Be Safe On the Road and Educate It

Today I attended a funeral of the mother of a friend and colleague. His mother passed away last week after being hit by a car. It was a large gathering because she was so loved and her life was cut short. So how does this apply to you? As my PLN, we all show how important it is to be interconnected and to learn and be inspired by one other through our mobile devices, tablets, etc. For your own safety and that of others, please do not use them while driving as the driver who was involved in the accident was distracted and hit my friend’s mother at a marked crosswalk. I know I have caught myself wanting to check my device at red lights or during long clear straightaways, but I have decided to tell myself that I have an addiction problem if I cannot resist.

We are also in a unique position as educators in that we are role models. I have always believed that education is the way to promote good behaviours instead of rules and punishments to curb bad ones. We, as educators, have the capacity to make a difference and promote good behaviour in those around us, both colleagues and students. If there is any movement you can make, please make it.

When I was listening to my friend and his sister tearfully struggle through their speeches, all I could think is it unfortunately takes a huge tragedy to make us think of the things that we could have or should have done differently. I truly believe in our capacity to shape the minds of those around us. I believe we are far more significant than television commercials or punitive policies to instill ideas and attitudes. If one less tragedy can occur because of good education, please help me aim for that and all the positive spin off that can be generated from it.

Making Our Students “Intellectually Uncomfortable”

I have been using the word “uncomfortable” in education for quite some time now.  When I was the Coordinator of the McNair Mini School, I used to tell prospective students and their parents that our goal was to make them all uncomfortable.  You should have seen their faces before I explained myself.  During the past couple of weeks, I was at it again telling my students it was my goal to make them intellectually uncomfortable in the Physics Unit of the Science 10 course.  They had a similar look of surprise.  The fact of the matter is if students are not challenged and made to feel uncomfortable, their potential for growth will be limited.  I saw the following quote on a sign outside a church while I was driving: “Smooth seas do not make a skilled sailor” and it couldn’t be more accurate.  My good friend Bill Cartwright, a retired school counselor, always said that there is a silver lining to any uncomfortable situation (even a bad situation) in that those involved always had the capacity to come out a little more experienced and stronger.  So having our students uncomfortable and/or take risks, albeit in calculated amounts with appropriate support structures in place, is a very valuable thing.  There is so much value in the process of “falling down” and picking oneself back up. 

Another way to look at the idea is to address the fear of failure.  Chris Wejr (@mrwejr) posted the following blog on Twitter: “Cultivating a Culture of Failure” by Shelley Wright.  I couldn’t agree more that a culture that promotes failure, or maybe more positively put as risk-taking, is absolutely necessary.  Unfortunately, it is easier said than done.  We are currently in a culture of marks and achievement, or rewards as Dan Pink writes about in his book, Drive.  Sir Ken Robinson said, in 2006, that the fear of failure is killing creativity and it has been so for quite some time.  Change takes time and lots of conversations but anything worthy does.  However, it is important to note that there are already a number of ways educators are promoting students to take risks.  For example, Shelley Wright will be engaging in conversations with her students, and colleagues everywhere, with a huge variety of their own ways, are promoting students to be “intellectually uncomfortable”.  Let’s keep it going.

Time for the Edu-Resolutions Post!

Edu-Resolutions for 2012

As this year comes to an end, it is time for the annual Edu-Resolutions Post!  I can’t believe it is already time to bring in a New Year.  The list is small but I hope manageable, as the career of teaching can be overwhelming all by itself.  There is no need for more pressure but a set of goals is always welcome.  Without further ado….

 Continue My Professional Development With My PLN!

Since moving schools this year after twelve years at my previous school, my learning curve has been quite steep in the new building and my time with Twitter and associated reading has gone down.  I am getting settled into my new home and am committed to continue challenging my own practices and thoughts in education.  It has taken me some time but now I can find the graduated cylinders!

 Remember Every Day is an Opportunity for Growth

With all the things going on, lessons and labs and interactions, it is easy to get pulled into the details and lose a bit of sight of my main goal of education.  Whether it is my students, my colleagues, or myself every day is an opportunity to learn something about the world and/or ourselves.  We are so lucky to be able to be lifelong learners.

 Evolution, Not Revolution

A good friend of mine once said: “change is the only constant.”  In our education system, there have been a lot of movements and there are definitely more to come.  The BC government’s BC Education Plan will surely contribute, too.  However change comes and at whatever pace, I think it is important to take it in stride, like the process of evolution and not like a sudden wholesale and shocking revolution.  The latter often brings on stress and the fear of the unknown, which are the very things that can get in the way of change.

Thanks for reading and a Happy New Year to all of you!

Ever Think of Changing Schools?

Have you ever thought about changing schools?  I thought about it for three years and occasionally looked at the postings at the end of each year.  Unfortunately there were no postings that matched my teaching area for quite some time but an opportunity finally came up….. and I jumped on it.  I am 2 months into a new school after twelve years in the same building.  Of course I miss my colleagues at my old school but I have not looked back.

Despite missing the people I worked alongside, it has been great meeting new colleagues and working towards forming new relationships.  In the workplace, I had almost forgotten how fun it is to meet new people and learn about them.  That statement goes for the staff and students.  My extended period at my old school gave me a large amount of familiarity as I had worked with all the different staff members to some capacity, and had taught almost all the students in the entire building, and their siblings.  One of the biggest surprises however is how much I am enjoying my new anonymity in my new school.  I am actually finding it fun starting from the bottom of the totem pole and working my way up, so to speak.

