Jeans

I'm wearing jeans today.  It is a Friday.  It is jeans day.

In many schools, jeans are not professional enough to wear as a teacher unless it is a special occasion.

Jeans day.  Jeans pass.  Special jean allowance.  I wish I could wear jeans.  Did you see Ms. So-and-so...she is wearing jeans today!  Are you going to donate $5 so you can wear jeans next week?  Hurry up, Mr. Smith...if our whole team completes this task, we all get to wear jeans on Monday!  College t-shirt day means jeans!  The temperature is under 32 degrees which means jeans!  Holiday break jeans week!  Field trip = jeans.

With all of the millions of things teachers could be talking about, I am surprised at how often the topic of conversation turns to jeans.  It is almost funny that it is such a big deal.  Moreso, the fact that jeans are still an issue is silly.

My current district's dress code in the employee handbook is simple:

"An employee’s dress and grooming shall be clean, neat, in a manner appropriate for his or her assignment, and in accordance with any additional standards established by his or her supervisor and approved by the Superintendent."

It says nothing about jeans, but I don't know of a campus in this district that allows jeans, or better stated, I don't know of a campus in this district that has made jeans a non-issue.

Another local district is much more specific.  Their employee dress code has fourteen specific points for teachers to follow.  It spells out what can be worn and cannot be worn.  It also offers suggestions.  There are four, well-written exceptions to those fourteen rules too.  The best part of that dress code states that males are encouraged to wear ties, but dress shirts with turtlenecks are acceptable.  When was the last time you saw a male elementary teacher wearing a turtleneck in lieu of a tie!

Why are jeans an issue?  I ask this all the time.  I hear three answers the most:
1.  We should dress professionally.
2.  Better dressed teachers get more respect from students.
3.  It is a good way for the principal to build relationships

I'm an elementary guy.  I have spent three years at the middle school level, but most of my time has been in the lower grades.  I don't know a single teacher that doesn't plop down on the floor with kids.  I know lots of teachers who are constantly getting their hands dirty throughout the day with various learning activities.  Many teachers get through the 10,000 step barrier by 11:00 a.m.  Most elementary teachers are constantly getting down to eye level with their students.  I know that teachers are somewhat less-inclined to get down on the floor and get dirty during learning when they are dressed nicely.  Last week, I heard a teacher say, "I only do real science on Fridays with my jeans on."  This is only one person, but it isn't wholly untrue for many teachers.

I'm not sure who thinks that teachers wearing wrinkled khaki pants and tennies with a school t-shirt is any less professional than jeans with the exact same shirt and shoes.  I'm also not sure who thinks elementary kids are any less respectful due to the teacher's clothing.  I have yet to experience a teacher who can base the level of respect they get from their students on the clothes they wear.

Another consideration is the comfort level that some kids have with ties and jackets.  A few years ago, I sat down with a focus group of 4th and 5th graders.  I was asking their opinions on all kinds of school-related things.  I asked what they thought about the student dress code and the teacher dress code.  One student said that he was glad I didn't wear a tie like the old principal.  Most of the other students agreed.  I asked why.  Another student piped in, "Other than him, the only suits I have ever seen were at a funeral."  A third student said, "I don't actually know anyone that wears ties."

Do jeans passes and jeans days build relationships between teachers and principals?  I think not.  I have never heard a teacher say, "My respect for Principal Jones goes up every time I am allowed to wear jeans."  I have heard plenty of teachers say, "Good.  I can wear jenas tomorrow!"  That statement is never followed by, "Thank goodness for my awesome principal for this opportunity to make my attire more comfortable."  If the relationship-building logic made sense, wouldn't it build relationships even better if teachers could wear jeans anytime they wanted???

Part of the constant conversation about jeans makes me laugh.  If jeans are not professional, are teachers unprofessional on jeans day?  Are they less professional when they use a jeans pass on a Tuesday and everyone else is not wearing jeans?  If jeans are not professional enough, why do principals offer jeans passes at all?

Carrots.  Principals offer jeans passes as an incentive.  They know teachers will do a little extra for a jeans pass.  They sell jeans for work.  I bet there are some principals that wouldn't give a flip about teachers wearing jeans regularly if it didn't take away their biggest carrot!

