Appreciation

Well Teacher Appreciation week came and went at my school...like elsewhere around the nation and world.  So with all the hubbub the real question to address is do I feel appreciated.  Yes and No. 

I will start with the bad. There is plenty of that.  In the recent past I am coming off another demoralizing budget season.  Sure money is tight, it always is.  But I have slowly come to grips with the fact I live in a community and a state that could do a better job supporting education, but chooses not to.  That's putting it gently.  Some outwardly decry taxes are too high and blame wasteful schools and dare I say...overpaid teachers.  Maybe so.  But more likely the levels of bureaucratic decision makers all take and redirect their share before it comes anywhere near me or my classroom.  I have what I need I suppose.  I know I have it way better than many around the nation.  So I learn not to complain or open my hand and whine too often.  But over the last few years most of the heavy lifting when it comes to balancing budgets, teaching more classes and more kids falls on guess who?  Mr. and Mrs. Appreciated.  But I don't like talking about money and few teachers start teaching in order to get rich.  If they did, they are dum(I like that one).

So there is one strike against appreciation.  But I get it elsewhere too.  Let's stick to the last week when a colleague who is a fellow coach couldn't get a sub for when he left early with the team he coached.  Maybe some of that was on him but this Spring has been crazy with cancellations so instead he had to struggle to find a colleague who could give up their unencumbered planning to cover his class.  A day before another teacher who wasn't feeling well heard the same thing.  That doesn't make me feel appreciated.   I was also informed of the Required Summer Professional Development where I was given no real choice.  Just choose among what and when I want to take it.  Next I dealt with the run up to next Fall when our overcrowded school will get another 100 or so 9th graders. 

During all that I kept focused in the hectic weeks before you guessed it, testing season.  ARGH! Already stressed and overworked with unrealistic and unsustainable expectations I had a young man in my class illustrate a point for me. I exist in a landscape  where  a 14 yr student chooses to put his head down, 3 minutes after I made a special effort to reach him about doing his best and what he is capable in the hopes I could get him through the 9th grade.  I felt more powerless than usual and that says something.   

I am in the not so sweet spot part of my career where I am devalued since I am not "new" and choose not to leave the classroom as a senior teacher in favor of some other role.  Most efforts on a national level seem to depreciate teachers.  From how they are evaluated to the ever tightening knot that limits how they practice their craft.  I did get the normal mass mailing letters of appreciation from the school board and division superintendent which I thought was nice.  But truth be told I am tired of being "told" I am appreciated.  But it wasn't all bad.

So how do I feel appreciated you ask?  There were some small gestures from students.  The applegrams, brief notes from students, yep... I received a handful.  I did get a small gift of appreciation from a family with a nice note.  I teach 135 kids so the odds were in my favor.  I did also get a few E-mail thanks which were nice gestures as well.  The most noticeable efforts were school wide in the form of some well timed and very tasty meals, snacks and treats from our parent teacher organization.  A thousand thanks to them!  So I do I suppose feel more appreciated than last week. 

Still what I appreciate has nothing to do with what week it is or what gets organized.  It is the psychological pay from countless seemingly meaningless interactions with the vibrant and infectious energy of youth.  It is seeing the world through their eyes and thinking of it as if they were my own children.  It is seeing the newness of learning brighten a day and the occasional light bulb go off.  Usually it goes off now on a cell phone first...  It is the unexpected thank you for something you did to help a student out.  It is the feeling of appreciation when students look to you for help, guidance and support.  The moments that are ever so briefly and arre, but also but also profound that make me feel appreciated as a teacher.  Thanks. 

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?”

Truth in Fiction

My latest Netflix binge/guilty pleasure has been the t.v. show Sons of Anarchy. It’s an ultraviolent show about a young man’s ascent to leadership of a California motorcycle gang. They deal in drugs, pornography, and guns—but mainly guns. It’s great fiction, but like most fiction, you have to let hold of your grasp of reality to truly enjoy it.

For example, house cleaning is a constant chore in our house. The washing machine runs so much it’s like another member of the family. House cleaning is the primary source of conflict between members of our family. We even paid someone to do it for us for a while and it helped, but didn’t solve the enormous task required to not live in filth.

But no one ever cleans on Sons of Anarchy unless someone is murdered and then obviously the

body, blood, other evidence must be taken care of. The lead character in this show constantly deals with intergroup dynamics of his gang, meets with rival and cooperative gang leaders to keep the peace, and frequently participates in the “runs” and “deals” associated with the gang. Maybe we can assume that his wife does all of the cleaning—except she is a Surgeon.

