What? We've Been Overreacting?

Scott McLeod's recent post in the Huffington Post, If We Were Really Serious About Educational Technology, offers some straight-forward, no-nonsense advice for those of us who are serious about moving technology forward, yet seem to come up with a lot of excuses. With 10 ideas to "get started," there was one specifically that hit home with me:

Understand the true risk of students encountering online predators and make policy accordingly instead of succumbing to scare tactics by the media, politicians, law enforcement, computer security vendors, and others;

I clicked on the "true risk" link and was taken to the Crimes Against Children Research Center website; specifically the Internet Crimes page:

"The publicity about online “predators” who prey on naive children using trickery and violence is largely inaccurate (formatting is mine).  Internet sex crimes involving adults and juveniles more often fit a model of statutory rape – adult offenders who meet, develop relationships with, and openly seduce underage teenagers -- than a model of forcible sexual assault or pedophilic child molesting."

Read all  >1500 words.

For me (and I believe most teachers like me), it's an unending debate that we rarely win, when trying to balance sharing students' work, images and videos while appeasing administrators' and parents' fears.

Last year, our school (and PTA) sponsored an 8-week "kid safe" program that cost each student $25.00 where someone from the program came in to class and facilitated a variety of scary scenarios for role-playing. I'm guessing it's in their best financial interest to keep people worried.

So, what if our administrators and parents and PTAs somehow caught wind of this "revelation" that we just might have been overreacting all this time? Would anything really change or are we so caught up in the "but if it saves even one child's life than it's worth it" mentality?

What are your thoughts?

What Makes a Passionate Educator?

With the overemphasis on testing and scripted curriculums, passion-driven education is starting to lose a foothold and responsible educators and citizens have a responsibility to keep that from happening. Angela Maiers has a series running on her blog profiling guest posts from a diverse group of educators who are passionate about learning. I encourage you to check out the other authors who have posted in this series. Below is mine; (soon to be) cross-posted on Angela's blog.

Often when I'm frustrated with education, either globally or within my own classroom, others remind me of the reason for my frustration. "It's because I'm a passionate educator," they say. Comments like that leave me wondering what that means, and why aren't all teachers passionate about what they do? I can't answer the second question, but I have a pretty good idea on the first one. What makes a passionate educator?

In my opinion, a passionate educator:

• Takes the time to get to know each student; even if it means not sticking to a pacing chart or meeting other arbitrary deadlines. After all, individual and informal conversations are rarely built into the curriculum.
• Gives her students a forum for self-expression and a wider audience.
• Recognizes and responds when the curriculum needs to be adapted; even without an IEP, EP or 504 plan.
• Stands her ground even when there's nobody else to stand there with her (or so she thinks).
• Is not afraid to push back against the Big Dogs.
• Knows (or at least makes an effort to recognize) which battles to choose with parents, administrators and peers.
• Devotes time, energy and (sometimes even) money to personal and professional growth. Aside from attending conferences, there's plenty of free venues for professional growth. 
• Shares openly and engages in conversations with a diverse group, near and far.
• Is not afraid to expose herself and share shortcomings.
• Is not threatened by other's achievements, but encourages and supports them.
• Pushes herself out of her comfort zone to learn and use innovative tools.
• Knows that taking time to herself is just as important as doing for others.

What do you think? What have I left out? (And, can you help me answer the first question: Why aren't more teachers passionate about what they do?)
#passiondriven

What If Teachers Had Teleprompters? (Humor)

Teleprompter for Teachers in grades 3-5

This video below (from The Onion) is tongue-in-cheek (and very funny BTW) but it made me wonder how long before teacher's every word is scripted as well? As it is, we must read from a script for standardized testing. Not permitted to deviate from the script, confusion arises when we must then read the final sentence--> "Are there any questions?"I'm often afraid to respond because it's not in the script. After all, I did sign a form stating that any deviation can result in loss of license, a large fine or arrest.

On the other hand, scripting every teacher's utterances is not a bad idea. Think of all the problems that would be avoided:

1. No longer will parents have fuel to compare one teacher to another. All teachers will abide by their scripts and teleprompters will be made available for teachers who can demonstrate a need for their own 504 plan.
2. Teachers will no longer labor over the autonomy of creating their own learning experiences for their students, and mediocrity will finally be achieved. This removes one of educations primary goals. We can then move on to more important things, like tagging students' ears with their latest standardized test scores.
3. Differentiated learning will still be a must, but regardless of each student's deficiency, the script will dictate exactly what to say and do. This makes lesson planning much easier for teachers, freeing up time to confirm what every non-teacher already knows teachers do all day; drinking coffee and reading the newspaper, while waiting for the exact contractual moment to go home. 
4. Principals can conduct staff meetings and address teachers' concerns prior to the meeting itself (that is, if he has a copy of their scripts). Unscripted questions will remain unanswered or upon principal's discretion a 400 page document outlining how to manage non-scripted questions will be provided in hard-copy AND emailed as a 30MB file.
5. Teachers will be most efficient in their downtime. They will no longer be able to engage in gossip, as they are so used to. All non-academic conversations will be dealt with swiftly.
6. Parents will be sent a list of pre-approved questions to ask during parent-teacher conferences. Perhaps being the best perk of all, this eliminates any surprises that teachers would otherwise face during these awkward encounters.
7. Teachers won't have to worry about students with special needs. There will be a single group of non-scripted educators who will be allowed to pull-out students as needed. Per the script, each class will have no more than 2 students who may take advantage of this differentiation. This level of educators will be formed from teachers who demonstrate consistent mastery of said script.
8. Equity above all else! For teachers who deviate from the script, there will Due Process for handling such matters. The Due Process will consist of the following interventions (in order):
1. Written warning
2. Mentor provided to model the script. For every sentence or phrase uttered to students by the mentor, non-compliant teachers will repeat the phrase. Students will then hear the script twice, however this will be expected as the teacher's written warning will have already become public record.
3. Two-day suspension with pay. During this suspension, said teacher will be placed at a bus facility where no script is necessary as bus drivers are no longer to speak to the students anyway.
4. Revocation of teaching license or reassignment to Florida DOE. Along with other reassigned deviants, said teacher may make major decisions affecting education; using a script.
9. If a student asks an unexpected question (due to the nature of his/her script), said student will be provided with his/her own alternative student-version script. Repeated violations will result in extra non-graded, non-checked homework, repetitive non-checked worksheets and additional standardized assessments.
10. Principals will no longer need to visit classrooms. The principal can simply refer to each teacher's script and time schedule in order to know what is happening in each class. This allows the principals extra time to, you know, play the stock market.

