Why I'm Tired of People Arguing About Grit

I’m tired of the online arguing and posturing over the concept of “Grit.”  At first, it sounded like a good idea, successful people have attitudes that lead to persistence and hard work, allowing them to overcome obstacles and reach their goals.  We can teach these qualities to students and increase their chances of success.

Then the critics come to say that is just elitist B.S., even calling some of its proponents modern day “eugenicists.”  Grit is fine for the privileged they say, but citing Grit as the reason for success is just another way to “blame the victim” and place the fault of failure squarely on the shoulder of our children and not the systems that place obstacle after obstacle in their way.

So they endlessly chatter. And chatter some more. Baiting each other into argument and reveling in their intellectual exchange.  All the while ignoring the damage their polarizing attitudes, rooted in theory divorced from practice, can have on public school students in America. It creates a false dichotomy.

Haven’t we learned anything from the polarized politics of Washington and our state houses that seem to miss the reality of people’s everyday lives?

So what do our kids need?  Grit or Slack.

If you are in a classroom everyday the answer is easy.  Both.

Every child is different and every day is different.  Still, in many ways, they are not much different from us.

For example, I get a tax refund every year.  (we can debate that wisdom later)  Knowing that my government owes me money, I am motivated to file early, so I’m hoping to file by Monday.  For most Americans who owe Uncle Sam, what day are they most likely to file?  That’s right, April 15.  Some might even take the hit and file late.

When do students complete their work?  That’s right, when they have to.  Just like you and I, a deadline or a due date is the day that you finish what you have to finish.  Without compelling reason or reward, you just aren’t likely to finish early.  And sometimes you shouldn’t.  It is wise to use all of your allotted time to do something well.

Sometimes a student needs a deadline.  They need to know that it means something.  If it is not enforced then it is no longer a deadline. 

Sometimes a student needs a break.  We know they have had issues that other students have not dealt with.  We know their reason for not doing what they are supposed to is understandable. 

Not always, and sure we get it wrong sometimes.

So why not err on the side of the student, right?  Give them the benefit of a doubt.  As the mantra goes, “it about what’s best for the student.”  What is best for the student?

I got the benefit of a doubt too many times in high school.  I could remember almost anything I heard and so long as I paid attention in class, I could count on doing well on tests.  If teachers required additional work, I did just enough to keep an “A” (or a “B” if it was an AP because those were weighted).  I knew that in most classes teachers would not bother to penalize me for poor work habits if I could score well on their tests.

This relates to Carol Dweck’s ideas on “mindset.”  I didn’t achieve because of effort, school just came easy to me.  I relied on my abilities and didn’t even get that my effort (or lack thereof) mattered.

It was good enough to earn me admission to the University of Virginia, but I barely escaped my first year without an academic suspension.  I never opened a book to read for biology or psychology, the teacher went over homework in math every Friday, so I didn’t bother to do it ahead of time, and Latin homework wasn’t collected or graded so I never did it.

I spent the first three weeks of the summer of 1991 on the assembly line of the Bassett Furniture factory where I’d worked the last three summers wondering whether that was the place I’d spend the rest of my life.

Taking my excuses for not doing work and giving me second chances when the grade I had earned at the end of a marking period was not as high as I wanted wasn’t in my best interests.  After the scare of suspension and prospects of life in a factory (which would have turned into unemployment) I tried something different.  I actually read the texts assigned on schedule.  I did assignments even when they were not graded.  I found other people in my classes to study with.  I did this because after a year of college I learned that effort matters.  I finished college with a decent GPA, but more importantly, I learned in the process.

What I am advocating is not a “no excuses” attitude.  Nevertheless, there is a little truth to the old teacher mantra of “don’t let them see you smile until Christmas.”  Any successful teacher who has been at it for more than a few years does not need an armchair quarterback to explain how students work.  Grit and the qualities of perseverance are vital.  Students need to learn self-control, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal skills vital to success in the world.  They need external standards of accountability.  They also need to be subject to the spirit and not the letter of the law.  Situations require flexibility and because there is a relationship between teachers and learners, teachers recognize that there is a time for slack.

Writing books and engaging in theoretical arguments are fun, but when you deal with the reality of whether a student is going to graduate or not and struggle with the question of whether they will walk into their future equipped for success or set up for failure, that’s when you really understand the question “What’s in the best interest of the child?”

It Ended With A Griddle

It started innocently enough. "Mr. Turner, want to host our club?"

They asked politely. So far they'd proven to be good kids. I gave them a chance. "What kind of club is it?"

"The Lumberjack Club!" Both of them proclaimed in unison.

"And what exactly will the Lumberjack Club do?" I asked.

"Wear flannel, eat pancakes, and learn about lumberjacks," he said, then paused before adding, "but mostly eat pancakes. It's really about the pancakes."

How could you say no to that? So I agreed.

They kept me informed of the progress. "We've got people to bring in griddles, we'll get plates, forks, pancake mix, and syrup." They made a Facebook event and told me it was going to be a crowd. The created an excellent video promo for the club.



 Today was the day. Griddles and pancake mix and supplies were dropped of in waves over the course of the morning. A-block, done, B-block, done. The lunch bell rings and it's time for The LumberJack Club!

Five or six of the founders arrived and rearranged the furniture and set up a work space.

"I think we better just use two of the griddles," I said, "we have issues down here in the basement with breakers some time." So we plugged in two of the larger griddles and started mixing pancakes while they heated up.

Pop! (not a crazy loud dramatic pop mind you, just a little)

"Yep, that was the breaker. Give me a minute to get a master key and I'll reset it. But we better scale back to one griddle."

A trip upstairs for the key and a visit to the utility closet later and we were cookin'. Six cakes on the grill, two pitchers of batter, and a line of hungry, lumberjack-dressed teenagers waiting in a line.

Then I got the word from the teacher next door. "Did you have anything to do with the wireless being down? Because my entire lesson plan next period depends on it."

"Ooooooh. Maybe. I'll check."

Realizing I was over my head, I turned to my fellow Underground Teacher for help. Before we could search for a solution, I heard unwelcomed words. "There it goes again."

Twelve pancakes in and we'd blown breaker number two.

I reset the switch and headed off with Mr. Lindsay to the menacing "internet closet."

If networked buildings had real bowels, they'd look like this. Wires and boxes and blinking lights everywhere. We were lost. The only thing we knew for sure was that the blinking red light on the router meant nothing good.

I began to panic and just went back to try and hide in the middle of the fifty or so flannel-clad teens aimlessly waiting for pancakes in my classroom. Pancakes thirteen through eighteen had just been poured on the grill when I heard the custodian at the door.

