Reflections - Post #1

Last year on Super Bowl Sunday I decided that the following day was going to be a new start for me. I was
mainly referring to my health, weight and other related things. However, in making that decision last February, I have found that the past year has provided me with an amazing "refreshed" outlook on life, work, and family.

I wrote a post on December 2nd that gives some detail about my decision to make some changes in my health entitled, HATS,Goals, and Me. This post is a reflection upon the ten months or so leading up to running a 5k on Thanksgiving morning, the satisfaction of reaching that goal, and how it fit in with our school theme this year. The process of the last year has truly made me assess my goals and priorities throughout all aspects of my life.

By Everaldo Coelho and YellowIcon  via Wikimedia Commons

I had to sit down and take a look at all of the things that are on my plate and decide what things are vital to me and what things need to fall by the wayside or need to be postponed.  As I reflected upon this and made a list (I love lists, especially digital lists!); here is what I came up with:

Vital (these are not in order after the first two)
Family
Health
Friends
Work/Educator
Personal Learning and Growth
My PLN
Inner Peace/Faith
New Experiences
Time
Change


Postponed/Wayside (these are not in order at all)
Doctoral Work
Some Home Improvements
Toxic People
Sweating the Small Stuff
Stuff, in general - clutter



Please note that these are fairly broad categories and each has more specific subtopics on my personal list. This post is an introduction to a series of posts I am going to write about the items on the lists above. As I have always said, this blog is a place for me to learn with others by reflecting upon my life and work. So, this may get personal, but I hope that working through these topics here will provide greater clarity for me in the year ahead and maybe ignite a spark for someone else to look at things differently or make a change. As I work through these posts over the coming weeks/months I reserve the right to add to or modify the list as any evolving, reflective thinker might.

On some level this post and those that follow are inspired by @DrSpikeCook. This year he committed to writing a post a day for 365 days. I am not ready for that challenge (maybe next year); however, I wanted to commit to at least a series of posts that would provide direction and focus this year. This is my start. I am sure I will have posts about other things in between, but look for the title, "Reflections" and the post number for the ones in this series.

Please join me and comment along the way. I would greatly appreciate it.

Five Guys, A Piano, and an Elementary School

If you have not seen this video on YouTube, you have to take 3 and a half minutes now and watch it.





I saw this video a while ago and just thought it was pretty cool. In August, as I was thinking about the start of a new school year and reflecting upon what direction I wanted our school to move, I happened to watch this video again and it was like a light bulb went off in my head (at least 100 watts!). The accomplishment of the musicians in that video exemplifies my vision for our staff and our school.

Yesterday we had our opening faculty meeting and I had my first opportunity to work with the teaching staff. After processing our progress and accomplishments from a very successful 2012-2013, I asked the staff to watch the video and reflect on what they saw.  After watching the video, here are some of the things we discussed.

1. Teamwork. The most obvious thing that people saw was five guys working together to accomplish a task. As a school we need to work together to accomplish everything. Our school theme last year was "Better Together" and our school theme this year is "Better Together: HATS off to learning!" (HATS stands for Habits, Attitudes, Talents, Skills). We proved last year that we are a better staff when we work together. When we plan together, teach together, watch each other teach and talk about student achievement, we are better. Our children learn more when they work together. Whether they are working on a service learning project, creating artwork for the school, developing their mathematics skills through cooperative learning, or mastering literacy skills in a small group, the process is stronger when it is collaborative. Our families are more connected to the children's education when we encourage them to be a part of our mission. The volunteerism and passion that families bring to our community is heartening and provides fuel for all that we do.  As lead learner of our school, I want all members of our community to be on the team and work Better Together.
2. Trust. Closely related to Teamwork is trust. The five guys clearly trust one another and this is why they are able to collaborate. The most concrete evidence of this in the video is when one of the guys is
   
