On The Importance of Social Studies...

I've had many conversations about the 4 C's  with other educators both online and in person and throughout these conversations, I've continuously returned to the idea of how so much of what is advocated for in the 4 C's and in the NETP, should all be found in a high quality social studies program. What you might be thinking at this juncture is "go figure, a social studies teacher is saying social studies is important." Yes, I am....but humor me for a moment, if you will. 

Social studies cannot be effectively taught without including critical thinking about the motives of historical figures, government officials, economic actors, or psychological theorists; it cannot be effectively taught without teaching students how to effectively communicate with others, especially those they disagree with; it cannot be effectively taught without looking at how different groups of people today and throughout history work cooperatively and collaboratively to accomplish amazing (and sometimes terrible) things; and it can't be effectively taught without looking at all the different advances that have happened as a result of hard work and creativity throughout history in every single field that have made our world what it is today, for better or worse.

When I think about how much of education trends today emphasize the use of technology to realize the 4 C's across the curriculum, I return to my assertion that the 4 C's are the fundamentals of a high quality social studies program; great social studies programs have been helping kids realize the 4 C's long before anyone coined the term "4 C's." In her book The Death and Life of the Great American School System, Diane Ravitch states that she has a "...deep belief in the value of a rich, coherent school curriculum, especially in history and literature." (p. 2) It is through history and literature (and, I would add, all the social studies) that many of the soft skills or non-cognitive learning skills are encountered and honed. The emphasis on STEM in the past decade as well as the shift to a focus/emphasis on math, language arts (sans a heavy emphasis on literature), and science over the past thirty years has left our society lacking in the 4 C's, interpersonal skills, as well as intrapersonal skills that should be part of any high quality social studies program. Technology can help students master these skills but when it comes down to it, interacting with other humans in a kind, productive, thoughtful fashion is a skill that is transferrable across mediums from face to face to Facebook.

Though I've found no strong evidence of causation anywhere in the literature, I suggest that, based upon my own observations, there is very strong relationship between the decline in the role of social studies education in our schools (due to the focus on math, science, and language arts) and the increase in partisanship, nasty civil discourse, and the inability of individuals to compromise. 

Any current education policy emphasizing STEM focused curriculum and standardized testing focused on math, science, and language usage needs to take a moment and reflect on what is being given up if these things continue to be obsessed over. Our approach to education needs to change to one that is more holistic if we are going to function as a society because, in the words of one of my wise colleagues, "The true test of a child's education is not the GPA, ACT/SAT or other trivial academic recognition. Rather, it's how that child uses that education to improve themselves and the communities they live in." 

On Heroes and Education

Recently, I was involved in a discussion about heroes. What follows is my attempt to put into writing what I have had running around my head for quite some time. It comes across as somewhat jaded or, at the very least, skeptical. For the purpose of understanding some of my made-up terms below, here are the definitions I have in mind when I use them:

• Macro-hero: A person or group that is known to most of society and is held up as a model for behavior.
• Micro-hero: A person or group that is known to only a few people or possibly only a single person. Their behavior that went above and beyond the normal expectations/duties of their job had a profound impact on the person or people impacted by the behavior.
• A note on my take on heroes- After writing this post, I realized that I have a very, very high bar for using the term hero which is most likely informed by my insatiable consumption of fantasy, science fiction, and mythology literature and film where most heroes are larger-than-life and do things that are unimaginable for most other people.

I'm of the perspective that the term "hero," in the macro sense,  has been so overused today that it has become devoid of it's one-time ability to inspire awe and lead to the formulation of new goals and aspirations. I also think that it has been overused to the point where, in many cases, Bolman and Deal's (2008) definition ("living logos, human icons, whose words and deeds exemplified and reinforced important core values") doesn't even apply (p. 257). Generally, I think hero is misused in most situations today when it is used to apply to large groups or entire career fields; being a firefighter, police officer, doctor, teacher, or member of the armed forces does not automatically make you a hero. In a macro sense, most people in these occupations are, like in every other field, pretty average and not remotely heroic.

