10 Thoughts on Sentences

Beautifully crafted sentences lift my spirits, and sometimes that’s what one needs on a cloudy spring day.  It’s been a slow week at Learning to Muse, but it certainly has not been a week without reflection and conversation.  I found myself coming precariously close to skipping a post this week as I longed to craft a beautiful sentence and wasn’t quite satisfied with my efforts.

So…here are my musings on sentences…

For the past year I have

•   been especially interested in sentences
•  followed stories on NPR about sentences
• attended writing workshops where writers talk about the craft of sentence construction
• deconstructed Common Core State Standards to understand what students in K-12 are supposed to learn about sentences
•  watched an amazing teacher in the United Kingdom discuss sentences with his students and with his colleagues
•  summed up my current  professional life in a single sentence
•  taught my sons about crafting sentences
• shared mad libs for academics with my husband
• asked teachers in workshops to write one sentence summaries
•  participated in a Facebook posting chain where I grabbed the nearest book, turned to a specific page, and recorded a sentence. 

This week I read a superb New York Times article by one of my favorite fiction writers—Jhumpa Lahiri and then I read a favorite bedtime story with my 8 year old.  

My spirits are lifted.

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Informational Texts and the Common Core

& the importance of literature to humanity

As you may have read in previous Learning to Muse posts, I enjoy nonfiction texts, both the reading and writing of such texts.  Reading other blogs, online community boards, and articles, I continue to find a mix of emotions about the teaching of informational texts as required in the Common Core State Standards.   Some people are freaking out because they feel it’s a new mandate that will keep them away from the literature they love; others are making learning what’s best for students and are working with the mandates rather than being used by them.

Four years ago when my then eight-year-old was struggling to read well, I had a heart wrenching conversation with his classroom teacher.  Love her heart—she was in her final year before retirement, and she pounded her small hand on her chest saying “I want him to feel literature here in his heart.”    I shared with her my background as a high school English teacher, lover of literature, and my husband’s work on a PhD in American literature.     A love of literature is not lacking in our home, that’s for sure.  In fact, I concur with a quote read in the March 17, 2012 online issue of The New York Times.

“Reading great literature, it has long been averred, enlarges and improves us as human beings.”

Does this mean we give up nonfiction completely because literature makes us better people?  Not necessarily.  Though I agree with the opinion that literature makes us better people, I believe a balance of nonfiction and literature is what’s best for our students.  You can read more about a few of my suggestions for pairing texts here.

Long before the Common Core I was teaching informational texts, and usually that involved pairing not only non-print text with literature but also informational texts with literature.  We paired poems by Joy Harjo, Wendell Berry, Gary Snyder and haiku by Issa (translated by Robert Hass) with current event articles about the earth found in the local newspaper or various magazines.  One time we even explored Earth Day editions of magazine covers to learn more about audience, purpose, argument, and information. We looked at covers of TIME, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, Elle, Outside, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic Monthly, Business Week,  Sports Illustrated , and Backpacker.  

A few of the questions examined in our study of informational text paired with poetry included:

• Who would read each magazine and for what purpose?
• How is the earth portrayed in each of these different magazines to meet the needs of the varying audiences?
• What type of information would we find in each magazine? What information can we learn?
• How is argument conveyed in the cover images?
• How is argument presented in poems? 
• How is the earth presented in poems?

Through Shared Inquiry discussions and student led presentations we enjoyed informational texts and literature together.  Since student interest was an important part of my classroom approach, I invited students to bring articles for us to read in class.  This invitation served dual purposes—it allowed students to take ownership of texts they wanted to read, and it also required them to be aware of happenings within our community, our nation, and our world.

We want students to be productive citizens in a changing world. By allowing them to read the types of texts demanded in the Common Core, we are preparing them for the increasingly complex texts demanded of them in life after high school.

P.S.  Fortunately both of my sons made it past second grade and into the hands of a fantastic third grade literacy teacher who believes in the power of matching texts to readers, and they are both enjoying life as the sons of English teachers (even if they do prefer math).

Favorite Text Friday

A friend of mine who blogs about homemaking established a new series titled Favorite Things Friday; she encouraged other bloggers to run the same series.  Megan’s favorite things are beautiful and meaningful items of importance or interest to her and are presented as a way to get to know her a little better.  I decided to adapt this series to fit the topics in my blog, so readers can know me a little better.  Therefore, on Fridays at Learning to Muse, you will read about a favorite text.  How often have you been asked--“What’s your favorite book?”  Narrow it to one for all time?  No way.   One per week?  Maybe.

This week’s favorite text:  21^st Century Skills:  Learning for Life in Our Times by Bernie Trilling and Charles Fadel was published in 2009.  Though I read it for the first time last year, I decided to feature it as a favorite this week.  Why, you may ask? 

