Choosing Their Own Voice

Recently, our 4th grade class finished reading the book Rules, by Cynthia Lord.  The book is about a young girl who has a younger brother with autism.  The young girl, Catherine, has a loving relationship with her brother, but has a difficult time with the way others see him.  She is protective of him and at the same time embarrassed.  During a visit to her brother David's OT clinic, she befriends a boy who is confined to a wheel chair and is unable to speak.  He uses a communication book which allows him to point to words in order to have a conversation.  At the same time Catherine is trying to make friends with the "cool" girl who moved in next door. She is torn between her brother, her new friend who can not speak, and pretending they don't exist in order to impress her new neighbor.  As we read this book, we focused on the question: "What does it mean to have voice?"  

After we finished reading the book, I gave my students a communication book of their own with words that I chose for them.  They were not allowed to add words of their own to the book, but their friends could.  In the novel, Catherine adds to her new friends communication book so that they could have conversations about things that were important to her.  My students also had to rely on others to give them words.  

After some time, I asked them questions that they had to answer using their books.  They agreed that it was a fun activity, but also very frustrating not to be able to say exactly what they wanted to.  I tried asking them questions that they would have difficulty answering with the words I had given them.  Earlier that day our chapel message was about being an ambassador for Christ.  My students really took this lesson to heart, so I asked them how they could be ambassadors for Christ.  Knowing that I did not give them the words that I would expect them to use to answer this question, I expected them to be frustrated.  To my surprise, they all flipped to the back of their communication books, where I had left blank spaces for their friends to add words.  Each one of them had the words, Christ, God, and Love!  They chose to add these words to each others books so that they could communicate better, not the words, video games, One Direction, or Mindcraft.  When they contemplated the need to have their own voice heard, they chose the words: Christ, God and love.They never cease to amaze me!

Why Don't We Run Out of Water?

This week I posed the question to my class: Why don't we run out of water?  I set them up for their 3rd SOLE session with one modification.  I had the students take notes on what they were finding instead of cutting and pasting into the scrapbook that is available through The School in The Cloud website.  I wanted to eliminate their desire to spend a great deal of time finding pictures rather than concentrating on reading to find information.

What I loved about this particular Big Question was that when the students began to look for information, they typed in the question and the results were not very helpful.  They were quickly frustrated, but soon realized that they needed to think of the question in a different way.  They began asking questions about where water come from.  They immediately found information about the water cycle and were soon taking many notes on the subject.  To show what they had learned, I had them create posters.  I made three interesting observations while they were working on their posters.  The one student in my class who is exceptionally verbal chose to do the drawing for his group's poster.  Drawing is not something he has ever been comfortable with and I was surprised that he chose that task. The second interesting observation was that the one group who seemed the least interested in the big question and chose not to use all of the allotted time to research, appeared to be re-energized when they began working on the poster. Finally, I realized that letting my students do things in their own way is very difficult for me.  The noise level in the class room was very high, but as I walked around between the groups, they all were focused and excited about what they were doing.  I gave them a time limit to complete the posters in hope that it would keep them focused on the task at hand.  It did indeed keep them focused, but also increased the energy level of the classroom.  Noise does not have to mean not working.

I have included below pictures of the students at work and their finish posters.

A Second SOLE Session

This week, my 4th grade class held our second SOLE session.  SOLE stands for student organized learning environment and we used the resources found on The School in The Cloud website.  If you have not done so, I invite you to read my earlier post regarding our first attempt at a SOLE session.

After studying volcanoes for the past month, we began by discussing the different rocks that are formed by volcanoes. Then looking at some rocks that were found in our area, we asked the question: what other ways are rocks formed?  The students were given a half hour to complete their task.  When the students were asked to chose groups, I noticed that the previous groups that had trouble working effectively chose to work in different groups.  Having had a previous experience with this type of independent task, the students quickly got to work.  All of the participants were focused throughout the allotted time.  There was one group that finished early, but when evaluating their presentation, it was apparent that they did not have enough information to fully answer the question.  One group in particular was fascinating to watch.  Each time they found something useful, they cheered for themselves.  As they found more information, their excitement grew.  At the end, this was the group that had the most thorough answer to the big question. 

