Thinking....

I'm thinking today about instructional time, and / or lack thereof....stay with me on this.

When I look at educational systems and structures across countries,and school breaks within those systems and structures, it becomes more and more clear to me why the United States remains consistently behind other countries in terms of graduation rate etc.  

Think about this with me for a moment.  In most states in this country we have roughly three months off in the summer, followed by not even two months of school and then there is another break (MEA etc.) then a few more weeks until Thanksgiving break, then a few more weeks (where teachers tend to not do any heavy instruction) until Christmas and New Year's. So, basically from June- December  student school hours equate to very little in comparison to other countries.  Continue on with me...We continue on in school in January with multiple days off again between January and February between holidays, and conferences, and teacher professional development etc. Then March is spring break, and then we test in April. Then May rolls around and for some reason teachers see from May to June as "light" instruction, because the test is over.

I can say these things, because I have worked now in enough schools, and districts, to notice patterns and patterns of teacher behavior which can often time be that before and after any break in the school year we should offer "lighter" instructional days, because "kids are so excited".

This is a problem....this is a significant problem. We have a mindset in this country that needs to change as it considers the balance between instructional time, and breaks, within a school year. We have to change our mindset around accountability within instruction during instructional time within the school year.  I see this over and over again, and it continues to make more and more sense to me as to why we have on average a  32% graduation rate in this country.

This is a large scale issue...I understand that. We are talking about systemic educational patterns that have been in place for generations.

All I'm saying, is that we have to start to notice this, address it, and change mindset around it in this country, in this state, in our districts, and in our schools...or we will continue to leave kids behind.

I understand this is not an "uplifting"post, but it is a necessary post. A topic for discussion, but more importantly a topic for change.

In the face of challenge...

In the face of challenge, we must choose a mindset of strength and fortitude, not fear. We must choose to believe that what we are going after is really the pathway that will lead to greater to success for ALL, and we must determine in our mind that the steps within this pathway to success may fail at times along the way, but those failures will be opportunities for us to learn and grow in the journey, and they will not be stumbling stones that hold us back.

In the face of challenge we must seek to find the voices of hope, the voices of innovation, and encouragement, and the voices that speak the loudest message with the softest tone. We must choose to seek the strength in stakeholders in the work, we must choose to believe in positive intent, and we must choose to take a moment to set aside our ideals, and welcome the ideas of others in the process.

In the face of challenge we must choose heart, innovation, collaboration, and a willingness to be a true partner in the process of all that lies ahead.

We are the change agents. Repeat after me....we are the change agents.  We have the capacity, the ability, the intelligence, and the drive to change systems, structures and to challenge the status quo.

In the face of challenge, choose to be the one that makes the decision that no matter what there will be laughter, smiles, and humility in the process, and success in the outcome.:)

I have presented now a total of four plans over the week...plans that challenge the status quo, that seek to build teams of stakeholders in the process, plans that highlight current strengths and challenge current weaknesses, plans that ask for nothing more than optimal impact within collaboration around innovation. These plans are asking schools to step up and work the possible, within what seems the impossible.  These are plans that share a vision of success for ALL students, with teacher leaders at the core of the work. These are plans that require change agency from all involved, and require a pathway to be built in such a way that an organic experience comes out of a very non-organic structure.  These plans lay out a vision to challange everything that has been, and consider all that could be...they are future, they are hope, and at the heart they are the voice that students will hear that says, "No matter what...in this school you are worth it.":)

And guess what? Not one plan has been denied..not one, because at the end of the day, what educator wouldn't support that voice that students will hear loud and clear as a result of the outcome.;)

I Stopped Giving Tests

There is a fascination in our country around standardized testing. Testing is BIG BUSINESS---and can be used to not only discredit teachers, but students as well. Don't get me wrong, I like some testing, but not probably in the same way others like it. I love testing because I love for kids to see themselves improving and showing growth.

I will be honest with you: I have not given a test in the past 8 years. Once I began to shift to a workshop model, where I was conferring with students about their work/growth/needs, I no longer had any need to give a test. Tests are not to be "GOTCHA's" to see if you: read the chapter, listened to the lecture, looked at the vocabulary.etc . Assessments should be used  to determine next steps for both the teacher and the learner.  

I am not against tests, per se, but I believe that too often tests are not for students. If we want to change the mindsets of our students, then it's important for us to focus on ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING,  Better yet..shifting to ASSESSMENT AS LEARNING. This involves students being aware of their own learning objectives. This also entails students taking responsibility for achieving these objectives, and teachers as facilitators along the way. We want students to be able to self-reflect on their behavior and attitudes as WELL as their learning!!  

Once we stop doing assessments TO students --and do assessments WITH students, then we can actually build the capacity of our students to think critically!!
THIS---this is something I want to be a part of! 

Design Thinking

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

Awakening true impact...

When we speak about awakening impact, we speak of doing that in a variety of settings, each with varying degrees. However, the true work of awakening impact comes in the work that we do with the students that have the biggest challenges to overcome.  I am talking about the ones that many schools give up on, suspend, kick out, dismiss, ignore...the students that if we look beyond the behavior have had trauma in their lives that impact how they act, and react to learning.

As educators, we tend to have a fixed mindset around students and learning. We tend to have a vision for learning, and in that vision we see students that fit the educational "status quo". Yes, I bring it up again, because I see our largest issue in education is that we have put systems and structures in place that are only effective for a certain "type" of student, and if we were to be truly honest that student would be the one that comes ready to learn every day, is internally motivated and engaged, has consistent support from school to home, and is given opportunities outside of school to learn and apply.  That's the status qou student that our current system is operating under.

