I thought I was going to spend the long weekend reading my book for our book club, but I had a Whole New challenge instead: Putting together a million piece puzzle for my kids to play on in our back yard…. swings, monkey bars, slide, fort, climbing wall, and picnic bench all neatly packed in boxes Ikea style… ‘some’ assembly required!
Today I was back at school and boy has reality hit! Tomorrow morning our Grade 8 team has to get the ball rolling for our yearly Renaissance Fair (coming in May); Tomorrow at lunch I start training a Leadership Crew to run a Grade 5 leadership retreat/afternoon at our feeder schools; Some time in the next two weeks I have to set up an afternoon to introduce this program to other middle school leadership teachers/admin; I am running a Pro-D session on ‘Starting Your Own Blog’ a week from Saturday and I still have a number of hours work to do to set things up; I have a sleepover fundraiser at the school in just over two weeks; and my kids are in musical theatre plays (playing at alternating performances) this Thursday & Friday night as well as two shows Saturday… yikes!
And then there is my class Science Alive! wiki. As I said in a comment earlier this week, “I think that I am guilty of seeing the value of using technology in guiding learning, but not effectively guiding learning in my technology use.”
I have done a pretty good job of getting my students going… but now as momentum builds I have come to the realization that I don’t have a marking rubric to guide me, or my students, as we move towards a final product.
My class is assembling a lego model without the instructions, or even the image of the final product on the front of the box. This isn’t a problem for the creative/motivated students; they will assembly a better model in ways that I could never have ‘instructed‘ them… but some students need structure, they have been fed it for years and expect it (even from yours truly – this isn’t finger pointing, it is observation).
I let technology supersede pedagogy.
On the bright side, I am a teacher in my 9th year and I’m loving the vitality and enthusiasm my attempts at a 2.0 Classroom have given me. So what if I am out of my comfort zone, as are some of my students. So what if learning is messy. Of course my approach will be more pedagogically sound next time... but as I start putting all the pieces together, I have come to the realization that some things are worth doing… even if some assembly is required!
Feedback and suggestions for the wiki are invited…
This is the power of a blog… I won’t reflect here, instead I will let the two comments on my original post do that for me. Thanks to Gabriela and Claudia for being so insightful and contributing to my learning!
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Comments
David, I’ve been reading your posts since I started blogging for my students. I am amazed to see that I share some of your concerns as regards education. Amazed because of the different educational realities we live in and because we teach different subjects.How to deal with “structure dependent” students (most of them) is one of my concerns. They get puzzled when you don’t provide the expected, clear and well organized instructions. I love playing that game, though.I have to admit that I have failed many times. The worst was to feel frustrated and give up. Then I learnt to insist and be patient (both things at the same time). Success is not guaranteed, but when it finally happens the feeling of achievement the students get is so rewarding that it’s worth the “discomfort”. If students have the chance of making decisions, they have an experience and you also have an experience.I had a look at your wiki and I thought: “If I had had a science teacher like him, I would have learnt something at school.”Insist and be patient, and, please, never stay too long in your comfort zone.
David,I believe there is nothing wrong with needing some structure. It may be a sign of a totally different learning style compared to our own. Let’s say we should learn from it as well. What scientific basis is there to conclude that one style is better than the other?
I would refrain from thinking either that the student in need of “structure” should embrace any other way just because it is better to so many other people. I am sure that by taking part in your wiki, they are already experiencing 2.0 style and, to a certain extent, they must have challenged their previous structures for learning. No need to go over the board with efforts to help. The student can be an expert in his own needs.
Second, I would not try to device any steps to “instruct” these students. Perhaps I am not the best node in these student’s network to go beyond or learn more. Let’s admit it: we are in love not only with what technology enables us to do but also with ‘learning my way’! So I wonder whether I would not create a sense of lack of confidence in those students if I continue to encourage another learning style.
I would definitely help the “structure-needed” student to find a learning node within the wiki members. Peer help will do it. And I would expect that their interaction -unpolluted by my words- teaches me a lesson in learning. As a teacher, I think I would be quite effective if I simply manage to help the student find who can teach/provide the structured view he needs so much.
Look forward to your posts about how your students get on with all this.