If you’ve read some of my previous blog posts, you can probably tell that I am passionate about education reform.   We are undoubtedly in need of change to a system that is broken and in dire need of repair.  I attended an implementation science workshop recently where the presenter provided research suggesting 17 years as the typical time to see change from the implementation of a program not implemented well; 17 years in education would be more than the life time of schooling for a single child.  Clearly, we haven’t figured out  how to implement education reforms well.  The authors of 21st Century Skills offer practical suggestions, tips and resources for schools seeking to prepare students for the life awaiting them after high school graduation in a future still unknown in our rapidly changing world.

Trilling and Fadel remind us to consider global perspectives and understand “every country can play a part in building a global learning network (p153).” By understanding the role learning plays in our lives, we can innovate, create, problem solve and communicate across boundaries. 

Would it be cheating to offer a website as text to accompany the print text I’ve chosen for this week?  Check out:  www.p21.org

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5 Terrific Pairings of Print and Non-print Texts to Increase Engagement

Having always had an interest in photography, film, and non-fiction, I never had much trouble incorporating the reading of non-print texts into the classes I taught. When reading fiction, I generally paired it with non-fiction or non-print text based on a general topic or theme. Text pairing is not only an effective way to engage students; it also provides opportunity to teach students many of the important skills they need to be successful in life.

Fortunately when I entered the teaching profession well over a decade ago, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the International Reading Association (IRA) jointly published The Standards for English Language Arts two years prior. I utilized these standards throughout my teaching career, and I still refer to them when working with teachers or when writing and researching programs and policies in my job.

Standard number one calls for students to read a variety of print and non-print texts…

Some of my favorite pairings occurred in the classroom and others outside of the classroom because my young boys and I have enjoyed reading and exploring texts together.

Five of my favorite pairings over the years include…

Pairing #1 Slowly Slowly Slowly Said the Sloth by Eric Carle. Paired with YouTube clips of sloths moving slowly. It was one thing to see the pictures in the book, but curious boys were always interested in seeing video. Here’s one we watched together after reading the book. This was one of the videos we accessed online; there are many more YouTube clips on sloths now, but this one happened to capture our interest several years ago.

Pairing #2 Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk. Paired with images of various libraries and new short award winning film. The boys and I have read and re-read Library Mouse together innumerable times over the past five years. Usually we use it to launch my youngest son into his favorite journal writing activities because he enjoys writing non-fiction. Even now that they are both beyond picture books for their own reading, we still enjoy some of our favorite picture books again and again. In fact, we like Library Mouse so well, I’ve taken to using it in writing workshops with teachers as we explore critical literacies and paired texts. Most recently, I’ve paired the following print and non-print texts for workshops with teachers. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore short film (link not permitted) and Most Interesting Libraries of the World.

Since my teaching years were spent primarily in high schools, my experience with texts for middle grades is only just beginning as my fifth grader and I discuss the books he now reads. As we transition into those important middle grades years, let me share one of our favorite picture books about Henry David Thoreau.

Pairing #3 Henry Climbs a Mountain by D. B. Johnson paired with images of Walden pond and replicas of Thoreau’s cabin found online. There are actually several books by D.B. Johnson depicting various stages of Thoreau’s life, and we like them all, but our most interesting conversations between mom and sons tend to come from this particular text. Some of these similar conversations were shared with my high school students as we read Walden.

Pairing #4 Walden by Henry David Thoreau and Mexican War Lithograph. This pairing worked nicely because it brought conversations about another aspect of Thoreau’s life, and it also brought history into the classroom. Many of the students I taught in this particular English class were also students who were viewing this same lithograph in their U.S. history class, so students made connections and saw school as more than isolated courses in a school day.

Pairing #5 Ballad of Birmingham by Dudley Randall, Newspaper clipping, and various images from the bombing. Conversations around these texts center not only around the historical event but also around the rights of people in today's society. Are we all treating others appropriately? Are we discriminating against others for any reason or using violence in an attempt to solve our problems, or are we following the lead of Thoreau who practiced civil disobedience?

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Preparing students for college doesn't mean turning them into snobs.

Our world keeps changing and the demands required of youth are changing as well, so it’s only right that more students need to earn postsecondary degrees of some sort to be prepared for life.   Conversations on this topic were plentiful last week at a national forum  for higher education on strategies for implementing the Common Core State Standards. 

What do we need to do?
We need to design programs that provide students opportunities, and we need to agree that students need more than cut scores on standardized tests to be ready for college degrees or certifications after high school. 

Students need to know

1)      how to manage their time, money, and resources

2)      how to take notes, study for tests, and read strategically

4)      how to learn collaboratively

5)      how to communicate with a variety of audiences

6)      how to use technology to enhance learning

We are not trying to change a culture, but we are trying to change opportunities provided to youth in a world shifting around them.  