See? Scripting teachers is actually a good idea and I'm sure our law makers are already on it. Have I forgotten anything? 

Obama's Home Teleprompter Malfunctions During Family Dinner

Should Kids Be Driving Alone?

Crossposted here on The Huffington Post

This video by Bill Genereux greatly illustrates the potential risks of leaving digital literacy up to chance by allowing our children to explore technology within a walled-garden. "I'm not techy," is frequently heard among clusters of adults whose primary responsibilities include supervising children/students. Do parents have a responsibility to learn their way around technology as it relates to what their children are required to do? Does it really matter? After all, our kids can do a lot of things we can't.

Although this video is aimed at parents, it could just as easily target today's teachers. Are we educating ourselves in such a way so that we can guide our students in the safe and effective use of technology? Or are we leaving it up to the kids to learn on their own while we maintain the status-quo in our classrooms?


Thanks to Martha Thornburgh for bringing this to my attention.

Denied or Defined: 21st Century Students in Today's Classrooms

Crossposted here on Huffington Post

The term "21st Century student" or "21st Century Classroom" sure gets thrown around a lot. We're so used to hearing and supporting our pedagogy with it, but have you ever stopped to think about what it really means? There are many qualities that make up a 21st Century student. In 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who developed a classification of levels of intellectual behavior important in learning.

The new taxonomy supports the idea that not all learning objectives and outcomes are, nor should be, have equal in value. Effective teachers frequently refer to this taxonomy to design their instruction to emphasize important learned capabilities (more useful for adults in the workforce) rather than, for example, to emphasize memorization of facts (which makes for easier testing).

With expectations of the future workforce and the proliferation of inexpensive and readily available technology, a new and revised taxonomy (2001) emerged. It plays down the consumer-emphasized, single-player-sport idea of “educational objectives” (in Bloom’s original title) and points to a more interactive idea of what an effective curriculum provides.

Notice that "remembering" although certainly a necessary component to learning, sits at the bottom of this pyramid to higher-level thought processes required for true learning to occur.

Even with today's emphasis on testing, it's more important than ever to push our students to achieve higher level thinking. What are some ways that can be done today?

• First and foremost, parents/families must be involved in a positive way. Students must learn that their parents value their learning beyond the grades achieved on report cards. Parents who engage in competitive conversations regarding which schools their children attend, what page they are on, or what grades they received, might be better off focusing their energy on the learning outcomes of their child's achievement or lack of. Even with a poor grade on a test or report card, for example, parents can ask, "What did you learn from this?" or "What can you/we do better next time?" rather than, "Why did you get this grade?" The cartoon below from Daryl Cagle had me wondering how I am supporting my own children through their educational journey.

• Understand and accept the fact that although it pains us (teachers) to reduce children to a grade or score, it's currently how our system functions and there are many ways to deemphasize grades and focus on the whole child.
• Effective teachers are harnessing the Internet, specifically the power of blogging, to provide students with opportunities that simply weren't available even a few years ago.
  
  • I have my class blog and more importantly, my students have their own blogs where their writing brings them attention, global conversation and motivation for writing more effectively. Check out Lily's post on bullying, Caroline's post on Tourettes and Joey's post on his Karate test. Don't just read the posts, but also read the relevant and encouraging comments from readers, near and far.
  • Marie Knee, kindergarten teacher, uses video and blogs and interactive sites to create an enriching and transparent classroom where her young students can share their learning with their families and the world.
  • Check out Kathy Cassidy, first grade teacher, for how she shares her students with the world. Teachers, like me, learn daily from these teachers who so generously provide those insights so that we can model our own instruction after theirs.
  • Dan Meyer, high school math teacher, makes math relevant to our real world.
  • George Couros (school principal) blogs regularly. His insights as a school principal create a ripple effect where other school administrators, teachers and students regularly engage in conversation and benefit from his transparent offers to share.
  • There are many, many more examples that you can explore. Scott McLeod's compilation of exemplary blogs is a good place to start.

So what does all of this mean for you, your classroom and your children? That's what I'd like to hear from you.

• What are children able to do today that you have yet to learn (or even understand)? Does that make you feel inferior or empowered to engage in conversations with your children and allow them to teach you (and perhaps move forward in your goals towards success)?
• What characteristics do the successful adults in your life (family, friends, coworkers) have that make them so successful? Are your children on their way to learning those strategies? What are you doing to help foster this?
• In your opinion, what ineffective methods are being used with children who would be better served by engaging in flexible grouping, collaborative projects or simply being able take an active part in their own learning?

I look forward to your comments.