Teachers--agents of change?

Teachers--agents of change? by http://runnerprof.blogspot.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Many years ago there was ferment within schools. The vital question for teachers who saw themselves as “agents of change” was “How can we help kids to learn?” Among these teachers was a strong sense that they could change the world—or at least their part of it—by being the best possible teachers.

OK, some of those teachers were sincere and hapless. They were idealists without means. Lacking insight or ability, these individuals faded into other jobs or they became mediocre teachers or worse.

Some of those teachers worked so hard they felt drained, and they left the profession permanently or for a time, despite their successes. (Sunny Decker, An Empty Spoon, 1969 is one example.)

And some of those teachers, perhaps a bit tempered by the waves of reform and other forces, still see themselves as “agents of change” seeking to bring others onto that path.

While reading an article in the Stockton Record this morning, I reflected on the importance of a reformer, Herb Kohl, on my teaching career. Kohl, I hasten to note, like so many others writing about reform during the late 1960s and early ‘70s were teachers and their writings came from their classroom experiences in addition to some research, albeit initially skimpy on the research. Kohl’s 36 Children (1967), despite being about elementary children while I was a high school teacher, moved me. He talked about the individual needs of each child and the ways to reach them. He discussed the open classroom, about which he would write more thoroughly later in The Open Classroom (1969). My copies of his books were well worn quickly.

This Stockton Record article is about a school established based on Kohl’s ideas. You might enjoy reading it and even looking at some of Kohl’s work. See the article at http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111210/A_OPINION08/112100313/-1/A_OPINION. The article caused me to look back at my efforts with the open classroom and how it influenced my thinking about teaching and learning. Perhaps the greatest “take away” for me was the conviction that I need to move students to accepting responsibility for their own learning while preparing like crazy behind the scenes for every class and every session.

I decided to try the open classroom at my school, a site with problems typical of lower to lower-middle SES schools with racial and ethnic tensions. I was teaching four sections of “American Minorities” and I presented the concept of the open classroom to the students, making sure they understood there was a very strong structure underpinning an open classroom and that they would be expected to work and succeed. Two classrooms voted to try the open classroom while two wanted to stay traditional.

(An aside about the course—There were two teachers in California who started such social science electives that year and I was one of them. Without the Web, we did not have contact with each other although the California Department of Education sent my syllabus to all districts in the state, so he may have seen my outline. I did not see his. Students had requested the course and my Honors English class and I developed a broad outline, based on research, of what the course might be. The course was set up as a single semester elective offering. It was accepted by the principal, curriculum committee, and then we had signups. Amazingly, four sections filled quickly and my classes had an average of 34-36 students in each. Students who were not universally known as good students did well even though there was a curriculum that expected reading, writing, and reporting. There were few discipline problems. It was an exciting time.)

Doing the open classroom with large classes is more work than teaching in a more traditional mode. From a range of opportunities and requirements, students set their goals, even to the grade they wanted to achieve. While rubrics were not popular at the time, I had a series of expectations for levels or quality that were shared with the students to help them understand the rigor required. I met with each student individually at least every two to three weeks. Students worked in groups and individually. Both the school and public libraries and librarians were part of my planning as the students needed resources. (Initially I had no text as there was no budget. Later I received one class set of an excellent book that was shared among the four sections.) I bought materials out of pocket too and received copy permission from several authors to make articles available for checkout. The infrastructure for any new course is complex. One with a great deal of freedom for students, at least on the surface, requires even more pre-planning and structure. Had the Web been available then, there still would have been a great deal of work, but the learning materials at our fingertips would have enriched the experience. Weekends, late nights, early mornings—all were dedicated at least partially to keeping the courses and students on track, but with the open classroom, it had to appear seamless and under the surface.

