Slept late. Fell back asleep in my chair this morning. Sorry, all. Catch up with you tomorrow.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…capturing “truths” and pitching project proposals.

…reflecting in our Journey Journals.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Thursday. Sorry about the no post.

Do. Reflect. Do Better. 

Just another day of walking and wandering, finding paths and leaving tracks. Not sure if any will follow, but I want to leave a trace of where I go just in case I go too far and can’t find my way back. The 180 wheel turns and I just hold on, each day a new adventure. Here are some recent tracks I’ve made.

Thank You

Last week I posted about writing thank you cards to my kiddos (A for the Day) . Takes me a minute. I write two per period (sometimes more). I try to personalize each one. I want my kids to know I value them. As humans.

This morning, as I was cruising through Facebook with my first cup of coffee, I found this lovely post on my timeline from the parent of one of my kiddos.

Choose a Champ

“Why aren’t you doing that this year? I loved it. Didn’t care about the candy, but I saved every little note.”

“Huh. I dunno. Forgot about it, I guess. But you’re right. It was good.”

Last week a former student from last year who is now my TA 6th period reminded me of “Choose a Champ,” an activity where kids honor each other as builders of our classroom community.

Here’s the gist. I give each kid a scrap of paper. They write a note to a peer they feel has made a positive impact on our community. I collect and tally them. Whoever gets the most notes for the week is crowned “Community Champ.” I read the winning nomination notes aloud and award him/her some candy. I then distribute the rest of the notes to the other kids.

We did it yesterday for the first time. Kids loved it. Takes a couple of minutes. We will do it every Tuesday, right after Smiles and Frowns.

And Syd was right. The candy award is secondary. It’s the shared sentiments that matter. And I was so pleased with the way they honored their peers. Kids loved it.

Views

In the grand scheme of things, I am not sure what it means, but 180 hit a milestone yesterday. Since its humble beginning three years ago, this month it has achieved 75,000 views. My son Finn asked me on the way to school yesterday how much longer I was going to keep 180 going. I don’t know. I’d like to try to get through five years. In the end, I guess it comes down to if I can keep finding things to write about each morning. One day at a time. One track at a time.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns. 

…shifting our Truth Project work from exploring media to making media.

…reflecting in our Journey Journals.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Wednesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better. 

 

 

 

There’s divide. It separates. It obfuscates. It alienates. It waits.

For us. 

It waits to see what we will do. We can ignore it. But it will grow. We can trick it, tempt it, tease it, but it will soon be wise to our paper bridges, intimating that those icebreakers we did in September no longer hold.  But all is not lost there were the divide resides. No it is vulnerable. We can confound the chasm. For we hold the power to create connections, and when we do, we make our divide less-wide.

Of course, we will never fully close the gap. We only have so much time, and there is that age thing–they are children and we are adults. No getting across that, but we are more than our ages, for regardless how many seasons we’ve seen come and go, we are all of us human. And humans want connections. As teachers we can use this power to do great good. We can bring people together. People together. That seems a worthy end in our divided time. That seems a real-world impact that makes our work consequential.

Those who follow the 180 journey know I put much stock in such things, as I daily make efforts to bring those in my charge closer together now, and, world-willing, later. Connections matter. So I work at them. Yesterday, I let my kids come closer. I let them interview me.

Oh, there was more to it than bridging the gap. There was also the opportunity for my youngsters to build capacity as interviewers and interviewees, to grow as communicators.

To that end, I asked them to consider PVLEGS as they observed me.

Poise

Voice

Life

Eye Contact

Gestures

Speed

These are the skills we emphasize for engaging an audience. In particular, I asked them to give me feedback on Life and Eye Contact.

When it’s their turn to be interviewed, they will have to consider and select two areas of focus for the rest of the class to focus their feedback on. As I said yesterday, these are building moments, not make or break moments, so I am very careful about the frame. As such, we do this not for a grade, not for an evaluation. We do it for experience, feedback, and growth.

But that’s an aside for today, a step away from what I learned yesterday, rather remembered: we have to let kids across. We have to let them know us. And when we do, we make the divide less-wide. I encourage all teachers to build this bridge for their kids. Let them interview you. Here are some of the questions that I can recall from yesterday’s hot seat.

