SOL25 September 2 Here We Go Again

Most of my family and friends are back in the business of teaching or learning now that summer is over. I guess that is why I consider Labor Day a day of reflection, thinking about the summer as well as ahead.  This summer, I saw two special shows that have shaped my thinking.

Crying on the Camino featured Celeste Manicelli, who inspires laughter and  self-reflection through retelling her trek of the Camino de Santiago. She recalls the challenge of your undies dangling off your backpack reminding us to change what we can, but to accept what we cannot change. Communal sleeping and eating arrangements are reminders that we are pilgrims on the same journey where we hope for the best and take what comes.  I certainly was inspired to reflect on my own journey!

I also saw Mamma Mia 2, where crazy dancing, gaudy clothes and  ABBA songs presented, at first, a different image, yet, similar lessons including having faith in yourself!  As we danced in standing ovation, every single person in that audience was smiling no matter what else had happened that day or what might loom ahead.

I am at the filled with hopes and prayers for all those heading back:
    

    * Have faith in yourself and keep a song in your heart (Mamma Mia, here we go again...)
    * Begin this journey with hope! (I have a dream, a song to sing, to help me cope with anything...)

    * We are all on this journey, just at different places!

Schoolbag in hand, they leave home early morning

Waving goodbye with an absent minded smile

I watch them go with a surge of that well known sadness

And I have to sit down for a while.

Slipping through my fingers all the time

I try to capture every minute, the feeling in it

Each time I think I'm close to knowing

They keep on growing

Slipping through my fingers all the time

Study: Novel Reading Generates Sustained Boost in Neural Connectivity

Study: Novel Reading Generates Sustained Boost in Neural Connectivity

Thank heavens there is research to back up what I already KNEW: Novel Reading Generates Sustained Boost in Neural Connectivity

"The neural changes that we found associated with physical sensation and movement systems suggest that reading a novel can transport you into the body of the protagonist," said the lead author of the study, Emory neuroscience professor Gregory Berns. "We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else's shoes in a figurative sense. Now we're seeing that something may also be happening biologically."

Do We Have a Teacher Prep Problem?

Sharing Peter DeWitt's editorial on Edweek.  It is interesting and scary on many levels.  It does make me stop and think.  Was I unprepared when I started teaching?  How do we make sure the learning curve is well established before teachers move into their classrooms?  How can we assure teachers get the ongoing mentoring and support they need to become all they can be? 
Do We Have a Teacher Prep Problem?

A Community Effort to Improve Literacy

A Community Effort to Improve Literacy

Redshirting Isn't Just for Sports...but Does It Work?

Redshirting Isn't Just for Sports...but Does It Work?

What if You Only Had 5 Minutes to Inspire a Student?

What if You Only Had 5 Minutes to Inspire a Student?

Peter DeWitt's post on Edweek is about Mark Barnes's The Five-Minute Teacher.  The whole post is certainly worth your read but this little one might just be a notebook keeper! 

"Highly motivated students may be better equipped to listen to lengthy lectues and 30-minute lessons, but they'll learn the material equally well, and perhaps better, if they investigate the content after instruction that lasts five minutes or less. Reluctant learners are prone to become disruptive as soon as a lesson surpasses the 300-second mark. In fact, you'll probably lose them much faster if you don't engage them immediately."

She Called Him Sweetheart

My mom and dad considered Let Me Call You Sweetheart their song.  Seriously.  As sappy as that sounded to me as a young-un, it seems like a song that we might all embrace this morning! 

You've likely heard about the almost tragedy in Atlanta this week. Yes, it was quieter because a teacher in Atlanta was able to talk to the individual threatening her school.  I am sure there were a couple (at least) of people in Connecticut who tried to do this same last December, and thus, I suspect we should all stop and think about these two life altering scenarios this morning.

In Atlanta, the teacher was successful in talking to the ammunition-loaded young man before he began shooting.  We'll never know why it worked, but we are reminded that "Heroic actions come from the heart" and that sometimes they work and sometimes they do not.  The tales of the scene remind us that we may not always succeed, but we always make a difference, by what we do. 

Take a minute to read this article over at Education Week;
She Called Him Sweetheart
It started my day and will be with me all year.

As we head back to school and onward in our lives, it is humbling to remember, we can and do make a difference by what we say and do every day, to everyone we meet. So even if you find the Let me Call You Sweetheart song a bit sappy, and no matter what your socio-political agenda, you can find a quote from someone, remarkably similar to the mindset of a teacher in Georgia who talked kindly to a boy with a gun, calling him Sweetheart.  The words, this time, worked.   
  