However, as bitter and jaded as that perspective might seem, I do understand that what constitutes a hero is based entirely on perspective and culture. Bolman and Deal (2008) present five symbolic assumptions and at the top of their list is: "What is most important is not what happens but what it means" (p. 253). A teacher's action of giving a kid a granola bar in the morning might be viewed by one kid as a nice treat while another child looks to the teacher as a hero because the child hasn't eaten since lunch the day before. In that moment, in that situation, to that child, the teacher could be a hero. In this micro view of heroism, heroes are commonplace but I think that this too diminishes the meaning of the term "hero." The role of culture and organizational norms cannot be overlooked as well. If that granola bar distributing teacher was in a school where every teacher distributed granola bars to kids whenever a kid was even only a bit peckish, the hero status is no longer applicable. As for the honoring of heroes in education, I think that it doesn't happen too often because as far as our society is concerned, the bar for hero-status is only attainable for teachers in the most extreme circumstances.

Somewhat related to perspective and culture is a phrase I have heard from many different sources, with many variations over the years but basically goes like this: One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. When Osama bin Laden was killed, I had a student state that "no one would be upset with it because everyone agrees that he was the worst person in the world." I pointed out that his extremes-loaded statement was not true and that there were a great number of people who saw bin Laden as a hero (making sure to clarify I was not one of this crowd). This, I guess, is just one example of why I am extremely hesitant to utilize the supremely subjective term "hero" in my day-to-day parlance.

During this conversation about heroes, I was asked if I had any heroes in my district. I would have to say that I have none. There are many teachers, school leaders, and members of the community who inspire me and who I look up to and aspire to be more like professionally and in some cases personally, but I would not call any of them my hero.

What about you? How does your use and understanding of the term "hero" compare?

Using TED to Establish a Culture of Learning

Simply put TED.com is an amazingly accessible and portable option for personalized learning from the best and brightest the world has to offer. As a school leader, the TED options for learning and growing as a leader are seemingly endless. Not only do you have access to lectures from some of the biggest names in education, politics, and social justice but TED also offers additional resources to engage that take you beyond the well-known TED talk. These resources include reading lists from those big names who deliver the lectures, a TED radio hour on NPR with interviews with the lecturers about their talks, and a lively and surprisingly insightful comments board that accompanies each TED talk video. TED.com is a prime example of how technology can be leveraged to rapidly share ideas around the globe. TED could be used in a school setting as a sort of book study or the basis for discussion between staff members, students, or in a heterogeneous group of staff, administration, students, and the community. Additionally, TED presents many talks about research and experiences that have discovered with conclusions that fall into the "things are not always what they seem" category that encourages critical and divergent thinking both of which are useful to continuously develop as a school leader. Perhaps the most important aspect of TED is that it allows a school leader to model the importance of being a lifelong learner. Whether you're interested in economics of crime, shattering paradigms of what is possible in glass blowing, or how many paper towels can be saved by flicking your hands thirteen times after washing them, TED has something for you and it has something for your students. All of these things can be easily accessed anywhere you can access the internet through TED's website or app.

Edutopia as Personalized Professional Development

One of the most important qualities of being a school leader is being a resource for staff, students, and parents about the latest and greatest trends, practices, and ideas in education. Sorting through academic research papers is time-consuming and, depending upon the author(s), quite a tedious exercise. Edutopia is a website that manages to find a balance between academic discourse and plainly-worded presentation of the latest in educational research and effective pedagogy. This resource is a bookmark must for any school leader. Not only does it provide engaging, accessible opinion pieces and summaries but it organizes these resources by topic and grade level. In addition, it also has an extensive video collection where you can listen to experts discuss ideas and where you can see videos of different practices in action in an actual classroom setting. One of my favorite aspects of this website is their tendency to summarize ideas or practices in lists. For example: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/year-one-with-3d-printer-vicki-davis - This provides a list of seventeen tips when implementing a 3d printer into a classroom for the first time. These sorts of lists are quick and easy to get through and allows readers to mentally check off things as they progress through the list. One other very powerful feature is the comments section and discussion boards. In these areas other teachers and school leaders post their reactions to articles and videos. This website offers a great deal of easily navigable quality resources that could be utilized by a school leader to provide support for developing teachers. As is true of classroom teachers today, principals, directors of instruction, and curriculum directors don't necessarily have to have all the answers when it comes to student and teacher learning and growth. Instead, they simply need to know how to help the learner find the personalized answers and support that will allow them to realize maximum growth. Edutopia presents a powerful tool for school leaders to do just that. 

