10 things students want all teachers to know

1). Students want you to actually spend the time to get to know them...

Get to know your students by name as soon as possible. Learn something unique about them and find out what makes them tick. Students know when teachers don't know anything about them, so make getting to know your students a top priority.

2). Students want to have a voice in the learning process and want to share 'their' way of doing things...

Students want learning to be done 'with' them... not 'to' them. Schools are idea factories with a seemingly limitless amount of new and fresh ideas, so it's time we start tapping into that potential. Also, students bring unique perspectives and ways of thinking about life, so let them move up from passenger and let them drive the bus from time to time.

3). Students want to be treated with respect and dignity...

Students don't magically become motivated when they are embarrassed. They also don't appreciate it when you call them out to make a point and use them as an example. If you wouldn't like somebody doing it to you, then don't do it to your students.

4). Students want to be 'appropriately' challenged with meaningful and relevant learning experiences...

Students learn pretty quickly the differences between meaningful and productive work and mindless busy work. Students want you to push and challenge them with learning that provides them the skills to succeed. Additionally, students want and need the necessary supports as they struggle and navigate these more challenging learning experiences.

5). Students want educators to know that they too have bad and off days...

We all have bad days, and students are no different. Also, some students have quite a lot occurring in their lives outside of the education world. With that, education is at times understandably just not a top priority for them. Empathy and understanding go a long way in the classroom.

6). Students want their interests and passions to be infused into the learning that occurs in the classroom...

All students have interests and passions that go beyond the traditional school setting. It's these interests that students want you to integrate and combine with the learning that occurs in your classroom. When students are able to explore and further develop their interests while simultaneously meeting classroom learning objectives, great things are possible.

7). Students want educators to be truthful and honest...

When students feel you are being truthful and being honest, they can start to trust you. When students trust and respect you there are few things they won't do for you. This two-way street takes time to develop, but will yield significant dividends in the long-run.

8). Students want to be partners with you when it comes to the learning process...

Students don't want a 'teachers' vs. 'students' mentality in school. Students are looking to you for partnership and camaraderie in regard to learning and growth. It's this shift in traditional mindsets that really strengthens trust and collaboration between teachers and students.

9). Students want to know the work they are doing and the time they are committing to school will actually make a difference in the world...

Students spend a significant amount of time in school as they grow up, so it's only fair and appropriate that the time they spend and the work they do actually goes toward making the world a better place. The disconnect between doing something that makes a difference in the world and simply just doing something, makes all the difference.

10). At the end of the day, all students want to know their existence matters and that they are important...

Don't we all...?

Kids don't need to be ready for school... schools need to be ready for kids

Dan French shared this wonderful tweet that really got me thinking:

School readiness should be about schools being ready for students not students being ready for school. #vted

— Dan French (@danfrench) July 21, 2015

This really got me thinking because we spend so much time telling kids they need to do this or they need to do that so they can be successful in school. We project this mentality that if kids aren't prepared to experience this and aren't able to handle that, they're doomed to fail.

We inadvertently transfer the pressure and accountability onto our kids and all the while, we tend to forget that they are just that... kids living in a rapidly changing world.

We also, somewhat arrogantly, assume we know exactly what is best for kids and know exactly what they need to do to be successful in life.

But, what if it were reversed and schools spent their time ensuring schools were ready for what kids were bringing to the table...?

What if kids started talking to schools about what schools needed to do to be prepared for them...?

What if schools were feeling the pressure from students rather than the other way around?

We know life and the world around us are changing more quickly than ever before. And, it's these kids who come to our schools wanting, needing and DESERVING a system that's ready for them and is able to meet their needs.

And as a new parent and educator, I have no idea what my son Emory will need in 5 years when he starts his formal schooling... but I hope at least someone will ask him and consider what it means to be ready for him.

So, the next time you get together with your colleagues, focus on ensuring your school and/or classroom are ready for kids and not the other way around.

Maybe the conversation will be the same... maybe it will be completely different. :)

Is this really what we want in our schools?

I walk down the halls of an elementary school and catch sight of a group of students walking single file.

The teacher walks at the front of the line as each student follows the one in front of them like a line of baby ducklings following their mother.

All the students are looking straight ahead with their hands crossed neatly behind their backs.

Perhaps most noticeably, all the students have their cheeks puffed out full of air making what teachers and students know as 'bubbles.'