Slide Shows

Whether it is time for my students to learn or I am preparing professional development for teachers, one of the decisions that must be made along the way is whether or not to use a slide show.

Most of the time, a few, well-designed slides can aid the learning.  I create minimalist slides these days, but it hasn't always been that way.  I remember one of my first slide shows for professional development.  It had so many words!  The amount of wording overwhelmed me so I added random pictures of flowers and lizards, just to break it up a bit!

That was a long time ago.  These days, slides are chosen and used for a very specific purposes.

The Picture

Just a picture.  No words.  A visual that may help some learners solidify/remember the concept.  A picture can also force the learners to focus on the conversation or activity at hand.

The Directions

A simple list of the directions for an activity can be helpful.  It is better to give each learner a copy.  A screen version allows you to talk through the directions rather easily.

The Question

The question to discuss, ponder, or reflect upon can be helpful for folks who need some thinking time prior to finding the answer or solution.

Your Guide

Simple slides can help you stay on track, but please don't include every point you need to remember in your slides for the learners.

Principals, if you use a slide show for your professional development, please keep it simple!  Use the slides to enhance your material.  The slide show should not be the highlight of the learning.  Be sure to provide each learner with a copy of any words you need them to know or remember.  Do not show it once and expect the learners to take good notes!

Make your words big enough for the old guy in the back of the room to easily see.

Avoid These Slide Show Mistakes

• Do not read a slide show full of bullets to the learners.
• If you want to share data, keep it simple.  Do not add a giant spreadsheet that nobody can read.  It frustrates your data hounds!

The Master Calendar

When I began teaching, my principal handed out a weekly calendar printed from a mimeograph machine!  Yes.  Blue letters and an interesting odor!  Soon afterwards, he sent them out via email.  Every week, we got a weekly letter from him that included a calendar of events that teachers needed to know.  We teachers also wrote down calendar items in our giant red planning books.  It was pretty simple.

Not anymore.  For example, between the mid 90's and now, required assessments alone have changed the way we keep a calendar.  Our district currently requires assessments every nine weeks in reading, writing, and math.  Each one of those include a window for its administration and a due date for scanning them into Eduphoria.  That is three calendar items for each test.  We also must create and administer mid-term assessments that must be scanned into Eduphoria.  The students are also required to take a computer-based assessment in reading and math at least once per month.  Finally, add the state tests and the preceding practice tests to the calendar.

Now I know what you're thinking!  What a ridiculous amount of testing!  That is another topic.  For fourth grade teachers at my campus, there are at least 82 different testing events that go on the calendar.

This is just for assessments.  This is just one example of the huge number of calendar items that teachers juggle.

On a weekly basis, there are always numerous other events that teachers need to keep up with:

• mandatory training deadlines
• observations
• team meetings
• faculty meetings
• committee meetings
• special events
• report card deadlines
• progress report deadlines
• data analysis deadlines

Clear the path

Because I believe that one of the principal's main duties is to clear paths for teachers, making sure that everyone on campus has an easy grasp of everything that goes on the calendar is extremely helpful to teachers.  

Google, Outlook, and every other major email service that schools use includes calendar features that allow users to set up groups and send calendar invitations or meeting requests for events.  Use these features!

Set up your groups each summer.  Give rights to the folks in the office to help you.  If 4th grade teachers need to know the dates you will be meeting with them to discuss data, send them a meeting request.  The meeting shows up on their personal calendar.  This process takes only seconds longer than adding it to the master calendar as a simple event.

Do not simply place the event on a giant, shared master calendar.  This practice requires every single person to search through the calendar weeks at a time, searching for events that are pertinent.  When events are sent by calendar invitation, teachers only need to look at their own calendar.  Teachers can select to receive reminders on their computers and on their phones!  

When you send calendar invitations, your system will automatically notify teachers about the new event via email.  This is a good thing!  Make this the only way you put things on the calendar!  Don't expect teachers to keep up with calendar items too well if they receive information verbally at faculty meetings, through regular email, from a team leader, written on a folder, and through a handout in their mailbox.  When calendar items come from multiple sources in a haphazard manner, teachers will be frustrated and stressed.

