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To and Through College

4/27/2016

As our kids approach elementary, middle and high school graduation season, I find myself thinking about a prompt I was asked to respond to during a one-day workshop for educators presented by EPIC School Partnerships I attended a couple weeks ago: “How would you describe a student walking across the graduation stage who is ready to successfully transition and navigate the world beyond high school?”

A powerful question. A question that has stayed with me. A question that deserves our attention.

Before continuing to read, I challenge you to think for just a minute about the characteristics, skills, mindsets, and behaviors of a successful graduate for yourself. From your perspective. From your experience. From your reality. What does this look like for your kids? What did this look like for you? Who is this ideal student given what you know about the “real world”?

When I responded to this prompt, I framed it around what I know now that made me successful then. My off-the-cuff response of random phrases included traits such as: critical thinker, problem solver, confidence, ability to listen more than speak, comfort in living with ambiguity, can navigate arbitrary systems and jump through hoops, grit, self advocacy, not afraid to ask for help, independence, fortitude, open mindedness, self awareness, purpose driven. And that is only part of my list -- we had a lot of time to write.

What do I realize now about my list in looking back at it? What is glaringly missing? Content knowledge. Nowhere on my list did I mention, or even allude to, knowledge of nouns and verbs, the Pythagorean theorum, dates from historical events, the organization of the periodic table, or formats of business letters.

Please don’t misunderstand. As a teacher myself, I understand that knowledge is important. But as a citizen of the world and a functioning member of our society, I also understand that what has made me successful in navigating my life didn’t come from memorization or drill-and-kill. I’ll bet most of you would agree. And I’ll bet many of your lists look like mine.

My question is this: How does our school system ensure our graduates will successfully transition and navigate the world?

This time I’m going to stop the question early and eliminate the “beyond high school” portion. Not because it isn’t important, but because I want us to consider the question for ALL our “graduating” kids.

Kindergartners need to be able to successfully transition to and navigate first grade with its bigger playgrounds and longer hours.

Fifth grade graduates need to be able to successfully transition to and navigate middle school with its bell schedules and increased homework load.

Eighth grade graduates need to be able to successfully transition to and navigate high school and its myriad demands.

And then our senior graduates -- the toughest transition of them all.

Are our schools doing what it takes to ensure success with these key transitions year-over-year? Do the classrooms reflect these needs? Are our teachers building students who will lead the world? Or are our students being tortured with arcane grading systems and irrelevant assessments that beat down rather than elevate?

In addition to our celebrations of college acceptance letters, internships, and scholarships, I am ready for our district to share the data that matters even more -- the data that reports on our alumni. Did they actually make it to college? Did they stay in school? Did they graduate? Are they employed? And how does that data breakdown by demographics? Are we serving the needs of all our students? Have we actually educated students who are successfully transitioning and navigating the world beyond?

If not, what are we doing system wide to fix it?

I want our leaders to be vulnerable. I want our leaders to admit we have potential gaps and room for improvement. I want education to reflect the needs of this new generation of kids -- our kids.

It’s time we ask the tough questions, see thoughtful reflection from our educators, and have collaborative discussions between our schools and communities to ensure we fulfill the contract we made with these kids back in kindergarten. The contract that promises if they participate in the system as we’ve designed, then their education is the foundation for their success.

Let’s revisit our end of the contract to ensure our kids will find their best-fit successes “to and through college” -- and ultimately beyond.

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The Best 7 Hours

4/18/2016

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I attended a College and Career Readiness workshop this past week facilitated by EPIC School Partnerships, an organization representing a new approach for improving student outcomes, grounded in over a decade of research by David Conley, author of “Getting Ready for College, Careers, and the Common Core.”

As hard as it is for me, or any classroom teacher for that matter, to spend time away from the classroom and leave our charges in the hands of an albeit qualified and well-intentioned substitute, I took advantage of the opportunity to participate in this professional development day. And like most PD days, I walked away with something that will change my teaching for the better. I love to learn. I love to be exposed to new ideas. I love to sit in a room with other educators and discuss our practice. It’s transformative. This day was no different.

“The best 7 hours” -- this is the phrase from the conference that resonated with me.