And childcare! This couple has two young children to care for and only a gun-toting, marijuana smoking, heavy drinking, promiscuous grandma to help them out. (The one who crashed while they were in the car because she was driving while stoned) My wife and I are just teachers, but we’ve already found that a majority of life is consumed by taking care of children. Yet these kids just seem to show up when the plot demands, and somehow, when they’re not on camera, someone is taking care of them.

Don’t get me started on The Walking Dead. The midst of a Zombie Apocalypse and somehow food, water, and personal hygiene (not to mention unlimited supplies of gasoline, automobiles, guns and ammo) are just magically taken care of.

If you want to enjoy this kind of fiction. you’ve just got to resolve yourself to the fact that they are stories, and good stories ignore the mundane realities of life. That’s why we like them. If I wanted to watch someone clean house I could just get off the couch and experience it first hand.

I want people who don’t work in a classroom to recognize that sometimes they want to see the fiction of teaching and learning. In the end, the story—engaged students working toward meaningful goals—is all that anyone wants to see. I don’t blame them, that’s the part that everybody likes (including teachers). It’s ok so long as there is a recognition that it’s the real world and not fiction.

The mundane details usually consume most of our life, even if it’s the “story worthy” moments that we remember. If we don’t take care of the mundane details effectively, we might even find that we never get to the “story worthy” moments.

In teaching, I’m talking about taking attendance and accounting for every student, and then going back to change it for everyone that is late. I’m talking about setting aside the time to grade and then spending chunks of time on the late work. It’s planning out your instruction and then reorganizing your lessons in response to student feedback, snow days, unplanned drills, etc. It’s collecting paperwork and making sure the consent forms are signed, preparing the materials for the homebound student.

It’s deciding whether it’s best to hold the crying student accountable for not being prepared or deciding that grace is appropriate in the moment. It’s letting a little school work go undone at school so that you can take the time to be human and interact with your students, knowing that it will take away the time that you have at home to be human and interact with your family.

It’s standing over a copy machine or waiting for documents to upload, it’s covering for a teacher in a medical emergency. It’s remembering to reserve the computers and searching the building to find them in the room of a previous user. It’s falling back on plan B when the technology fails (and it’s going to fail).

It’s like housework and childcare for a family. When we consume fiction, we don’t want to think about the realities, just the good stories.  I want to tell the good stories of our classrooms, but like my colleague pointed out in the previous post, it would be nice to acknowledge some of the reality.

Maybe then we could recognize that the way forward in education isn’t just looking for the problem and finding its solution. It's about working through the problems-- which aren't problems at all, just the reality of life-- and appreciating the story worthy moments.

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)

I'm Still Anxious

Tomorrow I begin my eighteenth school year as a teacher. But I’m still anxious. After tomorrow I will have met more than one hundred classes for the first time, and still, I’m anxious. I watched the handful of students roaming the halls today, finding their way around before the first day of school, and I saw a look on their face that I recognized. I’m still anxious about the first day of school.

I’ll meet over one hundred strangers tomorrow and the next day for the first time. And by the end of the week, I’ll need to convince them that I’m trustworthy, that I care, that I deserve their respect and cooperation. I have to make them believe that they’ll be better off for doing what I ask of them.

Tomorrow is the first day of school and I’m anxious.

You expect it from a student. A student starting a new school, but from a teacher with years of first day experiences? Still feeling of anxiety on the first day of class?

My first year of teaching, a computer on every teacher’s desk was the big deal. Tomorrow I’m slightly frustrated because my students can’t use the laptops until the second period of the day. My first year I spent hours setting up Excel to use as a grade book. Today, I spent a few minutes making sure my Powerschool settings are correct because students and teachers can view my gradebook in real time. I’ve spent more hours designing my website than working on a syllabus this year.

Teaching is different every year. Students are different every year. I’m different every year. And every year I’m anxious. Very few things continue to work year after year, and a teacher must constantly review and revise what they do.

I’m a little socially awkward. I’m uncomfortable around people I don’t know. I don’t like large groups. That doesn’t sound like someone who’d make a good teacher. But I am. I’m probably not great, but I must be better than adequate. I teach an elective that students choose to take, and many choose to take it year after year.

But what I do doesn’t come natural. It takes lots of work. Lots of work, and lots of worry.