Include a calendar in your weekly email.  Sending out calendar items on a weekly basis helps teachers ensure they are keeping up with all the deadlines.  Plus, it is super easy for teachers to know they can check your Friday message at anytime to double-check calendar events.

But they are professionals!  They should keep up with their own calendars!
Teachers are professionals.  Organizing your calendar communication and systematically reminding teachers of the multitude of deadlines does not diminish their professionalism.  It increases your leadership capacity by showing that you support their efforts and do you best to make their lives easier!  Clear the teachers' path by making their calendar lives easier!

I wonder...then I write!

Alan November says that most questions that we ask our students in schools can be answered fairly easily with  a quick internet search.  He goes on to say that in this country, we essentially see education as the lining up of facts.  He wants us to teach kids to ask questions.

He is not the only guy to say this.  Warren Berger loves great questions.  His book, "A More Beautiful Question," is excellent!  He discusses the importance of questions.  Especially the ones that do not have easy answers.

Earlier today, I was interviewed by a great teacher who is beginning her grad school experience.  She is in the first week of her first class and she was asked to conduct three interviews with folks from our school district.  The questions all dealt with leadership.

For so many of the questions, I found myself quoting Covey, or thinking Covey, or trying to channel my inner Covey!  It was an excellent opportunity to think about myself and my beliefs.

The last question asked me to offer one or two pieces of advice to her.  For that question, I wish that I had been given lots of time to think about it.  Just two???  Interesting!

I immediately thought of the things I do to drive my own improvement.  First, I try to always have a question that drives my thinking.  I am always investigating a question of some sort.  I told her to always have a question.  Always be curious.  Second, I told her to write about that question every day.  It doesn't take long.  Five minutes.  Putting your thoughts into written words puts them in order.

What is your question right now?  What makes you think?  Write about it!

They made fun of me today

The talent show was today.  It was incredible!  The talent that our kids shared was amazing!  The production effort of the staff was equally amazing!  Singers turned to comedy routines turned to drummers turned back to singers with the designed precision of a Broadway show!  Wow!

They followed it up with a quick act by the staff to celebrate the end of a great year and to have a little fun.  Several of the teachers acted out snippets of what teachers act like at the end of the year.  They showed a stereotypical teacher who might be too tired to get out the door on time during the month of May.  The next teacher was from our school, and could not WAIT to get to school to see our shiny, happy kids!  OK, so my last morning announcement of the year said that we simply could not WAIT to see the kids next year and we were sad that the school year had to end.

Then I walked on stage.  It looked kinda like me anyway.  He painted on a beard and covered just enough hair to look bald like me.  He also had his radio on his belt and his phone in his hand.  He spoke in an animated, overly-optimistic tone and gave the kids my usual "sign-off" for morning announcements, speedily saying, "Make it a supergreatwonderfulfantasticexcellentfaboulous day!"  He added about 22 more similar words, including a few that have never before been heard!  As he walked off stage, he pulled up his britches.  I guess I might do that too.

They made fun of me.

And it was funny!  And I was flattered!  And it really made my day and made me feel like a more included part of the campus!  I loved it!  If they had not included this little part of the show, the show still would have been awesome!  But by including it, they included me!  And I am thrilled to be a part of such a great group of folks!

Jeff is a lifelong friend of mine.  He is a genius, and an engineer, with multiple patents.  For as long as I have known him, he has lived by a simply motto, "I don't care whether you are laughing with me or at me, as long as you are laughing."

It was awesome to have so many folks laughing at me with me today!

Tutorials

Over the last several years, the emphasis on tutorials has grown.  Schools are pro-actively providing tutorials for kids so they can get extra help, participate in extra lessons, or simply use more time with the teacher.  Giving kids extra time, extra help, and extra learning opportunities is a good thing, right?

For example, many teachers open their doors for kids on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for an extra 45 minutes.  Some kids show up because they want to.  Some kids are told they are required to be there.  Some schools provide a campus-wide plan for study halls before school and after school.  These extra times must be good for kids.  Some schools even open their doors on Saturdays!