In fact, I picked my son up from school after the workshop and asked him, “How was school?” This question sound familiar? We all ask it when our kids come home from school. From my daugher, the answer is always filled with highs, lows, laughter and stories. For my son, the answer is always, “What do you think? It was school.” His answer comes with snark, sarcasm, bitterness. Granted, he is a teenage boy, so he isn’t nearly as verbose as my daughter, but, nevertheless, it makes me sad he doesn’t enjoy his time there.

This day, I pushed for a little more information. I asked, “Is school ever the best 7 hours of your day?” He looked at me and rolled his eyes. I continued. I shared with him that this question came from my day’s experience at a workshop, and the presenter reminding us -- the teachers -- that we should strive for this for our students. He responded, “Why would they do that?” More snark. He’s a tough audience.

Our kids today are part of a new generation. I know, we hear this all the time. But this workshop forced me to think about what this means? And it dawned on me that this “new generation” is one that can’t even compare to my own. Whereas we have lived through the birth of technology innovation and have learned, and potentially even embraced, it as an add-on to our lives, our kids are tech-innate. Technology IS their lives. They know nothing else. They don’t have any idea what it’s like to have to go to the library to get an answer to something. When my kids don’t know something, they “Google it.” Their world is information rich; it always has been. Since day 1. The learning of knowledge for them isn’t the end product, because knowledge is everywhere.

Our world is no longer about what we know -- it’s about what we DO with what we know.

Our kids today want to DO. They want to use this abundance of knowledge. The want to create, to invent, to act. We all know they still need to “learn” in order to “do,” but the learning no longer has to be straight facts; rather, it can be patterns, creativity, collaboration, higher-level thinking processes, strategies, skills -- imagine, even, the power of their learning how to be curious.

If these were the traits of our local schools for EVERY PERIOD, EVERY DAY, then I can guarantee my son would love school. He would be doing. He would be active in his learning. He would see the connection of the content to his life; he would see relevancy and purpose. He would begin to think about his future and actually start designing it.

This isn’t a teacher issue -- it’s a system issue. And a system is hard to change, but it’s going to have to if we are going to inspire our kids for life beyond high school -- college, career, community -- and to inspire them to dream for a better world.

My hope is that our schools begin thinking about the seven hours they have and begin dreaming big. Remember the old KFWB mantra -- “Give us 24 minutes, and we’ll give you the world”?

Imagine the power of having seven hours -- the world would only be the beginning.

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May 1st Looms Ahead

4/11/2016

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May 1st is right around the corner, and if you’re the parent of a high school senior, then these next couple weeks are going to be fraught with indecision, anxiety and excitement.

On May 1st, kids around the country finalize their college decision and submit their SIR (Statement of Intent to Register) -- the decision a student unfortunately feels not only defines the rest of his life, but also his identity and self worth.

I wish our kids all had the wisdom to know that college is simply another step in life’s journey, not an end to it.
My thoughts this week are prompted by a student-created comic strip published in my school’s monthly student newspaper. The comic was a simple, horizontal, four-panel strip. Each panel represented one of each of the four years of high school: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior. In each panel is simply a girl sitting at a table, but with each panel her facial expression changes: in panel one she’s smiling, in panel two she’s sad, in panel three she’s crying, and in panel four she’s completely distraught.

What’s most telling in the comic is the thought bubble in each of the first three panels. The first panel’s bubble lists Ivy League universities: Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Princeton and Brown. The second panel’s bubble: USC, UCLA, Berkeley and Duke. The third panel’s bubble: Cypress, CSULB, Riverside and Merced. The final panel, wherein the girl is having a complete meltdown, does not have a bubble at all; she’s too overwhelmingly lost. As her college choices change and evolve, to what she clearly sees as choices less prestigious or renowned, her self worth seems to evaporate as well.

Satire? I’m sure.

Truth? I’m absolutely sure.

The comic makes me so sad. Have we really become a society where our kids believe they are worthless unless they attend an Ivy League university? I’m in no way suggesting that these prestigious universities aren’t worthwhile goals. I am suggesting, however, that attending one of these schools doesn’t define a child.

I want to remind us all to help our kids realize that self worth and identify aren’t defined by the college they attend, because college choice is dependent on dozens of factors: finances, declared major, distance from home, environment, weather, family, readiness, etc.

