Sunday Salon: What I Read Online January 12 - January 25

My bi-weekly Sunday Salon post is extra full this time of my favorite online readings. Let me know your favorites!

 

Technology & Innovation

Learn about next steps for Google Glass by reading Google Glass Leaving X Research Lab.

Impact International posted Top 5 Favourite TED Talks to get you thinking & they include Dan Pallotta who is coming to Kentucky in February. I first heard Dan on NPR several years ago, and was blown away about his take on how we should be raising money for charity. Makes so much sense. Listen to him & see him in person by attending Innovate: Educate in Louisville February 25th.

The Cruel Waste of America's Tech Talent is an op-ed in The New York Times that explains a sad situation of immigrant youth who have extreme talent yet are denied funding to attend college because their parents came to America illegally. Truly, a waste of talent to deny youth an opportunity to improve themselves and their situation because of decisions their parents made.

Two issues of importance to me (equity and technology) are captured in this news article titled Sheryl Sandburg Joins Global Women Leaders in Tech to Demand Gender Equality.

NASA Will Pay you $18,000 to Stay in Bed for 70 Straight Days caught my curiosity, not because I would ever do this but because it's interesting to read about how they explore what happens to the human body when muscles atrophy.

As I was preparing for teaching a class again at the University of Kentucky, this Youtube video caught my attention because it's just one more reminder for why we need to re-invent how we teach writing in our schools.

No More Worksheets--once again one of those topics all my readers know that gets me going. Seriously, we need more engaging learning opportunities for students in our schools. Most worksheets are low level thinking, wastes of paper, and busy work not suitable in our classrooms.

 

Business & Non-profit

Having worked in state government and local government (as a public school teacher) most of my professional career, I was surprised when I read this Harvard Business Review article about What Business Can Learn From Government with specific examples in the article coming from Louisville, Kentucky. More often than not, I've heard businesses complain about the ineffectiveness and inefficiency and nonsensical rules we often see in government.

Now that I work for a nonprofit, I have thrown myself full into exploring and learning more about the nonprofit world. Granted, I have previous experience as a board member on nonprofits, but now I'm seeing more from the other side as an employee. The Nonprofit Technology Network posted this article titled Engage, Inform, Recruit: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media to Recruit Donors and Volunteers. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a huge fan of social media for learning and networking purposes, so thinking about how it best serves organizations fascinates me.

A friend shared this Harvard Business Review article with me via Twitter. We Still Don't Know the Difference Between Change and Transformation by Ron Ashkenas.

I continue to be surprised by the number of people in the education, nonprofit and business worlds who question the use of social media to connect with students and other educators, or to advance a cause, establish a brand or connect with consumers, customers, or clients. Thankfully, there are people such as Marji Sherman who dedicate their work to showing us Why Social Media Deserves Respect. 

Hiking & Climbing

For a couple of weeks, I used social media and online news access to follow two hikers, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson, as they climbed El Captain's Dawn Wall in Yosemite National Park. Their perseverance, diligence, determination, passion, and drive inspire me. One of the articles I read quoted the hikers as they reached the summit and explained how they hope to serve as an example to Open People's Minds.

And because my closest English teacher friends know how much I love the novel Moby Dick, here's another article about the climb. My favorite part about this article are the literary references to Melville and Hemingway.

A Backpacker Magazine article shared tips about how to train for a thru-hike from Appalachian Trail thru-hike record holder, Jennifer Pharr Davis. Last year, I read her memoir about setting the record.

 

Humanity

Another New York Times article that caught my attention was an interview with Judith Butler about what's wrong with saying 'All Lives Matter'.

International humanitarian issues speak to me, and it's not uncommon for me to obsess over specific stories knowing full well for all the stories that recieve media attention there are many more that go unnoticed in our world. The story of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi sentenced to 1000 lashes and ten years in prison continues to bother me because of the violence and inhumane acts of torture against a human being. This article explores Badawi's writing and ideas.

This Map showing 16 states with more people in prisons than in college housing was disturbing to me.

Melinda Gates Wants Women at the Top of the World Aid Agenda also provides input on this topic of gender equality.

The 2015 Annual Gates Letter also highlights equal access to education and technology for women and girls. Previously, I also have written for Cake and Whiskey Magazine and blogged about education for girls and women around the world.