After the students completed their quest, and created their presentation, they had the chance to share with the whole class what they were able to find out.  Part of this sharing process is taking time to analyze how they worked in their groups and the effectiveness of their presentation.  One group in particular seemed disappointed when then realized that what they thought was a complete answer to the question really did not answer it at all.

 

For the most part, the groups worked well together.  The students were much more focused on the question this time than the first session and did not venture to see what other groups were doing.  If seemed as if the shorter time gave them more urgency to stay focus at their own station. Perhaps extending the time during our next session would eliminate the pressure and allow them more ease in collaboration.

I am planning another session for next week. I am considering eliminating the computer presentation that is part of  The School in The Cloud website.  This would eliminate the time the students want to take finding pictures rather than information on the given topic. Students can take notes and create a poster presentation after the session is over.

I would love to hear from anyone who might have tried a SOLE session in their class.  

Faced with a New Challange

    So far, this year has been very exciting.  I have been trying new things which have been welcomed in my class.  Now I am faced with a new challenge that I know I will need help with.  I have a remarkable student in my class who needs to be given the opportunity to be challenged daily.  I have had very bright students before that needed the classwork to be differentiated in order to meet their needs, but this is different.  This student's knowledge is beyond the 4th grade and at the same time he is just a little boy.  I gave our year end math test and he got 20 out of 22 questions correct..  Mind you this is only October and we have only completed 2 topics out of 16 in math  He is reader like I have never seen before. Last year he read a total of 87 book including the complete Harry Potter series which he completed in 3 weeks.  He was 8 years old. He has an unexpected understanding of the world around him and needs no prodding to research anything he is interested in.  In short, he really does not need to simply trudge through the complete 4th grade curriculum.  He has a thirst for knowledge that goes beyond the walls of our classroom.  I struggle with knowing how to meet his needs. I have no problem enriching his language skills, but when it comes to math and science, he needs more than I can give him by differentiating my instruction.  I was considering flipping the classroom for him so he can explore subjects and advance his math skills at his own pace.  My problem is I am not so sure how to do this.  Has anyone been successful in doing this for a particular student?  I would love your ideas and suggestions!

SOLE Session

  This week, I tried something new.  I had my students participate in a SOLE session.  SOLE stands for student organized learning experience and is the creation of Sugata Mitra.  Mitra is a professor of Educational Technology at Newcastle University.  In 1999 Mitra began conducting his "Hole in the Wall: experiments where groups of children were found to be able to learn anything by themselves if given the right tools and allowed to work in a community.  In 2013 Mitra presented his findings in a TED talk and as a result received TED prize grant to develop his ideas into an educational tool for all children.  He since created The School in the Cloud.  On this website are all the tools necessary to create SOLE sessions in the classroom.  I was a little nervous about the process, as my students are not used to be given that much independence with their own learning.  The computer situation in our classroom is not what I would like it to be in order to conduct one of these sessions, but I figured we could adapt with what we have.  I hoped for the best.
    When I explained to my students what we were going to do, they were very excited.  Their eyes lit up with excitement and trepidation when they realized that they were going to have to rely on their own instincts and get the work done.  I set the session up for an hour because I knew they would need time to figure out how the online program worked: cutting, pasting, using the scrapbook.  At first they were afraid to ask each other for help, but as soon as one started, they began to communicate across different groups.  We did have some computer issues that I need to intervene with, but for the most part, they were able to figure out how to search, cut, paste, and create a presentation on their own.  One student in particular became the go to person for advice in these matters.
   Although the SOLE  session is designed with student independence in mind, it does not mean that the teacher has no role at all.  As this was the first session and my students are young, I often had to remind them that they could think for themselves and be successful.
    As it turned out, several of the groups were very successful answering the question and creating their presentation, but others had some difficulty staying focused.  It was a great opportunity to discuss why some groups were more successful than others.  We analysed how people's behaviors during the session effected the outcome.  For me, the purpose of this first session was not only to come up with an answer to our question, but to gain independence in getting there.  After the session and discussion, I asked my students what they thought of the process and I received a resounding two thumbs up!  I am looking forward to the next session.