Sometimes when I watch performers I notice when they perform to perfection it seems effortless. So much so that I think, “I could do that.” But the older I get, the more I realize, the easier they make it look, the more practice and time and energy they’ve put into it. When it looks the easiest, it’s been the hardest.

I’ve worked hard this year, like every year, to make tomorrow seem easy. And after that, the next one-hundred and seventy-nine won’t be so bad. And the anxiety will give way to relief as my students and I settle into 2013-2014.

Happy First Day of School everyone.

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.

6 Smart and the Dumb Things They Say(and why that matters)

The setting was Education Nation 2.0 2011 at Stanford University.  Yeah it has been two years,  but this still very much applies today.  So as we look back, think of today. 


"Master interviewer and PBS host Charlie Rose and a distinguished panel of luminaries tackle the tough questions of how to improve our troubled school system and provide a better future for our nation's greatest resource, our kids."

If by "distinguished panel of luminaries" they mean people at least 2x as smart as me, own nice suits and probably read a lot more books, they they are right.  But I am confident I know as much as any of them about the state of education and what will and won't work.  Too bad no members of the TU have ever been described as a "luminaries".  Because we are remarkably average in many ways.But that would make this post too long.  :)




So let's talk participants for a moment.
 

Charlie Rose-"master interviewer"(Charlie is my man...but Chuck appears to have had some Kool Aid somewhere, maybe in the Green Room or on the plane out West.  He all too readily accepts just about everything that is said.  I give him an F for this one.  Too bad no one representing the average teacher was invited.  Maybe they were.  But if they were I suspect they were too busy actually teaching students to show up.


Salman Khan-from the Khan Academy.  I love this guy.  But he is way too smart for average people.  I think he's been in "the bubble" near Gates too long and lost touch.  We've mentioned him before and are not wary what he does, instead by how it can be misunderstood and misrepresented by politicians.  Still, of all the participants, he seems to be the only one to have really tried to help... and has done some work instead of only talking, telling others what to do or writing a book about working. 

Corey A. Booker-Two time Mayor of Newark, NJ who's made plenty of news lately.  He never met a camera he didn't like and is a classic politician from humble roots.  Not faulting him there.  Better man than me.  Seems like a heck of a guy.  But also one who's ideas always trump those of everyone else.  Booker  is very into doing stuff.  Action for the sake of action.  There's a lot of that going around in education. Much of what he says either outrages me or makes me feel better.  He's a wild card.   Like Charlie from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

John L. Hennessy- Stanford University's 10th president and inaugural holder of the Bing Presidential Professorship-(what is that?). As President of Stanford he gets to be on all round tables automatically-at least that makes sense anyway?  What exactly does he know about the average public school classroom in America? 


Kim Smith- CEO of Bellweather Education Partners and one of the original of TFA(yuck) founders.  I am ignoring what she says simply because of that.  Well not all of it actually but I still am programmed for skepticism after a decade and a half of teaching.  My bad. I'm sure she is a great person.

Claude M. Steele-Despite his awesome name, the Dean of Stanford’s School of Education, he is simply way too bright for me to understand fully without visual aids.  I think I rarely beat up on academics for being academics.  But I feel like I want to in this case.   I'll take Remington Steele instead.

Reed Hastings-co-founder and CEO of Netflix.  OK, not sure why he is even there unless someone with actual merit regarding education canceled last minute. Maybe the CEO of Blockbuster backed out?   Netflix?  I mean come on, they want 40% original programming?....even I know that's probably a dumb idea.  But again, why is he there?  Maybe his presence would have been a good chance to suggest they kindly put the stuff online that I like watching.


So some of what they said:
"Frame for us the issues"-Hmmm, so basically tell us what you think is wrong.  Not everyone think r sees things the same and that is good.  But when one group imposes its version as the way it is, not so good.  Ask any teacher to frame the issues  and odds are you'll get a somewhat different response. 
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"Redefine education before it redefines us."  Wow that is so catchy.  Makes me want to run out and design a school on a CAD program somewhere.  Then throw a bunch of kids inside and walk away. 
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America's schools are in trouble. Twenty-five percent of American kids drop out of high school. Those that do graduate often are ill prepared for either college or a job. The U.S. Secretary of Education has even mandated: "we have to deal with the brutal truth."
Is the problem money? School administrators? Teachers unions? Parents? There's plenty of blame to go around, yet all agree it's a problem we must address. If we wait, the U.S. will lose its competitive edge, more young Americans will end up in dead-end jobs, and the U.S will drop to second-tier status. -  There is a lot here to break down.  I don't have time.  Some in trouble yes.  If the Secretary of Education says it, it must be true.  no way politics or anything like that would affect judgment. 
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Designing an education that builds the necessary skills for today's diverse student population is not easy. But there is hope: innovations and innovators that challenge the status quo; research to help us understand how to make the changes; and reformers experimenting with new ways to teach, learn, and run our public schools.
The questions that need answering are complex:

• How do we attract and retain good teachers, especially in math and science?
• What is the best way to hold schools accountable and promote effective instruction?
• What should the role of unions be?
• How do charter schools fit into the overall solution?