Until last year, this odd negative/neon image was the only public image you could find of me on the web. In fact currently, many of my online sites still have this image. I like the photo, people who know me recognize me in it, and it was taken on a hot air balloon trip with my wife, so it has fond memories attached. But I decided that since I have been very public with my thoughts and ideas, (as seen on this blog), I would share a bit more of who I am, while on the web. Slowly but surely I have been putting photos on the web with a greater likeness to me. Now I wonder if I should go back to this image? I wonder if I should make my family photos private again? Also, I am keenly aware that at some point in the future I may need to moderate comments on this blog, and I find that sad.
Today I read a horribly upsetting Kathy Sierra post on the Creating Passionate Users blog. Kathy has been the victim of some anonymous, vulgar, sexist vandals… that have gone so far as to issue death threats. I am not linking to the actual post since, although I truly empathize with how difficult this has been for her, I don’t like the approach of the post. Kathy shares, in detail, all of the words, images and internet pseudonyms of the people that have put her in considerable distress. Personally, I think that gives the vandals too much credit/recognition that they certainly don’t deserve (I said this in one of the 1,000+ comments currently on this post).
This comes after reading Kelly Christopherson’s post Masked Commentors just over a week ago. As he states about the first comment on his school blog, “it wasn’t necessarily positive and it used a bit of profanity… I know that even these comments have nuggets that I need to mine and use to become a better leader and person.”
I must admit to having difficulty seeing the nuggets sometimes. Instead, I see the miner covered in soot.
These are filthy crimes. They are not victimless. They are not funny. They are hurtful.
I got hit with this kind of abuse a couple years ago. I have a website that I go to for drawing faces in art. I used to sign my work with a pseudonym rather than my real name when I saved portraits that I created into the public gallery, (I expected the same from my students). I would use these saved images in the following years as examples of what students could do. Two years ago when I did a search for my pseudonym in the gallery there were derogatory sketches and comments that came up in the search that were directly aimed at ‘Mr. Truss’.
Neither of these last two situations compare with the anguish that Kathy is experiencing… in fact she may very well depart from the blogosphere as a result of this… (which would be horrible, and I am saddened by the potential loss). However, these situations do make me think of the potential perils of teachers and administrators having a public face on the internet. It only takes one malicious person to be hurtful, one ‘bad apple’ to spoil the pie.
There is a saying I love to use: “Don’t wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.”
This is fairly easy to do with an angry person… simply choose not to engage in their dirty approach.
However these kind of hurtful, hateful on-line vandals bring the mud to the fight. They hurl it at you and get you dirty whether or not you choose to engage. Combating this is not easy: It takes courage, it takes thick skin, it takes effort to choose a moral stance; to avoid slinging mud. As a result, it leaves me wondering… How do you stop these malicious people from getting the best of you? Beyond not giving the offenders any credit or notoriety, and beyond ‘turning the other cheek’, what else can be done?
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Anti-Cyberbullying Day – Friday, March 30th, 2007
Originally posted: March 28th, 2007
Reflection upon re-reading and re-posting:
I just recently referenced this post, and used the ‘wrestle with a pig’ quote in a comment on a Clay Burell post. (I would like to link to Dan Meyer’s post too- the lessons learned in any conflict are usually found in attempts at resolution.) I mention this here because I think Clay touched on the question that I ended the post with. Sometimes a fight is what is needed. Sometimes standing up for yourself is necessary. Sometimes expressing your dissatisfaction can be helpful, even healthy.
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I thought this next point was going to be the subject of a new post, but I’ll share it here now:
‘Be Careful What You Say Online!”
A few months ago my blog on Eduspaces ended up getting referenced in German, Italian, and also in the language of Bahasa (I had a student’s mom translate it for me:-)
I ‘del.icio.us-ed’ these (for myself-not shared) and in the ‘notes’ section made comments about the reference. Shortly after the reference in Bahasa, I was quoted in a Spanish blog*. I was amazed that there was “yet another reference to my blog” in another language “that I don’t understand”, and what you see in quotes is roughly what my notes on delicious said. It was meant as a private note to myself, and its’ intent was astonishment at my sudden international link-love.