"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” Nelson Mandela 

“It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.” Gandhi

"Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people - your family, friends, and coworkers, and even strangers you meet along the way." Barbara Bush   
       
“The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better.” R. Kennedy

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but they echo endlessly." Mother Teresa
 

Yes, Mom, There Really Is Value to Social Media

Shortly, I will head out for a few hours of some end-of-the-summer-fun spent in real time with real people breathing real, fresh air and really filling my lungs and soul with the fuel that will carry me through the busy months ahead.  My husband, on his new bike, will likely lead the way over some really neat, repurposed bike trails and my mind will likely be filled, once again, with the really strong images of men, women and children who long ago rode those trails towards unimagined, new lives (the subject of my someday book).

Yet, this morning, I am aware that I get fuel to carry me through the bulk of my busy teaching-working-living days via social media.  I was thinking about how grateful I was for texting, Twitter, and Facebook as I awoke this morning.  My birthday, yesterday, was filled with messages from kids, friends, relatives and colleagues that made me happy again and again. The Tweets started early and I smiled ear to ear as I stopped for coffee and glanced at that first one.   Later on, there were some more Twitter exchanges as well as some Facebook chatting and a video clip from Disney that I will treasure all year.  There were notes from people I see every day as well as those far-flung relatives and friends who I see very rarely, if at all.  I was so very grateful that each took a moment to wish me a happy day.  I think, in fact, that I had more wishes for a Happy Birthday this year than in any single year of my life ever before! 

Then, as I logged into my PLN, Twitter, I see this link   http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/103110/chapters/Designing-and-Developing-School-and-District-Curricula.aspx  which lead me to this link http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/103110.aspx
offering me a glimpse of John Brown's new book before I buy it! 

As I read on through my Twitter feed, I see that Ruth Ayers has a new book coming out soon http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/its-coming-2/
I stop to wonder how she has the time, but suspect that she too is fueled, to some extent, by the power of her PLN. 

I have to be selective as I continue scanning the feed, but take time to read about coaching ideas over at Ed Week  http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/coaching_teachers/2013/08/im_a_new_coach_where_do_i_star.html

And then, over on Facebook, amid the images of happy people celebrating life and taking kids to colleges there are a few lingering birthday wishes from other time zones and this lead from the Nerdy Book Club that made me link up! 

Reluctance vs. Refusal by Ryan M. Hanna - Let’s talk about the famed reluctant reader. The reader that countless blogs, professional teaching books, and think tanks work overtime at figuring out. Reluctance can be caused by a wide variety (and sometimes combination) of reasons: the students may struggle with reading, literacy support may be lacking in their homes, there’s no one to help [] http://ow.ly/2zk3F3 

I still buy and send some paper cards each year.  I still love to open mail.  I still love real time birthday candles and connecting with people.  Yet, as I head onto a real time adventure this morning, I remain filled with gratitude for my ever-growing and wonderful virtual life that connects me with people and the world in ways I could never have imagined in years past.  Yes, Mom, there really is value in social media. 

 

 

Report: States Could Save Millions By Consolidating Small Districts

Report: States Could Save Millions By Consolidating Small Districts

Are Substitute Teachers Qualified to Be In the Classroom?

Are Substitute Teachers Qualified to Be In the Classroom?

My Happy Places

To be totally honest, one of my "happiest of places" is on a beach with a stack of books and a bottle of ice water with a lemon in it! I get there once or twice most years; however, I do have other happy places.  I love a good bike ride on a shaded trail, a great cup of tea on the couch, and a sunset laden dinner on the porch.  I also still get excited on the first day of school and a little melancholy, for real, on the last day of school.
So, at a meeting, when a teacher commented that she was glad to be near to retirement because the parents and kids were not what they used to be, my ears perked up.  The conversation drifted to school not being a "happy place" anymore.   The conversation made me sad.  How could you come to school each morning with a smile on your face when you felt that way?  It was still on my mind when I read Peter's DeWitt's blog post this morning.  It as still on my mind as I drank a second cup of coffee and relished in the wonder of a "Saturday morning" with sunshine.  I really SHOULD be doing laundry, but instead, I'm doing a "reader response"!                                                                   
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/05/a_blog_about_finding_our_happy_place.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-TW

  

He writes about the essential need to find a "happy" place even when there is incessant paperwork, overwhelming testing, overzealous parents, frenzied students, panicked administrators, endless evaluations, and days that are not that wonderful!  We all have those days, but "No matter how bad things may be from a state level, it's hard to ignore the faces of our students. It's one of the reasons why principals need to walk into every classroom, every day. E-mails, phone calls, and budget conversations can get leaders down, but the faces of students can help bring them back to why they choose to work in a school every day. We have to keep fighting to make sure that school is still our happy place."