Writing & Creativity

29 Ways to Stay Creative by Vicki Davis is a short video reminding us of specific ways we can continue to express our creative side.


Over the past couple of years I've read this particular blog post multiple times. If You Teach or Write a 5-Paragraph Essay--Stop It! gets people fired up, and rightly so. Seriously, are we training kids to write formulas or are we teaching them to be writers in an ever changing world? Who in real-life writes 5-paragraph essays anyway?

Since I enjoy writing and have made it a goal to work on my writing more and more with greater intentionality this year,  I found this article about writing as therapy also intriguing and wonder about the use of writing for therapy in our schools as well. Why is writing in our schools often relegated to formulaic, 5 paragraph essays to practice for the state assessment? That's enough to make someone blue.

The Benefits of a Lunch Hour Walk had me thinking about the benefits of keeping kids active in our schools too. Often, kids are required to sit all day and only get active after or before school. You can read my take on keeping kids active here.

As an optimist I try to keep focused on the positive, and sometimes I, too, need a little reminder about how to Turn a Negative Conversation Around. You may have previously read my blog post about dealing with naysayers and the inspiration for that post came from the children's book The Grouchy Ladybug. 

 

Teachers as leaders

Now, we're talking...a topic of great passion for me is teachers as leaders, so I was thrilled to read this article about School Districts Turning to Teachers to Lead.

Friends and family know my commitment as a parent to be involved in my sons' schools and to be an advocate for my two boys at every turn. This article suggesting teachers keep in touch with parents was a great read. I long for closer relationships with my sons' teachers because I believe together we can provide what they need. Believe me, when I believe in what's happening, I'm the biggest advocate for my sons' teachers too because I understand my children aren't perfect.

A Country Where Teachers Have a Voice by Sarah Butrymowicz explores how teachers in the Netherlands have time and increased teacher autonomy--something we need more of here in America.

I ended my week writing an article on The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky's blog about why our organization supports teacher leaders.  This is something to which I remain steadfastly committed.

Banning Worksheets or Prohibiting the Use of Cell Phones and CrayonsWon't Increase Student Learning

Banning worksheets or prohibiting the use of cell phones, crayons, or other tools in the classroom won't increase student learning. For any of you who read my blog regularly and know what I think about worksheets, you might be wondering why I would begin this post with a strong statement like this. You see, I've been thinking more about why (Thanks to my recent reading of Simon Sinek's book) we do what we do. My reading of this book collided with my attendance at a GAFE Summit (Google Apps for Education). Perfect. Instead of just complaining about the ongoing situation with worksheets, I can actually offer some solutions.

But first. A Story.

Several years ago when I was still teaching in a local high school classroom, the district conducted walk-throughs and decided too much coloring was happening in the schools.  Quickly, an across the board ban on crayons and markers ensued, and teens rebelled by wearing crayons on a piece of yarn around their necks (not because they wanted to color worksheets but because they felt their opportunity for creativity was being denied with an across the board ban on a tool). The idea of the ban was to make a point about the lack of meaningful tasks being completed in some classrooms. The problem with the ban is that it took away a tool (coloring instruments) instead of tackling the larger issue of poor instruction provided by some people. What do you suppose happened with this ban on a writing instrument? Did it improve instruction across the board?

Fast forward six or seven years to my experience now as a parent in this same district. My eleven year old son brought home a coloring sheet for homework recently. I emailed the nameless school to inquire as to the directions because I couldn't believe the directions were to color, but yes, the directions were to color tastefully and not to scribble. That was it. Now, keep in mind, this is an assignment given at one of our state's top performing schools. I refuse to blame the teacher because we have a problem with our system, and across the board bans on tools (crayons, or cell phones) clearly--

 A) do not stick over time,
and more importantly
B) do not improve learning experiences for all students.

Fortunately, we now have tools beyond worksheets and crayons, so let me share some options I learned about recently when I attended a  GAFE Summit. One of the sessions I attended was titled No More Worksheets. Here, Holly Clark, a NBCT and a Google Certified Teacher shared ideas with us for eliminating worksheets in classrooms. Thankfully, the ideas she shared were not merely electronic versions of paper handouts. Rather, she shared meaningful teaching ideas and tools for engaging students in relevant learning. She emphasized the importance of using the tools well so that students make their thinking visible. Obviously, all of the tools she shared could turn into their own type of worksheet if we aren't thoughtful about how and why we use the tools. Teaching isn't easy, but using tools properly can help ease the load and increase student engagement and learning.