It seems that most high school teachers offer tutorial sessions before school, after school, and during lunch.  These sessions typically seem to be focused on doing the assignment together, thus "earning" the kid a better grade.  In other words, if you show up for tutorials, I'll guide you through the assignment so you can get a better grade on it.  Who knows if there was better mastery?  The grade was better.  Isn't that all that matters?

There is a ton of time focused on planning, prepping, and executing tutorials.  There is also a ton of time and money spent on software and hardware that provides online tutorials.  Sometimes it seems that the primary focus of conversations about improving student learning is on tutorials.

Do tutorials work?  Is the time spent prepping and planning for them worth it?  Is the money and resources worth it?  We can't give ZERO attention to struggling kids.  But, are we counting on tutorials too heavily for their success?

What if we gave our initial lesson design that much energy?  What if we spent our time and energy on better classroom instruction?  How well would students master their learning in an environment focused on engaging, differentiated instruction that was designed based upon valid data?  Sounds better than tutorials to me!

At my old school... (2.0)

"At my old school..."  People at the new school hate these words!  Especially if they hear them all the time.  They don't want to hear it!  They don't want to hear about how much better everything was at your previous school!

"At my old school...," sounds like such a slap in the face.  As if the way that things work at the new place aren't good enough!  Every time folks from the new school hear those words, they get defensive because the way things are at this place have worked fine enough for several years now.  Quit judging your new home based on your old home.

And while we are talking about it, quit asking why we do things the way we do things!  You wouldn't ask unless you thought this way was terrible!  I know you are judging us!  Don't come here telling us everything is bad and everything you did at your old school is better!

Or...

That new teacher sure does come with a different set of experiences!  I bet we can learn a lot from her.  She seems to know what she is talking about and has been at several different schools and districts.  My career has only been here.  A new perspective may be just what we need to make improvements!  We have been doing so many things the same way for so long, it is good to have someone on board with ideas for making things more effective and efficient!

I like that she asks us why we do certain things in certain ways.  It tells me she is interested in understanding the rationale behind our way of doing things.  At first, it seemed like she was questioning us a lot.  But now I see that just makes sense for a new person!  Now I see that she really does accomplish most things our way.  

What that really means is that she only makes suggestions for improvements when she has experienced a better way.  Sounds like a teacher to me!  We always steal ideas from each other!  Why would it be different when she offers us something to steal!

At my old school...

Since 1994, my career has taken me through several incredible schools!  Every school had some great teachers, passionate about their students and passionate about excellent education.  Every school also had some that were not so great.  I have also been a part of a few campuses that didn't fit me too well. Most of those loved status quo rather than continuous improvement.  It is probably safe to say that I wasn't a fit in their eyes either!

Regardless, every campus had strengths that deserved to be shared.  One campus truly took care of the whole child.  Students were little humans above all!  Another campus utilized data to drive instruction better than NASA.  One campus blew me away with their constant innovations and collaboration.  

Within classrooms, strengths were everywhere.  One teacher made math journals come to life.   Another teacher constantly pushed the edge of higher-level thinking with her students.  Yet another caught the heart of every single student.  One made excellent learning look so gloriously simple yet it was always engaging and challenging!  Another truly gave ownership of the classroom to her students.  Strengths could be found on every campus!

We all know that educators are the best of borrowers.  Some say we are the best of thieves.  We love taking great ideas from other teachers, giving them a little remix, and making them our own!  And when we do borrow or steal, we gladly give credit to the giver.  It isn't about credit, it is about doing something that improves learning.

So what happens when someone new comes along?  A new teacher joins a campus after success in another school, another district, another state, or even another country?  New teachers bring their own strengths and experiences.  They bring their own biases and opinions.  They also bring their own assumptions and their own gaps in knowledge.

When the new teacher models something that the campus considers to be new and wonderful, teachers copy it and use it.  We borrow that bit of goodness and make it our own!  We may ask questions about it and seek to learn more.  We may share our successes with others and give credit to the newbie.  After all, better is better, and better is worth sharing!