Sunday Sermon

The following post was not written with the intention of being posted on this blog. I was asked to fill in for our pastor this Sunday morning and deliver the message during worship.  After worship this morning I realize that my message was indeed a reflection on what is going on in my classroom.  For this reason, I have chosen to publish by thoughts here.  Feel free to pass it on.

Focus, Focus, Focus

By Kristine Houghtalen

     I was hoping to be here this morning with a sermon that was based on a critical analysis of a scripture that I had challenged myself to read and study.  I was planning on choosing a verse that I had never really considered before and try to breathe life into it.  The problem is it is September and I am a teacher and a mother.  As you can imagine my days and nights have been filled with lesson planning, bulletin boards to decorate, student’s summer homework, student assessments, figuring out how my students learn, who can sit next to each other and who can’t, back to school night with parents to impress and this year, learning how to use blogging and other technology to foster learning in the classroom.  We have only finished our 3^rd week of school and my son has already missed 5 days of school because he was ill!  So, now I am trying to keep on top of him and his teachers to make sure he is caught up on missed work.   The thing is though; I am really good at multitasking.  The busier I am, the more I seem to take on.  I thrive on the challenge of keeping those balls that I am juggling in the air.  On the other hand, I am exceptional at procrastinating!  And that is just what I did with preparing for this morning, I put it off.  Just let me get through the first week of school.  Then, just let me get through our meet the teacher night.  Then wait, I need to plan lessons too.  As the days went by, I began to panic.  I still had no idea what I was going to talk about.  And then those emails began to come.  The emails from Reverend Wolter asking for the scripture I had chosen and the title of my message.  I tried to ignore them, but he was persistent.  I thought I really don’t have time for this.  Why did I agree to this at this time of year?

            As I struggled with my frustration to focus on my plans for this morning, I realized that this was not a problem unique to me.  Looking at the lives of my friends and family and co-workers, it is obvious that their lives are just as crazy as mine.  The balls we are juggling may be of different shapes, sizes, and colors, but we are all part a great juggling act.  Maybe you’re a parent trying to keep up with your children’s many activities, or it is your job that is pulling you in different directions. Maybe you are caring for someone who needs your constant attention or maybe you volunteer your time in the community or are involved in various community organizations.  Perhaps it is even your church that is placing many demands on you.  It seems that life has taken on a speed that is somewhat out of control.

            This year in my school, I have fallen into the position of spearheading our initiative to incorporate using technology in innovative ways to enhance student learning.  I feel as though I have fallen off a cliff into the world of social media and blogging.  If you haven’t ventured into this world, you may not realize how fast information is moving around the planet and beyond.  And I mean beyond!  We have even been linking up with astronauts on the International Space Station.  It is absolutely fascinating the knowledge and connections that are at our fingertips.  Last Monday I had the opportunity to join something called a twitter chat.  I finally figured what those #s are for!   It was a group of Lutheran educators who were discussing different ways to develop a passion for professional development.  I spent an hour trying to keep up with the flurry of activity.  There were so many posts and conversations going on, my head was spinning.  But, at the end of it, I realized that I was able to “meet” many other teachers who had great ideas that allowed me to connect with even more people with more ideas.  The ball has begun rolling, and it’s getting bigger every day.  I’m still juggling, but as the balls get bigger, it is getting harder and harder to keep them in the air. 

    As I shared my experiences with a friend, he asked me if I thought that perhaps being that connected might lead me to burnout quickly. Even though I was feeling exhilarated about what I was learning about being connected to the world, I had to stop a minute and evaluate that question.  Is the fact that we can take this little phone from our pocket and reach out across the world opening up a world of possibilities or is it leading us to exhaustion?  If Jesus was alive in this day of social media, how would it affect his ministry?  Would it be a dynamic way to reach the masses, or would his voice have been lost in the chaos?  I think many of us right now are lost in the chaos.  We recognize the power we hold in our hand, but we are either too afraid of it, or we have not learned to follow the map through the vast land of social media.  We play, we tinker, and we get lost in it.

