... and turn this into something maybe related, but perhaps not. It feels somewhat connected, albeit tangentially. We are talking about culturally responsive teaching and challenge based classrooms. Love it. I wanted to share something I wrote to my students last week as a response to what I am seeing in class. Zero energy. Kids unwilling to talk. To anyone. Most don’t speak to one another. They are zombies— and I am scared. Work is not getting turned in. Kids have lost hope. I wrote this, and would like to know if I am focused on the right things, or if I need to focus differently.
Put another way, I wonder if the pit is not adacemic in the least— and to be responsive would be to address the social and motivational pit that clearly is in front of our students. In looking at the MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) assessment in Unit 2, only 55% of students have completed this task. This is not acceptable and I think you would agree. To be clear, you have not had an overbearing asynchronous workload. This weekend I am asking you to complete this task in AP Classroom. Philosophically, what I am looking for right now is our best. We are in a pandemic-- and with equity and common sense in mind I want to be supportive. I want to be flexible. For you. Because our organization is about people first. But I suspect that our full 45% of missing work is not pandemic related. I am guessing some forgot. I am guessing some didn't do it for other reasons. I am guessing some chose not to. And I believe some couldn't do it for some reason or another. And I am also guessing that at least an equivalent number of students did not do their AP Daily work w/notes, either. Moving forward, I would like for you to communicate with me if you are having issues completing work. But I also would like to uphold the expectation that, in an AP class (we are in an advanced class, after all) we can complete our work-- especially when the workload is as reasonable as this has been. One final reminder: this class is not about your grade, either. It is about your development. YOUR learning. Learning in this environment is tricky, but made even more tricky when work is not done at home that should be completed. And yes, the entire world of juniors and seniors are not getting a ton done either. Globally, education is suffering in various ways. That is true. But when you enter college and the workforce you will not be measured laterally against those the same age as you. You will be measured vertically, against others that have put in the time and the effort to better themselves that are of different ages. It is them that you will compete with in the job market and for positions of leadership in a world desperate for growth and clarity. Remember that there is not some other amazing group of students ready to take on the world, that will be set to deploy and create and fix all of the ills that befall us. Because we all know we have problems. Never in recent memory has that been more evident. That other group of future saviors does not exist. That group is, in fact, you. You are that group. You are the future leaders and change-makers that will be built from a time of global challenge. And I take the role of helping you be the best you can be-- with a mixture of academics and compassion-- very seriously. I expect none of us to be perfect. I certainly am not. But I do expect that we ALL try to better ourselves-- and to trust that the work we do matters. This class is about real-life English. And whether expressed in essay form, discussion, thesis statement development activities, or multiple choice rhetorical passages, it all helps shape the thinker and rhetorician that is the current and future you. I believe in you. I believe in the power of a determined mind to better itself. It is WHY I do this work. And it is why I need to make sure we stay focused as much as is possible right now. Things are really difficult. The world changes daily. Hope comes and goes-- though we know things will improve someday soon. But that doesn't mean we cannot sink ourselves into our own growth and development and make a better version of ourselves at this time. Please take care of any missing work. Please make sure your notes from AP classroom are updated and reflect all videos assigned. And please realize that while grades and percentages might be overrated, your growth is certainly not. It's not a game. It's your last few academic steps to take before you face this world yourself. This is all sent with love and respect. Message me if you have any questions.
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A couple years ago I ran across a quote that really stuck— to the point that it’s on my email signature/tag: “The goal of education is to help students face complexity and not freak out.”