   slamming the cover for the keys to create a beat while the other two guys are playing the keys. THAT is trust! I know that I had some friends as  kid that I might not have trusted with that lid over my fingers:-) As a school community, we need to have that trust in one another. As a staff we need to know that we are all here for children and working for their growth. We need to be willing to let others in our classroom to see what we are doing well and to help us with what we struggle; knowing that we won't get the lid slammed on our fingers if we do.  Similarly, children in our classrooms need to be members of a caring school community that works to build one another up and not tear one another down. Our relationship with our families needs to be one of reciprocal trust. As in any relationship, we will agree, disagree, and everything in between, but we must trust that we are working on that same team for the same goals. As lead learner of the school, I want all members of our community to trust that everyone has the right intentions when it comes to educating our children.
3. Flexibility. Again, related to both teamwork and trust is flexibility. About two thirds of the way through the video, the five guys all run around the piano, switch places, and play in different ways. They are all willing to do their part to make the music beautiful. As they work together, they realize that their talents can be utilized in a variety of ways to achieve their goal. Our students need to take on different roles as learners and teachers. Sometimes they may be the presenter, sometimes the researcher, sometimes the glue that holds the group together, sometimes the leader, and sometimes the supportive team player. Our staff members need to know that they are valuable teachers to all of the children in our classrooms, not just their own class. They are responsible for all of the children (the whole piano). They also need to know that they can take on different roles in the education of the children, they can work next to one another, combine classes, co-teach, share children, and generally look at their roles through various lenses. Our families need to know that school in 2013 may look and feel different than when they went to school. This idea of giving the unfamiliar a chance is expanded upon in the next item in the list. As lead learner of our school, I want all members of our community to embrace change and know that resilience is an important life skill that we teach here and it begins with being flexible.
4. Innovation and Tradition. The five guys did not just play the piano in a traditional fashion. They played the piano in ways that most of us had not thought of before. Many were struck by the use of the bow strings (very cool). This is important because we need to ensure that we are continually looking at the ways in which we perform our craft.  Teaching is an evolving art and science. The ideas, shared resources, and collaboration of the educational community on #twitter is a testament to the
   
   innovation that is possible in our field. If others are innovating and succeeding, we need to as well. However, we all noticed that throughout the video, their was always at least one of the five guys playing the piano in the traditional fashion. Let's face it, traditional piano playing is foundational and successful; there is no reason to get rid of it, but look how great the music sounded when the traditional was played alongside the innovative! As lead learner of our school, I want all members of our community to know that we value our traditions and traditional methods of learning as we seek to continually innovate, but this can be uncomfortable.
5. Risk Taking. Can you imagine sitting in a meeting where five guys sit down and say, "So, we're going to open up a piano and start strumming, banging, plucking, and playing a piano in ways it was meant to be played!"? I would think that there are some who would balk at the thought of it. However, these guys took a risk and it paid off. I like the original song by One Direction. It's catchy and you can dance to it, but the version in the video above is amazing (I believe better than the original - personal opinion). It is not easy to go out on a limb and take a chance. Our school should be a place where students, staff members, and families can do that. We need to build up our children so that they are creative thinkers who are willing to take those risks. We need to empower our teachers to try things that may fail and we need to encourage our families to step out of their comfort zone and get involved in ways they never have before. As lead learner of our school, I want all members of our community to know that risk taking is okay and if we fail it is simply our First Attempt In Learning.
6. Hard Work. That video is amazing; however, it didn't happen without hard work. There had to be many attempts at it and likely many failures. Making beautiful music takes commitment, practice, teaching and learning, self-reflection, correction, and all of the above enumerated concepts. The results of that hard work can be great. Our students need to know that success isn't and probably

   

   
   

   shouldn't be easy. The knowledge that success is earned and not simply bestowed is important in life. Staff members know that the teamwork, trust, flexibility, innovation, and risk-taking are easy to talk about and great to see in a three and a half minute video, but achieving those things is the result of hard work. Our families need to be partners in developing that work ethic and help our children understand the value of hard work; whether it is in the classroom, in the orchestra, on the soccer field, or in the back yard. As lead learner of our school, I want all members of our community to be committed to instilling a strong work ethic in our children. This begins through modeling it ourselves.
7. Have Fun. It was clear that these five guys were having fun doing what they love. The looks on their faces and the choruses of "na na na na" are clear evidence of that. Having fun is such an important part of the learning process. Who wants to do something in which they find no joy? Our children need to have opportunities to find their passions and have fun in school. I am not naive and I know that we
   
   can't always have fun and that there are things that sometimes we just have to do; however, we need to be sure that is balanced with fun. I would also argue that there are ways to make just about anything fun. As a staff we need to remember why we work with children. Every person that I interview to work at our school expresses a passion and love for working with children and the joy that they find from supporting children in reaching their potential. We need to always remember that passion and let it fuel us daily. Working with children is truly joyful work and teachers are some of the most amazing people I know. While our days are often difficult, they should also be filled with moments of fun, laughter, and joy. Our families should have fun parenting and working with us. Parenting is the most difficult job in the world. It can be stressful and regardless of how many books are written, there is no handbook. Take a step back and remember when you were a kid and you found joy in stomping through puddles, when you could make up games with your friends with ease and no supplies, and think about how amazingly fun it is to watch your children grow as human beings. Sometimes we need to let children be children and remember they are not adults yet (and they are not supposed to be). Working together to educate children is just plain cool!  As lead learner of our school, I want all members of our community to see how amazing it is to be a part of something so special and have fun together as we educate our children.

