Morning, all. Inkwell’s a little dry this morning. So, I am going to wish everyone a happy weekend and take a day away from diving into “Done’s Danger.” Will get back to it on Monday when I share how I deal with final drafts. Sorry for taking easy street this morning.

Happy Friday, all. Stay safe.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Practice becomes pointy, becomes dangerous, when we practice with points. The point of practice is to prepare for more formal learning opportunities. I call them Learning Checks. They take various forms, but the purpose is always the same: engaging with students in a feedback/response process (learning). But when we attach points to practice, it becomes about grading, and in my experience kids come to see the purpose of practice as points in, or not in, the gradebook, and done becomes the point, and the point becomes done.

But isn’t that the point? To do? Yes, if the do is true. I am talking about the “Dilemma of Do” which I wrote about back in June of 2017 (http://www.letschangeeducation.com/the-dilemma-of-do/). Basically, the point, was to explore this notion that if we don’t attach points, kids won’t do (which I reject). But more, it was to explore the do of compliance and whether it was a “true do” or not. And while my thinking has certainly evolved some as I have had a chance to reflect and do better, I still stand staunchly in support that “doing for compliance” is lesser than “doing for commitment.” And I think that, really, becomes the point with practice: commitment, not compliance.

We give practice opportunities. The “do” is up to the kid. If they do it, and it’s designed intentionally and well to prepare them for a more formal opportunity, there is value in it–for the kids, not the gradebook. But what if they don’t do it? Where’s the value in that? At least when there were points attached, kids would do it? Would they? I am not so sure. I have found that some kids don’t discover the value until later, upon reflection after a Learning Check, they discover that doing the practice would have helped them perform better. And, for me that’s the point of practice: to help us perform better. This is as true in life as it is in the classroom. Generally, those who perform well prepared with practice. Practice is important. Practice prepares. When, it is done for its purported purpose, which I happen to believe better occurs in the context of commitment.

So, do we ruin it with points? Not necessarily. But I think there is greater value in practice than points to prove “done” in the gradebook. Of course, to be fair, it took me years to get here and my feedback-focused classroom has necessarily aligned itself to my point. As such, I am not suggesting one can simply make the jump here. But I do think one can take a step, as I did long ago when I wondered about the point of practice in my classroom.

Out of time. Will explore more tomorrow.

Happy Thursday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Done.

Dangerous word. Okay, that may be overplaying it a bit, but this word, this idea–I believe–poses a threat to learning.

It starts with “due.” Seems necessary, and I suppose it is, but as soon we emphasize “due” (which we do) the work too often becomes about getting done. But isn’t that the point? We give kids work. They do the work. That’s the process. But I wonder if we didn’t create our own monster.

In my subject, at my level, the kids come to me largely conditioned to do to get done. This is especially true in writing, where kids often want to know the minimum word count–for no other purpose than to reach the “done threshold.” But, to their consternation, I never give word minimums, focusing instead on achieving purpose, not reaching a word count. If I ever impose a word count, I set a maximum. Anyway, back to my point, kids have learned, as we taught them (perhaps to effectively), to do to get done.

I don’t think we intended to, and I suspect I am not alone in wishing we could unplug this Frankenstein and address this malfunction in our monster, but whether we intended it or not, we did it. We created a monster with “done.”

So, what can we do with done? I have some ideas, but I am out of time this morning, so I will continue this post in a second part tomorrow, so I am not done. Never done.

Happy Wednesday, all. I am sorry that I didn’t get very far this morning. Have a good day.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

I think we default to “all” because it’s too hard to imagine “each.”

Yes, I am still walking with my shoe idea this morning. I walked with it most of the day yesterday.

A, B, C, D, we agree.

All are sizes you can be.

And if you don’t fit these shoes,

there’s a final fit for you.

It’s as if we ran out of ideas after D. And what ever happened to E? Oh, we have supplemented with S, I, and P. But we have largely forgotten the rest of that song we learned long ago as we entered the halls of our education. So many letters to remember, so they gave us a song, but they are the ones who seem to have forgotten their letters.

Okay, I am being a bit flip this morning, but this stuff flips my switch. And the more I think about the need to reach each…well, it just gets me going…to a place I can imagine but fear I–we–will never find because it would likely look drastically different than it does now. We’d need to find room for all those other letters, but even they might not be enough for all the “eaches” we serve. For that we may need a new alphabet.

As I think about the “fits” I have found for some of my kids, I am sure others would be aghast at the shoes upon their feet. But what if Sally needs a Q, then shouldn’t I give her a Q? Yes, it looks markedly different from the B Johnny is wearing, but it’s what fits. And though I may well be sullying the system with such findings and fittings, the shoes fit for now, and I have many in wait (various shapes and sizes) for when they no longer do.

…X, Y, and Z.

Now I recall my A, B, C’s

Won’t you please

find more with me?

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.