It has been a long time since I have posted to my blog. Let me begin with… I teach International Baccalaureate History of the Americas and International Baccalaureate Economics. All 120+ of my students are IB-level students, which simply means my work is cut out for me. Added to this, I am still in the first years of each course, so I am consistently preparing new material for my classes. I rarely have time to add cogent thought to my blog anymore. Well, until today.
Recently I took a trip to Rome, Italy (more on that to come, I’m sure), and I took along a book I have had on my shelf at school for some time, FDR and the Jews. In about a week, I will have a very short amount of time to teach my students about the Holocaust. I am very comfortable with the topic, having read personal testimonies, witnessed dozens of Holocaust speakers, and read secondary source history of the events. However, one question my students ask often, and I often oversimplify in answering, is why did the United States do nothing about the Holocaust.
Through their book, Richard Breitman and Allan Lichtman present four different major periods in Roosevelt’s presidency and his impetus to help Jews during each period. The first phase focuses on his first term as President. This phase is dominated by the domestic affairs of ailing a troubled nation during the Great Depression. During this phase the plight of American and international Jews takes a back seat to domestic reforms. The second phase focuses on Roosevelt’s second term up until the start of World War Two. During this phase, Roosevelt is more activist toward helping Jews, but his actions toward international Jews is simplified to trying to alter the constrictive US immigration quota. The third phase, in the early stages of World War Two, is fraught with more difficultly. While Roosevelt desires more international action against Axis aggression and in support of international Jews, his hands are again tied by domestic constraints and politically minded decisions. While Roosevelt wants to speak out against the belligerent Nazi regime, he finds such speech difficult lest he be accused of taking sides in a war while leading a neutral nation. The last phase, Roosevelt has undeniable proof of the horrors of the Holocaust, and the United States is active in World War Two, but military objectives and stark reality of saving the remaining European Jews limit his actions.
Breitman and Lichtman present a very interesting account of a personal Roosevelt and his actions during his presidency. They portray an individual who wanted to act, but whose career ambitions, political handcuffs, military objectives, or other roadblocks made action difficult.
Upon completion of this book, I was left with an awful sense that Roosevelt wanted to help Jews internationally, but he could not. A president with grand popular appeal, who stretched the power of the executive more than any other president, who led a country with vast material resources, this President had little power to help the Jews. Thus, I have arrived at this personal conclusion. Individuals should not wait for the actions of governments to protect the lives of those in danger. Even when it seems impossible for a government lay aside and not act, unfortunately it is possible. Yes, while many examples exist of governments helping protect or assist the less fortunate, the Holocaust and recent genocides present the awful conclusion that governments are very slow when responding to such crises. Individual actions save lives. The resistance fighters, those who hid Jews from persecution, those who acted to protect Jews while risking their own fate… these are the models of action and courage in the face of danger. These individuals should inspire modern action against tyranny, abuse, genocide, and injustice.
I do not fault Roosevelt or the United States government for being slow to react to an international crisis. I do not fault current administrations for inaction against international crises. The actions of governments will most always be slower than necessary in times of need. Knowing this, I realize now that when tyranny, abuse, or injustice present itself, I cannot must not wait for others to stand against it. Individual actions are fast, and individual actions save lives.
Our lives are… BUSY! Whether you are a teacher, student, office worker, lab technician, artist, or general savant, we live in a digital world; if you are like me, your digital world is messy. Me? I have multiple cloud accounts spread across multiple services. I am active on social media. I have several email accounts. And, I would rather still take notes on paper. Some days, life feels very messy! In a recent Twitter chat (#edtechchat– Monday evenings at 8-9PM Eastern), we discussed how to manage this workflow. I began investigating some options in the past week, and I am proud to report on some success.
1. Managing e-mail. At last check, I have four very active email accounts, and a fifth as a throw-away when I sign up for free stuff. One person cannot manage all the data! One account is a work email from my school. Two others are Gmail accounts set up for Google Drive access. Both of those are active, but I never check them. Technically, those are both school-based accounts that I use primarily with students. I have a third Gmail account for personal use. My last account, as I said, is an older Hotmail account with no contacts or personal data, because a few years ago it was hacked. I still keep it around to collect my unsolicited email. To manage these accounts, I prefer to use the built-in email forwarding features common in most accounts. I mirror both of my work-related Gmail accounts to my work-provided email. If a student emails any of these addresses, all the mail funnels to one account. I have this work account and my personal Gmail account all funnel into my iPad, and I routinely sift through and manage my email on this device. My older Hotmail account is attached to nothing, but it allows me a level of security against unwanted email.