Now, back to my point on the students with the greatest challenges.  These students usually are acting and reacting out of root cause issues that have nothing to do with school. They are typically coming from home life environments where they have experienced trauma of some kind, whether directly or indirectly, and as a result they are reactive and in constant fight or flight mode.  Research says that we use the same part of our brain to process learning and stress. Now, imagine a student coming from a stressful environment into a learning environment. As their brain is in a stressful state, they are coming and being put into an environment and asked to perform in that environment that is not structured for students coming in with tremendous stress, but rather our "status quo" student that was mentioned above.  Imagine these students coming to school each and every day from extremely stressful and traumatizing environments into school where they have to use the part of their brain that is under stress to learn.

Typically what happens, is that these students have no time to decompress, or take down their stress level. They go from home immediately into school where they are asked to instantly work to learn while under stress. In that moment, it all becomes overwhelming for them and instead of being able to take in the learning, they play off of the stress and react out of that, usually in behavior that gets them kicked out of class, and school.

Now, imagine years of that. Imagine a student going through that each and every day. Imagine how defeated they feel right off the bat coming to school each day. Imagine how behavior then becomes the one and only thing they feel successful at, and therefore the one and only thing they know to do in response to their fight or flight.

Now imagine how much instructional time is lost in their school day, and imagine how over time their gap in learning becomes increasingly overwhelming, and the more overwhelming it becomes, the more defeated they feel, and the greater the increase in behavior....it's a cycle.

Here's the thing...there are variables of this that we can't control, but there are variables that as educators we can. The variable that we can control is our mindset around this student, and the learning opportunities that we can establish for them when we have the mindset of understanding why the act, and react they way they do. We can control our actions in the learning environment towards that student. We can control how we establish systems and structures that support those students, and we can control how we treat those students in our schools each day.

Mindset...everything and anything that we do goes back to our mindset around the situation and circumstance. 

Right now, I am working on establishing programming in level 4 EBD where students are sent from schools that have given up on them, and this is their one and only hope left.  Why is it that we can't establish a more cohesive system and structure within schools to support these students during the day, why is it that because we don't, these students, who have already been transitioned all over in their life, are now being transitioned all over in their school life? Something is wrong with the system....we can do better. We have to do better. We are educators. Enough of the fluffy saying about changing lives. Don't say it, if you have no intention of doing it with equality across all learners. I think it's time we take a critical look at mindset around educators, and educational systems and structures. We cannot afford in this country to continue to have inequality in education across the board. An average of 35% of our students graduating college and career ready is unacceptable, and at the heart of that issue is mindset.

If these students are made to feel "not good enough" at home, and them come to school and are made to feel "not good enough", then where in their world will they ever build any kind of self-confidence, self-esteem, success, sense of worth? Where else will they get that if we refuse to do that in school?

I have no problem saying these bold statements, because if you saw what I am seeing in schools each and every day your heart would feel heavy over this too. It's unacceptable for us in education to give up on these kids. They get that all day outside of school, and it's our job to build them up, give them hope and provide them lots of opportunities to be successful. For many, we are all they have in their day...that's it. It's us...

This post may anger many, but we need to stop dancing around the big elephant in the education world, begin to have courageous conversations around mindset, and start to make changes from undergrad education programs through schools and districts, and states across this country. It's time. We can rewrite the Common Core over and over and over, but until there is a drastic shift in mindset around equitable education for ALL, and drastic shifts in the educational system in this country, there will continue to be thousands and thousands and thousands of students left behind.

Starting points....

I love Kari's resources in reimaging education. What a powerful message for us as we consider awakening impact across educational systems and structures.

In my work right now, I am very much in the push and pull of starting points.  Where do I push? Where do I pull back? What starting point is the most effective, and with what stakeholders will this need to have in this work to have the greatest impact.

My work always begins with relationship first. Now, for those of you who know me this should not come as any kind of surprise.  My top strength on the Myers-Briggs is "Whoo". I am the cheerleader, the heart on my sleeve, the "you can do it, or better yet WE CAN DO IT TOGETHER!" Let's go!  I hug everyone that will let me, I don't hold back my thoughts, opinions, heart, any of it. I'm about as real and genuine as they come. Now, this makes me somewhat of an outlier in this type of work, as many of the people that I work with tend to be more conservative, more held back, they have the most amazing thoughts, but will hold them in and wait for the right, safe time to bring them out. Whereas, I tend to just say it, cross my fingers and hope for the best, ha!

Regardless of your "type", each stakeholder has a critical role in the ongoing conversations, and work surrounding school improvement efforts. After all, we all know that one spoke alone does not hold the wheel, but rather all spokes working together make the wheel turn at it's finest. The question becomes, "Where do I start?  How do I begin to bring the right people around the table to address some courageous conversations?"

My first starting point is always the same. We must build relationship first. We must observe all educational settings, and take in what is current in the classroom, and at the building and district level, we must invite conversations around teaching and learning, and within those conversations we must be the lead "listener". Just listen....hear voice, tone, strengths, weaknesses, fears, concerns, questions, celebrations...just listen. Take it all in, and after these conversations note patterns.  What are the patterns that I see in observations?  What are the patterns that I see in conversations around teaching and learning? What are the patterns that I see in the data, and how are these patterns connected?

