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Readers – surprising stats

May 9, 2012 by · No Comments · Literacy

 

A survey by The Jenkins Group, an independent publishing services firm, has shown that millions of Americans never read another book after leaving school.

Check out the stats:

33% of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.

42% of college graduates never read another book after college.

80% of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.

70% of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.

57% of new books are not read to completion

 

While I understand that these stats are American and therefore do not reflect the Canadian reality, I would suggest that we are not much better off.  If anything it gives us a look into a new reality.  If our youth are not reading, what are they doing?  I envision a bunch of hands flying up in the cyber world.  People are now on-line, tweeting, texting, torrenting and trolling.  People are still reading, still consuming information, just likely not in a traditional manner.  While my generation got “In the know” and also could escape to other places and times through the power of the written word, this generation has so many more options.  With a click of the mouse, they can access almost anything from the weather in Rio to the history of the ballpoint pen (not that interesting, don’t bother looking it up).  Not only can they access this information quickly, but they can do it in a variety of ways, from text to video and from audio form to any language they should like to see the information in.

They have access to escapism too.  While we escaped to beautiful realms like Middle Earth and Narnia by sinking into a comfortable chair with a cool pop, today’s generation can see the world first hand and experience visually beautiful fantasy worlds created by others.  That’s pretty powerful.  Does it stunt their creativity not having to use their imagination to picture these new realms – I’m not certain but I would suspect it does not.  Children are every bit as imaginative as they have ever been, they now have more powerful tools to express that creativity however.  Students can creatively express themselves in a myriad of new ways from computer graphics, to easy to use music synthesisers.  Even those who struggle with the written word have access to expressive tools they can access on-line.  Not only that, they still have the traditional forms of expression as well.

So what’s my point?  I get that a lot . . .  be careful with stats.  When I first saw the reading stats above, it made me a little down in the mouth, what type of generation are we living in when reading stats are dropping?  As I thought about the why, I felt enlightened and even envious of this generation.  They have so much potential at their fingertips, and you know what, I think they’ll do great things.

Keep on learning,

D

 

Who Learns Most?

April 27, 2012 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

 

So, who learns the most in a school?

Is it high academic students who focus so hard on excellence and achievement?

Is it struggling students with their smaller class sizes and differentiated support?

Is it the new teacher who is planning the night before just to keep her/his head above the water?

A good case can be made for all of the above.  Personally, I think there is a new contender in the mix.  As the  educational world begins to see the importance of collaboration and collegiality in the development of teachers, as PLCs meet, plan and refocus their thinking on teaching and learning and as teachers take on the challenge of transforming the way we approach curriculum delivery, many schools have moved towards an Instructional Coaching model.  There is the person that I think has the lead in learning in a school.

Instructional Coaches have the largest opportunity to learn simply due to the fact that they have the great advantage to work with teachers, shoulder to shoulder throughout the day.  As they sit in the back of classrooms gathering data, co-plan lessons with their colleagues or research new initiatives in education to explore with the staffs, they are exposed to greatness of thought and practice. They watch master teachers as they explore the curriculum with their children. They build a synergetic bond with their colleagues as they build lessons together to increase student engagement and achievement. They delve into how to best get kids to think critically, act morally and problem solve practically.  There is a lot of learning going on in their lives.

If that is the case, which I believe it to be, what can we learn from this to bring to the table to improve our own learning as teachers as well as to our students?  Instructional coaches work in collaboration – do we? Do our students? Instructional coaches ask questions of those they work with – do we? Do our students? Instructional Coaches find the best way to solve problems, not the quickest.  Do we look for rich solutions to our classroom issues?  Do students look rigorously at the issues that are presented in their curriculums?

I have great respect for Instructional Coaches.  They are hard working, engaging, and life-long learners.  It’s the best gig in the world.  And, at the end of the day, they affect students.

Keep on learning,

Dave

 

Teacher Satisfaction

March 23, 2012 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

 

Well, I certainly read an interesting article in The New York Times this week.  I know, you’re thinking, he reads The New York Times?  Really?  No actually, not typically.  There was a link from a ACSD bulletin I received.  Anywho, the article stressed that teacher morale is at an all time low in the States.  It appears that our colleagues to the south are feeling a little blue as of late.  Over half of the teachers surveyed expressed at least a little trepidation in regards to their  jobs, the highest rate since 1989.  Forty percent of them were not confident that learning would improve in the coming years and one third of teachers were planning on exiting the profession in the next 5 years.  Wow!

