Archive
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Canadian Education Wire – As summer sizzles, so do ongoing secular schooling debates
Comments Off on Canadian Education Wire – As summer sizzles, so do ongoing secular schooling debates
Photo by: amrufm (flickr)Protesters oppose Muslim prayer in public schools – Toronto Star
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Raise High The Roof-Beam Carpenters
Comments Off on Raise High The Roof-Beam CarpentersThis blog entry was originally written in May 2011 and appeared over my own site, Teaching Out Loud. This week I sat down to write something on the same topic, having just heard an educational leader speak quite enthusiastically about capacity building. I realized that the thoughts expressed here still form the foundation of my thinking around this. I submit the same entry here, in its original form, for your comments and feedback and, hopefully, some further conversatio.
Of all of the terms and phrases that have worked their way into the school change discourse (and there are many) over the past couple of decades , the one that I find the most curious is capacity building.
It seems that whenever a new initiative or program has been introduced into our schools over the past 20 years, the key to effective implementation is most often identified as capacity building.
“We have to engage in some capacity-building around this”.
This is code for “We really aren’t ready to do this.”
Writing teams are usually formed, release days are organized and Power Point™ presentations are designed and distributed throughout the system. It then becomes expected that the change has become part of our culture. In a very real sense, capacity building is seen as a training challenge!
Yet, despite all of these efforts at capacity-building, I haven’t noticed a whole lot of substantial change. Have you?
I would like to suggest that the lack of change has nothing to do with the individual initiatives being proposed. In fact, there is likely a good deal of untapped potential in many of them.
Instead, I’m thinking that the reason very few of them actually take root has to do with the fact that capacity building in today’s schools is actually a misguided idea. The term sounds sexy enough but in its current form it is, at best, unfeasible and, at worst, simply not possible!
Capacity refers to the ability to receive or contain something. Most often, the term is used when describing how roomy something is. We talk about the maximum capacity of a concert hall or stadium, the capacity of a box or other container and, though no longer an accurate metaphor for learning, the capacity of the mind to grasp something. In essence, capacity has to do with the amount of space available to hold something.
As my father-in-law likes to say, there’s the rub!
The reality is that our current model of thinking about schools is full. It has already reached its maximum capacity. There is no more room at the inn!
It’s not physical capacity that I’m talking about. Our own district is currently in the process of closing and selling off several of its schools. The school in which I teach has three empty classrooms. We have extra keyboards in our music lab.
It’s not the temporal capacity that is the limiting factor. Increasing capacity is not about extending school hours or increasing the number of instructional days. It’s not about eliminating recess, morning announcements or shortening lunch hours.
And it’s not the capacity of the individuals who come to work in our schools every day. At all levels of the system, we have access to creative, innovative and enthusiastic educators who are committed to transforming our schools in powerful and exciting ways.
The place where we have reached capacity is in our vision of what school needs to be about. We have been convinced that the only way to do school is the way that we’ve been doing it for the past century and a half.
Schools are built on the assumption that our age-based, grade specific set of curriculum expectations are the only way to fly.
Schools are built on the assumption that a one grade/one teacher management system is the most effective.
School are built on the assumption that if it doesn’t happen between 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., it’s not really school.
School are built on the assumption that the teacher assigned to each classroom is the most valuable learning resource present.
School are built on the assumption that students can effectively learn about the world by being removed from it for most of their formative years.
Schools are built on the assumption that the best way to evaluate the effectiveness of the work that we do is through a series of written tests.
Schools are built on the assumption that the best way to report on the progress of students in our care is through a series of written reports.
Schools are built on the assumption that good use of new technology measn using it to do old things.
These are just some of the things that prevent us from making headway on most new initiatives.
When educational decision-makers speak of capacity building, they are most often referring to the amount of training necessary to introduce a new program or initiative. In order for real change and transformation to take place, however, we need to think of capacity building in terms of altering some of the fundamental assumptions that we make about this place we call school.
I’m all for talking about capacity building, but let’s make sure that we’re focusing our efforts in the right place. Let’s begin to make room in our vision of schools so that it can finally hold all of the potential that 21st education holds.
With deference to J. D. Salinger: Raise high the roof beam carpenters…we’re going to fill this school with life!
Are there other assumptions about school that stand in the way of transformation? Is capacity building an accurate description of the work that needs to be done to improve schools for all?
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Canadian EdWire – All’s Not So Quiet on the Education Front
Comments Off on Canadian EdWire – All’s Not So Quiet on the Education FrontSpecial-needs integration guidelines unveiled by Quebec education minister – Montreal Gazette
Regular classrooms with adaptations and support are preferredBoard runs afoul of Education Act with prayer services – Toronto Star
Keeping Juniper school open shows fairness, says education minister – Fredericton Daily Gleaner
Teachers dispute nears end – Saskatoon Star Phoenix
Mediator suggests extra pay bumpStrike vote gets massive support from B.C. teachers – Cranbrook Townsman
Do you really need to tutor your 3-year-old for kindergarten? – Toronto Star
INTERNATIONAL
Atlanta teachers, principals caught fixing students’ mistakes in massive cheating scandal – Toronto Star
Indonesian schools – More cheating, or else! Scandals in the classroom – The Economist
What news am I missing? Can you recommend some education blogs for me to follow? Please tweet me at @max_cooke, e-mail me at mcooke@cea-ace.ca or better yet, use the comment box below to suggest additional articles happening in your region so that others can check it out.EDUCATION BLOG HIGHLIGHTS
This is not optional anymore… – The Principal of Change (George Couros)
Spending the last four days at a national leadership conference (CASA 11) in Niagara Falls on 21st Century Learning and Innovation (which had no Twitter hashtag until a few of us got together to start one), and then spending the week prior at ISTE, the conversation about technology in schools is a major theme. Although technology is dominant in the conversations, I keep hearing the following phrase:
“You can be an effective teacher without technology.”