This is the start. This is a highly critical time, and although it is slow, and doesn't tend to feel like much is happening, you need to hold tight to the fact that slowing down, and building a strong foundation will pay off later when you begin to do the work of building solid systems and structures piece by piece.  After all, we know it is human nature to want and NEED to trust in people first, before processes.  Once relationship is established we can then move into our second starting point.

Starting point two is to take the patterns taken from observations, and conversations, and data, and begin to outline themes. This work is often called root cause analysis, and tends to be the point where buy-in to the process happens. This is a highly critical process. It is difficult, but necessary. It tends to bring up discomfort, and fears, and a sense of change looming.  Stakeholders at this point will often dig their heels in on what they fear may be lost in the change process. These conversations are courageous for a reason after all, they are going right to the root of the problem, and usually that makes for a very uncomfortable atmosphere. However, if you know up front that is the likelyhood, then you can plan...plan for discourse, plan for questions, plan for sharing, plan for breaks, and plan to be flexible. Be clear upfront about what the intended goal (or in the educational language..."outcome') is, the time frame you have, the process that will happen to guide that, and the decision that needs to be made in the end. Create a pathway for the conversation that assumes positive intent, and creates a pathway for productive conversations that are solution orientated.

These are starting points, and they are the most critical part of the process...they are the foundation. Consider this time like dating....yes, go back in your mind to dating.;) In dating you are observing how the other person acts, reacts, treats people, treats family, treats you...you are observing behaviors, patterns, responses, engagement in the process...all of it. You are taking it in, and as you take it in you begin to use that as starting points in conversations. Conversations that lead to knowing each other better, and often times will in the beginning have moments of bliss and moments of discomfort as your approach a variety of topics. All of it leads to one thing...trust. Can I trust this person with my world?  Right? It's the same idea here. We may not be trusting our colleagues with our personal world, but most definitely our professional world,and we know that personal often impacts professional so trust in any change process is highly critical.

So, I encourage you today to consider when the last time is that you stepped out and observed what is happening around you. What is happening in other classrooms, in the building, at the district level. When is the last time you used PLC's to engage in courageous conversation around observations and data? How have you used that to consider patterns, determine root cause, and analyze solutions collaboratively around teaching and learing.

Starting points. They are messy...and usually difficult, but difficult is necessary and will begin to awaken impactful conversations, solutions, and in the end create greater work around impact. If we are really opening up a growth mindset around educational reform, the reform starts here...small, but impactful starting points in every classroom, building, district and system in this country and around the world. Wouldn't it be wonderful to start conversation here...with this blog...let's bring a more global perspective to this work.:)

Reimagining Learning

Ran across this Ted Talk on Twitter--ha to share. So important. Thinking about education differently!

The Smartest Kids in the World: Let's Make it Happen

Many of you know that I was working with an amazing group of teachers last year who were passionate about changing how we DO school.  They are champions around the ideas that Kristin just wrote about: getting kids to THINK,  They are committed to connecting thinking; not 7 hours of classes that have no connection, but rather HOW CAN WE CHANGE this. These people are STILL committed to this way of thinking, and we STILL have dreams of how to make this happen. 

While this book, The Smartest Kids in the World, may have it's flaws, this book truly inspired me--and many others who read it with me.  There ARE people out there who are WILLING to make this leap, who are EXCITED to change the way things are done. We just have to make it happen!!

Here is from Amanda Ripley's website:

The Smartest Kids in the World

A New York Times bestseller, The Smartest Kids was selected by The Economist, The Washington Post, The New York Times and Amazon.com as one of the most notable books of 2013.

In a handful of nations, virtually all children are learning to make complex arguments and solve problems they’ve never seen before. They are learning to think, in other words. What is it like to be a child in these new education superpowers?

In a global quest to find answers for our own children, author and Time journalist Amanda Ripley follows three Americans embedded in these countries for one year. Kim, 15, raises $10,000 so she can move from Oklahoma to Finland; Eric, 18, exchanges an upscale Minnesota suburb for a booming South Korean city; and Tom, 17, leaves a historic Pennsylvania village for a gritty city in Poland.

Their stories, along with groundbreaking research into what works worldwide, reveal a pattern of startling transformation: none of these places had many “smart” kids a few decades ago. They had changed. Teaching had become more serious; parents had focused on what mattered; and children had bought into the promise of education. A reporting tour de force, The Smartest Kids is a book about building resilience in a new world—as told by the young Americans with the most at stake.

We should...

I was listening to an interview yesterday on CNN with Joel Klein, the former Chancellor of New York City Schools. His vision for educational reform not only helped me get through my cardio workout faster;), but really had me thinking more deeply about the impact that his ideas have had on New York schools, but COULD HAVE on the Nation as a whole.

In his interview he spoke to the importance of having highly qualified professionals in teaching.  This means, instead of pulling from the bottom percentage of undergrad classes, we follow the model of other countries and recruit our teachers from the top percentage of graduating classes. This means that we have to start to consider restructuring our system to make this profession more highly marketable to a different audience.  Having highly qualified, innovative,  passionate professionals with a growth mindset in our classrooms has been a source of discussion for years and years, however I beleive the reason we don't tend to pull from the top percentage of graduates, and furthermore we don't retain teachers is because that mindset finds the current "boxed" educational system frustrating.  I don't think it's that we can't recruit, and retain highly qualified educational professionals, it's that our system speaks of growth mindset, but is set up under a fixed mindset system.