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Collaboration and Creativity

Guest blog by Gwyn Ridenhour.  Part 2 of 2

Let students make mistakes

This is such an important point, and one we as parents and teachers are often too quick to “fix.” Our world is currently experiencing more rapid change – in technology, population, and environment - than perhaps in any other point in history. We don’t know what to expect in five years or ten, and that means that we don’t know exactly what to teach our kids in order to make sure they are prepared for their future. Since we don’t know what technologies or global situations our kids will experience when they are adults, the best tools we can give them now are ones they can use in any situation, and these are critical thinking and problem solving.

Kids need to learn how to look at a problem and identify multiple solutions. They need to make mistakes, because it is in these moments that true opportunity happens. They identify what’s wrong. Then they identify what happened to make the project go wrong. Then they identify the possible solutions to create a more successful outcome. Repeat. And repeat again. Only then will they gain the skills to teach themselves – and that should be one of the ultimate goals of education.

Allow more time for the arts, physical education, and recess

This one’s a bit tricky, because though I feel strongly that kids need more of these things, I don’t like the models that are currently being used in the school system. I was shocked earlier this year when I heard a 6^th grade band perform “Old MacDonald” for the middle school band concert. Old MacDonald? For real? Come on. No eleven-year old can play that song with any true feeling, except for one of embarrassment. Band teachers who do it “right” use music from the students’ current world, giving them opportunity to explore themselves through their music.

As for art class, yes – for all of these things, kids need more – but again, you can’t box it up and present it in a sterile package if kids are going to get anything out of it. My daughter, who adores art, hated art class when she was still in public school. I was curious, so I came in to observe. The teacher gave all the kids the same materials and then told them to all paint the same Japanese style cherry blossom tree. If they didn’t do it exactly like her example, she was quick to criticize, guiding kids to become more accurate copiers, perhaps, but surely not artists. There was no joy, no creativity, no freedom of expression. No wonder my daughter hated it. Art should be about the explorative process – not a line of identical copies.

Physical education needs to be about getting kids moving, not exposing them to all the sports that Americans love. Get them dancing, moving, running, whatever. Ask kids what they like and offer different PE mini-classes within the larger group so that they can have choices. Don’t make them play basketball if they hate basketball. What’s the point in that? This should be joyful and rejuvenating, not competitive and stressful. But yes, of course, we need exercise – every day. We need to move, to be outside, to get our blood flowing every day. It makes us happy and keeps us sharp.

And finally, for recess, again, there should be some free choice here. Recess for many kids is bliss – freedom of play, of choice, of conversation. It’s a break in the day and provides much needed sunshine. But for many kids, recess is a nightmare. They dread that time every day because they don’t know who to hang out with. Or they’re bullied. Kids for whom recess is a punishment should have a safer alternative. If the kid is a book lover, then perhaps have an opportunity to volunteer in the library (even better if there is more than one student like this – you can make a volunteer club!). Or if outside time is truly the goal, then create adult-led opportunities that can be done outside. Perhaps a list of recess alternatives could be posted that kids could choose from.

       Allow more time for creating, performing, dreaming, and thinking

This is perhaps the most important of the imperatives. I would actually put these in a particular order: Dreaming, thinking, creating, performing. Allow kids to dream up what they want to do – to be (the idea generator stage). Then think about it – how will you do it? What resources do you need? Who can you talk to for assistance (the problem solving stage). Once ideas are outlined, then the child creates. This isn’t a worksheet assignment. It’s a short film. A new app. A working robot. A book. A painting. A project. This is messy business which can’t be evaluated by a standardized test. And then finally, we come to the performing stage. This is the bit where the student gets to enjoy the limelight and get real positive feedback about her hard work and design. Show off the creation! Share it with class, online, with teachers outside the classroom. The teacher’s role is facilitator, helping the child move through each of these stages. But the work and sense of satisfaction all belongs to the child.

Urging Global Comments to Promote Creativity in Education!

Today’s post will be the first of two parts and is a guest post by a friend who lives many states away from me in the United States.  I am in Kentucky; Gwyn lives in North Dakota.  We are modeling the promotion of creativity through collaboration, and we urge you to join us by commenting on this blog. 

Part 1 of 2:  Guest post by Gwyn Ridenhour

Recently, Renee posted five simple suggestions to encourage more creativity in the schools. She asked me to choose one and respond to it, but honestly I couldn’t. They are all too intertwined and important to simply discuss one.

As a home educator of two remarkable children, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to pursue these suggestions in the freedom of my own home. However, the longer I do this, the more I wish for the same opportunity for teachers and students in the public schools. We are simply not preparing our children for our rapidly changing future. They lack critical thinking and problem solving skills, largely because we are too scripted in the classroom. It’s beyond time to give teachers more autonomy in the classroom and encourage methods that center on creativity and the individual child.