Needless to say, I found that video very powerful and I hope that you do, as well. I think it was a great way to kick off the year with an amazing group of educators who work everyday to embody the ideas above. At the beginning of this post I mentioned that I was reflecting upon what direction I wanted our school to move and I am pleased that I was able to find some help from a song by One Direction (bad pun intended). But hey, that's what makes it beautiful (okay, I'll stop now). 

I know this is going to be a great year and that we are going to do wonderful things. I'm sure that there are other things in the video that I haven't mentioned above. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the video or anything in this post.

Have a great school year!

Don't Jump in Front of Trains, Mermaids, and Children!!

Let me preface this post by saying that I do not generally play the lottery.  I have always been of the opinion that every day that I don't play, I win a dollar. Don't get me wrong, if the Powerball gets real high and the entire school staff is going in on a pool of tickets, I'm in. I don't want to be the only one at work the next day. But in general, I am not pleased with the odds when it comes to such things.


Last Wednesday, my wife and I took our daughters to a concert at the Camden Waterfront.  We saw Train, The Script, and Gavin DeGraw. The concert was fantastic and all three bands put on great shows. Two days before the concert my wife and daughters found out that there was a radio contest. Apparently, if you show up at the concert dressed like a mermaid, you can have a chance to go onstage with Train (Train's latest album is Mermaids of Alcatraz). My 14 year old and my 7 year old were both set on making mermaid costumes and getting up on stage.

My first instinct was to tell them that the likelihood of getting up on stage with Train at the Susquehanna Bank Center was slim. That was my adult brain working there. I didn't do that. I'm not sure when it occurs that you start realizing the odds of things, but it sure isn't when you are 14 or 7. My daughters knew that they were going to get up on stage. As an educator, I always have to remember that sometimes the worst thing that we can do for children is to limit them by our expectations. I realize that the context of this is slightly different than reading or math achievement, but the principle still applies.

So, we went to the show and my daughters got their tickets for the drawing to go on stage since they were

picture from www.savemesanfrancisco.com

dressed appropriately and had their picture taken. We had lawn seats to the show and enjoyed the first two acts on a beautiful evening. Now, I should also mention that Train is my 14 year old's favorite band and this was my 7 year old's first experience ever at a concert. When it came time for them to go up to the front to see if they were chosen, my wife went with them and I remained with our things on the lawn.

As the 50 or so Mermaids began to come onto the stage I searched for my daughters' purple tank tops and mermaid bottoms on the stage and on the big screen. Lo and behold, there they were. They actually got up on stage in front of 20,000 people or so. I must admit, I started to scream my fool head off. Anyway, they were awesome up there (Here is a video from YouTube of the number).  One of my daughters got to sing into the mic and held the lead singer's (Pat Monahan) hand when they took a bow and the other one high-fived him and was having a great time singing and dancing. When they came back to the lawn my 7 year old jumped into my arms to show me the Train towel they gave her and shout how she got on stage. My 14 year old was basically shaking and stuttering in excitement and disbelief. My wife had a smile from ear to ear.

Now, why do I write this post? Remember what I could have said when they told me about the contest? I could have thrown their dream in front of the train instead of letting them be mermaids and have fun on stage with Train. I think that it is important to remember that the wonder and belief of children is something we should all respect; when it comes to crazy radio contests or when it comes to any dreams they may have.

You might be saying, "Yes, BUT what if they had not gotten on stage?" I say, "so what?" They had fun and that would have led to a great discussion on handling disappointment. Really, there is no downside to supporting them.

What do you think?

Related articles

• Train: Mermaids of Alcatraz Tour Review (freshbeatsandgoodvibes.wordpress.com)

#TCRWP - Cornelius Minor Session on the BYOT Movement

This is another post with my notes from a session I attended at the March 9th Teachers College Readers and Writers Project Saturday Reunion.  This session took place in the afternoon and was conducted by Cornelius Minor.  It was entitled, "That's the Way of the World: The Bring-Your-Own-Technology Movement and What It Means for Reading and Writing Workshops."

First let me say that Cornelius Minor is a fascinating guy and you can get more insight into his work and passions on his blog: Kass&Corn.  As I mentioned in my last post on #TCRWP, I am fond of the bullet point when I take notes. The notes begin with some background and information regarding the movement and then some practical ideas for implementing, starting, and fostering use of technology in Workshop and beyond.  I have cleaned up the notes a bit, but they are mainly in their raw form.  My comments are at the end.  If you
have any questions or would like to discuss further, please leave a comment.