That got me thinking about how very lucky we are in Alberta or at least in Evergreen.  The teachers I deal with are exceptionally optimistic about their students potential to excel.  I wiped my brow, glad we were so much better off then our neighbours to the south.  Then I watched the news . . . a story that came out this week was that 25% of those students graduating from the faculty of education don’t ever teach.  Not only that, another 25% get out of the profession in the first five years.  That really struck me.  What is it about teaching that results in such poor teacher retention numbers?

The 25% that never teach after graduation I can understand.  Some don’t get jobs right away and start their careers in a different direction.  Once they get going down another path, they stick with it.  Some may well realize during their practicum teaching that they have picked a career that they do not love, they get their degree knowing full well they will never teach.  I have many friends that I graduated with who never used their degrees to teach.  They found more lucrative work or simply felt that it wasn’t their calling.  I admire that – knowing when you’re not in a good place for yourself and fixing it.

As for the 25% who leave the profession in their first five years that makes me sigh.  Why are they not sticking it out and loving the huge impact that they have on students and thus society?  I know, some realize that it is not their calling and move on.  Again, that’s admirable.  We’ve all had teachers we know aren’t loving what they are doing and the impact they have on young people can be negligible if not negative.  I think teaching is a vocation  worthy of the very best.  It can be trying, tiring and down right frustrating at times.

So – what’s my point?  Take heart teachers you are in a great profession that makes a real difference in people’s lives.  When most of us look back on our schooling, some faces really stand out as pivotal in who we have become.  I think to Mrs. Short, Mr. Timeteo and many others.  Without them I would not have been the person I am today.  Take heart teachers – you make a profound difference.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/08/education/teacher-morale-sinks-survey-results-show.html?_r=1

 

Keep on learning,

 

Dave

 

Take a Breath – it’s not another Initiative.

February 29, 2012 by · No Comments · Motivation, Professional Learning Communities

 

Breath deeply folks, it’s that time of year again.  Report Cards are due soon.  Administration are doing classroom walk-throughs. Old initiatives are coming to a close while new initiatives are being planned.  And now, to add to the pile, the powers that be are asking you to think about what and where you want to teach next year . . . any availability in the CRAZY HOUSE!!!!!!  As I stated before, breath deep.  Try to assume the mind set of a swami; relax and put things in perspective.

It’s easy in our field to get caught up in all the new initiatives and demands on your time.  Teaching is not a field that one goes to for the slow, peaceful pace.  For those teachers who did, they are currently selling real estate . . . and probably making more money than you are.  Teaching is an active calling, one where it’s important to embrace the chaos and recognize that within the apparent cacophony that is the school, there is a greater good being served.  That greater good – student success.

So, when you hear all the new initiatives and changes coming down the pipe, whether they are a change of building, a new project plan, or a brand new Administrator, breath deep and remember what you got into this field for.  At the end of the day, it’s all about student success.  When you feel overburdened with things in your job, which is easy to do, breath and ask the question “Will this have a positive impact on how students in my care learn?”  If the answer is yes, listen attentively and take it to heart.  If the answer is no, don’t sweat it.  Give things in your professional life the amount of time they deserve.

 

Keep on learning . . . and remember . . . breath.

 

Dave

The Hidden Curriculum

February 17, 2012 by · No Comments · Motivation, Uncategorized

I have to admit, it has always fascinated me.  Something Machiavellian in me wants to smile knowingly and rub my hands together in a “Snidley Whiplash” type of way.  Perhaps I am dating myself in the use of the arch villain “Snidley Whiplash” but I am certain there are a few other cronies like myself our there who remember Snidley.  I am also working on my maniacal laugh, just to really set the stage.

We all participate in delivering the hidden curriculum, generally unknowingly.  Terms that we use in class on a regular basis, “good job”, “excellent answer”, “sit still”, can carry significant meaning in regards to what we feel are important.  Good job may well imply that the effort that was put in to the thinking of the student was enough.  Thinking is done.  How about “excellent answer” how can that be judged anything but a wonderful way to build a students thinking?  Perhaps other students with answers which are not in agreement with what the “excellent answer” was are now thinking that their answer is flawed, that their thinking just isn’t good enough.  And what does “sit still” say to a student?  That only in moments we are still can good thinking occur.  Research might suggest otherwise.