-All of that makes sense but ignores the fact that education and schools are full of people.  Many of them innovators.  To imply, overtly or tacitly that innovation has to come from outside is not only foolish but dangerous. Especially when those innovators stand to make large sums of money from gaining access, influence and  and control.

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Get rid of elected schooboards.-  Yes absolutely, let's remove democratic principles and put for profit or non profit entities in charge of all things...our children.  One cannot be selective in the application of democracy  You are either with us, or waving a red flag and playing soccer with your Che shirt on.   I know the West coast tends to lean left but the fact no one called him on this is worrisome.  To me this is proof that those inside the bubble not only won't get it, but can't. 
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At the 9:10 mark Corey Booker discusses the "Silence and inaction of the majority of Americans."  he views this as a failure to respond to current conditions.  That is a great point and perhaps he is correct.  He certainly would be in many districts across the nation.  But is this true everywhere?  Are all districts and schools the same?
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Once again I am left scratching my head at the lack of honest and open discourse and inclusion of others views which may very well be the only chance for successful and meaningful reform. I guess it makes for good TV though. 

It matters because here you have some clearly intelligent and well meaning people whose proximity to the actual classroom and actual students minimizes their awareness.  Yet it is they and others like them who have been entrusted to steer the boat.  They are not sure how it works, how much it can take or how exactly it works.

The TU would like to create a Education Renovation 3.0 , 2013.  It is faster, better and has more memory than the 2.0 version.  The panel here consists of not luminaries but people who work with kids. We probably can't afford a nice stage or TV cameras or a webcast.  But it would though generate local innovation and momentum for positive change, hopefully free of the pitfalls plaguing current reform efforts.    There would be a panel with one or more educational leaders,  concerned parents,  building level administrators, counselors, community members, business people, and policy experts.  But if there was anyone on the stage, the largest number of seats would go to experienced teachers.  The people who face the realities of education firsthand.  These teachers would represent a broad spectrum of communities.  Rich and Poor. Urban and Rural.  And not to be forgotten we would find some way to involve students.  

Time

I’ve been busy. It takes a lot of time and energy to teach one-hundred and thirty teenagers in six different classes.

You can’t just walk into a room and teach. Most people don’t think about this. For anyone who doesn’t teach, think about the last time you had to prepare for a presentation or speech. How long did it take? And did you really engage an audience or just talk to them and show pictures?

Preparing to teach a lesson takes time.

Student’s don’t (and shouldn’t) work without feedback. I’ve found a few learning experiences that students enjoy just for the fun of it, or because they’re curious enough to engage, but even if minimal feedback wasn’t required for nearly every activity, we still have to assess for learning in multiple ways. For anyone who doesn’t teach, think about how much time you take to pay the monthly bills, or file your tax returns. Or maybe it’s the monthly maintenance around your house. Sometimes it’s more enjoyable than others, but sometimes you just have to do it. And the consequences of not doing it can be disastrous.

Assessing student work and giving feedback takes time.

That alone is a full-time job, enough to consume an entire workday and beyond.

If you really want to engage with your family, involve yourself in the community, and maybe enjoy an hour or two of personal leisure in the week it’s hard to do much more. It’s hard to even do your best.

That’s why we’ve been so quiet lately.

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.

Moving Past Shallow Accountability

accountable  (əˈkaʊntəb ^ə l)

-adj.

1.	responsible to someone or for some action; answerable
2.	able to be explained

Since the early 1990's (perhaps before, but I wasn't particularly concerned before then) both state and federal politicians have been calling for measures to "hold teachers more accountable." Most of their ideas have lacked creativity and instead of searching for true measures of accountability, have searched for efficient and scaleable ways to sort the good from the bad. Instead of rich, multi-dimensional measures of accountability, we get mechanized testing.