This David Cohen-ism is near and dear to my heart. I am convinced this is what our role is in the classroom. So often in our cohort we realize that we are preparing students for the unknown, and how to learn what is needed in their future. We know complexity is on the horizon, as it is the way of things. And we know their successful navigation of this matters. And as such we take a deep-dive into the Learning Pit. This was my introduction into Napa High— PBL, the Learning Pit, and McDowell. I find myself thinking about this pit, often. How do I handle this as an instructor? First off, I make sure my culture supports awareness of this stage. If we can’t fail successfully, we leave room for only “true” failure. Failure itself is learning and should be embraced. The Pit embodies this moment. Because we focus on skills, the pit allows us to go back to basics. If we are clear on our skill base, we can use that to apply to the problem in the pit. The pit is simply an unknown environment to apply these skills in. It’s like a golfer that plays a course they have not seen, or when Dustin Green plays a new map in online gaming— the skill remains, and the environs differ. And sometimes the pit wins. The pit tells us when we need to get back to fundamentals. The pit is our teacher, and our teacher becomes the voice that reminds everyone of the skills that they have learned and how to access them when needed. It is, after all, the job of the student not to prove themselves to their teacher, but to the problems encountered in the pit. We see this in baseball ALL OF THE TIME. We live in the pit. We encounter different teams and players that have different strategies and abilities. Our job is to overcome these strategies and abilities with our own; it is at once beautiful and primal and sophisticated. For both student and athlete, I offer similar guidance: what got you here? What are the basics that you have worked on that offer a “floor” or a minimal level of support? From that floor, we can find our footing. This usually involves taking the emotion out of the moment. As we pull into Google Earth mode and gently remove ourselves from the details and get back to basics, confidence returns. We can then reassess, plan, and go back into the pit. In AP classes this all-so-often manifests itself in reading comprehension. I’d say 90% of issues we have with writing come down to reading— or mis-reading. Reading is the basis for great writing. If you have nuanced thinking and know the details of a thing, writing about it becomes a passion and not a chore. And one cannot help but come off as expert when they truly know a thing— as close, purposeful, and accurate reading is likely to do. When the time in the pit breaks down, it often is due to lack of systems of floor-support, or lack of having built the right atmosphere based on failure. Both of which remedies I have tried to make my hallmark as a teacher— and as a coach. You can’t help but be a little romantic about the concept of creativity. It’s a little different for everyone and we know it when we see it. And while we can define it, there are multiple manifestations of it that defy description. Thus, it’s ethereal nature is quite romantic.
As such— and being an English-y type— this week’s HW was something of a joy. And can I just say this again before I get specific: Sir Ken Robinson is an absolute treat. Just a real pleasure to listen to. Okay, off we go with some takeaways: Brown and his discussion of cohorts was really interesting to me. He used World of Warcraft and surfing as examples— which is a perfect way to show the immense range of this idea. One idea: immersing yourself with a group of others absolutely raises the aptitude of all. Another idea is that this is really effective when it’s an area of interest. An area of interest... Which ties into my next thought. Pink talks about how some companies allow workers to have days/times where they exclusively work on what interests them. There are multiple variants of this but the data is clear: much of the best thinking comes from these sessions. Perhaps you take a day and work on a pet project. At the end of the day you report out. They were called “FEDEX” days because you have to deliver in a day. And deliver they do. Money doesn’t drive creativity. What drives our innovation is when we believe it matters and that we are interested in it personally. Gardner said an awful lot, and my takeaway is a simple one (but one I might turn into a debate with my class): Why NOT cheat? Instead of why one could benefit from dishonesty, perhaps attack this from a different angle. Hmmmm. If done right this could be great. Or, this could unlock ethical blocks from my nicest kids and turn them into a world of crime. Either way, a fascinating exercise. And of course, Sir Ken, and I paraphrase: we have no idea what the world will look like in 5 years from now (which feels REALLY accurate right now). Our current graduates will retire from their careers in 2065. We have no idea what that work will be. We must embrace creative thought and adaptivity. Oh, and he made a joke: “Shakespeare was once a seven year old. SOMEONE had Shakespeare in their English class growing up. Wouldn’t that be annoying.” (I’m not trying to attach this into anything. It was just an amusing thought. I would love to be able to know what that was like.) And my biggest takeaway from Mobley is that for creativity to thrive, there must be a culture present where one can fail and not be a failure. Mind blown. I mean we know this right? But how intentional do we focus on building that? I try— but in our current pandemic there are so many emotional issues that we are living amongst extreme fragility. More than ever this should be a driving force— that culture— so we can actually learn. Honestly 21st century teaching has become synonymous with being in touch with student needs. And that’s not always academic. Take now for example... or last spring... or two years ago in the fall. We are getting ROCKED in this area. And we aren’t the only ones, nationally or globally.