2. Cloud-based storage. I love Google Drive. I use the account to create and share digital files with my students. I have two accounts so I can separate my course content into separate parcels. It also affords a bit more storage! I recently used my old Hotmail account to access Microsoft’s SkyDrive. I have been tinkering with some SkyDrive-based syncing options on my iPad to improve my workflow. But, sometimes I forget where everything goes. For that, I have recently been introduced to the iOS app Cloud Browser. With this app, you can sync your cloud-based files to your iOS device and share to different users. The Google Drive iOS app is frustrating because those of us with multiple accounts cannot access multiple drives at once. Cloud Browser makes this possible.
3. Note-taking. Teachers take notes. I find many of my notes are still on paper. I write more quickly than I type on a device, and I believe electronic devices alter the conversations you have with others. I always carry a Field Notes brand notebook in my pocket. Aside from the plethora of useful features, I like that Field Notes brand products are still made in the United States. But, workflow from a paper notebook is difficult if you don’t carry it with you. Or, so you thought. I was recently introduced to Evernote’s fantastic ability to search for text within an image. Rather than keep my notes in a stand-alone notebook, I now take a picture of my notes and load them to Evernote. I’ve just started this process, but it has already been a lifesaver. In addition, Evernote allows me to schedule notes to address later; if I need to remind myself to attend to an item at home, I can do that very easily.
4. If this, then that. I’m not completely sold on If This, Then That, a website which allows you to create simple “recipes” to bring together your data. I use two “pre-made” recipes now: one sends me an email of the top ten news items I should know about each day, the second records all of my favorited Tweets to my Evernote notebook. Neither of these features are game-changers for me, but IFTTT is worth investigating when bring together your workflow chaos!
Honorable Mention- iCloud. I have not used iCloud much for more than syncing my personal “home” life; mostly pictures and music. However, Apple’s iCloud allows online creation and sharing of documents among peers like Google Drive does. Apple’s recent improvements have made iCloud better, but for efficiency, Apple cannot beat Google. What I do love about Apple’s iCloud is the appearance. The Keynote presentations and the Pages document templates are design-oriented while the Google Drive suite are more efficiency and collaboration-driven. So, I have begun working more in iCloud, but it is still not the greatest program for a connected lifestyle.
As I said when I began, I have data everywhere, in both digital and print format. Hopefully some of these tips give you more ideas to try in your classroom. Good luck!
Today Pennsylvania released its updated information for the School Performance Profile, scoring secondary schools across the state. The top performing school was the Downingtown STEM Academy, my school!
Today’s announcement only validates that hard work pays off; our motto “Effort Creates Intelligence,” pays off. Students have been working hard for the past three years, so have teachers. Our school has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished School every year we have been open. Students are continually recognized in regional and national competitions in academics and extracurriculars. Our students are being asked to speak at national conferences on the state of education. Our students are continually presented opportunities beyond comparison. Our students are engaged and want to come to school. All these factors make the school I work in the best school in the state; quantitatively and qualitatively.
Thank you to the administrative team and community for saying yes to such a bold endeavor. Thank you, students, for showing up every day willing to take a risk and work harder than you would have to elsewhere. Thank you to my colleagues for constantly inspiring students and fellow teachers to achieve at our highest potential.
The biggest lesson I have learned in the past year is saying yes. In January I read Daniel Pink’s book, To Sell is Human, in which he includes many tips on how to sell ideas and build communities of support for your ideas. One such tip is, when in conversation, do not say “no.” Rather, if you are not in complete agreement with an idea, say “yes, and…” Then, support this idea with ways you believe it could be better. This tip isn’t new, but Pink’s inclusion of it in his book on selling ideas inspired me to think about how often I say yes in my life. I yearn for people to think of me as open-minded, innovative, creative, and easy to work with, but I found I like to say no. I like to be in control. Saying yes opens you to new ideas, which in turn makes you vulnerable to the unknown. If you only operate within what you know, you will never experience growth, innovation, and creativity. You will be stuck in the system surrounding you, whether that be your job, your relationships, or your faith. Practice saying yes.