"What is going on in here?" He looked genuinely surprised. I wished that I could offer him a pancake.

Innocently, I replied, "We're cooking pancakes?"

He seemed confused. What could be confusing about fifty kids in flannel, huddled around an electric griddle waiting on some pancakes?

"We've got fire alarms going off upstairs. You're setting off the heat sensors. We've been running around trying to figure out what's going on."

"Oh. Yeah, it's us. Just trying to make some pancakes."

"Are y'all done yet?" He was very polite, considering the circumstance.

"Do you need us to be?" I offered.

"Yeah, I think so. Let me use your phone to call upstairs to let them know what's happened."

Trifecta! We killed power, we killed internet, and yes, you guessed it, the phone was dead.

What's the moral of this story? The twenty-first century isn't ready for twenty-first century learning.

I created an open space for learning and allowed the students to engage in an activity of choice. I respected their comfort (what's more comfortable than flannel) and turned my room into a maker space (making pancakes is every bit as vital to society as making bridges) for them to collaboratively create. Their work had an authentic and immediate audience. And what was the result?

Absolute chaos! And mild disappointment. But no worries. The teenage lumberjacks, undaunted by setback, spent the remainder of lunch figuring out how to engineer LumberJack Club 2.0.

Good luck Lumberjacks! (and Lumberjackies)

To The Class of 2013

One more year and one more time that the Teaching Underground hasn't been invited to share a graduation message at one of the nation's elite educational institutions. But, our very own Mr. Lindsay will have the honor of reading the names of our high school graduates at this year's commencement exercises.

As in 2011 and 2012, I've once again attempted to write the graduation speech that won't be delivered to the class of 2013. Enjoy.

To the class of 2013. Remember privacy.

You live in a world where data rules. From “MoneyBall” to SOL tests, from Algorithms suggesting friends to music that you might enjoy.

Much of this is nice. Decision-making is difficult. By the time you’re my age, like me, you will be sick of the conversation that starts with, “what do you feel like for dinner tonight?”

Movie recommendations on Netflix, friend suggestions on social media, food suggestions from supermarkets based on your purchase history—this is empowering. You don’t have to waste so much time on meaningless decisions anymore. Now that brain power is freed up, liberated.

To do what?

I’ve heard the President doesn’t even pick out his clothes for the day because of the mental energy devoted to making choices.

I don’t have as many important decisions in the day as the President, so I’ll keep picking out my own clothes. For now.

And you probably should too.

Adults might hold the ideal that we just need to get out of the way and let you become who you’re meant to be. You might like that idea too. But when I get out of the way, something else will step right in to take my place.

Your generation probably deals with more influence from the outside world than any before you. Part of it is because they know so much about you it’s easy to manipulate your preferences and likes.

I’m not trying to be a Luddite, but I want you to know, if you’re not careful about outsourcing your decision-making, eventually you won’t even realize that someone else is in control of your life.

It’s only natural. You may have heard of choice paralysis. Sometimes when we have too many options, we don’t know what to do. I like having the supermarket push items in the weekly sales ad that fits my shopping profile. I don’t like it when marketers or political pollsters know the balance on my mortgage and what that predicts about my future behavior.

These will be the most important decisions about life that you will have to make in the coming years. How much of myself will I expose to the world and how much will I hold back.

And in the age of information, if you choose to expose, there’s no going back inside.

Good luck navigating the twenty-first century.

My Day in Court

I teach in a basement with five other teachers. During a tornado drill, my class gets to stay put because we’re in the safest place in the building. Recently I quipped with my principal that every time I poke my head above ground I feel like I’m walking into the aftermath of a tornado and want to retreat below the surface.

Three months ago I ventured above ground to make copies for class. As I walked across the courtyard of our school, some students gathered in social groups, others were moving toward their classes. I nearly made it all the way across when a young man approached a small group and punched another young man in the back of the head.

I was far enough along to keep moving and pretend I didn’t notice. I won’t lie, I considered this option. I could have ducked into the building, leaving the action behind. As the men (can you call 17 and 18 year olds boys?) began posturing and yelling at each other I looked across the courtyard for other adults.

No one.

Now I’m stuck.

A fight is breaking out and no one is here to help.

Before they started throwing punches I determined that coming between them was a no win approach for any of us. I couldn’t choose one to restrain without just holding him for the other to pummel. So as the arms started flying, I embraced them both, bringing them as close together as possible, keeping them from punching.

The three of us continued an awkward dance for what seemed like two or three minutes. Probably more like seconds. All three of us ended up on the ground before two other teachers, three administrators, a security aide, and the school resource officer finally separated the mass of people.

We haven’t had a fight in the basement in over fifteen years. It had been a while since I’ve had to intervene. I had such an adrenaline rush during the incident I felt hungover the rest of the day.

I’d never seen the two students before. I didn’t know their names. The administrators didn’t make me write a referral, but I had to write a description of what I saw. I completed it that day and sent it. Story over, right.

Wrong.

Today I get to spend the day in court.

I want to be an enlightened educator. I want to provide meaningful experiences for students. I want to give them freedom and choice in their education. I want them to collaborate and learn together. I want students to engage in discovery. And I try to make all of this happen.

But today, my students will take a multiple choice test and watch a video because their year is one day from over and I’m in court.

There is a realism to teaching that gets lost. It’s easy to talk about the ideal of intrinsically motivated students just waiting for a teacher to find the spark that drives them to creativity and a passion for learning.

But then you step in between two grown men throwing punches at each other. You sit in the back of the classroom for several minutes allowing your body to recover while students discuss “who won.” You worry that the dirt on one of the three pairs of nice pants you own will wash out. You hope the pain in your forty year old back is only temporary. You wonder how many other adults in the world are expected to use physical force in their job without any formal training. And you wonder how easy it would have been to just stay underground and keep your head down.

Then you realize you’re better than all that. The progressives can criticize us for lack of creativity, the corporate reformers can criticize us for incompetence, and nearly everyone can accuse us of thinking of ourselves instead of our students.

Even when our actions everyday say otherwise.

The Ninety Second Evaluation

So an “enlightened” student calls out a “terrible” teacher and the nation takes notice. It doesn’t bother me so much that a “terrible” teacher, teaching by packet may finally be getting his/her comeuppance so much as the belief that a minute and thirty seconds is all that we need to make a judgment.

Does context matter?

I worry about context in my classroom regularly. When students in my class learn about Sigmund Freud and the Oedipus complex, a minute of class taken out of context could lead to serious questions about my fitness for the classroom.

Pulling situations out of context takes me back to my Fundamentalist Baptist upbringings where I learned that you would go to hell for drinking beer or growing long hair. All you’ve got to do is lift a few obscure verses from the Bible and you can support about any argument you want.