 


For those of us lucky enough to spend our days, weeks, months and years in and around classrooms, looking into the faces of children, every day is an opportunity to make a difference! 

Yes, there are bad days.  Yes, the mandates from the state and administrators could make you insane.  Yes, the paperwork is overwhelming.  Yes, some days are not so great.  Yes, realizing that even if I make a difference every day, I'm not yet "highly effective" in all criteria on an observation makes me disappointed.

Yet, sitting at my little table with a group of eager or even reluctant readers is a happy place.  Yet, sitting on my bright red cushions sharing a book with a student is a happy place. Yet, when a student pops into my room to share what he/she wrote or read, I am assured I am in one of my happiest of places.  Yet, when I get to eagerly share the "real time" reading progress of a student through cloud share, I am in one of my happiest of places.  In spite of all the strife and troubles, I'm sure my little spot in my school is a happy place!


 

CCSS: Ed week looks at DC's schools

This week, over at ED Week, they are talking about the CCSS again,  It's not the first nor the last time this week that any of us think about or talk about CCSS.  http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/05/22/32common_ep.h32.html?tkn=XMMFaLzXHErD3qK387wZAfysxwDHKPQ9ihuz&cmp=clp-edweek

 
This week they describe how schools in Washington D.C. are trying to ramp up instruction to meet the "new" standards.  There are new units with "anchor texts, along with dozens of articles, novels, plays, poems, essays, and other works as suggested readings."

Yet, there is so much more than curriculum in learning.  Kids want to know you care about them and their learning.  No matter what happens in our edu-political capital, there are teachers there (and everywhere) who greet their students each morning warmly and who do their very best to make each day and each class important and valuable.   That's encouraging. 

What is the Best Way to Prepare Professional Educators?

I often write-about-reflect-on Edweek articles; however, the grueling TWT 30 day writing-reading challenge has reduced my reading-writing-reflecting on other education news!  This, however, is worthy of note. Teacher-Prep Programs Zero In on Effective 'Practice'  

The article describes an immersion teaching program in Boston focusing on "what's coming to be called "practice-based" teacher education."  Charter schools, private faith based schools and city school districts that have struggled to find teachers (such as NYC in the 90's) have often used similar programs to fill classrooms.  Sometimes, there is even less support than the Boston program describe in this article. 
 

The vast differences in teacher preparation are perhaps even greater than might be noticed on quick look and may, in fact, may be most evident as these teachers move on in their disciplines with a focus on teaching with one, specific learned and practiced technique.  As noted in the article, the perspective is that teachers can just be "trained" for their job with a specific skill set rather than become reflective practitioners with diverse skills sets who differentiate to meet the needs of individual student and ever changing academic demands. 

I really wonder if a technician is going to be best able to promote the "deeper learning" and questioning that is the hallmark  of teaching today.   I wonder if you would want your surgeon to have only one learned way to operate on your cancer?  I question if teaching is a field where we want to know what has happened in the past so that we do not repeat mistakes?  Is teaching a skill or is it a profession? 

Without leading the witness, my own perspective is clear.  To prepare our students for the diverse and every changing world in which they will live, we need teachers with sound philosophical foundations who also know multiple ways to approach any new situation.  We need teachers who question and see answers, teachers who seek and find innovative ways to approach behavior and learning.  After many years of teaching, I have watched teachers (and administrators) whose foundations for their profession were built without a theoretical base for what they do.  They usually struggle to accept change and focus on a narrow and limited view of what should be based on what they know! 

 
 

Peter DeWitt On Who Owns Learning..

Usually, I suggest that something is a very good read.....
This one is a must read.....

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/01/who_owns_the_patent_on_learning.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-TW

PD 21st Century Style?

I'm not sure if I would have become as passionate about life-long learning if I had stayed at my very first teaching job for my entire career.  It's possible, I would have become complacent and lost in the day to day minutiae of teaching what I knew.  It's possible that I would have been "dismissive" of those 21st Century literacy trends such as balanced literacy, CCS, and teacher evaluations. 

 

I'll never know what "might have been" but I do know that "being excised" early in my career, moving to accommodate my husband's career, and some inspiring colleagues (Mary Lynn, Mary Ellen, AC) who dragged me to New York State Reading Association conferences (back in the day when my own children were very young) adjusted the trajectory of my career and assured I never felt "I knew it all." 

 

This morning, as I prepared mentally for a busy day of caregiving, chores, and living, I enjoyed the quiet of an early Saturday and reflected on the power of Professional Development in a new form that I could never have imagined back in my early days of my teaching. 