My journey saying yes led me to a risk, a new surrounding, an education “unconference” called EdCamp. This particular EdCamp was held in Philadelphia. At this conference, I ran into hundreds of educators, who all occupied a similar spectrum- yearning to change education but unsure how. Many of these educators wanted change but were not yet comfortable with the vulnerability that comes with change and saying yes. The first event I attended at this conference was with Angela Maiers (@AngelaMaiers), whose passion-fueled belief in education pulled at my heart.
For those outside the daily education arena, let me paint a brief picture what current public education looks like in Pennsylvania and likely in many states around the United States. My vantage point on the topic of education expands from my work as a scholar, my practice as a classroom teacher and leader, and my new view as a parent of a first grader. I know my view is not all-encompassing, but I know where I stand provides a unique perspective of American public education.
By in large, American public education standardizes students into mediocrity. This isn’t the fault of teachers, the system, or the leaders alone, and this is not true in every instance. By in large, public education takes the passion, drive, and curiosity of students as young children and standardizes it into numbers, standardized test scores. This isn’t an emotional appeal to abandon the tests, though… I know I would lose that battle. This is an appeal to strive for more. By only aiming for the standard level of mediocrity demanded by the current testing culture, many students lose the passion, drive, and curiosity that embodies learning. I believe by striving for more, American students will so demolish the tests that the tests will become irrelevant, silly, and a bump in their educational journey.
The message promoted by Angela Maiers is that all students are geniuses, at every level, and passion-based education should encourage and grow this genius, rather than standardize it. She challenges students to Choose2Matter. When I heard her message, many educators in this progressive un-conference began asking some silly questions: What is your business plan? How does this relate to the standards? How will I get buy-in for the project? With each question, I became emboldened. How silly, right? A business plan to bring passion back to the classroom? Leveling passion-based learning to a standard? Administration buy-in? I was shocked. So, I raised my hand (yes, I can’t avoid it), and I said yes. I was willing to dare big. I knew it was a risk. I knew it would make me vulnerable. I was not sure which direction it would take me. But, I also knew how dismal standards-based education can be. How passion-less the school day is for many students. This educational system is so bureaucratic, at times, it is amazing learning can take place. It will take risks to shock the system. It will take rebels and disruptors. If we are not willing to say yes, we remain glued to the system we are in. I cannot remain glued to a system that encourages mediocrity and standardizes greatness. We need a change.
Angela came to my school two weeks after I met her in Philadelphia. Planning this trip alone was a struggle. At every point of opposition, when I felt like quitting, I realized I was no better than the educators in the lecture hall in Philadelphia that put up roadblocks immediately. I persisted. When Angela made it to my school, I had no clue how it was going to go. I had a very loose plan, and I allowed flexibility for students to change what was happening. It went SPECTACULARLY!
Not surprisingly, when you give students a voice in what they do, the students will blow beyond your expectations. Within three hours of Angela’s arrival, students were live-streaming their genius to the world via UStream. By the end of the second day, many students had begun the process of building their idea, their passion, into a non-profit organization. These two days occurred in the last week of school, when many educators shut their doors, clean their rooms, and largely ignore the students. Ironically, these are some of the same educators who argue there is not enough time in the year for what they want to do. I’ve learned early in my life to run through finish lines, not walk.
Students continued work over the summer, including video conferencing with Angela and others about their ideas. Students shared their genius for other teachers in professional development. Students shared their genius internationally with the United Way during Angela’s hour-long contribution in The 21 campaign. Students continued working, over the summer, on a passion-based idea started because two educators said yes.
Saying yes has another effect. The journey that being with “yes” never ends. By remaining open to new possibilities, you no longer solely control your destiny. As such, not one path but many remain open to you. If I had my way, my path would be straight, directly pointing at my goal. Saying yes brings you to many more intersections, cross-streets, alleys, paths, and uncharted routes than you could ever imagine. These new avenues of growth never dead-end if you keep saying yes. That itself is hard to maintain. If you only know you are moving forward but aren’t really sure where you will end up, as a traveller, you must constantly orient yourself to your surroundings. You build community wherever you go. Some in this community travel with you on this journey, while others keep watch over where you have been. Saying yes is a journey that does not end.