Read more here about these 'bubbles:' http://goo.gl/VWzgZi

Another teacher walks by and praises the students for creating such a wonderful line while having some of the biggest and best bubbles she has ever seen.

The students aren't making any noise and are marching almost militantly down the hall toward their next destination.

Full disclosure... I've never been an elementary teacher nor have I ever worked in an elementary school. So, it's quite possible that I'm missing the boat here and don't fully understand the justification of this practice.

I do, however, understand the importance of walking the halls without disrupting others and I understand keeping one's hands to themselves. I also understand that some of our early elementary students have never had any type of structure in their lives, so their ability to act around others can be challenging.

Having said all that, I just wonder if there is another way we can accomplish what we are trying to accomplish without this rigidity... I wonder if this is how I'm going to want my son, Emory, to be treated...

Check out some of the responses I got on Twitter when I tweeted this question: image: https://twitter.com/justintarte/status/637989365105467392

10 truths about educating kids that are ignored

How many of these truths are you ignoring?

Do you agree that these are in fact truths?

If I told you they came from Alfie Kohn, would that matter?

What are you doing to ensure these truths become a reality in your classroom and/or school?

Can we please stop saying 'in the real world?'

We are preparing kids for the 'real world.'

This phrase is heard in schools all across the globe in an effort to justify our actions to both students and parents.

To justify as if what we are doing is absolutely critical and vital to the long term success of students in the future.

To the untrained ear, you would almost assume that if we educators didn't do certain things, then kids would surely not make it to the end of the week. Most definitely not to the end of the month...

This 'supposed' level of responsibility and accountability we are working to teach our students comes at a price.

It comes at the price of our students' current lives. It comes at the price of this exact moment in time.

It comes at the price of making our students feel as if what they are doing right now really doesn't matter because it can only pale in comparison to what they will do 'in the real world.'

Maybe it's time to stop saying 'in the real world' and instead start focusing on helping our kids make good decisions to better their lives right NOW.

Let's start sending the message to our students that the work they are doing now and the lives they are living now do in fact matter. In fact, they might be all that really truly matter...

In closing, I think it's rather pompous and arrogant to assume that the lives kids are living right now don't matter when compared to the lives they will live upon completing their artificial learning program, which most have come to know as, school...

Our students need 'different,' not more...

We've all been there and we've all done it.

As the teacher, we teach something but the students don't understand it.

In our minds the material and skills are quite simple and straight forward, but for some reason the students just aren't grasping the information.

Our natural instincts take over and we do what makes sense to us...

Maybe if I talk louder and more slowly and repeat myself 4 times the students will understand it.

Maybe if I give more homework problems for practice the students will eventually work themselves into understanding the material.

Maybe if I explain it a few more times the information will begin to sink in.

And then... with all these maybes, we still don't see results.

So, then we do once again what makes sense to us...

Let's repeat all those maybes because something's bound to stick if we do it all again.

It's like a bad recurring dream and we've ALL been there and we've ALL done it.

As educators we tend to believe that kids need 'more' of whatever we are doing if it's ever going to make sense to them.

So we give them more... and more... and more... more right up until the kids are disgusted and we the educators have forgotten why we are even doing what we are doing.

The more we give the further our students get from actually understanding or mastering the skills.

Let's ditch the 'more' and start focusing on ways we can get the same information or skills across 'differently.'

Our kids don't need more of something they don't understand... they need what they don't understand presented differently.

Oh, and while we are at it, let's commit ourselves to allowing our students to have a voice in determining what different might look like.

You never know, their version of different just might make all the difference...

Has 'finals week' become antiquated & redundant?

I recently posed a couple thoughts to the Twitterverse in regard to finals:

Do we really need finals to tell us what our kids know vs. don't know? Thinking that 'finals week' has become... redundant...??? #edchat
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) December 16, 2014

Seriously... if we eliminated finals in the current structure, all that would happen is kids wouldn't be prepared for college finals, right?
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) December 16, 2014

Here's a scenario that plays out in many secondary schools all across the globe...

The teacher explains what will be on the final. This 'final' encompasses everything that has been covered throughout the prior semester. The teacher also explains how much the final will be worth and the impact the final will have on the students' semester grades. The teacher then hands out some kind of study guide for the students to use to review and prepare for the final. All learning stops as class time becomes solely focused on preparing for the final.