The above statement is increasingly frustrating as it seems to give people an out from using technology in the classroom. There are so many skills that our students need in today’s world as the ability to collaborate, create, communicate, and apply all of these in their environment…
I blame you Twitter – Culture of Yes (Chris Kennedy)
Twitter, or more specifically those who I connect with using it, has influenced my thinking and work in a number of ways. Although, from time to time, I do hear “Twitter is a waste of time,” my experience has been that if it is a waste of time you are following the wrong people. While it is not the greatest tool for a discussion, or the best place to share deep, thoughtful commentary, it is a wonderful place to connect. Here are the three ways it has influenced me as I look ahead to the next couple months…Nurturing a Learner’s Sense of Wonder – User Generated Education
I started my work in education as an outdoor educator. I took elementary-aged kids on environmental education adventures and at-risk youth on extended wilderness trips. When taking the at-risk students on backpacking trips in Maine, some of my favorite moments came when we came over a knoll to an outlook that appeared to have a view of the whole state of Maine. Due to numerous trips to this location, I knew what was coming after our long day hiking through the dense woods. The kids did not. I would rush ahead so I could see their faces as they approached this magnificent view. It never failed. I watched their faces turn from the look related to the strenuous climb to that of pure joy and amazement at the view. These “too-cool” teens’ lit-up faces and cries of “wow’ reminded me of the same reactions I saw in the younger kids as they explored the nature world during our hikes… -
Starting Points in Education
Comments Off on Starting Points in EducationIf you’re find yourself needing some reassurance about the future of public education in this country, I would suggest spending time in a faculty of education. My prediction is that you won’t have to hang out long before you are able to breathe a sigh of relief that our children and our education systems are in good hands.
I’m not saying that the structure of teacher education is perfect. I believe that there are many things about teacher preparation that can and should be examined: course offerings, overall program design, length of initial preparation and even that strange relationship that exists between field-based practice and university-centered research and knowledge. There is a good deal of room for discussion in all of these areas. There are important conversations to have around these and other aspects of the way that we get candidates ready for a career in the profession.
These structural and infrastructural issues aside, there is something about the candidates, themselves, that give me a sense of hope and confidence in the future of our schools.
When I first entered the Faculty of Education at the University of Toronto back in 1983, I really didn’t have a sense of what I was getting into. If someone had asked about my teaching philosophy (I’m sure that I had to include something about that in my original application) I would likely have said something about helping kids learn, and how education was an important part of living a full and satisfying life. But that would have been the extent of it!
But in the early 80’s, there were still plenty of jobs to be had. In fact, in areas of suburban growth, some school boards were hiring upwards of 500 teachers every year. I know that growth wasn’t the same in every region of the country, but if you wanted to teach full-time in Canada, there were jobs to be had. Today, however, job prospects across the country are less than bright and many young graduates choose to leave Canada to get experience and a regular paycheck.
And employment isn’t the only challenge for new graduates. On the other end of the process, Canadian universities are, themselves, very selective about who actually gets into their programs. Academic success and experience in teaching and learning contexts are still important keys to admission. Add to that the fact that questions about teacher quality and school effectiveness have become favourite talking points for both politicians and talk show hosts. Finally, schools themselves are under great pressure to use a rather limited rubric of success to demonstrate year-over-year progress.
Yet despite these institutional and social gatekeepers (or, perhaps, because of them?), Canadians of various ages and experience profiles are still coming to the profession. And they are coming with a sense of resilience, perspective and a sense of what it means to be a teacher. It has taken years for me to develop some of these same habits of mind.
But don’t take my word for it. Listen for yourself. In the final episode of this season’s Teaching Out Loud podcast series, you’ll meet three teacher education students from across the country. Monica Batac, Holly Thiel, and Michelle Horst speak confidently and articulately about their hopes, dreams and sources of inspiration as they prepare to enter full-time practice and take on the challenges of teaching in the 21st century. Their voices, I believe, are representative of those across Canada who are poised to play an active role in the transformation of schooling and education. You’ll hear confidence, but you’ll also hear a sense of vulnerability. You’ll hear hope, but you’ll also hear an awareness and appreciation of the challenges that face today’s teachers and students. You’ll recognize some of their local context, but you’ll also hear the heart they have for diversity and global literacy.
I think that you’ll agree that these are the voices that we need as we move deeper into new conversations about teaching, learning and this place we call school. I think that you’ll agree that with voices like these, the future is bright!
Have a listen. There’s always lots to talk about when you’re Teaching Out Loud!
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Are You Twittering?
Comments Off on Are You Twittering?I am new to Twitter. I’m also new to motherhood. The Twitter thing developed as a result of me sitting down and feeding my baby multiple times a day. Now when I breastfeed (purists my gasp in disapproval) I alternate between looking lovingly at my baby and curiously at my computer screen.
I’m writing to all you educators who haven’t yet tweeted. Reluctance held me back for a long time and I don’t want you to miss out on what I had been missing out on simply because you are plagued by the same misconceptions I was before I became a Tweeter. Allow me to clarify:
- Other than my Masters degree, Twitter might be the best pro-d I have ever had. When you use Tweetdeck or something similar like Hootsuite (which I have not yet checked out) you can get tweets from anyone as long as they are discussing something that interests you (more on Tweetdeck below). This feature means that you can glean morsels of wisdom from anyone in the world who cares to share their thinking with the Twitter world. And the great thing is that A LOT of smart people tweet their smart thoughts on a regular basis. People tweet links to studies, articles, ideas, blogs posts, lesson plans, slideshows, and how-to plans.
- If it weren’t for Twitter I wouldn’t know about flipped classrooms, Alfie Kohn’s “Beyond Discipline”, an education technology conference that took place and which I was then able to attend remotely, ideas for infographics lessons, LiveBinder, a Cleaner YouTube, and digital portfolio possibilities.
- Twitter discussions get deep. On any given night you can bet that people are getting together at an arranged time to Tweet on a certain topic. Within my first week of using Twitter, I participated in a Twitter chat with British Columbia’s Minister of Education George Abbott and joined a weekly professional book club chat. I held some skepticism about just how much I could get out of a conversation that flows like a river in 140 character length bursts, but it proved to be an enlightening experience. The character limit forces people to be concise – a welcome difference from many face-to-face discussions where participants sometimes communicate their passion with verbosity.