Angela Maiers was chosen to speak at the ninth annual Business Innovation Factory conference in Providence, Rhode Island in September 2013. She told me the conference was willing to pay for students to present with her. Astounding! Unbelievable! By pushing beyond the standard of mediocrity in education, my students would get to share their genius with some of the most innovative business leaders! Angela left the details up to me: how would we get there, how would I get through the school approvals, how I would get parent support. Again, it would been very easy to say no. The students would have to miss school; we might have to drive seven hours in a minivan; we would only be presenting for a few minutes. I, hesitantly, kept saying yes. When I had trouble doing it all on my own, I turned to my support system of educators and family; they keep watch over my well-traveled paths so I remain grounded. I asked parents for help; this new community was going to travel with me a bit on a new, exciting journey.
In Rhode Island, the students met Angela again and we immediately went to work. We had a mission. The students wanted to promote their business idea, Bikes with Benefits (@BikesWB). They also wanted to work with Angela to promote passion-based, genius-inspired learning. At the cocktail hour following the first day of the conference, Angela mapped a plan for the students then told them to go share their genius. Left to me, I would have been more cautious. I did not think they were ready for such an adventure, largely on their own. But, I said yes. What happened next was amazing. The students, in pairs, began networking with business innovators!!! They found a familiar face, Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar), who Skyped with us in June. They were honored to meet him in person, and he was thrilled they remembered him. Onward they went. The evening crescendoed when the students bumped into an executive from Trex bikes. They brought their group together and pitched their business idea, on their own, with no direction from Angela or myself. THEY NAILED IT! Angela and I, standing a few feet away, couldn’t help but cry for joy when witnessing the limitless potential of student genius and the boldness of these six girls.
Having made a name for themselves Wednesday evening, they got to be on stage with Angela on Thursday morning. I must say, we were all more than a little nervous. Some of the students tried to weasel out of their spotlight. We all encouraged them. What happened next was amazing. THEY NAILED IT!! They got a standing ovation. A spectator shouted in affirmation through the applause that these girls will lead our future. In the second day of this conference, only two speakers got standing ovations. Not even the final presentation from the co-founder of FastCompany raised the crowd from their seats. Students, led by their passion, relinquished from the bounds of standardization and mediocrity, inspired some of the nation’s brightest business innovators.
During lunch, business leaders and students from other schools kept my students very busy. My students, with Angela, have helped pave the groundwork for this movement in another school. One of my students said she was heartbroken that other schools couldn’t have the opportunity they were having. Bikes with Benefits, the group these students have formed, were ready to ride and ready to rescue. But, what if it wasn’t about the bike? What if this journey is just the beginning of a long path of innovation, creativity, and passion-based leadership from a group of high school juniors? This is what happens when you reach beyond standardization and mediocrity.
On the return journey home from Rhode Island, I cannot predict where we will go next. I cannot predict the story of these girls. I do not know where Angela and I will wander to next, or even if our path will continue on together. I do not how the many connections I made will support our travels. I do know I many new paths lay before us. Many new travelers have joined with us. As a community we move forward. Inspired by their awesome example, I cannot ever return to simple standardization and mediocrity. Say yes. You will not know where it will lead. You can always return from where you came, but I am certain you won’t look back.
As the new school year approaches, educational leaders get anxious, just like teachers and students. The start of a new year brings new challenges, among which includes teaching teachers– professional development. I hope to share some advice to make this year’s professional development more engaging. Teachers have a phrase for professional development-“Sit and Get”. I content it should be “Sit and Forget.”
The first faculty meeting of the year is your first “lesson” of your yearly professional development. This meeting should be as important to administrators as the first day of school is for teachers. As such, I have compiled some advice for new and veteran administrators alike. I am a classroom teacher, but I do lead monthly professional development as my building’s educational technology leader. My advice below stems from my experience as both a teacher and building leader.
1. Don’t forget your roots– You are a teacher at heart. As an administrator, you are a master teacher. Do not abandon tried-and-true teaching practices because you are teaching adults. After a full day of teaching, or with the stress of the upcoming year, teachers have so much on their minds. Use your good teaching strategies to make professional development enjoyable, meaningful, and useful. Everything that comes next really is a subset of this first point.
2. Start with the end in mind– With no disrespect to Grant Wiggins or Jay McTighe and their Understanding by Design movement, planning your teaching with the end in mind is really a simple concept. Think about how you plan a vacation. You know where you are going, and you make decisions about how to get there. Now, think about how faculty meetings are planned. Piecemeal? Start with the whole year in mind. What do you want the teachers to really learn? Set a yearly goal, share it, then plan backwards to get there. Design formative and summative activities to measure your progress. Make this plan apparent to your staff at the first faculty meeting.
