Question #2: Am I going to make it?

The 2nd question every student asks upon entering the classroom is "Will I make it?" (For question number 1, click here.)  In other words, "Am I capable?" or "Can I be successful?". There are three buzzwords floating around the eduverse today that may appear to be passing trends, but in actuality are foundational principles that in practice will let students know you believe they are successful. 

• Rigor is the belief that students can go beyond rote memorization because they are not only receptacles for information but also gatherers, processors, and communicators. It is not increasing the volume of work, but rather the value of work. Rigor also believes that each student is expected to learn at high levels.  Shifting to a rigorous environment in the classroom can be difficult at first. Both students and parents may complain and resist. A teacher has to be willing to witness these struggles and provide support while remaining resolute. Additionally, we as educators have to be willing to embrace rigorous practices by thinking critically about how and what we teach.  Barbara Blackburn has written an excellent article defining rigor: The Seven Myths of Instructional Rigor.
• Resilience or Grit is simply the ability to keep going despite mistakes and challenges. Teaching students about and requiring them to be resilient lets them know you believe they have what it takes to succeed. Grit and resilience should be words students hear, see, and celebrate at their schools. In the article, "Teach Kids to use the Four-Letter Word", Joe Hirsch suggests ways to promote grit in the classroom. 
• Failure or empowering students to fail is another way students can know you believe they are capable of success. Our students must know that failure is a stop on a journey, not a permanent destination. Just this week, I had someone express to me fear about trying something new. "What if I end up with egg on my face?" I answered, "You just wipe it off." For some reason, failure has become an enemy to not only students, but also parents. It's something we protect students from or teach them to fear or avoid. We must model for students that failure is nothing more than a stepping stone, a building tool, a detail to be woven into a narrative about success. This article discusses the Benefits of Failure. Cybraryman provides an extensive list of links, quotes, and ideas about failure. 

How do you help students know you believe in their ability to succeed?


 

Edcamp TN

Since entering the Twitterverse back in January, I have noticed a lot of buzz about edcamps. A complete description of an edcamp and the rationale behind the concept can be read at these links:

• What is edcamp?
• The evolution of edcamps

The more I learned about edcamps, the more I wanted to try one and thankfully, Samantha Bates (@sjsbates on Twitter) and  Crystal Pinson (@krctl on Twitter) hosted an edcampTN at Lakewood School this past Saturday. 

EdcampTN was exciting to me for several reasons:

• It provided an opportunity to gather with a diverse pool of educators. In one room, there were administrators, regular and special education teachers, and IT support people ---- educators from Henry County, Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and St. Louis ----representatives from private schools, rural public schools, and urban public schools. 
• The sessions were learner-driven. When I arrived, the session board was blank. Gradually, it filled with topics suggested by those in the room. An expectation was given that all were participants and all were presenters, so each session was full of rich conversation. We were told from the beginning that the day was totally planned by us. It was also established that if a session was not what you needed, then you had the freedom to get up and move to another one.  It's amazing how you feel when you are told you have a voice and you have a choice in the way you learn. 
• I learned! Not only from the sessions but from the people I connected with between the sessions. In three short hours, I learned about effective inclusion, using Vine, Instagram, and several other apps in the classroom, how to use Tweetdeck and Goggle Docks, ideas for parent engagement,  strategies for incorporating outlets for movement and creativity in the classroom. 
• I expanded my PLN! I left there with more connections ----educators to whom I can reach out to for advice and support. 

The most important insight I gained from edcampTN was the opportunity to experience learning in the way I have been asking my teachers to facilitate for our students. Edcamps embrace the concept of student-driven learning, collaboration, and technology integration. The environment is messy and organic and for me, inspiring. It answers the question, "If there is no designated teacher, if all participants are both teacher and student, will learning occur?" The answer is a resounding "YES!". Once you experience it, you'll see why our students need it, why moving in this direction despite the resistance and roadblocks is indeed non-negotiable AND in the best interest of our students. 
 
