“You are all fricking brilliant! I am so impressed by and have so enjoyed your discussion these past two days. You rock. Thank you.”

And I was. And I am. I am proud of my kids’ discussions on voice and listening the last few days. They truly are wiser than their ages. They inspire me and give me hope. And I want to help that hope. I want to help find them find their voices so they may be the generation who not only speaks but listens. We need a generation like that. Here is what I offered them yesterday at the end of their discussion, at the beginning of our work.

Change the world? Why not? Is that not the hope we should have for each class of kids as they make their way through the system? What else would I want for them? Is it only my job to help them pass the state assessment in April? Is that the measure? Is that the mark? Is that all? I find little hope and inspiration in that. And I imagine my kids would find even less. So, I choose not that mark, not that end. I see something bigger and better in my young charges. I see a heap of hope. And I will not let that be diminished by the insanity of standardization. I will see it rise up in the humanity of humanization. Humans. Hope.

Okay, off my soapbox. But I believe this stuff. And I believe my kids believe I believe this stuff. It is the why in our work. So we will go on believing.

Gonna listen today. Gonna see if we can find a voice in three texts. Gonna see if we can separate noise from voice. Yesterday, Juliane synthesized our work comparing it to the famous, “If a tree falls in the forest…” He suggested, “If a person speaks in a roomful of people, and no one listens, has he said anything?” Whoa. Still thinking about that one. Well, in truth, I have been thinking about it all along, for it has really been my goal from the outset, which I tried to communicate in my message above. We don’t have a voice until people listen to us. I feel like the world is one large roomful of people with too many people talking, too many people saying nothing, because no one is listening. And so the world is full of noise. So much noise. I think I can change that. I truly think I can help my kids learn to speak so that when they do, people will listen. I believe that.

So, when I put the three texts in front of my kids today. I will first ask them to hear the words, asking them where and if there were places where they listened and why. The first is a poem I met yesterday in a meeting. The latter two are quick little arguments I wrote up about our Access Time here at CHS. We have not talked about argument or rhetoric yet. I want to see what the kids pick up with their ears before I formally introduce those elements.

From here, I will begin the process of formally introducing argumentation and rhetoric. And from here, it is my hope that my kids build the skills to become the voices in the room.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…listen for voices.

…reflect in our Journey Journals.

…end with a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Wednesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better. 

“I am limited to asking probing or clarifying questions and keeping track of time. You will discuss the first six questions. Please do not raise your hands. Instead, find polite entry points into the conversation. Please try to contribute at least once. Please monitor your mic time. Go.”

After discussing the first six questions in smaller groups, we came together to discuss them as a class. Above were the parameters of our discussion. Intentionally, I “stayed out of it.” I want the kids talking, and though I want some structure to the conversation, I also want there to be some room for them to explore and address the organic elements of discussion, so I give them some freedom. As such, there were some messy moments, but overall the kids pulled it together, and they engaged in a respectful, thoughtful conversation about voice and listening, using the questions as their guide. Admittedly, it was hard for me to “stay out of it,” but, as always, I am glad I did. I learn so much from my little rock stars when I give them the stage. I am learning to listen as they are learning to speak. No coincidence, that. It’s part of the plan with this unit. I want them to find their voices. Can’t happen if I am doing the talking. So, I listen. I am finding my ears.

And as I listen, I try to find teachable moments that I can use after the conversation to direct our learning. One such moment came from question one.

What is the difference between being heard and being listened to?

I tuned in a bit during their small group discussions–can’t help it, and I was a little surprised by the two differing views here. So, when we got to the full-class discussion, I was not surprised that the two views surfaced again, in all five of my classes. The kids were split in about half on their interpretations of the difference between listening and hearing. Both sides made their cases, I asked probing and clarifying questions, and yet there still remained some disagreement between the two camps. The kids kept looking to me to set it straight, but I stayed out of it. Today I will step into it, and we will clarify for the sake of our work with this project what the differences are.

And while I thought the distinction would be obvious, there was a large number of kids who found “being heard” as heeding what someone says, flipflopping what many of us consider a conventional difference between the two. At first, I was like, “really?” But as I listened, I learned, and I think I know why a good many kids hold to this notion. In popular culture, they hear the expressions, “I want to be heard,” I don’t feel heard,” “We will be heard,” etc. Of course, this can be translated into, “I want to be understood.” Thus, I came to understand how they were confusing the two. Today, using information from an Article I found, we will clarify the differences, but in that clarification, I will honor the kids who pushed “being heard,” letting them I know I understand where their thinking came from.

Of course in my probing, a few of my favorite questions were, “Do kids get in trouble for not listening or not hearing?” or “Do you want your future significant other to hear you or listen to you?” Ah, kids. Today, we will clear things up a bit. I want them to find their voices, but they have to find their ears, too. I want them to discover that if we want to be understood, we have to learn to understand, so that when we speak, we say something worth listening to. Anyone can open their mouth and be heard. I want them to speak their voices and change the world.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…do a “Credibility through Convention” entry task (I’ll explain tomorrow).