Students corralled into auditoriums, gymnasiums, any available classroom in front of computer screens for several hours a day over a two to three week period taking mostly multiple choice tests. Schools and teachers are then judged on the results. Schools must go through great efforts to make sure that every child sits for a test. If they don't for any reason, it counts against the school. Testing coordinators must track down transfer students who've moved from out of state or who've failed tests in other Virginia districts to take the tests. If they do poorly, the school is accountable even if they haven't provided the instruction. Students only need to pass a set number of tests to graduate. If they've met this requirement, they still must take the additional tests. Their performance doesn't affect them, but again, it will count for the school.

Schools have had informal methods of accountability for decades. Whenever I give a grade to a student, or make a decision about their instruction I am accountable to a student, parents, and administrators at all levels. From A-F, my class policies are clearly defined and in print year after year. From time to time, a student or parent will ask for an explanation while a term is in progress or after a grade is received. I am answerable to them, and on more than one occasion in my career, that answer has not been acceptable. 

Then it moves up a level. Those conversations are difficult and uncomfortable, but usually lead to growth. Sometimes a parent is left dissatisfied and angry.  Sometimes the teacher is left unsupported and frustrated at having to make a change. Usually a compromise is reached, both sides having a chance to dialogue with each other, and future actions informed by the outcome.

Teachers live with accountability.

I can understand that what I described above doesn't always work so well. Some parents are not empowered to advocate so well for their child and some schools are not so inclined to responsiveness. But accountability should belong to the very individuals most influenced and invested in a given action. We're moving in the direction of making teachers accountable to the influence of corporate standard setters, test makers, and data gatherers.

We can create a better system of accountability. It's not as easy as giving a test and applying a score, but the informal systems of accountability like what is outlined above could become more formal through policy. It would also place accountability into the hands of the ones who deserve it the most.

Joel Klein Wants a "Bar Exam" for Teachers

Yesterday, The Atlantic posted an article by Joel Klein titled "The Case for a Teacher Bar Exam."

On one hand he argues that American teachers are not valued as professionals and we need to make greater efforts at doing so. But, he seems to imply that teachers are not treated as professionals because they aren't. One solution- give them a test to enter the profession. That seems to be the answer to everything in education today.

Personally, I'd say if taking a test will lead to higher pay, better benefits and more respect, bring it on. Tests don't bother me in the least. I made it through elementary school in the highest leveled classes because even though I didn't like to do work, every year I finished above the 90th percentile on those old "SRA" tests that we used to take. In middle school and high school, I didn't have to spend much time on homework and still stayed in honor's level classes because as long as I paid a little attention in class the tests were never that difficult. I only took the SATs once because I got a high enough score to get into the college of my choice.

At college, things were a little harder. Some classes were graded on multiple choice and short answer type tests. But others actually expected me to engage in discussion, right papers, and participate in activities. That nearly killed me academically. I actually had to work, learn, and apply knowledge instead of just convincing someone through a test that I was competent.

I took the National Teacher Exam early, before even enrolling in education school just to get it out of the way. I found a review book and studied for a few days and earned the passing score on my first try. GREs weren't much harder.

If you create a test for teachers I promise I'll finish in the top ten percent. But it won't have much to do with how well I teach my students.

Klein's error is the classic field of dreams. If you build it they will come. He looks to teachers of Finland who come from the top of their university classes, who enter a competitive profession. From my point of view I would argue that treating teachers more professionally- raising salary, providing autonomy, etc.,- would lead to greater professionalism. Klein believes that increasing professionalism- testing teachers, increasing accountability, etc.,- will make the teaching profession more respectable.

Both views are one dimensional and flawed. There must be a middle ground. There are areas in which teacher preparation and accountability must be raised, but adding requirements and restrictions is not the way to either encourage the "best and brightest" to join our ranks nor to encourage the competent teachers already in the classroom to stay.

Educational Leadership-Part III Advice to Leaders

PART III and final of series on Educational Leadership

Any fool can open a computer and explore the wealth of resources on leadership to improve themselves or others. But what sense does it make if those of us not necessarily in a leadership "position" don't throw in their 2 cents?   Enter the TU and our advice to education leaders everywhere.

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First and foremost start by picking people as leaders who want THAT job. Not someone who wants to use it for advancement. Those types usually have agendas and will need to show quick signs of progress to move on.  They act more like a bull in a china shop than a leader.  National education leadership is rife with examples of people that fit this mold.   If you are a teacher you likely know a few closer to home. They are not all bad. But they are far from all good.   If I got their ear for a few minutes I'd bend it and offer some advice.  How honest I'd would depend largely on whether I thought it would do any good.