So, for the teacher haters, here’s another verse to add to your arsenal. Nevermind the hundreds of minutes in that classroom outside of the minute+ clip. Now you have proof. Teachers are lazy because most of them just sit at their desks and watch students do worksheets.

We are primed for this.

The narrative of the bad teacher has taken a foothold, so strongly that even educational leaders are willing to propagate the story even when they make little serious effort to “right the wrong” they perceive in the classroom outside of dreaming dreams about how it should be done.

I think some people want this to happen. In the nineteen-eighties, the “welfare queen” imagery changed the dialogue on public assistance. Today, even progressive educators propagate the “lazy teacher” taking advantage of the cognitive shortcut to real critical thinking as a way to promote themselves or their agenda. In a different era or culture, the immediate critique would point to the student’s lack of respect and discipline. I’m not saying that’s where we should go, but we’re creating a culture primed to find the fault in the educator.

What’s fair to judge?

Walk a mile… I teach highly motivated 11^th and 12^th graders an AP curriculum. I have a hard time thinking I’m a better teacher than my colleagues teaching younger students who aren’t inherently engaged in the activities of school. It’s hard work, and just because my students are engaged and I don’t write discipline referrals doesn’t mean I know how everyone else should do it. I can humbly offer suggestions, but too often they get bravado from the all star educator or the professional thinkers in education that have the nerve to suggest that lack of engagement is 100% a teacher problem.

I don’t teach by packet. I’ve asked students to learn on their own from time to time with paper and pencil and technology, but I recognize as the young man in the video that not everyone learns that way. If they did, I’d be irrelevant.

If every word from the kid was true, if the teacher engages the class the majority of the time in the manner we see in the video, then yes, there is a problem. Perhaps some other questions should be asked:

Is the teacher held fully accountable for student knowledge of numerous discreet facts they will have to know for a standardized test?

Does the teacher receive adequate time to plan engaging activities for the classroom?

Does the teacher receive adequate time to evaluate student learning well enough to allow it to inform instruction?

Does the school create an appropriate schedule and provide time for the teacher to collaborate with other teachers to share ideas and keep each other informed (and accountable) of what’s working and what is not in the classroom?

Is the teacher encouraged to share success and failures, to take risks, or has she learned that as long as you lay low and don’t make waves they’ll assume you’re doing a good job and overlook you?

I know this much is true. A teacher in Texas had a bad minute and a half.

If that’s an accurate representation of her professional accomplishments I hate it for the young man in the video and every student who’s suffered under her instruction.

If we saw the culmination of a strained relationship between an obstinate young man and his exhausted teacher then shame on everyone who thinks they’d do a better job.

Preparing for the Future

I love “survivalist” reality shows on television. The best ones focus on the need to simplify and make sure of two things in a survival situation. 1) Make sure to acquire basic needs (as opposed to wants) and supplies. 2) Value items that provide multiple uses. The main idea of these two points being that if you take care of the essentials, use a little creativity, and prepare to adapt your chances of surviving and perhaps even flourishing increase greatly.

We’re rarely confronted with the need to adopt a “survivalist” mentality because our world is relatively predictable from day-to-day. When it isn’t and disaster strikes, we face uncertainty and failing to prepare for and react to uncertainty is deadly.

My school district is beginning a process of creating a new strategic vision and plan for the future. At it’s root, that’s what education is about, preparing students for the future. That’s not an easy task when the future is an uncertain place.

All educators should be familiar with the “Shift Happens” videos and the Beloit College “Mindset Lists.” These resources describe the ways that our world has changed and is changing for current students. The lesson we should take from these resources is that predicting the future is futile. Twenty years ago, I lived in a dying analog world quickly being taken over by a digital revolution. Today I’m fully immersed in a digital world. When I consider twenty-years from now, it would be foolish to not consider that by then our world will be post-digital with a new set of challenges and opportunities that we’d never think of today.

As I sit playing a video game on my iPhone, I remember the first “Pong” system I played as a child. I carry a device in my pocket that connects me to the world, serving as my map, calendar, entertainment, reference source, a place to shop, do my banking, and communicate in ways that weren’t even possible twenty years ago. How did my education prepare me for this world?

Teaching students to adapt to an unpredictable future requires that we teach them enduring principles and ideas and give them the opportunity to apply those ideas in multiple ways.

I learned how to read and use a map in school. It doesn’t matter that I use it on my phone today, knowing how to locate yourself and others in the world is essential.

I learned personal and collective responsibility in school. Google calendar sends me text reminders every week so that I don’t forget to take out the trash, but I learned the importance of keeping up with my tasks because of the effect it has on me and others with paper and pencil.

I sometimes spend too much time watching videos and playing games on my mobile phone. I also remember wasting entire Sunday afternoons listening to the top 40 countdown on the radio waiting for the song I wanted to record on my cassette tape. Unfortunately I didn’t learn enough about not wasting time in school.

I learned that context matters in school and different levels of respect were required in different situations. I prefer texting to communicate today, but I still take the time to make sure my grammar is correct and the tone is evident to avoid miscommunication. I learned this because my teachers all had different expectations that I sometimes had to discover on my own through trial and error.

I recently read a book written by one of the stars of the above mentioned “survival” shows. It included an old cartoon of a couple in a fallout shelter, surrounded by stocks of canned food. The wife berated the husband for forgetting the can opener.

What a tragedy to starve to death in the midst of food for lack of a tool. The author followed up with a tedious but effective way of safely opening a canned good with nothing more than an abrasive surface.

That’s how you prepare for uncertainty. You don’t just learn to use the tool, you learn why, and how the tool is useful. Tools are extensions of humanity that facilitate our ability to accomplish a task. The knowledge of why and how gives us the ability to use it effectively, improve it if needed, discern if something new really is better, and to adapt when it is.

The idea of preparing students for an uncertain future can be scary. It’s tempting to buy into the next best thing in fear of being left behind. It’s easy to dismiss the value of technology in enhancing the experience of education.

Ultimately, the best we can do is to teach the lessons that endure to the adults of tomorrow using the most effective tools of today.

What Does it Mean to Put Students First?

Last night, a student communicated with me her dilemma over taking the AP Psychology exam in May. This student is one of my best students and would more than likely score a five on the exam.

The college she will attend next year does not accept a score lower than a five, and she has a second AP exam scheduled the same day as the AP Psychology exam. She doesn’t want to risk taking two exams on the same day and not doing her best on both, and the other exam is more relevant to her future plans.

What I’m really thinking: Please, take my exam. Even if you don’t prepare for it I’m sure you’ll get at least a four. When students like you choose to not take the exam it makes me look worse.