- If I ask a question, I get a lot of answers – almost immediately. The Education Twitter community is generous with its thinking and knowledge. I’ve also found it one of the least judgmental places to seek out understanding. People of all levels and experience are online so the adage holds firm: no question is a stupid question.
- I don’t have to be chained to my computer to find value in Twitter. Some teachers believe, as I did, that I’d have to spend too much time online, staring at a computer screen and forsaking my “real” life in order to participate. Not true. I can log in to Tweetdeck for five minutes and learn something of interest and value that provokes my thinking.
If anything I’ve mentioned above sounds even remotely intriguing to you, get on Twitter and find out for yourself. And if you have any questions, Tweet me at @bmooreintheloop. I’d love to hear from you.
PS: Tweetdeck is like an organizer for tweets. It organizes people’s tweets in columns. You can have all tweets on a certain topic come in one column and all tweets on another topic come under another column. For example, I have a column that gets all tweets about education and another column that gets all tweets about teaching English. Topics are organized around hashtags. The hashtag for the education tweets is #edchat and the hashtag for the English tweets is #engchat. See? If someone I am not “following” adds one of those hashtags to their message, I’ll get it in its column. Tweetdeck has made Twitter’s process make sense to me.
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The Education Reform Movement (Part 2)
Comments Off on The Education Reform Movement (Part 2)It will be a tough slog achieving even a modest measure of my proposal in earlier blogs, i.e. diploma credit for community activity at the senior high school level. It might have been easier 20, 30 or more years ago when, for a brief time, there was popular support for social, political and judicial reform – e.g. the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982; peacekeeping when and where needed; The International Criminal Court, 1990s; co-operative and alternative education experiments everywhere; apprenticeships of various kinds.
That is to say, the lead-up to the present (2011) has been marked by an explosive growth in the economics of size buttressed by conservatism in politics. Bigger is better in both public and private enterprises. The larger the organization the greater the need for bureaucratic efficiency, employee conformity, firewalls against legal liability. In the outcome, lawyers are just as important as specialized staff in the health and welfare of successful organizations, even hospitals, retirement and nursing homes.
Ask any large entity to accept a half dozen high school students for a couple of months to help them learn about the everyday workings of the enterprise or agency, the answer will almost certainly be befuddlement and bewilderment. To whose office should the request be addressed? How will accountability and responsibility be assured? How will the organization be protected from legal liability? Will the receiving person or persons or officials have to endure a police check of the sexual offender registry? How can the privacy rights of members of the organization be protected? How can an assignment deemed by the assigned student to be a failure avoid unfair blowback on the organization?
These serious questions and others point to complications that would scare any school board away from community engagement for their students. School trustees, too, have lawyers whispering in their ears. These men and women in public positions, more than most, are comfortable with the emerging police state about which many observers keep warning us.
There is a ray of hope in this picture of timidity and uncertainty in the ranks of those in charge. I am referring to the increasingly serious talk about reducing the voting age from 18 to 16. It is an overdue change for these reasons and more: earlier maturation of young persons coupled with encouraging signs of social responsibility. Digital communication has accelerated these trends. These positive signs emphasize the need to get our 16-18 year olds into the community so that they may learn first-hand about the world of work, about economic productivity and social planning, about health care facilities and practice, about the global economy, about membership in the caring community and , outstandingly, about their own personal career planning. It remains for the political parties to take the initiative by broadening the electorate in step with the social evolution of the young and the parallel growth of the aged segment.
In that social context, the health of our democracy is the real issue and the engagement of our youth is part of the solution.
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School’s Out For The Summer. What A Silly Thing To Do!
Comments Off on School’s Out For The Summer. What A Silly Thing To Do!Finally, summer has arrived. School’s out and we can all frolic for 9 long weeks, by which time the euphoria of the moment will have faded and everyone will be quite excited to get back to school. In the meantime students will forget a great deal and the productive habits and behaviours honed over the school year will have faded so that September will be devoted to getting back into the flow. With what is often a drift through June, that makes for 17 weeks of lost learning, or one-third of the school year.
In addition to the lost opportunity for all students, research shows that over the summer the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students grows so that increased inequity must be added to the negative side of the ledger.
And why do we do this? Simply because its a habit. If there ever was a good reason, it is long forgotten and now irrelevant. So, why not change it?
How about shaving three weeks off the summer, which still leaves a healthy six weeks for foreign travel and lazy days at the cottage for those who can afford it, and adding this time onto mid-year breaks, perhaps one week to the winter break and two weeks to the spring break? This would allow for three semesters, with three-week breaks after the fall and winter semesters, and six weeks after the spring semester.
Evening out the year would enable more continuous learning, alleviate the downside of an excessively long summer and provide mid-year breaks that are actually long enough to be restorative. The extended spring holiday in particular would undoubtedly benefit both students and teachers by breaking up the exhausting run from January to June. Perhaps that and the slightly shortened summer would also reduce the inclination to coast through June and add productive learning time without extending the school year.
Of course one could also divide up the year with three four-week breaks but the 3-3-6 pattern is less dramatic in its impact on all the established patterns of behaviour in families and communities.
I am hard pressed to think of a logical reason that this would not be a better approach than what we do now. It seems to be only inertia and lack of political will that stands in the way of a simple change that would be better for everyone.
What do you think?
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Honesty in the classroom
Comments Off on Honesty in the classroom(Note: Yesterday Stephen Hurley invited us to share the professional reading we enjoy or are looking to do over the summer. I’m currently in a book club on Twitter (#kohnbc, Thursdays at 8pm pst). We’re reading Beyond Discipline by Alfie Kohn. My post today comes from that reading.)
In his book Beyond Discipline, Alfie Kohn states that people tell lies when “they don’t feel safe enough to tell the truth” (p. 16, 2006). This idea suggests that even “good” learners (and people in general) will lie – and the environment we create in our classrooms will encourage or discourage honesty.
It reminds me of something a veteran teacher told me when I was in my first year: “As the teacher, you bring the weather into the classroom.”
When I was in Grade 3 my teacher had this rule about signing out balls for recess: if we did not return with the ball we would suffer serious, ominous and vague punishment. Most of us were so scared of this possibility that we always returned with the ball safely clenched tight to our little bodies.
