Symmetry

I love symmetry. I love symmetrical objects and designs. If you doubt me, take a look at my house. There’s a reason we selected to build a colonial style home. We even have matching doors on each side of our porch. There’s a sense of balance to symmetrical objects which seem to appeal to me. I appreciate balance in many aspects of life. When I think about eating the snack I know I shouldn’t consume, I think to have “just a little” in moderation. I remember training as an athlete; I would always balance my workouts and routines. In my classroom, I would look for a balance of activities and approaches. There are few areas in which balance isn’t justified.

This past week we have endured the NYS ELA Assessments. There’s been opposition to standardized testing since the concept has been used. Personally, I’m not against a standardized accountability system. As a teacher, parent, and principal, I acknowledge the merit of this process. Yet, something seems unbalanced. We teach compassion and empathy, yet I witnessed children break-down and cry while completing these exams. We understand the value of positive relationships; unfortunately, many of you probably didn’t have the chance to work on this with the children this week. We have endeavored to differentiate our instructional strategies and assessments, the state has not.

Why do we, the educators, work on these daunting tasks when the state education department is presenting a different paradigm? The answer is clear to any of us who have ever seen the light bulb beam when understanding is reached. We know how best to teach and how children learn. Our moral obligation as educators now reaches farther than striving to expand our skills with children. In this current era of education, our responsibility extends so that others understand the importance of moderation and balance. An educational philosophy is more than an idea, strategy, or approach. It’s the impetus behind the idea, strategy, and approach.

If your philosophy is incomplete, in flux, or still on the back shelf since you completed that undergraduate requirement of writing an Educational Philosophy, then I encourage you to place your thoughts about this past ELA exam into words. You, I assume, are like me. It’s not all bad, but something just doesn’t seem right about what we did to our children. It’s unbalanced, more than simply a house with only one door. More like a house with only one door…on the third floor.

I would encourage all to provide the SED the feedback that they’ve requested, in any avenue available.

Have a great weekend. Let’s get ready for another round of assessments. Yeah Math!

Student Self-Motivation

What factors determine the level of a student’s intrinsic motivation for success? This has been the essential question within many conversations I’ve had with people lately. On each occasion, I’ve walked away thinking that we’ve nailed the solution, only to take another step and reflect that maybe the actual solution was far away from our concluding thesis. I’m usually left scratching my brow.

Certainly the family priorities hold weight in this discussion. Most of us assume that a student can’t be truly motivated unless their family places education in high regard. Is this a true assumption or are there exceptions? It’s my experience that while the focus and support provided by families is critical to success, it’s not always a sure indicator for a child’s development of self-motivation. I’ve struggled with many students who had very supportive families. Conversely, there are students that appear to have a strong level of motivation whose parents are virtually unknown by the school. How can this be?

Grading, which is definitely the third rail in public education, has been debated as a tool affecting motivation. I’m not sure if students are truly inspired by a grade. Can they be engaged by an assignment, by critical feedback, by affirmation, by goal acquisition? I believe we can all agree; yes. Being motivated by a grade? I’m unsure. Maybe a grade can be viewed as an affirming comment. I guess it could be a motivating factor, but only to the individual students who have a people-pleasing mentality or are already intrinsically motivated. Most grading guru’s would not endorse the idea that a grade should be used to motivate.

Can a teacher be a tool for improving a student’s level of self-motivation? Similar to the concept detailed above regarding parents, a teacher can have a tremendous impact on a child. Believe it or not, you have affected others and probably saved lives. The impact cannot be measured. However, I know of many excellent professional educators who struggle with student motivation. So there must be more to it.

The additional factors leading into a child’s level of self-motivation are limitless. I, like you, have the perspective of watching thousands of students grow and mature. Most develop into confident and successful adults. So, is the level of self-motivation trapped in the developing child’s mind only to be released when maturation progresses? This is an intriguing thought. To compound this issue, it seems, in a general sense, that more young girls develop self-motivation earlier than their male counterparts. Or is this a reflection of a desire to please? Okay, I just stepped over into child development and the field of psychology. (I should know better.)

Let me refocus and reflect on my personal experience. At the age of 15, my sophomore year, and then again at the age of 20, my other sophomore year, I transcended through a metamorphosis and cared about the classes I attended. I can’t attribute many factors to these two specific moments, as my family structure remained the same, my teachers were similar to others that I had, and the grading was done in a relatively consistent manner. Some of my peers developed a deeper sense of personal motivation earlier and many were later. I attended school with some children who, upon reflection, appeared to be self-motivated in the primary grades.

Normally I attempt to impart knowledge, wisdom, and advice. I’m sorry to say that I’m no closer to understanding intrinsic motivation than I was five, ten, or twenty years ago. However, I believe there are many strategies which help develop motivation, such as, goal setting, engaging activities, positive relationships, etc. By externally motivating students through our various methods, I surmise that we are ‘training’ our children to be intrinsically motivated. I would be interested in your thoughts about student self-motivation.

Have a wonderful weekend – almost Spring Break!

You Decide

There’s been a lot of talk this year about budgets, CCLS, APPR, SQR, QIP, SINI, and testing, and they are all connected in some form but I took a few minutes to actually think about pedagogical philosophies. I began with a broad essential question: What is the most important strategy to employ when working with children ages 10-14?

While this exercise is an overly simplistic approach, it did allow me an opportunity to contemplate the many individual classroom strategies, approaches, and methods. I’m sure my pro/con list for each was woefully inadequate and many of you could debate my lists. Knowing that my process was flawed in many respects, I still found value in taking the time to sharpen my view. I would encourage you to take a few minutes, look at your own processes and designs. Spend time thinking about an approach of a colleague, especially if it’s different from your own. What’s the most important for our students? The key phrase is for our students. As I conducted this exercise I felt some déjà vu. I remembered going through this same process as a new teacher. I remember thinking, “What did that teacher down the hall do that was so successful?” I learned a lot then from our former AAKer’s, and I learned a lot in this current activity, too. Go ahead and give this a try.

Well? What’s your answer?

Knowing that I can’t just walk away at this point, I am compelled to share with you my concluding thoughts. While every individual strategy, approach, and method holds merit for measurable student results, few will be effective without one single concept: relationships. A positive relationship between a teacher and a student is the single most important factor in any aspect of teaching. Please do not mistake a positive relationship with being a “push-over” or relinquishing control. The teachers from my past who pushed me the hardest and obtained the most significant results were also my favorite. They weren’t my favorite teachers because they pushed me the hardest. They were my favorite because they took the time to understand and learn about me. As a result, they were able to maximize potential in a reckless, sarcastic child who preferred to sit in the back of the room. I had teachers who tried to push me without building the relationship, as I’m sure you did, too. The results from those classrooms were predictable; frustration.

I hope you have an opportunity this weekend to conduct a similar exercise. It was valuable for me.