Twitter in Education

Do you know the feeling you get after a really great professional development session? You know, that feeling of a fire deep inside of you that makes you want to go to your classroom and do something! Well, Twitter is not that. But, I'm sure you also know that same feeling a week after a really great PD session. That feeling of let-down that is the result of other staff members not sharing in your excitement or problems in implementing your new, grand ideas. Twitter can help with that feeling of let-down. To continue the fire metaphor, I like to equate the post-PD fire to a great conflagration; it cannot be stopped except with the passage of time because eventually, it will burn itself out because it runs out of fuel. Twitter adds fuel to that fire. Twitter keeps that fire going and going and going.

If you are in education and you are not on Twitter, you are doing yourself a disservice of Brobdingnagian proportions. Twitter is being leveraged by educators across the country and around the world to develop professional learning networks (PLNs) to support each other through sharing of ideas, materials, answers to questions, and stories. Twitter is the great flattener in education. No longer do you have to wait for a conference to interact with the gurus and rock stars of education today. Got a question for Rick Wormelli? Tweet it. Thomas Guskey? Tweet it. Most of the time, these and other big names in education will respond to your tweet. Want to criticize Arne Duncan? Tweet it with the hashtag #edchat and literally tens of thousands of educators everywhere will see it. Need help coming up with ideas for a psychology project on the brain or do you want feedback on your lesson plan? Tweet it with the hashtag #psychat. Even if you don't want to actively post tweets, you can still leverage Twitter to keep that fire burning year round. By simply following the right people, signing on during Twitter chats that interest you, and following the right hashtags, you will be exposed to an overwhelming number of ideas and resources. The learning curve for understanding how to navigate the Twitterverse is fairly easy for digital natives and entirely manageable for digital immigrants. Even if it takes you a week of fifteen or twenty minute sessions to familiarize yourself with the literacy and navigation skills necessary for easily accessing all that Twitter has to offer, that investment of time will pay back tremendous dividends!

As a school leader, Twitter presents tremendous opportunity. Twitter can be used as a sort of support group for new administrators. Twitter can be used as a place to learn from experienced administrators by simply "following" them on Twitter. Many, many, many accomplished principals, superintendents, and other administrators are on Twitter such as Eric Sheninger, former Scholastic principal of the year; George Couros, rockstar principal from Alberta, Canada; Myron Dueck, principal and author of Grading Smarter, Not Harder; Todd Whitaker, principal and author of Shifting the Monkey; and Joe Sanfelippo, superintendent at Fall Creek School District in Wisconsin who is the model for leveraging social media to create a brand identify for a district, #GoCrickets. This is just a sampling of the many great minds and leaders who share their experiences and ideas on Twitter every single day. Twitter can also be used by school leaders in a way that Joe Sanfelippo does: He is constantly sharing all the great things that happen in his school district on Twitter with pictures and videos under the hashtag #GoCrickets. As a result, he creates a sense of ambient intimacy and connectedness within the community which results in very positive attitudes about the school, the teachers, and the administration. 

This is a sample of my Tweetdeck which is a platform for organizing Twitter. Across the top of this image are the categories and below them are the tweets that have been posted under those categories. The categories include #psychat, for teachers of psychology; #iolahs, for teachers at Iola-Scandinavia High School; #1to1techat, for all things related to one-to-one technology programs; #wischat, for teachers in Wisconsin; #SBLchat for all things related to standards based learning; and #ptchat, where ideas about improving the parent-teacher relationship are posted. These are just six of my nearly twenty different columns for different topics that I follow.

Coaching sports in a new age of education

About a year and a half ago, I concluded an end of the year meeting with my basketball team and fellow coaches by announcing that, after four years as the junior varsity coach, I would not be returning in that capacity next year. The reaction was as I expected: Shocked looks, tears, and a little bit of anger and resentment, especially from the underclassmen. This was certainly not an easy decision; I absolutely loved coaching high school girls basketball and I loved all of my players dearly. The rationale behind this decision had three distinct parts-

• Family
• Professional development/educational advancement/job satisfaction
• Increased workload

The family reason is simple for most people to understand and, in my decision making process, played the largest role; I have a young daughter and other members of my family frequently call upon me for a wide variety of assistance. The professional development and educational advancement is also fairly straightforward; I am currently pursuing my masters degree and anyone who has engaged in a similar venture knows how much work this is. The third reason is a bit less clear for many people, mostly, I think, due to the fact that the majority of people don't have a full appreciation and understanding of what teachers do every single day.

