Emotional Exhaustion

Today I showed my classes the Discovery Channel's documentary, The Flight That Fought Back. I was hoping that my students would sit through a documentary, and they did.

We did not complete the entire 53 minutes but each class was near enough to the end that they understood the impact of 9/11/01. As I have mentioned, I work with a wonderful woman whose brother was on the 92nd floor of the North Tower that day. She brought a copy of the family flyer they posted around New York in the days after the attack.

As I tried to mention the flyer I had posted by the door, I couldn't get through it. I choked up. I admit it. It's been 7 years, and I still sympathize strongly with my colleagues personal loss of that day. My students choked up too; probably because of me and not the content of the video.

But that made me think of the power of our emotion as we teach. Do we empathize with the material we present? How about the students we teach? I know that is probably difficult in math -- my emotions over numbers are usually just anger that I can' figure out the problem. But how can a teacher do a good job of presenting the issues of poverty, genocide, persecution, or war without some kind of emotion and be effective?

Similarly, how can a teacher present patriotism, pride, success, or victory without some kind of emotional presentation?

I'm not saying that everything should be cheers or tears. I am saying that in order to reach people (our students) we must touch their heart as well as their mind.

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Note:Publications of professor-marvel.com or associated works (unless specifically labeled with another copyright notice) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
The views expressed here are my own and reflect only my opinion.
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Learning In Grayscale

Some students want teacher-directed instruction.  In fact, a whole grade level may crave it.

We just completed Day 11 of school yesterday.  It's been a good start to school, but disappointing as well. 

I took my usual 3-5 days to introduce myself, explain my grading, seek to plant seeds of expectation for the year.  I shared how I wanted to use technology in our classroom through the use of video, cell phones, wikis, and a possibility of collaborating with a school in another country (one that is a part of our standard curriculum).  And I answered the biggest questions from my students..."Why aren't you in the library this year?  Did you get fired?"

The kids were excited.  I was excited.  We were ready.

I then started with a pre-teaching assessment of their map skills (compass rose, directions, scale, coordinates, latitude & longitude, etc.).  I used the state's matrix of mastery.  It lists grades by which students are to be Introduced, Develop, Master, and Apply the skills.  The results of the assessment became my first source of disappointment.  The skills simply aren't there at a Introductory level.  So we have a lot of catching up to do. 

I'll not blame the students, or their previous teachers, or the parents, or even the state (this time).  It is what it is, and we have 169 days to do about 800 days of work...in theory.  So we get busy.

Then I introduced the first Unit - Social Studies Concepts.  Our standards, and teaching method, is concept-based.  I like it.  Our concepts in the 7th grade include the following eight items.

1. Conflict & Change
2. Culture
3. Economics (Production, Distribution, and Consumption)
4. Governance
5. Human / Environment Interaction
6. Location
7. Movement
8. Continuity, although over Time things Change

I enjoy Stations (although at the elementary level what I do would be considered Learning Centers).  Each Station has different material...8 of which covered the Enduring Understandings and Motivating Questions (Essential Questions for your UbDers).  Four other stations were map skill related.  Students spend 1 day at a station then rotate to the next.  At the end of the rotations through each station, we would debrief and summarize our findings, then complete a project that would demonstrate understanding.  That was the plan.

BUT...

My students are not only lacking in map skills, but are also lacking in the ability to focus on their work without directed instruction from a teacher.  I was saddened for us.

I went to talk with several 6th grade teachers who had this group last year.  They conveyed that they could not get this group of students to ever get to the point where small group work could be done.  I phoned three of my friends who teach in three different K-5 schools in our system, and they confirmed that this group just was not capable of working in Learning Centers.  They were "too social" and did not work on the work.

So I have punted on 1st down.  I went back to directed instruction.  Tried to be as positive about our situation as possible, and on Thursday (day 9 of school) I put the tables back in three rows, and started over.  Funny thing...the students liked it.  They felt like they were learning.

In all our hopes of providing Personal Learning Networks, Web 2.0 interactions, and differentiation through small groups, this may not be something this community (grade level) of learners will be able to experience until they are older and separated.  They simply are not mature enough to learn on their own.

On the positive side, for me, I have a new curriculum to learn (just approved by our State BOE after our 6th day of school).  When the students require a teacher-directed atmosphere to learn, it really is easier for the instructor.

So we may not be ready for the brilliant techni-color of the tech world, but I'll put my kids up against anyone else's by the end of the year.  Why, because I have already identified their group strength.  They are debaters, discussers, and thinking-out-loud kinds of kids.  That's like pitching to my wheel-house.

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Don't Make it Difficult; Others Will Do That For You

Okay, I borrowed this video from a very recent Library Garden post.

