"We're raising boys..."

This is cross-posted from Grow Boys Red Deer at http://www.reddeergrowboys.ca/. I have been involved with the Grow Boys project for three years now, and it has been one of the most rewarding initiatives I have taken on. For more information on the Grow Boys concept, please get in touch and we can talk.

  by  Ryan Qiu 

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard.

Mother would come out and say,

"You're tearing up the grass!"

"We're not raising grass," Dad would reply.

"We're raising boys." -author unknown

We are raising boys. All of us. No matter who we are in the community, whether we are a parent or not; we all have a responsibility to support the happy, healthy growth and development of boys. Of course we need to do this for girls as well, but Grow Boys is a collective that focuses specifically on what can be done to nurture the particular needs of boys; and there are many. As the dad in the poem suggests, we need to take a critical and reflective perspective toward what our boys need from us, and how we're going to provide for them.

  by  Dave_B_ 

Herbert Vilakazi's opening address to the National Association of Child Care Workers 1991 Biennial Conference (http://tinyurl.com/yfxzdwn) in South Africa provides one such perspective with his brilliant insight to how we need to think and act if we are to support today's children as our gifts to the future.

"The problems of children and of youth, giving rise to child and youth care programs, can only begin to be solved in that society of humankind’s dream; a more collective-oriented society than at present, when the father of the child shall be every man as old as the child’s father; when the mother of the child shall be every woman as old as the child’s mother; a society of responsibility of the entire community; a society without poverty; without the inequalities of society members, based upon race, class, or sex; a society without the use of violence against other members of society; a society without any exploitation and oppression of any group by any other group; a society of equals; a thoroughly democratic society; last, but not least a society that shall have, once more, incorporated productive labor into the educational process."

Answers need questions...

  by  walknboston 

Generally speaking, questions need answers, but a colleague reminded me this past week that some answers need questions too.

Learning slows down drastically, or even stops completely when we get to a point where we believe we know everything we need to know about something. When we think we have all the answers, perhaps that is when we need to question things even more. Innovation to me isn't necessarily a completely new approach, idea or process. Innovation can often mean a retooling of elements that already exist.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” ― Marcel Proust

At the heart of inquiry is the art of questioning. I believe the "voyage of discovery" Proust refers to is entirely about perspective. When learners instigate their own and others thoughts through questioning they are pushing the boundaries of perspective. Challenging our conventions about learning and knowledge happens in that cognitive place where time is taken to deconstruct what we think we know about how things should be, and where unencumbered thought magically turns into innovation. I am encouraging this process within my classroom.

Leaps of faith...

flickr image via Scarto

In teaching and learning, whether we're jumping off a cliff, or jumping off a curb, the important thing is that we're jumping off something. I've never been one to make a lot of resolutions for a new year, but this year I will make at least one. I'm actually thinking it's more of an unresolution than a resolution owing to the notably not so much a SMART goal nature of it.

I'm not going to stand still.

I intend to keep moving down the learning paths I've set for myself; maybe even define some new ones understanding that the journey is something to be enjoyed, and perhaps that in learning, we never really arrive at the place where we can check 'that one' off the list. As soon as we think we know something, a truly authentic pathway of learning will show us a new direction or branch of the path that sets us off asking new questions so we can learn more, or differently along that path. I'm OK with this ambiguity because I think it will enable me to see beyond a more specific and narrowly focused goal (resolution.)

One size fits all?

 flickr image via cameronparkins

My school (formerly a sixth to eighth grade middle school,) is now an inquiry-focused, sciences and technology kindergarten to eighth grade school... elements that when put together can also be called my dream job. The school is in its third year of this paradigm shift toward a custom-built K-8 inquiry, sciences and technology context. We believe that our new school context creates an optimal environment to perpetuate the learning goals of our District.

The inquiry part of what we're doing at our school is what I want to focus on here. What is inquiry, and how are we building an inquiry-based school? This is the inquiry question we've been working on answering. To me, the process of answering this question is what's so exciting about being part of Glendale school's transformation. Our group of teachers are all at different places in their understanding of inquiry, technology and sciences, and that is not only OK, it is expected in an inquiry-based learning environment. We all have personal learning tendencies. Some like to go fast, take risks and make mistakes... others are more cautious and calculated, but everyone needs to be supported if we are to effectively balance the professional development needs of all staff. I believe it is very important to remember that an inquiry-based school doesn't work very well as a one-size-fits-all environment to address this diversity.