Here’s what Renee says (with my comments following each item):
 Let students study and explore topics that interest them.  

Letting students choose their own topics does several marvelous things at once.

•  It validates  (“you mean you care about what I want to learn??”).
• It empowers, allowing students to become more invested their own success. Suddenly students are learning because it’s something they identified as a goal; they’re no longer just studying for a grade.
• It prepares students for their own futures. If a child passionate about art studies math, science, history, and literature through an art lens, he will learn the core subjects and enrich his knowledge of art all at the same time. The result? And educated child who is an expert in his field.
• It motivates students. Take the art student again. Let’s say that this student has a history of hating math. If you can help him see math as relevant to his passion, then the game changes. Intermingle art and geometry. Introduce him to the myriad patterns waiting to be discovered in numbers and shapes. Let him put doodles on his algebra work.  Suddenly, math becomes a bit more interesting.  If you haven’t discovered Vi Hart yet, be sure to check out her videos (and let students check them out too). She’s a model of combining the arts with math.

Let students use their own technology devices to enhance their learning

I can’t speak to the IPad, IPhones, and so forth, because we don’t own these types of devices. However, we do embrace technology in our home to help the kids pursue their interests. In fact, without technology, the success they’ve had in their areas of interest largely wouldn’t have been possible.

My daughter is an 8 year old author and illustrator of two self-published books. She has sold about 150 copies, enough to buy her own laptop and plenty of book stock to sell at future events. She uses Wordpress to support her author website, lulu.com for the self-publishing services, and National Novel Writing Month (another website) to help keep her on track in her writing goals. This fall, we used our household camera and Windows Movie Maker to allow her to create short films explaining the writing process. This has opened up a wealth of public speaking opportunities, including one video-conference (more technology) with a school across the state. And oh yeah, she’s writing her newest book on the laptop she bought herself.

My 11 year old son is a musician and composer. He uses software called Finale to compose, and Wordpress to support his music-based website. Last year, we matched the money he had earned from gigging to allow him to purchase studio recording equipment. He’ll use this to record his original pieces for many years to come. He uses texting as well, mainly to coordinate band practice and science club meetings.

Final note:  Check back tomorrow for post 2 of 2.  Check out Gwyn's blog and the work of her two fabulous kids.  And, please, comment on both of our blogs so we can increase the collaboration and dialogue about creativity and improvements for education.  

Critical Thinking and Creativity in the Classroom

About a year before I left the classroom, a district mandate was provided stating there should be no coloring in the high school classrooms.  The statement was made to encourage greater rigor in lessons being taught to high school students because district officials conducted walk-throughs and found students spending their time coloring in some classes.  Since I wasn't in the classrooms where the coloring occurred, I can’t say anything about the learning intentions and purpose of instruction.  I do know students showed up in my English classes wearing crayon necklaces in protest.  They felt their opportunities to be creative were being seized.

Too often we don’t understand real creativity well enough to know that creativity beckons curiosity and rigor in the lessons we design.  Lessons requiring students to create non-linguistic representations of poems can be examples of critical thinking and creativity in the classroom. 

Poetry Interpretation Project

Select a poem to read, enjoy, and analyze.  Create a non-linguistic representation demonstrating your understanding of the poem, and then write an essay in which you evaluate an aspect of the poem you find relevant to the overall meaning of the poem. 

The key to this assignment is providing students with choice in selecting a poem and then providing them guidance as they read and create their visual interpretation.  Over the years of using this assignment in class, I saw numerous types of interpretations for a wide variety of poems.  Some students created visual artwork; others created dramatic interpretations.  A few created short films, and one student created a Lego diorama illustrating the poem he selected to analyze.  I have great memories of all those pieces of student work and wish I still had more of it than I do.  One of the remaining artifacts from my teaching days was created by Amanda Hobdy Riley in her sophomore year of my English class, some 7 or 8 years ago.  Amanda created this visual representation of The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams.  Amanda claims she didn’t know the beauty of her work until much later; she says she just slapped it together at the time.  Yet, I believe she interpreted something meaningful from the poem when she juxtaposed abstract artwork with the concrete images in Williams’ poem.

When I began assigning this project and essay in class, I didn’t always provide explicit writing instruction students needed while they wrote their essays.  I was more focused on the visual interpretations.   My writing instruction improved over time, but I can’t say the instruction I provided the year Amanda was in my class was the most effective.   In fact, Amanda wrote the best essay she was capable of producing given that I didn’t teach the students how to write clear thesis statements.  I guess I just thought they already knew.  