One day I let some grade 5s use the ball I had signed out. When the bell rang I ran back to class – without the ball. My teacher stood at the threshold and wouldn’t let me pass until I told her what happened to the ball. I remember being scared to tell her the truth. So I lied. I looked up at her looming over me and told her that some older kids had taken the ball.
Five minutes later she was trooping me through the Grade 5 classrooms, demanding that I identify the miscreants. Those Grade 5s looked big and scary too, so I kept up the lie insisting that I couldn’t remember what the older kids had looked like.
Unsurprisingly, she discovered that I had, in fact, lent the ball to the older kids and was not a victim of theft. Once again she greeted me at the threshold of our classroom, this time at the post-lunch break bell. She looked down at me from great height and in tight clips told me how foolish I had made her look, how bad I was for being a liar, and how ashamed I should feel.
I still feel shame at the memory, the burning of my face as I crumbled into my seat after the lecture.
All this causes me to reflect: how can I ensure the learners in my classes feel safe? How have I treated dishonesty in the past? How might I encourage more honesty in the future?
This concept applies to behaviors, but it also works for plagiarism: if students felt safe to take risks with their work, wouldn’t they be less likely to cheat at their learning?
Please, share your thoughts!
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Summer Reading
Comments Off on Summer ReadingAs the wheels of the education system begin to slow down a little over the next couple of months, its time for many to take a breath and catch up on some summer relaxation. From sea to sea to sea, schools are closing their doors and thoughts of a little rest and relaxation are beginning to fill the minds of many.
For me, the next several weeks are, among other things, a time to catch up on some of the personal and professional reading that I never quite got to during the school year.
So, my question to you: What are your summer reading recommendations? Is there a book related to your work in education that you hold in high regard? Is there a piece of fiction that has spoken to you over the past year—one that you think should be on everyone’s bookshelf? Is there an article, website or blog that has inspired you and that you feel might inspire others?
I’ll share a few of my recommendations with you in the days and weeks to come, but I first throw the question to you. As the summer begins to work its magic on the Canadian psyche, what holiday reading are you packing in your suitcase?
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The Education Reform Movement
Comments Off on The Education Reform MovementIn the aftermath of the defeat of the Canucks in the seventh game of the Stanley Cup on June 15, 2011, there was a serious riot in downtown Vancouver. The orgy of destruction points to the stunted sense of social responsibility within the ranks of youth in that city. Without any attempt at analyzing the multitude of factors at work through that long night (impersonal atmosphere of the big city, adolescent boredom, alcohol, youth unemployment, fringe radicalism), let me add to the list: the negative effect of the school cocoon.
My earlier blogs have argued the merits of community involvement as an integral part of secondary school education. In blog seven, I went so far as to offer details of implementation, — risky business. Sam Slick, the fictional clockmaker of 19th century Nova Scotia, once said “If you think you’ve got a man convinced, stop ! Your reasonin’ and details will ruin you!”. So true! Ignoring Slick’s advice, let me press on with the argument.
First, a couple of news stories. A Vancouver journalist, Gary Mason, wrote for The Globe and Mail (June 18, 2011) about the riot under the title “Hidden faces, painful truths”. Mason presented evidence that it was mainly the sons and daughters of middle class folks who trashed the streets of Vancouver. He wrote “… time and again in North America, violent behaviour at festivals and sporting events tended to be more accurately identified as middle class blowouts than rational political protests.” Where was the social responsibility of those otherwise nice kids? A couple of days later the same newspaper began a series focused on youth unemployment in Canada . (It’s twice as high as adult unemployment). The opening shot of the series was under a heading that might have been the title of this series of blogs : “Give youths access to the working world”.
The newspaper has taken up the notion of mentoring whereby all students registered in professional programs leading to a degree or a diploma would, as a requirement for graduation, serve a certain number of hours or days being mentored by a person in their chosen field. That was within the broad scope of my recommendation in earlier blogs but there are two significant differences : the Globe recommendation would be implemented in post-secondary schools whereas mine would begin during the last two years of high school. Just as important, the Globe series is predicated on ways and means of reducing youth unemployment where mine is anchored to the idea of citizenship education.
It is not clear to me how mentoring all students in professional programs will do much to change their prospects for long-term employment in an economy needing fewer employees. But it is perfectly clear to me how a substantial community experience while attending school can make better citizens. By better citizens, I am not talking about Boy Scoutism, but more simply about a youth segment (16-25) displaying hallmarks of maturity : sympathetic understanding of the adult demographic, personal connections with the world of work and public service, appreciation of conventional modes of communication, respect for the traditions of past generations and not least, sensitivity to the need for social and political change. In summary, becoming a good citizen is not a quantifiable process so much as evidence of everyday progress towards a state of mind labelled adulthood.
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The “Canadian Way” in a Chinese School
Comments Off on The “Canadian Way” in a Chinese SchoolRecently I spent 10 days in China, mostly in Shenzhen for a conference but also two days in Xi’an, the ancient capital and home of the terracotta warriors, for my own touristy pleasure. I was invited to China because my previous school district established a partnership with a school in Shenzhen during my tenure that involves placing teachers there and the Chinese students, staff and parents visiting Richmond for one month annually. The Shenzhen authorities consider it to be the most successful international class in the city of 20 million, which is China’s richest and home to 20% of its PhD’s.
The teachers in the program change each year and generally they are very young, sometimes straight out of University, and yet their students always do exceptionally well. In fact, they get the top results in the school, and often the city, in the annual city exams, not only in English but also in every other subject, including Math and Chinese. This is not because they are a select group – in fact they are quite typical of the school – so what might explain this astounding success (even in subjects that the Canadian teachers do not teach)?
My opinion, which is based on discussion with the teachers and students over the years, is that the source of the success lies in a way of thinking about learning and about the role of a teacher that is common to teachers in the Richmond School District, and I presume others, rather than the attributes of any particular teacher or the specifics of their personal pedagogy. In my remarks – which have to make sense across language and cultural differences, and are therefore boiled down to essentials – I suggested it was because all of the teachers we have sent believe that:
- the classroom should be a safe, supportive community
- children should frequently work together in small groups; there should be lots of conversation; and teachers should work with the students in their groups;
- mistakes should be welcomed as opportunities to learn; and children should be encouraged to ask for help from the teacher and also to help each other;
- students should respect the teacher and the teacher must also respect the students; because respect is a basic value, there is less need for large numbers of rules and self-discipline should be the focus; and
- homework should be limited so students have time for exercise and other activities and are able to get lots of sleep so they are ready to actively engage in learning in school the next day.