It is very important that we, (meaning all members of the school family: students, staff, parents and significant community members as partners,) have a collective vision and mission that guide our practice, but it's also very important that each individual member of our school understands that the collective vision and mission does not dictate that there is only one correct way to do something, and that we don't all have to be at the same place, and on the same timeline as we learn forward. If we were to believe so as teachers, we would not be modeling an authentic inquiry teaching and learning context, as surely we understand that our students don't learn in the same way, and at the same pace. The inquiry learning process is in part driven by the students themselves making it impossible to line everyone up in order of learning space and learning time. From Alberta Education on inquiry learning,

Effective inquiry is more than just asking questions. Inquiry-based learning is a complex process where students formulate questions, investigate to find answers, build new understandings, meanings and knowledge, and then communicate their learning's to others.  In classrooms where teachers emphasize inquiry-based learning, students are actively involved in solving authentic (real-life) problems within the context of the curriculum and/or community.  These powerful learning experiences engage students deeply.

 As we move forward we are asking ourselves over and over again, "how do we create authentic inquiry learning within our classrooms and school," we are confronted by the reality that, (like any good inquiry question,) there is more than one answer. There has to be, owing to the fact that every member of our school family possesses different knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA) relevant to inquiry learning, and even within each KSA, we all possess different levels of function. This is real life, and it's awesome. The diversity we have among our school family members is not a bug; it's a feature... as long as we frame it that way and are able to let go of our anxieties about changing the way we are teaching and learning. There is no one size fits all solution to our guiding inquiry question... we need everybody's answers.

As we ubiquitously create the school we want to serve kids best in an inquiry-based, science and technology focused context, it is critically important that we understand the answers are in here... we are the answer to every question we ask regarding the directions we go, the services we provide and the ways that we care for each other, our students and the rest of the Glendale school family. In the authentic spirit of professionalism and collaboration, we must look first to ourselves for the answers to our own questions... that's what creativity is all about.

Returning to our District Education Plan, we couldn't ask for a better frame to guide our inquiry. We are representing the District-wide goals of inclusion, literacy and high school completion. We see the process as constructive. We start by inquiring about inclusion. We ask ourselves the inquiry question, "how do we create a sense of belonging for every single member of our school family?" and then we work off this foundation building toward other inquiry questions that guide our effort to promote literacy across the curriculum, and eventual successful high school completion.

When we work in a many sizes to fit many inquiry teaching and learning environment, we recognize the value of perspective. We all have one, our students included, and making the effort to know each others is inherently engaging and inclusive. We are focusing on each others strengths, and the strengths of our students to point us in the direction of likely engagement. We all come to school wanting to do well, and focusing on what we can do instead of what we can't leads us down paths that we want to travel. We fully understand that our strengths are differential, and we consider this a bonus... we promote the sharing of strengths openly so we can learn from each other and leverage our ability to maximize positive effect without the pressure of feeling that we're alone on our journey. This is the inclusive path at Glendale School.

Literacy to us is not just a reading and writing issue. We promote literacy in a wide range of developmental knowledge, skill and attitude domains. We understand that kids need to grow literacy comprehensively... physical, emotional, social, environmental, numerical, artistic, musical etc... if they are to be well-rounded learners who recognize how different levels of competence in different domains complement each other, we need to support inquiry into all these domains. We're framing them as the Sciences, and to us, they are also inclusive,

How often people speak of art and science as though they were two entirely different things, with no interconnection. An artist is emotional, they think, and uses only his intuition; he sees all at once and has no need of reason. A scientist is cold, they think, and uses only his reason; he argues carefully step by step, and needs no imagination. That is all wrong. The true artist is quite rational as well as imaginative and knows what he is doing; if he does not, his art suffers. The true scientist is quite imaginative as well as rational, and sometimes leaps to solutions where reason can follow only slowly; if he does not, his science suffers.

– Isaac Asimov
“Prometheus,” The Roving Mind (1983)

We believe there needs to be a zen-like balance between the arts and sciences... what for many are dichotomous domains. Staff members are involved in teaching the sciences as related to their relative knowledge, skills and attitudes within particular areas. We play to people's strengths. Everyone contributes based on what they have to offer. This is our balance, and we have great capacity to represent good inquiry teaching across the spectrum.

As we strive to provide inclusive environments targeting the development of literacy across domains, we believe we are promoting high school completion. One of our projects in the context of inclusion is called Empathy ReBoot. We believe that feelings come first, thoughts second and then tools... in other words, we believe we need to be empathic to the feelings of others before we can help them think with purpose. When we become attuned to the feelings of others, even if we don't fully understand them, we can at least have insight into their perspective. This insight allows us to help them form purpose; to write their learning stories during the time they are with us; to explore and develop literacy in multiple domains.

Caring for our students in this way shows them we are interested and want to walk with them down their learning paths; to think forward. Once we enter this forward-thinking mindset, it becomes much easier to develop tools together making the journey more purposeful, efficient and enjoyable... the kind students don't want to end, even past high school.

A motto I like to use, and it's permanently fixed on my classroom wall...