     Back to my friend’s question, does being constantly connected lead to burnout and exhaustion? I think it is definitely something we need to be aware of.

     By now, you might be asking yourself, what does all this have to do with this morning’s scripture from Colossians?  Well the answer is not much…and everything.  If our lives are moving at such a rapid pace, how do we stay focused on what is important?  How do we prevent ourselves from feeling burnt out and exhausted?  It is extremely difficult to do on our own.  We get caught up in the rip tide of life, and we need to reach out for help.   Well, think about it, there is no better life ring than the words of our holy scripture.

            I am very lucky to work where I do. Working for a Lutheran School, I am forced to stay focused. We pray every morning at the beginning of the school day and we pray every afternoon at the end of the school day.   Every Wednesday at 10am I bring my students to chapel.  With all the scheduling and have tos in school, this is the one thing that no one ever complains about.  Even though our chapel is designed for young children, it is a time to slow down and focus on what is important.  We also choose a scripture each year that is our theme or focus for the year.  It permeates everything we do.  We discuss it with our students; we use it with our disciple, and use it in devotions during faculty meetings.  Yes, we get to pray at faculty meetings. I told you, I am very lucky to work in a Christian school!  Whether I like it or not, this scripture becomes the foundation for my school year.  As you might have guessed, this year’s scripture is from the book of Colossians, chapter 1, verse 10. In this scripture, the Apostle Paul is praying for the people of Colosse, people he had never met.

            “ so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,”

     What a great focus for our lives.  Wouldn’t it be comforting to know someone was praying this with you in mind?  Live a life worthy of the Lord, be fruitful in your good work, and gain knowledge of God.

    This scripture is an extension of last year’s scripture focus, Galatians 5:22-23,.  This scripture identifies the fruit of the spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self -control.    So when I hear the words from Colossians: be fruitful in your good work, to me that means that every choice I make, every interaction I have, I must do so through one of these 9 fruits.  It seems very `simple, and it really is.  I challenge you to familiarize yourself with 9 ideals listed as the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self- control.  You might have read them before. You might even have something at home that lists them, a coffee mug, plaque, a greeting card.  The challenge is not in reading them, but in living them.  If you ask any of our students about the fruits of the spirit, not only will they rattle them off to you without hesitation, but they will explain to you how they use them to reach their goals, interact with each other, or maybe how they forgot to use them on the playground.  They are our guide in praising our students and if need be disciplining them.  And just like by teaching my students to do mental math, my mental math skills have increased, by teaching my students how to focus on the fruits of the spirit, I to have become more focused.  As I said, I am very lucky to work in a Christian school!

    Our lives are crazy, there is no doubt.  Information is flying around this planet at speeds we never could have imagined a few years ago.  We are all sometimes just trying to keep up without getting lost in a world of virtual reality, but it does not mean that there is no life line. 

     Find a piece of scripture that inspires you, and can guide you to a more purposeful life.  Colossians 1:10 is a great place to start, or maybe buy that coffee mug with the fruits of the spirit listed on it.  Claim it as your own and remember to visit with it often.  I have the fruits of the spirit listed in bold words both in the front and back of my class this way both my students and I can keep focused throughout the day and throughout the year.

     So, if you happen to be my friend on facebook or if you follow me on twitter, you will see me posting more often as I search for ways to globally connect with others. And if you see me on Sunday morning on my cell phone during worship, please don’t judge me. I am not lost in the world of social media.   I am focusing on the morning’s scripture reading because like everything else, there is an app for that!

Twitter Chat

   Tonight was a first!  I jumped in and participated in my first twitter chat.  If you are not the tweeting type, you may not know what I am talking about.  Basically, a group of people who have a particular interest in a subject join together for a "chat" on twitter by using a # (hashtag).  Before I jumped into the world of twitter, the idea of using a # was very confusing.  If you are using any type of social media, you have seen them used for sure.  I often wondered why.  Sometimes people list so many #s that the list is longer than the message being shared.  The reason for that still escapes me.  Tonight however, by using the #luthed,  I was able to follow a chat with fellow Lutheran educators regarding our passion and need for professional development.  The conversation was fast and furious and I have to admit a bit hard to follow.  Of course part of that was because of family demands. In their defense, I hadn't really explained to them what I was trying to do.  I tried to answer questions and respond to others, but I had a hard time remembering the proper way to answer and to use the #luthed.  I did have a good laugh at myself; there was no learning curve for me.  I made the same mistake every time I tried to respond.  I didn't give up.  I did get some positive feedback from my tweets; the ones that actually worked.  I did think many times that perhaps I am too old for all of this.  Will my mind and reflexes every be quick enough to follow this kind of chatter?