These familiar beliefs are, in fact, quite radical in the Chinese context. Other North American educators at the conference who had just completed a fairly extensive tour of China commented to me that in most schools they say a relatively rote form of learning but that in Shenzhen they saw much more active and engaged classrooms – but even here these ideas are generally seen as innovative.
Initially, students, parents and other staff were very nervous and doubtful about the efficacy of a student-centered approach, but over the years understanding has grown and many of the staff have begun to incorporate elements of the “Canadian practice” into their own pedagogy in ways that make sense to them. Such observation, reflection and adaptation is the the only way for educational ideas to cross borders – direct importation doesn’t work and, in any event, the local teachers have lots to add to them.
The notion of group work is perhaps the one that has been most widely adapted and which the native teachers of Math and Chinese feel has been responsible for the increase in exam results. The idea that homework should be limited, on the other hand, is still treated skeptically!
What is most common between the Chinese and Canadian contexts is the passionate concern that parents and teacher share for the children and youth in their care. All the surface features of local behaviour and educational practice pale in the face of this universal, which provides a solid foundation for our communication and mutual learning.
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Writing his way forward
Comments Off on Writing his way forwardAmin approached me after school and informed me that he would not be doing the assignment.
“Thank you, Ms Moore, but that is not for me.”
“I’m sorry?” I stuttered, taken aback. I did not know quite what to say. He did not seem upset or nervous – he was, quite simply, informing me that the main assignment for the next four weeks would not work for him.
“You said a memoir is about telling the story of my life, about reflecting on the past and stuff.”
“Yes…”
“Well, I’m not interested in the past. It’s over. I look only to the future.”
I paused for a second to consider my options. He stared at me, with calm assertiveness and the shadow of a smile. Amin was new to our school – straight from Iran. I did not know about his past, but I suspected he had lived through some difficult times; he had a maturity and sadness to him that went further than that of most seventeen year olds I teach.
I’m all for allowing students to show their learning in different ways. In this Creative Writing class students often had the freedom of choice. However, the whole point of the memoir unit was to be honest and brave in our writing – to take risks – and to come to understand that one person’s truth may not be everyone’s truth. At this point in their lives, months away from graduation, I felt students would benefit from reflecting on how they came to be who they are.
So I looked at Amin and said, “The past may not be as over as you think. I understand that you’d prefer to look to the future and forget the past, but memoirs are worth doing for that reason alone. They can be difficult and scary and demanding. Sometimes, that’s what writing is. I will be here to help you with all that, and you will do the memoir.”
Amin’s face went dark and he left my classroom.
For the next couple of weeks, I guided my students through a series of exercises and writing activities to help them mine their pasts for story. We looked at events and memories from various perspectives. They wrote from the heart. They wrote their truths. During this time Amin often sat at the back of the room, away from the group. He rarely looked at me. In fact, he rarely looked up from his page. Whenever I checked in with him he’d reply with a curt “I’m fine.”
On the day of reckoning I woke up with a knot in my stomach. It was the day Amin would hand in his memoir, or what I hoped would be his memoir. Throughout the unit he had refused to hand in any drafts or show me any of his writing. I hoped I wouldn’t have to deal with outright defiance of the assignment.
Amid the general chatter of the class as students got settled and read to one another from their finished memoirs, Amin sat silently at the back of the room and stared out the window. My uneasiness grew. He continued to sit that way while students shared two-minute excerpts of their memoirs. Then, ten minutes before the bell, Amin stood up and walked to the front of the room. In general, I suspect the rest of the students often feel intimidated by Amin. He is physically more mature than most high school boys. His facial hair came in thicker and faster, his build is that of a grown man, and his brooding dark eyes make him seem unapproachable.
As he took his place behind the podium everyone fell silent. Amin began reading. When the bell rang to dismiss everyone for the day no one moved because Amin had not finished reading. He read his entire memoir and at the end we were all changed. Not because his piece was horrific, or because the story of his life in Iran shocked us, but because of his fierce bravery in facing his past, in telling his truth.
In my writing class we do not praise others’ work. Sometimes we are simply witnesses to it (a technique I learned from Pat Schneider). Without prompting my students offered their witness to Amin.
“I remember how you opened with a description of the sky.”
“I remember that line about your sister’s clothes.”
“I remember how small you were.”
“I remember the red of that door.” And so on.
After everyone had left, Amin handed me his memoir and walked out of the room, moving forward with what I imagined to be a little more swagger than before.
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How to set up community-based education?
Comments Off on How to set up community-based education?Exactly how would one go about setting up community-based education? Alas, there is no exact answer. A single high school with authorization to run an experiment on a conditional basis would proceed very differently from a whole school system with the green light after public debate and a full airing of the pros and cons. Let us assume that we’re talking about the latter. The political debate is over, the administrative leadership has been set up and a set of community bodies and organizations, public and private, have signified their willingness to participate.
Here are some features of such a plan in operation:
STEP ONE – Students in third or fourth year high school may participate with parental permission. The approved students, without regard to their academic standing, will select a community posting from an approved list. Each posting will be for a minimum of two weeks and may be repeated. The maximum posting in any year will be the equivalent of 20% of the total regular class hours. A limit of two credits towards a diploma may be earned through community placements.
STEP TWO – The receiving persons or organization will ensure that an assigned student receives daily opportunities to learn through managed participation in the activity originally identified. For example, a student assigned to an auto repair shop, will be able to assist in actual auto repair and become familiar with the shop as a whole. One assigned to a department store will be involved in merchandising decisions, display, and maintenance work on the floor. A student in a chemical lab will be able to see the practical relationship between the lab’s function and finished products or services in the market. A student with a construction company will learn about the tools of the trade and have some practice in actually using the tools. One assigned to a seniors’ home will meet on a regular basis with an inmate or more for socialization. In other cases, teams of students will engage in modified apprenticeship roles in house building projects. An assignment will be deemed a failure, but not the student, where the student is merely left on the sidelines.