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Another piece of advice for leaders is to listen to people before they listen to data.  What's lost in the data driven education landscape is good common sense built on years of experience. Valuing tests more than people creates exactly the test driven world many fear. The healthy tension that exists between those inside a classroom and those that direct them doesn't have to be bad thing.

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As a leader you must yoke your strengths.  In education that is good teaching.  So one of the best things you could do is allow teachers the freedom and flexibility to teach well.  Support them, value their time and protect their ability to function by insulating them from anything that interferes with the process of teaching and learning. 

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Start not by telling, and not necessarily by asking. Start with proposing and then listen closely. Unlike a true politician who recognizes they will have to compromise if they want to get anything done, educational leaders don't have a "loyal opposition" to keep their poor ideas in check.   Honest feedback is too frequently neither welcome nor sought in the process.  Imagine if we had decisions made only by ideology in politics. It'd be a less than ideal scenario.

Teachers, counselors, principals and other staff in the school buildings often have to negotiate very delicate situations. This requires an equal amount if not more political skill than an actual politician. Difference being, they work to always keep in mind the goal of what is best for the student, not what is best for themselves. Assuming all act as professionals and not in their own self interest, the results should be positive.  But not always.  That's because education is not an exact science.  The good decision makers try to balance all interests and arrive at compromise as appropriate.  We can't do only what students want(there are obvious flaws there).  We can't do only what parents want.  We can't do only what teachers want.  We shouldn't do only what educational leaders want.  That last bears repeating.   We shouldn't do only what educational leaders want.

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Leaders should actively seek feedback use it to guide their decisions and future direction. They should recognize that experience in the teaching field and education brings a certain amount of wisdom worth listening to.   They might benefit from bringing everyone to the table when needed. Including critics who do not see much of what today's schools do as successful. Their different perspective might provide an alternative to status quo.  But it is also key to separate theory from practice and remember who has their feet on the ground each day.

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Leaders must avoid self fulfilling prophecies. Finding what they are looking for either before or after their actions may be an outgrowth of selective evidence. This grows increasingly common with data driven decisions. A change is made and then data selectively harvested  justifying the course of action and confirming what they seek. Belief can be a powerful thing.

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Leaders should hold themselves accountable to their goals. I and my colleague face this each year. Not just with benchmark tests but each time we know there will come a reckoning when we assign a grade. We must be able to justify it or make it right by the student and their parents. We mustn't forget the individual nature of education. The formalized process has been this way for thousands of years and enables individuals to survive in an increasingly diverse and complex civilization. Online classes and other increasingly common means of "instruction and learning" differ little in that all the data, science and research will never change the fact that in there is a student and there is a teacher.

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Leaders must build relationships with people at different levels who can speak openly and honestly.  That as much as anything would be a key help guide a successful leader. Avoid the cursory "walk among the troops" or anonymous opinions and instead try to establish a network or pipeline to help guide innovation and improvement. This should be built from the bottom up and as more of a partnership. Too many "yes men" insulate leaders from the realities of the front. I personally favor internal promotion which seems to have fallen out of favor in the networks of leadership. While risking stagnation it affords a more collegial system of relationship among leaders. There are some weaknesses of this approach but good leaders can overcome them.  Certainly there are exceptions and most effective leadership skills transfer well to other settings.

Of course everything said here should be taken with a grain of salt. I am after all just a teacher. But those who have that thought when speaking with me without first listening to what I say have proven they know less than I do about leadership.

We at the Teaching Underground World Headquarters endure and succeed(that is debatable) because we make a point and manage somehow to avoid the vitriol and rhetoric that takes over almost any current debate on education.

The last bit of advice I have to leaders is they could follow the lead of our nation's greatest teachers.   Keep an eye on fixing what's broken and simply helping others do, and be, their best. I read recently a comment on a blog that said the following of educational reform:  

"A reform movement that assigns no responsibility to students, parents, administrators, school boards, state and federal legislators, universities and taxpayers is doomed to failure." 

It would seem that instead of including and listening to teachers, too many are simply blaming them.

I will leave you with some images meant to have you consider how they relate to leadership.  As you consider them ask some simple questions  "Why should anyone be led by you?  Why do you really want to be a leader?  Are you really making things better?"

How and why are people able to do extraordinary things? 

How and why is it possible that people at the top can see farther and reach higher?

ROYGBIV  Which color leads?