If you're having fun and not learning, that's bad.
If you're learning and not having fun, that's worse.
If you're learning and having fun, that's our classroom.

 If either of the first two situations arises in my classroom, it really just means we haven't asked enough of the right questions.

Empathy Re-Boot Project

 flickr image via Allen McGregor

My colleagues and I along with our students at Glendale Sciences and Technology School are embarking on an exciting and challenging journey. We are calling it our Empathy Re-Boot Project.

I have returned to Glendale as its vice-principal three years after a one year stint as its counselor. I loved my time at Glendale before, and always felt like there was unfinished business there. The first time around in my role as counselor, I spent a good deal of time helping kids, and staff members too, develop their empathetic lens; the one that allowed them to walk a mile in the shoes of others toward a deeper understanding of their learning stories. We all have a learning story... the part already written; the part we are writing in the present and the hopeful part we intend to write toward the happy endings of the future. In my second term at Glendale I am thrilled to continue this work with the staff and students of my reunited Glendale family.

In Alberta, all schools are in the midst of an important and necessary paradigm shift toward inclusive learning environments. At Glendale, we have been working hard to re-frame our educational perspectives towards the diverse population of students at our school. We don't have segregated programming at our school. We don't pull students out of class anymore; we hold their hands as we walk alongside them. As we walk alongside them we talk to them. We talk to them about their learning story... what's happened in the past; what's happening in the present and what they want to happen in the future. Our goal is to learn their story behind the story, the one that enlightens us toward deeper understanding of what may be challenging students, and ever more importantly, what they need from us to help work toward mitigating the challenges. We're focusing on students' strengths in as asset-based model of intervention. We're downplaying student weakness and focusing our empathy lenses on solutions.

We are re-booting empathy.

Thinking deeply about virtues and character development, we have concluded that true inclusion in our school requires an intense understanding of others, and in particular, their stories. We are taking a phenomenological-post modernist perspective. We believe that individual circumstances can distract from the learning process, but also that striving to know these circumstances, and focusing on supporting strategies that mitigate them at school will lead us down solution focused paths toward optimized teaching and learning. There is always a better path to take. We must honor the perspectives of those we work with when helping divine the best paths.

We are using our empathic lenses to focus on the resiliency of our students, and we are tapping into that resiliency with intent to nurture its growth. We are recognizing resiliency in ourselves, and  we are using it to support kids who are vulnerable. We are teaching them to be more resilient over time by making sure they know we care, and that we want to help them write personal learning stories with happy endings.

Hope and Fear...

flickr image via AMERICAN ARTIST BEN MURPHY

Hope without fear doesn't exist; that's called naivety.


Hope is the alpha. All resiliency, all fear, all action is derived from hope, "the thing with feathers... that sings the tune without the words" as so beautifully described by Emily Dickinson in her poem entitled "Hope"...

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

Emily Dickinson

My friend Daniel Durrant (@ddrrnt ) recently wrote about hope in a nemetics context. Nemetics is a term that has evolved to explain phenomena surrounding the exchanges that occur in our emotional, cognitive and physical spaces.He aligned hope with the nemetic element of engaging. I think he is saying that hope needs to be actionable to be called hope.

Frankl called it purpose in logotherapy. I call it action, but nonetheless hope without action is wishful thinking. How can teachers nurture this hope in students? If we allow Daniel to take us on a nemetics mini-tour of the process perhaps it will resonate more clearly.

He quite cleverly aligned faith, hope, charity and patience as nemetic elements that align with the Notice- Engage- Mull- Exchange pattern. The full spectrum of the pattern looks like this:

FAITH is why we NOTICE- this aligns the seen and unseen. It is the first impulse that triggers everything.
HOPE is why we ENGAGE- this aligns the decision to engage with the value and quality of hope. somewhat a paradox, but oh well.
CHARITY is why we MULL- this aligns the notion of time spent mulling with more purposeful and selfless reasons. also triggers gratitude, which might sync up with patience.
PATIENCE is why we EXCHANGE- this aligns the awareness that what was believed and so engaged by giving time may not be reciprocated when and how we expect. Yet we do so because patience releases attachments and fills our hearts with gratitude for what is present.

"Neme" is an acronym for the fractal learning process of Complex Adaptive Systems. Notice (or not) Engage (or not) Mull (or not) Exchange (or not)... NemeX connotes the actual exchange in progress. Interaction involving these elements surfaces through waves of resonance, and thrives through waves of dissonance, an unsettling of sorts; some may even describe these waves as fear.

Click to Run

Our decision to become part of a neme means our reality will change, whether slightly or dramatically, it all depends on the nature of the exchange and the degree to which we engage within it.

In Andrew Razeghi's book, "Hope," he describes the process of engaging a little or a lot as either jumping off the curb, or jumping off the cliff. A small leap of faith, or a large leap of faith is still a leap of faith. Teachers take a leap of faith every day, and depending on their relative experiences and perspective toward life and teaching, either can feel like a very big deal to any given individual... it's all relative.