Even in writing these I struggle with whether these supportive words can possibly have impact on student engagement but then I recall something that happened in one of my classes a while back.  I had handed out a study package for students to review over their Spring Break.  Not meaning to ruin their holiday, I stated that it was simply there for them should they choose to do it.  It was certainly not assigned.   On their return to school, I asked if anyone had a chance to get a head start on the package and much to my surprise, one of the students did!   Most students however, had taken the Spring Break as just that, a break.  It was optional so “why worry” was the thinking.  I was astonished and praised the child for their work ethic, and even held the child up for the others to look on as a positive role model,”This young lady, is certainly ready for the jump to higher learning.”  Positive praise yields positive results.

It was years later, when out and about, I ran into a student who had been in that class that day, not the child I praised but rather one who took the “break”.  After inquiring about what they were up to I was surprised to learn that this young lady had never gone on to post secondary schooling.  She was very bright after all.  When I inquired as to why, she said that when she was in my class, she recalled me saying that the work would be so hard and that you never got a break.  I didn’t recall the event at all until she reminded me of what had happened and I was amazed.  This certainly wasn’t the message I was trying to send yet, there it was, right in my face.  My simple praise for getting ahead took on a negative connotation simply because I wasn’t thinking about the influence of my words.  It was viewed as a statement that University was too difficult, that is was based on work load rather than quality of work and that expectations were unclear.  Our words in the classroom are often perceived as something far different than we intend.  What I intended as a simple prod to use their time wisely became a major knock to a child on the absolute difficulty of University and how she was not prepared for it.   I never intended for students to question their ability . . . but one did.

So, what do we take from that?  I know that it really made me reflect on the message that I am sending through the things I say and the actions I take.  I am more mindful of the way my actions may be percieved and I try to make the covert, more overt.  That is to say, I really try and think the way a student or a colleague may interpret what I say or how I act so that I am not sending “hidden” messages. And when I am sending the hidden message, I want to know what it is so that I am at least in control of it.

Think about it just for a second.  What messages are you sending through your routines?  What’s important in your classroom?

 

Keep on learning . . . and reflecting.

 

Dave

It’s ALL about Relationships.

February 15, 2012 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

Are things so different then they were 20 years ago?  I understand that kids now have access to an unfathomable amount of information and tools that we never even dreamed of.  I understand that the whole idea of the Star Trekian “communicator” is laughable now given the current technologies in cell phones.  As an aside, they still haven’t perfected the phaser or the transporter.  I also understand that the world that we lived in was significantly easier to manage given that we did not have at our fingertips global breaking news in real time.  I understand all of that.  Technology has transformed much of our lives and we have adapted and live in this world in a different way than we did 20 years ago.

One thing has remained a constant however, and that is the importance of relationships in the day to day grind of our lives.  As teachers that is especially significant – the success that comes out of our dealings with children is all about the relationships that we have formed with them so that they can learn.  I don’t know about you, but I can think of a teacher or two that I had who had tremendous subject knowledge.  They held degrees and spoke with conviction on their discipline but at the end of the day, I still learned significantly more from those teachers who had a special bond with me and I felt I trusted them.  The environment was so much easier to learn in.

This isn’t simply true in education circles but in life.  Dan Erwin, a specialist in career and neuroscience research, has found that while we believe that in is the functional business skills of a field that will make a person successful, that is a misconception.  The greatest common denominator for successful people is there ability to relate well to others.  The ability to communicate and really make people feel valued is a pivotal component of most successful people.  In the words of Jim Knight “it all comes down to relationship.”

So, in light of this knowledge, what skills are we teaching our students?  Those CALM (Career and Life Management) classes that students dismiss in school may well be the most important class they take for their development and success.  I’m not discrediting the sciences or the humanities, far from it.  Where would we be without the Einsteins and Shakespeares who have enriched our lives in so memorable a way?  All I am suggesting is that we need to really stress relationship building as well.

Food for thought?

Hope so.

Keep Learning

Dave

 

Keep on learning,

 

Dave

Choice – a GREAT thing – Right?

January 31, 2012 by · No Comments · Motivation

 

One thing that seems to resonate with the movement to a more transformative, 21st Century education is that students should experience choice in order to maximize and personalize their learning.  It just makes sense.  If we chose to get involved in some learning or research, we are more likely to be engaged and to retain what we have learned.  If something is thrust on us as important, sure we can learn it, but the likelihood of us retaining that learning decreases dramatically.  How many classes in University did you memorize the content and, after the exam was completed, flushed your brain, never to look back at the learning again?  If you’re like me, you can’t even remember the name of the courses much less the content.