STEP THREE – A pivotal role will be played by the school team. They will keep records on each assignment including assessment of outcomes. The school team will be in pursuit of pre-determined objectives as agreed in the original approval process. School team members will familiarize themselves with placement opportunities without interfering in the working details of the placement.
STEP FOUR – Each student on community placement will keep a file about the experience including descriptive material supplied by the community agency, essays about the experience, pictures and sketches. The file (excepting private material) will be part of the assessment process managed by the school team. There will be one of two grades assigned after a community placement: Successful or Unsuccessful. Comments from the community agency may be included in the student’s report card.
Anyone reading this brief sketch will be tempted to say: “Why bother?” Why, indeed. The answer lies in the near certainty that teenagers with a good dollop of community experience under their belts will have acquired a sense of social responsibility needed for citizenship in a democracy. More to come!
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Canadian Education Wire – Effects of Ministerial Belt Tightening Felt by Current and Would-be Teachers
Comments Off on Canadian Education Wire – Effects of Ministerial Belt Tightening Felt by Current and Would-be TeachersTwo-thirds of new teachers can’t find full time work – Macleans
Teaching grads face slim prospects in crowded job market – Vancouver Sun
Man considers abandoning dream of teaching – Fredericton Daily Gleaner
Hundreds of teachers lost to budget cuts – Edmonton Journal
Nunavut education department seeks $18M boost – Nunatsiaq News
Group says it might sue over education cuts – Fredericton Daily Gleaner
What news am I missing? Can you recommend some education blogs for me to follow? Please tweet me at @max_cooke, e-mail me at mcooke@cea-ace.ca or better yet, use the comment box below to suggest additional articles happening in your region so that others can check it out.
OTHER EDUCATION NEWS
Does year-round schooling make the grade? – Globe and Mail
Give students shorter summer holidays – Globe and Mail editorial
Ottawa to support Inuit-English schooling – Canadian Press
Iqaluit’s French-language school spreads its wings – Nunatsiaq News
Many teens tap web for sex education: study – Canadian Press
Choice of school sets stage for kids – Saskatoon Star Phoenix
Full-day, all-day kindergarten a growing consideration for parents of young childrenNew agreement reached for special needs students – Montreal Gazette
Slave Lake grads scattered in aftermath of fire – Edmonton Journal
Grade 10 literacy scores at lowest in four years – Ottawa Citizen
Why teaching your kids to write (not just type) is important – Globe and Mail
EQ over IQ: How play-based learning can lead to more successful kids – Globe and Mail
Betrayed? Halton parents fume over high school proposal – Toronto Star
EDUCATION BLOG HIGHLIGHTS
For you or for me? – The Principal of Change (George Couros)
…But if both models work (Google and Microsoft – sic), why would we change our schools from the traditional model (Microsoft) to the more comfortable, yet still innovative (Google) model? There is often this feeling that “work” has become a dirty word to many of our students, but it also seems that to many work is not something that makes you happy. Why can’t you have both? Why can’t we do amazing and innovative things, that are hard work, and enjoy it? Sounds like flow to me. When people are engaged and enjoy what they are doing, doesn’t the work and their own sense of value and purpose increase? This doesn’t only make what we do better, but it makes why we do it more important.The Power of “THE NETWORK” – Culture of Yes (Chris Kennedy)
We spend a lot of time talking about how our network influences our professional lives and how technology often assists in that networking. But, when B.C. educators talk about “THE NETWORK” it means something quite different.For more than a decade, the Network of Performance Based Schools – school-based teams with an administrator and teachers – have focussed on B.C. Performance Standards with some of the deepest, most powerful professional learning in our province.
Instrumental to this professional learning, Judy Halbert and Linda Kaser have brought a network of teachers and administrators together in ongoing conversations about improving education opportunities for all students.
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From The Editor: On the Campaign Trail
Comments Off on From The Editor: On the Campaign TrailAs I write these words, we are just days away from a federal election. By the time you read them, the election and its rhetoric will have faded into the contours of a Canadian summer. I don’t want to spoil your day at the lake, but as the last week of this campaign unfolds before me, I can’t resist sharing these thoughts.
As educators, we stress the importance of backing up arguments with facts. It’s not enough to claim something; you have to support it. That’s pretty basic, but it’s a lesson that has obviously slipped by our politicians. When called upon for clear evidence to support their points, they resort to the repetition principle of debating: just keep stating your premise again and again until enough people absorb it as a fact.
We also insist that direct quotations and references to other people’s ideas be cited accurately and clearly. We want to know exactly who said it and where you found it. That’s called “academic honesty” in schools; it’s just plain honesty everywhere else – except on the campaign trail. There, it’s barely given lip service. If you can convince the public that the other guy said something stupid, it’s apparently fair game – whether he said it or not. Or for that matter, whether it’s stupid or not.
Then there’s the principle of clarity. Whether they’re writing a paper for social studies or presenting a science project, students are encouraged to be clear. Can the listener understand what really happened? Can the reader tell what you really think? If not, try again, because good communication skills are essential to academic and personal success – unless you’re running for high office, in which case obfuscation reigns. A convoluted response to a clear question is the best way to prepare yourself for the inevitable misquote (see above).
If this level of cynicism makes you uncomfortable – well, it makes me uncomfortable too. Educators across the country are placing a new emphasis on citizenship education, instilling in their students a respect for the principles of democracy, encouraging them to participate in the political process, and urging them to approach
rational
debate with an open mind. This is exactly what they should be doing. They should also be empowering those young people to insist on the same standards from political leaders. I hope they are.
If we can’t re-educate our leaders in the basic classroom lessons about evidence, honesty, and clarity, public cynicism will make all political debate irrelevant.
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Can We Accurately Predict a Student’s Future Success?
Comments Off on Can We Accurately Predict a Student’s Future Success?Educators often feel that they can predict students’ academic futures. For instance, they may think that they can tell how students will perform in Grade 8 or Grade 9 as early as Grades 1 or 2. There is research evidence to show that predictions about students’ futures are often wrong.