     I realized something important tonight.  If I want to be the creative innovative teacher I dream of being, it doesn't matter how old I am, I need to keep plugging along.  I need to keep reaching out in order to energize my desire to learn new things.   There are many others out there who indeed think as I do and I can learn from them.  In just one night I was able to connect with several other Lutheran educators who have already done so much of this work in their classrooms.  People who are as eager as I am to learn new ways to teach and who are willing to reach out and share what they have learned along the way.  And surprisingly, I connected with educators who listened to what I had to say.  This is empowering!

    I am not sure how long it will take me to get the hang of these twitter chats, but I'll be there next Monday, ready to share!

One Week Down

   Well, the first full week of school is almost complete.  What a week it has been!  My classroom has been filled with new faces and laughter.  We are jumping right into the world of technology and supporting each other as we do.  I have introduced the idea of blogging with my students and they are very excited about the idea of having a global voice.  Paired with a growing consciousnesses of what it means to create a digital footprint, my students are eager to get started.  We have begun "blogging" on our bulletin board as the students begin to choose their blog names and subjects.
      Last night was our school's meet the teacher night.  I have to admit I was a bit nervous to roll out my ideas about using technology in my classroom.  Most of my students have had no experience with any of the different social media platforms and their parents, rightly so, have been nervous to open that pandora's box.  My plans of teaching responsibility while giving them an authentic voice was received with enthusiasm by parents.  They were eager to read the paper blogs written by their children and gladly wrote comments to each of the students.  When the children arrived this morning in class, they immediately set to reading the comments written by the parents.  I had given each parent a different color sticky note to use for their comments and the children were very excited to see that the comments on their blog was not only from their own parents.  I am so eager to get them online, but I am keeping focused on fully equipping them with the tools and skills they need to be successful.  I must remember:  baby steps...baby steps.

Student Blog Bulletin Board

An Inspiration

 
    The one thing that I love about teaching is the constant learning I do as I interact with my students.  I learn from their explorations and their interests.  By listening to them and watching how they learn, I learn to be a better teacher.  As teachers, we need to spend more time listening to our students and allow them to lead, it just might take us to unexpected places.  I came across this TED talk by 13 year old Logan LaPlante.  This is a remarkable talk by a remarkable young man who has been allowed to have his own voice in the world, and we as educators need to take a moment to listen.   I would love to know what you think about his thoughts on education.  Do you, as an educator, intentionally teach your students how to be happy?.  TED talk by Logan LaPlante

...And We Are Off!