What I know is right: The AP program and exams should provide a benefit to students. (actually, maybe all aspects of education should). Students and parents, with the informed advice of teachers and school support can make appropriate educational decisions.

What I could do: I could insist that every student take the AP exam for my class. If I want a true measure of how well this class prepares students then it would make sense that all students take the test—high achievers, low achievers, and everyone in between.

What I’m happy about: My end-of-course test isn’t as high stakes as many “core” classes. I can look at my students test scores to inform instruction without having to worry so much about how the numbers look.

So what do I say: As I suggest to all of my students, if you were successful in this course you should expect success on the test. If you haven’t earned at least a C, your chances aren’t so good. If you haven’t earned at least a B and don’t plan to make time to prepare for the exam, your chances aren’t so good. Check the colleges you plan to attend and determine their policy on AP exams, compare it with your expectations, and if needed, talk to me and make an informed decision.

In the end, I’m driven by the value that responsibility for educational outcomes are shared by myself, the instructor, and the students taking my course. The test provides a significant tool to evaluate the extent to which each of us live up to our part of the responsibility. I am able to compare class grades to test scores. When discrepancies arise between a student’s class performance and assessment score I can look at all of the variables that might have contributed.

From year-to-year, I am able to modify instruction in response to information gleaned from previous year’s data.

This test has become a tool to inform and improve instruction. Students are not forced to take it for the primary purpose of providing evaluation of their teacher. Students are given the choice of determining whether the test will ultimately be in their best interest. The teacher is freed from the burden of teaching to the test and able to cover the curriculum in a meaningful context.

Current education reform debate too often pits teacher vs. student and falls back to the argument of “students first.” Is the practice of forcing every student to test for hours every year for the primary purpose of creating a system to evaluate teachers and schools a system that is focused on the best interest of the child, or on the teachers and schools that teach them.

Why Thankfulness Matters

Have you ever tried to actively nurture an attitude of Thankfulness? While dwelling on gratitude, it is difficult to keep a bitter heart. With one's mind filled with thoughts of blessing, petty complaints of life begin to separate from true concerns and hardship. I hope that throughout the year, the opinions expressed on the Teaching Underground reflect these legitimate concerns about public education and not petty complaints. Despite the many problems in our systems, the positives certainly outweigh the negative. So with a grateful heart, here's what I'm thankful for this year:

1) Student Feedback- I used to get bitter that elementary teachers get all of the gifts. Today I recognize the many gifts that students give me every year that have no monetary value or tangible uses. Just last week I found an anonymous notecard in my teacher mailbox. "You have taught me a lot this year and I really enjoy your class. Thank you for giving me a seventh period I can look forward to and where I don't want to fall asleep." If you're a student reading this post, a kind word of encouragement-- written or otherwise-- beats any gift you can give. (Unless it's like a $100 gift card to a nice restaurant or a new iPad, or something like that.)

2) A Dynamic Workplace- No two days are the same. It can be a challenge to deal with changing student moods, variable schedules, technology failures or other unforeseen disruptions, but it forces you to keep your mind active and engaged. Teaching requires a delicate balance of thorough planning and flexibility. Practicing this daily is invigorating. Today, a student brought a four-foot air cannon, decorated as a "Canon" camera to class. It was a physics project. Too large to be ignored and too enticing not to play with, I figured out a way to integrate the model into my lesson for the day on "Motivation." I don't often have air cannons in my class, but when I do, we certainly use them.

3) Excellent Colleagues- Some teachers need to go. I could name a few, but in a building with over one-hundred teachers, the balance is clearly not in their favor. If you or one of your children has suffered a year with a bad teacher this is no consolation, but most of the people I work with are great. I learn from them everyday. This year I think I've had more opportunities to interact with other teachers in my building and system than any time in the last ten years. When good teachers connect, good things happen. I'm thankful for the many great colleagues in my building, in my system, and increasingly across the country.

4) The Internet- I enjoy the idea that my ideas connect with a larger population through the Teaching Underground. When we started, I thought maybe a handful of friends and colleagues would read, but I continue to appreciate the wide reach of our blog. Through it, we've discovered numerous other educators with similar passion and motivation and in the process we've become much less "ignorant" as a result.

I've also discovered a Professional Learning Community of my own.  Usually I'm the only Psychology teacher at my school. There's only one other full-time Psychology teacher in our county and we meet to share ideas and communicate by e-mail. But this year, using Twitter, I've connected with over a dozen other Psychology teachers by participating in #psychat. I take away something new for my classroom almost weekly through the combined knowledge of other participants.

It goes without saying that I'm thankful for a short break. I hope that all of you can find the time to connect with family and friends, or perhaps just to get some time to relax and reflect. Enjoy the break and enjoy your return to work. It's still work, but there's much to be thankful for in that.

We can spank kids in school? Really?

I felt really dumb after reading this headline the other day:

"School Violates Policy When Girl Spanked By Male Administrator"

I felt dumb because I should have known that even today, some schools allow administrators to spank children.  I had no idea that this could still happen.  The school in question violated the policy because "opposite gender" spankings are not allowed-- they're perfectly o.k. of it's done by someone of the same sex.




Apparently corporal punishment is not only o.k. in the Springtown school district of Texas, but also in nineteen other U.S. states.  Really, adults who aren't the parent of a child can spank them in nineteen of fifty United States.  Parents in their home present a whole different issue, but anyone who thinks corporal punishment in a school is still a good idea should certainly find a different line of work.  They are an embarassment to the profession and a threat to our children.

In the video above, a tenth grade high school student chose a spanking over in-school suspension because she didn't want to miss more class.  She'd been accused of cheating.  A male principal administered the spanking which according to the girls mother was excessive and in violation the the school policy calling for same sex spanking only.  The family claims to have pictures that would prove their assertion that the spanking was excessive.

It disturbs me that well respected and powerful adults could support this.  I can hear the comment now, "that's what's wrong with this country now, these kids ain't got no discipline in their lives."  Maybe that's true, but can that lack of discipline be replaced with the blunt side of a principal's paddle?  It's nothing more than an excuse for abuse.

District Superintendent Mike Kelly wants to change the policy.  He's leading the school board to fix this problem by, WHAT?, he wants to get rid of the restriction that forbids males from spanking females and vice versa.  Apparently, the gender distribution of male and female administrators makes it too hard to abide by this policy. (Apparently he succeeded)  This man is a district superintendent.  He's got power and influence and he's using it for this?

Someone please tell me this is a joke.  Otherwise, I might start to think that conventional wisdom is right, maybe it is time to destroy this system of public education and start all over again.