For my next edcamp, there are a few changes I will make:

• Come digitally prepared - I left the house with just my iphone and no paper or pencil. Next time, I will bring a laptop or Ipad, so I can visit the various links given out, and participate in the conversations going on Twitter during the conference. If you are not on Twitter, set up your account prior to coming to edcamp.
• Come together - I will invite someone to ride with me. I think being able to discuss the experience over lunch and during the ride home would have enhanced it. 
• Come to present - This time, I held back. Thankfully, the sessions offered addressed the needs I had, but next time, I want to jump in with a session idea. I was intimidated by the thought of "presenting", but at an edcamp, you should not be daunted by the use of the word "present". While at a conference, it might mean writing a paper to present or preparing a power point presentation, at edcamp, "present" means "preside". Start the conversation, share what you know, then listen while others share. 

 
At the end of our morning, it was announced that there are plans for edcamp Knoxville, edcamp Chattanooga, and edcamp Memphis in the coming year. You can also find information about other edcamps at the edcamp Foundation website .

Finally, here are other accounts from educators about edcamps:

• The Case for Edcamp
• Why Edcamp? 
• My first Edcamp experience  
• An edcamp experience in New York

Question #1: "Where Everybody Knows your Name"...

In the previous post, I wrote about Dr. Neale Pryor's statement that every student comes into a classroom asking three questions: 

• Do you like me?
• Will I make it?
•  Am I worth it?

The question "Do you like me?" addresses the need to not only be seen or acknowledged, but also to be accepted. There are many ways educators can answer this question with a resounding "yes":

The T.V. show "Cheers" had it right when they opened each episode with the words, "Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came". That's exactly how I want my school to be for my students, parents, and teachers. For an administrator, it's important to be not only present, but to also intentionally extend hospitality. There are basic ways to promote a welcoming culture (Greet each student by name when you pass him in the hallway, check in with every teacher in the morning prior to school, walking around in the cafeteria at lunch talking with students, be visible at dismissal, etc.). Here are a few other ideas to make sure students know they are special and liked:

• Names not numbers - It's important for students to hear me call them by name, but also to see their names listed as a valued part of our community.  For example, a few months ago, we had an Amazing Race type activity for each class.  At every stop, after completing the challenge, I gave the class a puzzle piece. When they returned to the classroom, they glued the pieces together to find a Wordle with everyone's name included in it. These puzzles have hung on the doors of each classroom all year to remind us that we are all an important part of the school.  
• "Blessing Prayer" -Whenever I have the opportunity, I will pray for students by name. It's a very simple "Thank you for _______" or "Please bless _______". Even with 30 students, it doesn't take that long.  I love the way a student's face will light up when her name is spoken. Eventually, I change it to everyone in the class prays for the person to their right.  I had a student named Cody who would ask me to pray this way almost every day. Without fail, when I would get through saying everyone's name, Cody would lean over and say, "And you, Mrs. Suzie, don't forget you.". It warmed my heart to know Cody remembered me. 
• Morning Meetings - Many schools have adopted the practices detailed in The Morning Meeting Book by Roxanne Kriete. Many elements of the morning meeting convey to the students that they are accepted. In this video clip, you can see a 5th grade morning meeting.
• Pictures - My teachers post student pictures on their walls alongside the students' work. When parents come to my office, they see pictures of all my children, my own and the ones with whom I have been entrusted.                                                         

How do you let students know you like them at your school?

3 Questions every Student asks

This week I had the opportunity to attend the National Christian Schools Association national conference in Nashville, TN. At one session, the speaker, Dr. Bruce McLarty, president of Harding University, quoted one of his most inspiring teachers, Dr. Neale Pryor. Dr. Pryor taught him that every student who comes into your classroom is asking three questions:

• Do you like me?
• Am I going to make it?
• Am I worth it? 

Dr. Pryor observed that when the student knows the answers to these questions, then great learning begins. 

I believe these questions...