What about that freedom for students? There were requirements and expectations, yet the students were involved in determining how they would meet them. Students took responsibility for their own learning and, thus, their grades. Our frequent individual meetings began with the student giving me a progress report, asking question of me, sharing concerns, providing a sample of what he/she has accomplished. I could give feedback, of course, but the process was much more about how the student thought he or she was doing.

“Thanks for giving me the A.” I could honestly reply, “Carlos, you earned that A by your hard work. Congratulations.”

I still have student notes and some of my journals from those early years of teaching and learning.

Thanks to those students, and Herb Kohl, Sunny Decker, James Herndon, John Holt, and others who helped me internalize that teaching was much more about the learning journey and caring about students than preparing perfect lesson plans. As I try flipping part of a class or creating engaging, insightful learning objects, I think about how what I am doing assists students in being responsible for their own learning instead of seeing the classes I lead as just hoops to jump through en route to a salary increment, certification, grade, or completion of a degree.

What do we want in our schools?

What do we want in our schools? by Penelope Swenson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.


Last Saturday I was visiting a local store. Christmas is coming and bells were ringing as I came to the door. Salvation Army bell ringers here are often people I know. This is a lovely thing about our small community. Service clubs take on the bell ringing shifts so all the money collected goes to serve right here in our town. The bell ringer is a teacher I have known for many years. (She does not teach in our hometown however.) She is an excellent teacher—one with that abiding concern for the children combined with a keen intellect, a personal sense of curiosity, and a continuing desire to learn more to serve the children even better. From her personal funds she buys materials to enrich the classroom; she attends even non-school events to see her students perform. She works preparing and often to tutoring beyond her contractual day. She is the type of teacher you hope your children and grandchildren have. She also is a bell ringer.

For a significant part of her career, she taught second grade. With the increasing insistence that external testing brings, she was less and less able to actually teach her students. Some of the kids, with this pull-out program and that, would be present for less than two hours of their school day, yet the teacher was increasingly considered the only force responsible for student learning. Many of the pull out programs were conducted by instructional paraprofessionals, not certificated teachers. She wondered how she could make a difference in student learning.

My friend is skilled in assessing student performance. Moving about the classroom and watching students work on assignments or problems, she can see where her various students need additional help. She does not need to wait for a benchmark test or the formal assessments. Between her keen observational skills and her reviewing student work, she is on top of providing support. Or, at least, she was before the class sizes skyrocketed and fewer parents were available to assist for an hour or two occasionally in the classroom.

“I saw what was happening and decided to teach kindergarten where I have more control over the curriculum and student learning.” She noted the supposedly proven curricular devices often were lacking, yet she was to use them. In kindergarten she has the freedom to meet the standards in ways she selects. While she comments that some children lack basic skills when they enter kindergarten, her ways of inspiring learning are working and the children are enjoying school. As she described the learning centers and activities along with their influence on student learning, she became animated and excited.

I asked her about her sense of professionalism was faring. Because of the change she made, she thought she was doing OK, but there was a strong sense of disillusionment, frustration, and sadness among her teacher colleagues generally. Without control over the curriculum and having students pulled out frequently, she reported that her colleagues saw their ability to reach those students compromised all the while facing the challenges of testing and more testing.

Many critics note that poor teachers slipped through the cracks and children were not learning before NCLB and RTT and these programs stress accountability. Today, the collaborative, hard working good teachers are feeling the pinch of constant testing, often on low level skills, and frequent threats that deviating from the curriculum is not appropriate, even when it is to take advantage of a teachable moment where the children really are interested. (Oh gee, it might help meet a standard from six weeks hence, but we just cannot do it now, even if the topic is on the news today and a child asked about it.)

I have heard calls for the “best and the brightest” to come into teaching, yet the impetus within No Child Left Behind and the current Race to the Top does not seem very welcoming to those best and brightest. With increasing class sizes and an emphasis on testing to the point of nearly eliminating science and social studies along with cutting music, art, and often cutting back on physical education (as the kids become more sedentary), the whole child and meaningful teaching and learning is in danger. The joy of teaching is supplanted by the fear of being judged almost exclusively on testing results over which the teacher may have little control.