Has Teaching Gone Out of Style

On Wednesday nights, I teach a group of youth at our church.  This week, at the end of our session, a seventh grader whipped out a handful of balloons and a pump and started making balloon animals, much to the delight of all the other middle schoolers in the room.  It was actually quite amazing to watch him work.

One of his friends asked excitedly, "How'd you learn to do that?"

"I learned it on YouTube."

That sentence stopped me in my tracks.  My brain immediately started thinking, "Have I become unnecessary?"

I shared the thought with a parent who arrived to pick up his child.  "Yeah, you can learn anything you want on the internet nowadays."

And I replied, "you're right, if something breaks or I want to find out something that's the first place I go."

Have I become unnecessary?  I even admit to myself, if I want to learn something, I go to the internet and find out.  How to fix my car, why the pilot light on my gas logs burn so high, what was the name of that guitar player from Extreme, is John Tyler's grandson really still alive, and on and on.  If I want to find something out, I go online.

But sometimes, I don't know what I want.  Sometimes I find myself unprepared because of something I don't know.  Sometimes I need more than knowledge and find it helpful to see the example of a person who can lead me, guide me, or maybe even inspire me.

The internet has so fueled our desire for "disruptive change" we move at such breakneck speed that sometimes we end up, well, metaphorically with broken necks.  In the past few weeks, I've prematurely mourned the deaths of Morgan Freeman and Carlton from the Fresh Prince of BelAir because of incorrect Facebook and Twitter posts.  This year we've seen major errors in one time trustworthy news media outlets reporting on the Supreme Court health care decision and the Colorado theater shooting.  And I'm sure that the television show Mythbusters could manage two or three more seasons just debunking all of the false information that spreads as truth online. (Remember the cellphone popcorn popper?)

Maybe I'm not so unnecessary after all.  Despite these problems, the internet has brought about quite a positive revolution in both availability and quality of learning, and this I appreciate.  But until all students become completely self motivated to learn; until learning takes place in isolation rather than community; until we stop relying on each other to expose us to new and interesting ideas...

Until then, I am necessary and relevant.  Even if I can't teach a twelve year old how to make a balloon monkey.

Should I Flip?

Today was frustrating.  Once again, I spent way too long covering content and left little time for students to engage in what I saw as the "true" learning activity of the day.  Last class, we learned about different research methods in Psychology-- descriptive studies, correlation studies, experiments.  I covered basic elements of each before students were placed in groups and given the task of generating a hypothesis based on a common proverb or piece of folk wisdom, then creating a research study to test the hypothesis.

I didn't fully cover experimental design, assuming that after three to four years of science, the students would already have know it.  As I moved around the room checking on groups, it became clear that only a few of them understood the purpose of control groups or how identify an independent and dependent variable.  They had fun working together, but the finished products were quite shallow.

Today, I spent more time reviewing those concepts before we moved on to Ethics in research.  After discussing guidelines for using animals in research, students formed "Review Committees" and read case studies to determine whether the studies met ethical standards.  By the time we got to the activity, we only had time to cover one of the four cases before getting cut off by the bell.

Throughout the year, I let this happen.  We spend too much class time covering content that is readily available in the textbook and elsewhere and leave little time for interactive problem-solving and discovery.  But, when I make the time, students aren't prepared.  What do I do?

That's a perfect lead in to "flip the classroom."  I've considered it.  I'm considering it.  I think I want to.  But...

I teach AP Psychology, an elective.  Each year, over one-hundred students (almost all of them seniors) take my class, by choice.  They enjoy what we do in class enough to spread the word to friends, and every year the course fills.  They learn.  AP scores are good, and I hear from many of them later about how the class helped them in some of their college courses.  But I know they can do more.

Two weeks ago I lost my first student.  "We met with a college advisor who said I'd have a better chance of admission by taking AP Statistics.  I don't want to drop, but I can't take both."  Then this week, another, "I'm really sorry, but I've got so many other hard classes and I'm working two jobs.  I just don't have the time."  Over the course of the year, I'll probably lose two or three more who wanted to give it a try, but with too much going on in their lives, my class is usually the least necessary for graduation, therefore, the first to drop.

I'll also watch several other students working like crazy to keep up the grade in AP Calculus, AP Government, and AP English among other classes.  Their grades usually start out well, slide toward C in the middle of the year when the workload hits full stride, until it drops too close to the unacceptable range, then they'll double down on effort to bring back up to par.  Some of my other students work struggle all year.  For many kids who don't take AP courses, this one is very accessible.

On the whole, I'm satisfied with my students' achievement and I'm confident in their learning (through more than just the test score even).  But I know I could push them harder.  I know that we could learn deeper skills and concepts in the classroom if we didn't spend so much time learning content.  Should I do it, should I flip?

What if it means that fewer kids are able to take the class because they're already working as hard as they can?
What if it means that my class is not accessible to kids who leave school and spend a few hours at practice, then go to work, and then get home and get down to schoolwork?
What if it means that a student who wants the challenge of an AP course can't take it because the workload has increased?

Almost all of my students seem extended to their full capacity.  They enjoy what they learn in my class, and they're willing to put in the twenty minutes or so required each night to complete assigned readings and work.  But they are not going to prioritize this elective course above English, Government, or other "core classes."  I've actually had to recommend to a few students in the past that they drop AP Psychology because of failing Government or English.  How can you let a kid put time into your class to do well while they fail the courses they must pass to graduate.

I could hold them more accountable for nightly reading, require more written work to demonstrate understanding and comprehension of vocabulary and facts.  When I remember Psych 101 in college I remember reading the text, three hours of lecture a week, one hour in a discussion session with thirty other students and a T.A., and four multiple choice tests to determine my grade.  I think I'm already doing better than that in my course.

So I'm torn.  In theory, flipping my classroom sounds like a great idea.  It would just require that students spend more time at home preparing for my class than they already do; but in class we could engage in much more authentic work.  In practice, I worry that my students, many already with a full schedule, extra-curricular activities, and jobs, might find the requirement more than they can handle and give up.

In the end, is it o.k. that they want to come to class and learn about Psychology because they don't have the time outside of school to really get into it.

So what's the decision?  Should I flip?

The empty seat.

It is not about reform.
It is not about failing schools or AYP.
It is not about charters and privatization.
It is not about graduation rates or subgroups.
It is not about NCLB or Race to the Top.
It is not about parents or teachers.
It is not about federal, state or local laws and policy.
It is not about curriculum, pedagogy or instructional time on task.
It is not about unions or lobbyists or Congress.
It is not about Duncan, Rhee, Ravitch or an IEP.
It is not about intervention, tutoring or getting teachers to last.
It is not about reading levels or math scores.
It is not about an AP scores or SATs.
It is not about lessons, homework assignments or a grade.
It is not about common core, merit pay or  best practices.
Some days remind us to set it all aside and for awhile to remember...

