I have never found comfort in the way of things. And though I sometimes wonder if it’s a fatal flaw, I can’t seem to help myself, and I follow a different path. And whether it is really a flaw, possibly hubris, or simply a restless spirit, when I set out on my journey three years ago with Project 180, I did so with the idea of changing, bettering the state of education. That was my “True North,” but when I set out out, I pointed south, and I’ve been going south ever since. Maybe my compass is broken.
Along the way, I have shared my journey, “publishing” my classroom and my earnest attempts to find my way as I seek to better the educational experience for my students, which I then believed-and still believe–necessitated “doing different.”
And so to do different, to turn ed upside I had to turn myself upside down, so I could get myself right side up.
For a time, I thought of myself as a turtle, thinking that if I turned myself upside down, I would eventually get back on my feet. That’s the discomfort I needed, the discomfort education needed. Of course, seeking discomfort creates no easy path, but in the “hard going,” I learned lessons, finding myself stuck in a perpetual cycle (180 degrees at a time) of doing, reflecting, and doing my best to do better. And in that I found my mantra: Do. Reflect. Do Better. And this has become my way, a ceaseless quest for better. This is my journey.
Over the past three years, others have come to know my journey. Some see some value in what I share. Some think I am crazy. And some think I am just wrong, that I toy with things better left alone, for they have worked for generations. And it is then…I head south again, for that is the “comfortable thinking” that cast me out in the first place.
Though I have come to find my journey less lonely as I have been connected to and inspired by other like-minded folk out here on the frontier, it is still a lonesome thing to do different. And sometimes in my more-lonely, less-resolved moments, I find myself hitting my compass against my leg to set it right again, but it always points south. Someday, I’ll find North. Someday.
Today’s Trail
Along today’s trail we will experience…
…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.
…completing our “Written Requests” and “Me Maps”
…reflecting in our Journey Journals.
…discussing “Why with Sy”
…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.
Happy Thursday, all. 2 hour snow delay for us. Please get here, Spring.
I remember a poster from my fifth grade teacher’s room.
I remember my junior high wrestling coach quoting Henry Ford.
My young life was full of talk about “can.” Seems we pay a lot of homage to such sentiments in society, in school. We CAN do whatever we set our minds to. Well, until we can’t.
Learning requires an “I can attitude.” We want our kids to believe in themselves, so their attitudes take them to higher altitudes. And so on. We certainly seem to offer a lot of talk in ed about the power of can. But I wonder if our walk matches our talk.
Can they turn that in late? Can they retake the test? Can they use resources? Can they demonstrate differently? In many classrooms, yes. But in the “other many,” kids confront cannots. And that, then, certainly puts a damper on their “I can attitude.” Even if they think they can, they can’t because they come up against a policy that will not let them, and their cans become can’ts. And I believe this impedes learning.
In the 180 classroom, I want kids to retake assessments. I call them “performances.” And I call the approach, “Performance Learning.” Here are the basics.
I structure the learning in my room around our grade-level priority standards.
I design practice and experiences around those standards.
I provide performance opportunities (assessments) that naturally follow the experiences and practice.
I evaluate kids’ performances, giving them feedback, using three simple marks: 3=Met Standard, 2=Near Miss, 1=Far Miss.
For 2’s and 1’s I provide descriptive, actionable feedback that indicates not only why they did not meet standard but also what they have to do next time to meet it. The next time is key.
Learning, I believe, is not a line that’s drawn and followed by content considerations. It is this thinking, I believe, that creates can’ts. We have to get to get to the next unit, chapter, etc. That assignment, test was from the beginning of the semester. This suggests only moving forward, often before kids are ready, and it also suggests that going back is impossible.
So, I offer, learning as a circle, a recursive cycle that creates a feedback loop, creating as many “cans” as necessary, as determined by the learner. And I believe each successive time, from that feedback put into action, kids learn. My goal is not to do and move on. My goal is to get all kids to a 3 on every performance. I provide possibility. Does it take more time? Of course. Does it result in covering less content. Certainly. Does it result in learning? How could it not? And that is why I do it. It creates a realm of possibility. I believe it creates a place for learning.
Is it perfect? No way. Can kids survive can’ts? I suppose. They do every day. But I wonder if they CAN do more than survive. Either way, seems whether kids think they can or cannot does depend on the possibles we present.