According to Klein, we should be able to have the freedom to look at educational systems and structures under a growth mindset, and we need to! This country currently has about 35% of it's graduates college and career ready...35%! There's no excuse for that. Yes, we have college and career ready standards in the common core, but at some point if we really want to put actions behind the language in those standards, we have to have a larger discussion about the systems and structures we currently have in place. If the nation's average is 35% graduating college and career ready, we have an issue...a large issue, and we must begin to have courageous conversations around the WHY?

We need to look at what other countries are doing that are graduating higher percentage of college and career ready students, we have to do some deeper analysis of our current system, and we have to have enough people passionate about changing it to actually advocate for change.

It's time. Students are growing up in a fast-paced, technology driven, very competitve society and yet we remain steady across the board in terms of systems and structures.

It's time for courageous dialogue, and discussion, and more importantly CHANGE!  As educators, we need to have a louder voice in this.  This is our future we are talking about, and yes we can say that and get warm, fuzzy feelings, but this is a very serious issue that we need to attend to in this Nation. It is our duty as citizens, educators, parents etc. to take a step and be a voice for change. 

Big wins?YES!

My posts recently have been focused on mindset, and change, and how to work through that process through difficulties in order to achieve a dream. I wrote about how we all attend to opportunities and difficulties in different ways, with different mindsets, and how it is in our human nature to revert to fight or flight when we sense change is coming. 

In my past work, we spoke of how people don't fear change, people feel loss. There is so much truth to that statement, and in fact it tends to be why when we feel challenged by change we have to make "in the moment" decisions as to whether we will take a risk, take on the change and move towards fulfilling the vision or dream that we have for future,or revert back to what is safe and comfortable and status quo.

We know that in order to awaken a sustainable impact, we must first have vision, from that vision we must then focus on what our mindset is around that vision, and then we must decide if we are willing to fight through the fear of loss to gain the reward of the change, or take flight and run back to what is comfortable and status quo.

The saying, "With risk comes great reward" has been around for hundreds of years, however I don't believe that many people actually believe that. I believe if we were to look into the research around change agency we would find that it is actually a small number of people who lead lives that act on their belief of that statement, but yet we throw it around as if it's common understanding, belief and action.

My post yesterday mentioned the frustration that comes when we have made the decision to fight through the fear of loss that comes with change, and then reach the point where not a lot of change is actually happening. I spoke of the reality during this time in which we feel isolated in the work that we are doing, but yet we know it is only for a short time.  This to me is always the most critical period, because it is in the slow part, before things move fast, that we have time to consider giving up and returning to the comfort and familiar and safe places that we are used to.  It is in this time that we have to make a conscious choice to stay the course, to invest in building the stakeholders around us so that we are no longer alone, and be willing to sit through the discomfort of that process knowing that in the end we will have a sustainable team to navigate the implementation process from beginning to end.

So today, I made the decision to step out of my place of comfort, present a vision to new stakeholders and see what happens. With wonderful, yet courageous conversations our outcome was a new team, a more refined purpose, and a deeper vision for implementation.  At the end of the meeting a colleague said to me, "Kristin, yesterday I was ready to give up and look for another job.  Today, I am excited, and I have hope and I see future in this."  My response was simply, "Me too!...to all of it!"

See, anytime we have a vision, we have something that we want to risk and try and do, we must work through this process. Nothing comes without the bumps, and hurdles, and moments of feeling overwhelmed, and wanting to give up, but we must stop, take a moment to reflect and process how we will proceed, and if we choose to stay the course we must pick ourselves up, gather our courage, take risks, and celebrate every little win along the way knowing that we are now one step closer to the intended outcome. Not only are we closer, but hopefully we are closer with a team of partners in the process.


So I hope this post today encourages you. It's okay to fear change, to fear loss, but it's what we do with it that determines our course. If we allow the fear of loss to bring us back to what is comfortable then we lose out on the opportunities to run, not walk, but run into awakening impact in education, and across all areas of our lives. Don't let fear hold you back, take a step at a time, build partners in the process, and together build sustainable capacity around a new vision, innovation, and change!:)

What Science Says About People Who Read Fiction

I saw this link on facebook shared with my hero, Kylene Beers. Thought I'd pass it along, as it's quite interesting.

What Science Says About People Who Read Fiction

Balancing the Difficulties with the Dream

No dream becomes reality without walking through difficulties. In fact, I believe it is often times the scope of the difficulties that lie ahead that keep us from fulfilling our dreams. Often times, we don't realize that we have a dream for something until a situation, or a circumstance is handed to us and we look at it and think, "How will I ever bring this situation around...the scope is so big, and the journey to get there seems trecherous." Then it happens, you start to see the end, but the steps to take to get there may seem a bit blurry still.

 Everytime I am given a new assignment in a school, district, or larger work, I first look at the whole of the situation, at where it is, and where I think it can be.  Then I begin to lay out a plan of breaking the whole into pieces, where each piece is looked at, and analyzed, and I begin to take the broken pieces and develop a plan to implement sustainable change piece by piece building a sustainable wholistic picture building to the final outcome...the vision...the dream.  In education, as well as in many businesses, this is the process of implementation science. It is the Plan, Do, Study, Act cycle of continuous improvement.

