Feel the Fire!

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

-W.B. Yeats

I’m a quote guy.  I love them.  When I coached basketball we began each practice with the analysis of a quote.  In the soccer locker room, I posted them all over the walls of the “dungeon.”  Many of you rely on quotes, too.  I see them posted in your rooms and spoken to children; all in the quest of imparting sagely advice.  We use them with versatility to motivate, inspire, and possibly in the modification of an action.  There’s a quote for every occasion.  I think my son, Daniel, would agree.  He’s constantly beleaguered by quotes from his every-caring father.

The quote from William Yeats speaks to the heart of what we need to do.  This herculean task is placed before each of us as we grapple with low student motivation, generational and situational poverty, and the stressors from the SED.  Are these late 19^th century words a solution to our 21^st century problems?  I’m asking that you spend time contemplating these words and the meaning for you.  It really doesn’t matter your approach to this exercise, it’s simply a good practice. 

If you’re the type who enjoys a mental exercise, try changing your perspective while completing this task.  The perspective of a teacher is most comfortable for us.  What about the perspective of a parent or possibly a student.  These words may have a different significance.  For those of you who are cognitive giants try to alter your method while delving into the depths of Mr. Yeats’ mind.  Look at it from a philosophical point to understand why he wrote this.  What about the behaviorist in us all who try to place situations with each statement.  The constructivist approach would certainly create meaning. 

I hope you found relevance within this activity. 

Enjoy the weekend.

Be SAFE; Be RESPONSIBLE; RESPECT others, yourself, & your school

These standards are a component of all school guideposts.  We want our children to feel safe and to be safe.  We strive to encourage personal and group responsibility.  We cherish the moments when respect is observed.  When any of these are diminutive, the entirety of the school is affected. 

Being developmentally responsive to the needs of our students is something that AAK has received recognition for through our Schools to Watch status.  The need for our response was seldom more important than recently as Mr. Saber and I presented “Let’s Talk: Bullying, Harassment, and Our Children” to the parents of our fifth graders.  Once again our students’ demonstrated need for assistance was answered by the diligence of our professionals.  Safety, responsibility, and ultimately the respect of our students were queried.   

During “Let’s Talk” we discussed the difference between normal relational conflict, harassment, and bullying.  We looked at relational conflict as opportunities for teachable moments both in the school and at home.  The parents understood that overreacting could be just as detrimental to their child as underreacting.  Our children need to develop their skills during these difficult times so that they can learn to navigate adult relationships.  Children need assistance and occasional advice, especially when they feel that things are moving out of their control. 

We transitioned our discussion into the more sensitive area of harassment.  Negative comments, racial slurs, and put-downs are examples of harassing behaviors.  SED recently provided additional guidance as they defined characteristics of harassment when actions were based on race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, or gender (identity or expression).  These areas cannot be used in a negative manner against another child.  It’s simply not allowed and the parents agreed. 

What appears to be a wide, grey line between harassing behavior and bullying is clarified through the SED’s guidance document.  Bullying is a hostile activity which harms or induces fear through the threat of further aggression and/or creates terror.  It can be a subtle act or very obvious.  It can be a single person or a group.  For a harassing act to be considered bullying, four distinct features are present.  A power imbalance, either physical or social, exists.  There has to be a proven intent to harm.  This can be a physical attack or an attack on the social-emotional psyche of the victim.  There is a threat of further aggression and both the victim and perpetrator know that this action will continue.  Finally, the victim experiences terror.   

While schools continuously look to the basic guideposts to dictate decorum, it’s important to recognize that respect is paramount and a basic component of safety and responsibility.  Respect for self is diligence, hard-work, and a conscientious attitude.  Respect for others is empathy and a tolerance of ideas that are different from our own and that the sum of the whole is greater than any one part.  Respect for the school is singular in purpose and comes from the relationships of its people and intention of its mission.  I’m proud of AAK’s response to the needs of the children.  Parental collaboration is crucial for a successful mission and “Let’s Talk” completed the circle for this involvement.  I appreciate the work completed by Mr. Saber towards this mission.  Moreover, his willingness to be involved demonstrated that we believe in our mission and that AAK is truly a School to Watch. 