Schools are about the lives of young people. 

A Message to Students Returning to School

I found this video yesterday, and I'm not sure who made it, but it is a funny and inspiring message for students as they return to school.

Some highlights:
"If you look at human history from like the time of the agricultural revolution, the period of time featuring compulsory public education looks like this...(250 years very short)"

"You'll also notice this 250 year period has been a pretty good one for humans, featuring Steam Engines, the internet, antibiotics, skyscrapers... and landing a freaking mini-Cooper on Mars!  This is not a coincidence."

 "Physical Education is NOT an oxymoron because your body was not born knowing how to do this...(picture of Olympic gymnast in action)

"The whole pleasure of being human is being STUPID, but learning to be less STUPID together."

"Public Education isn't a charity project, I pay for your school because I want you to grow up and make my life better."

"You've been chosen for a mission that's been denied to 99.9% of all humans ever."

It's four minutes long, but worth the time.  And if you missed yesterday's post, we're still hoping to hear more first day stories from you.

Oh...It's On.

August 22nd marks the start of the 2012-2013 school year for Albemarle County Schools and after seven excruciating days...It's On.
 Can you sense our excitement?  Because we really are excited to finally have the chance to do what we do. Like the great Ric Flair, we can hardly contain our excitement. (How did it take this long for our first Ric Flair reference to appear?)

Wooooooooooooo!  He'd probably have been a great teacher.

So for all those beginning the year all over the county, state and country...students, teachers and others...good luck.

Like this kid, the TU ain't messing around this year...we're ready.

Let us all hope we get off to a better start than this guy.

Why Do I Do This!?

First, let me complain.

I just read the comment on our last post.  "It took all of 10 mins for our meetings to suck the joy of being back right out of me."  I know what you mean.  My co-author told me about having his e-mail password expire this summer.  After talking to several different people at different locations, he finally resolved the problem.  We concluded that it would be nice if just once in our profession we could make a request and get the response, "o.k., I'll take care of that" instead of having to go through a chain of people to finally get connected to the right people.

In four days of being back to work, we've had meetings consume the morning of all of them.  Both of us have been asking for new (or just new to us) furniture for the last three years.  Especially Lindsay after finding mold growing on his old ones after last summer.  We found someone who knew someone that let us go to county storage to look, so hopefully we might get a set of matching "like-new" desks in our classroom.  Now we've got to figure out how to get chairs. 

I decided that as someone near forty years old with a master's degree, a bright blue desk chair with foam padding falling out of the back was a little less than professional, so I broke down and dropped $100 for a real desk chair since I didn't see one coming in the near future.  Apparently the thirty-year old "wardrobe" in my room is too large and heavy to move, so I guess it will stay another thirty years.  To liven things up a little, I went out and bought some decorations for the walls.  As I started to hang one of them, I thought of the "lipstick on a pig" quip from several years back.  So I spent the better part of the afternoon painting.  I'm afraid the nicely painted spot above my door just highlights the chipping and dulled paint on the rest of the door.

It doesn't seem like teachers are valued for doing solid work.  Unless you're doing something newsworthy, innovative, or unique, you're just kind of ignored.  So I was feeling a little down.

So, second, whatever the opposite of complain is...

C-Ville Weekly

I had a chance to write a piece for a local newsweekly called the C-Ville Weekly.  They ran it this week, and as I re-read it, I noticed that none of the stuff I complained about above.  I wrote it over the summer, and it reflects what I truly think of teaching, not the day-to-day frustrations that I'm facing in the right now. 

A former student read it and sent me a message with these words: "I learned today that there is much more emotion to a teacher than what the students see- and that's very nice to know." 

Unrelated to the article, another former student contacted me tonight and offered these words: "I just wanted to take a second and say thank you for introducing me to psychology. I love what I do and I wouldn't change it for the world. Keep up the great work, teachers like you make a difference."

Forget the first four paragraphs.  I'll teach in a moldy, humid, poorly furnished basement for the next twenty-years on the energy provided by an affirmation like that.  Come on 2012-2013, bring us the best you've got.

What Does a Good Education Look Like?

Ever given any thought to that question?  Both members of the TU  were fortunate to receive a good education during our youth, I think.  This was not an accident.  It took hard work from parents, educators and even us.     Stepping back to gain a wider view might be helpful since we are all trying to provide the best for our young people.   We here at the TU have kids in public school, we teach others kids in school and obviously have what we feel is a well informed opinion.   But the phrase "good education" can be nuanced by people for a variety of reasons.  It can mis-characterized,  exaggerated, twisted, falsified, and fabricated so that other purposes may be served. Still I don't think you "get" a good education, you are given an opportunity and then earn it.

When describing a good education people use many differing phrases.  Many of these fail to frame the subject with any degree of specificity.  Instead the terms used glow with ambiguity and define things in a more general sense.  That's not necessarily a bad thing and allows for flexibility.  Effort by many to quantify and replicate what they see as a good a "good" education has produced the opposite result. This may in part be a symptom of only working towards a defined outcome.  It is OK that that phrase has a different meaning to different people and it is more about a process.  With so many buzzwords in the lexicon of education today a quick dialogue on the subject is worthwhile.   It can't hurt to enumerate some things that characterize what our schools should be about.  So let's do so from the point of view of a parent asking for things from a school for their child.


School: "Hi there!  Welcome to our school.  What can we do for you?"

Parent: "Well I have a 9th grade child starting school here tomorrow and would like to make a few requests for things I want for my child."

School: " Go right ahead."

Parent: "First off, my child is very special and I'd like them treated as such.  Just like when I sent them off to Kindergarten I want them to feel safe, loved and gain a sense of independence.   I want them treated as a unique individual with has access to caring and trusted professionals who have a say in the school.  I 'd like my child provided with a rich varied learning diet that imparts key knowledge and skills needed by any well informed  individual.  Preferably emphasizing the normal core subjects.  They'll need math and science, english and of course, history.  Throw in some other languages for good measure.  I'd like them to develop an active and healthy lifestyle so they'll need some physical education classes and also health.  I'd like to stress that they learn to read and write well.  The approach in all of these classes should be innovative but not too far removed from solid trusted foundations. They should learn to think critically about subjects and get to explore things that interest them.   I want them to view their education as an investment in their future, whatever that may be. 

Learning about all of this should help them gain a sense of their own identity.  I want them to develop curiosity and creativity.  Exposure in the arts and music certainly would help with this.    These pursuits should allow my child to grow in non academic ways and have an appreciation of art and music, even if they themselves do not have an talent for them.  I'd like my child to have access to the types of technology that aid us all in the modern world.   I want them to see technology as a powerful tool and not a shortcut.    The school should be well funded so it is not wanting for what it needs.  My child should be given the opportunity for a rich discourse on subjects and learn more than just about it and instead experience it.   