Kahoot
A formative assessment tool (kind of like Are You Smarter than a 5th grader)

Socrative
Clark emphasized the importance of using the quick questions and non-multiple choice portions for deeper thinking.

PhotoMath
The point Clark made with this tool is that we must make sure to offer mathematics instruction that's more than a worksheet or series of problems in a textbook because now the problems can be scanned and completed by the computer. Watch the video--it could blow your mind!

Croak.it
This tool allows you to speak your answer (maybe use it as an exit slip?). You can even send responses to parents. If you set up a private croak and teacher site, you can avoid public site nonsense and inappropriate croaks.

Explain Everything

Here's another app that allows students and/or teachers to create a voice over on an interactive whiteboard. You can also annotate, animate, import and export presentations.

**Stay tuned for at least one more blog post on the GAFE Summit in Kentucky. I still have to share about the tools  Donnie Peircey shared for interdisciplinary learning.
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Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sally_12/312460637/">*Sally M*</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

Let's Change the Test Scores Conversation

State test scores were released to the public today in Kentucky, and I can already hear rumblings. Our scores dropped, we didn't meet our goals, what are we going to do? More test prep! NO. Please. NO. We have schools full of unengaged and bored children and teens who don't even want to attend school. More skill and drill and continuous test prep will surely make them dread school even more. Plus, really, has it worked for you thus far? Have constant test prep, worksheets, overloads of boring homework improved learning and test scores. Doubtful that it has.

In the two hours since the scores have been released publicly, I have had at least a half-dozen friends who are educators contact me, I guess because they know I generally speak out about test scores, test prep, and my desire for a new way of thinking about test scores. I've blogged about it numerous times, and each time I say the same general thing in a different way.

Let's change the conversation
This morning, instead of thinking about the examples where we don't have it right, let's look again at some hopeful examples of teachers, schools, and systems who are focusing on engaged student learning based on the interests of students and based on the needs of the whole child.

Take Eminence High School for example, they do not focus on test prep at their school. Instead, they focus on engaging students and connecting them with their community. Read about this class that has plans to change the world using Project Based Learning.

In this post "I remember that worksheet said no student ever!" we also have the story of Shelly, a teacher in Woodford County, Kentucky. Shelly engages her students by empowering them. "Students are empowered as they become experts who communicate and share their ideas with an audience.  They are inventors and artists creating products for the future and dreaming of endless possibilities."

There's also Andrea, an elementary teacher who engages her students by having them explore historical artifacts. You see, it is possible to teach the required standards and meet the demands of the state assessments in interesting and engaging ways.

In Danville schools, a whole system is pushing back on the test prep ways and moving beyond dependence on traditional tests as they explore more performance based assessments for students to demonstrate learning.

Tricia Shelton and Patrick Goff, two Kentucky science teachers, are challenging each other and collaborating to ensure more collaborative and engaged science learning. Patrick shares his reflections on interactive learning including problem based learning on his blog.

Another one of my favorite Kentucky stories is a group of teachers in Louisville who teach a food literacy class. Here's another fine example of learning that doesn't involve test prep, and the teachers are finding great results.

My challenge to everyone today and throughout the year is for us to continuing sharing these bright spots. Instead of focusing on test prep and all the negatives associated with test score release, let's share positive examples that move well beyond skill and drill. Let's share examples of students engaged in genuine learning, examples of kids who want to go to school because they know they will enjoy it, examples of teachers doing what they do best--getting students excited about learning.

I know there are many many more. Will you join me in changing the conversation? Please post links to positive examples below in the comments. Thanks!

Update on Our Homework Conundrum

As I prep for an upcoming conference presentation titled Wonderwork Replaces Homework, I'm visiting some of my previous blog posts on homework. My post at the end of last school year about not making my son complete a word search worksheet assigned for homework stirred some controversy, so I thought I'd take some time to address some of the statements that were presented to me after people read my post.

1)  "You should always make sure your child completes homework as a way of teaching him responsibility." We have never before supported our sons skipping homework assignments, and the only reason we supported it this one time was because we wanted our son to learn about consequences on an assignment that was not adding value to his life.  It was a meaningless word search worksheet that didn't require any thought--mere busy work.  At the same time, please recognize we have required our sons to complete busy work in the past as a minor way of supporting teachers and the school. 