Before I dive into further expansion of these points, especially the third one, I want to make it absolutely clear that this is not meant to be a rant on the state of education nor a list of complaints. Even though there are some things I don't necessarily like about my job, I continue to assert that I have the best job in the world! What follows is an attempt at a collection of observations and reflections. In a way, it is also a response to the many, many people who, to this day, continue to ask me the following three questions:

1. Why did you stop coaching? Answer: Keep reading.
2. Do you miss it? Answer: Terribly.
3. When will you start coaching again? Answer: Mmmm...maybe someday but probably not for a very long time.

(A note added after writing this whole thing...This is not a short blog entry. It started out short and simple enough and then it turned into something more than just a reflection on education things. It became an extremely cathartic venture...so it gets a little intense at times.)

If you are a teacher in Wisconsin (or anywhere for that matter) you can appreciate (for better or worse) the variety of new initiatives and duties that seem to be constantly added to our job description. I like to think that I am a pretty good teacher. I do some things very well. I am also pretty bad at some things but I continue to strive to get better at all aspects of my teaching. This striving to improve through the development of skills and improvement of knowledge can be difficult when trying to fit it in between lesson planning, correcting assessments, writing and revising curriculum, attending meetings of all types, engaging students in lessons, interacting with students in a mentor role, writing letters of recommendation, writing a PDP, SLO, and PPG, and so many of the other things that every teacher does every single day. New initiatives, changing attitudes towards education, and the bipolarity of state and national lawmaking bodies continue to create distractions of greater and greater magnitude that unfairly divert the attention of teachers away from the thing that we love the most- actually teaching kids.

I don't know any good teacher who puts in their forty hours a week and then heads home; I would argue that good teachers spend far more time working outside of the actual "work day" than anyone in any other profession. Now, take this busy schedule and throw in coaching a high school sport. Many schools have either a contractual or unspoken expectation that teachers should coach an athletic team or advise a club. Coaching and advising are fantastic things that can have a tremendous positive impact on the life of a child but how can these duties fit into the current way of doing education? How can we expect someone to maintain high levels of performance while providing a positive experience for kids in the classroom and on the field of competition when doing both well would require them to put in 65+ hours of work in each week? I cannot adequately express the level of admiration I have for those teachers who are able to get the job done both in the classroom and on the field of athletic competition. I, unfortunately, am not one of those teachers. I once aspired to be an amazing father and husband, a rock star teacher, and a state caliber basketball coach. However, early in my high school coaching career and especially after my daughter was born, I began to recognize moments when all of these things started to succumb to mediocrity.

At first, the thing that suffered was my teaching. Late-night returns from distant away games meant less time to complete grading and prepare for the next day's lesson. Putting these things off meant a poorer educational experience the next day for my students. Doing this every once in a while sometimes turned into consecutive days. I was not okay with this. So, in order to try to make-up for it, I would get up super early (3am) or stay up super late (3am) to get ahead or, more often, catch-up. This well-intentioned plan, however, led to even more problems: Crankiness during the school day, tiredness during the school day, crankiness during practice, tiredness during practice, crankiness at home, and then pass out from exhaustion at 7pm after getting home from practice at 6pm. What started to happen was, in my attempt to be a great husband, teacher, and coach, I was starting to kind of suck in all three.

My daughter was born in the spring after my third season coaching JV girls basketball in my current district. For many months leading up to the start of the next season, my wife and I discussed my role in the basketball program, if any, would be best for our family. We reached the conclusion that it would be best for our family if I did not coach. Then, in what can only be described as the biggest violation of the trust and cooperative approach to decision making we had established in our ten years of being together, I unilaterally decided to continue coaching in the upcoming season, much to my wife's dismay. I thought "This won't be that bad" and "I know so many coaches who have done this! I'll be fine" and countless other attempts at rationalizing my decision. With hindsight, I now know that I was wrong...big time.