Through my Personal Learning Network as I logged onto "Facebook" and Twitter.  There was SO much I wanted to read! Among this mornings offerings were this link from JoEllen McCarthy over at the Nerdy Book Club.  JoeEllen shared the late Donald Graves quote, "If you have even one colleague with whom you can share ideas, readings, and questions, you can draw from that enough energy to maintain your motivation and ability to grow professionally.”
 

I thenk linked over to @professornana’s blog thread   http://professornana.livejournal.com/tag/unprogram
and was reminded that professional reading and sharing is not just in the hours we accumulate and "log" for our state and district mandated PD.

Then, I headed over to the Two Writing Teachers's suggested link (thanks to Facebook again).  they said, " A friend shared this on Facebook last night. Thought it was important for all educators to read re: test prep and how too much diminishes students' reading levels."
http://betterthantestprep.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/better-bets1.pdf 

Thank you for making my day Mr. Gabriel Feldberg. http://betterthantestprep.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/better-bets1.pdf

 

I spent a while catching up on reading over at the TWT - after all it had been a busy week - first week of the semesters are like that!  http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/21st-century-research/

I then headed over to Choice Literacy  http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/ChoiceLiteracy

and wondered how I could share this link on Tuesday.....
http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=77151&title=Martins_Big_Words

I needed a cup of coffee at that point, but I returned to Twitter  AJF@anitaferreri  where Peter DeWitt, Colby Sharp, the ASCD, Keven Hodgsen and Education Week can always get me thinking and downloading (or ordering) a book or two.  http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/01/when_a_classroom_works_and_doesnt.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-TW
http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/
 http://paper.li/dogtrax/nwp#
http://inservice.ascd.org/commoncore/checking-in-with-common-core-implementation-in-new-hampshire/
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/sarameads_policy_notebook/2013/01/no_pre-k_isnt_a_waste_just_because_your_mom_can_read.html

I really would like to have more REAL conversations with colleagues about all of this.....but meanwhile....I have so much to read and so much laundry to do!  How about you? 
 

Got Role Models?

Yes Peter,  you have me thinking again....

                                                                                      

In his Edweek post, Peter DeWitt talked about reflecting on the people who influence us as we travel through this journey of life.  We all have such people; family, friends, teachers, and acquaintances who inspire us through their words, their actions, their responses to us and to the world around them. 

I've had quite a few people who have inspired me in my professional and personal lives. There was my Grandmother whose treasured book collection in her dining room most likely inspired my own. There was my aunt, the teacher and a professor, Burton Blatt, who showed me that all people had potential to lead inspiring lives. There were colleagues who took me around NYSRA conferences and showed me that teachers who thought "outside the box" had the potential to reach all children and assure learning for all. I've had students who struggled to learn to read and yet achieved great success in life becoming doctors, lawyers, police, moms and dads.  They have inspired me with their tenacity and resilience.  My sister-in-law showed me, by her example, how to raise strong and independent children. My own children inspire me to think about learning, living and loving in a far greater perspective than ever before. 

All of us have the potential to inspire or to squash those in our paths by what we say and do every day.  Wealth, education, and sports achievements do not assure that someone will be an inspiration to others.  As Peter DeWitt notes, a child who is not at the top of his/her class in first, eighth or even during their senior year of high school may still lead a successful life and serve his family, peers and country as a productive citizen and perhaps even as an inspiration to many.  We all have the potential to inspire. 

Those of us who are teachers, parents, granparents, treasured auntie and uncles, coaches, leaders...often note: A hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of home I lived in, or the kind of car I drove; What will matter is that the world will be different because I was important in the life of a child.

We might all hold onto a parallel perspective: A hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of home I lived in, or the kind of car I drove; What will matter is that the world will be different because I was important to others.

Who are your role model?

 

Please Don't Ask For An Eight Word Sentence

I read Peter DeWitt's post this morning....A Word or Two...About Writing                                                                                          http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2012/12/a_word_or_twoabout_writing.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-TW

 

He wrote about Several Short Sentences About Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg.  I agree that the book provokes some thinking about how we teach writing and even thought about using it for my graduate course in writing!  What I took from the book was a reminder that we need to encourage high quality - not longer sentences and stories.  There is power in even one sentence. Even a short one. It's the content that makes it rich - not the length of the sentence.