The new teacher probably has questions too.  The thing is, questions from the newbie are often met defensively.  Folks that have been around for awhile often see these questions as derogatory.  The newbie asks, "Why do we do it that way?  In my old school..."

A process may work just fine in the new place, but the previous place used a process that was extremely effective.  If the new teacher simply puts the better process into action, others copy it and love it.  If the new teacher questions the new school's process, it is often seen as negative.  Why?

Each one of us is a product of our experiences.  I am the educator that I am because of my experiences.  My learning experiences, my teaching experiences, and my life experiences made me the person I am.  Same for you.  Same for your school.

If it is your goal to wake up today and be better than you were yesterday, don't be defensive when new folks ask why something is done a certain way.  Instead, ask yourself the exact same question, "Great question!  Why exactly do we do it that way around here?  Do you know a better way that we should consider?"

When someone says, "At my old school...," don't roll those eyes.  Instead, ask questions and see if there is something in that story worth borrowing.  If your new person has ideas worth stealing, be grateful for all that is offered, whether they offer it by showing you, or they simply ask you why something is done a certain way.

When someone asks, "Why do we...," it probably means there is a suspicion that a better way exists.  If someone says, "Maybe we should...," it means the suspicion of a better way is strong. When someone questions the processes, see it as a great opportunity to question them too!  When someone says, "At my old school...," listen with open ears and an open heart.  You might just find your own improvement!

Tomorrow, I will add a post with the same message.  I wrote two and could not decide which one to post!

The teacher at the front of the room

Several times in recent weeks, I have been involved in conversations or meetings revolving around the idea of teacher evaluations and interruptions to teaching.  Several times, the term, "...the teacher at the front of the classroom...," was used by numerous folks.  The first time I heard it, my immediate and silent response was, "Where???"

Each time I heard the term afterwards, my skin felt a little more itchy.  The term bothered me more and more.  When discussing evaluations, one of the participants stated, "When I walk into a classroom, I love seeing the teacher at the front of the classroom and all of the students watching attentively."

I thought to myself, "If the teacher happens to be at the front of the room and the students are attentive that is a good thing, but if the teacher is not at the front of the room and the students are attentive to their own learning...even better!"  I wondered, "How often does that participant expect teachers to be at the front of the room?"  If I noticed a teacher at the front of the classroom every single time I visited, I would be concerned with lesson design, student engagement, and differentiation.

Another time, a small group was discussing classroom interruptions.  One person stated, "If the phone rings and the teacher has to leave the front of the classroom to answer it, that can kill the flow of the lesson."

I wondered, "How long can a lesson actually flow with a teacher at the front of the classroom?"  I get it that a phone call can occasionally interrupt something that is going on, but in a highly engaging classroom, there is not much that actually interrupts students!  Their desire to continue with their learning far exceeds the ring of the phone, and for sure, a teacher stepping away for a moment.

Finally, I watched a webinar about student engagement.  The presenter intended to share tools for keeping students engaged.  She noted that in her classroom, she never sat down.  She continued to move around the room as she spoke.  She kept moving so the kids had to continually adjust their sitting position and turn their heads frequently to maintain visual contact with her.  She claimed that her students were sitting quietly and engaged for 45 entire minutes because she kept moving!

Itchy, itchy, itchy.  I closed that webinar soon after.  Sure, if you move a little kids will watch you move.  They will maintain a bit more attention.  For real engagement, design a lesson where the kids rarely stop moving!  Design learning with several changes of state for students!  Design an experience with differing levels of dialogue in different places in the room with differing groups of peers, based on a material the students choose and they actually care about, based on great questions!

That is engagement.  And you rarely even need to stand at the front of the room.

Actions

We all know that actions speak louder than words.  What we do is more telling than what we say.  As educators, how well do we listen to those actions on a regular basis?  What is our class trying to tell us?  

We know what Little Johnny is saying when he is bouncing off the walls.  We have learned to "listen" to Little Johnny's actions frequently to meet his needs pro-actively.  What about the class as a whole?  When the entire class is speaking to us, do we listen?  