The students use the study guide to guide their studying in preparation for the final but the study guide is so broad and far-reaching the students are unable to specifically identify what they should really know. The students then play out scenarios in their head about how the grade on the final will impact their final semester grades. The students then begin a sporadic process of cramming as much possible information in their heads in preparation for the final only to be forgotten soon after.

So, here are some of my thoughts...

Finals are summative assessments with no opportunity for revision; no opportunity for feedback/input; no opportunity for correction... so what's the point other than filling the gradebook?

We spend all semester and all school year working with students... do we really need a final to tell us what our students know or don't know? If so, that's a problem...

If we are doing finals just because the next level of schooling does finals, that's a pretty poor excuse to rob our students of so much time and energy at the end of each semester.

Almost all school districts have a final exemption policy... if kids can exempt, then the argument that finals prepare kids for some next level of schooling falls short. Shouldn't every kid be required to get this 'experience...?'

The typical final uses low-level questions and focuses on quantity over quality in an effort to cover as much as possible. Finals are the shotgun approach to assessing with very little ability to identify specifically what kids know vs. don't know.

Many finals are able to be scored via scantron and are built around memorization of facts, terms and dates, just to be forgotten as the kids walk out the door.


So, is it time to revisit our practice of doing finals?

10 signs you have a grading problem in your class

1). You create and design assignments and assessments based purely on the number of grades you currently have in your gradebook.

2). When talking about the next assignment or learning event, the first question the students ask is, 'is this for points?'

3). When talking about the next assignment or learning event, the second question the students ask is, 'how many?'

4). When many of your students who have the strongest grasp on the material and/or skills have some of the lowest grades due to 'not doing their work.'

5). When talking with parents at parent teacher conferences (which honestly need a complete overhaul by the way) you find yourself telling multiple parents that their child would be doing much better grade-wise if they would just do the homework.

6). When at the end of the quarter or semester, students and parents start asking you for additional work and/or extra credit opportunities to pull up a grade in the 11th hour.

7). When you have to attach a grade to anything and everything because if you don't, students won't do it.

8). When you do group work, you give every single group member the same exact grade based on the work output of the entire group.

9). When you want and expect there to be a balanced number of students at each grade achievement level.

10). When you believe that grades should be used as compensation for work done and when you believe that a grade will motivate students to do their best work.

It really just might be that simple...

Every morning when you head off to school, make a commitment to...

And remember...

And always keep in mind that...

My 10 dreams for my son's education

Something pretty special happened recently for my wife and I. We are now officially the parents of @emorytarte.

So, now I can call myself an educator AND a parent, and the statement, 'you're not a parent, so you don't understand,' no longer applies.

Having said that, I've worked in education for almost 10 years and I've seen the system from the classroom to building administration to district administration, which gives me a rather unique perspective on how education is done.

Now, in a little more than 5 years, my son will be entering the education system, so here are 10 dreams I have that will hopefully be realized by the time he is ready to begin his formal education.

1). I dream of an education system that will never sacrifice play for more instructional time. Play is said to be the best form of research, and I want my son to do plenty of research.

2). I dream of an education system that really stands behind their statements of differentiation and personalized learning. My son is unique just like every other child out there, so I want him treated as such. Too often we treat these strategies as 'events' rather than the way we conduct business.

3). I dream of an education system that boldly recruits and goes after the most innovative and creative thinking folks in society. I want my son to learn with educators who think big and dream of what could be. I want my son's teachers to build their lessons around the question, 'what if?'

4). I dream of an education system that physically looks completely different from the current education system. The architectural layout of most schools just isn't conducive to the types of learning experiences kids need, so it's time schools revisit and retool as needed to account for new approaches.

5). I dream of an education system that commits to creating and designing authentic learning experiences that go far beyond the walls of the actual school and community. The world is getting smaller and global connectedness is the future. My son deserves the opportunity to see beyond his own community.

6). I dream of an education system that solves problems that will make our world a better place. There's no shortage of serious problems facing society, so why not tap into all the knowledge and brain power we have entering our schools every single day. I want my son working on these problems that will ultimately affect him as he gets older.

7). I dream of an education system that views my son's learning as holistic in nature and not compartmentalized into tiny different learning units. Education is a fluid process and isn't and can't be contained and most certainly shouldn't be siloed.