But this is how I feel when I hear people tell others how they should teach. "Experts" ask only question to which they already know the scripted answer in order to get the listener to agree with them. Then, when the audience asks a relevant question, the stock answer, "Well, you know, you're doing most of this already. This will just help you organize your work in such a way that it will become easier for you in the long run. This gives it a framework in which we can all work. It's great, and research shows...blah, blah, blah."

As my college professor used to remind us to ask, "Whose research was it? When was it conducted? What prompted the research in the first place."

Then we fix things that aren't broken, and break things that work.

Teaching: It's not rocket science; it's brain surgery.
[One of my all time favorite lines from The Simpsons]



If you are blocked at school...here's the website for later
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU9YeOQm3Y0

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Note:Publications of professor-marvel.com or associated works (unless specifically labeled with another copyright notice) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
The views expressed here are my own and reflect only my opinion.
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Making UbD a "Kid Thing"

Can You Help Me? Sure You Can!

In four weeks, I begin teaching 7th Grade Social Studies in the state of Georgia. We are responsible for History, Geography, Civics, Government, and Economics in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The standards are undergoing more revision, so as the school year begins, teachers will not be assured of which standards from the draft will remain until several weeks in to the school year. The challenge is to get students to care about the content we must cover.

I've been rereading parts of Understanding by Design and Preparing Instructional Objectives over the past few weeks. Not really trying to "master" the content (since I've been using it for a few years), but to see if I can glean some insight on how to bring it to the students I'll have in class in a few weeks.

I've also been immersed in The Back Of The Napkin. I'm trying to learn how to make difficult things simple. Roam's insights are valuable once you realize what goes on before the stick figures get drawn. My nighttime reading is A Whole New Mind.

I share this so you can get a context of what's going on in my own learning.

Here's what I've come up with as a format for presenting units to my students.

1. WAZ Up?
2. Who Cares?
3. So What?

WAZ Up?
The acronym stands for What are some issues? Analyze the importance? Zone in on the main ideas! Here's my thinking. A 2-3 minute introduction on the issues we must work on during the unit. Students then analyze what they think is important from the issues presented. Then we can focus on the main things the state standards say are important (but the students were allowed to realize the issues of importance "on their own" by thinking through them).

Who Cares?
This isn't meant to be sarcastic or harsh, although to the 7th grade mind it will be -- that's the point. What I want to do with this is find resources from people who have written, photographed, videoed, interviewed, or whatever else about the issue at hand. i hope to find enough material from differing viewpoints. For instance, we have to (un)cover the conflicts between Israelis and Arabs. Showing differing opinions on the "promise land" and who was promised what, and when will demonstrate who cares about something that, frankly, Georgia's 7th graders don't care about.

So What?
My favorite question ever. This is the conclusion of the unit. The so what? question is where we bring it home. The issues which warring parties in the middle east face are not much different than the gang activity that takes place in our hallways, and on the streets where I teach. Tagging (graffiti) is all about "promise land" territory. What happens in the middle east, happens in my town (and yours) just on a different scale. Apartheid was a minority authority, which my kids will understand because our school is 65% Hispanic student in a school with less than 1% of the teachers/staff who are Hispanic. [And teachers wonder why I keep trying to convince so many Hispanic students to go into teaching.]

So, what do you think? What am I missing? Can this approach work? What are things I should consider? Anyone, anyone -- Bueller, Bueller?

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Note:Publications of professor-marvel.com or associated works (unless specifically labeled with another copyright notice) are licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
The views expressed here are my own and reflect only my opinion.
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On Becoming a Good Teacher

Perhaps I should use the term "lecturer," but that is not a highly accepted practice in the 21st century.

Many of you know, my son is entering his final year of teacher prep.  He's a good, quality young man (who will be getting married in June 2009).  He will become a good teacher I think, mainly because he has the personality, and the ability to teach math in ways that even I understand some of it.

Anyway, I have been cleaning out my home office to take things back to school (I head back to the classroom next year!).  In the process, I have come across some old notes and books.  So I am creating a list of things that are a part of what I believe make for a good teacher (lecturer in the days these books/notes were new).

• HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY
• If you want to teach, you better be a great learner.  Learn your subject.  Fall in love with the content.  As an old homiletics professor once told us, "Preach from the overflow."  As the leader (in the pulpit or classroom) you should know more than you are able to teach.  Will you know everything?  No.  But you should know your content well enough to be prepared to speak intelligently about it.  This way you are seldom caught off guard.
• KNOW HOW TO SAY IT...WHO'S YOUR AUDIENCE?
• Teaching civil rights to a 2nd grader will be different than teaching it to an 11th grader...or it should be.  In this era of "differentiated instruction" it behoves the teacher to have several ways to present the same content.  If you know your content, but can't deliver it on the level of the learner, then it doesn't matter that you know the content.  It is about the story, and the way you tell it.
• EARN THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD BY YOUR AUDIENCE
• Clche, yes.  True, yes.  Your audience doesn't care how much you know until they know how much you care.  If you have a class of 25 students, you will have to care about them first.  They must know, and to a deeper level believe that you care for their well-being.  When they know that you care, they will trust you.  Then they will be more willing to "hear" your message, not just listen to it.  Remember the Jimmy Hendrix dialog in White Men Can't Jump?  Can white people really "hear" Jimmy? [This movie was as much about race relations as it was basketball.  Great Social Studies movie. Language prevents it from being shown in classrooms though.]
• SAY IT WITH PASSION
• I recently read a quote in one of my quotation feeds that went something like this - "Passion is a mixture of frustration and a healthy dose of anger."  Think of the issues about which you are passionate.  Is there frustration that more people don't share your views?  Is there a little anger about the state of affairs surrounding the issue?  If you are passionate about the education of young people, you probably feel a little frustrated with the current state of policy, and you are a little angry that things don't change as quickly as you would like.  The bloggers I read tend to be this way.  They are passionate, which is why I choose to follow them.
• EVALUATE THE RESULTS
• All good teachers evaluate their day.  I try to do it on the drive home.  What worked?  Did I see the light bulb go on above my students' heads?  If not, what do I need to change?  Do I change my knowledge of the issue?  Do I change how to communicate it to my students?  Did I earn the right to communicate with the students the things discussed?  Did I really care, or was i just going through the motions?
• CHANGE ONLY WHAT NEEDS CHANGING
• Too many teachers I have known (and C.O. personnel with whom I have worked and outlasted) believe that if something didn't work, everything must be changed.  I disagree.  Could it be as simple as changing one thing in the scope of the many things it takes to communicate to a 21st century student?  Things that might need to be changed include: a) The teacher's knowledge of the subject, b) The teacher's understanding of the audience's needs, c) The teacher's relationship with the audience, and/or d) The teacher's presentation of the material.  See my evaluation questions above.  If all I need to change is my knowledge of the subject, issue, standard, etc., it would be a shame to scrap the whole thing. 
  

What led me to this post was finding Robert Mager's Preparing Instructional Objectives (1962, 1975 - and updated in 1997) and comparing it with Wiggins & McTighe's Understanding By Design (1998, 2005).  Teaching strategies really haven't changed much.  It appears that Wiggins & McTighe simply waited long enough for educators to forget about Mager (and others).  In other words, Wiggins & McTighe had something to say, they knew their audience's needs, and the said it with passion.  Good for them!  In doing so, educators around the world have relearned how to write lesson plans that make sense.  But UbD is nothing new.  As a matter of fact, it's already 10 years olds itself.  Who will be next to demonstrate how to construct a lesson plan?

Image: http://flickr.com/photos/foundphotoslj/466713478/in/set-72157594578266103

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Beginning to Wonder

I have read several edubloggers through the years. Many insist that we should be teaching more web 2.0-type of skills, and gaming, and other tech-related things in school.

Familiar arguments go something like this..."Kids power-down when they come to school, and power-up when they go home," or "These kids are teaching themselves how to use these tools," or "Our kids are breaking through million-dollar filters in under an hour," or "Many of our students know more than the teachers when it comes to technology."

So I'm forced to ask the devil's advocate question I have contemplated for about two years: If these statements are true, why would we want to teach it in school? We would just make it a boring topic of study wouldn't we? We did it to literature and history, what makes us think we wouldn't ruin cool technology that kids already "know" how to use anyway?

I understand the need to teach ethical use of technology, but then again, we should be teaching ethical uses of all things, shouldn't we?

Is it that we believe the digital divide will make it impossible for some students to miss out on 21st century technology? Do we really believe the government will have a clue how to make work something as important as 21st century literacy, technology?

I don't know...I'm just thinking of how bad it could be if we made 21st century technology a school requirement, as in a part of NCLB or whatever comes after the next election or two. We still can't figure out who to teach kids to read, let alone become proficient at 21st century technology.

Missing The Classroom

Background: As a former preacher, I truly believe in the idea that everyone has a gift - that special something, given by God, that helps a person identify what they should do with their life. The gift is that innate desire to do something that you know you would enjoy doing, but may not really understand how the idea came to you. Once you decide to follow your "dream," you are willing to do what it takes to make the dream a reality. When you finally get to live your dream, you experience a personal fulfillment that others doing the same thing do not experience because they may not be living their dream, or using their gift; they are misplaced.