If 95% of the class sits on the edge of their seats, hanging on to your every word, you know they are engaged.  When the entire class is participating in small group science experiments, you know they are engaged.  Likewise, if six kids are actively choosing to ignore you and the assignment at hand, what does that tell you?  It tells you that the activity you designed for today's learning has room for improvement.  Those six kids are telling you what they think.

During your best lesson of the year, how many of your kids are fully engaged?  Probably all of them.  Your best lesson captures them all!  Dave Burgess, author of, "Teach Like a Pirate," talks about the lessons that kids would pay to be a part of.  Every decent teacher has a few of these.  These are the lessons the kids love and the teacher loves too!

These lessons fully engage students.  The more of them you have, the better your class will be.  The kids will learn more and their actions will tell you how much they like it.  What about the lessons that aren't worth the price of the ticket quite yet?  Kids would not pay for them.  When you "listen" to the actions of the class, what do you learn?  

This week, pay special attention to what your class is telling you without any words.  Your students' actions only speak louder than their words if you are listening.  Also, pay more attention to what you do.  Your students are always listening to your actions.

Like Goldilocks!

I was talking with a kid today about the difficulty of her math problem.  She said she wanted them to be easy like they were in first grade.  I asked her if math was easy in first grade and she quickly responded with, "It would be easy now!"

So I asked again, "Was your first grade math easy when you were in first grade?"

No answer.

So I asked her why she wanted easy math like that right now in middle school.  She said that school would be fun if everything was super easy.  Her friend interrupted, "No it wouldn't!  It would be SO boring!"

The conversation continued between these two:

Kid #1:  "Yeah, but I would make straight A's!"

Kid #2:  "So! You would end up getting in trouble all the time and you would end up too stupid for high school!"

Kid #1:  "Well, when the assignment is pointless, I don't like struggling for no good reason!"

Kid #2:  "Answering 2+2 all day, every day would be pointless too!"

I enjoyed listening to this back-and-forth, then interrupted, "What kind of activities do you want your teacher to provide for you?"

Kid #2 replied immediately, "Not too hard.  Not too easy.  Just right.  Like Goldilocks!"

It is not what you say...

"It is not what you say, it is how you say it."

I have heard this since I was little.  Choosing the right tone of voice can be everything.  No matter what needs to be said, it can be said kindly.  It can be said with good heart.  Except when the words shouldn't be spoken at all.  

Choosing the right words is every bit as important as saying the right words kindly.  When you can't find the right words to say, it doesn't matter how pleasant your voice sounds.  When you can't find the right words to say, don't say them.

The whites of his eyes!

Have you ever been so absolutely certain you were right about something that you were unable to see someone else's perspective?  This happens frequently with all of us, but even more with teenagers.  Think about a time you told something to a 13-year-old and witnessed a world record eye-rolling.  As the adult, you know that you are absolutely correct, but the teenager absolutely won't believe you!

Many times, you simply want this kid to hear you when you say, "I have been through this.  I know what I'm talking about.  Just change your mind and believe me."

Most of the time, the teen won't do it.  He not only wants to be correct, he refuses to even entertain the thought of being wrong.  This is where the adult gets to choose frustration or patience.  Which course of action will be taken with this one?

The kid wants to make his own decisions.  He wants to be correct.  He wants to own it.  Sometimes, it is hard to let him own it.  Especially if you know where he is going to end up.  So as he glares at the ceiling through the top of his skull and tells you what he is going to do, what will your response be:

"Are you serious?" {spoken with some level of sarcasm?}

                                                 or

"Let me know how it goes?" {spoken with absolutely NO sarcasm.}

Who worked the hardest?

The Austin Marathon ran last weekend and it reminded me of a conversation I had several years ago after finishing the race.  My friend and I were discussing the various combinations of natural talents with hard work.  He had been planted at the finish line for much of the race, watching everyone who crossed it before me.

He watched the winner cross the line in two hours and 14 minutes.  Between the winner and I, he watched about 1000 other people cross the line.

I joked that I definitely worked harder than the winner because I was on the course for 92 minutes longer!  Chris did not argue that my year-long training regiment to prepare for the race was indeed hard work.  He did argue that the winner had trained for YEARS to get to the point where he could win an international marathon!