•  reflect our inherent need to feel acceptable (Do you like me?), capable (Am I going to make it?), and valuable (Am I worth it?).
• are asked not only by the students in my school, but also teachers, staff, and parents.
• are answered more by my actions and attitude than my words. 
• have the same answer ("Yes!!) regardless of who is asking them, so my response to an individual or my lack of response speaks more about my character than the person to whom I am responding. 

I'd like to spend a few blog entries reflecting on the answers to each of these questions and some concrete ways I can promote a culture that communicates the correct answers.  It doesn't matter if I use the most innovative teaching methods, integrate technology, implement CCSS, or raise test scores. If I don't answer these three questions correctly in my community, then my students are not getting what they deserve---- to thrive in a culture radiant with the message that you are unconditionally accepted, you have limitless potential, and you are inherently valuable.   

Another Lesson in Education from Dr. Seuss: Horton Hears A Who

"A person's a person no matter how small" is the theme of Horton Hears a Who. I love the image of this huge elephant with a small weed in his trunk listening to the sound of the Whos. As educators, there are many connections we can make with this story. Here are a few of the ones I saw:

• Be Horton. I have a 76 year old aunt that to this day insists she is a horrible speller. Why? Because her elementary teacher once told her she would never learn to spell. My husband never learned to write in cursive because his 4th grade teacher gave him an F in handwriting and told him he was a failure. Those singular moments had a lasting effect on those two elementary students. It doesn't matter how much knowledge I have about best educational practices if I do not impart it in a way that resounds with the message: "You have value".  Our students need to know we believe in them.  Be Horton. Have eyes that see and ears that hear. See value and potential in every student you serve and then be willing to do whatever it takes to protect and nurture that potential.  
• Be the mayor of Whoville. The mayor of Whoville took it upon himself to motivate every one of his constituents to make their voices heard. No one was allowed to be a shirker. When he found Jo-Jo shirking his duties, he didn't cast him aside as a no good, lazy who. Instead he told Jo-Jo, "Your voice counts" . As educators, we must strive to inspire the shirkers, and join  them as they climb toward success. 
• Never underestimate the power of one small, extra Yopp! "Their world was saved by the Smallest of All!" At my school, I often pray for my students to grow to be "mighty men and women of God who make the world a better place". I believe they will all contribute mightily to this world regardless of their reading level, standardized test scores, or report card grade. Those are indicators of mastery of grade level content. They are not predictors of effectiveness. In fact, every person in my school is impactful. Whether they are a giant elephant or a tiny who, no one escapes the destiny of leaving a mark on this world. 

 Those were a few of my thoughts. What lessons for educators do you see in "Horton Hears a Who"?

Even More Lessons in Education from Dr. Seuss: The Lorax

"The Lorax" is Dr. Seuss's tale of the entrepreneurial Once-ler who upon arriving to the forest outside of town immediately envisions a money-making opportunity ----making Thneeds out of Truffula Trees. When he begins his enterprise, his efforts are interrupted by the Lorax who repeatedly appeals to the Onceler to be mindful of his decisions and how they are impacting not just the trees but all the other inhabitants of the forest. The Onceler is so pre-occupied with "biggering" his business that he ignores the pleas of the Lorax. Eventually the Lorax and the other inhabitants leave and the Once-ler's business fails.

 When I accepted my job as an elementary principal, I was the 4th administrator in the last ten years. Like so many new principals, I came in with lots of plans and ideas for "biggering" our school. If I wasn't careful, I would get so busy "biggering" that I wouldn't think about "bettering". That's where the Lorax comes in. Every administrator needs a Lorax ---that voice of reason, the one who enables me to see not just the trees in the forest, but also the Bar-ba-loots, the Swomee-Swans, and the Humming Fish ---the one whose experience and perspective can help me make sure that what I plan connects not only with the school's past, but also its future. The Lorax might be a teacher, a predecessor,  a parent, a student, or a community member, but before I embark on any "biggering" I must take the time to listen and learn from the Lorax, or else I will find myself alone.