Well, it turns out that I did not click the ‘do not share’ check-box. And suddenly I had a very public, and easily interpreted as flippant or rude, note about someone’s blog… someone who took that time to write very positively about both me and my blog. This person, (who remains anonymous here because I did not ask first if I could share this), found my delicious link reference and wrote me an email that stated how rude my note was… and I have to agree, “yet another reference to my blog that I don’t understand” is hardly a polite comment to come across!
Two quotes that have served me well in my life are:
My thoughts were good, my words were poor, and I needed to apologize. What I communicated was not my intention, and the response clearly told me of MY error. I have since apologized, but still feel regret for my poor choice of words. It was a very real reminder that there is an underlying responsibility for what we put online.
The hidden lesson in this takes me back to my post above and what Clay and the e-mail I received can tell us: When we feel wronged it is vital to ‘stand up’ and say so! I believe that the art and skill of communication is deciding how to do this. Having said that, I think that both Clay and Dan could have handled their issue better, but who am I to ‘cast a stone‘?
Clay felt wronged and spoke up. My blog referencer felt wronged and spoke up. Sometimes it isn’t enough to ‘turn a cheek’ or a ‘blind eye’. Sometimes we need to let others know that we feel wronged. On the other side of the fence, sometimes we need to apologize and mean it… and sometimes we need to do more than that to make things right!
*[Update: Please see the first comment on this new post by Gabriela Sellart. I did not initially name her as the author of the Spanish-Written Post that I del.icio.us-ed because I wrote this after midnight and had not asked her if she wanted this to be public. Her comment is both honest, and insightful and pays tribute to the point of this reflection. Thanks (again) Gabriela!]
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A final note: Kelly’s comment on my original post brings up the point that we need to teach these life-lessons to students:
Dave,
I agree that what is happening to Kathy is completely different than what has happened to me. My suspicion is that I have a student who likes to vent and this is their forum for doing so. It is a chance to talk about being anonymous and using pseudonyms when on the net. We truly need to discuss this in our classrooms, our schools, our communities and our nation. It is important that, with the dawning of a new era in communication and “community” building, we do not permit people like those who are bullying Kathy. For someone to do such a thing is truly a criminal offense. I agree with the stop cyberbullying campaign and will pass this on to all the teachers in my school. As educators, we need to take this to our students and go beyond. There is a lesson here that is greater than any curriculum we teach – it is about life, freedom and respect. Thanks for the message Dave!
Until now I have been adding my reflection at the end of these re-posts. However, I thought with this post it should come first. Why? Because it is important that I share the date of the original post before quoting other bloggers who were expressing views/moods they may not currently hold.
Of all my posts, this one really seems forward thinking and, well, prophetic. We truly are ‘heading map-less into new, and uncharted territory’. And we really can ‘be the change we want to see in the world’. This can be an exciting time to be an educator… we must remember that even when things are challenging!
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It has been eerie. Unsettling.
I’ve been restless. Dissatisfied.
… and I don’t think that I am alone.
“Shock and awe” may not be the best formula for conversations and learning. Maybe I need to craft and share a more basic, simple message, and avoid overwhelming people with too many scary statistics and ideas.”
“There’s nothing new here, really. I know. What’s new for me at least is that if feels like my lens for all of this is changing. And that’s why I’m stuck as to what to write about here. My learning and classroom learning look very different. I will never enter another physical classroom as a “student” again, and that’s by choice. That physical space just doesn’t cut it. And schools are all about physical space. And control. And content.”
“Really, we, as educators, live in a world of dichotomy – where one part of our world is moving so quickly it takes our breath away while the other side hardly seems to move at all. There we are, stuck in the middle trying to somehow bring these two together. Some people are doing a fantastic job while others are so overwhelmed that they stick with what they know, which, we are finding, doesn’t fit with our present students which is causing some serious problems.”
“Let’s Rethink It Order and discipline in a time of tremendous social change in the 19th Century. Well, It is the 21st Century and once again it is time for social reformers to rethink the reasons and ways we are educating our young.”
Tangled in the web I find Stephanie Sandifer, who thinks ActionPlans are Overdue. She points me back to Sheryl and Will (whom I had already read), as well as Miguel Guhlin, who in turn writes about Sheryl’s post.