One of those “best and brightest” did go into teaching and was very good. He became an administrator on that first rung of the path to being a principal. Some time ago he came to my class early, looking downcast. I asked him what was wrong. He quickly said, “Nothing,” then started to tell me his story. “You know I went to the school where I work. I had some of the teachers I’m evaluating now. They were so good to me, a little boy who spoke English haltingly.”

He continued, “Today I was to visit the fourth grade classes between 10:30 and 11:00 to see if all the teachers were on page 78 of the text. I had a checklist to mark who was there and who was not.”

“And?”

“Well, two were not. I’ve been in their classrooms many times. I know they are fine teachers. The kids do well on the testing too.”

“So what did you do?”

He hunched his shoulders a bit and whispered, “I marked the sheet that they were in compliance.”

Those kids actually were beyond page 78 and understood the material, yet their teachers were to be judged with a yes or no. Page 78 or not. Good teacher or not. This young administrator stepped out and marked what he thought was right, defying quietly the pressure to report 78 or not, as if that were the only important measure.

Is this what we want? Both of these experiences are replicated across districts, across schools. Pockets and whole schools pursue excellence exist with the teachers, and often their administrators, working collaboratively, yet, in this charged environment, it can be very difficult.

How did we get here? Are we doomed to continue the pursuit of the “flavor of the month” teaching process, often developed by someone who is far from the children? Could we please look at the 21st Century Skills? Few jobs we can define now will be waiting for today’s children when they graduate. Kids need a basis or the “3 Rs” or core knowledge plus the essentials for today and tomorrow of “4 Cs” also known as “Critical thinking and problem solving, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity and innovation.” (For more on these ideas, please see http://www.p21.org/ ).

The essence of America, at least to me, has been creativity and innovative energy. Create a new nation with a dynamic Constitution? Sure. Provide schooling for all—even though it was only for the well-to-do in other countries? Sure. Span the continent with trails and then a rail system? Sure. Grow enough food for ourselves and millions of others? Sure. Put American feet on the Moon? Sure. Cure CML and other cancers? Sure—we are getting them one by one. That creative, innovative spirit must be nurtured. Teaching at the lowest level of the 3 Rs without meaningful context will not nurture innovation or encourage creativity.

What should we provide our kids? You might enjoy seeing a vision created by twin brothers, Peter and Paul Reynolds of Fablevision in concert with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Peter had a seventh grade math teacher who inspired him to make drawings that explain concepts and ideas. Check out this explanation of the 21st Century Skills view of what is needed, Above and Beyond: http://www.p21.org/tools-and-resources/above-aamp-beyond-animation OR http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KMM387HNQk

There are many ways to improve what we are doing. Charters are not the only answer, but some charter schools are making contributions to what we know works in great teaching and learning. Brain research continues to enhance what we understand about learning. University researchers and think tanks are conducting studies into what works. Industry giants offer ideas too, but we come back to the bell ringers. They want a voice in how we are helping locals. Educators and other community members in cities, towns, and hamlets across the USA want that too. Who is closest to the children? Who knows the community? Is it those who cobble together political documents such as NCLB or RTT? Or is it at a more local and regional level with parents, business people, teachers, and others, even right here in our town? Others are thinking and writing about this too.

