck by the absurd spectcle of adults insisting that children need to become self-disciplined, or lamenting that "kids just don't take responsibility for their own behavior" - while spending their days ordering children around. ...  The way a child learns how to make decisions is by making decisions, not by following directions.