Having gone through this cycle in many schools, with varying situations and level of needs, I see how important it is to walk through this slowly, thoughtfully, and alongside a team in an effort to build capacity and sustainability.  In my work in schools, it never ceases to amaze me how slow this initial process is, BUT I always have to remind myself to hold on tight, and hang in there, because along the way something happens. As these highly critical leadership teams sit together and lay out a vision for their work, coureagous conversations begin to happen, mindsets begin to change, and pathways to success begin to unfold in a very organic and meaningful way.  It is in those moments that I sit back and take in the capacity and creativity and voice, and meaningful engagement of a team that months ago never existed.  This is the team that ultimately does the work...they are the ones that birth the dream. 

So as I sit in a newly created position, with high stakes, lots of eyes watching to see what will  unfold, and as I feel overwhelmed by the balance of the difficulties and the dream, I am reminded that I only go this alone for a short time...not much longer...it's isolating now, but teams are being built, green lights to go are being given, plans are unfolding,supports are coming, and it's okay to take a step back from the wholistic picture, and just focus on the piece in front of me. I am in the early relationship stages...we are far from the honeymoon, but I can see it. The vision is there, the seeds are being planted, and I need to remind myself that this is often the most difficult part. It's the slow start to build to the faster pace.  I'm like a race horse often times. I just want the gate to open, and let me run already!, but that is not the best way...slowing down, letting the seed fall into the soil, taking the time to water it, and nuture it, and let it sink in and begin to take root is the way...the only way that the dream will come into reality.

So today I tell myself...it's okay. It's okay to not be the race horse today. It's okay to slow down, take it all in, process it, and let the seed just lay for a time while everything starts to come together. Deep breaths...this is the moment when I always want to just throw in the towel, but I know better. I know that it will come...in time, in the right way, with the right process of Plan, Do, Study, Act. it will come.  I want to fix it, and fix it now, but the team and the collaboration, and the thoughtful planning will in the end bring a more refined and successful outcome for all students.  This is not my work, this is our work...right now in my day to day it feels like mine, and it feels overwhelming,  but not for long...:) I loved Kari's post yesterday that spoke to meeting people where they are at, and taking them on the journey together, what a wonderful reminder of our role working as partners in education, not soloists...partners.

I guess that is the seed I plant in your mind today...when you feel isolated in your work, in your endevours, remember that it's always only for a time. It's a piece, it's not the whole. Don't give up on what you want to create because it seems overwhelming, or too difficult, or too lofty. Nothing is too lofty...it's our mindset that has to be in growth mode to make things happens. Isn't is Ghandi that said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." :)

Obstacles and Opportunities

Obstacles and opportunities...they face each and every one of us every day, in every area of our lives. They are the good, the bad and the beautiful. They are the risks, the rewards, the fear, the pain, the hope...I could go on and on. Obstsacles and opportunties are faced from two different perspectives. A person with a fixed mindset says, "I see an opportunity...to take a risk with the potential for great reward, to try something new, to invest in something that seems worth it, BUT....the obstacles are big...too big, too risky, too painful, and so it's not worth it. I will stay in status quo, where it is safe and sound, and predictable, and where there are no waves,and no rocking boats. Everyone is happy with me here...safe and sound, am I happy here? Maybe, maybe not, but it's not worth the risk."  A growth mindset says, "I see an opportunity...to take a risk with the potential for great reward, to try something new, to invest in something that seems worth it, AND I know there are obstacles that I will face, and will have to overcome. It may be risky, it may be painful in the process, BUT IT'S WORTH IT! If I don't try, I will never know.  I don't want to stay in the status quo.  It's safe and sound here, but is it where I will reach my greatest potential in this life? Everyone else may be happy with me here, but am I happy here? I see an opportunity, I know the risks, but the vision of the potential reward ahead is worth it...let's do it!

Obstacles and opportunities face us each and every day. They are the variables that swirl around us, that almost taunt us at times. The question becomes, "Will I fear the obstacles so much that I miss the opportunity, or will I see the obstacles as a way to grow, to become stronger, to try and fail knowing that the opportunity may propel my life in such a way that ultimately will lead me to be at my best in this life."

So when facing obstacles and opportunties in life, in the work place, in the situation that we are in outside of work,  we have to take a moment to reflect, "What is my mindset around this decision...am I approaching it with a growth minset, or a fixed? What impact will this mindset have on my life, and is my current mindset around this going to lead me to my best, and happiest, and most fulfilled place in my life?"

Now at this point you are saying, "Kristin, what in the world does this have to do with awakening impact in students?" That my friend is what I leave you to think about...;)

I will say however, that our mindset doesn't change from work to outside of work. Typically we are either of a growth or fixed in both areas. When we consider the impact that mindset has on potential for innovation, for creativity, for taking risks and trying trying new things in life, then it opens up the door for couragious conversations to be had, for seed ideas to be planted, and for change to take root...

We Can...

We can challenge the status quo in education. We can and should look at each situation and question if it is the right thing, at the right time, for the right purpose...the purpose of course being that of providing equitable education for ALL students.  So we can, and we should...but we don't. Rarely do we really challenge the status quo. We talk about it...oh can we talk about it. We can complain about the current situation, and we can condemn those in "charge" and start playing the blame game, but how often do we choose to sit down around a problem and collaborate around a solution, and not just a "quick fix"...because let's face it, we love those in education, but rather a solution to the problems that stem from accepting the status quo.