…continue and complete our discussion on voice/

…email learning reports home to parents.

…reflect in our Journey Journals.

…end with a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Lots a noise where we livin’.

Lots a bitterness. Lots a division.

Lots a shoutin’. And not enough listenin’.

Not gonna wade into it. But I am on a mission.

I will not use this platform for politics, but I will use it as an opportunity to share what I am trying to do in my classroom to help kids find their voices, so they may be more than noise through my Project Be a Voice.

To kick things off, here is a list of questions that I will ask my kids today. They will first write their own responses on a Think Sheet, then share their thinking within their groups, and finally we will discuss as a class.

• What’s the difference between being heard and being listened to?
• Why do we listen to some people and not others?
• Why are opinions important to society? How do they help? How do they hurt?
• What’s an argument?
• Based on your definition of argument, who wins the argument?
• What do you consider good evidence?
• What is truth?
• Where do opinions come from?
• What are the traits of a good listener? Are you a good listener?
• When are our own voices put to the test? Whom do we need to listen to us? How do we know if others are listening?
• Do people listen to you? How do you know? Why do they or don’t they listen to you?
• Do you feel like you have a voice? Why?

From here, we will then journey forth into learning about using rhetoric and argumentation, identifying what matters to us, and finding and developing our voices so that we may be listened to. And that is what I want for my kids. I want them to be voices. We don’t need more noise. Already got plenty of that.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

...begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…respond to and discuss questions about voice.

…reflect in our Journey Journals.

…end with a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Monday, all. Let’s have a great week.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Morning, all. Slept late for me. 5:00 AM. Never really did get my brain in gear this morning, so this won’t be much of a post. Well, I guess, it won’t be a post at all. Sorry. Thought I’d share a comment card that I got from one of my kiddos yesterday. Not a terrible thing to have someone share that she feels cared for. Not a terrible thing at all. Made my day.

Sorry for dropping the ball on my post this morning. Kept guzzling coffee but my muse never found me. Tomorrow, I will do better.

Happy Thursday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

They aren’t ready. And, that’s the plan. Today, my kids will take a Sentence Performance that asks them to identify and fix fragments, run-ons, and comma splices. In addition, and in continuation of our work with sentences, they will have to write simple, compound, and complex sentences with specified phrases. They are ready for the latter–we have been doing this all year, but they are not ready for the former…well, at least not in the traditional sense.

A traditional approach relies upon sufficient front loading with teaching and practice before assessments, a test-when-it-is-time approach. As such, the assessments that correspond with this approach generally emphasize an assessment of learning, an I-taught-it-did-the-kids-learn-it way of conducting business. Such learning is then generally recorded as a grade, where it remains static, and the teacher moves on to the next unit of study, and the process is repeated in a linear, there-is-only-forward progression.

A less-traditional approach, like the traditional,  relies upon a degree of front loading, but it breaks away from the traditional in its reliance on the retest/retake. This assessment-for-learning approach emphasizes a where-are-the-kids-not-proficient and how-will-I-respond way of conducting business. Such learning as this is also recorded as a score, but it generally anticipates that kids will need more and other similar opportunities to achieve proficiency, and so the scores in the grade book are not static, for they may change as the process invites a circular, keep-at-it progression.

A non-traditional approach has revealed itself to me this year, and while it is not, to my knowledge, tried-and-tested or data-driven, it is learner-driven. I believe that learning stems from the learner. And so, I have sought ways to capture and advance that learning. My recent methodology has been a shift to “learning by performing,” which I introduced in a post about using Performances at the end of last month. Essentially, the goal here is to use assessment as learning. It relies upon minimal front loading, getting the kids to the assessment, the performance as soon as possible, so I can give them feedback in preparation for the next performance, where they will have an opportunity to apply their new learning to a similar situation. This approach requires a retest. Scores are dynamic forms of communication. Like less-traditional, it is a circular progression but it gets kids in the game sooner, and there is more back loading as it seeks to be responsive to each learner.

One of my biggest aha’s, as my ideas about learning have evolved in the gradeless realm, is that I need to teach less. That is, I need to talk less. I need to prepare kids less in the front of things and respond more on the back of things. So, yesterday, putting that new knowledge to the test, I offered kids a resource and an organizer for notes on sentence errors. I encouraged, but did not require, them to create their own resources for today’s performance. I am staunch believer in letting kid use resources–a real world consideration–on assessments. So I either provide resources (I call them Sy Sources) or I give kids the opportunity to create their own (I call them My Sources). Yesterday, the kids had a My-Source opportunity. They had very little time, for they were registering for next year with the counselor, so they approached it in various ways. Some copied the notes word for word. Some wrote the notes in their own words. Some took pictures of the book’s pages with their phones, so they could do it later. Some read the pages but did not take notes. Some did nothing. What’s best? Who knows? I want the kids to make that determination, so they can find what works best for them. And with this approach they have some freedom to do that. Today they will perform, which I am pushing as a crucial first step in learning. First step. Many steps to follow. And while the kids are taking those steps through their learning, some will stumble, some will walk, some will run, but all will learn. At least, that’s the plan.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…have a Performance opportunity.