I could share a long bibliography, yet, for today, I suggest two articles, the first is an opinion piece by two writers who often disagree. How to Rescue Education Reform, by Hess and Darling-Hammond, a fine article on how the Federal Government can best help education is found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/opinion/how-to-rescue-education-reform.html?_r=1

The second article quite worthy of reading is by Judith Warner, Why Are the Rich so Interested in School Reform? See it at: http://ideas.time.com/2011/12/09/why-are-the-rich-so-interested-in-public-school-reform/

An endnote—What will be the effect of LAUSD’s new contract? “Teachers in Los Angeles have overwhelmingly approved an agreement that is expected to give instructors and administrators more control of their schools, while also holding them responsible for academic achievement.” Here is the LA Times article from which the forgoing quote comes: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/12/la-teachers-approve-local-control-deal.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lanowblog+%28L.A.+Now%29

Principal-to blog or not to blog

Principal-to blog or not to blog by Penelope Swenson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Why might a principal want to blog, or NOT? Blogging is not for everyone. As a professor, I can do an occasional blog, but as a principal, you would want something more consistent. Do any of your teachers have class or “teacher blogs” that are on your school/district servers or using other systems? Some superintendents blog. Does yours?
Plus side:
• Timely information
• Promote the school
• Inform parents, community, press of calendar, activities, initiatives, successes
• Inexpensive means of communicating
• Keep focus on mission, vision
• Provide connections to articles, videos, etc. regarding developments in education

Minus side:
• Must keep it up
• Can say too much
• Some parents do not have access
• Legal issues regarding posting student names, photos
• Could be seen as political

Should you do a blog as a principal?
• Are you a good writer?
• Who is/would be your audience?
• Do parents have access to the Web?
• Do you have important information to share?
• Can you keep the blog up with posts at least monthly?
• What is your district policy regarding blogging? Must publications be approved by the D.O.?
• Could you use blogspot.com or one of the other sites set up for blogging or is that “off limits” for your district?
• Do you have the time? Will the blog save you time or be time/cost effective?

There are benefits to getting on the Web with your message. There are pitfalls. Read some of the blogs below to get an idea of what other principals are doing.

A very traditional, informative, support the school blog is from an elementary principal in Massachusetts. You will find it at http://pineglenprincipal.blogspot.com/ .

From a South Carolina middle school, this blog is similar in content to the one above but with a Twitter feed and podcast. See it at http://sullivanms.edublogs.org/ .

Patrick Larkin, high school principal, has a blog at http://burlingtonhigh.blogspot.com/ and his own Principal’s Page at http://cms.schooleffects.com/contentm/easy_pages/easy_page_view.php?sid=28&page_id=5 . Both have timely and useful information and links.

Check out this wonderful wide ranging and informative blog http://weprincipal.blogspot.com/ by Melinda Miller, an elementary principal with many interests.

Blogs, thinking, and academe

Some of the most interesting writing in academe is in blogs yet blogs are not recognized as credible academic work. A fine scholarly article below on blogs is found at http://www.thesacredpage.com/2010/11/sbl-paper-weblogs-and-academy.html .

I find blogs highly useful and would like to see them as a more full means of engaging others in pondering--maybe along the lines of the salons, etc. noted in the RSA "Where Good Ideas Come From" by Stephen Johnson

I’m in a pondering mode. My blog is an excellent way to extend a classroom discussion, share ideas, and think through a concept. How to make the blog more viable as a form of academic publishing is still out there on the horizon.

Flog or dismount?

I did not write the following list, but it certainly applies to some situations. In times of high demands/expectations and resource declines, this silly list imparts a sort of off center wisdom.

Flogging A Dead Horse ?

The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed from generation to generation, says that when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount. However, in modern business, other strategies are often tried with dead horses, including some of the following:

01. Buy a bigger whip.
02. Change riders.
03. Threaten the horse with termination.
04. Appoint a committee to study the horse.
05. Arrange to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses.
06. Lower the standards so that dead horses can be included.
07. Reclassify the dead horse as "living impaired".
08. Hire an outside contractor to ride the dead horse.
09. Harness several dead horses together to increase speed.
10. Provide additional funding to increase the dead horse's performance.
11. Conduct a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance.
12. Declare that the dead horse carries lower overhead, and therefore performs better
than some other horses.
13. Rewrite the expected performance parameters for all horses to accommodate the dead one.
14. Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position.

