On the Shoulders of Giants
I just got back from a weekend at EduCon. The conference created a great space to think and collaborate about how to push progressive ideas and practices further. One of the sessions I went to gave me something entirely new to think about: my introverted students. Tony Baldasaro (@baldy7) gave a lot of food for thought on the subject. Here's what I learned.
- There is such thing as an introvert. We are all somewhere on the spectru, between extrovert and introvert, but introverts tend to me people who are shy, and don't like to talk much, especially in large groups.
- Extroverts are almost always up for talking about something. They talk to think. They come up with many of their best ideas in conversation. When stressed, tired, upset, they tend to want to hang out with friends, talk about the problem, etc.
- Introverts' thought processing is actually neurologically distinct, according to new research (I don't have a source to cite, but Baldasaro recommended Quiet by Susan Cain). Their problem solving process takes a longer pathway, involving recal of long term memory. They need time to formulate their thoughts carefully this way and tend not to want to speak until they have worked through the process.
- When stressed, tired, upset, etc, introverts tend to want to be alone. However, being alone doesn't mean something is wrong. They might just be thinking.
- Introverts are energized by solitude. Extroverts are energized by interactions with others.
How does this play out in school? At the conference we discussed whether school favors the introvert or the extrovert.
I think traditional school doesn't particularly work for either type. Extroverts are forced to be quiet and work independently most of the time. Introverts are forced to formulate thoughts and answer questions on the spot without the time they need to process their responses.
Progressive education can often favor the extrovert because of the emphasis on cooperative learning and class participation. Do we have a responsibility to help introverts be a part of this kind of work? Probably. Do we also have a responsibility to make adaptations so that it is more comfortable for all students? Id' say so.
I came away with a few good suggestions from Tony and members of my discussion group.
1. Let introverts know in advance if you want to talk to them about something, or if you will expect them to speak about something in class. This is to give them time to work through their ideas.
2. Many introverts will speak up when asked to, but not always take the initiative. Invite introverted students to share their thoughts--especially if there's advanced notice of the discussion and topic, find ways to equalize the airtime time, so that the extroverts don't dominate the conversation.
3. When given an in class writing task, many introverts might take a while to get started. Don't rush them, or assume they are being lazy or defiant. They are probably thinking. Fine to check in about it, though. And when possible, be generous about allowing extra time.
4. Many introverts in the session suggested allowing students to opt out of working in a group and complete a group project on their own. I don't think this would always be possible, but certainly something to consider when assigning group work. It is absolutely necessary that my studets work in groups on this? Do I have any reason not to allow some students to work alone?
5. Finally, research has shown that introverts tend to be much more comfortable participating in discussions online. This is probably because online is not time-based and takes away some of the built up perceptions of social pressure they've experienced in face to face groups. They can be alone and part of a conversation or community at the same time. Find ways to allow students to initiate or extend discussions online, and watch the balance of who's communicating shift.
Thank you, Tony Baldasaro, for bringing this topic to light!
[image credit: theparentszone.com]
My TLN colleague, Marsha Ratzel, pointed me to this post by Ewan McIntosh, that claims, "Collaboration is the key influence in the quality of teaching." At the same time, he argues that most collaboration doesn't work.
In my experience, collaboration works, because teachers who engage in meaningful--not surface-level--collaboration, are part of an intellectual community of teachers, even if that community involves primarily just a few people. Teaching is both art and science. Looking to both those disciplines, we can see that very few scientists or artists would really be successful without being involved in communities built around the work being done in their fields.
Scientists know other scientists' work and build on it. It's not about, "Hey wouldn't it be cool if we worked together on this project so we can say we worked together?" It's more like, "Hey, didn't you try something with this type of material in this type of environment before? How did it turn out, and what would you recommend I use for my project?" Scientists benefit from each other's experiences and thinking. This sharing happens both in person and through the reading and writing of articles and research studies in the field.
Artists I know are interested in other people's art and build on one anothers ideas, both intentionally and without realizing it. There's a conscious discourse going on among artists and including art critics. Artists inspire and support one another, even though they often make their actual art alone.
Teaching in a collaborative setting has teachers work in relation to one another in discussion, sharing of experience, resources, criticism, failures and possibilities. As long as we have a means to communicate, we do it naturally, because we share common ground and we are interested in exploring our differences.