So I changed my question...Who worked harder during the race?  Was it me, or the winner, or the guy who finished in seven hours?

I think Chris enjoyed the question!  He started to advocate for two of the sides.  He said that the winner pushed himself to his physical limit to win the race.  We also guessed that the seven hour finisher had to keep working for more than three times longer to finish.  He also joked that I was smack dab in the middle of them, so I shouldn't even be considered in this conversation!

Thinking about students, educators know that some kids pick up new learning more easily than others. Some kids find geometry easy to learn while struggling with reading comprehension.  When I think across the years of the students that I have taught, the differences are amazing, especially considering that all the kids in one class are expected to master the same learning standards.

As a teacher, it can be quite challenging to know when you are truly getting maximum efforts out of each student!

Homework perseverance with a smile!

It finally happened last night!  My own 8th grader had a challenging math problem that he refused to stop attacking!  At 9:00 p.m., I asked him if he was almost done with his homework.  He told me he was on the last problem.  He said he had been working on that one problem for 20 minutes.

But when he said it this time...I didn't hear frustration.  I heard anticipation!  I heard excitement!  He worked on it for another 30 minutes.  He tested and tried several solutions!  This kid will work for hours and hours to perfect a soccer move, but not a math problem.  I don't know what little intrinsic motivator caused him to persevere this time, but it was fantastic to see it!

After almost an hour, I really wanted to tell him to go to bed!  Instead, I said, "I love that you aren't giving up, but you are allowed to put that problem on hold so you can get a good night sleep!"  He just smiled and kept at it!

I am looking forward to hearing about his results tonight!

Success Breeds Success

My 6th grader loves oatmeal for breakfast.  When he asks for it, he usually gets it.  Making a quick batch of oatmeal doesn't take long at all and it feeds the whole family.  One particular morning, he didn't ask for oatmeal early enough.  When I told him to grab a quick bowl of cereal because I needed to leave, he asked, "Can I just make the oatmeal myself?"

My brain's warning flag went up!  This kid wants to cook on the gas stovetop with no adult in the house??? He will burn the house down! I don't want to be on the five o'clock news!  I can't take the chance!

Then I remembered...he cooks eggs for himself, he can make his own mac & cheese, and he hasn't caused a single fire yet.  As a matter of fact, he has caused one less kitchen fire than I have.

Instead of blurting out my initial gut reaction, I asked him, "Do you know how?"

He confidently explained the process to me and it took all of 20 seconds.  I smiled and said, "Go for it!  Don't burn the house down!"

When kids want to do things for themselves, we need to let them.  Too often, we choose to do things for them.  We do this for many reasons:

• It is faster
• It is just easier to do it
• We don't want to take the time to work with them through the process
• We don't want them to fail
• It has become a habit to do pretty much every thing a kid asks
• We deem any amount of risk as too much risk

I am happy to report that the fire department did not make a visit to my house!  More importantly, my 6th grader is getting confident in the kitchen.  He even cleans up after himself!  Was there a risk of fire?  Sure, but there is a risk every time I cook too.  Was the risk greater because he is 11 years old?  Sure, but not that much greater.  He wanted to be successful at this so I'm sure he gave it his utmost attention.  He wanted the responsibility of cooking with fire, and he was successful!  Failing forward is incredibly important for learning!  At the same time, success breeds success!

Puddle Jumper!

I love the rain.  I also love getting outside right after the rain!

One of my favorite things is watching a kid size up a jump across a rain puddle.  Toes on the edge, a little bend of the knees and a swing of the arms...and jump!  Then the smile!  The great thing about this risk-taking leap is that the smile comes whether those feet clear the water or they make a splash!

The goal, the plan, and the results take almost no time at all...and end with a smile!  The goal was chosen, the effort was made, and the smile came regardless of success!

What about a more long-term goal?  Wouldn't it be great to approach it with the same puddle-jumper attitude!!!

Labels

When I think back to some of the most memorable students I have had over the years, I wonder how my descriptions of them placed limits on what I expected from them???

"Little Johnny never had help with his homework and he couldn't sit still for more than 3 minutes."