There are strong links between characteristics of students, such as their socio-economic status or their school readiness, and their later achievement but these relationships do not hold for all individuals. Many studies show that these predictions turn out to be wrong much more often than most people think. Canadian data shows that more than 40 percent of students scoring at the bottom reading level at age 15 were in post- secondary education at age 21. Research also shows that the accuracy of predictions about students declines over time; that is, one year’s achievement predicts the following year’’s quite well, but is less accurate in predicting achievement 3 or 4 years later.
The key thing that the research tells us is that students can and do change. With the right supports, students can achieve far more than anyone thought they could. Encouragement and support from both schools and families can also make those negative predictions less likely to be true.
Parents and educators should be cautious in assuming that the future of their child may be predicted based on their current performance. Secondly, parents should be actively involved in supporting and advocating for their child rather than accepting a negative future. This might include being optimistic with the child about the future, or the child’s teacher to identifying areas where home and school can work together
Additional Resources For Parents
Promoting Parental Involvement, Improving Student Outcomes by Gina Gianzero: This paper discusses how different forms of parental involvement increases student success in school.
http://www.sandiegodialogue.org/pdfs/Parental%20Involvement%20doc.pdf
Ontario Ministry of Education: This site provides tips on a variety of ways to help parents may help their struggling children.
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/abc123/eng/tips/
Special Needs Opportunity Window: This link provides web based resources and community organizations that support parents whose children may have special needs.
http://snow.idrc.ocad.ca/content/view/242/132/
People for Education: This site provides tip sheets to parents on various ways that they can help support their child in school. The tip sheets are offered in 19 different languages.
http://www.peopleforeducation.com/resources/tips.html
Research References Informing this Issue
Badian, N. (1988). The Prediction of Good and Poor Reading Before Kindergarten Entry: A Nine-Year Follow-Up. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 21(2), 98-103.
Brownell M., Roos, N., Fransoo, R., Guevrèmont, A., MacWilliam, L., Derksen, S., Dik, N., Bogdanovic, B., & Sirski, M. (2004). How do educational outcomes vary with socioeconomic status? Key findings from the Manitoba Child Health Atlas 2004. Winnipeg, MB. Manitoba Centre for Health Policy.
Bowers, A. (2007). Grades and graduation: Using K-12 longitudinal cohort data to predict on-time graduation. Paper presented to the American Educational research Association, Chicago.
Gleason, P., and Dynarski, M. (2002). Do we know whom to serve? Issues in using risk factors to identify dropouts. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 7(1), 25-41.
Morgan, P., Farkas, G. and Wu, Q. (2009). Five-Year Growth Trajectories of Kindergarten Children with Learning Difficulties in Mathematics. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42(4), 306.
OECD (2010). Pathways to success: How knowledge and skills at age 15 shape future lives in Canada. Paris: OECD.
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A Modest Proposal – Podcast Newsletters
Comments Off on A Modest Proposal – Podcast NewslettersPodcasting has become so simple that I think its time for it to replace the good old newsletter. This was first suggested to me, and is demonstrated weekly, by Kurtis Hewson, an elementary principal in Claresholm, Alberta.
Every Sunday, Kurtis makes a few notes and then sits down in front of his computer for 10 minutes and simply narrates the events of the week that has past and what is upcoming in the week ahead. Then, with a couple of clicks the video is posted to the school web site, where parents know they can go for the weekly news. Its simple, its engaging, its far less work than a newsletter, its green and it never gets lost on the way home.
This idea could be easily adapted by Classroom Teachers, Coaches, Superintendents, Trustees and others for their communications.
So what are the caveats? There are lots of “problems” one can think of, but problems are not reasons to stand still. Hands up everyone who thinks printed newsletters are an elegant and effective communication device. I don’t see many hands! Of course not. Newsletters are just a habit, and habits are hard to change because we gloss over the problems in the familiar present and get fixated on imagined challenges in the unfamiliar future.
Not everyone can get onto the internet at home. What to do? Set up a terminal in the library and invite parents to use it when they drop the kids off? Does the public library have such an access point? Burn a few DVDs that can be borrowed from the office? I’m not that creative, but I am certain that others who want to solve this problem could do so – or at least they could find a response that ‘satisfices’ as much as current practice.
They say that public speaking is one of most people’s greatest fears so will principals be brave enough to go on the internet for all to see – forever. Not much to say here, except “get over it.” You can’t hide forever. Once you try this you’ll love it.
Of course, some things may not fit in this format. Some print or graphic notices would can be put on the web site in the same area as the podcast. And perhaps parents do need to post some papers on the fridge with schedules or phone numbers or some such durable information for which they prefer not going to the school web site. If so, send home a notice – and then mention it in your podcast. I’ll bet you don’t have to do that more than a couple of times a year.
This is an entirely practical idea that could be very much more effective than newsletters. But you know what be even better? Get the kids to do it! That would not only get us dipping our toe into the technological pool and thus gaining skills and confidence that can migrate into the classroom, but it would also be a way to start letting go of hegemonic adult control – and that’s an equally important part of the change that is required for 21st Century Learning.
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Canadian Education Wire – School Boards Grapple with Anti-Homophobia Policies
Comments Off on Canadian Education Wire – School Boards Grapple with Anti-Homophobia Policies‘Rainbow’ ruckus hits Catholic high school – TO Star
Catholic school board bars lesbian comedian from performing in Toronto – Globe and Mail
Burnaby school board to consider revised anti-homophobia policy – Burnaby Newsleader
What news am I missing? Can you recommend some education blogs for me to follow? Please tweet me at @max_cooke, e-mail me at mcooke@cea-ace.ca or better yet, use the comment box below to suggest additional articles happening in your region so that others can check it out.