Morning, all. Staying home with the boy today. He’s doing better. He wanted to go to school, but Mom and I decided one more day to rest is what he needed most. Bothers me how stressed out kids get about missing school and having to make up work. Fortunately, my son’s teachers are pretty flexible and accommodating, but this is not always the norm.
Tomorrow I will be back for sure, and I will continue my discussion on “circles,” might even get a bit of writing done today. Meanwhile, my students will be reading and analyzing an article and continuing their work on their “Me Maps.” Will be interesting to see if they talk the sub into Smiles and Frowns. I didn’t say anything about it in my sub plans. I will be proud of them if they do.
Morning, all. Rough night. Son took a hard fall on his head/neck at a trampoline park late yesterday afternoon. Ended up taking him to the ER–well my wife did, and they didn’t get back home till midnight, so I am a little tired–physically and emotionally. Therefore, I’m gonna take the easy road this morning. Sorry.
Son’s gonna be okay. He will have a good concussion and sore neck for awhile, and he will miss the first week of track. Never been a fan of trampolines.
Circles. Circles seem to find their way into my thinking and practice. From Community Circle and Smiles and Frowns to my Performance Learning approach to Project 180, I find the circle, a line with neither head nor tail, beginning nor end to be the shape that works for me. I believe in its power. I believe in its promise.
Community is a Circle
Community is about connection, and until the people in the room are connected, a classroom is just a classroom. I don’t want just a classroom. I want a community. So, I work diligently, I toil intentionally to create connections. As my readers know, I use Smiles and Frowns and Community Circle to that desired end.
Okay, but where does “circle” come into play? Well, first, in truth, it’s really a square (the arrangement works better in the space I have). It’s not really a circle but it serves the same purpose: we have to look at each other–all the time, but particularly when we share ourselves in Smiles and Frowns and Community Circle.
Of late, recognizing with even greater clarity the power of visual connection, I have come to make it my mostly-permanent seating arrangement. How’s it for teaching? Depends. If teaching means kids staring straight ahead for fifty-five minutes while I talk and show information, then it’s terrible. A fourth of my kids would need chiropractic help. But, in my room, content is secondary to the primary: kids. I teach kids, and for that, it is tremendous, for it places each at the head of the table simultaneously as I sit with them and teach kids with content, not content to kids.
I’m not sure I can go back. Tried to the other day with my two-horseshoes arrangement, and found it disconcerting to have half my kids staring at the backs of heads while sharing during Smiles and Frowns. The kids felt it too.
Okay, but surely there are times when you have to deliver content to all kids on the front board or screen. Of course. What do I do then? We turn the desks around. And then we turn them back, because…
Because that’s our community. And it feels we are far from home when we are not connected.
On the fence? Try it for a month. It’ll change your kids. It”ll change your teaching. It’ll create connections. It’ll build a community. There’s power. I promise.
Running out of time this morning, so I am gonna do a “to-be-continued” move. Next week I will talk about Learning is a Circle and Progress is a Circle.
Finally got to sit down with Erik Wolfrum from Spokane Talks to do a segment on “Humanizing Education” for their Education 101 program. It was a fast half hour, and there was so much more I wanted to say, but I am pleased with how my first “live” interview went. Wanted to share it with you all. Of course, for most, there won’t be much that is “new,” but I hope you find some value in this other medium. Huge thank you to Erik and Spokane Talks for this opportunity. Huger thank you to former student Dylan Rollins for making it happen in the first place.
I was particularly pleased and proud to be able to share more of my story here at home with my Spokane community. Funny, I think my work is better known by educators from other places than here–even in my old building. I think only one of my colleagues knew I was doing the interview yesterday. Of course, my kids knew, and I am so pleased that I got to highlight and share a small but super significant part of our classroom culture: Smiles and Frowns. I am excited to share with the kids that I got to sing our song and do a Sappy Sy Rhyme to end the show. They will be tickled.
And then, to work. Hopefully, today we can find “normal” and get to moving on down the road. Here’s an anticipation guide we are going to work with today as we begin to set up an argumentative performance task on “character education.” We are going to create a simulated experience where the kids have to take a position on our school using the Character Counts program for improving our school’s culture, but first we are going to consider character.