I've been pondering the real wisdom in dismounting. The hard part sometimes is recognizing and accepting that some horses are, in fact, dead. As educators, we can not give up on kids, but we can discover that certain programs or processes are just not working--essentially, dead. We also may discover that what is not working for us may respond for someone else.

Changing metaphors, sometimes I need to remind myself that key to being an effective leader is in the refrain of a Kenny Rogers song:

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.

Sometimes success is in walking away and not trying to flog our dead horse.

TRUST and RELATIONSHIPS

During the early sessions in my Educational Administration courses I write two words on the whiteboard—Trust and Relationships. Through the courses I frequently refer back to where those words were written as those two words are key to the success of a school.
Years ago I was an assistant superintendent of a K-12 district. We were implementing a program that was not wildly popular initially. A major reason for the implementation was the financial benefits that would allow smaller class sizes. A faculty team had met with administration and agreed it was the way to go, yet selling the concept was not easy. It required change! We were having a panel discussion before a large group including parents, teachers, staff, et al.
I presented some numbers that suggested why the change would be beneficial. A teacher disagreed, saying she had seen figures that were different. She was a strong voice and had significant parental support. Fortunately, a question was asked and attention moved to another panelist. Joyce was in the front row. I quietly told her these were new figures and I was familiar with what she was citing. She asked where the actual state document was that showed this information. It was back in my office several blocks away. She said she had to question my figures without that documentation. I asked, “Have I ever lied to you?” She shook her head. “I’m certainly not going to start now Joyce.” She thought for a few seconds, nodded and then said, “OK, but I would like to see that document tomorrow.” I assured her I would make a copy and the next day I took it to her.
Trust and relationship! These are major keys to success or failure for a leader.
Megan Tschannen-Moran, Ph.D., teaches educational administration at the College of William and Mary. She has been a principal and a researcher for many years. Trust is one of her major research areas. Her book and articles give strong support to the concept that trust is essential for school success. Here is a summary of her views on trust:

Five Facets of Trust
Each of these facets of trust affect all interpersonal relationships including those between the adults in a school environment, and these relationships can affect the successful functioning of that school.
• Vulnerability is essential to trust because trust is only an issue in relationships of interdependence in which one party relies on another for something they care about or need. Vulnerability creates the potential for betrayal or harm if one party does not live up to the expectations of the other.
• Benevolence is the confidence that “one can count on the good will of another to act in one’s best interest” (p.19). In other words, in a trusting relationship, you can assume that the other party would not willingly act a way to cause you harm.
• Honesty refers to a person’s character, integrity and authenticity. People are perceived to be honest through their actions, such as sharing truthful information or consistently following through on promise.
• Openness refers to the process through which people share information, influence and control. These can symbolize power within a relationship, and it is how this power is used than can influence trust.
• Reliability is the sense that one person is able to depend on another, and that behaviors will be predictable from situation to situation.

From http://api.ning.com/files/Ibb1luuy5jfR2u2j19xgeS-2hKkky*BH3ohxeovthL8TcoVAbDVSxiAatLg0V1PerVrITme3vPiRUvbcVzPrWdvKd2cIcbkl/MeganTschannenMoranFiveFacetsofTrust.pdf

Trust is part of ethics. In earlier blog posts I discuss Ethical Decision Making for Educational Leaders, Reflections on ethics and teacher reviews, The"Popular 8th Grader" as Principal, and in another Fair Hiring Practices. All of these posts deal with ethics and trust.

More from Dr. Tschannen-Moran:
Tschannen-Moran, M. (2004). Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Tschannen-Moran, M. (2000). Ties that bind: the importance of trust in schools. Essentially Yours: Coalition News for Ohio Schools.
A PowerPoint presented recently by Dr. Tschannen-Moran Cultivating Trust A Key Resource for School Success is posted at: http://www.leadershipk12.richmond.edu/document/resource/cultivating_trust.ppt

Fair Hiring Practices

Growing Trust and Relationships?