OTHER EDUCATION NEWS
Anti-Tory effort could backfire on teachers – National Post
Stelmach awakens sleeping teachers’ union – Calgary Herald
Ontario Student Survey allows students, parents to have a say – Cottage Country Now
83% of Grade 10 students pass literacy test – TO Star
INTERNATIONAL
The Futures of School Reform – Education Week
A working group on the “Futures of School Reform,” organized by the Harvard Graduate School of Education and led by Robert B. Schwartz and Jal Mehta of Harvard and Frederick M. Hess of the American Enterprise Institute, includes more than a dozen researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from around the country. Education Week is running a seven-part series of Commentary essays expressing visions of members of the “Futures” group.EDUCATION BLOG HIGHLIGHTS
The Millennials are Googling Us – Shannon in Ottawa (Shannon Smith)
Caveat: Although not a member of the Millenial Generation, I should disclose that I scored an 87 on the Pew Research quiz, “How Millennial Are you?” Go ahead and try it out
Over the past few weeks we have been in the thick of staffing and hiring for next year. As my principal, Jen, and I have reflected after each set of interviews, I have been formulating a blog post giving some pointers to teacher candidates hoping to land not only the interview, but the position. But that isn’t this post. This post is for my colleagues in administration who are still reluctant to start a professional blog or switch to a blog for their schools.Making Transparency Concrete – Culture of Yes (Chris Kennedy)
Transparency has become an overused mantra in the workplace, and in the public sector, in particular, leaders have faced an increased demand for transparent thinking and actions. In my role as superintendent of a 7,200-student school district, transparency is about promoting accountability and accessibility, providing timely information for students, staff and parents about what their school district is doing. Essentially, it demystifies the work of schools and school districts.Do I serve you or are you to support me? – For the Love of Learning (Joe Bower)
As a classroom teacher, I spend the majority of my time working with students while they are still learning, so I have an intense understanding for how important it is for kids to be engaged in learning by doing projects that are in a context and for a purpose. Without the information (read: observations) that I gather from such projects, I could not call myself a teacher, nor could my students call themselves learners. But how often is data defined like this? -
Let’s get serious about community-based education
Comments Off on Let’s get serious about community-based educationIt does not take much persuasion to grasp that engaging high school students in the everyday activities of the community is terribly important to their maturation. A list of reasons pours out of my fingertips:
- An escape from the school cocoon – its boredom, repetitiveness, irrelevance, passivity.
- Innovative power of involvement in community activities where imagination is tempered by practicality.
- Hands-on activity as a supplement and relief from textbook learning.
- Adult role models to stoke the admiration of teenagers.
- Interaction between teachers and the world of economic and social activity around the schoolhouse.
- Career counseling from the grass roots.
The obstacles are nearly as numerous and much more formidable:
- Personal safety anxieties in a fear-ridden society.
- Professional jealousies.
- Curriculum erosion, which might devalue the graduation diploma.
- Job security fears among teachers.
- Loss of monopoly power over schooling by the politicians.
Any one of these obstacles could strangle a proposal for community-based education at birth. But the ways and means of a democracy are ingenious and quite durable. A start-up committee broadly representative of the community (i.e. inclusive of the public and private sectors) would likely need a year or more to explore the multiple possibilities for implementing the idea. After that it would be a matter of trial and error for another year or longer to get it right. A myriad of questions would bedevil the committee:
How to gain the approval of the central education authority? Recruit the support of the municipal council? Engage the private sector in the planning? Respond positively to media curiosity and criticism? Assure the teachers and administrators that community-based education is a well-tested idea that will not cause the sky to fall.
It is obvious that the committee would need to do a lot of homework. The question will be asked a thousand times: Why bother? We’ve got a good working system now. My answer: the publicly supported schools of Canada and the U.S. are under threat. Home schooling and private schooling are undermining the walls of the public system. Changing the system to foster civic enthusiasm, democratic enhancement, and vocational excitement can reverse the slide.
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edCamp Vancouver
Comments Off on edCamp VancouverI’ve attended my fair share of professional development conferences over the course of my teaching career and, with few exceptions, they have all been pretty similar in both design and effect.
Most have been built around a theme chosen by an organizing committee. Most have featured at least one known and validated keynote voice. A pre-determined slate of workshop offerings, a substantial lunch and a robust publisher’s display are also very familiar features of traditional conferences. Oh, and coffee…lots of coffee!
It’s a structure that has been in place for years and its a structure that most of us have come to expect when we choose to attend a conference. Until recently, that is…
There’s a new kid on the block, one that’s determined to change our perspective on what professional development looks like, sounds like, and, yes, even what it tastes like!
The EdCamp movement began in the spring of 2010 as about a dozen educators from the Philadelphia area, many of whom had been involved in another unconference-type initiative decided to use the model to create an event for teachers. Over the past year, other EdCamps have been organized around the U.S. and this spring, excitement around the model drifted north of the border and resulted in EdCamp Vancouver in April.
The EdCamp model forces us to engage in some pretty fundamental questions about both the form and function of professional development. And I can imagine that one of the first questions that threatens to stare down anyone considering planning an EdCamp is “What’s left?” Once you take away the expensive keynote, the fancy venue, the workshop leaders, the promise of lunch and coffee breaks, what do you have remaining?
It’s a powerful question, but the answer, I’ve discovered, is even more powerful. In a sense, when you strip away all of the “trappings” of the traditional professional development conference, you’re really just left with one thing: the voices of the participants. And as you listen to the voices that begin to emerge, you realize that they are voices full of creativity, passion, commitment and hope. You also realize that these are voices that are anxious to be heard and even more anxious to actively participate in the work of transforming education.
These are the voices that you will hear in the latest Teaching Out Loud podcast, recorded live at EdCamp Vancouver in April. These are the voices that are beginning to emerge as other Canadian EdCamp events come on line this year: EdCamp Quinte in May 2011, and EdCamp Montreal in November. And these are the voices that I’m encountering as I work with others to plan EdCamp Toronto in the fall of 2011.
Over the next few weeks, I will be adding more in this space about the EdCamp model, some of the finer details about planning an event, the processes that are at the heart of the idea, and information about upcoming Canadian events. We’ll also chat about the challenges involved in gathering and mobilizing these emergent voices across the country.
For now, allow me to introduce you to some of the passionate folks that I met in Vancouver. To be sure, they exemplify what it means to teach and to learn out loud! Thanks to David Wees and his planning team for extending a warm welcome and for agreeing to share their thoughts on the day.
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