3. Be prepared to fail– Planning a year’s worth of professional development means something will go wrong. Your plan will get amended for an urgent matter in your school. This is okay. Be willing to demonstrate to your staff how to handle failure. If you don’t model risk-taking and failure, how can you expect your teachers to know how to take these risks? While we are on failure…
4. Try new teaching styles (and technologies)– Many administrators want their teachers to flip their classroom content. Flip parts of the first day’s faculty meeting. Please follow some sound advice for flipping content, but experiment with it. Conduct some of your meeting in a blended learning style. Allow your teachers to BYOD and then USE THEM! Set up a Twitter conversation to run while you present. IF you want a less public “backchannel” try TodaysMeet. Again, be prepared for failure, but if you don’t model successful and failed attempts at these new(er) teaching tools, do not expect your staff to use them.
5. Abandon PowerPoint– Even if you manage to make a good PowerPoint, it’s not as good as you think. PowerPoint requires passive responses from your audience, at best. At worst, PowerPoint has negative connotations as boring and ineffective, especially when the presenter is on slide 5 of 54! Peter Bregman called it the number one killer meetings. Fortunately he also gives advice for making your meetings more interactive.
6. Chunk your time– Think 10 to 15 minute chunks. Carmine Gallo, for Forbes Magazine, advised readers on why a ten minute presentation is important. However you design your first faculty meeting, use different teaching approaches, technology, and staff input sessions to diversify your teaching. Over a three-hour meeting, this will mean plenty of changing. You can re-use strategies (i.e., have more than one flipped session), but try not to put them back to back.
7. Include your audience– Rather than handing down directives from above, perhaps you offer problems the school is facing, and through dialogue sessions discuss how or why certain solutions will work. Since you are a master teacher, you know you can still direct the audience to “your” answer, but if you help the idea organically grow from their input you will have greater buy-in. Interestingly, if you work this way, teachers will also understand the importance of a new change. Another way to include input could be to have staff create short recorded videos (1-2 minutes) on a rule or procedure important to the school. These videos, then, could be used to inform the students when they return. How powerful would it be to have the teachers convey the new rules rather than the principal running a long meeting with the students? There are dozens more ways to get your staff involved. Rely on your strengths and find what works best for you.
8. Make learning personal– As much as #1 was the key to the entire list, tip #8 offers a full-circle closure. Your staff will only retain the training if it is personal to them. Your veteran teachers and first-year teachers probably should not be in the same meeting the entire time. Perhaps diversify your message by grade-level or subject. You should really consider a needs-assessment for your staff before you begin. Does everyone need to hear everything you deliver? If not, you are wasting their time and squandering opportunities you can push them further.
If you approach your professional development this year as a year-long learning process and not piecemeal, you will find your teachers get more from your meetings!
I’m no Harry Wong, but after teaching for nine years, I have some very important suggestions for the first day(s) of school for both new teachers and the veterans among us.
I’ve been accused of being a reductionist in my views of education; I make complex issues too simple for some. I don’t think my reductionist view is nearly as bad as some of my critics point out, but I thought I should start with admitting their view. I take such a simple view toward education because I think most educators overthink education, making complex issues even more difficult to resolve. We, after all, are simply helping youth along a path of discovery. It’s pretty simple.
Let us begin with two scenarios.
Scenario #1- The First Faculty Meeting
One of your first teacher days back in the coming weeks will be for your first faculty meeting. I’ve taken part in these meetings for nine years, with many different principals and variations. Here’s what happens often. The administrator introduces new staff (usually with an ice-breaker of sorts), shares what is new, reviews the important rules for the school, and reviews expectations for teachers and students. I have experienced these meetings take upwards of three hours. I’m a pretty good listener, but in that time, there is information I will forget and have to revisit. My colleagues and I, knowing these meetings are long, are not excited for them. Yes, we understand the meetings are important, but they are long and difficult to get through.
Scenario #2- A Two-Hour Business Dinner
Teachers do not get to many business dinners, but let’s follow this thought example through. If you are invited to dinner with a new boss, you likely arrive at that meeting a bit apprehensive with many questions in your mind. What can I expect from this boss? Will my past practices be good enough or will I need to change? Will the boss like me? Will we get along? With these questions, and likely many others, what would happen if your new boss spent three-quarters of the time, 1.5 hours of your dinner, lecturing you on his expectations for you? What is your impression of your boss then?