…reflect in our Journey Journals.

…end with a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Wednesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Once upon a classroom, I would have taken points away for such an egregious error. The directions were clear. I wrote them. I spoke them. But she did not read them. And she did not listen to them. There would have been no other conclusion to make. For, if she had read and listened, she would not have been so far off target with her response. And so, I could not have let go such a mistake.

Directions matter. In some instances, they could mean the difference between life and death. If the plane lands in water, one may well need to use her seat cushion as a floating device. And in many instances, they could mean the difference between getting the job or getting into college or not. If the application calls for three letters of recommendation, then one will not succeed with only one. Real situations. Real consequences. And it is such considerations of reality that led me to punish such errors in the past. If I did not, then she would never learn to follow directions. In the real world, there is no room for such errors.

I am in a different classroom now. I no longer take points away when kids make such mistakes, and trust me they do; that has not changed, probably never will. On a recent Performance, I had two young ladies misunderstand the directions. I wrote them clearly. I believe I spoke them clearly, for one-hundred-ten other students followed them, but for some reason these two did not. Instead of summarizing a selected scene, they summarized the entire movie, which then impacted their scene analyses, and so I could not assess their work, and consequently, they will have to redo the Performance. That simple. No need for additional punishment. I am not assessing their ability to follow directions. I am assessing their ability to summarize and analyze a selected scene from a movie.

They made a mistake. It was an understandable mistake that could have been avoided by carefully following directions. They completed the Performance as did all the other kids; they just did it incorrectly. In truth, they did more than their peers, for it takes more time and thought to summarize an entire movie than just a scene. Unfortunately, their additional work was for naught, and they will have to redo, so I can assess them on the specified targets. And I think that’s a reasonable consequence for their mistakes. I do not need to attach an additional punishment for their error. I wrote both a quick note at the top of their performances pointing out their mistakes, telling them they would have to do a retake.

Yes, it will take more time for them and me. Mistakes often exact a cost of time, and in that I think there is a lesson. My time? Well, if mistakes are necessary to learning, then my time will be well spent, for the girls are learning. But what about the inconvenience? What about it? If a kid’s learning necessitates a little inconvenience, then I will endure it. My responses to kids’ mistakes should not be governed by my inconvenience. I cannot talk the talk about valuing mistakes as part of learning, and then complain about or punish the kids because their learning inconveniences me.

She made a mistake. I am glad she did. Hope it’s not her last.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…well, I am not sure. The kids are registering for next year in my class today. I think it will take all period, so we will see. I just hope we have time for Smiles and Frowns at the end. All the other stuff can wait till tomorrow.

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Heavy heart this morning. Hard to process another school shooting. Harder to process how my kids are processing yesterday’s tragedy. We ended up having a snow day (happened after my post), so I have not been among them; I have not had a chance to check in with them. But I will check in. I always do. It’s the most important thing I do. We always check in with Smiles and Frowns. And while I hope my kids can find and share some Smiles today, I suspect the Frowns will weigh more heavily. We generally devote 5 minutes to this activity, but today, the kids will determine the time. If they want to talk, we’ll talk. If they want to distract themselves in our work, then we will work. It’s up to them. It’s about them. So I do for them. Whatever they need. 

Sorry for the short post this morning, all. Heart’s not in it. We are out on a four-day weekend after today, so no posts till next Tuesday. To all my teacher peeps:

Thank you for being there for your kids today. Thank you for being there for them everyday. I am so sorry that you have to carry a heavy heart today. You are in my thoughts.

Today’s Trail

Whatever they need.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

What would we find? What would we learn? If we stepped into our students’ shadows for a single day, how would that change the way we see the world? How would it change the way we teach the world? I suspect it would change it in ways beyond our current capacity of comprehension, for we would be stepping away from our narrow views of learning and learners, both on which we believe we have shed and shone sufficient light, claiming to know the right and the way, but what if that light is merely exposing that which we have sought, that which we have named? What if the “right and the way” lies beyond the light? What if it exists not in the lights we shine, but in the shadows they cast? And what if we stepped into the shadows? What would we find? What would we learn?