8). I dream of an education system that doesn't get in the way of itself. Far too often we know what we need to do and we know what is right, but yet we fail to do anything because the system we've built prevents us. My son can't wait for the red tape to be cleared.

9). I dream of an education system that focuses more on creation than consumption. Sure, my son will need some basic knowledge, but in the end he will need and will be expected to create something with that basic knowledge. I don't want my son limited to just eating... I want him to be able to cook too.

10). I dream of an education system that is flexible and adaptable enough to meet the ever-changing needs of my son. What he needs to know now vs. what he will need to know later aren't the same, and I expect his education system to recognize that.

The crippling effects of homework in schools

- More times than not homework adds little value when it comes to student learning...

- There is pressure from society to continue giving homework because that is the way it has always been done...

- Students rarely find relevance or purpose with homework, thus homework isn't completed and completion rates are negatively affected...

- When a student receives a zero for not completing homework, he/she is NOT learning about responsibility and "the real world."

- Grading homework on completion typically inflates grades and ultimately distorts the overall accuracy of a grade...

- Homework can be a valuable tool in schools, but too often homework is misused and ultimately detracts from the learning environment and causes resentment toward schooling.

- Homework should be an extension of the learning environment that provides students the opportunity to explore and discover...

- More homework does NOT equal more learning...

- Students should not spend all night every night doing homework as this time should be for pursuing student interests and passions outside of school.

- The natural love and curiosity of learning are destroyed by too much irrelevant and unproductive homework...

- Homework also naturally reinforces the gap between the kids who have parents/guardians available to help and those who don't...

- A school without homework and grades would be a school where student learning and success increased...

- Not enough Educators are having this difficult conversation about the role of homework in schools...

What are your thoughts...? Let's keep this conversation going in an effort to move the homework discussion forward.

5 alternatives to traditional homework

Many of us in education, both educators and students, look forward to breaks. Whether it's Spring Break, summer vacation, Thanksgiving and/or Christmas/Winter Break, both educators and students always get excited about a little time off and the chance to recharge.

I don't know about you, but during these breaks I find it to be beneficial and actually quite healthy to let go of and remove myself from work. I think these breaks should be focused on spending time with family, exploring personal interests, and at times, just simply sitting back and kicking our feet up.

Likewise, I'd like to see our students have the same opportunities to use these breaks as actual 'breaks.' It honestly hurts me when I hear of students who are buried in homework and buried in tasks that we educators have assigned for them during these breaks.

So, if you feel that you absolutely must assign some kind of homework or assignment during these upcoming breaks, I urge you to consider these non-traditional alternatives:

Watch a TV channel (age appropriate) you've never watched before: Have you flipped through the available channels recently? There are so many interesting and new TV options nowadays and when it comes to education, shouldn't we be focused on expansion of ideas and exploration of concepts? Imagine a student coming back from break all excited about something he/she didn't even know existed before. Sure, there's lot of trash TV, but there's also quite a lot of wonderful and educational TV that can really broaden our students' minds.

When you are out and about (with an adult), say 'hello' and ask every person you encounter or interact with 'how they are doing': Talk about a neat social experiment! Imagine that when standing in line, or browsing in a store, or simply walking in the parking lot to and from the car... how much can we learn from interacting with others and simply observing and experiencing the ups and downs of basic human and social interactions. Also, think about how this social experiment could go both ways... by being nice to strangers we possibly brighten their day while also being reminded of our influence on the attitudes of others.

Read about something you know nothing about: It doesn't matter if it's a magazine in the doctor's office or an article from the newspaper or something online. Go find something you know nothing about and read about it and learn something new. Simple and easy.

Either alone (if you are able) or with someone else, try and cook something you either never cooked before, or something you've never eaten before: The world is full of wonderful dishes and cooking is becoming a lost art for many young adults in our fast-paced society. Take some time during this break to explore the world of food and get a little experience navigating the kitchen. BONUS... if you can find a family member or relative to assist, the learning experience easily doubles!

Go outside (dress warm and appropriately) and explore a part of your neighborhood or town you've never explored before: Far too often we simply go to and from work and school, and that's it. We end up missing and never seeing the many great places right around where we live. Encourage our students to take time to get outside and get some fresh air and explore what's right beneath their noses.