Fortunately, Amanda chose to return to this essay during her senior year when she was revising some of her writing for inclusion in her writing portfolio.  During her senior year, she had my friend and colleague as her teacher; he taught Amanda to write a thesis statement.  In her reflection paper that accompanied her portfolio entries, Amanda wrote “William Carlos Williams is one of the reasons why poetry is now my passion.”  As her former teacher, I’m happy to say a class assignment offered Amanda opportunity to create and to think, impacting her life positively.  She graduated from college with honors over a year ago.   She blogs regularly at anthropologyandlove.

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Student Choice and Interest

Let’s learn from these projects—non-examples of student choice and interest in the classroom.  At the end of the post, you will be encouraged to deconstruct these class projects and offer suggestions for revamping to promote authentic student interest and choice.

Hatchet Projects—choose one!

Make a poster that lists all the items Brian had with him when the plane crashed.  Circle the item that was most important for Brian.  Then neatly write one complete paragraph explaining why you circled that item.  Color your poster with colors that represent symbols in the book. 

Or

Make a powerpoint that has 5 slides displaying each of the items Brian had with him when the plane crashed.  Highlight in yellow the item that was most important to Brian.  Then write one complete paragraph explaining why you highlighted that item.  Use clip art to represent symbols in the book.

Why are these class projects non-examples of student choice and interest in the classroom?  What does creativity in the classroom look like? 

Creativity in the classroom doesn’t mean schoolwork needs to be colored with a crayon or drawn on construction paper.  When we are creative we move beyond traditional ideas and approaches, and we discover alternative ways of thinking and doing. 

We need to teach students to use knowledge to solve complex real-world problems and to create projects, designs, and other works for use in real-world situations based on their own interests.  We need to allow students to be adaptable and flexible in their learning.  Having the right answer isn’t as important as thinking about the process used to reach the answer.

Practical ideas for teachers with many students

• Keep a journal electronically or in a notebook where you record any ideas you have.  Model your own journal writing and write with students.  Have students keep an idea book or electronic journal, too.
• Challenge students to think for themselves.  Compliance is not a friend of creativity.
• Ask more open ended questions.  Use wrong answers as learning experiences, and encourage students to be curious and ask questions.
• Make sure students are creating and building on original thoughts and ideas.

It’s possible to teach any class (even an art class) without any creativity, if students don’t do any creating.

• Even if teaching a prescribed and required scripted program, you could be creative with your approach to teaching it, and you could allow your students to imagine and create.
• Respect originality and uniqueness in student work and thinking.  Don’t expect every student paper or project to be on the same topic or written with the same ideas in the same format.

Practical ideas for administrators responsible for many teachers and students

•  Model creativity and thinking for teachers and students when solving problems in the school.
• Allow teachers to approach curriculum in meaningful ways to engage students in the creative process.
• Model the importance of asking thoughtful questions which may have more than one right answer.  Learn from wrong answers.
• Encourage and allow for teacher autonomy.

Parents

The best ideas for parents encouraging creativity come from my friend, Gwyn, who blogs about creativity and about how she allows her children to follow their own interests and passions.  Even if you are not a homeschooling family, there is much to be learned from Gwyn.  Remember being creative is about original thoughts and new approaches—that’s what you will see from Gwyn, and I’m sure she would rather we all find our own original thoughts than copy hers.  Check out her blog for some creative inspiration for your home and family.

If you click over to Gwyn’s blog, I hope you will return here to engage in deconstruction of the Hatchet projects.  How could they be revamped?  Please post your suggestions in the comments section below.

Stop Squashing Creativity in Education

More and more when I travel, I hear teachers share stories of scripted curriculum programs they are expected to follow in their schools.  Often schools and districts are so concerned with high-stakes standardized tests, they seek uniform means for providing instruction to students.  Many schools and districts do this because they don’t trust teachers to be professionals.  Other schools do this because they think it’s a quick fix answer to their low test scores.  Does a standardized approach to education provide students what they need to be successful in the 21^st century and beyond?  Is a standardized approach to instruction what we really want?  No!  We don’t.  Evidence of this not being what we want was unmistakable at the Kentucky Council of Teachers of English/Language Arts (KCTE/LA) annual conference, which concluded only hours ago.  This year’s conference theme was Literacy Matters:  The Common Core and Beyond. 

Professional conferences like this provide occasion for educators to refuel and network so they can return to schools energized and ready to provide students creative and critical opportunities to learn, and so they can be more connected to other educators.  Personally, I am on a creative high after hearing Sara Kajder discuss digital literacies and after hearing Kentucky’s poet laureate, Maureen Morehead, read her poetry.   Not only did I hear these well-established authors, I also heard Kentucky teachers talk about best practices in their classrooms.  The showcased sessions were not teachers sharing the page number they were covering in a scripted program.  Exciting session titles included “What’s the Big Idea?  The Real Purpose of Literature in Society and the Classroom,” and “The Power of Narrative in Writing and Teaching.”