     It has been a while since my last post, and I apologize.  Getting ready for the first day of school can seem like a monumental task.  It has always been my theory that why should I do things the way I did last year when there are so many new things to try.  This doesn't mean I don't repeat lessons or procedures that have worked in the past, I just try to make things better each year.  This year I have moved absolutely everything in my classroom.  I was able to paint the room this summer, so the room was empty, a clean slate, when I began placing my furniture.  There is nothing like that blank canvas to stimulate ones creativity.  This year I am over the moon excited about how my classroom came out.  A fresh start, endless possibilities.
     Today was the first day of class!  My students came in with smiling faces and left school that way also; a great start to the new year.  I explained  to them some of the changes I have made in my classroom as well as the changes in how I plan to teach and the way the class was going to be run.  I talked with them a bit about the idea of blogging.  Some were familiar with the word, some were not.  We talked about what the purpose of a blog was and I explained how I plan on using them, each having his/her own blog.  One student I have, I know to be a great writer (This information comes from the previous year's teacher).  When I explained that her writing could have a global audience, a smile broadened across her face; part out of nervousness and part out of excitement. That one smile is all I need to keep plugging along.
    Before coming to school this morning, I enjoyed my morning cup of tea and a hearty breakfast while catching up on my social media.  I came across the article  Why Academic Teaching Does Not Help Kids Excel in Life by Shelly Wright.  It was exactly what I needed this morning to reaffirm that my idea about how to teach this year is on the right track.  There are a few things that I need to keep in focus.  I do believe that it is not the academic content that is of foremost importance for my students to learn.  Fueling their curiosity and teaching them how to learn are key, but I can't ignore the importance of knowing things.  Knowing facts is important.  To quote Ken Jennings, of Jeopardy fame: " Everyday, we should be striving to learn something new. We should have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of the world around us."  Knowledge is good. What we know, though, is as important as knowing.  I want to put as much of that decision in the hands of my students as possible.  Having been trained in the tradition of the teacher or school making that decision, finding my way may not be easy.  But here is something I have learned.  If I am asking my students to take responsibility for deciding what they should know, I too must take responsibility for learning what I feel I need to know.  It is time for me to take my learning into my own hands.  I have always waited for professional development opportunities to come across my path.  Then I would evaluate whether I want to take the time away from my class to participate.  This is what we have been doing in classrooms for a very long time know.  The teacher would set up the opportunity for the student to learn, and the student would either engage or not.  That's it, there was no other choice.
    I do have a choice, and I will continue to seek out opportunities to learn what I need in order to do my job better in a way that will stimulate learning in my classroom.  I work with amazing teachers who are willing to step out with me and define what kind of teachers we want to be. Together, we have the support and tools we need.  All I need to keep going is to remember the face of an 9 year old girl who realized she too has a voice and that someone might actually listen!

Twitter??!

     It has been very interesting delving into the seemingly chaotic world of social media this past week.  I have discovered two very important things. First of all, I realized that I know nothing about navigating through social media.  The second even more astounding realization for me is that I have had a profound misunderstanding of the power of social media. Through the website,Simplek12, I was able to listen to a webinar on using Twitter in the education world.  I had set up a Twitter account over a year ago, but did not know what to do with it. I never even tried to send a tweet nor could I think of anyone I cared enough about to follow.  I just don't care that much about what other people are doing at any given minute of the day.  I saw that people were adding hashtags to everything they posted on line, but I just didn't see why I would ever search #cutedog.  I wondered why people would want strangers to find their day to day happening that were posted.  What I realize now is that there are different worlds even within the world of Twitter.  There is a huge network of educators out there using twitter, not as a chronicle of their personal lives, but as an enormous sharing platform of information and professional development!  I do have to admit, the information is vast and comes at an alarming speed.  At the same time though, there are resources out there to help organize this information and in time I believe I might be able to master it.  A great deal of time.
     What troubles me most, however, is the amount of time is has been taking me to find the information I need and the time to absorb the information that I do find.  School has not begun yet.  Our staff meetings begin tomorrow, and in just a few days the school will be filled with life again; time will begin to fly by.  Getting classroom support will be difficult.  Our small school does not have a media librarian or technology department to turn to for support.  It is a "catch 22" kind of scenario. I know that there is a world of support information out there, but without the knowledge of how to find it, it does me no good.
    I have to keep reminding myself to take baby steps.  I know more than I did last week and I will learn even more next month.  I am really looking forward to beginning the new year and once again being among colleagues who are struggling with the same questions as I am.  As I try to learn new things,  I need to take responsibility for my own learning.  After all, that is exactly what I am trying to inspire within my students.

   As a new year begins this video deserves to be seen by all dedicated teachers who struggle with finding new ways to reach and inspire their students.  Thank you TED talks for opening our minds to new ideas!

Whose Voice Do They Hear?

