My Learning Story

(Reposted from Rethink Learning Now)

I recently read through the Gates report - A Silent Epidemic, which chronicled the real reason public schools fail to graduate and adequately prepare our young people - namely boredom in school, and not being pushed to succeed. A solid half of students who drop out are talented and capable. They possess the skills for success, but they do not see how their school experience is meaningful, how it connects to the future. Most importantly, they are not challenged to try hard or apply those talents, by either their peers, who feel the same sort of ambivalence and ennui about the drudgery of school, or their teachers, who fail to connect textbook curriculum to the real world. I think back to my own public school experience, and these findings ring true.

I graduated in the top ten of my high school class, was an honors/AP student, and a success by most standards. (I now have both a B.A. and an M.A. from prestigious private universities.) However I too was bored out of my mind, and performed most of my work out of a sense of duty, responding to a dreaded chore list in all but the one class where I had an inspiring teacher - Mr. Lawrence, who challenged our assumptions, and pushed us beyond adequacy. He treated us with respect and affection, as if we were his own children. He opened our eyes that textbook history always has an agenda, and to be thoughtful of what that agenda is, what the perspective of those who lack power might be, and to never assume that just because we read something in a textbook, that meant it represented the truth. My class painted a mural portrait of him as a surprise, while working on a community project after we finished preparing for the AP exam. Sadly, but not unexpectedly, that teacher was fired because he did not fit the mold. He taught us to think outside the box, and the box seemingly had no place for a non-conformist like him.

When I skipped study hall, a period where attendance and silent participation was mandatory, in order to do an independent study with that very teacher, I got written up and sent to the vice-principal's office. I unsuccessfully tried to argue against the rhetoric of blind rules and compliance. As a student of relative privilege, given my high class standing and good grades, I still chaffed at the lack of room for personal growth, personal responsibility, and most importantly, freedom of choice. However, I had parents with high expectations, and I never once considered dropping out as an option. But what of all those students who don't? They end up as statistics, a sad testament to the inadequacy of de-individuated, traditional public schooling.

This is what fuels my passion for education reform today. There is no reason why we should continually be forced to conform to the same old standard of one-size-fits all schooling. A standard which paints all students with the same wide brush, and leaves so little breathing room or support for creativity and intellectual curiosity; a dreaded "waste" rather than the path to self-realization and opportunity it was meant to be. Remember that credo - "Be cool, Stay in school?" It is our responsibility to make sure that school can be the meaningful experience worth "staying in" for.

Education in Context: Looking Ahead, Looking Back

Here is a familiar scenario:

Parents, community members and the media are outraged. Business leaders claim that today’s education fails to adequately prepare tomorrow’s workforce. Headlines criticize: “Is the public school a failure?” “How much do our schools cost the taxpayer?" And what sort of education are they getting in return? Issues of teacher incompetency and erosion of education quality prevail in the public consciousness. Superintendents across the country bring in consultants and use business tactics to run public schools, promising to lower drop-out rates through more rigorous standards and greater accountability. As a result, teachers’ ability to control their own classroom and curriculum implementation erodes. Teacher unions protest.

Now take a guess as to when such a scenario could have taken place.

Was it last year?
Ten years ago?
How about 100 years ago?

Believe it or not, the scenario above was the state of American education roughly at the turn of the century. The headline “Is the public school a failure?” ran in the Ladies’ Home Journal in 1912. Business leaders testified at the NEA “advising, urging, and warning them to make education more practical” in 1908, citing what at the time was seen as frivolous attention to impractical subjects – like literature, art, and Greek. Concerns that should be familiar to anyone working in education reform today. (Just replace Greek with Latin, or another similarly under-appreciated scholarly subject.)

In chronicling the rise of a professional class of education administrators who turned to brandishing business credentials in running their schools, Raymond E. Callahan compiled many such scenarios in his book – Education and the Cult of Efficiency (University of Chicago Press, 1962).

The stories are painfully familiar – but not unexpected in a country that is still attempting an educational experiment found nowhere else in the world. Offering free education, K through 12, to every citizen of the United States is a bold goal in and of itself, particularly given the challenges educators face. Ensuring that this education is of high quality and effective has been, of course, another matter entirely.