2)  "Letting students determine if an assignment is meaningless is a slippery slope."  The definition of meaningless in our minds is any work that can be completed without thought and that is assigned with no intentional purpose.  A word search worksheet falls into this category because it's simply a search for random words in a scramble of letters.  In previous situations, we have required our sons to complete even these meaningless word searches. Again, it was this one time that we allowed our son to make the decision.  He made this decision not so he could spend time playing video games (we don't allow our sons to play video games during the school week).  He made this decision after returning home late from an athletic practice and after studying for a math test.  (For the sake of anonymity for my son and his school, I'm not mentioning which sport, which son, which school, or which subject assigned the word search.)

3)  "We all have to do things in life we don't enjoy."  It is true that we all have to do things in life we don't enjoy, but when school continually falls into this category, I believe we have a bigger issue to consider.  Why does school have to be un-enjoyable drudgery?  When this happens, we run the risk of having kids feel like captives in an inflexible institution.  I don't believe school should be viewed this way.  School should be a place where kids look forward to going and look forward to learning topics of interest, topics that expand their understanding of humanity, and topics that teach them skills they need to be successful in life.

4)  "How are you teaching your child high expectations?" We are not opposed to the concept of homework, responsibility, or high academic expectations.  We understand that the right homework can extend learning and can be a powerful way for our sons to practice skills they learned in school or to finish research projects or papers. We also believe in studying regularly for any unit exams because we know content stays with you longer if you don't cram at the last minute for a test.  On the other hand, homework should not be assigned just to raise standardized test scores or to prove that a school has high expectations.  Homework should be assigned if it's genuinely improving learning.

5)  "You are an educator, so you should support teachers and not question their assignments."  Actually, the fact that we are educators is precisely the reason we question assignments.  We believe assignments should move learning forward, and we don't believe a word search worksheet moves learning forward. We have learned over the years that flexibility is a key consideration with assignments.  Yes, there are due dates we should aim to reach and should reach on a regular basis.  However, when life and its responsibilities get in the way, flexibility from time-to-time helps students understand human nature and reduces stress related to trying to be perfect.  None of us is perfect (even though some of us have perfectionist streaks).  Fixed mindsets and harsh penalties do not help students; they merely make them think life is rigid and inflexible.

6)  "How are you making your child accept responsibility if you allow him to skip an assignment?" Personal goal setting increases responsible behavior.  By encouraging students to set their own weekly goals, they can attend to issues that pertain to them individually.  For example,  if a student regularly turns in assignments late or not at all, that student could be encouraged to set a goal of completing all assignments on time for a period of time.  Meeting this goal would bring individual feelings of accomplishment.  Since every child is different, maybe another child should set a goal to be more balanced and less fixated on perfection.  Completing all tasks assigned on Monday when they're not do until Thursday might not be the best goal if it's bringing undo stress and causing a child to experience anxiety. 

Note: There have been more word search worksheets to come home this year, and we have required our sons to complete them because there are too many and we don't want them to fail a class over something like this.

Beware of Individualized Instruction

Imagine a six year old child sitting in a cubicle for seven hours a day completing workbooks each day all year. When I see some people celebrate computer programs and students working at their own computers, I worry that some children will end up much like I did as a child. Now, I had many irregularities in my k-12 schooling, including the fact that kindergarten through high school graduation, I moved 22 different times in those 13 years and attended 10 schools, including 3 different schools my fifth grade year.  When I started school, I attended a public kindergarten with a teacher who dressed up like a pumpkin for Halloween. By the end of the school year, my parents decided it wasn't best for me to attend a public school where I could be influenced by secular thoughts. So, they enrolled me in a religious school that used ACE curriculum. Let me tell you what that looked like for the next five critical years of my life.  I sat (as did all the other children) in a cubicle for seven hours a day and completed workbooks (called PACES). We were not allowed to talk or turn around in our seats or we would receive demerits that would require us to miss out on our precious 10 minute breaks from the cubicle that were permitted one time in the morning and one time in the afternoon.  The rules were so strict that my young body had difficulty adjusting biologically and I even experienced a humiliating incident.