Beyond academics, my child needs to learn to work with others as part of a group.  Whether that is through cooperative projects, on a sports team, club, or in some other fashion I want them to establish positive relationships.  They'll need the skills to become a good communicator.   I want them to learn about leadership and respect. I'd like my child to be nurtured and supported when they need it and I also want them challenged and learn the value of hard work.  I know it won't all be smooth sailing so they'll need to be able to handle conflict and work through it.    They'll need to learn to persevere through adversity and disappointment and learn how to respond to and learn from to failure.  I'd like the school and teachers to be open in communicating things with me so I may aid in all of this.

I want my child to have an equal chance to pursue excellence.  They should learn about honesty and integrity.  I want them to be proud of their work. I want them to learn about  responsibility, dependability and If they don't thrive as much as others I still want them to be safe, happy and know that people care about them.    I want them to learn to be the best they can be.  Beyond themselves, I'd like them to learn to recognize their role in the school, local community and  develop personal responsibility to themselves and all those those around them.   In the end they will want to contribute positively to their community through what they learn.

These are all things I want.  I know it is a great deal to ask.  I just want my child to have a chance at a good education"




Fact is there are many ways to answer that question.  Love to hear input from others beyond this hastily compiled version.   Please feel free to share in the comments.

To the Class of 2012

With graduation season well upon us, there is no shortage of witty and wise graduation messages to the class of 2012.  We pointed out last year that the Teaching Underground isn't likely to make any of those wise and witty speeches, but after teaching the class of 2012 for the last nine months I'd like to offer the second annual Teaching Underground Graduation Speech.

To the Class of 2012::

Congratulations!  Welcome to the 88% of adult Americans with a high school diploma.  Some people will tell you it doesn’t mean that much anymore.  But do you remember your first day of school.  It was probably a big deal.  Pictures, special clothes, extra attention—some of you might have even brought a tear to your parents’ eyes.  The fact that it was the first day of school for every other five year old in the county didn’t diminish the significance of that day in your life.  A high school diploma is an expectation in our American culture, but don’t let that convince you that what you’ve accomplished is anything less than a success.

With this success, I do have a little bad news.  People have been telling you otherwise for a while, but it’s time you know the truth.  You can’t be anything you want to be anymore.  You have set a course in elementary, middle, and high school for yourself that has laid parameters for what you may accomplish into the future.  The sooner you discover those parameters and work toward maximizing your opportunities within them, the happier you will find yourself in life.

For example--  If you’ve never picked up a golf club in your life, don’t count on winning the Master’s.  If I just crushed your dream, you can still practice hard and make some sacrifices for the next twenty-five years of your life and hope to earn a spot on the senior tour.

If you meandered through high school doing just enough to pass your classes with a “C” or “D”, you’re not likely to find yourself in the 2016 entering class of Harvard Law School.  Don’t leave high school with the false impression that now you’re going to ace the next two years of community college, transfer to a top tier four-year university, and graduate into a six-figure salary.  Good intentions alone won’t change over a decade of learned study habits and attitudes.

Success takes hard work, but just as importantly, it takes wise work.  Chasing a dream makes for great books and movies when they work, but tune into American Idol in January—you know, when they host try-outs and everyone laughs at the terrible contestants who thought they could sing.  Some dreams are best left in the middle of the night.

You’ve earned a diploma, so I hope that you’ve learned to listen critically.  I don’t want you to put your dreams aside and move into the real world at eighteen years old.  Frankly, that’s not even healthy for a forty year old.  But you’ve been told the opposite for too long, so long it almost sounds cruel to say otherwise. 

It helps to remember your failures.  Some of you haven’t been allowed to have very many of them, but think.  Remember not getting picked by your classmates, being cut from a team, not getting the part in a play, failing a test, college rejection letters.  Despite it all, you’re still here today.  You’re still sitting in a cap and gown, ignoring the speaker, wishing it would be over, not sure whether you should be happy or sad, nervous or excited. You’re experiencing a richness of life that only comes through effort, failures, perseverance, then success.

You can’t do “anything” you set your mind to, but you can set your mind toward significant and lasting accomplishments that you can be proud of.

I teach Psychology, and students this year learned that individuals who are motivated to succeed choose challenging but reachable goals.  If you want to get better at basketball, you don’t stand right under the basket to practice shooting.  But, standing well beyond half-court taking shot after failing shot is just as much a waste of time.  Waiting for luck is different than looking for success. 

This will determine where you are ten, twenty, fifty years from now.  Complacency breeds mediocrity and unfettered idealism breeds justified failure.  Challenge yourself with realistic goals.  Stretch just beyond your comfortable ability and when you reach comfort, stretch just a little more.  Don’t rest on past accomplishments or give up because of current failures.

Take a lesson from the cap and gown you’ve earned the right to wear today.  Life is not lived for a single moment of achievement.  Each achievement is a commencement for a new chapter of life, a new series of set backs and successes, both of which propel you into the future.  Embrace that future by welcoming the challenge.  

Keep your eyes on the stars if that’s your destination, but don’t spend a lifetime stuck on the ground because ignoring reality and refusing to fight gravity.

The Best Teacher Appreciation

Last week at our school, students completed "Apple Grams"-- short notes students could choose to write to a teacher.  I got the following:

“Mr. Turner,
Your class has brought great joy to our frontal lobes.  Our sympathetic nervous systems are always activated in your presence.  You are the terry-cloth mother to our rhesus monkeys, the Robin Williams to our DeNiro.
Forever Self-Actualized,
xxxxxxxxxx and xxxxxxxxxxxx”

That's the best appreciation a teacher can get.  They expressed thanks to me as a teacher, and managed to show me they'd learned something at the same time.  (In case you couldn't figure it out from the note, I teach AP Psychology).

Bowling for Test Scores

The white soles slide without effort across the hardwood.  A film of disinfectant spray covers the multi-colored leather uppers.  Left leg bent one-hundred and thirty degrees, right leg tucked neatly into the back of the left knee.  Bend at the waist, as the arm descends like a pendulum, release the ball onto the floor and wait...

                                  wait.......
                                                    wait..................
                                                                                    wait..........................
                                                                                                                         
My students took the AP Psychology Exam yesterday, so we won't find out the end of this story for a few months.  Many of my colleagues have already laced up their rented shoes and selected a ball, but they won't have a turn to bowl for another week or two.  But then, they'll be in the same place as me: waiting.