Cornelius Minor

• What is the BYOT Movement?
• The movement has always been around
• Socrates had a stick and that was high tech at the time
• Movement has begun to shift from legislating what comes into the classroom to building teaching around it
• Modern BYOT has been around for about 5 years
• The Digital Divide has been changed by mobile devices
• There are more ways to have access
• It is important that kids know how to leverage the technology they have (xbox?, etc.)
• Those who know how to use tech tools well are the most economically successful in our current economy
• Who you are as an economic being is cemented by age 14
• Producer
• Consumer
• We need to invite technology into our classrooms so we can help teach kids how to use it so they can go out and feed their families
• We need policy to shift  to relieve teachers of the legal responsibility for student devices if brought in for BYOT
• Resources and steps
• Get smart on using various items
• cell phones
• tablets
• Google Suite of applications
• blogging
• Do schools have a point person for all of this stuff?
• We should be thinking about hiring people who know how to "speak the digital language."
• We have to have a decent classroom culture in place
• We have to have high expectations in place
• We need to welcome kids to our classes with their devices

• How do I get the devices out of pockets and onto desks and back?
• This is basic classroom management - but updated!
• Should take 3-4 days to teach
• Make sure you have a way to reach each child
• Many districts have student email addresses
• If not, collect them.
• Make sure kids know how to check email
• mini-lesson
• assignment
• Make sure kids understand that the work of tech in the classroom has wider implications in the outside world
• The idea is not for everyone to have "one of those" devices
• It is to know how to get access to "one of those"
• "Part of teaching technology is teaching the hustle"
• Curricular Stuff
• 1st 5-8 days are more procedural and cultural than curricular in a BYOT program
• How does tech find its way into the workshops we discuss each day?
• Writing
• In the traditional analog version, the process is thus:
• collecting - 4-6 days
• rehearsal/draft - 1-2 days
• revision - 4-6 days
• editing - 4-6 days
• publish/share - 1 day
• In the technological version:
• publishing/sharing is the most important thing
• How can i position that published piece in the world so that people this kid cares about have access to it? (younger kids = teacher, older kids = peers, etc.)
• Teacher blog?
• post student work
• get it in the world
• parents need to sign a form
• C. Minor feels that the best thing he has done is to publish his kids to the world.
• Don't "select the best work" to go online
• There is no community in that
• Publish 3 pieces per month
• provides consistency for student and readers
• 3 imperfect attempts is better than one perfect attempt
• Learning is in the attempts
• Use pseudonyms for writing
• then only those who know the pseudonym (classmates, families, etc.) know who wrote the piece
• greater safety
• targeted audience

Time ran out on the session; I could have participated for several more hours in this discussion.  Cornelius Minor helped me to see that BYOT is not simply a high school idea that does not translate to elementary schools.  As an elementary principal I am seeing more and more children come to school with some sort of device (eReader, smartphone, iPod touch, handheld games with wifi, etc.) and I hear stories of their game systems, computers, and devices at home.  With all of this technology at their fingertips, it seems almost wasteful to ignore the potential of using them for greater learning opportunities.

Recently, I listened to my daughter and her friends at her 7th birthday party discussing how I should put the video I was taking on YouTube.  They commented that it would probably get 100 hits or 1000 hits and they would be famous!  This idea of "being out there" on the Internet is the modern version of mom and dad posting our work on the refrigerator for all who visit the house to see our accomplishments when we were kids.  The suggestions that Cornelius Minor provided in this session were practical and safe ways to do this.  

As educators we need to use the tools at our disposal to continually improve the way that we meet our educational goals while connecting with the modern child.  This is not to say that at times Socrates writing in the dirt with his stick is not effective; however, I believe that if Socrates had access to what we do, he would have taken his questioning digital.

Once again, if you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.

Related articles

• #TCRWP Saturday Reunion - March 2013 - Laurie Pessah's Workshop (principalarc.blogspot.com)
• #TCRWP Saturday Reunion - A New Can't Miss for Me! (principalarc.blogspot.com)
• New Units of Study (twowritingteachers.wordpress.com)
• Embracing Bring Your Own Technology #byotchat #byod @mysa @ectechhornet (mguhlin.org)
• BYOT Bring your own technology to work? (dealarchitect.typepad.com)
• BYOT with Fotobabble/Educreations (lgb06.wordpress.com)
• Byot (thesmallstreetjournal.wordpress.com)

This Place is Like a Three Ring Circus!

Every year at  Bear Tavern Elementary School we have a very special week; Circus Week! You may be thinking, "why devote a week to the circus?"  Well, I guess I'll need to give a little background to explain that.

In the winter we have artists-in-residence from Circus Kid Productions come in to work with our students.  Basically, our schedule gets blown up and rearranged so that all of our students in K-4 have workshops with with them and the 5th graders work more intensively with them on various circus skills from Monday through Friday in order to put on a circus performance for the entire school Friday afternoon and then on Friday evening for the parents.  Parents sign an agreement indicating that they understand that students must make up work missed when they are out of the classroom for their practices (and we have always had 100% participation in the 10 years I have been at Bear Tavern!)