At the start of that season, my daughter was just over six months old. In Wisconsin, basketball season lasts from November to March. My previous solutions to "balancing" my obligations would prove to be even more detrimental this time around: Infants don't really care if it's two in the morning and you've been up since 6am. Without going through too many details, basically what was happening was this: During that season, I did not like the teacher I was becoming... tired, disconnected, with pretty awful pedagogy; I did not like the coach I was...enthusiastic and present but constantly distracted by the many school tasks and things at home that had to get done; I did not like the husband I was becoming...tired, tired, and constantly doing work at home instead of upholding my end of the partnership that is marriage; and I absolutely hated the father I had become...absent. There was one particular week that season where we had three road games and, due to the fantastic wonder that is winter in Wisconsin, all movement on the roads was severely slowed. That week I arrived at school by 6:30am every day. School was done by 3:30. On the three game days that week, the next step was get on the bus. By 5:30pm, we were at our destination. JV game at 6:00pm. Varsity followed, sometimes 7:30pm, but sometimes closer to 7:45pm. Varsity game done...9ish...maybe. Get on the bus. 10:00pm, maybe, get back to school. Wait for all the kids to drive off or get picked up. Head to classroom to stare at the pile of stuff that didn't get done. Get in car and drive home. 11pm, hopefully, arrive home. Kiss my sleeping daughter goodnight. Kiss my sleeping wife goodnight. Pass out. Get up at 5am. Try to get some work done, get ready for school, and then start it all over again.

That week, I saw my daughter, when she was awake, for less than three hours total...and I hated myself for it. I fell asleep hoping she would wake up in the middle of the night wanting to be fed or simply held just so I could interact with her, see her smile, or maybe even hear her use her newly discovered voice. Friends and colleagues told me before and after that week things like "Oh, she won't remember you being gone, she's so young" and other attempts at intellectualization. But, I remember I was gone that week and I remember the many other times I was gone that season when I didn't get to give her a bath, or read her a story, or tell her what I tell her every night before leaving her side, "Goodnight, I love you and I always will no matter what." I remember hearing second-hand all the developmental milestones she reached while I was at practice, at a game, or staying late after practice to catch up on school work.

I love coaching. I love teaching. I love my daughter. I love my wife. In my attempt to be everything for all four, I failed to fulfill even my lowest standard of what was acceptable in each case. So, I had to make a choice. But, calling it a choice is a bit of a misnomer. Not being the best husband I can be was never an option, not being the best father I can be was never an option, and not striving to best fulfill my vocation of being a teacher, taking classes to improve my skills and knowledge to better challenge, inspire, encourage, and support my students every day, this too, was never an option. So, I had to stop coaching.

Earlier in my life, for the sake of my mental and physical health, I had to make a difficult decision between two things I loved. One of my mentors, who was usually flippant, sarcastic, and cheeky when dispensing wisdom, spoke with me when I was in his office one time, bawling my eyes out, being torn apart inside by the weight of the decision that had to be made. He talked with me in such a caring and sincere manner that I had never experienced before nor since and in that calm, caring manner he told me this: "Sometimes in life, you have to choose between two things you love. If you choose the first, you will love it. If you choose the second, you will love it. Isn't that wonderful?"

My decision to stop coaching was not one I arrived at lightly and, although my players were disappointed, I like to think that someday they will fully appreciate my decision. With the added demands put on teachers today, I fear more and more talented and dedicated teachers will make the same decision I did. I say "I fear this," because great teachers make great coaches. They know how kids learn, they know how to motivate kids, and, I guess quite simply, they know kids. I am still involved in activities working with kids outside of the classroom through sports officiating, our booster club, service activities, middle school rewards activities, and more but these things are not the same as coaching a group of kids, interacting with them closely every day for two (or more) intense hours, seeing their crazy side (and sometimes showing yours) on long road trips filled with would-you-rather questions and other inane time fillers. But for the sake of my mental, emotional, and physical health, I had to make a choice between two things I loved.

I chose my family and my vocation over coaching and it is wonderful.

Ideas on Education Reform and Economics

I have been making my way through Diane Ravitch's The Death and Life of the Great American School System this summer and it has frequently started my brain on fire. I highly recommend this book to anyone regardless of whether or not they are directly involved in education. I am currently pursuing my masters degree and the eleventh chapter of Ravitch's book plus another short article was recently assigned for analysis and reflection. This chapter got me particularly fired-up and, until I have time to expand upon the ideas in the piece I submitted for assessment, I would like to share that reflection below.