I had the joy of reconnecting with a teacher I first met a couple of years ago; this teacher shares the passion I have for promoting creativity in education.   This all has me thinking about what we can do to stop squashing creativity in education.  With creative and thoughtful planning of time and resources, there’s no reason why schools couldn’t and shouldn’t do these five things. 

1. Let students study and explore topics that interest them
2. Let students use their own technology devices to enhance their learning
3. Let students make mistakes
4. Allow more time for the arts, physical education, and recess
5. Allow more time for creating,  performing, dreaming, and thinking

In future posts, I will explore these ideas more fully and offer suggestions for how schools can pragmatically approach ways to stop squashing creativity.  If you have your own ideas, please share them here so we can all learn from one another.

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My Two Hopes for Kentucky’s ESEA Waiver

We experienced a colossal week in American public education.  The state of Kentucky (along with 9 other states) received official notification that our ESEA waiver was granted.  What exactly does this mean?  Well, it means a great deal and the hard work to enact it all is only beginning.

    

Personally, I have two hopes for our flexibility from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), and the crux of both hopes is lifelong learning.

Hope #1:  Students receive opportunities to learn what they need to know to be successful in life, and we meet their individual needs in engaging and meaningful ways—encouraging them to be lifelong learners. 

Hope #2:  Teachers are considered highly respected professionals.  This happens when teachers are supported in their personal pursuits as lifelong learners.   We need schools where there is a focus on reflection and growth for adults and students and not a focus on “gotcha” evaluation and assessment systems.

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.”                  

 ~ Albert Einstein~

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When’s the last time you connected math and reading?

For someone who never really enjoyed mathematics as any part of my schooling, I was pleasantly surprised this week when I attended a mathematics design collaborative meeting and learned about conceptual thinking that is real mathematics.   I even liked it!  I suspect one of the reasons I enjoyed myself is because my two boys have me thinking more about math these days, and since we’ve also been on a quest to explore Greek and Roman mythology, Pythagorean theorem was actually interesting to me, a social sciences and humanities major. 

I have received numerous questions from educators about how to teach Greek and Latin roots and Greek mythology as called for in the Common Core State Standards.  Just what is the best way to help kids understand CCSS Reading Literature #4?  Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology (e.g. Herculean).  Or CCSS Language #4b.  Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word.  Hopefully, we can provide kids opportunities to make natural connections by exposing them to fantastic texts they enjoy and by engaging them in word study. 

Integrated learning.  Because he’s read Rick Riordian’s The Lightening Thief and the rest of the series, my ten year old is familiar with gods and goddesses from Greek and Roman mythology.  This week he and I watched a Discovery channel documentary on the early days of NASA space exploration.   Imagine his delight when the first segment of the documentary focused on Apollo.  He naturally made a connection, telling me “I bet they named it that because Apollo was god of the sun”.  At his elementary school’s parent night a couple of days later, this same son’s teacher approached me to share a story about an Aha moment during word study time at school.  She said she saw a sparkle in his eyes when he began connecting words to grad.  “That’s why we have 1^st grade, 2^nd grade, 3^rd grade, 4^th grade, 5^th grade; we are stepping up each year….” Turns out she has the kids participating in word study followed up by Shared Inquiry discussions about texts.  It’s learning that’s integrated and it makes sense for kids.

Learn science.  Learn math.  Learn history.  Learn literature.   Learn the arts.  Learn language.  And never stop learning.   You will no doubt encounter many of the great derivatives and myths from western culture, and you may even connect math and reading.
 

Three of my favorite online resources for teaching Greek and Latin root words & Greek and Roman mythology include:

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/themes/myths-and-heroes.aspx

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/athens_games/game.htm# 

http://www.readwritethink.org/resources/resource-print.html?id=1042  

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Raise your hand if you became a teacher to teach students to practice for tests.

This week I had an opportunity to work with teachers.  When I asked them to raise their hands if they became teachers to teach students to practice for tests, no hands were raised.  Nevertheless, these educators were full of questions and anxiety about the new testing system in our state.

In last week’s blog post, I suggested a three pronged approach to surviving test preparation.  Though there were no public comments on this blog, I received a multitude of private comments from readers around the country (and one from another country), and I also spoke with a number of readers in person.  As it turns out—it’s rather controversial to discuss test preparation and how much we prefer not to do it but feel there are no alternatives.

As parents, we are concerned of the consequences for our children if we speak up and request different teaching approaches beyond test prep.  As teachers and administrators, we are fearful of the consequences of not meeting adequate yearly progress (AYP).  As community members we bemoan the state of education and the lack of life skills students have as they enter college and the workplace.

What exactly can we do to make sure our kids have what they need to be successful in life?