What other non-traditional homework alternatives would you suggest if assigning homework was a 'must?'

I've been doing this for the last 13 years...

I've been visiting classrooms this school year at a much higher rate than in years past. Additionally, I've really tried to speak with a student or two during each of my visits to see what's going on and to simply stay in touch with students and what's happening in regard to their learning.

On one of my most recent visits, I visited one of our HS math classrooms.

The teacher in this classroom is an experienced and well-respected teacher among the teaching ranks at the HS.

This teacher has also been around long enough to have experienced first-hand the many pendulum swings in education.

Most importantly, this teacher has been a pioneer and early-adapter of moving forward with technology integration as well as some pretty progressive and innovative teaching practices.

This teacher has been doing the flipped classroom model for about a year now.

This teacher has also been embracing BYOD and technology integration in a HS math course, which most would consider pretty difficult.

This teacher has created a blog which is used to drive the activities for the day and the week and archives resources and information on what the students are learning and how they can empower themselves to take ownership in the learning process.

This teacher has made significant shifts in grading and redo/retake structures and has committed to ensuring a grade represents what a kid actually knows... and not just how well a kid plays the game of school.

So, today, I was speaking with a group of students in this HS math class. Many of the students, if not all, were seniors as this was an upper level math course.

I asked a few questions about the structure of the course and inquired about some of the changes that have been occurring recently with this teacher and the overall structure of the class.

And then, like a punch to the gut and slap to the face, I heard it...

'I've been doing this (school) for the last 13 years, and now the teacher is changing everything on me my senior year. Can't we just do things the way we've been doing them before?'

Wow... who would have thought these words would have come out of a student's mouth.

So, the next time we think about how the adults might be affected and impacted by significant change, let's make sure we don't forget how it might affect those kids who've found success in the old ways of doing things...

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?

What happens when we ask the students?

In my district we've been seeking input and feedback from all of our stakeholders as we revisit and update our strategic plan.

The more we talked about who our true stakeholders were, the more we realized we needed to involve our students in the process. So, since we are a GAFE district, we emailed every student grades 4 - 12 (all of whom have a district Gmail account) asking for their input and feedback.

The question was simple: what are the 4 words or phrases you would use to describe the perfect school district?

The Wordle (which pulls out the most frequently used words) is below:

I wonder if that big word right in the middle of this Wordle has anything to do with the loss of enthusiasm toward school as kids get older and spend more time in the system...

I just wonder...

10 things all educators should commit to...

Will you commit to creating experiences kids will remember forever?

Will you commit to focusing on the now & not some unknown distant world?

Will you commit to helping kids own their learning?

Will you commit to using grades as a tool toward learning & not as punishment & motivation?

Will you commit to not standardizing how a kid demonstrates his/her mastery of learning?

Will you commit to valuing & appreciating the time kids spend outside of school?

Will you commit to focusing on solutions rather than problems & things you can't control?

Will you commit to a partnership with your students & not a dictatorship?

Will you commit to being there for your students & supporting them when they struggle?

Will you commit to taking risks & even failing and then trying again?

20 thoughts on student learning

I recently had the opportunity to see Rick Wormeli speak. Aside from being a dynamic and engaging speaker, many of his thoughts and ideas align with some pretty powerful trends occurring in education. Check out 20 of his powerful thoughts and ideas below:

Students aren't passive consumers of info; they're active creators, designers & explorers of learning & the world. @rickwormeli2 #smcaa
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

The mindset that 'I taught it' so you should have learned it is an old-school mindset that needs to be eliminated. @rickwormeli2 #smcaa14
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

Timed writings have nothing to do with a kid's ability to write. No author would accept or tolerate timed writing environments. #smcaa14
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

We are hired for how we are similar to a company but we advance based on how we are different... @rickwormeli2 #smcaa14 #unionrxi
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

What if we saw students as creators of wonderful things in the world instead of consumers of things that already exist? #smcaa14 #edchat
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

Nobody knows ahead of time how long it takes anyone to learn anything...so why does everything we do in #education contradict this? #smcaa14
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

So, I guess not allowing redo's for full credit really ins't in-line with the 'real-world...' #smcaa14 #unionrxi pic.twitter.com/WOpXDYgUaa
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