[image credits: nature.com, greenprophet.com]
At the Teaching Ahead Roundtable this month, seven teacher leaders, including me and fellow TLN blogger Dan Brown, have shared their suggestions for improvements to teacher praparation. I focus my piece on preparing new teachers not only to teach but to become members of their school communities. These thoughts come out of a series of discussions over the last year with Bank Street alum and faculty about the future of teacher preparation. It's clear that teachers who understand their students and have established identities in their school communities have a leg up on new teachers who come with a blank slate--this reality shouldn't be ignored by organizations charged with preparing teachers. Gaining knowledge of students and their communities takes time, and the process should start before teachers begin the intense work of daily teaching.
I've written about the ideas of my fellow Bank Street alums on entering a school community before, here. In the Teaching Ahead piece, Teacher Preparation with Strings Attached, I emphasize that if we value the knowledge teachers gain about their students & families, and their school and neighborhood, then a teacher's commitment to a particular school becomes more significant... check out the conversation!
[image credit: fineartamerica.com]
My wish is that in 2012, there will be no more education policy doublespeak:
It will no longer be acceptable for policy makers to say that they respect and value teachers, who are the most important factor in the education of our children--and then enact policies that fail to adequately train, support and retain teachers.
It will no longer be acceptable in the education policy world to claim to value teacher leadership and teacher voice on policy issues--and then not utilize their input in crafting policies designed to improve education. It will no longer be acceptable to say that teachers should be well-compensated professionals, and then invest millions in new tests, data systems, and scripted, "teacher-proof" curricula, rather than writing policies that make teaching into a real profession.
It will no longer be acceptable to say we should have less high stakes testing, because high stakes testing is inappropriate for children, and then continue to make the stakes higher. It will no longer be acceptable to say that teachers should work in teams and colloborate professionally for the benefit of students, and then create policies that have teachers in the same building compete for bonuses for raising test scores, or pit schools that serve similar populations against one another over test scores, which discourages the sharing of best practices.
It will not be acceptable to say that our nation's children need a well-rounded education, and then allow arts programs to be cut or non-existent across the country, including in cities like New York, famous for their arts and music.
It will no longer be acceptable for education policy makers to select schools for their children that emphasize critical thinking skills, discussion, conceptual and project based learning, and boast thriving arts programs; schools that celebrate and trust their expert, veteran teachers--and then advocate for anything less than that for children of the poor.
[image credit: litpark.com]
Resolution I. Do it now, not later.
Living: Do not go to bed with dishes in the sink ever again.
Teaching: If it can be graded and entered in a single prep period, do not leave it for later. It will pile up and start to stink. If the email can be answered now in less than 3 minutes, I will not leave it for later, because I will likely forget. When I do remember, it will be more urgent and in less appealing form.
For that matter, if I can quickly draft a blog post while the idea is fresh in my head, I should do it that day! I lose so many blog ideas to the notion that I can "do it later." Do it now!
Resolution II. Plan more out-of-the-ordinary activities.
Living: I tend to think I'm such a "spontaneous" person that I will just create fun when I need it. But lately I'm more of the busy/tired type and I end up only putting energy into the essential things. I have some fun along the way, but I limit myself to what doesn't take me out of my usual routines...and that's a little boring after a while. Once a month, I will plan something out of the ordinary that I consider fun--a hike upstate, a dinner party at my house, ice-skating, a dance class, etc.
Teaching: I like to think I'm pretty good at creating engaging lessons that utilize a range of modalities, but I have become comfortable and somewhat limited in my usual repertoire. Switching things up takes extra planning, but it can make all the difference in reaching all students and in the overall impact of the class.
One thing I never do, for example, is create educational games for my class (beyond the very occasional Jeopardy). I know this is something kids really respond to, and there's nothing stopping me from finding or making games to reinforce skills and content, except deciding to do it and carving out time to plan it. I also want to include more time for dramatic play and debate into my curriculum. I also want to seek out recommendations from other teachers when my own tool-kit gets stale.
Resolution III: Work on maintaining a beautiful physical space.
Living: Maintaining an aesthetically pleasing living space is worth my time. It is a reflection of how much I care about myself and the experience of others who enter my home. It can lift spirits. Something as simple as making the bed creates a neater and more pleasing image to look at. Among other things, I resolve to make my bed daily, repaint the apartment walls, buy some new plants, and change some of the wall decorations. There is no need to always look at the exact same pictures for years!