Today’s Trail
Along today’s trail we will experience…
…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.
…sharing a few more “I’m From” poems.
…considering and discussing how character and community connect.
Need normal. A creature of habit, I have reached my end with interrupted schedules. Cannot remember the last time we had a five-day week. With holidays, snow closures and delays, it’s been difficult to find a stride, and then yesterday, the bottom fell out. I need a regular routine, a return to normal.
Experienced a first yesterday. One of my kiddos had a seizure. I have had twenty-three years of training for what to do if/when a student has a seizure, and I am thankful that training paid off in the moment, but if I am honest, the training did diddly squat for the emotional tax that comes with holding a kid, feeling helpless, hoping to keep him safe as you wait for the nurse to arrive–trying, too, to consider the emotional well-being of the other kids in the room as you send them to the classroom next door. Won’t be something I forget.
The young man made it through safely–Thank God. The rest of my kids? I don’t know. It happened near the end of the period, and I was unable to connect with them. Today, that will be a priority as we process what happened.
Tried to take it all in stride and make the most of the rest of the day, but it–I–was a flop.
And today, sadly, we won’t be drinking from our “normal” cups–again. The kids register for next year in their LA classes today. Ho hum. Good thing I am chasing better; given the events of the past month, there’s lots of betters to go after.
Sorry for the downcast mood this morning, all. Hoping my opportunity to be on with Spokane Talks tonight will boost my mood. This is a reschedule of the talk that was postponed 2 weeks ago; will share details tomorrow. Till then, I am gonna try to scrape together a day today. Tomorrow to better.
Today’s Trail
Along today’s trail we will experience…
…an interruption. Will be the first day this year that we have not done Smiles and Frowns. Grumble.
I’m a sucker for sentiment. I am moved by moments. And when I am moved so, my face leaks a bit, and tears stream down my face.
It was a quiet moment. I was in my traditional district professional-development perch in our middle school gym, the top right corner, last Friday when I was moved by a clip from the making of The Greatest Showman. No one knew I had sprung a leak, but I did.
Our guest speaker, Kevin Parker, shared the clip below, using it as an example of what’s possible when we are connected, when we are supported by those in our “inner loops.” And while he was not talking about my classroom–he doesn’t even know me, I wanted to believe he was talking about my classroom, for that was where I was immediately transported as I thought about my intentional work to create connections with and for my kids.
I was moved. I am moved. As many of you know, the first role I ask my kids to play in my room is themselves.
Role #1: Yourself. This is your most important role. I need you to be who you are. I realize that the setting in which we find ourselves sometimes impacts our ability to be ourselves, but my hope is that the classroom community and culture we create during our time together will give each of us the comfort and confidence to be who we are. This is the role that matters most to me as I join you in your journey this year. I am excited to know YOU.
As I watched this clip, I found myself hoping that when my kids come to my room, they might be singing this song in their heads as they show us daily who they are through Smiles and Frowns. More, when they have their moments, those times when they more formally share their work, they feel like they have found their voices, they feel like they’ve stepped away from the podium and shined their lights.
I have always been a sentimental fool, and that was on quiet display Friday as I sat in the darkened gym thinking about my kids. But fool or no, it is what want for my kids. In fact, I will show them this clip as we continue our work with identity this semester, and I will also rename our “Project Identity,” “Project This Is Me.” Silly old man, me.
But be careful, for “why” is a stick with two ends, a piercing probe sharper by far than the blunt weapon of “what.”
And you, my friends, you are well-acquainted with “what.” True. You picked him up long ago. We dropped him before you as you crossed the threshold of your education.
Of course, “why” was there, too, but he fell in the tall grass when we dropped him, and we let him lie, hoping he remained hidden from view, and you, distracted, did not see.
But for the better we believed, for why is poky and sharp, better for kids not to play, with that which is dangerous. And with that, “what” became enough.
Didn’t it? Every day. Every day, you walk in here. And every day you ask me, “What are we doing?” But you never ask me why.
Why. Curious little word. Thought it when I wrote the above passage from my “Ask Me Why” injustice speech that I wrote alongside my kids three years ago, and I still think it now. Why don’t we ask why?