What really matters is how our kids embrace the experience once they arrive on campus -- regardless the school.
Our kids need to use college to discover themselves, get involved, grow up, find independence, help the community, volunteer to help others, decide on a direction for their future, travel abroad, get curious about life, find a passion, build friendships, master new subjects, play a new sport, become more culturally aware, get political, and, sometimes even, fall in love.

My point? These things can be done on any campus. And it’s these experiences that define character, build identity and create self worth -- traits developed through life itself, not assigned based on the college name on a diploma. All our kids are worthy. They all have something unique to offer the world. We need to help them see the bigger picture.

We need to stop celebrating just a select few; we need to celebrate them all.

May 1st isn’t a day to judge -- it’s a day to celebrate the start of each child’s unique journey.

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What you need to know about Open House

4/4/2016

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Open House is important. Our schools have prepared, our teachers have prepared, and our kids know their work will be on display for the world to see. The stakes are high, as they should be. Not only is this evening a celebration of all that has been accomplished, but also a glimpse into the learning environment.

As a teacher, Open House is a tough night. I inevitably find myself dodging parents who want to line up and get one-on-one time with me to talk about their child. Dodging is maybe too harsh a word, but I definitely work diligently to avoid these conversations. And I want to avoid them because this isn’t the time or the place. Parents of stellar kids want to hear kudos about how stellar their kids are. Parents of struggling kids want to discuss what can be done. Both conversations are important, but in a classroom with dozens of kids and parents milling around, discussing private, confidential details about individual children isn’t appropriate.

Additionally, Open House isn’t about just one child. Open House is about the school’s learning environment.
So with it being Open House season, I wanted to share a few suggestions about how to learn the most possible from your child’s Open House -- without having to wait in line to talk to the teacher. I promise, my approach will be much more enlightening.

Is the displayed work engaging and purposeful? When I attend Open House this week for my own kids, I will be looking closely at the displayed work. I’m hoping the walls and desks will be filled with it. Be wary, however, of just a “pretty picture.” Look for lots of writing -- in all classrooms. I want to see that the writing has been generated by my kids and not just information gathered from websites and textbooks. I want to see thinking and creating. And does the writing I see demonstrate a true skill or strategy that can be used in multiple settings and classes and situations. I want to see engagement and purpose in the writing process.

Do I see depth or breadth? I intentionally look for depth. It is easy to be swayed by “stuff,” but more doesn’t necessarily mean better. Look for multiple activities created for one concept. Look for process. Look for content mastery to be demonstrated in various ways. I want more than just rote, superficial work; I want to see deep engagement and rigor in what is being learned.

Can your kids walk you through the learning? Think of your own children as docents. Take them with you and ask them to walk you through their classrooms and explain the displayed work. Can your children articulate what they learned? Why they learned it? Where they struggled? How they persevered? The importance of the skill or strategy? I want my own kids to be able to explain their growth this year; I want them to see the value in the learning.

Are assignments new and relevant? In the social studies classes I want to see infographics, current events and parallels between history and our current realities. In science, I want to see hands-on activities, experimentation and scientific articles about new findings. In math, I want to see integration of multiple concepts to solve real-world problems and not so many textbook equations. In English, I want to see reading, writing and speaking. I could go on-and-on. But I won’t. Nevertheless, I hope you see my point -- new and relevant.

Do I see evidence of collaboration? Whether online or on paper, is it observable? I want to see my kids have opportunities to work with others in groups to solve problems and generate new ideas. Collaboration is a skill they will need in the real world, so I expect the school to be helping them become good teammates and leaders. You’ll see this reflected in the layout of the classroom. Are desks in traditional rows or small groupings? Imagine yourself as a student in the classroom -- does the environment lead to isolation or collaboration?

And if we are really lucky this year, then our schools will have kids on display: choir performances, drama monologues, band performances, poetry readings, science experiments in action, art decorating the campus, rockets on the field, and student-created computer programs up and running. This is true learning in action.

With all there is to see and do in such a short amount of time, don’t spend your time talking one-on-one with the teacher. It’s not necessary.

Instead, have fun, enjoy yourself and revel in the accomplishments of all our kids -- they have earned it!

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To and Through College

The Best 7 Hours

May 1st Looms Ahead

What you need to know about Open House

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