Teaching: During the year, I spend more than half of my waking hours in my classroom! My students spend a significant amount of time there every day as well, and it is my job to make those as impactful as possible. I always start out the year putting a lot of love into the physical space, but tend to let it fall by the wayside later.
Luckily, I have students to help me--not only with general organization, but also with updating bulletin boards with student work. As a former principal use to tell us, "They're not meant to be museums! Update them!" I will also bite the bullet and get a few classroom plants (which students love to help maintain) and get a carpet for my meeting area. Local carpet stores are usually happy to donate a remnant. I just need to devote a little time to go and ask.
After writing these resolutions, I realize that the common thread is definitely shifting where I focus my attention and how I spend my time.
Every teacher wishes she or he had more time. Since we don't, the next best thing is to experiment with how we use the time we do have. If I follow through on these resolutions, what else will change?
[image credits: 1.123rf.com 2.en.wikipedia.org 3. montessoriaruba.com]
This month, I've been working with my 8th graders on a journalism study of the neighborhood surrounding our school, which I wrote about last year in Edweek. This is an adaptation of a study I have done with students before in East Harlem and Crown Heights before this. In each school community, the methods are more of less the same, but the dynamics of the experience and the findings are unique to the students and the neighborhood.
This year, it was a chilly morning, when students conducted their original surveys out on the border of Park Slope and Sunset Park, Brooklyn. It was 9am and potential survey participants were busily hurrying to work. Students approached adults, asking them to please take their surveys, but many shook their heads and kept walking.
As the day got later and the sun got stronger, more people were willing to take the survey, and students got excited every time they were successful. But still many adults turned the students down--something I had not encountered so much in the other neighborhoods. (Here are links to Part I and Part II of the process in Crown Heights in 2009.)
In some cases, students realized that the adult they were asking did not necessarily speak English, which was a real barrier to participation. A few shook their heads and said simply, "No English." One eighth grader noticed, "Hey, our data is not going to be accurate, because we can only ask the people who speak English."
At that point, some of our Spanish-speaking students realized there was a simple solution to this problem, and began approaching pedestrians in Spanish with more success. It got even better when Spanish-speaking students started translating for non-Spanish speaking students to help them get more participants in their surveys, which is what is happening in the picture on the left.
I was especially happy to see this because I've noticed that many of my Latino students--who make up 35% of the 8th grade student population--seem to avoid speaking Spanish in school. Unlike the bilingual middle school I worked in in East Harlem, where Latinos were a majority and regularly spoke Spanish, English and Spanglish to one another, my Spanish-speaking students are shy and even embarrassed to speak the language. I assume they do this in response to English clearly being the language of the majority and the language of their academics, aside from Spanish-language class.
The day we conducted the surveys around Sunset Park, knowledge of Spanish became a powerful tool for success on the project. It became a way of connecting with and learning from more people, allowing us all to gain a more complete picture of the realities and perspectives of the community. Finally, among students in our diverse school, the experience sent a strong message of the value of bilingualism.
In my free time, I've been playing in a band. (violin, mostly) It's been exhilarating, lots of fun, and also full of challenges. The most amazing thing about it, of course, is the feeling you get when you've put in the work and then one day in practice you suddenly hear how good it sounds. It's a group effort--each individual player knowing what they are doing and being prepared, listening to one another and the total sound, and responding and communicating effectively. There is an intuitive nature to playing music well in a group, a creative component, and a technical one. There is also a need for individuals to take on various leadership roles to keep the group moving forward, creatively and practically.
Many bands fail because they can't come together or stay together around these key elements. They struggle to manage themselves, make decisions and comprimises, or understand another's point of view. When musical groups do succeed at these things, the effect is one of the most amazing things life has to offer--great music.
As I teacher, I just keep asking myself, am I preparing my students to work in a group like this? Would there be more good live music out there if school were designed to help students organize themselves around creative endeavors, that involved technical know-how, creativity, practice, and leadership? How much great stuff *period* would come about if school were really a practice ground for students to work on authentic, collaborative projects with real-world application?