So again, how can teachers nurture this purposeful hope in their students? Starting with FAITH is why we NOTICE... teachers need to take acclaimed National Geographic photographer Dewitt Jones' advice and "see what they believe."

"Our perspective is what holds the key to whether the solution is ordinary or extraordinary. If we want truly extraordinary vision then we have to continually expand our horizons, take risks. If we don’t push our edge we’ll never expand our view. It’s not trespassing to go beyond your own boundaries." Dewitt Jones, National Geographic Photographer 

So whether we're jumping off a curb, or a cliff, we need to have faith that something good will come from the effort. We need to look for the good in our students and expose it. This is the HOPE is why we ENGAGE... part in celebration of our student's strengths and dreams. Every student has a story, and like Dewitt Jones does when he finds the story behind his photographs, we need to find a story behind our students; the one already written that will give us a glimpse into their hope and their purpose.

As our student's stories evolve, so do our approaches to supporting them. This is the CHARITY is why we MULL part. Using the word mull interchangeably with reflection makes it a bit easier to understand this part of the process. Reflecting purposefully, selflessly and perhaps collaboratively with other supportive caregivers is how we display our willingness to walk the learning path with our students; not to pull them along, or push them on, but simply walk the path with them, learn with them and from them. We are fortunate to have this opportunity. It is a privileged opportunity teachers have to spend every day with curious, excited and eager-to-learn kids... an environment that should make it easy for all of us to also be curious, excited and eager-to-learn adults. Like anything in balance, however, eagerness on the part of any learner has to be tempered with patience.

Teachers need to be patient by nature. Every child is on his own learning timeline. Homogeneous classrooms full of kids perfectly aligned with the education system's developmental guidelines don't exist. There is no average student anywhere. Each child is unique and skilled in his own way, and the PATIENCE is why we EXCHANGE part indicates our understanding of this fact. Living in the present; walking multiple learning paths with students every day is the exchange that exemplifies our patience. We know full well that the outcomes we are working on with students may not be met until long after the paths we walk together diverge and our students have moved on to work with someone else. We exchange with our students in the present to the best of our ability so that they can move on and continue to build their learning paths forward... and back to faith we go; faith in our students and the teachers who will continue the good work we have shared with each student.

Full circle.

Does a sense of fear and doubt ever creep into this process? For me, every single day. Hope without fear doesn't exist; that's called naivety. I don't know how things will turn out for each of my students, but I want them all to be successful on their own terms. Students have fears too... for many the fear of failure. Embracing failure as a necessary element of learning is a critical element of success. If failure was absolute nobody would ever learn how to ride a bicycle. In a strange way, fearing failure is the same as fearing success for if we don't keep trying when we come up against a roadblock, in a way we're saying "what if I get over that roadblock... then what?" Balancing hope and fear on behalf of my students is what drives me to support their pursuit of personal and relative success.

Learning from place...

flickr image via ws_canada

I read an insightful blog from David Timony (@DrTimony) recently. In his post he alludes to what for many becomes a boundary; the boundary of our own experiences, and our perspectives toward them. In our  noble, but misdirected effort to create interesting and engaging learning environments we often default to the orientation we know best; our own. Perhaps there is a better, albeit more unsettling and less controlled orientation to take.

I have come to understand the value of "learning from place." Taken literally it actually is learning while at, or immersed in a place.  In a more representative context learning from place  is a mindful, almost spiritual experience. Thinking deeply about what a place has represented to others gives us a glimpse into their experience and what their life may involved there; what they saw, felt and thought... it's a powerful experience beyond measure.

David Timony says that,

It is important that we acknowledge who we are and what we bring to the situation so we may set it aside and teach from a more neutral space. Not everything that we teach requires connection to our own lives. It does not need to be shown through our lens nor does it require a frame in order for appreciation to occur. Surely, our desire to explain and expound–to mediate through language–often reduces experiences.

I have had a feeling of awe in a few places in the world, mostly close to home... places many take for granted because they are close to home. One of those places is Dry Island Buffalo Jump. Thousands of years of history have occurred at this sacred place. Aboriginal people have been going there for that long to hunt, gather and live together. I feel them when I've been there. I didn't have to explore every square inch to absorb the magnitude of the place... I just sat at the top of the jump and thought deeply about how many others had done the same thing, and what they may have thought in their place.

Learning from place. We all have our place and we can get closer to the places of others if we slow down, let go of our need to be in control, and simply listen.

If You're Having Fun...

flickr image via katerha

A couple of years ago my students and I came up with what we thought to be a really good description of the way learning should be.