Why did you become a teacher?

How did you meet your wife?

What’s your favorite word?

What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you?

How much wood could a woodchuck…?

What are your views on the gun debate (I was careful but honest here).

What is your greatest fear?

The chicken or the egg?

What’s your favorite book?

Why do other teachers reject or not adopt your teaching style?

Have you ever played an instrument?

Can you make any funny noises?

If we could visit any place in the world…?

What do you think it will take to change education? (I told the kids, “you.”)

If you weren’t a teacher…?

Think of all the mistakes you’ve made. If you could go back and erase them, would you?

The list goes on. Each class had ten minutes to grill me. But grill is not the right word here. Know is more apt. They got to know me, and in so doing, I, them.  We moved the edges.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…the craft of writing through 101 word stories.

…reflecting in our Journey Journals. 

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better. 

 

I don’t wanna read those. More, I suspect the kids don’t wanna write them, either.

So, I changed my mind. That happens a lot in the 180 classroom, part ADHD, larger part trying to imagine ways to make what we’re doing more engaging and relevant–for all of us.

Last week as I was planning the final components of our Truth Project, I was designing an essay–spent a lot of time on it–but as I neared the end, I wasn’t “feeling it.” As I imagined the end game, I found myself questioning the “grand” in the finale with having kids write an essay. They have been so engaged in their projects that it felt anti-climactic, so I decided to do different. Instead of an essay, the kids are going to have an interview.

Details are still emerging, but here’s the gist.

Each individual or team will receive a copy of interview questions before the interview. Here are some of our “developing questions.”

What theme did you select for the project?

What was your most and least helpful medium? Why?

We have spent the last several weeks exploring ways in which the human experience both connects and divides us. From your own exploration, what did you discover in regards to how your selected theme connects and divides us? Please be specific, making reference to your explored media.

Part of any process is encountering challenges along the way. Please share a challenge that you encountered and how you overcame it.

What was your favorite medium? Why?

We live; we learn. And with each experience we gain not only knowledge but also–hopefully–wisdom. With that, what wisdom can you share from your recent experience?

What truth did you discover about your selected theme? Please share your theme statement.

Now that you have shared your truth, what medium did you create to present your truth? Please share your medium.

What question would you like us to ask you about your work?

They will have time to prepare responses and submit them in writing. However, they will not have their prepared responses with them during the interview.

I will not ask the questions. The kids will be interviewed by a “panel of peers.” All kids will have a chance to be on the panel over the course of the days that it will take to conduct the interviews and make the presentations.

My ultimate goal here was to try to create an authentic experience for my kids that is both engaging and enduring. When kids care they are engaged. I find my kids “care” way more about speaking to their peers than they care about writing for me, and I believe this will be evident in both their preparation and performance. When kids see the long-term application of what we are doing, they’re more invested. All of them will have an important interview when they leave education; few of them will write an essay when they leave education.

With this, not only will the kids–hopefully–feel like the end better matches the journey, but also they will get to celebrate their work with an audience. Further, it will be a great way for us to consider and practice interview skills.

Are the kids anxious? Of course. Who isn’t anxious when it comes to an interview? I am not trying to convince them otherwise. Rather, I am trying to show them that they can face and prevail in such situations, where experience is a key factor. So, I offer experience.

And that is my goal. Not to put them on the spot, nor to put them in the hot seat as it were. I just want them to step up and out. Of course, ever-mindful of placing kids in overly stressful situations, I will offer individual interviews with me for those who find it too overwhelming. It’s a building moment, not a make or break moment. These things take time and support. I can give both.

In the mean time, always trying to walk the walk by being willing to do whatever I ask the kids to do, I told them they could interview me. So, today, I am in the hot seat where I will model the interview skills that I have learned from my own experiences.

I told them they could ask me “whatever they wanted,” but I also told them that I could decline comment on whatever I wanted (they are sophomores). So, today, I find myself in the hot seat. I’ll share some highlights (maybe low lights) tomorrow.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…interviewing Sy.

…the joy of personal reading.

…reflecting in our Journey Journals.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme. 

Happy Monday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.