Miguel’s post (overall) is more upbeat… yet this paragraph sticks with me,
“At the risk of sounding cynical, here’s a quick response on Saturday morning: Schools fail miserably about instilling democracy in our children…voting, democracy education are distractions from the REAL curriculum schools teach from and about. Democratic values are also antithetical to our schools since they are restrictive, controlled environments…they are top-down controlled, in the “strict father frame” that George Lakoff describes that tolerates no back-talk, no discussion, no questioning. Socrates would not only be drinking Hemlock, he’d be…well, you can only execute someone once.”
Miguel’s optimism comes later when he says, “…let their voices, that of the learners, ring throughout our schools, voices that speak of relevance, authenticity, and human connections…in ways that cannot be denied.”
This sounds like my friend Dave Sands who says ‘it is students who will change education’. But it isn’t coming fast enough, there are too many ‘walls’ denying our students, too many flame snuffers.
This isn’t new. I’ve been here before.
From my first post:
“In a hundred years or so, everyone now alive in the whole earth will be dead – is this not so?”… “It would therefore be possible for the human race to run its affairs quite differently, in a wise and benevolent fashion, in a relatively short time.”
…”And so?”
“The purpose of education,” said Wizard Prang, “is to make sure this doesn’t happen.” …”The purpose of a system is what it does.”
To my first collection of other posts, where I found so many people writing and talking about how schools don’t fit kids: Square Peg, Round Hole… Time and again I am finding myself in these lulls of impatience, frustration and dissatisfaction.
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But it is all making sense to me now.
Well, that might be overstating things… but I have found some clarity.
What spurred this comparison on? My thinking can jump around quite a bit, it went something like this: We are reaching a group consciousness around ‘where we are’ compared to ‘where we should be’ with the use of technology and schools… ‘reaching a group consciousness’ reminds me of the 100th Monkey Effect… actually, this is like a web version of the Age of Aquarius… which reminds me… what were the ’9 Ideas’ or ‘Agreements’ I read about in The Celestine Prophecy about 10-12 years ago?… No wait, they weren’t Ideas or Agreements, they were… (Google search the book)… ‘Insights’! …(reading) …Wow, I can really see some parallels here!
So, here is my comparison. I will box in the text about the Celestine Prophecy Insights from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celestine_Prophecy, Monday Dec. 12, 2007 – I’m just realizing that a date is essential when quoting a changeable text). I will then put my slant on how ‘”WE” are progressing through the insights in relation to the ‘WEb’
The Web2.0 Prophecy
THE FIRST INSIGHT . . . A CRITICAL MASS A new spiritual awakening is occurring in human culture, an awakening brought about by a critical mass of individuals who experience their lives as a spiritual unfolding, a journey in which we are led forward by mysterious coincidences.
THE SECOND INSIGHT . . . THE LONGER NOW This awakening represents the creation of a new, more complete world view, which replaces a five-hundred-year-old preoccupation with secular survival and comfort. While this technological preoccupation was an important step, our awakening to life’s coincidences is opening us up to the real purpose of human life on this planet, and the real nature of our universe.
and Karl Fisch added his multimedia presentations.
(2020 Vision – A thought provoking look at the future – 15:45)
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THE THIRD INSIGHT . . . A MATTER OF ENERGY We now experience that we live not in a material universe, but in a universe of dynamic energy. Everything extant is a field of sacred energy that we can sense and intuit. Moreover, we humans can project our energy by focusing our attention in the desired direction…where attention goes, energy flows…influencing other energy systems and increasing the pace of coincidences in our lives.
Professor Michael Wesch shows US that WE are the power of the web.
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THE FOURTH INSIGHT . . . THE STRUGGLE FOR POWER Too often humans cut themselves off from the greater source of this energy and so feel weak and insecure. To gain energy we tend to manipulate or force others to give us attention and thus energy. When we successfully dominate others in this way, we feel more powerful, but they are left weakened and often fight back. Competition for scarce, human energy is the cause of all conflict between people.
THE FIFTH INSIGHT . . . THE MESSAGE OF THE MYSTICS Insecurity and violence ends when we experience an inner connection with divine energy within, a connection described by mystics of all traditions. A sense of lightness–buoyancy–along with the constant sensation of love are measures of this connection. If these measures are present, the connection is real. If not, it is only pretended.