There are two kinds of bowlers.  Type I releases the ball and either watches its path or simply turns away checking the results after the pins fall.  Type II will stand at the foul line, shaping the balls path with concentrated mental effort and intentional body contortions-- staying active in the process until the last pin falls.

Type II bowlers waste too much energy trying to control what is out of their control-- just release the ball and let it work.

The same is true for teachers in this era of testing.  I know the stakes are not as high for me as for those teaching "core classes" with state mandated testing, but the analogy is true for all of us.  We teach, we release, we wait.  We trust that we've done our best and realize that now our students are sitting in front of the test (and later waiting for scores) it's up to them to finish the job.

It's hard to find good analogies; metaphors that don't break down somewhere.  Here's where the bowling/testing comparisons end, so let's change the story a bit to make it fit.

...release the ball onto the floor and wait...

The ball starts off just right of center, on target to hit between the
one and two pin.  Perfect release.  But the ball looks ahead, those pins look different than in practice-- two red stripes instead of one-- distracted, the ball veers a bit off course, but there's still a chance.  Half-way down the lane, the ball realizes it's off track, trying to get back to center it over-corrects, setting it further off-track than before.  It still has a chance of hitting four or five pins.  As the ball gets closer it sees the extra pins.  They don't count for a final score, but the alley needs to test them out to see how they react in a real game.  The ball doesn't know this and sees the extra row of four pins in the back and realizes it is impossible at this point to even salvage a spare for the next ball.  The ball rolls without effort to the end and manages to knock over five pins-- but only two really count.  The crowd boo's the bowler.

Too many people think this testing game is just like bowling-- teach, release, wait.  Use good technique, practice well, and the outcome should be predictable.  They don't realize the bowling balls have brains.  Not just rational, thinking brains.  Real human brains-- subject to physiology, environment, events of the day, events of the past, emotions, etc.

Rather than a bowler, a teacher is more of a coach-- a coach whose team owner hopefully doesn't insist on keeping a high profile and/or micro-managing the team.  The overall success of the team is largely the responsibility of the coach.  But the coach can only take so much responsibility for a bad decision from a player (like an elbow to the head), bad calls from the refs (remember the fifth down), or a player who doesn't take practice seriously (I mean we're just talkin' 'bout practice).  It is a shared responsibility.

So in honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week (and National Charter Schools Week and the ten year anniversary of Iverson's "Practice" Speech), Happy Testing Season teachers.  May your bowling balls roll straight.


                                   

Technology: How important is it?

Prologue:  Is a prologue allowed in a blog post?  I guess it is now.

After writing and rewriting the post below in response to my colleague's Thursday afternoon post I'm still not happy with it.  So here's the short of it.  It's irresponsible to ignore the value of technology in education--AND--it is irresponsible to overestimate the value of technology in education.  That's pretty clear isn't it?  You've read this far, you might as well read the rest to see if you can figure out what I'm trying to say any better than I can.

About ten years ago (but only lasting a few) our school administrators included integration of technology as a part of teacher evaluations.  Serving on a teacher advisory committee for the school, I remember discussions about what it means to "integrate technology" in the classroom.  I argued at the time that simply showing a video clip to the class using the online video service "United Streaming" was no better than pushing play on the VCR or Laser Disk player.

I used United Streaming frequently, and found it much better for me, the teacher, than bothering with videotapes and laser disks.  But, I didn't agree that in a given class, me showing a video clip online made me better instructionally than another teacher showing the same clip on VHS.  Ultimately, United Streaming allowed for easier selection of relevant clips and allowed for smoother transition in and out of video presentations but it certainly wasn't a "game changer."

Technology should be an integral part of instruction, and I believe this has always been true.  It can be a powerful tool for reaching students in ways that can't always happen in traditional ways.  Here in the basement of the Teaching Underground, we witnessed this just last week.

Our colleague in the basement teaches an elective called "Issues of the Modern World."  In the fall, his class conducted an interview with an participant in the Arab Spring movement in the middle east.  After hearing from him, the students were able to formulate questions to ask him again this spring.  Through these interactions, students had access to a living primary source for history in the making.  They were also able to see the evolution and change of a movement and the demeanor of one of its participants in real time.  Twenty years ago this would have been a monumental task if not impossible.  Today, an internet connection and a Skype account are all that are needed.

My question is still the same.  This isn't critical of technology.  I am impressed with this teacher's learning activity.  It was innovative and forward thinking.  His students engaged in a learning experience that they will likely remember forever.  For my AP Psychology class, I frequently invite a graduate student from the University of Virginia department of neuroscience.  These doctoral students share with my Psychology students some of their ongoing research on the brain.  They even bring in a human brain for students to see and hold.  Which experience is better?  Skype or face-to-face.

Answer: neither!

I don't think I need to really explain this.  This teacher couldn't have conducted this experience without Skype.  For me, Skyping with a guest located three miles away wouldn't make sense.  For sure, we should recognize this use of Skype in the classroom for its novelty and innovation.  We should also recognize that in this case, technology brought a living primary source into the classroom in a way that couldn't be acheived without technology.

But, the underlying pedagogy is still the same.  Exposing students to primary sources in the Social Studies engages them in the process of social science instead of simply requiring them to memorize names, dates, facts, etc.

I think that most educators in the classroom recognize the power of technology.  When it allows us to do something more efficiently or better than we could do without it, we embrace it.  When it allows students to learn in ways that are more lasting and impacting, we embrace it.

Remember all of the modes of technology that have changed teaching and learning: mass printing, chalkboards, overhead projectors, filmstrips, television in the classroom, computer labs in schools, computers in classrooms, presentation software, streaming/digital video, computer access for most/all students, social networking, online course delivery.....

Quality teaching and learning can take place in the absence of any of the above.  There is a bit of a paradox when it comes to my attitude toward educational technology.  It is at the same time one of the most important factors/tools for learning and also one of the least necessary factors/tools for learning.

Whether they articulate this idea or not, I think that most teachers get it.  Some still avoid technology altogether, and others couldn't function without it.  Usually both types carry a sense of moral superiority about what they do.  In reality, they're both missing the point.

We should use technology resources available to their full extent insofar as they benefit the teacher and/or student and make learning more efficient or effective.  We should seek out new technologies that might benefit our classrooms.  We should not overestimate the power of technology for effective education or expect the technology to solve the complex problems facing education in the 21st century.

Post-logue:  Why not, I've already included a "prologue."  Thanks to Mr. Giordano for sharing his classroom experience with Skype.  If you're interested, he's also a recent convert to "Juicing." (The diet kind)  Read about his "juicing" experiences and related revelations about the human experience of eating at Sausage Boy Goes Green.