Take a Risk

Cougar Communication

Excellence in Education: Teachers Dip Your Toes into the Shallow End of the Pool

Full Disclosure: The following was written by Mark Barnes and is from Brilliant or Insane,  a blog I write for. One of the things—there aren’t many—that I like about our semester block schedule is that it provides students and teachers with a re-start, one that can be quite invigorating. I used the new term to reflect on the prior term and asked myself, “What can I do better?”

As we continually strive to become the best, please know that it’s acceptable to take risks and to fail. I have 100% confidence in you! 

An insightful colleague once told me that many teachers are overwhelmed by major change. They are scared to death of the deep end of the pool. “That’s too much,” some say. “I could never do that.” The path to change for these trepidatious educators may start in the shallow end. They need to dip their toes, before they leap headfirst from the diving board.

When an education book or presenter suggests what you perceive as major, and frightening, change, consider one of the following ways to dip your toes into the shallow end.

Try one new technology–Years ago, I presented 10 web tools for the classroom at a major education conference. Several people approached me afterward, suggesting that they could never take on so many new things. “What if you tried just one?” I asked. One teacher considered the question for about five seconds before saying, “Sure, I suppose I could do that.” She tweeted me a week later, explaining how much she and her students enjoyed the shallow end of the pool and that they couldn’t wait to wade in deeper.

Replace direct instruction with video–For one lesson, spend 15 minutes searching for a video on Youtube or TEDEd or another service that you might use to replace your lecture or other form of direct instruction. Keep it short, and see how much your students love it. As an added bonus, save the video in Youtube archives or create your own cloud-based system. This way, you’ll have the video for posterity. As unorthodox as it might sound, education needs less from teachers, which leads to more from students.

Throw out homework for one week–For teachers who have relied on homework for many years, this one is tricky, but take a moment to ask yourself, “What if my homework assignments are a waste of time?” Try eliminating homework for an entire week. Spend more time in class on the concepts and skills your homework is built on, and see how your students do. Encourage them to find creative ways outside of school to extend the learning, but don’t make it mandatory. I’m guessing you’ll jump into the deep end on this one sooner than you believe, because after a week, you’ll see just how unnecessary homework is.

Make learning messy–If you believe in a quiet, controlled classroom, spend one day making things messy. Create some work stations. Cut instruction to a minimum. Allow students to choose partners or small groups. Encourage talking and movement. Scary? Remember, you’re dipping your toes into the shallow end of the pool for one day. If you find the water too cold, you can always return to your old way the next day. Observe carefully what messy learning looks like. Talk about it with students. What are the advantages? What barriers must be considered. This is how good teachers become great ones.

Throw out traditional grades for one assignment–Have you heard of the Teachers Throwing Out Grades Movement? Yes, it’s a thing, and it scares the bejesus out of some teachers; that is, until they try it. Pick one assignment that you would typically work on in class then collect and grade with numbers, percentages or letters. This time, tell students there will be no grade. Explain that you want to observe their work, discuss what they did and how they might improve. Then, allow them to rework the assignment as they like. If you need help, use the SE2R model, pictured above. This just might change how you assess learning forever.

Administrative Notes

Dec 15: Attendance Failure Sheets are due, begin textbook collection (please see memo regarding new procedures)

Dec 16 (4^th block): Recent grad forum. Teachers are invited to bring their classes to hear recent graduates talk about their transition to college and what they wish they knew while they were in high school.

Dec 18, 19: Final exams. December 18 is a full-day (schedule will be forthcoming). Exams for students in 1^st, 2^nd, and midterms for students in 4^th block A/B classes (whichever meets on that day). Dec 19 exams for 3^rd and 4^th, including midterms for 4^th block A/B classes that didn’t meet on Thursday.