Writing is like life. (4 word sentence)
 

Out on a limb: Learning to read, write and think

Long ago (back in November) Peter DeWitt wrote a blog post for Edweek about kids  and teachers taking risks.  I've thought a lot about that lately as talked to parents during conferences because learning to read is one of the biggest risk taking activities we ask young kids to do!  We ask them to navigate a "code" that can mean different things in different settings.  We say that "read" can say "reed" or "red" and it just depends on what else is happening around it!!  They look at us like we are nuts when we say that "write" and "right" both say "rite" but that "rite" is always "wrong!"  So, we say, "Just take a chance," or "try it," or "make a stab at it!"  While we really mean what we say, we also really want them to "get it right!"

It's the same with teachers.  We have to try new ways of teaching, implement new curricula, and embrace new ideas.  We're taking "risks" all the time as we traverse untraveled waters; yet, we really are expected to "get it right" every time!

The whole article is worth a read!
 http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2012/11/Students_not_taking_risks_maybe_its_us_and_not_them.html

Adaptive Assessments: Something to Think About

From Education Week....something to think about as this week ends.

 

http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2012/10/17/01adaptive.h06.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-TW

 

Apparently, Delaware switched to computer-adaptive testing for its state assessments three years ago It made result available more quickly and students spent less time TAKING tests. 

 

According to this article, 

"Nationally, two coalitions have received federal funding to develop English/language arts and mathematics tests for the common standards. Both coalitions—the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC—have said their assessments will feature high-tech, interactive questions that incorporate video and graphics and are designed both to identify what students know and to be more engaging.
Both assessments will be given online, but Smarter Balanced will use adaptive testing, while PARCC will use what are known as fixed-form tests, which feature set questions that generally do not change."

So I wanted to know a bit more about adaptive assessments and how they work and this article went on to say,
" The range of proficiency among kids in a grade is huge,” says Jon Cohen, the executive vice president and director of assessment for the Washington-based American Institutes for Research, which is already delivering statewide adaptive tests in several states and has been selected by the Smarter Balanced consortium to do pilot and field testing and to create the adaptive-test algorithm.
“With a typical test, a kid who is struggling is not going to see many items they can get right, and a kid at the top is not going to see many items they’ll get wrong,” he says. “Kids on the ends get a less precise score.”.....
"Computer-adaptive assessments aren’t scored on the basis of how many right or wrong answers a student gets. A student’s score depends both on the number of items he or she got right and the difficulty of the items presented."

Some more sites to consider or at least places I explored! 
http://www.nwea.org/products-services/assessments
http://www.smarterbalanced.org/smarter-balanced-assessments/computer-adaptive-testing/

AND BEFORE WE ALL JUMP ON THIS BANDWAGON....a little something from Diane R.
http://dianeravitch.net/2012/09/06/the-problem-with-computer-adaptive-assessments/
 
":My kid doesn’t like online adaptive assessments. She likes knowing there are 50 questions in 40 minutes. She hates tests that give you many more difficult questions when you answer correctly. The test seems to go on forever.
So, one time she decided to hit buttons randomly and get a bunch wrong. Then the computer spit out fewer, easier questions, and she was able to finish the test at last."

 

Technology: Can be powerful

The other day, a teacher asked me a question about professional development and (while driving home on a snowly wintry night I was thinking) attending an "inperson" class / wokshop never came up in the conversation! 

This morning (while sniggled in my puffy bathrobe), I read Peter DeWitt's post this week is about the ongoing conversation about the role of technology in our education community.  You really should check out the whole conversation here, but several of his comments really struck really strong chords with me!

"Building Professional Learning Networks (PLN) through Twitter can be very powerful. It provides the ability to connect with people who can stretch your thinking. Yes, we have those people close to us as well but sometimes we are more open to it when it involves people that are not in our immediate lives."
That sure is true for me!  One of the best things I did last summer (other than my days at the beach) was to sign onto Twitter and start "following" some of the people I had "found" through blogging!  It has made me feel "connected" to a world that is bigger than my classroom and reminds me every day that I need to think deeply about what my students need and how I can provide for their needs in ways that will engage their 21st Century learning and thinking styles. 

"Technology is not going away. It has both positive and negative attributes, just like anything else we use. The reality is that we have kindergartners who can surf the web better than some adults and we need to learn from that. Those young students need to understand that technology is not the end all to be all and the adults need to understand it is a viable option that can engage students in different ways."

 So this is why I do this http://drferreri.blogspot.com/  and this https://twitter.com/Anitaferreri  and will "attending" this http://www.globaleducationconference.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-attend-the-global-education-conference-2012 and visiting this http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2012/10/17/01profdev.h06.html?cmp=clp-edweek&tkn=QQOFPwVoskO2VG4HOba7TDcJIeTkItInHNYL

It's thinking I need to share at the Teacher Center meeting this week!