More Lessons in Education from Dr. Seuss: The Zax

 "All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental."

 When I read "The Zax" by Dr. Seuss, I think of the disclaimer written above. Oh, how this story needs it because we all at some point in our lives have known a Zax or have been a Zax. 

The story is simple. A North-going Zax and a South-going Zax run into each other. Each refuse to move out of the other's way. They won't step aside and they certainly won't change direction. While they stand there face to face, arms defiantly crossed, a city springs up around them and an interstate going in all sorts of directions is built above, behind, and beside them, yet they stand there eternally deadlocked. 

So, how can this apply to educators?

If you are the Zax, uncross those arms and open your eyes and your mind. Tunnel vision traps you in a tunnel. You can not stay in the tunnel of past teaching traditions. That is not healthy for you or your students. Uncross your arms and start engaging students with hands-on, interactive learning experiences. Step off to the side, and let your students choose the direction of learning. Model for them an openness to growth and guide them as they navigate through multi-directional learning paths. The world of education is organic, constantly growing and changing, and if we stay immovable, we will be left behind. 

If the Zax works with you and sometimes blocks your path, please keep building. Keep on being innovative and daring, taking risks and sharing those risks. Don't let the resistance to change change you. If you find yourself in a Zax school culture, seek support from like-minded educators outside of your school. You are not alone and you are growing in the right direction. Stay strong and know that while the Zaxes are left behind, you are moving forward.

If the Zax works for you, and is standing there with arms crossed in defiance, oblivious to the colleagues who are constructing new cities and building bridges and interstates around them, then it may be time to move the Zax. In the story, a Zax By-pass is built, but that is not always an option. Sometimes the Zax must be relocated. While that may be an uncomfortable and sometimes excruciating decision to make, if it is what's best for the students, then it must be done.

The most important thing is to keep the Zax in perspective, whether it's a person blocking your path, or the voice in your head that holds you back from trying something new. Zax moments are human and natural and common for us all, but they are to be only moments ----hurdles to jump over, not walls built to keep in or keep out or keep still. If anything, the Zaxes in our lives can be what propels us to do and be more. 

Lessons in Education from Dr. Seuss: McElligot's Pool

Schools across the nation will be celebrating the life and literature of Dr. Seuss this week. My 1st grader, Johnny,  is working on a presentation about his favorite Dr. Seuss book. We have been reading several, so he can make an informed choice (Pictured: One of the Dr. Seuss books from my childhood...definitely an antique!). I've discovered that the stories of Dr. Seuss can serve as a tutorial in education for a novice administrator like me. 

  McElligot's Pool

The story starts with a young boy named Marco fishing in McElligot's pool. An old farmer comes along and says, "Young man, you're sort of a fool! You'll never catch fish in McElligot's Pool. The pool is too small. And, you might as well know it, when people have junk, here's the place that they throw it.....If you sat fifty years with your worms and your wishes, you'd grow a long beard long before you'd catch fishes." 
I have met that farmer many times over the years.

•  My first teaching job was in an inner-city middle school with over 90% of its students living in poverty. I was told by an administrator, "We don't assign textbooks because they just lose them.... Don't bother giving homework, they won't do it.... Just try to keep the class under control and busy. If they finish one assignment, give another one."  It seemed the philosophy was containment rather than engagement. 
• Then there are those parents who have told me, "My child can't learn. He's lazy. He doesn't care." 
• That student who says, "I can't do this. I'm in the low math group."
• And those people who say "That won't work here. Teachers won't do that. That will never fly." 

The farmers will come, and they will most definitely opine, but they don't define your vision and they don't chart your course. Listen respectfully. Discern any pragmatic value their objections have, and then keep on fishing.

Be like Marco and see past the pool. He replied to the farmer, "It may be you're right, I've been there three hours without one single bite. There might be no fish...But again, Well, there might! Cause you never can tell what goes on down below! This pool might be bigger than you or I know!...If I wait long enough, if I'm patient and cool, Who knows what I'll catch in McElligot's Pool!"