Foreshadowing: I believe my gift is teaching. I have wanted to be a teacher since I was in 5th grade. When I was in high school, I went to my counselor's office one day my Junior year, when an announcement was made for those interested in going to college. I went, my counselor was surprised to see me (I must not have been considered "college material" by the "experts"). I was told, "You don't want to be a teacher. Kids these days are terrible." This was 1980. I did go to college, but it was as a ministry major. Once out of school I was what I called a "preaching youth minister." I preached every weekend, but during the week, I spent my time with the young people. I enjoyed the work, but had to find ways to teach, and usually teach young people.

Fast Forward: After a little more than nine years in ministry, I had my fill of adults who were more interested in power and control over the church than service and surrender to Christ. So I left the ministry, did what most former minsters do; and started selling insurance. I did this for a little more than 2 years, and was even more miserable. Then one day at the dinner table my wife said, "You need to quit your job, go back to school, and get your teaching degree." Two days later, I was enrolled in classes.

Current Day: I have been in education for 13 years. I taught one year in a Christian school. I taught Science, Social Studies, and Boys Health in grades 6, 7, and 8. I had seven preps a day, and I loved it. I wish I could have stayed there forever, but I needed to earn more money to support my family and raise my two boys. I went to a public school setting, and have been there for 12 years. I have taught 7th grade Social Studies for five years, Computer Applications for five years, and I am in my second year in the Media Center as a Media Specialist. I have enjoyed my time as a Media Specialist, but I cannot get my mind or heart into the classes I have been taking. I can't get excited about which Dewey Decimal numbers to put on a book. To me, it really is nonsense. This is not meant to be disrespectful to those who enjoy the process of cataloging and classifying books. It is likely their gift. But it's not mine. Mine is teaching.

The Future: I needed a sabbatical from the classroom. Our school has nearly 1500 middle grade students, and every one of them passed my room every day, It was too loud, too much time separating the pushing and shoving in the hallway, and I was beginning to dislike the non-teaching aspect of education. I needed a break. My principal was gracious, and accepted a request to work in the Media Center as a technology person. However, the state of GA requires certification, and only from an accredited program within the state if you are already teaching in the state. I need to get back in the classroom. I have observed other teachers, seen what I would consider best practices from others, and have recharged my battery. I miss the daily interaction with the students. I am back to my 5th grade desire again - I want to teach. The gift and blessing is pulling me back.

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Do Leaders Fear the Artist?

As I find myself at the beginning of a different focus for my writing and reflecting, I am reminded of something from my past. The artistic, free-thinking (which may be the only kind), counter-cultural, non-conformist is seldom appreciated for the work they do until they are gone. They leave a legacy. I'm okay with that.

I do not see myself as a person particularly artistic. I can't draw, play an instrument, sing, dance (although my wife and I are going to begin next Spring, once she is out of school), or do anything most people would consider artistic. But I have always appreciated the work of those who are artistic. I look at art in a very personal way...I know what I like, and can tell you why I like it. I know what works...for me.

I wish teachers had the freedom to choose to find the things that work for them. The "scientific approach" that most teachers feel forced to follow restricts their ability to find what they are good at in the classroom. I wonder if the reason so many teachers leave before five years is because they do not have the courage, or encouragement, to find what they can do well in the classroom?

I am not in a traditional classroom any longer, but I have been told by the people whose opinions count most to me, my former students, that I did a good job. I wasn't like other teachers. I was fun, fair, and was able to motivate my students to do their best. I hope that is somewhat accurate and true. I still teach, just from the position of a media specialist. I promote reading, research, and self-interest learning. It's not the same as being in the classroom, but I still get opportunities to do what I do best for young people.

I have known for years that I do not fit the traditional mold of a teacher. I never wanted to fit that mold. When it comes to teaching, or preaching (man, that seems like a loooong time ago - late 1980s-early 1990s), I did not find it effective for me to follow the "examples" of others. By that, I mean I did not do well when I tried to copy what others did-and were good at doing. I tried to copy others for about five years into my adult life. I was miserable and ineffective. I chose to change, and I began doing what I was good at doing. I was happier, more effective, and began to get noticed for my work. I did not really enjoy the getting noticed part. I think that is the character of an artist. My art is seen in the lives of my students and athletes. I am a motivator for young people. Frankly, I have "given up" on motivating adults...they already have their minds made up, and I consider it a waste of my personal talent to spend much time trying to change their minds, behaviors, or practices.

I have always believed that God gives us talents, interests, and opportunities to develop skills. I have been blessed because I believe my God-given talent is to work with young people. My personal interest is to work with young people, and I have been given opportunities to hone my skills in how to be effective working with young people. I have little more for which to ask. I am motivated by people who have found their calling, because I can relate to the emotional satisfaction that comes when you are doing what you know you are on earth to do. So I offer one of my favorite, motivational videos, which happens to be a commercial for Apple. I think the reason I like Macs better than Windows-based computers is because they promote the work of the artist - they help people Think Different. I appreciate that.