     It is now 2 weeks before school is open and the smiling faces of students fill their desks.  I feel as if I need at least another 2 weeks to get myself ready for the whirlwind to begin.  I have been researching the digital classroom for weeks now and I continue to find ideas and resources.  I've been trying to reconstruct how I view technology in the classroom and hope that I can get the support from my administration as well as students and families.  As I am thinking of how to give my students a voice, I stumbled upon this TED video. (I am addicted to TED videos!!)  It came at a time I had been wondering and recently discussing with a friend how facebook and Google track our interests.  Especially now that I have been researching the digital classroom, everywhere I look on line something new appears on the subject.  I have to admit it has been useful to me in looking for new resources, but it worries me also.  It is much like the days when I actually went to a bookstore to buy a new book.  The first thing I would see were the books on display quietly saying "Buy Me!".  Of course, those were the first books I would look at and often purchase.  It was easier than searching aimlessly around the shelves of books for something I may be interested in.  I know it was all about marketing, but it was easier to buy something on the NY Times Bestseller list then deciding for myself. The problem is  that I have passed over so many wonderful books I know I would have loved, and perhaps that would have challenged me to learn something new. 
     Now the same thing is happening with our search engines, only with greater consequences. This TED video by Eli Pariser is a must watch!

 



   It is important as teachers that we not only guide our students in finding their voice in the world, but we also need to be concerned about whose voice they are hearing themselves.  Is it their own curiosity that is leading them to discovery or is it Google giving them what they already know.  It is important that as learners they are exposed to  different sides of a story and not just their own opinions and ideas.  How do we counter act these algorithms that decide what information we see and what we don't?  I suppose being aware is the first defense.  Alan November, in his book Who Owns the Learning, explained how he gave a challenge to students to do an internet search on how the British view the American Revolution.  The results were non-existent.  He went on to show how by using Google advanced search, one could find the information from British websites.  This will have to be my next focus.  How to effectively use the advanced search features to access non biased information.

     My students are growing up in a world so different then the world I did!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We Try Harder

      As I begin to plan lessons for the upcoming year, I wonder how I will incorporate blogging into my lessons.  Starting with writing assignments seems to be the place to start, but I suppose I could use it across different subject areas as well.  But I also realized that I need to start small and build momentum.  I know from experience that new ideas are great, but too many at one time can lead to disaster.  If I truly want to give my students a global voice, I must be careful and try not to control my students’ progress.  Doing for them is often easier than having them figure things out for themselves.  Of course, that would negate the very thing I am trying to give my students; their own voice.    My family is very involved in the Boy Scouts of America program and I have to admit I have learned a lot from how this program is run.  The focus of this youth program is in creating strong leaders.  In order to produce great leaders, you must let them lead.  It does not mean that you let them do whatever they want, but rather guide them and provide the opportunities where they can learn for themselves.  Prominent in the scouting vernacular is the EDGE method of leadership:  explain, demonstrate, guide, and enable.  The most important part of this I believe is being able to guide without doing.   Not giving up control, but rather guiding the student onto success.

     It is also important for me to keep in mind that not everything is going to be a success.  I need to keep trying anyway.  The other day I was shopping in a little eclectic, vintage collectors shop.  On display for sale was a little pin that I remember from when I was young, the early 1970s.  The pin was a small white circle with the words: “We try harder.”  I remember getting one of these buttons in school as a reward for doing well on an assignment.  It was a reminder that even if we don’t succeed at first, if we try harder, we will be a success.  The act of trying harder was rewarded.  I know that not everything I try will be a success, but we will just have to try harder.  I need to remember to celebrate each step as I sail through uncharted waters.  Even the missteps will help to guide the way.  We will succeed because we will try harder!

 

KH

The Wall of Darkness

     Yesterday my husband and I traveled from New York to Sedona, Arizona.  It was a long day of traveling.  Because I have never been to Arizona, I was very excited to land in Phoenix and anxious to see the beautiful red rocks that I knew awaited us in Sedona.   Leaving the airport in Phoenix, I have to admit I was very disappointed.  I am not sure what I expected, and I am sure Phoenix is a lovely city, but to me it looked flat and uninviting.  I was eager to start our 2 hour drive to Sedona.  Although the highway views were a bit more interesting with the occasional group of saguaro cacti and some unusual rock formations, again I was unimpressed.  By time we reached Sedona, it was dark and we were very tired.  We pulled into the resort and I just prayed for a unit with a view.  We found our unit and there it was facing the parking lot.  It was disappointing to say the least.  But I am a forever optimist so I thought to myself:  no big deal, we don’t plan to spend a lot of time in our room anyway.  When I woke up in the morning my husband had already been awake and was outside reading on the balcony.  I asked him if he was enjoying the view of the parking lot and he laughed.  He said he was and I should come out and join him.  This is what I saw.                                      

 

 Sure, we overlooked the parking lot, but the walls of darkness had blocked the spectacular view beyond.  