THE SIXTH INSIGHT . . . CLEARING THE PAST The more we stay connected, the more we are acutely aware of those times when we lose connection, usually when we are under stress. In these times, we can see our own particular way of stealing energy from others. Once our manipulations are brought to personal awareness, our connection becomes more constant and we can discover our own growth path in life, and our spiritual mission–the personal way we can contribute to the world.
We are Connected
Personal (public) blogs (with others commenting) rather than personal (private) diaries.
MySpace, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Explode.us, Flickr, YouTube, and personal
THE SEVENTH INSIGHT . . . ENGAGING THE FLOW Knowing our personal mission further enhances the flow of mysterious coincidences as we are guided toward our destinies. First we have a question; then dreams, daydreams, and intuitions lead us towards the answers, which usually are synchronistically provided by the wisdom of another human being.
All the quotes at the start of this post belong here… they are symptomatic of how (not why) we are not collectively moving forward. This isn’t about blame or excuses, rather it is about recognizing that things are not necessarily FLOWing as well as they could.
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THE EIGHTH INSIGHT . . . THE INTERPERSONAL ETHIC We can increase the frequency of guiding coincidences by uplifting every person that comes into our lives. Care must be taken not to lose our inner connection in romantic relationships. Uplifting others is especially effective in groups where each member can feel energy of all the others. With children it is extremely important for their early security and growth. By seeing the beauty in every face, we lift others into their wisest self, and increase the chances of hearing a synchronistic message.
THIS IS WHERE WE NEED TO BE NOW!
We need our ‘guiding coincidences’ to be ones that are nurturing and powerful.
We need to collaborate, empower one another, and see potential rather than roadblocks. This is important for our children/our students, but it is equally important for us. Our ‘synchronistic message’ can’t be “impatience, frustration and dissatisfaction” as I mentioned earlier.
Our message must be uplifting. But an uplifting message isn’t enough!
We need financial support, visionary leaders, moral compasses, inspiring role models, enriching professional development, and meaningful collaboration. We also need minimally restricted content and unlimited access… these are all building blocks that ‘increase the frequency of guiding coincidences’… these are the things that inspire us, fuel us, connect us, and allow us to see the potential in ourselves and each other. We truly can ‘Be the change we want to see in the world.’
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THE NINTH INSIGHT . . . THE EMERGING CULTURE As we all evolve toward the best completion of our spiritual missions, the technological means of survival will be fully automated as humans focus instead on synchronistic growth. Such growth will move humans into higher energy states, ultimately transforming our bodies into spiritual form and uniting this dimension of existence with the after-life dimension, ending the cycle of birth and death.
Web3.0 or Web3D
Gary Hayes has some ideas about where are we going next.
This is both a scary and an exciting time… but mostly it’s exciting
Reading what I have said regarding the Seventh and Eighth Insights, I am keenly aware that some of us are not ‘stuck’, and that some of us are experiencing those ‘guiding coincidences’ where everything is coming together. However, I think currently this is the exception rather than the norm
My question to you is this: When we are stuck, when things aren’t coming together, when our universe is not unfolding as it should, how do we make things FLOW?
I ask this since we are heading map-less into new, and uncharted territory.
A Typical Day…
Last Thursday started out as a typical day. I was supervising my Athletics Leadership group as they ran their first lunch-time 3-on-3 basketball games… the event went well with participants and spectators from all grades. Right at the warning bell for the end of lunch, another teacher came to me and, with a serious look, said, “Didn’t you hear the announcement there is an important meeting for all teachers in the staff room. So as the leadership kids cleaned up, I headed over to the staff room. On the way I saw a couple teachers going to their room, rather than to the staff room. Then as we headed towards the staff room I saw my wife, Ann, and youngest child in the office.
2 Things to Know
My wife is also a teacher at our school, but she has Thursdays off… and the last time something like this happened, I found out my grandfather had died. So at this point my heart is pounding and I rush into the office to hear the bad news.
It’s All Good!
I’ve been told, “You should have seen the look on your face.” The fact is Ann did see it and said to me right away, “It’s all good,” as she gently tapped me on my forearm to calm me down. I wasn’t convinced. Next she asked me where my bag and jacket were, and told me we were leaving the school… this did nothing to calm my nerves. We headed back to the office after I picked up everything and I could now see that the office staff were excited about something that I didn’t know, so I finally realized that all was good.