The Purpose of Reform in Education

Travis Bassett

Any time a reform is undertaken in education, it must be done with a purpose that is clearly communicated; it must be ruminated upon extensively to ensure this purpose is, in fact, one that will actually lead to long-lasting improvement; and it must be implemented with fidelity and the realization that no single reform is a “silver bullet” (Ravitch, 2010, p. 229) that will fix all that ails public education in the United States. These are the main ideas presented in chapter eleven of Diane Ravitch’s The Death and Life of the Great American School System and Sandra Alberti’s article titled Making the Shifts (Ravitch, 2010; Alberti, 2013). Both present a quality argument for change and then do something that is rare in most “discussions” in today’s society about any reforms: They offer up logical, well-reasoned, attainable suggestions for how to achieve the ideals they so soundly argue are needed.

Diane Ravitch is particularly adept, throughout her book, at picking out the many afflictions of public education today, offering a scathing analysis for why each affliction has come to be, and then offering, in compelling fashion, a transformational, beneficial alternative and a foundation of a path that will lead to attainment of that transformation. Her focus and clear explanations of the complexity and multiplicity of the problems facing education today are sure to be embraced and greatly appreciated (with a shout of joy and sigh of relief, no doubt) by anyone acting in a “front line” capacity in education today. Ravitch states “The fundamentals of good education are to be found in the classroom, the home, the community, and the culture but reformers in our time continue to look for shortcuts and quick answers” (Ravitch, 2010, p. 225). Her ideas are also supremely accessible in part due to her rejection of polarizing approaches to reform while embracing the reality that problems are complex, solutions more so, and, because of this, society needs to work cooperatively to implement reforms in education to benefit all of our children for the sake of the future of that very society: “Without the effort to teach our common cultural heritage, we risk losing it and being left with nothing in common but an evanescent and often degraded popular culture” (Ravitch, 2010, p. 233).

Ravitch’s ideas and her approach to presenting those ideas are particularly worth engaging in today’s state of attitudes about and towards public education and the educators who undertake the economically essential task of providing society with well-informed, well-mannered, rational economic actors. Her points regarding the free market and how it is not “the right mechanism to supply public education” (Ravitch, 2010, p. 241) are especially salient. She further develops this critique elsewhere in the chapter when she states “Our schools will not improve if we entrust them to the magical powers of the market. Markets have winners and losers” (Ravitch, 2010, p. 227). This chapter, if not this entire book, should be required reading for anyone in government who thinks they know what is best for public education.

Nearly every day, all across our country, school children and adults recite the pledge of allegiance. The closing line, with liberty and justice for all, embodies the core of what the Founders tried to create in this great experiment we call America. That line cannot be realized unless every single child in our country has access to a high-quality education that prepares, challenges, and inspires them to be the citizens our Founders wished so dearly they would become.

Educator Effectiveness...not so bad?

SLO and Educator Effectiveness are two buzzwords that have been added to the educational lexicon in Wisconsin. If you aren't familiar with the current state of education in Wisconsin, we are experiencing great change in many different ways: Conversations about changes to how schools are funded; a media fueled perception that there is a battle over adopting the Common Core State Standards (when in fact the state school board association voted to move forward with implementing the common core); and the rocky implementation of a statewide educator effectiveness program; among many, many other changes.

In any state's education system there are countless buzzwords and acronyms that can make a conversation between two teachers sound like they're speaking in a foreign tongue: RtI, EEN, IEP, TREK, ESL, ELL, these are just a few! The latest acronym to be added to this conversation in Wisconsin is SLO or Student Learning Objective. This is part of the Educator Effectiveness initiative that will be used to assess if students are actually learning and if teachers are actually doing their jobs of educating. For the sake of brevity, I'm not going to get into the fact that there are so many things teachers do to impact kids that cannot be measured or even observed. However, there are things that can be measured that, if teachers are effective educators, we should be able to chart, observe, and analyze growth and gains among students. Do I like completing the volumes of forms required for this new initiative?- Nope. Do I think that the many, many hours I have spent and will spend completing these forms could be better spent preparing awesome lessons for my classes?- Oh boy, do I!!! Does the entire process frustrate me and increase stress levels?- Heck yes!!