[image credits: 1. Renee Scotland 2. zedge.net]
The education world is a big place. Having explored some interesting reaches in and around that world, and at times having spread myself too thin, I've recently come back to the idea that the most important work I can do is in my classroom with students. Nonetheless, it doesn't work for teachers to do their work with their heads in the sand, so to speak, ignoring the wider world of education research and policy that continues to dicate and influence aspects of our teaching, our students' lives, and our career paths. It is equally necessary that policy makers, researchers, and others involved in education outside the classroom are in constant dialogue with teachers and school leaders so that their work makes sense and can have a positive impact on students.
So I've been playing a lot in my mind with the balance between the classroom as the single most important place in the education world, and the need to be in dialogue with others in education, who occupy different spaces and roles, but nonetheless are pieces of the same puzzle. If we all really want a first rate education system in this country, then we need to communicate effectively about it. Communication takes time and effort.
Writing this blog has been a good way to be both in my classroom/school community and in conversation with a wider educational community. Here, as in many of my fellow teacher bloggers' sites (Check out TransformEd for a feed of our collective voices), the two worlds don't seem so divided.
[image credit: canstockphoto.com]
I just saw the film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are, one of my all time favorite books. This classic picture book has a permenant spot in my 8th grade ELA curriculum, where my students invesitage the Journey Story. I was not expecting it to be great, because it's ratings were so-so. In some ways it wasn't. As an adult looking for an entertaining flick, not sure this qualifies. But it found it, like the book, oddly profound. It takes liberties with the story, filling in back story and making real characters out of the wild things. But Maurice Sendak co-produced the movie and I can see why. It is different from the book, but resounds like the book. It speaks on the issue of children and power. I was expecting the wild things to be like kids. But like the original illustrations suggest, they are representations of the adults in Max's life. Max feels powerless in reality, a difficult feeling all children experience on various levels. He becomes the king of these wild things and attempts to solve their problems.
Looking for reviews of it, I noticed that fellow TransformEd blogger, Dan Brown, also has written an excellent post about this film. He calls it "required viewing" for teachers. I'd agree. As an adult who cares about children and is interested in understanding childhood, this fim has unusual depth and brilliance. Check out Dan's post and the film. It's a great use of two hours of your winter vacation.
[image credit: indecentbazaar.wordpress.com]
Renee Moore has written a really important piece about a former student of hers who is now a teacher called Good Teaching--Interrupted. The young man has been very successful in the classroom, but now, due to an administrative change is now at the receiving end of school-wide "reform" at the hands of a single outside curriculum consultant (with limited teaching experience). As Renee explains, there are very troubling racial overtones of the situation in her Mississippi Delta context, where black teachers have been targetted and dismissed while white teachers from outside are encouraged to move and teach there for short term. Please read her post to better understand what's going on.
This is not the first time I've heard or seen such a story of good teaching interrupted. Top-down micromanaging of teaching is why many of the best teachers leave the profession. Interestingly, this is also a story about teacher leadership gone wrong. I don't know much about the consultant in this situation, but evidently she taught for a few years before getting her current position. Most of the people in positions like hers were once teachers--though some for surprisingly little time.
Some people move from teacher to teacher leader all too quickly. I may have been guilty of that, but my leadership roles involved facilitating team meetings and writing about my experiences in this blog and other places. I was not managing other teachers' teaching. I was not evaluating teachers, nor was I looking for compliance on an agenda I created. Moving into a position where I evaluate other teachers' work is unappealing to me. I'd rather not have that kind of power or responsibility when it comes to another person's craft. Part of that is because, 8 years into teaching, I'm still actively developing my own craft. I recognize that, while there are important common skills and bases of knowledge that support good teaching, my process and path in teaching is unique. I need to come to some stopping place with that before I believe I could, with an open mind, judge another's teaching.
That is to say, that teachers leaders, especially those in supervisory roles, should be accomplished in their own teaching. There are many good teachers with just a few years of teaching, but I wouldn't yet call them (or myself three years in) accomplished. They don't yet know who they are as teachers and should not be in charge of other teachers' practices.
Teacher leaders should not be hungry for power over other teachers. Leadership allows teachers to make an impact beyond their own classrooms, but positive impact and control are not the same. This story and many others like it show that shortsighted leadership or abuse of power drives good teachers out of the classroom. Exactly the opposite impact most leaders intend to have.
[image credit: depositphotos.com]