EXAM BELL SCHEDULE – Thursday, December 18^th, 2014 – FULL day

                        7:25                             Warning Bell for 1^st Block

                        7:30 – 9:10                  Exam for 1^st Block (1 hour and 40 minutes)

9:10-9:20                     Break 

                        9:25 – 11:05                Exam for 2^nd Block (1 hour and 40 minutes)

                        11:10 – 12:40              Third Block/Lunch

                                                            11:10-11:30 – 1^st lunch

                                                            11:30-11:55 – 2^nd lunch

                                                            11:55-12:20 – 3^rd lunch

                                                            12:20-12:40 – 4^th lunch

                        12:45 – 2:35                Fourth Block/Exam for 4B Blocks (1 hour and 50 minutes)

EXAM BELL SCHEDULE – Friday, December 19^th, 2014 – ½ day

                        7:25                             Warning Bell for 3^rd Block

                        7:30 – 9:20                  Exam for 3^rd Block (1 hour and 50 minutes)

                                                            BREAK

                       

                        9:40                             Warning Bell for 4^th Block

                        9:45 – 11:30                Exam for 4^th (4A) Block (1 hour and 45 minutes)

Grades are due January 8.  Failure cards are due by Thursday (periods 1, 2) and Friday (periods 3, 4).

Special Education progress reports are due January 8.

Please complete the second term PD choice form   https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1KN8KBb4dWMu8PiA7ATeleXr3JVrpQ9_3e3bdus1RX6o/viewform  by Tuesday.

Positive Referral Link: http://goo.gl/s0KXRB

Work Order Request Form: http://goo.gl/H7hFwK

Comment Box: http://goo.gl/forms/KAHNoGf5D2

What I’m Reading

10 Signs You Have a Grading Problem in Your Class: A quick 10 countdown

Why Teachers Pay for Student School Supplies Out of Their Own Pocket

What’s the Best Teaching Method (an interesting article based on research) One take-away: The problem arises when teachers and teacher education academics privilege one particular approach to the detriment of all others.

6 Strategies for Working with Diverse Needs Students Some great suggestions for working with special education students and other students who traditionally struggle  

Going Beyond Standards

Excellence in Education: Going Beyond the Standards

As a teacher, I struggled trying to balance SOL standards with bringing history alive, instilling creativity, developing higher-order thinking skills, and building 21^st-century skills.

Recently, I’ve seen several teachers—and more importantly, students—go beyond the standards.

• Ms. Campbell’s students doing book projects. 
• Mr. Kuzma’s students creating mini-projects and posters that required creativity and personal touches
• Mr. Batt and Ms. Harper’s students allowing students to run with their own ideas.
• Of course, this is only a partial list but I wanted to focus on teachers who have End of Course Tests.

What do all these activities have in common?

• Teachers recognizing that standards are just a framework and are not limiting their teaching to standards-only
• Creativity
• Questions being asked that don’t have right-wrong answers
• Student enthusiasm
• Passion and pride

In addition to applauding your efforts, I want to encourage you to take risks. Step out of your comfort zones. Try something new. Diverge from the pacing guide. Challenge yourself and your students. Try a new lesson, one where the outcome is not always known.

We owe it to our students to encourage risk-taking behavior.

Please know that I have complete confidence in you. In this era of standards and accountability, risk-taking can be daunting, but I’ll come back to a simple question, “Why did you become a teacher?”

I’m willing to bet that none of you answer, “So my students can pass a multiple choice test?”

So as you enter the second term, take a risk. Step out of your comfort zone. Bring your subject alive. Create lessons that embody your spirit, your passion and show why you became a teacher.

As we go forward, lets make it a goal/expectation that each of us tries one brand new lesson this term. Please invite me into your classroom when you try this new lesson.  I look forward to seeing your passion come alive.

Administrative Notes

As we near the end of October and the first term, please take a couple of minutes to submit a positive referral http://goo.gl/cZIXm7 . Possibilities: biggest improvement from marking period 1 to 2, student who brought the most to your class, student who got the most of your class, etc.

We have a leadership meeting this afternoon. If you have any questions or concerns, please share them with your department chair.

Interested in attending an edcamp? Some upcoming edcamps near us:

• Nov 2: Harrisburg, PA
• Nov 9: Baltimore
• Nov 16: Hagerstown
• Nov 23: New Jersey 

I’ll probably be going to the Baltimore edcamp if anyone is interested in carpooling (know a great place for crab cakes on the way home)

Stat/Tweet/Article of the Week

From the Harvard Business Review, After a Failure, Shame is Harmful, Guilt is Productive http://goo.gl/XtuYYV