Since moving and having to learn about a new building (and about the in-house processes), I feel that my learning curve is quite steep at the moment.  Even though it is more work, I feel like a learner again and that is incredibly refreshing.  I used to look forward to professional development days where I could be a student again but I get that feeling every day now.  I will admit that not being able to find anything was a little annoying at first but the steepness of the curve has turned out to be more like the gradient of a challenging downhill snowboard run.  Its as if my pupils are dilated, my heart is pumping, and my senses are more in tune with my environment.  I hate to say it but I was coasting in my workplace.  I find I am leaving work exhausted every day now but full of satisfaction from being more aware and engaged with what I am trying to accomplish for myself as an educator, and what I am trying to accomplish with my colleagues and students.  The other day, I decided I would join my new colleagues in their annual hockey pool.  I figured it would be a great way to meet some people, and test my luck.  However, I got lost and actually walked by the room the pool was being held in three times!  I had to be a problem solver myself.  Like I expect my students to figure things out on a daily basis, I finally figured out where the hockey pool was held.  Unfortunately I was so late that I had the last pick in the pool!

At this point, September seems a long time ago but the change has been so refreshing that I feel I am doing some of my best work.  I’m sure at some point the novelty will wear off but it doesn’t look like any time soon.  Is some healthy change in order for you?

“Self-regulation in a Personalized Learning Environment” with Dr. Roland Case

I had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Roland Case talk to ”Self-regulation in a Personalized Learning Environment” at the Arbutus Club tonight.  He was invited by the PDK Association for another great professional development event.

The biggest thing that came from his strict 20 minutes for me was: “Learners cannot be self directed if they are not self regulated.”

With the Ministry of Education’s Personalized Learning initiative brewing, it was a great teaser to bring about thoughts to help with the troubleshooting and implementation of the movement.  I would hate to see this come in without some serious pre-thought because I think achievement may be difficult for students without proper front loading (and difficult for their parents too), which could very well lead to the scrapping of the idea.  If it is going to come in, lets do it properly and with some good preparation.

The question at this point is what form it will take.  Will personalized learning ultimately be in addition to the content and format that is currently in practice with some modification to the delivery timeline and modes of delivery, or will the content and format of schooling as we know it be altered and customized for individual self direction?

No matter what it is, the message from the event was that students need to be self regulated.  They would also need to be:

educationally engaged

competent in critical, creative, and collaborative inquiry, and not just doing research for factual recall, and

digitally literate.  For this last one, there is definitely a difference between students being able to ‘play’ with the digital technology available to them and using the technology to learn responsibly with.

So what are some ways of achieving self regulated students?  One way, that came up as an example, was a teacher having a huge spoon in the classroom which he/she would grab when a student asked a question out of laziness or begging to be ‘spoon fed’.  (There was much more to that one and a very well thought out process but I will leave it there.)  Otherwise, the following were outlined:

• 1. Find ways to genuinely engage students. They must buy in. Choice is like the chicken or the egg. Which comes first? Choice alone is not the magic bullet to engaging students.
• 2. Explicit instruction in an appropriate array of tools.
• 3. Set up instruction to facilitate self regulated use of strategies. Hopefully kids will start using the strategies spontaneously.
• 4. Nurture a classroom community that maintains and sustains self regulated behaviour.

From my discussions with others that were at the event, it came up that self regulation is a multi level phenomenon.  It must be in parents and educators in addition to the students.  Of course it is!  As with all movements in education, if all the stakeholder groups are on board, the chances of success are drastically increased.

Picture Welcome Back to a New School Year

For all of you in my PLN and whoever sees this, best of luck in the new school year.  I thought I would send a Picture Welcome Back inspired by pictures I took on my summer travels….

Say goodbye to the sleepy late mornings…..

and open the school’s doors to the colourful characters….

and watch them grow tall in front of our very eyes….

and watch some childish behaviour (this little guy is scratching against a tree)

some kids can be docile….

some of them overly aggressive….

but we love them all the same.

To a great new school year.  Best of luck to all of you!

Bernie

The Things I Have Learned (and Continue to Learn) Through Travel

I have been lucky enough to travel a fair amount on my own and in my career as an educator.  After this trip, I will have been on all but two continents on Earth and have two tennis grand slam events left to see in person.  As I write this, I am in Oxford, UK and actually have a minute to sit and write.  I left Canada for this vacation on the evening of the last day of school and won’t be back until early August.  Over the past few days, I have been contacted by a number of former students and colleagues after they saw pictures I have posted on social media.  Most comments stated how they miss Europe (from trips I took them on in the past), and others tell of plans they have to go back and practice what they learned on our school trips. 

So what is so great about travelling?  What can be learned when travelling, as a student or an educator?

You must make decisions and live with them. 

You must find your way through problem solving in a real environment, not an abstract one.

You must adjust your behaviour to those around you.

You must manage your money.

You must manage time.

You must learn about other cultures.

You will learn to deal with inconveniences.

You will surely need to adapt to the foreign and constantly changing surroundings.

You will surely learn about yourself.

Over the past few days, I have seen so many young school-aged kids touring around and learning.  I sometimes wonder if the Canadian education system should be more like that of Japan and other countries where students must travel internationally to graduate from secondary education?  Obviously there are many factors that must be considered.  Learning in a real environment enriches me every time and recharges my batteries to return to teaching the following September.  There really is something great about being able to switch roles and be a learner that makes me excited to switch back and be an educator again.