"Little Mary takes care of her younger brother and sister every night while her parents work."

"Crazy Karl???  That boy is out of control!"

So often, teachers describe their students to each other like this.  These descriptions are not meant as insults to the children.  They are typically just used to describe the child's situation.  It was true that little Johnny didn't get any help with his homework, even though he could have used a little bit of assistance most nights.  It was true that Little Mary's parents worked nights so she was in charge of her siblings.  And Karl?  He was just a fun boy who was always more interested in playing and laughing than anything else!

Today, it is my mission to see the unlimited potential in each child.  Looking back, I wonder if I unconsciously changed what I expected from Johnny, Mary, and Karl because of the way I described them?  As educators, how do we see beyond the hurdles that every child encounters, even when they may not be able to do?

Isn't it our job as educators to help children shed those labels?

Bringing it home!

Last week, my sixth grade son opened his backpack and removed several straws and popsicle sticks held together with masking tape.  He excitedly jumped on the floor to re-create the catapult he made in science class.  The truth is, he is a tough customer when it comes to being entertained at school.  He regularly calls school "normal" and rarely says his days are good.  This day was quite different.

When I asked him to tell me about his catapult, he said he wanted to use what he learned to build a better one at home.  He went into the garage and gathered a few supplies.  He also found a giant box of popsicle sticks (Doesn't everyone have a box of these things sitting around the house?)

I watched him from afar because I didn't want to stifle his creativity.  I loved seeing his brain work through his fingers to make another, even better catapult.  I loved that his school assignment carried over to further exploration at home!  He stayed with it for quite awhile, testing and refining and testing and refining.  He was excited to show me his progress!

It was tough not to play the role of teacher at this point.  He needed me to be the excited parent!  And believe me, I was excited!

After a little more than a week, he has gone back to his interest in catapults and rubber-band propulsion several times.  I love that he has unknowingly become a little scientist and I love that he brought home this excitement from school!

No answers today!

I remember walking into my 5th grade classroom during January of my first year of teaching and getting bombarded with the usual questions from my kiddos.  They were typical school questions for a first year teacher.  I remember noticing that the kids actually knew the answers to most of them.  I guess they were asking me just to be sure they were right.  I also remember that my answers were typically one-worded responses, some spoken with an occasional pointed finger, "Yes....No....There!"

After one too many, I jokingly stated, "I'm not answering any more questions today!"

A few kids giggled and a few looked at me with a perplexed grin.  They all knew I was probably up to no good!  There was silence for about four seconds, then the questions continued, "Can I work on my project?"

I responded, "I don't know, can you?"

The next student, "What should I do next for my writing?"

My answer, "I don't know!  What should you do next for your writing?"

Both kids already knew the answers.  A few more interactions like this and the class took notice.  For me, with each question and answer, things got more fun!  I wondered if I could go all day in this manner!

"Come on, Mr. Shanks, you KNOW what I need to do next!  Just tell me"

I said, "Hmmmm....I don't know....I wonder who could tell you?"

I continued answering questions this way and made the HUGE realization that I had trained my class to ask me a million questions a day!  By answering them, I trained them to keep asking!  I didn't want to answer a million questions per day!  I really wanted a classroom where the kids knew how to find their answers without needing direct guidance from me.  During the last several months of the year, I changed the dynamics of the classroom immensely by changing my responses to their questions.  Throwing most of the questions back to them made our classroom a different place.

This process also unveiled the difference between the regular questions and the fun questions!  Mixed in with the requests to go to the bathroom and how to solve #4, were questions like, "Can dogs really count?"

These were the questions that were more fun!  At first, I turned those questions right back to the students as well.  However, I learned that without some level of guidance, 5th graders didn't always know where to begin the search for answers to these questions.  In today's world, most kids simply Google the question!  Not so, in 1994!

I believe fun questions like these deserve to be honored and respected.  These are the types of questions I want students to ask.  Questions like these lead kids to explore and learn.  More importantly, when questions like these are respected, kids learn that it is a good thing to ask questions that don't necessarily have easy answers!

When kids regularly ask the impossible, then strive to find an answer, we all win!