Please stay tuned to my future Friday posts in the Inspired Teacher blog. I hope to present many more such revelations and lessons learned as I delve into the questions of how our current system of education came to be. I am finding that the current push towards innovation and the cultivation of new Common Standards echos the struggles of educators in the 20^th century, even as we are forced to reckon with them in the 21^st.

Cooperative Learning Lessons

The suitcase project was pure genius on my part – except for the fact that it was also a total failure.

We had only a month left in the school year and I had completely neglected literature from the 20th century, so I put the students in groups and gave each group a decade to research and a project to complete based on what they found.

They were to identify a book from the time period and create a “suitcase” for one of the characters from the book filled with “artifacts” from the era they’d studied. The project had a rubric, a choice sheet, a task sheet – the works.

But unfortunately for me and my best-laid plans, giving students a project of this magnitude at the end of the school year (when they’d never worked in groups before) ended up in disaster.

Only one group finished its project. The rest ended up with ruined friendships, half-read books, mounds of lost work, and weeks of lost time.

What I had failed to do was prepare students earlier in the year for this grand finale. And a year later, informed by this experience, I did just that. The results were quite different. The projects were fantastic. These are some of the things I learned in the process:

• Discuss your expectations before you have students begin working together, and solicit their input in identifying what a group needs to do to make the learning experience meaningful and effective.
• Begin with something simple like pairing students and having them read and reflect on a passage. After trying a relatively low-risk exercise talk with the class about the benefits and drawbacks of the experience. Do these kinds of activities regularly until students are ready to move on to more complex projects. Mix up the groupings so they learn to work with different peers.
• Plan even a simple group activity well in advance and run your instructions/expectations by another teacher to see if they are clear. Make sure students understand what they are supposed to do before they break into groups to work. (This minimizes the time you have to spend answering the same question for every group.)
• If things fall apart (students veer off task, the project becomes unexpectedly complicated, etc.) take time to talk with the class about what went wrong and use their input to recraft either that assignment or a future group project.

Making Better School Memories

Yesterday I was listening to the radio and a DJ started talking about what he remembered liking in school. “I don’t remember liking much of anything,” he said. “But nobody is supposed to like school.” “I liked recess, and lunch,” said his co-host.

Last week Aleta proposed a different take on school – one that might actually create positive memories that transcend the playground and lunchroom.

Today I offer some specific examples of what this new and improved school experience might actually look like.

1. "What if this year instead of worksheets and rote memorization, students experience exciting real-world projects that connect what they are learning to life outside of school."
For example, 4th graders explore a comprehensive unit about the neighborhood surrounding their school that involves every core subject:

• Social Studies – students do historical research in the city archives at the MLK library and conduct interviews with people who live in the neighborhood.
• Language Arts - students read old newspaper articles and write new ones about the neighborhood.
• Math - students gather data and create graphs to chart population growth over the last decade.
• Science – students study the flora and fauna of the neighborhood and perform experiments on air and water quality.

2. "What if this year instead of following class rules out of fear of punishment or because they seek a reward, students want to do the right thing because they feel valued as members of a learning community."
For example:

• 9th graders in a history class are asked to create their own class-constitution setting the rules and expectations for the year.
• Kindergarten students help to create a mural in the classroom depicting images of how they want to be treated by one another.
• 5th graders learn a variety of conflict resolution strategies that they employ in their class, and – as a leadership opportunity – teach to students in lower grades.

3. "What if this year instead of predictable days that are always the same, students experience multiple approaches to instruction that embrace their varied learning styles, interests, and abilities."
For example, teaching something as basic as vocabulary can be done in a way that reaches every learner.

• Instead of memorizing words simply by looking at them on flash cards students can create role-plays where they actually use the words in dialog.
  
• Students can create picture dictionaries that access the visual learner’s need for images to make mental connections.
  
• Students can play a variation on “charades” by using playdough to create tactile representations of the words.
  
• Students can create physical exercises for each word that help them to remember what it means.
  

These ideas might seem far-fetched, or at the very least quite hard to do in our current educational environment – but they come from Inspired Teachers we’ve known over the past 12 years who are making this kind of teaching and learning happen every day.

If we reject complacency and willingness to follow the general trend of dull, repetitive, and scripted instruction that’s becoming the norm – we can change what’s happening in our schools.

The more we advocate for things to be different the easier it will be for them to become different.