Many years ago, I would check out candidates for positions by calling people I knew would be straight with me about those individuals. A couple of times I received information that caused me to mark someone off the finalist list. Generally I was pleased to hear the individual had presented himself or herself with a best foot forward, of course, yet the whole package was positive. Today, that practice would be frowned upon—or even considered unethical.

The external candidate cannot be fully vetted, yet the internal candidate has a history. In some quarters, even when that history includes substantive sacrifices for the organization, support of the mission to the exclusion or suppression of personal gain, and a collaborative spirit about the job and organization, the positive history is not considered due to the “fairness” issue. Any negative history or personal antipathy for the person, even unrelated to job performance, comes to the fore.

Hidden issues come up with the internal candidate such as political correctness, age, with whom the candidate is allied (or not), being too willing to go the extra mile, personal dislikes or vendettas against the individual, and more. I watched an internal candidate deserving of a position—he had served in it for over a year—pushed aside without an interview. The subsequent hire was a disaster, and a costly one in time, money, and destruction of credibility. Yet, when the job was open again, that internal candidate was not considered, despite his knowledge and understanding of what was needed.

Equally problematic may be only hiring from within and not seeking the opportunity to gain new ideas. Balance is needed, but care must be taken to assure internal candidates are not routinely discriminated against or encouraged to apply for positions for which they will not be considered.

In teaching leadership to prospective school administrators I stress two words that represent a large portion of what makes leaders successful—TRUST and RELATIONSHIPS. In the school “business” we are building people—Learners who are reflective, collaborative, creative people. Leaders do not need to be liked, but they do need to develop relationships based in respect and trust for the mission of the school to go forward. Improving student learning, for example, is not done by a mere memo being sent to the classroom minions. What does this have to do with fair hiring? A lot!

Recently a school district administrative employee—one who went above and beyond consistently—was encouraged to apply for a position. Well qualified with degrees and credentials beyond the requirements for the post, the individual did so only to find rejection and evidence suggesting there was never any real consideration of her/his application. This situation is repeated all too often, destroying trust and relationships that could build the organization. Is it any wonder that organization is filled with strife? Further, is it any wonder that this district has several key players looking for positions elsewhere? (I write without concern that anyone might identify the district as I have heard the same story from several districts over the last few months.)

Langston Hughes wrote a poem that initially was only applied to the circumstances of African-Americans encouraged to dream and then having their hopes dashed. Hughes is a mainstream American poet! Poems apply to universal experience. Read Hughes’ poem and think about students, job applicants, and others encouraged to dream their dreams, only to have their dreams crushed by their encouragers.

Raisin in the Sun--Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--
And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Administrators need to focus on developing fairness that really is fair, not just an illusion. Trust and relationships encourage success in business, in families, and even in schools.

Administrator or Teacher needing a document camera?

Document cameras are so useful for school administrators, teachers and other presenters. Classrooms, staff meetings, conferences, sharing at a faculty PLC (professional learning community)—all great places to use a document camera. There are some great doc cameras available. AVerVision, Dukane, Elmo, and Wolfvision are the leaders. These terrific tools cost around $600 or more. And, you would not carry one to an off-site conference or meeting. Without money and the need (or desire) to use such a tool, what can you do?

An HD quality web camera can do the job. Mine already has a gooseneck, so I just need a stable base. Generally, these cameras have some fine tuning—or they can be adjusted using the gooseneck. Lighting generally is not an issue, but even a small flashlight can work when using the camera on the fly. Check out this “make your own” method.
http://friedtechnology.blogspot.com/2010/03/update-document-camera-under-100-now.html

Uses?

• Show a page in a document
• Zoom in on test scores
• Project an object such as a crystal or even school contraband
• Display student work
• Share a diagram
• Create a chart
• Show examples

Most of the cameras allow saving a picture of the view. Great for creating handouts and follow ups.

Have doc cam, will travel!