Each year we had to work through twelve workbooks (called PACES) for each basic subject.  We read passages, answered questions, and memorized passages or scriptures we had to recite orally to the adult monitors. At the end of each workbook we took a test that determined if we had memorized enough information from the workbook and could move on to the next workbook.  This, for the formidable years of my life, was my primary education.  Then, in the middle of fifth grade my family moved a few times.  The first time I again went to a religious school, but the second time, I went to a public school again for the first time since kindergarten.  Not only was I shocked by the non religious surroundings, I didn't know how to interact in a classroom setting either. My world was officially rocked--big time. I was behind academically because all that memorization of facts did nothing to ensure my understanding of fractions, evolution, or A Wrinkle in Time (all new topics I encountered in 5th grade). For the next five years I attended multiple public schools in several different states.  Then in my tenth grade year, I again attended one of those ACE schools and spent all of my tenth grade year in a cubicle memorizing meaningless facts. Fortunately, by then, I had become more well adjusted socially and I made great friends (one with whom I stay in contact to this day). By eleventh grade we were in another new state, and I was back in public school again where I thrived in career tech/business classes and was an active member of the FBLA.  Academically, however, I wasn't at the top of my game.  Sure, my grades were fine, but I took all basic classes and the easiest math and science courses I could to graduate.  My counselor told me I was a hopeless cause and would never go to college. (Boy, did that make me want to prove him wrong--and, of course, I did). Certainly, all the moves contributed to my mediocre academic performance, but I still believe the so-called individualized instruction I received in my early years put me on a pathway to struggle academically. The individualized workbook approach did not work for me at all.

Flash forward twenty years when I observed at a public school and heard the faculty proclaim with great joy how proud they were of the individualized instruction at their school. I walked in to see students sitting at computers completing online modules for their coursework.  I have to admit I shuddered inside because it took me back to those cubicles of my childhood where I had no learning interaction with classmates or a teacher. The only difference I could see was that they were doing their work using technology instead of paper and pencil. 

Earlier this week, when I read this blog post by Chris Crouch about the direction of learning, it reminded me of my childhood and my recent visit to the school where the faculty proclaimed innovative practice with technology. I became a teacher sixteen years ago so I could contribute to better learning systems than what I experienced, and I persist in the education field now because I want more children to have meaningful learning experiences.  Yes, we need innovation, but we also need authentic learning.

Why I Won't Make My Child Complete a Word Search Worksheet for Homework

"We know it works with Alzheimer's patients" was the reply provided to my husband several years ago when he asked the teacher if there was any research to support a word search puzzle as homework for one of our sons.  Yep.  That's what she told us--it works with Alzheimer's patients.  Keep in mind, our child was seven years old, not eighty-seven.

Being an educator and a parent is not always easy, especially when you work in the same town where your children attend school.  I try to meet teachers each year as a parent and leave my educator hat at home when I meet with or email them.  As an educator, I try to see the teacher's point of view first when working with my sons.  In fact, I often second guess my own sons at home when we're talking about homework because I want to give the benefit of doubt to the teacher.  However, as a mom who is passionate about education,  I recognize that it's my duty and privilege to advocate for my children to ensure they receive the best education possible.  I believe strongly in my children and their abilities and want them to learn, to enjoy learning, and to feel like school makes sense.  I want my sons to know that I believe in them and will support them in their learning journey, but they will also have to accept responsibility and face any consequences associated with non compliance.

This weekend when I checked the online grades portal, I noticed one of my sons was missing an assignment.  When I asked him about it and the corresponding zero he received.  His reply was "oh--that was a word search worksheet, so I chose not to waste my time doing it."  I told him he would have to suffer the consequences of that one worksheet bringing his grade down, and he said he didn't care.  I struggled with his response because I want him to care about school, but when he assured me that he was respectfully not doing the homework and that he didn't say anything disrespectful to his teacher, I decided I would support his decision to not waste time completing a word search worksheet. 

I've been thinking about this issue all weekend because I'm struggling to know if it's the right decision to support his choice. Generally, we require all homework to be completed by our sons, but when it comes to children completing meaningless tasks, I struggle.  I struggle big time.   I don't want meaningless tasks for any children in our education system including my own.   Over the years we've required our sons to complete even tasks that were meaningless because in life we have to do things we don't like to do.  But this time when the second word search worksheet came home within a one semester for the same child, we are supporting his decision to not complete it--at least this time.  Not sure what we'll do if the word search worksheets continue to be sent home for homework.  If you have any suggestions, please share them here.