Every time we've ever advanced was because somebody parted ways from the path that's most commonly used. @rickwormeli2 #smcaa14 #edchat
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

Standards are fine... standardization isn't. via @rickwormeli2 #edchat #smcaa14 #unionrxi
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

98% at age 5 registered genius level creativity, 30% at 10 year and 12% at 15 years of age. We are schooling the creativity out of kids...
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

It's not an answer chase in your classroom... it's a question journey. via @rickwormeli2 #smcaa14 #unionrxi #edchat
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

We won't get creative kids if we don't have creative classrooms and creative educators in those classrooms. #edchat #smcaa14 #unionrxi
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

Grades are communication about learning and not compensation for learning... @rickwormeli2 #edchat #smcaa14 #unionrxi
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

Standards are the ingredients to the meal. The standards are NOT the meal & the cook determines how to cook the meal. #smcaa14 #unionrxi
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

Every time we teach something we should remind ourselves that 'it's their first time' & they've never heard it before. #smcaa14 #unionrxi
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

A goal of all educators is to move kids from dependence to independence... we should work ourselves out of a job. @rickwormeli2 #smcaa14
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

Don't just ask kids what they are learning & why they are learning it... ask them where they are in relation to mastery as well. #smcaa14
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

If you care about test scores going up, then you will allow redo's for all content areas & all grade levels for FULL credit. #smcaa14
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

Don't write F at the top of a kid's paper, give them a NTY... not there yet. #smcaa14 via @rickwormeli2
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

If you trust the validity of the test, then you shouldn't have any problem with redos & giving full credit for said redos. #smcaa14 #edchat
— Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte) October 7, 2014

We no longer need to ask 'what if?'

What if more and more people were talking about education and its effects on society?

What if differentiating and personalizing a student's learning experience was easier than ever?

What if we knew more about the brain and how it impacts learning?

What if information was easily and quickly accessible 24/7?

What if we had the tools to connect with and collaborate with people from around the world?

What if the 'opportunity gap' and the access to information gap were shrinking and education wasn't reserved just for the privileged?

What if we had problems in society that needed as many brains as possible working together toward solutions?

What if kids growing up needed us more than ever?


The good news here is that all of the above questions are true and possible and/or already occurring.

The great news is that the value and importance of education only seem to be going up.

The even greater news is the point that now is the most exciting time ever to be in education.

The scary and daunting news here is that the role of education has become so critically important that we have very little room for error.

Don't forget how important you are, and also don't forget how important the time you spend with your students is...

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?'

 

8 things every student deserves...

One of the things I miss most about my job is the connection and relationship with students. For me to speak and work with students, I really have to go out of my way and make it happen. Unfortunately this doesn't happen nearly as often as I would like, but my recognition of that is incentive enough to make it a priority.

What's clear to me is that our students deserve and need a lot from us:

1). Every student deserves to have someone who won't give up on them; someone who will encourage them, support them, and reassure them that there are those who believe in them. #youmatter

2). Every student deserves to have the appropriate tools and resources available to them that will allow them to find success. We are rightfully obligated to provide the necessary tools for our students, and this must be a part of the bigger picture when it comes to available resources and personnel.

3). Every student deserves to have similar and equal opportunities that others may have; the opportunity gap we have in education is broadening the gap between the 'educated' and the 'non-educated.' We can't continue to allow this to happen when we are talking about access to learning.

4). Every student deserves the benefit of the doubt. Far too often we assume students are doing something wrong and not doing what they are supposed to be doing. When we assume, we tend to be incorrect.

5). Every student deserves a teacher who believes that what's been done in the past is not the only factor when determining what to do in the present and what to do in the future. The choices we make affect our students... we can't hold them back because we are scared to do something we aren't comfortable with.

6). Every student deserves the opportunity to design, create, and explore. We must create a safe environment for our students to feel comfortable with doing things they have never done before. This level of comfort and trust makes everything else possible.

7). Every student deserves to have the best teacher. Far too often we put our newest and least experienced teachers with our most challenging and most at-risk students. Shouldn't we have the best teachers and most experienced teachers working with our students who can most benefit from their skills?

8). Every student deserves a teacher who is willing to take a risk and take a chance. Sometimes it's appropriate to play it safe, while other times it's necessary to take a chance and step outside the box. Students all need someone who is willing to be different and someone who is willing to travel this journey with them...