Leveraging Learning

In spite of the fact that I would rather have sunshine and rising temperatures, I was so delighted to have a snow day today.  After I received the call, I informed the two teenagers in my house who happily grunted.  Then, I gleefully jumped back into bed.  After a brief doze, I got up and ate waffles. Let's read the paper!  Do you want to play Wii?  Can we go sledding? Had today been a normal Tuesday, I would not have had these options.  Part of me felt guilty for saying yes to all of the above.  And for making hot chocolate, taking a brisk walk through the neighborhood and watching TV.  The truth is, I had lots to do.  The reporting cycle ends soon, I am working to tweak the school schedule with a committee and the summer program I run needs some attention. The guilt eventually gave way to productivity.  I had intermittent fun all day - which allowed my brain to just take off.  I saw new solutions, got new ideas and, in the e...

Blogging is a selfish act.  I blog for myself.  While it pleases me when others read and comment on my blog, I write because it helps me make sense of the day, my students, my plans and what really matters in life. Teaching can be selfish, too, if we are not careful.  Sometimes teachers can get wrapped up in the lesson, the need to be in charge, or a desire to be in control and forget that teaching is really about the student. My brother is dyslexic, only he never bothered to tell anyone until he was an adult.  He is also creative and hilarious - a combination that can be disruptive to traditional classrooms.  Not that long ago, he told me a story about when he was in 1st or 2nd grade.  It was the first week of school and he was nervous.  He was trying to make sure the pencil fit in the groove at the top of the desk when it fell.  He picked it up, but it fell again.  After about the third drop, the teacher noticed.  She was annoyed a...

A student had to take an standardized assessment today.  He ended up with the highest score of the day.  We fought about it off and on.  "Why do we have do do this?," he asked.  "I'm gonna fail," he said. I wasn't sure how to answer the first question in way that either of us was comfortable with.  But I was certain that he was wrong about the second. Fortunately for both us, we had lots of flexibility in terms how long he needed to finish.  We stopped and started a few times.  In the end, I had to persuade him that he had done well. I accept the need for having to take a standardized test every now and then.   I accept that progress matters.  But as the teacher of students who work super hard, but sometimes their effort doesn't translate to a high scores, I wonder.  How do we measure success?   As a hard core perfectionist and the mom of two hard core perfectionists, I wonder.  How do we measure success? From either pe...

A while back, a parent asked me an important question.  "What kind of active learning opportunities do you provide?"  At the time, my instinct was to feel a little defensive.  My class is pretty fun, but we were covering some somewhat dry content that week.  And I was not on my best game. Once I got over the perceived insult, I thought a lot about that question.  What are  the ways I provide active learning that engages each student?  The discussion broadens when you think about work product - what are we asking students to produce that is engaging and meaningful? These questions are so important that we must never stop asking them.  But it helps to think about some possible options, some tried and true ways to engage learners purposefully and meaningfully.  Here are a few that have been working for me lately: Pear Deck  - Pear Deck has been my go-to source for fun lessons and formative assessments.  My students even ask "Can...

I don't know if parents still ask this question.  I don't really remember my parents asking me this question, but it is a question - or a form of a question - that I like to contemplate often. Learning is a big deal, but not always in the ways that we think.  Often, learning is equated to knowledge acquisition, but it is so much more.  While it is true that learning involves skill development, skills and knowledge should, ideally, result in the learner developing a worldview. That is a pretty big deal, if you think about it.  In learning, we create a lens through which we see everything. For me, the lens is a positive one. Interestingly enough, this was not always my way.  I used to be more pessimistic and would often react to unexpected things in negative ways.  Learning from my students, I adopted a better worldview. Each day, students add my my skill base and knowledge, if I take the time to notice and reflect.  They teach me to laugh a lot....

"Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you come, that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people, and to them; then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every one." ~George Fox, 1656 I teach at a Quaker school.  As you might expect, we admire George Fox.  The above quote is framed in our Meeting House.  I like to read it every day.  It also finds its way into our  Mission and Core Values .   For many, the idea of God is tricky - difficult to discuss publicly and hard for some to accept.  That said, I think Fox is using words that had meaning for him to explain and idea that most humans can accept - each person has something within that is beautiful, unique and unexplainable.  Is that the same as "holy," "divine" or "godly"?  You decide.  But we all have it.  George Fox was pretty radical.  He was vocal in what he knew to be...

"Whatever career you may choose for yourself - doctor, lawyer, teacher - let me propose an avocation to be pursued along with it.  Become a dedicated fighter for civil rights.  Make it a central part of your life.  It will make you a better doctor, a better lawyer, a better teacher."    ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. Today in class, students blogged about Martin Luther King.  I had promised to blog along with them, but then various duties got in the way.  Several hours later, I'm catching up. My #reflectiveteacher friends are blogging today about choosing education as a profession.  The two are related, I think, if one reflects on MLK's words. I cannot imagine another life for myself.  I love school.  Showing up at school makes me feel better.  Almost instantly.  I love to connect with students and hear their stories.  I love to witness their progress.  I love to grapple with ideas along side them.  I l...