In response to this idea of “no choice for students”, like in many educational initiatives, we went full bore the other way.  We have opened the doors to choice, allowing students to have a limitless look at what they want to study.  I remember a “projects” option I once taught – wide open!  How unrealistic is that though, we have outcomes that need meeting and the hodge podge of projects could be unrealistic for teachers to have a reasonable idea of what is going on.  But it’s a bigger issue than just the teacher having too much going on in their classroom.  It’s about what’s manageable for students.

Too much choice is overwhelming.  Have you ever been in the supermarket to buy mustard and when you get in front of the mustard section your jaw just drops.  There are over 40 types of mustard.  Do you want hot mustard,?  You begin to sweat.  Do you want a dash of relish in your mustard?  Your throat begins to restrict and you undo your collar.  Do you want the mustard that the president chose?  It must be good, after all, the president eats it!  And being faced with an endless opportunity, you chose . . . French’s mustard, the same one you’ve had since you were a child.  In light of all that choice, we pick what we know.  Remember that’s just mustard.  I remember with some terror the first time I went to Starbucks.  What a horrifying situation that was.  The lady in front of me ordered a skinny, half-caf, semi sweet, mocha chino latte with chocolate sprinkles and who knows what else.  Isn’t this just a coffee bar??????  Somehow I felt ordering coffee just wasn’t going to cut the mustard (see what I did there?  I went back to the mustard, I take delight in small things).

My inability to deal with too much choice is marked repeatedly in studies.  One study in particular was done in a high end deli in New York.  Tourists are bussed their regularly and feast their eyes on the myriad of options open to them.  The study set up a test table of jams.  There were 25 options at the table and people were invited to try a sample and were pointed to where the jam was situated.  Very little jam was sold and in fact, many people were intimidated even to stop and test the jam.  The next day, only 4 jams were set up and more people came to test the jam and more jam was sold.  Why?  Too many options can be overwhelming.

So – let’s remember that when we are allowing our students to have choices.  Let’s allow the learners in our care to have some selection in terms of how they present their learning or what particular part of the French revolution is the most troubling morally but let’s also not throw a limitless amount of choice at kids – it’s just too hard to handle.  Instead of stretching their learning, they may well simply fall back on what they know, what comes easy.

 

Keep on learning,

Dave

 

New Year Reflection

December 23, 2011 by · No Comments · Motivation


Whoot whoot – a brand new year is coming up fast and, if the Mayan’s aren’t right and the world is still around, that means it’s resolution time. Diet books will fly off the shelves, finding room in the gym will be more difficult and lean cuisine will be the feast of the month. Ah resolutions – how I love the idea of them. A fresh start, a whole new beginning, an opportunity to make good on your best intentions . . . and we all know how that ends. Real life kicks in and those great intentions have a tendency to be put on the back burner. It’s a shame and every year we tell ourselves that this year will be different but . . . . I’m sure you’re seeing where this is going.

And now you ask – where is he going with this post? What’s the point? Where’s the educational relevance? Drumroll please – I’m pretty sure we do the same thing with PD sessions. Hunh? What I’m suggesting, and it’s not ground breaking, is that we go into a new PD sessions with the same hopeful attitude that we go into a new year with. We’re hopeful that this new PD offering will give us insight into practice, lift the viel from our eyes and give us some real pratical ideas that will transform our teaching, making our practice transformative to the students in our care. We will be better, different somehow!

We go back to our classrooms and try these new strategies with the same passion with which we hit the gym on January first. But then life begins to kick in. In January the boy child has hockey, the girls are busy with basketball and you’re called to be there for all of it. It begins to be much more difficult to get to the gym and your daily visits become bi-weekly and then stop altogether. Ah life. It’s the same with the new strategies you’ve learned at the PD session. with the demands of marking, coaching and just general planning, the new strategies are put on the back burner and soon forgotten about. Ah well, there’s always next year.