We can challenge it, we can think outside the box, we can be innovative, and passionate, and risky...yes, I said "risky".  Education in America is not currently working for ALL. It works for some, and only when all the variables are in place. If it was really working for all then we wouldn't be average to below average when normed against our global peers in terms of successful education systems. 

If we are really about preparing students to be successful global citizens prepared for a global work place, then we have to start to challenge the status quo educational systems in this county.  We have to stop complaining, and start collaborating around solutions. We have to set aside fears, and embrace promise, and hope, and we have to start to consider our mindset around what it really means to prepare students for a global workforce.  I challenge you today to take every complaint, and turn it into an opportunity to collaborate around a solution.

Don't be just words...be action! Actions always speak louder than words...always. The seeds of change are planted in words, but take root in action!

And if we REALLY wanted to change...

In thinking about TRULY IMPACTING LEARNING

In thinking about truly impacting education. I think it's about changing what school looks like---chaging it all up! 
Who ever thought that kids going to 7 different classes in a day---completely disconnected---was a smart way to learn What if we had less walls---no bells---students learning things that were connected--not only to each other, but also to the world they lie in? IMAGINE?!?!?!?
I truly believe if we want to tackle the achievement gap, and ensure learning for ALL, I mean really learning--this is the way to make it happen. I could go on and on forever about this, and I believe in my lifetime we may see this happening. This would be the beginning of real change.

I am in no way insinuating that teachers aren't doing enough. OH MY GOODNESS NO!! I think teachers are working harder than they ever have. It's about a system that doesn't necessarily fit kids any more. I welcome skepticism, I don't know if this is the answer, but my gut tells me we have GOT TO TRY!!

How do we Critique and Challenge Inequity

Dimensions of Equity

• Removing the predictability of academic success or failure based on social, economic, or cultural factors.
• Interrupting inequitable practices, eliminating biases and oppression and creating inclusive school environments for adults and children
• Discovering and cultivating the unique gifts, talents, and interests that each human being possesses within and across schools, districts and communities in partnership with one another (Osta and Perrow 2008 p 3-4)
• Resource---Every Day Anti Racism: does this practice lead to more educational opportunity or less educational opportunity? Why? What is our EVIDENCE?

Limits:

Whose voice is heard

Whose is silenced?

Whos is represented?

Who is missing?

Who stands to benefit?

Who stands to lose?

What assumptions fuel this

How does this inform our decisions and drive our work?

So now...

I posted yesterday in regards to the positive impact of a growth mindset within education. I would like to come back to that for a moment, and consider this. We each bring to our environments our individual background and experiences...our schema. Everything we have learned through exposure and experience since the day we were born. Every time we enter a situation we bring that schema with us, and therefore despite the best intentions and plans, situations will tend to take on a life of their own based on the schema of the people present at the time. With that being said, it is quite amazing that we have everything from large corporations, to small businesses, to educational and governmental systems and structures that run well at all.  We know the role history has played in much of that, and of course through experiences we have learned to create successful, global systems and structures that continue to grow and experience success. However, we can acknowledge that it takes strong leadership in any organization to conduct the orchestra of their enterprise.  A strong leader assesses a situation, gets to know the stakeholders, begins to understand their schema, and then uses each person in such a way that they are operating in their greatest area of strength to benefit the whole of the organization.  Once a leader has accomplished that, they may strategically begin to build teams around strengths to help strengthen their organization, and to help utilize the right people in the right area to create the greatest impact.


We do this in schools every day with the development of leadership teams, and PLC's (professional learning communities), and even a variety of task forces to problem solve, and committees and other various teams to lead implementation efforts. 

So now my wondering is, can we do a similar process in classrooms?  What if we build smaller versions of grade level, student led leadership teams, and classroom PLC's, and what if we began to chip away at the tight structures within education that lend themselves to a more direct instruction model, to begin to not just look at differentiation within instruction, but rather differentiation within a learning system within the classroom?

 I'm getting more excited as I process through this idea....what if we did this? What we really took the words of the Common Core, and the verbage of "creating students who are college and career ready", and actually began to create systems and structures within the classroom, and school that are small scale versions of a larger, more global work force?

What if even at a kindergarten age we began to teach our little ones how to take on the role of leader, of advocate for their learning, and as they get older we refine and strengthen their roles, and teach them about their strengths, teach them TO their strengths, and then give them opportunities to DEVELOP those strengths within varied leadership roles and opportunities throughout their education. What if we teach our students through the vehicle of building their leadership capacity?

What if we did this? What if we took a risk, took down the isolations, and silos within educational systems and structures and began to approach learning with a growth mindset...

So now I ask....why not? Why not try? Why not start with our students who have been labeled as "least likely to succeed"? What's the worst that can happen? The current system has already failed them, so what's to lose? No great change agent in history made change without taking a risk, without sounding foolish perhaps with outrageous ideas (and yes, I know you may be thinking that about me;) at this point in this post), but why not? Someone has to look at this with a fresh, and innovative perspective.  Innovation always comes with risk, and some failures, before reward.:)

Let's do this!! Don't ask me how as this started to unfold in my head in traffic today...I don't know exactly how yet, but I'm for sure going to find out!!:))) Now to find my action research willing participants.:)

As always...I welcome your thoughts, ideas, wonderings.:)

These Are All Our Children...