Clueless
But what about my class? “…Taken care of.” But I have an appointment after school! “…Not anymore.” A quick stop home and an e-mail to my basketball co-coach about the practice I was already scheduled to miss (for the appointment I no longer had), then my wife instructed me to drive to my cousin’s house. We had one of our kids in the back with us, and the other was at school. I knew we would have to go back to get her from daycare before 5pm and since my cousin’s house is a good 40 min. away, I knew this would be a short surprise… I was wrong. Did my sister come for a visit?- I was wrong. Someone else is visiting (my cousin lives close to the airport so I kept guessing who came to visit us)- I was wrong. Ann asked me to bring a coat and then mentioned it was a nice day so I guessed, “We are doing something outside”-wrong again. A lot of the trip was quiet with my wife not wanting to give anything away. We arrived at my cousin’s place and went in. “So what are we doing?” My cousin shrugs, then I notice something by the door… his suite case. “Where are we going?”
Viva Las Vegas On the short drive to the airport I finally find out that I am on my way to Las Vegas. My class has been planned for Friday, my leave of absence has been taken care of, Monday has been planned (my kids had minor surgery- it went well)… everyone on staff but me knew that I was going. “Here is some US money, here is your travel insurance, have a wonderful trip!” Happy 40th Birthday… nine months early! Before I knew it I was sitting in a limo, compliments of my cousin, on my way to the Mirage Hotel on the strip. While checking in we see my sister and her husband, with my two nieces and nephew , (they live in California). By the end of the night I am reunited with two other cousins and my other brother-in-law, all coming from Toronto.
3 nights and 7 days Who needs sleep! I was there until Sunday night, but it felt like a full week. Wonderful company, great meals, a show with my nieces (Le Reve), and more Texas Hold’em poker than I have played in the last 2-3 years. One of my cousins helped my game a lot, and in the process of playing with him, I really got to know him. When I left Toronto for Vancouver he was just a kid and so this is the longest we spent together as adults. As an interesting aside, he told me that I had a very profound influence on a major life decision, when we had a chat on one of my visits home to Toronto. I also had an enlightening conversation with my nephew who taught me a bit about the social cliques in his high school, and he suggested that I don’t use the term ‘hook-up’ to mean ‘meet with’ friends since that is the old-school meaning. There was enough time to do everything I wanted except sleep. I think I spent less than 12 hours in my hotel room.
Icing on the Cake
I came home with more money than I left with. All-in-all only about $70 more, but with all the meals, and gifts for Ann and my girls, this was a wonderful bonus. I’m sure the trip cost enough without me going there and spending a large sum of money so it was icing on the cake not to do so. After my abrupt departure at school my TOC (replacement teacher) casually mentioned to my students that I had been kidnapped. On returning yesterday it was great to see that my students were very excited for me. Their first two questions were invariably, “How was your trip”, and “Did you win?” It was a little weird, I actually felt a little uncomfortable telling them that I won. I found myself taking advantage of this moment to talk about gambling as a form of entertainment, “When you go to the movies, you know you are going to spend a certain amount of money for your entertainment… tickets, popcorn, a drink, maybe some video games afterwards. The same should be true for going to a casino, you have a budget for what the entertainment is going to cost you, because more often than not you will lose. The secret is to stop when you reach your entertainment budget for that trip… and the absolute worst thing you can do is spend more money trying to win back what you lost.” Then as I looked out at my grade 8′s, who are years away from getting into a casino, I wondered if such a lecture (short as it was) was necessary when these kids are years away from gambling age? I repeated this with my second class, oh well, I just can’t help myself sometimes.
Thank You!
To my wife, you are truly wonderful. I certainly didn’t make this easy for her, first I had an appointment booked on the Friday to get my braces off, then I told her I wanted to go to a Student Leadership Conference in Seattle on the same Friday. Little did I know of the headaches I was creating for her as I went about planning activities for the same day as my surprise get-away. Thanks again for your efforts Ann, I will cherish the fond memories of this trip for a while. I can’t wait until our next holiday!