Even though this process is stressful, time consuming, and frustrating, after some reflection, I've come to realize that there might be some merit to it. I was asked recently if I thought this process was making me a better teacher. My gut reaction was: "Absolutely not!!!" But then, I stepped back to examine what I have done so far and how it has forced me to take a good hard look at what I do in my classroom. Further conversation with my principal led to even greater reflection on the process and I have come to realize that the complaints I had and those I heard from many of my colleagues sound very familiar...

During a pre-formal observation conference with my principal, I came to the realization that the complaints I had and those I heard from other teachers are extremely similar to the complaints we hear from our students. Here are the three most common complaints:

1. I don't understand what I'm supposed to do!!! No one told me exactly what we are supposed to do!!! If I get this wrong, it's not my fault!!!- When a student unloads like this in class, my response includes parts of the following: "Did you listen to the directions? Did you read the directions carefully? They are right there on the assignment. I explained them when I handed out the assignment and I asked if anyone had any questions. Did you ask a question to gain clarification? Did you try to find the answer in another source? The directions are also posted on the class calendar and I clarified a few things in an email after class." Regardless of the students answers to these inquiries, I always follow it up with this: "When you got frustrated or needed help, did you come find me? Or, if it was outside of the school day, did you email me?" The answer to this is overwhelmingly "No." I have heard this same basic complaints about the Educator Effectiveness process and the same response could be used: There are extensive resources available through the DPI, WEAC, and from people in our own buildings. Did you read them? Did you ask questions? Or, did you just throw your hands in the air and give up? We certainly would not want our students to do the latter, so why should we?
2. What is the point of doing this? This is sooooo stupid? I will never use this ever again!!!- Sometimes you have to do things that you might not enjoy doing and you might not understand why you should do it but you have to do it anyway. This is the lesson educators have tried to impart on students throughout history. Kids, especially teens, think they know what is best for them when it comes to, well, pretty much everything. But, we as teachers, with our superior knowledge, experience, and extensive training have a much better idea of what is best. Might this same lesson be applied to how we approach Educator Effectiveness? The realization I have come to is that someone (actually a whole group of someones) with far higher levels of education and a vastly superior understanding of the education system developed this program of Educator Effectiveness. I would hope that they wouldn't engage in creating this program if they did not find any value in it just as good teachers don't engage students in lessons that don't actually serve a purpose.
3. Why do I have to write about what I learned??? I already did the assignment!!! What's the point???- We ask students to not only think, but also think about their thinking and also reflect on their learning. We expect kids to be reflective and thoughtful about their learning so they can grow and continue to improve as students. So, why do we get up in arms when asked to reflect upon the things we do as teachers? I attended Viterbo University and it was there that I had the value of being a reflective practitioner pounded into my brain: Did the lesson work? Yes? Why? How do I know? Did the kids actually learn? Prove it. Every teacher should be able to prove that their students learned: The Educator Effectiveness program makes you prove it.

Im still not sure what my final position will be on the Educator Effectiveness program but I do know these three things: The process is making me think about what I plan to do in my classroom; it's making me reflect on what I have done in my classroom; and it is definitely not a perfect way to determine who is and is not a good teacher. 

What are your thoughts on or experiences with Educator Effectiveness? Share them in the comments below!

Brand New Assessments, Same Old Problems?

Once a month in my district, Monday morning means a late start day. A late start for kids means inservice for teachers. Unfortunately, this word, "inservice," has come to be a dirty word in our profession...It's a word that makes teachers cringe. However, this Monday, I was looking forward to our inservice: We had the chance to look into and play around in the new state of Wisconsin student data storage system that houses all kinds of useful data on students and displays this data in graphs and charts that are easily understood (I love data!!!!!!). After this, we got into small groups and investigated the new ACT testing suite. 

This was when things started getting interesting. Working in a small group, we made our way through samples of the new ACT Aspire test and the ACT WorkKeys test. The experience we had as teachers was interesting and thought provoking. 