"Dear Parent: About THAT kid..." by Amy Murray

Dear Parent:

I know. You’re worried. Every day, your child comes home with a story about THAT kid. The one who is always hitting shoving pinching scratching maybe even biting other children. The one who always has to hold my hand in the hallway. The one who has a special spot at the carpet, and sometimes sits on a chair rather than the floor. The one who had to leave the block centre because blocks are not for throwing. The one who climbed over the playground fence right exactly as I was telling her to stop. The one who poured his neighbour’s milk onto the floor in a fit of anger. On purpose. While I was watching. And then, when I asked him to clean it up, emptied the ENTIRE paper towel dispenser. On purpose. While I was watching. The one who dropped the REAL ACTUAL F-word in gym class.

You’re worried that THAT child is detracting from your child’s learning experience. You’re worried that he takes up too much of my time and energy, and that your child won’t get his fair share. You’re worried that she is really going to hurt someone some day. You’re worried that “someone” might be your child. You’re worried that your child is going to start using aggression to get what she wants. You’re worried your child is going to fall behind academically because I might not notice that he is struggling to hold a pencil. I know.

Your child, this year, in this classroom, at this age, is not THAT child. Your child is not perfect, but she generally follows rules. He is able to share toys peaceably. She does not throw furniture. He raises his hand to speak. She works when it is time to work, and plays when it is time to play. He can be trusted to go straight to the bathroom and straight back again with no shenanigans. She thinks that the S-word is “stupid” and the C-word is “crap.” I know.

I know, and I am worried, too.

You see, I worry all the time. About ALL of them. I worry about your child’s pencil grip, and another child’s letter sounds, and that little tiny one’s shyness, and that other one’s chronically empty lunchbox. I worry that Gavin’s coat is not warm enough, and that Talitha’s dad yells at her for printing the letter B backwards. Most of my car rides and showers are consumed with the worrying.

But I know, you want to talk about THAT child. Because Talitha’s backward Bs are not going to give your child a black eye.

I want to talk about THAT child, too, but there are so many things I can’t tell you.

I can’t tell you that she was adopted from an orphanage at 18 months.

I can’t tell you that he is on an elimination diet for possible food allergies, and that he is therefore hungry ALL. THE. TIME.

I can’t tell you that her parents are in the middle of a horrendous divorce, and she has been staying with her grandma.

I can’t tell you that I’m starting to worry that grandma drinks…

I can’t tell you that his asthma medication makes him agitated.

I can’t tell you that her mom is a single parent, and so she (the child) is at school from the moment before-care opens, until the moment after-care closes, and then the drive between home and school takes 40 minutes, and so she (the child) is getting less sleep than most adults.

I can’t tell you that he has been a witness to domestic violence.

That’s okay, you say. You understand I can’t share personal or family information. You just want to know what I am DOING about That Child’s behaviour.

I would love to tell you. But I can’t.

I can’t tell you that she receives speech-language services, that an assessment showed a severe language delay, and that the therapist feels the aggression is linked to frustration about being unable to communicate.

I can’t tell you that I meet with his parents EVERY week, and that both of them usually cry at those meetings.

I can’t tell you that the child and I have a secret hand signal to tell me when she needs to sit by herself for a while.

I can’t tell you that he spends rest time curled in my lap because “it makes me feel better to hear your heart, Teacher.”

I can’t tell you that I have been meticulously tracking her aggressive incidents for 3 months, and that she has dropped from 5 incidents a day, to 5 incidents a week.

I can’t tell you that the school secretary has agreed that I can send him to the office to “help” when I can tell he needs a change of scenery.

I can’t tell you that I have stood up in a staff meeting and, with tears in my eyes, BEGGED my colleagues to keep an extra close eye on her, to be kind to her even when they are frustrated that she just punched someone AGAIN, and this time, RIGHT IN FRONT OF A TEACHER.

The thing is, there are SO MANY THINGS I can’t tell you about That Child. I can’t even tell you the good stuff.

I can’t tell you that his classroom job is to water the plants, and that he cried with heartbreak when one of the plants died over winter break.

I can’t tell you that she kisses her baby sister goodbye every morning, and whispers “You are my sunshine” before mom pushes the stroller away.

I can’t tell you that he knows more about thunderstorms than most meteorologists.

I can’t tell you that she often asks to help sharpen the pencils during playtime.

I can’t tell you that she strokes her best friend’s hair at rest time.

I can’t tell you that when a classmate is crying, he rushes over with his favourite stuffy from the story corner.

The thing is, dear parent, that I can only talk to you about YOUR child. So, what I can tell you is this:

If ever, at any point, YOUR child, or any of your children, becomes THAT child…

I will not share your personal family business with other parents in the classroom.

I will communicate with you frequently, clearly, and kindly.

I will make sure there are tissues nearby at all our meetings, and if you let me, I will hold your hand when you cry.

I will advocate for your child and family to receive the highest quality of specialist services, and I will cooperate with those professionals to the fullest possible extent.

I will make sure your child gets extra love and affection when she needs it most.

I will be a voice for your child in our school community.

I will, no matter what happens, continue to look for, and to find, the good, amazing, special, and wonderful things about your child.

I will remind him and YOU of those good amazing special wonderful things, over and over again.

And when another parent comes to me, with concerns about YOUR child…

I will tell them all of this, all over again.

With so much love;

Teacher

The must haves...