Thank Teachers! This trip was above and beyond anything I needed, but it was such a wonderful break. I am refreshed, (after sleeping 11 hours on Monday night), and ready to teach! To all the administrators reading this… teachers could use a break… it’s the end of February, this is the longest stretch before a break for teachers… go to Starbucks or Tim Hortons and buy some coffee, hot chocolate and treats… go to each room pushing your treats on a trolley and serve your teachers in their rooms… tell them you appreciate them, tell their students how lucky they are… spend less than 5 min. in each class and totally make their day! Or write a card and add a $5 coffee card, or bring treats to your next staff meeting… recharge your teachers’ batteries and make them smile. They don’t need to be kidnapped to know that they are appreciated.
I’m becoming a huge advocate of year-round schooling and longer breaks. We had Easter weekend added to our March Break this year so we came back to school on a Wednesday… it would have done a world of good for both teachers and students to be given that second week completely off. I’d much rather a few longer breaks than one long summer.
This holiday was both exhausting and rejuvenating. It was a wonderful surprise.
Recently I’ve added a few voices to my (seldom-read-while-I-do-all-this-reflecting-and-reposting) Feed Reader… but they are far from new! They are mostly people I’ve ‘met’ through Twitter. Connected people bring me what I need to read.
Kelly Christopherson has put out an invitation to join a book club. For those of you who have not visited Kelly yet, his blog Educational Discourse is a blog from the trenches. He is a Principal who also teaches and coaches. Kelly’s blog posts are not only thoughtful and insightful, they are written with a personal touch… they have heart.
About the Book Club: We thought we would start with:
Kelly has suggested a wiki or a forum, or skype as examples of places we can meet and ‘chat’… who knows we could even meet in Second Life. These are only suggestions, we invite other ideas. The simple goal of this Book Club is to create a space where participants can get together and have a meaningful, enjoyable learning conversation.
As an example of how a Book Club can enrich the reading experience, A Whole New Mind introduces Six Senses, each with a working Portfolio. These portfolios all have website links to follow… wouldn’t it be great if 6 (or more) people each collected the links from just one chapter, explored them, and provided them on a wiki with comments as to what they thought about the sites they visited? I’d be far more likely to interact with others contributing this way, than to go to all these links on my own.
Let one of us know if you are interested.
Originally posted: February 19th, 2007
Reflection upon re-reading and re-posting:
We decided on a wiki, Kelly got it set up and I played with setting up the chapters for discussion. A few things happened, or rather didn’t happen, to make this far less successful that it could have been. I think the biggest flaw was that we never set any specific deadlines. Specifically we didn’t plan a live (online) discussion, or even an ‘end’ date to have things completed by. Essentially we didn’t build in the scaffolding and expectations that, as teachers, we all know is necessary to get a good project from students. Yes we are all adults, but we all have busy lives and I know that my commitment to the ‘project’ would have been far greater if I had specific deadlines to meet.
The more time I spend with web2.0 tools, and the more mainstream they become, it becomes blatantly obvious that good pedagogy and the creation of meaningful assignments that build on caring relationships is what really matters. The tool doesn’t matter… using it well does!
Two Wolves Which wolf will you feed? A Remembrance Day Post
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Warning! We filter websites at school. Filters filter learning!
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My blog is my PhD I have given myself a Blogtorate of Philosophy.
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Bubble Wrap What we are doing is creating a facade of security, nothing more than an illusion of bubble wrap.
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Who are the People in Your Neighbourhood? My (digital) neighbourhood spans the globe.
Until last year, this odd negative/neon image was the only public image you could find of me on the web. In fact currently, many of my online sites still have this image. I like the photo, people who know me recognize me in it, and it was taken on a hot air balloon trip with my wife, so it has fond memories attached. But I decided that since I have been very public with my thoughts and ideas, (as seen on this blog), I would share a bit more of who I am, while on the web. Slowly but surely I have been putting photos on the web with a greater likeness to me. Now I wonder if I should go back to this image? I wonder if I should make my family photos private again? Also, I am keenly aware that at some point in the future I may need to moderate comments on this blog, and I find that sad.
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Let one of us know if you are interested.
Background
Claudia Ceraso on Sunday, 22 April 2007, 22:50 CEST