But why?  It seems like a lot of time to spend on circus skills.  Most who hear about it don't understand until they've experienced the week.  The younger students anxiously await their 5th grade year so that they can be a part of the circus.  The parents eagerly wait for their children to participate since they have heard about it for years and want their children's excited dreams to be fulfilled.

So the question still remains, "why does a school principal value circus week so much?"  Simple; because of the intangibles that are learned during this week.  The best analogy that I can think of is the NFL draft.  When teams are evaluating players for their draft boards, they look at the numbers and the data to find players who are statistically successful players.  However, they all talk about a player's intangibles like character, leadership, perseverance, team-orientation, drive, work-ethic, respect, demeanor, to name a few. These intangibles can often be more important than the stats.  Let's face it, whether your a Patriots fan or not, Tom Brady was taken in the 6th round for some reason and it wasn't just his numbers.  That has worked out pretty well.

The skills that our 5th grade students learn during this week are the intangibles that lead to future success.  Doug and Eric, our circus coaches, bring out the best in our students through the medium of circus skills.  All you have to do is ask anyone who works with 5th grade to find out just how amazing this week is for the students.  I think that one of the most subtle and striking character lessons that is evident from the first day is the support that each student shows for the group.  Everyone is responsible for the success of the show and thus they must take care of one another to make that happen.

This means that when someone drops a ball during juggling or trips during an acrobatic performance, the rest of the group cheers them on and encourages them to keep trying until they get it.  It is heartwarming to hear classmates cheering for one another when they "get it!"  Generally, the normal reaction when some one makes a mistake is giggling or some form of ridicule, but there is none of that.  The boys and girls learn empathy and understand that others feel just like them when they make a mistake.  This makes it harder to find fault and more natural to support.

Another amazing thing that I see during this week is perseverance.  It is incredible to see the focus of the most distracted students when it comes to perfecting the globe walking or diabolo routines.  They are so eager to succeed in this performance and contribute to the overall circus that they practice and keep practicing until they can do it!  Also, we see the emergence of natural leaders.  They may or may not be the best circus performers; however, they help ensure that everyone is on task and moving in the right direction.

This is the week that signifies the coming of spring for me.  I know that Punxatawny Phil has some role in the prediction, but the BT Circus week is the week that I see our 5th graders truly become a cohesive group; they are the epitome of a community.  I think this week also reminds them that they need to support each other when they move up to middle school and have to navigate a larger population.  This year even our 5th grade teachers got involved in the action and performed with the children.  It was fantastic.

We also weave other disciplines into Circus Week.  Our students create artwork that adorns the gymnasium.  Our students write about their circus experience during language arts.  It becomes a topic of discussion in all classrooms during Morning Meeting.

Fortunately, our parents and our PTO see the benefits of this program.  They help to support it by helping children practice at home and helping to raise funds to pay for the program.  If you have not had the circus at your school, I'd highly recommend it!

The Center of Learning - Parent Connection! (Part 1: Twitter Workshop)

This past Wednesday night we had our monthly PTO meeting.  It was a bit different from most of our meetings.  We have been discussing how to increase attendance at the meetings because often it is simply the PTO board, myself, and a few other parents who attend.  During a brainstorming session we talked about the idea of the principal providing an educational experience for parents, in order to make it a more interactive and positive experience.

You see, just as faculty meetings can become "verbal memos," so can Parent Teacher Organization meetings!  I have started to flip my faculty meetings by putting out all announcements and minutia in a weekly staff newsletter and using the faculty meeting for professional learning of some sort.  As I explained this to our PTO president, it became clear that we could do something similar with our PTO meetings.

Image via CrunchBase

We decided to try a couple of things in this month's meeting.  First, I held a "pre-workshop" for parents before the PTO meeting.  This was just a 30 minute workshop to get parents involved in doing something rather than sitting and just receiving committee reports.  Since our school has a Twitter feed (@BearTavernES) and I am always trying to increase our following, it seemed logical to give a brief workshop on parental use of Twitter.

I was very clear that this was not a workshop about protecting your children online and safeguarding accounts (that is fodder for a different workshop).  This was a brief introduction to using Twitter that basically started with creating your own account!  Here is the blurb from the flyer that we put out prior to the workshop:

*Come early (6:30 PM) for Mr. Arcurio’s Twitter Workshop - Mr. Arcurio will give a workshop on the use of Twitter and the benefits to parents.  Those who attend will have the opportunity to set up a free account and start following Bear Tavern and others of interest.  Most of us think that Twitter is a frivolous waste of time when we first hear about or even try it, but with the right direction it can be a great source of information on education, parenting, schools, and any other topic in which you have an interest.  Additionally, for those who do not wish to start an account there will instruction on how to keep up with HVRSD twitter feeds without having an account.