Like most classrooms, we had every type of student... those really focused on their letter grade achievement; those really focused on the process of learning and not so concerned about their letter grade achievement and those who seemingly weren't that concerned about either. In self reflection, the kids noticed that those who were stressed about the test weren't having all that much fun in school. They also noticed that those who evidently weren't concerned about the process or their grade were having a lot of  fun, but perhaps not the right kind. When we spoke about those kids who seemed to really just enjoy the process of learning, the students noticed that these kids were striking a balance between school work as they called it, and having fun... knowing when to keep things light, but also when to get down to business.

In the process of our reflection we came up with this definition of purposeful and engaged learning in school.

If you're having fun and not learning, that's bad. If you're learning and not having fun, that would bad too, but if your having fun and learning, that's good.

Pretty simple I think.

Learning for Living...

flickr CC image via scratanut

Learning for living... Find something you love to do, then find a way to make money doing it"

Life long learning is a phrase being used a lot lately. Educators everywhere are working hard to support life-long learning. They are responding to the perceived need in contemporary society for kids to become life-long learners in preparation for the twenty-first century... but what is a life-long learner, and furthermore, what is twenty-first century learning? 

I am wondering if the impact of both these terms is becoming neutralized by a lack of clarity and context. How we frame learning is key if we intend to create substance around these terms, and then once we have a clear grasp of learning, we can begin to contextualize a platform of support that sustains it over a lifetime that for the vast majority of us, will not extend beyond the 21st Century making life-long learning, and 21st Century learning, somewhat synonymous. 

Zen and the art of early engagement...

flickr CC image via woodleywonderworks

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything;

it is open to everything.  In the beginner's mind there are

many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.

Shunryu Suzuki-Roshi

I have been thinking about the way we introduce learning to kids at the beginning of the kindergarten to grade twelve spectrum. We are taught as preservice teachers to think of early learning kids as "tabula rasa," or blank slates. This is interesting considering that we are also taught during our preservice training that kids have learned an almost unbelievable amount in the first five years of life. We certainly don't seem to honor the widely accepted notion that kids have likely learned more before entering school than they will collectively for the rest of their lives. From the NYU Child Study Center...

During this time the brain undergoes its most dramatic growth, and children rapidly develop the cognitive capacity that enables them to become intellectually curious and creative thinkers.

It appears clear to me that we are very privileged as professionals to have such adept and capable subjects to work with right off the bat. Even if we accept that kids are born as blank slates... tabula rasa, I believe by the time they enter school, kids are chock full of knowledge, skills and attitudes enabling them to learn any number of things... each child is indeed tabula abundans; an abundant slate. Their "beginner minds" are primed and ready to learn. So how do we run with this and make it work for them?

Learning Circles.

flickr CC image via IDEAleemade

I'm fond of circles. To me circles represent learning that is non-linear, organic and never-ending; not the type I typically experienced as an undergraduate student in the Faculty of Education I attended. A linear path was more or less set out for me in pre-service teacher training, (but there were some bright spots,) and I did what was asked of me. More recently I have become involved in less linear learning paths, but only in the last few weeks have I contextualized them as learning circles. All the way through my K-12 education, and at three post-secondary institutions since then, I always knew when I was immersed in an authentic, organic learning environment, I just didn't know what to call it. It was about the spirit of my involvement in learning, and the spirit of those around me. Collectively we created learning environments that were comfortable and non-threatening, strength-based and multi-faceted. A bright-spot example of what I would have called a learning circle at the time if I had thought about it in that context was my experience in a class taught by Dr. David Wangler.

Dr.Wangler insisted that his students did two things... we had to read, we had to write and we were guided to do both using the best resources available at the time. My undergrad years pre-date widespread use of modern technology in the classroom, so that meant we actually had to read books; lots of them, and then we had to write about what we read. Years ahead of his time in the realm of creating an authentic learning environment, Dr. Wangler set up his class so the students were the drivers of their own learning paths. At the beginning of the term, he asked us to sign a contract stating the mark we intended to get at the end of the term. Each requisite grade corresponded to a set of "readings," five picked by him and the rest varied in quantity according to the mark we intended to receive (for a seven out of nine, I had to read 18 "books," each the equivalent of 200 pages.)

Stories...

flickr CC image via Magenta Rose

Stories aren't a "communication tool." Stories just are... we use communication tools to tell them.

Stories are powerful, no doubt... perhaps more powerful than any other element of learning. How they are told makes lots of difference. When we tell stories that are personal, true, emotional and purposeful, they take on meaning that moves people. Whether these stories are told through words, pictures, writing, sculpture, photographs, paintings whatever... the tool serves to represent the story, but the story is there regardless whether someone chooses to tell it or not.

