I've written a couple of blog posts recently that have been aimed at challenging our thoughts about some areas of education. The posts were meant to make educators reflect on why we do some of our current practices and consider alternatives. I hope they have accomplished that purpose for those that have read them. But today, as I sat and listened to three of our students share their thoughts on our schedule with representatives from a visiting school district, I was reminded that we do a lot of things well! I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to listen to these young ladies share the ways we are preparing them for the next step in their lives. So, here is a list of eight things we do well.
1. We build positive relationships with students. When I say we, I'm mean teachers, coaches, counselors, and others that interact with kids on a daily basis. Many of our kids look to one or more of these role models as someone that genuinely cares about his or her well being, for support and encouragement when they struggle, and to celebrate with them when they succeed.
2. We teach students responsibility. All three of the young ladies mentioned this to our visitors today. Specifically, they credited our change to a flexible modular schedule for helping them develop skills in self-advocacy, prioritization, and organization that will be invaluable later in life. While at times students don't like these components of what we do, deep down they realize that we are helping them learn to be responsible adults.
3. We develop confidence in students. We push students to achieve beyond what they believe they can. On a daily basis, I have teachers that lead, push, and guide students through struggles to successes beyond their self-set limitations. As this happens, students develop a confidence and belief in themselves as individuals.
4. We provide opportunities for healthy competition and performance. At our school of just over 700 students we offer countless sports, vocal and instrumental music programs, and a top-level Speech and Debate team. Through these avenues students develop work ethic, teamwork, the ability to deal with success and failure, trust, and a host of other characteristics that are needed to be successful in life.
5. We allow students flexibility and choice as they grow. This is an area that we continue to grow in ourselves. Students can take courses in technical areas, academic areas, and the arts that fit their interests and passions. This year, as a result of our modular schedule, we are beginning to be able to place students in internships in areas of their career interest. This choice and flexibility is important in enhancing student motivation and drive.
6. We provide technology to students 24/7. We don't just provide this, we expect students to use it to solve problems, think critically, communicate, share globally, and create original works. Students have the world at their fingertips every day in our classrooms - and they are learning how to be productive contributors on a global scale.
7. We show students the meaning of helping others. Each of our students has the opportunity, every year, to give one school day for community service and work on projects that benefit others. We set up work sites at nursing homes, YMCA camps, churches, other schools, and other community locations that need a little TLC that our students can provide. We also host pre-school students from the local Developmental Center each Christmas and present them with gifts to be used in their education, read them a Christmas story, and let the meet Santa - all in front of the entire student body. This is by far my favorite event of the year! Our students have the opportunity to help with Special Olympics Field Day as well. All of these give our students an appreciation of what it means to help those less fortunate than themselves.
8. We innovate to provide as relevant and current an education experience as possible. I grow prouder each day of our faculty, staff, students, parents, and community for the risks they allow us to take as a school. Many may be hesitant or uncertain as we discuss and embark on changes, but most are willing to do these things in order to prepare students for their future. In the past five years we have become one of the first schools in our area to provide every student with a laptop and become the first public school in the state to implement the modular schedule. These innovations would not be possible without the dedicated work and vision of a large number of people. The benefits to our students are immeasurable when we innovate.
This is by no means an all-inclusive list, but is certainly representative of the ways students are impacted and prepared for their future by educators each day. Thank you to each and every teacher, counselor, librarian, coach, secretary, cook, custodian, paraprofessional, and other individuals that take the time to make these positive impacts with our kids.
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
It's About the Learning - Not the Letter
As the semester draws to a close, many students are focused on a final push to get the grade they want. Teachers are, in some cases, overwhelmed with stacks of final papers and exams that need to be graded and entered before the deadline for first semester grade reports. What does this 'grade push' at the end of a semester reveal about our educational beliefs? I think it points toward a misguided approach in our education system - the grade is the most important value in our system.
As a society and education profession, we place an inordinate amount of validity on a single letter representing a student's achievement in a specific course. When in reality, many times that letter is a better indication of how well that student 'plays' school than it is of achievement. Many students, teachers, and parents - when asked about school - immediately begin to talk about their GPA (students), average class grades (teachers), and their child's grade card (parents). Are these really the most important indicators of success in school? Is the student's A in a course that comes naturally for him/her inherently more valuable than a student's C in a course where he/she had to work hard? Does a grade indicate that a student has the material committed to permanent memory? Or is it more likely that the student learned the material for a brief time, regurgitated it on some assessment, and then forgot it because it lacked relevance? No matter how a grade is derived, there is a flaw in assigning a single letter to a semester's-worth of work and learning. Every system, including standards-based grading, can be 'gamed' by students in order to get the best possible letter next that course on their transcript.
Further, I would argue that grades are no longer a motivator for a majority of our students. Certainly for the top 20-25% they are, but in many cases these are the students that 'play' school well anyway. Are we really preparing them for their future by encouraging them to play a game and focus so much on a letter and what it represents.
I don't have all the answers on this, but I certainly believe that as an education system and society we have to change our focus from the letter definition of a grade to the learning that needs to occur. How can we do this? How do we overcome the need for a GPA to send to colleges and put on scholarship applications? How can we ensure that students are retaining knowledge and skills and not just learning them for the test? I believe that a large part of this lies in creating a school experience that is full of relevance and context for the student. This can be accomplished by allowing students more choice in what they learn. Students need more ability to explore potential careers and post-graduation options and less mandates on how many credits are needed in each subject area. And, we need to start this exploration much earlier than grade 11 or 12.
If we truly want to make it about the learning and not the letter, student passion must be part of the equation. I know I'm motivated to learn when I'm interested and passionate about a topic. I believe students are too!