 At 6:25 I was worried because I only had one parent sitting in the computer lab at school; however, by 6:30 I had 5 parents and then by 6:40 I had 12 parents.  Since these parents were not our typical group of meeting attendees, we already accomplished a goal.  The workshop was very basic.  I helped participants create an account and then I began to show them how to search for interests.  I provided them with several twitter handles from which I felt they would benefit.  These included:
@BearTavernES
@HVRSD
@PrincipalArc
@Joe_Mazza
@gpescatore25
@edutopia
@parenting

We also went through how to look at the posts of someone you may want to follow and discern whether they are an appropriate follow for your needs. Additionally, I showed them how to search through someone's followers to find other appropriate matches.  I also exposed them to the idea of Twitter Chats by showing them the hashtag #PTchat (Parent Teacher Chat) The parents were receptive and very interested in this tool.
Some parents did not create an account and watched as others did.  I handed out a two resources for everyone to take with them: How to Sign Up for Twitter and A Parent's Guide to Twitter and Education.

Although brief, I feel that the workshop was successful in both providing an educational experience for the parents and helping to boost PTO meeting attendance (they all stayed for the meeting). It was on this evening that I truly began to see the power of something I have been thinking for a while and articulated at this meeting,

"I want Bear Tavern to be the center of learning for the whole community."

In part two of this post, I will discuss the article study that we conducted at the end of the meeting.  By the way, we had approximately 30 parents at the meeting and most of them stayed for the article study!

The Daily 5 - Faculty Book Study

This month we kicked off a book study of The Daily 5 by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser (the 2sisters) at our faculty meeting.  I am devoting 25-30 minutes of each faculty meeting to discussion of short sections of this book to allow for some in-depth discussion of the structure.  I have to say that the 30 minutes we spent this past Monday were fantastic.  It was wonderful to be a part of such rich discussions around a topic that is so vital to what we do in the elementary school.

I have found over the years that moderating a book study can be stifling.  It puts a great deal of onus on the moderator and it can limit the direction of the discussion.  So we are using a method that has been successful for us in the past.  I asked the staff to read the first two chapters before the faculty meeting and put three sticky notes in the book with questions or comments that they would like to answer and/or discuss.  Once at the meeting the staff breaks up into groups of 5-8 teachers and all members of the group are equal contributors to the discussion.  After the first 2 minutes of the first meeting it always seems to flow nicely.

I chose to move to each of the groups and take part in all of the discussions.  I must say that it was amazing to see that the teachers were discussing so many of the same things in different groups.  One of the major topics of discussion revolved around how to fit all of the pieces of The Daily 5 into our two hour language arts block.  The great thing about these book discussions is that the answers are generally all right there in the collective experiences of the groups.  I listened to teachers who have been working with this structure explain some of the techniques that they have used to accomplish their goals in that time frame.  Additionally, members of all of the groups were spit-balling different methods for doing the same.

Another big discussion topic was assessment of skills.  In the book the sisters talk about how they moved from worksheet driven "busy work" to skill driven practice when the teacher is working with a group.  It is difficult sometimes to see that there are a variety of methods for assessing students' mastery of skills and concepts that do not involve making them fill out a worksheet that we need to later grade.  The prevailing idea that came from some groups involved keeping a skills chart for each child and assessing their mastery during small group reading instruction.  This would be a much more authentic assessment than a contrived worksheet that is completed partially to practice skills and partially to ensure that students are accountable.

The other major discussion topic was the idea of trusting the students.  We work very hard to create community in our school and classrooms and our children are given many opportunities to demonstrate that they can be trusted to make appropriate choices; however, during our reading block we still have some difficulty letting them have control of their learning and trusting that within the framework and parameters set, they will make the right choices.  I have seen it firsthand in classrooms that are structured around The Daily 5.  Students are engaged and making good choices.  The key is teaching the choices, setting the expectations, and then scaffolding the students to the point where they can stand on their own and the teacher can focus complete attention on the small group or individual instruction/conferencing.

Is all of this easy? No.  But, I think that the work that is done in the first weeks and months of school to set up the routines can lead to a great deal more valuable instructional time as the year progresses.

Needless to say, I felt that the first installment of our book study portion of the faculty meeting was a success.  It was heartening to hear dedicated teachers truly sharing their ideas and providing one another with support and ideas for moving forward.  There was so much more discussed than I can write here. I can't wait until next month's meeting to be a part of these discussions of chapters 3 and 4!