Parents

 Support our kids by:

·         listening to our kids tell us what they are reading, learning, and exploring

·         talking with our kids about what we are reading

·         encouraging schools to continue arts, music, language, physical education, leadership and technology programs as part of the school day

·         providing opportunities to learn outside of the classroom by visiting parks, museums, libraries, music venues, and historical sites

·         volunteering in schools

·         supporting teachers who have tough jobs with large class sizes

·         judging the quality of schools on factors beyond test scores (i.e. effective teaching practices & enrichment programs)

·         voting for political leaders who believe in education beyond preparing for tests

Teachers and education leaders

 Teach our students and keep our jobs by:

·         reading, understanding, and implementing required standards and best practices in instruction

·         keeping test practice activities at a minimum

·         providing kids opportunities to learn for the sake of learning

·         offering programs which support creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration

·         judging the quality of schools on factors beyond test scores (i.e. effective teaching practices & enrichment programs)

·         voting for political leaders who believe in education beyond preparing for tests

Community members

 Support the future leaders of our communities by:

·         listening to needs within schools

·         contributing time and resources to schools and after school programs

·         partnering with local schools to provide opportunities to kids through internships, mentoring programs, and job shadowing

·         judging the quality of schools on factors beyond test scores (i.e. effective teaching practices & enrichment programs)

·         voting for political leaders who believe in education beyond preparing for tests

Let’s continue the conversation and collaboration.  It’s what we, as adults, do in real life and what our kids need to be able to do, too.

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Read up! Speak up! Team up!

Tips for surviving public education’s focus on test preparation

Friends and colleagues frequently tell me “it’s so good to know there’s a voice like yours in public education.”  But really, where does that get me?  Not that I’m trying to get somewhere, but I do tend to take my job personally, as noted in my post on January 2^nd.  I need to remember why I entered the education profession in the first place (hint, it wasn’t to practice for tests.) I want to make a difference, and I want vision with action.

The heavy emphasis on high-stakes standardized assessments in public education weighs heavily on me.  Though I don’t have to administer tests in my current job, I do work with teachers who feel the pressure of tests, and I am also the mom of two boys who bring home practice tests on a regular basis.  Don’t get me wrong, I understand there is a time and a place for some standardized tests, but ongoing and frequent test preparation is detrimental to the lives of students who deserve opportunities to learn for the sake of learning.

Here are a few of my actions for enduring all the test prep.

Read up! 

Staying current with education news inspires me to continue in the profession.  While there’s much in the news that can be discouraging, I intentionally seek balance in my reading list.  I am a member of several professional organizations which send weekly or daily updates with links to educational news around the nation.  I follow education agencies and colleagues who tweet links to interesting and engaging articles to ponder.  Reading research provides me the foundation of information I need when I have an opportunity to use my voice.  I also read novels, poems, and non-fiction because I believe the humanities are essential to life.

As a parent, I read articles written about parents by parents who also find themselves frustrated at the focus on test preparation in public schools.  This article by parents in New York was telling and served as a good reminder that the test prep madness is nationwide.  The thought could have been overwhelming had I not remembered to focus on what I can do (which is not everything).  I can, however, continue to seek peace, and I can speak up.

Speak up!

 Sometimes my job offers me opportunity to speak up for the values, beliefs and best practices important in public education.  Other times, I speak up by posting links to interesting articles on my facebook, by tweeting, or by continuing my musings in this blog.  As a parent, I speak up when I attend local PTA meetings and events in our community.  Former colleagues, current colleagues, former students, friends and family comment on my posts and contact me with questions.  This is when I feel like speaking up makes a difference, even if it doesn’t change an entire system.  I can encourage and offer advice to those who ask.  Together, we can team up to make a difference in education.

Team up!

In November while at the NCTE annual convention in Chicago, I had the pleasure of seeing a long-time friend who lives in North Dakota but was in Chicago for the Chicago Toy and Game Fair.  This friend is a mom of two brilliant children who were not receiving the education they needed in their local public school system.  She chooses now to homeschool her children, but her interactions with public education have not stopped.  She regularly blogs about issues in education and even takes her children to educator conferences to showcase their talents as young writers, musicians and entrepreneurs.  In our short but full conversation over coffee, we discussed our families and the pursuits our husbands are taking in higher education. However, the bulk of our time was spent discussing education reform.   We decided then we would team up to begin taking more action to impact reform.  This collaborative spirit will help us all persevere. This final tip—teaming up, is essential not only to surviving but also to making a difference to impact the lives of students. 

Will you join me in reading, speaking, and teaming up to make a difference in public education?

“This labor to make our words matter is what any good quilter teaches.”

                                                             ~Kathryn Stripling Byer

Argument and Persuasion

“Mom, let me tell you three reasons why I should be allowed to have a TV in my bedroom.”  I guess my son thought the three reasons technique would work for every argument he constructed.  Not quite.