As a society and education profession, we place an inordinate amount of validity on a single letter representing a student's achievement in a specific course. When in reality, many times that letter is a better indication of how well that student 'plays' school than it is of achievement. Many students, teachers, and parents - when asked about school - immediately begin to talk about their GPA (students), average class grades (teachers), and their child's grade card (parents). Are these really the most important indicators of success in school? Is the student's A in a course that comes naturally for him/her inherently more valuable than a student's C in a course where he/she had to work hard? Does a grade indicate that a student has the material committed to permanent memory? Or is it more likely that the student learned the material for a brief time, regurgitated it on some assessment, and then forgot it because it lacked relevance? No matter how a grade is derived, there is a flaw in assigning a single letter to a semester's-worth of work and learning. Every system, including standards-based grading, can be 'gamed' by students in order to get the best possible letter next that course on their transcript.
Further, I would argue that grades are no longer a motivator for a majority of our students. Certainly for the top 20-25% they are, but in many cases these are the students that 'play' school well anyway. Are we really preparing them for their future by encouraging them to play a game and focus so much on a letter and what it represents.
I don't have all the answers on this, but I certainly believe that as an education system and society we have to change our focus from the letter definition of a grade to the learning that needs to occur. How can we do this? How do we overcome the need for a GPA to send to colleges and put on scholarship applications? How can we ensure that students are retaining knowledge and skills and not just learning them for the test? I believe that a large part of this lies in creating a school experience that is full of relevance and context for the student. This can be accomplished by allowing students more choice in what they learn. Students need more ability to explore potential careers and post-graduation options and less mandates on how many credits are needed in each subject area. And, we need to start this exploration much earlier than grade 11 or 12.
If we truly want to make it about the learning and not the letter, student passion must be part of the equation. I know I'm motivated to learn when I'm interested and passionate about a topic. I believe students are too!
Friday, December 5, 2014
Off The Rack or Tailored?
Recently, my wife and I went shopping to get me a new suit. I have put on a few pounds and my others just don't fit quite right. This experience was quite interesting as I discovered that I don't have a 'typical' build for a suit. After going to four different suit shops and finding out that a coat for my body type is typically not in stock, we finally discovered one shop that had a suit that fit me pretty well. If not for that shop, we would have been buying a suit and having it altered to fit correctly.
This experience got me to thinking about our student's education experience. Our current accountability systems, media pressure, and comparisons to other schools lead to 'off the rack' options for our students. There are some of our students that are able to find exactly what they need, but for many the fit is just not quite right. This is not because we don't want them to have a 'suit' that fits correctly - teachers constantly do a great job of differentiating instruction and working to meet individual needs. It is more a result of the 'education manufacturers' that create the standards and assessments for which we must have students prepared. These are very broad and general standards meant to ensure that every student has access to the same education and opportunity. While that is an admirable goal, is it the correct goal? Should each student have exactly the same experience and education?
I believe that while the foundation of each education (or suit) is the same, if we want it to fit each student it must be 'tailored' for their goals and passions. While each suit (or education plan) has the same foundation, in order to get the right fit for an individual it must be altered by a professional. This altering takes significant measuring, tearing out existing seams, and rebuilding the components of the suit with precision and care. I believe that we must reach each student by helping him/her discover individual passion and goals (measuring), removing parts of our general education plan that doesn't fit him/her (tearing out the seams), and building a plan that allows him/her to work in areas of passion and interest as part of their education (rebuilding with precision and care). This 'tailored' approach should lead to better student engagement, increased student motivation, and ultimately students prepared for their future.
I'm proud to be part of a district that is beginning to take this approach. Our district and community are currently exploring partnerships that would allow students to spend significant time working shoulder to shoulder with individuals in business and industry, solving real problems, and developing specific skill sets and abilities related to their passions and interest. This plan doesn't fit neatly into a curriculum binder or assessment protocol; instead it fits neatly into a 'tailored' plan for an individual student to experience relevant learning in an authentic context. I believe that this is a first step in creating a 'suit shop' for our students that provides a 'tailored' education for every student.
This experience got me to thinking about our student's education experience. Our current accountability systems, media pressure, and comparisons to other schools lead to 'off the rack' options for our students. There are some of our students that are able to find exactly what they need, but for many the fit is just not quite right. This is not because we don't want them to have a 'suit' that fits correctly - teachers constantly do a great job of differentiating instruction and working to meet individual needs. It is more a result of the 'education manufacturers' that create the standards and assessments for which we must have students prepared. These are very broad and general standards meant to ensure that every student has access to the same education and opportunity. While that is an admirable goal, is it the correct goal? Should each student have exactly the same experience and education?
I believe that while the foundation of each education (or suit) is the same, if we want it to fit each student it must be 'tailored' for their goals and passions. While each suit (or education plan) has the same foundation, in order to get the right fit for an individual it must be altered by a professional. This altering takes significant measuring, tearing out existing seams, and rebuilding the components of the suit with precision and care. I believe that we must reach each student by helping him/her discover individual passion and goals (measuring), removing parts of our general education plan that doesn't fit him/her (tearing out the seams), and building a plan that allows him/her to work in areas of passion and interest as part of their education (rebuilding with precision and care). This 'tailored' approach should lead to better student engagement, increased student motivation, and ultimately students prepared for their future.
I'm proud to be part of a district that is beginning to take this approach. Our district and community are currently exploring partnerships that would allow students to spend significant time working shoulder to shoulder with individuals in business and industry, solving real problems, and developing specific skill sets and abilities related to their passions and interest. This plan doesn't fit neatly into a curriculum binder or assessment protocol; instead it fits neatly into a 'tailored' plan for an individual student to experience relevant learning in an authentic context. I believe that this is a first step in creating a 'suit shop' for our students that provides a 'tailored' education for every student.
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