How Teachers are like Coal

The future and direction of our nation's environmental policy had been buried behind other conversations about more dynamic issues during the 2012 Presidential Campaign. The ongoing political and academic debate over whether climate change is really happening has ultimately paralyzed us from taking any effective action.  No matter where you fall on the issue you likely agree big issues often see this sort of entrenchment and it takes something equally big to move us forward.  Enter disaster politics. 

Hurricane Sandy may be that things as it blew the issue to the forefront.    No doubt the most awful thing to occur in a long time lives and livelihoods are ruined and disrupted.   The TU certainly sends it heartfelt best wishes to those affected by devastating storm.   In the aftermath Northeastern politicians like Governors Christie and Cuomo and others like Bloomberg and Schumer are being forced to address the issue as they move forward.  

Sometimes such events are seized upon by opportunistic individuals as a bellwether  for change.  This Superstorm and all the misery it brought may actually bring about some decisive action on our environment though I am not holding my breath such change will be all good.  Nor do I think speaking freely on the topic is simply an overt effort to access future federal funds for major Depression like reconstruction.    If  it seems possible the issue of the environment and our effect on it has become too political.   Some might say that money directs our path.  That is usually not a good thing.

As the coastal regions proceed with their efforts first recover, but later both better prepare and prevent such calamity it is incumbent upon us to use wisdom and sound evidence, not politics to guide out path.  It will require the best our leaders from both sides of the aisle have and even then the cooperation of other nations.  We must listen to informed and educated people who have the necessary understanding gained from years of experience.  Energy companies, environmental groups, big business, scientific organizations, international posturing and of course the two major parties all have formed their position and agenda before the conversation even begins preventing effective dialogue.  Common sense succumbs to the storm surge.  We cannot control nature but we do control how we choose to proceed.  One thing that is certain is that the issue is far too important for politics and money to affect the conversation.  It affects all of us.  If we do nothing, maybe nothing will happen.  But can we afford to just do nothing?

The same could be said of education.   It may seem a callous comparison at this sensitive time  but education  has problems and we are in a seemingly constant state of crisis since the 1980s.  This crisis breeds a degree of urgency which polarizes the issues.  Camps are quickly formed by anyone discussing education and reduced to an "us vs. them" where people are characterized and forced onto sides with clear positions, whether they hold them or not.  Lost is the "common ground" that is the foundation of all meaningful progress.   The gravity of what is at stake in both cases presented here should be a mandate for success, not just change.  Most heavy lifting falls to the classroom teacher and when added to their everyday duties the weight is more than many of them can stand to bare. 

Education is unlikely to have some momentous event that is a catalyst for movement and whether Sandy will materialize into that for the environment remains to be seen.  The exhaustion of natural resources would be a far greater cataclysmic event to even Sandy.  But it also will take much longer.  Few can argue with legitimacy that reliance of fossil fuels alone is preferable to a policy which shifts our reliance toward more renewable sources.  Whether it is one decade or one hundred the supply will eventually run out. The side effect of such intensive use are also problematic. 

Shifting back to education one resource it appears we are content as a nation to "burn through" is our teachers.  Unlike coal or oil one big difference is that no group seems to lobby as successfully for their value as teachers.  Lately as one I have confronted the reality that many view me and others like me in our profession  as a resource to be used and cast aside.  Evidence of this everywhere.  Teachers are at least as unhappy with how they are treated with how they are compensated.  Many are quitting.  The pedestrian nature of our national response to this trend should be alarming.  But it has caused no substantive progress to be made and instead has simply brought about rationalizations from many in a position to do something about it.  To think that we can "replace" the teachers that are retiring, leaving or burning out is ill informed and maybe even dooms the fate of of the entire system.  Schools are not places or things, they are the people within their walls.  What will be the effect of our delay and no action?  Will there  still be a sufficient pool of quality teachers to draw upon willing to teach our young people?If we wait until the void begins to have real results on our graduates  it will be too late.

Reasons why one areas teachers quit.

I take solace in the fact that the issues concerns raised by teachers seem to be finally gaining some attention.  We also have control over the reasons teachers say they are leaving the job.  People are starting to see that a decade or more of failed policy or self interested involvement from outside groups is not necessarily a  good thing for kids.  But the appearance of movement is more valuable and carries far less political liability than actual movement. So nothing gets done.