If it is to be, it's up to we...

flickr photo via fdecomite

As I seek clarity and inspiration for another new school year, a recent conversation with my fellow nemeticists has once again got me thinking. As teachers work hard to prepare for the new year, and their levels of anticipation reach a fever pitch this September, it's vitally important to stay grounded and focused on our fundamental purpose. But to do this we have to know what our fundamental purpose is. I believe that, more than anything else, teachers are in the story-writing business. The world we all share is one big story written by history. When teachers teach, whether it be good, bad or indifferent, they become part of this story.

Kids learn now... Let's prepare teachers to teach now

flickr phot via mac.rj

I'm not fond of the term "21st Century learning." It has become a wildly referred to catchphrase in education, and as catchphrases go, I worry that the original intent of the term has been lost in translation. So often the term is equated with technological advances, and more specifically, how to utilize them in teaching and learning. I think 21st Century teaching and learning is way more involved than this.

Taken on the surface, teachers everywhere are challenged with the task of preparing kids for the 21st Century, or at least the remaining 89 years of it. A daunting task. This report commissioned by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) suggests that the teaching profession needs to think differently about how teachers are prepared to teach kids for this century; to enable, empower and engage them. The report lays out a plan to emulate a more clinical approach to teacher training similar to how doctors are trained with practical experience taking a more prominent role throughout the process. In so many ways, if done well with serious consideration for the practical value of learning how to teach in an actual school, I believe a clinical approach to teacher training is a very good idea. I have to ask though, does the medical profession attempt to prepare doctors to provide up-to-date patient care 100 years at a time? Perhaps a grounding of the term 21st Century as it applies to education is needed so we know what we mean when we say it. It has to be about more than just technology... it's a thinking thing.

I believe we never stop learning...

I believe that we never stop learning, despite ourselves. Those who embrace the joy of learning, embrace the joy of life.

 flickr photo via fotologic

One thing I know about kids is that they have tremendous capacity to be resilient. Most young children are unfettered by "the world." They have a very fortunate egocentric perspective that shelters them from the sort of stress that adults deal with. They see everything anew and are mindful of it all. They see possibilities where adults see constraints. They ask "why" and "how" seeking understanding about everything they encounter. Each is a nomad on  a journey of discovery. Young children embrace the joy of life through their experiences; this is how they make sense of the world; how they learn.

Young kids do a lot of living. Their experiences are so visceral, raw and authentic... how could they not learn from them? They embrace every experience, and in turn, embrace learning; the two are synonymous in kids' minds... they believe the world is one of possibility, and they seek to be part of that possibility. They see the world they believe as opposed to believing the world they see.

Like my friend Ted, I am a sucker for sappy songs... and also for sappy videos; especially when they make a statement as simple as this one does.

Video credit with appreciation to Junior Chamber International Petaling Jaya

One of the most effective ways I can think of to help kids hold onto their dreams is to model hanging on to ours. Adults who remain connected to their child-like belief that all is possible provide effective modelling for those kids that may be vulnerable to the negative influences of the world. Adults experience the world in ways that knock us down a bit, but if we can remember that there is something to be learned from every experience, even the bad ones, perhaps we can make a bit more sense of it all, and then we'd be embracing the joy of learning and life just like we did when we were kids.

Engaging Diverse School Communities...

I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to collaborate with sixteen other authors, and the executive editor, Eileen Kugler (@embracediversiT) on a new book, Innovative Voices in Education: What it Takes to Engage Diverse Communities."

Eileen is also the author of, Debunking the Middle-class Myth: Why Diverse Schools Are Good for All Kids... awarded Book of the Year by the National Association for Multicultural Education and Delta Kappa Gamma International Women Educators Honor Society. The story of how I became involved in the writing of this book is a testimony to how powerful truly collaborative efforts can be, and in particular, how social media can play a remarkable role in bringing the world closer together. As I say in my chapter,

Exposing how we perceive the world, and in turn becoming open to alternate points of view causes the lens we look through to gain a broader and clearer scope. Exercising opportunities to see the world through the eyes of others allows us to challenge our own perceptions; to reflect on our purpose and the manner in which we influence the world. The interpersonal tools we access to negotiate cultural understanding become sharper and more focused when we open ourselves up in this way.

Social media provides us the opportunity to make connections with previously inaccessible people. In turn, our exposure to alternate points of view becomes a very real and immediate opportunity to grow deeper understanding of each other. If it wasn't for my personal learning network, I may have never met Eileen Kugler, and would have missed the opportunity to gain a broader and clearer scope toward diverse schools through my collaboration with the book project.

I met Eileen last fall via the #ecosys chat on Twitter. Following the Twitter discussion, Eileen sent me a DM saying she was intrigued by the conversation and inviting me to check out her website, http://www.embracediverseschools.com/. I learned that Eileen is dedicated to the mission of strengthening diverse schools and communities, and replied to her with an invitation to check out KARE Givers. She did just that.