      I had a very similar experience to this several years ago when I visited a dear friend in Seattle Washington.  Her home had a panoramic view of the city and the mountains that lay beyond.  My sister and I were taken by the beauty of the mountains that was our daily backdrop.  My friend however, just laughed at us and told us we needed to wait until the mountains were out.  Clearly, to us, the mountains were indeed out and they were beautiful.  One day during our stay we woke up to our friend telling us to get up because the mountains were out.  We stumbled out into the living room, and were rendered absolutely speechless.  Beyond the mountains we had been looking out each day rose the highest, snow covered peaks we had ever seen.  I never imagined something so magnificent could have been there all that time, and yet be hidden.    We thought we had already experienced the beauty, but we had no idea of the potential that was hidden by the clouds and haze.

     As a teacher, I feel like that visitor enjoying the view, without truly understanding the potential of what lies beyond.  I have been excepting the walls of darkness and have vowed to make the best of things.  We need to start looking past the darkness, past the haze and clouds and reach out to the world beyond.

Crumble, crumble, crumble

KH

 

An epiphany

     My head has been spinning with ideas of how I can use blogging in my classroom!  It has been hard to think of anything else.  Now that August is here, my mind is on school and tomorrow I leave for vacation.  Today I had an interesting experience I would like to share.  After spending the day painting shelves in my classroom and planning how I was going to set up my room,  I met up with a colleague of mine. We spent some time discussing different ideas we have for the coming year.  She too is excited about the possibility of opening up our walls and giving our students purpose in their work.  Like me however, she is a bit overwhelmed with how to make it work in the classroom.

    I left school with plans to pick up some items I needed for my vacation.  As I was shopping in Costco, I was very distracted and realized that even though I was going on vacation, it was getting ready for school that was really getting me excited.  While I was waiting on line, I did what everyone does and took out my cell phone just in case someone messaged me since I last checked (10 minutes ago!).  I found a notice that I was tagged in a facebook post.  A post written by the same colleague I was speaking to at school.  She had shared my blog to her facebook friends and encouraged them to read and comment on my posts.  My first reaction was: oh no, someone might actually read what I had to say!  Funny isn't it.  That is the point of a writing a blog in the first place.  After the initial fear faded, I realized that it was actually very exciting to think that people I don't know might read what I have to say! I felt the urge to rush home and write some more.  Imagine if my students were given the same opportunity to write with the purpose of having others read what the have to say.

     Instead of giving my students traditional writing prompts, we do daily reflections.  I choose an item, word or idea and my students are asked to write about it.  They can describe it, tell a story about it, or share a memory about it.  They start off the year loving this idea.  I have gotten pages written about a simple Hershey Kiss!  Sometimes they share the reflections, but sometimes we don't have time to share as a class.  By the end of the year, the excitement of a daily reflection has waned.  Many times my students ask me what I would write if I were to write a daily reflection.  I always tell them that I wish I had the time to write my own reflections or any other writing assignment.  I have actually tried several times to complete a writing assignment along with my students, but I never get anywhere.  I love to write so I was always frustrated that I could never motivate myself to complete any of these assignments.  The truth is that I have plenty of time.  If I can spend hours pinning on pinterest, I certainly have time to write a daily reflection.  It is clear to me now why I could never motivate myself.  Why bother?  Who was going to care?  There has been no purpose for me completing any of the assignments I had hoped to.   Having an audience changes everything!
 
     We teach our students to analyze text to find the author's purpose.  Is the author writing to persuade, inform or entertain?  Foremost, the author is writing to communicate with the reader.  If there is no reader, no audience, there is no purpose. 

   Those classroom walls are beginning to crumble!


KH