If your school is using The Daily 5, please comment and let me know any important successes, struggles, ideas, or caveats that you think I could share with the staff.  I always enjoy learning from the experience of others.  I have gained a great deal from reading some of The Daily 5 posts from Jessica Johnson's (@principalJ) blog "Reflections from an Elementary School Principal."

Other great resources include:

The Daily Cafe
The Daily 5 - Pinterest Board
MNWelementary-daily5andcafe wikispaces

It's The Artist That Matters 2.0!

I watched the video below by John Spencer after it was posted on a favorite blog that I read called, "Dangerously Irrelevant!"  Please take a moment and watch...

  As a self proclaimed technology enthusiast and an educator devoted to infusing technology into the classroom, I love the tools that are highlighted in the above video.  However, I think that the message is very important.  There is no tool that is going to "fix" education (I prefer improve rather than fix); however, in order to continually improve education those who educate must use the most powerful tools at their disposal.

There was a time when the pencil would have been considered the most powerful educational tool in the classroom; but, pencils used by students in a class with an exemplary teacher of writing have always been far more successful than pencils used in the classroom of a mediocre teacher of writing.  The same holds true for 21st century technology tools.  None of them will transform the learning.  If the teacher is inclined to learn the tools, work to master their effective use, and work to improve their teaching through these tools, the teacher and the tools will become exponentially more powerful. With a growth mindset, it stands to reason that appropriately implemented tools (even the pencil) can help the teacher become a more skilled educator.

We have all heard the cliche statement, "Technology is the means, not the end."  I would submit that this has become a cliche based upon that fact that it is 100% true.  I will always advocate for teachers having the most up-to-date, modern technologies at their disposal; however, those tools are simply window dressing if the teacher does not use them for the benefit of student learning.

So, the video points out that none of the modern technologies have or will "fix" education, which is a great deal to ask of any tool!  The only place where one hammer can build a house would be on Handy Manny.  In the real world it takes many tools wielded by skilled craftsman to erect that house.  We need to have faith in skilled teachers (artists) and provide them the tools (technology) to practice their craft (teaching and learning.)  This will transform education!

More Fun Than a Barrel of (Shifting) Monkeys!

As I looked through my list of blog post ideas, I came to a book that I read a couple of months ago that has great relevance to the daily practice of school-level leadership.  The book to which I am referring is Shifting the Monkey by Todd Whitaker.  I know that Peter Gabriel said that I need to "Shock the Monkey."  As a child I used to play with a Barrel of Monkeys.  My mother used to tell me to quit all the Monkey Business.  And, apparently monkeys are adept at mimicry in that they often see and then do.  However, I have never been told that I need to shift monkeys, so the title of the book was immediately intriguing.  Additionally, various members of my PLN recommended it, which is good enough for me.

As I began reading the book, I quickly understood that we were going more down a "monkey on your back" kind of road and really started to understand why these monkeys would need shifting.  I have read several of Todd Whitaker's books in the past and I enjoy his straightforward, common-sense, accessible style of writing.  The book is not long, but it has a focused message that quickly resonated with me.  The subtitle of the book is, "The art of protecting GOOD PEOPLE from LIARS, CRIERS and other SLACKERS."  We all know these types of people and as leaders we could all use some advice on helping the former while addressing the latter.

@ToddWhitaker defines monkeys as "responsibilities, obligations, and problems everyone deals with every day."  Unfortunately, there are people in every organization who are masters at moving their monkeys onto the backs of others, whether it is through their own doing or through their leader's desire to avoid headaches by simply not assigning monkeys to these draining people.  He does an excellent job of explaining many different types of monkeys and exactly how they get placed where they do.  Ultimately, the question that the book seeks to answer is, "How do I protect my good people?"  These folks are vital to the success of the organization; however, it is not realistic to move all monkeys to their backs simply because it is a certainty that they will handle things appropriately.  Not only is it unrealistic, but it is completely unfair.

As the book progresses, the focus shifts from recognizing monkeys to shifting them where they belong.  The leader's role in this is key.  With the power to direct the location of monkeys in an organization the leader must ensure that they are distributed to the correct people and not just the good people.  Whitaker spends the latter part of the book discussing types of monkeys and how to effectively shift them to their rightful owners.  He also explains how leaders can contribute to the problem by creating monkeys that are not necessary.  One common example of this is creating a rule for everyone to correct the behavior of a few.  This places a new monkey on the backs of all employees instead of just the ones to whom the rule is directed.

I think that the book is an important read and can help any leader develop a positive environment.  It has given me a great deal to think about in my own organization.  The question to answer for any workplace is: Are the monkeys appropriately placed?  If not, that might throw a Monkey Wrench into the works!

Feel free to comment if you are so inclined.

Disconnecting to Recharge?