What followed was the beginning of such a wonderful connection with Eileen and her new book project. After perusing my blog, Eileen asked if she could call me at some point for a brief conversation. We set up a time to speak on the phone, and at that point I had no idea where the conversation would lead. Eileen called and we spoke about a number of things related to diversity and culture, and the term interculturalism came up. As we spoke about this term, I realized that we shared many perspectives toward how intercultural schools enhance the teaching and learning process. We spoke for about an hour, and I felt a growing philosophical synergy with Eileen. As we wound down our conversation, Eileen mentioned her book idea, and then asked me if I would be interested in contributing. I was surprised to say the least, but also honored and thrilled to be asked to write for her. And so the journey began.

As I reflect on the fortunate and inspiring opportunity Eileen has provided me, I am left amazed at how social media made it all possible. Through my PLN, and my use of Twitter, I have made a new friend and colleague that I am so proud to associate and collaborate with. I am looking forward to learning more about the other authors, and can't wait to read the rest of the book. Eileen informed us all today that Innovative Voices in Education... should be out this fall. Watch for it. As she says, it will be "a very valuable book to anyone who cares about engaging students and families of diverse backgrounds."

I agree.
Thank you once again Eileen.

Mastery is a Myth

We need to challenge individuals by continuously raising the learning bar- mastery in learning is a myth.

Learning is continuous growth fueled by wonderment leading to discovery.When we place arbitrary benchmarks on any learning continuum, and then deem one on the high end of the continuum to be mastery, we do a disservice to learning. The most profoundly intelligent among us are those who understand implicitly that they have everything to learn. The term mastery by definition connotes exactly the opposite of this idea...

-mastery [ˈmɑːstərɪ]

n pl -teries

1. full command or understanding of a subject

2. outstanding skill; expertise

3. the power of command; control

4. victory or superiority

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

With the exception perhaps of definition number two, mastery in the context of learning seems to connote control, command, power and superiority; elements contrary to the idea that no matter how much we think we know, pushing the parameters of discovery requires curiosity, humility and the perspective that there are no limits to how much we can learn.

There are no objective definitions of failure, therefore there should be no objective definitions of success. In learning, mastery is a myth.

I feel like a first year teacher again!

Like me, my wife is a teacher. Tonight she said something that really made me think. She took a transfer to a new school this fall; a school with very exciting things happening. Her new school is a freshly re-tooled science and technology focused school, and on top of that, changed from a middle school to a newly minted kindergarten - eighth grade school. Suffice to say there is a very positive buzz surrounding these changes, and the staff are working very hard to build a new culture and put the pieces together.

Amidst all the change in her new school environment, and as she was preparing for her day tomorrow, my wife said "I feel like a first year teacher again!" ...what an awesome statement! If you are an experienced teacher and you feel like this, good on you because it means you are taking risks, trying new things and moving your practice into anxiety inducing realms, but in a good way. Not to state the obvious, but learning doesn't stand still, and neither should we as teachers. If you feel a little uneasy about what you're doing this year, I'm proud of you because you're not standing still; you're moving your teaching and learning practice forward and your students will be the benefactors of the effort.

Congratulations.

Embrace the struggle, but don't do it alone...

flickr CC photo via Bill Brine


"Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean."  -Ryunosuke Sator

Teachers, you're going to struggle this year... we all do. If you don't, perhaps you need a reality check. For teachers, our contextual struggle can be positively framed as the perpetual quest toward better ways to do what we do. Teaching is as fluid and non-static an effort as any, perhaps more than any, and this is a very good thing. When viewed through the purposeful lens, the intangible nature of what we do is exactly what makes it so challenging and interesting- a craft that allows for infinite degrees of creativity and innovation.

Embrace the struggle; seize the opportunity to exist in a teaching and learning environment that welcomes change as a constant, not a variable, but by all means understand also that like many things, when compared to acting alone, collaboration is the key to unlocking creative potential that you may not individually realize.

For whatever reasons teachers have been a fairly solitude group of people for a long time. Perhaps the structure of traditional teaching and learning is to blame as we enter our classroom domains each year comfortably protected by the boundaries of the four walls that surround us... but that's changing. Interdependent networks of forward-thinking educators are discovering the immense possibilities in web-based interaction. Since discovering the power of on-line collaborative networks, my personal learning tribe has grown in the last ten months to incorporate people and their ideas I never dreamed possible.

As we move education forward I think this trend will leave behind anyone who isn't willing to at least lurk in the new paradigm of collaborative, web-based professional interaction until they are comfortable enough to be involved directly. It's ironic that the comfort we used to feel within the boundaries of our secluded classrooms of the past will be replaced by feelings of discomfort and disconnect in classrooms that remain isolated and closed. Teachers who refuse to capitulate to the new cooperative paradigm will undoubtedly find their job increasingly difficult and blocked, and this resistance to work interdependently with others will be the downfall of many teachers to the detriment of their students progress and joy of learning. The problem extends beyond the specifics of resisting the efficacy of web-based teaching connections; resistance to collaborate with others will negatively affect every aspect of the modern classroom.