Yesterday, this curious little word found me again as I stumbled around in my head, looking for inspiration for a #MyRoomMessage.
Finding some traction after reading it to my kids second period, I decided on a whim to run with it a bit, challenging my kids to ask a teacher “Why?” this week. However, I framed it in terms of their sincerely seeking to understand, using tact, and not just trying to be a pain in the ass. Of course, I then became the teacher to whom they posed their why’s, and I obliged as best I could to field their inquiries.
And then I got to thinking and came up with an idea. Maybe they don’t ask why because it, as I offered above, is just not a part of our culture in education. Oh, I think we pay lip service (and many do much more but we still have a long ways to go) to curiosity and inquiry in the classroom, but we do seem to only skirt around “why,” devoting more attention to the “what” and “how” of things than the “why” of things. But why?
Make no mistake why is poky. Coming from the young it is often regarded as annoying or insolent. It is not their place to question our authority. But it’s not just the young who have become cowed into avoiding why. We, too, have been if not cowed into, then content with sidestepping why.
Take grading for instance. Most can articulate what they grade and how they grade it, but few can probably really articulate why they grade the way they do. And most who dare that path come to discover there’s little more to the genesis of their grading practices than it’s how they were graded. Ought we not have a better reason than that? I believe we should, and I am not alone, for many who have ventured into the realm of why learn that why leads to why and they evolve, as they look deeper into their practices.
And it’s that “deep look” that I seek from and for our kids. And I believe it starts with “why.” We have to make this a part of our culture if we want to change our culture. I want to change our culture, and so I’m encouraging kids to ask why.
But “why” bears responsibility. It must be sincere. But sincere doesn’t mean safe. Why is and will always be a little poky, for it is a challenge. And we have to think deeply and truly about our why when pressed. And we have to meet sincerity with sincerity, which means we have to be genuine and admit when we don’t know. And we have to give others that grace when we probe. Our goal is to understand not undermine, to make better not worse. And that takes commitment. Asking why is not an invitation to a casual conversation. It says, “I want to know; I want to understand.” It says, “I am here for the long haul.” And if we’re not, then it’s not sincere, and we shouldn’t ask the question. Why is a responsibility.
Too, we bear the responsibility of maturity. Something I am diligently trying to instill in my kids. Sometimes–maybe often times, we will not “like” the reason. But our liking or not liking does not alone determine the value of the response. And, again here, sincerity comes into play. Answers offered sincerely from a place of introspection and reflection need to be regarded as honest attempts to answer why. In that there is value. In that there is ownership. In that there is possibility of better, for why gets to the center, and that is where growth happens–for all of us.
But how can we make it a more prominent part of our culture? Well, as with many of the “culture-changing” things I want to see happen in education, I am going to start where I live: in my room. So, to make “why” more familiar and necessary, I am going to give it a place in our daily routine. We will now end each period with “Why with Sy.” I will ask my kids the why of our work, seeking to dig beneath the surface with them, so they see the value in why. Of course, I will grant them the grace of “I don’t know,” for especially in this case, if they don’t know why we’re doing something, I likely have some explaining to do. And I accept that responsibility.
Today’s Trail
Along today’s trail we will experience…
…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.
…playing the prep game (sentence errors).
…delivering our “I’m From” poems.
…reflecting in our Journey Journals.
…asking “Why with Sy.”
…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.
Happy Thursday, all. No posts now till next Tuesday. Have a great weekend.
Well, looks like we will be back at it today. Winter hit us hard here in the Pacific Northwest. Seems like February always reminds us that it’s not spring yet, and we’ve had snow days the past two, but we are back to work today.
Of course, snow days are work days for me. Living on a farm means even more work when snow comes to visit, but I love it–almost as much as I love teaching.
So, today, we will ease back into our work. Most of my kids are still sleeping at the moment (5:30 AM), certain we have a 2-hour delay, hopeful that we will have another snow day, but their dreams will be dashed when they wake to school on time this morning–even though it’s snowing. Gonna really feel like a Monday. But I’m glad to get the wheel’s a turnin’ again.
Today’s Trail
Along today’s trail we will experience…
…reconnecting through Smiles and Frowns.
…publishing “I’m From” poems.
…clearing the clutter (lots of loose ends to tie up).