Here are a few thoughts that were bouncing around inside my head:

1. I'm not an expert in math or language arts, but I'm pretty sure most freshmen and sophomores would have a hard time with the ACT Aspire exam. Not because of the rigor of the content, rather, the format of the questions is somewhat intimidating and inaccessible. The inaccessibility is magnified by the fact that these tests are taken on a computer. Even though the kids in question are digital natives, being able to skillfully and critically read on a computer screen during a high stakes test is not a skill set they possess. This is the result of a variety of factors including lack of student educational access to technology from very young ages and antiquated assessment delivery methods (paper and pencil) currently used by teachers.
2. Even if they had the skills, the content is not relevant. Again, I don't claim to be an expert when it comes to writing high stakes testing, but if the questions on any exam are relevant or are at least mildly interesting, kids invest more time and energy into solving them. I had a great discussion with one of our science teachers about a series of questions on the science section of the ACT Aspire that related to a diagram that was followed by a chart that was followed by a table that was followed by two graphs that were to be used to determine the area of coverage of a cell phone tower and something about the frequency of waves (or something like that). He made the point that the average student would be strongly tempted to simply skip to the questions about all of this data and select an answer randomly than actually go through all of the work required. This would be especially true, in his opinion, if students encountered this at the end of the science section after already working through all the previous problems. My thought was this: "Was this really the most interesting/relevant way to test for this particular knowledge?" 
3. Every student will be taking these?- I hope you have had the conversation in your own district about the reality that all kids will not go to a four year university and some might not even go to a two year program. Here's what I think is a reality: Some kids simply need to get basic academic skills and then enter into some sort of apprenticeship or other job training program. This reality is clearly not shared by the state of Wisconsin DPI with its adoption of the ACT suite (or at least that was the case last I heard). When I encountered the section on the ACT Aspire math sample questions that asked to find the units digits of seven raised to the fiftieth power, I actually said aloud, "Nope" and then turned to ask the calculus teacher what the point was of being able to do such a task. His answer of how it allows students to identify patterns sated my frustration until I thought the following: "Does every single kid need to be able to do this?" Which was followed by: "Is it a realistic expectation that every high school person and therefore, eventually, every person, should be able to do this?" To which I answered: "Nope."
4. There is a disconnect between high stakes tests and trends in classroom teaching methods. Differentiation, individualized learning plans, project-based learning... there are so many trends and buzzwords in education right now that have to do with addressing the specific needs of each and every student and they are wonderful at accomplishing all kinds of things. Project based learning is one in particular that I love because it puts the ownership of learning in the hands of the students. This can lead to students becoming self-motivated learners who are passionate about the content they encounter. In addition to the educational benefits of these individualized learning models, there is this fact to consider: Every person is different, has different needs, different life experiences, different interests, and different goals in life. So I ask you this: How does the trend towards more individualized learning and assessment methods jive with the fact that we require every student to sit down and take the same exact test on a computer many times a year?

Implications for my classroom-

This initial exposure to the new Wisconsin data source and the ACT suite during our inservice has opened my eyes to many new things that have the potential to dramatically impact the way I do things in my classroom. The data will most certainly be useful in determining how to meet the specific learning needs of the children in my classroom. It is all housed under one roof and, after my initial session of exploring and playing around, it appears to be extremely quick and easy to navigate around to locate valuable information that will actually be very useful! Too often finding and then analyzing student data can eat up a lot of valuable time. This new system appears to offer a solution to that problem that will allow me to better meet the needs of my students! I am less excited about the potential impact the new ACT suite and smarter balanced assessments are going to have on the way teachers teach. If measuring teacher effectiveness continues to be tied more and more to standardized testing, the pressure to "teach to the test" will continue to grow. This, I believe, will lead to less interesting, irrelevant content being delivered to students while creating disengaged, disheartened teachers. Do teachers need to be held accountable for student learning? Yes. Should standardized test scores be a part of this accountability? That's a question for another discussion. Does the ACT suite of tests assess valuable skills? Certainly! But, does a one-size fits-all assessment fit with the trend of personalized education? Nope. It will certainly be interesting to see how this all plays out in the coming years!

What do you think? Have you encountered the new Wisconsin data storage system? Do you think it will be easier to find valuable and necessary student data? How about the ACT suite?- Do you share my feelings and fears about these new tests or standardized test as a whole? Or, do you think these assessments are extremely valuable? Please share your comments below!

Update 12/13/13: I received the following from one of our district's principals today: http://goo.gl/hAOEK4. It's a document from the Wis. DPI regarding the new Smarter Balanced Assessments that addresses a number of the concerns I presented above. If you have a moment, give it a read!