Reliance on outmoded and under-stimulating pedagogy will exacerbate the problem for disconnected, solitary teachers. As connected classrooms move toward more engaging and authentic teaching and learning, they will be left with dissatisfied and bored students. To me, contemporary education provides no alternative in our professional practice to effective collaboration with progressive practitioners who routinely seek innovative and creative ways to connect every part of the teaching and learning process for kids.

Define questions; discover answers...

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing." - Albert Einstein
Traditional school curriculum defines answers and makes up questions. We need curriculum that defines questions and discovers answers... educators need to think differently. This came to me a while back as I was drifting through different Twitter conversations late one night. There is no exhaustive list of what we can know, but we've artificially created many lists of what we apparently need to know. In order to advance our practise beyond teaching to these lists, teachers would do well to revisit the domain of the question... we need to think differently.

I firmly believe that teachers understand the value of questioning, I'm not suggesting otherwise, but I am suggesting an adjustment to our perspective on questioning would improve our ability to practise teaching. The curriculum we establish in each grade is a great example of how we've become a bit controlling and predictable as professionals- we define the list of what kids should know, and then we make up questions to teach to the lists. I believe that we should state curriculum as questions needing to be answered instead of facts needing to be questioned. I envision curriculum statements not as outcomes to be achieved, but as questions to be answered. Making this change would change the culture of learning from a culture of standards that are exhaustive to a culture of standards that are limitless... limitless learning based on true inquiry, not the artificial inquiry we practise now.

Most teachers waste their time by asking questions which are intended to discover what a pupil does not know, whereas the true art of questioning has for its purpose to discover what the pupil knows or is capable of knowing. Albert Einstein

Caveat: I am not an expert. I shudder to think in the context of this post that expertise is even possible. The topic of exceptional teaching and learning is about as fluid a topic that can possibly exist in my humble opinion, and my opinion is what I am stating in this post; take it or leave it. I'm not telling you what to do as educators, or parents for that matter... or even how to do it. I simply want to  strike a chord of thought in you to reflect on as you develop your own perspective toward teaching and learning, and for the record, I don't believe this process ever ends for what parents and teachers should be first and foremost- conscientious learners.

I'm hearing much from my Twitter tribe about "what teaching is," and what defines a good teacher as major elements of the cognitive surplus running wild via the influence of social media. Teachers all have opinions on these points of discussion. We started to form them as undergraduate students in teaching colleges all over the world before we had any clue to an informed position. (As I think back to those days I wonder if it's a good idea to expect pre-service teachers to form a teaching philosophy... maybe it would be better to expose them to the myriad of teaching philosophies that permeate our craft, and let them pick one to start with, then begin to form their own... I digress.)

It seems to me that the entire process of contemporary education depends on what I will call the principle of predetermined principles. The profession of teaching and the process of learning is dependent on what we already claim to know about both entities. I'm not saying this is inherently bad, but it certainly can create some contextual problems as we define good teaching and learning. First-year teachers need a foundation to work from as they enter the profession; they benefit from the principle of predetermined principles as they experiment with different perspectives and ideologies on their way to defining their own. However, if they aren't inclined to question what they're doing and what they're believing constantly, then the context gets diluted. In the worst cases it gets diluted to the point of stagnation. Above all, good teaching and learning MUST include the element of questioning; we have to understand that discovery (learning) is an inquiry-based process, and not something that can have limits placed upon it.

Predetermined principles are important for students too. Humankind has built an incredible base of knowledge over our short history, and we can't discount this as teachers. We know what we know, and that's NOT a bad thing. (I'm growing increasingly disheartened by a stance among educators that appears to want to throw away virtually all previous practise and knowledge as if it were the 'wrong way' of our past to be replaced by the 'right way' of the present.) We need to understand that our past mixed with inquiry in the present will create many 'right' ways to do things in the future.

So here's my contribution to the discussions intending to define teaching and good teachers. (Wow... glad I'm not throwing the baby out with the bathwater on this one- Socrates knew this over two-thousand ago.) Teaching is the art of questioning, and it's not simple. Good teaching is nothing different. To me it's defined by the level of proficiency within the art of questioning one has developed. Even more importantly to me, great teaching is developed through a willingness to question not only our students, but ourselves; what we do and how we do it, everyday.

We grow as teaching artisans by using the Socratic method on ourselves in our reflection and review of our own practise. Don't accept your own comfortable place in teaching. Strive to operate in an environment of creative dissonance if you intend to grow as a learner along with your students.