So – how do we avoid the return to familiarity? How do we ensure that we stick with new practices that we know work, even when we are busy? One great way to stick with a fitness regimen is to ave a buddy or run wih a running group. They keep the fun in it and they push you to keep on chugging. I believe this is the same with introducing new strategies into your teaching practice – change with a buddy or a group. Share your ideas with others nad meet often to see how things are going – hey and let’s call it a Professional Learning Community!

Happy New Year’s . . . and keep on learning!
Dave

What does Inquiry LOOK like?

December 19, 2011 by · No Comments · Uncategorized

I had an interesting request the other day.  A teacher from one of the schools was meeting with their Professional Learning Cohort and they were interested in creating a template / checklist of what an inquiry rich environment may look like.  What an excellent question and what a wonderful opportunity for me to really look at what the difference is between a standard, traditional classroom and a more open, Inquiry based classroom.  I sat down and made a list thinking about what an open 21st Century classroom would look like and here’s what I came up with.

Is there access to research information – both hard copy and digital?

Do the class libraries contain an equal amount of both fiction and non-fiction based free reading books (this is pivotal for a boy friendly library too)?

What does the seating arrangement look like – is it open for student collaboration?

Are the bulletin boards based on  questions and research or are they celebrating worksheets and prescribed writing assignments?

Do students have a say in developing rubrics with the teacher?

Are criteria for determining excellence obvious in the room – are they designed in conjuncture with student input?

Is there evidence of choice in student assignment?

Is there evidence of choice in students presenting their learning?

Does the learning stop at the door of the classroom or are students presenting their learning on a broader scale?

Are students working on a variety of different aspects of an assignment or is everything standardized (textbook / worksheet based)?

Are the rules of the classroom based simply on behavior or do they also give boundaries for working in groups?

Is there a variety of different subjects / learnings going on at the same time?

Are students authentically engaged in the lesson?

Are students comfortable with their wrong answers or are they embarrassed?

Are students expected to look for answers to their questions or can they simply go to the teacher?

 

These were simply a few I came up with in my ponderings but it was the actual thinking of them where the power came from.  I am most certain that there are loads of websites and resources that would give me a far more complete list than this one but,a s i stated, the power was in the process of thinking about it.  In fact, I recommended that they not use my list at all and develop their own from scratch.  In this they have to really think about their classrooms and the school as a whole.  I’ve just scratched the surface of what Inquiry looks like.  Do you have anything else to add to the list – please do so in the comment box!

 

Keep on Learning,

 

Dave

Work Smarter – Not Harder

December 12, 2011 by · 2 Comments · Motivation

A very good friend of mine, who I am a big fan of, always says he is fundamentally lazy.  He thoroughly enjoys down time, reading, playing games and listening to music.  He is also one of the most intelligent and successful people that I know.  Being “lazy” and successful are two things that just don’t seem to run very well together in my mind.  So, I called him on it.  I asked him how it was that he was able to be so successful and yet at the same time have time for things as light as computer games and music.  His answer . . . work smart!

His thinking is that there are a lot of people who work really hard out there but are somewhat counterproductive in what they do.  They put in long hours, working to the verge of exhaustion but the time they put in doesn’t seem to yield much in terms of measurable success.  They get caught in the trivial day to day tasks without keeping their eyes on what really matters.  In teaching, perhaps you know someone who stayed until the wee hours of the morning in order to complete a very fancy bulletin board or make a PowerPoint presentation that is spectacular.  That’s all well and good but,as teachers, we have to ask ourselves – what are the benefits to students?  Does the learning and engagement warrant the hours that are spent on the preparation?  I have memories of cutting out shaped booklets for students well watching television in my first couple years.  Well the booklets were wonderful, I very much doubt that they affected the learning of the students.

This idea of working smart is also reflected in a recent study done at the Universität der Künste in Berlin Germany.  This study looked at violinists and compared “elite” players as identified by their professors to “average” players.  Guess what?  When comparing the time they practiced – both groups averaged the same 50 hours per week.  The difference was the way they spent their practice time.  The “elite” players scheduled two times a day to practice for 3.5 hours each.  This scheduled time allowed them to focus on stretching their ability and actually allowed for more relaxation time in the evening.  Average players on the other hand scrambled to get their 50 hours in and practiced sporadically through the day.  This led to them staying up later and being more stressed out during their practice time and therefore not being as productive.

So, what does that mean to us as teachers? Two tips – spend your time on things that affect student learning and schedule times when you can give complete focus to your work rather than just fitting it in.  Work smarter not harder.

Keep on learning,

Dave