Motivation and Engagement...it is our basic human need in anything we approach to feel motivated to be an active participant in the process, to feel engaged throughout the process, and then to feel a sense of self-efficacy around accommplishing a task. As research states:

• Students who are motivated can succeed even in less-than-optimal environments; this is true for various racial / ethnic groups and both genders (NCREL, 2005).

• Studies show that 15-year-olds whose parents have the lowest occupational status but are highly engaged in reading, achieve better reading scores than students whose parents have high or medium occupational status but who are poorly engaged in reading (PISA Report, 2000).

To achieve this within our classrooms, educators must first have a growth mindset around what this research promotes.  As Carol Dweck states in her book MINDSET (refer to attached article):

Recent research has shown that students’ mind-sets have a

direct influence on their grades and that teaching students to have a growth mind-set raises their grades and achievement test scores significantly (Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007; Good, Aronson,& Inzlicht, 2003).

       
So the question then becomes, "How are Districts, Schools, and Classrooms promoting a growth mindest? How is a growth mindset an organic part of school climate and culture? How do we begin to take the words off the pages of the research and the texts around this issue, be willing to have the courageous conversations that it takes to address this, and then be willing to put a plan in place to make sure that every classroom is a place where the growth mindset is at the core of the learning environment?


It is incumbent on us to provide collaborative conversation around mindset within ALL educational settings, and then to be prepared to address issues around the conversation, as well as be prepared for a solutions-based outcome within the process.

What if...

What if we took a step back and in our analysis of educational systems from around the world, took on the stance of learner. What if, for a moment, we set aside our mindsets around education in America, and took on the stance of researcher, of learner, of active participant in knowing and understanding educational systems, practices, and learners from around the world. What if within that we began open, honest, and non-competitive dialogue around educational systems, structures and practices from around the globe that give credibility to Kari's ideas from yesterday around learning for ALL.  We have a habit in this country of using the word equity very loosely.  We tend to lump it into a jar of "politically correct" things to say, but do we act on those words? Do our actions in our educational settings represent equitable education for ALL students? My hope is that in this work, and through this blog that we are using to share our journey, we will open up a broader, more global conversation around this issue.  What does the application of equitable education for ALL students look like, sound like, feel like across the globe?  I am anxious for your thoughts, ideas, wonderings around this, as it is my intention to use a variety of global perspectives to address this issue within our work. I welcome your thoughts!:)

What Our Students Need

Here is the sad truth:  some students are being left behind. We are expecting all students to do the exact same assignment. We expect each student to read the same text. They are expected to show mastery all in the exact same way. We are forgetting to back up and look at what the standard is asking, and then determine how each student can show mastery of the standard being assessed. High School teachers, as expected, get concerned about the grade, and what that means for all students: fair being fair. 

When it comes to the lives of each and every one of our students, I believe it is time for us to stop trying to achieve FAIR, (Remember--Fair is not about everyone receiving the same---but rather everyone receiving what they NEED!)  and realize that if our students can demonstrate mastery, then they can move on to the next standard. Instead of getting F's in classes and losing motivation, they can continue on, feeling successful and could maybe be ACTUALLY LEARNING!  

Can we PLEASE stop referring to them as "those kids" or "your kids" (receiving some sort of service: SpEd or EL services). If these students are part of our school community---then they are ALL OUR KIDS! It's time for a dramatic shift. It's time to look at how we have been "doing school" for all these years, and it's time to ask: WHAT DO ALL OF OUR STUDENT'S NEED??

THIS is what drives us in our work!! We are ready for the challenge!

And So...

Discourse around student motivation, and engagement in learning, and its impact on student behavior has long been the dialogue, and research of educational professionals working to better understand the correlation of these components within learning. However, I wonder if it is not time to begin to address these same components as they pertain to teaching?  Is it not equally as important to ask ourselves as educators...."What is my mindset around student motivation, and engagement, and what is the greater impact that it has on behavior towards learning within my classroom, building, district?"  Although I find great value in the research around the interaction of these components with learners, I find equal value in addressing the mindset around these components with teaching...I do not see how the seed of one can grow without the rich soil of the other. These are the "white elephant" conversations that we often are too afraid to address in our teacher professional development, however they can no longer be ignored. I fear that our failure in addressing both sides of this issue further perpetuates a system that fails to "awaken impact" within students. It's worth noting again...a seed cannot grow to it's richest potential unless it is planted in rich soil. So, let's address what rich soil looks like, sounds like, feels like within education. What are we doing to create "rich soil" learning environments for ALL students. Does our motivation, and engagement around this promote a positive and impactful learning environment that promotes successful behavior, deepens self-efficacy, and enriches the mindset that "all students can succeed here...".

It Begins...

In education, they are the outliers...the ones that come from a place that few truly understand. They are not the "normal" student...whatever that is.  They are the ones that come from a place of challenge, of trauma, of fears, of hopelessness, of labels placed on them since the day they were born by ones that have not walked in their path, and lack understanding, compassion, and the mindset that these are the students that actually have the capacity to overcome obstacles that few can even understand or comprehend. They have the intellect, and the drive for that which they see as important, as relevant, as critical in the survival of their world, but do they have the hope that who they are can challenge the labels, the assumptions, the words that have attacked their being since the day they arrived...do they believe that their journey is one that has the potential to create the greatest impact that could in the end...change their lives.

They are the outliers...the ones with the greatest potential for impact...if we give them the opportunity to see themselves as such....not as trouble, not as the least likely to suceed, not as hopeless, but as change agents in their world...thus, it begins...