Returning to reality, your first day of school with students is right around the corner. If the first day of school is like scenario #1, what good is it for students? Students who are required to mostly sit through seven hours of ice-breakers, new changes, rules, and expectations will likely forget most of them. This follows the same logic of why teachers should not lecture all day. If you don’t like full-day of lecture-based professional development, DO NOT DO THIS TO YOUR STUDENTS! Especially on the first day of school.
In scenario #2, the boss loses a great opportunity to make an awesome first impression. If you get talked to in this scenario, you are likely to think of your boss as autocratic. You might feel like your opinion is worthless. You might even feel like your boss expects you to act unprofessionally; otherwise why would he lecture you on his expectations and rules? You don’t break rules. This isn’t necessary.
You only have one chance to make a first impression on your students. Please think carefully about the impression you want to make.
I do not profess that these suggestions work for everyone, but below are some suggestions I have found very successful. I encourage you to think critically about them and whether they will work for you.
1.Get personal– Your students want to meet you. You want to get to know them. Make a strong first impression on the first day of school, the first moment you get to meet the students. Stand in the hallway all day. I like greeting students at the door, handshakes, hellos, simple conversations. I like to welcome students into our classroom. I’m not a fan of ice-breaker activities, but whatever it takes for you to develop a personal relationship with students, please do it. I put together a “Who is Dr. Staub” video slideshow for students [this year’s isn’t done yet…]. It establishes immediately that I am a person, not just a teacher. I encourage them to share their personal stories with me over the coming days.
2. Limit the rules– I teach high school (11th grade to be specific), so I know this applies differently to me. The more rules you have, the more it sets the tone that you expect the students to break the rules. Think about which rules are critical. I go over NO RULES the first day. In fact, I don’t list rules in a syllabus, hang them on my wall, or expect parents and students to sign. In fact, I have very few rules beyond: RESPECT EACH OTHER. I used to have laundry-lists to go over with students and get signed, and I found I would rather simply expect students to do good. When students break my expectation of respect, I simply talk to them. If the behavior continues, then I increase my behavior modification plans. It’s not about rules; it’s a personal approach to understanding students. Isn’t that what we want?
3. Don’t assign seats– Why do you need to? Here are the main arguments: (a) It helps me get to know the students. If you focus on a personal approach the first few weeks, greeting students at the door every day, you’ll learn names much quicker. (b) It helps control the classroom. Again, this presumes students will act up. If you let them pick their own seats and they act up, change their seats. Don’t presume they will act poorly. (c) It is required for my sub plans. I haven’t had seating charts for two years. Students are creatures of habit- we all are. Within two weeks, students will sit in the same seats anyway. Make a seating chart from their habits. You will likely not be absent by then anyway. If you are, think about what a substitute does. They READ aloud all names for role anyway. How helpful is a seating chart? If your students understand the responsibility of choosing their own seats, the students will act better for the substitute then they will for you. (d) If I make a seating chart, then I can move their seats. I need to mix the class from time to time. Don’t forget, you are the teacher. If you don’t have a seating chart, you can still require students to sit in specific areas. This is actually easier to do when students have a choice most of the time. While I am talking about seats, AVOID SITTING STUDENTS IN ROWS. We live in a connected world. Why isolate students from the genius around them?
4.Teach something– get the students involved- Give the students a positive reason for coming to school. Get into something worthwhile. Heck, make your first day your A+, best lesson of the year. Remember, this is about first impressions. Go BIG. Set the bar high for yourself. Demand the same expectations from your students in everything they do. Wow them!
5.Connect– Let students know how and when you are available, at school and electronically. Invite them to connect with you how you are comfortable. I have a school-specific Twitter and Gmail account. I allow students to chat and tweet me, professionally, at any time. Students who know you are available will come to you more often, even if this is just the hours you are available at school. Send an email home to parents sharing the same information. The more connected your classroom is, the better year you will have.
6.Refine your message– You will say something the first day of school. Practice it, and make sure it aligns with your vision and big goals for your classroom this year. This is why I do not go over rules. I feel rules set the bar too low. Rules tell students what NOT to do. Rather, here are some of the messages I want to work into my message to the class in the first week of school.
“I don’t care about your grade- NOT AT ALL. I care about how much you learn.”
“I expect to fail a lot this year, attempting new practices I am not comfortable with. I expect you to fail too. You cannot push yourself to new horizons by remaining with what is comfortable. If you fail, keep trying. You are only a failure when you give up trying to get better.”