ENGAGING the learner

This week I brought a writing done a couple of years ago our of the file cabinet. It talks about ENGAGING the learner.

I hope you enjoy and find new motivation in this previous writing.

 

 

Essential Question

How does one teach so that every student is valued and can develop a meaningful understanding?

As I try to write meaningful thoughts for the Friday Focus, oftentimes I’m confronted with writers-block; a common ailment for many would-be writers.  To forge through this dilemma, I began to formulate the above Essential Question on which to focus my reflections.  Essential Questions are used in most of your classrooms and serve in much the same way as I’ve used this one – to focus the instructional message.  Writing a quality question is almost an art form, but it goes to the heart of the issue of projected outcomes for the instructional lesson.  While this is not quite to the level of a “backwards design” as described by Wiggins and McTighe in their book, Understanding by Design (a must read for lesson/unit development), it does set the expectation for the learning outcome.

To address this Essential Question, I turned to Dr. Paul Vermette, Professor at Niagara University, author, and Constructivist Conference attendee.  As many of you know, Paul is an expert at developing meaningful understanding and valuing the learner.  I have taken a number of workshops and classes from him, and always come away with furthering my own personal knowledge.  In a recent publication, he states that teachers can tap into student interests, strengths, passions, and concerns by focusing on eight factors.

Entice effort and build community.  We should take every opportunity to motivate, encourage, and support students.

Negotiate meaning.  Students must develop their own understanding of important ideas; they are never expected to memorize without meaning nor are they to claim understanding without their own examination.  This “constructivist” ideal has been supported through much of the current brain-based research.

Group collaboratively.  Students work in and out of partnerships; consequently, they must be respectful of everyone else and accept the responsibility of honoring a community of diverse individuals.  Brain-based research also indicates that a social component strengthens the permanency of a learned concept.

Active learning and authentic assessment.  Learning is seen as the result of thinking and is demonstrated by a performance of understanding.  Learning is doing and is always visible and audible; “tests” mean providing evidence of understanding by skilled use of ideas in a new and realistic situation.

Graphic organizers.  A simplistic but powerful tool, these are used regularly to examine information, record thinking, and to document relationships.  Students think visually on a regular basis and keep these as other people keep computer files.

Intelligence interventions.  Diversity is the norm, so differentiated instruction has also become the norm.  Teachers and students utilize a myriad set of strategies, ideas, and practices to find ones that work for specific individuals.

Note making.  Unlike most classrooms in which every student is expected to develop a set of “notes” that are identical to the teacher’s, note making expects each student to record his or her own ideas as they happen and as questions are being answered.  Like a “captain’s log,” those notes explicate the musings, the analogies, the partial answers, and the insights gathered as students navigate the realities of their investigations.

Grade wisely.  Grading practices stand as the real belief system of a teacher.  In every case, the teacher should give the benefit of the doubt to the thinker-learner and use the grades as motivators for continued work.  The approach to grading a project, and assignment, a homework, or an interaction becomes the vehicle by which a teacher defines his or her philosophy and sends messages to students about their own expectations for success in that class.       

In a way that speaks volumes about the teaching style of Paul Vermette, he has produced a simple and easy to understand message.  ENGAGING the learner in the content is critical in developing meaningful understanding.  During the past two summers, I have had the opportunity to sit and talk with Dr. Vermette about AAK.  We’ve discussed many of the factors which led to his message of the ENGAGING classroom.  I think he would be proud of how AAK teachers conduct their learning activities.  In each classroom, I see components of his philosophy.  We have students that are constructing their knowledge and feel valued by the teachers and their classmates.  AAK is more than just another middle school…for that…thank you.                                                                     

                                                                        Have a great weekend.

                                                                                               

Source:  Engaging Students in Their Own Learning, Paul Vermette.