Traditionally in order to recharge a device one must connect it to power.  I find that I am obsessed with recharging now.  My iPhone is always above 40%, my iPad is constantly charged; any device that I have is charged and ready for any important 21st century emergency.  While I realize it may sound a bit excessive, I am fine with it because I find it vital to my professional life that I remain connected.  Additionally, the benefits of being connected for personal reasons are numerous.  But, my question is this:

How does one who is reliant upon recharging using a power cord recharge the professional battery?

The Answer: Disconnect.

I have to say that when I left for Canada this past Friday evening, I was still in full-charge mode.  I had my devices with me and charged for every occasion.  As we neared the campsite, I made peace with the fact that there was no WiFi and that I did not have an international data plan.  Basically, all I was getting was the occasional expensive call or text over the next week unless I headed into town (30 min. drive) to access WiFi at McDonalds.  Honestly, this was rather unsettling to start the trip, but I knew it would become a welcome respite by about day 2.

Sure enough, I was actually enjoying my time away from the connection.  I wasn't constantly checking email, Twitter, blogs, etc, etc. etc....  I was just enjoying being out by the lake, playing board and card games with my family, reading for pleasure, and just generally relaxing.  Now I can't lie to you, during our trip into town, I did stop by Micky D's and check a couple things, but not for long and I didn't make a special trip to do it.  But, I was confronted with a problem.  On about the 5th day of our trip we found out that one of the folks in the campground with whom we are friends had WiFi!!!  I quickly got the password and started to check things, but then I remembered the whole point of the trip: Relax, Recharge, Refresh!

So, I honestly did very little with the WiFi for the last couple days of the trip.

I remembered that this trip was about catching turtles and letting them go.

I remembered that this trip was about snapping a picture of a luna moth at night.

I remembered that this trip was about sleeping in a tent with the family.

I remembered that the best way to recharge is to unplug.  Now that I am back and will be going in to my office tomorrow, I am ready to think about the future and ready the school for the new year.  I look forward to all of the challenges that the months ahead will present!  Oh, by the way, all of the devices are charged again, too.

Feel free to comment if you are so inclined. 

It's Not a Competition, It's a Reading Challenge!

As I look around at the world all I see is competition and competition is a wonderful thing!  However, everything does not need to be a competition.  I think that sometimes in elementary schools we forget that a part of what we do is teach children how to compete.  How to win, how to lose, and how to deal with all that goes with both.  This is best done on a small scale in classrooms or the gym.  It is generally not an easy lesson to teach to a whole school at once.

At our school we have a reading challenge called, "The March Reading Madness Challenge." It's a wonderful event and I look forward to it each year.  The basic premise is that the children need to read 40 pages or 40 minutes per night for one month depending upon grade level.  At the end of the month, the principal does a wacky stunt if the school meets its goal.  Nine years ago when I began doing the challenges, we used to announce the classes and students that read the most at our culminating assembly and those classes would get an ice cream party (pre-nutritional guidelines) or a pizza party.

Over the years,

• I've been duct taped to a wall three feet off the ground
• I've been pulled to the ceiling of the gym with rock climbing equipment and read to the school
• I've dyed my hair blonde and shaved my beard
• I've been dunked in a dunk tank (cold day!)
• I've been raised to the roof of the school in the fire truck bucket and spent 24 hours on the roof (29 degrees that night).
• I've kissed a pig
• I've been wrapped in a boa constrictor
• I've demonstrated a big rolling tube that would be added to our field day (hard to describe, but the children loved it). 

Then, of course, there is this year.  Well just look below to see what I did this year.

If you prefer video, you can watch it here.

This is a wonderful time of year at the school.  The children always come up to me and tell me how much they have read and that they are going to meet their goal so that I will do the stunt.  Of course, the purpose of the event is to get children to read more.  Hopefully, after the month is over a few more children catch the reading bug and keep on reading.

Over the years, we have eliminated the individual and class rewards.  This was not met with support from all.  The reasoning was because the main goal of the reading challenge was for the school to work together as one community of readers to reach a goal and cause me to keep my promise to them.  However, at our assemblies early on it was clear that the triumph of the larger challenge was lessened because the majority of the school did not get the party.  We sat down and had a great deal of conversation about the goals of the challenge and among those goals was not competition.  I think that it is important to keep the goals in mind when deciding whether competition should be an ingredient in a lesson or challenge.

That was about five years ago and our students continue to read just as much as they ever did.  Competition does have its place; however, when working with young children it is wise to decide where and when.  This may be a somewhat Pollyanna viewpoint, but as I said in the beginning, competition is everywhere and they will get a chance to compete probably more often than they want.  What are your thoughts on competition?  If you are so moved, please comment below.