“Effort creates intelligence. If you don’t give 100%, do not expect to get 100% return. It doesn’t work that way.”
“Your learning is personal, but you need others to help you reach your success. We learn best when we learn together.”
So, there it is. Please think carefully about what you do in the first days of school. Do not set the standards and bar too low. Do not talk at your students. Be engaging. Be personal. Smile. Laugh. Challenge their perceptions on what is known. Set the bar high. Repeat this model every day, and you will have the best year of your career.
At 6AM EDT Friday morning, I got the chance to prove to the world Angela Maiers’s belief, “You are a genius, and the world needs your contribution.”
On Friday, June 21, the United Way (@unitedway) ran a 21 hour event called The 21. Together with Google, “The 21 is a twenty-one hour broadcast of live programming in support of worldwide education… This first of its kind event will feature celebrities from the sports world, entertainment, leaders in the education field, and also everyday heroes who are making a difference in their communities through education… Think of it as a telethon reinvented for the digital age, except our goal isn’t to get money, it’s to recruit 21,000 people to pledge to become volunteer readers, tutors or mentors.”
The embedded video is segment grabbed from United Way’s YouTube Video, and slightly edited by me. Make sure you check out my students’ contribution (after a small technology glitch) around 50 minutes.
Angela Maiers’s town hall forum on the importance of her #YouMatter campaign in the global fight to improve education worldwide.
Below are a few of the key inspirational points I pulled from the video:
“[You Matter] is an “end run” around the school system.” -Mark Moran
“You are a genius, and the world NEEDS your contribution.” -Angela Maiers
“[You Matter] is not about you, it’s about us.” -Shawn Murphy
“Putting people of all ages under pressure to stretch is awesome.” -Ted Coiné
“[Some people] don’t respect children because they are young, and they don’t know anything. We have to fill their brains with knowledge. You know what? Memorizing stuff is not what school should be for. It should be for sparking their creativity.” -Ted Coiné
“If you’re telling me you want to change, get uncomfortable. It will feel different. Trust me, you will enjoy it.” -Tim McDonald
“WE is smarter than ME.” -Angela Maiers
“Those who don’t adapt will have someone else adapt them.” -Mark Moran
Special thanks to the following participants in the video:
One year ago today, I ventured into the unknown social media world to develop my professional presence and expand my career potential. To date in one year, I’ve tweeted 6,889 times to 1,194 followers. In one year, I’ve posted 65 blog posts, visited 5,652 times by individuals in 76 different countries. We truly are in an Age of Mass Connectivity.
In the 20th year anniversary of Wired, contributors were asked to catalogue the previous twenty years in computer and technology. For his contribution, Kevin Kelly (@kevin2kelly) asked those working in startups in the Bay Area about their dreams. What follows are some of their thoughts:
“The next big thing will be a new way of deciding what we innovate.” –Michael Glass, Scribd
“We are in a creative revolution of how people work.” –David Albrecht, Crittercism
“This is the age of mass connectivity.” –Santosh Jayaram, Daemonic Labs
“We are widening our collective eye.”
What does this mean for educators, though?
As a friend of mine said,
The purpose of classroom walls should be to keep the bugs out, not trap the learning in. #satchat
Education needs to join the Age of Mass Connectivity. In the past year, spurred by Will Richardson’s (@willrich45) visit to my school where he urged me to start blogging, I did just that. I also started chatting on Twitter more. I engage in weekly Twitter education chats. Social Studies chat on Monday nights from 7-8PM EDT (#sschat), Educational Technology Chat (#edtechchat) on Monday nights from 8-9PM EDT, Education Chat (#edchat) on Tuesdays from 7-8PM, Parent-Teacher Chat (#ptchat) from 8-9PM EDT, and Saturday Chat for educators (#satchat) on Saturdays from 7:30-8:30AM EDT. I obviously cannot do them all, every week, but I engage as much as I can. This connectedness bore fruits in the past school year.
Because of my social media presence, I connected with New York Times bestselling author, Kenneth C. Davis (@kennethcdavis). He Skyped with my students twice in October, he was so impressed that he came to my school in March.
After a series of connections, Dr. Goldstein, who leads the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, came to my school to announce the winning team sending their experiment to the International Space Station in November.