Looking Forward to School

When you think about summer with its days spent in the sun, vacations to beautiful places, unlimited time spent with friends, and freedom to learn about and do whatever you please – it’s little wonder that returning to school comes with its disappointments.

But what if learning about physics was as exciting as going to Six Flags? What if the books you read in class were as enjoyable as ones you read on the beach? What if studying geometry was as engaging as building a tree fort?

Then we might start looking forward to school.

What if this year…

• Instead of worksheets and rote memorization, students experience exciting real-world projects that connect what they are learning to life outside of school.
• Instead of following class rules out of fear of punishment or because they seek a reward, students want to do the right thing because they feel valued as members of a learning community.
• Instead of answering questions at the end of book chapters, students are constantly asked questions throughout the school day that challenge them to think at a higher level.
• Instead of worrying about multiple-choice tests and pop quizzes, students experience multiple forms of assessment including rubrics, long-term projects, and performance tasks. And, they are informed ahead of time about the concepts that will be tested.
• Instead of fearing bullies in the classroom and on the playground, students feel safe in their school environment because their teachers have created supportive, trusting, and inclusive learning communities.
• Instead of predictable days that are always the same, students experience multiple approaches to instruction that embrace their varied learning styles, interests, and abilities.
  

If these alternatives sound good to you, start championing them in your school. Talk to your teachers about the changes you wish you see and provide them with resources to learn about best practices in current educational thinking. You can use our website as a launch pad for starting these conversations.

It’s time to call for a change in our schools. It’s time to ensure they make the most of students’ innate desire to learn.

STAY TUNED: Next Wednesday we'll post another blog offering more specific examples of what these alternatives would actually look like in the classroom.

What makes a good teacher?

As a researcher at Center for Inspired Teaching, I have to read a lot about how other folks define 'quality' in teaching. These days, it seems to be in vogue to equate good teaching with the ability to 'add value' by raising test scores. I believe that good teaching is too complex to be measured by a single number--and when I asked 50 DCPS and DC charter school teachers what they thought, their answers illustrated that there are many equally worthwhile definitions.

'Organization' was the most frequently-cited characteristic of an effective teacher, and 'flexibility' was a close second. Those of us who have worked in the sometimes-chaotic places we call schools can certainly understand why these traits are a necessity. But beyond the ability to keep it together and go with the flow, teachers offered descriptions that are worth aspiring to meet. I'll share a few in the hopes that you find one that inspires you...

Knowledge; strong persona; talent for inspiring
Committed; knowledgeable; considerate
Knowledgeable; caring; creative
Tough; fair; warm
Listens; questions; discovers new ways to teach
Passionate; engaging; competent
Patience; understanding; consistency
Caring; responsible; courageous
Dedication; humility; flexibility
Must have patience; care about the student; and love to teach!

Tackling the TEST (tales from a first year challenge)

Let me take you back to my first year of teaching. My school was arranged on a "block schedule", which meant I had half a year (of hour and half long classes) to teach my high school students everything they would need to learn in a full year of English. Everyone was telling me about "the test" but I had absolutely no idea what this test was all about. All I knew was that I had a hefty text book to get through and the added challenge of making the Odyssey relevant to high schoolers, and I had to get this done by winter break. To be honest, "the test" was the furthest thing from my mind.

My goal for the semester was not to have all of my students "at or above grade level" on that test. My goals were to have all of my students get along, learn to love reading, and learn to see writing as a valuable tool for expression. I taught toward those goals.

I do not recommend administering a standardized test for which you have neither seen a sample, nor investigated the topics covered. I do not recommend going blindly into an assessment that may be used to determine promotion for your students. But this is precisely what I did. Mostly, because I didn't know any better - but I like to think there was a little thoughtful rebellion in my naiveté

Testing week came. The school was all in a frenzy. The kids were stressing out. My last minute test prep consisted of bringing sausage and biscuits to my class for breakfast (I'd read protein helps the brain) and coloring in Scantron forms to make pictures with the dots (we were practicing filling them in completely).

Eventually, I had to hand out the tests. And then I walked the room and saw what was on them...oh horror! There were all sorts of things on there I knew I'd never taught. The reading passages looked too complicated. Even I wasn't sure which sentences in the grammar section used semi-colons correctly. But my class soldiered on. They worked with such focus and dedication. And when it was over, they told me the test was easy. In my mind I knew they were lying.

