Accountability: Do we mean the same thing?

So, the word accountability is thrown around a lot in education, but the more I hear the word, the more I think we are really saying different things...

For example, teacher A wants to teach students accountability by holding firm to strict deadlines. Teacher A also does not allow redos and retakes because he/she thinks this is preparing kids for the harshness and reality of the real-world since redos and retakes aren't allowed. Teacher A believes firmly in designing assessments and activities that are hard (not necessarily rigorous) and thinks there should be some students who get high grades and other students who get low grades. Teacher A makes accountability a teacher vs. student enterprise and expects that students will naturally want to learn anything and everything just because he/she said so.

This is what teacher A believes is accountability...

Teacher B, on the other hand, wants to teach students accountability by holding them accountable to their own learning. Teacher B allows redos and retakes because he/she thinks learning is a process and sometimes there are ups and downs in this process. Teacher B acknowledges that redos and retakes are allowed in the real-world, and that for students, their everyday life is their 'real-world.' Teacher B also believes in designing and engineering highly challenging and rigorous learning experiences with appropriate levels of support. Teacher B holds his/her kids accountable by not allowing them to do anything but their best work and by not accepting anything less than their best. Teacher B put kids in charge of their progress and empowers them to own their learning.

This is what teacher B believes is accountability...


So, which teacher are you?

Whose responsibility is your happiness?

So, we all live in a world with good days and bad days. Sometimes we even have bad weeks, bad months, and I've even heard of people having a bad year.

Obviously when someone is having a bad day, their level of happiness tends to be on the low side.

These days of low happiness are natural and perhaps even therapeutic from time-to-time.

http://goo.gl/e1Fcn0

It's when there are periods of prolonged unhappiness that it becomes troublesome and frankly worrisome for all those who interact with this individual.

So, when you yourself are having a prolonged period of unhappiness, who do you turn to?

Do you turn to others and blame them for your unhappiness?

Do you take your unhappiness out on your friendly four-legged friend and blame those cute and sweet innocent eyes?

Do you blame your unhappiness on 'the man' and curse him for holding you down?

Do you point your finger in every direction but your own...

Or...

Do you take responsibility for your own happiness and make your outlook toward life something you are in control of?

Do you taken ownership of how you feel and how you let other things affect you?

Do you refuse to let anyone or anything be the determining factor of your level of happiness?

Remember, it's your happiness, so why should anyone else be in charge of it...?

Who decides when it's no longer 'optional?'

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately in regard to how professional development is conducted in schools.

Obviously I'm a huge advocate for ownership and self-directed learning because the traditional form of 'sit and get' and PD is done 'to' people rather than 'with' people has been over for quite some time now.

We know learning can and should occur beyond the walls of our own schools and the folks with whom we work on a daily basis.

We know there are experts and very knowledgeable people from all corners of the globe who are easily accessible at a few clicks of the mouse.

We know technology is and has been fundamentally changing the role of the educator and has strengthened the idea that learning is no longer limited to the four walls of a classroom.

http://goo.gl/TTVzzg

We know there is no excuse for someone not being able to 'sharpen their own saw' if they are interested in learning more about a particular concept... the monopoly on learning has been over for a while.

So, when is the choice of using technology no longer an option?

When is the choice of reaching out to educators from around the globe to collaborate no longer an option?

When is truly differentiating classroom instruction and meetings kids where they are no longer an option?

When is taking ownership of your own professional learning and growth not a duty and responsibility of the district, but an expectation of the individual?

Sure, we can be slow and methodical in our approach and create opportunities for these shifts to happen so people don't feel overwhelmed.

But then again, who gets to be the person who talks to the students in these schools and in these classes and says sorry but we want to take our time and not rush things...?

Final thought... we also know with certainty that mandates and directives are ineffective and create a 'compliance' type environment rather than a professional environment.

So, who decides when it's no longer 'optional?'

 

The door swings both ways...

We ask a lot of students... perhaps more now than ever.

Our students are in a world that is changing so quickly that as soon as a new trend is established many are already moving on to the next emerging trend.

Likewise, what we know about education, what we know about the brain, and what we know about how learning and instruction are maximized, are increasingly and frequently changing at a rapid pace.

On the positive side, both for students and for educators, there is more information and more of 'the world' available to us than ever before.

The tools and technology we are using now will be the 'worst' tools both we and our students will ever use (assuming that technology advances and improvements continue).

So here's the deal, we all expect our students to have some self-driven intrinsic motivation toward learning.

We expect our students to thrive and embrace autonomy and self-directed freedom when it comes to their learning.

We expect our students to take ownership and responsibility of their learning and their overall academic well-being.

We expect more from our students than we ever have before...

So, why don't we have the same expectations for ourselves?

Why don't we have the same expectations for our colleagues?

Why do we allow, accept, and by being passive, encourage the type of behavior that we won't accept for our students?

We are asking a lot of our kids.

Educators are responsible for their own professional development. You can't & shouldn't rely on someone else for YOUR growth. #edchat
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) December 18, 2013

I think it just may be time we ask a lot of our colleagues and ask even more of ourselves.