I don’t know, but the idea of the discovery is fascinating to me. Yesterday, I came across the article Shadowing a Student: Reinventing the School Experience in the Twitterverse, and it caught my attention, and it hasn’t let go. The article is a quick and worthwhile read. Apparently there is a global “Shadow a Student Challenge” right around the corner (see below). I am going to try to find a way to make this happen for myself, even if I have to take a personal day. But bigger, I want to find a way to make it happen on a grander scale. I think it should be something that all educators (teachers, principals, superintendents) do. More, I think it should be something we are required to do once a year.

The global Shadow a Student Challenge (designed by School Retool, IDEO, and Stanford’s d.school) can be particularly helpful and enlightening as it provides methods (including a free toolkit) and a network. The Shadow a Student Challenge is a journey that starts with seeing school through a student’s eyes, identifying opportunities to improve the school experience for students, and then taking action to create change. The Shadow a Student website provides resources that help to ensure that the shadowing experience will be meaningful, including email templates and permission slips. There are tips for creating learning goals for the shadow day, choosing a student, and coordinating with the student, parents, and staff.

The challenge is open to all school leaders – at any school, anywhere in the world. In 2016, 1765 education leaders signed up from 15 countries. In 2017, 2098 education leaders signed up from 67 countries. At my school, we have modified the challenge by asking classroom teachers to shadow a student for two lessons, including contact before school and during recess and lunch, and then coming together to reflect, debrief and plan next steps.

There is an open invitation to join the 2018 challenge, which will run from February 19th to March 2nd. Spread the word to your networks, and remember to share about your experience on Twitter and Instagram with #shadowastudent!

In my district, we are working on a number of initiatives to improve our kids’ learning experiences, and in that work we are shedding light, but that, too, means we are creating shadows. What if we found not only the courage but the means to step into those shadows? In education, we talk a lot about the necessity of keeping students at the center of our decision making, and while I think we make concerted efforts in that regard, I think that our efforts fall short because we never really put them at the center. This it seems is a way to truly make that happen. I am going to email this post to all the administrators in my district. I am going to challenge them to consider the possibilities that this opportunity could have on our work. Unconventional? Yes. Many logistics? Too many. Possibility of a profound impact on the lives of our kids? Beyond measure. Difficult? Absolutely. But that’s why we should do it. We can stay in the light where we find comfort and familiarity, or we can step into the shadows where we may find what truly matters. Never know if we never try. Let’s, together, find what’s hiding in their shadows.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…Finish Life is Beautiful and share what we found through our lenses.

…end with a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Wednesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

There’s a stranger in my room today. She does not know me, and I do not know her. She does not know my kids, and they do not know her. She is there. Has to be. Gotta have someone in the room in my absence. So, she is there. But she is not a part. Nothing against her. She seems a nice lady. But she is a stranger in our world, and to her, I imagine, our world will seem strange, too. If she did not have to be there, I would ask her not to be there. The kids do not need her. Half the time, I don’t think they need me. And though it is against the rules, I believe, I trust that my kids would do just fine without a sub today. I believe, I trust that learning would happen, that chaos would not ensue. I believe, I trust that they could more readily steer the ship without her. I believe. I trust.

Recently, Aussie teacher extraordinaire and friend Down Under Abe Moore shared a post about the necessity of trust in the classroom, emphasizing the power that comes from our trusting the kids (Trust).

“Trust is a powerful but underutilized tool in schools. In my experience, showing genuine trust in students is almost always rewarded. Maybe not immediately, but wait long enough, trust long enough, it will happen. I used to tell students to “trust me”, that I knew what was best for them and their learning. But I had it backwards, I needed to trust them, I needed to let go of the controls and let them fly for a while. I am a helicopter teacher no longer.”

As Abe sagely suggests, I am letting my kids fly today. They are not alone; there is an adult in the room–to keep them tethered, lest they fly too close to the sun, but I trust, I believe that the tether is unnecessary. They are able flyers. And they will live into the trust that I have placed in them. And the sun cannot melt that which shines brighter.

Of course, to trust, we have to let go. So, yesterday, as I was sharing that I would be absent today, I floated the question about having Smiles and Frowns in my absence. One might have thought that I suggested they not breathe while I was gone.

“Not an option, Sy. We have to have Smiles and Frowns.”

“What? How could we start without Smiles and Frowns.”

“No. We ARE having Smiles and Frowns tomorrow. Period.”

“Okay,” I replied. “But somebody will have to…”

“Sy, we got this.”

“Yes. Yes, I suppose you do,” I smiled. And I left it at that. In my sub notes I simply put that the kids would lead the first five minutes with Smiles and Frowns. I trust, I believe they will. They “got this.”

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…proudly begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…continue “reading” the movie Life is Beautiful (Italian with English subtitles)

…sadly, not end with a Sappy Sy Ryhme (unless, the kids “got that” too)

Happy Tuesday, all. Wonder what my sub will think today?

Do. Reflect. Do Better.