Educators need to connect. In just one year, I’ve managed to do more for my students than I did in the first nine years. Connections help break down walls, walls that in the 21st century are only good at keeping the bugs out. We live and teach in an Age of Mass Connectivity. Reach out and explore. As Dr. Jeff Goldstein says, it’s only with leaving your comfortable place (your home) that you will gain a new perspective of where you are. If you do not press into the “unknown” of a connected classroom, you will never know what possibilities lie on the horizon. Make it your goal this summer to connect. Share this post with someone who is reluctant. Share your experiences. Find out what happens when you stretch to new horizons.
Two years ago I first read Carol Dweck’s Mindset. Every summer I re-read her work and consider how it will change my professional practice. Because of my growing connectedness and sharing via Twitter, I have been asked to lead a Mindset book study this summer. So, here are the details I have worked out so far. Please add comments to this post or to the Schoology group if you want to adapt how we run our book study.
Who: I will moderate most book study sessions. I have no specific experience except having taught in a growth mindset school for two years and putting Dweck’s ideas into practice. I am privileged to work with colleagues who have all read the book and embody the growth mindset.
What: Twitter chats (#mindset13) and reflective discussion posts via Schoology. Create a free account and join our group discussion page.
When: June 24 – August 12 2013 with weekly Twitter chats on Mondays at 3PM EDT.
On May 18, 2013, I attended an education “un-conference” called EdCamp in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the movement. At the Saturday conference, I met Angela Maiers (@angelamaiers), who spoke with passion about her believe in student genius. Many educators at the conference were excited about her ideas, but when challenged to implement the vision in their schools, many recoiled. They asked, “What about the standards?” “What is your business plan?” “What if my administration says no?” Perhaps because I am daring, bold, or simply because I like a challenge, I raised my hand and asked to those who doubted- “Why would anyone stand in the way of your students daring to change the world?” I said yes.
The rest of the weekend, I spoke with Angela many times in person and on the telephone. By Monday, I had enough confidence to bring Angela’s and my idea to a set of innovative teachers at the Downintown STEM Academy. These teacher always focus my ambition and provide checks of reality. After a few moments, they agreed we should give this a shot.
I followed by emailing the Headmaster of the school and the superintendent of the district, asking for support for our plan—I wanted Angela Maiers to come to my school for a two-day workshop in the last week of the school year, AFTER students had finished finals. The biggest fear was whether students would show up. They gave me the latitude to continue, and I put aside the doubt and proceeded.
I believe it was Thursday, May 23, that Angela Skyped with some students of mine to discuss the possibility of coming to the Downingtown STEM Academy. The group of about 30 students were very excited. A colleague of mine and I then planned out the two-day event on Friday, May 24. The dates are important because this happened very quickly.
Taking a pause—many times in this process I doubted it would work. Would students show up? Would all teachers support it? Would Angela’s visit be worthwhile? Would Angela be disappointed? Could I organize support from all stakeholders? Would I disappoint them? If I had stopped at any of these breaking points, none of this would have happened. Public education needs risk-takers. Breaking barriers and making school better for your students requires daring and risk-taking. It would have been easy to quit, but my growing network of support kept me going. Voices joined together and said, “Keep going.”
Angela came to my school on June 3 and 4, and still on my way to school on Tuesday, June 3, I had doubts. What if the students didn’t buy in to her vision?
I have a personal belief that students excel with less boundaries; they will use creative, curious, innovate, and investigative means to reach new plateaus of knowledge. Teachers should support these endeavors, not block them with standards, tests, and requirements in schools. Would students buy in to my vision? I had no proof.
Well, Angela has already posted her view of the two-day workshop. More posts are coming. Below is the proof- in two short days, these are just a few of the organizations my with which my students will change the world.
Do not underestimate the innovation of your students. Do not dare to take risks. Do not say no because everyone else is. Believe you can make an impact and you will. You matter.
Lunchbox Notes (@YouMatterLBN)- Lunchbox Notes sets forth on a mission to create a world where smiles are genuine and happiness isn’t rare. A world where thoughts count and actions matter.
Need2Lead (@Need2Lead)- Providing inner city boys and girls, ages 11-15, with a friend and mentor who teaches what leadership truly is.
It has been a long time since I have posted to my blog. Let me begin with… I teach International Baccalaureate History of the Americas and International Baccalaureate Economics. All 120+ of my students are IB-level students, which simply means my work is cut out for me. Added to this, I am still in the first years of each course, so I am consistently preparing new material for my classes. I rarely have time to add cogent thought to my blog anymore. Well, until today.
Dr. Staub 