The topic of persuasion and argument has been on my mind for several months.  With the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in 46 states of the United States, teachers across the country have been discussing ways of teaching students to argue and ways to cite specific evidence from text. 

Is there a formula or quick fix to teaching students to write arguments?  I’d like to argue there’s not.  To illustrate my point, let’s look at two pieces of writing written by my son for school assignments.

Piece #1 A persuasive letter to mom and dad.

In this particular piece of writing, the child did not have a clearly stated argument. He did, however, state that he wanted a dog. He clearly knew his audience as evident in the way he directed comments such as “mom it is spring now and we will go on more walks. Mom you say you need more exercise. Well here is your answer.” The child stated three reasons he wanted a dog and supported the reasons with emotional appeals to tug at the heart strings of mom and dad. His audience was authentic and his reason for writing was real to life, even as a school assignment. One key factor here is that he was offered a choice for his writing topic. His persuasive techniques worked; we adopted our first family dog last weekend.

The CCSS ask students to write arguments (opinions in grades K-5). The standards also call for students to write for short and extended time frames and for a range of audiences and purposes. Take a look at a segment of writing this same child wrote a few weeks ago. This time he wrote for a timed writing prompt at school; the prompt asked students to write to county leaders and present their opinion or argument about dogs being kept on leashes.

Piece #2 Letter to county leaders

Notice, specifically, the second paragraph of this formulaic piece of writing. The writing lacks idea development as the child's three reasons fall short of supporting his opinion about dogs being kept on leashes. The line most troubling to me was “the last thing is that the dog could kill a baby.” Where did he get this idea? Was it from hearing a report on the news?

Even as someone who has taught writing for well over a decade, I must admit that I struggle to help my child become a better writer. He doesn’t want lessons from mom, and he thinks my suggestions might contradict his teacher’s instruction. Accordingly, I will continue my quest to teach my two boys the power of effective argument by modeling effective argument myself and by requiring that they provide textual evidence to support the argument of having TVs in their rooms. (Secretly, I’m doubting they will find evidence to support this argument, and I’m okay with that.)

Renee

PS. I heard this NPR report on my way home from work a couple of weeks ago--check it out.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/01/03/144495483/why-a-teen-who-talks-back-may-have-a-bright-future?sc=fb&cc=fp Tweet

3 Meaningful Homework Practices

3 nights ago I noticed 3 friends from 3 different states posted status updates on facebook within 30 minutes of one another.   All three updates were about children completing meaningless homework activities (e.g. grammar worksheets, skill and drill test prep, word searches).

I shudder to think of times when I asked students to read a novel at home without providing a purpose for reading.  “Tonight read chapters 4-5 of Moby Dick and be prepared for a quiz.”   While I usually provided context and asked students to access prior knowledge during class, my homework practices left much to be desired early in my teaching career.  I sometimes asked students to complete a study guide with their reading; I tried to ask both comprehension and higher level thinking questions.  I even worked with students on practicing the characteristics of a good reader according to Vladimir Nabokov’s Lectures on Literature.  I placed emphasis on the teaching and learning that happened within the classroom more than on what students did for homework.

Notice that word.  Did. I was focused on the activities students completed for homework.  If my students did all the reading at home, we could get through a novel at a faster pace.  We could have discussions and engage in literature circles when they came to class.  If they did a research project, we could accomplish more text analysis of informational reading in class.  If they read everything I assigned, we could get through more of the curriculum.  Homework, I thought, was essential to maintaining my reputation as a teacher who had high expectations for all students.

Fast forward a few years.  My sons started elementary school, and I began to question the homework being sent home.  Being a reflective person, I realized I couldn’t question what my own children were being asked to do for homework if I didn’t question my own practices as a teacher.   My homework practices needed revamping.  Here are 3 meaningful homework practices I implemented during the last three years I was in the classroom.

1.  Let students read books that interest them.  (Moby Dick, really?  What was I thinking?  Justbecause I loved it, didn't mean my students enjoyed it)

2.  Differentiate homework according to student needs and interests.  (Why not a literacy letter or reading journal focused on the specific literacy skills and strategies practiced in class and aligned with individual student goals instead of a study guide? Why not reading Wired articles for a student like my son who loves computers and technology or an article about Abraham Lincoln for a child like my younger son who loves history?) I administered student interest surveys, read narratives and journal entries to learn more about what each student might enjoy, and I tried to offer choice so students didn't all have to do the same thing.

3.  Provide feedback on homework rather than a grade.  (How better to improve student learning?)

I’ll end tonight’s post with a line from a poem by one of my oldest son’s favorite poets, Jack Prelutsky.

Homework!  Oh,  homework!

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