In the meantime we continue to bleed talent causing untold harm to our schools.   I feel obliged to note that every teacher thinks about quitting, some quite a lot.  Those who  stay do so because we love our students.   But each time we are told by the unknowing to do the impossible for the unwilling with next to nothing, more damage is done. Teachers are being exhausted and that is having a dire consequence on our the educational environment.  As a beginning, I strongly encourage those with influence to appreciate the value of the teaching force in this nation and yolk its strength in a less consumptive way. 

I think in both cases it will take a leader with enough courage and insight to finally bring about reform of consequence.  We must all come to the table and agree on decisions that affect and will hopefully better our shared future.  Failure to do so will have dire consequences indeed. 

Did Mr. Loweyt quit?

Doing Versus Thinking

Which is the more noble task? Generating the idea or carrying it out?  Action without thought is ineffective, but thought without action is useless.  The dichotomy reminds me of James' warning in the Christian Bible's New Testament.  He reminded early Christians that "faith without works is dead." For two millennia, Christians have debated the role of faith and works, but most would agree, they are not mutually exclusive expressions.

Likewise, ideas and execution-- thinking and doing-- cannot exist in isolation.  As teachers, we plan, we do, and after it's over, we think some more and evaluate so that next time we can do it better.  At least that's how it should work.

I'll admit, there are times when I don't see that I have time to think.  I simply "do."  I taught U.S. Government the first six years of my career.  It was my only consistent prep, so every year I had to prepare for a new class in addition to teaching Government.  I didn't have time to plan or think about what to teach so I relied on the previous year's material.  After six years, even I was tired of what I had to teach.  I started throwing away materials after I used them just to prevent myself from going back to them the next year.  But too often as a teacher we get so caught in the busyness of everything that needs to be done that thinking becomes a luxury that our time can't afford.

In regards to education, some people spend more time thinking than doing.  Educational structures facilitate this.  A recent article noted that with the exception of Administration, there is little room for vertical movement of teachers.  Making the choice to move upward in the world of education usually removes one from the classroom.  Many capable teachers do not seek higher level positions because of this, but do we really want to encourage good teachers out of the classroom anyway?

Administrators, guidance counselors, tech support, etc., all have their jobs to do; "Thinkers" don't include everyone that serves our schools outside of the classroom.  But from created positions in individual schools all the way up to our Secretary of Education, too many education professionals spend their day "thinking" without very much "doing."

How do we bridge this divide of "doers" who don't think enough and "thinkers" who don't do enough?

Thinking takes time.  We put quite a bit of thought and time into the Teaching Underground.  Still, we fail to match the depth of content or frequency of posting that so many others manage to handle.  The frequency and quality of the Underground is a product of how much "real" work we have to manage as teachers.  I'm sure most bloggers feel this stretch.  I've often thought "why do I do this, there is not enough time in the day and what do I really accomplish in the end? I'm simply thinking about my profession and sharing those ideas with others."

My answer: because thinking is just as important as doing and I refuse to give up the power of ideas to drive the efforts of my work toward meaningful ends.

To the doers:  Take a break.  Think about what you're doing, why you're doing it, and what you'd like to do next. Learn about what's happening around you and figure out your appropriate place within the context you live and work. If you have to leave somethings "undone" to protect your time and energy for thought, do it.  If you're too busy to stop and think, you're too busy.  You're going to harm someone if you keep going.

To the thinkers: Get your hands dirty. Not a casual drop in or guest appearance in the classroom.  Find a regular consistent way to directly impact a teacher, student or group of students.  Don't overburden the "doers" with good ideas that you can't test out yourself.  Remember that ideas don't have a life of their own, don't treasure them so much that when the doers tell you the ideas aren't working that you don't believe them.  If you don't remember what it's like to miss your lunch or postpone a much needed bathroom break because you're occupied with students, you're not connected with the place where your ideas are carried out. If that's the case, stop thinking so much and do something.  You're going to harm someone if you keep going.

To everyone who can make a difference: Give teachers the power to think and trust them to make good decisions. Provide the space and time for their experience and practice to gel into sound theory and plans for moving forward. Don't make decisions in isolation, but build systems that give teachers the ability to engage in deliberate thought about policy and practice.  Don't provide opportunities to attend after-school forums, complete surveys, or serve on another committee and consider it teacher leadership.  Consider placing certain decision-makers in the classroom more often, and give certain teachers a break from full teaching schedules in exchange for leadership roles.

Effective education requires a proper mix of thinking and doing from everyone, not a cadre of thinkers to direct the activity of the doers. This is education after all, not a beehive.