It took awhile to get the test scores back. By the time we did the kids had gone home for break and I was pondering a brand new semester with all new classes. You can imagine my shock at discovering my students had scored the highest in the school on those tests. The principal shifted my class assignments so that I would now be teaching only tested courses.

And here's the sad part of the story: I changed my teaching completely.

Knowing what those tests entailed, and knowing the high expectations the principal had placed on me to repeat the unplanned victory of my first semester - I panicked and I started teaching to the test. I guess the biggest surprise came at the end of my second semester when once again most of my students passed the test, but overall the scores were lower.

Why?

In the years since those first test experiences I have learned a lot about the standardized testing process, and teaching in general. I have learned that those who choose this profession generally come in with pretty good instincts - but all the NCLB stress around us tends to make us doubt those instincts much to the detriment of our students.

If you teach to the best of your ability and you involve your students actively in the process, if you find out what each student needs to learn and support him or her in learning that, if you trust your class and your class trusts you - they'll do just fine on the tests. But unfortunately, as you head into this week of last minute test insanity - there's a lot out there encouraging you to abandon these best practices.

Believe in your students and help them to believe in themselves - in my experience that is the best test prep you'll ever do.

RESPECT

"An Inspired Teacher treats students with respect and inspires them to treat their teacher the same way." - from An Inspired Teacher Is...

The following is a personal reflection on this element of the Inspired Teaching philosophy:

RESPECT... on the first day of school, (the first day of my life as a teacher) this was the only rule I posted on the wall. I would find out years later that my colleagues had laughed at this incredibly optimistic stance on classroom discipline. There were plenty of moments during that first year when I felt like laughing about it too. But if you really look at all the rules you have posted in your classroom - at the end of the day they do, in fact, boil down to this magical word.

The trick is in getting your students to understand how weighty and comprehensive the word "respect" can be. In my classroom it didn't start out as a word with much heft. Many of my students had not had a lot of experience with respect in their lives. (And they were in high school!) They felt disrespected by their teachers, disrespected by their community, and with few better examples to follow, they took to disrespecting one another.

Showing my students respect was an exercise in patience and humility because at first it was rarely a courtesy they returned. I'd stand in the hall and welcome them to class, they'd push past me and grumble about how much they hated school. I'd quietly wait for their attention, forcing myself not to raise my voice, but they'd keep talking as if I wasn't there. Sometimes the noise got so bad neighboring teachers would come in to silence them with a threatening scream. It was hard not to notice the effectiveness of their method. Still, I waited for the golden day when my method would prevail.

It took a long time. Longer than I thought. Respect and trust go hand in hand and trust is not built over night. My students had to learn to trust that my respect would not give way to the yelling, punishing, demeaning behavior they were used to in other classrooms. Respect was just another "teacher" word on my wall until they began to believe in what it meant. Trust was earned as much in the class as it was in the hall, at the football game, after school, in the grocery store. When they realized that I was the same person in all those contexts, that my respect for them was unfailing, they began to share their trust and respect with me.

I certainly didn't survive the whole first year without yelling now and then. But I had built enough of a trusting relationship with my students for them to forgive these moments, and sometimes, even take responsibility for the actions that brought them out in me.

Art of the Student

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." ~ Albert Einstein

My day job involves supporting Center for Inspired Teaching and the teachers we work with. On Thursdays my night job involves putting what I've learned here into practice.

For the past several weeks I've been teaching an evening watercolor class to 3rd-5th graders. Three years ago the class would have been about imparting my knowledge of watercolor technique and training the students to create copy-cat watercolor images pre-determined by me. But today that couldn't be farther from my goal. Today my class is about fostering a love of this medium in my students by giving them the freedom to learn about it themselves. And the results have been wonderful.

Last night we made underwater scenes using paint, plastic wrap, glue, and salt. My students found new ways to use those materials that many professional artists would love to learn. As I watched them mix colors, develop strategies for keeping paper wet, discover new effects when they added new materials - I LEARNED... and I've been painting with watercolors for 20 years.

At the end of the class aliens and fish with goatees inhabited the unorthodox oceans that walked out of the room, but my students had fun and their pictures were incredible.

I didn't have to teach them how to do a wash on the paper, I didn't have to teach them how to hold their brushes to paint the sand... I had to give them the tools and support they needed to arrive at that that knowledge on their own. And they did.