There is an effect. This is NOT business as usual. The 4 C’s are exceptionally useful. It’s common sense put in writing. I might argue that connecting with students is our needed 5th C. Our *best* students don’t want to show their faces. Our *top* students don’t want to talk in class. Our *incredible* minds are afraid of being wrong in this virtual environment. There is quite a bit of nurturing to just get kids to do work. Again, it’s not business as usual. For me, the shift has been probably easier than that of (some of) my English-teaching colleagues. Making our skills apply to real-world issues is more naturally part of the AP curriculum. It’s mostly non fiction— which makes this natural. We can use our skills to solve problems and create debates that use the tools of the class. That can be a little more difficult when reading, say, Lord of the Flies. But that means creating access and equity in ways we haven’t. Curriculum should be designed to allow students to explore and play and learn— with guidance. It is, after all, THEIR assent into adulthood that we are nourishing. Let them make mistakes and get guidance. Traditionally, lecture notes and tests on content that may not be skill based have pushed young people into adulthood with maybe a little grit, but little in the way of being able to know how we learn best. Can we please just focus on skills and let kids access the right tools for the job? Let them play and explore a little? Isn’t that how we learn *anything*?? Have I hijacked this post into a rant about a fifth C? You betcha. I am doing breakout rooms right now as I type this and its clearly a thing. I feel much better about teaching virtually than I did. We are learning. But we need a little connecting (or compassion) with our kids right now too. And that’s something I need to get more intentional with. I care. I just don’t know how to leverage that into improved connectedness in Zoom yet. ... we look at Innovative Learning this week. And that makes sense. It’s our *why* we are here. With every ounce of my being and my intellect, and my experience, I want to shout from the rooftops: EVERYTHING I READ SUPPORTS THE NEED FOR TRAINING IN TRANSLITERACY. We are getting that now, in our cohort. In fact, Sir Ken Robinson’s work in “changing paradigms” and our viewing in “Did You Know...” support the idea that our truly important work will be in “intellectual athleticism” (remember that one?) nimble adjusting into different ideas, mediums, and fields of thought.
So that need exists. No doubt. And I think we all feel it more than ever right now. And in using my Google-Fu while searching around for case studies (BTW, those are proving difficult to find for me— at least recent, distance-learning examples of class interaction) I came across an Edutopia article on digital learning. Somewhere in the top two ideas were this: “Repeatable Systems.” And doesn’t that ALSO ring true right now. Be innovative. Be flexible. Adjust to this schedule. Adjust to that in person learning. Less class time. More classes. Here are 200 new digital tools. Learn them. Make sure kids feel connected. Provide meaningful feedback but teach ten classes. Don’t burn out. Kids need you. We value you as educators. Teach morality. Make sure equity is in the forefront of your planning. Make all of your learning available online. Update grades weekly. Contact families that have kids missing from Zoom. You have 160 students. Get to know them. This is barely hyperbole. And it’s hardly the stuff of a “repeatable system.” Note: I promise this isn’t a complaint! More than ever, I feel this is my calling. This is our crisis and I am prepared to meet it head-on. This is more a big picture/“realist” view of where we are at, and how our learning feeds this view. One of the reasons we all feel how we feel right now is because we know kids benefit from systems and repeatability (which is the whole premise of EduProtocols, right?), yet systemically we are changing everything. You ever made an INCREDIBLE meal for dinner while being creative and going off-the-cuff but then struggle to repeat that success— because the recipe was all jumbled? (This happens often with my smoked mac n cheese recipe) Our lessons will look a little like that until we slow down, get systematic, get clear, pick tools that work for US in our system and allow kids space to move between tasks with skills we build— and repeat this in our classroom. That list above is not doable in the ways it was a year ago at this time. But real growth can happen for our students— and not in a classic, high-stakes test way— if we focus not just on what is knowable, but what elasticity of mind can do for them in their lives. We can model that a little bit in our practice and be open about that process. Share with kids the challenges and the success we have. And that idea— that we can make something of this moment in history— might be the most important thing we can do for our students right now. |
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December 2020
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